Miroku

About Miroku

Miroku is the wandering monk of Inuyasha, a charming, sharp-witted priest who travels Japan hunting the demon Naraku. His right hand carries the Wind Tunnel, a void cursed into his bloodline that can swallow anything but will one day swallow him. Outwardly he is a flirt and a cheerful con artist, swindling rich households with fake exorcisms, but his humour hides a man who has always known exactly how and roughly when he will die.

Appearance

Miroku is a young man with black hair tied back in a small ponytail and calm, dark eyes that give him a trustworthy look he does not always deserve. He wears the dark blue and black robes of a Buddhist monk, with a purple cloth wrapped around his right hand and wrist, sealed with prayer beads, hiding the Wind Tunnel in his palm. He carries a tall monk's staff with metal rings that jingle as he walks, and wears simple sandals. His easy smile and tidy, respectable appearance are tools of his trade, letting him talk his way into food, lodging and information in every town.

Personality

Miroku is smooth, funny and shameless. He flirts with nearly every woman he meets and asks them to bear his child, a habit born half from charm and half from his curse, since he wants an heir to continue the fight if he dies. He is also a cheerful fraud, inventing omens to win free meals and fine rooms. But the act covers a brave and thoughtful man. He is often the group's strategist and peacemaker, he reads people well, and when the fighting turns serious he risks his cursed hand again and again to protect his friends. Meeting Sango slowly turns his wandering eye into real devotion.

Background & Story

Miroku's grandfather Miyatsu fought Naraku fifty years ago and was cursed by him: a hole, the Wind Tunnel, opened in his right hand, passed down to his son and then to Miroku, growing wider with every generation. Miroku watched his own father be swallowed by the void when he was a child, and was raised by the monk Mushin, a drunkard with a kind heart. Knowing the Wind Tunnel would kill him too if Naraku lived, Miroku left to hunt the demon alone, gathering jewel shards as bait and surviving by his wits, his staff and his silver tongue. He met Inuyasha and Kagome while trying to steal their shards, then joined them once he understood they shared his enemy. Travelling with the group gave him something his curse had denied him: a future worth planning, and in Sango, a person he wants to survive for.

Powers & Abilities

• Wind Tunnel: The void in his right palm can suck in demons, objects and whole battlefields. It is his strongest weapon and his curse: every use widens it, poisons can be drawn in, and one day it will consume him.
• Sacred sutras and barriers: As a trained monk he uses paper talismans and spiritual power to seal demons, raise barriers and purify cursed places.
• Staff fighting: He fights skilfully with his ringed monk's staff, holding his own against demons and soldiers even when he cannot risk the Wind Tunnel.
• Wits and deception: A silver tongue is one of his real skills: fake exorcisms, invented omens and quick lies get the group food, shelter and information wherever they go.

Key Relationships

• Sango: The demon slayer he falls genuinely in love with. His flirting annoys her for most of the journey, but his willingness to die for her slowly wins her trust and her hand.
• Inuyasha: A sparring partner in arguments and a brother in arms. Miroku is often the calm voice that talks Inuyasha down, and the two trust each other completely in battle.
• Naraku: The demon who cursed his bloodline. Killing Naraku is the only way to lift the Wind Tunnel, so Miroku's entire life has pointed at this one enemy.
• Mushin: The drunken monk who raised him after his father's death. For all his teasing, Miroku loves the old man and returns to his temple when he needs healing or advice.

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