Together

* . * . *

Means that it's the same POV just a shift in time / place.

Chapter 1

= Miroku =

"Inuyasha!" I shouted as I passed by a tree and walked through some bushes that blocked me from seeing the river that I had heard. As I moved the last branch from my view, I saw him tuck something under the log that was behind his back. A secret, were the words that crossed my mind.

"Kagome is calling you," I continued.

"What for?" he asked me from his sitting position. He wasn't looking at me, but over the river with his arms crossed.

"She wants you to walk her to the well, or have you forgotten already that she was leaving today?" I asked Inuyasha as I stood looking down at him.

"Feh. Where is she now?" he asked as he stood up and dusted himself off. I was about to tell him when he walked past me, and cut me off by saying. "Don't bother. She's not so hard to find." A few moments later I heard him breaking through the top of the trees to my left.

I turned my attention back to the log. Should I see what it was? How important could it be? Important enough for him to hide it from me. That's how important it is. What could it be? I asked myself as I stepped closer to it. How badly would he beat me up if I took a look? I asked myself as I kicked it. The log rolled over and I saw some pages before it rolled back in place.

= Inuyasha =

Did he see? I asked myself as I jumped away towards the village. He was still behind the bush when I placed it under the log. I told myself to keep from panicking. I landed on a branch limb that was high on a tree. I could see the village from here, and Kagome's scent was coming from that direction. I jumped off and flew over the trees as I followed her scent. Please Kami, don't let him have seen me put it there. I prayed as I hurried to meet up with Kagome.

I found her on the edge of the village, on the road to the Bone Eater's Well. She wasn't walking. She was just standing there waiting for me. As I came closer she didn't look mad. Why did her eyes have to glitter? I asked myself as I came close enough to see them shining at me.

"Sorry I'm late Kagome," I told her as I came to a stop.

"It's alright. You aren't that late," she said while smiling up at me. I bent my head and hid as much of my face behind my bangs as I turned away from her.

"Come on. Let's go," I told her as I started to walk up the hill. We didn't talk much on the short walk to the well. Why did I even have to walk with her? I asked myself for the third time as I saw the well not eighty feet away as we came to the top of the hill.

"I'll be gone six days for this trip," I heard her say.

"Six days?" I said back to her as I turned to look in her direction. "Why so long?" I asked. I didn't really care that she wasn't going to be here for so long. It was that we were going to be stuck in one place until she came back.

"It's because of my tests. I have a lot of them this week. I can't come back until I've finished," she said as she started to walk ahead of me.

"You cannot be gone more than five days," I told her as I started to catch up. "I'll be waiting right here for you on the sixth day and if you aren't here come mid day I'm coming to get you," I told her as we both stopped next to the well.

"No, I won't," she said back at me. Her voice was starting to get higher. "I want to spend some time with my friends over there. I cannot spend all my time over here. I have a life there too you know!" Now she was shouting back at me. I was almost sorry that I said anything, but I can't be stuck here for almost a week with …

"And you can wait all you want. I won't be back on the sixth day. I'll be back after mid day on the seventh day," she said as she started to climb into the well. She stopped half way over and looked at me.

"Fine," I said in defeat, and she jumped down. I spent a moment thinking that I should have said things differently, but I was surprised that it was going to be that long until we can leave again. THE LOG. My head snapped to its direction and soon I was air born. I hope it's still there. I hope Miroku didn't see me hide it. I hope he didn't stay. I hope he didn't find it. These words whirled around my head as I jumped from tree to tree, from tree to grass patch, back into a tree again. As I got closer to the stream I couldn't pick up a fresh scent of Miroku. At least he wouldn't be there. I told myself. This calmed me more than I expected it to.

I landed in the clearing just a few paces from where Miroku had found me that morning. I walked through the same bushes and saw the log that I had sat next to. I knelt down in front of it and placed my hand on it as I bent my head. This secret is getting hard to hide and harder to deal with. I'm going to have to do something about it.

= Mirku =

I sat there looking into the dancing fire pit with my back against the wall. My mind went over what had happened that morning again.

* . * . *

I saw my hand reaching out and pushing the log aside. My other hand crossed into my vision as I touched and picked up the pages. They were wrapped around one of those writing things that Kagome calls a pen. It wrote with ink that was housed inside of the handle. I had already used one, so it didn't hold much of my attention. I placed it in my lap and turned my focus back to the pages. They weren't just loose pieces of paper like I first thought. The pages looked like they came from different places. A few looked like scroll paper I used for my spells, some looked like they came out of the books that Kagome wrote in and I guess he got the rest from anywhere he could. They were held together by some kind of binding that was made out of some skin strips.

I uncurled the pages and started to read what was on the first page. I told myself as I started to skim over the first few words that if it was…Miroku. The word came into view and I never finished my promise.

I saw him smiling with Sango today. We were watching Shippo play with Kirara, well, they were watching. I was trying to get a nap before I took up first watch that night. I heard him laugh and I couldn't stop myself from looking over at him. I don't know what he was looking at anymore other than it had something to do with the nekomata and Shippo. His eyes were mostly closed as he laughed, but I still saw a glint of their purple blue color. He joked with Sango while she nudged him and laughed at what he was saying. I wanted to be down there laughing with him, but I didn't move from where I was. We never joke like that, and if I went over there, they wouldn't have included me. I seem to stall everyone's good time when I show up unless I'm the source of their laughter.

From there it went on to talk about a few other things, normal things. I was about stop reading when my name came back up again and I continued to read.

Miroku sat with his back to one of the large boulders that made up part of our campsite that night. He didn't feel it. How could he not feel it? I got up from the fire and walked over to him. I then crouched down next to him and leaned in. I reached out and flicked the tiger beetle away. If it had bitten him, he would have woken up the whole camp with his shouting and everyone needed their sleep. I didn't move away like I should have. I hadn't been this close to him in days. I inhaled the strong sent of sandalwood that was coming off of him. His face was the meaning of peace. Something stirred him in his sleep and I froze. His eyes didn't open, but he licked his lips and turned his head towards me. I felt my face heat up and I know it turned red. He then settled back into a deeper sleep again. I was looking at those lips that he licked and I saw them become bigger and bigger. Before I knew it, I kissed him. I know it was stupid of me. It was a quick kiss and I pulled back really fast. He didn't wake up, but I felt my lips burning me as I walked back to where I was sitting before. I didn't really do that much watching that night. My mind wouldn't end where my body did. I saw him waking up from his sleep to find me kissing him. I pretended that he started to kiss me back. By the time I was pulling his purple robes off his shoulders no one else was there. It was just the two of us in the clearing with the rocks. As his tongue started to lick down my neck I snapped out of it. I was shocked back to my senses and everything came back to me. The cold night air, the night animals scurrying yards away, the breathing of all my companions, and the crackling of the fire. I looked back over at Miroku and I started to hear my heart beat loudly in my ears. I turned away from him and tried to concentrate on anything else, everything else. I don't know how well of a job I did because I almost didn't hear Sango when she walked towards me, as it was her turn to take watch. I got up and nodded at her while she took up her post. I turned to look at the rest of the group. Where would I rest until it was time for us to leave, I asked myself. The idea of sitting next to Miroku was kicked out of my head almost as fast as it had popped in there. I jumped up into a tree that was to the left of him and settled down for the rest of the night. I still wanted to be close to him, but this was as close as I could get. I closed my eyes and in my folded arms I thought I felt his warm back pressed against me. I fell asleep with that pleasant feeling.

The book fell from my fingers then. Inuyasha had feelings for me? It was a puzzling thought. There was no way I could look at him now, knowing what he wrote about me. At first I was a little ashamed that I hadn't treated him better as a friend, but this?

I got up and started to walk back and forth. How do I deal with this? How would I keep him as a friend without breaking his heart? Do I have to do anything? Would this thing come and go on its own? I reached down and picked up the pen that had dropped from my lap and rolled it back up into the pages. I pushed the log back and placed them back where I got them from and quickly walked to the hot spring. I was hoping that some time alone would help me figure some things out.

* . * . *

It's been hours, and I still haven't figured anything out. For now I will do nothing. Until he knows that I know, I don't have to do anything about this. Right?

"Miroku!" Sango shouted at me.

"Ha?" I asked as I looked up at her. Why was she shouting at me?

"Did you hear anything I asked you?" She huffed.

"Sorry, Sango. What is it you wish to know?" I smiled up at her.

"I was asking you if you knew where Inuyasha was. He's late for dinner and Kagome left some of those noodles that he loves," she said as she turned back to stirring what was in the pot. I believed that was for the rest of us to eat for dinner. It smelled like rabbit even though I couldn't remember seeing her clean it or adding it to the pot.

"No, I do not know where our hanyou friend is. Do you want me to go find him?" I already started to get up from my spot. I dusted and fixed my robes as Sango started to reply.

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble for you," she said. Her words finished as I placed my hand around my staff. I didn't think that I would need it, but I liked hearing the ringing of the metal when I walked.

"No, why would it be trouble?" I asked just before I moved to the hut's opening. I moved the curtain aside and ducked to step outside, only to stop in mid-stride.

There was Inuyasha. He was standing in mid-stance also. We blocked each other's way. His eyes. I don't know if I've ever been this close to his face before. We almost ran right into each other. I wondered if he stopped first or if we both saved ourselves from a painful bump on our foreheads or even a broken nose on my part. He had such a hard head. His eyes were so bright. Did they get brighter looking at me?

His skin started to turn a light shade of pink. We were still standing there in the door way looking at each other. He stood still, like some animal caught in the light. I started to move back when I heard my own heart beating in my ears as his skin became a brighter shade of pink and looked … lickable?

"Did you forget something Miroku?" Sango asked from further in the room.

"Ah, hm," I cleared my throat. "No," I stated and turned around to face her. "I don't have to go looking for Inuyasha," I told her as I walked back to where I was sitting.

"And why not?" she asked me. I looked at the door before I sat down and then looked back at her.

"He's standing outside," I informed her.

"He is?" she asked in surprise, before getting up herself to walk to over to the opening.

= Inuyasha =

Why the hell am I standing here like this? I asked myself. Move stupid! But I just stood there looking into Miroku's eyes until he moved back inside. As I let out a breath I realized that I was holding it in. What on earth was that? I asked myself. I heard him talking to Sango, and then her softer footsteps as she came towards the door way. What should I do? Run. Run? Why? I didn't do anything wrong? Step inside, STEP INSIDE! I moved the curtain aside and stepped in before she made it to the doorway.

"There you are Inuyasha. Were you up at the well thinking about Kagome?" she asked me.

"As if I would waste time doing that," I told her. "What's for dinner?" I asked as I made my way over to the fire.

"You can have one of those noodle things that Kagome left for you. We are having rabbit curry and rice." she held out one of those Kagome era containers to me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Miroku looking into the pot.

"I think I'll have some of the rabbit if you don't mind. Someone else can have that if they want," I said as I made my way to sit a few feet from Shippo.

"You don't want it?" she asked me with a look of disbelief on her face.

"That's what I said. I don't have to eat it all the time." I looked over at Shippo who was also giving me the 'he-hit-his-head' look. Then I hit him on his head.

"What was that for?!" he shouted at me as he rubbed his head.

"I felt like it," I told him, but I knew it was wrong all the same.

"You can have my thing," I told him as I picked up his bowl of rice and portion of rabbit.

He didn't even complain that I took his share, as he bounced over to Sango saying that she heard me and that he was to get the food that Kagome left behind. I lowered my head and ate. I didn't lower my face so far that I couldn't see the rest of the room, just low enough so that no one could see where I was looking.

I was watching how he sat while he ate. How he lifted the rice to his mouth instead of tossing it in from his bowl. I had started to notice how he ate months ago. It made me realize how shoddily I now ate around him and everyone else. At first I would just try to eat somewhere else, saying that I wanted to keep an eye out for some demon I felt was close by, or saying I wasn't hungry at all and eating later when they were asleep, but I started to miss seeing him. So bit by bit I started to mimic how he ate. No one seemed to have noticed that I started sitting across the fire from him from then on. I'm sure Kagome thought that I started eating with the group again because she had asked me to. She had just given me a good excuse to be seen eating with them again.

One day Kagome pointed out that we looked funny and Miroku thought that I was making fun of him. I hadn't realized that I was matching his movements like that. I finished my meal in a tree that night. I wouldn't really make fun of him like that. I then changed a few things, so I didn't do everything the same way he did.

I glanced over at Shippo, when I heard a slurping sound coming from his direction. He was drinking the last of what was left in the container. I looked down at my own food to see that I was almost finished. I knew that Miroku was almost finished also. I didn't care to check on Sango and her progress with her meal, but I looked anyway to see if she was looking at me. She was paying attention to the kitsune as he laid back with a full tummy.

I turned my mind back to Miroku and then my food in that order. He finished eating before I did and got up to say that he was going for a walk. We all just nodded our understanding and he left the room. With him gone, I finished eating and moved to my place in the room to bed down for the night. I knew that I was going to be dreaming of those eyes tonight. Slowly my eyes closed and the world turned black before I saw him and his eyes that were shining just for me.

= Miroku =

I walked outside into the cool air and lifted my arms over my head as I stretched. Where will I walk tonight? I asked myself. I walked down the steps, and then turned right. I walked for a ways past this house and that house, smiling at a lady, then two. I walked past a tree, then a few more. A bush here and a bush there. When I reached the stream, I stopped and looked around.

It's the same place from this morning. I turned towards the log and walked over to it. I rolled it over to see nothing. Of course it wouldn't still be there. I told myself as I let the log roll back into place. Why was I even looking for it? It wasn't mine to read. I want to know what else he thinks about me. I answered myself. Well forget about it. I told myself. It's gone and we aren't going to be looking for it. Aren't we? I asked back. What are you thinking? I asked as I saw lights going off in my head as ideas were hatched and discarded, until one started to stand out and take form.

"Maybe," I said as I started to walk back to the hut.

= NOTES =

Nekomata - is a bakeneko (monster cat) that has a tail that forks in two. Plainly nekomata means "forked cat".