Disclaimer: All recognizable intellectual property came from the remarkable imagination of Rumiko Takahashi; rights belong to her and all related licensing companies. I've just rearranged things for fun and entertainment.

A/N: I began this series of ficbits several years ago when I was dismayed by the few offerings of Miroku/Kagome stories out there. (Although there ARE some excellent ones out there - forthright's "Unsought" immediately jumps to mind, and anything by Sandra E is great - and you should go read those if you haven't already!) I also realized that Miroku/Kagome is definitely an alternate pairing in every sense of the word. The canon relationships of Inuyasha are really undeniable - but I loved the idea of these characters coming together so much, I decided to pursue the idea of "How? What if?" I had also been meaning to write for the 30_kisses prompt set for some time and it seemed appropriate to explore the possibilities of Miroku/Kagome with this set.

I'll be posting these in numerical order according to prompt. Each prompt has an A and a B response—one that had to involve a kiss in some form, as per the rules of the set, and one that didn't necessarily have to. All are 300 words (unless I miscounted!) Some are set in a canon universe, some more like canon-esque, and others in a completely made up universe of my own (there are several pieces where Miroku is a student in the modern era). In some pieces the characters use suffixes and in others they don't. I tried to use a variety of tones and perspectives; and as I did start them years ago (2011?) I'm sure they also vary in skill. Feel free to let me know which you like best or least—or PM me if you have any questions!

#1 – look over here

A: On This Side
song: Dearly Beloved all variations – Kingdom Hearts games

"Kagome-sama, tell me," Miroku remarked one afternoon as the two of them lagged somewhat behind their companions, "are the courting customs much different in your time?"

"Huh?" Kagome eloquently replied. She blushed and stammered for a moment. "U-Umm, why do you ask?"

"Curiosity."

"Oh. Well, I don't really know…" Kagome trailed off, lost in thought. "I mean, it's not like I've had lots of boyfriends or anything."

"You are not the object of anyone's affections? I find that hard to believe."

Kagome blushed again. "It—it's not that… It's just—hard to be close to someone in the future when I spend all of my time here, and it's secret." Kagome shrugged. "I just haven't had time to think about that sort of thing."

"I understand," Miroku remarked, "Although… I imagine you would find plenty of suitors here in this time, as well."

"Mmm." With sorrowful eyes, Kagome looked ahead into the distance. Miroku followed her gaze and was not surprised to see the very stiff back and guiltily twitching ears of a certain hanyou.

"Well, Kagome-sama." Miroku halted and swept Kagome's hand up to his lips, fixing her with a solemn look. "Allow me to say that I'm sure you will be plagued by an endless supply of amorous admirers, both in the present—" He brushed his lips over the knuckles of her left hand, "—and the future." He mimicked his gesture on her right hand.

"M-Miroku-sama…"

"Oi, you two! Quit laggin' behind!"

Kagome's startled face—once again accompanied by that charming blush—turned obediently towards Inuyasha's brash call. "Uh, c-coming, Inuyasha!" She tugged at her hands. "Miroku-sama, come on…"

Miroku waited until Kagome looked him in the eye, then winked impishly. "And for what it's worth, Kagome-sama… Inuyasha is not the only man in this time."

B: Irresponsible
song: Dearly Beloved all variations – Kingdom Hearts games

Kagome stood just inside the smoky confines of Kaede's hut, watching as the affable new addition to their party introduced himself to the women of the village.

"Your name is Aika? How appropriate, Aika-chan, for you have the glow of a woman who is meant to love!" "Oh, don't tell me—you've fallen in love with me already. That's all right, it's no trouble to return the favor…" "You're married? How the heavens curse me! Does your husband know how lucky he is?"

With each smooth line, Kagome felt the mercury in her imaginary thermometer bob upward. She wondered how many come-ons it would take to make her boil over.

"You okay, Kagome-'kaa-san? Your face is red," Shippou noticed. He squeaked when Kagome immediately seized him and clamped her arms around him in a hug.

"Fine, Shippou-kun," she growled, glaring daggers at the silver-tongued monk. She squeezed Shippou tightly enough to make him squawk. "Just fine."

Miroku must have heard them; he glanced over from the village square and extricated himself from his circle of admirers. "Excuse me, ladies, I sense an uneasy spirit within the village." He strolled over to Kagome, looking smug, and apparently oblivious to her anger. "Why, Kagome-sama," he said lightly, "such a thunderous expression on such a beautiful day! What sin!"

"Don't let me rain on your parade," she groused. Shippou snorted.

"Don't be silly," Miroku admonished gently. "Let us banish these dark clouds from your expression!"

And quite unexpectedly, Miroku leaned in, braced by his shakujou, and kissed her—much to the dismay of the village women, by the sound of their cries. It was a quick peck, fast enough that Miroku was able to escape Shippou's offended swipe.

Kagome gaped after him, then yelled, "That doesn't make it better, you know! You jerk!"

#2 – news; letter

A: Discovered
song: Salty Dog – Sarah Brightman

The last note. It had been waiting for her. There it was, in the museum, stretched on a frame behind a glass box. Kagome read the description, her stomach sinking and heart pounding:

"Love letter, c. 1520 CE. Discovered by Fujikawa Osamu, Katsushika-ku. Possibly written by yamabushi."

The paper next to it—a copy of the back—revealed one very familiar set of characters. A name. His.

The letter read:

To swim in the river of time

Is to press the ripples of loss

Into my soul.

With days and seasons coming

Bereft of your shadow

I retire alone

Abandoned even by God

To turbulent thoughts.

Until you swim against the rapids

I have only splinters

I have only ink

I have only words.

I await.

Kagome didn't remember the long journey back—the running, the buses, the time slip, the path to the village. She found herself gasping at the edge of the village, watching Miroku as he spoke with a farmer quietly, observing a field of turnips. He looked calm and easy; maybe she was wrong…

"Miroku?" she called breathlessly.

When he turned and saw her, she didn't doubt anymore. She ran one more time—straight to him, knocking him into the wooden fence, bruising her lips against his with her teeth, her hair flying all around them.

"Kagome—?" he wondered when she pulled back. "Why are—"

"I found your letters." The shock in his eyes, quickly masked with wariness, made her want to cry. "It was you, wasn't it. You left those letters for me to find, someday."

He sighed heavily. "Not… exactly. Not at first, at least." He studied her face for a moment, then chuckled, bouncing her on his chest. "I think perhaps it's time we spoke of this face to face, Kagome."

B: False Positive
song: Firefly – Ed Sheeran

"The doctors in my time said they were sure, and, well…" Kagome turned to Miroku with wide, dewy eyes, her hands clasped beneath her chin. "Miroku-sama—no, Miroku—I'm pregnant."

"WH-WH-WHAT!?" Inuyasha howled, sending a flock of birds scattering.

"K-Kagome…" Shippou scampered close to her ankles, his tail puffed out to twice its size. "How…? You didn't—"

Miroku stood beside the well, gaping. His vocal chords scraped together as he wheezed for breath. D-Did I—? In my sleep…?

"It's true," Kagome murmured piously, "Miroku and I haven't consummated our—"

"C-Consummated?!"

"SIT!—relationship in the usual way," she continued, ignoring Inuyasha's manic scramble in the dirt. She held one hand to her belly. "It's a miracle."

A miracle. Miroku finally stirred himself to blink once, slowly, and focus on Kagome's face. To be honest, he—he had never really imagined—and with Kagome-sama, who was certainly pretty but by no means beautiful—

He looked down at her, smooth lips curved in a secretive smile, eyes shining up at him, her hair loose around her shoulders and her temptingly short kimono failing to preserve her modesty. Emotion trickled back to him like pins and needles: disbelief was still foremost, but there was also relief, and no small amount of panic, some bitterness that of course Buddha would see fit to grant him a child without the need for earthly contact first—

And—

Wonder? Joy? Excitement?

Maybe, he considered, brushing his fingertips against Kagome's hand, this is…

"HA!" Kagome suddenly crowed, leaping back. "Got you! As if I'd get pregnant!" She blew a raspberry at Inuyasha's nearly upright form. "Sit! This is what you get when you pester me about going home for a week!"

And she ran away. Miroku stared after her as Inuyasha screamed, "KAGOME! GET BACK HERE!"

#3 – JOLT!

A: Sent Flying
song: Boom Box - Institute

From her shelter in the lee of the giant cypress tree, Kagome's eyes faithfully followed the snarling red blur of Inuyasha. She gripped her bow, but it never once occurred to her to use it against the rodent demons. What need? Inuyasha was more than enough to—

The tree quivered, she looked up and saw feral red eyes and overgrown, vicious yellow fangs; from one side she heard, "Kagome!" and from another, "Kagome-sama!" and felt, for a single heartbeat, the blood pumping through her neck. There was a squeal, a thump, a grunt, more squealing. She couldn't feel her hands; she couldn't feel the ground.

Then she felt the ground hard underneath as she skidded, mulch and leaf mould grinding into her skin as something solid pressed down on her heavily, and momentum shoved her up into the gnarled, scratchy roots of a neighboring tree. Her head rebounded against a root as something bounced painfully off of her sternum—

Something hit her mouth hard enough to bruise, and she heard the very distinctive click of teeth knocking together, recognized from a couple achingly awkward post-date experiences. She opened her eyes in a daze. Where she expected fuzzy ears and a glare, she found equally dazed, equally human eyes, and the furrowed brow of a very concerned monk. "Are you all right, Kagome-sama?"

Spluttering, uncomfortably aware of Miroku's weight and shoving away the nervously fluttering thoughts of Did I just touch his mouth? Did he just touch my lips? Kagome said, "You?"

Miroku gave her a lopsided smile and quickly rose, holding out a polite hand to lift her upright. "Inuyasha can't be everywhere," he said.

I know that, Kagome thought with embarrassed indignation as Miroku turned back to the last of the demons, but did you have to be there?

B: The Impossible Cure
song: Mountains - Institute

"It's no use!" Kagome wailed, stamping her foot impatiently. "I've had these for—hup!—days, and they just won't go a—hic!—way!"

"Could it be some kinda curse?" Shippou asked bemusedly.

Inuyasha snorted. "Prob'ly that sham-poo crap," he said derisively. "Told you it stinks."

"Hey! That is some high-quality stuff, you jerk! You should feel lucky that I spend so much—hic!—much—hic!—money trying to smell good for y—"

"Well, it is possible that your current predicament stems from some… unexpected side-effects," Miroku observed thoughtfully. "Has this ever happened to you before, Kagome?"

"Hic! Not this bad."

Sango shifted from foot to foot. "The weather's been steady lately… and she hasn't eaten anything strange, or wandered off… Maybe it really is that potion of yours."

Kagome stamped her foot again. "My shampoo is not the reason I have hiccups!"

"Keh! Does it matter? Just make 'em stop," Inuyasha growled, his ears flicking back to lie flat against his skull as Kagome hiccupped.

"You stop hiccups by scaring someone, right?" said Shippou. In a wink, he transformed into a floating pink sphere and goggled his eyes at her. "Boooo!"

Kagome giggled, then hiccupped twice. "Nice try, Shippou."

"What else might work?" Sango said, worried. "You're not afraid of heights, or water; I guess we could go find a demon…"

"I don't think that'll—" Kagome started, and was shocked to find herself cut off by something other than hiccups. Specifically, Miroku's mouth.

Miroku pulled back from their impromptu kiss, staring at Kagome expectantly. Silence reigned for a long moment while Kagome gazed back, blood rising to her cheeks, until Sango said with exasperated contempt, "Well, that'd scare any girl. Good thinking, houshi-sama."

"It is my sworn duty to provide aid to maidens in need," Miroku avowed, grinning.

[Just for fun, here's the addition that didn't make it in with the word count.]

Kagome had just barely breathed a deep, hiccup-free sigh of relief when she heard that horrible jumpy-breath sound again—but not from her. She looked at Miroku, suddenly feeling her heart sink in despair as Miroku stared back, his expression a mixture of shock and frustration. He swallowed, glanced down at himself almost reprovingly, then gave her a carefree smile. "Just a little one," he said. "You see, nothing else seems to be—hic!"

The silence that fell was especially not relieved. It broke with the simultaneous pop! of Shippou's return to his usual form, and the resounding crack! of Inuyasha cracking his knuckles. His smirk seemed peculiarly… fanged. "C'mere, monk," he beckoned. "I can scare those away for ya—no problem."

A/N: More chapters coming soon!