(A/N: BWAHARHARHAR! I know, I know...I should really be working on my chapters for 'Pain of Publicity', but last night I caught another episode of InuYasha, so here I am...writing something. Haha. Also, I was just looking at a Sango shrine webpage thingie...it's so cute. Gah. I love her with Miroku. Haha. I want one! I want a perverted, yet charming guy! Haha. Hm, it sounds better when you don't type it in words, ne? Hehe. Anyhow, yeah. So basically I'm just gonna do something out of the ordinary and write a one-shot. I've been meaning to write one of these, but never had the time. From the ones that I've read before, it looks pretty easy and fun. And plus, this would be my first original format and not an AU! Woohooo! Haha. Okay, this might not be my best, but it surely won't be my last. So...here we go!)
One-shot: Out for Coffee?
It was another regular, warm day in the feudal era. The team defeated yet another demon in the way of their journey and decided that it was time for a rest. Kagome figured that now would be a perfect time to take a break from shard-hunting and traveled back into the present to gather more supplies.
Shippou and Kirara were staying in Kaede's village and volunteered on helping gather herbs while the others waited for Kagome's return. Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha all sat by the well and waited...and waited...and waited...
"What time did she say she would be back?" Inuyasha grunted, breaking the silence of the three. He jumped down from his high tree branch and stood up while looking at the two. Sango was leaning peacefully on a tree, as Miroku, on the other hand, was sitting far away from Sango with a large hand-print on his left cheek.
"She didn't give an exact time when she would be returning." Sango replied to the impatient hanyou.
"But do not fret, Inuyasha. Kagome is bound to come back." a confident Miroku stated while rubbing his sore punishment.
Inuyasha just scoffed and rolled his eyes at the two. "Well I'm tired of waiting for her to hurry up. She probably realizes that she just gets in the way and won't come back." he gave a satisfied smirk.
"Well it's nice to know what you really think of me, Inuyasha." a familiar voice popped up. Inuyasha's ears twitched a bit and he froze at the voice.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango exclaimed happily as she ran towards the well to assist her friend carry up her large bag full of treats. Inuyasha just kept his stance on the grass. His arms were folded across his chest, and his back faced the well.
"You'd think they hadn't seen each other for years." Miroku laughed as he watched the two girls hug and exchange what Kagome called 'gossip'.
"Feh. Whatever." Inuyasha shrugged as Miroku passed by him to see what Kagome had brought back.
"Did you really think that I'd leave?" Kagome's voice called from behind him. Inuyasha turned around and his facial expression automatically changed as he saw the girl holding a large bag of potato chips. Despite the delicious food being held in front of him, the hanyou simply had more pride.
"No. It's more like I hoped that you'd leave." he grunted as he turned his back towards her with a stubborn pout.
"When do you think he'll ever learn?" Sango asked Miroku dully.
"When Shippou learns how to wield the Tetsusaiga." he replied expressionless. Sango stifled a laugh.
"Oh! So I guess I brought all of these chips and ramen for nothing, ne?" Kagome's voice exclaimed. Sango and Miroku turned to look at the arguing pair.
"Is that really my problem on what you do and what you don't bring?" Inuyasha's defensive voice argued back.
"Fine! Then I'll just give all of these treats to Shippou! I'm sure he'll appreciate them!" Kagome finished off angrily. She turned away from Inuyasha and stormed near her backpack. Inuyasha just stood there, speechless. It wasn't till a couple of minutes had passed did he realize what Kagome had said.
"What's that little runt gonna do with all of that food, huh? He's not gonna eat it!" Inuyasha ran over beside Kagome. A vein popped on her forehead.
"SIT!" she yelled. Miroku and Sango sighed at the two and weren't too surprised to hear the enormous 'thud' on the dirt.
"What'd you do that for, wench?!" Inuyasha's angry voice was heard again.
"SIT ! SIT! SIT! SIT!" Kagome exclaimed once more. Miroku snickered at the several 'thuds'.
"He's earned five sits already and she just arrived a short time ago." he snickered again. Soon, his low laughs were cut off as a rock hit his head.
"I heard that, Miroku!" Inuyasha's loud voice was heard from afar. The swirly-eyed monk said nothing and just laughed nervously as he rubbed the new large bump on his head.
"How dare you throw a rock at Miroku! SIT!" Kagome's voice was heard once more. Sango looked at the swirly-eyed hanyou and the unconscious monk. She shrugged her shoulers, picked up her rice cake and walked over to the fuming Kagome.
"Kagome-chan?" Sango asked hesitantly. Kagome turned to her, and her angry eyes immediately softened.
"Yes, Sango-chan?" the ebony-haired girl smiled. "Is there something wrong with your rice cake?"
"No, it's fine. Thank you." the taijiya gave a small smile in return. "Why had your arrival changed?"
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked confused. "Why was I late?" Sango nodded her head.
"Oh. Well, you know about Hojo right?" Sango nodded her head again. "Well, I was out on my way here, but then my backpack somehow opened and spilled out everything. Coincidentally, he had been around and started helping me gather up my things."
"Seems noble of him." Sango commented. Kagome nodded her head and gave a small laugh.
"I suppose so, but I knew that if I didn't return soon that Inuyasha would get a little hot-headed." Kagome laughed again. "And I thought that after my things were settled that he would wave his farewells and be off. But then he asked me out for coffee, and I thought that it would've been rude to reject. So, we quickly got a couple of drinks to go and I was off. I feel a bit guilty for being in a major rush though."
"What is that?" Sango asked curiosly.
"Nani? A major rush?" Kagome asked. Sango shook her head.
"This...coffee you talk about."
"Oh! Well, it's a drink. There's different types of it and a lot of people drink it. Usually they drink it in order to stay awake." Kagome explained.
"Is it like some sort of tea?"
"Oh, no! It's much more stronger."
"So is it similar to that of sake?" Sango asked again, a bit more confused.
"Nah. It's just basically a thing that keeps people up to say the least. It's stronger than tea, and not necessarily sake." Kagome bit her lip, she knew that none of these pieces of information were helping Sango understand what coffee was. Still, the taijiya nodded her head at Kagome's explanation.
"What does this...coffee..taste like?" Sango asked, she was definitely getting more interested in the drink. Kagome just shrugged.
"Beats me. I don't drink the stuff."
"But didn't you go out with him for it?"
"Oh!" Kagome suddenly said. Sango nearly jumped at the girl's outburst. "You mean, when I said that he asked me out for coffee?" Sango nodded her head. Kagome gave a small laugh. "I didn't mean that we actually went out for the stuff. It's more of an expression."
"An expression? Of what?"
Kagome gave a small sigh, and figured that it would take a while to explain everything. So, she piled up everything back into her backpack and stood up.
"Why don't we take a short walk and talk about things?" she suggested. Sango looked at her and nodded her head. She stepped over the spaced out monk and grabbed her hiraikotsu. The two girls then began to walk along a short path from the well.
"Well, if someone asks you 'Would you like to go out for some coffee?'," Kagome began. "Usually, they imply that they want a date."
"A...date? Like a certain month or time of year?" Sango asked. Kagome shook her head.
"Well, that's one type of date. The one that I'm talking about is more like a social event." Kagome stated. "But what makes a date so special is that it's usually a time of romance. It's when one of the people on the date have a romantic interest in the person that they're going out with. The key thing about a date is when the two people rejoice and get to know each other better."
"Oh." Sango replied in understanding. "Have you and Inuyasha been on one of these...dates?"
"Me and Inuyasha?!" Kagome nearly jumped. A small tone of red blush flushed on her cheeks. "Of course not! I doubt Inuyasha's into those kinds of things..."
"Well, maybe...maybe not. You'll never know." Sango said nonchalantly as she looked up at the light blue sky. Kagome thought to herself as they walked along the path. She then gave the taijiya a mischievous grin. Surely, she wouldn't let Sango have all the wise-cracking statements that put the other in deep, deep, thought.
"Why don't you ask Miroku on a date?" she said suddenly. Sango stopped on the trail and paused at Kagome's random question. Kagome gave a small smile as she turned to look at her friend.
"Well?" Kagome said. Sango shook her head and continued walking.
"Why would I want to share an evening with the foolish Houshi-sama?" she began saying defensively. "The last thing that I would desire is being left alone with that hentai."
"Come on, Sango." Kagome urged her friend. "He obviously has some sort of strong feeling for you. Don't you feel anything for him back?" It was Sango's turn to grow a simple shade of pink.
Kagome figured that it was pointless to ask her friend this question. Everytime Miroku was brought up in their conversations, all she did was talk about how idiotic he was with his perverted attempts. Though, Kagome knew that Sango loved Miroku, and he felt the same for her. Actually, everybody knew it. All, but Sango and Miroku.
"The only thing that I feel for that baka is my hand slapping his face." Sango said deeply as she tried to brush off the blush on her cheeks. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes at the girl's response.
"Fine. Say what you want to say, Sango-chan. But, a little word of advice." Kagome paused at the end of their walking path. It stopped at a great view of the relaxing hot springs. "You might want to try getting to know him a little better. There may be much more to him than a wandering hand. And in case you hadn't noticed, he treats you with the most respect out of the group and maybe that means something. You never really know until you try."
Sango gave a small sigh, and opened her mouth to say something, but instantly closed it as she heard something in the bushes. She stood in front of Kagome and pulled out her hiraikotsu.
"SHOW YOURSELF!" she exclaimed as she threw her giant boomerang at the bush. A loud 'oof'! was heard behind it and the girls exchanged glances. They turned to look at the hot springs and calcuted it with the 'oof'! Their eyes instantly narrowed into sharp slits as they stared at the bush.
"Sit." Kagome said suddenly and there was a large 'thud!' heard from behind the bush next to the 'oof!' The two girls sighed as the sources of the sounds crawled out. Surprise, surprise they thought when they saw Inuyasha and Miroku.
"You wench! When I got up from all those damn 'S' word commands and didn't see you there what was I supposed to do?! I was just looking for you, and Miroku came along to look for Sango!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he got up. Kagome gave Sango an 'I-told-you-so' glare before she turned over to Inuyasha and yelling out 'SIT!' once again.
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR WENCH?!" Inuyasha screamed.
"The first one was for sneaking up on us. The second one was for calling me that awful word. And the third was for the same reason as the second one!" Kagome exclaimed. Inuyasha's eyes widened.
"What third on--" THUD! His words were cut off as Kagome strongly said the 'S' word and his face met the dirt.
"Did you really...come looking for me, Houshi-sama?" Sango said shyly as she walked over to the pained monk. Her hiraikotsu got a pretty darn good hit smack dab on his head.
"Of course I was, Lady Sango. Your presence is always that of my concern." he replied. The tinge of pink returned on Sango's cheeks. Suddenly, she felt a you-know-what on her you-know-where.
"HENTAI!" she exclaimed as a large 'SLAP!' was heard and broke Kagome and Inuyasha's arguing. They stared at the vein-headed Sango standing before a red hand-printed Miroku, but were the least surprised.
Suddenly, Kagome took a double glace and Miroku and Sango and grew a witty smile. She instantly pulled up Inuyasha but his arm, and looked at him.
"Why don't we go to Kaede's village and go check on Shippou and Kirara." she suggested, giving Inuyasha her hardest 'just-agree-to-it' glare. Inuyasha just scoffed and took back his arm.
"Why would I want to go and visit that old hag and runt?" he turned his back to her. Kagome looked over at Sango and Miroku, they were glaring at them. She then bit her lip, her plan wasn't going so smoothly.
"Sit." she instantly said, not knowing what else to do. Inuyasha's face immediately hit the dirt once again. Kagome crouched down next to him and whispered so that only he could hear.
"Just follow through. I have a plan." she explained. Kagome then became hesitant and quickly added. "If you don't, I'll say the 'S' word and never bring ramen for you until we find all of the shards."
Inuyasha quickly jolted up wiped the dirt off of his face. He mumbled a couple of words and seconds later Kagome forced a smile and walked up to the taijiya and houshi.
"Me and Inuyasha will be going to the village to check up on everyone." she informed them while smiling.
"Why don't we all go?" Sango said, unsure of what Kagome was trying to pull. "Do you think it wise of me and Houshi-sama separating you?"
"Nonsense! All of my stuff is still back at the well and Inuyasha will be with me." Kagome gave Sango a glare. "Could you and Miroku just go back and meet us at the village?" Sango exchanged looks with Kagome.
"That would be fine, Kagome-chan. We shall meet you there in no time." Miroku finally replied. Kagome clapped her hands and nodded at the two. She gave a quick wink to Sango and walked off towards Inuyasha.
"Mind what you're trying to do?" Inuyasha muttered as Inuyasha walked beside him.
"Just preparing the coffee." Kagome laughed to herself. Inuyasha looked at her as if she were crazy.
"Coffee? What's that?"
Kagome sighed as she began walking. This was going to be a long, long explanation...
Sango watched as Kagome walked with Inuyasha until they became as small as ants. she then sighed and picked up her hiraikotsu. When she turned to begin her walk, she caught Miroku's eyes on her.
"What?" she asked, a bit annoyed. Miroku looked away and began walking. She raised an eye brow, but continued to walk beside him.
"What is it, Houshi-sama?" she asked again, this time a little curious.
"Is it that bad being with me?" he finally asked after moments of silence. Sango paused for a second and looked at him. He was serious.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"It seemed that you didn't desire to accompany me on gathering Kagome-chan's things." he replied. Sango looked down at her feet as she walked. Sure, it was true that she hadn't wanted to be with him alone...but perhaps he was thinking of a different reason from hers.
"Well, you can't really blame me for being cautious." Sango began saying. "I mean, you aren't really the most trustful person, Houshi-sama."
Miroku looked at her for a second, she stared back. She suddenly saw something in the monk that she had rarely seen. His eyes, usually normal, calm, soft dark violet pools of tranquility. Were now dark, hard, and the most shocking of all...hurt.
"I-I-I didn't mean it that way!" Sango instantly said as she realized her wrong choice of words. Miroku just kept on walking down the path towards the well. Sango walked faster to catch up with him, but he still would not talk.
"Honest, Miroku. I didn't." she said sincerely. He stopped on the path and turned to look at her. Sango stopped too and stood in front of Miroku waiting for him to reply. He looked at her again, his eyes still with a hint of pain, but were now not as dark or hard. A small smile curved upon the houshi's lips.
"You said..." he began. "You said my name." Miroku looked down at her and smiled. The pink on her cheeks followed through as if on cue. Sango looked down at her feet again and the two resumed walking.
"I'm sorry, Houshi-sama..." Sango began talking again. Miroku's smile twitched a bit into a frown as she resumed addressing him formally. But then it crept back into his happy grin as he figured that saying his name was something that happened rarely, and that this should be a memorable moment. "What I meant to say was that with all of your hentai moments...it doesn't make me any comfortable staying so close with you...alone. It's just not very respectful when we're having a good conversation and then all of a sudden there's that hand of yours."
"I understand, Sango-chan." Miroku nodded in understanding. "And I apologize for making you feel deprived of your respect. In truth, you are a very important person to me and I would hate to make you feel troublesome whenever we were to be by ourselves."
Sango gave a small nod, and pink blush was not a light shade of red. The two walked again slowly side by side down the path towards the well.
"If I'm so important as you say, then why do you choose to always grope me so?" Sango just needed to ask. Though the fact that he declared her importance to him was enough to have her smiling for days, she needed to know if there were any strings attached to the statement. Miroku's silence made her reconsider the special feeling that she had once felt.
"I see." she finally said deeply. Her hand clutched the string of her boomerang as they walked. She looked up at the sky again as they walked, wondering exactly what Miroku was currently thinking. From the corner of her eye, she caught his eyes being pointed towards her. Her head shifted from the sky, to facing him.
"Yes?" she asked, hiding the disappointment in his silence.
"Because that's the placement I hold in your mind." he finally said. Sango looked at him, wondering what he meant.
"N-nani?" she finally asked.
"If I were to do anything else, you would consider it a sign of lechery." he explained. "To you, what I am is a mere hentai, yes?" Sango kept silent at his question. "And I can't change what you think about me with words, or actions, because your mind is already made up. Even if I tried to fix my placement in your mind, I have no doubt that you would think it a sign of lechery."
Sango was speechless. She couldn't argue. Sure, she did find see him as a baka hentai...but was his statement true? Would every move he made make her feel...deprived of her comfortability?
The two just kept on walking silently down the path. Finally, they had reached the well. Sango caught sight of all the ramen packages scattered on the grass. Surely, Inuyasha had cheated out for a few bites. She stifled laugh as she began to pick up the various pieces. She cautioned herself as she remembered Miroku's presence. She was sure of it that he would be planning for a quick grop--
...Oh. He was right. She had always figured that every move he made would be to touch her inappropriately. Sango then paused as she clutched a small package of ramen. She stood up and looked over at Miroku. He was filling up Kagome's bag with the other fallen items.
"Miroku?" she finally said. Miroku looked up from where he kneeled over the bag. He looked at the girl before him, clutching a bag of ramen, her hiraikotsu just a few feet away. Her leg was a bit limp from the sneak attack by the previous demon they had battled. She took a step forward to place the ramen into the backpack. Suddenly, Sango tripped as her injured leg chose to give out.
Miroku instantly reacted and he stood up, catching the fallen taijiya. His arm wrapped around her waste and the other supported her head. Sango's head rested on the houshi's chest and she felt the warmth underneath his dark robes. She looked up at the houshi and found that his eyes were looking back at her. She finally stood up and dusted off her yukata.
"Thank you, Houshi-sama." she finally said, hoping that the hot blush on her cheeks had finally dissolved.
"You're entirely welcome, Lady Sango." he replied, picking up the giant yellow backpack from the grass and slipping it over his shoulder. "Shall we be off now?"
Sango nodded her head as she went to retrieve her weapon. She walked back over to Miroku and they began walking towards the village.
"I-I'm sorry...again." she finally said, breaking the silence. Miroku looked at her and smiled.
"No need to be sorry." he replied. "It's not your fault your leg gave out."
"No, not that." she shook her head. "About what you said earlier...about how I thought about you." Miroku paused at her words, but continued walking.
"I realized...that you were right. I am really quite cautious on what to do when I'm around you..." she added. "But maybe...if I tried hard enough...I could change my mind about you." she looked at him with a small smile. He grinned back at her.
"You shouldn't have efforts to change your mind about me. It should just come naturally." he finally said.
"But that's the thing..." she said, hesitant if she should add more. "I think I already have." Miroku paused on the path and stared at the brown-eyed girl.
"How so?" he asked, out of pure curiosity. Sango stopped and stood a few steps in front of him.
"Maybe you're not such a hentai afterall..." she shrugged her shoulder and looked down at the dirt. "I mean, you are a hentai of course...but perhaps there's another side to you..." she took a few steps closer to him.
"Similar to yin and yang..." she began to speak again. "Though your lechery is the bad in you...I can't just refuse to look what's really you...the good." Miroku began taking a few steps closer to her. Before they knew it, the two were closer than they had ever been. Their faces were only inches apart.
"And suppose there is a good side to you...maybe it could change how I feel for you overall. What I want to get at is...Miroku, I'm sorr-" but her sentence was cut off as Miroku dropped the yellow backpack and brought his face closer to hers. His lips were gently pressed upon hers. Sango's eyes widened for the beginning seconds, but she chose not to object. Her eyes slowly shut, and she found herself kissing him back.
As their lips finally separated, the two looked at each other. Sango's face was covered by all of the shades of red. Her blushing failed to stop, but she chose to ignore it. Miroku's face, too, was blushing.
"I suppose it's my turn to be sorry..." he finally said as the two looked at each other in silence. Sango brought her hand up to her face and her finger tips lightly touched her lips. She looked at the houshi.
"W-wh-what?" she stuttered. Miroku gave a small sigh.
"What I did was not respecting you. And for that, I'm sorr-" this time Miroku's sentence was cut off as Sango walked closer to him, her soft lips on top of his. The two separted once again, and turned dark, dark, red.
(A/N: Woohoo, changed the color. Thanks, sparrow-chan!)
Miroku picked up the yellow backpack off of the dirt and hung it over his shoulder. He looked at Sango and smiled. She looked back at him and smiled in return. They resumed walking down the path and Kaede's village was already in sight.
Miroku slowly walked closer to the taijiya, but she did not choose to move farther. She merely kept her stance and waited to see what his next move would be. And without another moment to spare, Miroku's hand was intertwined with hers. Their warm, loving fingers interlaced together as they walked down the path.
Just as the village was as close to hear the sounds of the villagers, Sango stopped and let go of Miroku's hand. He stopped and turned to look at her. Sango walked closer to him, her eyes glistening by the rays of the sun.
"Houshi-sama..." she began. Miroku gulped as he looked at her.
"Yes?" he asked. Sango bit her lip with hesitation, but then remembered the two kisses that they had shared not too long ago. She looked up at Miroku, and smiled at his intent gaze.
"Would you..." she began nervously. "Would you like to go out for some coffee?"
Miroku smiled at her, a bit confused, but still smiled. He nodded his head as he looked at her. Sango smiled as she continued walking.
"Sango-chan.." he called out. She turned around. He walked closer to her and lightly grabbed her hand.
"Yes, Houshi-sama?" she questioned.
"What is this...coffee?"
(A/N: Well...that's it! I just fixed the several typos and the color of their faces. Haha. Sigh. I don't think many of my readers really liked this one-shot...oh well! Can't always get 'em the first time, right? This just shows how much practice I need. Bwaharhar. Anyhow, I'm wondering if I should keep this up here or not, so yeah.)