A/N: I'm actually going to try and write a short-ish story! All packaged in a nice long oneshot. Let's see if it works…oh yes, it's M/K. A little onesided at first, but still, M/K. Yeah! Thanks to Ms.Videl Son (love ya, Megami-mama!) and Siggy for beta reading and Crimson Demon for telling me to 'post it already!'
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Or more importantly, Miroku. Bah!
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Misdirection – by Chiisai-tori~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Pervert!" A ringing slap echoed through the trees.
"Kagome-sama, I must protest-"
"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" she muttered to nobody in particular.
"Well," Miroku began helpfully, "Inuyasha got skewered in that last fight, Sango is still recovering, and someone needed to stay back and look after them – which somehow turned out to be Shippo."
"Oh, that's right. On second thought, don't remind me!" Kagome scowled at the universe in general for conspiring against her. Of all the situations to find herself in-!
"You needn't worry, Kagome-sama. I know perfectly well why you are here," he soothed. "Inuyasha wanted someone to scout out the area, to find the village we're heading for – and you didn't trust me to go alone," he finished, a trifle put-out. She looked momentarily apologetic.
"It's not that I don't trust you, Miroku-sama, it's just that…well, I don't trust you!" she offered lamely.
Miroku looked up at some birds in a nearby tree. "Did that make any sense to you? No? Oh good, I'm not the only one."
"Oh, you-!" She punched him lightly in the arm. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that birds don't talk back?"
"No," he grinned at her, good temper restored.
"You are impossible," she huffed at him. The truth was, she was along to make sure that Miroku, sadly weak-willed pervert that he was, didn't get…unduly distracted in the village. Otherwise the scouting trip may well continue indefinitely – leaving them all stuck in the woods. Not a nice prospect, especially considering Inuyasha's unstable temper even at the best of times…
***
Miroku watched her inconspicuously as they walked, somewhat intrigued by the way she worried her bottom lip in her teeth when she was thinking about something…and every so often that pink little tongue would flick out to moisten her lips, leaving him a little dry-mouthed himself. 'How can Inuyasha just ignore her the way he does?' he demanded inwardly.
'I know I can't.'
That was why he hadn't objected all that strenuously when she had suggested that they travel together to the next village. He had had PLANS for that trip – plans involving geishas, sake and much fun – but he liked this idea more. He nearly fell flat on his face a few times as he walked, more intent on watching her tuck her hair behind her ear rather than watching the path. She was completely adorable.
'Does she have any idea-? There must be a way to turn this to my advantage…'
***
"Just over this ridge, and we should be able to see it!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly. Yes, it was just a small village, nothing special – but after a day of trees, trees and more trees (with the occasional squirrel…ooh, how thrilling), she had had enough.
Miroku, who had been rather enjoying watching Kagome clamber up the hillside in that ridiculous skirt of hers, felt a pang of regret. 'No more hills? Somebody ought to complain.'
Above him, Kagome had stopped and was staring, he assumed, at the village. "Erm, Miroku-sama?"
"Hm?"
"Who do you report missing villages to in the feudal era?" He blinked.
"Why?"
"I just wondered. Because, you know, villages don't simply disappear, *poof*, do they? But ours seems to have done just that, and I'm tired, I'm hungry, I want a bath, I want people - I want civilisation, damnit! Someone stole our village!"
Miroku hustled the rest of the way to the top of the rise and looked out. 'Hum. No village. Oh dear.'
"I can't live like this!" Kagome shrieked to the sky. Wincing, he grabbed the hysterical girl by the shoulders.
"Kagome-sama, you need to calm down! It's not missing, we just haven't got there yet! Really! Now please, before my ears burst – be quiet!" She sniffled piteously at him.
"We're lost."
"No." She frowned.
"Of course we are!" He smiled confidently.
"Let me handle this. Trust me…I never get lost!"
She obviously didn't believe him.
"No, really! Travelling monk, remember? I've been all over this land – could I have done that if I had a habit of getting lost?"
"Yes. You could have just wandered along until you happened to find a place to stop." She looked dubiously at him, and sighed. "Oh, it's not like I have a choice here! Come on, let's just go before some youkai decide they're hungry." Almost immediately he nodded and made a sharp turn to the right.
"Are you sure that's the way? It seems kind of…wrong." He didn't even look back.
"I'm sure. Going to stay there all day?" She threw her hands up in the air in defeat.
"Gah! That's it, next time I am not volunteering! He can have Shippo hang off his arm and look cute, count me out!" Still muttering, she trudged along behind the monk.
***
The pair continued heading deep into the forest until night fell. In Kagome's opinion, it fell with a 'thud'.
"So, where's this village you were supposed to find?" she asked fretfully. The monk rubbed his head and had to admit defeat.
"I guess – we just still haven't found it yet." He grinned at her. "Would you like to stop for the night?" She folded her arms and gave him a look that clearly said 'where?'
Indeed, there was nothing that could be called 'shelter' anywhere in sight. Just more of what they had seen all day – namely, trees. And squirrels.
"I suppose right here will have to do," he shrugged, apparently resigned to their fate. "At least we're used to it – Inuyasha's strange love of sleeping outdoors finally came in useful!" He looked around, eyeing the ground for a suitable 'spot'. Flat, reasonably dry....ah, right there. "Shall we light a fire?"
"If we're not going to freeze by the end of this, we'd better!" she grumped at him, dumping her bag to the ground. He inwardly marvelled at the speed with which she set up camp, producing matches, paper, that weird little portable cooking thing – he never could remember what she called it! - and above all, the ubiquitous ramen. "Sorry," she apologised sheepishly, "no other food left." He kept his face agreeable, but his stomach silently protested against the lack of real food.
"Kagome-sama," he asked, suddenly noticing something missing, "where is your sleeping bag?" She pushed her bangs out of her eyes, annoyed.
"Well, I wasn't expecting to sleep outside, was I?" the girl grumbled. "We were supposed to be in a village, and you would do your 'ominous black cloud' routine, and we would be indoors! And it's just so heavy, so – I left it." When he started laughing, she threw a pack of ramen at him. To her annoyance, he caught it easily.
"Hm, I wonder how cold it's going to be tonight?" he wondered through his chuckling. Kagome paled. No sleeping bag, no blanket even, a cold night, and....Miroku. Who was obviously not on his best behaviour today.
This was going to be a long night.
***
Kagome couldn't sleep. She glared balefully over at a peacefully slumbering Miroku, comfortably wrapped up in those robes of his. His head was pillowed on his arm, his mouth slightly open as he slept. He was the picture of relaxation.
Meanwhile – she was freezing!
Not for the first time, she cursed her decision to wear her school uniform on her trips to the feudal era. Really, how hard would it be to slip into a pair of jeans, shirt and sweater?
She inched closer to the fire, trying to glean some warmth from the flames. To her dismay, the fire started flickering weakly. 'No! It's going out!' she thought frantically. 'Wood...need more wood...' As silently as she could, she reached over to add another log to the small blaze. She tried – she really did – but her grip slipped, and the log fell with a clunk back onto the pile. She heard Miroku stirring in the gloom.
"Kagome-sama? What *yawn* are you doing?"
"Nothing, go back to sleep," she whispered. He ignored the command, sitting up fully.
"Are you cold?"
Kagome swore her lips were turning blue. "N-no..."
"Liar," he chided her fondly. "I can hear your teeth chattering from over here!" She winced.
Damn. Busted.
"Come here." Huh? Oh, no way, monk...
His face set in a stern expression, he got to his feet and walked over to her, practically radiating warmth in the night air. "I said, come here." She lifted her chin stubbornly.
"No." He sighed in exasperation and took matters into his own hands. Rather, into his own arms.
"Miroku! What do you think you're doing-?"
"Hush, Kagome, just relax. It won't do you any good to go back to Inuyasha as an icicle."
Kagome felt herself automatically snuggling into the warmth he offered and closed her eyes in resignation. "Hands to yourself, Miroku," she warned sleepily. He looked down at the girl safely ensconced in his arms and smiled softly.
"Of course, Kagome. But first, we'd better sit down, don't you think?" She blinked up at him, her vision going fuzzy. Gods, she was tired!
"Uhm? Oh, okay. Sit down, yeah. Good *yawn* idea." There was a bit of shuffling while the two of them settled down against a tree, and then it was quiet. Miroku just watched as Kagome finally drifted off to sleep in his lap. Once he was sure that she wasn't going to wake up again any time soon, he allowed himself to relax.
This was a perfect groping opportunity, but to his amazement the idea didn't really appeal to him. For some insane reason, she appeared to trust him to a certain extent – and he found that he liked it. Very much. He closed his eyes, feeling her head resting gently on his shoulder. Her soft breathing calmed him in turn, with her heartbeat thrumming against his own chest. He smiled, twisting to look down at the treasure in his hold. Her bangs fell over her eyes, eyelashes resting softly against her cheek. She was beautiful.
But tomorrow he would have to let her go again. They would either find the village or return to the others, and she would be preoccupied with other things. He would be forgotten – Inuyasha would take up all of her attention. 'Inuyasha...'
He scowled, pushing the unwelcome thought to the back of his mind. Time enough to think about that later. He lifted one hand up to stroke her black hair, admiring the silky feel. She was so small, so warm (now), so delicate yet so strong...perfect. Greatly daring, he leaned down to press a chaste kiss to her brow. She would never know he had done it, but he would know. And the memory would sustain him once things got back to 'normal'.
At his touch she mumbled something, and Miroku found his attention caught by the sight of her lips moving oh-so-close to his. He gulped. He was only human – his self control could stretch only so far before it snapped...oh, forget it.
He bent down and ever so softly touched his lips to hers. It was barely even a kiss – only just touching – but it set his spine tingling just the same. He was lost...he wanted more...
How could he just let her go back to Inuyasha after this?
He shifted back hurriedly as Kagome stirred, schooling his face into a calm mask. To his relief (relief?) she didn't wake. 'That was close.'
He held her close for the rest of the night, eventually falling asleep himself.
***
Kagome was warm. She was sleepy. She didn't want to get up. But...she could feel her body shifting into 'awake' mode. Rats! She wanted to sleep, damnit....
A rumble against her ear startled her. "Mm, good morning." She looked up in shock to find amused violet eyes smiling down at her. "Sleep well?"
"Ack!" she yelped, scrambling to her feet in a hurry. In her haste she missed the disappointed look that flashed across Miroku's face. "I – you – we – nothing happened!" He sighed.
"Of course not, Kagome." She looked at him, not expecting the weariness that shone in his eyes. "I promised that nothing would."
"Er, well, yes. I know," she said, abashed. 'Really, girl, how rude can you be?' she asked herself. "Um...thank you." He beamed at her, smooth manner firmly back in place.
"My pleasure, Kagome." He wagged his eyebrows at her. She frowned...then giggled.
"You know, I hope you never change, Miroku. Life would just be too boring otherwise!" she declared, moving to pack her things away. Miroku blinked. 'Did she really say that?' He smiled.
'Maybe there is a chance....'
***
It was nearly midday when the sound of raised voices floated through the forest towards them. "Oh – we found the village!" Kagome guessed happily. Miroku paused, grimacing.
"No, I don't think so. Listen." She did.
"Stupid monk, taking days when it should have taken hours! Give him one simple thing to do-"
"Inuyasha, I'm sure there's an explanation-"
"Feh! I don't care!"
"What?" Kagome said disbelievingly. "All that way..." She turned to him. "'Trust me, I never get lost', hmm?" she asked the monk sarcastically. He grinned weakly at her.
"Well, we're not lost! We found the others, didn't we?" She huffed at him indignantly.
"Just like a man, to never ask for directions!" Miroku smiled, a slow, wicked smile that stopped her in her tracks.
"Ah, but it was true. I never get lost. I knew where we were the whole time." She frowned, letting the significance of that statement sink in. Her eyes widened.
"You WHAT?"
"Kagome-chan?" Sango's startled voice rang out. Miroku sighed. They had been found. She leaned into him quickly, eyes flashing.
"I won't forget this, Miroku. You can count on that." She grinned mirthlessly at him. "Watch your back, monk." He grinned right back at her.
"Oh, I won't forget it, Kagome. Indeed, as soon as you tell Inuyasha, I imagine that I'll have permanent reminders of it. His claws are sharp, you know." To his confusion she blushed, hesitating slightly.
"Who said I was going to tell Inuyasha?" Before he had a chance to respond, the rest of the group was upon them.
"Kagomeee!" Shippo yelled happily. "You're back! How was the village?"
"Er, fine," she stammered, glancing over at a stunned Miroku. "It was fine."
"Keh!" Inuyasha snorted irritably. "How come it took so long?" She thought frantically.
"Well, the villagers were very nice, they offered us...um, breakfast, and we didn't want to say no, so..."
"It would have been impolite to refuse hospitality," Miroku broke in smoothly. "They'll be more likely to help us in our search if we are courteous." Inuyasha scowled.
"Whatever. Get moving, the shards won't wait around forever..." He stalked off, Kagome falling in behind him. Miroku followed, lost in thought.
'She lied. She lied to Inuyasha. That's it...the world is ending.' He stopped walking suddenly. 'Why did she do it?'
"Miroku?" Kagome called. "Are you coming?" Sango stared at her.
"Since when do you call him that?" she asked incredulously. Kagome gave her a blank look. "You've always called him Miroku-sama," Sango reminded her. Kagome blinked, slightly taken aback.
'I stopped calling him that – when he hugged me last night,' she thought, cheeks flushing brightly. Miroku couldn't help but notice.
"Something wrong?" he murmured quietly as he came up beside her.
"No," she replied. Then she poked him with one finger. "You got us lost on purpose?" He rubbed his arm ruefully.
"It's not my fault you can't count, Kagome." She choked.
"What?"
"It wasn't 'just one more ridge' – it was two," he admitted, bracing himself for the blow that he just knew was coming.
Any minute now...
Huh. Nothing.
She was looking at him strangely, her eyes glinting with something he couldn't quite define. "We were that close?"
"Yes."
"And you knew it?"
"Yes." To his shock, she was smiling a tad shyly at him.
"You know, I should be flaming mad at you. But somehow – I just can't quite manage it." She turned to go, glancing back at him. "After all...you did behave." She walked ahead to join Sango and Shippo where they were walking, Sango immediately bombarding the girl with questions.
'I did behave...? Oh, Kagome. If you only knew,' he thought, shaking his head. Then he smiled. She wasn't angry at him. Well, not too much anyway. And the sun seemed to shine just that little bit brighter than before.
It was a very good day.
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Well, that's it. My first M/K. Like, hate? Let me know!