Hello and welcome to my first fanfic posting! Well my first since, back in the day (10 years ago) I used to write Star Trek (!) ones.
I am using fan fiction to exercise my creative muscle, since my day job has ingrained Business English into my brain and I need to practise not having stories coming out reading like business letters! I do write professionally part time so it goes without saying that I warmly welcome constructive criticism. The more critical the better, but please remember the operative word-constructive!
Please enjoy my story. This one is a short little thing I wrote as an experiment to see what would happen if there were no love triangles and everybody, even Kikyo, got to end up with somebody. The main pairing is Kagome and Miroku. I don't hate any of the characters so you won't find any bashing here I'm afraid! This will probably span two chapters, but once I get writing I can't stop, so you never know!
Nobody will be getting up to any funny business in this story! There will be some rather sappy kissing but that's as far as it goes!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters appearing in this story. I don't make any profit whatsoever from this story or the characters appearing therein.
Kagome turned over in her futon, to face the window. The events of recent days played over and over in her head, refusing to let her go to sleep. As she stared at the glint of the moonlight shining through the window, the questions raced through her mind.
Where were Inuyasha and Kikyo right now? What was he saying to her? Were they perhaps…kissing? She knew she had given her blessing. She knew it was the right thing-they belonged together, really. After the way their love was tragically cut short, who was she to stand in the way of them giving it another go? But knowing these things didn't make the loss sting any less. Plus her self esteem had taken a beating: she couldn't help but think that Inuyasha had chosen Kikyo because Kikyo was more pure, kinder, more beautiful, more perfect. And naively, Kagome thought that when she "selflessly" told Inuyasha to be with Kikyo, he would see how pure and kind she was, and pledge his love to her. It hadn't quite worked that way.
Kagome sighed and watched as her breath floated out in a cloud, in the icy winter air. She exhaled again, just to see the sparkle of moonlight on her breath.
Then her thoughts turned to Miroku, and what he might be thinking right now. After all, he'd received some similarly unpleasant news involving Sango recently. She turned her gaze to where he sat, sleeping upright as usual, propped up against the wall.
Kagome was desperate for someone to talk to. She could wake Miroku, he never minded things like that. Not like Inuyasha, who hurled derisive epithets at anyone who dared to disturb him. Now, what excuse could she use…? Crawling on her hands and knees, she padded feline-like over to Miroku, dragging a blanket along the floor behind her. She tapped him lightly on his arm, he responded by opening one eye lazily.
"Can't sleep?" he whispered with a warm smile.
"I brought you a blanket to keep warm"
"You keep it. I'm sure you need it more than I do."
"It's the dead of winter" Kagome persisted. "You should keep warm, or you'll catch a cold."
"I can assure you I will not."
Kagome gritted her teeth, frustration building. How was she supposed to start a conversation, if he kept rejecting her conversation-starter?
"You have to look after yourself," she scolded. "You're only human, just like everybody else."
"I may be human, dear Kagome, but I cannot be put into the same category of ordinary humans like everyone else."
"Ugh," said Kagome, her voice and temper beginning to rise. "It's annoying when Inuyasha says things like that, and it's twice as annoying when you do."
Miroku chuckled in slight amusement "Whyever should I be twice as annoying as he?"
Kagome clenched her fists. "Because he has an excuse, with the whole half demon thing, but what do you have against being human? What is so wrong with being human? If you guys hate being human so much, do you hate me because I'm human? Because I'm weak?"
Miroku sensed the deeper meaning behind her words. He reached out and stroked her hair. Kagome was momentarily taken aback at his hand being so far north of where it usually tried to stroke.
"He didn't hate you", he whispered. "In another time, under different circumstances, I'm sure you two would have had a very happy life together." He drew his arms closer to his body. "You know," he said with a friendly smile, sensing this would make her happy. "It is quite chilly tonight, now that you mention it. Maybe I could use that blanket after all."
As Kagome placed the blanket over his shoulders, she noticed that he suddenly tensed at her touch. He turned his head away and avoided her gaze as he said almost inaudibly: "I like how you are. I don't think you're weak."
Kagome blushed despite herself. Miroku noticed, and laughed. "It's true," he insisted. "I admire your 'never say die' attitude. You never run away. You always stay determined. You may not be the most powerful one among us, but you are always ready to stand up for your friends. And I like…how sometimes you need to be protected."
"I always thought I was a burden!"
"Impossible!" He took a sharp breath, as if preparing himself for something. "Say, Kagome, would you like to share this blanket with me? There's no reason why we can't both be warm?"
If she had been wearing her skirt, Kagome would have declined. There was no way she would willingly put herself in the line of fire of those hands. But as she was wearing flannel pyjamas at that moment that covered almost every inch of her body, she reckoned it might just be safe. Besides, he seemed to be in too solemn a mood right now to try any funny business. When she looked up, she saw that Miroku was squeezing his eyes shut, obviously preparing for a slap. Kagome held her hand to her mouth to cover a smile. When she climbed into his lap, there was a look of genuine surprise on his face.
As Kagome settled into Miroku's lap, he wrapped his arms protectively around her. His long sleeves covered her slight frame, offering that much extra protection against the cold night air. She could feel his warm breath in her hair.
After what seemed like an eternity, Miroku spoke quietly. "Sometimes I was jealous of Inuyasha."
"What?"
"It's nice to have a woman who needs you sometimes. He got to protect you. I wanted someone to need me, like you needed him."
Kagome wondered if he was trying to turn the conversation to his recent problem with Sango. "Umm, Miroku," she ventured. "Are you upset about Sango?"
"Not in the least bit," he sighed, turning his gaze to the window. "It's fate that we crossed paths to the young man to whom she was betrothed as a child. And I think that it's noble that she wishes to honour her father's memory by keeping that promise which he made to that young man's family."
"I don't think she loves him."
"That only makes it all the more noble."
"But she is going to marry him! Don't you feel sad?"
"Naturally. But me feelings aren't going to influence events, so holding on to them is only going to hurt myself. It's best in these situation to let go and let things happen as they may."
Kagome looked up in surprise. "Do you really think like that?"
"Of course I do! It's part of my faith. Do you think that I just decided to dress up as a monk one day for fun?"
Kagome didn't want to say out loud that sometimes, yes, she did wonder that very thing.
Miroku sighed. "I really wanted her to need me, and she didn't."
Kagome closed her eyes. For the first time since five days ago when she uttered those fateful words "You belong with Kikyo" she was falling asleep.
"Would you like to go back to your bed and lie down?" Miroku whispered.
Kagome shook her head. "I want to stay here with you. Don't let go of me. Right now…I think I need you. Is that okay?"
She twisted around in his arms until she faced him, her brown eyes searching his, almost pleading for a favourable response. Tentatively, Miroku bent his head forward slightly and when this wasn't met with a slap, he moved forward a little more, then a little more. She…wasn't pulling away! She wasn't slapping him or calling him names or anything! In fact, she seemed to melt towards him, with her eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable.
Their lips met in a lingering kiss.
As Miroku looked into Kagome's eyes, he could only think to say one thing. "I'll protect you forever," he promised. Then he saw the tear running down Kagome's cheek.
"Oh, Kagome," he joked "Surely my kisses are not that bad!"
"This isn't right," she sobbed. "This isn't right."
Stay tuned for chapter 2, coming soon!