This was written for the Live Journal Community 30Wounds. I have never tried my hand at One-shots so I thought I would give this a go and use it to improve my writing skills. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot...sigh
Theme: #01 'It's just a flesh wound'
A crisp fall day finds the shard hunters back in Kaede's village after a pretty rough battle with a group of horned swamp demons. The demons caught the group by surprise when while they were camped outside a deserted village a few miles west of their current location. Shortly after night fell the group found themselves face to face with the reason why the village had been abandoned.
The horned demons proved to be a greater challenge than the group initially thought.
Now our favorite Hanyou was impatiently waiting for his wounded companion to emerge from the priestess' hut. As he glanced at the door for the seventeenth time in the last minute the fight that brought them here played over in his mind.
Inuyasha was just about to deliver the killing blow to–what appeared to be–the last of the horned demons, when another one shot out of the swamp with his weapon trained on Inuyasha. Before the Dog Demon could even react to the sound behind him Miroku had moved to intervene.
Inuyasha turned around just as the creature swung its axe with the obvious intention of taking off Mirokus' head. Miroku evaded the bulk of the attack but the demons weapon grazed his neck before he managed to subdue it with a couple of ofuda.
All was well until the scent of the Houshi's blood reached Inuyasha's nose. When the half demon saw the blood running down the Monk's neck he scooped him up bridal style, shouted to the girls to follow him on Kilala and he raced off to Kaede's village.
The sound of the door sliding open brought the Hanyou out of his reverie and he walked up to the elderly priestess as she stepped out of her hut.
"Calm down Inuyasha, Miroku's fine, it's just a flesh wound."
Quiet giggling and a mummer of, "I told ya so" sounded from where Shippou and Kagome were taking inventory of the supplies in Kagomes backpack. Sango was quiet but looked at the flustered half-demon with questioning eyes.
"I tried to tell him as much on the way here but he wouldn't listen." stated Miroku, as he walked out of the hut to stand beside the priestess.
"Feh, next time I'll save my concern and leave ya to bleed out." Inuyasha huffed right before he disappeared into the forest.
They all stood there blinking at the empty spot once occupied by the Hanyou. Shippou was the first to break the awkward silence. "What's his problem today?"
The kit's question was met with shaking heads and shrugged shoulders. Sango looked from the direction Inuyasha had left, over to the confused face of Miroku quite a few times before she made her decision. "Houshi-sama, would you help me take some supplies to the temple?"
"Sure thing Sango, just lead the way."
Sango used their slow walk to the shrine to gather her thoughts. Both girls knew things had changed between the two men in the group and Kagome was convinced that the two had finally become friends. Sango was not denying the change at all; but what she saw developing between the two went a bit deeper than friendship. She wasn't sure at first if her instincts were telling her correctly but Inuyasha's recent actions led her to believe she was not mistaken.
With and audible sigh she sat her basket down on the temple floor and turned to face the still confused looking Monk. He was putting some of the supplies away and as he did so he kept blowing a few wayward strands of hair out of his face. The Demon Slayer watched as her friend pulled his hair free of its tie and redid it, only to have the same problem as before. He tried to neatly pull his hair back several times before he finally gave into frustration, yanked the tie out and stuffed it in his robe. She knew his hair was not the true source of his irritation and chose this moment to speak. "You need to talk to him Miroku."
"Excuse me?" he replied.
"I am not trying to meddle in your personal affairs Houshi-sama but it has become obvious to me that things have changed between you and our Hanyou friend. Am I right?"
He looked down at the empty basket at his feet and slowly nodded his head yes. He looked so lost Sango's heart went out to him. "I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner Sango. It's just that I'm not sure… I mean we haven't decided to… I have no idea what's really going on."
"I figured as much." she said as she offered the young monk a comforting smile, "Don't worry about me or any of us for that matter, right now you and Inu-san need to figure out where you stand with each other. Until that is done there is nothing to tell."
He returned her smile, thanked her for her kind words and left the temple in search of Inuyasha.
--
"Crazy Monk." mumbled the irritable half-demon as he sat in his favorite tree and watched the setting sun. He could have gotten himself killed trying to play the hero, Inuyasha mused, as he once again saw the demons axe swing out toward Miroku. The image was enough to send chills down his spine.
Tired of dwelling on today's events he was considering returning to the village when he scented Miroku's approach. Shortly thereafter the Hoshi appeared at the base of the tree and whispered Inuyasha's name.
After receiving no reply, Miroku started to leave and search elsewhere when the half-demon dropped down soundlessly beside him. The pair stood there quietly staring at each other for a while before Miroku wrapped his arms around the red-clad figure, pressed his face into his shoulder and said, "I didn't mean to seem unappreciative of your concern today Inuyasha."
The Dog-demon said nothing as he stood frozen in the dark haired mans embrace. Just when the Monk was beginning to think he had overstepped a line, he felt strong arms encircle him and the others cheek rest on the top of his head. Relieved, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and relaxed. They stayed this way as the sun continued to slip beneath the horizon. Miroku was beyond content. He had no desire to do anything that would ruin the moment, but he knew he had to broach the subject.
Cautiously, he asked one of the many questions floating through his mind.
"Inuyasha, why did you panic like that today? My injury was really nothing serious."
The silver haired demon tensed at the question as all of the things he had been thinking of earlier came rushing back to the forefront of his mind. How could he express what he was thinking and feeling without sounding like a blubbering idiot? How could he let Miroku know that the moment he saw that axe swing his heart jumped into his throat and everything else in the world ceased to matter; Naraku, the jewel, nothing–absolutely nothing–mattered but him in that moment.
Inuyasha knew that something had changed between him and Miroku. He really started noticing it a couple of months ago after their encounter with the moth demon Gatenmaru. He let out a small sigh as he ran a clawed hand through the Monks unbound hair and said, "I never want anything to happen to you, and in my world that axe came too close for comfort."
Miroku couldn't help but smile against Inuyasha's shoulder as he tightened his grip on the Hanyou. "I feel the same when it comes to you my friend."
"At this point I think we're more than friends, Miroku." Inuyasha replied.
Mirokus' smile broadened as he whispered, "I like that thought."
A/N
...with the moth demon Gatenmaru. - Episode 52 right before Inuyashas' transformation into a full-demon