Kagome quietly made her way to the front door not even daring to look into the living room less her brother spot her. She'd been staying at his place for a while upon his request but she needed to get out. His condo, although beautiful and spacious was very stifling. This was probably because Aku hadn't let her out his sight for more than a couple of hours for when he left to go to work. Honestly, Kagome loves her brother but he could be a little overbearing sometimes.

"Would you like some tea, little mouse?" she blanched at the nickname. "I made it myself. It's chamomile."

"Don't call me that!" She let her footsteps fall normally since she'd already been found out. "You made it yourself? That's gross Aku, everything you make tastes like poison."

Naraku watched his sister fumble with her shoes and sipped at his purple chamomile. "It's an acquired taste." He smirked into his cup.

Kagome tossed her hair out of her face and looked up at her brother from where she was crouched. She saw his teeth stained slightly with a dark hue. "Aku, seriously!? You actually put poison in there?" She sighed dramatically and stood. "Don't you ever consume anything without toxins? Mama would flip her shit if she knew you were still doing this." She slipped on her coat and buttoned up the jacket muttering about how unbelievable her brother was.

"She knows."

"What?!"

"Stay away from that fire rat Kagome; I would hate to be arrested for giving him rat poison." He hovered ominously and she could see the miasma hovering just above his skin.

"Aku, I'm not going to see him. I'm just going to go thank Miroku, maybe have a couple of drinks and then head home." She placed a hand on his arm and hardly even felt as the miasma drifted harmlessly over it.

His red eyes simmered a bit as if he was contemplating going with her just in case before the red faded into a softer maroon. "The bartender… right. Go have fun; I'll stop by your house sometime tomorrow, just to make sure you haven't drowned yourself in tequila." He flicked his sister in the forehead and went back into the living room to enjoy his toxic tea.

She rubbed at the where she was sure there would be mark and yelled her goodbyes to her brother before leaving.

Miroku was tired. He was so very tired. Last night had been ridiculously busy at the bar, students flooded the place. There was so much cleanup that had to be done he has stayed back an extra hour. Then he got home and studied before passing out a couple hours before he had to get up and take his final exam then he went to work right after that. He really should've taken the day off.

He felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. His chest filled with warmth and he smiled to himself knowing exactly who it was that was texting him. Ah, now he knows why he didn't take a day off. If he did right after his midterm he would've went home and slept for the rest of the day. But if he went to work, it would keep him awake until Sango came to see him. Then they could spend some much needed time together.

It had been weeks since they'd even heard each other's voices with the exception of the occasional voicemail. It had been even longer since they'd seen each other. They were both very busy people. Sango was always at school or working or taking care of her brother and Miroku was always at school, at the hospital, at the bar or at home sleeping. They hardly had any time for each other but they were willing to make it work.

He looked at the time on the register and felt his cheeks heat up. Only 10 minutes left until his shift ended, Sango should be here any moment.

He continued working for about a minute more when the door opened; he looked up to see if maybe it was Sango. His incoming smile stuttered to a stop and promptly fell off his face.

"Oh no."

It was that girl. The demon's sister, Kame…Kagame… something or other. Whatever her name was she better wait until after his shift to get drinks because she's what caused his meeting with Sango to be delayed last time he does not need that again. He looked down and busied himself with wiping down the bar.

"Hey, Miroku, right?" Shit. He looked up to see her bright smile; it only slightly diminished his wariness. He nodded and gave her a small smile. She sat down right in front of him and asked for water. He gave her a drink and watched her sip it.

"Hey so, I'm really sorry about last week. I'm sure you have to deal with those kinds of scenarios all the time but I really… I did not think that…" she ruffled her bangs. "I had a rough day. Did not at all mean to get so drunk and inconvenience you like that. I'm sorry."

Miroku leaned back and nodded again. She didn't seem so bad. "Kagame right?"

She laughed a bit, and it was nice. He seems to have misjudged her. "Kagome."

"Ah, yes. Kagome, it's really no problem. "

Kagome looked down into her water and sighed in relief. "That's good, when do you get off work?"

Miroku looked at the time on the register briefly. "5 minutes." Oh, no. He honestly hoped she didn't mean to take him out or anything.

She pushed her water back to him, "Well, Miroku let me treat you to a couple of drinks." She must've seen his face because she laughed again. "Don't worry, not like, as a date or anything. Just as an apology and a final thank you for helping me out."

He visibly relaxed. "Thank you Kagome, but I'll have to politely decline. I have plans tonight."

Kagome made a sound and grinned. "Is it perhaps your girlfriend?"

Miroku chuckled. This Kagome girl was actually a pretty nice person, they talked for the rest of his shift and he found she was rather pleasant to be around. Not at all the bumbling mess she had been when they'd first met. He was laughing at a joke she had told, tears forming at his eyes as she was patting his back when the worst had happened.

The absolute worst.

"Miroku, who's your friend?"

His heart soared at the voice until his eyes found the face from which it had come. Sango; his girlfriend of 3 years was livid. She had a look on her face that he hadn't seen in a very long time.

"Sango! This…this, is Kagome."

Kagome looked between the both of them and realized the relationship between the two. "Oh, I'm just here to thank Miroku for his help last week. I was a total mess but he helped me out." Sango looked to her with an unreadable expression on her face. Kagome swallowed and continued. "You have a really great boyfriend over here…"

Miroku winced. This was not going to end well.

Aha... this chapter was just waiting for me and I completely forgot about it. Next one won't take two and a half months. I promise. :) Sesshoumaru is coming soon...