A/N: TADA! AN UPDATE! This chapter has been in the works for a LOOOONG time, and it's almost at 7k words, which I had considered splitting but, I think the chapter works way better at this length and I'm sure you all love this way better. So I hope you enjoy this one! Thanks for all the reads and comments 3 ^_^ I'm currently writing chapter 11, so let's hope I can get it to a considerable length (and speed, lol) as well!
Also, shoutout to our man Miroku for making some magic happen in this chapter. LOL
Guest: Thanks so much for reading! Haha I'd love to, I'm just unsure of what kind of fic I should try next! Hopefully I get some ideas! (But not too soon, or else I'll have to much to juggle of course, LOL)
Chapter 10
Wishes granted
Track season was over. Well, track season had been over just over two months ago, to which Kouga was very well aware of. There was no room for rest when it came to college athletes—meaning, morning workout routines were still in session. Not that Kouga was necessarily complaining, but the very idea of waking up at 10 o clock was starting to seem like a crazy pipe dream for him at this was rising at 6 in the morning, and at the very latest; 6:30. It was seven in the morning, and Kouga had 30 minutes to spare before he planned to head down to the gym. Of course he knew full and well that there was no coach to berate and embarrass him in front of the team if he ended up arriving late—or even deciding not to come at all—but for some reason, the thought of his catty teammates cackling and whispering among themselves at the sight of Kouga's tardiness was even more traumatizing than his coach, period.
Not too long afterwards, Kouga stormed out of bathroom and scoped the room for his gym bag. He frantically zipped open all the pockets, checking to make sure he had everything with him, including his wallet and his water bottle, since he decided he'd stop for lunch after his work out. Despite being completely absorbed in checking the contents of his bag, he did pause after noticing Inuyasha slip into the bathroom right behind him. He hadn't realized the guy was already awake and ready for the day. Inuyasha never struck him as an early riser, considering he was always sleeping in late, but Kouga tried not to think much of it. He might have had a morning class for all he knew. Either way, Kouga knew trying to analyze Inuyasha was pointless, and he had to leave soon or else he wouldn't make it for 7:30. He slung his bag over his shoulder, ready to head out, when he heard the bathroom door creak open. Kouga's eyes bulged. Inuyasha was pacing towards him with a sour expression plastered on his face, and he...didn't have a shirt on. He was also holding a sock in his right hand, but that's not what Kouga was focusing on.
"Okay, just what kind of filthy animal leaves their socks everywhere? You wanna know why you can't ever find your socks anymore, Kouga?" Inuyasha raised the pair of white gym socks and waved it around. "Because they're hiding in between the clean towels in the shelf. How!? How do dirty socks get stuck in folded towels?!" Inuyasha huffed and finally dropped the pair of socks.
"Oh...those would be mine..." Kouga lightly chuckled, trying on a joking attitude while attempting to conceal his complete embarrassment. His clothes hamper was being held hostage at his brother's dorm, and he was positive that he wasn't getting it back at this point. He couldn't find the receipt for it and thus, couldn't prove he actually bought it. Inuyasha's hamper, on the other hand, was off limits. Inuyasha didn't believe in mixing dirty laundry despite the fact that they were all going to the same place anyway. Yes, Kouga loved being treated like a contagious leper.
After staring at his socks for a good while and deciding against stuffing them in his gym bag, Kouga quickly threw them up on his bunk bed. When he turned to Inuyasha, he was met with a look of complete confusion and shock. Inuyasha shook his head.
"Wow, I've never seen anyone more efficient than you." His roommate deadpanned.
"Glad you think so." Kouga grinned, then turned back to his belongings on the floor.
"You do realize that wasn't a compliment, right?"
Kouga's hands stopped. He lifted his position slightly, turning to face Inuyasha again. He raised an eyebrow at his moody roommate. "You do realize that you've spoken to me more in these past five minutes than you have all week?"
Inuyasha didn't blink. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"It's not an insult, Inuyasha, it's just a simple observation."
"Meaning?" Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow, edging on defense mode.
Kouga faltered. He scratched his neck, feeling somewhat nervous, then continued in a neutral tone. "Meaning you seem in...well, you seem like you're in good spirits."
Inuyasha blinked, completely taken a back by Kouga's statement. He looked neither pleased nor angry, but, if Kouga had to guess, he was probably leaning towards the "incurably pissy" direction.
"What?"
Kouga mulled over his words before leaping into anything else, trying to discern if his thoughts sounded insulting. He huffed, then opened his mouth again, faster than he really should of. He was completely tripping over his words before his real statement began.
"I uh, I just meant in a general sense. You know, uh, being lively...doing things...wearing better clothes—"
Inuyasha immediately looked down at his pants, which were just jeans, and then at his bare chest. He glanced back, giving Kouga a raised eyebrow. Kouga tried to cut in, murmuring "I don't mean—" But Inuyasha quickly spoke up over him anyway.
"As opposed to what?!"
"As opposed to the same damn hoodie and sweatpants, okay! Like, look!" Kouga gestured over to his jeans. "Jeans! Finally! It's like, look out world, Inuyasha's discovering a sense of casual fashion! But let's just hope to god he doesn't throw on that same damn red hoodie or we're all fucked!"
Inuyasha clenched his teeth. The sock that he was holding was completely balled up in his fist. "Son of a fucking bitch. Are you here just to make fun of me? Because if you are, I swear to God—"
Kouga deflated. He had to just out and say it. Say it or they'd both get into another fight, and they'd be right back to square one. Back to hating each other's guts.
"I mean you look happier." He rubbed the back of his neck. He built up the courage to look Inuyasha back in the eyes again, and he looked completely floored. He didn't know how to respond. "That's what I meant. I'm just glad to see that you seem...happy. That's all."
Motionlessly, the two of them stood in the middle of their dorm room. Inuyasha's eyes glinted with a tinge of hostility. He crossed his arms and kept his body completely still as he spoke, attempting to keep his cool composure.
"Didn't realize you cared." His roommate seethed.
Kouga's mouth hung agape for a moment, completely taken aback by his piercing statement. His hand hoovered over the doorknob. He could feel sweat forming on his back. He had to say something now, because he could feel Inuyasha's eyes drilling into him from behind. He knew Kouga heard him...and now, obviously, he had to give the guy an answer. Kouga swallowed, then cracked the door open. His movements slowed, becoming a perfect frozen statue while floating in between the door frame.
"I didn't realize I did, either. But I do."
Was all Kouga managed before finally sliding out of their dorm room and shutting the door closed behind him. He trudged down the hallway with his gym bag, thinking of anything else but his morning practice. Instead, he was thinking about the look on Inyasha's face before he left. The look Inuyasha gave when he realized that Kouga really did care about him. And Kouga couldn't help but wonder if Inuyasha was feeling the same way too.
Right now, an iron wall was being demolished in Kouga's life. It wasn't exactly that he was so distraught at the fact that he wasn't straight, because Kouga didn't exactly obsess over the idea of heterosexuality, or any sexuality, for that matter. He remembered fancying girls in his life, with Kagome as the most recent—but in an unfortunate way, he grew up thinking that's what he was supposed to do. To make matters worse, Kouga didn't exactly grow up as a social butterfly or anything. He was ostracized all throughout school, and only flourished when he finally met Ginta and Hakkaku. After that, there were more important things to obsess over other than relationships, like the fact he'd been thrusted into adulthood at the tender age of sixteen. It wasn't until his college years that he finally had the time to indulge in the idea of companionship. And only until recently, he realized that there were couples of the same sex thriving together—couples like Jakotsu and Bankotsu. It was an embarrassing to admit to himself that he'd never thought very much about the same sex, purely because he'd never had the chance to get close with anyone at all. But now that the tides were changing...well, there wasn't much he could do now that everything was all set and done. He had legitimate feelings for Inuyasha Taisho.
However, Kouga was a lone wolf, and sometimes, it felt like he was eternally destined to stay with himself and his pack. Just like it'd been with Kagome, he wasn't sure if these feelings he held towards Inuyasha were meant to blossom into anything concrete. He doubted the romantic feelings were mutual—Inuyasha and him could barely be considered friends. Yet, Kouga couldn't help but wonder...at the very least, could friendship between them be a possibility?
Kouga arrived at the gym a little earlier than he anticipated. He slid into the locker room and noticed a few of his fellow teammates already getting changed. As to be expected, they immediately noticed him, and Kouga had no choice but to return eye contact. He gave the fellow athletes a solid head nod and a quick "Yo", then returned to his side of the bench. The men returned to their activities and occasional chatting, to which Kouga was was always unable to absorb. As much as he enjoyed the general idea of competitive athletics, when it came to the teammates, he just couldn't connect. Sure, he was generally cordial and respectful, but the guys all came from different walks of life and already claimed their own inner cliques. It was an alienating concept now that he'd thought about it, but usually, Kouga was hardly bothered by things like this. But now, sitting on the small bench and leaning over to pull on his shorts, hearing those dull conversations and laughs echo off the locker's walls, he felt so disoriented. He wanted to leave. He felt sick.
RING RING RING...RING RING RING...
It took Kouga a good moment to finally realize the noise was coming from his own phone. Since when had he had he taken his phone off vibrate? He hadn't heard his ringtone in what felt like months. Kouga was no longer wearing his jeans, so he prodded the fabric, scavenging for his phone that was hidden away in some pocket, somewhere in there. He squinted at the unknown number on the screen. Nobody ever called him, really, aside from his brothers—but he felt like those didn't really count as phone calls. This was a true phone call. Quickly, Kouga shut his locker with his belongings and scurried out of the walkaway and into a more secluded area. It was hard, though, considering that there were guys changing all around. He hid himself in a secluded corner and answered the phone.
"This is Kouga." He said matter-of-factly, hoping to sound as cool as possible. There was a brief silence on the end, but he could tell someone was there. There was a slight hitch of a breath, or at least, something that sounded like wind.
"Kouga. It's Inuyasha." His roommate stated on the other end of the receiver, and Kouga had no time to process anything at all. Completely in shock and still idly standing there, wondering how Inuyasha got his number in the first place, Inuyasha continued with his conversation. "Uh, well there's been a...big development."
"Ohhh...kay." Was all Kouga could really manage. He glanced around the area, feeling a sudden sense of paranoia. He wasn't sure why, but he just preferred it if his teammates didn't seem him on the phone with Inuyasha. Not like they'd know who was on the other end—but it was a simple preference.
A silence passed the both of them, for one, two, then three moments. Inuyasha exhaled, then spoke back up again.
"So, I'm moving out." It was difficult for Kouga to read his emotions from that short sentence. Inuyasha had said it so...indifferently, to the point where it almost sounded as if he was irritated, or perhaps even the other way around. He could have been happy about it. "I just wanted to let you know in case you come back and I'm not there."
"W-Wait, so, already?" Kouga blurted. Moving was a pretty big deal, there was no way he could possibly move all his stuff in one day...was there? "I mean, that's a lot of stuff to move, you know?" He let out a nervous cackle, attempting to hide his inner discomfort. Inuyasha made a "hmm" sound on the other end.
"Well, I actually don't have that much stuff, you know." He corrected, and Kouga began giving it some thought while Inuyasha continued. "I didn't bring furniture of my own, and most of my clothes are pretty much in my duffel bag or the closet. And I only have a few personal items in the bathroom, but that's about it. It won't take that much time to move it, I mean, I already packed it up."
Kouga deflated. Inuyasha already packed everything? He'd only left the dorm just around thirty minutes ago, how could he have gathered his things so quickly? Either Inuyasha was lying about having packed everything up, or he'd been anticipating the moment he could finally move out...and was ready to leave as soon as humanly possible.
"...Oh. Okay." Was all Kouga could manage while his thoughts went racing through his head. All he could think about was getting up there before Inuyasha could leave. But even if he came, what would he do? Help him move? Why would he help Inuyasha do something that he was genuinely against?
"Yeah. So that's pretty much it." Inuyasha exhaled casually. "I just wanted to let you know in case you were wondering why the room looked so barren." He chuckled, but Kouga couldn't manage a laugh at all.
"Oh...yeah. Yeah."
A silence.
And then, more silence. Inuyasha was the first person to grow unnecessarily uncomfortable with it, so he let out a sigh over the receiver. "Well...guess that's all I wanted to say. So. Yep."
"Oh. Okay." Kouga exhaled. He felt as though something crucial was bleeding out of him.
"Yeah. Well, bye."
"...Bye..." Kouga said awkwardly, his voice sounding like the last bits of helium being squeezed out of a popped balloon. He stood in the changing room, frozen and momentarily dazed.
Inuyasha Taisho was walking right out of his life at that very moment. A few weeks earlier, this would have been the only thing he wanted for Christmas.
But now...he felt as though he couldn't let that happen.
In an amount of time worthy of breaking a world record, Kouga stuffed his bag in his gym locker, rushed out of the changing room—while still in casual clothes—then zoomed into the gym in order to locate the team captain. He told him he had a situation with his roommate, and needed to skip practice, to which the captain seemed indifferent to and told him he "understood". Whether the guy was mad or simply just did not care either way, Kouga had no interest in figuring that out. Instead, he rushed for the elevator and headed towards the dorms.
"K-Kouga-? The hell?!"
Inuyasha's voice hitched, gawking at him like he'd witnessed the ghost of Christmas future. He was in the middle of zipping up a small carry-on suitcase, but by the looks of the state of the room, he was nowhere near complete with his packing. Inuyasha had definitely exaggerated himself over the phone—or, in other words: he had lied. Seeing that made Kouga feel somewhat relieved about the situation, even if that implication was far from ideal. "Don't you have track practice?"
"Yeah, technically..." Kouga trailed, his sight wandering at all areas of the dorm room. His breath wavered, still in the process of recovering from his brisk run to the dorms. As he panted, he surveyed the state of the room. It was a real horrendous mess, but he didn't comment on it. "But track season has been over for awhile now. We just practice at the gym to keep ourselves in shape. It's not serious." He said, then casually strolled in, watching the floor while he stepped over wayward outfits and bottles of shaving cream. Inuyasha was still frozen over his bag, eyeing him suspiciously. Kouga raised a questionable eyebrow at him, but Inuyasha just sighed in response.
"Kouga...why the hell are you back so soon?" He said with a slight tinge of irritation. Kouga felt a little offended that the guy wanted him out of the room so badly, but he tried his best to subdue his feelings. The last thing he wanted was a fight on their last day together.
"I came to help you move your stuff."
Inuyasha blinked. He seemed genuinely surprised, so for a moment, he didn't have a response.
"You don't need to do that. Miroku is supposed to swing by later and help me haul it over."
"Miroku doesn't live at the dorm. If I remember correctly, he lives all the way past the train station."
Inuyasha shrugged. He grabbed some clothes that were on a pile beside him. "Yeah, but he doesn't mind."
Kouga sighed, taking a moment to compose his words. He finally stared down at Inuyasha, letting his words ooze out softly. "It's okay. I'll help you."
Inuyasha looked floored. Kouga was beginning to wonder if he'd broken the guy with his new found acts of kindness. He was speechless, up until the moment something must have turned in his head. His expression grew sour again, the same old disdain he usually showed Kouga. He braced himself for whatever Inuyasha was about to hurl out at him, no longer feeling the will to fight the guy anymore. He just wanted to be as cordial and honest as possible, but it was difficult, knowing himself. He didn't like to lose a battle...and Inuyasha was the exact same.
"You don't have to feel sorry for me." Inuyasha snapped. He stood up from his position on his floor and turned his gaze away from Kouga. "It's fine, so you don't have to help me."
"Sorry for you?" Kouga repeated. He narrowed his eyes, feeling irritation slowly sinking into him. "Are you trying to say that I should feel guilty about something?"
"Yes. It's a legitimate reaction. I'm leaving our dorm, you'll never see me again, so you feel guilty about what happened between us and you want to help me." Inuyasha shrugged, nonchalantly folding different outfits on his bed. "Explains why you've been so nice to me recently, anyway."
Kouga was fuming. Although he slightly understood where Inuyasha was coming from, Kouga felt offended that his genuine reactions towards the guy were being brushed off as purely a "guilt response". Sure, playing nice didn't exactly come naturally for Kouga, but he wanted to get along with Inuyasha. And the most frustrating thing of all—he had no idea how to make Inuyasha believe how genuine he really was.
Kouga took a few steps towards the bunk bed, trying to get within Inuyasha's range since he'd turned his back on him. "Inuyasha, might I remind you that YOU that YOU were the one that punched ME in the face at the party!" He raised his voice, not quite angry, but more of a tone filled with desperation. "I have no reason to feel guilty about anything! If anyone, you're the one that needs to feel guilty—but that's besides the point!"
Inuyasha froze, narrowing his eyes. He finally made eye contact with Kouga and he defensively crossed his arms. "Then what is your point? Why do you want to help me?"
"Because I—" Kouga stopped himself from saying anything too embarrassing. "Because I'd be a dick if I let you haul all your stuff out of the room and I didn't even help you do something. And I don't want you to accidentally take anything that's mine. Like my socks, I mean, my socks are everywhere—in fact, there might be some under the uh, uh, under your bedspread." Kouga frantically pointed over to the wall where the bed sat against, but Inuyasha's gaze didn't budge from staring at Kouga. He regretted saying it, so he broke the eye contact between them. He cleared his throat and sighed. "That and, well, I want to help you. Duh. Why would I force myself...to do that if I felt guilty..."
Inuyasha's face was blank for a good couple of moments, absorbing Kouga's words, before eventually smiling. Truly smiling. It'd been the first time Kouga saw him do that.
"Oh. I get it now." Inuyasha chuckled and shook his head. "You're going to miss me."
Kouga deeply inhaled. He crossed his arms and sighed. "Well you said it, not me."
"Can't imagine why. All we ever do is argue."
Kouga's mouth twisted. "Not...all the time."
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Kouga sighed in response.
"Fine fine, you make a good point." He continued rolling the suitcase over to the rest of Inuyasha's things. "But...I do think that under different circumstances...things could have been different between us."
There was a considerable silence before Inuyasha finally spoke again, this time, much more softly. "Just because I'm moving to another floor doesn't mean we can't still...talk, you know."
"It's just not the same if we're not roommates."
"I guess." Inuyasha glanced down. "But...it doesn't take away the fact that we are cool now, I guess."
Kouga regretted that he couldn't say it. Inuyasha translated his feelings as "Kouga will miss me being around", which was true, but it was only a part of of the big picture. "I don't want you to leave", is what was really in his heart. Of course, if he'd said that, Inuyasha would have freaked out and probably would avoid him forever. This was the best option out of a pretty bad situation, so Kouga had to deal with it.
By the time Miroku arrived, Inuyasha was already making his way to his new dorm room, and Kouga was sitting on the crappy desk chair, idly staring at the empty room and entertaining useless thoughts. While wondering if Inuyasha's new room had the same shitty furniture, he hadn't noticed someone was knocking on the door right until the guest in question let himself right in. He snapped himself out of dreamland and witnessed Miroku breezing into the room. The monk glanced around the room, slightly startled.
"Ah...Kouga! Is...Inuyasha...?" Miroku's expression dropped once he noticed how deflated Kouga looked. He tilted his head. "You okay, Kouga?"
"Me? Oh-yeah!" He rose from the chair, then cringed once he felt like something had broken inside of it. He would have to lay that chair to rest very soon. "Inuyasha is...well, he left."
"He left?"
"Yeah, he did." Kouga crossed his arms. "You're kind of late, don't you think? We just got done packing everything away about an hour ago."
"Oh? Really? Ha..." Miroku rubbed the back of his neck nervously and chuckled. "Sorry about that! You see, I got a little caught up earlier and..."
"Uh huh. Sure. I'm sure you did." Kouga sighed, causing the monk to tense up just slightly. "It's okay Miroku, you can save your explanation to Inuyasha. I mean, he's the one you made plans with." He let out a more easygoing smile while shrugging. While witnessing that, Miroku's mood seemed to ease just slightly.
"Right, right." Miroku breathed out a sigh of relief. After a moment of thought, he quickly clapped his hands together, as if just remembering something. "Ah! You know what Kouga, I don't think we've ever really bonded with each other!"
"...Bonded?"
"Yes, yes. We are men, after all! There's just some things I can't do with Kagome or Sango, you understand?"
"Uh...things, you say? Not sure I like the sound of that..."
"Don't be such a downer, Kouga! You must learn live a little!" Miroku laughed heartily, patting Kouga on the back quite a few times. He began to lead him away from his spot in the corner of the room, and more towards the door's entrance.
"I'm not sure if I trust you, even if you are a monk..."
"Hehe, just think of it as fine wisdom from your fellow austere friend." Miroku raised his hands up to his face in a praying gesture, bowing ever so slightly. This caused Kouga to laugh, and also succumb to whatever the guy had in store for their evening.
"So...how do you feel about Inuyasha leaving?"
Was the first thing Miroku asked once they'd settled down. His hand rested against his chin, staring at Kouga with intense interest.
To this, Kouga nearly chocked on his drink.
So far, his night out with the lecherous monk had really been quite something. When they had reached the train station, the pair stopped at the restroom, and right in front of the mirror, Miroku slipped out a silky, short black wig and began fastening it on his head. Kouga gawked, and in response, Miroku just smiled mischievously. He was too shocked to even make fun of the guy or comment on it, so they went about their trip as normal. Miroku lead Kouga through a few train rides, taking him over to a neighborhood he'd never quite ventured into. It was a lively place somewhere near the outskirts of Yokohama. It wasn't quite as boisterous as some of the night-dwelling places in Tokyo that Kouga had been to, though. The city goers were reserved and relaxed. He had to say, the place had some charm, which was a choice much to be expected from a guy like Miroku. The pair settled down in a jazz bar called "Scouts", and due to it's slow patronage, they didn't even have to wait five minutes before getting a drink of their choosing.
"I..." Kouga slowly began, attempting to respond to Miroku after his incredibly invasive question about Inuyasha. "Don't know." Was all he could manage. Miroku looked extremely disappointed, even sighing with exasperation.
"Come on, Kouga—you can't seriously be lying to a monk, can you?" The monk, Miroku—who right now, looked like the furthest thing from a monk—grinned mischievously. "I think I know exactly how you feel."
"I'm not lying." Kouga backpedaled, chuckling all while looking everywhere but the guy's face.
"Yes you are, Kouga." His tone was flat. It almost made Kouga inch back slightly, if that was really possible to do in such a small chair.
Kouga's lips thinned, his palms sweaty against the cold glass. Without a response, Miroku continued anyway. He sighed.
"You and Inuyasha are so similar."
"We are?" Kouga cocked a doubtful eyebrow.
"Yes. Stubborn, hot headed, aloof, competitive..." Miroku bounced his head slightly at every word he announced. Kouga cringed at all the traits, feeling completely criticized.
"Gimme a break..." Kouga growled, taking a swig of his drink. The alcohol stung.
"You two love to hide how you truly feel—especially to yourselves."
"Where are you getting with this?" Kouga scowled, becoming more irritated as the personality analysis droned on.
Miroku laughed. "Oh, that's exactly something Inuyasha would say, too!" Kouga passed him a defiant glare, and the monk swallowed down another sip of his drink before continuing. "Quite simply...I can tell you're capable of more than you think you are."
Kouga furrowed his brows, now more confused than anything else. When did this monk suddenly become a fortune teller? Wasn't this guy getting a little too loose with his alcohol? Kouga feared he'd have to try to get this guy home somehow if he got too drunk...
"Before you met all of us, I could tell you were stuck in your shell. But now, you're talking to more people, you're expressive, engaged in conversations...you're definitely blossoming."
"...I guess."
"You wouldn't believe it, but Inuyasha was just like that. This exact same thing happened to him."
Kouga perked up. "Oh?"
"And now, when you look at Inuyasha...doesn't he remind you of someone? Perhaps, a place, or more so—a state that you were once at in your life?"
Kouga's eyes widened slightly. His thoughts drifted to Inuyasha, curled up on his bed, huddled over the desk and losing himself in his homework. Of course, he'd thought that he pitied the guy—he did—but he also empathized with him. The complete shut in that the guy had become when they'd lived together, the resemblance was uncanny. It reminded him of how he'd been throughout his school life and college.
"I mean, yeah, Inuyasha's been depressed. Since the breakup and all. I know how that feels, I've been there." Kouga shrugged, not trying to sound too enlightened by Miroku's revelation. The monk nodded in response.
"Right, you know how he feels. You understand him."
"I...wouldn't go as far to say...that..." Kouga trailed, feeling his face flush slightly. He didn't understand why Miroku was so dead set on talking about Inuyasha. Weren't they supposed to be bonding? What was the point of spending the whole night talking about one particular person? "Anyway, okay you made your point. I'm kind of like Inuyasha. Big deal. We're cool with each other now, but it's not like we're going to be best buddies."
Miroku took a sip of his drink. "That might be so. Anyway, that's not exactly what I wanted to talk about."
"Is that so?" Kouga uttered with a slight aggravation. He could tell the whiskey was getting to the monk slightly, due to his unstable conversations, but composure wise, the guy was cool as a cucumber.
"To put it bluntly—something happened to Inuyasha a year ago, and none of us really know what it was exactly. It's a very sore subject for him."
There was a dead silence. Kouga stared at Miroku, who's sight was focused somewhere else, most likely recalling an event. Kouga kept staring at him, hoping for some kind of follow up, any kind of information...but the conversation still hung dryly in the air. Kouga swallowed, leaning in closer.
"Does it have anything to do...with the arranged marriage?"
"It might." Miroku's eyes looked pained. "Like I said, we just don't know."
"Helpful." Kouga groaned, reaching back for his drink. Miroku stared at him, relaying a slight smirk.
"Although, all I know is...I have a feeling it has something to do with her—Kikyo, his ex-fiance, and a professor."
"...A professor?" Kouga leaned in, his interest becoming piqued. Now that he was thinking of it, he remembered that Kagome had mentioned something like that when he'd witnessed them squabbling at Jakotsu's party. Something about what happened with a professor...although, he'd already forgotten the name.
"Like I said...Inuyasha changed." Miroku gestured as he put emphasis on the word, changed. "The guy you know as your roommate—Inuyasha was nothing like that a year, or even, two years ago. Inuyasha was quite gifted."
Kouga raised an eyebrow. He felt a little miffed that Miroku's conversations were just so damn hard to keep up with. He hadn't even elaborated on the professor or the relationship with this so called "Kikyo". Anyway, the tipsy monk was his only source of information. He doubted he'd have access to this when he was sober.
"I'm not sure if you're aware—Inuyasha Taisho is from a very prolific family. After all, his father is a dean of the university, and his brother is a renowned doctor who specializes in neurology. For a long time, he was prim and proper. He wasn't completely outgoing. He was reserved, but cordial. Although he may have not had much charisma, Inuyasha was a perfect example of an upstanding student, opportunities laying way for him, and his studies were top notch."
"...Until Kagome came into the picture?"
"Sort of." Miroku's head tilted a bit. "There's a missing puzzle piece in that time period. Something happened—still unknown to us—and then Kagome came into the picture." His finger pointed on the table, as if to illustrate some kind of timeline. Unfortunately, Kouga was seeing anything except a finger.
"I see. Very interesting, Detective Miroku." Kouga smirked, rubbing his chin. "Buuut I think you've had a bit too much to drink."
"Ahhhh." Miroku groaned with exaggeration and lowered his shoulders. "You're no fun, Kouga! And here I thought we were both gonna get totally wasted."
"Jeez, is that your idea of bonding? Sounds irresponsible."
Miroku only chuckled in response. The conversation soon cleared, and Kouga was taken in by the ambiance. He watched older men sit and drink calmly with each other. He watched the jazz band playing elegantly. He wondered why Miroku had never thought to invite Sango or Kagome, or at the very least, Sango particularly. They seemed close on a level where it wouldn't seem too romantic...or then again, would it?
Once he turned over to Miroku, figuring out what exactly to bring up next—he was faced with the monk doing something incredibly unholy. He'd just slipped a cigarette from a box, then raised a lighter to begin smoking. The cigarette lit up brightly, then carrying a thin, white wisp of smoke hanging in the air. Kouga gawked.
Finally, Kouga built up the courage to ask this man a question he'd wondered for so long. It was a curiosity that only grew even larger due to this unplanned evening.
"Miroku...why did you become a monk?"
The man's eyes shifted at Kouga's words, possibly unprepared for that sort of question. He took a long drag of his cigarette for a moment, then let it rest in between his fingers after blowing out the smoke. He shrugged.
"It's nothing dramatic. My family owns a Buddhist temple, I was the only son and became a monk while taking over the business." He stopped, then grinned. "...Is the short version to it."
"Then...the long version?" Kouga raised an eyebrow. Surprisingly, Miroku answered without any hesitation.
"I had a troubled childhood. I got into a lot of fights, I was immature and never thought properly about what I wanted to do. So by the time I graduated high school, my parents gave me an ultimatum: I either move out, or I take over the temple." Miroku chuckled. His eyes glistened slightly at the thought of the memory. "I was completely lazy. I didn't want to go to college, and I didn't want to get a job, so I just decided to be a monk and help out at home."
"...Wow. That's..."
"Uneventful? Yeah. The short version sounds better."
Kouga smirked, not quite agreeing nor disagreeing. He supposed a personal anecdote was the way it was—if it happened, there was no other way to spin it to sound "better". But Kouga decided he wouldn't waste his words over explaining that.
"Anyway...so you did go to college eventually, right?"
Miroku's lips thinned into a tight line. His cigarette hoovered over his mouth, not yet sucking in the smoke. "No, I didn't."
Kouga faltered. "Sango mentioned you...went somewhere else for college, though?"
"...Yeah, uh." Miroku rubbed the back of his neck, seeming nervous. "I lied. Don't tell her."
Kouga blinked. He couldn't help but smirk.
"Drinking, smoking, flirting, wearing wigs...uh, Miroku, I'm almost ready for you to come out and say you're not even a monk!"
Miroku keeled over on the table, rubbing his temples and groaning. "Kouga, I never said I was a saint..."
"Yeah, yeah...just don't catch yourself lying too much to Sango. She's a nice girl...but she seems to have quite a temper."
Miroku could only help but laugh. When he was done, it was almost starting to sound a bit painful. Perhaps he was coming down with a headache...or maybe, the monk had indeed, lied much, much more to Sango than Kouga realized. "That, my friend, is valuable advice."
Kouga's expression warmed from the moment. Miroku ended up being right—this was quite a bonding occasion. It felt nice doing something different, and also talking with someone else. His heart felt heavy, however, once he remembered that once he returned to his dorm, he would be alone or most likely, a new roommate might have settled in. Better yet, he felt even worse knowing that Inuyasha would probably have a much better time with his new roommate. From the looks of it, the guy was a complete hippy, very easygoing and chill. The complete opposite of what Kouga was.
If only things didn't happen the way they did at Jakotsu's party. If only they could all drink merrily—him, Miroku, Sango, Kagome, and Inuyasha—and just be friends.
He turned over to Miroku, who was smoking out the last bit of his cigarette, considering asking the monk how he should go about talking to Inuyasha now—but, suddenly, there was a ringtone. The two of them paused. It was an electronic, traditional Japanese sounding ringtone—definitely not Kouga's. Miroku realized this was his, so he fished around in his pockets and brought out his phone. The monk's eyes bulged once he read the name, and gave a little surprised glance over to Kouga, which startled him. "I suppose it's a little too late to say, speak of the devil..." Miroku murmured under his breath. He pressed a button and laid the phone over his ears.
"Oh, Inuyasha? What's wrong?" Miroku focused his attention on the call and turned himself slightly away from the table.
Kouga's interest piqued. Inuyasha was, right as the two of them were sitting right there, calling Miroku at that exact moment. He wondered if this was a regular thing for them—casually exchanging conversations over the phone. Then again, Kouga found himself thinking that was a stupid assumption. Inuyasha and Miroku were friends—obviously, they called each other from time to time.
Kouga could hear a loud voice on the other end of the phone, like he was slightly irritated over something. Probably the fact that Miroku never showed up to help him pack his bags. Miroku's eyes narrowed, and his eyebrows furrowed into confusion as the conversation droned on the other end.
"Wait...what do you mean...trouble?" Miroku scratched behind his ear. "Pests as in...literally or metaphorically? Listen Inuyasha, I'm just asking, because you're not elaborating on this very well, ah..." Miroku's eyes darted over to Kouga, and Kouga tilted his head in response. The phone distanced itself from Miroku's ear ever so slightly as Miroku was giving his table partner more attention. He furrowed a brow at Kouga, insinuating that whatever was being talked about was crazy. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you...sorry I just got caught up earlier. I'll be over in like an hour. Just hang tight until then...yeah...see ya..." Miroku sighed with exasperation as he clicked a button on the phone and shoved it in his pocket. Kouga furrowed his brows, desperate for answers. Miroku just shrugged and smirked.
"Apparently...there's trouble in his new room."
"...What? What do you mean?" Kouga was completely flabbergasted. His first thought was...Inuyasha was really something, that was for sure. Had he already made enemies with his new roommate?
Miroku tensed before finally explaining what he'd heard on the other end of the line. "I can't...really be certain...but it sounds like there's something he can't deal with in the room."
"...Something?"
Miroku just gave yet another knowing smirk. God, was this monk such a devious hard ass, sometimes. Kouga was certain he'd figured out his newfound interest in Inuyasha and was now using it completely against him, perhaps for his own sly amusement. To this realization, Kouga tried his best to keep a straight face...but neither of them budged in the conversation. Eventually, the monk sighed and glanced down at his watch. His eyes bulged.
"Oh...you know what," He stared up at his table mate. "I forgot I have some business waiting for me at the temple. At this rate, I might be late."
"...You're kidding me, right?" Kouga deadpanned.
"I'm afraid not." Miroku sighed and slowly stood up from his seat. "My apologies, Kouga, but it looks like our fun will be coming to a close for now."
"...Are you sure you'll get home safely? You drank quite a lot..." Kouga trailed, and Miroku waved a dismissive hand in his direction.
"The temple is honestly just a ten minute walk from here." Miroku found himself shuffling in his pockets and placing the payment on the table. "Do you know your way to the dorms from here?"
Kouga sighed and rubbed his neck. "Not by memory...but I guess I'll manage." The monk was putting him in a position here, but he supposed he had a fun time, and was already coming to terms with it's natural ending. Now, Inuyasha on the other hand...
With the thought suddenly spurring into his head, Kouga turned to Miroku who was slipping on his jacket. "Wait, what about Inuyasha? Aren't you supposed to meet him?!"
To that, Miroku paused. It was almost like he'd completely forgotten about it. But then, Miroku gave Kouga a completely cheeky grin, staring Kouga down.
To this wordless look, Kouga blinked in complete astonishment and felt his newfound anxiety swelling inside him.