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Chapter 24: Men's Talk

Miroku sat motionless under the boughs of the tall sakura tree that stood at the edge of the clearing behind his home. He'd felt the approach of powerful youki and reiki long before he'd heard the voices of his friends drifting towards him from where they stood speaking with his wife.

That's why Miroku wasn't at all surprised to hear Inuyasha call out to him a few minutes later, despite the fact that he'd kept his eyes closed in a semblance of meditation the entire time.

"Oi! Miroku! You sleeping over there?"

Miroku didn't bother opening his eyes. "Inuyasha, my friend, I am a Monk and as such, it is important for me to practice the art of clear-mindedness."

Inuyasha smirked at Miroku's words. "Oh yeah? Well, I guess you're right. If anyone I know needs to clean out his filthy mind, it's definitely you."

Miroku finally cracked one eye open in order to shoot his friend a scathing look. "You wound me, Lord Inuyasha, I would think that a noble of your rank would have better manners than that."

Inuyasha scowled, which caused a wave of triumphant glee to wash through Miroku's chest.

"I told you: Don't. Call. Me. That." It was all Inuyasha could do to get the words out between his gritted teeth.

Taking in his friend's rigid stance – hands balled into fists at his sides, eyes flashing with restrained malice – Miroku couldn't maintain his "serene Monk" mask. He gave in and let out a loud guffaw.

"Oh, my friend, really, some days it is just too easy."

Inuyasha growled as Miroku got to his feet. "Too easy, eh, Monk?" He drew his sword, willing it to stay in its katana form. "Maybe that means I've been too soft on you."

Miroku shifted his footing and raised his shakujō into a defensive position before speaking. "We haven't done this in a while. Tell me, where is Kagome?"

Inuyasha brought his sword down fast and Miroku raised his shakujō even further to block the blow before spinning around and thrusting the sharp end of his staff toward Inuyasha's stomach.

The two men had spent many days sparing like this over the past few years. It had actually been Inuyasha who'd first approached Miroku with the offer to train him after Sango became pregnant with the twins. He knew that Miroku felt less prepared for battle without the wind tunnel, no matter how eternally grateful he was that his family's curse had been lifted. After some discussion, the two men had settled on working to improve Miroku's melee skills since he still had his spiritual powers and thus his ability to launch distance attacks.

"Kagome went inside with Sango and Rin, and I wasn't about to sit around with a bunch of giggling women." Inuyasha jumped back out of the reach of the approaching weapon before somersaulting over Miroku's head, preparing to bring his sword down across the Monk's back.

Miroku spun around in time to bring his shakujō up to the side, parrying Inuyasha's thrust. "Giggling you say? Now tell me, my friend, what exactly might our women have to giggle over?" He let a reduced blast of spiritual energy shoot from the mudra he formed with his left hand. It pushed Inuyasha back enough for him to regain his footing and his defensive stance.

Inuyasha shot Miroku an approving nod at his tactic before glancing away, trying to avoid the Monk's question. "Don't ask stupid questions, Monk. It doesn't suit you."

A sly grin spread over Miroku's face as he stepped forward, ready to take the offensive at his friend's moment of distraction. "Would you rather I be a bit more direct?" He suddenly bent low in an attempt to use his staff to sweep the hanyou's feet out from under him.

"I'd rather you drop the subject altogether, you pervert!" Inuyasha lept in the air before Miroku's staff could connect, bringing the butt of his sword down toward the back of Miroku's head.

Miroku ducked and rolled just as Inuyasha launched himself into the air, coming up in a crouched position a few feet away, his shakujō held across his chest. "Oh, my friend, if that's what you were hoping for then truly, after all these years, you don't know me at all!"

Landing lightly, Inuyasha turned back to Miroku, raising Tetsusaiga in front of him… And Miroku's laugh was almost a cackle of glee as he watched the embarrassed flush spread across the hanyou's face. Honestly, it had been years since Miroku had seen his friend in such a state. Not since Kagome had been lost to him through the well, surely.

His laughter settled into a smirk as he stood from his crouch, a battle plan forming in his mind before he spoke. "Fortunately, it seems as though I've won the bet."

Inuyasha began circling Miroku, confusion overtaking his face. "Bet? What bet?"

Miroku circled as well. "The night Kagome came back after the two of you left, I wagered with Sango that before the week was out you'd have Kagome in your bed."

At his words, Inuyasha snarled and took an ill-thought-out swipe at Miroku that left him off-balance. Miroku had to force his face not to break into a triumphant grin before he continued.

"Now, to be fair, Sango didn't think it was a bet she could actually win, but she did think that maybe, just maybe, you could keep your hands to yourself until the wedding, at least. Though, I'm sure she's in there giggling with Kagome right now about just how wrong she was."

Inuyasha came to a screeching halt at that, his eyes wide and unblinking as he stared in disbelief at Miroku's words… Which, of course, was the exact reaction that Miroku had been hoping for. It gave him the perfect opening to deliver a roundhouse kick to Inuyasha's gut, causing the off-balanced hanyou to land sprawled on his back without enough time to even realize what had happened before Miroku had the point of his staff at Inuyasha's throat.

Miroku finally let his grin stretch across his face. "It appears, my friend, that I have finally won one of our spars."

Inuyasha could do nothing but blink up at Miroku, dumbfounded for a moment, before finally noticing that he was on his back with a weapon at his throat. With a resigned sigh, he rolled his eyes and Miroku knew that his friend had conceded defeat.

"It's only because of you and your hentai wife! I can't believe the two of you were placing bets on Kagome and I! And before I'd even asked her to be my mate?! What do you take me for?"

As Inuyasha got to his feet, scowling and brushing the dust off his robes, Miroku's face shifted from self-satisfied to thoughtful.

"Honestly, Inuyasha? I take you for a man who'd been deprived of the one thing even more vital to you than the very air you breathe. I take you for a man who's been blessed by the Kami to have that one thing now returned to you."

Inuyasha looked like he wanted to sputter out an embarrassed retort, but Miroku held up his hand. "We all know what being without Kagome-chan these past three years has been like for you. There's no use in denying it anymore, Inuyasha, especially since it is now equally clear to the entire pack just what having her back means to you now as well."

Miroku paused, considering, before a wry smirk crossed his lips. "Well, I should say the entire pack minus Shippō."

At Miroku's obvious ability to see right through him, Inuyasha cringed, feeling exposed in a way he hadn't in a long time. Looking for an excuse to change the subject, he cleared his throat sheepishly before latching onto Miroku's last words. "Keh, the runt mentioned that you were stopping him from coming up to the hut the past couple of days."

"Yes, whenever I sensed his youki sneaking this way through the village I'd intercept the rascal and remind him that he was to wait until Kagome came to him."

Inuyasha could only imagine just how much of his time over the past two days Miroku had invested in corralling the kitsune. "How the heck did you manage that?!"

Just then a squeal resounded through the clearing as Aki and Yuki caught sight of their favourite uncle, launching themselves at Inuyasha's legs.

Miroku looked up to see Rin following close behind.

"Apologies, oniisama! The twins are getting very fast!"

Inuyasha bent down, using each hand to gently pry each girl off of each leg before lifting them to sit in the crook of each elbow. "Feh, don't worry about it, Rin. I was just thanking Miroku here for a favour he did for me."

Inuyasha levelled Miroku with a grateful look over the heads of his daughters. It was a look that Miroku completely understood.

Just then Aki tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve to get his attention. "Ojisan come to play?"

Inuyasha's eyes softened as he looked down at the girl nestled in his left arm. "Not today, wakai senshi. Otousan and I need to talk and then I gotta go find your obasan inside."

Aki's lip had already begun to pout before Inuyasha had even finished speaking. Rin, of course, saw and stepped in. "Aki-chan won't you come with Yuki-chan and I over to the sakura tree? If we collect enough blossoms we can use them to make a magic potion!"

"What kind?" Asked Yuki, always intensely curious about all things magical.

"Well," Rin began, "what kind of potion do you want to make?"

"Potion for more cuddles!" crowed Yuki at the same time as Aki shouted "Potion for me have claws! Rwar!" while giving Inuyasha her best "wicked youkai" face.

Inuyasha couldn't help the huge and genuine grin that spread across his face at the twins' antics. Meanwhile, Miroku and Rin were both trying desperately to keep their laughter in "laughing with you" vs "laughing at you" territory.

"All right then, akachan, let's go! Who will get there first, hmm? Shall Rin-oba beat Aki-chan and Yuki-chan to the tree?"

"No!" Both girls shouted in unison as they squirmed their way out of Inuyasha's arms and made a mad dash for the same sakura tree that Miroku had been sitting under, Rin jogging along behind, her happy laughter floating along on the breeze.

Inuyasha watched after them for a moment, a feeling he could not name stirring momentarily in his chest before he felt Miroku's hand settle on his shoulder.

"So, my friend, what else is there that you wanted to discuss?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha replied, stirring from his silent reflection.

"You told Aki-chan that you needed to speak with me, so I assumed that there was something else that you wished to discuss."

"Oh. Yeah." Inuyasha cleared his throat, trying to arrange his thoughts. "I, uh… I was wondering if you needed anything at the market."

Miroku cocked an eyebrow at his friend's words. "Are you offering to transport goods for me, Inuyasha?"

"What? No!" Was Inuyasha's hasty reply before he continued. "I– I was actually hoping you needed something at the market because then you could come with Kagome, Rin, Shippō and me tomorrow."

Understanding dawned in Miroku's eyes. "Ah, yes I see. I did wonder if the two of you would be heading to the market prior to the wedding. From what I remember, your hut is, shall we say, minimally appointed." He gave Inuyasha a knowing look.

"A hut's a hut. It's not like I needed all sorts of shit to fill it with." Inuyasha huffed, walking slowly in the same direction the girls had just run in.

Miroku followed his friend. "And yet I take it that Kagome and Sango are inside discussing exactly what…ahem…items to fill it with right now?"

"Feh." Inuyasha scowled at that. "I'm not stupid. I know the wench needs more than just a roof over her head and some meat in her belly like I do. Heck, I could go without the roof even, but she's human and I want to make sure she gets every single damned thing she wants from that market tomorrow." He paused for a moment, continuing in a softer voice. "But you know what it's like in those kinds of places for someone like…me."

Inuyasha didn't need to spell it out for the hōshi. Market towns were always hit and miss for them when they travelled for extermination jobs. Sometimes they'd be full of people giving him that Lord Inuyasha shit. Other times the villagers just figured that he was the Monk's Inugami. And sometimes…the worst times…it was all they could do to get out of town before the scowling merchants banded together to run the "youkai filth" out of town.

Miroku knew all of this and spoke frankly to his friend. "I understand, Inuyasha. I would be happy to accompany you and the rest of the pack to the market tomorrow. In truth, Sango mentioned the other day needing more linen for kosodes and swaddling for Ichiro."

Inuyasha's "Keh" and a nodded of gratitude was all the acknowledgement Miroku needed, though when Inuyasha's eyes shifted down and away he knew that the hanyou had another request to make.

"What is it, Inuyasha? Is there something else you need of me?"

"I, uh, I wanna get Kagome something. You know, for the wedding."

Miroku smiled. "Do you mean a gift? Of what sort were you considering?"

'Dammnit, hōshi! Why you always gotta ask so many questions? I dunno, okay! Something! I wanna get her something…pretty." Inuyasha blushed at that last word, his bluster failing him. "Look, I'll know it when I see it." Inuyasha huffed in embarrassed exasperation. "Are you gonna help me or not?"

Miroku answered with a genuine smile. "It would be my honour, Inuyasha. Of course."

Rin who had honestly been trying not to eavesdrop, despite the fact that the men were walking her way, gave up the pretence and spoke. "If you'd like, Inuyasha-oniisama, this Rin can help to distract Kagome-chan when the time comes so that you and Miroku-sama may make your purchase without her seeing!" She smiled up at them when they looked at her in surprise, quite pleased with herself for coming up with such a sneaky idea.

Inuyasha was still considering Rin's offer when he suddenly felt a pull in the centre of his chest, followed by a pulse through his youki. His eyes widened as his hand rose to his heart. "What the–?"

Miroku had felt the pulse of youki as well. "What was that?" He asked in confusion.

"I– I think Kagome touched our bond. I wonder if everything's okay."

"Touched your bond?" Miroku questioned, still confused.

"Yeah…" Inuyasha seemed to flounder, but of all people, it was Rin who swooped in to his rescue.

"Inuyasha-oniisama and Kagome-chan announced this morning that they have already bonded as mates. Is that not so, oniisama?"

Miroku seemed impressed by this announcement and looked to Inuyasha for confirmation.

Inuyasha nodded before he spoke. "I performed the bonding ceremony with Kagome three nights ago. And while we may not yet be married in the human way, we have spoken the Inu oaths, spilling blood and sharing youki. She is my mate now, just as I am hers."

Miroku clapped Inuyasha heartily on the back. "It would seem that congratulations are in order then, my friend! Come let us head inside. I would congratulation Kagome-chan on your union as well!"

Miroku gestured for them to head back towards the house and Inuyasha exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. After Kaede's initial reaction to their bonding, Inuyasha hadn't been sure what to expect from the Monk, but he was glad that Miroku was, once again, proving himself a true friend.

He nodded in agreement as he moved past Miroku toward the house. "Yer right, we better head in. Who knows what those womenfolk are up to. If I'm not careful they'll have planned for me to be lugging home half the wares for sale at the market tomorrow!"

Inuyasha shot Miroku a wry smirk before calling back over his shoulder. "Rin, Miroku and I are heading in to talk to the women. We'll let you know when we're leaving." Rin just nodded and waved her hand dismissively from where she sat with the girls under the tree. Each twin had a small pile of gathered blossoms in front of them and were discussing the magic words required for their incantation.

Inuyasha was, in fact, in quite a good mood as he'd approached the house… That is, until he heard Kagome speaking inside.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure how Inuyasha might react."

Instantly annoyed, Inuyasha stepped through the doorway.

"How I might react to what, woman?"

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Mini Luu - I hope this chapter gave you a bit of a Rin fix. Don't worry, the further we get into the story the more Rin will become a main character!

nrg92 - Tee-hee! Sorry once again! It looks like you'll have to wait a little bit longer. I'm evil I know.

Shizuku-san - I like to think that after everything they've all gone through together, and how much they've grown and matured that the bonds between all of them are much, much thicker than water. It's why I wanted to write this chapter and the last one. Sango and Miroku are often not given enough credit in fan-fiction but I think it's the bonds between all the characters that really made Inuyasha the amazing story that it was.

Everyone Else - THANK YOU for your kind words. Sniff. Seriously! Every time someone comes here to say they're enjoying the story or appreciated something specific about a chapter it LITERALLY MAKES MY ENTIRE DAY! So don't be shy! I love to hear from you!

A/N – You can find me chatting about behind-the-scenes stuff over on Tumblr. My username is sarah-writes-stories

(And, of course, I do not own Inuyasha nor any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.)