AN: To all of those who complained about the 'coal/diamond' joke in the first chapter... TOUGH! Don't like it? Don't read it! Simple as that. Someone told me it was 'gross'... Well, there ya go. That's my sense of humor for ya. To all the others... ENJOY!
Chapter 8
"Ready to go, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked after washing the grime out of her hair. Every time that she and Kagome found their way to one hot spring or another, she found herself eternally grateful that Kagome let her use that 'sham-poo' stuff that made her hair much cleaner. 'If they have more things like that in the time that Kagome comes from, I don't think I would have a hard time adjusting to that...'
Kagome finished scrubbing the dirt and youkai blood that was caked on her legs in time to look up at her smiling friend. "Sure, Sango-chan. Let's get dressed and we can head back."
**
"There you are ladies, we were wondering what was taking you so long. I was so worried, in fact, that I almost left to go look for you myself." Miroku said slyly as the group followed Inuyasha who seemed to know where he was going.
Just before Sango slapped him for his little comment, Kagome grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Don't even bother, Sango. If he hasn't bothered to respect us enough to stop with his disgusting comments after all the times we've asked him to, then he isn't even worth it." The two girls turned to rest of the group and walked off, leaving the monk behind to glare at the hanyou who was smirking at him without the girls noticing.
'Is that what they think? They think that I don't respect them? I thought that they knew that I was only kidding. I hope they'll forgive me... I'll wait until we make camp tonight to apologize. I should let them calm down first.' Miroku thought sadly. Had he known that his remarks and actions made them that angry and uncomfortable, he would have stopped. He may be a pervert, but Miroku still had a good heart.
**
Kagome sighed as she trudged along and looked up at the stars that had just come out above her. She was very tired; that last battle had taken a lot out of the young miko.
"Inuyasha, can we make camp? Pleeaaassseee?" Kagome asked while making puppy eyes at the hanyou.
'Oh god, not the puppy eyes! She knows that I can't resist those...' Inuyasha crossed his arms to show his feigned indifference and looked away to evade the 'all powerful pout of Kagome'. "Feh, if you weren't so-" A glance at a smiling monk reminded him of the bet and he made a quick recovery, "um... nice, I would say no, but you deserve a break." He said the latter part of the sentence quickly and jumped in a tree to escape the stares he was receiving.
Kagome stood with her jaw dropped for several seconds. 'Did... did he just compliment me in front of everyone?!' Her shocked expression was quickly replaced with a cheerful one. 'He did! I heard it!' The air around the group seemed to lighten and they all smiled when they saw a grinning Kagome skipping around the meadow they were in and picking flowers to make a necklace for Shippou.
'Is Kagome smiling like that because of what I said, or because she's getting a break?' Inuyasha wondered, but when he saw his favorite miko doing cartwheels while the others merely smiled at her cheerful disposition, he decided that it had to have been the fact that he had complimented her. 'Maybe I should do that more often. If I play my cards right (he had heard Kagome say that before but never understood it) this bet could benefit me in more ways than one. Besides, being nice isn't so hard'
**
"Inuyasha, the shard is in his tail!" Kagome screeched as the group fought off a lizard demon. It's green scales could be seen littered among the foliage and ground surrounding the battle field. Though it had put up a good fight, Kagome knew that it's time left on earth wouldn't last much longer. Not after what it had done...
-Flashback-
"Kagome!" Sango yelled after the miko. Currently she was in the arms of a youkai that had caught them off guard. If it weren't for his being downwind, Inuyasha would have easily smelled him coming.
Kicking and sputtering for breath, Kagome inwardly cursed the strong claws cutting off her air flow. 'Damn lizard demon! I can't breathe!'
The demon grinned as he held her body closely to his and smelled her hair. "What a fine mate you'll make..." he grinned. Unfortunately for him, however, Inuyasha heard that little remark and attacked him from behind while he was distracted.
'How dare he touch MY Kagome!'
-End Flashback-
Kagome watched as Inuyasha ripped through the lizard with tetsusaiga and smirked at his fallen foe. Not long after, realization hit him and he dashed to Kagome's side. "Are you alright? What did that bastard do to you?! Well?"
"Inuyasha, I'm fine. Really," she said clearly. She knew that she was lying as she slipped her hand to her neck to cover the wound there, and apparently, so did the aforementioned hanyou.
"Don't lie to me! I can smell your blood," he barked as he lifted her hand from her neck, revealing three gashes from where the demon had gripped her. Inuyasha quickly sat and pulled her down next to him before beginning to thoroughly inspect the lesions marring her neck. Without a second thought as to what he was doing, he licked them tenderly, making sure to cover them with his saliva.
Kagome had no idea what was going on when she felt something warm and wet on her neck, but for some strange unexplainable reason, it felt right to her so she didn't pull away. "W-what are you doing?" she asked timidly.
When it finally registered in his brain as to what he had just done, Inuyasha blushed and pulled away. "It helps the cuts heal faster..." he said apprehensively, expecting a harsh reprimand for his actions.
"Well, in that case, thank you Inuyasha." Kagome said cheerfully as she rose to her feet and went to get gauze from her backpack.
Inuyasha gaped after her. 'Sh-she isn't mad?! I tried to do that with Kikyou once and she told me to get away from her... Kagome really is different." The half-demon thought to himself as he watched Kagome tend to Sango's small cut on her leg with Shippou and Kirara nearby. Looking around quickly, he noticed that someone was missing. A glance to his right alerted him of the presence of the lecherous monk who was currently giving him a knowing smile. 'Damn! The houshi saw!'
"That was very... NICE of you Inuyasha," he smirked. He had chosen his words carefully, knowing it would annoy the hanyou that he had seen his little display of affection.
Inuyasha answered with the only reply that he could come up with before jumping into a nearby tree.
"Feh."
Chapter 8
"Ready to go, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked after washing the grime out of her hair. Every time that she and Kagome found their way to one hot spring or another, she found herself eternally grateful that Kagome let her use that 'sham-poo' stuff that made her hair much cleaner. 'If they have more things like that in the time that Kagome comes from, I don't think I would have a hard time adjusting to that...'
Kagome finished scrubbing the dirt and youkai blood that was caked on her legs in time to look up at her smiling friend. "Sure, Sango-chan. Let's get dressed and we can head back."
**
"There you are ladies, we were wondering what was taking you so long. I was so worried, in fact, that I almost left to go look for you myself." Miroku said slyly as the group followed Inuyasha who seemed to know where he was going.
Just before Sango slapped him for his little comment, Kagome grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Don't even bother, Sango. If he hasn't bothered to respect us enough to stop with his disgusting comments after all the times we've asked him to, then he isn't even worth it." The two girls turned to rest of the group and walked off, leaving the monk behind to glare at the hanyou who was smirking at him without the girls noticing.
'Is that what they think? They think that I don't respect them? I thought that they knew that I was only kidding. I hope they'll forgive me... I'll wait until we make camp tonight to apologize. I should let them calm down first.' Miroku thought sadly. Had he known that his remarks and actions made them that angry and uncomfortable, he would have stopped. He may be a pervert, but Miroku still had a good heart.
**
Kagome sighed as she trudged along and looked up at the stars that had just come out above her. She was very tired; that last battle had taken a lot out of the young miko.
"Inuyasha, can we make camp? Pleeaaassseee?" Kagome asked while making puppy eyes at the hanyou.
'Oh god, not the puppy eyes! She knows that I can't resist those...' Inuyasha crossed his arms to show his feigned indifference and looked away to evade the 'all powerful pout of Kagome'. "Feh, if you weren't so-" A glance at a smiling monk reminded him of the bet and he made a quick recovery, "um... nice, I would say no, but you deserve a break." He said the latter part of the sentence quickly and jumped in a tree to escape the stares he was receiving.
Kagome stood with her jaw dropped for several seconds. 'Did... did he just compliment me in front of everyone?!' Her shocked expression was quickly replaced with a cheerful one. 'He did! I heard it!' The air around the group seemed to lighten and they all smiled when they saw a grinning Kagome skipping around the meadow they were in and picking flowers to make a necklace for Shippou.
'Is Kagome smiling like that because of what I said, or because she's getting a break?' Inuyasha wondered, but when he saw his favorite miko doing cartwheels while the others merely smiled at her cheerful disposition, he decided that it had to have been the fact that he had complimented her. 'Maybe I should do that more often. If I play my cards right (he had heard Kagome say that before but never understood it) this bet could benefit me in more ways than one. Besides, being nice isn't so hard'
**
"Inuyasha, the shard is in his tail!" Kagome screeched as the group fought off a lizard demon. It's green scales could be seen littered among the foliage and ground surrounding the battle field. Though it had put up a good fight, Kagome knew that it's time left on earth wouldn't last much longer. Not after what it had done...
-Flashback-
"Kagome!" Sango yelled after the miko. Currently she was in the arms of a youkai that had caught them off guard. If it weren't for his being downwind, Inuyasha would have easily smelled him coming.
Kicking and sputtering for breath, Kagome inwardly cursed the strong claws cutting off her air flow. 'Damn lizard demon! I can't breathe!'
The demon grinned as he held her body closely to his and smelled her hair. "What a fine mate you'll make..." he grinned. Unfortunately for him, however, Inuyasha heard that little remark and attacked him from behind while he was distracted.
'How dare he touch MY Kagome!'
-End Flashback-
Kagome watched as Inuyasha ripped through the lizard with tetsusaiga and smirked at his fallen foe. Not long after, realization hit him and he dashed to Kagome's side. "Are you alright? What did that bastard do to you?! Well?"
"Inuyasha, I'm fine. Really," she said clearly. She knew that she was lying as she slipped her hand to her neck to cover the wound there, and apparently, so did the aforementioned hanyou.
"Don't lie to me! I can smell your blood," he barked as he lifted her hand from her neck, revealing three gashes from where the demon had gripped her. Inuyasha quickly sat and pulled her down next to him before beginning to thoroughly inspect the lesions marring her neck. Without a second thought as to what he was doing, he licked them tenderly, making sure to cover them with his saliva.
Kagome had no idea what was going on when she felt something warm and wet on her neck, but for some strange unexplainable reason, it felt right to her so she didn't pull away. "W-what are you doing?" she asked timidly.
When it finally registered in his brain as to what he had just done, Inuyasha blushed and pulled away. "It helps the cuts heal faster..." he said apprehensively, expecting a harsh reprimand for his actions.
"Well, in that case, thank you Inuyasha." Kagome said cheerfully as she rose to her feet and went to get gauze from her backpack.
Inuyasha gaped after her. 'Sh-she isn't mad?! I tried to do that with Kikyou once and she told me to get away from her... Kagome really is different." The half-demon thought to himself as he watched Kagome tend to Sango's small cut on her leg with Shippou and Kirara nearby. Looking around quickly, he noticed that someone was missing. A glance to his right alerted him of the presence of the lecherous monk who was currently giving him a knowing smile. 'Damn! The houshi saw!'
"That was very... NICE of you Inuyasha," he smirked. He had chosen his words carefully, knowing it would annoy the hanyou that he had seen his little display of affection.
Inuyasha answered with the only reply that he could come up with before jumping into a nearby tree.
"Feh."