"What's in the bag?"

Excerpted from Peach Blossoms, Ch 6-7



His lips had left hers, leaving them exposed to the cold of the chilly night air. Even now, the skin still tingled where his lips and hands had been, making a stark emptiness in its stead.

The thin material of her swimsuit was nearly dry, but it was doing little else to keep her warm. Between the copious amount of blushing she had done and the delicious heat which radiated from Miroku's chest as he held her in his arms, noticing the cold around her had been rather low on her list of priorities.

Gooseflesh was cropping up across her shoulders and on down her arms, sending an intense shiver along with it. Her arms hugged her shoulders, desperately trying to rub the warmth back into her skin of her upper arms. Still sitting on the shore, she moved her legs around, trying get the blood to seep down to her lower limbs to warm her bare skin, before giving in and pulling her knees up to her chest.

When he had pulled himself away from her, he walked back over to his belongings, stooping down with his back turned from her to hide what he was doing. She peered over at him curiously, moving her head around from her huddled position to try and see just what he was hiding. She could hear the zipper-like sound of the ripping of fabric, and saw him lift the strips of cloth into the air as he pulled them from his bag.

She frowned, keeping her eyes on his hands and they lifted another piece of cloth into her line of sight. 'Why would he be hiding something? Unless...' Her jaw set. 'Unless there's something in there he doesn't want me to see. I'll bet that's why he's being so nice to me.'

Carefully closing the bag tightly and returning it to its place on the ground, Miroku turned back around, holding the long strips out in his hand.

He walked back over to her, sitting down on the ground in sort of lotus position, careful to keep the cloth pieces up out of the dirt. "Let me see your foot."

Still shivering slightly, she lifted her foot from the ground. He slid his fingers beneath her ankle, delicately guiding it into his lap. She clasped her free knee against her chest, trying to hold herself still as Miroku dressed her wound. 'What could he be hiding in there?' she asked herself silently.

Frowning as the thoughts streamed through her head, she watched as he wound the first strip of cloth lightly over the cut, careful not to tug over its tender surface. 'It's probably something ecchi.'

Another was soon wound on top of the first, slightly tighter.

Her eyes narrowed as she huffed silently, '…or some little keepsake from another girl he was flirting with.' Fuming, her face was slowly turning an angry red, silent sparks of fury dancing in her eyes. 'That sukebe!'

Miroku could feel her eyes burning into the top of his head. He had the distinct feeling that if the "old adage" from Kagome's country were true, that looks could truly kill, the void in his hand would be among the least of his worries. He had to clench his teeth to keep from groaning aloud; 'What was bothering her now?'

The silence was deafening.

Two more strips had been tied together and then woven back and forth between her ankle and foot, leaving the skin of her heel a little red and swollen.

'That would explain why he wanted to go alone.' Her expression had softened into a

glower. 'How could he—'

"Can you stand up?" Miroku was already up off the ground, offering his hand to her to help her up. His face had slipped back into its mask.

A little grudgingly, she placed her palm on his and he pulled her up onto her feet.

But he had pulled a little too hard; she quickly lost her balance, falling against his sturdy chest. Silently, she berated herself. It felt nearly impossible for her to be angry with him now, her heart racing and face flushing once again.

Just as quickly, she steadied herself back on her own two feet.

"Come here for a second."

"But my yukata…" She grumbled loudly, pointing a finger at the pile of clothes strewn below the bush.

"It will still be there. This will only take a minute." He was smiling at her. A full smile, not just one of his damnable smirks or half-hearted attempts.

Her heart stopped for a long second. 'Damn it all.' With a deep sigh, she dropped her hands to her sides heavily in resignation. "All right. What is it?"

"I have something to show you…"

She limped across the dirt beside him, stirring up dust to the slim space between her toes. The last few drops of water were making it cake to the bottom of her feet. She grimaced as she realized she'd have to rinse off her feet again. A bit of the salt water rubbed up against the cut, further irritating the already tender skin. Getting back in was definitely not a pleasant thought.

His arm fell over her shoulders, pulling her solidly to the side of his ribs to lessen the weight on her foot as she walked. From the corner of his eye, he watched with poorly concealed amusement as her cheeks again darkened, her own eyes drifting to hand that firmly gripped her still bare shoulder and then to the sandy earth.

His eyes had turned forward again before she was aware she was being watched. "Your foot will heal faster the more you walk on it, but it's still too early to be putting much weight on it." His tone dismissed any other significance to his action, but the light smirk on his face was casting a strong shadow of doubt.

With Miroku's help, they both reached the bag in no time at all. He helped her back down to her knees and, picking up the bag by the remnants of its handle, she sat back onto her heels.

Miroku nodded at the bag, grinning a poorly concealed grin. "Go ahead…open it."

She swiftly pulled away the thin twine that bound it shut, spilling the contents into her lap. She picked one of them up, holding it in the moon's glow.

The lacy, red piece of fabric almost fit entirely fit in her hand. It was far too small to even be considered given the title of clothing. Her eyes shot daggers at him. "What is this, Houshi-sama?"

"A little present from Kagome's time. It's called lingerie"

"Oh?" Her eyebrow shot up. "And what is it for?"

He leaned up to her ear.

……………………..

…………………….

The forest at night was peaceful. No youkai were wandering about and most of the animals had taken to their dwellings for the night. The moon hung softly amidst the clouds.

Shippou sleepily popped an eye half open.

The unmistakable crack of flesh bellowed through the trees.

Rolling his eyes, tiny hands pressed the pillow against his ears. "Kami- sama…there they go again!"