AN: Don't hurt me, please! I beg of you! I know it's been over a month since I last posted anything, but I've got a good excuse... well, it might not be good, but I do have an excuse. I went away for two and a half weeks to get a job down in Virginia at Busch Gardens, so if anyone is planning a trip there this summer, come visit me. ^_^ And then when I came back, I got a horse, so I've been spending a lot of time at the barn, plus trying to get caught up on reading fics and such. So now I'm here. Here's a brand new chapter for you. Longer than the first two combined, so be happy!
Future Lovin' Part 3
Sango stretched. Kagome-chan's bed had to be the softest surface she had ever slept on in her entire life. She didn't want to move and certainly didn't want to wake up. She was so determined to remain asleep that she refused to open her eyes. That is, until her hands bumped something over her head. She opened her eyes.
Miroku was leaning over her, staring at her face. Sango cried out and slapped him. The monk jumped back. "Geez, Sango! I was just waking you up!"
Sango glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, you didn't have to be that close to me to do it!" she snapped grumpily.
"That wasn't close. This," and he shoved his face towards her so that their noses touched, "is close."
Mrs. Higurashi chose that opportune moment to walk in. She took one look at the scene and smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting."
Sango blushed and pushed Miroku's face out of hers. "You weren't, Higurashi-san. Ano... Last night you said something about shopping..."
"Yes!" Mrs. Higurashi rooted through Kagome's closet before handing Sango a pile of colorful clothes. "These are some of Kagome's clothes that you can wear at the mall. They're not quite so revealing as the rest of her clothes. Not that short skirts are exactly revealing compared to what some girls wear. Sometimes they're practically not wearing anything!"
Seeing Miroku's sudden interest in the conversation, Sango steered it away from the subject of girls. "What exactly is this mall?"
Miroku nodded, also wanting to know.
Mrs. Higurashi slapped her forehead. "Of course! I keep forgetting! It's basically a collection of shops in one gigantic building, a sort of indoor marketplace. I was just coming up to see if you were awake. Obviously, Miroku beat me to it."
Miroku grinned. "Well, it is nearly noon-"
"What? Noon! I've never slept this late before!" Sango jumped off the bed and frantically pulled the covers up into a state of semi-order.
Mrs. Higurashi set a firm hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. You must have needed it. Now get dressed- wait, you should probably take a shower first. Come with me." She gently pulled Sango towards the hallway. "You too, Miroku."
The monk followed them into a small rectangular room that had a blue tiled floor. A large block with an oval-shaped hole cut into it was opposite him along with an oddly shaped contraption that he had no clue what its uses could be and a sink beside it. At least there was one thing he recognized.
Sango and Miroku listened attentively as Mrs. Higurashi pointed to the hole and the knobs attached to the wall above it. "You turn this one for cold water, this one for hot, and you pull this to switch the water from the faucet to the showerhead." She demonstrated as she spoke.
Sango reached forward and let the water play across her fingers. "It's an indoor waterfall," she breathed in awe.
Mrs. Higurashi smiled and opened a cupboard on the wall next to the shower. She pulled out a towel and washcloth and handed them to Sango. "There's shampoo and soap in the shower. Don't forget to close the shower curtain so the floor won't get wet. Have fun!" She exited, pulling Miroku out with her.
Sango stared with surprise at the closed door and then at the cloth in her hands. Finally, she turned to the shower. She dropped the towels, disrobed, and stepped under the water. Yeow! Cold! Sango jumped back out and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. It had been warm a moment ago!
Remembering what Higurashi-san had told her about the knobs, she twisted the hot one and tested the water with her hand. Good, getting warmer. She stepped in again and pulled the curtain closed as ordered. Not that it really mattered much anymore, with all the jumping and the curtain being open so long, puddles had already formed.
Sango's first shower was successful, sort of. She had used Kagome's shampoo before so there were no nasty surprises there. Other than the brief temperature problem, the water was nice... the only problem was really in the showerhead itself. She had bumped it when she was sudsing her hair and discovered that it moved. Pleased by this fact, the stream of water had been just a little too low for her liking, she played with it, adjusting it to different spots.
Then it fell off.
Water began spraying in all directions, and Sango panicked. She tried covering the stream and only succeeded in sending the water further and in more directions. She remembered the knobs.
She turned both, but rather than the water turning off, it increased in intensity and temperature. After the brief scalding, she turned the knobs the opposite direction and was frozen... again. And still the water flew everywhere. Finally, she turned the knobs in different directions, and the water stopped.
Sango sighed and slumped. She failed to see why Kagome-chan loved these showers so much... well, it was nice to bathe in a warm waterfall for a change. Maybe it would become easier to use with practice.
She wrung out her hair and grabbed her towel. She quickly dried off and reached for her clothes... except that they weren't there. The things she had slept in were lying discarded on the floor, but she must have left the clean clothes Higurashi-san handed to her in Kagome's room. She picked up the pajamas and dropped them again. They landed with a wet splat. They had gotten soaked in the fight with the showerhead.
She looked down at her towel-covered form. Well, the distance from the bathing room to Kagome's room wasn't far. She could slip in and get dressed before anyone knew she was done with her shower. Confident in this plan, she entered the hallway... and came face to face with Miroku.
*****
Miroku's day had been strange. He had woken up when he tumbled off the couch. After picking himself off the floor and straightening his robes- which he had managed to persuade Mrs. Higurashi to let him sleep in- he had ventured into the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi was busy making breakfast, and she had insisted he not do anything to help. So he had watched her scramble about the kitchen for a time, and finally she had set a plate full of eggs, sausage, and three round breads that she had called pancakes before him.
After his first bite, he had inhaled the food. It was good, very good. Mrs. Higurashi had then introduced him to a large black box in the living room, a television, shown him how to work it, and left to clean up from breakfast.
Miroku had watched the television mindlessly for an hour or so before he realized that he had not seen Sango all morning. That's when he had crept into her room. To be honest, he was not trying to wake her up. In fact, he would have simply stood there staring at her for the remainder of the day had she not stretched and hit him in the face.
The next few minutes had gone by quickly with Mrs. Higurashi coming in, showing them the shower, and then dragging him out of the bathroom so Sango could bathe. Since then, he had wandered, not sure what to do with himself.
Which brought him to the present; which was, in essence, staring at Sango's barely-clad form outside the bathroom door. He had a distinct feeling that he was about to be slapped, but the blow never fell. Sango never even raised her hand to deliver one.
All Sango did was blush and back into the bathroom. "Um... Houshi-sama."
Her voice broke him out of whatever trance he had fallen into. He looked down at his feet, his cheeks stained pink. Now why was _he_ blushing? He'd seen her naked before. True, that had always been planned, but it should be no different now, right?
Sango slipped past him in the direction of Kagome's room, leaving him to his thoughts and the lovely view of his toes. Naturally, his mind was not on his feet nor even on the reasons for his blushing, but on Sango and, well, her legs. He had never realized how nice her legs were. Yeah, he had seen them when she wore her skintight exterminator garb, but skintight could never hope to compare to bare skin. And the few times he had peeked in on her baths, he wasn't looking at her legs.
And Sango's legs were so much nicer than Kagome's, not that there was anything wrong with them. It was simply that Sango's had a sleek, firm tone to them that Kagome's lacked. Inu-yasha would probably disagree, but Miroku knew that he would be one dead hentai monk if the hanyou knew he had been looking at Kagome's legs.
The door to Kagome's room reopened, and he glanced up to see Sango step out... wearing one of Kagome's short skirts. Miroku promptly made a mental note to thank Kagome for her taste in clothing.
Sango fidgeted as she approached him. She kept tugging on the hem of the skirt in an attempt to make it longer. She could feel his steady gaze on her, on her legs, and it bothered her. She knew her legs were hardly what one could call feminine; they were too muscular to be anyone's ideal, but did he have to stare at her? Like she was some kind of freak?
Miroku looked up when she stopped in front of him. He licked lips suddenly gone dry. "Sango..."
Sango rushed past him to the stairs. "I'm sorry I kept you and Higurashi-san waiting so long." She was down the stairs and halfway to the kitchen before Miroku could move.
"Sango," he whispered. Then he grinned. She had really _really_ nice legs. And she was going to wear that short skirt all day. Definitely a good opportunity.
*****
Miroku stood at the entrance to the clothing shop Sango and Mrs. Higurashi were browsing through. He picked at his own modern clothes, not terribly impressed with them. The slacks and button-up shirt were horribly confining. He doubted he could move well enough to last long in a fight. Not that he was expecting to get into a fight here, but one never knows.
He also was not particularly interested in the clothes Sango was looking at (all were a bit too modest for his suddenly leg-obsessed mind), and so he busied himself with watching people pass by. He was amazed at how many there were.
People of all shapes and sizes strolled through the mall's main thoroughfare; they were old and young, energetic and listless, fat and thin. The only other time he had seen so many people in such a small location was at a festival in Kyoto. But even then, it had only lasted an hour or so. Mrs. Higurashi had mentioned that this was one of the least crowded times at the mall.
Speaking of time... He glanced up at the sky through one of the windows in the ceiling, the 'sky light.' Good name for it, he thought. What he could see of the sky was beginning to darken in preparation of twilight, and a single cloud, tinted pink, floated into view. Sango and Mrs. Higurashi had been shopping all afternoon. Weren't they done yet?
Miroku pushed off the wall he was leaning against and headed into the shop in search of the women. He found Mrs. Higurashi outside a slatted wooden door. "Higurashi-san, where is Sango?"
Something thumped against the door. "I'm in here," came Sango's muffled voice.
"Everything all right?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.
"Yeah," Sango could be heard clearly now. "I just got my head stuck, that's all." A pause. "Is it supposed to be this tight?"
"Let me see."
Sango opened the dressing room door. Miroku seriously considered whistling. The demon huntress was wearing a tight-knit clingy sweater and that wonderful skirt. Legs!
"Well, it looks all right," commented Mrs. Higurashi.
Miroku nodded mutely. Legs!
Sango pulled at the sweater. "I don't know. It's just tighter than what I'm used to."
Mrs. Higurashi quickly went to the sweater rack and brought back an identical sweater two sizes larger. "Try this one."
Sango did as she was told, preferred the larger one, and they purchased it, adding another bag to their stack.
Mrs. Higurashi checked her watch. "What are you two hungry for? Burgers, pizza, Mexican?"
At their blank stares, Mrs. Higurashi laughed. "I keep forgetting. You two have managed so well here that if I didn't know better, I'd say you had always lived in this time." She led the way to the food court, weaving nimbly through the crowd.
Noticing that Sango lagged behind, Miroku dropped back to speak with her, keeping an eye on Mrs. Higurashi in the press of people. "Why so quiet?"
Sango raised her gaze from the ground. "You heard what Higurashi-san said. We've adjusted to this world. That means I could probably live here."
Miroku stopped and grabbed her arm swinging her to face him. "You're still planning to leave?"
"It's only been a day since I started to think about it."
"And five hundred years!" he exclaimed. After receiving a few surprised stares from passersby, he lowered his voice, "Sango, listen to me, we're going to go back. Not just me, but both of us." Sango opened her mouth to protest, but he pressed his hand to her lips. "We won't go back immediately. In fact, we could stay until Kagome-sama and Inu-yasha come looking if you want, but we _are_ going back. Understand?"
"Sango! Miroku!" Mrs. Higurashi called, scanning the crowd for them.
Sango waved and started towards her. Miroku squeezed her arm, bringing her gaze back to his. "Understand?"
Sango pursed her lips, but nodded. Miroku released her arm, and they headed towards their guide.
*****
Miroku decided that he liked this ketchup. Especially on the greasy goodness that was what Higurashi-san called a "burger and fries." Mrs. Higurashi had gone to the "ladies' room," whatever that was, a minute ago, leaving him alone with Sango. He sneaked a glance at the huntress and noticed her staring unenthusiastically at her chicken sandwich.
"It's not going to fly off of your plate into your mouth, you know."
Sango jumped, startled, and looked up at him. "What? Oh," she lowered her eyes. "It's just that the food here is so... odd."
"Odd, but good."
She crinkled her nose. "What do you mean? That red stuff doesn't look _that_ appetizing."
"It is!" Miroku grinned. "It's some kind of tomato paste. Here," he grabbed a French fry and dipped it into the rather large pile of ketchup on the side of his burger's wrapper. He held it in front of her mouth. "Try it."
Sango leaned away from the fry. "No thanks."
"Oh, come on," Miroku playfully whined. "Please? I won't grope you for the rest of the day. Pleeeeease?"
Sango rolled her eyes. "You haven't groped me at all today. Why should you start now?"
Miroku didn't answer, just looked at her with pleading, puppy dog eyes.
The demon huntress sighed and held out her hand. "Okay, fine. I'll eat it."
Miroku grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He waved the fry in front of her face and then held it to her lips. "Here it is."
Sango tried to grab it, but Miroku pulled it out of her reach and, as soon as she lowered her hand, returned it to her lips. His mirth-filled eyes held a challenge, and Sango glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. She knew exactly what he wanted her to do, and, knowing him, he probably would not leave her alone until she did it. Resigned to her fate (and inwardly promising to pay the houshi back for this), her lips parted.
Smirking triumphantly, Miroku pressed the fry into her mouth and watched her glare dissolve into a pleased expression as she voiced her approval of the ketchup-dipped food item.
"Mmmff, thisf isf good."
Miroku picked up another fry, scooped up some more ketchup, and held it in front of her mouth again.
Sango swallowed and raised an eyebrow. "Can't I feed myself?"
"Nope." He twirled the fry, smearing ketchup on her lips.
Sango licked the sauce off and opened her mouth obediently. The French fry's progress was halted however when the conversation of an elderly couple a few tables away reached Miroku's ears.
"Oh, look!" exclaimed the woman in a voice loud enough for nearly the entire food court to here. When her husband looked in the direction she pointed, she pulled his few remaining wisps of hair so he was turned back around. "Don't look so obviously, dear," she hissed.
Chastised, the man glanced at them more surreptitiously. "He's feeding her," he commented, unimpressed.
"Yes!" gushed the old woman. "Isn't that so sweet? Don't you remember when we used to do that?" She swiveled around in her chair so she was facing a young family behind her. "You see, my Akira was such a sweetheart when we were young. He'd bring me flowers everyday. He worked on my father's farm, but boy! He did more wooing of me than working! But it was so sweet! And what's more..." She prattled on, the family nodding every once in a while, but eager to find an escape.
Miroku's face and neck reddening slightly, he dropped the fry to the table and stood. "Maybe we should find Higurashi-san."
Sango nodded as equally self-conscious now as Miroku was, and the two quickly gathered the shopping bags and hurried away from their table in the direction they had last seen Mrs. Higurashi going. They passed numerous shops, pausing to look into the more likely haunts of the older woman, but all were devoid of their guide. They traveled both the upper and lower levels of the mall, but never once did either of them see any sign of Mrs. Higurashi.
Exhausted from the fruitless searching, Sango collapsed on to a bench in the middle of the wide corridor and hung her head, thus she never saw Miroku wander away from her. When she finally did notice his absence, she leapt to her feet, looking around frantically. She caught a glimpse of his ponytail disappearing into the entrance of an unlit shop.
Frowning, she followed him, passing by a group of young men loitering outside. As she entered the threshold, she was overwhelmed with the loud noises coming from every direction. Harsh music pounded out of speakers in the ceiling, loud enough to shake the floor. Grunts, yells, and other strange noises erupted out of boxes set along both walls of the shop, in front of which people, all of them her age or younger, stood cheering or grumbling. A bright light flashed from the back of the shop, distracting her and casting everything in a discordant, nauseating world of shadows.
Sango wanted to leave this hellish place _now_, but she had to find Miroku. It was just so difficult with the strobe and the yells and the mass of people shifting- Sango tripped and, as she fell, felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and pull her upright.
"Miroku," she breathed in relief and looked up. Her savior wasn't the perverted monk, but a wide-eyed boy with a friendly grin and a face far too trusting, almost childishly so.
"Are you all right, miss?" he inquired politely, his brow creasing slightly with worry.
Sango nodded, heart still pounding but from more than just the adrenaline rush from her near fall. This stranger, even with the naive face, was certainly a looker! Sango realized just how close she and the boy were standing and, blushing, she pulled away. "Thank you for catching me," she murmured and bowed.
The boy placed his hand behind his head and laughed. "It's all right. You'd be surprised at how many times I have to do that a day." His carefree expression disappeared somewhat behind a more cunning mask. "Although those other girls do it on purpose, you didn't. So it was my pleasure to help you." He grinned once more.
Sango found herself smiling back at him. His cheerful personality was simply so infectious.
The boy held out his hand to her. "I guess I should introduce myself. Most people call me Hojo."
Sango stared at his hand for a moment before remembering that Mrs. Higurashi had mentioned something about a "handshake". This must be one of those. Hesitantly, she clasped his hand.
Hojo prodded, "And you are...?"
"Oh!" Sango flushed. "Um... Sango."
Hojo's grin widened. "Pretty name. It's not very common. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard it."
"It's archaic," growled a voice behind Hojo.
Sango, blushing quite profusely now, glanced over Hojo's shoulder and saw Miroku glaring daggers at the back of Hojo's head.
Clueless to the danger he was in, Hojo turned around and smiled his friendly, vapid smile. "Are you a friend of Sango-san's?"
Miroku's eyes narrowed, and he brushed past Hojo and grabbed Sango's wrist. "We're late, Sango. Higurashi-san is waiting."
"Higurashi?" Hojo looked surprised. "You two know Kagome-san?"
Miroku ignored the question and pulled Sango to the exit. Sango answered over her shoulder, "Close friends actually."
Miroku's grip tightened painfully on her arm as he yanked her out of the arcade, leaving Hojo staring after them.
Sango yelped and ripped herself free. "What is your problem?" she snapped. "I was trying to talk to Hojo!"
"I can see why Inu-yasha doesn't like him," Miroku gritted out from between clenched teeth as he glared at her in turn.
"What are you talking about?" Sango exclaimed.
"That's the guy from Kagome-sama's time that Inu-yasha's always ranting about. And justifiably so! He's a rude, thieving, two-timing, barbaric jerk!"
Sango blinked. "We're talking about Inu-yasha now?"
"No! That- that guy in there!" Miroku waved his hand towards the arcade.
"Hojo? He wasn't rude. In fact, he was far more polite than you were! I was having a conversation-"
"He had his hands all over you!"
"He did not!" Sango yelled, defending poor, oblivious Hojo. "I tripped, he caught me. _You_," she poked him in the chest, "touch me far more inappropriately than he did!"
"He was thinking about it though!"
"What? He was not! Not every man is as perverted as you!"
"Wanna bet?" Miroku challenged.
''Oh! There you two are!"
Miroku and Sango broke their fierce staring contest to glance at Mrs. Higurashi who, laden with another half a dozen bags, had materialized beside them.
"I shouldn't have left you two alone so long, but I saw this outfit in a store window, and I thought it would suit you so well, Sango! And I even found some other clothes for you, Miroku. Something a bit more modern than my Kenji's old clothes." She walked past them in the general direction of the exit.
Realizing that they did not follow, she looked back and asked, "Is everything all right? Both of you look rather stressed." Her tone held a hint of motherly concern.
Miroku forced a nonchalant smile. "Everything's just fine. It has simply been a long day. Higurashi-san, I believe both Sango and myself are exhausted from the shopping."
Sango simply nodded, not trusting herself to be able to keep from railing at Miroku if she did open her mouth.
Mrs. Higurashi smiled compassionately. "I understand. I know I'm quite the avid shopper, but one almost has to to be able to get any good deals. Come on then! Let's get back to the house, and you two can have a nice rest!"
Future Lovin' Part 3
Sango stretched. Kagome-chan's bed had to be the softest surface she had ever slept on in her entire life. She didn't want to move and certainly didn't want to wake up. She was so determined to remain asleep that she refused to open her eyes. That is, until her hands bumped something over her head. She opened her eyes.
Miroku was leaning over her, staring at her face. Sango cried out and slapped him. The monk jumped back. "Geez, Sango! I was just waking you up!"
Sango glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, you didn't have to be that close to me to do it!" she snapped grumpily.
"That wasn't close. This," and he shoved his face towards her so that their noses touched, "is close."
Mrs. Higurashi chose that opportune moment to walk in. She took one look at the scene and smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry for interrupting."
Sango blushed and pushed Miroku's face out of hers. "You weren't, Higurashi-san. Ano... Last night you said something about shopping..."
"Yes!" Mrs. Higurashi rooted through Kagome's closet before handing Sango a pile of colorful clothes. "These are some of Kagome's clothes that you can wear at the mall. They're not quite so revealing as the rest of her clothes. Not that short skirts are exactly revealing compared to what some girls wear. Sometimes they're practically not wearing anything!"
Seeing Miroku's sudden interest in the conversation, Sango steered it away from the subject of girls. "What exactly is this mall?"
Miroku nodded, also wanting to know.
Mrs. Higurashi slapped her forehead. "Of course! I keep forgetting! It's basically a collection of shops in one gigantic building, a sort of indoor marketplace. I was just coming up to see if you were awake. Obviously, Miroku beat me to it."
Miroku grinned. "Well, it is nearly noon-"
"What? Noon! I've never slept this late before!" Sango jumped off the bed and frantically pulled the covers up into a state of semi-order.
Mrs. Higurashi set a firm hand on her shoulder. "It's all right. You must have needed it. Now get dressed- wait, you should probably take a shower first. Come with me." She gently pulled Sango towards the hallway. "You too, Miroku."
The monk followed them into a small rectangular room that had a blue tiled floor. A large block with an oval-shaped hole cut into it was opposite him along with an oddly shaped contraption that he had no clue what its uses could be and a sink beside it. At least there was one thing he recognized.
Sango and Miroku listened attentively as Mrs. Higurashi pointed to the hole and the knobs attached to the wall above it. "You turn this one for cold water, this one for hot, and you pull this to switch the water from the faucet to the showerhead." She demonstrated as she spoke.
Sango reached forward and let the water play across her fingers. "It's an indoor waterfall," she breathed in awe.
Mrs. Higurashi smiled and opened a cupboard on the wall next to the shower. She pulled out a towel and washcloth and handed them to Sango. "There's shampoo and soap in the shower. Don't forget to close the shower curtain so the floor won't get wet. Have fun!" She exited, pulling Miroku out with her.
Sango stared with surprise at the closed door and then at the cloth in her hands. Finally, she turned to the shower. She dropped the towels, disrobed, and stepped under the water. Yeow! Cold! Sango jumped back out and wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. It had been warm a moment ago!
Remembering what Higurashi-san had told her about the knobs, she twisted the hot one and tested the water with her hand. Good, getting warmer. She stepped in again and pulled the curtain closed as ordered. Not that it really mattered much anymore, with all the jumping and the curtain being open so long, puddles had already formed.
Sango's first shower was successful, sort of. She had used Kagome's shampoo before so there were no nasty surprises there. Other than the brief temperature problem, the water was nice... the only problem was really in the showerhead itself. She had bumped it when she was sudsing her hair and discovered that it moved. Pleased by this fact, the stream of water had been just a little too low for her liking, she played with it, adjusting it to different spots.
Then it fell off.
Water began spraying in all directions, and Sango panicked. She tried covering the stream and only succeeded in sending the water further and in more directions. She remembered the knobs.
She turned both, but rather than the water turning off, it increased in intensity and temperature. After the brief scalding, she turned the knobs the opposite direction and was frozen... again. And still the water flew everywhere. Finally, she turned the knobs in different directions, and the water stopped.
Sango sighed and slumped. She failed to see why Kagome-chan loved these showers so much... well, it was nice to bathe in a warm waterfall for a change. Maybe it would become easier to use with practice.
She wrung out her hair and grabbed her towel. She quickly dried off and reached for her clothes... except that they weren't there. The things she had slept in were lying discarded on the floor, but she must have left the clean clothes Higurashi-san handed to her in Kagome's room. She picked up the pajamas and dropped them again. They landed with a wet splat. They had gotten soaked in the fight with the showerhead.
She looked down at her towel-covered form. Well, the distance from the bathing room to Kagome's room wasn't far. She could slip in and get dressed before anyone knew she was done with her shower. Confident in this plan, she entered the hallway... and came face to face with Miroku.
*****
Miroku's day had been strange. He had woken up when he tumbled off the couch. After picking himself off the floor and straightening his robes- which he had managed to persuade Mrs. Higurashi to let him sleep in- he had ventured into the kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi was busy making breakfast, and she had insisted he not do anything to help. So he had watched her scramble about the kitchen for a time, and finally she had set a plate full of eggs, sausage, and three round breads that she had called pancakes before him.
After his first bite, he had inhaled the food. It was good, very good. Mrs. Higurashi had then introduced him to a large black box in the living room, a television, shown him how to work it, and left to clean up from breakfast.
Miroku had watched the television mindlessly for an hour or so before he realized that he had not seen Sango all morning. That's when he had crept into her room. To be honest, he was not trying to wake her up. In fact, he would have simply stood there staring at her for the remainder of the day had she not stretched and hit him in the face.
The next few minutes had gone by quickly with Mrs. Higurashi coming in, showing them the shower, and then dragging him out of the bathroom so Sango could bathe. Since then, he had wandered, not sure what to do with himself.
Which brought him to the present; which was, in essence, staring at Sango's barely-clad form outside the bathroom door. He had a distinct feeling that he was about to be slapped, but the blow never fell. Sango never even raised her hand to deliver one.
All Sango did was blush and back into the bathroom. "Um... Houshi-sama."
Her voice broke him out of whatever trance he had fallen into. He looked down at his feet, his cheeks stained pink. Now why was _he_ blushing? He'd seen her naked before. True, that had always been planned, but it should be no different now, right?
Sango slipped past him in the direction of Kagome's room, leaving him to his thoughts and the lovely view of his toes. Naturally, his mind was not on his feet nor even on the reasons for his blushing, but on Sango and, well, her legs. He had never realized how nice her legs were. Yeah, he had seen them when she wore her skintight exterminator garb, but skintight could never hope to compare to bare skin. And the few times he had peeked in on her baths, he wasn't looking at her legs.
And Sango's legs were so much nicer than Kagome's, not that there was anything wrong with them. It was simply that Sango's had a sleek, firm tone to them that Kagome's lacked. Inu-yasha would probably disagree, but Miroku knew that he would be one dead hentai monk if the hanyou knew he had been looking at Kagome's legs.
The door to Kagome's room reopened, and he glanced up to see Sango step out... wearing one of Kagome's short skirts. Miroku promptly made a mental note to thank Kagome for her taste in clothing.
Sango fidgeted as she approached him. She kept tugging on the hem of the skirt in an attempt to make it longer. She could feel his steady gaze on her, on her legs, and it bothered her. She knew her legs were hardly what one could call feminine; they were too muscular to be anyone's ideal, but did he have to stare at her? Like she was some kind of freak?
Miroku looked up when she stopped in front of him. He licked lips suddenly gone dry. "Sango..."
Sango rushed past him to the stairs. "I'm sorry I kept you and Higurashi-san waiting so long." She was down the stairs and halfway to the kitchen before Miroku could move.
"Sango," he whispered. Then he grinned. She had really _really_ nice legs. And she was going to wear that short skirt all day. Definitely a good opportunity.
*****
Miroku stood at the entrance to the clothing shop Sango and Mrs. Higurashi were browsing through. He picked at his own modern clothes, not terribly impressed with them. The slacks and button-up shirt were horribly confining. He doubted he could move well enough to last long in a fight. Not that he was expecting to get into a fight here, but one never knows.
He also was not particularly interested in the clothes Sango was looking at (all were a bit too modest for his suddenly leg-obsessed mind), and so he busied himself with watching people pass by. He was amazed at how many there were.
People of all shapes and sizes strolled through the mall's main thoroughfare; they were old and young, energetic and listless, fat and thin. The only other time he had seen so many people in such a small location was at a festival in Kyoto. But even then, it had only lasted an hour or so. Mrs. Higurashi had mentioned that this was one of the least crowded times at the mall.
Speaking of time... He glanced up at the sky through one of the windows in the ceiling, the 'sky light.' Good name for it, he thought. What he could see of the sky was beginning to darken in preparation of twilight, and a single cloud, tinted pink, floated into view. Sango and Mrs. Higurashi had been shopping all afternoon. Weren't they done yet?
Miroku pushed off the wall he was leaning against and headed into the shop in search of the women. He found Mrs. Higurashi outside a slatted wooden door. "Higurashi-san, where is Sango?"
Something thumped against the door. "I'm in here," came Sango's muffled voice.
"Everything all right?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.
"Yeah," Sango could be heard clearly now. "I just got my head stuck, that's all." A pause. "Is it supposed to be this tight?"
"Let me see."
Sango opened the dressing room door. Miroku seriously considered whistling. The demon huntress was wearing a tight-knit clingy sweater and that wonderful skirt. Legs!
"Well, it looks all right," commented Mrs. Higurashi.
Miroku nodded mutely. Legs!
Sango pulled at the sweater. "I don't know. It's just tighter than what I'm used to."
Mrs. Higurashi quickly went to the sweater rack and brought back an identical sweater two sizes larger. "Try this one."
Sango did as she was told, preferred the larger one, and they purchased it, adding another bag to their stack.
Mrs. Higurashi checked her watch. "What are you two hungry for? Burgers, pizza, Mexican?"
At their blank stares, Mrs. Higurashi laughed. "I keep forgetting. You two have managed so well here that if I didn't know better, I'd say you had always lived in this time." She led the way to the food court, weaving nimbly through the crowd.
Noticing that Sango lagged behind, Miroku dropped back to speak with her, keeping an eye on Mrs. Higurashi in the press of people. "Why so quiet?"
Sango raised her gaze from the ground. "You heard what Higurashi-san said. We've adjusted to this world. That means I could probably live here."
Miroku stopped and grabbed her arm swinging her to face him. "You're still planning to leave?"
"It's only been a day since I started to think about it."
"And five hundred years!" he exclaimed. After receiving a few surprised stares from passersby, he lowered his voice, "Sango, listen to me, we're going to go back. Not just me, but both of us." Sango opened her mouth to protest, but he pressed his hand to her lips. "We won't go back immediately. In fact, we could stay until Kagome-sama and Inu-yasha come looking if you want, but we _are_ going back. Understand?"
"Sango! Miroku!" Mrs. Higurashi called, scanning the crowd for them.
Sango waved and started towards her. Miroku squeezed her arm, bringing her gaze back to his. "Understand?"
Sango pursed her lips, but nodded. Miroku released her arm, and they headed towards their guide.
*****
Miroku decided that he liked this ketchup. Especially on the greasy goodness that was what Higurashi-san called a "burger and fries." Mrs. Higurashi had gone to the "ladies' room," whatever that was, a minute ago, leaving him alone with Sango. He sneaked a glance at the huntress and noticed her staring unenthusiastically at her chicken sandwich.
"It's not going to fly off of your plate into your mouth, you know."
Sango jumped, startled, and looked up at him. "What? Oh," she lowered her eyes. "It's just that the food here is so... odd."
"Odd, but good."
She crinkled her nose. "What do you mean? That red stuff doesn't look _that_ appetizing."
"It is!" Miroku grinned. "It's some kind of tomato paste. Here," he grabbed a French fry and dipped it into the rather large pile of ketchup on the side of his burger's wrapper. He held it in front of her mouth. "Try it."
Sango leaned away from the fry. "No thanks."
"Oh, come on," Miroku playfully whined. "Please? I won't grope you for the rest of the day. Pleeeeease?"
Sango rolled her eyes. "You haven't groped me at all today. Why should you start now?"
Miroku didn't answer, just looked at her with pleading, puppy dog eyes.
The demon huntress sighed and held out her hand. "Okay, fine. I'll eat it."
Miroku grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He waved the fry in front of her face and then held it to her lips. "Here it is."
Sango tried to grab it, but Miroku pulled it out of her reach and, as soon as she lowered her hand, returned it to her lips. His mirth-filled eyes held a challenge, and Sango glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. She knew exactly what he wanted her to do, and, knowing him, he probably would not leave her alone until she did it. Resigned to her fate (and inwardly promising to pay the houshi back for this), her lips parted.
Smirking triumphantly, Miroku pressed the fry into her mouth and watched her glare dissolve into a pleased expression as she voiced her approval of the ketchup-dipped food item.
"Mmmff, thisf isf good."
Miroku picked up another fry, scooped up some more ketchup, and held it in front of her mouth again.
Sango swallowed and raised an eyebrow. "Can't I feed myself?"
"Nope." He twirled the fry, smearing ketchup on her lips.
Sango licked the sauce off and opened her mouth obediently. The French fry's progress was halted however when the conversation of an elderly couple a few tables away reached Miroku's ears.
"Oh, look!" exclaimed the woman in a voice loud enough for nearly the entire food court to here. When her husband looked in the direction she pointed, she pulled his few remaining wisps of hair so he was turned back around. "Don't look so obviously, dear," she hissed.
Chastised, the man glanced at them more surreptitiously. "He's feeding her," he commented, unimpressed.
"Yes!" gushed the old woman. "Isn't that so sweet? Don't you remember when we used to do that?" She swiveled around in her chair so she was facing a young family behind her. "You see, my Akira was such a sweetheart when we were young. He'd bring me flowers everyday. He worked on my father's farm, but boy! He did more wooing of me than working! But it was so sweet! And what's more..." She prattled on, the family nodding every once in a while, but eager to find an escape.
Miroku's face and neck reddening slightly, he dropped the fry to the table and stood. "Maybe we should find Higurashi-san."
Sango nodded as equally self-conscious now as Miroku was, and the two quickly gathered the shopping bags and hurried away from their table in the direction they had last seen Mrs. Higurashi going. They passed numerous shops, pausing to look into the more likely haunts of the older woman, but all were devoid of their guide. They traveled both the upper and lower levels of the mall, but never once did either of them see any sign of Mrs. Higurashi.
Exhausted from the fruitless searching, Sango collapsed on to a bench in the middle of the wide corridor and hung her head, thus she never saw Miroku wander away from her. When she finally did notice his absence, she leapt to her feet, looking around frantically. She caught a glimpse of his ponytail disappearing into the entrance of an unlit shop.
Frowning, she followed him, passing by a group of young men loitering outside. As she entered the threshold, she was overwhelmed with the loud noises coming from every direction. Harsh music pounded out of speakers in the ceiling, loud enough to shake the floor. Grunts, yells, and other strange noises erupted out of boxes set along both walls of the shop, in front of which people, all of them her age or younger, stood cheering or grumbling. A bright light flashed from the back of the shop, distracting her and casting everything in a discordant, nauseating world of shadows.
Sango wanted to leave this hellish place _now_, but she had to find Miroku. It was just so difficult with the strobe and the yells and the mass of people shifting- Sango tripped and, as she fell, felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and pull her upright.
"Miroku," she breathed in relief and looked up. Her savior wasn't the perverted monk, but a wide-eyed boy with a friendly grin and a face far too trusting, almost childishly so.
"Are you all right, miss?" he inquired politely, his brow creasing slightly with worry.
Sango nodded, heart still pounding but from more than just the adrenaline rush from her near fall. This stranger, even with the naive face, was certainly a looker! Sango realized just how close she and the boy were standing and, blushing, she pulled away. "Thank you for catching me," she murmured and bowed.
The boy placed his hand behind his head and laughed. "It's all right. You'd be surprised at how many times I have to do that a day." His carefree expression disappeared somewhat behind a more cunning mask. "Although those other girls do it on purpose, you didn't. So it was my pleasure to help you." He grinned once more.
Sango found herself smiling back at him. His cheerful personality was simply so infectious.
The boy held out his hand to her. "I guess I should introduce myself. Most people call me Hojo."
Sango stared at his hand for a moment before remembering that Mrs. Higurashi had mentioned something about a "handshake". This must be one of those. Hesitantly, she clasped his hand.
Hojo prodded, "And you are...?"
"Oh!" Sango flushed. "Um... Sango."
Hojo's grin widened. "Pretty name. It's not very common. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard it."
"It's archaic," growled a voice behind Hojo.
Sango, blushing quite profusely now, glanced over Hojo's shoulder and saw Miroku glaring daggers at the back of Hojo's head.
Clueless to the danger he was in, Hojo turned around and smiled his friendly, vapid smile. "Are you a friend of Sango-san's?"
Miroku's eyes narrowed, and he brushed past Hojo and grabbed Sango's wrist. "We're late, Sango. Higurashi-san is waiting."
"Higurashi?" Hojo looked surprised. "You two know Kagome-san?"
Miroku ignored the question and pulled Sango to the exit. Sango answered over her shoulder, "Close friends actually."
Miroku's grip tightened painfully on her arm as he yanked her out of the arcade, leaving Hojo staring after them.
Sango yelped and ripped herself free. "What is your problem?" she snapped. "I was trying to talk to Hojo!"
"I can see why Inu-yasha doesn't like him," Miroku gritted out from between clenched teeth as he glared at her in turn.
"What are you talking about?" Sango exclaimed.
"That's the guy from Kagome-sama's time that Inu-yasha's always ranting about. And justifiably so! He's a rude, thieving, two-timing, barbaric jerk!"
Sango blinked. "We're talking about Inu-yasha now?"
"No! That- that guy in there!" Miroku waved his hand towards the arcade.
"Hojo? He wasn't rude. In fact, he was far more polite than you were! I was having a conversation-"
"He had his hands all over you!"
"He did not!" Sango yelled, defending poor, oblivious Hojo. "I tripped, he caught me. _You_," she poked him in the chest, "touch me far more inappropriately than he did!"
"He was thinking about it though!"
"What? He was not! Not every man is as perverted as you!"
"Wanna bet?" Miroku challenged.
''Oh! There you two are!"
Miroku and Sango broke their fierce staring contest to glance at Mrs. Higurashi who, laden with another half a dozen bags, had materialized beside them.
"I shouldn't have left you two alone so long, but I saw this outfit in a store window, and I thought it would suit you so well, Sango! And I even found some other clothes for you, Miroku. Something a bit more modern than my Kenji's old clothes." She walked past them in the general direction of the exit.
Realizing that they did not follow, she looked back and asked, "Is everything all right? Both of you look rather stressed." Her tone held a hint of motherly concern.
Miroku forced a nonchalant smile. "Everything's just fine. It has simply been a long day. Higurashi-san, I believe both Sango and myself are exhausted from the shopping."
Sango simply nodded, not trusting herself to be able to keep from railing at Miroku if she did open her mouth.
Mrs. Higurashi smiled compassionately. "I understand. I know I'm quite the avid shopper, but one almost has to to be able to get any good deals. Come on then! Let's get back to the house, and you two can have a nice rest!"