Miroku's Bedtime Stories
Chapter 7
Just Between Friends
(AN: Sorry about all the blather, but I just thought I should make it clear that this story takes place a bit later in the series. The romantic relationships are just starting to define themselves, but they've all been together for a while. Just in case someone asks. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum for those who are new to Inuyasha, okay? Although this is an M/S fic, I can't just ignore Inu and Kagome, either. There'll be plenty of them, too. Different points of view will be presented. I can't seem to write a story from one person's perspective all the way through.)
Kagome opened her eyes. Sometimes, when she and Inuyasha were virtually flying through the trees, she had to close her eyes to keep from getting dizzy. Shippou seemed to like it a lot, though. He never got enough of riding on the hanyou's back.
They were traveling again. They really couldn't stay anywhere for too long, although that last village had been pretty nice.
Miroku, Sango on Kirara were traveling behind them. She frowned slightly and shifted her tight grip on Inuyasha's haori.
They were in a hurry to get though this dense forest before nightfall, traveling fast. There were times when just walking was too slow.
Miroku hadn't said a word to Inuyasha since the day they fought the giant otter demon.
Of course, Inuyasha had behaved like a big jerk, Kagome thought.
What else was new?
But, she didn't like the tension between her two friends.
She wondered if Inuyasha even cared that he had friends, sometimes. He was very proud of the fact that he'd never had to rely on anyone.
She felt sorry for him, thinking about how lonely he must have been, but he was so exasperating, too.
It was often hard to be Inuyasha's friend. She exhaled a huge sigh.
Inuyasha paused, panting slightly.
"Do you need to stop?" he asked her. They were on the ground. The forest had started to break into little clearings, so they were getting closer to more open ground.
Safer here.
There was a small creek nearby, too. Or so Inuyasha said. He could smell it and hear it.
"Please," said Kagome. Her legs were beginning to ache. "I'm sure Shippou needs a break too."
"Yeah, I'm hungry," the little kitsune piped up.
"You're always hungry," grumbled Inuyasha.
"Lucky for you I still have plenty of ramen in my backpack," said Kagome brightly.
"I'll build a fire."
Kagome grinned. The promise of ramen always brought out Inuyasha's cooperative side.
She pulled out a canteen full of water and emptied it into a small aluminum pot.
"I must be on the world's longest camping trip," she thought to herself. Her friends back in at school often asked her why she bought so much camping gear.
She'd become a good liar in the last year or so. She wasn't exactly happy about that.
Sometimes she wondered how her classmates would react if she just told them, "I spend my off time in the Sengoku Jidai hunting down sacred jewel shards with a half man, half dog youkai. We slay demons and evil sorcerers , too. And oh, by the way, I think I'm in love with this guy who isn't even human."
She'd just began to admit that to herself. "How can you go from not even liking someone, actually being a little scared of them, and then one day you realize they're all you think about?" she wondered.
She looked over at him, quickly and skillfully building a small fire.
Miroku and Sango arrived in the clearing, too, finally.
There was definitely some tension in the air as Miroku and Inuyasha barely acknowledged each other.
This had to end now, Kagome thought.
"Please come over and sit down," she called. "I'm going to make us all something to eat."
They came over, and Kirara quickly changed into her smaller housecat sized form and jumped up on Sango's shoulder.
"Thank you, Lady Kagome," said Miroku, sitting on the soft grass.
Sango nodded. "It's been a hard two days of traveling fast. Perhaps we ought to camp her tonight. It seems pleasant enough." She patted the ground.
"And the ground is soft and level here."
"Always important!" said Kagome brightly.
"So, it's decided, then," said Kagome, clapping her hands together. "We'll stay here tonight."
Inuyasha grunted, "Who died and left you two women in charge?"
"Someone wants to kiss the ground really badly!" warned Kagome as she carefully poured hot water into the instant ramen cups.
"FEH!" said Inuyasha, loudly, walking off a few paces and sat down facing the other way, folding his arms inside the sleeves of his gi. His usual, "Leave me the hell alone," pose, thought Kagome.
"I'm going to go look around," Miroku said suddenly, getting to his feet.
"Oh great!" thought Kagome. "They're never going to speak to each other again, at this rate!"
"Don't you want to eat first, Miroku?" she asked him. He sat back down and nodded at her.
She looked over at Sango, who was frowning.
"Sango-chan," she said, "Help me pass these around, please."
Sango nodded and soon they were all quietly eating.
Kagome said, "Perhaps tonight, you can think of another story to tell us, Miroku? Please?"
He put down his chopsticks, finished. "Certainly, Lady Kagome. I'm so happy you enjoy my foolish little tales."
"They're not foolish, houshi-sama," protested Sango shyly. "I enjoyed them too." She averted her eyes to the ground as she said this.
"Me too!" said Shippou, trying to see if there was any more ramen in Kagome's cup.
Inuyasha had slowly inched his way closer to the group during the meal, and now sat beside Kagome and Shippou. "Come with me, Shippou and we'll see if there are any fish we can catch in that stream," said Inuyasha.
"Oh, some fish for supper would be nice," Kagome said.
"I'll come too, Inuyasha," said Miroku, standing up. "Maybe I can help."
"Whatever," said Inuyasha, striding off with Shippou on his shoulder.
Miroku followed behind a few paces.
Sango and Kagome gather up the remnants of their meal to burn in the fire.
Kagome could tell Sango felt the same way she did. These bad feelings between the houshi and the hanyou were affecting everyone.
"Maybe they'll work it out away from us," said Kagome to her friend, reaching over to pat her on the arm.
"Perhaps," said Sango thoughtfully. "If they don't try to kill each other first."
Kagome laughed ruefully. "Well, one way or another, this has to stop."
Sango nodded. "Kagome-chan?" she asked tentatively, looking around.
"What?" said Kagome, putting a little wood on the fire. If she kept it going, then they wouldn't have to start another come nightfall.
"Have you, I mean, have you ever, um, kissed anyone?" she blurted out.
Kagome looked up. "You mean a real kiss?" she asked, her face getting a little warm.
"Hai," said Sango. "Kissed by a man." Her face was turning pink, too.
"Does Inuyasha count?" asked Kagome, smiling at her friend. "Inuyasha kissed you?" asked Sango, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Once," said Kagome coyly. "It just sort of happened."
"Why do you want to know, Sango?" Kagome asked her, curious.
"Oh, no particular reason," said Sango, lying badly.
"Have you ever been kissed, Sango?" asked Kagome slyly. "Come on, fair is fair. I confessed to you. I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."
"Hai," said Sango, now blushing bright red.
"REALLY!" squealed Kagome.
Sango shushed her friend. "Please!" she said waving her hands frantically at Kagome.
"Who was it, Sango, I just have to know!" said Kagome eyes sparkling with curious excitement.
"I don't know if I can..." hedged Sango, now completely embarrassed.
"It wasn't....Miroku?" said Kagome, putting two and two together and coming up with six.
"Hai," she said almost inaudibly.
"OH Kami-Sama!" Kagome squealed again, hugging her friend who still resembled a boiled lobster. "I knew it, I knew there was something between you two!"
"Please, Kagome, does the whole forest have to know?" begged Sango, looking anxiously around her.
"It was just foolishness, I asked him to kiss me," she whispered. "I doubt he'd have ever done it otherwise."
"Why did you ask him to kiss you," asked Kagome, looking puzzled. "I just wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed," admitted Sango quietly. "What if... something happened to me and I never had found out?"
"Oh, Sango," said Kagome sympathetically. She hugged her friend again.
"You see, that's all it was." Sango looked wistfully in the direction Miroku and Inuyasha had gone.
"I think Miroku has feelings for you, Sango," said Kagome, looking thoughtful. "I see him looking at you..."
"He looks at all women like that," said Sango shrugging her shoulders.
Kagome had to laugh. "He hasn't asked anyone 'the question' in a few months, though."
"Hm, that's true," said Sango. "I really hadn't noticed until you mentioned it."
"And, no wandering hands," added Kagome. "Except that time with you a few weeks ago."
"He promised me he wouldn't," said Sango, looking up at Kagome through her lashes.
"Really?" asked Kagome again. "Well that's something," she said encouragingly.
Sango shook her head. "We shouldn't be talking about this anymore, Kagome, it's just too foolish." She rose to get up.
"But, we're friends," Kagome said. "I have to talk to somebody!" she rose too.
Sango nodded. "It'll be our secret, then," she said, smiling.
"Right, just between the two of us."
Chapter 7
Just Between Friends
(AN: Sorry about all the blather, but I just thought I should make it clear that this story takes place a bit later in the series. The romantic relationships are just starting to define themselves, but they've all been together for a while. Just in case someone asks. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum for those who are new to Inuyasha, okay? Although this is an M/S fic, I can't just ignore Inu and Kagome, either. There'll be plenty of them, too. Different points of view will be presented. I can't seem to write a story from one person's perspective all the way through.)
Kagome opened her eyes. Sometimes, when she and Inuyasha were virtually flying through the trees, she had to close her eyes to keep from getting dizzy. Shippou seemed to like it a lot, though. He never got enough of riding on the hanyou's back.
They were traveling again. They really couldn't stay anywhere for too long, although that last village had been pretty nice.
Miroku, Sango on Kirara were traveling behind them. She frowned slightly and shifted her tight grip on Inuyasha's haori.
They were in a hurry to get though this dense forest before nightfall, traveling fast. There were times when just walking was too slow.
Miroku hadn't said a word to Inuyasha since the day they fought the giant otter demon.
Of course, Inuyasha had behaved like a big jerk, Kagome thought.
What else was new?
But, she didn't like the tension between her two friends.
She wondered if Inuyasha even cared that he had friends, sometimes. He was very proud of the fact that he'd never had to rely on anyone.
She felt sorry for him, thinking about how lonely he must have been, but he was so exasperating, too.
It was often hard to be Inuyasha's friend. She exhaled a huge sigh.
Inuyasha paused, panting slightly.
"Do you need to stop?" he asked her. They were on the ground. The forest had started to break into little clearings, so they were getting closer to more open ground.
Safer here.
There was a small creek nearby, too. Or so Inuyasha said. He could smell it and hear it.
"Please," said Kagome. Her legs were beginning to ache. "I'm sure Shippou needs a break too."
"Yeah, I'm hungry," the little kitsune piped up.
"You're always hungry," grumbled Inuyasha.
"Lucky for you I still have plenty of ramen in my backpack," said Kagome brightly.
"I'll build a fire."
Kagome grinned. The promise of ramen always brought out Inuyasha's cooperative side.
She pulled out a canteen full of water and emptied it into a small aluminum pot.
"I must be on the world's longest camping trip," she thought to herself. Her friends back in at school often asked her why she bought so much camping gear.
She'd become a good liar in the last year or so. She wasn't exactly happy about that.
Sometimes she wondered how her classmates would react if she just told them, "I spend my off time in the Sengoku Jidai hunting down sacred jewel shards with a half man, half dog youkai. We slay demons and evil sorcerers , too. And oh, by the way, I think I'm in love with this guy who isn't even human."
She'd just began to admit that to herself. "How can you go from not even liking someone, actually being a little scared of them, and then one day you realize they're all you think about?" she wondered.
She looked over at him, quickly and skillfully building a small fire.
Miroku and Sango arrived in the clearing, too, finally.
There was definitely some tension in the air as Miroku and Inuyasha barely acknowledged each other.
This had to end now, Kagome thought.
"Please come over and sit down," she called. "I'm going to make us all something to eat."
They came over, and Kirara quickly changed into her smaller housecat sized form and jumped up on Sango's shoulder.
"Thank you, Lady Kagome," said Miroku, sitting on the soft grass.
Sango nodded. "It's been a hard two days of traveling fast. Perhaps we ought to camp her tonight. It seems pleasant enough." She patted the ground.
"And the ground is soft and level here."
"Always important!" said Kagome brightly.
"So, it's decided, then," said Kagome, clapping her hands together. "We'll stay here tonight."
Inuyasha grunted, "Who died and left you two women in charge?"
"Someone wants to kiss the ground really badly!" warned Kagome as she carefully poured hot water into the instant ramen cups.
"FEH!" said Inuyasha, loudly, walking off a few paces and sat down facing the other way, folding his arms inside the sleeves of his gi. His usual, "Leave me the hell alone," pose, thought Kagome.
"I'm going to go look around," Miroku said suddenly, getting to his feet.
"Oh great!" thought Kagome. "They're never going to speak to each other again, at this rate!"
"Don't you want to eat first, Miroku?" she asked him. He sat back down and nodded at her.
She looked over at Sango, who was frowning.
"Sango-chan," she said, "Help me pass these around, please."
Sango nodded and soon they were all quietly eating.
Kagome said, "Perhaps tonight, you can think of another story to tell us, Miroku? Please?"
He put down his chopsticks, finished. "Certainly, Lady Kagome. I'm so happy you enjoy my foolish little tales."
"They're not foolish, houshi-sama," protested Sango shyly. "I enjoyed them too." She averted her eyes to the ground as she said this.
"Me too!" said Shippou, trying to see if there was any more ramen in Kagome's cup.
Inuyasha had slowly inched his way closer to the group during the meal, and now sat beside Kagome and Shippou. "Come with me, Shippou and we'll see if there are any fish we can catch in that stream," said Inuyasha.
"Oh, some fish for supper would be nice," Kagome said.
"I'll come too, Inuyasha," said Miroku, standing up. "Maybe I can help."
"Whatever," said Inuyasha, striding off with Shippou on his shoulder.
Miroku followed behind a few paces.
Sango and Kagome gather up the remnants of their meal to burn in the fire.
Kagome could tell Sango felt the same way she did. These bad feelings between the houshi and the hanyou were affecting everyone.
"Maybe they'll work it out away from us," said Kagome to her friend, reaching over to pat her on the arm.
"Perhaps," said Sango thoughtfully. "If they don't try to kill each other first."
Kagome laughed ruefully. "Well, one way or another, this has to stop."
Sango nodded. "Kagome-chan?" she asked tentatively, looking around.
"What?" said Kagome, putting a little wood on the fire. If she kept it going, then they wouldn't have to start another come nightfall.
"Have you, I mean, have you ever, um, kissed anyone?" she blurted out.
Kagome looked up. "You mean a real kiss?" she asked, her face getting a little warm.
"Hai," said Sango. "Kissed by a man." Her face was turning pink, too.
"Does Inuyasha count?" asked Kagome, smiling at her friend. "Inuyasha kissed you?" asked Sango, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Once," said Kagome coyly. "It just sort of happened."
"Why do you want to know, Sango?" Kagome asked her, curious.
"Oh, no particular reason," said Sango, lying badly.
"Have you ever been kissed, Sango?" asked Kagome slyly. "Come on, fair is fair. I confessed to you. I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."
"Hai," said Sango, now blushing bright red.
"REALLY!" squealed Kagome.
Sango shushed her friend. "Please!" she said waving her hands frantically at Kagome.
"Who was it, Sango, I just have to know!" said Kagome eyes sparkling with curious excitement.
"I don't know if I can..." hedged Sango, now completely embarrassed.
"It wasn't....Miroku?" said Kagome, putting two and two together and coming up with six.
"Hai," she said almost inaudibly.
"OH Kami-Sama!" Kagome squealed again, hugging her friend who still resembled a boiled lobster. "I knew it, I knew there was something between you two!"
"Please, Kagome, does the whole forest have to know?" begged Sango, looking anxiously around her.
"It was just foolishness, I asked him to kiss me," she whispered. "I doubt he'd have ever done it otherwise."
"Why did you ask him to kiss you," asked Kagome, looking puzzled. "I just wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed," admitted Sango quietly. "What if... something happened to me and I never had found out?"
"Oh, Sango," said Kagome sympathetically. She hugged her friend again.
"You see, that's all it was." Sango looked wistfully in the direction Miroku and Inuyasha had gone.
"I think Miroku has feelings for you, Sango," said Kagome, looking thoughtful. "I see him looking at you..."
"He looks at all women like that," said Sango shrugging her shoulders.
Kagome had to laugh. "He hasn't asked anyone 'the question' in a few months, though."
"Hm, that's true," said Sango. "I really hadn't noticed until you mentioned it."
"And, no wandering hands," added Kagome. "Except that time with you a few weeks ago."
"He promised me he wouldn't," said Sango, looking up at Kagome through her lashes.
"Really?" asked Kagome again. "Well that's something," she said encouragingly.
Sango shook her head. "We shouldn't be talking about this anymore, Kagome, it's just too foolish." She rose to get up.
"But, we're friends," Kagome said. "I have to talk to somebody!" she rose too.
Sango nodded. "It'll be our secret, then," she said, smiling.
"Right, just between the two of us."