by Ironraven
Discalimer: Inuyasha and company aren't mine. They are the property of Rumiko Takahashi-sama.
*bows to Lachesis-san, my editor*
A strange man in the armour of a taijya has appeared, claiming to be named Kiyoshi. Sango clearly knows him. And quiet well- he as introduced himself as her betrothed.
---
Kagome was the first to find her voice. "Betrothed? Sango? When did this happen?"
Shippou slipped from her arms, his eyes wide as the male hunter's hands slid lower in the hug, moving in the direction that had earned the monk a dented skull so many times. Inuyasha studied the man with the eyes of a fighter, looking for hidden weapons and weaknesses. Sango was a mighty fighter, but for all her strength, she did not heave the upper body strength under the tightly stretched chest of his battlesuit. Kirara rubbed against the hanyou, her eyes slitted, maybe from the bright sun, maybe from her memories.
Poor Miroku could only stand there, dumstruck, as he now knew what his father's last moments felt like. But it was not his hand that was swallowing him, but his heart, sucking in his being, compressing it into nothingness. The dreams that had kept him going for the past years were being torn apart, like paintings under this man's, this Kiyoshi's, sword. Dreams of Sango naked, to be sure, but also dreams of perfect children, old age without being alone, of peace and happiness. Dreams of Sango's smile, of her eyes no longer filled with fear, or doubt, or pain. Of hearing her laugh in it's purest, without worry or hesitation. Of Sango sleeping through the night, rather than being on gaurd at all times, of her relaxed, at peace, with him him at her side. Swallowed by the void in his heart. Despite the warmth of the spring sun, he shivered, feeling cold. So this is how Kagome feels.
Releasing the phantom from her past, Sango stepped back, looking him over, her voice even, with a hint of coldness to it. "Not any more, baka. Not for a long time."
"Sango..."
"This is not the time for the discussion you want to have. I will tell you when the time is right."
"Sango love, I went to make peace with your father, and you, but the village..." Reaching down to take her hand in his, Kiyoshi continued, "I could only assume that you were dead as well. You and Kirara, who else survived?"
"No one. The taijya were lured away and ambushed, and then village was attacked."
"We found the village shortly after the attack. The gates had been opened from within. There was no way anyone could have survived." Sheathing his sword, Inuyasha thought back to the village, and the days immediately afterwards. Fighting and healing Sango, learning of Kohaku's fate, discovering the origions of the jewel. "All we could do was give them a decent burial."
"I thank you, hanyou." Turning his head to face Inuyasha, cocked slightly so that his left side was a little closer, Kiyoshi could easily read the annoyed flick of the ears. "May I know your name?"
"Inuyasha."
Letting go of Sango, the taijya smiled as he sketched a short bow to the dog demon. "THE Inuyasha? I am honored, we must do this again sometime. For fun."
'THE Inuyasha'? What the hell does that mean? "Feh. Your funeral."
With a smile, Kagome bounced over to meet the mystrey man from her friend's past. The mystery man with the hot body wrapped in clinging black armour, the rival of Inuyasha's, and the dark, smoldering eyes. "Hi, I'm Kagome, and that is Shippou."
Kiyoshi bowed to her in greeting, staying in the low part of the bow for long time, running his eyes appreciately over Kagome's wonderfully bare legs. Kagome and Sango both blushed when they realised what he was doing, although Sango's flush may have started earlier, and Inuyasha's ears swung back. "The pleasure is mine, I asure you, lovely le... lady."
Miroku had not yet spoken, had barely even moved since the stranger introduced himself. He managed to save enough of his dignitiy to close his mouth when Sango motioned her hand to indicate him. "And this, Taijya-kun, is Houshi-sama."
Scowling at the strange sweetness coming from Sango, Inuyasha crossed his arms. If she starts calling me Hanyou-san, or anything like that, I'm going to gut myself.
Kiyoshi's eye brow rose slightly at that, as if he was remembering a private joke. His bow to the monk was very formal, and very stiff. Very proper, respect taken to an extreme. As he spoke, his eyes bored into Miroku's, while his hand gripped the scabbard of his wakazashi. His stance seemed to speak volumes. I was in her heart first, pretty boy. Remember that. "I greet you, Houshi-sama."
Great, it must be a taijya tradition. You are what you do, I guess.Miroku returned the stare, his dark blue eyes locked on those of the male hunter, not blinking, not flinching. The rings of his shajuko sang as he braced the staff into the hard packed clay of the road. With every fiber of his body, he wanted to speak the thought in his mind. Where were you when she was angry, or hurt, or sad, or cold, or hungry? I was next to her, asshole, and I didn't see you. "And I greet you, Kiyoshi-san."
"Feh. The hentai's name is Miroku. He doesn't need anyone else swelling his head." Inuyasha glared at the back of the new guy's head. Great, another pervert in our midsts. Still, he is a pretty good fighter, so long as he keeps his hadns and eyes to himself.
"Inuyasha, everyone, don't be offended if Taijya-kun doesn't respond to what you say sometimes. He's deaf on the right side." With that, she pointed to Inuyasha, prompting the exterminator to turn.
"The monk's name is Miroku." Shippou spoke up for the first time.
"Thank you, boy." Reaching out, he ruffled Shippou's hair, smiling gently. "You are uninjured, I hope."
As the introductions progressed, Kiyoshi gathered the trap he had set, and fetched his outer clothes from the bushes he had hidden them in. He returned with the same kind of garb he had worn back in the village, black hakima and haori over a shitagi the colour of old blood. Unlike Sango, who concealed her wakazashi, he wore his at his side, along with the massive massive blade along his back, which he informed them was named "Kataidenko".
"I do not know how long you have been traveling, but I've been waiting since before dawn. Am I the only one who could do battle with lunch?" To the mid day meal, he offered bean curd, hard biscuits made of nut flour, and the honey he had used for bait, along with a bamboo canteen of green tea brewed strong with leaves of violets.
"Hmmm... This is good. What did you call it, Lady Kagome?" Slurping noisily at the instant noodles, matching Inuyasha's eating habits, Kiyoshi's thumb absently stroked the sides of the foam cup. "And this cup, hot within and cool to the to the touch, amazing."
"It's ramen. It's funny, everyone reacts to it the same way. Back home, it's cheap, fast food. And the foam is normal, even if we aren't sure of what to do with it when it's empty."
"And where might that be? Your equipment is amazing." He had also marvelled at the slick, glass-like fabric stuff that had wrapped the cups, and the metal-and-paper disks that had somehow glued themselves to the openings.
Sango's eyes narrowed, as she thought about the man she had once nearly wed. She coughed, and shook her head slightly once she had Kagome's eye. The younger girl quickly caught the message, as did Inuyasha. Having sat on Kiyoshi's deaf side had been a consious choice for her.
"Uhmmm.. you wouldn't know it, it is very far away." What is it, Sango? "It is far to the north. Yes, to the north."
"Really? No matter. I would love to see your home, if how you dress is the norm." Grinning broadly, he drained the last of the ramen in his cup. "Houshi-sama, are you not going to eat your's? You haven't said a thing since we sat down, and eaten nothing, nor taken tea. I know of your mission, and those who seek the shards of the Shikon jewel must keep up thier strength."
Passing the cooling cup of noodles and soup to the "new man", Miroku declared flatly, "I'm fasting."
With a smirk and a shrug, Kiyoshi accepted the cup and polished it off at a slower pace, his chop sticks deftly blocking Inuyasha's when they tried to steal noodles. As the hunter and hanyou sparred, a sharp, nervous cry came from the bushes where Kiyoshi had lain in wait.
"Wait, please, I mean you no harm. I am with Master Miroku."
"Really? Then let him tell me." The corpulent form of Hachi was poked and prodded from the young trees by the source of the low, harsh sounding voice. From the shadows emerged a second tanuki, this one with a long, wicked looking dagger in one hand, and a kama thrust though the back of his obi. Hard and lean, his face and throat bare of fur and scarred from some ancient blaze, with the scars reapearing below the shortened sleeve of his kimono, dark green and shot through with a pattern of black lightening, under a dark grey vest.
"Ah, Kaban, I was wondering when you would make your appearance! Be at peace, you are with friends."
"Master Miroku, I came with...."
"Kiyoshi-san, I caught this one sneaking about. Is he truly with your your friends?" Kaban's brow twitched, trying to raise the eyebrow that had never regrown after the fire. At the nods of those seated before him, he sheathed his dagger. At Kiyoshi's invitation, the battered tanuki sat with them, quickly popping a nut cake into his mouth. Silently, without explination, Miroku stood and walked further down the road, dragging Hachi with him. Kiyoshi began to tell how he and scarred youkai met, obviously embellishing the humor and drama of the battle after seeing Shippou's grin start. Inuyasha stole the rest of the noodles when he set down the cup of noodles to give himself two hands to gesticulate with.
Sango sat in silence, only partially paying attention to the stories while she thought, trying to hide her eyes as she looked between the man she once loved and the man that she hoped to love. Her mind roamed the halls of memory while she watched her friend standing away from the group. Away from her. Taiyja-kun's still charming and dedicated, even if he likes to look at us girls. I wonder if his anger has passed. If it has, then we could use him. And to have another hunter to speak with... But Houshi-sama...
Now I know how Inuyasha feels. Oh, kami...
---
As the re-enforced party approached the village in the late afternoon, they were informed that there was an inn in the village, where Kiyoshi already had a room. He was sure that they could get a second room. Miroku thought it was a little odd to have two rooms for the party, given it's size.
He had not partaken of the conversation during the afternoon, lost in thought. For so long, he had been pretty much alone. Yes, Mushin had always been there, and Hachi would be with him at times, but for the most part, he had been by himself. If he never showed up at Mushin's, the old monk would have lifted a bottle or ten in his memory after enough time, but that would have been it. And Hachi would have been released from his debt. Having friends wasn't somthing that had happened to him until he became part of this group. He had a mentor again, and brothers, something that he had always wondered about as a child. Well, at least one brother, and maybe a nephew.
He had a sister. At first, thinking of Kagome as a sister had been a survival mechanism. If Inuyasha even thought another male was interested in his "not-my-woman", it would result in violence. Now, she was like a sister in his heart; a miko, yes, but still a holy woman, and with the start of being a powerful one at that.
And he had someone he loved, rather than lusted after. If Kiyoshi stayed, could he still be a part of thier family, or would he be forced out?
When he looked at his compitition, he had to wonder if all Sango ever saw in him was a shadow of this man. They were similiar in body, and both had long hair. As a hentai, he could see it another. The way the newest companion's eyes flicked to Kagome's legs, or across the bodies of either woman, were familiar enough. He found himself not liking it very much, and hating himself for it. The smirk, the smile, the cocky all knowing eyes. And the hands. If his hands had gone so low, he'd have been beaten soundly, but Kiyoshi had held Sango's backside for several seconds before she pushed him away. Pushed, not pummeled. Not yelled at, not cursed, no cry of 'hentai'.
And Kagome and Shippou were both under his spell. The other man in black had pulled the kit in with his tales and stories of his adventures. And despite his roving eyes, his charm and humor had suckered in Kagome.
"You don't trust him either, do you?" Inuyasha's voice nearly scared Miroku out of his tabi. The dog boy had been a part of the conversation when it interested him, but his attitude was stiff and distant. If you believed everything that came from the hanyou's mouth, it could only be becuase he had not been able to steal Miroku's ramen. "He's too convenient."
"What do you mean?"
"As good as he is, wouldn't we have heard of him by now? The hunters have all but been dead for the past couple winters, and then he shows up. He doesn't smell like Naraku or Sesshomaru, but I just don't like him."
"Is it becuase of how he looks at Kagome's legs?"
Inuyasha's face rotated through several emotions. The first was embarasement at having been spotted, then the usual covering up. "It ain't that. Besides, what reason do you have for not liking him other than the fact that Sango loves him?"
"She said that that was over. I heard her, and so did you."
"Feh, whatever. He's like you, right down to the tanuki and the roving hands, but he's a hunter. He's a link to her past. You don't have a past other than your curse."
Miroku allowed his friend's words violently caromed around in his mind for a while, finding them more and more disturbing with every examination. He had no past, no family. Not even a holy order, just an old drunkard. And he had no future. Even if he didn't die and his hand was cured, would he be a help or a hinderance for Sango? She'd have to protect him from their enemies, like he was a child or an old man. He was finally broken from his internal debate by running into Inuyasha's back.
"What the hell does that mean? 'No youkai or gijen allowed'?"
In front of them, an old man with a battered and pitted yari stood at the entry way to the inn. "Just what the sign says, freak. Your kind ain't wanted."
Kagome put her hand on the silver-haired youth's shoulder, talking quietly to him. "Inuyasha, we don't want any trouble. It will be ok- his sign didn't say anything about sleeping in the trees across the road. Please. It might be good for Miroku and Kiyoshi to get to know each other, and I need to talk to Sango."
"Feh!"
"I'll bring back more Ramen than you can eat in one meal next time I go back to my own time if you do."
"And if I don't?"
"Sssiii..."
"Alright, alright, I'll do it. Keep your flea infested rooms to yourself, jijii!" Turning, he grabbed Shippou's ear, pulling the younger demon along. "Come on, runt. At least we won't be stuck inside with human stench."
---
In their room, Miroku sat in meditation while Kiyoshi ran a stone over his blades, silently, effortlessly making sure each was sharper than a razor, and reflected light like a mirror. When the exterminator was done, he used the blade of the Kataidenko to flick the light of the lantern back forth across the closed eyelids of the monk.
"You don't like me very much, do you, Houshi-sama?"
Opening his eyes, Miroku glared at him. As a buddist monk, he promised that he would take life only in defense, or for food. Right now, making a soup of the other man seemed like a good idea. "Why does that matter? Sango likes you."
"She did, but I left her life many years ago, Houshi-sama. Are you afraid of loosing her?"
"She is her own person. She can choose to spend her time with whomever she wishes. Like myself, she is free to leave our party at any time." Closing his eyes, he leaned back, the bitter truth of what he had just said rising in his throat.
"Then you would not object if I resumed my relation with her, Houshi-sama? That is very noble of you."
"Why do you do that? It's odd when she calls me that, but from you it is infuriating."
"It is what she calls you, and it is her way. Once, I was Taijya-sama. Now I am Taijya-kun, and you are Houshi-sama. And there were times when I was Hentai-sama." Leaning back with a dirty grin, Kiyoshi thought back.
Eyes but slits, Miroku knew that if he had ears like Inuyasha's or Shippou's, they would be laying flat. With a voice little more than a dangerous growl, he spoke. "What do you mean, 'Hentai-sama'?"
---
Author's notes:
So that is Kiyoshi. Is it just me, or does it seem like Miroku doesn't like the new hunter? When driven by the fear of loosing love, men do strange things, things that they would never do in their right mind....
Shitagi: The under robe worn under the haori and over the fundoshi.
Kama: Sickle, like what Kohaku carries, but without the chain.
FYI, Kiyoshi's sword's name is katai-denko, and means, roughly, Iron-Lightening.
Most nuts that have a low fat content can be roasted, and then pounded into flour, particularly acorns. Very high in protein and minerals, lasts a long time, and when mixed with water, a little fat, and baked hard, makes good travel food. Not as tough as our "hard tack", but you won't break your teeth on it either, and it isn't bad with honey on it. As for violet leaves in green tea, it is quite good, and contains many water-soluble vitamins. Use the new leaves of the purple or white varieties (NOT the yellow ones - as lot of people react to those), gathered away from roadsides, dumps, septic leach fields, farms, or any other form pollutions source, rinse, and let them dry until they are brittle. Rub them to powder in your fingers. Mix it 50/50 with loose green tea, maybe with a little dried mint prepared the same way, and brew as you would normally. As always, try at your own risk, some people are allergic to the stangest things.