A/N: I intended to get this chapter out a little quicker than this.
Sorry, but work, birthday, hiking, and the evil blue screen of death all
conspired against me to make this take longer.
Much thanks go to all those who reviewed. I always love hearing from you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. If I ever said I did, I was lying.
Synthetic Emotions
Miroku watched the lovely Sango pace back and forth across his tiny living room as they waited for Kagome and Inuyasha to arrive. The anti-youkai activist's jeans clung to her hips in the most intriguing ways as she measured out the distance from the stairs to the couch in long, graceful strides. They were such nice hips, too. Under normal circumstances he would have been happy to watch her pace like that for hours, the faded denim pulling taut against her nicely shaped curves. Now, however, watching her was the only thing keeping him from fidgeting himself.
"She said she'd be here as soon as she could, right?" the girl asked nervously, turning to face him. Miroku forced his attention up to his guest's face. It wasn't bad either. Her eyes were pretty, the color of cinnamon. Her mouth was an inviting shape. It was a toss up which he liked better, her face or her ass.
"Yeah," Miroku answered, a little too late to sound natural. "It took me long enough to get a hold of her, too. I had to call her four times." He bowed his head with mock solemnity. "To think in this day and age there are still people who don't carry portable phones."
The girl gave him a funny look, then resumed her pacing. Miroku's gaze dropped to her swaying hips again, distracting himself.
A moment later, the bell over the front door jingled. Miroku was on his feet almost before he consciously recognized the sound. Sango had ceased her restless movement, and was now staring at the stairwell with him.
"They're here?" she said, hope coloring the question.
"I don't think they could be. It's a fairly good distance to Kagome's apartment, and she doesn't have a car either."
The bell sounded again, this time clanking flatly as the door was flung open with a great amount of force.
"Inuyasha," Miroku identified the cause, feeling a little pity for his door. The hanyou wasn't in a good mood. Catching himself in the thought he wondered if that even made sense.
"Hello?" Kagome's voice carried up to them. "We're here."
"Come on up!" Miroku shouted back. From the corner of his eye he saw some of the tension leave Sango's body. She hadn't been particularly happy about having to wait to hear Miroku's epiphany about Naraku's intent, but the young man didn't want to have to repeat himself.
Kagome appeared from the stairwell carrying Shippo, followed by Inuyasha a step or two behind. The hanyou's gaze was pointedly fixed on the ground in front of his feet, and his ears were flicking indecisively. Miroku couldn't help but note that the silence between them seemed anything but comfortable.
Sango cleared her throat delicately. "Can we get started now?"
"Of course," he said, shaking off his curiosity about the hanyou's relationship with Kagome. It had seemed so much better last night. 'Hell, was it just yesterday. . .'
Kagome sat down on the couch with Shippo settling easily in her lap. Sango took the place next to her, leaving a shoddy old laz-e-boy for Miroku. Inuyasha leaned against the wall without paying attention to any of them.
"Alright," the young man ventured, unsure of the best to start this conversation. "I was wracking my brain trying to come up with what Naraku might want, and what he might be programmed for, and it struck me--what if what he wants is a way around his programming?" Miroku's eyes traveled from one guest to another as he tried to gage a reaction. "Am I crazy?"
"No," Sango assured him thoughtfully. "But couldn't you have said that over the phone? I mean, it isn't much to go on."
"I kind of hoped that the rest of you would have something to add to it," the young man explained. In reality, it didn't seem like much to drag them all the way over for.
"Is there some way that a youkai could get around its programming? Other than rewriting it?" Kagome asked softly, staring at the top of Shippo's head.
"Not that I know of." Sango leaned on the couch's padded armrest. Miroku shook his head in agreement.
"How do youkai become rogue?" Inuyasha asked, stretching listlessly. "Obviously there's some way."
"He has a point," Shippo said. "There is a way."
"But it's not complete." The hanyou frowned as he spoke, folding his arms across his chest.
"What makes you say that?" the fox youkai piped.
"Sesshomaru didn't kill Kagome. I don't think he could," Inuyasha explained. "At least, I can't think of any other reason why that bastard would pull a blow."
"Sesshomaru?" Miroku pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. "Who's Sesshomaru?"
"That's not the point," Inuyasha growled, finally raising his eyes to meet the young man's. There was an irritable light in those amber eyes.
"But, how do you know him well enough to make predictions about him like that?" Kagome looked up as well.
"I just do."
"You were attacked 'again' yesterday?" Sango asked, her tone begging clarification.
"He was attacked, not me," the other girl said defensively. "By another youkai with white hair, but his ears were pointed, and he had stripes on his cheeks."
"Another Inutaiyoukai?" Miroku asked.
"Yes," Inuyasha gritted out. "I said I know the guy, so lets drop it. I thought you wanted to talk about Naraku?"
"True," the young man ceded. "But we still don't have any idea how youkai turn rouge."
The hanyou sighed and pulled something out of the sleeve of his shirt. "Could this do it?"
It turned out to be a piece of paper, which Miroku took gingerly. There were three series of numbers written on it.
"What is this?"
"I don't know, but Kikyo said Naraku was still after it."
Miroku stared at Inuyasha in shock. Kikyo said? The encroaching headache gave a dull throb behind his eyes. "It sounds like you two had an eventful day."
*~*~*
Inuyasha listened with half an ear as Kagome recounted the events of the last eighteen hours or so. Though his internal clock agreed with the time frame, it still seemed like it must have taken longer. How could so much take place in so little time? Sesshomaru reappears, followed by Kikyo? It was simply too much to cram into less than a day. Not to mention that the havoc those strange numbers had wrought on his codes.
Small wonder he was tired.
Well, maybe not tired. Tired wasn't really an emotion, was it? It was a physical sensation: the body's way of telling to brain to slow down and take a rest. This was more like a weight he was dragging around.
He recalled Kagome saying something about people 'getting things off their chests.' That sounded rather like how he felt now, except he was pretty sure that talking about it wouldn't make it go away. Hell, he wasn't even sure he knew what to say. With things like this, his vocabulary always seemed to be lacking.
Besides, Kagome probably wouldn't want to talk to him right now, anyway. Maybe before, but she seemed so mad at him now. . .
"When we got home, Kikyo was already there. I guess that's about it." Kagome finished. "She made some strange comment about 'him' being after those numbers, then left. Apparently, Inuyasha thinks that the him she was referring to was Naraku."
"Makes sense," Miroku said thoughtfully, nodding. "Have you seen anything like these, Sango?"
The activist shook her head negative. "If Dad had anything like that, I never saw it. If it's a code or something, why would a security officer have it?"
"Why would a secretary have it?" Inuyasha responded, more harshly than he'd meant to. "She did. That's all that really matters."
Four sets of eyes swiveled to look at him. Even Shippo was staring. The dog hanyou felt a spike of irritation. "What?"
"Is something wrong, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, and a look he was sure meant trouble settled on Miroku's features. Inuyasha didn't think he wanted to know what was going on behind that understanding expression, but he had the sinking suspicion he was going to find out anyway.
"Inuyasha," the young man said, confirming his fears. "Might I have a word with you in private?"
"What about?" He did not trust that look. That knowing, almost sympathetic look on Miroku's face set off alarms in the hanyou's mind.
"Just come on," Miroku replied as he stood, smoothing the rumples from his shirt--the same one he had worn the day before, and so wrinkled nothing short of ironing would straighten it.
After a moment, Inuyasha relented and followed the shop owner downstairs and into his workroom. Miroku leaned against the workbench, and fixed an expectant look on the hanyou.
"Well," Inuyasha huffed, "what the hell do you want?"
Miroku sighed. "I suppose any attempt at tact would simply be lost on you. Inuyasha, it's obvious that something happened between you and Kagome."
"It is?" the hanyou responded weakly. Kagome had been acting strangely since she saw Kikyo. Since before then, actually. But yesterday had been a chaotic, and today hadn't show any signs of being better. Perhaps the girl was just stressed. . .
"So you did sleep with her," Miroku said, nodding sagely.
"What the--?" Inuyasha shouted, shocked out of his thoughts. "Where the fuck did you get that idea?"
"Well, you were certainly getting along well when you left yesterday, and today the two of you are hardly acknowledging one another's existence. It's the logical conclusion to draw." The shop owner clapped his hands in a business like manner. "So why don't you tell me what happened so we can figure out where you went wrong?"
"Nothing went wrong!" he growled back. "It's not like that, you pervert. I didn't sleep with her."
Unfazed, Miroku patted Inuyasha's shoulder companionably. "There's no need to be shy. Kagome was a virgin, so it's not surprising that the first time was a little awkward for her."
The hanyou shrugged of his hand and glared. "How would you know if she's a virgin?" he asked, letting a warning not slip into his voice.
Miroku sighed. "Fine. Be that way. I was just trying to help so we could get back to work without having you preoccupied with your sex-life."
"I told you, we didn't do it."
"Then maybe that's the problem."
Inuyasha consciously unclenched his fist in an effort to keep from punching the man right in the nose.
"Believe me," he said instead, "sex is not the problem. I'm made to be able to deal with that sort of thing. I have volumes of data on it. I don't need help from a lech like you."
"Do you?" Miroku leaned forward curiously. "Volumes, you say? In that case, do you know if that old ear-biting trick actually works? Not that I'm really into deflowering virgins mind you, but I have the feeling--"
"Will you shut up about that already?!" Inuyasha interrupted, pushing the young man away from him. "I thought we were here to talk about Naraku."
"Quite right," Miroku agreed. "I've wasted enough time on you already."
"You've wasted time on me--" Inuyasha hissed from between clenched teeth, but the object of his wrath was already retreating.
*~*~*
A/N: Sorry again. This chapter was a real beast to write. And so much freaking dialogue! Do you guys think there's too much talking in this story? Unfortunately, it's sort of necessary at the moment.
Hopefully the next chapter will be out quicker, and have more action in it.
Until next time.
Much thanks go to all those who reviewed. I always love hearing from you.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. If I ever said I did, I was lying.
Synthetic Emotions
Miroku watched the lovely Sango pace back and forth across his tiny living room as they waited for Kagome and Inuyasha to arrive. The anti-youkai activist's jeans clung to her hips in the most intriguing ways as she measured out the distance from the stairs to the couch in long, graceful strides. They were such nice hips, too. Under normal circumstances he would have been happy to watch her pace like that for hours, the faded denim pulling taut against her nicely shaped curves. Now, however, watching her was the only thing keeping him from fidgeting himself.
"She said she'd be here as soon as she could, right?" the girl asked nervously, turning to face him. Miroku forced his attention up to his guest's face. It wasn't bad either. Her eyes were pretty, the color of cinnamon. Her mouth was an inviting shape. It was a toss up which he liked better, her face or her ass.
"Yeah," Miroku answered, a little too late to sound natural. "It took me long enough to get a hold of her, too. I had to call her four times." He bowed his head with mock solemnity. "To think in this day and age there are still people who don't carry portable phones."
The girl gave him a funny look, then resumed her pacing. Miroku's gaze dropped to her swaying hips again, distracting himself.
A moment later, the bell over the front door jingled. Miroku was on his feet almost before he consciously recognized the sound. Sango had ceased her restless movement, and was now staring at the stairwell with him.
"They're here?" she said, hope coloring the question.
"I don't think they could be. It's a fairly good distance to Kagome's apartment, and she doesn't have a car either."
The bell sounded again, this time clanking flatly as the door was flung open with a great amount of force.
"Inuyasha," Miroku identified the cause, feeling a little pity for his door. The hanyou wasn't in a good mood. Catching himself in the thought he wondered if that even made sense.
"Hello?" Kagome's voice carried up to them. "We're here."
"Come on up!" Miroku shouted back. From the corner of his eye he saw some of the tension leave Sango's body. She hadn't been particularly happy about having to wait to hear Miroku's epiphany about Naraku's intent, but the young man didn't want to have to repeat himself.
Kagome appeared from the stairwell carrying Shippo, followed by Inuyasha a step or two behind. The hanyou's gaze was pointedly fixed on the ground in front of his feet, and his ears were flicking indecisively. Miroku couldn't help but note that the silence between them seemed anything but comfortable.
Sango cleared her throat delicately. "Can we get started now?"
"Of course," he said, shaking off his curiosity about the hanyou's relationship with Kagome. It had seemed so much better last night. 'Hell, was it just yesterday. . .'
Kagome sat down on the couch with Shippo settling easily in her lap. Sango took the place next to her, leaving a shoddy old laz-e-boy for Miroku. Inuyasha leaned against the wall without paying attention to any of them.
"Alright," the young man ventured, unsure of the best to start this conversation. "I was wracking my brain trying to come up with what Naraku might want, and what he might be programmed for, and it struck me--what if what he wants is a way around his programming?" Miroku's eyes traveled from one guest to another as he tried to gage a reaction. "Am I crazy?"
"No," Sango assured him thoughtfully. "But couldn't you have said that over the phone? I mean, it isn't much to go on."
"I kind of hoped that the rest of you would have something to add to it," the young man explained. In reality, it didn't seem like much to drag them all the way over for.
"Is there some way that a youkai could get around its programming? Other than rewriting it?" Kagome asked softly, staring at the top of Shippo's head.
"Not that I know of." Sango leaned on the couch's padded armrest. Miroku shook his head in agreement.
"How do youkai become rogue?" Inuyasha asked, stretching listlessly. "Obviously there's some way."
"He has a point," Shippo said. "There is a way."
"But it's not complete." The hanyou frowned as he spoke, folding his arms across his chest.
"What makes you say that?" the fox youkai piped.
"Sesshomaru didn't kill Kagome. I don't think he could," Inuyasha explained. "At least, I can't think of any other reason why that bastard would pull a blow."
"Sesshomaru?" Miroku pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. "Who's Sesshomaru?"
"That's not the point," Inuyasha growled, finally raising his eyes to meet the young man's. There was an irritable light in those amber eyes.
"But, how do you know him well enough to make predictions about him like that?" Kagome looked up as well.
"I just do."
"You were attacked 'again' yesterday?" Sango asked, her tone begging clarification.
"He was attacked, not me," the other girl said defensively. "By another youkai with white hair, but his ears were pointed, and he had stripes on his cheeks."
"Another Inutaiyoukai?" Miroku asked.
"Yes," Inuyasha gritted out. "I said I know the guy, so lets drop it. I thought you wanted to talk about Naraku?"
"True," the young man ceded. "But we still don't have any idea how youkai turn rouge."
The hanyou sighed and pulled something out of the sleeve of his shirt. "Could this do it?"
It turned out to be a piece of paper, which Miroku took gingerly. There were three series of numbers written on it.
"What is this?"
"I don't know, but Kikyo said Naraku was still after it."
Miroku stared at Inuyasha in shock. Kikyo said? The encroaching headache gave a dull throb behind his eyes. "It sounds like you two had an eventful day."
*~*~*
Inuyasha listened with half an ear as Kagome recounted the events of the last eighteen hours or so. Though his internal clock agreed with the time frame, it still seemed like it must have taken longer. How could so much take place in so little time? Sesshomaru reappears, followed by Kikyo? It was simply too much to cram into less than a day. Not to mention that the havoc those strange numbers had wrought on his codes.
Small wonder he was tired.
Well, maybe not tired. Tired wasn't really an emotion, was it? It was a physical sensation: the body's way of telling to brain to slow down and take a rest. This was more like a weight he was dragging around.
He recalled Kagome saying something about people 'getting things off their chests.' That sounded rather like how he felt now, except he was pretty sure that talking about it wouldn't make it go away. Hell, he wasn't even sure he knew what to say. With things like this, his vocabulary always seemed to be lacking.
Besides, Kagome probably wouldn't want to talk to him right now, anyway. Maybe before, but she seemed so mad at him now. . .
"When we got home, Kikyo was already there. I guess that's about it." Kagome finished. "She made some strange comment about 'him' being after those numbers, then left. Apparently, Inuyasha thinks that the him she was referring to was Naraku."
"Makes sense," Miroku said thoughtfully, nodding. "Have you seen anything like these, Sango?"
The activist shook her head negative. "If Dad had anything like that, I never saw it. If it's a code or something, why would a security officer have it?"
"Why would a secretary have it?" Inuyasha responded, more harshly than he'd meant to. "She did. That's all that really matters."
Four sets of eyes swiveled to look at him. Even Shippo was staring. The dog hanyou felt a spike of irritation. "What?"
"Is something wrong, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, and a look he was sure meant trouble settled on Miroku's features. Inuyasha didn't think he wanted to know what was going on behind that understanding expression, but he had the sinking suspicion he was going to find out anyway.
"Inuyasha," the young man said, confirming his fears. "Might I have a word with you in private?"
"What about?" He did not trust that look. That knowing, almost sympathetic look on Miroku's face set off alarms in the hanyou's mind.
"Just come on," Miroku replied as he stood, smoothing the rumples from his shirt--the same one he had worn the day before, and so wrinkled nothing short of ironing would straighten it.
After a moment, Inuyasha relented and followed the shop owner downstairs and into his workroom. Miroku leaned against the workbench, and fixed an expectant look on the hanyou.
"Well," Inuyasha huffed, "what the hell do you want?"
Miroku sighed. "I suppose any attempt at tact would simply be lost on you. Inuyasha, it's obvious that something happened between you and Kagome."
"It is?" the hanyou responded weakly. Kagome had been acting strangely since she saw Kikyo. Since before then, actually. But yesterday had been a chaotic, and today hadn't show any signs of being better. Perhaps the girl was just stressed. . .
"So you did sleep with her," Miroku said, nodding sagely.
"What the--?" Inuyasha shouted, shocked out of his thoughts. "Where the fuck did you get that idea?"
"Well, you were certainly getting along well when you left yesterday, and today the two of you are hardly acknowledging one another's existence. It's the logical conclusion to draw." The shop owner clapped his hands in a business like manner. "So why don't you tell me what happened so we can figure out where you went wrong?"
"Nothing went wrong!" he growled back. "It's not like that, you pervert. I didn't sleep with her."
Unfazed, Miroku patted Inuyasha's shoulder companionably. "There's no need to be shy. Kagome was a virgin, so it's not surprising that the first time was a little awkward for her."
The hanyou shrugged of his hand and glared. "How would you know if she's a virgin?" he asked, letting a warning not slip into his voice.
Miroku sighed. "Fine. Be that way. I was just trying to help so we could get back to work without having you preoccupied with your sex-life."
"I told you, we didn't do it."
"Then maybe that's the problem."
Inuyasha consciously unclenched his fist in an effort to keep from punching the man right in the nose.
"Believe me," he said instead, "sex is not the problem. I'm made to be able to deal with that sort of thing. I have volumes of data on it. I don't need help from a lech like you."
"Do you?" Miroku leaned forward curiously. "Volumes, you say? In that case, do you know if that old ear-biting trick actually works? Not that I'm really into deflowering virgins mind you, but I have the feeling--"
"Will you shut up about that already?!" Inuyasha interrupted, pushing the young man away from him. "I thought we were here to talk about Naraku."
"Quite right," Miroku agreed. "I've wasted enough time on you already."
"You've wasted time on me--" Inuyasha hissed from between clenched teeth, but the object of his wrath was already retreating.
*~*~*
A/N: Sorry again. This chapter was a real beast to write. And so much freaking dialogue! Do you guys think there's too much talking in this story? Unfortunately, it's sort of necessary at the moment.
Hopefully the next chapter will be out quicker, and have more action in it.
Until next time.