Lemonade on a Moonless Night
By Shakster
Description: Don't know, got kind of bored one day, so wrote this. . . It's a moonless night, as the title implies, meaning Inuyasha's a human again, making Kagome's decision to run off alone a bad one. . .Meanwhile Sango tries to figure out what to do with Miroku, since he's promised her he won't touch her again, and (surprise) doesn't. . .
AN: Hey everyone, so this is my first fic. . . kinda excited. . . I've enjoyed reading a lot of stories so I kind of got inspired. Anyway, here's chapter 1. . .there's not really any lemony activity in the first chapter, but it gets lemony in the second, anyway, tell me what you guys think, reviews are appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters; otherwise I probably wouldn't be in college making 8.50 an hour.
"That river looks like a great place to take a bath", Shippou decided, looking at it as he rode on Kirara towards the clearing. "As soon as we get settled I'm going down there."
"Speaking of being settled, I think I'll go get us some firewood", Miroku announced, heading off back into the woods.
"I still can't believe Miroku has kept his promise", Shippou said, watching the monk head off.
"Yes, Miroku has certainly turned over a new leaf. How long has it been Sango? Four days?" Kagome asked, looking at the demon-exterminator.
"Five actually", Sango answered, turning away from the others. Five whole days since Miroku and her last argument. She had been furious. It really wasn't completely his fault; they had run into Kohaku again, still under Naraku's control. Seeing him again, after it had been several months was too much for her, and as Miroku tried to "comfort" her she relaxed and let her guard down, and he made one of his now infamous beelines for her rear end.
Normally not a big deal, after all, it was now customary for Miroku to act perverted, but that day Hell itself was released inside of her. She had done more than just give him a solid slap; she had berated him in front of everyone, making wild threats, screaming like a woman possessed. She told him that she had had enough of his groping and off color comments. She told him that he had some nerve calling himself her friend when he insisted on doing the one thing she hated most.
She continued, "You wonder why you cannot find someone to bear your child? This is why. You will never have an heir before that air rip of yours sucks you up. You're nothing but a no-good lecher!" She concluded by saying that if he so much as looked at her in an unpleasing manner again he'd have far more to worry about then his wind tunnel and Naraku.
The rest of the group had stood in amazement. Shippou hid on Inuyasha's shoulder, lest Sango begin her ranting on someone else. He wasn't naïve; he saw the look of fury running through her eyes. It was the same look she adorned when chasing demons. This was no different. "Gee, Sango, I've never seen you so upset before, or so mean", Shippou thought aloud.
"Feh, it was only a matter of time before she put Miroku in his place."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome protested. "Sango, if you would like to finish this conversation alone, we can leave."
"Leave, why? We have front row seats", Inuyasha pointed out, smirking, more to himself then to Kagome.
"No, don't leave. What I have to say I want to say in front of all of you." Miroku hadn't spoken until then. He hadn't moved. Their eyes shifted onto him. He had been taken aback, shocked she had been so angry. He looked visibly shaken, and quite hurt. "Sango, I am truly sorry", he began, trying to figure out the right combination of words to appease her. He promised her, in front of everyone, on his honor as a monk (which hadn't meant much up until that point) that he would never place an unwanted hand on her again.
"I'll believe it when I see it", Inuyasha said, sneering. "Once a lecher, always a lecher." But now, five days later, that didn't seem so certain. Miroku hadn't as much as placed a hand on her shoulder. And as for looking at her, he had made eye contact perhaps twice since the incident, and he barely spoke to her. He certainly had kept his word.
"Maybe someone should help him gather some wood", Kagome thought, jolting Sango out of her thoughts. "He's been pretty down lately."
"Yeah, ever since Sango yelled at him", Shippou added. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou looked at her.
"You were a little harsh, Sango", Kagome added. "I know he's a pervert, but I think you hurt his feelings. It's been five days, maybe you should talk to him." Sango sighed.
"I'll help him gather firewood, but I'm making no promises." She went looking for him.
"You think she'll make up with him?" Shippou asked.
"Yes, Sango is normally a calm person, I'm sure seeing Kohaku again couldn't have been easy for her. She's not mean-spirited", Kagome answered.
"Miroku deserved it though, there's no excuse for him always being a jerk", Inuyasha said, admiring his claws.
"It takes one to no one, Inuyasha." He looked up at her.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not a jerk."
Kagome huffed. "You're not a jerk and I'm a pigmy queen."
"What!" Shippou sighed. Here they go again, he groaned mutely.
Miroku didn't speak as he watched Sango begin gathering wood along side of him. Maybe I should apologize, she thought to herself. But he still had no right to touch her. He knew how much she hated it. He waits for me to let my guard down so he can make his move, Sango thought again, giving herself another affirmation. He's supposed to be a Monk for God's sake.
So she didn't apologize and they worked in silence. "You think we have enough, Monk?" Sango asked, looking at him. He nodded. He still wouldn't speak to her. Perhaps she had hurt his feelings deeply. She had been so mad. So angry. But maybe Shippou had been right. "Shippou is right. . ." Sango began, thinking aloud.
"Huh?" Miroku asked, looking at her. They made eye contact.
"He's right about the river. It looks like a lovely place to take a bath."
"Oh." He turned away, and headed back to the clearing. Following him, Sango sighed wordlessly.
The familiar sound of rustling grew louder as Sango and Miroku reappeared at the mouth of the clearing, Sango trying to keep a firm hold on the bundle of sticks in her hand. Miroku dropped his pile next to the fire, watching Inuyasha draw shapes in the ground with a stick. "Inuyasha, we're back", Miroku announced, sensing that their half-demon companion hadn't noticed their return. Inuyasha looked up for a moment's time then looked back down at his dirt doodle. "Where's Kagome?" Miroku continued, stoking the fire a little.
"How the Hell should I know", came the response.
"She's with Shippou and Kirara taking a bath?" Sango asked next. Just then Shippou and Kirara returned alone, answering Sango's question. Shippou's hair was still wet. "Kagome's not with you, Shippou?"
"No, when Kirara and I went to the stream she was fighting with Inuyasha", Shippou answered, trying to get the excess water out of his ears. "We asked her if she wanted to come but I don't think she heard us."
"I wonder what happened to her then", Miroku thought.
"She went home."
Everyone turned towards Inuyasha. "I suppose it should have been obvious. Let me guess, you both said the wrong thing to each other and now Kagome's headed back to the village", Miroku decided.
"Alone? Just yesterday Miroku sensed an ominous presence headed in that direction", Sango gasped.
"When doesn't he sense an ominous presence, or a black cloud, or a foreboding energy or some other crap?" Inuyasha determined.
"You have to admit Inuyasha, it's better than sleeping outside", Shippou pointed out.
"Whatever."
"I take offense at the insinuation that I purposely prophesize evil forces simply for food and shelter. But if I did, you should be grateful." Shippou, Sango, and Inuyasha looked at the monk and shook their heads.
"There's nothing wrong with sleeping out in the wilds", Inuyasha continued.
"Easy for you to say, Inuyasha, you're half dog demon, that's where dogs normally sleep", Shippou concluded, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, Shippou!"
"I thought we were talking about Kagome", Sango interrupted. "What if something happens to her?"
"Forget about Kagome, she's forgotten about us. She's the one who decided to be selfish and run off alone. She knew what she was doing when she left."
"Inuyasha's right. Kagome will be fine", Miroku decided. Shippou and Sango glanced at him. He winked at them. "Besides, the village is only a half a day's walk, if she left a little while ago she'd get there early tomorrow morning at the latest."
"You're right", Sango added, catching on to the Monk's idea. "I'm sure any humans, or demons for that matter seeking jewel shards will be frightened off by Kagome's bow and arrow."
"Of course if something were to happen to her we'd lose our shard detector", Miroku continued.
Shippou suddenly figured out what his companions were up to. "Nothing's gonna happen to her, if she gets into any danger Kouga will save her."
"Shippou's right", Sango agreed, smiling at the fox boy. "Kouga promised he'd always protect Kagome, right, Inuyasha?"
"Inuyasha? Inuyasha?" Miroku called. They looked around, but Inuyasha had already sped off into the woods.
"You think he'll find her in time?" Shippou asked.
"He always does", Miroku answered, sighing. "Let's find something to eat for dinner."
It had gotten pretty dark, and it didn't help that she couldn't see the moon through the trees, she wasn't even sure if the moon was out. And of course every step she took sent chills through her body, as she was sure something was there, lurking in the dark behind her. Get it together, Kagome scolded herself. She had walked too far to head back to the campsite, and even if she hadn't, she didn't want to see Inuyasha anyway. He had the annoying ability to push every last one of her buttons. Finally she couldn't take anymore, not wanting to begin crying in front of him she called him a "stupid mutt" and ran off without a moment's thought.
She hadn't thought about how dark it'd get before she'd get back to the village, or how frightening walking alone could be. Before she knew it she was lost in the woods, she could only hope she'd find a village or a house or somewhere in the dark, cause she'd be damned if she was gonna spend the entire time roaming around the forest, just waiting for some demon or something to pick her off. She'd left her bike a ways back, after it got a flat tire. It was hard enough to maneuver between the dense arrangement of trees in perfect condition, let alone with the flat. "This is all his fault", she decided, stiffening a little as a breeze blew past her.
What an idiot she was. She let herself get so worked up over someone so stupid. What was this hold Inuyasha had over her? And what was the remedy? Gods, how many nights had she cursed herself for thinking about him, imagining his smirk so perfectly in her mind because she knew every curve and line in his face? It hadn't taken very long before Inuyasha had stolen her heart, and every time she tried to steal it back he went and did something "sweet".
He hugged her, or he looked at her in that certain way with those soulful amber eyes, or worse, he got jealous. Threatening to kill any guy who even looked at her the wrong way. She told him she hated when he did that. And she did, but part of her loved it, loved when he paid attention to her. Loved when he told her to stand behind him so that he could protect her. And that was enough to keep her coming back for more. To love him. And as many times as she was right back here, right back screaming at herself for being manipulated by his charm and bravado she always knew she'd fall for it again. "Damn him. Damn you, Inuyasha!"
Miroku had headed off towards the river after they had eaten. Shippou curled up with Kirara and fell asleep on a full stomach. Sango lay down, planning on going to sleep as well, but knowing Miroku was off at the river made her uneasy. She could never fall asleep if her father or brother weren't bedded down. And she supposed she didn't want to fall asleep without knowing Miroku was back safely. "Where is he?" she wondered out loud. No bath could take this long. He would have cried out if he were in danger. Or she would have heard his wind tunnel. But still, where was he? Why wasn't he back yet? She had waited impatiently for what felt like an eternity.
Perhaps he was avoiding her. That was probably it. He was waiting for her to fall asleep so he could slip back to the campsite without her noticing. How long could they go on like this? Not speaking? I don't care, he doesn't have to speak to me, Sango resolved. So what if he was sulking. They weren't talking, that was fine, he'd have plenty of people to speak to. It wasn't like the guy would stop hitting on the girls he met in the villages. Some of them even responded; they seemed to like the attention he was paying them. They liked his little comments, and his little crooked smile. They were mesmerized by the looks he'd give them when he was playing serious.
Why would anyone go for that? There was even that girl a couple of villages ago who had asked Sango and Kagome if either was with Miroku. Kagome asked her why she wanted to know and the girl had replied that he looked sexy. Sexy? Miroku? Yeah, if you liked that kind of thing. Sango was dejected, dejected and perplexed. Why was she analyzing this? Miroku brought this on himself. If he wasn't such a pervert they'd be friends now.
He owed her an apology. Was she supposed to be impressed that he had exhibited self-control for five days? It wasn't fair, why did she always have to play the grown up in their relationship. Funny choice of word, she thought. It wasn't a relationship, after all; it was a friendship, well, now it was nothing.
They were just two people with a common enemy and a similar goal. Is this what she wanted? No. Her father and brother had taught her one thing, you must trust and care about the people you fight with. Without trust you would never be able to fight to your full potential. And without caring, you could not protect the people who protect you. Maybe he was upset, but that wasn't an excuse to act like a baby. She decided to see what was taking him so long.
Inuyasha sniffed the air again, trying to figure out if he'd lost Kagome's scent for good. It had begun fading when he came across her bike, and he had gotten really worried when he had called for her and had gotten no response. Any moment and he'd transform into a human; she could not have picked a worse night to run off alone. Part of him wished Kouga would find her, just so he'd know she'd be safe. What good would he be to her like this anyway? Even if he found her, what would she say?
He supposed he could have handled the situation a little bit better. If he had to be the one to apologize first, maybe he would, he'd just be so happy she was still alive, it wouldn't matter that she was the one that had started it. She had called him a jerk and as they began to argue Kikyo's soul catchers floated by. "Oh, so I suppose you're going to go see your girlfriend now", Kagome yelled.
"Why do you care?" An obvious question with an even more obvious answer. She turned away from him in a huff. It wasn't as if it was his fault that Kikyo's soul catchers floated by, he hadn't even decided whether or not he was going to run and see her, before Kagome started again. And now here he was, hoping he'd be able to catch up to her in his human form. He didn't want to speak to her, why should he apologize when she had started the fight?
"I'll just make sure she makes it back to the village; I won't have to talk to her."
Miroku stared at his cursed hand sighing. He hadn't wanted to go back to camp. He was worried about Kagome and Inuyasha. He wasn't sure if Shippou and Sango realized that it was another moonless night, and that Inuyasha would have transformed into a human by now. It wasn't just his two absent travel companions that worried him though. Sango worried him. He had probably really upset her, more than he was willing to admit, so he had avoided her the last couple of days. They barely spoke now.
He knew she was upset about seeing Kohaku, he wanted to make her feel better, and she had relaxed as he rubbed her shoulders and promised her they would destroy Naraku and free her brother. "If it's the last thing I do." And at the rate his wind tunnel was growing perhaps that would be true. Sango had sighed deeply as he spoke to her softly, closed her eyes even, as he touched her. For that moment, Inuyasha and the others had disappeared. It was just the Monk and the demon-slayer, standing together. How he longed to hug her, hold her in his arms, convince her Naraku would be stopped.
And then, Miroku caught himself. He panicked. He grabbed her. Sango opened her eyes in alarm, slapped him, and began screaming. It was the worst thing he could have done at that moment but he only did it because he had to. He couldn't allow women to get too close to him. And even if he could, his inexperience would shine through. The truth was he was mostly talk, who was he kidding, he was all talk. No, no women could get close, especially Sango. Despite his constant groping and her unfailing and painfully accurate slaps he sensed she had grown to care for him. And that was the last thing he could let happen.
He sighed again. He was all- wrong for her. And they both knew that. She was independent, free -spirited, the last thing she wanted was to depend on someone, give her heart to someone like him, someone who turned his head at any pretty face that walked by. And besides, he wasn't even sure if she cared for him at all, perhaps he had read too far into this and all the little moments between them had been the wishful thinking of a foolish man. He had long imagined that she had fallen for him, during a battle, or afterwards, when she helped tend his wounds. It could have happened one day while they philosophized about Inuyasha and Kagome. But who was he kidding. After their last episode, it was unclear whether their relationship, friendship, could even be fixed.
"Do you plan standing there all night? You're welcome to join me." Sango's heart jumped. He knows I'm watching him, Sango thought. She approached him carefully, wondering if this was all part of some elaborate plan to get her guard down so that he could grope her again. But as she got closer and looked into his eyes she realized he wouldn't try anything. She sat next to him.
That was it, she had definitely heard something behind her that time. Turning slowly, she lifted the bow and readied it to strike. She knocked an arrow. Who am I kidding? I can't see anything, she grumbled noiselessly. She could hear crunching footsteps approach her. "Who's there? Stay back or I'll shoot", Kagome stammered, barely able to get the words out of her mouth.
"Kagome. . ."
"Inuyasha? Is that you? Come closer so I can see you. Your hair's black. You're human again."
"Unfortunately." Kagome put her bow down.
"Where's everyone else?"
"They're safer where they are, we all know how many demons would love to take advantage of me like this. I'd just put everyone in danger in this weakened state. Speaking of danger, what were you thinking running off like that? What would have happened if I had lost my superhuman powers before I found you? This was pretty selfish of you. You were only thinking about yourself, what about the rest of us? What about me?"
"Inuyasha." She looked at him, carefully studying his face. What was he trying to say?
"Gods Kagome, sometimes I just don't understand you. Why would you do something like this?"
"You were really worried about me, weren't you, Inuyasha?" Thoughts of her abandoned bike entered his mind.
"Worried about you?" He looked at her, rolling his eyes to exaggerate his point. "I was worried about the jewel fragments. What would give you any indication that I was in anyway anxious about what happened to you? You're the one who decided you needed to go run off in the woods alone, and as far as I was concerned if something were to happen you'd get what you deserved."
Kagome huffed. His words hurt almost as much as his words during their earlier argument. "Of course I worry about Kikyo, what do expect, I love her." Kagome felt warm tears fall down her cheeks. She sniffled and began walking again.
"Kagome. I only said that because I was angry you ran off."
"No one told you to come looking for me! I would have been fine by myself."
"Fat chance."
"Why don't you go find those soul gatherers and recite those sentiments for Kikyo."
"That's right, I forgot that you'd probably rather be rescued by Kouga anyway."
"Why not? At least he knows what he wants. He's not trying to decide between me and his dead girlfriend. A girl who's tried to kill you on more than one occasion, I might add."
"Why don't you go join Kouga's pack while you're at it. They all consider you his mate anyway."
"I will, this way they'll be no distractions for you. Hope you enjoy spending eternity in Hell with your precious priestess." Inuyasha gave her a look. Why did I just say that? Shesh, Kagome, talk about your low blows.
Inuyasha thought about what Kagome had said, and finally responded, "I already told you things between Kikyo and I are complicated. You wouldn't understand. I will not rest until I've avenged her death. I owe her that much."
"And what about me, what do you owe me, Inuyasha?" He didn't respond, just looked off into the distance. Just as I thought. She walked faster. "You're right Inuyasha, what good are you to anyone in your weakened state? I'd feel safer if you weren't here." Kagome walked faster, not noticing the embankment as she tumbled down.
Without a moment's hesitation, Inuyasha ran after her, jumping off the edge, forgetting he was mortal as he plunged feet first into the river below. Once surfacing he began calling for her, had she even fallen into the water? What if she had landed on a rock or something? Where was she, he was growing frantic. "Kagome!"
There was only so much self-reflection a person could do. It had been uncomfortably quiet for quite some time now. The silence between them was filled with all the things they had said a million times, and those which had never been spoken aloud. Finally Sango couldn't stand it any longer. "Why are you still angry at me?" Miroku looked at her, searching her face. "Answer me, Monk."
"I'm not angry with you. I never was." Then why haven't you spoken to me? Why haven't you looked at me? You haven't touched me, Sango's heart longed to ask. But she wouldn't speak those words, not now, not ever. "I'm giving you your space, Sango. This is what you want", he continued, turning from her. "I've hurt you. And I'm sorry. So I'm resigned to leave you alone." They were silent again.
He stuck his head underwater but he still couldn't see her. Where was she? "Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, surfacing again.
"I'm right here." He turned and saw her floating behind a rock. He swam towards her. "I'm okay. Just a little shaken. You jumped in after me didn't you? You could have hit the edge, or the rocks." He didn't answer her, as she continued floating down stream, trying to find a place to get out of the water. He followed. "I suppose you did it to protect the jewel shards, Gods help us if something were to happen to them."
"Kagome", Inuyasha said, a little harsher than he meant to. Inuyasha grabbed her arm. His weight pushed her to the side of the river. He lowered his voice, calming his heart rate. "Just stop it. Can we try not to argue for one moment? Any number of things could have happened to you just now, we're just lucky you fell into a body of water and not onto a boulder or something. You could have died. Don't you realize that?" Kagome looked at him, and nodded.
"So you were worried about me?"
"No, I jumped after you because I wanted to practice my diving technique." He released her hand.
"You could have died too. You don't have your usual powers."
"I'm fine. I can handle being a human for one night."
"No one's suggesting you can't. But something could have happened to you too, Inuyasha."
"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you. I can take care of myself."
"And I can't?"
"Every time I try to protect you you gotta go running your mouth off, finding anyway possible to wind me up. Just for a change of pace let's lose the attitude, alright? Gods, Kagome, how many ways can you find to pick a fight with me? Just once, I'd like to rescue you, or save you, or look after you without getting a smart remark or you saying the "S" word."
She sighed. "Thank you."
He looked at her confused. That was the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth. "For what?"
"For worrying enough to come looking for me."
"Well, I certainly couldn't depend on Kouga to do it. I'm the only person who's always been there. And I'm the only person who always will."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, that's so. I don't care what that wolf demon says, I'm protecting you. You're my responsibility." She smiled at him. "What are you smiling at?"
"You." She leaned over and gave him a big wet hug. He didn't know how to respond but hugged her back, the current forcing him into her. She was moving his silky raven hair out of his face, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I shouldn't have said those things to you back at the campsite."
"It's okay." What was she thinking? What was she doing?
"No, it's not. I'm the one who's been the jerk. This argument was my fault. You care about Kikyo, you have every right to; if you want to go see her that's your business". Her skirt fanned out as the water continued to rock him into her. She was dripping wet, her milky white breasts peeking out at him through her thin shirt. There wasn't much in the way of clothing in between them. The thought made Inuyasha's manhood tingle.
"I'm sorry I fought with you, I really am. I was being selfish", she continued, hugging him again, her breasts rubbing against his chest. What was she trying to do to him? Whatever it was, it was working. He was getting an erection. "What would I do without you, Inuyasha? Chasing after me when I'm being stupid?"
"I don't know. . . we should get out of the water, it's gonna take us long enough to dry off."
She smiled at him and nodded. "You're right." She turned around and pushed herself out of the water, crawling onto the soggy grass. Inuyasha watched her, mesmerized as she stood up, and began squeezing water out of her hair. He couldn't get out of the water, not with this raging hard on. She'd "sit" him for sure. But he couldn't very well stay in the water all night either.
He started pushing himself out of the water, purposely brushing his penis onto the ground. He hoped the sudden shot of pain would quiet his excitement as he stood up, trying to get his clothes from clinging too tightly and giving him away.
Kagome turned around suddenly, feeling eyes on her. "Inuyasha?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows in confusion.
Whatever chance he had at quelling his erection ended when she spun around, her nipples smiling at him. "Let's make a fire, it's really nipply. . . uh, nippy out here." Inuyasha was acting weird, even for him. He began making a fire, Kagome went back to trying to dry herself off.
"Are you worried about Inuyasha and Kagome?" Sango asked, looking at the sky. The moon was absent; Inuyasha was a vulnerable human again.
"No", Miroku lied. "There's no doubt in my mind that Inuyasha's found Kagome. They're probably fighting right now, as we speak."
"Why do they have to pick fights with each other?"
"You always hurt the ones you love." Sango looked at him, he didn't look back. She sighed and looked back at the river.
Her words haunted her: You wonder why you cannot find someone to bear your child? You will never have an heir before that air rip of yours sucks you up.
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Monk. I shouldn't have overreacted like I did."
"I shouldn't have taken advantage of your vulnerability. You were angry. You had good reason to be. I've never been good when it comes to women."
"That's because you're a lecher."
"No, that's not what I meant." He stuck his right hand in front of him, looking intently at it. "I'm a doomed man. I cannot allow women to get close to me. Yes, it is true I need a child to carry on my family's mission, in case I should fail. But as much as I'd love to bear a child with a woman who cared for me, I cannot. I am fated. I will not hurt anyone, therefore, I am a lecher."
"So now you want to justify your lecherous habits?"
"Not at all, I simply mean to explain them." He put his arm down. "I could never have a real, meaningful relationship with a woman because I am cursed."
"So you're a pervert in order to push women away?"
"Exactly." She looked at him, questionably. In theory it made sense, but that didn't mean there weren't some things that were a little sketchy.
"How then will you find a woman to bear your child if you do not allow one to get close to you?"
"I figure, eventually my perverted ways will attract someone and she will agree to bear my child. But the way I see it, she will be doing it out of lust, not love. So if I were to eventually be consumed by the wind tunnel I will not hurt her by my death."
"I find this story of yours a little incredible. You ask women you meet if they will have your child all the time. However, I never see you grope these women we meet in villages. Not in the same manner you grope me", Sango said, looking at him again. He still wouldn't look at her.
"Yes, but they are strangers, they do not care for me because they do not know me. So simply saying a lecherous line or two to them is sufficient." He looked at her abruptly. "You seem so interested in my situation, Sango, could it be that you're worried about my ever impending death?"
"I'm trying to figure you out, Monk. You're very guarded. And I wonder how much of what you present of yourself to me is merely an act." Miroku looked away from her. "As for this claim of yours, it seems to have one other flaw. You say you don't grope strangers because they don't know you, so they don't have time to grow attached. But what of Kagome? I don't see you groping her?"
"Yes, that's true. I don't grope Kagome." He met her eyes with his once more. "But Kagome isn't in love with me, is she Sango?" Sango nearly went into cardiac arrest. She stared at him, unable to break eye contact. Her lower lip began to quiver. She couldn't take in air.
"Kagome is in love with Inuyasha. And Inuyasha's obviously in love with her", Miroku added, not breaking eye contact.
"And if she wasn't in love with Inuyasha? If she loved you? Then what?" Miroku looked away from her. He sighed.
He really is kinda cute as a human, Kagome thought, watching Inuyasha sit next to the fire once they were done eating some Ramen. She walked over to him and quickly sat on his lap, before he could make an objection.
"What are you doing?" he asked, barely above a whisper.
"I'm cold."
"What are you doing?" he repeated, holding his breath as she adjusted herself and held her hands out towards the fire.
"I'm warming myself up, and you're almost dry. It's called body heat." Does she want me to get hard again? "If it's really bothering you, let me know, I'll stop." Inuyasha didn't respond, so Kagome nuzzled up to him. Slowly, he put his arms around her, pulling her a little closer to him. She sighed contently.
"Kagome, I uh, it's partially my fault you ran off in the first place. I shouldn't have said those things to you."
"It's okay", Kagome breathed into his ear, "We both said a lot of things we didn't really mean. But I want to be honest with you now. I was lying earlier. I wouldn't have wanted Kouga to come find me. I couldn't feel any safer sitting here with you."
He didn't answer, closing his eyes, and trying to concentrate on anything other than his newly formed erection. She shifted slowly, trying to get comfortable, rubbing him in the process. Didn't she feel that? She had to. At the very least she had to feel his heart pounding out of his chest as she leaned against him again, still shifting under him. If she didn't stop doing that, he was going to take her, right on the grass.
She settled back again. "Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"What are you thinking about?" How much I want you, Inuyasha answered without a sound. "Are you thinking about the other's back in the woods?"
"No."
"Kikyo?"
"No."
"Naraku?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"I'm not thinking about anything." He sighed; he couldn't handle this much longer. His phallus needed some attending too. He needed her off of his lap. "Stop squirming around, it's making me uncomfortable."
"I'm trying to get comfortable, your lap is hard."
"Huh?"
"Your thighs are really muscular, it's not the softest place in the world."
"You should sit on the grass then", Inuyasha snapped, dumping her off his lap. He stood up, looking down at his member. Kagome turned around, looked up at him, then into his eyes. They both blushed.
Is that the Tetsusaiga in his pocket, or was he just really happy to see me? Inuyasha started off for the woods.
"Oh, I, uh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, um. . ." Kagome started.
"It's okay, it's no big thing. . .I mean um, it's okay."
Kagome stood up. "Inuyasha, wait, please." She followed him into the woods. He wouldn't look at her. "I didn't realize. I wasn't thinking."
"It's not your fault." Of course it was her fault, he didn't get that aroused watching the fire.
"Inuyasha, please come out. I'm sorry. You don't have to be embarrassed. It's a natural human reaction. We were just being honest with each other. This isn't really an issue."
"If you're looking for honesty, this bulge in my pants doesn't seem to have any intentions of leaving, and I'd really like to attend to it", Inuyasha snapped, regretting the words as he said them. Anything, he supposed, to get Kagome away from him.
"Attend to it? You mean like, like um?"
"Masturbation."
"Oh, yeah, that." Inuyasha turned to look at her.
"Yeah, that, why were you thinking of something else?"
"Something else? No, why would I be thinking about something else. Of course not."
"Kagome you seem a little flushed."
"I'm not."
"Are you sure you're being honest with me?"
"Of course, Inuyasha. I'll leave the two of you alone", Kagome whimpered. Backing up quickly, she didn't see the root, and tripped over it, falling down hard, and hurting her ankle in the process.
"You never answered my question, Monk", Sango said, growing irritated. "Would you grope Kagome and act in a lecherous manner if she loved you?"
"No. Even if she loved me it would be unrequited. I have great respect for Kagome, and I care for her deeply, but only as a friend and companion."
"Are you saying you could never fall in love with Kagome?" She looked at him.
"Yes."
"Even if Inuyasha wasn't an object?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Miroku looked at her again. "Because I'm already in love with somebody else, Sango", he answered, quietly.
She quickly looked away. "I see." She thought for a moment before speaking. "And do you know if she's in love with you or not?"
"I can only hope she is. But even so, we cannot be together."
"Because you do not want to hurt her."
"I will not hurt her."
"Does she know how you feel?"
"Yes. Just recently, I've told her, in so many words."
"And what was her response?"
"To be honest, she looked surprised." Neither looked at each other, they just stared at the river, watching the current go by.
"How'd you meet her, someone from your village?"
"No, I met her as I was traveling with some friends, looking for pieces of the shikon jewel."
"Have you ever asked her to bear your child?"
"No."
"Because you will not hurt her. And if she loves you in return she will be saddened by your death?"
"Yes."
"I suppose you grope her too. You push her away."
"I used to grope her. I've since stopped. But I still push her away. I have no other choice. I will not hurt her, Sango. It can never be. Besides, I do not know if my feelings are returned or not."
"Have you asked her?"
"No. Knowing she loves me would give me little solace. I still cannot be with her. Therefore I suppose I will never know. I'm sure she would never voluntarily offer that information to me."
"Perhaps she is shy."
"Perhaps." Neither would return each other's glances. Both afraid of what would be in the other's eyes, and what wouldn't.
"Monk, does she show affection to you at all? Does she worry about you? Does she care about you when you are hurt?"
"She is concerned about me when I am hurt, but I do not know if it is simply because we are comrades. It's hard to say if her actions towards me are signs of affection. After all, she doesn't even call me by my name."
Sango looked at him for a moment, and looked back at the river. "Maybe that is a sign of her affection."
"Maybe."
"She's never told you if she loved you?"
"No."
"Not even in so many words?" Miroku looked at her. Sango didn't return his gaze. He looked back at the river.
Inuyasha had decided to be chivalrous and carried Kagome back to the fire. The whole time he did Kagome couldn't help but rub against him. She tried to be inconspicuous as she nuzzled his neck a little, sighing silently. She had never been carried by a guy before, and even as a human Inuyasha made no struggle when he picked her up in his muscular arms. All that long black hair, those piercing eyes. They way he smelled, masculine. She was loving this, she didn't want him to let her go. She could fall asleep in his arms, he could hold her forever. But the walk back wasn't far at all, and eventually he put her down.
"I could have walked back alone", Kagome insisted, as Inuyasha helped her sit back down.
"I think you twisted your ankle."
"I'll have grandpa look at it when I get back home."
"Does it hurt?"
"Yeah." He kneeled over her, taking off her sock and shoe. He slowly began rubbing it. She moved a little so he could lean over her more comfortably. He massaged her toes, carefully, deliberately, forcing her to slow her breathing down. The slower her breathing got, the faster her heart raced. He worked his fingers in neat little circle around her ankle, doing what he could without her wincing in pain.
He continued silently, rubbing and manipulating the sore spot. Don't stop Inuyasha. Her heart was speeding up. She closed her eyes. She had been wrong before, she didn't want to fall asleep, if she was going to be in his arms she wanted some action. What the Hell am I thinking about?
"Am I hurting you, Kagome?"
"Not at all."
"Why were you moaning then?" Kagome's eyes shot open. She could feel her cheeks already instinctively reddening.
"I wasn't, that was a hum, I was humming a song." Inuyasha looked at her, confused.
"Does it feel a little better?"
"Yes. Thank you." He let her foot go. They didn't say anything for a while. "You think Sango's alright with Miroku? I feel kind of bad leaving her with him."
"She's fine, I'd be more worried for Miroku if he makes Sango mad."
Kagome nodded. "I suppose that's the way it is with those two. They probably wouldn't interact like they do if there wasn't so much passion between them."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Well, they have great chemistry, despite Miroku's wandering hand they spend a lot of time together, tending each others wounds, contemplating, analyzing Naraku. . . and us."
"They talk about us?"
"Yeah, the same way we talk about them, I guess, I don't know. They just have to admit their feelings for one another. One day that passion between them will turn into something more."
"Like what? You don't think the two of them will ever get together, I mean. . .well, maybe. Maybe they'll get it together eventually."
"It'd be so nice, they'd make a really cute couple", Kagome said, smiling at Inuyasha. At least someone in the group would be happy for a change. Inuyasha was looking at her, smiling back at her, a little. She gave him a look, then sighed.
"What's with the face?" he asked, still looking at her. "Does your foot hurt again?"
"Still worried about my foot? I suppose a foot is better than nothing."
"That wasn't the only part of your body I was worried about, Kagome." Kagome could only gaze back at him, not able to say anything. Was this one of those moments she so longed for with him?
"Where else worried you?"
"Where ever it is you keep the jewel shard". Kagome lowered her eyes. Inuyasha smirked a little.
"Before you start yelling again, I was only kidding." She looked at him again. Those big soft eyes looked back. He was really looking all kinds of cute staring at her, the flames of the fire illuminating his face.
Perhaps, Inuyasha and I could play find the jewel shard. Why was she thinking all these stupid thoughts? So what if she had gotten him aroused, it was a normal human reaction. And even if he was turned on by her, it was probably because she looked like Kikyo.
Kagome wondered what happened with Inuyasha's erection. She tried peeking at him as he stood up. It appeared to be gone. She couldn't tell. "What are you staring at?" Inuyasha asked, defensively.
"Uh. . ." Kagome's face was growing hot.
"Well?"
"Nothing."
"Why don't I believe you?" He bent down so that he was eye level. "Is there something you were looking at? Huh? Answer me."
"It's nothing, I told you, it's nothing. Leave me alone!"
"Not until you tell me." Kagome got angrier, and stood up. She began limping away.
"Oh no you don't. You're not going anywhere until you answer me." He got in front of her, blocking her escape route. "What happened to us being honest with each other?"
"I lied!"
"Not good enough. Tell me." Kagome, desperate, pushed her companion. In the process, she fell and landed on top of him with a thud as they hit the ground. She laid on him for a moment, catching her breath and composing herself.
Finally, she rolled off of him but he pinned her hands down. Straddling her.
"Inuyasha!"
"Don't think I'm going to let you get away with not answering me, just because your ankle's busted."
"I'd like to answer you, but I don't remember the question."
"I asked you. . ." he stopped in mid sentence, she was looking at him again. He automatically looked down.
"Gods, why am I so damn horny tonight?" Inuyasha muttered to himself.
"I thought you told me it wasn't a "big thing"?" He looked at her, intently.
"This is your fault, you know."
"How is it my fault, Inuyasha? It's not my fault you're horny!"
"Oh yes it is. And I would have solved this problem a long time ago if you hadn't tripped."
"No one's stopping you. If you gotta go masturbate be my guest". Go think about Kikyo.
He was still a little out of breath from the tussle. He leaned over her and murmured, "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind." He was practically on top of her once he finished repositioning himself. She was still lying on her back. Kagome turned towards him, they were now nose to nose.
"Like I just said, this is your fault. Here's some more honesty for you, you have some nerve making me go take care of this, when you're the one who caused the problem in the first place."
"Inuyasha, I. . . ." She didn't get a chance to finish; he stopped her response with a kiss. Holy shit, what am I trying to do here? He broke away, abruptly, waiting for her to get angry. This was it, Kagome was going to "sit" him to death. Instead she pulled him closer.
The kiss grew deeper. More passionate. His tongue began rubbing down hers. She was pulling him back on top of her. His hands began roaming her body, feeling her thighs. Stroking them slowly. He couldn't think about anything but ravaging her. She was lucky he wasn't a half demon, her scent would have sent him over the edge, and he wouldn't have power over himself for even a short period of time.
He tried to figure out how to get these strange garments off of her. He had to see her, see what she looked like underneath. He began pulling down her little white panties, thinking about how nice the soft spot that lay under them would be. He had to concentrate, his mind was going so fast, he couldn't get his hands to move fast enough, he couldn't breath, not wanting to break contact from their kisses. Inuyasha was reeling at the thought that she could want him as much as he did her.
"Wait, stop, stop", Kagome said, pushing him away. Inuyasha looked at her, slowly taking his hand back "Stop."
"What?"
"You told me earlier that you still love Kikyo."
"I do." Kagome looked at him. "I'll always love Kikyo, Kagome."
"There is always the chance we will defeat Naraku, that you will not die, and you and your love can grow old together. You haven't given up on that possibility have you?"
"No. Each day my wind tunnel grows a little wider, my hate for Naraku grows stronger, and yes, I presume that even my feelings for her grow deeper by the day. But that doesn't change the fact that perhaps the gods will not be kind, that I will perish, that I will be sucked up, leaving a child and a woman alone in the world. And if I had a child with the woman I love, if I let my emotions get the best of me, then I cannot say that I truly love her. I love her enough to let her go. I think I'd be relieved if she didn't love me in return. That way I would not hurt her."
She sighed again. There was nothing left to say, unless Sango did the speaking. Miroku had laid it all on the line, and now here she was, not knowing what to say. Did he expect her to respond? How did she know this wasn't all another one of his games? What was it he had said before? "It's hard to say if her actions towards me are signs of affection. After all, she doesn't even call me by my name". Miroku still wouldn't look at her, once again, she would have to be the bigger person. She chose her words carefully before uttering a sound.
"I only have one more question, Monk", Sango said, turning to look at him, finally. She moved closer to him. He looked back.
"What would that last question be, Sango?" He turned his body to face hers. She turned hers towards his.
"Does she know any of this, that you will not let her get close to you because you love her too much to hurt her? That you can only hope that she loves you in return, but you can never ask her because knowing would only hurt you. That even if she does, you will never be together. Have you told her this, Monk, does she know?"
"She does now."
She didn't know what came over her, but she couldn't stand playing coy anymore, she leaned in and kissed him. She pulled away, just as quickly, screaming at herself for doing that. Her companion simply looked at her, stunned. A small smile formed on his lips. He was a getting redder in the cheeks. Sango decided to take matters into her own hands. She kissed him again. Miroku was startled, but quickly leaned back, kissing her in return.
He had fantasized about this very thing since the first night Sango had decided to join them on their quest. He never thought about her with lust, at least not at first, it was more of appreciation, deep respect. Deep respect and appreciation had turned to like, and now it had grown past a mere boyish crush, he loved her fervently.
He ached for her now. He slowly leaned her back, wanting to keep himself calm enough to take his time. With the way she was kissing him, that didn't seem like a real possibility. She matched every one of his moves with one of her own.
"I promised I wouldn't place an unwanted hand on you again, Sango", he said, between kisses.
"It's not unwanted, Monk." She began kissing him even more aggressively.
"Well, that makes me feel a little better, I thought for a moment I'd have to break my promise." He wanted to have her, right now, on the riverbank. He had to be slow about this; he couldn't rush things.
She was sucking on his ear lobe, masking her innocence with desire- filled confidence. He began returning the favor, sucking on her neck, wanting to leave love marks all over her body. Her hair was long, no one would ever notice. She moaned with longing. This was more then he could have ever hoped for. No, something wasn't right. He pulled away.
"This can't happen. I won't let it." He sat up. Sango opened her eyes, her breath still heavy with lust. "I will not hurt you."
By Shakster
Description: Don't know, got kind of bored one day, so wrote this. . . It's a moonless night, as the title implies, meaning Inuyasha's a human again, making Kagome's decision to run off alone a bad one. . .Meanwhile Sango tries to figure out what to do with Miroku, since he's promised her he won't touch her again, and (surprise) doesn't. . .
AN: Hey everyone, so this is my first fic. . . kinda excited. . . I've enjoyed reading a lot of stories so I kind of got inspired. Anyway, here's chapter 1. . .there's not really any lemony activity in the first chapter, but it gets lemony in the second, anyway, tell me what you guys think, reviews are appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters; otherwise I probably wouldn't be in college making 8.50 an hour.
"That river looks like a great place to take a bath", Shippou decided, looking at it as he rode on Kirara towards the clearing. "As soon as we get settled I'm going down there."
"Speaking of being settled, I think I'll go get us some firewood", Miroku announced, heading off back into the woods.
"I still can't believe Miroku has kept his promise", Shippou said, watching the monk head off.
"Yes, Miroku has certainly turned over a new leaf. How long has it been Sango? Four days?" Kagome asked, looking at the demon-exterminator.
"Five actually", Sango answered, turning away from the others. Five whole days since Miroku and her last argument. She had been furious. It really wasn't completely his fault; they had run into Kohaku again, still under Naraku's control. Seeing him again, after it had been several months was too much for her, and as Miroku tried to "comfort" her she relaxed and let her guard down, and he made one of his now infamous beelines for her rear end.
Normally not a big deal, after all, it was now customary for Miroku to act perverted, but that day Hell itself was released inside of her. She had done more than just give him a solid slap; she had berated him in front of everyone, making wild threats, screaming like a woman possessed. She told him that she had had enough of his groping and off color comments. She told him that he had some nerve calling himself her friend when he insisted on doing the one thing she hated most.
She continued, "You wonder why you cannot find someone to bear your child? This is why. You will never have an heir before that air rip of yours sucks you up. You're nothing but a no-good lecher!" She concluded by saying that if he so much as looked at her in an unpleasing manner again he'd have far more to worry about then his wind tunnel and Naraku.
The rest of the group had stood in amazement. Shippou hid on Inuyasha's shoulder, lest Sango begin her ranting on someone else. He wasn't naïve; he saw the look of fury running through her eyes. It was the same look she adorned when chasing demons. This was no different. "Gee, Sango, I've never seen you so upset before, or so mean", Shippou thought aloud.
"Feh, it was only a matter of time before she put Miroku in his place."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome protested. "Sango, if you would like to finish this conversation alone, we can leave."
"Leave, why? We have front row seats", Inuyasha pointed out, smirking, more to himself then to Kagome.
"No, don't leave. What I have to say I want to say in front of all of you." Miroku hadn't spoken until then. He hadn't moved. Their eyes shifted onto him. He had been taken aback, shocked she had been so angry. He looked visibly shaken, and quite hurt. "Sango, I am truly sorry", he began, trying to figure out the right combination of words to appease her. He promised her, in front of everyone, on his honor as a monk (which hadn't meant much up until that point) that he would never place an unwanted hand on her again.
"I'll believe it when I see it", Inuyasha said, sneering. "Once a lecher, always a lecher." But now, five days later, that didn't seem so certain. Miroku hadn't as much as placed a hand on her shoulder. And as for looking at her, he had made eye contact perhaps twice since the incident, and he barely spoke to her. He certainly had kept his word.
"Maybe someone should help him gather some wood", Kagome thought, jolting Sango out of her thoughts. "He's been pretty down lately."
"Yeah, ever since Sango yelled at him", Shippou added. Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippou looked at her.
"You were a little harsh, Sango", Kagome added. "I know he's a pervert, but I think you hurt his feelings. It's been five days, maybe you should talk to him." Sango sighed.
"I'll help him gather firewood, but I'm making no promises." She went looking for him.
"You think she'll make up with him?" Shippou asked.
"Yes, Sango is normally a calm person, I'm sure seeing Kohaku again couldn't have been easy for her. She's not mean-spirited", Kagome answered.
"Miroku deserved it though, there's no excuse for him always being a jerk", Inuyasha said, admiring his claws.
"It takes one to no one, Inuyasha." He looked up at her.
"What's that supposed to mean? I'm not a jerk."
Kagome huffed. "You're not a jerk and I'm a pigmy queen."
"What!" Shippou sighed. Here they go again, he groaned mutely.
Miroku didn't speak as he watched Sango begin gathering wood along side of him. Maybe I should apologize, she thought to herself. But he still had no right to touch her. He knew how much she hated it. He waits for me to let my guard down so he can make his move, Sango thought again, giving herself another affirmation. He's supposed to be a Monk for God's sake.
So she didn't apologize and they worked in silence. "You think we have enough, Monk?" Sango asked, looking at him. He nodded. He still wouldn't speak to her. Perhaps she had hurt his feelings deeply. She had been so mad. So angry. But maybe Shippou had been right. "Shippou is right. . ." Sango began, thinking aloud.
"Huh?" Miroku asked, looking at her. They made eye contact.
"He's right about the river. It looks like a lovely place to take a bath."
"Oh." He turned away, and headed back to the clearing. Following him, Sango sighed wordlessly.
The familiar sound of rustling grew louder as Sango and Miroku reappeared at the mouth of the clearing, Sango trying to keep a firm hold on the bundle of sticks in her hand. Miroku dropped his pile next to the fire, watching Inuyasha draw shapes in the ground with a stick. "Inuyasha, we're back", Miroku announced, sensing that their half-demon companion hadn't noticed their return. Inuyasha looked up for a moment's time then looked back down at his dirt doodle. "Where's Kagome?" Miroku continued, stoking the fire a little.
"How the Hell should I know", came the response.
"She's with Shippou and Kirara taking a bath?" Sango asked next. Just then Shippou and Kirara returned alone, answering Sango's question. Shippou's hair was still wet. "Kagome's not with you, Shippou?"
"No, when Kirara and I went to the stream she was fighting with Inuyasha", Shippou answered, trying to get the excess water out of his ears. "We asked her if she wanted to come but I don't think she heard us."
"I wonder what happened to her then", Miroku thought.
"She went home."
Everyone turned towards Inuyasha. "I suppose it should have been obvious. Let me guess, you both said the wrong thing to each other and now Kagome's headed back to the village", Miroku decided.
"Alone? Just yesterday Miroku sensed an ominous presence headed in that direction", Sango gasped.
"When doesn't he sense an ominous presence, or a black cloud, or a foreboding energy or some other crap?" Inuyasha determined.
"You have to admit Inuyasha, it's better than sleeping outside", Shippou pointed out.
"Whatever."
"I take offense at the insinuation that I purposely prophesize evil forces simply for food and shelter. But if I did, you should be grateful." Shippou, Sango, and Inuyasha looked at the monk and shook their heads.
"There's nothing wrong with sleeping out in the wilds", Inuyasha continued.
"Easy for you to say, Inuyasha, you're half dog demon, that's where dogs normally sleep", Shippou concluded, rolling his eyes.
"Shut up, Shippou!"
"I thought we were talking about Kagome", Sango interrupted. "What if something happens to her?"
"Forget about Kagome, she's forgotten about us. She's the one who decided to be selfish and run off alone. She knew what she was doing when she left."
"Inuyasha's right. Kagome will be fine", Miroku decided. Shippou and Sango glanced at him. He winked at them. "Besides, the village is only a half a day's walk, if she left a little while ago she'd get there early tomorrow morning at the latest."
"You're right", Sango added, catching on to the Monk's idea. "I'm sure any humans, or demons for that matter seeking jewel shards will be frightened off by Kagome's bow and arrow."
"Of course if something were to happen to her we'd lose our shard detector", Miroku continued.
Shippou suddenly figured out what his companions were up to. "Nothing's gonna happen to her, if she gets into any danger Kouga will save her."
"Shippou's right", Sango agreed, smiling at the fox boy. "Kouga promised he'd always protect Kagome, right, Inuyasha?"
"Inuyasha? Inuyasha?" Miroku called. They looked around, but Inuyasha had already sped off into the woods.
"You think he'll find her in time?" Shippou asked.
"He always does", Miroku answered, sighing. "Let's find something to eat for dinner."
It had gotten pretty dark, and it didn't help that she couldn't see the moon through the trees, she wasn't even sure if the moon was out. And of course every step she took sent chills through her body, as she was sure something was there, lurking in the dark behind her. Get it together, Kagome scolded herself. She had walked too far to head back to the campsite, and even if she hadn't, she didn't want to see Inuyasha anyway. He had the annoying ability to push every last one of her buttons. Finally she couldn't take anymore, not wanting to begin crying in front of him she called him a "stupid mutt" and ran off without a moment's thought.
She hadn't thought about how dark it'd get before she'd get back to the village, or how frightening walking alone could be. Before she knew it she was lost in the woods, she could only hope she'd find a village or a house or somewhere in the dark, cause she'd be damned if she was gonna spend the entire time roaming around the forest, just waiting for some demon or something to pick her off. She'd left her bike a ways back, after it got a flat tire. It was hard enough to maneuver between the dense arrangement of trees in perfect condition, let alone with the flat. "This is all his fault", she decided, stiffening a little as a breeze blew past her.
What an idiot she was. She let herself get so worked up over someone so stupid. What was this hold Inuyasha had over her? And what was the remedy? Gods, how many nights had she cursed herself for thinking about him, imagining his smirk so perfectly in her mind because she knew every curve and line in his face? It hadn't taken very long before Inuyasha had stolen her heart, and every time she tried to steal it back he went and did something "sweet".
He hugged her, or he looked at her in that certain way with those soulful amber eyes, or worse, he got jealous. Threatening to kill any guy who even looked at her the wrong way. She told him she hated when he did that. And she did, but part of her loved it, loved when he paid attention to her. Loved when he told her to stand behind him so that he could protect her. And that was enough to keep her coming back for more. To love him. And as many times as she was right back here, right back screaming at herself for being manipulated by his charm and bravado she always knew she'd fall for it again. "Damn him. Damn you, Inuyasha!"
Miroku had headed off towards the river after they had eaten. Shippou curled up with Kirara and fell asleep on a full stomach. Sango lay down, planning on going to sleep as well, but knowing Miroku was off at the river made her uneasy. She could never fall asleep if her father or brother weren't bedded down. And she supposed she didn't want to fall asleep without knowing Miroku was back safely. "Where is he?" she wondered out loud. No bath could take this long. He would have cried out if he were in danger. Or she would have heard his wind tunnel. But still, where was he? Why wasn't he back yet? She had waited impatiently for what felt like an eternity.
Perhaps he was avoiding her. That was probably it. He was waiting for her to fall asleep so he could slip back to the campsite without her noticing. How long could they go on like this? Not speaking? I don't care, he doesn't have to speak to me, Sango resolved. So what if he was sulking. They weren't talking, that was fine, he'd have plenty of people to speak to. It wasn't like the guy would stop hitting on the girls he met in the villages. Some of them even responded; they seemed to like the attention he was paying them. They liked his little comments, and his little crooked smile. They were mesmerized by the looks he'd give them when he was playing serious.
Why would anyone go for that? There was even that girl a couple of villages ago who had asked Sango and Kagome if either was with Miroku. Kagome asked her why she wanted to know and the girl had replied that he looked sexy. Sexy? Miroku? Yeah, if you liked that kind of thing. Sango was dejected, dejected and perplexed. Why was she analyzing this? Miroku brought this on himself. If he wasn't such a pervert they'd be friends now.
He owed her an apology. Was she supposed to be impressed that he had exhibited self-control for five days? It wasn't fair, why did she always have to play the grown up in their relationship. Funny choice of word, she thought. It wasn't a relationship, after all; it was a friendship, well, now it was nothing.
They were just two people with a common enemy and a similar goal. Is this what she wanted? No. Her father and brother had taught her one thing, you must trust and care about the people you fight with. Without trust you would never be able to fight to your full potential. And without caring, you could not protect the people who protect you. Maybe he was upset, but that wasn't an excuse to act like a baby. She decided to see what was taking him so long.
Inuyasha sniffed the air again, trying to figure out if he'd lost Kagome's scent for good. It had begun fading when he came across her bike, and he had gotten really worried when he had called for her and had gotten no response. Any moment and he'd transform into a human; she could not have picked a worse night to run off alone. Part of him wished Kouga would find her, just so he'd know she'd be safe. What good would he be to her like this anyway? Even if he found her, what would she say?
He supposed he could have handled the situation a little bit better. If he had to be the one to apologize first, maybe he would, he'd just be so happy she was still alive, it wouldn't matter that she was the one that had started it. She had called him a jerk and as they began to argue Kikyo's soul catchers floated by. "Oh, so I suppose you're going to go see your girlfriend now", Kagome yelled.
"Why do you care?" An obvious question with an even more obvious answer. She turned away from him in a huff. It wasn't as if it was his fault that Kikyo's soul catchers floated by, he hadn't even decided whether or not he was going to run and see her, before Kagome started again. And now here he was, hoping he'd be able to catch up to her in his human form. He didn't want to speak to her, why should he apologize when she had started the fight?
"I'll just make sure she makes it back to the village; I won't have to talk to her."
Miroku stared at his cursed hand sighing. He hadn't wanted to go back to camp. He was worried about Kagome and Inuyasha. He wasn't sure if Shippou and Sango realized that it was another moonless night, and that Inuyasha would have transformed into a human by now. It wasn't just his two absent travel companions that worried him though. Sango worried him. He had probably really upset her, more than he was willing to admit, so he had avoided her the last couple of days. They barely spoke now.
He knew she was upset about seeing Kohaku, he wanted to make her feel better, and she had relaxed as he rubbed her shoulders and promised her they would destroy Naraku and free her brother. "If it's the last thing I do." And at the rate his wind tunnel was growing perhaps that would be true. Sango had sighed deeply as he spoke to her softly, closed her eyes even, as he touched her. For that moment, Inuyasha and the others had disappeared. It was just the Monk and the demon-slayer, standing together. How he longed to hug her, hold her in his arms, convince her Naraku would be stopped.
And then, Miroku caught himself. He panicked. He grabbed her. Sango opened her eyes in alarm, slapped him, and began screaming. It was the worst thing he could have done at that moment but he only did it because he had to. He couldn't allow women to get too close to him. And even if he could, his inexperience would shine through. The truth was he was mostly talk, who was he kidding, he was all talk. No, no women could get close, especially Sango. Despite his constant groping and her unfailing and painfully accurate slaps he sensed she had grown to care for him. And that was the last thing he could let happen.
He sighed again. He was all- wrong for her. And they both knew that. She was independent, free -spirited, the last thing she wanted was to depend on someone, give her heart to someone like him, someone who turned his head at any pretty face that walked by. And besides, he wasn't even sure if she cared for him at all, perhaps he had read too far into this and all the little moments between them had been the wishful thinking of a foolish man. He had long imagined that she had fallen for him, during a battle, or afterwards, when she helped tend his wounds. It could have happened one day while they philosophized about Inuyasha and Kagome. But who was he kidding. After their last episode, it was unclear whether their relationship, friendship, could even be fixed.
"Do you plan standing there all night? You're welcome to join me." Sango's heart jumped. He knows I'm watching him, Sango thought. She approached him carefully, wondering if this was all part of some elaborate plan to get her guard down so that he could grope her again. But as she got closer and looked into his eyes she realized he wouldn't try anything. She sat next to him.
That was it, she had definitely heard something behind her that time. Turning slowly, she lifted the bow and readied it to strike. She knocked an arrow. Who am I kidding? I can't see anything, she grumbled noiselessly. She could hear crunching footsteps approach her. "Who's there? Stay back or I'll shoot", Kagome stammered, barely able to get the words out of her mouth.
"Kagome. . ."
"Inuyasha? Is that you? Come closer so I can see you. Your hair's black. You're human again."
"Unfortunately." Kagome put her bow down.
"Where's everyone else?"
"They're safer where they are, we all know how many demons would love to take advantage of me like this. I'd just put everyone in danger in this weakened state. Speaking of danger, what were you thinking running off like that? What would have happened if I had lost my superhuman powers before I found you? This was pretty selfish of you. You were only thinking about yourself, what about the rest of us? What about me?"
"Inuyasha." She looked at him, carefully studying his face. What was he trying to say?
"Gods Kagome, sometimes I just don't understand you. Why would you do something like this?"
"You were really worried about me, weren't you, Inuyasha?" Thoughts of her abandoned bike entered his mind.
"Worried about you?" He looked at her, rolling his eyes to exaggerate his point. "I was worried about the jewel fragments. What would give you any indication that I was in anyway anxious about what happened to you? You're the one who decided you needed to go run off in the woods alone, and as far as I was concerned if something were to happen you'd get what you deserved."
Kagome huffed. His words hurt almost as much as his words during their earlier argument. "Of course I worry about Kikyo, what do expect, I love her." Kagome felt warm tears fall down her cheeks. She sniffled and began walking again.
"Kagome. I only said that because I was angry you ran off."
"No one told you to come looking for me! I would have been fine by myself."
"Fat chance."
"Why don't you go find those soul gatherers and recite those sentiments for Kikyo."
"That's right, I forgot that you'd probably rather be rescued by Kouga anyway."
"Why not? At least he knows what he wants. He's not trying to decide between me and his dead girlfriend. A girl who's tried to kill you on more than one occasion, I might add."
"Why don't you go join Kouga's pack while you're at it. They all consider you his mate anyway."
"I will, this way they'll be no distractions for you. Hope you enjoy spending eternity in Hell with your precious priestess." Inuyasha gave her a look. Why did I just say that? Shesh, Kagome, talk about your low blows.
Inuyasha thought about what Kagome had said, and finally responded, "I already told you things between Kikyo and I are complicated. You wouldn't understand. I will not rest until I've avenged her death. I owe her that much."
"And what about me, what do you owe me, Inuyasha?" He didn't respond, just looked off into the distance. Just as I thought. She walked faster. "You're right Inuyasha, what good are you to anyone in your weakened state? I'd feel safer if you weren't here." Kagome walked faster, not noticing the embankment as she tumbled down.
Without a moment's hesitation, Inuyasha ran after her, jumping off the edge, forgetting he was mortal as he plunged feet first into the river below. Once surfacing he began calling for her, had she even fallen into the water? What if she had landed on a rock or something? Where was she, he was growing frantic. "Kagome!"
There was only so much self-reflection a person could do. It had been uncomfortably quiet for quite some time now. The silence between them was filled with all the things they had said a million times, and those which had never been spoken aloud. Finally Sango couldn't stand it any longer. "Why are you still angry at me?" Miroku looked at her, searching her face. "Answer me, Monk."
"I'm not angry with you. I never was." Then why haven't you spoken to me? Why haven't you looked at me? You haven't touched me, Sango's heart longed to ask. But she wouldn't speak those words, not now, not ever. "I'm giving you your space, Sango. This is what you want", he continued, turning from her. "I've hurt you. And I'm sorry. So I'm resigned to leave you alone." They were silent again.
He stuck his head underwater but he still couldn't see her. Where was she? "Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled, surfacing again.
"I'm right here." He turned and saw her floating behind a rock. He swam towards her. "I'm okay. Just a little shaken. You jumped in after me didn't you? You could have hit the edge, or the rocks." He didn't answer her, as she continued floating down stream, trying to find a place to get out of the water. He followed. "I suppose you did it to protect the jewel shards, Gods help us if something were to happen to them."
"Kagome", Inuyasha said, a little harsher than he meant to. Inuyasha grabbed her arm. His weight pushed her to the side of the river. He lowered his voice, calming his heart rate. "Just stop it. Can we try not to argue for one moment? Any number of things could have happened to you just now, we're just lucky you fell into a body of water and not onto a boulder or something. You could have died. Don't you realize that?" Kagome looked at him, and nodded.
"So you were worried about me?"
"No, I jumped after you because I wanted to practice my diving technique." He released her hand.
"You could have died too. You don't have your usual powers."
"I'm fine. I can handle being a human for one night."
"No one's suggesting you can't. But something could have happened to you too, Inuyasha."
"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you. I can take care of myself."
"And I can't?"
"Every time I try to protect you you gotta go running your mouth off, finding anyway possible to wind me up. Just for a change of pace let's lose the attitude, alright? Gods, Kagome, how many ways can you find to pick a fight with me? Just once, I'd like to rescue you, or save you, or look after you without getting a smart remark or you saying the "S" word."
She sighed. "Thank you."
He looked at her confused. That was the last thing he expected to come out of her mouth. "For what?"
"For worrying enough to come looking for me."
"Well, I certainly couldn't depend on Kouga to do it. I'm the only person who's always been there. And I'm the only person who always will."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, that's so. I don't care what that wolf demon says, I'm protecting you. You're my responsibility." She smiled at him. "What are you smiling at?"
"You." She leaned over and gave him a big wet hug. He didn't know how to respond but hugged her back, the current forcing him into her. She was moving his silky raven hair out of his face, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I shouldn't have said those things to you back at the campsite."
"It's okay." What was she thinking? What was she doing?
"No, it's not. I'm the one who's been the jerk. This argument was my fault. You care about Kikyo, you have every right to; if you want to go see her that's your business". Her skirt fanned out as the water continued to rock him into her. She was dripping wet, her milky white breasts peeking out at him through her thin shirt. There wasn't much in the way of clothing in between them. The thought made Inuyasha's manhood tingle.
"I'm sorry I fought with you, I really am. I was being selfish", she continued, hugging him again, her breasts rubbing against his chest. What was she trying to do to him? Whatever it was, it was working. He was getting an erection. "What would I do without you, Inuyasha? Chasing after me when I'm being stupid?"
"I don't know. . . we should get out of the water, it's gonna take us long enough to dry off."
She smiled at him and nodded. "You're right." She turned around and pushed herself out of the water, crawling onto the soggy grass. Inuyasha watched her, mesmerized as she stood up, and began squeezing water out of her hair. He couldn't get out of the water, not with this raging hard on. She'd "sit" him for sure. But he couldn't very well stay in the water all night either.
He started pushing himself out of the water, purposely brushing his penis onto the ground. He hoped the sudden shot of pain would quiet his excitement as he stood up, trying to get his clothes from clinging too tightly and giving him away.
Kagome turned around suddenly, feeling eyes on her. "Inuyasha?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows in confusion.
Whatever chance he had at quelling his erection ended when she spun around, her nipples smiling at him. "Let's make a fire, it's really nipply. . . uh, nippy out here." Inuyasha was acting weird, even for him. He began making a fire, Kagome went back to trying to dry herself off.
"Are you worried about Inuyasha and Kagome?" Sango asked, looking at the sky. The moon was absent; Inuyasha was a vulnerable human again.
"No", Miroku lied. "There's no doubt in my mind that Inuyasha's found Kagome. They're probably fighting right now, as we speak."
"Why do they have to pick fights with each other?"
"You always hurt the ones you love." Sango looked at him, he didn't look back. She sighed and looked back at the river.
Her words haunted her: You wonder why you cannot find someone to bear your child? You will never have an heir before that air rip of yours sucks you up.
"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, Monk. I shouldn't have overreacted like I did."
"I shouldn't have taken advantage of your vulnerability. You were angry. You had good reason to be. I've never been good when it comes to women."
"That's because you're a lecher."
"No, that's not what I meant." He stuck his right hand in front of him, looking intently at it. "I'm a doomed man. I cannot allow women to get close to me. Yes, it is true I need a child to carry on my family's mission, in case I should fail. But as much as I'd love to bear a child with a woman who cared for me, I cannot. I am fated. I will not hurt anyone, therefore, I am a lecher."
"So now you want to justify your lecherous habits?"
"Not at all, I simply mean to explain them." He put his arm down. "I could never have a real, meaningful relationship with a woman because I am cursed."
"So you're a pervert in order to push women away?"
"Exactly." She looked at him, questionably. In theory it made sense, but that didn't mean there weren't some things that were a little sketchy.
"How then will you find a woman to bear your child if you do not allow one to get close to you?"
"I figure, eventually my perverted ways will attract someone and she will agree to bear my child. But the way I see it, she will be doing it out of lust, not love. So if I were to eventually be consumed by the wind tunnel I will not hurt her by my death."
"I find this story of yours a little incredible. You ask women you meet if they will have your child all the time. However, I never see you grope these women we meet in villages. Not in the same manner you grope me", Sango said, looking at him again. He still wouldn't look at her.
"Yes, but they are strangers, they do not care for me because they do not know me. So simply saying a lecherous line or two to them is sufficient." He looked at her abruptly. "You seem so interested in my situation, Sango, could it be that you're worried about my ever impending death?"
"I'm trying to figure you out, Monk. You're very guarded. And I wonder how much of what you present of yourself to me is merely an act." Miroku looked away from her. "As for this claim of yours, it seems to have one other flaw. You say you don't grope strangers because they don't know you, so they don't have time to grow attached. But what of Kagome? I don't see you groping her?"
"Yes, that's true. I don't grope Kagome." He met her eyes with his once more. "But Kagome isn't in love with me, is she Sango?" Sango nearly went into cardiac arrest. She stared at him, unable to break eye contact. Her lower lip began to quiver. She couldn't take in air.
"Kagome is in love with Inuyasha. And Inuyasha's obviously in love with her", Miroku added, not breaking eye contact.
"And if she wasn't in love with Inuyasha? If she loved you? Then what?" Miroku looked away from her. He sighed.
He really is kinda cute as a human, Kagome thought, watching Inuyasha sit next to the fire once they were done eating some Ramen. She walked over to him and quickly sat on his lap, before he could make an objection.
"What are you doing?" he asked, barely above a whisper.
"I'm cold."
"What are you doing?" he repeated, holding his breath as she adjusted herself and held her hands out towards the fire.
"I'm warming myself up, and you're almost dry. It's called body heat." Does she want me to get hard again? "If it's really bothering you, let me know, I'll stop." Inuyasha didn't respond, so Kagome nuzzled up to him. Slowly, he put his arms around her, pulling her a little closer to him. She sighed contently.
"Kagome, I uh, it's partially my fault you ran off in the first place. I shouldn't have said those things to you."
"It's okay", Kagome breathed into his ear, "We both said a lot of things we didn't really mean. But I want to be honest with you now. I was lying earlier. I wouldn't have wanted Kouga to come find me. I couldn't feel any safer sitting here with you."
He didn't answer, closing his eyes, and trying to concentrate on anything other than his newly formed erection. She shifted slowly, trying to get comfortable, rubbing him in the process. Didn't she feel that? She had to. At the very least she had to feel his heart pounding out of his chest as she leaned against him again, still shifting under him. If she didn't stop doing that, he was going to take her, right on the grass.
She settled back again. "Inuyasha?"
"What?"
"What are you thinking about?" How much I want you, Inuyasha answered without a sound. "Are you thinking about the other's back in the woods?"
"No."
"Kikyo?"
"No."
"Naraku?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"I'm not thinking about anything." He sighed; he couldn't handle this much longer. His phallus needed some attending too. He needed her off of his lap. "Stop squirming around, it's making me uncomfortable."
"I'm trying to get comfortable, your lap is hard."
"Huh?"
"Your thighs are really muscular, it's not the softest place in the world."
"You should sit on the grass then", Inuyasha snapped, dumping her off his lap. He stood up, looking down at his member. Kagome turned around, looked up at him, then into his eyes. They both blushed.
Is that the Tetsusaiga in his pocket, or was he just really happy to see me? Inuyasha started off for the woods.
"Oh, I, uh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, um. . ." Kagome started.
"It's okay, it's no big thing. . .I mean um, it's okay."
Kagome stood up. "Inuyasha, wait, please." She followed him into the woods. He wouldn't look at her. "I didn't realize. I wasn't thinking."
"It's not your fault." Of course it was her fault, he didn't get that aroused watching the fire.
"Inuyasha, please come out. I'm sorry. You don't have to be embarrassed. It's a natural human reaction. We were just being honest with each other. This isn't really an issue."
"If you're looking for honesty, this bulge in my pants doesn't seem to have any intentions of leaving, and I'd really like to attend to it", Inuyasha snapped, regretting the words as he said them. Anything, he supposed, to get Kagome away from him.
"Attend to it? You mean like, like um?"
"Masturbation."
"Oh, yeah, that." Inuyasha turned to look at her.
"Yeah, that, why were you thinking of something else?"
"Something else? No, why would I be thinking about something else. Of course not."
"Kagome you seem a little flushed."
"I'm not."
"Are you sure you're being honest with me?"
"Of course, Inuyasha. I'll leave the two of you alone", Kagome whimpered. Backing up quickly, she didn't see the root, and tripped over it, falling down hard, and hurting her ankle in the process.
"You never answered my question, Monk", Sango said, growing irritated. "Would you grope Kagome and act in a lecherous manner if she loved you?"
"No. Even if she loved me it would be unrequited. I have great respect for Kagome, and I care for her deeply, but only as a friend and companion."
"Are you saying you could never fall in love with Kagome?" She looked at him.
"Yes."
"Even if Inuyasha wasn't an object?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Miroku looked at her again. "Because I'm already in love with somebody else, Sango", he answered, quietly.
She quickly looked away. "I see." She thought for a moment before speaking. "And do you know if she's in love with you or not?"
"I can only hope she is. But even so, we cannot be together."
"Because you do not want to hurt her."
"I will not hurt her."
"Does she know how you feel?"
"Yes. Just recently, I've told her, in so many words."
"And what was her response?"
"To be honest, she looked surprised." Neither looked at each other, they just stared at the river, watching the current go by.
"How'd you meet her, someone from your village?"
"No, I met her as I was traveling with some friends, looking for pieces of the shikon jewel."
"Have you ever asked her to bear your child?"
"No."
"Because you will not hurt her. And if she loves you in return she will be saddened by your death?"
"Yes."
"I suppose you grope her too. You push her away."
"I used to grope her. I've since stopped. But I still push her away. I have no other choice. I will not hurt her, Sango. It can never be. Besides, I do not know if my feelings are returned or not."
"Have you asked her?"
"No. Knowing she loves me would give me little solace. I still cannot be with her. Therefore I suppose I will never know. I'm sure she would never voluntarily offer that information to me."
"Perhaps she is shy."
"Perhaps." Neither would return each other's glances. Both afraid of what would be in the other's eyes, and what wouldn't.
"Monk, does she show affection to you at all? Does she worry about you? Does she care about you when you are hurt?"
"She is concerned about me when I am hurt, but I do not know if it is simply because we are comrades. It's hard to say if her actions towards me are signs of affection. After all, she doesn't even call me by my name."
Sango looked at him for a moment, and looked back at the river. "Maybe that is a sign of her affection."
"Maybe."
"She's never told you if she loved you?"
"No."
"Not even in so many words?" Miroku looked at her. Sango didn't return his gaze. He looked back at the river.
Inuyasha had decided to be chivalrous and carried Kagome back to the fire. The whole time he did Kagome couldn't help but rub against him. She tried to be inconspicuous as she nuzzled his neck a little, sighing silently. She had never been carried by a guy before, and even as a human Inuyasha made no struggle when he picked her up in his muscular arms. All that long black hair, those piercing eyes. They way he smelled, masculine. She was loving this, she didn't want him to let her go. She could fall asleep in his arms, he could hold her forever. But the walk back wasn't far at all, and eventually he put her down.
"I could have walked back alone", Kagome insisted, as Inuyasha helped her sit back down.
"I think you twisted your ankle."
"I'll have grandpa look at it when I get back home."
"Does it hurt?"
"Yeah." He kneeled over her, taking off her sock and shoe. He slowly began rubbing it. She moved a little so he could lean over her more comfortably. He massaged her toes, carefully, deliberately, forcing her to slow her breathing down. The slower her breathing got, the faster her heart raced. He worked his fingers in neat little circle around her ankle, doing what he could without her wincing in pain.
He continued silently, rubbing and manipulating the sore spot. Don't stop Inuyasha. Her heart was speeding up. She closed her eyes. She had been wrong before, she didn't want to fall asleep, if she was going to be in his arms she wanted some action. What the Hell am I thinking about?
"Am I hurting you, Kagome?"
"Not at all."
"Why were you moaning then?" Kagome's eyes shot open. She could feel her cheeks already instinctively reddening.
"I wasn't, that was a hum, I was humming a song." Inuyasha looked at her, confused.
"Does it feel a little better?"
"Yes. Thank you." He let her foot go. They didn't say anything for a while. "You think Sango's alright with Miroku? I feel kind of bad leaving her with him."
"She's fine, I'd be more worried for Miroku if he makes Sango mad."
Kagome nodded. "I suppose that's the way it is with those two. They probably wouldn't interact like they do if there wasn't so much passion between them."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Well, they have great chemistry, despite Miroku's wandering hand they spend a lot of time together, tending each others wounds, contemplating, analyzing Naraku. . . and us."
"They talk about us?"
"Yeah, the same way we talk about them, I guess, I don't know. They just have to admit their feelings for one another. One day that passion between them will turn into something more."
"Like what? You don't think the two of them will ever get together, I mean. . .well, maybe. Maybe they'll get it together eventually."
"It'd be so nice, they'd make a really cute couple", Kagome said, smiling at Inuyasha. At least someone in the group would be happy for a change. Inuyasha was looking at her, smiling back at her, a little. She gave him a look, then sighed.
"What's with the face?" he asked, still looking at her. "Does your foot hurt again?"
"Still worried about my foot? I suppose a foot is better than nothing."
"That wasn't the only part of your body I was worried about, Kagome." Kagome could only gaze back at him, not able to say anything. Was this one of those moments she so longed for with him?
"Where else worried you?"
"Where ever it is you keep the jewel shard". Kagome lowered her eyes. Inuyasha smirked a little.
"Before you start yelling again, I was only kidding." She looked at him again. Those big soft eyes looked back. He was really looking all kinds of cute staring at her, the flames of the fire illuminating his face.
Perhaps, Inuyasha and I could play find the jewel shard. Why was she thinking all these stupid thoughts? So what if she had gotten him aroused, it was a normal human reaction. And even if he was turned on by her, it was probably because she looked like Kikyo.
Kagome wondered what happened with Inuyasha's erection. She tried peeking at him as he stood up. It appeared to be gone. She couldn't tell. "What are you staring at?" Inuyasha asked, defensively.
"Uh. . ." Kagome's face was growing hot.
"Well?"
"Nothing."
"Why don't I believe you?" He bent down so that he was eye level. "Is there something you were looking at? Huh? Answer me."
"It's nothing, I told you, it's nothing. Leave me alone!"
"Not until you tell me." Kagome got angrier, and stood up. She began limping away.
"Oh no you don't. You're not going anywhere until you answer me." He got in front of her, blocking her escape route. "What happened to us being honest with each other?"
"I lied!"
"Not good enough. Tell me." Kagome, desperate, pushed her companion. In the process, she fell and landed on top of him with a thud as they hit the ground. She laid on him for a moment, catching her breath and composing herself.
Finally, she rolled off of him but he pinned her hands down. Straddling her.
"Inuyasha!"
"Don't think I'm going to let you get away with not answering me, just because your ankle's busted."
"I'd like to answer you, but I don't remember the question."
"I asked you. . ." he stopped in mid sentence, she was looking at him again. He automatically looked down.
"Gods, why am I so damn horny tonight?" Inuyasha muttered to himself.
"I thought you told me it wasn't a "big thing"?" He looked at her, intently.
"This is your fault, you know."
"How is it my fault, Inuyasha? It's not my fault you're horny!"
"Oh yes it is. And I would have solved this problem a long time ago if you hadn't tripped."
"No one's stopping you. If you gotta go masturbate be my guest". Go think about Kikyo.
He was still a little out of breath from the tussle. He leaned over her and murmured, "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind." He was practically on top of her once he finished repositioning himself. She was still lying on her back. Kagome turned towards him, they were now nose to nose.
"Like I just said, this is your fault. Here's some more honesty for you, you have some nerve making me go take care of this, when you're the one who caused the problem in the first place."
"Inuyasha, I. . . ." She didn't get a chance to finish; he stopped her response with a kiss. Holy shit, what am I trying to do here? He broke away, abruptly, waiting for her to get angry. This was it, Kagome was going to "sit" him to death. Instead she pulled him closer.
The kiss grew deeper. More passionate. His tongue began rubbing down hers. She was pulling him back on top of her. His hands began roaming her body, feeling her thighs. Stroking them slowly. He couldn't think about anything but ravaging her. She was lucky he wasn't a half demon, her scent would have sent him over the edge, and he wouldn't have power over himself for even a short period of time.
He tried to figure out how to get these strange garments off of her. He had to see her, see what she looked like underneath. He began pulling down her little white panties, thinking about how nice the soft spot that lay under them would be. He had to concentrate, his mind was going so fast, he couldn't get his hands to move fast enough, he couldn't breath, not wanting to break contact from their kisses. Inuyasha was reeling at the thought that she could want him as much as he did her.
"Wait, stop, stop", Kagome said, pushing him away. Inuyasha looked at her, slowly taking his hand back "Stop."
"What?"
"You told me earlier that you still love Kikyo."
"I do." Kagome looked at him. "I'll always love Kikyo, Kagome."
"There is always the chance we will defeat Naraku, that you will not die, and you and your love can grow old together. You haven't given up on that possibility have you?"
"No. Each day my wind tunnel grows a little wider, my hate for Naraku grows stronger, and yes, I presume that even my feelings for her grow deeper by the day. But that doesn't change the fact that perhaps the gods will not be kind, that I will perish, that I will be sucked up, leaving a child and a woman alone in the world. And if I had a child with the woman I love, if I let my emotions get the best of me, then I cannot say that I truly love her. I love her enough to let her go. I think I'd be relieved if she didn't love me in return. That way I would not hurt her."
She sighed again. There was nothing left to say, unless Sango did the speaking. Miroku had laid it all on the line, and now here she was, not knowing what to say. Did he expect her to respond? How did she know this wasn't all another one of his games? What was it he had said before? "It's hard to say if her actions towards me are signs of affection. After all, she doesn't even call me by my name". Miroku still wouldn't look at her, once again, she would have to be the bigger person. She chose her words carefully before uttering a sound.
"I only have one more question, Monk", Sango said, turning to look at him, finally. She moved closer to him. He looked back.
"What would that last question be, Sango?" He turned his body to face hers. She turned hers towards his.
"Does she know any of this, that you will not let her get close to you because you love her too much to hurt her? That you can only hope that she loves you in return, but you can never ask her because knowing would only hurt you. That even if she does, you will never be together. Have you told her this, Monk, does she know?"
"She does now."
She didn't know what came over her, but she couldn't stand playing coy anymore, she leaned in and kissed him. She pulled away, just as quickly, screaming at herself for doing that. Her companion simply looked at her, stunned. A small smile formed on his lips. He was a getting redder in the cheeks. Sango decided to take matters into her own hands. She kissed him again. Miroku was startled, but quickly leaned back, kissing her in return.
He had fantasized about this very thing since the first night Sango had decided to join them on their quest. He never thought about her with lust, at least not at first, it was more of appreciation, deep respect. Deep respect and appreciation had turned to like, and now it had grown past a mere boyish crush, he loved her fervently.
He ached for her now. He slowly leaned her back, wanting to keep himself calm enough to take his time. With the way she was kissing him, that didn't seem like a real possibility. She matched every one of his moves with one of her own.
"I promised I wouldn't place an unwanted hand on you again, Sango", he said, between kisses.
"It's not unwanted, Monk." She began kissing him even more aggressively.
"Well, that makes me feel a little better, I thought for a moment I'd have to break my promise." He wanted to have her, right now, on the riverbank. He had to be slow about this; he couldn't rush things.
She was sucking on his ear lobe, masking her innocence with desire- filled confidence. He began returning the favor, sucking on her neck, wanting to leave love marks all over her body. Her hair was long, no one would ever notice. She moaned with longing. This was more then he could have ever hoped for. No, something wasn't right. He pulled away.
"This can't happen. I won't let it." He sat up. Sango opened her eyes, her breath still heavy with lust. "I will not hurt you."