"For heaven's sake, Miroku," Inuyasha said gruffly, rolling his eyes. "Just call and ask her. The worst she can do is say no."
"Exactly!" the raven-haired man replied as he glanced at the phone. He was torn over whether or not he should call Sango to ask if she wanted to accompany him and the inu hanyou to a dance club. Like many men, he feared that she would turn him down.
"Do you mean to tell me that you can ask a woman to bear your son," the half demon began, "but you can't ask her out on a date?"
Miroku gave his friend a pathetic look. "Ummm... is it required that I answer that question?"
Inuyasha groaned. "Just call her and ask, okay? She's probably home now, and more than likely she doesn't have any plans."
"But..." he protested weakly. He really did want Sango to go with him; he just did not want to hear her say no.
"If you won't call her, then I will," the silvery-white haired youkai threatened. He meant the threat too, and his friend knew it.
Miroku almost paled. 'If Inuyasha calls Sango, he'll probably humiliate me just because I made him call,' he thought. "All right, I'll call her," he responded, throwing up his hands in defeat.
The youkai carefully watched his human friend pick up the receiver and press some buttons on it. A moment later, his dog ears picked up the sound of ringing.
~Hello?~ a young, male voice said from the other end.
"Hi, this is Miroku," the ex-monk stated, guessing that the boy who had answered the phone was Kohaku, Sango's younger brother. "Is Lady Sango there?"
~Yeah, just give me a sec to get her.~ Shouts and teasing were heard over the line followed by the sounds of a brief struggle.
~Hello, this is Sango,~ a pleasant female voice greeted the caller.
"Good evening, Lady Sango," Miroku said.
~Oh, hi, Miroku. How are you doing?~ she asked curiously. She had not heard from the perverted male since he had dropped off her sword at Sesshoumaru's house.
"I'm doing fine," he replied politely, his voice slightly betraying his nervous state. "How about you?"
~Pretty good,~ Sango answered. ~A little bored, but good.~
"Well, if you're bored..." Miroku took a deep breath. "How about you come to a dance club tonight with Inuyasha and me?" In the silence that followed, he could have sworn that his heart stopped beating.
~Sure. Are you going to pick me up?~ she inquired.
"Ummm.... yeah. About nine tonight sound okay?" His heart had resumed beating, and it was currently in the clouds, soaring happily.
~Sounds great. I'll bring a friend for Inuyasha... unless he already has a date,~ the bodyguard drifted off, waiting for Miroku to respond.
"Your idea's perfect," the electrician commented. "Who are you thinking of?"
~That's a surprise,~ she teased, tone light and playful. ~You'll both just have to wait and see.~ There were suddenly shouts from her end of the phone. ~I need to go now, Miroku. My mom needs my help with something. I'll see you at nine, right?~
"Right. See you then," Miroku agreed, nodding his head. "Good-bye, Lady Sango."
"Bye!"
The ex-monk set the receiver down with a very happy sigh. His eyes closed as he sunk down into his favorite chair, his mind cheerfully going over the conversation. 'Sango said yes!' he thought, smiling.
Inuyasha, of course, had to ruin the happy moment. "I'm not going with that girl Sango's bringing," he stated firmly.
"You heard what Sango said?" Miroku looked at his friend, feeling a little surprised. Every time he thought he knew the extent of his friend's abilities, Inuyasha proved him wrong.
"I have ears, ya know?" he retorted, flicking one of the furry appendages on his head.
The black-haired man winced. "I know." He gave a small sigh. "Please, Inuyasha? It wouldn't kill you, and it'd probably do you some good." The electrician gave his friend a pleading look. "C'mon... it'll be fun."
The hanyou snorted, but he did give into his friend. "Fine. I'll go." He stuck his hands into his large, haori shirt sleeves. "But that doesn't mean that I'll enjoy it."
Miroku smiled. "Who knows, Inuyasha? Maybe you will."
~*~*~*~
Kagome hummed happily as she bustled about the kitchen, gathering everything she would need to prepare the meal. The kitchen was huge and beautiful with marble countertops, stone walls, a stone floor covered by a large Turkish rug, mahogany cabinets, and a large window over the sink that looked right out into the courtyard.
"I can't say why I love you, but I do... yes I do, and," she sang softly as she began to put everything together that she needed to. "When I'm around you, it feels so good... feels so good. And everything that I can do, every wish I make for you... in the end it all came true and I... I can't say why I love you." She gently stirred the oden as she continued to sing. "Can't say, can't say... but I do. I can't say why I love you, can't say, can't say... but I do. I can't say why I love you."
Telonomaru was walking past the kitchen right at that moment, his ears picking up her quiet voice and telling him to stick around for a while. He did just that, standing in the door and leaning his shoulder against the frame. The warm sound of her voice washed over him, relaxing him, as he listened to the words.
"Baby when I found you... I just knew, I just knew that I... couldn't live without you. Feel it too, do you feel it too? Everything you give to me... feels as though it's meant to be. If you ever ask me how I feel..." Kagome, completely oblivious to the presence of the dog demon, continued to fix dinner. She was enjoying herself, and she saw no reason to halt her actions. "I can't say why I love you. Can't say, can't say... but I do. I can't say why I love you, can't say, can't say... but I do. I can't say why I love you."
'There seems to be some feeling behind this little song,' the inu youkai thought as he kept his golden eyes on the girl. 'I believe she cares about my cousin as well; she just hasn't realized it yet.' A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. 'This is going to be easier than I thought.'
"Now I'm thinking of you... oooohhhh, when I can't explain the feelings. But I know that it's real when I hold you. When I saw you, you know, I knew... I knew I couldn't live without... without you ever in my life. When I saw you, you know, I knew... I knew I couldn't live without... without you ever in my li-" Kagome cut herself off when she turned around and saw Telonomaru, her eyes going wide.
"Please, Kagome, finish the song. It was absolutely lovely," he gently urged, expression kind.
The girl blushed slightly and shook her head. "No, Telonomaru-sama," she told him, voice faint. "I would rather not."
The youkai shrugged. "Suit yourself."
Kagome blinked, a little surprised by how easy he had let the subject drop. She took advantage of that fact, turning back around and returning to her cooking.
"That looks really good," Telonomaru commented, coming up behind her and reaching around with a hand to snatch a little taste test.
Before he could even get close enough to the pot, Kagome smacked his hand with her spoon, a frown on her face. "The food is still cooking," she informed him firmly. "And it's hot. You don't touch hot, cooking food with bare hands."
The dog demon jerked his hand away from the food and took a few steps back, not wanting to acquire another bruise. "I only wanted to taste a little piece of it," he stated in his defense, smiling. The girl had spunk when she wanted to.
"Still, you don't reach into a boiling pot." Kagome sounded like a mother scolding a disobedient child.
Telonomaru laughed. "I'm a demon. We're not as susceptible to temperature extremes as humans are. The water would not have burned me."
She scowled. "I don't care," she retorted. "I don't know where your hands have been, and I don't want you sticking your bare hands in my supper!"
Sesshoumaru walked in right then, drawn by Kagome's loud voice. "What's going on?"
The "injured" dog demon turned to look at his cousin. "Tell me, Sesshoumaru, does she always act so possessive over the food?" he inquired, a twinkle in his eyes. "And does she smack you with a spoon as well?"
"Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't try to grab cooking food out of a boiling pot with his bare hands," she snapped. "You did."
"So, just because I did that, you decided to hit me with the stirring spoon of destruction?"
The taiyoukai could not help it; he laughed.
~*~*~*~
"You owe me big for this, Miroku," Inuyasha stated as he pulled his car into Sango's driveway. "Real big." It was five till nine, and they had just arrived at the bodyguard's house.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know," the ex-monk replied, getting out of the car and going up to the front door. He took a deep breath, and then rang the doorbell. The sounds of shouting and running quickly ensued, causing a small grin to grace Miroku's features.
A moment later, a small girl answered the door. "Miroku-sama!" she squealed, launching herself at him. She hugged his legs tightly, obviously happy to see him.
"Hello, Rin," he greeted the child. "Is Sango ready to leave yet?"
She looked up at him, an adorable expression on her face. "I don't know, but can I go too?" Rin asked pleadingly. "Another girl is going with Sango-chan, and I wanna go."
Miroku gently patted her on the head. "Not this time, Rin," he told her. "Sorry."
Her smile fell. "Please?"
He shook his head. "Uhh-uhh. Nope. We're going some place you can't go quite yet." He gave her a small, comforting smile. "Do you think that you can go tell Sango and her friend that Inuyasha and I are here?"
"Okay!" She cheerfully bounded off, her disposition not allowing her to be sad for any length of time.
A few minutes later, Rin came back to the door with Sango and another girl right behind her. Sango was dressed in a short black skirt with a slit on each side and pink spaghetti-strap shirt that showed off a few inches of her flat stomach. She had put black knee-length boots on her feet, and her hair was done up in a fancy bun.
The other girl had on a bright blue, strapless dress that matched her eyes. Long blond hair had been swept up into a pile on her head, leaving some strands to delicately frame her face. Boots the same color as her dress were on her feet, and she had a small white purse slung over one shoulder.
Both girls were wearing a tasteful amount of make-up, and the light from inside outlined them like angels.
Miroku was in shock. "You look lovely, Sango," he whispered after a moment. "As does your friend."
The bodyguard smiled. "Thank you. You look nice as well." Her eyes took in his tennis shoes, black pants, and prefect-fitting purple shirt with a black dragon design.
"Hey, Miroku!" Inuyasha said, getting out of the car and walking up to stand by his friend. "What's taking yo-" He froze when he saw the girls, going into shock just like his friend had.
The blond giggled softly. "Sango-chan, is he my date?" she asked the black-haired girl, surveying the silvery-white haired man in his black pants and red muscle shirt. "He's cute."
The hanyou blushed. "Who are you?" he asked, being his normal tactless self.
Sango sighed softly. "Miroku, Inuyasha, this is my friend and fellow bodyguard, Varice. Varice, this is Miroku and Inuyasha." She pointed to each of the boys in turn, easily noticing how her friend nodded to each of them. "Now if Miroku can stop staring at us, Varice, we can leave."
"Oh." The ex-monk slightly shook his head to clear it. "Forgive me, but it is rare for me to see two beautiful ladies in such close vicinity of each other." Inuyasha snorted in reaction to that.
Both girls rolled their eyes. "Let's get going," Varice said, giving her date a smile as she walked to the car.
Inuyasha, not really knowing what to do, opened the car door for the blond, waited for her to get situated, closed the door again, and then slide into the driver's seat. He sat there for a few minutes, his mind desperately trying to reboot. By the time Miroku had copied the hanyou's actions, the dog demon was back to normal and ready to leave.
Moments later, the two couples were on the road and ready to go dance.