Chapter Two: Gratitude
Kagome stood as Miroku rang the doorbell. An old woman dressed in a simple black sheath opened the door.
"Yes?" She glared at Kagome, her eyes falling to the blood stain in the middle of her shirt. Kagome blushed.
"Move, Phyllis," Miroku piped as he pushed his way in, dragging Kagome behind him. Kagome tugged gently at his grasp, but Miroku was a bit stronger than her in his true form.
"Lord Miroku, your father would not be pleased to know you've dropped your disguise in front of a stranger."
"She's no stranger, she's Kagome."
A crash sounded from the far end of the house. Kagome opened her mouth to ask about it when Phyllis spoke up.
"It doesn't matter who she is, my lord, your father still said for you not to drop it."
She noticed the state of Miroku's clothes. "What happened to you?" she asked, worry finally crossing her face. Kagome cleared her throat, gaining the woman's attention.
"Some older kids were picking on him by Lucky's. Don't worry, I think he's all better now."
Miroku danced around her, chattering a thousand miles a minute.
"Kagome saved me. You should have seen her, Phyllis. She made this giant dog come out of her hand and her eyes glowed. It was so awesome. The jerks turned and ran when it barked at them! It was so funny!"
Another crash came from different part of the house, this time a little closer to them. Kagome glanced around in concern.
"Is everything ok?"
Phyllis nodded quickly and nudged Miroku down a nearby hallway. "Get changed young man. Your father is going to want to speak to you after this."
Miroku nodded and turned to go. He glanced back at Kagome and gave her a wide grin before dashing off. Phyllis sighed and motioned for Kagome to take off her shirt.
"That child. Always into something." Phyllis took her shirt and lead her to a nearby chair. "Sit here. I'll be back in a moment."
Phyllis scampered down the hallway, leaving Kagome in the reception room in nothing but a pair of shorts and a sports bra. Kagome surveyed her surroundings in wonder. It was obvious that Miroku's family was well off. Expansive paintings and statues lined the walls to the door and the floor was covered with the most impressive oriental rug she'd ever seen. A single painting hung on the wall at the other end of the room. Kagome walked closer to it as ran her fingers along the frame.
It was gilded, but the painting was more awe-inspiring than the frame. In it was a family of four. Kagome could tell the little boy in the woman's lap was Miroku, but the others she didn't exactly recognize. The woman sitting down wore a deep red dress that looked a lot like thirteen century London fashion. As a matter of fact, everyone in the picture seemed to be from that time period. The man behind her had black hair, down to his waist, with deep amber eyes. The little girl beside her had the man's hair and eyes, but the woman's smile. Kagome smiled. She felt like she knew them. * As she was moving to observe the rest of the paintings in the room, someone clicked their throat behind her.
"Blasted pollen," Phyllis wheezed.
Kagome blushed and moved away from the picture. "Sorry. I hope I didn't disturb anything."
Phyllis waved off the question as she approached her with a piece of cloth in her hands. "You didn't disturb a thing, child. I find myself staring at that picture sometimes. The lord of the house said to give you this in thanks, and to replace your ruined shirt."
Kagome smiled. "That's not really necessary, really. I'm just glad I was there to help the kid."
Phyllis smiled and handed her the shirt. Kagome stared at it in awe as she put it on. It was a creamy white, much finer than anything she had at home. The buttons seemed to be real pearl, and the silk felt cool on her skin. Kagome stood still while Phyllis adjusted the collar.
"Beautiful, just like I thought."
She escorted Kagome to the door. "Thank you for bringing Lord Miroku home," she said as she nudged Kagome out the door.
"I have a little brother who asked me to see if Miroku could visit us. Or we could visit him."
Phyllis nodded. "I'll check with his father, but I believe he'll say yes."
She smiled as she closed the door, leaving Kagome on the front steps. Kagome stared at the door for a moment before shaking her head and walking back to the car.
********
Phyllis walked out of the receiving area down a long hallway. She knocked on the last door, listening in vain to the muffled arguing behind it.
"My lord?"
"Come in, Phyllis."
Phyllis stepped in the room. Miroku was seated in one of the chairs inside, with an young man beside him. The young man was staring at an older man seated behind a desk. Phyllis bowed.
"My lord, she's gone."
"Good." the older man grumbled. The younger man stood up and patted Miroku's head.
"Thank you, Phyllis. You're dismissed."
Phyllis turned around and left. The younger man stood up, his bushy brown tail twitching in annoyance.
"Why couldn't we tell her?" he asked the man behind the desk.
"Because my brother isn't here yet."
"So?"
The older gentleman stood up and patted his shoulder. "Be patient. We'll tell her soon."
Miroku piped up suddenly. "Is Uncle Inu coming?" The older man nodded and Miroku cheered.
The younger man scowled. "This blows."
"Yes it does, but she can't know until he gets here."
Miroku continued to cheer. "Yay! Uncle Inu's coming! He's so fucking cool."
Both men turned a dark glare to Miroku, who clamped his hand over his mouth.
"Sorry, Father."
The older man scowled while the younger man started to laugh.
"You'd better not let your mother hear you talking like that."
The older man shook his head at the both of them and returned to his seat. Picking up the phone, he dismissed the two. As Miroku and the younger man walked down the hallway to Miroku's room, the younger gentleman decided to ask a few questions.
"What's she like, Miroku?"
Miroku smiled as he flopped down on his bed. "She's so nice. Her brother, Souta, is too. She bought me ice cream."
The younger man nodded, his eyes in some distant memory. He suddenly clapped, causing Miroku to cringe and cover his ears.
"Ow! Why do you always have to do that?"
The younger man blushed. "Sorry, a habit picked up from my mother. Hey, let's you and I go tell your mother about her."
Miroku nodded and together they raced to the southern part of the mansion.
----
SF: I bet you can't guess who they were!
Silver Fox: Yeah right! {::shakes his head::} I don't know why I bother with you.
SF: Because I support your hentai side. Anyway, sorry about the update being so late. I got caught up with next week's 'TBW' chapter and guess what? It's long too!
Silver Fox: Not as long as this week's update, but pretty long still!
SF: And the next couple of chapters promise to be longer! Oh, but the responses are below. Next week's chapter: Embroidered Time Table!
Responses:
Sugarhighs:P: Really? Dude, that's cool. I just write what comes to me. Um, Miroku isn't Kagome and Inuyasha's son. He's more like a nephew.
Not telling: How mean! I'd love to know who you are! Anyway, Happy New Year to you too!
Narya Silver Fox: Ignore the fox. His mind is bad. Anyway, no probs about Miroku. I thought he'd be a cute kid. He reminds me of the kid I babysit for. He's a real trip, and he and my sister together in the same room is like asking for the house to burn down around you.
Namesake: I'm so sorry about that. I've been told that I'm evil incarnate. I'm coming with more soon.
Akuma-River: Inu is still clueless, but someone knows what to do for the both of them. You'll see who that is later on in the story. Miroku kinda acts like his human counterpart, but he's more like that little kid from next door that copies everything you say. So you can imagine what he's learned from 'Uncle Inu'.
Ulna: I will!
Tokai: Thanks so much for the love! Yup, you're on the money about Miroku. However, the others don't appear in this fic until a little later. I can't remember how much later, but a little later.
Tessa3: Well, you're right and wrong about the Inu-chan thing. Remember when Sesshoumaru was showing him how to shift between his full demon, half demon and human sides? Well, it just might be possible that he learned more than that over the centuries...
Inu Yokai: So sorry about being late for this chapter. I didn't mean to go to sleep on it. Inu-chan says hi. He's in a good mood today because of the 'TBW' chapters. It seems like he might get to stretch his claws a little...