Disclaimer: See chapter one
A/N: (big smile) You reviewers are all so nice! (Looks innocent) But who said Sango was going to become a kitsune? (Ducks rotten fruit thrown at her) Yow! Okay, okay, we'll see what happens, huh?
Chapter Four
Miroku was sulking. It was very difficult to pull his usual 'I-sense-an- evil-cloud-over-your-house' when he looked like a demon himself. He was beginning to understand how Inuyasha could be so bad tempered when simply walking into town could elicit shrieks of 'Ahh! Demon! Help!'
It was actually worse that he was dressed as a monk – it made any other holy person in the area think he was possessed by a kitsune and try to exorcize him. Which, since he was actually turning into a kitsune and not possessed by one hurt him quite a bit. After the disastrous reactions at two successive towns, the shard hunters had resigned themselves to roughing it for the duration of the trip.
Inuyasha had sniffed out a natural hot spring to camp near tonight. The girls, with their usual sharp warnings to the boys and the monk in particular, had gone off to bathe first. The hanyou had gone off to hunt for some meat to supplement their meal, leaving Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara at the campsite.
Miroku's tail twitched a bit, and he favored it with a wry smile. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, it was impossible to forget the pleasantness that had occurred because of the furry appendage. Sango had been in a terrible mood for the past several days since, but he considered it a minor victory regardless. She had been petting him. Not in the place he would have first thought of when it came to petting, but still she had been touching him and enjoying it.
He gazed in the direction that the women had gone, sighing. Under ordinary circumstances this would be the perfect situation to indulge in some covert admiration of the feminine figure, or what the girls called peeping. Inuyasha off hunting, Shippo and Kirara dozing by the fire...if only it wouldn't have gotten him further changed, he'd have been there already!
But wait...Miroku's violet eyes widened. He wouldn't be acting perverted by just going for a stroll. And if he happened upon the girls during their bath, why, it wasn't like he was doing anything lecherous. Sango and Kagome would have found some large holes in his logic, but he wasn't them, and so was immediately off for the hot spring.
The monk made his way through the trees, careful to make no noise because he didn't want to alert – ahem, disturb any woodland creatures in the area. It was easier to sneak than he'd ever done before; he wondered if it was the kitsune attributes he'd been picking up were more than just physical. His ears perked as he heard voices and splashing ahead. Slyly he left the main path and crept towards the spring through the more indirect route. Targets were almost in sight...
"I couldn't help it!" came Sango's frustrated voice. "It was so soft and he looked so – so- kawaii with those ears and his eyes half closed. What's wrong with me? I never was affected by cute things before!" Miroku's grin threatened to split his face. She considered him cute, did she? He slid closer, still not able to see the occupants of the spring.
"I understand," came Kagome's consoling voice. "Did I ever tell you that the first thing I did when I saw Inuyasha pinned to that tree was rub his ears?" Sango gasped. Miroku stifled a laugh.
"You didn't!"
"It must be genetic. My mom did the same thing when he came into the house to get me the first time."
"Ge-netic?" Sango stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
"Oh, um, inherited. Something in my family blood." Kagome explained the unfamiliar term as the monk went to his knees and delicately began to part the foliage so he could see the bathers. His tail was almost wagging in eagerness. He licked his fangs absently and got one heavenly look –
"YEOWCH!"
Kagome and Sango jumped at the sudden cry from the bushes at the edge of the hot spring. The young miko grabbed a towel and the demon slayer her boomerang – and then the towel Kagome handed her. Having a pretty good idea who it was, they angrily wrapped themselves and headed over to the source of the noise.
Miroku sat on the ground staring at his hands, appalled. He looked from his clawed fingertips to the outraged girls glaring at him, and said in a voice that was nearly a whimper,
"But I was just LOOKING!"
WHAM SMACK SMACK WHAM!
~ Inuyasha came back to camp with several rabbits he'd caught and cleaned. His eyebrows rose at the sight. Miroku, clearly bruised, sat on one side of the fire looking disconsolately at his clawed hands. The girls, hair still damp, sat on the other with expressions of mingled anger and satisfaction. Shippo slept beside Kirara, oblivious. The inu-hanyou shook his head in amazement.
"Oi, Kagome, why don't we just go back to shard hunting? The lech is never gonna make it till we get to his cure."
"No." Sango's voice was very firm. "He'll make it." All of them turned to look at her in surprise. Her expression was odd, not precisely readable, as she turned to the surprised monk. "Houshi-sama."
"Er...yes, Sango?" Miroku asked with some trepidation. His head still hurt from the girl's retribution for peeking on them.
"We will need your holy powers to beat Naraku. You will not have them if you become a kitsune. So you have to make it to your cure." There were some sharp intakes of breath at her statement. "In order to help you make it there..." Sango looked like she'd bitten something unpleasant. "Every day that you do not do something to trigger your curse, I will pet your tail at night."
If Naraku had waltzed into the clearing wearing a tutu and singing 'You are my sunshine' the rest of the group would not have looked as shocked as they looked at the demon slayer's statement.
"Oi! Have you lost your mind?"
"Sango!"
Miroku opened his mouth, showing his fangs. Closed it. Opened it, still couldn't seem to find words, and closed it again. Finally he took a deep breath and said simply,
"I accept your proposal."
A/N: (big smile) You reviewers are all so nice! (Looks innocent) But who said Sango was going to become a kitsune? (Ducks rotten fruit thrown at her) Yow! Okay, okay, we'll see what happens, huh?
Chapter Four
Miroku was sulking. It was very difficult to pull his usual 'I-sense-an- evil-cloud-over-your-house' when he looked like a demon himself. He was beginning to understand how Inuyasha could be so bad tempered when simply walking into town could elicit shrieks of 'Ahh! Demon! Help!'
It was actually worse that he was dressed as a monk – it made any other holy person in the area think he was possessed by a kitsune and try to exorcize him. Which, since he was actually turning into a kitsune and not possessed by one hurt him quite a bit. After the disastrous reactions at two successive towns, the shard hunters had resigned themselves to roughing it for the duration of the trip.
Inuyasha had sniffed out a natural hot spring to camp near tonight. The girls, with their usual sharp warnings to the boys and the monk in particular, had gone off to bathe first. The hanyou had gone off to hunt for some meat to supplement their meal, leaving Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara at the campsite.
Miroku's tail twitched a bit, and he favored it with a wry smile. Despite the awkwardness of the situation, it was impossible to forget the pleasantness that had occurred because of the furry appendage. Sango had been in a terrible mood for the past several days since, but he considered it a minor victory regardless. She had been petting him. Not in the place he would have first thought of when it came to petting, but still she had been touching him and enjoying it.
He gazed in the direction that the women had gone, sighing. Under ordinary circumstances this would be the perfect situation to indulge in some covert admiration of the feminine figure, or what the girls called peeping. Inuyasha off hunting, Shippo and Kirara dozing by the fire...if only it wouldn't have gotten him further changed, he'd have been there already!
But wait...Miroku's violet eyes widened. He wouldn't be acting perverted by just going for a stroll. And if he happened upon the girls during their bath, why, it wasn't like he was doing anything lecherous. Sango and Kagome would have found some large holes in his logic, but he wasn't them, and so was immediately off for the hot spring.
The monk made his way through the trees, careful to make no noise because he didn't want to alert – ahem, disturb any woodland creatures in the area. It was easier to sneak than he'd ever done before; he wondered if it was the kitsune attributes he'd been picking up were more than just physical. His ears perked as he heard voices and splashing ahead. Slyly he left the main path and crept towards the spring through the more indirect route. Targets were almost in sight...
"I couldn't help it!" came Sango's frustrated voice. "It was so soft and he looked so – so- kawaii with those ears and his eyes half closed. What's wrong with me? I never was affected by cute things before!" Miroku's grin threatened to split his face. She considered him cute, did she? He slid closer, still not able to see the occupants of the spring.
"I understand," came Kagome's consoling voice. "Did I ever tell you that the first thing I did when I saw Inuyasha pinned to that tree was rub his ears?" Sango gasped. Miroku stifled a laugh.
"You didn't!"
"It must be genetic. My mom did the same thing when he came into the house to get me the first time."
"Ge-netic?" Sango stumbled over the unfamiliar word.
"Oh, um, inherited. Something in my family blood." Kagome explained the unfamiliar term as the monk went to his knees and delicately began to part the foliage so he could see the bathers. His tail was almost wagging in eagerness. He licked his fangs absently and got one heavenly look –
"YEOWCH!"
Kagome and Sango jumped at the sudden cry from the bushes at the edge of the hot spring. The young miko grabbed a towel and the demon slayer her boomerang – and then the towel Kagome handed her. Having a pretty good idea who it was, they angrily wrapped themselves and headed over to the source of the noise.
Miroku sat on the ground staring at his hands, appalled. He looked from his clawed fingertips to the outraged girls glaring at him, and said in a voice that was nearly a whimper,
"But I was just LOOKING!"
WHAM SMACK SMACK WHAM!
~ Inuyasha came back to camp with several rabbits he'd caught and cleaned. His eyebrows rose at the sight. Miroku, clearly bruised, sat on one side of the fire looking disconsolately at his clawed hands. The girls, hair still damp, sat on the other with expressions of mingled anger and satisfaction. Shippo slept beside Kirara, oblivious. The inu-hanyou shook his head in amazement.
"Oi, Kagome, why don't we just go back to shard hunting? The lech is never gonna make it till we get to his cure."
"No." Sango's voice was very firm. "He'll make it." All of them turned to look at her in surprise. Her expression was odd, not precisely readable, as she turned to the surprised monk. "Houshi-sama."
"Er...yes, Sango?" Miroku asked with some trepidation. His head still hurt from the girl's retribution for peeking on them.
"We will need your holy powers to beat Naraku. You will not have them if you become a kitsune. So you have to make it to your cure." There were some sharp intakes of breath at her statement. "In order to help you make it there..." Sango looked like she'd bitten something unpleasant. "Every day that you do not do something to trigger your curse, I will pet your tail at night."
If Naraku had waltzed into the clearing wearing a tutu and singing 'You are my sunshine' the rest of the group would not have looked as shocked as they looked at the demon slayer's statement.
"Oi! Have you lost your mind?"
"Sango!"
Miroku opened his mouth, showing his fangs. Closed it. Opened it, still couldn't seem to find words, and closed it again. Finally he took a deep breath and said simply,
"I accept your proposal."