I am very pleased that everyone enjoyed the first chapter. Now, here's the second one. Sorry if it seems shorter but I'm moving soon and I have to pack.

And a special thanks to "Kimi" for reviewing again (even though I can't stand it when people review more than once for an update. It makes me feel cheated. But this one was in good intensions so it was okay.) you gave me the inspiration to finish this chapter. I had some of it but then took a break. Uh…okay, here you go…

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There is a heaven, she decided as she continued to watch him rest lazily as if there was not a care in the world. She blushed again.

Ideas swirled into her mind, ideas she should not be having. Especially while she was in a hot springs, naked, with a demon, a particularly hot demon at that. Wasn't she supposed to be in love with Inuyasha? Heck, even being in love with Miroku or Sesshomaru would have been more reasonable, and let me tell you, that was not reasonable.

Life was so cruel and unusually tough on her emotional side. She always knew that she didn't stand a chance with Inuyasha even if Kikyo was out of the picture. He would just see Kikyo in her, and that was something she didn't want.

Hojo had finally got the message and went out with the seventh grader who was trying to get his attention. He had left her, he didn't even want to be friends with her, but Kagome could only guess which disease her grandpa had used to make him go away. Maybe I should just pretend death in the future and stay here. I could always continue to use the well to see my family and it's not like I'm going to pass high school and get into college anyways.

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She seemed to be in very deep thought. She had been staring at him for the past ten minutes. Either that, or she was shocked at what he had done, how he had so simply joined her little bath without shame at his figure. He knew he was well built but he liked to think of himself as…well, as average. He could really careless if he was the hottest, damned demon on the planet! And he happened to know plenty of youkai who were very good with catching women's eyes. All four of the Great Lords were 'sexily built and very sensual' as he had heard gossip even though he knew for a fact that two of the four Lords had not given themselves away…at least, not that he knew of. The Great Lord Sesshomaru of the West and the Great Lord Ashita of the East were very different and yet considered friends among the Lords.

The carelessly, happy-go-lucky Ashita was a remarkable youkai. He stood out amongst the Lords and he would stand out even more in a field of hundreds of youkai. It was the fact that he always had some type of smile on his face. It was as if he had never had any other emotion. Or, Jack thought, he could be hiding behind it.

Sesshomaru was a totally different matter. He was nothing when it came to emotions. He was never happy, never mad, never sad, never disappointed, never shaken up, never anything! It sometimes seemed that nothing bothered the man, but that was changed in Frost's opinion when he saw him around his half-brother. He seemed to become angry and disgusted without showing it, and even Inuyasha knew it. It was as if…he feared his emotions and thus being he kept them in check.

Yes, that sounds about right, he smirked. When he came out of his musing he found cerulean eyes watching him. She blinked. He blinked. She blinked again. This was definitely not a staring contest. He blinked.

And that was when she looked away with a light stain spilling over her cheeks. He grinned. This was one of the best bathes he had had.

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He felt a light push against the back of his head. It seemed far off, but it would come closer later and then he would deal with it. His eyes were closed but he felt the urge to open them and discuss something with them. Them, them who hurt him, them who ridiculed him for his beliefs, them who always thought nothing of his feelings when they did such things. Them, they were lucky he was nice and believed in all things holy or…uh…some things holy.

He tried lifting his head but the push became a throb, a strong one at that. He began to recall what happened with a frown. Ran to village. Entered hut. Yelled wildly. –Wait, that's not where it began, Rewind. Okay, saw Kagome in hot springs. 'Jumped' (as Kagome put it that one time Shippo and Inuyasha snuck up on her) by a demon. Told he wanted her. Enter the scene of terror, steals my dream of (hopefully) being the first man (youkai or human) to take a bath with Kagome. At which point he began to mutter certain choice words and such, "dream wrecker…." And then he went back to his thoughts on the situation.

He had to tell the others about Kagome's (hurtful) affair. How could she do this to him? And here he thought they had something good going. The monk sighed. Oh well, there's still Sango. And with that determined thought he set out to tell the others about what he had seen. Actually, if she hadn't had knocked me out I would have been able to tell them sooner…I wonder how long I was out for….

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"So…uh…" Kagome thought intelligently, in desperate need of a conversation to get his attention off of her body. He had been staring, as though in deep thought, but then he seemed to just come to and stared at her, well, more like her body hidden under the not so smooth surface of the water, but still.

He just raised an eyebrow and gave her a skeptical look. Then, seemingly decided a course of action he chose to lean closer and give a question session. However, before he could begin her eyes caught the glow of the necklace, her necklace around his neck. He saw surprise and wonder light up in her eyes and her hands traveled up to her own neck. Wow, this is interesting, he decided. Better come up with something, and fast.

He was use to this kind of stuff, not saying that he stole items of others often or anything, but he happened to be a very good liar and a smooth talker to bat as proved in earlier moments. You could almost say it was a gift. He talked smoother than even his brother Abunai of the Fall. He was incredibly good at talking his way out of things. He was also a lady's man, very much so.

"Is…where did you get that?" she asked him her eyes still lingering on the necklace that so much resembled his marking. He easily came up with something and put on a face to make it look real. He wrinkled his nose in thought and then answered her slowly as if in thought.

"I found it just a while ago on the bank of a hot springs. It was just sitting there and there was no one near the springs so I kept it with me. Why?" That went smooth. She finally looked him in the eyes to see any traces of lying but when she found nothing but confusion she answered.

"Because I had a necklace like that, but I don't remember what I did with it," she looked away at the expression on his face. Of course after saying that he was gonna give it back. It would be cruel not to. With this in mind he took it off and put it around her own neck, lifting her hair in one hand to bring the chain to rest against her skin. While doing this he fingered the Shikon's chain and heard her gasp.

"You don't have to give it to me! It might not even be mine!" she knew it was a lie as much if not more than he did for the material was of no substance found in this area and she would have to had traveled far to find the rare white gold. He shook his head.

"No, I can't keep it. Just pretend it is my gift to you," she turned to give him a questioning glance. He smiled and realization dawned in her eyes.

"Well, I think it's time we were to part, it's getting very late," Frost said as he stood, and without even realizing it, Kagome looked down. Luckily, for her, the water washed against his stomach and she had enough time to turn around before he completely climbed out. He grinned at her conduct and made mental notes of things that were running through his head right now that happened to sound quite interesting but so far into the 'relationship' she wouldn't have agreed to.

"It was very nice meeting you and I do hope we met again," he said as charming as ever when he was fully dressed. She nodded her head, not trusting her voice and slowly climbed out as well, the towel she had dragged in earlier heavy with water, lay wrapped around her petite frame. He stared hungrily at her for a moment before pulling himself out of it and turning for her to get dressed which she quickly complied with. After done dressing, he took her back to the bushes they had met at. The snow had piled an inch or so in the area and Kagome secretly wished it would melt so he would have to stay but quickly dismissed the idea. She had just met the guy and she knew nothing about him, and she was pretty sure he knew almost nothing about her. But that is where our dear Kagome was wrong. For in fact, he knew almost as much as she did about herself.

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Cruel, cruel world.

Why do you taunt me so?

With flesh and curves I can't not have,

And pure beauty of nature.

Why is it a sin,

A sin to lay eyes on a woman?

Why can we not appreciate her gift,

Her gift of beauty?

Miroku laid down his quill and inkbottle to reread his new piece. Yes, the charming yet hentais monk had taken to writing his moods when in disarray, but of course he would never admit it. It seemed kind of…scratch that, really unmanly to write at all so he wasn't about to write what his thoughts were on paper. So he took up poetry. He was still fiddling around with the rhyming part but not all poetry rhymed. He was never really great at it anyway.

Miroku heard footsteps coming down the winding path he had followed to get away from the beatings he continuously received for "sneaking off" as Sango had put it. How could it have been 'sneaking off' when he had just stood up and waltzed out of the clearing? Honestly, what did they take him for? …don't answer that…

He quickly put his book into his outer robes and stood. The last thing he wanted was for someone to catch him in the act. Only…well, monks and such write but no one had ever seen Miroku take a quill to a scroll before. Who knows what they would think of him then?

The footsteps slowed in their steady pace and he heard the light breathing behind him as he acted as if he didn't know they were there. He kept his body relaxed, trying in vain to not let his muscles tense, giving away his acknowledgement to their presence.

He heard them come closer and right before they could lay the hand on his shoulder he turned, flipping them onto the ground with their wrists in his hand above their head and his fist raised in a quick strike. But he stopped at the sight below him.

There sat Kagome, flushed and all. Her shirt slipped down her shoulder and Miroku became aware of the situation they were in. To get off or be injured, that is the question, he mentally chimed as he grinned down at Kagome. Her features twisted from the surprise and shock at his actions to anger when he did not remove himself.

He waited for it. He needed to know that she didn't really let that demon in the hot springs with her, that she wasn't 'with him' (as Kagome sometimes would describe the situation between Inuyasha and Kikyo), that she was really still chasing after the crazed inu hanyou and ignoring his own affections (that which, by the way, he happened to give out to Sango as well, but that was besides the point) towards her.

He wasn't very good with comforting and there for, failed miserably when it came to Kagome. Life was just so cruel.

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The grass shook lightly at the arrival of the youkai, landing with a faint noise, just the stir of the grass. He looked up from his book he had been reading and took a glimpse out the window before slowly walking down the halls towards what he liked to call the 'guest receiving room' where he had his 'guests' wait until he felt in good enough spirits to meet them.

When he entered said room, three guests met his eyes before all his senses were knocked out of him. They rolled around on the floor wrestling as was custom before his brother, Haru, came out on top and further more ran around the room with a scroll in his hands. Abunai frowned from his seat on the chair and Kiiro smirked good-naturedly from under Frost.

Abunai cleared his throat, clearly stating that he would rather have been elsewhere. Haru raised his eyebrows before setting down the scroll, also clearing his throat in mock scolding of the others who had yet to get off the floor. After everyone had taken a seat, Abunai began.

"Mother requests your presence on the 2nd," he informed and Jack shook his head. That was the one-day he would not go, and his mother knew very well why. She knew so well why that that was probably how the date was chosen.

"No," he refused, not bothering to sound polite. They went through this every year and they had yet to win. He just didn't understand why his brothers allowed her (their mother) to do the very same on their own respected days. It was quite rude if you asked him. She always made them look like fools, weak in front of their friends, and then shipped them off to make herself look in charge. Only Abunai had stood up against her when she tried to humiliate him in front of the God of Fire's daughter. Though Jack did not know the details of that day, not wishing to feel guilty for letting it continue, she had not summoned him since.

No other parent had hosted parties on their children's respected days just to embarrass and make fun of them, but she went to far by letting others do so, too. Haru always said it was to toughen them up for the 'real' world. Anyways, Jack didn't like to be the center of attention.

"Okay, then, I guess we're done here," said Haru, rising to his feet and summoning a servant.

"Bring Tsuyu around front along with my coat," Jack made no move to stop him. Everyone knew that Haru hated Jack with a passion, though, they didn't know why, not even their own mother. Only the four brothers knew and it looked to be that they wouldn't be telling anyone.

Kiiro shot him a disbelieving look and Abunai made a sound of anger, clearly he disapproved the statement from his brother, but neither said anything as he left. Jack sighed and stood with a smile causing a look of surprise to cross Kiiro's face before reflecting that very same smile. Abunai just watched the exchange being the most reserved of the four.

"Well, anyone hungry?" Jack asked as he slowly walked out of the room with Kiiro and Abunai trailing behind him.

"Yeah."

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Sorry, I just read a really good Miroku/Kagome fic and had to put something in there. I have yet to write a Miroku/Kagome fic, but I will some day…over the…rainbow…yeah.

Anyway, the whole party thing will be explained in later chapters.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns all you have to do is push that little blue button and maybe I'll update sooner, too!

Japanese Dictionary:

Youkai-demon

Ashita-tomorrow

Tsuyu-dew (not positive on that one)

Abunai-dangerous