Disclaimer: I said it once, I said it twice; I said it three times, why
can't they be nice? (And give them to me? Y_Y)
"___" = Dialogue
'___' = Thoughts
*___* = Special 'stuff'
Conflicting Desires
By Forsaken Tenshi
Chapter 9: Friendly Reunion
Kagome sat quietly in the meadow, enjoying the breeze that gently blew by her. She sighed contentedly. As of late she and the dog demon had been talking a lot more, over virtually every topic imaginable. Her knowledge of different demons impressed him, and his underlying sarcasm amused her to no end. Kagome found herself thinking about the demon lord in a different light. Kagome had, at one point, believed that she hated him with all her being. But now that she thought about it, it was more like extreme dislike.
The shrine maiden smiled wryly to herself. 'How much I've changed,' she thought as she lazily basked in the warm afternoon sunlight.
Her priestess powers were suddenly pricked by the proximity of a demon. Or, to be more specific, _two_ demons. She instantly stood up, sensing what kind they were. 'A kitsune, and a saber cat? Could it be. . .' "Them?" she spoke aloud, finishing her train of thought.
There was a small blast of wind from nowhere, and Kagome's eyes widened as her senses told her more. _That_ particular gust of wind was. . . Sesshoumaru.
"Oh Kami," Kagome breathed as she began racing in the direction she felt the dog demon had headed towards. "Let me get there before he hurts them," she whispered in prayer.
Her eyes fell upon a nerve-wracking scene: Shippou and a transformed Kirara, on the grassy ground, unconscious, Miroku and Sango dangling by the throat from both of Sesshoumaru's clawed hands. Her friends' staff and boomerang lay on the ground, harmless without their owners.
As Kagome approached the group, Miroku squirmed in the demon lord's grip to see her and choked out, "Kagome-sama!"
Sesshoumaru did not even favor her with a glance.
Sango twisted her head towards the direction Miroku was gazing and smiled a small, lopsided grin.
Kagome could tell that neither of them was getting air, for both their eyes were becoming glassy and their lips were tinged the faintest purple. Anger towards the demon began churning within her, and she strained to maintain her control. "Sesshoumaru," she articulated between gritted teeth, "Would you _please_ release my friends?"
Sesshoumaru gazed at her with brittle gold eyes. "They trespassed onto my private property," he said flatly, "And therefore deserve punishment."
The way he said it made it seem as though it were obvious. But Kagome knew that if she did not act fast her friends would die of asphyxiation. "Sesshoumaru, _please_? They didn't know better!" she argued, hoping that it was the truth.
The demon lord deliberated the teen's sincerity and, at length, released them, dropping them onto the ground like limp rag dolls, each one clutching their neck and gasping for breath. He backed a good distance away from the two humans, crossed his arms over his chest, and snorted quietly to himself. Kagome looked at the contemptuous dog demon and sent a mental thank you.
'You better be,' was the haughty, disdainful reply.
Kagome's blue eyes clouded with momentary anger, but her focus returned to her friends, and the anger died away.
"Kagome-sama!" gushed the demon exterminator as she hugged her friend.
"Sango-sama! It's been so long since I saw you!" cried Kagome happily.
They released, and Kagome bent down to hug the now awake Kirara. The saber cat purred with contentment, her two black striped tails flicking back and forth excitedly.
"It's nice to see you again, Kagome-sama," greeted Miroku as he hugged her. His hand began "slipping" down her backside.
"Don't," warned Kagome. The hand crept back up, and Miroku put on the "I'm always so innocent" face. Kagome could have sworn she heard Sesshoumaru growl.
"Kagome!" A small reddish fluff ball rocketed into her stomach, and there was Shippou, clinging elatedly to her middle. Kagome laughed and hugged the kit. "I missed you so much!"
"I did too," responded Kagome happily. This time, she _definitely_ heard Sesshoumaru growl. 'Probably because Shippou is both a youkai and a male. . .' she thought.
Disengaging herself from Shippou's white-knuckled grip, Kagome stepped back to look at her friends and to make sure that Sesshoumaru did not dismember any of them at the same time. Each had not changed by much, except for perhaps Shippou, who had grown a little bit taller.
Miroku's brow furrowed in thought. "Kagome-sama?" he inquired.
"Yes, Miroku-kun?" replied Kagome.
"Why do you still stay here? We came to take you away, so why aren't we fleeing from this place about now?" he asked. The others, Sesshoumaru included, awaited her answer.
"Well," the teen replied slowly, "There have been a few things that made me change my mind. . . like-"
"Kagome-chan!" cried a young girl's voice. The owner of the voice came sprinting across the meadow, latching herself onto one of the priestess' legs.
"Like her," Kagome finished. She glanced down at the gap-toothed girl and smiled. Raising her eyes to meet her friends' bewildered stares, she stated, "I'd like to introduce you to Rin and Sesshoumaru."
Rin got up and bowed politely, a bright smile gracing her face. "Nice you meet you!" she chirped. Sesshoumaru merely glared at the intruders.
"Rin-chan, this is Miroku-kun, Sango-san, Shippou-kun, and Kirara-san," she explained, pointing each of them out.
"Pleasure meeting you," Miroku said gravely, his eyes belying his seriousness.
"Nice to meet you, Rin-chan," Sango said as she smiled at the girl.
"Same here," agreed Shippou.
Kirara bowed her head and gently purred.
"Hey! Watch the tail!" yelped Shippou as Rin grabbed a handful of the rust colored fur. Rin giggled and smiled brightly at Kagome.
"Rin likes Shippou-chan!" she exclaimed.
At her statement, the fox kit blushed. Miroku, Sango, and Kagome hid their snickering with solemn faces, yet their eyes twinkled with merriment.
"I was wondering. . ." the priestess started, "Do you want to stay for a while? There is _so_ much I need to catch up on with you all." She shot a glance at Sesshoumaru and noticed that he was glaring at her with a smoldering fire in his eyes. She dismissed it, knowing that although he did not like her idea, he would not take any action against it on account of Rin's immediate attachment to Shippou.
"Sure," they answered, albeit somewhat fearfully, for the demon lord was pursing his lips into a thin line, his eyes darkening in his irritation.
Kagome turned and led the party towards Sesshoumaru's castle, glancing back every now and then to watch Shippou and Rin. Sesshoumaru, no doubt disgusted by having to follow a human, sped off towards his home by air. Sango and Miroku watched his exit attentively. The teen could tell that the both of them were exceptionally uneasy about being in such close proximity with the most powerful demon alive.
"Don't worry about Sesshoumaru," the shrine maiden said reassuringly, "He won't do anything to you while Rin-chan and I are with you."
"It's Sesshoumaru-_sama_, Kagome-chan," corrected Rin.
"Okay, Sesshoumaru-sama," the teen said to humor the child.
They visibly relaxed a notch, glancing at each other with identical relieved expressions.
*At Sesshoumaru's castle*
They sat near the edge of the meadow under the shade of some trees and watched Rin and Shippou chase each other in the tall grass. Kirara snoozed nearby, her two tails twitching every now and then
"So Kagome-sama," began Miroku, "How are you faring, living with your worst enemy?"
Kagome thought for a little. "Well, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I know I was dragged off kicking and screaming, but now I find that it is kind of nice here. . . it is peaceful. . . well, with the exception of Sesshoumaru trouncing Jaken every now and then, but yes, peaceful."
"But Kagome-sama, didn't you hate Sesshoumaru?" asked Sango.
"At one point I thought I did, but now that I think about it, it was more like extreme dislike. I can't really say I truly hated him," replied Kagome thoughtfully. "He never did anything _directly_ to me to make me want to hate him."
Sango and Miroku exchanged confused glances.
Kagome tilted her head as she regarded her friends carefully. "How did you find me?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Miroku cleared his throat. "Well Kagome-sama, it was like this: we came back to the village where you lived like we always did, about a week after we had left. Except this time, you weren't there to greet us like you normally do. We couldn't find Inuyasha either. . . Shippou-kun and Kirara- san couldn't pick up any scent trails. So we asked around the village regarding your whereabouts, and they all told us that Sesshoumaru had taken you. As for the final authority on the matter we asked your mother. She gave us the same answer that all the other villagers did. That's when we really knew you were truly gone. Shippou-kun became really worried, as did the rest of us. So we set out to find you and bring you back to your home. We asked for the general direction you and Sesshoumaru had taken to, and they all pointed westwards. So we went west. How far north, south, and west Sesshoumaru's home was we had no idea. It ended up that we would go north for about twenty miles, head west for five, and go south for another twenty. We did this numerous times, taking about a month and a half, and _finally_ found the location of Sesshoumaru's castle. He was about to strangle us had you not found us, Kagome-sama," he finished, heaving a melodramatic sigh of relief.
Sango giggled and Kagome grinned as she rolled her eyes at her friends. They could be so funny at times. The priestess turned her attention to the two kids playing in the fields. She smiled as Shippou tagged Rin and disappeared from sight. Rin pouted a little, but noticed a relatively small rock near her that was slowly but surely creeping away from her. With a triumphant crow, the eight-year-old poked the sluggishly moving rock and declared, "You're it!"
Rin scuttled away as Shippou resumed his usual form. Shippou tore after her.
Kagome sighed. 'It's nice,' she thought, 'To be able to not do anything for once. . . to not have to always be the strong miko that everyone has complete faith in. . . to just be. . . a _person_.' She lazily leaned back on the tree trunk and closed her eyes, peeking through her thick eye lashes every now and then at her two friends that sat in congenial silence. . . or rather, a congenial, _nervous_ silence.
Kagome had noted that both Sango and Miroku would look everywhere but each other, and if they did catch the other's eye, they would flush a nice deep shade of red and quickly avert their gaze. 'It's so _obvious_ that they like each other! Why can't they see that?' she pondered. A thought sneaked into her mind, making her snap straight up, eyes wide. 'Was I ever like that with Inuyasha?!?'
Both the monk and the demon exterminator looked at the priestess confusedly, strangely. Kagome bit back a nervous chuckle. "Uh. . . a bug bit me on the back?" she offered. As if to emphasize her point, she scratched her lower back.
Sango rolled her eyes and called Kirara over. The demon cat complied, and settled herself near Sango, the cat's head resting on the demon exterminator's thigh. Sango gently petted Kirara's head, and the demon purred complacently.
Miroku fidgeted with his staff, his movements making the multiple loops chime delicately in the warm afternoon air. He also played with the cloth and rosary that was entwined about his left hand. Kagome pitied Miroku on that particular. Her mind replayed the day they met, when he explained, with a look of defeated resignation on his face, how he acquired the kazaana.
*Flashback*
Kagome had been in a glade in the woods, gathering the medicinal herbs her master had requested she find. The forest was calm and peaceful; the wind made the leaves of the trees rustle gently, a soothing sound in Kagome's ears.
The tranquility was shattered by a high wail, followed by a loud, indistinct grumble. In a flash Kagome had an arrow notched in her bow, prepared for whatever lay behind the screen of trees. A rat demon came scrambling out of the protection of the underbrush, and Kagome blinked, lowering her weapon. A young man in a traditional black and violet monk's robe followed the rat closely, shouting at it and shaking his staff wildly at it, the polished gold rings jingling loudly.
Kagome did not know what happened next. The rat demon was getting away, yet somehow a mysterious wind picked up from nowhere, dragging the shrieking demon towards him. Kagome herself felt the strong tug towards the monk. Her eyes flicked over him. He was holding his left hand out, palm wide open, his right supporting his left.
The rat was dragged almost to his feet when the wind abruptly stopped. Kagome watched as he quickly and deftly wrapped a rosary about his left hand. Then he killed the demon with a blow from his staff. The rat lay dead at his feet, and the monk looked down upon it with an air of boredom.
"Youkai no baka," he grumbled as he bent down and retrieved a few gold loops from the demon's jaws. "And he spit all over them," he mumbled as he sighed. He wiped them off on his robe and replaced them in his ears. Then he suddenly seemed to notice Kagome for the first time.
"Beautiful maiden," he greeted with a gallant sweep of his arm and a courteous bow, "I have saved you from this terrible youkai."
Kagome slid the arrow back into her quiver and studied him. He was young, about twenty, a tall man with sharp, dark brown eyes and black hair tied back into a short ponytail.
"Um. . . arigatou then. . . Who are you?" asked Kagome.
"Hm?" murmured the monk.
"Your name?" Kagome asked.
"Miroku," he answered. "And yours is?"
"Kagome," the priestess answered.
"Such a lovely name. . . Kagome. . ." he murmured, pulling her close to him by wrapping an arm around her waist, such that she was forced to look into his face. Blue stared into brown, the blue widening in shock and panic. Her hand flew up, coming into contact with the monk's cheek.
"Hentai!" she snapped, pushing away from the trying-to-look-innocent monk, who was nursing a pink cheek. "Do _not_ touch my. . . !"
"I never did anything of the sort, Kagome-sama," Miroku cut in, still trying to look blameless. At the relentless glare he was receiving, he finally acceded. "Okay, fine, gomen nasai, Kagome-sama. But may I ask something of you?" He stepped closer to her, clasping her hands in his own. "Will you do me the honor of bearing my children?"
"_Nani_?!?" she shrieked, instantly scrambling as far away from him as she possibly could considering the space of the clearing. "You. . . you want me to. . . to. . ."
Miroku nodded gravely. "I would be honored if you would, for you are indeed a beauty too rare to pass up."
Kagome eyed him warily before a nagging thought broke through her other thoughts. "Um, Miroku-sama, where did that wind come from?"
The change in the monk's facial expression was instantaneous. It went from a somber, gleeful expression to one of grief and defeat. He held his hand up, the one that the rosary was draped around. "It is a curse. . . from a hanyou named Naraku." He inhaled deeply before continuing. "It was inflicted upon my grandfather. The hanyou and my grandfather had issues. Naraku had the ability to transform into different shapes. In the final encounter Naraku appeared before my grandfather as a beautiful courtesan."
"Let me guess," interrupted Kagome, "Your grandfather was a lecher as well?"
"You know me that well already?" asked Miroku, startled by her perceptiveness. "Well, yes, my grandfather was a lecher. Naraku inflicted the wound in his hand, stating that its vacuum-like powers would increase, eventually swallowing him and basically destroying him. Naraku also said that the curse would be passed down from generation to generation, until the hanyou himself died. So it is up to me to find Naraku and destroy him for good." His hands clenched together, determination shining in his eyes.
Kagome watched him and could feel the resolve flaring from his being. "I hope you succeed, Miroku-sama," she murmured, smiling at him.
*End flashback*
Kagome gazed at Miroku, who was watching the children chase each other in the fields. She stayed silent, not really wanting to talk.
"Kagome-sama?" asked Sango.
"Hm?" responded Kagome.
"What happened to Inuyasha-sama? We haven't seen him since the day you left. . ." Sango trailed off as soon as she saw the pain in her friend's eyes. By now Miroku was keenly watching her.
Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "He. . ." she started in a quivering voice, "He left me. . . for Kikyou-sama. . ."
Miroku and Sango gasped.
Up in the above tree, a certain dog demon bowed his head in anger, but also with understanding.
~*~*~*~
FT: Konnichiwa, minna-san! Wow, it has been a long time since I have updated or worked on this! I have had writer's block _and_ I was grounded from the computer. Gomen! O_O This is a short chapter. . .
Sesshoumaru: Took you long enough to write it. . .
FT: *sarcastically* Yea, love you too Sesshy-kun. . .
Sesshoumaru: *snidely* Why wouldn't you?
Miroku: Gomen for the writer's block. . . *hugs FT*
FT: Aw. . . arigatou Miroku-kun. . .
Miroku: *hand travels downwards*
FT: *slaps Miroku on the cheek* Hentai!!!
Miroku: *smiles ruefully while rubbing cheek* It was worth it. . .
Sesshoumaru: *snickers*
FT: *thud* Anyways, review, please, and domo arigatou gozimasu to all of you who nominated this fic in the first Annual Awards Contest on www.sspark.0catch.com!
~*~*~*~
"___" = Dialogue
'___' = Thoughts
*___* = Special 'stuff'
Conflicting Desires
By Forsaken Tenshi
Chapter 9: Friendly Reunion
Kagome sat quietly in the meadow, enjoying the breeze that gently blew by her. She sighed contentedly. As of late she and the dog demon had been talking a lot more, over virtually every topic imaginable. Her knowledge of different demons impressed him, and his underlying sarcasm amused her to no end. Kagome found herself thinking about the demon lord in a different light. Kagome had, at one point, believed that she hated him with all her being. But now that she thought about it, it was more like extreme dislike.
The shrine maiden smiled wryly to herself. 'How much I've changed,' she thought as she lazily basked in the warm afternoon sunlight.
Her priestess powers were suddenly pricked by the proximity of a demon. Or, to be more specific, _two_ demons. She instantly stood up, sensing what kind they were. 'A kitsune, and a saber cat? Could it be. . .' "Them?" she spoke aloud, finishing her train of thought.
There was a small blast of wind from nowhere, and Kagome's eyes widened as her senses told her more. _That_ particular gust of wind was. . . Sesshoumaru.
"Oh Kami," Kagome breathed as she began racing in the direction she felt the dog demon had headed towards. "Let me get there before he hurts them," she whispered in prayer.
Her eyes fell upon a nerve-wracking scene: Shippou and a transformed Kirara, on the grassy ground, unconscious, Miroku and Sango dangling by the throat from both of Sesshoumaru's clawed hands. Her friends' staff and boomerang lay on the ground, harmless without their owners.
As Kagome approached the group, Miroku squirmed in the demon lord's grip to see her and choked out, "Kagome-sama!"
Sesshoumaru did not even favor her with a glance.
Sango twisted her head towards the direction Miroku was gazing and smiled a small, lopsided grin.
Kagome could tell that neither of them was getting air, for both their eyes were becoming glassy and their lips were tinged the faintest purple. Anger towards the demon began churning within her, and she strained to maintain her control. "Sesshoumaru," she articulated between gritted teeth, "Would you _please_ release my friends?"
Sesshoumaru gazed at her with brittle gold eyes. "They trespassed onto my private property," he said flatly, "And therefore deserve punishment."
The way he said it made it seem as though it were obvious. But Kagome knew that if she did not act fast her friends would die of asphyxiation. "Sesshoumaru, _please_? They didn't know better!" she argued, hoping that it was the truth.
The demon lord deliberated the teen's sincerity and, at length, released them, dropping them onto the ground like limp rag dolls, each one clutching their neck and gasping for breath. He backed a good distance away from the two humans, crossed his arms over his chest, and snorted quietly to himself. Kagome looked at the contemptuous dog demon and sent a mental thank you.
'You better be,' was the haughty, disdainful reply.
Kagome's blue eyes clouded with momentary anger, but her focus returned to her friends, and the anger died away.
"Kagome-sama!" gushed the demon exterminator as she hugged her friend.
"Sango-sama! It's been so long since I saw you!" cried Kagome happily.
They released, and Kagome bent down to hug the now awake Kirara. The saber cat purred with contentment, her two black striped tails flicking back and forth excitedly.
"It's nice to see you again, Kagome-sama," greeted Miroku as he hugged her. His hand began "slipping" down her backside.
"Don't," warned Kagome. The hand crept back up, and Miroku put on the "I'm always so innocent" face. Kagome could have sworn she heard Sesshoumaru growl.
"Kagome!" A small reddish fluff ball rocketed into her stomach, and there was Shippou, clinging elatedly to her middle. Kagome laughed and hugged the kit. "I missed you so much!"
"I did too," responded Kagome happily. This time, she _definitely_ heard Sesshoumaru growl. 'Probably because Shippou is both a youkai and a male. . .' she thought.
Disengaging herself from Shippou's white-knuckled grip, Kagome stepped back to look at her friends and to make sure that Sesshoumaru did not dismember any of them at the same time. Each had not changed by much, except for perhaps Shippou, who had grown a little bit taller.
Miroku's brow furrowed in thought. "Kagome-sama?" he inquired.
"Yes, Miroku-kun?" replied Kagome.
"Why do you still stay here? We came to take you away, so why aren't we fleeing from this place about now?" he asked. The others, Sesshoumaru included, awaited her answer.
"Well," the teen replied slowly, "There have been a few things that made me change my mind. . . like-"
"Kagome-chan!" cried a young girl's voice. The owner of the voice came sprinting across the meadow, latching herself onto one of the priestess' legs.
"Like her," Kagome finished. She glanced down at the gap-toothed girl and smiled. Raising her eyes to meet her friends' bewildered stares, she stated, "I'd like to introduce you to Rin and Sesshoumaru."
Rin got up and bowed politely, a bright smile gracing her face. "Nice you meet you!" she chirped. Sesshoumaru merely glared at the intruders.
"Rin-chan, this is Miroku-kun, Sango-san, Shippou-kun, and Kirara-san," she explained, pointing each of them out.
"Pleasure meeting you," Miroku said gravely, his eyes belying his seriousness.
"Nice to meet you, Rin-chan," Sango said as she smiled at the girl.
"Same here," agreed Shippou.
Kirara bowed her head and gently purred.
"Hey! Watch the tail!" yelped Shippou as Rin grabbed a handful of the rust colored fur. Rin giggled and smiled brightly at Kagome.
"Rin likes Shippou-chan!" she exclaimed.
At her statement, the fox kit blushed. Miroku, Sango, and Kagome hid their snickering with solemn faces, yet their eyes twinkled with merriment.
"I was wondering. . ." the priestess started, "Do you want to stay for a while? There is _so_ much I need to catch up on with you all." She shot a glance at Sesshoumaru and noticed that he was glaring at her with a smoldering fire in his eyes. She dismissed it, knowing that although he did not like her idea, he would not take any action against it on account of Rin's immediate attachment to Shippou.
"Sure," they answered, albeit somewhat fearfully, for the demon lord was pursing his lips into a thin line, his eyes darkening in his irritation.
Kagome turned and led the party towards Sesshoumaru's castle, glancing back every now and then to watch Shippou and Rin. Sesshoumaru, no doubt disgusted by having to follow a human, sped off towards his home by air. Sango and Miroku watched his exit attentively. The teen could tell that the both of them were exceptionally uneasy about being in such close proximity with the most powerful demon alive.
"Don't worry about Sesshoumaru," the shrine maiden said reassuringly, "He won't do anything to you while Rin-chan and I are with you."
"It's Sesshoumaru-_sama_, Kagome-chan," corrected Rin.
"Okay, Sesshoumaru-sama," the teen said to humor the child.
They visibly relaxed a notch, glancing at each other with identical relieved expressions.
*At Sesshoumaru's castle*
They sat near the edge of the meadow under the shade of some trees and watched Rin and Shippou chase each other in the tall grass. Kirara snoozed nearby, her two tails twitching every now and then
"So Kagome-sama," began Miroku, "How are you faring, living with your worst enemy?"
Kagome thought for a little. "Well, it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I know I was dragged off kicking and screaming, but now I find that it is kind of nice here. . . it is peaceful. . . well, with the exception of Sesshoumaru trouncing Jaken every now and then, but yes, peaceful."
"But Kagome-sama, didn't you hate Sesshoumaru?" asked Sango.
"At one point I thought I did, but now that I think about it, it was more like extreme dislike. I can't really say I truly hated him," replied Kagome thoughtfully. "He never did anything _directly_ to me to make me want to hate him."
Sango and Miroku exchanged confused glances.
Kagome tilted her head as she regarded her friends carefully. "How did you find me?" she asked in a quiet voice.
Miroku cleared his throat. "Well Kagome-sama, it was like this: we came back to the village where you lived like we always did, about a week after we had left. Except this time, you weren't there to greet us like you normally do. We couldn't find Inuyasha either. . . Shippou-kun and Kirara- san couldn't pick up any scent trails. So we asked around the village regarding your whereabouts, and they all told us that Sesshoumaru had taken you. As for the final authority on the matter we asked your mother. She gave us the same answer that all the other villagers did. That's when we really knew you were truly gone. Shippou-kun became really worried, as did the rest of us. So we set out to find you and bring you back to your home. We asked for the general direction you and Sesshoumaru had taken to, and they all pointed westwards. So we went west. How far north, south, and west Sesshoumaru's home was we had no idea. It ended up that we would go north for about twenty miles, head west for five, and go south for another twenty. We did this numerous times, taking about a month and a half, and _finally_ found the location of Sesshoumaru's castle. He was about to strangle us had you not found us, Kagome-sama," he finished, heaving a melodramatic sigh of relief.
Sango giggled and Kagome grinned as she rolled her eyes at her friends. They could be so funny at times. The priestess turned her attention to the two kids playing in the fields. She smiled as Shippou tagged Rin and disappeared from sight. Rin pouted a little, but noticed a relatively small rock near her that was slowly but surely creeping away from her. With a triumphant crow, the eight-year-old poked the sluggishly moving rock and declared, "You're it!"
Rin scuttled away as Shippou resumed his usual form. Shippou tore after her.
Kagome sighed. 'It's nice,' she thought, 'To be able to not do anything for once. . . to not have to always be the strong miko that everyone has complete faith in. . . to just be. . . a _person_.' She lazily leaned back on the tree trunk and closed her eyes, peeking through her thick eye lashes every now and then at her two friends that sat in congenial silence. . . or rather, a congenial, _nervous_ silence.
Kagome had noted that both Sango and Miroku would look everywhere but each other, and if they did catch the other's eye, they would flush a nice deep shade of red and quickly avert their gaze. 'It's so _obvious_ that they like each other! Why can't they see that?' she pondered. A thought sneaked into her mind, making her snap straight up, eyes wide. 'Was I ever like that with Inuyasha?!?'
Both the monk and the demon exterminator looked at the priestess confusedly, strangely. Kagome bit back a nervous chuckle. "Uh. . . a bug bit me on the back?" she offered. As if to emphasize her point, she scratched her lower back.
Sango rolled her eyes and called Kirara over. The demon cat complied, and settled herself near Sango, the cat's head resting on the demon exterminator's thigh. Sango gently petted Kirara's head, and the demon purred complacently.
Miroku fidgeted with his staff, his movements making the multiple loops chime delicately in the warm afternoon air. He also played with the cloth and rosary that was entwined about his left hand. Kagome pitied Miroku on that particular. Her mind replayed the day they met, when he explained, with a look of defeated resignation on his face, how he acquired the kazaana.
*Flashback*
Kagome had been in a glade in the woods, gathering the medicinal herbs her master had requested she find. The forest was calm and peaceful; the wind made the leaves of the trees rustle gently, a soothing sound in Kagome's ears.
The tranquility was shattered by a high wail, followed by a loud, indistinct grumble. In a flash Kagome had an arrow notched in her bow, prepared for whatever lay behind the screen of trees. A rat demon came scrambling out of the protection of the underbrush, and Kagome blinked, lowering her weapon. A young man in a traditional black and violet monk's robe followed the rat closely, shouting at it and shaking his staff wildly at it, the polished gold rings jingling loudly.
Kagome did not know what happened next. The rat demon was getting away, yet somehow a mysterious wind picked up from nowhere, dragging the shrieking demon towards him. Kagome herself felt the strong tug towards the monk. Her eyes flicked over him. He was holding his left hand out, palm wide open, his right supporting his left.
The rat was dragged almost to his feet when the wind abruptly stopped. Kagome watched as he quickly and deftly wrapped a rosary about his left hand. Then he killed the demon with a blow from his staff. The rat lay dead at his feet, and the monk looked down upon it with an air of boredom.
"Youkai no baka," he grumbled as he bent down and retrieved a few gold loops from the demon's jaws. "And he spit all over them," he mumbled as he sighed. He wiped them off on his robe and replaced them in his ears. Then he suddenly seemed to notice Kagome for the first time.
"Beautiful maiden," he greeted with a gallant sweep of his arm and a courteous bow, "I have saved you from this terrible youkai."
Kagome slid the arrow back into her quiver and studied him. He was young, about twenty, a tall man with sharp, dark brown eyes and black hair tied back into a short ponytail.
"Um. . . arigatou then. . . Who are you?" asked Kagome.
"Hm?" murmured the monk.
"Your name?" Kagome asked.
"Miroku," he answered. "And yours is?"
"Kagome," the priestess answered.
"Such a lovely name. . . Kagome. . ." he murmured, pulling her close to him by wrapping an arm around her waist, such that she was forced to look into his face. Blue stared into brown, the blue widening in shock and panic. Her hand flew up, coming into contact with the monk's cheek.
"Hentai!" she snapped, pushing away from the trying-to-look-innocent monk, who was nursing a pink cheek. "Do _not_ touch my. . . !"
"I never did anything of the sort, Kagome-sama," Miroku cut in, still trying to look blameless. At the relentless glare he was receiving, he finally acceded. "Okay, fine, gomen nasai, Kagome-sama. But may I ask something of you?" He stepped closer to her, clasping her hands in his own. "Will you do me the honor of bearing my children?"
"_Nani_?!?" she shrieked, instantly scrambling as far away from him as she possibly could considering the space of the clearing. "You. . . you want me to. . . to. . ."
Miroku nodded gravely. "I would be honored if you would, for you are indeed a beauty too rare to pass up."
Kagome eyed him warily before a nagging thought broke through her other thoughts. "Um, Miroku-sama, where did that wind come from?"
The change in the monk's facial expression was instantaneous. It went from a somber, gleeful expression to one of grief and defeat. He held his hand up, the one that the rosary was draped around. "It is a curse. . . from a hanyou named Naraku." He inhaled deeply before continuing. "It was inflicted upon my grandfather. The hanyou and my grandfather had issues. Naraku had the ability to transform into different shapes. In the final encounter Naraku appeared before my grandfather as a beautiful courtesan."
"Let me guess," interrupted Kagome, "Your grandfather was a lecher as well?"
"You know me that well already?" asked Miroku, startled by her perceptiveness. "Well, yes, my grandfather was a lecher. Naraku inflicted the wound in his hand, stating that its vacuum-like powers would increase, eventually swallowing him and basically destroying him. Naraku also said that the curse would be passed down from generation to generation, until the hanyou himself died. So it is up to me to find Naraku and destroy him for good." His hands clenched together, determination shining in his eyes.
Kagome watched him and could feel the resolve flaring from his being. "I hope you succeed, Miroku-sama," she murmured, smiling at him.
*End flashback*
Kagome gazed at Miroku, who was watching the children chase each other in the fields. She stayed silent, not really wanting to talk.
"Kagome-sama?" asked Sango.
"Hm?" responded Kagome.
"What happened to Inuyasha-sama? We haven't seen him since the day you left. . ." Sango trailed off as soon as she saw the pain in her friend's eyes. By now Miroku was keenly watching her.
Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "He. . ." she started in a quivering voice, "He left me. . . for Kikyou-sama. . ."
Miroku and Sango gasped.
Up in the above tree, a certain dog demon bowed his head in anger, but also with understanding.
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FT: Konnichiwa, minna-san! Wow, it has been a long time since I have updated or worked on this! I have had writer's block _and_ I was grounded from the computer. Gomen! O_O This is a short chapter. . .
Sesshoumaru: Took you long enough to write it. . .
FT: *sarcastically* Yea, love you too Sesshy-kun. . .
Sesshoumaru: *snidely* Why wouldn't you?
Miroku: Gomen for the writer's block. . . *hugs FT*
FT: Aw. . . arigatou Miroku-kun. . .
Miroku: *hand travels downwards*
FT: *slaps Miroku on the cheek* Hentai!!!
Miroku: *smiles ruefully while rubbing cheek* It was worth it. . .
Sesshoumaru: *snickers*
FT: *thud* Anyways, review, please, and domo arigatou gozimasu to all of you who nominated this fic in the first Annual Awards Contest on www.sspark.0catch.com!
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