Authoress' notes: Wow I feel so loved. You guys are so nice too me!! Now I like this chapter, adds a little bit of mystery to the mix. I have the next one typed up, but I'm still editing it...just to let you know I refuse to put up junk, if it isn't up to my standard, than it don't go up. Now you Miroku/Sango fans take heart, for in the next chapter you'll get your wish...and it will be worth it!!! Anyways, I hope you like this part and the next should be up soon!!
EDIT- A lot of formatting changes and little grammar corrections
Family Ties: Part 5
" Stupid monk, you almost cost me my bath." Inuyasha complained, as he soaked on the opposite side.
"She wouldn't have held my indiscretions against you; Michi's very fair in that regard." Miroku sighed and rolled his sore neck.
Inuyasha simply responded with his typical 'Feh' and flicked his ears.
Shippou surfaced from beneath the water and looked at Inuyasha. "Guess the sun hasn't set, yet, huh? Since you're still a demon."
Inuyasha grabbed the kitsune by the tail and dunked him under the water. " Go away you stupid runt; you're bothering me."
" Touchy, touchy." Shippou complained before paddling away from Inuyasha.
Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest and let his mind wander. Kagome had walked into the house with Sango and Tanaya, after Michi dragged Miroku in hollering at him in another language. He was going to complain about not being able to understand what was going on, but Kagome had walked up beside him and blanked his mind. Begrudgingly, he would admit that he liked Kagome's scent, but after the bath, she'd had the soft scent of Jasmine on her and it was too much. Jasmine was a night blooming flower; the one his father would bring to his mother. The temptation was overpowering and he'd sniffed the top of her head trying to get a better whiff of it. Kagome glanced up and caught him, but he told her he was just trying to figure out what she'd put on herself and of course he'd added an insult, infuriating her.
At least she didn't 'sit' him over it. She and Sango had been laughing about something that he didn't quite catch, he'd ask her about it later, once he was human and couldn't smell her as well.
Something else was bothering him though; the home didn't smell like a man had been in it for days. He smelled Michi's and Tanaya's scents were all over the place and that Nia woman's too, but she reeked of a man and rutting. That was the other thing; women almost always kept some residual scent of their mates, but Michi smelled clean as a maiden.
" Inuyasha! Did you hear me!?!" Shippou shouted to the hanyou, whose mind had obviously wandered.
" What?!?" He hollered back, annoyed his thinking had been interrupted.
" Never mind." Shippou huffed and jumped out of the bath. He shook off and dressed before dashing out the door.
" What's his problem?" Inuyasha wondered.
Miroku shrugged. "I honestly don't have a clue."
" Miroku, can I ask you somethin' about your cousin?"
The monk's eyebrows shot up confused why Inuyasha was being so polite. "Of course, what would you like to know?"
Inuyasha frowned thinking how he wanted to word the question. "Is she still tied to her mate? Tanaya's father, I mean."
Miroku blinked a few times, before answering the question tentatively. " Yes. Why do you want to know?"
"She doesn't smell like a man, at all; she's clean."
"I hope you have a point to this." Miroku's eyes narrowed, he didn't like having his cousin on trial. "She's a very honorable woman."
Inuyasha growled at the monk's misunderstanding of his meaning. "You don't get it you stupid monk, she only has casual smells on her. No one's mated with her for months or even tried. Isn't that unusual between human mates?"
"He's my husband not my mate." Michi stood in the doorway with her eyes covered modestly. "The term mate implies some type of mutual respect. Husband and wife are human terms and commonly are no more than legal ties." She cleared her throat. "I am sorry to interrupt your bath, but dinner is ready. Soak as long as you like, but if want your dinner hot, you may want to come in soon."
Miroku nodded. "Thank you Michi, we'll be up shortly."
Inuyasha only spared her a nod and quick glance, hoping to avoid a cold stare. When he looked at Michi, he caught her hand move slightly and her eyes glancing at his body. She bowed and quietly shut the bathhouse door.
"That cousin of yours..." Inuyasha sputtered. "She...she just..."
"What did you expect? We are related." Miroku laughed.
Inuyasha huffed and flattened his ears. "Damn it to all Hell, I'm in a house full of lechers."
"No, just the two of us and I'm not interested in you."
" Monk! I'm gonna kill you!"
Michi re-entered the house, where Sango and Kagome where dying off and talking with Tanaya. She looked at Nia, who was setting the table for dinner. "Keep the meal hot. They'll be up shortly."
"Yes, Lady Michi." Nia nodded respectfully.
Michi rolled her right wrist grimacing at her fingers that had grown frightfully numb again. After shaking the offending appendage, she ignored the nagging pain and continued down the hallway. "Are you feeling more rested?"
"Yes, but where are our clothes?" Sango pulled at the collar of her borrowed robe.
"Nia took them to be washed, sorry I didn't tell you before." Michi informed the women, before looking down at her daughter. "Tanaya, go fetch the things Nia laid out on my bed."
"Yes mother." Tanaya sped off like a rabbit.
" Where does that energy come from?" Kagome shook her head.
Michi laughed. "If I only knew."
Tanaya rushed back into the room with folded cloth. "Here they are."
"Good girl." Michi set down the clothes, but kept the top one in her hands. "Come here and let me get you dressed."
Tanaya stood obediently by her mother and let Michi dress her.
Kagome noticed that the outfit Michi was dressing Tanya in was made of a wool-type material. Maybe it was lama or something like that; it had to be expensive. The color wasn't common at all; it was lavender, with flowers decorating it in lighter and darker shades. The bottom of the outfit was pair of pants, and the top, which nearly reached the rambious girl's kness was accented with a Chinese type collar. It probably wasn't very common for this area, but never the less the little girl seemed to be comfortable in it.
"Miko will like that I'm wearing his present." Tanaya twirled to display her outfit.
"I'm sure he will. Now go play with Shippou." Michi shooed the child from the room.
" Miroku sent those for her?" Kagome questioned.
Michi nodded, "He's always sending gifts for her; spoils her rotten. That outfit came from the far north. Here I'll help you get dressed, these clothes will keep you until your own are dry." She looked into the hallway to assure herself that her daughter was out of hearing range, before asking quite calmly, though confused. " Could either of you possibly tell me why Inuyasha is interested in my, um, mating habits?"
Kagome and Sango both gaped at Michi's question. Kagome recovered first and managed a very embarrassed and awkward, "He asked you about that?!? I'm so sorry Michi! I can't believe it!" She continued indignantly. "Wait 'til he gets in here I'll sit him 'til he can't walk!"
"No! No!" Michi held up her hands in defensive of the hanyou. "He didn't say anything to me. He was discussing it with Miroku, whom I imagine wasn't very comfortable talking about that. I was just wondering why it might have come up."
"I am sorry, Michi." Kagome bowed her head, her cheeks on fire from her blush. "I don't know why he would've been asking about that."
"Why, should you apologize for him?" Michi looked confused. "You don't control him." She unfolded the first kimono and looked at it critically.
"But it must have been terribly embarrassing." Sango empathized.
Michi looked around the outfit, while arching an eyebrow. "You forget who your talking to. It takes a lot more than that to me uncomfortable." She rolled her neck. "But I want to know how you travel with them and not go insane."
"Eh?" Sango made a face; Michi surely wasn't alluding to what it sounded like.
"I mean I think Miroku's cute, because I always have in motherly sort-of-way, but that Inuyasha. He is certainly well built." She held the dark-blue kimono up to Kagome.
" Ahh!" Kagome jumped a mile in the air.
Michi started laughing. "I'm sorry. I didn't offend you did I?"
"No, but I've never heard a woman in this time... well...but when did you see...I mean...Ah!" Kagome stumbled over her words.
"You keep forgetting who I am. The curse of lechery has plagued my family long before my grandfather and affects both the men and women. The women just happen to be a little more discreet about it." Michi smirked and added quietly under her breath. "Only saw to his waist anyway."
Sango's eyes widened noticeably. "What was that?"
"Huh? Oh nothing, just talking to myself." Michi smiled secretively. " Now then let's get you dressed." She looked over the other two kimonos, before crossing back to Kagome. "This one should do nicely for you."
Kagome slipped off the bathrobe and let Michi help dress her in the dark blue kimono. She looked at the stars patterns on it done in silver, this much have cost a fortune. "It's beautiful, it must have cost a lot."
Michi tied the sash around Kagome's middle and secured it. "I made it."
"You made this? That's amazing." Kagome looked down at the outfit she was wearing, the rich fabric and color made her look almost like royalty. "It looks like the night sky. Where did you get the fabric?"
" Every year at planting and harvest, all the people gather in the market to exchange goods." She tugged at the top of Kagome's sleeves and made sure the kimono fit properly. "At harvest time I buy fabric and at next years planting I sell the kimonos I make. I've always been skilled at sewing, besides you can only farm three seasons out of the year, I need something to do during the winter months. There now, perfect, the color is beautiful on you."
"You make a profit that way?" Sango arched her eyebrow in confusion.
"In certain ways." Michi smiled and shook out a deep green kimono. " It all depends on how you look at it." She held the outfit up to Sango. "There we are."
Sango allowed Michi to help her get dressed, but felt slightly uncomfortable in the affluent garment. "Thank you."
"Oh you're welcome. It's no trouble." Michi dressed in a wine colored kimono, with intricate patters of a phoenix birds.
Nia bowed and announced dinner leading them back to kitchen as Miroku and Inuyasha re-entered the house.
Michi chucked, "Oh good, I was afraid we going to have to start with you."
" Well, Inuyasha hates to...um...miss a meal." Miroku stuttered slightly at the sight of Kagome and Sango dressed so elegantly.
"I see." Michi looked at Inuyasha, who seemed to be avoiding her gaze. "Inuyasha?"
" Huh?" He looked at her cautiously.
"I hope the food is too your liking. And don't worry about your prior conversation; I don't hold it against you; though I would like to talk to you about it at a later time." Michi's flipped her long ebony hair back behind her, than called to the children. "Tanaya, Shippou, its time for dinner."
The hanyou fought the blush trying to creep into his cheeks. Damn curiosity; he was a dog demon, not a cat. He flopped down next to Kagome forgetting about her scent until she leaned over to ask him something.
" Inuyasha?" She whispered, invading his space a little more.
" What?!?" He half barked, praying that damn sun to set already so he wouldn't have his sharp senses.
"What was Michi talking about?" She smiled innocently, too innocently.
'Damn-it; she's gonna sit me!' He thought before responding, " Nothing important."
"Oh, okay." Kagome settled back to where she'd been sitting before and smiled at Sango.
'Okay? What the hell! What is that wench planning now?' Inuyasha sat back and glanced at Kagome noting the beautiful blue outfit she was wearing made her almost seem to belong there with them. 'But she doesn't.' Nagged the little voice in the back of his head; he snorted and folded his arms over his chest.
Dinner was full of laughter and conversation. Miroku and Michi dominated it, but they did it with such pleasant flare that the others simply listened contently. Michi was an animated storyteller talking with her hands and occasional adding voices to her tales. Tanaya sat happily between her mother and Miroku occasionally adding her little voice to the conversation. The food was wonderful; Nia was quick to serve everyone, though Miroku seemed to be her favorite person at the table.
Miroku didn't mind the attention from Nia, but he didn't miss the sniffing and upturned nose of Inuyasha. Nia must smell like a man, he wondered if Michi was aware of her maidservant's apparently inappropriate behavior. As Michi's maidservant Nia should have remained a maiden. His mind drifted to his earlier conversation with Inuyasha, I wonder...
" Miko!!" Tanaya called out to her 'uncle' annoyed he hadn't answered her.
" Sorry Tanaya, what were you saying?" He turned to her and smiled.
"I wanna show you my garden before the sun goes down." She tugged on his sleeve.
" Tanaya, mind your manners." Michi chided her daughter.
" She's alright." Miroku waved off his cousin's rebuke and stood to his feet. "I would love to see this garden of yours."
Original Review Responses:
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