Houken-Jidai
The Faculty
By Seabreeze
A/N: As usual, I owe my reviewers just about everything. Thanks. I'm also sorry for the two-week delay. It * shouldn't * happen again.
Disclaimer: See fourth chapter for details.
*~*~*
It was decided that Kagome would sleep over at Sango's, and that Inuyasha and Miroku would meet them there very early the next morning to begin to move Sango's few belongings. It had to be early so no one saw her move; it had to be done secretly.
"Can you tell me again why no one can know you're alive, Sango-chan?" Kagome asked as the other girl brushed her teeth. Sango spit out her toothpaste.
"So my family's murderers won't come after me, so I can go after them." Her eyes were hard.
"You know who did it?" Kagome asked. Sango shook her head.
"No. But I'll find out." The way it was said was very final. Kagome was quiet for a moment.
"Sango. . . if you ever need to talk about anything. . . I'm right here." Kagome offered a sympathetic smile, and Sango nodded briskly as her eyes filled with tears.
"Not now," she whispered. Kagome nodded, understanding. "The boys should be here in a few minutes," she said, changing the subject. Sango nodded once.
"We should get dressed."
By the time both Kagome and Sango were out of their pajamas and into their day clothes, the doorbell rang.
"They're here all ready?" Sango blushed. Kagome grinned.
"Let's let them in." they headed to the front door and opened it to a yawning, grumpy Inuyasha and unnaturally awake Miroku.
"Ah! Good morning, ladies! Sango, are you ready to become my new roommate?" he winked. Sango sighed and nodded.
"I assume we'll leave all of the furniture- none of it's very nice, anyway. My stuff's in my room." She motioned for them to follow, and Miroku rubbed his hands together readily.
"Her ROOM. . ." he raised his eyebrows suggestively and received twin glares from Kagome and Sango as Inuyasha just rolled his eyes and growled.
"It's too EARLY for your energetic pervertedness, Miroku." He snapped. Miroku shrugged good-naturedly and continued following Sango and Kagome deeper into the tiny, derelict house. When they entered the room, it was as bad as the rest of the house- tiny, dusty bed on a metal frame, open toilet and sink curtains around them, giving them little privacy, and a tiny chest. On the bed and around it were a few medium boxes- seven at the most. Miroku stared at Sango is disbelief.
"THIS is all you're taking with you?" he asked. Sango looked at the boxes, then back at him, and nodded wordlessly. "What about your clothes?"
"They're. . . in the boxes." Sango blushed furiously, indicating them. "I have three other things that I'd like to bring- I can understand if you wouldn't want them in your house, but in that case I'd have to stay." Slowly she brought out a small sword, set it against the wall, and then reached for what looked like a massive boomerang.
"What IS that thing, Sango?" Inuyasha asked, stepping forward to feel the giant weapon. Sango handed it to him.
"It's hiraikotsu. My weapon of choice." Inuyasha lifted it with one hand.
"'S heavy," he said absent-mindedly. "I can't imagine you even lifting it off the ground." Sango glared at him and took it back, lifting it effortlessly over her head.
"I can do a whole lot more than lift it," she snapped. Miroku shied conspicuously away from her, Kagome with him. Sango set it down, though, and looked at Miroku hopefully. "So can I take them with me?" she asked.
"I see nothing wrong with it- but what's the third thing?" he seemed puzzled. Sango looked around, as if she had misplaced whatever it was.
"Kirara!" she called. A tiny, multiple-tailed kitten trotted into the room on command and leapt into Sango's arms.
"Kawaii!" Kagome squealed, pushing past Inuyasha to see better the little cat. Inuyasha glared at her back and Sango giggled.
"This is Kirara," she said, handing her to Kagome. "My cat." Miroku watched as the kitten curled up easily in Kagome's arms, and then took her himself.
"She seems well-behaved." He commented, rubbing Kirara's ears. Sango nodded.
"Extremely. And she's a good watch-cat, too." Sango smiled at the cat and looked at Miroku, but Inuyasha interrupted.
"'Watch cat'? How big is she, less then a foot long?" he sneered. Sango smirked but said nothing.
"I don't have a problem with any of this. Shall we get it into my car?" Miroku asked. The others nodded and began picking up boxes. Miroku set Kirara down and picked up two boxes. "Come, Kirara." She did. Sango couldn't help but smile a little. Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome had gotten all of the boxes together, so all that was left for Sango to carry was her sword and hiraikotsu. Without a backwards glance, Sango left her room.
*~*~*
Miroku's home, compared to Sango's, was the exact opposite. A loft apartment in the busiest, most downtown part of the city, the apartment was large and overlooked the city. The front door opened to the main living room, with a wooden floor and a great view of the entire city. The walls in this room were a deep red, with a couch to match leaning against the back wall. On the wall next to the one occupied by the couch wasn't even a wall- it was a bookshelf. The entire wall was filled with books, hundreds upon hundreds filling the small space. In the middle of the room was a small prayer alter with soft cushions to sit on around it.
The living room opened up to the kitchen, which was despite its wealth, simple. Wooden walls and wooden floors, a refrigerator, oven, stove, and counter. Sprigs of this herb or that hung from every available spot on the ceiling. Next to the kitchen was the dining room, which was relatively tiny. It resembled a mini-living room, only with light green walls and cushions. The table was low to the ground and need to chairs, and was covered in a tablecloth that matched the walls.
After the general tour, Miroku took Sango to the "back" section of the house- the section with the bedrooms and bathroom. A long hallway with two doorways contained both Sango and Miroku's bedrooms, Sango's being the closest to the entrance. At the end of the hallway was another doorway, this one Mushin's room. Across from Miroku's bedroom was the bathroom, to be shared by all three of them.
It didn't take long for the four of them to fill Sango's room with her belongings- in fact, it only took two trips. The room, at least in comparison to her old one, was richly furnished. The bed had white sheets and a deep purple cover and pillow that ironically matched the jacket Miroku always wore. Miroku set down the last box and they all stood silently, looking around Sango's new living quarters. Miroku went and sat on the bed.
"Want to try it out?" his face was completely straight, but the remaining three narrowed their eyes at him.
"I'm sure I'll find out somehow," Sango said suspiciously. Miroku sighed and stood up.
"Alright, then. I guess we'll wait in the living room until you're unpacked. Inuyasha, Kagome?" he beckoned for them to follow him out of the room after bowing to Sango. Sango blushed but grabbed Kagome's arm.
"Will you stay?" she asked. Kagome nodded wordlessly as Inuyasha scowled and stalked out behind Miroku, slamming the door behind him. Kagome rolled her eyes and smiled at Sango.
"Let's get started," she grinned. Sango returned a ghost of the smile back and pulled the first box onto her bed. Kagome grabbed another box and followed, frowning at Sango's apparent sadness. "Sango. . ." she began. "Is. . . is something wrong?" she paused from pulling out a stack of Sango's few clothes. Sango sighed and sat down on the bed.
"I don't like staying with- him. I feel like I'm relying on him. I feel like I'm putting him in danger." She sighed again and slowly began unpacking again. If Kagome thought it odd that Sango wouldn't say Miroku's name, she didn't say anything.
"Miroku knows that taking you on may bring him extra danger, but he's not defenseless." She lowered her voice. "He's got SPIRITUAL powers." Kagome returned her voice to normal. "I know you're used to depending only upon yourself, but it'll really be good for you to live with some other people. Miroku may seem perverted and lecherous, but he's really very intelligent, especially when it comes to other people. He'll be good for you." She smiled, but Sango blushed.
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she asked defensively. Kagome cringed, knowing she'd said too much.
"Nothing, nothing. . ." she waved her arms as if it wasn't important and smiled guiltily. Sango kept blushing, but dropped it.
"I don't quite feel like unpacking now. Want to join the others?" she asked. Kagome watched her oddly for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"I'm getting hungry anyway. We forgot to have breakfast. Maybe we can talk Inuyasha and Miroku into having an early lunch." She grinned and lead the way out as Sango closed the door behind them. Kagome broke into a trot to find Inuyasha and Miroku kneeling by the centered prayer alter talking quietly.
"Hope we're not interrupting anything," Kagome said cheerfully. Inuyasha, with his back to her, turned and scowled at her.
"What do YOU want?" he sneered. Kagome ignored him.
"Sango and I were wondering- we forgot to eat breakfast this morning, so could we possibly eat sooner?" she grinned brilliantly as Sango stood behind her, and Miroku rose slowly.
"Of course, Lady Kagome." He said. Inuyasha seemed to struggle with resisting, but quickly followed Miroku into the kitchen. Kagome grinned, satisfied, and sat on one of the prayer cushions. Sango sat next to her.
"How do you DO that?" she whispered quietly in amazement. Kagome flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Hanging around cheerleaders has its strong points," she replied with an almost-smug grin. Sango regarded her seriously for a moment and then giggled.
"It's funny- I've never seen a girl affect Inuyasha like you have." She watched Kagome's reaction out of the corner of her eye. Kagome blushed but quickly covered up.
"I don't have an affect on him, he just hates me."
"I know Inuyasha better than most people, and I think he might be interested in you, Kagome." Sango grinned almost wickedly, and Kagome glared at her.
"I don't believe I've ever seen Miroku quite so taken with anyone as much as he is with you!" she shot back. Sango laughed nervously and looked away. When she looked back, the girls shared a look of mutual understanding and chose not to continue the conversation at the time.
"Ladies?" Miroku leaned into the room, smiling ravishingly. They both looked up at him. "Lunch is served." Sango noticed an apron tied around his waist and blushed appreciatively. Miroku saw this and winked, making her blush harder. Inuyasha, too, had on an apron, but that only made Kagome giggle. Inuyasha glared at her and "feh'd".
Once the four were gathered around Miroku's dining room table with warm plates of noodles and rice steaming in front of them, Miroku prayed silently, one hand held erect in front of his chest. He finished, and nodded at the others to begin eating.
"Inuyasha," he began almost immediately. The remaining three raised their heads at him questioningly. "I've been meaning to ask you something since last night. I figured it'd be best to ask when everyone was here." Inuyasha swallowed a massive bite of noodles.
"I'm listening," he growled. Miroku ignored this and continued.
"I noticed that last night, when Sango said "shikon", you reacted oddly. Does shikon mean anything important?" his eyes were strangely concentrated, and Inuyasha glared at him suspiciously.
"I guess Sango deserves to know." He paused, disgusted that he had to share his secret. "The Shikon no Tama is an ancient jewel with tremendous powers. Whoever possesses it has the power become full human or full demon, whichever they want more. You can understand why Sango's parents were chosen to guard it so carefully, and why they don't want people to know it even exists." Inuyasha paused uncomfortably.
"I have been searching for the jewel ever since I knew it existed- I've followed its path for a long time. For the time when Sango's parents had it, I had lost its track, that's how good they were. But someone else hadn't. Someone else knew they had it, and took it from them in the attack. After they died, I heard of it again." He looked around at all of them. "The Shikon No Tama is at Houken Jidai."
*~*~*
A/N: Eek, I got NO WHERE with those 6 pages. sessha gomen nasai.
I'd like to thank my two reviewers for chapter 4, and RK who I know read it:
Rain angst- I know, I can't wait to write fluff for the two of them now that they live together. . . platonically, of course. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Bluefuzzyelf- really? How about now? Just kidding. Thanks so much for sticking.
RK-128- I suppose we survived our second essay. Here's to A's. . .
The Faculty
By Seabreeze
A/N: As usual, I owe my reviewers just about everything. Thanks. I'm also sorry for the two-week delay. It * shouldn't * happen again.
Disclaimer: See fourth chapter for details.
*~*~*
It was decided that Kagome would sleep over at Sango's, and that Inuyasha and Miroku would meet them there very early the next morning to begin to move Sango's few belongings. It had to be early so no one saw her move; it had to be done secretly.
"Can you tell me again why no one can know you're alive, Sango-chan?" Kagome asked as the other girl brushed her teeth. Sango spit out her toothpaste.
"So my family's murderers won't come after me, so I can go after them." Her eyes were hard.
"You know who did it?" Kagome asked. Sango shook her head.
"No. But I'll find out." The way it was said was very final. Kagome was quiet for a moment.
"Sango. . . if you ever need to talk about anything. . . I'm right here." Kagome offered a sympathetic smile, and Sango nodded briskly as her eyes filled with tears.
"Not now," she whispered. Kagome nodded, understanding. "The boys should be here in a few minutes," she said, changing the subject. Sango nodded once.
"We should get dressed."
By the time both Kagome and Sango were out of their pajamas and into their day clothes, the doorbell rang.
"They're here all ready?" Sango blushed. Kagome grinned.
"Let's let them in." they headed to the front door and opened it to a yawning, grumpy Inuyasha and unnaturally awake Miroku.
"Ah! Good morning, ladies! Sango, are you ready to become my new roommate?" he winked. Sango sighed and nodded.
"I assume we'll leave all of the furniture- none of it's very nice, anyway. My stuff's in my room." She motioned for them to follow, and Miroku rubbed his hands together readily.
"Her ROOM. . ." he raised his eyebrows suggestively and received twin glares from Kagome and Sango as Inuyasha just rolled his eyes and growled.
"It's too EARLY for your energetic pervertedness, Miroku." He snapped. Miroku shrugged good-naturedly and continued following Sango and Kagome deeper into the tiny, derelict house. When they entered the room, it was as bad as the rest of the house- tiny, dusty bed on a metal frame, open toilet and sink curtains around them, giving them little privacy, and a tiny chest. On the bed and around it were a few medium boxes- seven at the most. Miroku stared at Sango is disbelief.
"THIS is all you're taking with you?" he asked. Sango looked at the boxes, then back at him, and nodded wordlessly. "What about your clothes?"
"They're. . . in the boxes." Sango blushed furiously, indicating them. "I have three other things that I'd like to bring- I can understand if you wouldn't want them in your house, but in that case I'd have to stay." Slowly she brought out a small sword, set it against the wall, and then reached for what looked like a massive boomerang.
"What IS that thing, Sango?" Inuyasha asked, stepping forward to feel the giant weapon. Sango handed it to him.
"It's hiraikotsu. My weapon of choice." Inuyasha lifted it with one hand.
"'S heavy," he said absent-mindedly. "I can't imagine you even lifting it off the ground." Sango glared at him and took it back, lifting it effortlessly over her head.
"I can do a whole lot more than lift it," she snapped. Miroku shied conspicuously away from her, Kagome with him. Sango set it down, though, and looked at Miroku hopefully. "So can I take them with me?" she asked.
"I see nothing wrong with it- but what's the third thing?" he seemed puzzled. Sango looked around, as if she had misplaced whatever it was.
"Kirara!" she called. A tiny, multiple-tailed kitten trotted into the room on command and leapt into Sango's arms.
"Kawaii!" Kagome squealed, pushing past Inuyasha to see better the little cat. Inuyasha glared at her back and Sango giggled.
"This is Kirara," she said, handing her to Kagome. "My cat." Miroku watched as the kitten curled up easily in Kagome's arms, and then took her himself.
"She seems well-behaved." He commented, rubbing Kirara's ears. Sango nodded.
"Extremely. And she's a good watch-cat, too." Sango smiled at the cat and looked at Miroku, but Inuyasha interrupted.
"'Watch cat'? How big is she, less then a foot long?" he sneered. Sango smirked but said nothing.
"I don't have a problem with any of this. Shall we get it into my car?" Miroku asked. The others nodded and began picking up boxes. Miroku set Kirara down and picked up two boxes. "Come, Kirara." She did. Sango couldn't help but smile a little. Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome had gotten all of the boxes together, so all that was left for Sango to carry was her sword and hiraikotsu. Without a backwards glance, Sango left her room.
*~*~*
Miroku's home, compared to Sango's, was the exact opposite. A loft apartment in the busiest, most downtown part of the city, the apartment was large and overlooked the city. The front door opened to the main living room, with a wooden floor and a great view of the entire city. The walls in this room were a deep red, with a couch to match leaning against the back wall. On the wall next to the one occupied by the couch wasn't even a wall- it was a bookshelf. The entire wall was filled with books, hundreds upon hundreds filling the small space. In the middle of the room was a small prayer alter with soft cushions to sit on around it.
The living room opened up to the kitchen, which was despite its wealth, simple. Wooden walls and wooden floors, a refrigerator, oven, stove, and counter. Sprigs of this herb or that hung from every available spot on the ceiling. Next to the kitchen was the dining room, which was relatively tiny. It resembled a mini-living room, only with light green walls and cushions. The table was low to the ground and need to chairs, and was covered in a tablecloth that matched the walls.
After the general tour, Miroku took Sango to the "back" section of the house- the section with the bedrooms and bathroom. A long hallway with two doorways contained both Sango and Miroku's bedrooms, Sango's being the closest to the entrance. At the end of the hallway was another doorway, this one Mushin's room. Across from Miroku's bedroom was the bathroom, to be shared by all three of them.
It didn't take long for the four of them to fill Sango's room with her belongings- in fact, it only took two trips. The room, at least in comparison to her old one, was richly furnished. The bed had white sheets and a deep purple cover and pillow that ironically matched the jacket Miroku always wore. Miroku set down the last box and they all stood silently, looking around Sango's new living quarters. Miroku went and sat on the bed.
"Want to try it out?" his face was completely straight, but the remaining three narrowed their eyes at him.
"I'm sure I'll find out somehow," Sango said suspiciously. Miroku sighed and stood up.
"Alright, then. I guess we'll wait in the living room until you're unpacked. Inuyasha, Kagome?" he beckoned for them to follow him out of the room after bowing to Sango. Sango blushed but grabbed Kagome's arm.
"Will you stay?" she asked. Kagome nodded wordlessly as Inuyasha scowled and stalked out behind Miroku, slamming the door behind him. Kagome rolled her eyes and smiled at Sango.
"Let's get started," she grinned. Sango returned a ghost of the smile back and pulled the first box onto her bed. Kagome grabbed another box and followed, frowning at Sango's apparent sadness. "Sango. . ." she began. "Is. . . is something wrong?" she paused from pulling out a stack of Sango's few clothes. Sango sighed and sat down on the bed.
"I don't like staying with- him. I feel like I'm relying on him. I feel like I'm putting him in danger." She sighed again and slowly began unpacking again. If Kagome thought it odd that Sango wouldn't say Miroku's name, she didn't say anything.
"Miroku knows that taking you on may bring him extra danger, but he's not defenseless." She lowered her voice. "He's got SPIRITUAL powers." Kagome returned her voice to normal. "I know you're used to depending only upon yourself, but it'll really be good for you to live with some other people. Miroku may seem perverted and lecherous, but he's really very intelligent, especially when it comes to other people. He'll be good for you." She smiled, but Sango blushed.
"What's THAT supposed to mean?" she asked defensively. Kagome cringed, knowing she'd said too much.
"Nothing, nothing. . ." she waved her arms as if it wasn't important and smiled guiltily. Sango kept blushing, but dropped it.
"I don't quite feel like unpacking now. Want to join the others?" she asked. Kagome watched her oddly for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"I'm getting hungry anyway. We forgot to have breakfast. Maybe we can talk Inuyasha and Miroku into having an early lunch." She grinned and lead the way out as Sango closed the door behind them. Kagome broke into a trot to find Inuyasha and Miroku kneeling by the centered prayer alter talking quietly.
"Hope we're not interrupting anything," Kagome said cheerfully. Inuyasha, with his back to her, turned and scowled at her.
"What do YOU want?" he sneered. Kagome ignored him.
"Sango and I were wondering- we forgot to eat breakfast this morning, so could we possibly eat sooner?" she grinned brilliantly as Sango stood behind her, and Miroku rose slowly.
"Of course, Lady Kagome." He said. Inuyasha seemed to struggle with resisting, but quickly followed Miroku into the kitchen. Kagome grinned, satisfied, and sat on one of the prayer cushions. Sango sat next to her.
"How do you DO that?" she whispered quietly in amazement. Kagome flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Hanging around cheerleaders has its strong points," she replied with an almost-smug grin. Sango regarded her seriously for a moment and then giggled.
"It's funny- I've never seen a girl affect Inuyasha like you have." She watched Kagome's reaction out of the corner of her eye. Kagome blushed but quickly covered up.
"I don't have an affect on him, he just hates me."
"I know Inuyasha better than most people, and I think he might be interested in you, Kagome." Sango grinned almost wickedly, and Kagome glared at her.
"I don't believe I've ever seen Miroku quite so taken with anyone as much as he is with you!" she shot back. Sango laughed nervously and looked away. When she looked back, the girls shared a look of mutual understanding and chose not to continue the conversation at the time.
"Ladies?" Miroku leaned into the room, smiling ravishingly. They both looked up at him. "Lunch is served." Sango noticed an apron tied around his waist and blushed appreciatively. Miroku saw this and winked, making her blush harder. Inuyasha, too, had on an apron, but that only made Kagome giggle. Inuyasha glared at her and "feh'd".
Once the four were gathered around Miroku's dining room table with warm plates of noodles and rice steaming in front of them, Miroku prayed silently, one hand held erect in front of his chest. He finished, and nodded at the others to begin eating.
"Inuyasha," he began almost immediately. The remaining three raised their heads at him questioningly. "I've been meaning to ask you something since last night. I figured it'd be best to ask when everyone was here." Inuyasha swallowed a massive bite of noodles.
"I'm listening," he growled. Miroku ignored this and continued.
"I noticed that last night, when Sango said "shikon", you reacted oddly. Does shikon mean anything important?" his eyes were strangely concentrated, and Inuyasha glared at him suspiciously.
"I guess Sango deserves to know." He paused, disgusted that he had to share his secret. "The Shikon no Tama is an ancient jewel with tremendous powers. Whoever possesses it has the power become full human or full demon, whichever they want more. You can understand why Sango's parents were chosen to guard it so carefully, and why they don't want people to know it even exists." Inuyasha paused uncomfortably.
"I have been searching for the jewel ever since I knew it existed- I've followed its path for a long time. For the time when Sango's parents had it, I had lost its track, that's how good they were. But someone else hadn't. Someone else knew they had it, and took it from them in the attack. After they died, I heard of it again." He looked around at all of them. "The Shikon No Tama is at Houken Jidai."
*~*~*
A/N: Eek, I got NO WHERE with those 6 pages. sessha gomen nasai.
I'd like to thank my two reviewers for chapter 4, and RK who I know read it:
Rain angst- I know, I can't wait to write fluff for the two of them now that they live together. . . platonically, of course. ;) Thanks for reading and reviewing.
Bluefuzzyelf- really? How about now? Just kidding. Thanks so much for sticking.
RK-128- I suppose we survived our second essay. Here's to A's. . .