The contest of wills continued as each brother glared daggers at one
another. Two sets of golden eyes were narrowed in disgust.
"Prick."
"Moron."
"Asshole."
"You, Inuyasha, were a mistake." Sesshoumaru smiled his perfect smile at his younger brother. He flicked his head to the side, sending his long silver hair tumbling across his back before turning on his heal to walk away from the argument, having grown bored with the exchange of words.
Inuyasha made two fists at his brother's retreating back before running after him and pulling hard on that supermodel hair of his. "Look here you sorry excuse for a man, you may be some famous model but at least I don't have to parade around in my underwear to get attention."
Cold, cruel laughter met his ears. Sesshoumaru smirked at his brother, a truly frightening experience. He grabbed hold of his brother's face and slammed his forehead to meet his own in a hard head-butt. "I suppose it is better to get attention for my looks than for being an idiot like you."
Inuyasha was fuming and now his forehead hurt. He hated his brother! There was no way he could possibly spend the entire winter break at his parent's home. He would go insane! Either that or he and his brother would murder one another. It was bad enough that they lived in the same apartment complex and were in the same fraternity, but at least at school they had other people to loath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The flight was rather uneventful. Kagome and Nuriko had a pleasant time and had grown to be fast friends. There was a moment of intense turbulence where the lavender haired young man held the woman's hand for reassurance.
Kagome couldn't help but smile at the sincerity the young man presented. He was so nice! He was even nicer than Hojo had been when they had first started dating so long ago. At least Nuriko was nice through actions and didn't make a fool of himself buying her medical remedies.
Usually when someone breaks dates all the time because they are 'sick' you generally get the idea that it is an excuse. However, Hojo's persistence tugged at Kagome's heart strings and she had decided to finally agree to go out on a date with him. Look where that ended up? Now she was dumped.
"What are you thinking about?" Nuriko asked when they had collected their luggage from the flight terminal at the airport. He had noticed that Kagome had a far-off look to her eyes. She had also been quiet for the past few minutes.
Kagome smiled at him softly. "Nothing much. I was just thinking about my ex-boyfriend is all."
"Yes, men can be such pigs. But you can't live without them!" Nuriko smiled as his thoughts drifted towards his boyfriend, Jakotsu. He once thought he was in love with Hotohori, but since that man was only interested in women that wouldn't work. Then Nuriko had fallen in love with a woman, Miaka.
However, she was with another man so he decided to stick with the male population. It was easier to be rejected if one's sexual preference didn't match. It was much more painful when it was you that they didn't care for personally.
"Well, I believe it's a good thing that you are here with me, Nuriko." Kagome informed him as her blue eyes scoured the airport in search of Miroku. The man followed her gaze and scanned the crowds as well.
"Yeah, it would be very difficult for you to find Miroku in all this, especially if you haven't seen him in so many years. Surely, you two would not recognize one another." Nuriko agreed. Finally he spotted the dark haired young man in question and began to wave frantically at him.
Kagome's face broke into a wide grin as she left Nuriko with the bags and ran towards her ex-step-brother. Miroku's calm façade shattered when he saw the young woman running towards him. Those eyes could be none other than Kagome. He ran to greet her.
The two collided and wrapped their arms intensely around the other. Miroku had grown so much taller in the past years and Kagome only came up to his chin. She placed her chin in the crook of his neck and shoulder as he buried his face into her obsidian tresses.
Miroku squeezed her tightly to him. She was so beautiful. Her scent reminded him of home and love, a smell he longed to comfort him. He pulled his face out of her hair and pulled her away from him slightly so he could look at her closer.
Her blue eyes reflected joy at seeing him. His violet orbs reflected the same emotion. He then leaned in a kissed her softly on the forehead, then on each of her cheeks, then finally on her nose. He smiled sincerely as she giggled from his reaction.
"Miroku, I would think that perhaps you missed me." Kagome teased with a happy smile lighting her face. "I met your friend Nuriko and he's waiting with the bags. You should set me up with him. He seems like such a lovely man."
Miroku laughed at her naivety. "Well, my little priestess that would be difficult. Nuriko doesn't go for women." Miroku laughed even more at the crestfallen appearance Kagome had.
She then surprised him and winked at him mischievously. "Figures all the good ones are either taken or gay."
Nuriko smiled as the pair approached him. He found it hard to believe that they were siblings. Of course he knew that they were only related in spirit but still they greeted one another as old lovers and not brother and sister. This should definitely be an interesting semester.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kouga was growing frustrated. There was nothing on television and no matter how many times he flipped channels he could still find nothing of interest. Finally fed up he threw the remote control towards the wall of the kitchen, unknowingly ticking off his roommate.
Angry footsteps could be heard on the other side of the kitchen before the door swung upon. Tasuki glared at his roommate with a vicious intensity. "What the hell did you do that for?" He demanded, keeping the ire evident in his tone.
Kouga shrugged as he stretched his legs out lazily, only to prop them up on the coffee table that sat in front of his leather couch. "Nothing is on television."
"So you thought that tossing the remote into the wall would help that?" Tasuki demanded as he snatched the remote from the floor and gathered the batteries that had scattered onto the carpet. "This is my television and if you break my remote control I will beat the living hell out of you! Do you understand?"
"Riiiiiiiight." Kouga drawled out, knowing that nothing would ever happen even if he did break the remote. "So how was work?"
"It sucked. Miroku left early to go pick some one up from the airport." Tasuki informed him as he marched over to the couch and pushed Kouga out of his way to take a seat. He replaced the batteries and turned the station to watch the Discovery Channel. It was a special about wolves.
Kouga snatched the remote control from his hands to turn up the volume. "How come I didn't find this when I was looking?" He asked himself, becoming engrossed in the documentary.
"How should I know? Maybe because you're an idiot." Tasuki smirked, hoping to vent some anger on his roommate. He was still pissed off about Miroku leaving him in the lab to finish up the last of the experiment.
Unfortunately for him, when Kouga was watching a show about wolves he tuned everything else out. At least that is everything except for feminine voices in the hallway of their apartment complex.
Kouga pushed mute on the volume and listened intently. Tasuki also listened closely. Miroku's voice was easily recognized, as was Nuriko's, but the voice of the woman was new. It had a heavy American accent. Both men exchanged glances before hopping over the couch to see the unknown woman.
They were too slow though for Miroku had shut his door before they could see the mystery woman. Not to be deterred by such trivial matters the two knocked politely on the door, wanting to make a good impression on whoever the woman was. It seemed like every one of the feminine persuasion that they knew at the university had gone home for the winter break.
Miroku opened the door slightly, keeping it chained so that only two inches of his face was visible. "What's up guys?"
"Who was that?" Kouga demanded gesturing to the insides of Miroku's apartment even though he couldn't see past the resident.
"No one. Just Nuriko and myself." Miroku grinned innocently at the two, not wanting them to know about Kagome.
"So you went to the airport to pick up Nuriko?" Tasuki asked skeptically, amber eyes narrowed as he cracked his knuckles in intimidation.
"Yeah, Nuriko was there." Miroku replied, half-truthfully.
"So then why don't you invite us in?" Tasuki continued, knowing that his co-worker was hiding something. "You aren't hiding anything from us are you?"
"Of course not, why would I hide someone from you?" Miroku nervously asked.
"Someone?" Kouga asked with a raised brow. "Someone being that woman we heard in the hall with you and Nuriko?"
"Hey Miroku! How do you turn on your oven?" A sweet voice greeted the ears of the three at the door, coming from the recesses of the apartment.
"I'll show you." Nuriko answered, obviously talking to the original voice.
Kouga and Tasuki both crossed their arms and looked at Miroku expectantly. "So, I'll be going now. Have a good night you two!" He then shut the door in their faces, leaving two ticked off neighbors standing outside his apartment.
Kouga and Tasuki exchanged glances and stared at the door once more before turning back to their apartment. "I think we need to find out about our friend's mystery guest." Tasuki decided.
"Maybe when you two are at work I can try and meet her." Kouga offered as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Why would he allow Nuriko to know about her and not us?"
Tasuki pulled on one of his earrings slightly as he considered the question. "Must be someone important to him and he doesn't want to share. Perhaps we should bring it up at the next frat meeting since the one from a few nights ago was canceled."
A wicked grin spread across Kouga's lips. "I think that Naraku would be very interested in a challenge involving a girl. Maybe if she's staying she could be the one that is targeted this semester."
"I don't know. That didn't really work out so well when Miaka was targeted. Sure, she and Tamahome ended up together, but all the rest of us that fought for her attentions ended up practically murdering one another." Tasuki disagreed, remembering all the conflict within the fraternity the last time a woman was targeted.
"You're right, she could be a total dog. Maybe Miroku is hiding her because he's ashamed of her hideous appearance." Kouga explained sarcastically.
Tasuki bellowed a hearty laugh at the comment. "Right! Miroku wasting time on an ugly girl! That will be the day!" Kouga soon joined in on the laughter.
"Nothing we can do now, might as well finish watching that wolf show." Kouga declared as he hopped back onto the couch and un-muted the volume.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Miroku couldn't help but laugh through out dinner. Kagome was as witty as he remembered and Nuriko was truly in his element around her. If Miroku didn't know any better he would have thought that Nuriko was flirting.
"So why didn't you invite over your neighbors?" Kagome asked halfway through the meal. The question was nagging at the back of her mind.
Miroku smiled innocently. "Those two would have eaten me out of house and home."
Nuriko cast him a skeptical look at the answer, but said nothing. "Oh Kagome! Didn't you say you wanted to show Miroku those moves you learned when you went to that River Dance show?"
Kagome laughed and then rose from her seat, taking Miroku's hand in hers and leading him towards the living room, onto the wooden floor. "The people who do River Dance did a special performance a few weeks ago and three randomly chosen people from the audience were allowed to join them and learn from them. Then we performed with them during the last number."
Miroku nodded, not releasing her hand but standing beside her, watching her feet. Kagome pulled her hand from his grasp and proceeded to move her feet around in different stomping manners. She then encouraged him to join her in the activity.
He felt foolish, but it was so much fun doing things like this with Kagome. He almost forgot that directly below him was a light sleeper that liked to get lots of rest before a photo shoot. At least he forgot until his phone began to ring.
Nuriko answered it as the two 'siblings' continued their dance. After a brief conversation Nuriko called out to the pair. "Guys, you better stop that. You disturbed Hotohori-sama's rest. He was very nice in requesting you cease your pounding on his ceiling but if it was to continue I don't think he would be very pleased."
Kagome's hands flew to her mouth as she stared at the floor with a guilty expression. "I'm so sorry I didn't realize how loud it would be." Her gaze shifted from the floor to Miroku and back again.
Miroku laughed and pulled her into his embrace for a fierce hug. He kissed her cheek softly as he allowed his hands to fist in her long, thick hair. "Don't worry about it. It was my fault entirely, you couldn't have known." His voice was soft and thick with some unknown emotion.
Nuriko watched the exchange with a curious look. No, those two did not act like a pair of siblings should behave. His eye landed upon the door remembering how Miroku refused to allow Kouga and Tasuki entrance. No, this was definitely not the proper attitude for a brother to have towards a sister.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC
"Prick."
"Moron."
"Asshole."
"You, Inuyasha, were a mistake." Sesshoumaru smiled his perfect smile at his younger brother. He flicked his head to the side, sending his long silver hair tumbling across his back before turning on his heal to walk away from the argument, having grown bored with the exchange of words.
Inuyasha made two fists at his brother's retreating back before running after him and pulling hard on that supermodel hair of his. "Look here you sorry excuse for a man, you may be some famous model but at least I don't have to parade around in my underwear to get attention."
Cold, cruel laughter met his ears. Sesshoumaru smirked at his brother, a truly frightening experience. He grabbed hold of his brother's face and slammed his forehead to meet his own in a hard head-butt. "I suppose it is better to get attention for my looks than for being an idiot like you."
Inuyasha was fuming and now his forehead hurt. He hated his brother! There was no way he could possibly spend the entire winter break at his parent's home. He would go insane! Either that or he and his brother would murder one another. It was bad enough that they lived in the same apartment complex and were in the same fraternity, but at least at school they had other people to loath.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The flight was rather uneventful. Kagome and Nuriko had a pleasant time and had grown to be fast friends. There was a moment of intense turbulence where the lavender haired young man held the woman's hand for reassurance.
Kagome couldn't help but smile at the sincerity the young man presented. He was so nice! He was even nicer than Hojo had been when they had first started dating so long ago. At least Nuriko was nice through actions and didn't make a fool of himself buying her medical remedies.
Usually when someone breaks dates all the time because they are 'sick' you generally get the idea that it is an excuse. However, Hojo's persistence tugged at Kagome's heart strings and she had decided to finally agree to go out on a date with him. Look where that ended up? Now she was dumped.
"What are you thinking about?" Nuriko asked when they had collected their luggage from the flight terminal at the airport. He had noticed that Kagome had a far-off look to her eyes. She had also been quiet for the past few minutes.
Kagome smiled at him softly. "Nothing much. I was just thinking about my ex-boyfriend is all."
"Yes, men can be such pigs. But you can't live without them!" Nuriko smiled as his thoughts drifted towards his boyfriend, Jakotsu. He once thought he was in love with Hotohori, but since that man was only interested in women that wouldn't work. Then Nuriko had fallen in love with a woman, Miaka.
However, she was with another man so he decided to stick with the male population. It was easier to be rejected if one's sexual preference didn't match. It was much more painful when it was you that they didn't care for personally.
"Well, I believe it's a good thing that you are here with me, Nuriko." Kagome informed him as her blue eyes scoured the airport in search of Miroku. The man followed her gaze and scanned the crowds as well.
"Yeah, it would be very difficult for you to find Miroku in all this, especially if you haven't seen him in so many years. Surely, you two would not recognize one another." Nuriko agreed. Finally he spotted the dark haired young man in question and began to wave frantically at him.
Kagome's face broke into a wide grin as she left Nuriko with the bags and ran towards her ex-step-brother. Miroku's calm façade shattered when he saw the young woman running towards him. Those eyes could be none other than Kagome. He ran to greet her.
The two collided and wrapped their arms intensely around the other. Miroku had grown so much taller in the past years and Kagome only came up to his chin. She placed her chin in the crook of his neck and shoulder as he buried his face into her obsidian tresses.
Miroku squeezed her tightly to him. She was so beautiful. Her scent reminded him of home and love, a smell he longed to comfort him. He pulled his face out of her hair and pulled her away from him slightly so he could look at her closer.
Her blue eyes reflected joy at seeing him. His violet orbs reflected the same emotion. He then leaned in a kissed her softly on the forehead, then on each of her cheeks, then finally on her nose. He smiled sincerely as she giggled from his reaction.
"Miroku, I would think that perhaps you missed me." Kagome teased with a happy smile lighting her face. "I met your friend Nuriko and he's waiting with the bags. You should set me up with him. He seems like such a lovely man."
Miroku laughed at her naivety. "Well, my little priestess that would be difficult. Nuriko doesn't go for women." Miroku laughed even more at the crestfallen appearance Kagome had.
She then surprised him and winked at him mischievously. "Figures all the good ones are either taken or gay."
Nuriko smiled as the pair approached him. He found it hard to believe that they were siblings. Of course he knew that they were only related in spirit but still they greeted one another as old lovers and not brother and sister. This should definitely be an interesting semester.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kouga was growing frustrated. There was nothing on television and no matter how many times he flipped channels he could still find nothing of interest. Finally fed up he threw the remote control towards the wall of the kitchen, unknowingly ticking off his roommate.
Angry footsteps could be heard on the other side of the kitchen before the door swung upon. Tasuki glared at his roommate with a vicious intensity. "What the hell did you do that for?" He demanded, keeping the ire evident in his tone.
Kouga shrugged as he stretched his legs out lazily, only to prop them up on the coffee table that sat in front of his leather couch. "Nothing is on television."
"So you thought that tossing the remote into the wall would help that?" Tasuki demanded as he snatched the remote from the floor and gathered the batteries that had scattered onto the carpet. "This is my television and if you break my remote control I will beat the living hell out of you! Do you understand?"
"Riiiiiiiight." Kouga drawled out, knowing that nothing would ever happen even if he did break the remote. "So how was work?"
"It sucked. Miroku left early to go pick some one up from the airport." Tasuki informed him as he marched over to the couch and pushed Kouga out of his way to take a seat. He replaced the batteries and turned the station to watch the Discovery Channel. It was a special about wolves.
Kouga snatched the remote control from his hands to turn up the volume. "How come I didn't find this when I was looking?" He asked himself, becoming engrossed in the documentary.
"How should I know? Maybe because you're an idiot." Tasuki smirked, hoping to vent some anger on his roommate. He was still pissed off about Miroku leaving him in the lab to finish up the last of the experiment.
Unfortunately for him, when Kouga was watching a show about wolves he tuned everything else out. At least that is everything except for feminine voices in the hallway of their apartment complex.
Kouga pushed mute on the volume and listened intently. Tasuki also listened closely. Miroku's voice was easily recognized, as was Nuriko's, but the voice of the woman was new. It had a heavy American accent. Both men exchanged glances before hopping over the couch to see the unknown woman.
They were too slow though for Miroku had shut his door before they could see the mystery woman. Not to be deterred by such trivial matters the two knocked politely on the door, wanting to make a good impression on whoever the woman was. It seemed like every one of the feminine persuasion that they knew at the university had gone home for the winter break.
Miroku opened the door slightly, keeping it chained so that only two inches of his face was visible. "What's up guys?"
"Who was that?" Kouga demanded gesturing to the insides of Miroku's apartment even though he couldn't see past the resident.
"No one. Just Nuriko and myself." Miroku grinned innocently at the two, not wanting them to know about Kagome.
"So you went to the airport to pick up Nuriko?" Tasuki asked skeptically, amber eyes narrowed as he cracked his knuckles in intimidation.
"Yeah, Nuriko was there." Miroku replied, half-truthfully.
"So then why don't you invite us in?" Tasuki continued, knowing that his co-worker was hiding something. "You aren't hiding anything from us are you?"
"Of course not, why would I hide someone from you?" Miroku nervously asked.
"Someone?" Kouga asked with a raised brow. "Someone being that woman we heard in the hall with you and Nuriko?"
"Hey Miroku! How do you turn on your oven?" A sweet voice greeted the ears of the three at the door, coming from the recesses of the apartment.
"I'll show you." Nuriko answered, obviously talking to the original voice.
Kouga and Tasuki both crossed their arms and looked at Miroku expectantly. "So, I'll be going now. Have a good night you two!" He then shut the door in their faces, leaving two ticked off neighbors standing outside his apartment.
Kouga and Tasuki exchanged glances and stared at the door once more before turning back to their apartment. "I think we need to find out about our friend's mystery guest." Tasuki decided.
"Maybe when you two are at work I can try and meet her." Kouga offered as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Why would he allow Nuriko to know about her and not us?"
Tasuki pulled on one of his earrings slightly as he considered the question. "Must be someone important to him and he doesn't want to share. Perhaps we should bring it up at the next frat meeting since the one from a few nights ago was canceled."
A wicked grin spread across Kouga's lips. "I think that Naraku would be very interested in a challenge involving a girl. Maybe if she's staying she could be the one that is targeted this semester."
"I don't know. That didn't really work out so well when Miaka was targeted. Sure, she and Tamahome ended up together, but all the rest of us that fought for her attentions ended up practically murdering one another." Tasuki disagreed, remembering all the conflict within the fraternity the last time a woman was targeted.
"You're right, she could be a total dog. Maybe Miroku is hiding her because he's ashamed of her hideous appearance." Kouga explained sarcastically.
Tasuki bellowed a hearty laugh at the comment. "Right! Miroku wasting time on an ugly girl! That will be the day!" Kouga soon joined in on the laughter.
"Nothing we can do now, might as well finish watching that wolf show." Kouga declared as he hopped back onto the couch and un-muted the volume.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Miroku couldn't help but laugh through out dinner. Kagome was as witty as he remembered and Nuriko was truly in his element around her. If Miroku didn't know any better he would have thought that Nuriko was flirting.
"So why didn't you invite over your neighbors?" Kagome asked halfway through the meal. The question was nagging at the back of her mind.
Miroku smiled innocently. "Those two would have eaten me out of house and home."
Nuriko cast him a skeptical look at the answer, but said nothing. "Oh Kagome! Didn't you say you wanted to show Miroku those moves you learned when you went to that River Dance show?"
Kagome laughed and then rose from her seat, taking Miroku's hand in hers and leading him towards the living room, onto the wooden floor. "The people who do River Dance did a special performance a few weeks ago and three randomly chosen people from the audience were allowed to join them and learn from them. Then we performed with them during the last number."
Miroku nodded, not releasing her hand but standing beside her, watching her feet. Kagome pulled her hand from his grasp and proceeded to move her feet around in different stomping manners. She then encouraged him to join her in the activity.
He felt foolish, but it was so much fun doing things like this with Kagome. He almost forgot that directly below him was a light sleeper that liked to get lots of rest before a photo shoot. At least he forgot until his phone began to ring.
Nuriko answered it as the two 'siblings' continued their dance. After a brief conversation Nuriko called out to the pair. "Guys, you better stop that. You disturbed Hotohori-sama's rest. He was very nice in requesting you cease your pounding on his ceiling but if it was to continue I don't think he would be very pleased."
Kagome's hands flew to her mouth as she stared at the floor with a guilty expression. "I'm so sorry I didn't realize how loud it would be." Her gaze shifted from the floor to Miroku and back again.
Miroku laughed and pulled her into his embrace for a fierce hug. He kissed her cheek softly as he allowed his hands to fist in her long, thick hair. "Don't worry about it. It was my fault entirely, you couldn't have known." His voice was soft and thick with some unknown emotion.
Nuriko watched the exchange with a curious look. No, those two did not act like a pair of siblings should behave. His eye landed upon the door remembering how Miroku refused to allow Kouga and Tasuki entrance. No, this was definitely not the proper attitude for a brother to have towards a sister.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC