Yay! You all liked it! Yay! And um... feeling just a little bit of pressure. Dear God -- Don't let me screw this up. Some of them have swords!

And to Sairuh - would it make me a total dweeb if I wasn't really sure of the actual NAME of my favorite childhood rhyme? I know it has a girl with a curl right in the middle of her forehead. Heh heh heh... sigh.





Chapter 2: In which a discussion occurs and our hero uses his various skills.





"Damn, Miroku, what the hell happened to you!" Inuyasha's exclamation snapped Miroku out of his daze. And had the added benefit of drawing everyone's attention to the damp monk.



"I... um..." Now they were really staring. Just what he was hoping for.



"Inuyasha was about to go looking for you," said Sango, absently patting the purring Kirara.



"Yeah, we thought maybe another praying mantis demon had gotten you," Shippou said with wide eyed innocence and a small smirk that ruined the whole effect.



"Oh. No. I was just..." Miroku gestured vaguely with his staff.



"Wandering around in the rain?" Inuyasha snorted derisively. "Wouldn't put it past you. Stupid monk. Well? Come in and dry off!"



Miroku meekly obeyed Inuyasha's command and settled down with the others. He was a little chilled from the weather, and grateful that the villagers had given them such a nice place to stay. It was the rain, actually, that had driven him from the hillside where Kagome had left him.



Kagome who was sitting quietly across from him and seemed too fascinated by her cup of tea to meet his eyes. Kagome who'd made a proposal Miroku still couldn't believe. Or, more accurately, accepted a proposal Miroku had never, in a million years, thought she'd take seriously.



"We were afraid that you'd forgotten your promise to Kagome. Isn't the training supposed to start tonight?"



Miroku watched a faint blush creep across Kagome's cheeks before Sango's words registered. He almost broke his neck turning to gape at her.



"Unngh?" Oh, he was on a roll here. Sango looked at him like he'd lost his mind. Which, Miroku thought, he most probably had.



"Yes, Miroku," Kagome spoke up, saving him from finding out what other strange sounds he was capable of making. "You were so sweet to say you'd help me with my miko training. Is it okay if we start tonight? This house has a separate room where we can work undisturbed." She stared at him with wide eyes and blinked meaningfully.



"Oh. Yes." Manfully, Miroku pulled himself together. "I apologize for making you wait, Kagome." He put on the most priestly air he could manage. "I was deep in meditation in preparation for today's lesson when the rains came. I am quite prepared." This was one of those moments when Miroku was glad he was such an accomplished liar. Standing gracefully, he held his arm out towards Kagome. "Shall we?"



"That must have been some meditation," Shippou said as Miroku and Kagome left the room. "I thought maybe some demon had sucked his brains out."



Miroku thought it best to ignore the snickering that followed that statement.



"Oy! Kagome! You let me know if the monk tries anything funny!," Inuyasha called out as Miroku and Kagome made their way across the covered walkway.



Kagome stifled a giggle and winked at Miroku as she slid the door open. The room that had been arranged for them was quite nice. There was a brazier in the center of the room, taking the wet chill out of the air. Candles flickered in the corners. No bedding had been set out, but all together it was a cozy setup. One he'd usually be quick to take advantage of. Except that this was Kagome.



For all his hinting, and groping, and 'will-you-bare-my-child'-ing, Miroku did not have casual relations with any woman who did not fully understand how casual the relations were going to be. And Kagome was not the type of girl to have casual relations with anyone, let alone a monk with his own personal death curse in the palm of his hand. While he looked forward to entertaining a few fantasies about paths not taken once this was all cleared up, there was no way he could seriously consider Kagome's proposal. She could not possibly have meant what she said. Or implied. Or agreed to. Or - enough - it was time to face the matter at hand.



With a sigh, Miroku settled himself beside the brazier. "Listen, Kagome," he began as she sat down next to him, "what exactly are you wanting to have happen tonight?"



She bit her bottom lip and looked down at her hands folded demurely in her lap. A pretty pink blush spread across her cheeks before she looked back up at Miroku. "Well, I was thinking we could start with kissing," she said faintly. "Um. That's as far as I got really."



In Buddah's name, she looked so delectable at that moment; like a fresh peach, just waiting to be plucked. Miroku pushed down his libido. Contrary to the popular opinion he worked so hard to cultivate, he was not a slave to his passions. He needed to stick to the business at hand. Which was about NOT taking what appeared to be so willingly offered, he reminded himself. "But you want me to teach you how to have sex?"



Kagome looked at him in obvious shock. "No! I mean, not that far. Just," she gestured helplessly with her hands, "just boyfriend-girlfriend stuff. Things a sixteen year old girl should know by now."



What on earth should a sixteen year old girl know? What kind of courtship rituals were practiced in her era? Very briefly, Miroku considered a conversation with Inuyasha about that particular topic, then he remembered how much he liked his internal organs staying exactly where they were. "Kagome," Miroku gently took her hands between his own, "shouldn't you wait to learn these arts from someone you love? There is no time limit, and you are still so young."



"Yeah, like you're fifty." Kagome pulled her hands from his and stood up abruptly, her eyes hidden by her bangs. "And sixteen is ancient in this era. I should have like twenty grandkids by now." She sounded angry. "And if I hadn't been pulled through the well my first kiss would probably have been with Hojou of all people. He's certainly not someone I love."



Miroku was not sure what to say to this. It was true that girls her age were usually married by now, but there were circumstances where they weren't, and who the hell was Hojou?



"The fact is," Kagome looked up and Miroku was alarmed to see that she was crying, "the man I love is promised to another. Is in love with another if I'm being completely honest here. There's a powerful demon out to kill me, plus a whole lot of not so powerful demons who'd kill me just for kicks. I could die tomorrow and, damn it, I want to know what it feels like to be kissed!"



And it was strange how it stung him a little; the admission that he was second choice. It wasn't a secret that Kagome loved Inuyasha. From the beginning that had been abundantly clear. Gritting his teeth Miroku stood up. This wasn't about him and his stupid pride. "Kagome," he said gently, "I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. And that you're sure of who you're doing it with. This isn't an offer or a decision to be made lightly."



"I have thought about this, Miroku." Kagome smiled up at him. "And I've thought about who to ask. It was between you and Kouga. But I trust you more."



Kouga! The thought of Kagome making a similar offer to the leader of the wolf demons made Miroku shudder. Kouga considered Kagome his promised mate. If she told him she wanted to explore the physical side of their relationship he would have her with child by the end of the day.



Now Miroku was trapped in a dilemma. If he turned Kagome down, she very well might make an offer to Kouga. Miroku could not allow that to happen. But he also doubted that she really wanted her first sexual experiences be with a self-proclaimed pervert who might not be there for her when she needed him.



Kagome stared at him, glistening tears drying on her cheeks. She looked so trusting, so open, so damn innocent. And Miroku decided that he would give her what she asked. But only what she asked. He would not allow passion to overcome reason. As soon as she changed her mind, he would back away.



Reaching out, he cupped her cheek with his ungloved hand, relishing the feel of her smooth skin against his palm. He used his thumb to gently wipe away her tears. "Well, I am flattered that I beat out Kouga," he said with a quick grin, pleased when she grinned back at him. Sliding his hand around to the back of her head, he carded his fingers through her thick black hair. Her head fell back with the strokes of his fingers, and he wrapped his free arm around her waist, drawing her close.



Supported by his arm and body, Kagome relaxed into him, her eyes fluttering closed, her mouth falling gently open. If there was a moment when he could no longer walk away, Miroku figured this was it. With a quick prayer to Buddah, hoping he'd made the right decision, he leaned down, covering her mouth with his own. He could feel her breath quicken, and her lips tremble under his. Softly, so softly, he brushed her mouth lightly with his, smiling when she began to reciprocate.



Miroku always loved the first kiss. The opening of a door to a radiantly new, unsullied encounter. There was a certain sweetness to the promise it held; the unknown future it foretold; the magical hope that this time, everything would go right. And this was Kagome's first kiss ever! No matter how quickly she came to her senses and pushed him away, he would have the promise of this first kiss to remember forever.



But she wasn't pushing him away. Instead she wrapped her arms around him and pressed herself more tightly to his body. Miroku slowly increased the intensity of the kiss. Their mouths were open now, their breath mingling. Kagome was clinging to him, her small hands fisted in his robes. He nipped at her bottom lip lightly, then soothed it with his tongue. And then he felt the gentle flutter of her tongue against his, and the softness of her breasts crushed against his chest, and the curve of her hip as his hand slid down from the small of her back preparing to pull her pelvis hard against his, show her what she had awakened. And he could hear himself moaning.



Putting both hands on her shoulders, Miroku pushed Kagome away, his breathe loud in his ears. He cleared his throat. "And so ends lesson number one," he said, his voice unusually rough and deep.



Kagome's eyes slowly opened and after a moment she smiled up at him brilliantly. "Wow," she whispered. She pressed her fingers to her swollen lips. "Wow." With a slight giggle she sank down to the floor, never taking her eyes off his. "I, uh, don't think I quite got that last bit. Do you think we could go over it again?"



Miroku let out a surprised laugh as he sat down hurriedly. Adjusting his robes to hide the interest of one of the less reasonable parts of his body, he stared at Kagome with wide eyes. "This was supposed to be the part where you run from the room."



"Screaming for Inuyasha?"



"Well, no. I thought it'd be best to avoid his involvement. But a general, 'I didn't mean it, forget everything I said, let's just pretend this never happened,' sort of statement was supposed to be made."



Kagome giggled again. "I'm not as fickle as that, Miroku."



"I wasn't suggesting -,"



"And I'm not a coward. You'll have to do a lot more than that to scare me away." An almost wicked grin slid across Kagome's face. "In fact," she purred, "I'd really like to see you try. To scare me away I mean."



Miroku stared at Kagome. Did she just challenge him? Did she just PURR? He closed his mouth. She sat there, a self-satisfied smirk on her prettily flushed face, her eyes wide, her pupils dilated, her chest rising and falling with each quick breath. He was a reasonable man. But he was also very good at what he did.



So he showed her what a truly wicked grin really was, and as her smirk disappeared into a look of tentative anticipation he reached out for her. "We've only just begun Kagome," he whispered into her ear. "Don't get cocky."