I apologize for the hold-up for this chapter, and its relative shortness. It is a bit of a turning point though - and hopefully it works. *insert nervous giggle here*

For those hungering for more M/K goodness, I'm part of a little Round Robin story hosted by Ms Videl Son. Check out my "Favorite stories" for a direct link. [And yes, I do realize this is a pretty shameless plug - but so?]

Once again, thanks are due to the amazingly fast beta work of Dvana. Anything not right is so me.

And much love to all of you. It is so unbelievably cool that so many of you are reading and enjoying this little labor of love.

Chapter Nine: In which much is disclosed and our hero wobbles but does not fall down.

Kagome twisted out of Miroku's grasp and walked a few steps away from him. She laughed, a strange strangled sort of sound. "So I guess Inuyasha saw us kiss goodbye, yesterday," she said in a painfully bright voice. "Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later." She laughed again, and the sound of it cut at Miroku.

"Actually," he said slowly, put off balance by Kagome's behavior, "he saw us at the cave. Or heard us, I should say." He thought he'd leave off the smelling bit. There was a whole gross factor to that little fact that he really didn't want to explore. Ever.

Kagome stiffened a bit and half turned her head towards him. "The cave?" She looked away again and sighed a long watery sigh, but when Miroku started towards her, she stepped quickly away from him. "Yes, well, in the end, he caught us." And again the sharp cheerfulness ripped through her voice. She brought up a hand and wiped quickly at what Miroku just knew were tears, and then turned to face him.

Miroku sucked in a breath. She was smiling, but her smile was a painful thing, sharp and jagged and false as a kabuki mask. "So I guess you're stuck with me! Sorry about that." Her smile wavered for a moment and Miroku saw something frightened and hurt peering out; he reached for her but she turned away from him again. "Did he hurt you awfully?" And this time her voice was soft.

"Not really," Miroku said easily, desperately keeping the worry out of his voice. "It was just a little chest-pounding between guys. And I gave as good as I got. It's just he heals faster."

"So no big deal, huh?"

And there was a danger to that question. Every instinct Miroku had was screaming at him to tread very, very carefully. "I wouldn't put it like that," he said slowly, trying to buy time as his mind raced for the proper response.

"How would you put it then?" Kagome asked with pointed carelessness. "Inuyasha throws a bit of a tantrum 'cause you played with one of his toys?"

Okay, and that was definitely a death-trap of a question. Miroku started to answer, but Kagome cut him off.

"I suppose he didn't want something soiled, so he handed me off to you."

"Kagome, it wasn't -,"

"A sort of, 'you break it, you've bought it,' policy for the feudal era. I get it." And when she turned around again, fear and hurt and false cheer had been completely taken over by out and out anger. "So now instead of me being Inuyasha's burden, I'm yours. No wonder you got drunk."

Miroku started to protest, but Kagome wasn't finished. "Well, guess what?" She marched towards him with such fury, Miroku fell back a few steps. "I'm not from the feudal era, and I don't belong to anyone, and you can go hang yourself, you perverted, backwards, sexist, PIG!" By the last words Kagome was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Miroku blinked at the sudden onslaught. "I think," he said soothingly, "that we're having a bit of a misunderstanding."

Kagome stomped her foot. "Sit!"

And Miroku knew he shouldn't do it; he knew it was a really, really bad idea. But he honestly couldn't help himself -- he laughed. So Kagome hit him. Hard. And she was a healthy girl who'd been doing archery for a little while, so she was stronger than you'd guess. And he'd just fought an enraged half-demon the night before. So he didn't handle it in a very manly way. Especially since when she whacked his arm it drove his elbow into his side -- the side with the cracked ribs. He may have moaned. He definitely felt a little faint. And there was some wobbling involved. Miroku closed his eyes and concentrated on not falling over.

"Oh! Miroku, I'm sorry!" Kagome gripped his arms while he fought to get his sense of balance back. "Are you okay?"

Miroku took a breath and straightened up as best he could. "I'm fine." He opened his eyes and smiled reassuringly down at Kagome. "Do not trouble yourself, Kagome."

Which was the wrong thing to say apparently. Because the soft concern on Kagome's face withered into stony reserve and her lips thinned in anger. "No. Of course not. Why should I 'trouble' myself?" She put an odd emphasis on the word 'trouble,' gave him a pointed glare and then marched into Lady Kaede's cottage. Miroku wondered if any man at any time had ever understood women -- and if his brain had exploded from the effort.

When he entered the cottage, Kagome had pulled everything out of her yellow bag and was busy reorganizing the contents into two piles while muttering darkly under her breath. A wise man would flee. Miroku considered that course of action for a brief moment and then shrugged. He'd always been a fool for women; why should he stop now? So he carefully sank down in a spot just beyond arm's reach of Kagome and leaned back against the wall. "I am sorry, Kagome," he said gravely. One thing he did know: when in doubt -- apologize.

Kagome sat back on her heels and stared down at the book she was holding. "It all sounds so good on paper," she said quietly. She looked up at Miroku, her eyes large and dark and beautiful. "Two gorgeous guys fighting over you -- it sounds so romantic." She grimaced and looked down at her book. "Except it's not romantic; it's not even flattering. It's stupid and embarrassing and..." She sighed and set her book carefully down on one of the piles.

"Because the thing is, Inuyasha doesn't love me. I'm a responsibility to him. A duty. And Kouga doesn't love me, either. I mean, how could he? He doesn't even know me. I'm just a neat little novelty. And a challenge, I guess. If there wasn't an Inuyasha to fight, I bet he'd have gotten over me a long time ago."

She was selling herself short, Miroku thought. The fights he'd witnessed had more to them than simple duty or challenge. But he stayed quiet. It seemed best, at the moment, to simply listen.

Kagome tucked an errant lock of thick black hair behind her ear. She looked at him for a moment and then her gaze skittered away to a point somewhere over his shoulder. "It's stupid. You're going to think I'm so stupid, but the lessons you were giving me..." Kagome blushed and looked down at her hands, nervously gripped in her lap. "Our little arrangement -- it was something for me to... I mean, it was for me. And you, of course. I hope, anyway. But..." Her fists clenched and she looked up at him with fierce eyes. "You saw me. You looked at me, and you didn't see some duty or novelty, you saw me. And I really, really liked it -- being seen I mean."

Everything that was in Miroku wanted to hold her, to pull her into his arms and never let go. He started to shift towards her, but his damn body wouldn't cooperate. He winced at the sudden pain, and then Kagome was looking away, shutting him out once more.

"Only now I'm a duty again. Inuyasha caught us, and you did the honorable thing, and I'm back to being a stupid duty." She was crying again, and she wiped angrily at her tears. "I know. It's stupid. I mean, what am I complaining about? You've been very nice to me, and..." Her face crumbled into complete misery. "Oh God, Miroku, I didn't mean to trap you! I'm so sorry!"

This time Miroku ignored his body's protests, and he pushed himself to Kagome and gathered her into his arms, and she clung to him, and buried her face in his neck and sobbed, and sobbed, and sobbed.

After a little while, he felt her calm down and her grip on him loosened, but he didn't let her go. "You're right, you know," he said quietly. "You are being stupid." Kagome stiffened in his arms and started to push away, but still he refused to let her go. "A duty? Oh, Kagome, how can you not see? My life has been so empty, so barren and, fool that I am, I thought that was how it should be. But then you came along and flung yourself at me," Kagome made a squeak of protest, but Miroku ignored her, "and gave me everything of yourself, all of your friendship and trust and hope."

He carefully shifted Kagome until they were looking at each other. "Do you remember when we first met?"

Kagome nodded solemnly. "You kidnaped me and stole my bicycle."

"Well, I've always known how to make a memorable entrance," Miroku said, and Kagome giggled. "Remember how you threw yourself into the pull of my wind-tunnel? You terrified me. I thought I was going to kill this beautiful, innocent, completely crazy, girl. Fortunately I just ended up flat on my back with you plastered on top of me."

"And then you grabbed my ass."

"I sure as hell did." Miroku grinned down at Kagome and then his face turned serious. "What I should have done was rolled us over and buried myself in you and claimed you right then and there."

"Inuyasha would have killed you."

"He would have tried." Something fierce and primitive rose up in Miroku. "You don't belong to Inuyasha. You never have. You belong to me."

Kagome sniffed and her eyes closed. "Miroku, don't. You don't have to say these things."

"But I do; I do have to. Kagome, look at me. Please."

Reluctantly, Kagome opened her eyes and looked up at him, and Miroku thought his heart would burst with the feelings she roused in it. And then, strangely, he was the one wanting to look away. "I, um... I wasn't completely honest about what happened between Inuyasha and me." Kagome blinked and a flash of curiosity crossed her face. Miroku gave in to weakness and fixed his gaze on the sunlight playing across the cottage floor.

"He was really, really angry and... I mean he's a damn good warrior when he wants to be. Everyone knows that. Plus I was holding a blanket. And then there was the rain, and..." Miroku closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "He had me beat, Kagome. It wasn't even a contest. He could have killed me ten times over." And shit, but this was not the way Miroku usually went about impressing women. He risked a peek down at Kagome and she was still looking at him and she didn't seem disappointed or disgusted so he kept on going.

"He offered me a way out, you know. All I had to do was agree to never touch you again." Miroku suddenly squeezed Kagome against him. Which his ribs protested mightily, so he loosened his grip and decided he was really tired of being injured.

Unaware of his body's malfunctions Kagome stared up at him questioningly. "Why didn't you? Why didn't you take the out?"

"I... I just couldn't. Never touching you again, letting someone else have you... I just couldn't. So, I, umm..." Miroku dropped his voice down to a mutter. "I tried to kill Inuyasha."

"What?" Kagome looked at him in wide-eyed surprise. "You?"

Miroku wasn't quite sure how to take her apparent disbelief. "I'm not a bad fighter myself, you know," he said a little sullenly.

"But, that's just so unlike you. You're usually so calm and rational."

"Yeah, well," Miroku smiled tiredly down at Kagome, "you take away my reason."

Kagome's bottom lip quivered and to Miroku's horror, she started crying again. Flinging her arms around him she buried her face in his neck. "Oh Miroku! That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me!"

Which confused the hell out of Miroku, but he decided to go with it. He ran his hand through Kagome's hair. "So, you don't mind? Being stuck with me, I mean?"

Kagome giggled, which combined with her crying to produce some very unladylike snorts. Sitting back up she sniffled a bit and wiped away her latest tears. "I guess to keep Inuyasha safe, I'll have to put up with you," she said with a watery smile. Then she suddenly looked thoughtful. "I will have to talk to Lady Kaede about getting you fitted for a collar, though."

"Ah, so you wish to learn of that form of play," Miroku said smoothly, while his heart tried to burst out of his chest. "I should tell you that I usually prefer to take the more... masterly role."

Kagome frown of confusion turned to beet red understanding. "Miroku! You pervert!" She hit his shoulder a few times.

"Ah, ah, ah," Miroku said, wagging a finger at her. "That would be my job."

Kagome seemed to be having a hard time breathing. "You - you -," she sputtered. "You're impossible!" And then she was laughing and hugging him and okay, it wasn't helpful to his ribs, but Miroku couldn't imagine trying to stop her. "Oh, Miroku, I do love you."

Silence reigned. Neither of them moved or even breathed. "Really?" Miroku didn't recognize his own voice, it was so high pitched and breathy. He used Kagome's shoulders to push her back so he could look at her. "Kagome, really?" Her face was white and her eyes were huge and he'd never seen her look so terrified before. "Because," he cleared his throat nervously, "because, Kagome... I- I love you, too."

And she closed her eyes and color rushed back into her face. And then she opened her eyes and she smiled at him and Miroku could feel himself smiling back at her; and for one moment, one precious moment, he forgot about his injuries, and his mission, and the death-curse Naraku had put on his family, and he finally glimpsed true bliss.

Later, when time started up again and they were making motions to rejoin the others in the battle against evil, Miroku asked Kagome about the two piles she'd created.

"Umm, actually..." she blushed and looked away. "Those are things that are square, and those are things that aren't. Square, I mean." She glanced up at him. "What? I was angry!"

And when they were on Kirara's back rushing towards their friends, Miroku held Kagome close, and planted kisses along her neck and traced the delicate shell of her ear with his tongue until she melted against him and made that wonderful sound in her throat that went straight to his gut, so he stopped before he did something that would deeply offend Kirara. "Later," he murmured to Kagome.

"Mmm, yes," she replied. And that sure as hell sounded like a promise to him.