Aphiopsyduck: The return of this story is dedicated to the five
people who have this story under Author's alert. Thanks for sticking around!
:o)
Chapter 25: The more things change…
Dinner turned into World War 3 the next night.
Inuyasha announced his desire to return to searching for the shards "now that the bitch is back here to actually work—" before his silhouette on the floor was all that was left of the hanyou.
Sesshoumaru begrudgingly accepted to tag along, "to watch over Rin, since this lot is dangerous to itself…"
Kagome made a quick trip home for supplies, ignoring the grunts and grumbles from the hole in the floor. Which turned to outright growling when Miroku declared he would walk her to the well.
Sango exchanged a glance with Kouga and nodded to Sesshoumaru, who frowned and sniffed the air. "I smell clay and bones…" All three smiled when Inuyasha bolted from the cabin.
"Rin, outside." Rin nodded and went outside, followed by Jaken. Sango smiled at Shippou and Hoonomei. "Boys, why don't you go outside and watch Rin?"
Shippou swished his tail. "Do you think I'm stupid? I know you're trying to get rid of us. Uh-uh. No way. We're not leaving." Crossing his arms, he frowned at the 'adults.'
Hoonomei grinned and copied Shippou. "We're not going anywhere."
Sango sighed. "Fine. But you must be quiet." At their nod, she turned to the others. "What are we going to do?"
"I do not believe we should interfere."
"Shows how much you know about relationships." Sango stuck out her tongue at Sesshoumaru. He frowned.
"I want my woman to—erm, I want Kagome-sama to be happy." Kouga smiled sheepishly at Sango. "Sorry. Force of habit."
"Lady Sango…" All turned to Kaede, who was frowning. "Are ye sure about this?"
"Kaede-baba, Miroku hasn't groped me or any other female in over two months. He spends his time either with Kagome or looking forward to her return. When she came back and hugged Kouga, he vanished from the group and disappeared for days."
"He refuses to discuss her at all." The group turned to Sesshoumaru, surprised. He met their gazes coolly. "Do you expect me, Lord Sesshoumaru, to ignore what goes on around me? Oftentimes, I have come around to find him pensive and downcast. It bothered me, since he is supposed to be protecting Rin from the half-breed." He paused, unsure of himself for the first time in his life. "Yesterday he did something completely out of character." He paused again, listening. He pinpointed Rin yanking something from the ground, Jaken tapping his two-headed staff impatiently close to her, and Inuyasha's distant racing through the woods, trying to locate his undead miko. Satisfied, he related what he had seen by the well, glaring at the two young demons to keep it quiet. "When I yanked him from the well, he was pale and trembling. I do not know what happened to him."
Kouga was stunned. "He did WHAT?" Sango smacked him in the arm. "Lower your voice, Kouga-kun."
Hoonomei frowned. "That explains it…" All turned to the cat demon. "Well, about a week after Kagome-sama left, I was coming back from practicing when I saw Inuyasha jumping down the well several times. He would come out grumbling and jump in again. I finally asked him what was the matter, and he pushed me away, telling me to not say anything before he left."
"I seem to remember him being more upset than usual." Kouga's easy smile dropped slightly. "And here I thought it was because of me…"
"Kouga…" The wolf demon smiled at Sango. "Sorry, but it's true. You know he hates me."
"This leads us nowhere. All ye know for sure is that Miroku-sama is infatuated with Lady Kagome." Kaede stirred the coals. "Unless there is something more, you will have to rely on his word that there is nothing going on between them."
"But there is." Shippou, who had been strangely quiet, now looked at everyone. "Whenever she leaves, she comes back and fights with Inuyasha. But since Rin came, she doesn't. She ignores him. Unless he's mean to her or to Rin." Sesshoumaru growled. "He what?"
Shippou dismissed the demon lord's anger. "It happened only once." The fox demon grinned. "After what she did to him, he's stayed very far away from her and Rin." Shippou's face turned thoughtful. "Lately, she's been acting weird around Miroku."
"Both turn red a lot." All turned to the door, where Rin was dragging Jaken inside and thrust the bouquet in her hand at Sesshoumaru. "Is that bad? Maybe they're sick."
Kouga put his arm around Sango. "Why don't we let Sango answer that?" The demon exterminator turned red and ducked her head. "You're gonna pay for that, you insensitive wolf…"
Sesshoumaru frowned. "I told you to go outside."
Rin settled in Sesshoumaru's lap, still holding on to Jaken's arm. "I know, Father, but I want to help Kagome-neechan." Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands, froze at her words. Did she just call me 'Father'?
Oblivious to what was happening around her, Rin asked, "Well, if turning red is not bad, then why do they act like it is?"
Out of the mouths of babes… "So what do we do?"
Sesshoumaru's attention returned. "They're coming. Tomorrow night." All nodded as Inuyasha crashed through the door muttering darkly, followed by Kagome, and finally Miroku, who carried the supplies.
*****
The group set out early the next morning towards the Western Lands, following reports that a water demon was wrecking havoc on a village. Since Sesshoumaru's attempts were successful, Rin would be tutored again by Kagome, which delighted the little girl to no end. Today she spent her time near Kagome asking endless questions, which the teenager answered patiently. Miroku walked in front of her, wearing the green backpack Kagome brought along whenever the yellow one needed repairs. Occasionally he offered answers, which made the child laugh and Kagome smile at him.
Sesshoumaru had taken off with Jaken the night before, saying something about "Must return home…patrol…check borders…reports…meetings…"
Sango dropped back from the group, dragging Kouga along with her. After making sure Inuyasha couldn't hear them, she whispered, "See?" pointing at her friends. Kouga nodded. "I know, but what can we do? There's no other proof."
Shippou had dropped from his usual perch on Inuyasha's shoulder. He inconspicuously made his way over to Sango and Kouga, climbing onto the wolf's shoulder. "What's the plan?"
"Hey! Get a move on, dammit!" All three startled at Inuyasha's angry scream, which brought giggles from Kagome and Rin and a smirk from Miroku. Shrugging and shaking their heads, all three rushed to join the group again.
*****
Rin sat with Sango during lunch. "Neechan, can you come with me?"
Sango looked at Kagome, who smiled. "Go. I don't mind." She then went back to her discussion with Miroku over a book in her hand. Shippou and Hoonomei argued, both pointing at the book. Inuyasha had gone ahead to gather news about the water demon.
Sango shrugged and took the girl's hand. Kouga moved to tag along, but she shook her head. "Girl talk, right?" At the girl's nod, Kouga relented. "Okay, but call if you need me." He then grabbed her and kissed her thoroughly, which earned them catcalls and cheers from the group. Blushing deeply, Sango dragged a laughing Rin into the woods.
"What did you want to talk about?" Both had settled on a fallen log, and Rin was swinging her short legs back and forth. "Rin?"
"Sesshoumaru-sama says we need to make Kagome-neechan happy." The swinging stopped.
"How?"
The girl paused. "Well… Shippou-chan has an idea…"
*****
Kagome noticed that Rin and Sango were gone a long time. Leaving a napping Miroku under a tree, she moved over to where Kouga seemed to be sleeping. The claw he kept flexing every few seconds told her he wasn't. "Kouga-kun?"
His eyes snapped open and he grinned. "Yes?"
Kagome blushed, embarrassed. "So… You and Sango, huh?"
Kouga's grin changed into a warm smile. "Yeah. She's beautiful and powerful. She'll be a great mate." The grin returned. "Unless you're still willing to be my mate…"
"Kouga!" She smacked him playfully.
"Oh, that's right. You're the puppy's mate." His grin turned teasing. "Too bad. You need a good mate—like me."
Kagome smiled at him. "You know I'm not Inuyasha's mate."
His grin vanished. "They why are you still with him? And don't tell me it's because of the jewel." His clawed hand grasped hers and drew her closer, until his lips grazed her ear. "You deserve better and you know it." His only reply was the sharp intake of air at his whispered words, so he went on. "He loves you. Forget the puppy and grab happiness by the tail. Or the staff."
Pulling back, he grinned at her stunned face. He leaned close, touching foreheads with her and staring deep into her eyes. "You know I'm right. Do something about it." Kissing the tip of her nose, he stood and wandered into the woods in the direction Sango had taken.
Kagome placed her hands on her cheeks, feeling the warmth that let her know she was blushing. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths to calm herself down.
When she opened them again, they collided with Miroku's for an instant before he turned away from her.
*****
© 4/02/04, M.A.R.
Aphiopsyduck: Hello, my faithful readers! Glad to see all six--no, wait five of you still hopeful readers! *HUGS* Thanks for sticking around while my muse returned from vacation.
Sadly enough, that's what happened here. The muse in charge of this particular story decided to go on an extended vacation back in December. It sent a replacement, of course--who proceeded to feed this author another story. *shakes head* Scary, what those muses can do to a creative person...
Well, surprise surprise. Muse dropped by the other day, and left me with this fixed chappie. Hope it was worth the wait. :o)
Anyhoo. Cliffie, I know... But stick around. It should get better. Soon. Later I'll dedicate a chappie to those five brave souls with this drivel on Author watch. :o)
Bye! :o)
(More or less) Permanent A/N: *sweatdrops…* Ehehe…
First fanfic… If nothing else, it's a test run, since this will be my first
real fanfic posted anywhere. I don' really know where it's going though,
so please bear with me. Reviews are welcome, and flames will be used on
undead mikos who refuse to leave our heroes alone. :o)