Sorry it took so long; writers block can be terrible. I think there's a case of it going around cough. Anyhoo, thanx for the reviews and enjoy!!!

Chapter 5

The group was out on the road, Inuyasha, Sango, and Kelala walking ahead with Miroku, Kagome, and Shippou trailing not far behind.

Miroku began to feel guilty about how he had treated Kagome two nights ago. He was sorry for taking advantage of her feelings, even if it was simple making out. He looked over at her walking alongside him, conversing with the eagerly chatting kitsune on her shoulder.

He thought of their first kiss, how spontaneous it had been. He wondered what it was that made him do it in the first place. Maybe it was the sight of a friend being hurt by the one she loved, maybe it was his own feelings of rejection by the one that he so desired, maybe it was a mixture of the two.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he saw that Kagome was looking at him, dreamy expression on her face. As her eyes caught his, she blushed and turned away.

He smiled a little, thinking about the way she was acting that morning. She seemed absolutely bubbly and every time their eyes met, she would blush and avoid his. He had to know how she felt about him, but he couldn't, not with the little kit on her shoulder. He decided that he had to dispose of Shippou if he was to talk to her one-on-one.

"Oh, Shippou…" Miroku called.

"What's up, Miroku?" he answered.

"I have a secret to tell you…"

Shippou jumped onto Miroku's shoulder. "What is it?"

"Shhh… keep it down," Miroku whispered. "Inuyasha said he has some candy for you."

"He does?!" asked Shippou excitedly. Then a confused expression crossed his face. "Why would he want to give me any candy?" he said quietly.

"I don't know," replied Miroku. "I guess you have to go find out."

Shippou looked up at Inuyasha. "I don't see any candy."

"That's because he's hiding it in his haori."

"Why would he be hiding it if it was for me?" Shippou asked.

"He's protecting it for you," Miroku said, reaching for an explanation. "There are other little demons around here who would also love to have some candy."

Shippou looked at Miroku for a moment, trying to see if it was a trick. Seeing no hint of humor on the monk's face, he jumped from Kagome's shoulder and bounded towards Inuyasha, eager to get some candy.

Kagome looked at Miroku, trying to figure to what he was up to. "What did you tell him?" she asked.

"Nothing." he quickly replied. "I want to talk to you. About that night."

"Oh," Kagome said. Miroku slowed down a little to add more distance between himself and the rest of the group. Unconsciously, Kagome did the same.

"I'm sorry about what happened that night. I was totally out of line and I should have handled myself better, but I—"

"I understand, Miroku," Kagome cut in, looking downcast. "You were just feeling down and rejected, that's why you came to me."

Miroku looked at her like she was stupid. "Kagome, what would make you think something like that?"

"Well, you never noticed me before, and all of a sudden, when Sango's out of the picture, you come to me like I'm second best."

"Kagome, I assure you, it's not like that," said Miroku. "Remember we first met?"

"You mean when you kidnapped me?" Kagome inquired.

He chuckled. "'Kidnapped' is such a bad word, but yes." He glanced ahead at the sound of raised voices, obviously Shippou and Inuyasha were quarrelling over his little fib.

"Well, what about it?" asked Kagome.

"When I saw you, I thought you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, so naturally, I wanted you."

"I thought you said you wanted the jewel shards?" Kagome asked, blushing at Miroku's words.

"I did. But, I could have gotten them without taking you. Besides, I had to come up with a good reason for kidnapping you; I don't think I would have liked being filleted alive by Inuyasha very much."

"Ah," Kagome nodded. "But what about Sango?"

Miroku sighed. "I really did have feelings for her," he said, glancing forward once again at the arguing group ahead; by this time, even Sango and Kelala joined in. "But after getting your heart stomped on time and time again by the one you supposedly love, it gets harder to keep loving them."

Kagome nodded. She could relate to that last statement; Inuyasha had crushed her heart on numerous occasions to the point where she feels nothing for him now. She hasn't even felt a twinge of jealousy whenever she saw him with Sango.

She peered up at Miroku, who seemed to be utterly fascinated by what was going on in front of them. Ever since the 'incident' that took place a few nights ago, Kagome couldn't stop thinking about him; it was as if she was seeing him for the first time. In the two days since they had become intimate, Kagome noticed new things that she had never noticed before. Like how his eyes held all of his emotions, or the way he always chuckled lightly at her jokes, no matter how stupid they or corny they were. 'Wait. That means he must feel something for me too.' She pondered. She had to find out if this was true. "Miroku?" she asked.

"Hmmm?" he answered, still looking ahead. Inuyasha was now dancing around oddly while Sango was holding Kelala and laughing at him. Shippou was nowhere to be found.

"Um, how exactly do you feel about me?"

He turned to face her. "I, uh… don't know," he replied, not willing to tell her exactly how he felt about her.

Kagome looked at him and found the answer in his eyes. "You like me, don't you?" she asked.

"I, uh… well, um…" he stammered. "Okay, I do."

"Well I, um… kinda like you too," she said, averting her eyes and blushing.

After a long pause, Kagome asked, "Do you think there could be something between us?"

"I don't know," Miroku gently grasped her hand. "But, we could find out together."

They gazed into each other's eyes, coming to a silent agreement as they both smiled, Kagome blushing a little.

"Miroku! I'm gonna kill you!!!" Inuyasha shouted, charging towards the monk.

"Uh oh," Miroku said, and with that, promptly disappeared back down the path with Inuyasha not too far behind.

"Why did you tell that stupid brat that I had candy in my clothes?! I feel so violated!!!"

Kagome smiled. "That baka monk…"