Review Responses:
Inuyasha's Favorit Fan: Lol, who will she choose? Dum dum dum...
tiggerlily1: I don't know... I don't mind plot twists but the other readers might not. We'll see...
Just 1 Girl: nods Yuppz, he's a changed man alright.
Sesshomaru13: Lol, I'll be waiting!
inu.-sess.fan: Hell yeah. Go Miroku!
Critique 2: What the hell is going on? Truthfully, I don't know.
AngelMiko69: Miroku is cool. Thanks for reviewing.
IcerenaMarie: Sess/Kag moments coming soon...
Inuyasha-Freak15: Yeah, mine was acting up too.
Tsuyoku: I'm glad you like it! Your reviews are really appreciated.
CeCet: eats cookie Thanks!
Tigeriskitty: Yeah, he's lame all right.
MoonLightPrincess003: I hope you like this chapter too.
LT: Thanks for reviewing.
PyslightlySycoh: Hmmm... happy ending. Lol, request granted!
IcyAsh: Well, maybe the headache will end with this chapter...
BlackieCat: Hell, I love eavesdropping scenes.
Messenger of Light: Yeah, I was actually hoping some young kid would review asking what the date had to do with anything.
CrimsonMoon21: She probably won't go back to Inuyasha. But you'll have to read and find out.
Allore NightShadow: Yeah... who wouldn't want those ears...?
yuya2: Yeah, but it's not Inuyasha/Kagome. I don't like that pairing.
Author's Note: Umm... nothing to bitch about. So... on with the story!
Chapter 16: A Little Bit of Unfinished Business
"The whole point of life," Miroku explained patiently, "is to find the right girl, marry her, and have her bear you children."
"In your book, perhaps," grumbled Inuyasha. "Who wants marriage? It's all a lot of responsibilities with little rewards."
"Well, Inuyasha, women want marriage. We men could live our lives out single, with the occasional lover. But women want to be tied down with children and household management."
Inuyasha snorted so loudly Miroku cringed. "I suppose you think, then, someone like Sango can be 'tied down with children and household management'. If you approached her with the rope, even, she'll grab it from you and whip your ass with it."
"It's a figure of speech. But really, do you suppose Kagome is any different? In the first place, she comes from an era where women have equal rights with men. Not to mention, even if she was born in this time, she would never allow herself to be married to someone she didn't like."
Inuyasha didn't seem to violently object, so Miroku continued. "This is why your job is so difficult. If she were born in this time, and was submissive and weak, you could approach her father or a man in authority over her, and ask for her hand. The man would gladly give it, seeing as you're the brother of a powerful lord. However, this is not the case. Not to mention that the said lord wants Kagome's hand too."
"I know this. And your point?"
"Then you have to make sure you come off as more attractive and caring than Sesshoumaru. Seeing what he did with the witch and all, you've got a lot of work to do. First, convince Kagome that you never meant to hurt her. Then, you slowly work your way back into her heart. It's not hard; you're already there. You're just buried under a lots of pain."
"How poetic," Inuyasha said sarcastically. "You make it sound all very easy. I completely understand."
"I'm sure you do," Miroku said easily. "Well, then, my job is done. Good night, Inuyasha."
"What happened that day?" Kagome wanted to know.
Sesshoumaru remained silent for awhile.
"You remember the Eastern Lord's men? Well, the lord said he would tell his warriors not to come near my territory ever again. However, the chance of that was slim. War would be the likeliest outcome. I sent Jaken to scout, and brought Rin to you for safekeeping."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It is. Well, when I came, I found the monk with you, saying you were poisoned and that Inuyasha had gone searching for any possible cures. We came to the simple conclusion that Kikyo had played a hand in this.
"When we met Kikyo, she assured us that she had played no part in it. At that time, though we didn't know it, she was lying. I couldn't detect it, because she didn't actually know what her grandmother was planning. She was simply guessing, though she had a very good idea that she was right.
"She took us to her grandmother, to 'confront' the woman. That was where we got trapped. You know the rest," he said.
"So why did you do it?" Kagome fingered long strands of Sesshoumaru's hair. It didn't tangle, no matter what she did to it.
"Do what?"
"Like, leave the barrier then come back."
"If you remember, the witch said that we could save ourselves, or die with you."
"Yes, she did. Does that make a difference?"
"It made every difference. Dying with someone kills two lives and accomplishes nothing. But... dying for someone... is a different story altogether."
He said nothing more, and he didn't need to. Kagome understood.
Miroku pulled his ear from the hut's door reluctantly, seeing as Kaede was glaring at him.
"Leave them some time alone, for god's sake," she said.
"Fine, fine. I was just simply picking up information."
She ignored him. "How did the talk with Inuyasha go?"
Miroku sighed. "I think he got the point. However, this is one battle, I must say, that Inuyasha will lose."
The next day, morning...
"Honestly, you'd think he was going crazy," Kagome told Sango.
"Who, Inuyasha or Miroku?" Sango didn't seem too concerned.
"Inuyasha. I mean, he's actually being nice, which is not him at all. That's not to say he was never nice, but certainly he's being much more caring than he ever was."
Sango rolled her eyes. "Yeah huh. Our dear friend the houshi isn't being his normal self either."
"You got that one right. He's playing with Rin now. And he hasn't even asked her to bear his child. Then again..." Kagome looked thoughtful. "If he did ask her, Sesshoumaru would slaughter him."
"How true," laughed Sango.
From behind them appeared Sesshoumaru.
"I have to leave now," he announced. "If Jaken comes back with a report I cannot be here, idling my time away. You wouldn't mind if Rin stayed here, would you?"
"Of course not," Kagome said quietly. "She's with Miroku. She would want to see you off."
"I'll get her," Sango volunteered, strolling off.
He regarded Kagome simply.
"I'll be back," he said.
"I know," Kagome replied chokingly. "I'm just... anxious, I guess."
"Don't bother. Look after Rin."
"Miroku will, I'm sure."
He wanted so badly to hold her. But he couldn't. Of all the times they'd shared together, every time he'd convinced himself it was simply a spur-of-the-moment thing, with no strings attached. Now, he wasn't sure.
But she made the move first. Leaning her head on his chest she allowed tears to trickle. It wasn't a bad thing that she wasn't quite tall; she would have spiked her brains out on his armor if she was.
What was one supposed to do? He wrapped his arms around her.
"He's leaving?" cried Rin. "But why?"
"To make everything safer for you back home," soothed Miroku, ushering her down the path, Sango trailing behind. "He'll be back. Besides, you'll have me and Kagome and everyone else. Think of it as a holiday of sorts. Now, wouldn't you like to have a short stay now and then with us, away from Jaken?" The girl had related great tales about the toad's bad behavior to Miroku.
"Oh, look at them," Rin said, not paying anymore attention to Miroku. She pointed to Kagome and Sesshoumaru, who looked in an awfully promising position.
Miroku stopped so suddenly his foot twisted and scratched itself on a rock.
"What the hell..." cursed Sango.
"Are we interrupting?" asked Miroku innocently.
Rin ran ahead and buried herself between them both. Kagome eased herself just slightly further from Sesshoumaru to let her slip between them.
"Don't go away," she said, lips trembling, straining to look at Sesshoumaru. "I want to go too."
"No," Sesshoumaru said firmly. "You know that."
"Not even if I ask nicely?"
He seemed unable to answer her question.
"Rin, Sesshoumaru should be on his way now," Kagome sad finally.
"Ok... Sesshoumaru-sama, can I ask you a question?"
"You may." Kagome rolled her eyes – he had to be regal when answering questions, even.
"What is torture?"
"What?" asked Kagome and Sesshoumaru at the same time.
"What is torture?" repeated Rin. "Kagome, you remember, when we were talking, Inuyasha was outside being 'tortured' by the others for information? You said it wasn't torture, it was tickling. What's the difference?"
"What have you been teaching her?" asked Sesshoumaru, though he looked pointedly at Miroku.
"Nothing," said Miroku. "It's natural for children to be inquisitive."
Sesshoumaru sucked in his breath inaudibly, and tried to explain.
"Rin, torture isn't something very nice. And I hope you never feel it."
Nodding to Kagome, he detangled himself from Rin's grasp. Within seconds, he had disappeared from sight.
"Honestly, you're not going to take advantage of Sesshoumaru leaving to convince Kagome you're better, are you?" asked Miroku.
"Hell yeah!" Inuyasha said. "What am I going to do, sit around, wait for him to come back the hero?"
"That would, actually, be a nice idea."
Inuyasha squinted at him. "Whose side are you on, anyways?"
"Kagome's," said Miroku promptly. "I only want the best for her."
"Liar," snorted Inuyasha, effectively ending the conversation.
Flipping open her algebra textbook, Kagome pulled out her pencil case and grabbed a pencil.
She had procrastinated long enough. The homework was going to get done today, even if it killed her.
Reciprocal... Coefficient...
Expanding... Factorization...
Did they really learn this stuff nowadays? Or was her teacher trying to pull a bad joke by giving them college work?
From far away, a voice called to her.
"Kagome do you have anymore beef ramen?" asked Inuyasha.
"And therefore x equals twenty-four, plus eighteen times five and..."
"Kagome, any chocolate?" said Shippou.
"The reciprocal of a hundred is..."
Two hours later...
"Done!" yelled Kagome triumphantly, slamming her book down.
"About time," grumbled Shippou.
Inuyasha didn't curse or grumble as he normally would've, but turned on his wounded-puppy look. "I'm hungry."
"If you'd helped me, I could've finished faster," said Kagome.
"I... was never one for figures." Yeah, right. He was never one for any kind of studying. He could only write his own name and even then it was in the three kanji characters he'd painfully learned. Hiragana seemed beyond him.
From the far reaches of the woods, a crash could be heard.
"Get back here, you damned bastard!" screeched Sango. Her yukata ties were loose and her hair dripped water down her back. Around her shoulders hung one of Kagome's towels. Kagome guessed what happened immediately, while Inuyasha burst out laughing.
"It's not funny, you idiot hanyou!" yelled Sango. "I'll come and kill you later, you just wait!"
"Heeeeeeelp!" panted Miroku, running as fast as he could. He ducked behind Kagome.
Poor Sango. Kagome knew how she felt. "You pervert," she said, conking Miroku on the head.
"I think we have a bit of unfinished business," Kagome told Sango. She proceeded to drag Miroku off towards the woods.
Two hours had passed, and Kagome hadn't come back. Sango allowed a tinge – just a tinge – of worry to cross her mind.
"You don't think she was too hard on him, do you?" she asked Kaede.
"Well, fancy hearing that from your lips, Sango!" exclaimed the elderly miko.
"I mean, maybe he didn't mean to peek," muttered Sango.
"Honestly, you believe that?" Inuyasha snorted. "I mean, come on. Miroku, not meaning to spy? That's like saying, Shippou 'accidentally' pissing me off!"
"At least Miroku's nice," Shippou grumbled. He was rewarded with a thump on the head from Inuyasha.
"Hi, guys," Kagome said casually, approaching them. Miroku was meekly following a few steps behind her.
"Wow, no black eyes, no slap marks!" Shippou called.
"Umm... you were expecting me to sport some?" asked Miroku, cracking his knuckles. "You know, I can hit as hard as Inuyasha..."
Sango's anxieties seemed to have disappeared. "You damned pervert houshi!" she yelled. "Maybe Kagome was soft on you, but mister, I won't be that easily appeased!"
"Who said she was soft?" burst out Miroku. "She hung me by my ankles from a tree and lectured to me about being a proper gentleman! As if I don't know that!" he raged, though a smile played around his lips.
"Well," interrupted Kagome, "we made up a little presentation for the rest of you. I'm sure Sango-chan would like to hear it. Miroku..." She looked at him expectantly.
He heaved a dramatic sigh. "I, Miroku, do solemnly swear, I am a pervert and a good-for-nothing houshi. I cannot keep my hentai hands off women, nor my depraved eyes off them. I know this makes Sango-sama very displeased and I promise I will do my best to make sure this seldom – I mean, never – happens. If I ever make Sango-sama angry, I will have to get whacked by her boomerang and I will have to spend three sessions in the woods with Kagome-sama. Please forgive me, ok?"
Sango rolled her eyes. This houshi was more than a pervert, he was a heart-warmer. "Ok, you're forgiven," she said finally. "But I'm warning you, if I ever catch you peaking, you must live up to your oath."
"No problem, Sango-sama!" sang Miroku.
"Ahem!" coughed Kagome. "Second part."
"Right," said Miroku, clearing his throat. "Sango-sama, will you bear my child?"
"No!" yelled Sango, her lips cracking into a grin. Her hands, however, reached ever-so-close to her boomerang.
"Fine, fine," Miroku said. He darted forward, and picked up her hands, enclosing them in his. Sinking to his knees, his eyes held her astonished gaze firmly.
"Will you marry me?"