Distraction: Hey, everybody! I'm back again! I want to thank all the people who reviewed the first chapter. You all make me feel so loved! I want to ask Hanyou-demoness-dono how she managed to review so quickly. Seriously, I posted it, then immediately checked my email and found the review. It kind of freaked me out, especially when I tried to find my story and couldn't. Please tell me your secret!

Inu-Yasha: Stop your foolish babbling, girl, and get on with the story!

Kagome: I thought you didn't like fanfiction. What do you want her to continue for?

Inu-Yasha: I don't want it; Miroku just wants to see what Sango's going to do.

Miroku: I never said anything like that to you. I won't deny what you said is true, but I never told you that.

Kagome: Oh, really :looks at Inu-Yasha:

Inu-Yasha: What? What do you want from me?

Distraction: Tee hee. Well, let's give the man what he wants! Voici!

Inu-Yasha: Voici?

Distraction: French for 'here it is'.

Inu-Yasha: You don't own me.

Chapter 2

Kagome's mom looked up from doing the dishes to where her daughter sat toweling off her hair and said, "Why doesn't your friend take a shower, too, dear? I doubt he gets many in the Feudal Era." She chuckled at her own joke.

Kagome rolled her eyes, then said, "That's a good idea, Mom. I'll go tell him."

She went upstairs to Souta's room, where her little brother had dragged Inu-Yasha. They were sitting on the floor, her brother apparently trying to teach the hanyou how to use a video game controller. "Inu-Yasha."

He looked up. "Is it time to go?" he asked hopefully.

"No, you need to take a shower, then we can go."

He nodded. "Where do you want me to put the thing?"

Kagome looked at him confused. Souta giggled. Inu-Yasha looked at him.

Kagome sighed. "Come with me." He got up and followed her to the bathroom. She pointed to the tub. "This is a shower. You stand in this tub here, and the water comes out of the nozzle, here." She pointed. "You clean yourself. Here's the soap, shampoo, and conditioner." He looked at her with an "are you crazy"/confused look. She sighed again. "Souta!" He came running. "Would you mind helping Inu-Yasha in the shower? He's never washed his hair before."

"Wow, really?" There was nothing wrong with Inu-Yasha in the eyes of her little brother. Kagome shut the door on them, saying oh-so-casually as she went, "Take the shower or I don't go."

Kagome went about the house, gathering things in her bag that she would need. She tried to ignore the sounds emanating from the upstairs bathroom. Inu-Yasha didn't like having to take his clothes off, the water being so hot, the ground being so hard, using a washrag, the soap, the shampoo, the shampoo getting in his eyes, the scrub-brush, and the whole neighborhood knew it. Souta was almost as loud.

"Stop! You're ripping the washcloth!"

"I don't care! It's not my fault I have claws!"

"Whadder you doing? Don't shred the soap!"

"I'm just trying to hold onto it! It's too slippery!...What are YOU doing?"

"Hold still! I'm trying to get the shampoo in your hair!"

"You're WHAT? What is that crap? Hey, stop! AAARRGGHH! You got it in my eyes!"

"Well, if you would just hold still...!"

Kagome wandered into the laundry room. "Hey Mom, do we have a- Mom! What are you doing with Inu-Yasha's clothes?"

Her mom turned around, holding up the robes in question. "Oh, they're so dirty! Dried mud everywhere! And is this blood?"

Kagome went over to her. "What is he supposed to wear? That's all he has."

Mrs. Higarashi went back to attacking a bloodstain on his pant leg. "He can wear some of your grandfather's clothes until these dry." She pushed the clothes into the washing machine. "And I'll have to do two loads, or else his white shirt will turn pink! A d I don't think he'd like that." She turned around and smiled at her daughter.

"Inu-Yasha is going to kill me."

And indeed, twenty long, loud minutes later, Inu-Yasha came storming down the stairs with a towel wrapped around his waist and his body shining with water, yelling for Kagome. When he found her in the front room, he screamed, "Where the hell are my clothes? What did you do with them, you sneaky wench?"

She stood up indignantly, fists clench, and said with a slightly raised voice, "My mom thought it would be a good idea to wash them. You'll have to wait."

"You said we could go once I took a shower!"

"Well, I didn't know my mom was going to wash your clothes, now did I?"

"I think you did! I think this is all some plot not to go back at all, just stay here forever."

"Oh, don't over-react! We wouldn't stay here forever. What would you do, huh? Go to school like me? Yeah right!"

"Well, if you hadn't made me take a shower, then your stupid mother–" "Inu-Yasha! Sit!"

Inu-Yasha twitched on the ground as swoops of laughter were coming from where Souta sat on the stairs with the clothes for Inu-Yasha. Kagome stormed up to her room and slammed the door.

Kagome sat huffily on the bed 'Ugh! Inu-Yasha, you can be such a pain sometimes!' she thought moodily. Why did he have to be such a pig? 'If you didn't have such a cynical attitude all the time, you'd be so hot.' Her jaw dropped. "D-did I just...?" she trailed off, shocked at herself. "I don't actually feel that way, I've just been around boy-obsessed Yuka and Ayami too much lately," she said aloud to herself, matter-of-factly. The image of him standing before her, water making his firm muscles gleam in the mid-morning light, in absolutely nothing but a towel flashed through her mind. She blinked. If she was completely honest with herself, she did think he had a really nice body. 'No!' she told herself. 'He's a selfish, mean, arrogant, over-masculine, pompous jerk who–' There was a knock at her door.

"Can I come in?" Inu-Yasha stuck his head in the room. She nodded. He walked in. Kagome giggled. He was wearing her grandfather's exercise shorts and 'I break for legends' t-shirt. Both articles of clothing were quite a bit too small for him, giving everyone a gentle peak at everything underneath. He glared at her as she tossed a pillow at him for him to cover himself up with.

"Well, thanks to you, there's nothing else to wear," he snapped at her. This just made her giggle more.

"When do I get my clothes back?" he asked coldly.

Kagome looked at the clock she had tossed at him earlier. "About an hour and a half." She looked apologetic Inu-Yasha's face softened. Looking around, he asked, "Is there anything else you need for when we finally go back?"

For some reason, this made her blush. "Umm, I need, umm, an empty bottle. Like a milk bottle."

He made a face at her, but got up to help her search for one, stealing the top cover from the bed and wrapping it around his waist as he went. As they looked through drawers in the kitchen, Kagome said, "I'm sorry I didn't stop my mom from washing your clothes. I didn't mean for us to be delayed like this."

Inu-Yasha just kept looking in the drawer.

'''''''

After over two hours of waiting, Miroku was getting very bored. And it was never good for the people around him if he was bored. He stood up from where he sat by the tree, and went over to Shippo playing with Kirara. Sango was some distance away, sighing a lot. Good, she needed not to hear.

"Hey Shippo," he said. "How would you like to play another trick on Sango?"

The kitsune whimpered and covered his rear with his hands. "No way! Sango'll get mad at me again!"

The mischievous monk squatted down by Shippo. "Oh, Sango wouldn't do that. This is the type of trick that she'll never know is a trick."

The kitsune thought for a moment, then brightened. "All right! What do I do?"

Miroku whispered in his ear. After the monk withdrew, the kitsune nodded and scampered up to the grove of trees. Miroku followed. While Shippo was quickly bounding up the tree, Miroku positioned himself behind another tree some distance away. As soon as Shippo reached as high as he could climb, the misguided youth bellowed out, "Sango! Help me! Waahh!" Miroku had to admire his skills. He had a bit of a wail in his voice; he sounded genuinely in trouble. He watched as Sango whipped around at the sound, then, Hiraikotsu in hand, dashed to the source of the noise. She slowed to a stop under the tree.

Turning her head up, she asked urgently, "What's wrong?"

Shippo clung tight to a branch, "Mmmm! I'm stuck!"

Sango exhaled. "Oh, that's all! I was really worried, you know," she said, putting the Hiraikotsu back on her back and slowly starting to climb. "I thought you were in real trouble."

Miroku waited until she was about three feet off the ground, then made his move. Running out from behind the tree, he came skidding to a halt under/beside Sango. Pretending to have been quite a ways out in the forest, he said, "What's wrong? I heard Shippo scream."

Tossing her boomerang bone to the ground to ease the ascent, Sango replied, "He's stuck up in the tree. Nothing's the matter."

"Oh, good," he said, dropping his staff. Grinning lecherously, he reached out for her bottom. Wiggling his fingers before making the final move, he nodded to himself and placed his hand firmly on Sango's even firmer rump, saying, "Here. Let me help you."

Faster than he expected, the taijiya whirled around, connecting with his face with a resounding slap. She moodily sprang the rest of the way to Shippo and jumped down. Miroku rubbed his face. Sango was mad at him, but it was worth it; when she had rushed up the tree, her skirt had flared ever-so-slightly, allowing the perverted monk his intended prize. He smiled at himself. It wasn't much of a peek, but it would do for now. Shippo shook his head at him.

"They're back!" Shippo immediately perked up and bounded off towards the well.

Miroku started walking to where Kagome had appeared. She was wearing her wonderful 'mini-skirt' that he adored so much, the kind that showed her entire leg. 'Wouldn't it be great if all women were to wear that?' he thought. He watched the skirt flutter and flip as she turned to face Inu-Yasha now emerging out of the well. Kagome's legs brushed against each other as she started walking with the hanyou away from the well. The skirt bounced wondrously when she jumped, his memory recalled spontaneously. But his favorite feature was the way it hung slightly higher in the back, so enticingly asking his hand to slip underneath and pat her backside. Oh, how he'd love, just love, to Sango wear that. He could almost picture it. How wonderful. He sighed. "Ahh, Sango..."

A voice from behind made him jump. "I'm over here," Sango huffed. "You're staring at Kagome."

Miroku stopped and turned to her. Taking her hands in his, making her blush, he said, "But I was thinking of you. You are the only one I'll think about, no matter where my eyes may wonder and my hands will stray." Sango blinked and blushed. She yanked her hands out of his, pulled one back as if to slap him. Miroku grimaced as he awaited the inevitable hand. But the inevitable failed to come. Cautiously opening one eye, he saw Sango staring at him in half-shock, then turn around, hiding her red face in her hands. The womanizer looked down and paused before gently reaching out and rubbing his hand against her skirt. She gulped, flailing around and slapping him before storming off to where Kagome, Inu-Yasha, and Shippo watched the scene sweat dropping (I hate using that term). Miroku sighed and followed suit, ignoring the glaring eyes of his companions. He had honestly thought she had wanted him to grope her. Why else would she so willingly turn her backside to her? But he been wrong. Again.

He got to everybody standing by the well. They were all still looking at him with their 'You did it again, monk' looks he was sure they reserved especially for him. He decided to ignore it, turning to Inu-Yasha, who would be the easiest to distract. "I think we should leave immediately if we want to get to Yahirowa Mountain by tonight. The quickest way to go is through Tomake Valley to Omohi River. But because if the wet weather lately, we might want to go farther south to Kaihani Hill. What do you think?"

Thankfully, Inu-Yasha took the bait. "No, Kaihani is too far out of the way. It'll be faster to go north to Hokanei Bridge. The guy who manages the bridge doesn't really like me, but I can get by him if he gives me trouble."

This was exactly what Miroku had needed. He thanked Kami while the girls, who had still been scowling at him, now turned to Inu-Yasha, simultaneously raising their eyebrows. Miroku gave him a bland questioning look to fit the others'. Inu-Yasha dog-eyed them. After a moment of staring them down, he turned in the general direction of the bridge and started walking. "Well, are you guys coming or not?" he said with a bite. Sango and Kagome looked at each other, then started after him. Miroku walked behind them, getting a good view of their backsides. They were probably going to be walking for quite a while, Miroku staring the whole way there.

Distraction: It's a bit short, but it'll be smoother if I do it like this. I apologize. Oh, and before I forget, I want to tell you that I really, really like to get reviews. I read all of them, no matter what. The long ones are my favorite. And if you want to correct a mistake like spelling or grammar, or even tell me how I should have worded something to make it better. Anything you want to say to make me a better writer, say it! That's all. Oh, and I like the compliments, too. I'm not trying to belittle their impact on me (that sounds funny) or anything like that. I just like all kinds of reviews. I'm going to shut up now.

Next time on Blush til it Hurts: The gang has been walking all day when they get to Hokanei Bridge, but there they run into some trouble. Does it have something to do with the mysterious past Inu-Yasha has with the person who maintains the bridge? Or is it something else entirely? Find out next time on ... Blush til it Hurts!