Sorry about the long wait. Due to a lack of inspiration, a.k.a. writers block, I was unable to write anything for nearly a month. Sigh, lack of creativity sucks. But HOPEFULLY this chapter will make up for the long wait. AND, I promise the next chapter won't take as long to get up.
MELLY
-REVIEW REPLIES-
Ok, it seems I had several questions about the last chapter, so allow me to answer them.
Numisma- Yes, if mold gets in your mouth it burns. I think it has something to do with it touching saliva, because it doesn't burn your skin if you touch it. Also, thanks for the suggestions, and I went back and fixed the errors in the last chapter. And I think the chapter is rushed because I honestly couldn't think of anything to do with Sunday. I have every other day of the week planned out so I am aiming for longer and better chapters.
Wyze guy- Six packs of sake are rare. The only place you can find them is in REALLY cheap liquor stores or Mimi-Marts in Japan. I check to make sure that things like this are accurate before I put them into my story.
skylark- Another guy..hmmmm. That would be interesting...
Divine-Red-Crayon- The thing with Miroku leaving does have a reason. It wasn't just some random thing I did to get him away from Sango. Also, vegetarian sushi's not all that uncommon, it's usually made with peppers and carrots.
Also, thanks to Samsam111, silent hanyou, BaByXbOoX143, Kitty, Sango0808, Nessa03, silver-sugar, FluffyLemonn (I'll make sure and tell Miroku that he's supposed to give you that kis), YoukaiTajaiyaSango, deewee, Shakujou-chan, Mikkasura, clairebrooks, crazyamzy, Polgara, Anne, miroku-lover22, Ebony Black, lady-inuyasha14, cas, Hiei/Fluffy/Phibby, SanMirLover421, Setine, FlameKittiKitti, Evil-Zukin, and anyone else I may have forgotten.
ENJOY!
xo-Melly
Love Thy Neighbor - Chapter 2
-DAY 2, MONDAY-
What they say is true. Monday is the WORST day of the week. Well, at least it is when you have to get up at five A.M. to go to school after you've spent the night before puking your guts out. And on top of that, Sango had never been a "morning person". But apparently Miroku was. For the last twenty minutes, he had been singing loudly from the bathroom, and Sango was dreaming of the day when her apartment was inhabitable again.
Finally giving in to the inevitable, Sango threw aside the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She still had on her clothes from yesterday, and a faint odor was clinging to them. With a sigh, she got up, and walked out into the hallway, heading for the bathroom. She knocked sharply.
" Yes? "
" I, uh, I...", Sango mentally slapped herself for becoming so tongue-tied. " I need to take a shower." She waited for his answer, and was about to speak again, when the door opened and steam rolled out into the hallway. Oh yes, Miroku was most definitely evil. He stood in the doorway clutching a towel to his waist and with a cocky grin plastered on his face. Sango had the strangest urge to jump on him and wrap her legs around his middle.
" It's all yours. " Sango didn't fail to notice that as he stepped past her he made sure to brush his arm against hers. Flirtatious bastard. She stepped inside, locked the door behind her and pressed her back to it. Her insides were doing cartwheels! If this happened every time she saw him half-naked, Sango doubted she'd be able to make it through the week with her sanity intact.
" So THEN I told my boyfriend, 'Sweetie, if you're gonna date me, you'll HAVE to wear ALL the latest fashions, and drive the HOTTEST cars, and yadda yadda yadda...". Miroku continued to nod and put in an occasional "Mmhm" while he only half-listened to his bosses secretary carry on and on about her oh-so-important love life. Miroku enjoyed his job at Hakurei,Hakurei, and Fuji, one of Yokohama's most prestigious law firms, but the conversation in the outer offices was somewhat less than stimulating. He had been working there for nearly four years now as a paralegal, and still he had never even heard his superiors even hint at him being promoted. But right now, Miroku's mind wasn't on his career or the woman gabbing incessantly in his ear. He was thinking about Sango. Hell, he hadn't STOPPED thinking about her since she had shown up on his doorstep Saturday night. Every time he started to get some work down on a case, her image would appear in his mind and he'd completely forget what he had been doing five seconds ago.
" Don't you think? "
Miroku looked up to find Miss Chatterbox looking expectantly at him. Really, why was this girl on the payroll? She must have been sleeping with all of the partners. Yeah, that was the only reason. "I'm sorry, what did you say? "
" Hmph, Miroku, have you even heard a single word I've said? "
Miroku could only grin sheepishly. " Sorry, but I've got work to do." He grabbed a folder stuffed full of papers and headed out to the copy room. Well, maybe in there he could get some work done.
" Excuse me sir! Excuse me!"
Miroku turned around just in time to see a young man collide with a mail cart. The poor mail carrier toppled over the cart and landed spread-eagle on his back. Miroku walked over and helped straighten everything up.
" Oh geez, I'm real sorry! " The young man winced as he said this. It was kinda pathetic how timid he was. " I was looking for Mr. Hakurei Sr. Can either of you point me in the direction of his office? "
Ahh, so this must be the new paralegal. Hakurei Sr. had mentioned to Miroku that they were hiring another man to help out since their case load had stacked up. But Miroku had expected someone older than himself. Not this kid.
" His office is this way. My name's Miroku, I work for the firm." Miroku extended his hand, and the young man shook it eagerly.
" Oh, wow, nice to meet you! I'm Naitou! It's my first day here, and I was HOPING to make a good impression, but I got lost because I thought the office was on the fifth floor when it's actually on the fifteenth. It's so easy to get things mixed up, you know?" Naitou got all of this out without taking a breath. The kid had energy. He followed Miroku to a wooden door with a pane of frosted glass set in it.
" Go straight through here and tell the receptionist who you are. She'll get you all set up."
" Oh geez, thanks a bunch!" Naitou flattened his disheveled hair, and stepped inside the office.
Miroku let out a sigh. Hopefully he wouldn't have to work with the kid very often. Someone as scatterbrained as him might be more of a liability than an asset. Then again, if the firm had hired him, he must not be terrible. With that thought resolved, Miroku made his way to the copy room, in search of a nice quiet place where he could get a little work done and try NOT to think about the tempting young woman that was currently living with him.
" All right everyone, I want your final essays handed in to me no later than Thursday. Class dismissed."
' Finally.' Sango thought. She hated Mondays. One of the reasons was because her family had died on a Monday. Not a very good message to get from the schools guidance counselor. But another reason why she hated Mondays was because they seemed to purposely make everything slow. Classes, driving, annoying temporary roommates leaving for work. Everything taunted you because the weekend was over, and your free time was gone for five more days.
Sango was just closing her bag when someone bumped her from behind, causing her to knock her bag off of her desk. Books, paper, writing utensils and various other things that had been inside of Sango's bag scattered across the floor. With a dejected sigh, she bent down and started to gather her things. She didn't pay much attention to the person helping her with the chore, until she looked up and stared into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. They were like two perfect emeralds. Before she could regain her power of speech, 'Mr. Green Eyes' grinned at her in a way that seemed awfully familiar.
" Sorry 'bout that. But you might wanna throw that away."
"Uh.." Sango looked down at her hand, and found it covered in black ink. Apparently one of her pens had broken. She rifled through her stuff with her clean hand, trying to find a tissue.
" Here." Green eyes pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping her hand clean. What guy carried around handkerchiefs?
" Thank you. But, won't that ink ruin it?"
" It doesn't matter."
" Well...thank you."
" Oh, don't thank me. It was my fault in the first place." After shoving her last book into her bag for her, he stood and made his way to the door.
" Wait!"
He turned around, smiling. "Yes?"
"...What's your name?"
" Shigure. Shigure Buradoshi." With a wink, Shigure left. That name sounded so familiar, but, at that second Sango couldn't place it.
After throwing the busted pen away and hauling her bag onto her shoulder, Sango left the school and headed back towards the apartment complex. Even though she walked through the city nearly every day, Sango rarely took time to examine her surroundings. The college was across from a small park that she had never taken the time to visit, and it sat between a high-rise and some privately owned company. Now that she thought of it, it probably wasn't all that safe for her to walk around town at 5 o'clock at night, but since her car had been nice enough not to start this morning, she had to walk to the nearest bus stop.
Sango was about a quarter mile from the bus stop when she heard a car horn. Habitually, she turned to look and saw a black car coming down the street. She looked around and saw only two other people on the sidewalk, both of which were climbing into an SUV that was parallel parked. Figuring the car had been honking at something else, Sango continued on her way to the bus stop. But ten seconds later, the car honked again, this time more insistently. She was ready to give whatever rude imbecile was driving a piece of her mind, when the window rolled down to reveal Shigure.
" Hey there. Need a ride?"
Sango wasn't terribly sure if she should ride with him. Sure, she'd seen him in class, and said hi a few times, but she'd really only met him about thirty minutes ago. She watched as he parked and climbed out.
" I saw you leaving, and I thought you might need a ride. Unless, you live around here." They both looked around. Nothing but office buildings. And why couldn't she remember why his name was so familiar!
" No, I live about twenty minutes from here. I was on my way to catch a bus." Sango fiddled with the strap on her bag.
" Oh well, if you'd let me, I'd like to drive you home to, you know, make up for bumping into you earlier." Shigure gave her an easy grin and she found herself nodding slightly.
" Sure."
His face broke into a grin, and he opened her door for her. A gentleman. Once they were on their way, Sango had to ask.
" Have we met before?"
" Yeah, actually. I bumped into you earlier and you dropped your bag."
Sango rolled her eyes." I meant, any other time. Your last name sounds really familiar."
" I have family that lives around here."
" Oh." She left it at that. It struck her that he hadn't asked her where her home was. " I live in the apartment complex over by he library."
" No kidding! My cousin lives there!"
" Really? What's their name? Maybe I know them."
" His name's Miroku."
Silence descended upon the car like a thick fog. Buradoshi. MIROKU Buradoshi. No WONDER she had recognized the name. And now that she got a good look at him, Shigure resembled Miroku. Well, maybe slightly. He didn't have Miroku's perfect nose, or his pouty lips, but the eyes were virtually the same. The only difference was the color.
"..about a year. Have you two met?"
Sango realized he must have been talking to her. " Err, yes. We've met. We've definitely met."
Sango had asked Shigure to just drop her off out front. Luckily he hadn't asked any questions, though she hoped he didn't think she was being rude for not letting him walk her to her door. She deposited her bag on the couch and went to the kitchen for a drink of water. She grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it from the faucet. As she sipped, her stomach gave a low growl. She hadn't eaten since lunch, but she wasn't about to eat anything out of the fridge. Sango looked around for a phone book, locating one in his bookshelf. After ordering a pizza, large with mushrooms and pepperoni, she sank down onto the couch and sighed. Glancing down, she spotted an ink stain on her shirt.
" Oh great." Grumbling, she stood up and pulled her shirt over her head, completely forgetting that she wasn't in her apartment.
" Well well well. This certainly is the nicest 'Welcome home' I've ever gotten."
If she'd had a gun, Sango would have killed herself on the spot. There she was, in the middle of Miroku's living room, topless, with the lecher himself standing in the doorway. Mortified was an understatement.
" I uh, had a stain on my shirt." If there was ever a time that Sango wanted to be witty and articulate, now was the time. She clutched her shirt to her chest, and wished she would stop blushing. She had a bra on so it wasn't like he had seen her naked.
" I see. Well," Miroku dropped his keys onto a table, and draped his jacket across the back of the nearest chair. " I'll be in the kitchen, if you need any help."
" I ordered a pizza." It just seemed like the logical thing to say.
" Ok. Mind if we share it?"
" Not so long as you pay half." Sango was feeling defiant all of a sudden. Now that the embarrassment had faded, she felt angry at him for being so casual about it.
" All right. And, I'll pay the tip." Miroku walked over to her and put a finger under her chin, tilting her head back so they were staring into each others eyes. " And maybe we can have a little dessert afterwards." He grinned and teased her with a light peck beside her mouth.
Sango felt like a fool. Standing there, holding her shirt up to her chest while a devilishly handsome man teased the hell out of her. She didn't know if she should slap him or throw him down on the couch and have her way with him. Both options sounded extremely tempting. But, what was she thinking! This was Miroku! Teasing girls was second nature to him. He did it for fun, not because he was interested in a girl. Letting out a low growl, Sango slapped his hand away.
" Sorry, but unlike all the other little girlies that fawn over you, I'm not interested into jumping into your bed at your command." There, she'd said with a straight face. And it was true. She didn't want to be in Miroku's bed if he only wanted her body. So she REFUSED to succumb to his sexual advances.
" Ahh Sango, I think you are not telling the truth. I can see it in your eyes. You want me as badly as I want you." He took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. Had all rational thought not completely left her, Sango would have pulled back. But she found herself responding to him, kissing him back. When she felt his tongue lightly brush her lower lip, she granted him the access that he wanted. Kissing Miroku was amazing. She had had a dream like this once, but the reality was a million times better. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, Miroku pulled back with a grin on his face.
" See, I told you you wanted me." Miroku turned and walked away from Sango.
Hesitantly, Sango put her fingertips against her wet and swollen lips. She blinked several times. Had she...just kissed Miroku? She nearly jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. On shaky legs, Sango made her way to the door, where she paid the delivery boy. After setting the box on the coffee table, Sango sat back down and looked at her hands. Her shirt was still in them. Miroku's kiss had affected her so badly, that she had answered the door to a total stranger half-naked.