Colorful Emotions

Got into all the high schools I applied to, so I'm cheerful. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys are so nice to me when I don't deserve so much positive feedback. Bleh. Next chapter, I'll do review responses. Too lazy to do them now.

Chapter 8: Anti-Pervert

Sango sighed. "Now I know how you feel when everyone stares at you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked at her without responding. Kagome shrugged and Miroku continued to stare.

"What are you guys doing?" snapped Sango, losing her calm. She was beginning to feel a bit self-conscious. It was weird having to watch people gaping at her. There was probably something wrong with her.

Kagome opened her mouth—Miroku, knowing she was about to tell, breathed a sigh of relief as the word faded from Sango's forehead.

"There is—well, was—the word "liar" written across your forehead," Kagome tried to explain, sounding like a complete idiot. Miroku frowned. Why couldn't Kagome have just said "nevermind?"

Sango blinked. "What?"

"Hold on for a second," Kagome replied, digging through her backpack noisily. She grabbed a mini-mirror out and held it in front of Sango's face. Sango instinctively blinked.

"Okay," Kagome muttered to herself. "Where did that word go…Why was it there…"

Miroku looked away guiltily, and to his misfortune, Inuyasha caught him.

"Well, monk?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you have anything to say?"

Kagome looked at him, confused, and Sango narrowed her eyes, coming to her own correct conclusions.

"Miroku?" she said dangerously.

"Um…eheh…?" Miroku tried, looking as innocent as he possibly could—which wasn't very innocent at all.

"Spill," Kagome ordered, watching Sango who looked ready to explode…or make Miroku explode.

"Indeed," Inuyasha agreed. "I'm sure we'd all like to know."

Miroku sighed. Busted. "Okay, fine," he grumbled, inching away from Sango. "So I innocently made a potion without knowing what it was…"

Kagome snorted. "Sure."

"Okay, fine! I made Sango a truth potion—rather, a lie detector—so that I could figure out what was bugging her because I was worried!" Oops, he thought. Worried? He wasn't supposed to say that aloud…

"Miroku!" Sango yelled, bashing him on the head with those mallets that always seem to pop out from nowhere in manga. "You'd better get rid of this now!"

Inuyasha sprang up. "Wait, why does she get her curse taken off while I keep my stupid color-changing ears?"

There was a pause. "Can we see how this works?" Shippou piped up, randomly popping up from…somewhere.

Miroku grinned slightly. "Sango, tell a lie."

Sango raised her eyebrows but obeyed. Miroku was really strange sometimes. "Okay…um…I'm a boy?"

The word "liar" flashed on her forehead. Sango dropped the mirror and shrieked. "What? Oh my God! Miroku, I'm going to kill you! I'm going to butcher you, get Kirara to rip you apart!" Screeching, she chased Miroku around the room, Sango holding her boomerang bone and Miroku running for dear life.

"Oooh, cool!" Shippou hopped, being his usual hyper self.

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other, raising their eyebrows simultaneously.

Smiling slightly evilly, Miroku turned to Sango, who looked at him suspiciously. "Now I can make fun of Sango!"

Inuyasha sighed. "My advice to you, Sango? Run for it." Kagome gave her a sympathetic look, and Sango's eye twitched.

"Hey, Sango," Miroku asked. "Was the thing bothering you important?"

"Nope," Sango replied coolly, knowing it wasn't a lie.

Miroku peered at her forehead, which remained blank. "Dang. Hm…Do you hate me?"

"Yes," Sango hissed. "Or at least, I will if you don't shut up."

Miroku, undaunted, shrugged, and then grinned. "Aha, no you don't!"

Sango flushed, feeling her forehead tingle slightly. So she was telling a lie. And he knew it. Fine. Not a big deal. It didn't matter that she didn't hate him. There was a whole range of other emotions: dislike, like as a companion, like as a friend, and…that was it. And it would always be that way.

Miroku's questioning continued for a while, Sango growing more and more agitated every time she lied, which she did even though there was no point.

"Do you like me as a friend?" Miroku tried.

"No."

Liar.

"Do you think I'm good-looking?" Miroku chirped happily, having the time of his life.

"No," Sango snapped.

Liar.

"Argh!" she yelped, frustrated, glaring at Miroku.

"Do you like me?" Miroku asked, pushing his luck.

At this, Sango clapped a hand over her forehead. No one was going to know the answer to that before she did—and she hoped she knew the answer. "Miroku! Get lost!"

Well, the only good thing about this was that Miroku was having so much fun he even forgot to be perverted…

And speaking of perverted, Sango had a very good idea…

XXX

Inuyasha and Kagome stared. They had nothing to do, really.

"So…" Kagome turned to Inuyasha, expecting him to start up a conversation.

"Mm," he grunted.

"Well, Sango and Miroku would make a good couple, wouldn't they?" Kagome asked, voicing an opinion she had kept to herself for a while—well, to herself and Shippou, who agreed with everything she said anyway.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Yeah sure, if perfect couples bite each other's heads off every day," he snapped, cynical.

Kagome sighed. So much for starting up a conversation.

Then, to her surprise, he continued. Begrudgingly, he added, "Actually, I suppose…they would. Not that I would know anything about love…" He gave a bitter laugh.

Kagome winced. She was so insensitive…of course the topic of love would be a touchy subject for Inuyasha. She snuck a look at his ears, which had turned blue—surely he was thinking about Kikyou. And Naraku.

Not that she blamed him.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked cautiously.

No response.

"I'm sorry about…you know, everything," she said, trying her best not to sound stupid, which she was failing at miserably.

Inuyasha looked down, his eyes riveted to the floor.

"And if you ever need to…um...talk, I'll be there," Kagome continued.

His ears returned to their normal color, and he looked up, his gaze locked in hers.

"I know," Inuyasha said quietly.

XXX

Sango barged through Kaede's room, where she was sitting down doing nothing. "Kaede," she exclaimed. "I need…"

"A potion?" asked Kaede grumpily. "Seems that's all you kids ask for now."

Anyone else would have been happy that someone came to distract you from your boredom, as Kaede had been staring at the wall, but not Kaede. Kaede was content to just sitting and thinking. She could do so for hours at a time.

"Well, yes," Sango said sheepishly. She told the old lady the one she needed and was extremely relieved when it was determined that that particular concoction had been pre-made. And it was supposed to be inhaled, so as long as Miroku breathed it, it would be fine.

Grinning, she practically skipped out to where Miroku was. She shoved the bottle into his face, where he took a deep breath and coughed.

It did smell rather gross. Like rotten bananas in a landfill with smelly socks…

Sango smirked. Miroku would be very, very surprised.

Now she just had to wait.

"Oh, Sango?" Miroku asked.

"Hm?"

He reached out his hand…

Sango grinned. He was about to grope her and she was smiling? Wait...Miroku frowned, thinking. What was going on? Was she going to do something? Ah well. Who cared, as long as he got to be perverted?

Before his hand could touch her, there was a loud zap, and a shock ran through his hand. Miroku quickly pulled his arm back. "Ouch!" he frowned, looking confused. "What was that?"

"Oh nothing. Just an anti-pervert spell," Sango said sweetly.

XXX