Shippou was frowning by the time Miroku finished accounting for his afternoon. "You were so close, too!" He groaned, slapping his knee in disappointment.

Miroku looked at him, surprised. "What do you mean? It wasn't like we were about to kiss or anything like that."

Shippou's expression morphed into a cheeky grin. "That's not the point," He insisted, shaking his coppery mane free from its restraints. His patience with the situation was exaggerated; in reality, he was feeling quite irate. What he did not know was that, in a sense, Miroku was lying. While he and Sango had not shared a kiss in the traditional sense--Sango hadn't even been aware that it'd happened--their lips did briefly brush that afternoon. "The point is the fact that you got somewhere with her today. For some reason or other, she sought you out. Not her lunkhead of a boyfriend, Kuranosuke…You. That's got to count for something, eh?"

Miroku sighed, hoping against hope that this was true, but knowing that it wasn't and never would be. "C'mon, guys," He choked out, reaching for his drumsticks. "Are we going to practice or what?"

A cough sounded from off to the side of the room, where InuYasha lay sprawled out on Shippou's bed. "Can't," He informed them gruffly, his voice denoting a hint of anxiousness. "Got a date tonight."

Both Shippou and Miroku looked startled by this revelation. "Really?" Shippou pressed, a curious gleam in his eyes. Miroku chose not to comment, just glad to be off the hook for the moment. "With who? Do we know her? Does she go to our school? Is she ho--"

InuYasha slammed his soda can down on Shippou's nightstand, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Look," He ground out, voice rising considerably. "Not that it's any of your business--" He took special care to emphasize that word--"But no, you don't know her, and no, she doesn't go to our school. As for how good-looking she is…Need I remind you that you have a girlfriend?"

Shippou flushed a bit at that last part, looking for all the world like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Sorry," He sputtered sheepishly. "I was just curious, that's all."

"Sure," Miroku grunted, cutting in before things took a turn for the worse. "So, what's up, then? Are me and Shippou still supposed to practice?" He was not all that opposed to losing himself to the music that night.

InuYasha looked thoughtful. "No," He decided. "You too take the night off for once. Wouldn't be exactly fair to make you practice now."

Miroku and Shippou exchanged glances. The raven-haired young man felt a yawn coming on and knew what he'd be doing a lot of that night. "Well, then. If you don't mind too terribly, I'm going to go home and catch some Z's or something."

Shippou shrugged and InuYasha merely nodded. "Sure, go right ahead."

Bidding both his friends goodbye, Miroku clamored down the stairs and out of the house. Before he reached his vehicle, however, he spotted Kagome curled up on the porch next door, looking absolutely miserable. It was only then that he realized she had not shown up for work that day. Suitably concerned, he took it upon himself to march right over and investigate. He knew from experience that despite how one might claim otherwise, it was always a great thing to have company when down.

"Hey," He greeted her softly, leaning heavily against the railing.

She couldn't even bring herself to look up at him. "Leave me alone, Miroku…Please, I just want to be by myself for awhile..."

"The lady doth protest too much," Miroku quoted in a teasing manner, gently pressing his chin atop his folded arms. "Besides," He gave a nonchalant shrug. "If you were all that interested in hiding yourself away from the world, you'd be up in your room brooding instead of moping around out here where the first asshole that comes along--" Here he offered her a grin--"Can bother you."

She snorted, but slowly lifted her head so that he could see her face. The area around her eyes was puffy and red from crying. "Yes, well, now that I know I'm quite capable of attracting assholes, I guess I can put an end to this little experiment…"

"Haha," Miroku laughed dryly, smiling brightly anyway, just glad to have chased away some of the gloom.

"Well, you started it with that comment of yours," She smirked for a moment. "So, what brings you into the neighborhood…You and Shippou planning on wreaking some havoc on some unsuspecting innocents?"

He dug out his drumsticks, waving them in front of her for a moment, looking quite amused. "Band practice, remember?"

A queer expression made itself visible on Kagome's face, and she appeared to stiffen. "So," She began, quietly, feeling very much shy. "InuYasha's in there?" She gave a nod at Shippou's house, biting her bottom lip.

"Yeah. Getting ready for some hot date," He responded, realizing too late that this was the wrong thing to say.

"I see," She muttered dejectedly, slumping down in her seat. "So it's true, then…"

"Err," Miroku blinked, suddenly quite confused. "What was that?"

"Nothing," She insisted, perhaps a little too quickly. "Nothing at all."

"Right, gotcha'," Miroku's eyes narrowed and his tone implied otherwise, but he wisely did not pursue the matter. "So, anyway, what's up? Besides depressing yourself, that is."

"Nothing," She repeated, sighing and shifting slightly. "Bored out of my mind, to tell you the truth. What about you?"

"Same," He casually replied, thinking fast. Whatever was going on involved InuYasha, that was for sure. It was clear that Kagome wasn't going to be spilling the beans anytime soon. If he was going to find out what was going on--and hopefully rectify the matter--he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. "I was just going to go home and get some extra sleep, but I'd feel bad about leaving such a pretty young thing such as yourself all alone…" A wink. "Why don't you come along with me and grab a bite to eat? You look like you could do to gain a pound or two."

At first, he thought she was going to decline, perhaps misinterpreting his friendly gesture for something else entirely. But, to his delight, she hastily agreed. They decided to change out of their school clothes and meet back up in a half an hour. While it was by no means a date, neither particularly fancied the idea of tramping around town in the same grubby clothes they'd worn all day.

It was about seven-o-clock when Miroku found himself knocking on Kagome's front door. A smile accompanied by a casual compliment on her chosen outfit was just the thing to set her spirits on high. They made their way to his Hummer, making pleasant conversation on their ride into town. Deciding on someplace that was just a tad fancier than a burger joint, they quickly narrowed down their choices. He didn't have his heart set on any particular place, but Kagome hadn't been too keen on many of the places he had suggested. She brightened considerably at the mention of Chile's, however. As he had no objections to this, that is where the ended up.

A quick glance around the place revealed that it was the place of choice that evening. To say that it was packed would be a total understatement. On regular intervals, it would seem, a massive crowd of people would swarm out, freeing up many tables. Therefore, despite how busy they were, there was not that long of a wait.

They were seated at a cozy little table for two, nestled away in the wall. Kagome, he noticed, was regularly craning her neck to get a good look around. He suspected this had more to do with the patrons than the interesting décor, but he wasn't going to be the one to say anything. Whatever she was up to was her game. He just out to eat a meal in pleasant company. If she wanted to spy on the booth two rows over…

Wait, he blinked. That was it…

Despite himself, he slowly turned his head, gazing over the barrier with all the discretion he could muster together. His eyes widened at the sight. InuYasha was plopped down at a booth, directly across from…Kikyou? For certain, that spelled trouble. Upon further inspection, however, Kikyou did not appear too thrilled. In fact, he noted, she kept glancing towards the bathrooms, as if expecting someone. This all made sense on his third look, when he spotted Sesshoumaru weaving his way back to the table. His fifth look revealed the poorly disguised malice between the two brothers, and his eighth look revealed something different entirely; Sango and Kuranosuke sat nearby, too wrapped up in their own little world to even notice what was going on directly across from them.

As amazing as it was, he forgot all about the two of them when he caught sight of InuYasha leaning over the table and pulling Kikyou into what appeared to be a searing kiss. His own blood boiled at his friend's audacity, and he fought the urge to march right over and clock him upside the head. Sesshoumaru had it covered, after all…Making a scene would only serve to further embarrass the accosted couple.

A glance at Kagome's stricken face changed his mind, however. Growling, he chased after the two half-brothers, who were heading outside, murderous looks on both of their faces. Storming right up to InuYasha, he beat Sesshoumaru to the punch, literally. His fist connected with his friend's jaw, sending the generally sure-footed young man staggering backwards. "Damn it, Miroku! What the hell was that for?" He snapped.

Sesshoumaru frowned, and shook his head at Miroku, but the raven-haired teen would not back down. Ignoring him, Miroku gave InuYasha no such chance to recover, immediately delivering another resounding blow to his face, this one on the opposite side. "You're such a bastard!" Miroku hissed. "Not only do you try to force yourself on your own brother's girlfriend, but you boast about it beforehand?"

InuYasha gritted his teeth, hands flying to his face to clutch at his aching face. He looked like he was about to shoot back some nasty retort or other, but his expression turned into one of horror as he gazed right passed his attacker, looking rather as if a ghost was staring back at him.

Miroku scowled, folding his arms across his chest. He heard footsteps coming up to him from behind, and gave in and turned around when he saw that Sesshoumaru was also looking with amazement at whoever it was that was approaching. His own surprise barely had time to register as a pair of soft lips connected with his own.

His eyes had closed on instinct, but he found himself growing curious when whoever it was that he was kissing gave a little whimper. Allowing them to flutter open, he nearly recoiled when he found himself staring back into Kagome's brown eyes, darkened with both confusion and desire. He tried to pull away, but she would not allow him to do so. About to forcefully disconnect from her fierce hold, something within him stirred. Groaning softly himself, his brain began to shut down as he himself deepened their kiss. Nibbling on Kagome's lower lip, his tongue sought entrance to the forbidden sanctuary that was her mouth.

Before their spittle-slickened appendages could wage war, however, he heard a gasp come from behind him. Pulling away reluctantly, he found himself staring at the last person he wanted to be seeing at the moment, Sango. She looked decidedly crestfallen, eyes locked onto his like that, as he struggled to regain his breath. Tearing her gaze away, she turned onto her heels and ran back into the restaurant. Miroku thought he'd heard from her a faint, "How could you?"

Stumbling over his own two feet, he saw Sesshoumaru giving him a disapproving look. InuYasha was bearing the strangest expression, his face somehow mirroring Sango's. Kikyou, who had apparently come out as well, looked mildly disappointed. Kagome had turned a bright red, clearly embarrassed by her display. Grabbing Miroku's hand, she dragged him off to the Hummer; still somewhat dazed, he was glad that they hadn't gotten around to ordering.

Feeling a pair of smoldering orbs fixated on his retreating figure, he closed his own, so desperately unsure of himself. He unlocked both of the doors and clumsily pulled himself up into his seat. After the two of them were buckled in, doors closed and locked, he went to key the ignition when a somewhat clammy hand landed atop his own, pushing his arm away from the steering wheel. He sent her an imploring look, but she did not respond with words.

Rather, her mouth was attacking his with a fervor he had never before seen in anyone. A whine of panic made itself known in the back of his mind, but like before, he found himself responding in kind. He leaned over the cumbersome piece of plastic separating the two of them, slender hands holding her chin before sliding up to cup her cheeks. This time, with nothing to stop them, their kiss did progress into something far more intimate. The sweet, velvet cavity of her mouth willingly engulfed his own, and their tongues met, tentative at first, despite their increasing boldness. Soon, however, the two were nearly writhing against one another. Panting heavily, he pulled away for a moment, eyes hooded with untamed lust, before diving right back in.

Sango…Who was that?

A/N: Ahem. I'd say it's about time for me to lay down in my own coffin right about now. Did anyone bring some nails? I'll be needing them, I can tell. Before you come hunting me down with pointy sticks, just know that was probably more painful for me to write than it was for you to read. That's about all I have to say for now. It's time for reviewer responses, which I haven't done in forever. I wouldn't have done them this time, either, but there were a few things to address and it wouldn't be fair to respond to only a couple.

B4By K4K45h1: I noticed that, too. You're the reason I got off my lazy bum and updated.

Izayoi: You don't always have to start off the next chapter from exactly where the last one left off…

Elsiey: Danke. Means a lot.

Sango's Counterpart: I can't give that away! You silly. Thanks for the review, though.

Divine-Red-Crayon: Well, I wasn't expecting everyone to catch that. It's just that in the chapter before that, Sango had chosen to eat banana-flavored ice cream…Get it now? Oh, what part of Arizona were you in?

Taishoku Kurayami: Glad to hear your day went so well, and that I had a part in it.

SangoLancer200: Thanks a bunch for helping me get there. You're the only one that recognized that I'd reached it. My new goal is obviously 200, hehe.

DarkHeartKeyblade: Really? How strange…

Aamalie: You're probably even more disappointed now…But at least this chapter is long, eh?

Kitten Kisses: Thanks! Here's a huge, teaser of a chapter to whet your appetite. Thanks for the compliments, they made me smile.

Zimfry23: Glad I've gotten another fan, and even gladder that you're really seeming to enjoy it.

Please Review!