One Ranch, Two brothers

Tag team by BelleDayNight and Kitkats

Chapter Four

By Kitkats

"Clean up on aisle-" the voice was abruptly cut off. Sango pushed Miroku away from the speaker and glared at him. "Stop it!" She snapped while covering it with the palm of her hand. The force of her push sent him into the counter and he winced.

"At least I finally got your attention." He said with a grin.

They were behind the counter of the small grocery store that Sango owned. It was the only store with food and a pump for gas within fifty-five miles. Sango rolled her eyes and went back to what she had been doing before Miroku had been bothering her, wrapping brownies in plastic wrap.

"What are you doing here anyways, it isn't Tuesday." She ripped off a piece of plastic and glared at him out of the corner of her eye suspiciously.

Tuesday was the day of the week that Kouga sent Miroku up to get things for the Ranch; it was the only day of the week she had to see him. Which was a huge relief for her.

"So you memorized when I come, have you? Looking forward to seeing me? Can't get enough of me-" Sango turned around and clamped her free hand over his mouth, "Look that has nothing to do with it. One question and you go Macho-man on me."

Miroku removed her hand; "I came for a favor." The tell-tale blush on his face told that he was embarrassed.

"And that is?" She finished wrapping the brownies and set them carefully in a small wicker basket then she grabbed a small piece of paper and taped it to the top of the basket. The sign said BROWNIES-$.50

"There is a new vet for the Ranch, you should meet her-" Miroku began but Sango cut him off, "Her? Did you just say I should meet her?"

"Yes, I said her."

"Since when does Kouga hire women to work on the Ranch?"

"He didn't exactly hire her." Miroku squirmed slightly, his eyes avoiding hers.

"You did then. Wait what was I thinking? Of course you did."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Miroku growled looking at her through narrowed eyes.

There were times like these were the two of them had a stand off, Miroku was usually a very calm guy but every once in a while he lost his temper. Sango was almost the exact opposite, her temper usually shone, and every once in a while she'd be calm.

Sango and Miroku stood toe to toe, Sango glaring up at him, Miroku glaring down at her. The air around them seemed suddenly thick and charged with electricity.

"I know you, you'd hire a woman at the drop of a hat, and if you can have your way with her that is." She said this with a bitter tone, daring him to challenge what she said.

"That's what you think of me, is it? Well your wrong Sango." He said. Somehow the small victory that she would care enough to be jealous left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I don't believe you, all you ever do is hit on women. Sometimes I look at you and think your a good guy, but now from where I'm standing I'm disgusted. Your only goal is to get as many women as you can possibly have."

He shook his head, "That wasn't the point of this conversation."

"The point was lost on me five minutes ago; you wanted me to meet her right? What so you can show off your latest catch? Don't waste my time Miroku."

Miroku stepped back and dropped a twenty on the counter. "That was not the reason. I wanted you to meet her because she's a nice girl. But that's okay, I don't want you to meet her after this situation, as she's already having a hard enough time with Kouga."

Sango bit her lip knowing she had made a mistake, "Look I'm-" She began but this time Miroku was the one to cut her off, "It's okay," He said softly the humor and flirtation gone from his voice, "I know you think you know me inside and out Sango, but you don't. You really don't."

He grabbed the wicker basket of brownies and left the store.

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Sesshoumaru sat outside on the deck of the main house, his long legs propped up on the railing as he rocked slowly in a chair. He glanced towards inside to see if Kagome was coming through the kitchen yet. She had been seeing to Kouga for almost an hour.

The screen door was pulled back and out came Kagome, an agitated frown on her face. "He passed out on me!" She complained, plopping down in the vacant chair next to Sesshoumaru.

A small smile tugged at his lips, "Oh really?"

Kagome nodded, "He's got bad bruising around his ribcage, but nothing is cracked and nothing is broken. So it looks like that trip to the emergency room won't be necessary after all."

"What took you so long then?"

"I had to fight him to take his shirt off." Kagome muttered as she crossed her arms in a childish pout.

Sesshoumaru out right laughed at this. It was one of the first times he had laughed in months, "He is a proud as a strutting rooster Kagome, a very proud one." He shook his head, and laughed again. It was a deep laugh that rumpled from deep inside his chest.

Kagome smiled at the mental image of Kouga with a rooster tail and flapping his wings, "It didn't help me that he was delirious. I gave him some medicine and he went a little crazy on me. Kouga finally passed out about ten minutes ago."

"So what did you mean by he passed out on you?" A silvery brow rose in question.

"He literally passed out on me, one hundred and eighty pounds of dead weight on top of my little weight of a hundred and ten." She winced remembering it vividly. She didn't realize that a faintly embarrassed blush had stained her cheeks, but the observation didn't pass unnoticed by her companion.

"But despite nearly being crushed to death, the day has been a good one." Kagome mused with a small, bright smile lit upon her face.

Sesshoumaru leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. "How so?" He asked after a long moment.

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Miroku arrived at the ranch a little while later, as he was getting out of the car he slammed it shut bringing the little wicker basket of brownies along with him.

It was obvious he was in a foul mood.

But as he noticed Sesshoumaru and Kagome sitting on the porch of the house, he decided he wasn't in a foul enough mood to barge in on their conversation.

At least someone was having a good day.

He let himself into the main house through the back door, passing through the kitchen in the process, and being handed a plate of lunch from one of the old cook, Kaede. He nodded his thanks and continued on.

He may not have wanted to come in on Sesshoumaru and Kagome talking, but the fact of the matter was, he was still agitated and needed someone or something to take it out on.

Miroku headed for Kouga's room.

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"So, your brother is coming to town?" Sesshoumaru asked with a fondness in his voice as he remembered the young man well. It was glad to hear that the sickly child had grown into a strong man thanks to the kind woman sitting beside him on the porch swing.

Kagome bobbed her head happily, "Two days from now, he has business in Fort Worth but told me he'd stop by to have lunch before he went to attend to whatever it is he needed to do."

Sesshoumaru almost smiled, "Interesting, but how do you expect to go have lunch?"

Kagome frowned, "I know what you mean, when I wrote Miroku about the job he told me I could have one day every two weeks off, and I was thinking of using my one day for lunch."

Sesshoumaru nodded, "Kouga won't approve." He almost rolled his eyes but refrained, "Though, he's dedicated to his work, ok, he's obsessed with his work."

"I wasn't going to tell Kouga where I would be going."

"I'm figuring you think he won't let you off."

"Right, so I'm just going to ask Miroku." Kagome grinned at her own cleverness.

Kagome held out her pinky, "Do me a favor and don't tell Kouga, okay?"

Sesshoumaru eyed the pinky warily but nodded, "I won't."

"Pinky swear?"

Sesshoumaru really did roll his eyes this time. The woman was so childish and such a mundane act was beneath him. Her pale blue eyes sparkled at him pleadingly and he caved. He locked his pinky in hers and was rewarded when Kagome grinned.

"Pinky Swear." He agreed with a grin.