:Chapter 20:

:Change:

Sango yawned for perhaps the fifth time in as many minutes. Scrubbing a hand over her face, she sighed.

She was completely exhausted. Not to mention hungry.

"This is ridiculous," she mumbled to herself as her stomach growled. "I've never felt so drained before."

'True,' her nature replied, mocking her. 'But then again, you've never been kept awake like you were earlier this morning, either.'

Sango blushed as her body pulsed to life for the umpteenth time. Miroku had kept her awake all morning with his hot hands and lava tongue. However, his words had been the most unsettling things yet, completely cool and collected. How he'd managed to speak of sex with such a calm demeanor, she'd never know.

Her heart rate sped up at the thought of his tongue on her, chipping away at her defenses as if they didn't matter. Countless times since arriving at the bookstore, her body had begun to throb without warning if she so much as thought about Miroku, let alone his body.

He was testing her, she was sure. And in the process, he was embedding himself deeper and deeper within her life.

She could just kill him and rid herself of such annoyances; she'd informed him many times of that fact. She could do it quickly…cremate his body and scatter his ashes on the northern winter winds, never to be seen again. Oh yes. She could.

But, if she was honest with herself, she knew she wouldn't be able to do it. Such a thing would mean no more pleasurable moments for her. She wouldn't be able to concentrate with something like that hanging over her shoulder.

Selfish, yes, but, according to Miroku, she was completely entitled to such self-interest, being that they were soul mates…literally. If he died, then so would she.

That thought brought a wave of possessive instincts that unsettled her like nothing ever had or ever would. It had nothing to do with being selfish, though it might seem as if it did on the surface. Sango knew those instincts were there for a reason that completely exceeded selfishness.

She sighed again, this time in irritation at the direction her thoughts had began to take. "Damn. Stupid monk."

"You called, my love?"

She stiffened. Not from surprise due to his sudden appearance at her side, but from desire. Very hot desire. Not her own, but his, wrapping around her body like a cocoon, cutting off the real world.

She closed her eyes as her body revved yet again. Completely unsettling, yet wholly satisfying.

She growled. "No. I did not call you, monk."

"Oh? I could've sworn I heard you calling my name. It was very loud, almost as if you were screaming it." Miroku's grin was devilish. "Or, perhaps it was a premonition of future…events?"

Sango blushed all the more, recognizing his jest. He was referring to her traitorous body. How embarrassing.

"There's no need to be shy about it, Sango, I've seen it all before."

"Damn it, stay out of my head!"

A middle-aged woman glanced sharply towards Sango, startled by her outburst. Sango winced. No control, whatsoever.

Miroku's eyes were sparking with humor. "Having a bad day?"

Sango glowered. "Damn you. You're the cause of all this, monk."

"Are you referring to this morning?" He licked his lips. "I had fun. What about you?"

Any moment, her face would burst into flames. She could feel it. "That's not funny. I had no control over what happened."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"Isn't it?"

"Oh, not at all. At the very worst, you'll be reduced to the position of a sex slave, unable to tell me no."

Sango's mouth dropped open. Her mind ran over that statement and she refused to admit that the notion didn't sound half bad if Miroku were to be her master.

"Of all the—"

"Ah, ah, ah, Lady Sango. It would only be fair, wouldn't you say?"

"What the hell does that mean?"

Instead of seeing the sparks of perverse humor she'd expected, she saw the tender gaze of a dedicated lover. "It would only be fair, seeing as how you've continued to bewitch me with your loveliness. I'm only looking to repay the favor."

"Miroku…"

Running a hand over and through her hair, he loosened a few strands from her usual high ponytail, setting them free to frame her face. "You have a customer."

He disappeared behind the wall that separated the employee's rest room from the main area of retail.

She stared after him, feeling the loss of heat as if she'd fallen into a heap of snow.

'Why does he have to say the sweetest things? Why can't he just act like an ass? I know how to deal with those.'

'Because that's not what you want. You keep forgetting that Miroku is in tune with every conceivable part of you. Even the parts you wan to hide.'

Her nature was right. Her defenses were becoming weaker, she knew that much. She knew that he recognized that fact and was working around them because, deep down, even though she wouldn't admit it out loud, that's what she wanted: someone who wouldn't give up on her, no matter how much she pushed them away.

Turning, she faced the little boy who was waiting patiently in front of her, his blue eyes bright with innocence. He was barely tall enough to peer over the countertop at her, couldn't have been more than five or six years of age. "'Scuse me, lady," he said with a grin full of missing teeth. "How much money does this cost?"

Sango glanced down at the superhero comic book, and checked the back tag. One dollar and twenty-five cents.

"Fifty cents," she said, mustering a smile.

The boy's eyes widened, unaware of her lie. "Wow, really? That much?"

Reaching into his pocket, he unearthed a dime and four nickels. With a forlorn frown he said, "I only have this much, though."

"Deal." She held out her hand and accepted the five coins he dropped into her palm. After ringing up his book, she handed it to him, along with the thin, paper receipt. "Enjoy it!"

He gave her that same grin, a bit bigger this time. "Thanks, lady!"

She smiled sadly as the boy ran to his mother who was waiting patiently at the other end of the store. As the two exited through the door, she hoped that the boy could one day find his superhero. Like she'd found hers.

:0:0:0:0:

"I should go and get Shippo."

"Fuck Shippo."

"InuYasha! How can you say that?"

InuYasha buried his head deeper into Kagome's shoulder. Even if Naraku himself had suddenly appeared, he wouldn't have lifted his head. "Easy. Fuck the little runt."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I need to go and get him from my mother. I'm sure he's run her ragged with requests for candy."

"Kagome…"

"What?"

"Don't make me get up," he groaned. Inhaling, he sighed. "You smell too damn good."

Kagome jumped a bit. "I…I do? You really think so?"

"Hell yeah, I think so. You smell like mountain water and cinnamon." He licked her shoulder, making her shiver. "And you taste even better."

"You're kind, InuYasha. Even though you may not like it," she scratched his ear and felt the rumbled of a purr knock against her shoulder and run down her side.

"This isn't about being nice, damn it. I'm serious. You seriously smell too damn good."

Kagome glanced down at the top of his head and ran her fingers through his hair, marveling at the quicksilver shine of it. Pure starlight. "I remember a time when you hated the way I smelled. You told me so many times that you couldn't stand my scent."

"I was lying, you know. Don't tell me you actually believed me?"

"At first I did. But then, when I got to know you, I realized that you could never say something like that and mean it the way you wanted me to believe."

"Humph." He fingered her hair, unaware that she was doing the same to him. "Your hair is getting longer."

"I know. I haven't trimmed it in a while."

InuYasha wasn't sure he should tell Kagome that she was beginning to look like Kikyo had when he'd last seen her. He knew it would make her upset and she'd probably go and chop off the newly grown tendrils.

"I imagine I'm beginning to look a bit like her, right?"

InuYasha froze. "I—I didn't say that!"

Kagome lifted a piece of her own hair. She twisted the lock in her fingers. "It's okay, InuYasha. I'm not mad."

He sniffed, twitching an ear. "Yeah, so what if you were? Nothin' I can do about it."

She smiled sadly. "I…I'm sorry if this makes you uncomfortable."

"Just cut it off. You want to, right?"

Kagome bit her lip. True, she did want to. Not only did she look like Kikyo, but it was becoming harder to wash her hair due to its length.

"I'm not going to. I...I think I like it like this. It's…prettier, I think."

InuYasha rose up from the bed onto his elbow to peer down at her. "What makes you say that?"

"I…I don't know."

"You'd better not be tryin' to make yourself look like her."

Kagome didn't answer. She'd always felt that Kikyo was somehow more beautiful than she was. Even though they looked almost exactly alike, Kikyo had an ethereal quality about her that Kagome knew she herself would never possess.

"I…hadn't thought about that."

"I picked you, you know. I chose you for a reason I never saw in Kikyo."

"What reason is that?"

InuYasha shrugged. A lock of silver hair fell of his shoulder and pooled on the mattress next to him. "You liked me for what I was. What I would always be. You weren't afraid of me, either, like everybody else was."

Kagome sat up, brushing brown hair from her face. Up until now, they'd been lazing around all morning, conversing lightly about various subjects. She didn't know what time it was or how long they'd been awake. Their clothes lay strewn about various places of the room, some even drooping from the southern post of the large bed they'd tumbled into the night before.

She was aware of his eyes searching her body for offense. "I was never afraid of you, InuYasha."

"I know that now. I kinda knew it then, too, I think. I didn't want to believe it though. I didn't want anybody's pity."

Kagome frowned. "I didn't pity you, either."

"I know. That's what I was rejecting. I got so used to takin' shit from everyone around me, that I didn't know what to do with the love you were giving me," he twitched his ear to get her attention. "Plus, you were the only other girl who liked these, besides my mother."

Smiling, she reached out and tugged his ear. "How could I resist these? You kept twitching them, too. Like a puppy."

InuYasha's face reddened. "I'm not a damn puppy."

Kagome's smiled warmed. "You're not anymore."

:0:0:0:0:

A/N:

Oh, my God. I'm so sorry everyone. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I actually sat down and forced myself to write it, because I knew I was getting too caught up in 'Caelestis' and 'The Rune of DawnEve'. I had fun writing this.

Reviews:

Melis2a: No, I haven't died. I've just been really busy. ------ Kaoli water goddess: Moutomaru is Sango's ex-boyfriend. I haven't written about him in a while.------

Thanks to all my reviewers! Love you guys!

Final Deliberation: Sango's Nature:

'Lava tongue, huh?'

All characters from InuYasha are copyrighted to Rumiko Takahashi. This applies to any and all chapters of My Life, My Love.