Miroku POV:
I opened the door and walked inside, Sango cantering in behind me. I flipped on the lights and led her inside, thinking. Mushin wasn't home yet, which was a blessing and a curse. Blessing because he wasn't here to ask awkward questions, curse because if he saw Sango here later he would think something 'happened'.
I beckoned the shivering girl down the hall and into my room, tossing her an old T-shirt and a pair of my boxers.
"You can wear theses until your clothes dry." I said curtly. She took my outfit gratefully and returned a few minutes later with her sopping clothes under her arm. Without invitation she laid the wet garments on my glass top dresser.
Underwear! Hahahaha! I never would have thought Sango to be the type to wear puppy undies… She caught me looking and quickly stepped in front of the clothes, hiding them from view and muttering embarrassedly. She most likely would have hidden the clothes from my sight, but something occurred.
I heard the footsteps of my foster-father coming toward my room. Yeah, pretty girl in my room, wearing my clothes… he would definitely think there was something between us.
Which Sango had assured me there wasn't.
I grabbed Sango and pushed her into my closet.
"Hide here until he leaves!" I muttered to her as I shut the door. I flopped onto my bed and pretended to read a magazine. Unfortunately, I had left Sango's clothes on my dresser. The door opened and Mushin stepped in and sat down on the edge of my bed.
"So, Miroku, good day at school?" I shook my head silently and flipped the pages of the magazine.
"That bad huh?" he asked. I nodded, hoping he would take a hint and leave. He sighed and stood up, suddenly catching sight of the underwear and wet clothes. He gave me a look.
"Why are there girls' clothes in here?" he questioned suspiciously. I thought quickly and said the first thing that came to my mind.
"Um, panty-raid?" I said uncertainly. He gave a nod of reminiscence.
"I remember this one time…" he began. I stood and pushed him out of the room.
"Yeah yeah, that's great, bye." I told him, closing the door. He walked away after a few seconds and I opened the closet. Sango tumbled out.
"What is in there? It smelled like something crawled in there and died!" I shrugged my shoulders.
"Something probably did…" I mused. She scrunched up here eyes and gave a squeal.
"Don't tell me that!" I shrugged again and glanced at my watch.
"Are you hungry?" I asked her. She nodded. "I'll be back." I walked out and heated up some left-over lasagna out of my fridge before walking back. Mushin was already so drunk that he didn't notice anything. In fact, he was passed out on the floor. Setting down the plate of food, I picked him up and heaved him onto the couch, wrinkling my nose as the smell of alcohol soaked into my clothes.
"Here" I said shortly to Sango as I handed her the plate. She accepted it with a word of thanks before sniffing the air and giving me a suspicious look.
"You reek like sake…" she said.
"Mushin." I explained, picking up some pajamas off the floor. I walked to the bathroom and changed.
Sango POV:
Miroku walked out of the room and I stood around awkwardly for a moment before spotting a picture resting on the dresser. I crossed the room and picked up the silver and black-framed photo.
A man held a laughing five-year old up on his shoulders while a silly half-smile was spread over his own face. The boy could only have been Miroku, and the man looked nearly identical to how Miroku looked now, if only a little bit older, perhaps in his early twenties.
The frame was suddenly plucked out of my grasp and I stifled a gasp of surprise. Miroku gently placed the picture back on the dresser before turning away.
"My father." He replied softly to my unspoken question.
"Is he… you know… dead?" the boy gave a movement half way between a nod and a shrug.
"He died in a nuclear explosion. There wasn't even a body to bury." Miroku suddenly slumped onto his bed, putting one hand over his eyes. "All that was left was a crater. I saw it happen, and Mushin held me back." I sat down next to him and placed my hand on his arm. "I still dream about it sometimes." He whispered.
"You always seem so happy at school… why? I mean, how do you do it? Why do you do it?"
"My father wanted me to be happy. Even after my mother left him, he still acted happy in front of me. But when he thought I wasn't looking, he was miserable. I don't want to disappoint him, so…" he trailed off.
This is going to sound strange, considering that I had asked him not pull anything on me, but I did the unthinkable. I pulled his arm away from his face and kissed him.
"I understand. I lost my parents too. And about earlier in the principal's office? I didn't mean it." I admitted. He looked like he was having a blissful heart-attack. Of course, I had to ruin the moment by complaining. "Gosh, I'm tired…" I yawned. Miroku stood up.
"Sleep well, dearest." He grinned. I stood as well.
"Where am I sleeping?" I asked curiously. He pointed to the bed. "Then where are you sleeping?" He gestured to the floor. I stared at him. "I couldn't take advantage of you like that!" I cried.
"Nonsense!" Miroku chuckled, "A lady should never be made sleep on the ground! Mushin is already on the couch in any case." He pulled back the covers. "Hop on in!" I crawled in reluctantly and he turned off the lights. The moon gave pale illumination, and I could see him stretched out eagle-style on the carpet. I sighed. I really shouldn't have let him sleep on the floor.
XxXxXxXxX
I hopped out of bed the next morning to put Kirara outside, only to find that the floor was squishy… and moving. I lifted one foot to reveal Miroku's eyes staring up at me. I leaped backwards onto the bed.
"Sorry!" I squeaked. He sat up and rubbed his back sleepily.
"I'd say you work better than any alarm clock…" he sighed.
"I don't have clothes for the day…." I grumbled. Miroku smiled drowsily and pulled out a pair of jeans and a baggy t-shirt. Then he pulled out his own clothes for the day and tossed them on the bed.
"Mushin already left, so you can go around freely. Hope you like cereal for breakfast…"
XxXxXxXxX
Sesshomaru POV:
I was in the absolute worst of tempers. The WHOLE DAY I had been pestered by Kagura, Miroku, and my brother. I was ready to throw some one out a window. After breaking their nose of course. Miroku was actually pissing me off the most. He was attempting to hide behind me from my brother, who was apparently trying to ask the monk about his girlfriend.
I slunk away from the bickering pair yet again, nearly running into Rin.
"Hello." I grumbled in muted tones.
"Hi Sessh!" she trilled. I began to walk past the office. After all, school was over and I was finally able to flee from my younger sibling. Rin was suddenly waylaid by a person. I kept walking, disregarding this. At the person's words, however, I froze.
"Hey girlie… you're a pretty one, ain't cha?" came the low voice.
"U-um…" Rin stuttered. I turned on heel to see a man of at least forty with frog-like features and red markings on his face holding Rin by the arm. I stepped forward and tore his hand off her.
"You should stop touching Rin." I said softly. The man sneered at me.
"Who are you, her older brother?"
"Boyfriend." I growled. The man peered around me at Rin.
"Wadaya say girlie, you wanna come and play at my house sometime?" he asked in a perverted manner. I couldn't take it. I snapped.
I lunged forward with a snarl, and grabbed the man by the collar. I threw him to the ground, his head making contact with the cement, and jumped onto his chest, punching repeatedly, everywhere I could reach. A crowd gathered as Miroku, Ayame, Koga, and Inuyasha pulled me off the man. It took all four of them to hold me back as I struggled.
"You disgusting pedophile!" I roared. "If you ever touch her again, I'll rip your head off!" I heard a grunt as Inuyasha was pushed to the ground. I turned to receive a fist in the face, and before I knew, I was fighting Kyokotsu and Ginkotsu. Behind me Renkotsu was speaking to the man.
"You okay Mukotsu? It'll be fine, we'll kick that bastard's ass." He said as he helped the older man up. He joined the fight with zeal, making it three against one. Inuyasha started into the fight. Despite the fact that we hated each other, we still liked each other… in that weird, dysfunctional-family sort of way… I shook my head at him. He gave a shrug, took Kagome, and left.
The fight was fair until I started winning. At that point, Kyokotsu brought out an aluminum baseball bat, cracking it hard across my shoulders. I fell heavily to my hands and knees, Rin screaming my name. Several girls in the crowd screamed as well, but I didn't care about them. With a wild growl I wrenched the bat from his grip and slammed the handle against his head. He slumped to the ground, stunned.
I came back up, using all the skill I possessed from past years of boxing to try to bring down Ginkotsu and Renkotsu. I scored a magnificent hit on Ginkotsu, leaving a huge dent in his metal jaw. The fight lasted for a few more minutes before Ginkotsu pulled a brick out of somewhere, and slammed it down on my skull.
I collapsed, blood streaming over my face and dying my hair red. Rin started screaming my name again and pushing against Renkotsu to try to reach me as Ginkotsu brought his fists down on my limp form.
"Sesshomaru! Sesshomaru! Stop it; stop hurting him, that's enough! Sesshomaru!"
"Shut up you stupid girl!" Renkotsu roared, shoving her back. "Stay out of this!" Rin fell after he pushed her, and she began to cry. No one made Rin cry.
The fire-blood began boiling in my veins, and my eyes blazed red. I sprang up suddenly, throwing Ginkotsu off me in the process. My face elongated into a muzzle, my teeth lengthening and thickening into razor-like fangs, and my claws steeping themselves in venom. I must have looked like a white Anubis, the Egyptian death god. My body remained mostly human, but my head became completely like a dog's. I opened my jaws in a ghastly grin and released a snarl. I hoped I wasn't scaring Rin, but these bastards deserved to pay.
I slashed out with both hands. Ginkotsu was lucky enough to evade me, but Renkotsu gained four symmetrical furrows on his right cheek. The shallow cuts immediately began to glow a pale green as my venom ate slowly at his flesh. He cried out, clasping a hand to his face as he backed away. Two down, one to go. I turned on Ginkotsu to finish the fight.
Something I hadn't anticipated was Kyokotsu waking up. He came behind me and cracked his bat down on the back of my skull. I lost control of my body, and this time, I was too exhausted to drag myself back up. The crowd started yelling about unfair fighting and crap like that as I lay in a widening pool of my own blood. My face shrank back into human features and my claws lost their poisonous quality.
Rin suddenly slipped her arm around my neck and tried to pull me up. In an effort to take the burden off her shoulders I gave an immense struggle and gained my feet.
"Sesshomaru?" she squeaked.
"Hn." I responded. The mere act of standing was draining my energy.
"A-are you okay?" she asked solicitously. I gave a tiny, negative movement of my head. Even that was too much. I buckled and sank to my knees, dragging Rin with me, and closing my eyes.
"Go get Rikichi!" Rin called to someone, and I heard light steps running away from us. I struggled to stay conscious.
Damn, they really did a number on my head… I thought incoherently. The sudden sound of pounding feet distracted me as another arm slipped around my shoulders to pull me. It was Rikichi the desk manager.
The pair dragged me the short distance to the nurses' office and laid me on the bed. Hitomiko, the nurse, gave a frightened squeak. I stopped fighting it after that. I allowed myself to fall into the merciful arms of unconsciousness.
XxXxXxXxX
I bolted upright suddenly, causing Rin to stumble back in surprise. It came to my attention that she was holding a bloody rag, and that my face was wet. She had been tending my injuries?
"How long was I out?" I asked flatly. Rin gave me a worried look.
"Um, about two hours." She said. I nodded, and then gave a low moan. I reached up slowly to touch the back of my head, my hand coming away with semi-dried blood. I looked at it with distaste before wiping it off on my pants.
"Bastards…" I muttered angrily. Rin reached out and wiped more blood off my face.
"I-I've never seen you that angry Sesshomaru…" she stated. Now that she mentioned it…
"Neither have I. Not for a very long while at least…" Ever since I met Rin, my emotions had been coming back. Slowly but surely, they were returning to me.
Naraku POV:
I smirked at Mukotsu.
"Good job Mukotsu! You revealed exactly how quickly Sesshomaru's emotions are returning!" I waved a hand at the squat man. "You may go." I turned to Kagura, and she sneered at me.
"What, Naraku?" She spat out as I smiled at her.
"Well now, Kagura… That girl Rin needs to be eliminated if we are to reclaim Sesshomaru… and I was thinking about how you should get a move on if you want to accomplish her removal." She sneered at me again as she turned away. "And Kagura?" she faced me again.
"If you fail me again… well, I really shall have to kill you this time." She paled as blood drained from her face. My smile widened. How I loved causing fear in others.