Hello, dears! Apparently is becoming a tradition, new month, new chapter. Please enjoy the brotherly love, no smut for the time being, hopefully in the next chapter.

Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, I just borrowed them for my story.

9 Bros before...

"What did she do this time?"

Miroku dropped next to the hanyo on the empty stool he knew had been reserved for him by his friend.

"Who are you talking about?" Inuyasha pretended to ignore the answer, but he was pretty sure who was on Miroku´s mind.

"Come on, man. You are usually a beer guy; you only drink sake when you´ve been punched in the gut. During the last couple of years, it´s coincided with you meeting Kikyo. Now, will you finally accept that you saw her, and she did or say something to upset you?"

Miroku´s eloquence only irritated Inuyasha more than he already was. He knew his friend had his wellbeing at heart, but it didn´t mean that he would let him attack Kikyo openly. Ever since the beginning of their relationship, Miroku had been too critical of it. Inuyasha had thought his friend was just jealous of his then-fiancée, but after the breakup, he had realized Miroku´s harsh words had some truth in them.

"What if I tell you there´s somebody else this time?" The hanyo proffered.

"How many did you have already?" Miroku wiggled his eyebrows pointing with his nose to the glass. He knew from experience that Inuyasha could hold his liquor better than any human but didn´t waste the opportunity to mess with him.

"I´m serious. I just met someone and she´s already turning my world upside down."

The violet-eyed man was pensive for a few seconds. He took a sip from a beer the bartender handed him and looked intensely into Inuyasha´s eyes.

"You are serious." He concluded. "Who is she? Did you finally give in to some of the demonesses begging for your attention?"

"Keh! You know damn well I don´t take youkai females seriously. They either have a secret agenda or they just want a one-night stand."

"You never know, Princess Abby was quite smitten with you." Miroku seemed to remember the bird youkai flirting with his friend during the last SNT Christmas party.

"It wasn't me, you idiot. She was hitting on Sesshomaru, and she was drunk too."

"Oh, yeah, it was your brother, right? Anyhow, who is this lady who has you drinking sake then? Do I happen to know her?"

"Yeah, you do. It´s Kagome." Inuyasha finally admitted. He wanted to tell Miroku upfront what had happened between him and this woman, despite knowing Miroku would tease him endlessly.

"Oh my, Lady Kagome, huh? I didn´t think you would be interested in someone like her, though Sango and myself once considered we should introduce you two."

"Well, Sango was on to something. And why wouldn´t I be interested in her? She is cute."

"Yes, she is cute. But the women you usually date are often more... flashy, dare I say?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Inuyasha sighed and signed the bartender for another bottle. "I would have thought the exact same thing, but there´s something about this woman that draws me to her." Inuyasha let out a loud sigh and refilled his cup before taking a sip from it. "The chemistry between us is insane, I can´t keep my hands off of her."

"Wow, really? You?" Miroku snickered cheekily. "I was starting to believe it was you who had the vocation to become a monk."

Making fun of religion was like a defense mechanism for the dark-haired man. Coming from a family with a long history of Buddhist tradition, many of its male members had chosen to enter a monastery. Miroku himself had entertained the idea for a while until he was sent to Todai* and got a taste of life away from his strict family rules. He ended up opting to live his life to the fullest, dating, drinking and partying his way through university. In spite of his decadent lifestyle, Miroku had managed to become quite a successful pianist, though he preferred jazz to traditional classical music his parents had hoped when he announced his career choice. Life was good, he used to think, until that dreadful day when he crashed his car into a tree while driving home after a wild orgy involving alcohol, drugs and some voluptuous bimbo. He survived the accident, but the cost had been far too great. He was bedridden for several months, many bones in his body were broken, a couple of ribs, his clavicle, his left fibula, though the worst damage had been sustained by his right hand. He had broken the wrist and several fingers, he was inches away from losing the whole limb, suffering excruciating pain and making him feel useless for months.

Not one of his so-called friends or voluptuous girlfriends set foot on the hospital during that time, except Inuyasha. It took him almost two years of painful operations and exercises to finally get it in shape again. However, having to let go of his piano was what had hurt him the most.

If it hadn´t been for Inuyasha he would still be beaten by depression. His best friend since high school had never left him alone, he had taken care of the medical bills when his family´s insurance had been surpassed and even gave him a job in his company to help him stand on his own two feet after he had recovered.

Little by little Miroku regained his self-confidence and his cheerful demeanor. A few months later he met Sango at a gym and knew his life was complete with her by his side. No more wild parties and booze, he had learned a painful lesson.

Miroku blinked a few times to conjure the sad images away. Now was not the time to reminiscence the bad days, he thought. Inuyasha needed him and he needed to support his friend.

"So, you finally gave up your celibacy?" He teased Inuyasha and drunk from his beer to hide the wicked grin on his face.

"I´m not celibate, you moron." Inuyasha threw a playful punch to his friend's shoulder. "But I didn´t sleep with Kagome if that´s what you wanted to know."

"So, she wants a ring on her finger before you take her to bed?" Miroku didn´t know Kagome well enough to be sure, but knowing Sango was her best friend he had assumed the girl would be at least a little hard to get.

"I´m not sure, maybe?" Inuyasha shot his friend a sideways glance. "You know her better than I do."

"Sango might. I just know the basics, where she studied, her family shrine, her and Sango´s favorite hangouts…"

"Her family shrine?" Inuyasha interrupted. "Is she some kind of priestess by any chance?"

"Yeah, something like that. It´s funny, having a similar family background we never talked about it, how about that?"

"So freaking funny!" Inuyasha sarcastically said. "Just like Kikyo. Do you still think it´s amusing?"

"Oh, no, that bitch again! Inuyasha, I swear man, when are you gonna stop thinking about that woman?" He put down his bottle of beer a little harder than he intended, splashing some of its content on the counter. "What happened to you two was hard, but life goes on. Just forget about her once and for good."

"I can´t help it!" Inuyasha´s eyes bore into the violet one´s of his friend for a few seconds before looking back down. "Kagome reminded me of her in so many ways, and now this miko stuff. Keh! I shouldn´t be surprised, the first thing I thought about her was that she looked like a nun."

"She might look like a nun, but I´m sure Sango mentioned a boyfriend or a fiancé some time ago." Miroku interjected.

"No, she doesn´t have a boyfriend or anything like that. I would have picked the scent of a male on her already if she did." Inuyasha spoke confidently, but the sole idea of another male around Kagome unsettled him more than he was willing to admit.

"Then what are you worried about? It´s because of Kikyo? Or because she reminds you of Kikyo?" The look on his friend´s face was easy enough for Miroku to read. The hanyou was a mystery to most people while for Miroku he was an open book, even if he kept trying to hide it from him.

"She´s nothing like Kikyo. They may look a little bit alike, but their personalities are like the sun and the moon." He spoke looking into the other man´s eyes. The silver-haired half-demon was now facing his friend, both sitting sideways from the bar.

"Yeah, I don´t know her that well, but I can tell Kagome is no bitch." Miroku nodded for emphasis. "Then, if you two like each other, what´s stopping you? Why are you here getting drunk when you could be out with her?"

"Well, that´s when Kikyo gets involved." Inuyasha finally admitted.

"I knew that bitch had to do with you drinking!" Spitting beer all over his friend and almost jumping out of his stool, Miroku grabbed Inuyasha´s arm trying in vain to shake some sense into the stronger male. After realizing he was just bothering his friend, Miroku sat down again and continued his line of thought out loud. "Wait a minute, what does the bitch have to do with you and Kagome?" Miroku almost fell off his stool while trying to get his friend to spill the beans.

"Kagome found me hugging her when we went to see Onigumo earlier."

"WHAT? FOR FUCKS SAKE!" Miroku looked like an insane person right then, eyes bulging out and screaming at the top of his lungs. "Why were you hugging her?" I told you she was trouble, you should always avoid her Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha was getting tired of his antics. Grabbing fistfuls of his purple dress shirt, he brought Miroku to his eye level and spoke through gritted teeth.

"If you don´t calm down, I swear I´ll leave and you´ll never hear the rest of the story."

"Fine!" The ponytailed man breathed in through his nose and let the air out through his mouth several times before speaking in a normal voice. "It just pisses me off to see her manipulate you, she´s got you on a total guilt trip, man!"

"You make it sound like I have to walk out on her, wash my hands on everything that happened." Inuyasha looked down at his lap, trying to avoid his emotions to be shown on his face for Miroku and everybody to see. "I know I can´t make up for what Kikyo has lost and that´s why I can´t go on with my life knowing she´s in pain."

"Inuyasha, she will always be in pain if she refuses to seek help. You can´t help her, she needs professional care."

"We have discussed this before, Miroku. You know how I feel about it." Inuyasha faced his friend and smiled. "Can we change the subject now?"

"Fine." Miroku smiled and gave in. He knew Kikyo was a sore subject and Inuyasha would never change his mind. "Then tell me how you and Kagome met."

The smile on the hanyo´s face became a full-on smirk.

"She stole my ramen."

"I don´t believe you. Kagome is not that kind of person, she would never do that." Miroku called the bartender and asked for some water. One beer was his limit and Inuyasha was well aware of that fact, he had drunk enough for one day.

"She denied it at first but then confessed she thought it was someone´s left over and I believed her. Though at the moment I had to make sure it was her who ate it."

"Couldn´t you just sniff her?"

"Oh, I did, and she smelled of fear and…" Inuyasha remembered exactly what her scent was, cherry and vanilla laced with a subtle hint of arousal. He wouldn´t tell Miroku that. "I just had to be sure I wasn´t accusing an innocent girl."

"So, you licked her?" Miroku was a little confused at the alternatives.

"No, idiot. I kissed her." And remembering that kiss made him crave for more. He was becoming addicted, he thought.

"In the office? During working hours? Are you insane?"

"There was nobody else left on the floor, and it was in the coffee break room."

"Yeah, as if it made any difference." Miroku rubbed his face with his palm before speaking. "Did you stop to think for a moment that she could sue you for sexual harassment?"

"Shit! I never thought of that." These days it was a common practice and Kagome could easily take legal action against him if she thought he had abused his power.

Remembering the way her body had reacted, the unconcealed passion shared in their kisses, Inuyasha was certain Kagome would never consider what they had shared an abuse of power on his part. "She wouldn´t do it."

"Ok, if you are so sure about it." Miroku thought for a moment about the confidence in Inuyasha´s speech, it was clear his friend had finally met a woman he could rely on. And Kagome was definitely someone worthy of his friend´s trust, he knew Sango trusted her best friend with her life, and that was enough for him to have total faith in the woman too. "Ok, now, I´ll ask again. Why are you here getting drunk instead of out with Kagome, or in her bed, better yet?"

"I´m trying to avoid her." Inuyasha sighed and took the last sip of sake for the night. I can´t give her what she deserves. So, I decided I´ll try to stay away from her."

The hanyou smiled sadly and put down his glass. He didn´t tell Miroku he had already tried to do that exact same thing and it hadn´t worked out. He had to keep in mind Kikyo´s suffering and his own next time he met Kagome, or he would easily fall under her spell forgetting his own promise to Kikyo.

* Tōkyō daigaku The University of Tokyo (abbreviated as Todai)