Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, all rights to the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
(AN) This originally was supposed to be a collaberation with someone else, but I ended up doing it alone because the person I was going to write with had never actually tried to write a story. I still used the characters she choose for each roll. Now on with chapter 2.
Chapter Two: The Lovely Maid, Sango
Maid Sango and her sweet lady in waiting, Kagome, diligently set up their cart to once again feed the poor people of Nakimoto. She often found herself busy with the task a few times a week and on those days she always found herself longing for the return of her uncle, King Hitomi. She prepared herself for the rewarding work she was about to do, as a line of villagers began to form in front of her cart. Just as she was about to serve the first meal of fish and rice, a group of laughing fox kits ran from their home, and out towards the forest. The further the distance between them grew the more the sounds of giggling faded away. Kagome's soft voice broke the quiet silence they shared. "I guess not even Prince Naraku can steal the innocent joy of the children. I can only wonder what has them in such excitement." Sango could only wonder that herself, when out from the same cottage came two men. One was dressed in red and had long flowing silver hair and white dog ears atop his head. The other was dressed head to foot in black, a hood was pulled over his head, and he wore a piece of cloth on the lower half of his face. Kagome gasped, as she too, had noticed the strange men that had made their way out into village. "Maid Sango, do you suppose that to be the robbing hood and his partner blood hound?"
The maiden's curiousity had reached it's peak. For she had always wanted to see the infamous hood with her own two eyes. She broke her gaze away from the pair and returned to serving the people of the village, she had no time to entertain her idle curiosity. And yet she couldn't help but start when a playful and masculine voice addressed her. "Maid Sango, I see you are out here again, preforming the job of a saint. For you are a real noblewoman, concerned for the people of her village." She spoke before she spared the stranger a glance.
"Thank you, I am merely doing what I..." She stopped mid sentence when she lifted her chocolate eyed gaze and was met with a pair of sparkling dark eyes, she heard her breath catch with surprise. "Aren't you...?" She hadn't needed to finish her question and she didn't need to see his lips to know he was smiling. Not when she could see the amusement dancing in his piercing stare.
"Am I that no good robbin' hood? Why yes, yes I am. But you can call me Robin, everyone else does." He winked at her playfully and as quickly as he had come, he had turned to leave. The pair casually strolled towards the forest and as soon as they disappeared beyond the trees, Sango removed her apron.
"Rin, I need you to take over for us. I have something of great importance to do."
Then the maiden also made her way towards the treeline, with her relunctant lady in waiting that followed closely behind. The forest was quiet and the two men were nowhere to be seen. Sango huffed in frustration, she was determined to find that thief and ask him why he was crazy enough to steal from a man like Naraku. She walked deeper into the woods, she was familiar enough to not get lost, as long as she didn't go beyond the stream. Kagome anxiously followed her lady, she would not admit it out loud, but she wouldn't mind getting another glimpse at blood hound. They reached the stream without speaking a word to the other and Sango was about to turn around when a voice brought a smile to her elegant face. "Do you ladies make a habit of following dangerous bandits into the woods?" The maiden faced the thief with poise and a gentle smile still played at the corners of her lips.
"I do not believe you to be dangerous. I hope you will not prove my judgement incorrect, for I normally have an excellent judge of character."
The man circled her swiftly, as though he was reading her character, and his partner merely rolled his golden eyes and folded his arms across his brood chest. Kagome stared at him intently as she questioned whether his ears were real or not. He was so focused on his partner, that he didn't notice Kagome had slowly inched her way closer to him. "I still think you should be more careful, Sango, one can never be too cautious." Sango couldn't help but to laugh at his lightedhearted warning and when his eyebrow quirked beneath his hood she replied swiftly.
"I find that rather humorous coming from you, Sir Hood. You. The man who is crazy enough to steal from Prince Naraku. He wants your heard." An airy chuckle emanated from behind the cloth mask, she amused him greatly.
"I believe you may have said crazy enough, but I must admit that I heard you say crafty enough. So I shall go with that and thank you for such a glowing compliment. You flatter me. Truly you do."
Inuyasha was about to tell Miroku that they needed to be on their way, when he was interrupted by two delicate fingers that took hold of his right ear. His harsh gaze shifted to fall upon the petite lady in waiting and Inuyasha had to fight off a blush when he noticed her sweet look of awe. He cleared his throat and spoke out in a gruff voice, "I don't believe I gave you permission to touch my ears." The lady pulled her hand away suddenly, as though she had just been burned.
"Forgive me. I just wanted to know if they were real." Inuyasha stared at her in disbelief as he wondered why she would even think he would wear fake ears.
"What else would they be, woman? Decoration?" Her wide eyed gaze dropped to her feet and the hanyou could not help but to be struck by her innocence.
"I thought that maybe they were just a part of your disguise, sort of like the hood is to your partner." He refused to let the amusement show on his face, unlike Miroku, Inuyasha did not consider himself to be some sort of charmer.
"Keh, whatever you say, lady."
Kagome began to consider giving the man her name, when Robin spoke to him first. "I think we should be on our merry little way, Hound. Would you not agree?" Inuyasha growled at the name in displeasure.
"You know that I abhor that given moniker." Miroku twirled a bag a gold around his index finger by the string that kept it drawn close and inquired sarcastically.
"Then shall I call you by your real name in front of these two lovely ladies? Is that what you would prefer?"
He huffed in defeat and responded snappishly, "No I wouldn't, you wise ass."
The thief seemed to completely ignore the insult, instead he returned his attention to Maid Sango. "Now, we would really appreciate it if you followed us no further. You see our hideout must remain between just us thieves. I'm sure you understand. So if you would be so kind as to return to your cart and allow us to keep our little secret, I would be very obliged to you."
Sango and Kagome nodded wordlessly but when the men turned to depart from them, the maiden's voice halted them. "Will I see you again, Robin?" He glanced at her over his shoulder, his smile hidden behind the mask he wore.
"If you keep your eyes on the shadows, I am certain you will find me there soon." And with those parting words, they left the two woman standing before the trickling stream. Their thoughts lingered on the thieves for a moment longer, before they too departed, and returned to their station at their food cart. Once Miroku and his companion reached the cover of Midori Wood, the hood and mask were removed and Miroku changed into the garb of a normal villager. "Now that was a rather eventful day, if I do say so myself." Inuyasha found himself rolling his eyes at the self satisfaction in his friend's voice.
"I will never understand why risking your life is the highlight of your day." Koga ignored the pair, instead his focus was on preparing an edible meal for them to partake in, he knew neither of them capable of the task. Miroku stashed his disguise away in a trunk that was carefully tucked into a large hollow tree.
"Ah, but Inuyasha, I never implied that it was the heist that made today eventful, not to say that our little theft was not an event for today. Yet I do not find it to be the highlight," while he spoke his hand came up in a casual gesture, "In fact, I was referring to something else entirely." Inuyasha eyed him with query, the man always did have a knack for the theatrics.
"Cut the crap with me and just get to the point. Would ya?" Miroku laughed heartily at the hanyou's blunt way with words. It was that honesty that had caused Miroku to place such a great amount of trust in him.
"I was speaking of our short time in the company of pure beauty, Inuyasha. I am quite sure that you have as fine a taste as I. That lady in waiting had a sweet disposition and a lovely face and she did take a keen interest in you, my friend." Inuyasha grunted and turned away to hide the color that he was sure had tinted his cheeks.
"Don't be an idiot, Miroku. You don't always gotta be so dramatic. She was only curious about the ears." With that he transformed into his human self, the one he used to blend in with the villagers and he too left to change into his every day wear. Koga watched on in silence as the two went about their daily banter, amused that they would go through so much hassle to blend in. The wolf youkai only wore a simple mask, one that covered the top half of his face, he moved much too quickly for people to ever recognize him anyway.
"Would both of you just shut up already and come eat? I didn't spend my precious time cooking for you two morons, just for the pair of you to let it get cold." It wasn't the kindest way to call them to dinner, but it was answered nonetheless and they joined the wolf youkai wordlessly.
"Are you going to join in with us for our visit to the village, Koga?" Miroku's cheerful nature was nearly always present, the youkai thief could not even recall the last time he had seen him angry.
"Eh, I don't really see a purpose for it. It's not like I've got anyone to visit there. So what's the point?"
Inuyasha took the last bite of his rabbit stew and responded to the question, which was more than likely asked rhetorically. "You're the only one of us that the villagers don't know about. Maybe they would like to show you their gratitude." Koga scoffed and set his bowl beside him. He laid back into the grass to see if he could catch a glimpse of the night sky through the lush branches.
"Spare me. I don't need any gratitude or thanks, I'm only in on this because I respect your skills, even if I did best the human in a fight." Miroku chuckled at the memory and if his served him correctly, it was he who was impressed with Koga; and just as he had with Inuyasha, he wanted Koga to be a part of his little band of bandits.
"You still have an important role, Koga, and you chose for yourself to believe in the cause. I believe you have earned the gratitude for that alone, it needn't be an idea of your own devising." The fire had begun to burn lower, orange embers still leapt from the licking flames, and the smell of charred hickory hung over their cozy Midori Wood campsite. They had settled into their tents for the night, in hopes that tomorrow would be another sunny day, rain would only put a damper on their plans to return to the village for an extended stay. Miroku laid upon his tattered blankets, his thoughts dwelled on the lovely face and elegant grace of Maid Sango. He sighed contentedly as the crickets began to play the symphony of the forest, he was sure the frogs would soon join in on the song. He closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of nature. The lullaby of the wind in the trees and the soft trickle of water from the small river waterfall; which laid nearby, were the last sounds which were heard, before sleep draped over the campers.
Morning arrived with the warm glow of the sun that broke through the thick cover of the forest. Birds sang in the branches and squirrels scurried about the forest floors in search of acorns. Miroku was the first to wake up, as was usual, and he climbed out of his tent into the morning air. He would have to start preparing their breakfast, even if he was not the one best suited for the task, honestly he was the worst. He was sure he could handle preparing something as simple as bacon and eggs. What was the worst thing that could happen? Inuyasha and Koga were soon awakened by the smell of burning bacon and upon leaving their tents, had found a cooking breakfast had been left unattended. Inuyasha grumbled audibly, before he called out harshly, "Miroku! Where the hell did you go?!" It was silent for a while, but soon the sound of feet rustling through the grass reached their ears, and Miroku appeared through the trees.
"What are you shouting at me for? Are you trying to let Naraku know where we are?" Instead of giving the man a straight forward answer, Inuyasha merely pointed to the pan on the fire. Miroku glanced to where his attention was directed and grimaced when he remembered what he had been doing. "Oh that, it was not truly my fault. I had heard a noise and I could not go without investigating it's source. That would have been foolish, considering our wanted statuses. Would you not agree?" Koga sighed and pulled the pan off the fire. He discarded the contents of the unedible meal and started the process over.
"Next time you have the idea to cook, do us a favor, don't." Miroku chuckled warmly at Koga's request, not the least bit insulted by it.
"Alright. I promise to abstain from preparing another meal for us." It didn't take long for Koga to prepare a proper breakfast and after the food had been eaten, and Miroku and Inuyasha got ready to leave for Nakimoto. Miroku put the last of his needs in a small parcel bag. "Are you sure that you will not be joining us, Koga?" The wolf youkai poked the fire and kept it burning, before he turned his attention towards his friend.
"I am quite sure, someone should stay behind and keep watch here. We wouldn't want anyone to discover our safe haven, now would we? It is best for us all if I remain behind."
Miroku eyed him with concern, then firmly stated, "Well next time we plan a trip, we will completely take down our campsite, and you will be joining us. No arguments, I will not take no for answer." Koga sighed but nodded his consent, there was no use arguing when that man had made up his mind.
"Fine. Whatever you say, Miroku." Shortly after that discussion, the pair put back on their disguises, left Koga behind, and began the journey back to Nakimoto.
(AN) I apologise profusely for not updating my stories in recent months. I'm still having issues with my laptop and am in thr process of saving up for a new one. I moved to a different city at the end of July, got a job, and had to wait for us to get wifi before I could post. I will try and write when I can and when I can get my computer to actually power on. Keep an eye out for other stories, I will attempt to work on them in the coming weeks. For now please enjoy my take on Robin Hood Inuyasha style. Please leave a review, favorite, or follow.