Evanescent
By: HalcyonMoments11
I'm gonna steer clear;
I'll burn up in your atmosphere.
-John Mayer (In Your Atmosphere)
Miroku wasn't avoiding Kagome per se; he was just reestablishing some space between them, reexamining boundaries he had set for himself when it came to the miko years ago. There had been a few too many questionable—albeit enticing—moments between them recently, both intentional and serendipitous. He had lingered on moments from their recent stay in the village, from the bandits' cache, from evenings and afternoons spent training far too frequently in his mind as of late, thoughts that had his mind racing and heart drumming in his ears, breathing slowly to calm the stir of unbeckoned reactions.
He had tried to convince himself that it was just meaningless flirting, playful bantering, inconsequential and circumstantial accidents. But then he'd linger as he did in the moment, eyes caught on her lips, heart stuttering with a shuddered breath, intoxicated by the softness and suppleness of her body pressed close to his, electrified by the intimate flush of her reiki against his. She seemed to him a celestial being at times, one with a gravitational pull as she has described to him from her studies, drawing in the unsuspecting, the willing, the nebulous alike.
'Careful.'
He shouldn't have to warn himself off of her, away from her. He felt precarious, stripped of control. And it didn't help that he had caught himself starring, seeking out her gaze, reaching for the bewitching warmth of her reiki far more than necessary as they travelled back towards Edo.
Fortunately, Inuyasha had made the distance he had tried to garner for himself much easier by goading the miko into an argument that ended with her making a hasty return to her time. She had taken to practicing cloaking her reiki on her own as they travelled, and it had put all the members of the inu-tachi on edge in an entirely and disconcertingly different way from her flourishing chakra over the past few weeks—save, of course, when she had been healing and unable to use her reiki as she recuperated her strength. Even in those moments, something vital had been there, a soothing presence to them all, something that her cloaking attempts effaced, even if only momentarily.
Inuyasha growled, garnering the attention of each distracted member of their group.
"Would ya cut that out Kagome?!"
"Hm?" Perplexed cobalt blue eyes met piqued amber. "What are you talking about Inuyasha?" she asked.
"Whatever the hell you've been doing with your miko nonsense the past few days–cut it out! I can't track any damn shards with you messing around," the hanyou grumbled in response.
Kagome huffed indignantly. "I'm not messing around, Inuyasha; I'm practicing! How else am I supposed to figure this out?!"
Miroku had felt a pang of regret when she mentioned their training, which they had not resumed for days after the bandit cache, despite subtle requests from her to do so.
Their argument had dragged out until Kagome demanded to return home, which led to insults and, ultimately, a furious series of "osuwari," a twitching hanyou in a crater, and the taijiya offering to take Kagome to the Hone Kui no Ido on Kirara.
When Inuyasha had finally pulled himself out of the earth, Miroku joined him in a quiet, day-long treck to Edo, where they met Sango, Kirara, and Shippō at Kaede's to await Kagome's return.
It was nearly a week before she reemerged from the well. When Inuyasha had tried to fetch her three days after she had left, he had returned with his metaphorical tail between his legs, sent away not by Kagome, but by her mother. Inuyasha conveyed her message: after going to a medic in her time, they'd learned that Kagome had almost fractured her ribs in the battle against the reptilian youkai. She'd been put on bed rest, and her mother had insisted on her remaining home for her to actually do so.
It amazed him sometimes how much Kagome was willing to put herself through for her companions, himself included. She had clearly still been in pain throughout their time in the village, during their bandit heist, and yet she had been present, up on her feet, and ready to go for the sake of her friends. Perhaps she didn't understand that they would wait for her if she asked for it. He knew otherwise; knew she feared they would presume her weak for doing so, despite that being far from the truth. She was only human after all.
He rethought every touch, every pause and breath he had noticed over the past few days, cursed himself for being so consumed in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed, even in moments when he had been a breath away from her.
When she returned, they each doted on her in their own ways, subtly so as not to seem insulting; Sango and Kaede would regularly wrap and check her bindings; Shippō and Kirara curled up with her whenever they could; Inuyasha would carry her wherever she would let him and walk watchfully with her otherwise; and Miroku offered her an attentive ear—asking her about her studies, her family, her friends—or companionable silence when she preferred. They remained in Edo for several more days, busied themselves with helping Kaede and villagers wherever and however they could.
Kagome huffs, drawing his attention to where she lays on her futon in Kaede's hut. Her azure eyes are already on him when he looks up from polishing his shakujō. He raises a curious eyebrow when his violet eyes meet her blue.
"Is everything alright, Kagome-sama?" he asks.
She sighs and sits up slowly, tries not to wince despite the bindings around her waist. He notices.
"Kagome-sama, why don't you–"
"I'm bored, Miroku-sama," she grumbles, eyes narrowing in warning.
He raises his hands in mock surrender, chuckles lightly.
"Alright then. What would you like to do, Kagome-sama?"
She moves faster than he expects she will, crosses the small space of the hut, sits down in front of him, her knees brushing his, smile bright.
"A distraction, maybe?"
For a moment he's back in the last village they had sought refuge within during their summer solstice celebration and Kagome has spun herself into his arms, rested herself against him, paused there to catch her breath, and he can't decide if the smile she offers him in that moment or the flush of her reiki is more breathtaking.
She brings him back to the present by adding: "What's next for our training?"
"Ano… are you sure you're up to it?" He asks in response, eyes looking her over carefully, seeking any sign of discomfort.
She frowns. "My ribs are bruised, not broken. Besides, when I use my reiki… it… helps."
Miroku tilts his head curiously. "Do you mean… it alleviates some of your pain?"
Kagome bites her bottom lip in thought, nods slowly.
Of course he has noticed how the medicinal herbs she collects with others seem to keep their vitality for much longer than usual, how the wild flowers she picks with Shippō and weaves into flower crowns hardly wilt, how the flush of her reiki around her seems to enliven the world within her vicinity. He smiles and shakes his head with a small laugh because he can't believe he hadn't realized this before.
"What does that mean, Miroku-sama?" Kagome asks.
He sets his shakujō aside, takes her hands in his. "I believe it may indicate that you have healing abilities, Kagome-sama."
Her eyes widen in surprise. "Healing abilities?"
Miroku nods in response, realizes he is gently brushing his thumbs across the tops of her hands, makes himself stop. He turns her hands over in his. "If you call on your reiki now…"
He pauses, forces himself to breathe as she does so immediately, allowing the gentle pink hue to light up her palms. "How does it feel?" He asks, meeting her azure gaze.
She smiles softly. "Like I can breathe."
Funny how her reiki does the exact opposite to him.
He turns his gaze down to her hands, allows his own chakra to rise to the surface at his fingertips, carefully stretches his hand over hers, fingers moving from the center of her palms out to her wrists. He suppresses a shiver at the feeling of their chakra's blending, entangling. It's been two months since they first trained here in Kaede's hut as they awaited Sango's and Inuyasha's return and yet he still craves more, has not become accustomed to the sensations she stirs from him.
"Using your powers is all about intention; you've heard this before."
Kagome nods, pulls her hands back towards herself slightly and curls her fingers up around his, drawing his gaze back to hers. "You've mentioned it when creating sutras. And that's what Kaede told me when she created Inuyasha's subjugation beads."
"Exactly. Using healing abilities, from what I understand, is also all about intention… We'll start small." He pauses, reaches out to his shakujō, draws his thumb along the sharp edge until blood rises to the surface.
Kagome gasps quietly, reaches for his hand with both of hers, pulls it towards herself. The reiki that has lingered across her skin flares tenderly. He ignores the way his breath falls from his lips with a shudder. Her eyes meet his, scolding him silently and he chuckles in response.
"Look." He instructs gently, squeezing her hand, gesturing for her to look where she has cradled his hand against her chest.
Blue orbs glance down, widen in surprise. The cut is already gone.
Miroku draws his hand out of hers, reaches back out to his shakujō. "Now, this time…" he pulls his thumb across the sharp edge once more, sets his hand in her awaiting palms, blood budding on the small cut on his thumb, "let's try to do this without your instincts. Focus on knitting the skin together."
The sensation of the flush of her reiki across his skin is delightful. He's spent a little over a week trying to distance himself from her, to avoid these indulgences, to ignore her allure. It has taken her only minutes to draw him back in, to show him how her gravity captivates, consumes.
A/N: Part of this chapter inspired an idea for my most recent drabble in my Miroku/Kagome collection Hues of Violet and Blue titled "Gravity". Check it out if you have time and want to see what came from portions of this chapter. Please review? – HM11
