InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Passing Cloud ❯ Catching Up ( Chapter 6 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Bing_Tian_Xue_Di 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.25.2010 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 293 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Romance / Drama / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.25.2010 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.9K | Visits: 293 | Status: Work In Progress
It's been three years since my last update! Sorry! Hopefully someone will still be interested in this story. I wanted to finish it before I went on with my newer stories, but I don't know about this chapter. I sort of got off track, so it's might not be consistant with the previous chapters, etc... And it might be a little boring because I'm building up to the good part hehe :/
By the way, I just want to remind everyone that Sango means coral. This will make sense halfway into the chapter :]
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Chapter six
"Ahh, I'm so tired!" Kagome silently complained, but didn't dare to voice her thoughts. They had only begun their long journey an hour ago, and she realized that even Miroku would quickly lose patience with her if she were to start complaining at this point, especially considering that she had a bicycle while he had to walk. She hadn't anticipated that only a month away from this routine would cause her to fall out of shape so much. How could that have happened? It wasn't as if she spent all her time at home just lying around.
"How are you doing back there?" Miroku's voice called from a distance ahead, jerking her from her thoughts. She hadn't realized that she had fallen behind already, and she quickly sped up her pace to catch up.
"I had thought I'd be the one to lag behind." He lightly teased her. "I'll be happy to carry you for a bit if you get too tired." He added, strangely just from the goodness of his heart without a single trace of nefariousness.
"No no, I'm fine! I just got lost in my thoughts for a moment, that's all!" She laughed it off, and sped up a little as if that would prove her point.
"Well, try to keep up then. We need to stay focused, we don't have a lot of time to spare." He reminded her. She nodded without a word and took special care to not fall behind any more than a few feet from then on.
-
It was so quiet with just the two of them.
"That's because Inuyasha isn't here to tell at everybody." Kagome thought. She hated the way it felt like several eternities lapsed between each of their conversations. To make it even worse, it was only the late morning, and they still had a full day ahead of them. Miroku seemed so unlike himself. She figured he was still thinking of Sango. She felt like she should say something to help take their minds off of it and make their journey a little more amiable, but what?
"It's kind of quiet when it's just the two of us, isn't it?" Miroku admitted before she had the chance. "Now that I think about it, I guess we wouldn't really have too much in common, would we?"
"Of course we do! We've had experiences together that not a lot of other people can claim, haven't we?"
"That's true, but are those the kinds of things you want to talk about at a time like this?" Miroku questioned, and she realized he was right.
"No matter how well you think you know somebody, there's always something new to learn about them. Why don't you tell me something about you I don't know?" She spoke off the top of her head.
He pondered for a moment. "Like what?"
"Anything! Surely there's something about you that I don't know yet." She encouraged him. Mentally, she sighed. This sober monk was so unlike the joyful and carefree Miroku she had known before.
"Hmmm…." He pondered some more.
'What could be so hard about this?' she wondered as he took his time.
"How about I go first?" She finally offered. "When I was a child, I had a doll that I absolutely adored. I took her everywhere, and I'd cry when my mom would try to get me to leave her at home. She got filthy a lot because I would drag her around the dirt at the playground with me. It's kind of embarrassing…I didn't stop playing with her until I was 12 years old! I don't play with her now of course, but I still have her. I don't think I could ever get myself to just throw her away, or even give her to someone else…" She babbled and looked over at him to find him looking back with an unreadable expression. "But…maybe that's not really the type of thing you're interested in knowing about." She shrunk back in embarrassment.
"No," He assured her. "I don't mind." He was silent for a little bit. "Did she have a name?" he finally inquired.
Kagome grinned. "Sachiko!"
"I had a fish."
"A fish?"
"Well I didn't really own it. It lived in a pond. But I sat by the pond often just to watch it."
"Did the fish have a name?" She mimicked him.
He pursed his lips as he tried to recall. "I don't believe I named it. It wasn't my pet, so I guess I just didn't bother giving it a name. It was beautiful though. About this big." He demonstrated with his hands. "It was white with a few gold and black spots."
"It sounds lovely. I don't think I know anyone else who grew fond of a fish that wasn't their pet before."
"It was very relaxing to me. It was just a little bit after my father died. Back then I didn't know what was going to happen or what to do, so it was calming to just sit and watch it gracefully swim around."
"Oh…" As dumb as she felt, she didn't really know what to say to that. This wasn't where she meant for the conversation to end up. "At least now you know it all ended up okay." She tried to sound cheerful.
"Yes." He put on a painfully obvious fake smile. "In that regard, anyway."
She suppressed a sigh and rolled her head back to look up at the sky. She was sad too, but at least she was making an effort to act optimistic about things.
-
The breeze blew through her hair as she coasted down a grassy hill on her bike. It felt good since the midday sun was getting to be just a little too hot for her liking.
"Miroku?" she asked. "Would it be alright to stop and rest for just a little while? We can reenergize." She shook her backpack full of instant noodles and other quick snacks. "And it would be nice to get out of the sun for a few minutes." She tried to stay humble. She found herself acting differently than she would have with Inuyasha…perhaps because she had been the one to beg Miroku to guide her.
He looked up at the sun as if calculating. "Of course. We've made good time already." He agreed, and they moved towards a group of trees they had spotted at the base of the hill.
They went to sit under the shade of a tall tree and Kagome offered him a bottle of water, which would have been refreshing if it hadn't gotten so hot in the backpack. Unfortunately it hadn't gotten hot enough to make the instant noodles, so their snack choices were rather limited. Minimum words were spoken as she shared a bag of rice crackers with him, and after they ate he propped up against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
Kagome didn't want to say anything, but she was a little peeved. She had been trying to make the trip enjoyable and he didn't even want to talk to her! Well fine. She had tried making conversation already, so if this is what he wants, she won't interfere anymore.
"Let's only spend money if it's raining." He suddenly spoke up, without so much as opening his eyes.
"Eh?" She was startled out of her annoyance.
"I've been trying to figure out our budget. Obviously it won't be too much different from what we're used to dealing with. I may be able to make some money from a few blessings here and there, but not much. Even if we shared a room, it can start to get expensive. So if you don't mind, we'll need to sleep outside as much as we can in order to save money for other necessities." He had clearly been giving a lot of thought to this. Honestly it was something she hadn't even considered that much. She had just assumed it would be like it was before, but he was right.
"Y-yeah. Of course. It would be silly to waste money on accommodations when the weather is nice." She agreed.
"But it's almost June." He quickly reminded her. "The rainy season will start in just a few days, so I think we need to work our hardest until then, to at least ensure that we have enough money saved up for somewhere to stay."
That's right! She had totally forgotten about the rainy season too! She suddenly felt so impetuous, jumping into this situation without mapping out a plan beforehand.
"I'm sorry Miroku." She blurted to him. "I've forced you into doing this and I didn't even think things like this through."
He just shook his head. "I've had worse experiences." He assured her. "Plus a little rain isn't going to kill us. It's better to go ahead with this now than wait around any longer and watch our chance slip through our hands."
She smiled and nodded. "And…" She hesitated before continuing. "When we do rent a room, I don't mind sharing if it will save money." Her discomfort came through in her voice. But she could trust him now, right?
He laughed for the first time that day. "I appreciate your compliance, Kagome. Since we will be spending the nights alone together out here anyway, it wouldn't make sense to get separate rooms at an inn."
"Eh!" Kagome hadn't considered that before, either, but he made a good point. But at least at an inn, someone would be able to hear her scream…
-
Kagome felt a lot better once they went on their way again. Not only did they have a more clear-cut plan, but now she knew that the reason he had been so quiet was because he had been in deep thought, and not because of her.
They stuck to their plan that first nightfall and set up camp in a little clearing on the forest floor. Kagome went about unrolling her sleeping bag and looking forward to finally crawling in and conking out. She felt like they had walked across continents, rather than just a few miles.
Then she remembered Miroku and that stopped her in her tracks.
"I'm sorry Miroku…I only have the one sleeping bag. Would you like to take it tonight?" She had to force herself to offer. He was probably even more tired than she was, since he had been on foot all day.
"That's okay, Kagome. Don't worry about me. As a monk, I don't require the usual comforts for the body." He appeared to be dead serious.
'Yeah right!' Her mind screamed, but she held her tongue. "Well if you change your mind…" She began, and slid in to the soft and wonderful fabric.
She opened her eyes what she thought was a few seconds later, but instead of the darkness she saw the light golden beginnings of daylight creeping up around her.
But wait…the stars were still too bright and the birds were still too quiet. That wasn't daylight, but the light of a campfire Miroku must have started after she fell asleep.
She turned and saw him a few yards away, sitting in front of the glowing flames.
"Did I wake you?" He asked softly.
"No." She moaned a little sleepily. "I guess I woke myself up. Why aren't you asleep?"
"I thought I had better keep a watch out for danger." He explained, but she knew he was lying. There were no dangerous creatures in these woods and they didn't have anyone after them, so there was little reason to be on guard. But nevertheless she went along with it.
"You need your rest too. We should take turns. Why don't you go to sleep and I'll stay up for awhile?" She tried to convince him, even though she knew she would fall back asleep within five minutes anyway.
"No, that's unnecessary. Please go back to sleep. We've got another long day ahead of us tomorrow." He tried to sound enthusiastic but was too transparent.
But Kagome didn't say another word; she just nodded and sank back down into her makeshift bed.
'You're still thinking of her, aren't you?' she wanted to say. But instead she shut her eyes and drifted back to her dreams.
-
They began their journey again bright and early the next morning. Kagome couldn't believe it was only their second day. It felt like they had been travelling for years. It had been different with more people. More people to talk to, more stories to be told.
Kagome never knew if Miroku had slept at all the night before. He was already up when she woke up and didn't make any conversation other than asking if she was ready to get going.
"Wanna play a game?" She asked when she couldn't bear the silence any longer. "It will help the time go by faster."
"A game? What kind?"
"Hmmm…" She thought. "Do you know any word games?"
"Not really."
This was going to be another frustrating morning, she saw.
"Okay, then I'll teach you one. I'll say a word and you say the first word that comes to mind, and then I'll say the first word that comes to mind, and so on. Got it?"
"I suppose I do."
"Water." She began.
"Ocean."
"Seaweed."
"Fish."
"San-" She began, and then realized what she almost let slip out. "S-sand." She stuttered. Miroku would have to be an idiot to not know what she had almost said. This game was a bad idea.
"Nothing really comes to mind for sand." He said after a second.
She rolled her eyes at herself. Great. Five words and the game was over already, and it was her fault. Why did she always have to mess up their conversations? But the real question was: Why did she feel like they needed to walk on eggshells concerning Sango and Shippo?
'They wouldn't have wanted us to be like this. They would have wanted us to fondly remember them, and laugh about the fun times we had together.' She told herself, and wished she could tell Miroku that, too. But she couldn't get herself to speak the words out loud. He was so gloomy since she came back. It was like he was a totally different person now.
That was probably just because they were on a hunt for a way to get Inuyasha back, and not the others. She had a chance to get what she wanted back, and he didn't. She didn't blame him when she thought of it that way.
But as painful as it was, they had to keep going. There was the possibility of getting one of them back, and that was worth putting themselves through far worse things than awkward silences.
-
"Hey, look!" Kagome alerted Miroku as they came across a patch of wild mushrooms.
"Poisonous." He said, and kept on walking.
She heaved a sigh and kept peddling behind him. She wanted some fruits and vegetables to add to her instant noodles. And some real meat, too, not just the tiny, chewy pieces of 'meat' that were sparsely mixed in already. Maybe they would come across a river and be able to catch some fish to grill for dinner…
Her stomach rumbled at the thought, and she knew Miroku had heard her. They hadn't had a big lunch since they were trying to ration out what they had for as long as they could.
"We should reach the village soon. I'll try to do what I can so you can eat enough this evening." He offered without looking back at her.
"No, that's okay! I've wanted to drop some weight, anyway." She tried to laugh. 'That was stupid! Just say yes!' Her inner voice berated her good manners.
Miroku suddenly stopped and Kagome dragged her feet in the dirt to stop her bicycle a few feet behind him.
"Kagome, please just think of me as a good friend and don't hesitate to ask me for something. It's not necessary for you to be so polite." He turned to face her and smiled a genuinely friendly smile. "I will take good care of you on this journey, okay?" He punctuated before he turned back around and started walking again without waiting for her to reply.
"Miroku!" Kagome quickly peddled to catch up to him. "I want you to know how grateful I am for your help." She finally said what she should have said a long time ago.
"I know you are." He simply said. "And I'm happy to assist you."
"E-even though things are different now," She stuttered as she tried to phrase her words just right. "I hope we can still be like we were before." She wanted to continue to say all of the things she had been thinking this whole time, her thoughts about what Sango and Shippo would have wanted, about how he could talk to her about his grief he must be feeling still.
But she was interrupted when Miroku stopped once again at the top of the tall hill they had been crossing. He pointed out to the horizon and looked toward her with happy eyes.
"Look! We were making better time than I thought!" He finally sounded somewhat joyous.
Kagome looked out to where he was gesturing to see the first village on their long list sitting just a little bit further ahead of them.
A smile involuntarily crept over her face. This meant that their journey might already be over. It also meant that their long journey might just be beginning. And it meant that they would get to rest for the remainder of the day.
They hurried down the hill to the village and appeared to be a happy couple as they entered the quiet farming outskirts and headed to the slightly more bustling center.
"Travellers!" An old woman who was missing several of her teeth called out and she hobbled over to greet them. She probably ran an inn and was looking for someone to rent a room.
"Need a place to stay for the night?" She proved Kagome's thoughts right.
"No, I don't think we will be staying the night." Miroku politely declined, and Kagome's heart sank. That's right, it wasn't raining, so they had to save their money. But then again, if this town had what they were looking for their search would be over, so they wouldn't need to save their money. But then again, if this town had what they were looking for things like a bed to sleep in would be the furthest thing from their minds.
"Kagome? Aren't you coming?" Miroku's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She had completely missed their conversation! Well wherever they were going, she hurried to catch up for what felt like the hundredth time.
"The temple! Of course!" Kagome realized once Miroku stopped in front of the old building. She parked her bicycle and followed Miroku in with baited breath. This could be it…
"A what?" The resident monk looked confused after they had explained what they were looking for.
"I guess that means you don't have one." Miroku sighed.
The monk shook his head. "I'm very sorry, but I do not. I wish I could be of assistance to you. You must have travelled a long way." He said as he eyed Kagome's clothes. "Please, let me at least provide your evening meal before you go." He said very humbly.
"Oh no, we couldn't trouble you." Kagome bowed back to him.
"But that's what I'm here for!" he reminded her.
Twenty minutes later they were seated in front of their hot bowls of rice and simmered vegetables. This monk obviously stuck closer to his Buddhist teachings than Miroku did. Oh well, at least there were vegetables! Kagome tried to stay grateful and dug in. It was better than instant noodles again, even though this probably wouldn't keep her full through the night.
They finished quickly and thanked the monk profusely for what he had been able to help them with before they exited. If only they were able to stay the night there! Kagome wished, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, Miroku looked like he had more business to take care of, with the way he was quickly walking to their next destination.
He stopped just outside of the village by the little creek that flowed there.
"Miroku?" Kagome inquired as he just stood by the edge of the water and motionlessly peered down.
He didn't answer at first and appeared to be meditating. Maybe that kind monk filled him with a new passion for his job, she pondered as she observed his curious actions.
After a short while he suddenly plunged the end of his staff into the water and lifted it up, displaying the medium sized fish he had speared for her to see.
"Wow Miroku! I've never seen you do that before!" She praised his fishing skills as he came back to her side.
"To be honest I didn't know it would work so well." He seemed as impressed with himself as she was. "Anyway, I'm glad it did. I promised you I would make sure you had enough to eat tonight." He reminded her as he went about searching for twigs and sticks to start a fire.
"Oh Miroku, you really didn't-"
"What did I say before?" he stood and looked at her.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me." She backtracked and rephrased her words.
"It's the least I can do. You took such good care of us in the past." He spoke as he began to build a little fire right by the creek. The sun was nearly setting so the soft glow was nice, and the sound of the gentle creek was relaxing.
They sat in silence as the fish grilled over the flames and Kagome wanted so badly to jump in the water and wash away all of the sweat and dirt that had collected on her over the past two days. But obviously she couldn't with Miroku right beside her.
Once the fish was cooked he removed it from the fire and handed it to her.
"Aren't you going to take half?" She asked before she took it from him.
"You eat first." He insisted. "I'll take what's left."
Why is he being so nice to me? She wondered as she waited for her meat to cool a little. She couldn't help but think about what it would be like if the others were there with them. Inuyasha would have grabbed the fish before anyone else had a chance and then would have yelled at Miroku for not catching more than one. Shippo would probably be crying over the stolen fish, and Sango would be helping Kagome to berate Inuyasha for his selfishness. Or maybe Shippo would be having too much fun splashing in the water to even…
She felt her eyes become wet and her throat get tight, so she emptied the thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to cry in front of Miroku. Instead she occupied herself with eating the fish-enough to fill her up and to let him know that she was very appreciative of his hard work, but also making sure to leave enough for him.
"Thanks for the food." She said as she passed the remainder to him. He took it and began to nibble on the rest of the meat.
They didn't say much for the rest of the evening, just a comment here and there about the warm fire, and how they might have better luck at the next village. They were both just too exhausted to bother with much else, and before she knew it, Kagome had fallen asleep where she sat, without even bothering to set up her sleeping bag.
She woke up in the middle of the night, as she had the night before, but this time it was because of her aching back caused by the hard and uneven ground.
She moaned as she sat up, her back popping and cracking as she moved, and felt around for her backpack. The fire had gone out long ago but the stars were bright enough to guide her, and to let her see Miroku sleeping peacefully a couple of feet away. She was glad to see that he had allowed himself to rest this time.
She lingered for a second before deciding to spread out her sleeping bag on the ground and hopefully maneuver Miroku onto it without disturbing him from his sleep.
She thought it had been a big success after she had nudged him onto the fabric, but when she started to go back to her own spot, he grabbed her hand to prevent her from leaving his side.
"Kagome," He said quietly, and she felt startled. Perhaps he had just been playing nice all this time, and now that she was out here in the middle of nowhere with him, and totally helpless he was going to turn back into a lecher! How dare he!
"Don't leave." He spoke, and that's when she realized that he wasn't awake at all. He was talking in his sleep! "You're all I have left. Please don't leave." He frowned slightly and his grip on her hand tightened.
Kagome couldn't help but frown as well. He looked completely desolate and lost.
"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She whispered back, even though she knew he couldn't hear. Nevertheless his grip on her hand relaxed and she was able to crawl back to her spot.
It took her a long time to go back to sleep after that.
By the way, I just want to remind everyone that Sango means coral. This will make sense halfway into the chapter :]
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Chapter six
"Ahh, I'm so tired!" Kagome silently complained, but didn't dare to voice her thoughts. They had only begun their long journey an hour ago, and she realized that even Miroku would quickly lose patience with her if she were to start complaining at this point, especially considering that she had a bicycle while he had to walk. She hadn't anticipated that only a month away from this routine would cause her to fall out of shape so much. How could that have happened? It wasn't as if she spent all her time at home just lying around.
"How are you doing back there?" Miroku's voice called from a distance ahead, jerking her from her thoughts. She hadn't realized that she had fallen behind already, and she quickly sped up her pace to catch up.
"I had thought I'd be the one to lag behind." He lightly teased her. "I'll be happy to carry you for a bit if you get too tired." He added, strangely just from the goodness of his heart without a single trace of nefariousness.
"No no, I'm fine! I just got lost in my thoughts for a moment, that's all!" She laughed it off, and sped up a little as if that would prove her point.
"Well, try to keep up then. We need to stay focused, we don't have a lot of time to spare." He reminded her. She nodded without a word and took special care to not fall behind any more than a few feet from then on.
-
It was so quiet with just the two of them.
"That's because Inuyasha isn't here to tell at everybody." Kagome thought. She hated the way it felt like several eternities lapsed between each of their conversations. To make it even worse, it was only the late morning, and they still had a full day ahead of them. Miroku seemed so unlike himself. She figured he was still thinking of Sango. She felt like she should say something to help take their minds off of it and make their journey a little more amiable, but what?
"It's kind of quiet when it's just the two of us, isn't it?" Miroku admitted before she had the chance. "Now that I think about it, I guess we wouldn't really have too much in common, would we?"
"Of course we do! We've had experiences together that not a lot of other people can claim, haven't we?"
"That's true, but are those the kinds of things you want to talk about at a time like this?" Miroku questioned, and she realized he was right.
"No matter how well you think you know somebody, there's always something new to learn about them. Why don't you tell me something about you I don't know?" She spoke off the top of her head.
He pondered for a moment. "Like what?"
"Anything! Surely there's something about you that I don't know yet." She encouraged him. Mentally, she sighed. This sober monk was so unlike the joyful and carefree Miroku she had known before.
"Hmmm…." He pondered some more.
'What could be so hard about this?' she wondered as he took his time.
"How about I go first?" She finally offered. "When I was a child, I had a doll that I absolutely adored. I took her everywhere, and I'd cry when my mom would try to get me to leave her at home. She got filthy a lot because I would drag her around the dirt at the playground with me. It's kind of embarrassing…I didn't stop playing with her until I was 12 years old! I don't play with her now of course, but I still have her. I don't think I could ever get myself to just throw her away, or even give her to someone else…" She babbled and looked over at him to find him looking back with an unreadable expression. "But…maybe that's not really the type of thing you're interested in knowing about." She shrunk back in embarrassment.
"No," He assured her. "I don't mind." He was silent for a little bit. "Did she have a name?" he finally inquired.
Kagome grinned. "Sachiko!"
"I had a fish."
"A fish?"
"Well I didn't really own it. It lived in a pond. But I sat by the pond often just to watch it."
"Did the fish have a name?" She mimicked him.
He pursed his lips as he tried to recall. "I don't believe I named it. It wasn't my pet, so I guess I just didn't bother giving it a name. It was beautiful though. About this big." He demonstrated with his hands. "It was white with a few gold and black spots."
"It sounds lovely. I don't think I know anyone else who grew fond of a fish that wasn't their pet before."
"It was very relaxing to me. It was just a little bit after my father died. Back then I didn't know what was going to happen or what to do, so it was calming to just sit and watch it gracefully swim around."
"Oh…" As dumb as she felt, she didn't really know what to say to that. This wasn't where she meant for the conversation to end up. "At least now you know it all ended up okay." She tried to sound cheerful.
"Yes." He put on a painfully obvious fake smile. "In that regard, anyway."
She suppressed a sigh and rolled her head back to look up at the sky. She was sad too, but at least she was making an effort to act optimistic about things.
-
The breeze blew through her hair as she coasted down a grassy hill on her bike. It felt good since the midday sun was getting to be just a little too hot for her liking.
"Miroku?" she asked. "Would it be alright to stop and rest for just a little while? We can reenergize." She shook her backpack full of instant noodles and other quick snacks. "And it would be nice to get out of the sun for a few minutes." She tried to stay humble. She found herself acting differently than she would have with Inuyasha…perhaps because she had been the one to beg Miroku to guide her.
He looked up at the sun as if calculating. "Of course. We've made good time already." He agreed, and they moved towards a group of trees they had spotted at the base of the hill.
They went to sit under the shade of a tall tree and Kagome offered him a bottle of water, which would have been refreshing if it hadn't gotten so hot in the backpack. Unfortunately it hadn't gotten hot enough to make the instant noodles, so their snack choices were rather limited. Minimum words were spoken as she shared a bag of rice crackers with him, and after they ate he propped up against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
Kagome didn't want to say anything, but she was a little peeved. She had been trying to make the trip enjoyable and he didn't even want to talk to her! Well fine. She had tried making conversation already, so if this is what he wants, she won't interfere anymore.
"Let's only spend money if it's raining." He suddenly spoke up, without so much as opening his eyes.
"Eh?" She was startled out of her annoyance.
"I've been trying to figure out our budget. Obviously it won't be too much different from what we're used to dealing with. I may be able to make some money from a few blessings here and there, but not much. Even if we shared a room, it can start to get expensive. So if you don't mind, we'll need to sleep outside as much as we can in order to save money for other necessities." He had clearly been giving a lot of thought to this. Honestly it was something she hadn't even considered that much. She had just assumed it would be like it was before, but he was right.
"Y-yeah. Of course. It would be silly to waste money on accommodations when the weather is nice." She agreed.
"But it's almost June." He quickly reminded her. "The rainy season will start in just a few days, so I think we need to work our hardest until then, to at least ensure that we have enough money saved up for somewhere to stay."
That's right! She had totally forgotten about the rainy season too! She suddenly felt so impetuous, jumping into this situation without mapping out a plan beforehand.
"I'm sorry Miroku." She blurted to him. "I've forced you into doing this and I didn't even think things like this through."
He just shook his head. "I've had worse experiences." He assured her. "Plus a little rain isn't going to kill us. It's better to go ahead with this now than wait around any longer and watch our chance slip through our hands."
She smiled and nodded. "And…" She hesitated before continuing. "When we do rent a room, I don't mind sharing if it will save money." Her discomfort came through in her voice. But she could trust him now, right?
He laughed for the first time that day. "I appreciate your compliance, Kagome. Since we will be spending the nights alone together out here anyway, it wouldn't make sense to get separate rooms at an inn."
"Eh!" Kagome hadn't considered that before, either, but he made a good point. But at least at an inn, someone would be able to hear her scream…
-
Kagome felt a lot better once they went on their way again. Not only did they have a more clear-cut plan, but now she knew that the reason he had been so quiet was because he had been in deep thought, and not because of her.
They stuck to their plan that first nightfall and set up camp in a little clearing on the forest floor. Kagome went about unrolling her sleeping bag and looking forward to finally crawling in and conking out. She felt like they had walked across continents, rather than just a few miles.
Then she remembered Miroku and that stopped her in her tracks.
"I'm sorry Miroku…I only have the one sleeping bag. Would you like to take it tonight?" She had to force herself to offer. He was probably even more tired than she was, since he had been on foot all day.
"That's okay, Kagome. Don't worry about me. As a monk, I don't require the usual comforts for the body." He appeared to be dead serious.
'Yeah right!' Her mind screamed, but she held her tongue. "Well if you change your mind…" She began, and slid in to the soft and wonderful fabric.
She opened her eyes what she thought was a few seconds later, but instead of the darkness she saw the light golden beginnings of daylight creeping up around her.
But wait…the stars were still too bright and the birds were still too quiet. That wasn't daylight, but the light of a campfire Miroku must have started after she fell asleep.
She turned and saw him a few yards away, sitting in front of the glowing flames.
"Did I wake you?" He asked softly.
"No." She moaned a little sleepily. "I guess I woke myself up. Why aren't you asleep?"
"I thought I had better keep a watch out for danger." He explained, but she knew he was lying. There were no dangerous creatures in these woods and they didn't have anyone after them, so there was little reason to be on guard. But nevertheless she went along with it.
"You need your rest too. We should take turns. Why don't you go to sleep and I'll stay up for awhile?" She tried to convince him, even though she knew she would fall back asleep within five minutes anyway.
"No, that's unnecessary. Please go back to sleep. We've got another long day ahead of us tomorrow." He tried to sound enthusiastic but was too transparent.
But Kagome didn't say another word; she just nodded and sank back down into her makeshift bed.
'You're still thinking of her, aren't you?' she wanted to say. But instead she shut her eyes and drifted back to her dreams.
-
They began their journey again bright and early the next morning. Kagome couldn't believe it was only their second day. It felt like they had been travelling for years. It had been different with more people. More people to talk to, more stories to be told.
Kagome never knew if Miroku had slept at all the night before. He was already up when she woke up and didn't make any conversation other than asking if she was ready to get going.
"Wanna play a game?" She asked when she couldn't bear the silence any longer. "It will help the time go by faster."
"A game? What kind?"
"Hmmm…" She thought. "Do you know any word games?"
"Not really."
This was going to be another frustrating morning, she saw.
"Okay, then I'll teach you one. I'll say a word and you say the first word that comes to mind, and then I'll say the first word that comes to mind, and so on. Got it?"
"I suppose I do."
"Water." She began.
"Ocean."
"Seaweed."
"Fish."
"San-" She began, and then realized what she almost let slip out. "S-sand." She stuttered. Miroku would have to be an idiot to not know what she had almost said. This game was a bad idea.
"Nothing really comes to mind for sand." He said after a second.
She rolled her eyes at herself. Great. Five words and the game was over already, and it was her fault. Why did she always have to mess up their conversations? But the real question was: Why did she feel like they needed to walk on eggshells concerning Sango and Shippo?
'They wouldn't have wanted us to be like this. They would have wanted us to fondly remember them, and laugh about the fun times we had together.' She told herself, and wished she could tell Miroku that, too. But she couldn't get herself to speak the words out loud. He was so gloomy since she came back. It was like he was a totally different person now.
That was probably just because they were on a hunt for a way to get Inuyasha back, and not the others. She had a chance to get what she wanted back, and he didn't. She didn't blame him when she thought of it that way.
But as painful as it was, they had to keep going. There was the possibility of getting one of them back, and that was worth putting themselves through far worse things than awkward silences.
-
"Hey, look!" Kagome alerted Miroku as they came across a patch of wild mushrooms.
"Poisonous." He said, and kept on walking.
She heaved a sigh and kept peddling behind him. She wanted some fruits and vegetables to add to her instant noodles. And some real meat, too, not just the tiny, chewy pieces of 'meat' that were sparsely mixed in already. Maybe they would come across a river and be able to catch some fish to grill for dinner…
Her stomach rumbled at the thought, and she knew Miroku had heard her. They hadn't had a big lunch since they were trying to ration out what they had for as long as they could.
"We should reach the village soon. I'll try to do what I can so you can eat enough this evening." He offered without looking back at her.
"No, that's okay! I've wanted to drop some weight, anyway." She tried to laugh. 'That was stupid! Just say yes!' Her inner voice berated her good manners.
Miroku suddenly stopped and Kagome dragged her feet in the dirt to stop her bicycle a few feet behind him.
"Kagome, please just think of me as a good friend and don't hesitate to ask me for something. It's not necessary for you to be so polite." He turned to face her and smiled a genuinely friendly smile. "I will take good care of you on this journey, okay?" He punctuated before he turned back around and started walking again without waiting for her to reply.
"Miroku!" Kagome quickly peddled to catch up to him. "I want you to know how grateful I am for your help." She finally said what she should have said a long time ago.
"I know you are." He simply said. "And I'm happy to assist you."
"E-even though things are different now," She stuttered as she tried to phrase her words just right. "I hope we can still be like we were before." She wanted to continue to say all of the things she had been thinking this whole time, her thoughts about what Sango and Shippo would have wanted, about how he could talk to her about his grief he must be feeling still.
But she was interrupted when Miroku stopped once again at the top of the tall hill they had been crossing. He pointed out to the horizon and looked toward her with happy eyes.
"Look! We were making better time than I thought!" He finally sounded somewhat joyous.
Kagome looked out to where he was gesturing to see the first village on their long list sitting just a little bit further ahead of them.
A smile involuntarily crept over her face. This meant that their journey might already be over. It also meant that their long journey might just be beginning. And it meant that they would get to rest for the remainder of the day.
They hurried down the hill to the village and appeared to be a happy couple as they entered the quiet farming outskirts and headed to the slightly more bustling center.
"Travellers!" An old woman who was missing several of her teeth called out and she hobbled over to greet them. She probably ran an inn and was looking for someone to rent a room.
"Need a place to stay for the night?" She proved Kagome's thoughts right.
"No, I don't think we will be staying the night." Miroku politely declined, and Kagome's heart sank. That's right, it wasn't raining, so they had to save their money. But then again, if this town had what they were looking for their search would be over, so they wouldn't need to save their money. But then again, if this town had what they were looking for things like a bed to sleep in would be the furthest thing from their minds.
"Kagome? Aren't you coming?" Miroku's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She had completely missed their conversation! Well wherever they were going, she hurried to catch up for what felt like the hundredth time.
"The temple! Of course!" Kagome realized once Miroku stopped in front of the old building. She parked her bicycle and followed Miroku in with baited breath. This could be it…
"A what?" The resident monk looked confused after they had explained what they were looking for.
"I guess that means you don't have one." Miroku sighed.
The monk shook his head. "I'm very sorry, but I do not. I wish I could be of assistance to you. You must have travelled a long way." He said as he eyed Kagome's clothes. "Please, let me at least provide your evening meal before you go." He said very humbly.
"Oh no, we couldn't trouble you." Kagome bowed back to him.
"But that's what I'm here for!" he reminded her.
Twenty minutes later they were seated in front of their hot bowls of rice and simmered vegetables. This monk obviously stuck closer to his Buddhist teachings than Miroku did. Oh well, at least there were vegetables! Kagome tried to stay grateful and dug in. It was better than instant noodles again, even though this probably wouldn't keep her full through the night.
They finished quickly and thanked the monk profusely for what he had been able to help them with before they exited. If only they were able to stay the night there! Kagome wished, but it couldn't be helped. Besides, Miroku looked like he had more business to take care of, with the way he was quickly walking to their next destination.
He stopped just outside of the village by the little creek that flowed there.
"Miroku?" Kagome inquired as he just stood by the edge of the water and motionlessly peered down.
He didn't answer at first and appeared to be meditating. Maybe that kind monk filled him with a new passion for his job, she pondered as she observed his curious actions.
After a short while he suddenly plunged the end of his staff into the water and lifted it up, displaying the medium sized fish he had speared for her to see.
"Wow Miroku! I've never seen you do that before!" She praised his fishing skills as he came back to her side.
"To be honest I didn't know it would work so well." He seemed as impressed with himself as she was. "Anyway, I'm glad it did. I promised you I would make sure you had enough to eat tonight." He reminded her as he went about searching for twigs and sticks to start a fire.
"Oh Miroku, you really didn't-"
"What did I say before?" he stood and looked at her.
"Thank you for taking such good care of me." She backtracked and rephrased her words.
"It's the least I can do. You took such good care of us in the past." He spoke as he began to build a little fire right by the creek. The sun was nearly setting so the soft glow was nice, and the sound of the gentle creek was relaxing.
They sat in silence as the fish grilled over the flames and Kagome wanted so badly to jump in the water and wash away all of the sweat and dirt that had collected on her over the past two days. But obviously she couldn't with Miroku right beside her.
Once the fish was cooked he removed it from the fire and handed it to her.
"Aren't you going to take half?" She asked before she took it from him.
"You eat first." He insisted. "I'll take what's left."
Why is he being so nice to me? She wondered as she waited for her meat to cool a little. She couldn't help but think about what it would be like if the others were there with them. Inuyasha would have grabbed the fish before anyone else had a chance and then would have yelled at Miroku for not catching more than one. Shippo would probably be crying over the stolen fish, and Sango would be helping Kagome to berate Inuyasha for his selfishness. Or maybe Shippo would be having too much fun splashing in the water to even…
She felt her eyes become wet and her throat get tight, so she emptied the thoughts from her mind. She didn't want to cry in front of Miroku. Instead she occupied herself with eating the fish-enough to fill her up and to let him know that she was very appreciative of his hard work, but also making sure to leave enough for him.
"Thanks for the food." She said as she passed the remainder to him. He took it and began to nibble on the rest of the meat.
They didn't say much for the rest of the evening, just a comment here and there about the warm fire, and how they might have better luck at the next village. They were both just too exhausted to bother with much else, and before she knew it, Kagome had fallen asleep where she sat, without even bothering to set up her sleeping bag.
She woke up in the middle of the night, as she had the night before, but this time it was because of her aching back caused by the hard and uneven ground.
She moaned as she sat up, her back popping and cracking as she moved, and felt around for her backpack. The fire had gone out long ago but the stars were bright enough to guide her, and to let her see Miroku sleeping peacefully a couple of feet away. She was glad to see that he had allowed himself to rest this time.
She lingered for a second before deciding to spread out her sleeping bag on the ground and hopefully maneuver Miroku onto it without disturbing him from his sleep.
She thought it had been a big success after she had nudged him onto the fabric, but when she started to go back to her own spot, he grabbed her hand to prevent her from leaving his side.
"Kagome," He said quietly, and she felt startled. Perhaps he had just been playing nice all this time, and now that she was out here in the middle of nowhere with him, and totally helpless he was going to turn back into a lecher! How dare he!
"Don't leave." He spoke, and that's when she realized that he wasn't awake at all. He was talking in his sleep! "You're all I have left. Please don't leave." He frowned slightly and his grip on her hand tightened.
Kagome couldn't help but frown as well. He looked completely desolate and lost.
"I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She whispered back, even though she knew he couldn't hear. Nevertheless his grip on her hand relaxed and she was able to crawl back to her spot.
It took her a long time to go back to sleep after that.