InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Another Time, Another Life ❯ Chapter 7

All Normal Disclaimers Apply

A/N: I'm sorry it's been so long since I last updated. This has not been a normal (school) year. I'm from the Deep South (USA) and we've had an extreme increase in hurricanes this year. One of which ripped right through my state (giving us 3 days off from classes which we just found out we have to make up before the semester ends on Saturdays) and the others just gave us tons of storms and power outages. On top of that I'm taking lit classes out the butt and so I have tons of papers to write.

My goal for this month is to update at least once every week (only for ATAL though), look for an update every Sunday. This gives me three updates this month with the last one being a special Halloween edition. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update. I think I'm going to concentrate just on this fic for a while and finish it before I do anything else. I started too many projects at once and I have a lot more ideas I want to do.

As of right now my fics Some Mistakes Are Worth Making and Finishing Things are being cancelled indefinitely. I've lost all ideas for both of these fics and since I have so many things to finish up right now I figure it would be best just to stop these fics. I'll put an A/Ns note on aff.net and mm.org about this cancellation but if you're on ff.net I'm not risking putting an A/N on there b/c of some of the risky contents of my work.

I have started writing out another fic though I've come to a stand still with that particular fic due to problems with the pairings so I probably won't end up posting that one at all, no worries though it wasn't very good anyway. I do have an awesome idea for another fic, it would be my first Inuyasha/Kagome pairing, that I'm really excited about, but again I'll try to finish some of my current fics before I start on others.

And now that I have wasted plenty of your time, and seriously doubt any of you actually paid attention to any of it. On with the story!

…one last thing…

BIG SHOUT OUT GOES TO SANDY! NO REAL REASON…JUST BECAUSE SHE DESERVES IT! XOXO Hugs and Kisses girl, feel better cause you're great!

Another Time Another Life

Chapter Seven:

Miroku and Kagome spent the afternoon just enjoying themselves in the small, unique shops in downtown Tokyo. Kagome was finding it hard to resist the former monk's charms but then again she never really tried to resist. The two were currently sitting outside a small ice cream parlor eating their recently purchased ice cream delicacies.

Miroku kept his eyes averted as he ate from his cone. He found Kagome's slow, meticulous licking and eating of her own cone to be far too sensual and arousing for him to actually watch (at least in public and without a means to `take care' of his arising problem).

Kagome was licking down her mint chocolate chip ice cream as evenly as possible. She savored the flavor-it was her favorite but she never got to eat it. Her grandfather's cholesterol was through the roof, which meant the whole family had to adjust their diets. She had cried when she found out they wouldn't be able to keep ice cream in the house anymore.

"You seem to be enjoying your ice cream." Miroku commented, eyes still averted.

"Uh-huh!" Kagome agreed through a mouth full of mint chocolate chip. Miroku chuckled as he finished off his own cone.

As he was chewing the last bit his cell phone went off and Miroku answered, mouth still full.

"Hello?" He said muddled into the phone.

"Damn Takai you work fast-already eatin' her out?" Gregor's voice said through the connection.

"What?!" A higher male voice screamed-it was Sota. "What did you say he was doing to my sister?!" The younger boy screamed, obviously panicking.

"You god damn wolf-watch what you're saying around the kid." Miroku growled out.

"What?" Kagome asked surprised at his last comment.

Miroku shook his head at his stupidity. "What do you want and why is Sota with you?"

"Sota? Who's he with?" Kagome asked finish off her own cone.

"I figured you would forget to pick him up so I walked over to collect him. Want to come pick us both up now?" Gregor explained. The sound of kids echoed in the background.

Looking at his watch for the first time since lunch, he noticed he was late picking up the kid.

"Yeah we'll be over there in a second. We're downtown currently so it'll take a little bit." Miroku answered.

Gregor said they would be waiting and then hung up.

Standing up, Miroku replaced the phone in his pocket and held out his other hand for Kagome to take. She took it gratefully and they walked away from the ice cream parlor towards the cart-hands and fingers intertwined.

*~*~*~*

Gregor was busy teaching several young boys, including Sota, how to play poker. He had no problem adjusting to the younger kids and had fun playing. It was a way to relate to the childhood he had long ago grown out of.

"I call a cookie and raise you a snack pack." Sota said trying hard to keep his face straight.

Gregor saw through it though and called back. The other kids slowly dropped out as the snack betting went out of their range.

"I call your pizza IOU and raise you…Kagome's diary." Sota said.

`Now it's getting interesting.' Gregor smiled and called. "Show your cards kid."

*~*~*~*

Kagome and Miroku drove up to the sight of a very happy Scottish teen doing a goofy sort of dance around a group of pouting boys.

"What's going on here?" Kagome asked as she made her way out of the car and towards the group.

"I expect my payment by the end of the week kid." Gregor said not noticing the new arrivals.

"What payment? Why do you have to pay him something?" Kagome asked with hands held on her hips.

Seeing that she wasn't going to let the subject drop Sota told her half of what had just occurred.

"Gregor taught us how to play poker and I lost."

Kagome glared at the Scot who was now trying to hide behind Miroku.

"You taught my little brother and his friends to play poker! Is something wrong with you!?" She all but screamed.

"Calm down Kagome its just a little poker, it's not going to harm them." Gregor defended himself still behind the relative protection of his friend.

"What next?! Are you going to take them to a strip club?" Kagome accused back.

"Hey yeah, let's do that this weekend!" The younger boys said. A fixed glare from Kagome got them all to shut up quickly.

"No-Miroku would do that before me." Gregor teased.

"Oh no you don't! Don't you dare drag me into your mess." He replied finally moving so he didn't hide Gregor away from Kagome's wrath.

Kagome got up into Gergor's face and starting yelling at him while the other stayed quietly out of the way.

"Hey Takai-why did he call you Miroku?" Sota asked tugging on Miroku's jeans.

He tried to think of a quick explanation.

"You're him aren't you? The monk…from…you know…'back then'"

Miroku's eyes widened at how easily the kid put it together.

"You look just like the drawings-except you know…minus the dress."

"It wasn't a dress. It was the standard outfit of a humble monk."

"Humble!" Sota snorted. "From what I heard you were a lecher and a thief."

Kagome and Gregor had stopped arguing and were listening to Miroku and Sota. They both began to laugh when they heard Sota's last statement.

"He's got you pegged pretty well." Gregor laughed leaning his arm on Kagome's shoulder for support.

"Wait! Does that mean you're from `then' as well?" Sota asked Gregor.

Kagome moved suddenly causing the Scot to fall. Miroku tried to hide his laughter at the predicament his friend now found himself in.

Kagome began tapping her foot impatiently waiting for the answer to a question that was obviously bugging her. Gregor was now searching for a way out.

Miroku intervened.

"Sota we need to get you home. Let's go." He pushed the younger boy towards the car. Gregor rushed to the car and crawled in.

"No." Kagome pouted. "I want to know the answer. How does he know everything that he does? Why are you helping him?"

Miroku circled Kagome's waist with his arms and brought her closer. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and guided her to the car. She got in but refused to stop pouting. Miroku hurried around the car and got in.

"Kagome and I have to pick Sen up at five. We'll go over to her house and you can explain things, okay?" Miroku explained.

Getting no argument he started the car and pulled away from the curb.

"Hey Miroku, why are you driving your dad's car?" Gregor asked finally realizing he was in a much nicer car than normal.

Kagome blushed but giggled. Miroku just stepped on the gas and shifted gears. He couldn't help but to smile as Kagome's melodic laughter continued to float towards him.

*~*~*~*

Gregor was now laid out comfortably on Kagome's bed. They had got home in no time and she had shown Miroku where he could park to avoid towing. Gregor had made a mental not to ask his friend about what happened earlier that day. Both Kagome and Miroku had been blushing when they walked up to the shrine and it had only increased when Kagome's grandfather happened upon the group. The three blushing people all avoided eye contact, not to mention Miroku looked like he was ready to spring away and run at a moment's notice.

The group had been warmly welcomed by Mrs. Higurashi who didn't seem surprised or upset that her daughter, who was supposed to be at home sick, had actually spent the day out with a teenage boy.

Sota got shuffled off to do homework before he could play video games. Kagome was helping her mom with a few chores before she had to leave to get Sen and Miroku was helping Sota with his homework.

Gregor was enjoying his time to relax fully submerged in the scent that was distinctively Kagome. He had missed that scent over the years. It was one reason his family had left Japan-too many memories to keep one sane.

"You're not getting out of telling me." A stern voice said from the doorway.

Gregor didn't open his eyes but smirked at the voice.

"I'm not trying to get out of anything, Ka-go-me." He replied back letting her name roll of his tongue.

He listened to her as she made her way from the door over to the bed. "Please." She begged.

He cracked an eye to see her standing above him. He sighed; there was no way he could get out of this.

"There really isn't a lot to say. You know me, it's just been awhile."

Kagome sat down on the edge of the bed. Gregor had once again shut his eyes awaiting her response. She just sat staring at the unfamiliar features of the teenage boy in front of her.

"But-I don't…remember…"

"Come on Kagome, this is obviously not my true form. It looks suspicious when a person doesn't age in five hundred years. We all take up different appearances and change locations every so often so no one gets suspicious. That's why I, and several of my brothers, ended up in Scotland. And when I found out that damn monk had been reincarnated here I moved back. Lucky for me we found you too but seeing that Miroku kept a rather strong crush on you from his past life I decided to step down on my claim on you and let him try to win you over."

Kagome gasped. "Koga!" She squealed before glomping the wolf demon in disguise in excitement.

Gregor/Koga couldn't help but laugh as he wrapped himself around the giggling girl.

"Took you long enough to figure it out." Gregor stated as they both calmed down.

The two were now lying side by side on her bed facing each other.

"So-you can change back to your original form-correct? That's what happened in the car yesterday with your ears?" Gregor simply nodded and turned his head to face the door.

"You two are looking awfully cozy there." Miroku said leaning against the doorframe doing his best to stomp down the arising bout of jealousy.

Kagome smiled brilliantly at the teen and jumped up from the bed. She happily encircled her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest.

"I can't believe it-it's so exciting! It's really Koga, Miroku!" She squealed.

Both boys couldn't help but chuckle. Miroku wrapped his arms around the girl bringing her closer to him.

"Whoa! So you're form the past too!" An astounded Sota said from the hallway.

He snuck in by the two in the doorway to creep into the room. "You don't look like the Koga in the pictures though."

He grabbed one of Kagome's drawings and walked over to him.

"I couldn't keep the same appearance kid-people would get suspicious." He answered sitting up and swinging his feet over the edge of the bed.

Sota seemed to contemplate this idea briefly before nodding and coming to sit next to him.

"Sooooo…can we see your real self?"

"Not right now. It's almost time to pick Sen up from the daycare but I promise sometime soon."

"Will you take me for a ride on your back? Inuyasha used to do it all the time-it was so cool! I've never gone so fast!"

Gregor laughed. "Of course kid-if you thought Inuyasha was fast just you wait-Dog-turd has nothing on me."

Sota's eyes lit up with the prospect of such an exciting adventure.

"It's fine with me if you decide to take him on a trip but please be careful and don't go too fast." Kagome said a bit worried about her little brother's safety going at such a speed without a safety belt.

"Don't worry Kagome-of course I'll be careful." Gregor said musing up Sota's hair as he got up.

"Shouldn't we be going to pick up Sen?" Gregor said.

Miroku took a glimpse at his wristwatch. It was getting time to pick up his littler brother.

"Yeah let's go." He said moving so he could guide Kagome along with one arm still wrapped around her waist.

Sota made to follow the two out of the room but Gregor stopped him.

"Don't forget kid." He whispered. "You still owe me Kagome's diary. I'll expect payment tomorrow morning." He winked before trotting out of the room.

Sota looked around then followed out. It would be easiest to steal it tomorrow before they left for school.

*~*~*~*

The three teens had said goodbye to Mrs. Higurashi before they left. Sota had begged and whined to be allowed to come but in the end he had to agree to stay home with a promise from the guys that they would hang out with him tomorrow.

As they were riding away Kagome began to think of all the things that had occurred in such a short time.

"Hey!" She shouted as she decided to voice her thoughts.

"Hi." Both boys answered back, snickering. She sent them both a glare before returning to her normal sunny disposition.

"When we come back tomorrow after school, let me go through the well and try to bring back Sango and Shippo!"

Miroku looked into the rearview mirror at Gregor. They shared a look.

"Kagome, that's not such a good idea." Miroku began. "Shippo-well-like Koga he's still alive today. He can't be in two places at the same time so he coming through the well isn't smart."

"He's still alive!"

"Yeah-last time I checked on him he was living with a bunch of his family in Europe somewhere. The cunning fox grew quite rich over the ages." Gregor supplied.

"Okay, so Shippo's out, what about Sango?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome," Miroku began choosing his words carefully. "I know you love everyone and everything about the feudal era but that was in the past and so should it remain. Sango's probably already moving ahead in her life."

"Yeah Kagome, Sango ends up marrying and having kids of her own. They rebuild her village. She becomes very happy."

Kagome looked down at her lap twiddling her thumbs. She hung her head low enough so the others couldn't see her tears. She missed her friends from the past-the ones she spent so much of her life with it seemed. Having Miroku and Koga back was wonderful especially when she thought she had lost one of them permanently but she still wished they, the whole group, could be back together as it used to be.

A comforting hand covered both of hers and another grasped her shoulder. Miroku smiled at her briefly giving her hands a squeeze with his own. Gregor had leaned up from the back seat so he was laying his head on the back of her seat.

"We're here for you now Kagome and that's all that matters." Miroku said giving her hand another squeeze before moving it to switch gears.

"Yeah and I'll try to find Shippo's number and give him a ring. I'm sure he'll be glad to see you."

Kagome smiled at the two guys not caring anymore if they saw her tears.

"Thanks guys. It's nice to know that I still have a connection with the feudal era. I was so afraid I would forget everyone."

The two boys just smiled. They rode in a companionable slice all the way to the daycare.

*~*~*~*

The three teens parked on the curb in front of Sunny Days Daycare. It was a small building painted in bright colors. The front yard was fenced in with various kid-safe toys sprinkled about.

Miroku opened the gate and walked through, followed by Kagome then Gregor. Miroku was visibly nervous but Kagome couldn't figure out why. Her confusion only increased when she heard Gregor chuckle, obviously at Miroku's expense, behind her.

They walked through the play yard and up the front stoop. The door opened before Miroku had a chance to knock.

"Hey Takai." A girl in her early twenties exclaimed. She was practically drooling over the teen in front of her and he did his best not to make eye contact.

"It's been a long time since I last heard from you, thought you would at least drop me a line."

Miroku just shrugged and walked in, the other two following behind him. The girl gave Kagome a strange look before focusing on Takai again.

"I'm just here to pick up my little brother." He said before she could really start the flirting. He didn't want to make Kagome angry.

"Who's she?" The girl asked eyeing Kagome who was now trying to gather information from Gregor about what was going on.

"My girlfriend." He answered flatly.

The girl just stared at him before she snorted and burst into strangled laughter.

"Yeah right, the day you actually take a girlfriend is the day hell freezes over. You don't have serious relationships, everyone knows that."

"I do now." He answered trying to prevent a bigger scene from occurring.

"Girlfriend?" A little boy said coming up to the only adults in the room.

He had black hair that was cut short except in the bangs, which were allowed to hang into his face. His eyes were a sparkling light brown that almost made it seem that his eyes had no color at all.

"You can't have a girlfriend Takai, it ruins our game!" The boy wailed. Miroku immediately went to the boy's side and tried to calm him down.

"Shh, Sen, it's okay. We'll find a new game to play. Trust me, you'll like Kagome, she's the best." He said.

The boy quieted down at the mention of the girl's name.

"Kagome?" The little boy moved his stare over to the girl that had entered with his older brother.

His face lit up with a big smile and he ran over to the older girl.

"I've heard so much about you!"

Kagome looked down a bit confused on how he would know so much. She kneeled down so she could look at him in the face.

"Well then you already know who I am and I bet you're Sen."

He nodded furiously and he jumped on her, arms around her neck.

"Carry me!" He squealed.

Kagome giggled and got up, holding the boy to her.

Takai rolled his eyes and moved to go gather his little brother's stuff. The girl who had greeted them followed him.

"Ms. Ami likes him but he doesn't like her no more. We played the game and then after it was done she tried to keep playing but that's against the rules. Once the game is over there is no going back." Sen said eyeing one of his caretakers.

"What game Sen?" Kagome asked getting really suspicious on what exactly Miroku had taught his little brother.

"The game. The one we play we he wants to `pick up chicks'. I get to go and play lost or go and talk to really pretty ladies and then Takai comes to get me and he gets to meet the pretty lady and then he gets their number and he `hooks up' with them. I'm not sure why he wants to pick up chicken, or go fishing with the ladies but they seemed to like it. I want to be just like my big brother when I grow up." Sen smiled up at the girl holding him.

Gregor was practically on the ground laughing so hard and Kagome was fuming. She couldn't believe Miroku would corrupt his own brother just so he could meet a few women for a one-night stand. It was disgusting.

As Miroku walked back he saw the fury in Kagome's eyes and figure that Sen had told her about their little `game'. He knew he was in for it when they got to his house. Things were going to get rough.

* * * * *

A few last comments:

A note to dark-elmo, if you want some really good Miroku/Kagome fics look for SandraE, she is one of the best writers I've read and her fics (I think most if not all) are Kag/Miroku pairings. You can also find some good links to other awesome Mir/Kag fics through her homepage.

I know on ff.net I had some problems with changing the chapters and chapter one was put in the wrong spot but I've fixed that problem. On aff.net I'm still having problems and it'll probably take me longer to fix that one b/c I'm lazy.

That is the chapter for now; I wanted to make it longer but on M. Word I have 11 pages (granted one of those pages is A/Ns but you get my point). I'll keep writing to have the next update on Sunday a week.

Please review and if you have any suggestions feel free to email me or whatnot.

Until Next Time…

Scottishfae