InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Another Time, Another Life ❯ Chapter 9

All Normal Disclaimers Apply

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and shown their genuine concern to my ill health. This chapter is dedicated to all of you. It was y'all who helped me write this chapter so I could update it this week.

I have a game for all of us to play together. Let's see how many plot holes we can find throughout this story. I'm really sorry for my inattentiveness to this story; it really shows with the amount of plot holes. I have found over five and I'm sure there are even more. I may end up just taking this fic down completely and then rewriting it and reposting it. Again, y'all I'm sorry for my horrible writing and planning.

Chapter Nine:

The top floor of the massive house was Koga's, being the pack leader. The floor was split into three rooms with an extensive bathroom connected to the bedroom.

When one entered the fifth floor there was a room, which could be considered a living room or lounge. A giant fireplace was the focal point laying in the middle of the room and surrounded with leather, overstuffed chairs. Large portraits surrounded the room, including one of Koga.

"These are the current pack leaders of what remains of the wolf nations around the world." Miroku said bringing her into the room.

The floor was done in a hardwood floor and Kagome found herself slipping in her socks on more than one occasion. Miroku chuckled as he held onto her and led her into another room on their left.

The walls in this room were completely covered in bookshelves, floor to vaulted ceiling. A mahogany desk lay in the middle of the room with various papers and such on it. Four floor to ceiling windows allowed in light that, if it wasn't dusk, would light the entire room.

"This is Koga's personal study." Miroku said in a mocking 'snooty' voice.

Kagome giggled and walked around the perimeter of the room.

The floors were done in first a dark marble tile with white veins running through. A light grey with black veins took the black marble's place as the room drew near the middle and finally a burnt orange tile lay in the middle holding the desk, its chair and two others.

"I've never seen it, but Hakkaku and Ginta say that Shippo's current home, or one of the many, is like a palace and is about 100 times more impressive than this place."

Kagome looked over to Miroku in awe. He smiled at the longing expression she held so visibly in her eyes.

"I'll make sure to remind Koga to look up his number for you."

A stunning smile lit up her face in gratitude. She longed very much for the demon youkai she had once thought of as a son.

Kagome continue to investigate the large library with its books, many of them centuries old. When the sun had almost completely set, wall sconces automatically came on giving the room a soft glow.

"We're almost done with the tour, Kagome, then we need to head home."

They exited the room and made to leave the floor.

"What about that room?" Kagome pointed to the room on the right of the living area.

"That is Koga's master suite-his bedroom. We do not go in there." He explained.

Kagome cocked her head to the side to look at the doors that now looked mysterious and very appealing.

"Why not?"

He couldn't help rolling his eyes at her stubbornness to let things go.

"Just trust me. Don't ever go in there, especially without me or just with Koga."

"But…"

"Listen Kagome." He interrupted. "Koga's never taken a mate. So instead, to satisfy certain basic instincts-"

"Miroku!"

"No let me finish. To take care of any urges he may have he started a game-basically just one-night stands-but you get my point. Never once over those 500 years has he brought one of those women to his bedroom. That is something sacred to the wolves and the customs of mating. Koga still loves you Kagome-in a way he always will-for you to go into the room, to even get your scent mixed into that room, could be very bad, to say the least."

Kagome said nothing but continued to stare at the doors while trying to fight down a slight blush. He grabbed her chin and rather roughly, forced her head around to look at him.

"Do you understand me?" He hissed.

She blinked as she stared into his icily serious gaze. He shook her chin again.

"Kagome! Do you understand me?!" He repeated.

She nodded shakily. Miroku sighed and pulled the girl into his arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shock you or hurt you or anything like that. I just want to keep you safe."

"Why?" She asked removing her chin from his chest and looking up at him with almost teary eyes.

Miroku was somewhat baffled by the question. "Why what?"

"Why do you care so much? Other than the fact that you knew me from a past life or that you're simply my 'friend'."

He tensed at her mention of the word 'friend'. He relaxed after a second and chuckled a bit.

"Kagome sometimes your stubbornness makes you blind to things around you. I care not only because you are my friend from a past life but because I see you as more than just a friend. You are a beautiful, kind woman with a huge heart. How could I ever resist your charms?"

He struggled to explain his feelings as generic as possible while still giving the impression that he cared for her more than anyone else did. He wanted to tell her three words that he had been dieing to tell her for some time now, five hundred years exactly, but he wasn't sure she was ready for such a declaration from him.

"I mean come on Kagome, do you think I would sneak into just any of my friend's rooms and get busted by their grandfather in the middle of a very heavy petting session?" He joked trying to lighten the mood.

She giggled but flushed at the memory.

"So that was what happened earlier today." Koga said coming into the room.

Miroku joined Kagome with a matching blush. Koga laughed at the sight.

"I want details later."

Both teens gave him a glare.

"Show her the sub-levels then go home. Your parents will be waiting by now." He said walking towards his bedroom.

Miroku didn't delay in guiding Kagome down the stairs.

They stopped on the bottom floor and walked through a large living room.

A giant big-screen TV sat in one corner with tons of wolves (humanoid in appearance) playing video games. They, as well as Seiichi, were siting on a monster of a sectional and various places on the floor.

Deeper into the room, near the entrance to one of the kitchens, Sen was playing with some of the pack children and cubs.

"How do you explain this to him?" Kagome asked as the passed the kids playing a rowdy game of tag.

"I don't. He doesn't really know the difference between the wolf children and himself and as for the wolf cubs and all the wolves for that matter, he just thinks they're dogs."

"HEY!" An indignant cry came from the wolves on the couch from being compared to a common, domesticated dog.

Miroku just shrugged and moved into one of the kitchens. There were three women in there cooking and watching over the youngest of the wolves.

"There are three of the pack's mates, Chizu, Iku, and Izanami. Iku is actually Ginta's sister. She's mated to Haru who I'm not sure you've met yet."

Kagome greeted the older women with a smile. The gesture was returned and she quickly found herself in an embrace.

"I'm so glad to finally get to meet you, sister." Iku said full of energy.

The other two women voiced the same greetings.

"Me? Why me?" Kagome asked, truly baffled.

"For centuries we have heard stories of you, a woman fighting along side the men-it's most unheard of and yet you did and proved to one of the most valuable and powerful of your pack." The elder of the three, Chizu, spoke.

She looked only to be in her early forties but her eyes spoke of an age and wisdom much older than her appearance. She had muddy brown hair which was braided in the back and pinned to her head in intricate shapes. She was the shortest, barely over five foot, and her frame was built sturdy and strong. Lean muscles could be seen in her bare arms but the brown dress she wore covered the rest of her body.

Iku, Ginta's sister, was clumsily tall and she held very little grace in her movements. Her face was full of beauty though and that fully made up for any awkwardness in the rest of her form.

All the women were quite pale, in contrast to the tan skin of the men of the pack, and Iku's skin was perfectly ivory. Pale blue eyes shown full of life and made the wolf female look lively and vibrant. She held a smile, much like Kagome's, that made it very hard for any one not to smile back.

Izanami was the middle ground between the other two. She was the youngest but seemed rather plain next to the others. She had dark brown hair and eyes to match that shown with just the slightest hint of gold. She smiled rarely and usually kept her eyes averted from the rest.

"You'll have to excuse us ladies, we're under a time limit and I have to show Kagome the lower levels." Miroku explained once they had calmed down a bit.

"Of course, Izanami, go open the doors for them." Chizu commanded.

Izanami immediately rushed out of the room and the two teens followed.

She walked down the hall a ways until they reached a painting of a grey wolf baying at the moon.

She touched the third claw on its left fore-paw and the whole section of wall receded back to show a downward spiral of stairs.

Miroku took a hold of Kagome's hand and lead he way down. Wall scones lit the way down and as soon as they passed through the hidden door, the wall shifted back into place.

"Izanami isn't originally from Koga's pack, like Chizu and Iku. She mated into Koga's and by custom she's seen as a sort of outsider and thus a lower rank than the others. That's why she seems a bit awkward and why the other order her around. She's been accepted as a member but she'll always be seen as a type of outsider. Probably one reason she wanted to meet you. Koga wanted to add you to the pack and therefore you would never have been treated as she had, especially as the leader's mate." He explained as they continued their path downward.

It was beginning to get warmer as they neared the end of the stone stairwell and she could see steam seeping out form a doorway.

"Ladies first." Miroku said when they reached the bottom.

He untangled their hands and allowed her to enter first. She smiled as she peered through the steam.

The house had been built over a natural hot spring and the room that currently housed the steaming pool was decorated for the feel of outdoor relaxation, just as it was before in the feudal era.

The floor was done with natural river rock that flowed directly into the hot spring. The ceiling was painted black with faerie lights embedded to represent the night-time sky. A large cut out of the moon cast most of the light and gave the room a sliver sheen as the light hit off the steam.

The walls were done in an opaque moss green tile giving the whole room a surreal outdoor feel.

Kagome sighed as she took it all in.

"Feels like old times, huh?" He asked.

"Yes it does. There just needs to be some trees for you to hide behind while you spy on me bathing."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Why Kagome I thought we would be past the point of spying and modesty. Certainly you would allow me to join you?"

Kagome pursed her lips and look at him with a glare that obviously stated otherwise.

"Didn't you say there was another floor down here?" She said fatly, changing the subject.

Taking the hint with a mental note to bring up this subject again later, he motioned for her to follow him out the way they came. He walked out the door and up to one of the wall sconces.

He touched one of the screws holding the sconce in place and the wall in front of him slid to the side revealing yet another set of stone steps.

He waited for Kagome to take his hand again before walking down.

"Are there more hot springs?" She asked.

"No, I doubt this room will be as impressive to you but I'm sure you'll like to see it anyway." He replied

The stairs became less even as they neared the bottom and a slight stench became more pungent within the air.

Once they reached the bottom, Kagome had to fight the urge to hold her nose.

They turned a corner and vast underground cave system came into view.

Many of the natural wolves were playing around and some were feasting on a new kill.

"Hey Miroku." A wolf youkai said, the only one down in the cavern.

"Hey Haru, I was wondering where you were." The two men greeted each other with slaps on the back.

"Kagome, this is Haru, Iku's mate. Haru this is Kagome." He introduced the two.

A grin lit the wolf's face as he eagerly shook the girl's hand.

"So you met my mate? I'm sure she was ecstatic to meet you. Ginta spoke very highly of you back in the feudal times, really left a lasting impression on all of us."

Kagome was blushing by the end of the speech. Miroku smiled at the girl and slung an arm around her shoulder.

"What are you doing down here?" Miroku questioned.

"Oh just checking up on the wolves. We've had an increase in injuries when they go out and hunt-people have figured out they are around here and are trying to kill or capture them. Doesn't look like anyone is hurt but we're missing a couple of the younger ones."

Kagome looked around the cave, her natural instinct to worry and help others kicking in.

"Is there anything we can do to help find the missing ones?" She asked with genuine concern.

Miroku's head snapped up and questioned the use of word `we'. He didn't remember saying he would be willing to help. Kagome just smiled.

"No wonder Koga wanted you as his mate. You would have made a wonderful alpha female…and you know, the position is still open if this idiot screws things up. The whole pack would welcome you in."

Kagome smiled politely. "Thank you but other than being a complete and utter pervert, Miroku is perfect and I'm happy with him."

Haru gave a knowing smile at the two humans in front of him. There was no doubt there was something very deep running between the two, something no one could touch or rival.

"We?" Miroku repeated still stuck on the issue of being volunteered against his will. It went against the whole concept of volunteering.

Kagome rolled her eyes and shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "Come on Miroku, we need to gather Sen then go to your house"

She took his hand and led him to the exit.

"Good-bye, it was nice to meet you!" She called over her shoulder.

"The pleasures all mine, I assure you." Haru replied with a crooked smile on his face. He waved eagerly at the disappearing forms of the two humans.

The two climbed back up the stairs until they reached the first floor. They collected Sen, said goodbye to everyone and left.

Sen was thoroughly exhausted and fell asleep immediately in the backseat.

"Why did you ever teach such a cute kid to play such a `game' as you did? You were using your little brother for your own expense plus teaching him to be a lecher like you!" Kagome asked with renewed anger.

Miroku was stunned a moment at the sudden mood swing before he could answer back.

"Well first off-you obviously like me as I am so training him to be like me can't be that bad." He looked over at her and smirked but continued on with his explanation before she could comment.

"Secondly-you only think he's cute now. You come live with him a couple weeks and you'll rethink that statement and lastly-it was just something for us to do together-a way to bond. We're 15 years apart; we don't have a lot in common. While playing our game, we worked together as a team and it made us both feel closer. If it makes you feel better, we do other things together too, like practical jokes. Mom hates the practical jokes but dad thinks it's hilarious. She obviously doesn't know about the `game', dad does though."

"Figures." Kagome snorted under her breath. "Practical jokes? What kind of practical jokes?"

"Funny ones!" He grinned like a 3 year old. "But don't worry, both Sen and I like you a lot-we won't do any jokes on you."

Kagome couldn't help but laugh at his childishness. She was still against the `game' but his explanation of its use as a bonding for brothers was somewhat endearing.

They traveled back into Tokyo and were heading near the Higurashi shrine.

Two blocks before the shrine they turned right and traveled another couple of blocks before pulling up to a modest two story slate colored house.

They yard was sizeable for one located in the city but nothing compared to suburbia.

Miroku drove the car into the attached garage and parked.

"Welcome to my house." He said quietly so as not to disturb the still sleeping Sen in the backseat.

Kagome smiled and slipped out of the car.

Miroku did the same, reaching back to gingerly pick Sen up, careful not to wake him.

Kagome reached back and grabbed his school stuff and followed Miroku to the door going into the house. She reached around him and opened the door.

Following him in, she heard the murmur of a conversation and the smells of food cooking.

They were in a small hallway and after a few steps they had entered the kitchen.

The kitchen was painted in a dark, rich yellow with dark wood cabinets. All the appliances were stainless steal that, along with the layout, gave the appearance that one of the Tensei's were serious chefs.

Ami, Miroku's mother, was sitting at the counter sipping wine while her husband was busy cutting up vegetables.

"Where have you three been?" Ami asked.

"Sorry mom, we took Gregor home and of course he had to show Kagome his house."

"Isn't it a lovely house?" Ami asked Kagome. "Too big for my tastes, however. I'm sure that is why so many of his family freeloads."

"Oh Ami! I swear I don't know how I fell in love with you sometimes." Hiroshi said as he added the vegetables he was cutting to the sauté pan.

"You see Kagome, I've always wanted lots of children. My wife, however, was perfectly happy with just two. She never understood the grand qualities of having a large family."

"Having a small family is just as good and honestly with as much trouble as Sen and Takai get in I don't think we could have handled anymore."

Miroku shifted the still dozing Sen in his arms. He turned around slightly to catch Kagome's attention. Motioning for her to follow him, he walked towards the door and left the kitchen.

They passed from the kitchen into a large, open living room. It was done in a softer yellow with a blue patterned sectional in the middle of the room. Pictures of Sen and Miroku scattered about the room along with other objects.

"Mom really has a thing for yellow, half the house is painted one shade or another." Miroku explained as he climbed up a stairwell.

The bedrooms were all located on the second floor, along with an office for the adults.

Miroku entered Sen's room. Half of his room was painted in a calm green and the other half was painted in a soft yellow. The two colors were separated by a white chair well.

There was a small racecar bed in the corner and Miroku gingerly laid his little brother down on it. He reached for the blanket at the bottom of the bed and pulled it over him.

"Mom was sure that she as going to have a girl when she got pregnant so she painted this room in more girly colors. She was surprised to find out she had another boy and we could never convince her to paint the room another color." Miroku explained as the quietly left the room.

Kagome nodded, trying to keep quiet.

He walked down the hallway some and entered another room.

It was painted in a dark blue and accented with silver punches throughout the room. This room was obviously Miroku's

He went over and lay on the queen sized bed. The comforter was the same color as the walls, or what she could see of it.

The room was not as clean as Kagome would imagine someone like Miroku being. Things were strewn all around the room and half of the blankets and pillows from his bed were thrown onto the floor.

His desk was piled high with books and notebooks in no particular order and by the dust on a few of them it hadn't looked like he had touched them in a very long time.

As she finished looking around the room, she noticed he had closed his eyes and allowed himself to doze. She rolled her eyes, but feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed from the day's events, she went over and lay next to him. She snuggled into his side and allowed his warmth to lull her into a light slumber.

*~*~*~*~*

Kagome found herself drifting awake to the sound of snickering. She opened her eyes to see three pairs of eyes staring down at her. She snapped upright just barely avoiding knocking her head against Hiroshi's.

"Huh?" Was the only thought she could string together as she tried to orient herself.

"Time for dinner!" Sen exclaimed loudly throwing his hands around Kagome's neck.

"I want to sit next to Kagome!" He shouted again.

Kagome winced just slightly at the yell that was placed directly into her ear.

"Don't shout Sen." Miroku mumbled. He seemed to be in the same sort of hazy mindset as Kagome currently was.

Hiroshi grabbed his youngest son and exited the room. Miroku smiled over at Kagome, a smile that she wasn't sure she trusted all that much.

Before she could say anything, he pounced on her and she found herself again on her back with Miroku hovering over her.

"I do intend to finish what we started this morning at some point." Miroku commented against her ear.

He began to lazily place kisses against her neck. He knew his parents would interrupt him for dinner so there was no point in getting completely worked up for nothing but Kagome didn't know that and she always did look even more alluring when flustered.

"Miroku," She panted. "We have to go to dinner."

"Mmm."

"Miroku leave the poor girl alone!" Came Ami's voice from the kitchen.

"Use a condom!" Hiroshi's voice boomed afterwards.

Kagome gasped and pushed back against Miroku. He chuckled and allowed himself to be pushed. He got off her and the bed, helping her once he got his own footing.

"He was just kidding Kagome." Miroku assured her as they made their way downstairs for dinner.

*~*~*~*

Dinner went by rather uneventful. They chatted for a while and Kagome found out lots about the Tensei family.

Hiroshi was an entrepreneur and owned many very fashionable and popular restaurants and clubs around Japan, as well as internationally.

Ami was working herself up the corporate ladder of a major advertising agency. She was a very organized woman with a lot of vision and was very well adapted to her job.

The Tensei's obviously well paying jobs raised the question in Kagome's mind, why they lived in this house, in this neighborhood. It was very obvious they were quite wealthy and yet they decided to live in a modest home.

After dinner, Ami excused herself and Sen so that he could take a bath and then be put to bed.

Hiroshi had an urgent call from one of his business partners and left the dishes for Miroku and of course Kagome helped.

"So what did you think? Are we all completely insane?" He asked as they put up the last of the glasses.

"No, just you." She teased.

He smiled and trapped her against the counter with his arms.

"Aren't you just the funny one." He teased back and nipped at her jaw.

Kagome smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him closer to her.

"Yes, I am."

Miroku smiled and brought his lips up to hers. The had barely applied pressure to the kiss when a cough brought their attention to the door.

Hiroshi was standing there with an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm sorry kids but Ami wanted me to remind you two that both of you have school tomorrow and perhaps Kagome would like to return home and get some rest."

Miroku nodded stiffly and backed away. Kagome sighed as the warmth was taken from her body.

"Thank you so much for dinner." She said on reflex alone.

Hiroshi smiled warmly at the girl.

"Thank you for coming. Feel free to stop by anytime you want, it's refreshing to have someone with such a bright outlook here."

Kagome smiled at his complement.

"I actually have a favor to ask of you." He said as they prepared to leave.

"Me?" Kagome asked the older man.

"Yes, that call I just received was from a business associate with me in America requesting that I come over there to finalize a deal and fix some problems we're having. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and will be gone for a while. I was hoping that during that time you could stop in and look after Ami and the boys. She's a strong woman but these boys are a handful and sometimes she needs a break from them or just another woman to chat with."

Kagome was surprised to say the least. Tensei Hiroshi was treating her as an adult woman requesting her to help out with his wife and family. She nodded her head vigorously indicating she would be glad to help out in any way possible.

"Thank you so much Kagome. At least now I know my family will be in good hands." He grinned bringing her into bear hug.

Miroku rolled his eyes and pried her out of his father's arms.

They left the house and Miroku drove Kagome home.

"Hiroshi why did you request that? You know I'm leaving in a few days with Sen to go on my own business trip. You wouldn't be trying to get Kagome here alone with our son while we aren't here?"

Hiroshi just chuckled and left the room. That was exactly what he was trying to do. He liked Kagome, she was perfect for his son, and he wasn't going to allow him to do anything to screw this up.

He opened a trunk he kept in his office. It was filled with things from his old bachelor days, things that had worked on countless occasions to win over women and finally his own perfect wife.

He would have to educate Miroku on some of the finer points of romancing a woman, the points that weren't just sexual.

* * * * *

I'll be skipping ahead a little bit for the next chapter which I will try as hard as I can to get out Sunday (Halloween). This was meant to be put up on Friday but I didn't have time.

I have come to really hate this fic, it's crap. I can't settle on a plot and therefore become riddled with plot holes and I just don't like my writing style in it. In fact, I don't even think this fic has a plot at all, if there is, I can't find it. I don't know what I'm going to do about this fic, but I guess I'll find out soon.

WARNING!!!! I have three papers due within the next two weeks and then a group project and another paper due within the next month and a half. Updates will be even more sparingly considering I HAVE to do well on these last papers.

Please Review, even if its to tell me how much I suck, this story sucks, or that I just need to quit writing.

Thanks.

Until Next Time…

Sfae