InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bed Ridden ❯ Rationlization and Realization ( Chapter 7 )

General Info: Round Robin #1 for Monk_and_Miko

Title: Bed Ridden

Summary: He's lived through a cursed hand, demons, and a hanyou with an attitude-but can our sixteenth century Houshi live through the stimulation of the twentieth century? (MK)

Rating: PG-13

Chapter Author: Rurouni Star

Chapter Summary: In which Rurouni Star tries desperately to think up something more interesting than HorridPorrid (and probably fails). Really? In which a cold shower and a desperate situation develop.

Disclaimer: I'm feeling blatant. So - no. Not now, not ever.

Author Note: Me and my... um. Muse? No. Don't have one. Not an M/K one, at least. I guess me and my crazy 3 am need to write. I didn't have a single idea for this either until I sat down and found that I was in angst withdrawal. Enjoy?

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Chapter 7: Rationalization and Realization

So.

She'd just nearly… um. With her `fiancé'.

Thinking rationally, she probably should have thanked her cat for stopping them. But she wasn't thinking rationally. In fact, she really wasn't able to think much at all, except to remember the feeling of skin sliding over skin and his hand on her thigh and if it had just slid upward, just a little- "No!" she said, panicking. "No. Ice cream! Yes, ice cream, that's cold and… and tastes good…"

She licked her lips. Then decided ice cream really wasn't working all that well, because she was just getting dizzier…

She settled for biting her lip - hard. And opening the door just a crack to see if he was still there.

The room was perfectly empty.

Kagome let out a sound that could have been a sigh of relief or of frustration. She really wasn't able to properly distinguish the two anymore anyway.

With a last shiver of some unidentifiable emotion, she slipped back into the room - and jumped abruptly as the phone rang.

Ring ring! Ring ring!

She seriously considered leaving the thing well enough alone. In fact, she sat down nervously on her bed and considered deliberately going to sleep. Except - eep. Sleep = dreams = god knows what was going on with her lately…

Ring ring! Ring ring!

"Fine!" she whispered angrily at the phone. "Have it your way."

So she picked it up. And immediately regretted it.

"Kagome! Why didn't you tell us, we never would have set you up with Houjou - he's so cute and why oh why oh why didn't you tell me?"

Kagome groaned. "Eri," she said. "Please. Not now."

She could hear her friend pouting. "But now is the time. Why did we have to find out like this? Yuka's already had to leave to go to Houjou's to tell him-"

"She what?" Kagome screeched. And, temporarily, the "mono" and the kiss and the other haze- filled things were forgotten as she immediately threw down the phone and ran.

Through the door, down the stairs, and past a certain monk…in…a…towel…

She didn't come to an immediate halt. No, she just forgot to keep going. And stared.

Miroku, his unbound hair dripping with water, seemed panicked and concerned. He both reached to put a hand on her shoulder and realized it was probably not the best thing to do at the moment all at once. "Kagome, what's wrong?"

She swallowed and tried to forget-

The way he'd gasped her name, the way his fingers had brushed her cheek, the way she felt against him as cool beads slid over her searing skin- Wasn't working, obviously.

"M-Miroku," she stammered, immediately turning around, face red. "Um… if I may ask… what are you doing in my house in a bath towel?"

He twitched. She knew he had twitched because the beads on his hand had clinked together melodically in the way that usually signified he was getting ready to grope someone. Surprisingly, no hand landed in dangerous territory. No… she wasn't… disappointed?

Miroku muttered a response too low to hear and immediately grabbed her arm. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise as she was pulled into the bathroom with him, the door closing loudly behind him. Kagome squeaked as she found herself once more in a much-too-enclosed space with the one person she really didn't want to be with, but needed to be with…

His hands were clenched tightly at his sides, and she immediately worried that the beads of his right hand might be pressing painfully into those whitening fists. Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.

"I'm sorry," Miroku said immediately. "My conduct was… amazingly uncalled for. And if you want me to find somewhere else to stay-"

"That's ridiculous!" she burst out. "Of course not! You're my friend, I'm not pushing you out, and I always knew what kind of person you were- oh!" She clapped a hand over her mouth, horrified. "I mean… I mean…" Oh my. This wasn't turning out well at all. "That was awful of me, I know you're a good person, Miroku, I just… I just…"

Miroku shook his head. "No. You're right, Kagome-sama. Let me tell you something - all men are dogs. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Inuyasha would never have done something like that, though, which possibly defeats my whole point… but you deserve better."

She frowned.

"Miroku. If you say one more word like that, I'll-"

"What, Kagome?" He gave a strained smile. "Throw me out?"

She huffed. "No. But something. I just have to think it up." Her eyes widened. "Oh no! Houjou!"

And she moved for the door.

"Wait - Kagome!" His hand closed over her arm as she fled. "What's going on if it's not that?"

Immediately, the blood in her body pounded with a need to finish what they'd started. She needed more time to cool off!

"It's Houjou!" Kagome explained quickly. "He - they - Eri said Yuka went to tell him-" She gave up with a growl of frustration. "But you're a really, really nice guy and if you don't promise me you won't run while I'm gone, I'll tie you up and leave you in a closet!"

Miroku's fingers tightened on her arm, his eyes closing.

"Kagome," he said through gritted teeth. "Please. Please go. I will stay and take another cold shower. Much colder," he added with a shudder.

And before she could say another word, he had pushed her out the door and into the hallway.

"Well!" she said. "Well!" And tried to keep her temper in check, because she knew that forcing her way in and demanding a promise wasn't the best of options at this point. Especially considering that

Miroku was probably… probably…

A very red blush spread over her face as she moved directly away from the door. Houjou. Houjou was the important part here. Yuka was about to blatantly tell him that Kagome wasn't ever going to go out with him, which was so totally not the way Kagome herself had wanted to do it. In fact, she'd been working very hard to gradually get him to think of her as a friend…

Yes. Houjou.

But Miroku too. Because she didn't want him to leave because of something like that. No matter what happened, she didn't want him to leave.

So she ran faster than she could remember ever running before, barring, perhaps, the centipede incident. But this was above the Inuyasha-trying-to-kill-her incident, she decided with a gasp, and just above the time she'd tried to outrun him to the well for the first time.

Past the prayer trees, past the houses, the blurred roofs that could have all been the same color for all she noticed, past street corners and buildings and into a somewhat richer area. And Kagome stopped at a certain tranquil looking house, not even bothering to catch her breath before she knocked. Hands on her knees, her torso bent nearly double with exhaustion, Kagome took deep, heaving breaths to steady herself. After about ten of these, when she was feeling much better, or at least not as tired, she realized no one had come to the door.

No! Did Yuka get here already? What if she told him something awful, like I'd been engaged before he asked me out or something and I said yes out of pity? What if she gets it all wrong, what if he hates me-

But the door in front of her opened abruptly.

An older woman, smiling, helped her up. "I'm sorry, Kagome, dear, he's not here right now."

She blinked. And realized belatedly that she'd actually asked where Houjou was.

"O- oh… oh. Okay."

Mrs. Houjou smiled. "Would you like to come in anyway and get some water? You look awfully parched."

Kagome tried to say no politely. She really did. But what ended up coming out was -

"I'msosorrynotimegottogoandgetbackorhe'llleave!"

But Mrs. Houjou waved her off cheerily none-the-less. "Good luck with that, then."

The way home seemed almost shorter than the way there, despite the fact that a knot of dread had appeared in her stomach. What if he'd somehow left? She knew Miroku was a responsible person - he held himself accountable for everything he felt was his fault. And this, to him, would definitely constitute a fault.

But… why was she so sure of that? Because, well, from his reputation, he'd not balked at playing with women's hearts before. And she couldn't possibly imagine that he hadn't… hadn't… done that before. So why was she so sure?

"Because," she half-whispered, half-gasped as she reached the door to the temple-house, "Because I know him. Because he's Miroku-sama." Funny Miroku, brave Miroku, concerned Miroku, the Miroku that played video games with little brothers and braved family dinners and blackouts and

emotional breakdowns-

And she was pounding at the bathroom door and sobbing because she was so sure he'd never understand how very much he was worth to her. "Please," she cried to him, "Please don't go…" And the door opened, and he was holding her to him tightly even though he probably didn't know why.

"Kagome," he said quietly, as he ran his fingers through her hair, "You should know that I am never going to stop needing another cold shower as long as you're pressing yourself so close to me." She stopped in the middle of a shaking sob and looked up at him with an incredulous, tear-streaked face.

He was smiling at her, though, and she realized he was joking with her (half-joking?), trying to get her to feel better again. She laughed, despite herself, because she'd always been amazed at how very quickly he could make a bad situation all better. It was a quality she loved in him.

Wait… I… I love…

"Miroku… I… I think I…"

His arms tightened around her.

No! I don't know that!

"I don't want you to go," she finished weakly.

He let out a breath he'd been holding.

"Then I won't," he stated simply.

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Announcements: The author list has been reopened for all the new members who may wish to possibly join up and didn't get a chance when it was first created. You have approximately three weeks before my turn comes around again, marking the end of the period. I'll be adding people onto the end of the list based on when they sign up so just let me know and I'll do so if you wish to join.

Again, If you do not throw your hat into the ring BEFORE my turn comes around, then you will be unable to participate. LAST CHANCE TO JOIN!!! Chubbies and Crash have their turns, and then it's mine again (gah, didn't I just write something last week...?), giving you, again, three weeks to join.

Final deadline: May 1st, 2004

I'll hold of my next turn until then to give you time to join. No extensions, no exceptions. Once I begin work on my chapter, you're out of luck.

Next Author: Chubbies

Due Date: April 23, 2004

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