InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ He Who Is Wise... ( Chapter 10 )

AN: As always, thanks so much for the reviews! They really make me happy and motivated! THANK YOU, THANK YOU! (And sowwy 'bout the cliffhangers. I can't really think of good endings… but I'll try!)

 

I have an idea and depending on what you readers think, I will or will not act upon it. Now, here it is:

 

After this chapter, I will look over previous chapters and edit in accordance with the tips that you've given me and anything that I can think to add to them. However, this will slow the rate at which the next chapter is written. I estimate that it'll take about a week -or more, no guarantees- to redo the old chapters and write the next one. (To be honest, I have no idea of how long it'll actually take, so that's a very rough estimate).

 

So, what do you think? Good idea, or not? I feel that I could definitely improve the earlier chapters and make them longer/more elaborate and interesting. I'll tell ya if the changes are significant as to actually change the story a bit. I know that I really want to make the first chapter and the rest of the early ones longer. They're kinda short and dinky.

 

…And wow, I wrote this in less than two days so it's probably gonna be kinda bad…

 

Disclaimer: It is my unfortunate responsibility to tell you all that I don't own Inuyasha and that he and the rest of 'em belong to their rightful owners, not me. I'm not a rightful owner.

 

Haunted

 

Chapter Ten: He Who Is Wise…

 

"Taegada?" Miroku asked slowly, carefully. "I'm sorry… I think you've gotten me mixed up with… with someone else." He said finally.

 

Sango took a step towards him. "No, I think I've got the right Miroku." She watched him carefully. "In fact, I'm almost sure of it."

 

"What do you mean?" Miroku regained his composure and buried his unease underneath his smooth reply. "I'm afraid I've never heard the name." He shrugged, face unreadable.

 

Kagome watched the two of them in confusion. She had no idea what was going on. She'd never heard the name "Taegada Miroku", but it didn't seem to be a good name from the way that they were acting.

 

"Are you sure?" Sango asked carefully, her tone guarded. "Because you know, Miroku isn't a very common name." The accused man looked at her calmly. Kagome noticed that his hands were clenched into fists.

 

"Nevertheless, it isn't unheard of." He replied calmly. His eyes flickered from resting on one thing, then another uneasily. "I'm afraid you have the wrong person." He told her politely. His eyes rested on her face for barely a moment before shifting to the house. "Now, if you'll please excuse me, I must go take a shower."

 

"It's odd, though." Sango said conversationally and followed him up to the house. Miroku increased his pace. "You'd be the right age, in the general location of the University of Maebashi-" Miroku flinched. "-and you match description."

 

Kagome followed silently. She'd never seen Miroku so… agitated before. She spoke up at the door and made the man flinch slightly. "Well, what is your full name then?" Miroku looked at her squarely.

 

"It is of no importance." He told her coolly, yet politely. "I prefer to go by Miroku." He kicked off his shoes and entered the house, passing through the living room in great strides and taking the stairs in bigger ones, the two girls trailing him like the paparazzi after a celebrity.

 

"Miroku," Sango said softly, insistently. "I believed you." He turned and looked at her with eyes that were clear of his earlier cool collected expression and instead full of surprise… and gratitude? Kagome, forgotten, watched with curiosity. She had no idea what was going on…

 

The barriers went up almost instantly. "I don't know what you mean." He feigned puzzlement stubbornly. "Now I really must depart, unless you desire to take a shower with me." The jest was flat, however. There was no trademark grin, no suggestively raised eyebrows. He turned and walked quickly down the hallway to his room. Sango watched his exit with a worried frown.

 

"Hey, Sango?" She turned to the forgotten girl with a start. Kagome looked at her in confusion. "Who is Taegada Miroku?" Sango took a deep breath, and…

 

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(0.0)

(><)

 

Indeed, he was going to take a shower. He needed one, and he was badly shaken. But that would come later. He didn't want to venture out of the sanctuary that was his room quite yet.

 

"How did she know?" He mumbled to himself and sat heavily on his bed. Miroku wanted to forget that part of his past, the humiliation, the laughter, the disbelief. He wanted to rid himself of that past, to start afresh. And that was what he'd been doing.

 

And Sango had known, somehow. She must've gone to the University of Maebashi, too, or at least heard about the whole incident. She was probably a local, someone who lived in Maebashi. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. He'd been a fool to be so stubborn then.

 

The worst of it was that he now knew that he was absolutely correct in his theory. He had the evidence that he hadn't had before, but he couldn't show it. He suddenly realized how his conjecture- if proven correct, which it now was- was highly likely to throw the world into chaos. That wasn't something Miroku wanted to do. It was funny, but knowing that he was right was a revelation for him, too.

 

He marveled at it. There were demons still alive today, just as there were years ago. They were hidden among the human population, quietly living out their extensive life spans. It was quite incredible. And it sounded ridiculous, which is why everyone had laughed in disbelief and called him delusional.

 

Miroku suddenly found himself wishing that he'd even made his theory known. It had cost him his reputation, his education, his friends, his entire life. And he regretted it. If he could go back, do it all over… But there was no way to change it.

 

"He who is wise never tries to revise what's past and gone", because the past is set in stone.

 

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(• .•)

(><)

 

….and let it out heavily. "It's not my place to tell you his story." Sango said heavily. Poor Miroku…

 

Kagome looked at her in bemusement. "I don't get it." She admitted. "So he is this Taegada Miroku person?" Sango nodded rather remorsefully. "Well, is he a dangerous criminal on the run from the law?" Kagome asked nervously. Maybe she'd been right after all…

 

Sango looked up at the younger girl in surprise. "No, of course not." She assured hastily. Kagome let out a sigh of relief and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear.

 

"Well, for a moment there…" Kagome laughed in nervous embarrassment. Sango smiled quietly at her and Kirara mewed quietly. "Do you think he'll tell, though?" She asked anxious and curious. The previous conversation had piqued her curiosity greatly. And after all, she had a right to know who was living in her house.

 

"I would hope so," Sango admitted. "I don't think he'll be able to keep it all bottled up." Sango was talking in riddles, and Kagome might've screamed in frustration. Keep what all bottled up?

 

Time for a change of subject. "Hey, have you seen Inuyasha around lately?" Kagome asked Sango. Of all the changes in subject… why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

 

Sango frowned. "Well, now that you mention it, I can't say that I have." She paused. "I wonder what he's up to…" Kagome thanked Sango and walked back down the hallway. Sango smiled slightly. Ah, young love…

 

Not that she was quite old enough to talk.

 

_|__|_

(0.0)

--( • )--

(____)

 

He was very predictable. Kagome smiled in spite of herself as she passed by her mother -who was gardening- with a brief greeting and made her way across the lawn to the tree where Inuyasha was floating. His eyes flickered to her for a moment before he continued to watch the ground. Kagome sighed and sat on the ground. Neither of them spoke and the silence stretched between them, the awkward tension in the air almost tangible. Kagome cleared her throat. "Hi."

 

Inuyasha murmured something that sounded vaguely like a greeting in reply and continued to stare at the dirt. Kagome looked at him in confusion. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asked. He was acting strangely again. "Is it the priestess thing?" She cringed, expecting a stinging retort.

 

She was surprised when he answered back simply. "Just thinking." He shrugged uncomfortably. Kagome nodded, unsure of what to say. "So, your mom's back." Inuyasha seemed to dislike the silence as much as she did.

 

"Yeah…" She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. There was another long pause. Kagome yawned quietly. "Did you meet Kirara?" She asked him, suddenly finding something worth mentioning.

 

Inuyasha nodded. Well, there went that idea. "She tried to kill me, actually." He shrugged. "Too bad I'm already half-dead." He laughed mirthlessly, a bitter sound that rang against the silence.

 

Kagome winced. He didn't seem to be in such a good mood. She stood up with an uneasy smile. "I'm gonna go eat now." Inuyasha nodded curtly at her and watched her leave.

 

He smiled bitterly. Looks like he just scared Kagome off. He disappeared with a loud bang and a puff of foul black smoke, the kind that a fire makes when plastic is being burned. For a moment, he existed in the darkness, the place between death and life, almost.

 

He wasn't actually sure what it was, only that it was some sort of equilibrium between existence and nothing. He wasn't sure what he intended to do there before puffing back into existence, but he stood- no, stayed because there was nothing to stand on- in the murkiness for a few moments, bitterly savoring the agony that burned in him, the humiliation.

 

He'd finally remembered everything, to the last detail. He swept his hand -if it still existed, he wasn't sure- out into the murky grey depths of the half-world, the fantasy made real, out in front of him but felt nothing. That's what it was, he decided. Oblivion. He was existing in oblivion. All in all, he wished that he'd never remembered at all.

 

In his case, ignorance was indeed bliss.

 

(\ /)

(• .•)

(><)

 

Kagura sighed in frustration. How was she supposed to find the sole surviving member of the Miyagi household? She didn't even know what she looked like, let alone where she was.

 

Six days. Kagura's sigh this time was one of exasperation. Yet again, Naraku was asking for the impossible, and yet again, she was the once forced to deliver it. She narrowed her scarlet eyes and peered down at the ground below. How was she supposed to find her, anyway? It's not like anyone was pointing the way for her.

 

Naraku hadn't even given her one hint as to where to look. Miyagi could be anywhere and anyone, from a six year old to a woman in her middle ages, fat, skinny, pretty or ugly for all she knew. She could even be in Europe! Of course, logic indicated that the girl wasn't anywhere near Europe and was probably about twenty.

 

It didn't narrow her search down very much. She passed over familiar territory on a whim and waved cheekily at Kouga who yelled all manner of profanity back. This wasn't getting her anywhere.

 

Really, it was Naraku's way of laughing at her. He could easily tell her where the Miyagi girl was and have her killed in less than a day, depending on her location. But he sent her off without a clue, knowing that she was far too proud and independent to ask for help. How in any hell was she supposed to locate one girl out of millions across the countryside? It wasn't impossible, just improbable.

 

Fortunately for her, Kagura was a master at doing the improbable.

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(0.0)

(><)

 

As soon as she heard the humming she knew that something bad awaited her at the top of the stairwell. Kagome paused and listened carefully. It was the hum of a fan, one of the large white ones. Not the little ones that oscillate on a stand. One of the big ones, which Mrs. Higurashi had bought in anticipation of the heat.

 

The whooping laugh was what warned her to duck instinctively as the big Shippo-bubble whizzed by over her head, Souta sitting on his head. The two of them hit the wall with a thud that rattled the house. Kagome stared in surprise. "What are you guys doing?" She asked incredulously. It actually looked like fun…

 

Souta was laughing like a maniac and the Shippo-balloon disappeared with a puff of smoke and was replaced by the kit's normal form. He fell to the floor, laughing as hard as Souta. Kagome stared at them and felt decidedly weirded out. "Uh… you guys?" Shippo shook his head at her and howled with laughter.

 

She scaled the rest of the stairwell cautiously and stood on the landing. The two of them had set up the giant fan in the middle of the hallway on full blast. The artificial wind toyed with Kagome's black hair as she stared. The two boys had tied a rope to two doorknobs that faced across each other so that it was perpendicular to the hallway. One was a closet and the other was Souta's room. The rope was tied loosely and flapped in the powerful wind created by the large fan.

 

Kagome shrugged and wondered how the system had gotten Shippo and Souta to fly so high up in the air. The two boys, eyes crinkled in mirth, crawled up the stairs and made their way to the rope, still chuckling as Shippo transformed back into his bubble-self-holding on the rope to keep from being blown away- and Souta somehow climbed onto Shippo. The kitsune kicked off from the ground, still holding onto the rope so that he was floating in the breeze. "Go!" They shouted simultaneously and whooped. They took off, spinning wildly out of control and crashing into the wall with great screams of laughter.

 

The older, raven-haired girl sighed wistfully. She was probably too heavy to try. It looked really fun, though… and painful. Of course Souta, being the wuss that he was, could take the pain, so it couldn't be that bad… She made her way to the fan, squinting her eyes at the volume of the wind created by the large contraption. "Ooh." Kagome grinned wickedly. It went up another notch… Gleefully, she flicked it on and was nearly blown backwards as the machine whined in effort.

 

Kagome grinned and moved out of the wind's path. Her mom certainly went all out with these kinds of things. If it was a good deal, she bought it, despite whatever use the thing had. The fan was probably the last of it's kind and was only half its regular price. Why on earth would they ever need an extra-powerful, industrial-sized fan? She wasn't even sure she wanted to know where her mom found it. A few moments later, Souta and Shippo crawled back up the stairs and struggled against the wind. "Kagome!" Souta howled. "Turn it down a bit!" The black-haired girl grinned and watched for a moment as the two of them struggled against the blast before turning it down a notch.

 

The two boys hurried up the hallway and repeated the process with a little alteration. "Kagome!" The girl looked at Shippo. He grinned. "Turn it up!" Idly, she flicked the switch and fox-boy let go, the two of them whooping and howling delightedly as they spun down the hallway, bouncing off the sturdy walls and careening down the stairs to crash-land at the bottom, both laughing hysterically. Kagome turned off the fan and let the machine rest.

 

Two tousled heads popped up over the rim of the staircase. "Wanna try?" Souta offered with a lopsided grin. "I'm feeling a bit dizzy myself." He wandered down the hallway in a decidedly uneven manner.

 

Kagome looked at Shippo eagerly, enthusiasm shining in her brown eyes. "Can you carry my weight?" She asked enthusiastically. Shippo, still winded, nodded with a smug look and became the pink bubble again.

 

"We'll just turn the fan on full blast." Souta explained and took position behind the fan. Uncertainly, the raven-haired girl gingerly climbed on top of Shippo. With an enthusiastic grin- Souta was looking forward to seeing Kagome go screaming down the hallway- he turned the fan on and Shippo bounced up until he was floating. Kagome clung to his head tightly. Souta's grin widened as he turned the fan on as high as it went and the rope went completely taut. "GO!" Souta and Shippo shouted in unison over the wind.

 

"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" She screamed happily. It was deliciously, terrifyingly fun, completely different from anything that she could think of. Kagome laughed joyfully as she and Shippo went bouncing down the corridor and hit the wall with a thud that shook the house. They fell to the floor, both laughing hysterically.

 

There was a poof and a semi-loud bang and Inuyasha was there. "Kagome!" He sped down the hallway, leaving a stupefied Souta in his wake. He was down the stairs in an instant. "Are you okay?" He asked, eyes flashing gold in concern at the girl whom he presumed was gasping out of pain and not laughter. "Kagome!" He asked urgently.

 

The young woman -still laughing, merely shook her head. Inuyasha was getting concerned. The color seeped from his eyes and to his face, his neck, his chest when she still didn't respond. "Kagome! Say something!" He reached out a hand and withdrew it hastily, bitterly.

 

Taking deep calming breaths, Kagome finally responded. "Hi." She said breathlessly, face flushed from laughter. The poltergeist blinked at her.

 

"That's all?" His voice was dangerously calm. "You were screaming on the top of your lungs as if someone was killing you and all you say is 'hi' when people come rushing to your aid?" He asked incredulously.

 

Kagome blinked tears of mirth from her eyes. "Sorry for worrying you." She was in a good mood today… She took another deep breath and scrambled up the stairs, Shippo still chuckling on her shoulder. "Come on! You gotta see this!" She rushed down the hall. Shippo transformed and Kagome climbed on top of him. Souta turned the fan on. Inuyasha's eyebrows almost clicked together audible.

 

"GO!" All three of them shouted cheerily. Kagome and Shippo went tumbling down the stairs again to land in a heap at the bottom, laughing hysterically.

 

Inuyasha followed at a more dignified pace. He floated over Kagome and said in that same calm tone. "You know, that's dangerous." His tone was almost conversational.

 

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha!" Kagome laughed, tousled raven hair curling around her head. "It's fun! It's not like anyone's going to die or anything." She sat up and reclined against the wall with a big grin.

 

"How do you know for sure?" he asked sharply. Kagome's humor started to dissipate. "Someone could die, actually. Break their neck on the stairwell, crack their head open at the bottom."

 

Kagome frowned at him. What had happened to him? "You certainly seem morbid today." She commented. The poltergeist's eyes flashed gold.

 

"And you certainly seem reckless!" He snapped back. "Don't you see how stupid this is?" he indicated the stairway. "Someone's gonna end up getting hurt." His eyes narrowed. When he'd heard her scream and seen her lying at the bottom of the stairs, eyes tightly closed and shuddering, he was…. Terrified, actually.

 

The raven-haired teen stared at him with incredulity. He was starting to sound like Yuka's mother, who made the poor girl go ice-skating in a helmet, elbow pads and knee pads with an adult present at all times. "What is with you?" She asked. "What's wrong?" Copper eyes in a peach face glared belligerently at her.

 

"I thought you were dead or something there." He snarled. "You sure looked like it." Kagome stared openly. "Don't you have any common sense?!" He ranted. "I turn my back for just one moment and you're doing all these stupid things that even a four year old would know better than-"

 

"I'm sorry." She apologized hastily as Shippo snuck away to avoid getting involved in the argument. "I didn't mean to worry you." She didn't want to fight with him.

 

Inuyasha stuttered and his face flushed, anger replaced by embarrassment. "I wasn't worried!" he protested. "I mean, well…" he gave up with an exasperated sigh and tossed his hands up in the air. "Oh, forget it!" He disappeared in a small puff of smoke and a small pop.

 

Kagome looked at the spot where he'd been floating in puzzlement. "What's wrong with him toady?" She wondered aloud. Shippo popped his head around the corner of the staircase.

 

"Wanna go again?" He asked eagerly. Kagome paused for a moment before answering. Inuyasha had made some good points…

 

One more go wasn't going to kill her. "Sure! But first let's put something on the staircase so it's padded." Just in case. Shippo rolled his eyes at her.

 

"But that'll take too long!" He protested. Kagome was already pulling cushions off the couch in the living room. "Kagome!" The ginger-haired kitsune complained. "Come on!" She dumped the cushions on the stair haphazardly. "Okay, let's go!" Shippo hurried up the stairs, Kagome close behind him.

 

Again, Kagome climbed onto the Shippo bubble and Souta turned on the fan. Shippo bumped up until he was floating. "GO!" All three shouted merrily. But at that precise moment, Miroku walked out of his room in a very grim mood. "LOOK OUT!" All three shouted. Too slow.

 

Smack! The three collided and hit the ground. Dazedly, Kagome sat up and blinked. "Everybody okay?" She asked Shippo and Miroku. The bubble disappeared and Shippo was sitting on the floor again.

 

"Yeah…" He rubbed his head gingerly. Souta turned off the fan and jogged over to them. Miroku sat up with a surprised look at the three of them.

 

"What exactly are you doing?" He asked politely and avoided Kagome's curious gaze. Souta and Shippo grinned and made their way over to the fan. Shippo poofed into the bubble, Souta turned on the fan, and off they went.

 

Miroku and Kagome barely had time to duck as the two boys went bouncing overhead with screams of laughter. Miroku ran a hand through his hair and picked up the bath towel that he dropped. "That's... different."

 

Kagome looked at him skeptically. "Miroku?" He looked at her warily in anticipation of her question. "Is your last name really not Taegada?" She looked at him curiously. He sighed and didn't respond for a moment.

 

"No." He said finally. Honesty was the best way out. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take my shower. Kagome watched him leave in confusion.

 

"Why does it matter?" She called after him over the whirring of the fan. He looked back at her in surprise, then continued down the hallway to the bathroom.

 

Good question. "Why, indeed?" He murmured to himself.

 

_|__|_

(0.0)

--( • )--

(____)

 

She was so…frustrating sometimes!

 

Inuyasha kicked idly at the dirt. Naturally, nothing was effected except his bad mood. Kagome didn't seem to have of a sense of self-preservation. Not only did she manage to get herself lost over twenty miles away from home, not only did she somehow manage to get caught in the same room with a malignant demon, but now she was practicing stupid stunts that anyone with common sense wouldn't try!

 

What was wrong with her? Kagome was one of those people who plunged into things without thinking, sometimes blindly trusting her instincts. Of course, he admitted, her instincts were better than most because she could sense people's auras.

 

Yes, Kagome was a priestess. But really, priestesses were different today than from five hundred years ago. They were almost obsolete. No one needed defense against demons as they used to. Priestesses were without a job that required their powers. So, what was he fussing about?

 

The memories. He made a futile swipe at a tree. It had been last night in his urn. The rest of his memory suddenly returned in a flash flood of thoughts, feelings, images. Why did he have to get caught up in her business? He should've just stayed away, let Kikyo handle the demon herself. After all, what good had it done him?

 

Kikyo had lied, used him as some sort of a sacrifice, like a lowly animal. It was disgusting and demeaning, and he'd fallen for it. And made him feel like a bumbling idiot. He grimaced and took another swipe at tree. Yes, he was in a bad mood. A very bad mood.

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Okay, so Inuyasha had been right. Someone did end up getting hurt.

 

Kagome bumped her against the wall slightly when she and Shippo went careening down the hallway, laughing and screaming. Mrs. Higurashi came into the house, alarmed at the screaming and wanting to know what was going on. "Hello? Are you guys alright? What's that noise?" The fan was whining as Souta turned it up as high as it could.

 

"Hi Mom!" He yelled over the noise. "Everybody's great!" Curiously, the concerned mother poked her head around the corner of staircase and instantly regretted it as Kagome and a large pink bubble sailed past and hit the ground, both the pink bubble and her daughter laughing uproariously.

 

"Oh, dear!" She said. "What on earth is going on here, Kagome?" She asked sharply. It didn't look to safe. Kagome kept laughing, and to Mrs. Higurashi's astonishment, the pink bubble-thing disappeared with a poof, and then Shippo was sitting next to Kagome. "W-what?" She stuttered in surprise. "How did you…?" Shippo grinned and waved.

 

Souta turned the fan off and came down the hallway. "He's a fox demon!" He said enthusiastically, conveniently forgetting that only three hours ago he'd been stuttering in surprise as well. "Isn't it cool?"

 

The poor confused woman looked at Shippo -who now sported a tail, little fangs and fox feet- and then to Kagome. "What happened when I was gone?" She asked, knowing that she'd probably regret ever leaving.

 

Kagome winced. This wasn't going to go over very well. "Well, it's a long story," She began. Mrs. Higurashi waited silently, patiently. "Um… why don't you ask Miroku? I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you." Her mother frowned and walked into the kitchen, signaling to Kagome to follow her. The raven-haired girl gulped.

 

Shippo and Souta waved cheerfully as she looked at them for assistance. No help coming from them. Reluctantly, she followed her mother into the kitchen. "Kagome." She said firmly. "Please tell me what happened while I was gone."

 

Kagome took a deep breath. "A lot happened," She admitted. "Sango came, but you know that. And then Inuyasha turned alive on the half moon and made a big hole in the ceiling -" Kagome winced and waited for her mother's reaction. "- and then I got lost when Grandpa sent me out to go buy him pickles, and then Shippo turned out to be a demon." She shrugged. "And that's about it. No one died or anything."

 

Mrs. Higurashi blinked. "Why don't we sit down?" It was a request more than a question. Kagome sat down across the table form her mother. "Could you repeat that?" She asked. "And from the beginning." The older woman added.

 

Kagome took another deep breath, and began.

 

(\ /)

(o.o)

(><)

 

"Whaddaya think Mom's gonna do to Kagome?" Souta asked his companion curiously. Shippo shrugged.

 

"Sh." He said, a look of great concentration on his face. "I can hear what they're saying." Souta looked at the young demon enviously.

 

"Lucky." He grumbled. "I wish I was a fox demon." He complained. "You can do all these cool things." Shippo waved his hand at Souta, trying to silence him. "What're they saying?"

 

"Kagome's telling your mom about what happened while you guys were gone." Shippo sighed and bounced in his seat. "Come on, this is boring!" Souta nodded and they headed up the stairs again.

 

"Hey, Sango!" Shippo said happily. The young woman and her cat were dubiously examining their contraption. "Isn't it cool?" He asked enthusiastically. Souta, who still didn't really know Sango, followed at a more sedate pace. Kirara mewed.

 

"Whoa!" Shippo backed away, having never seen Kirara before. "A demon!" He pointed an accusatory finger at little cat. "Where did it come from?" Souta looked at the kitten-sized demon with interest.

 

"Kirara's a part of my family." Sango said. Kirara mewed again. "She just found me today." Kirara batted at the end of the rope curiously. Sango turned back to the two boys. "And what is this?"

 

Souta grinned enthusiastically, proud to show off their contraption. "Back away and we'll show you!" Shippo once again transformed and Souta turned on the fan. He climbed onto Shippo's head and yelled at Sango over the whirring of the large contraption. "Turn it on all the way!"

 

Hesitantly, Sango complied and the two boys went spinning down the hallway, screaming with laughter. Their fan game was one of those things that one never tired of. Sango grinned as they hit the wall and tumbled into a heap on the floor. "Little weirdoes," She told Kirara. The fire cat blinked large red eyes at her in return.

 

Two tousled heads poked over the rim of the staircase. "Wanna try?" Shippo grinned and waved. Sango looked at him incredulously and turned off the fan.

 

"Could you even hold my weight?" She asked. Shippo nodded smugly. "I still think that I'll pass on this one." Sango smiled. The two boys stumbled dizzily down the hallway as if drunk.

 

"It's really fun," Souta coaxed. "Better than any roller coaster!" With a poof, Shippo became the pink bubble again. His form flickered and then reverted. He heaved a weary sigh.

 

"I don't think I can do any more today." Shippo admitted. "I'm all tired now." Souta shrugged.

 

"We can always do some more tomorrow." He said, then grinned. "And the next day, and the next, and the next!" Shippo chortled.

 

"Yeah!" Sango rolled her eyes at the reckless pair. Someone was going to get hurt… They wandered down the hallway, leaving Sango alone with the mess that they'd made out of the cushions and rope.

 

Typical of young boys.

 

(\ /)

(•, •)

(><)

 

The shower hadn't helped. Miroku was still feeling edgy and nervous. He exited the bathroom in a cloud of steam, and there she was. Sango. If he didn't know any better, he would've sworn that she was waiting for him… She waved politely as he hurried past her, calling at his back, "You have to tell them sometime."

 

Did he really? No one really needed to know. It was his business and had nothing to do with the others. What did it matter? Kagome was already curious, having no idea of his reputation as a loony. Neither did any of the others. No one but Sango knew; yet he felt cornered by his past. Well, he realized, it wasn't as bad as her past. Her entire family had been murdered, as had Shippo's. Their pasts were much worse than his, but their stories weren't quite as humiliating as his was. He closed the door to his room behind him and put his stuff away. Eh, he'd worry about it all later.

 

Though, what was he gaining by putting it off?

 

_|__|_

(• .•)

--( • )--

(____)

 

…And he still felt like crap. By now, Inuyasha himself was trailing acrid black smoke behind him to express his feelings as he sat moodily on the tree. No one had ventured near in hours, which was wise of them. Inuyasha didn't really mind the stench he was making. It suited his mood perfectly.

 

Oh, look. It was Shippo. Here was someone who he could scream insults at without having to apologize later. Unfortunately for the furious poltergeist, the fox demon stopped about ten yards away and turned sharply left, away from Inuyasha.

 

Gods, he was miserable. Weren't people supposed to get over things after a while? Wasn't five hundred years long enough? Resentment seethed inside him and the choking smoke around him took on sparks of electricity. It was stupid that he was still sitting here after several hours, feeling dismal. Why couldn't he just forget and put it behind him? Copper eyes glowered out upon the world around him.

 

"Oh, this is ridiculous." He snarled and rushed through the branches of the tree, over the grave marker, and to the shed and his urn, trailing the thick foul smoke behind him. He'd been using it less of late, preferring to stay outside or inside the house rather that the urn. He sighed, the anger washing away and leaving only a sad, lost feeling. Inuyasha closed his eyes and squished himself inside the container more firmly.

 

(\ /)

(•.•)

(><)

 

"This is probably a bad idea." Kagome told herself as she slipped out of the house and towards the woods. "In fact, he'll probably bite my head off." She said carelessly to the trees around her. But, she was concerned about him. He seemed sick almost, and she had a distinct that the black smog that he'd been spewing out around the tree wasn't a good sign of anything.

 

She passed by the tree, keeping a hand over her nose, eyes stinging, and hurried into the forest. "Eww." The smoke stank. There was definitely something wrong with Inuyasha, that much she was sure of. If the smoke was any indication, the poltergeist was in a very, very bad mood. She made her way down to the little shed and took a deep breath before knocking. "Inuyasha? You there?" She asked cheerfully.

 

There was no answer. "Inuyasha?" She asked again. She knew that he was in here. She could feel his presence. "I know you're here." She told the seemingly empty shed. Then, the foul black smog poured out of Inuyasha's urn. Kagome gulped in spite of herself and wondered feverishly why she even bothered.

 

A very grumpy Inuyasha puffed out with the smoke and sat next to his urn. "What do you want?" He asked sharply. Kagome winced slightly. Very, very bad mood indeed. He folded his arms across his chest. "I'm waiting."

 

"I was wondering…" Kagome began slowly, hesitantly. She was afraid that if she said the wrong thing he'd blow up or do something explosive. "You seem really unhappy." She admitted. "I was wondering if there was anything that I could do to help."

 

"Unhappy?" He raised his eyebrows at her. "Unhappy?" He repeated. Kagome nodded, unfazed. He gave a gloomy sigh and propped his chin up on his hands. "You have no idea." He grumbled to himself.

 

"What?" Kagome asked, having not caught what he said. He shook his head. Gods, was he depressed. "Hey, why don't you come up to the house with me?" She smiled cheerfully, hoping that somehow her good mood was infectious.

 

Inuyasha thought carefully. Stay in his urn and keep his bad mood to himself, or share it to others? Without saying anything, or even moving, he floated towards the door and went ahead of Kagome. The raven-haired girl shrugged and followed him up the slope to the house.

 

After all, "misery loves company".

 

(\ /)

(•, •)

(><)

 

This wasn't supposed to be the way it worked.

 

He was supposed to sit around and be a stick in the mud and all the rest of them were supposed to pick up the bad feelings and mope with him. Souta and Shippo hadn't even noticed his bad mood. Sango and Kirara, upon seeing the poltergeist's current disposition, had seated themselves a good distance away from him and played with a piece of pink string.

 

Miroku was sitting tensely on the couch, seemingly absorbed in his newspaper. Inuyasha noticed that he kept glancing tersely at various occupants of the room, then looking away quickly. And Sango kept giving him weird looks.

 

No one was paying attention to him in the slightest. No one but Kagome, who kept shooting him friendly smiles from her card game with Shippo and Souta. Bad moods were no fun unless they were noticed and then spread around, and everyone was either too busy with their own business or avoiding him to do anything about it.

 

It was too much to bear. The thing about bad moods was that you needed someone to notice them and react. That wasn't happening. He was surrounded by cheerful, happy people who weren't sympathizing or trying to cheer him up. As stubborn as he was, Inuyasha's bad mood began to dissipate, leaving him feeling rather forlorn and abandoned.

 

"Hey, Inuyasha!" Kagome grinned and waved him over. It'd taken him forever to get out of that funk he'd been in, but she'd noticed the stormy frown had ceased to crease his forehead and his eyes were no longer that stony grey. Stranger yet, she could almost… sense that he felt better, a lightening of his aura.

 

The poltergeist wandered reluctantly over to the grinning girl. She patted the ground next to her and he floated above the ground next to her. Shippo put down two cards. "Two threes." He said solemnly.

 

"B. S.!" Souta shouted triumphantly and pointed at the ginger-haired kitsune. "Pick it up!" He grinned maniacally. Shippo picked the cards up and placed them right side up so that they faces were visible. "What?!"

 

"Hah!" Shippo shouted. "Take it! Take it all!" he shoved the pile of cards at his puzzled friend. Souta rifled through his hand.

 

"Huh?" He asked. "But how's that possible?" He held up three other threes from his own hand. "There's two three of clubs." Shippo looked at the ceiling, the picture of innocence.

 

"Shippo, take the spell off of the card." Miroku said dryly, not bothering to look up from his paper. "Cheating isn't virtuous."

 

"Neither is groping people." The fox demon shot back. Miroku looked over the edge of his newspaper at the kit with raised eyebrows and a look of solemn reproach on his face.

 

"I'll have you know that I haven't groped anyone for over a week." He informed the room. "Nor have I had any dirty thoughts." He turned back to his newspaper, resisting the urge to say, "Hah!"

 

"But that's only because you lost a bazillion games of Uno to Sango!" Shippo protested. "It doesn't count!" At the opposite end of the room, Sango smirked.

 

"Well, regardless," Kagome interrupted. "Shippo, you pick up the cards." Grudgingly, the ginger-haired boy grabbed the pile and started to organize them in his hand. Souta grinned.

 

"One four."

 

The game resumed with all in the living room in good humor, Inuyasha included. Kagome grinned and looked at him with bright brown eyes. Well, what do you know. For the first time in a few hours, he didn't feel like crap.

 

In fact, he felt pretty good.

 

_|__|_

(•.•)

--( • )--

(____)

 

For Miroku, dinner was a tense affair. He could feel Sango watching him the whole time. While normally this would make dinner a great event, he knew that this time she was looking at him for a very different reason. A reason that he didn't want to confront. "You have to tell them sometime," She'd said.

 

She was right, too. He couldn't keep it a secret forever. And there was no doubt that they'd believe him because they lived with the evidence. He would not be accused of lunacy, he would not be laughed at or kicked out of the house. So why was he holding back? Feeling rather reckless, Miroku cleared my throat. "My name is Taegada Miroku." He said loudly.

 

All conversation at the previously noisy table stopped as everyone at the table turned to look at him in surprise. Shippo looked at him in confusion and exchanged a glance with Souta. "So what?" he asked with a shrug.

 

There was a brief pause as everyone stared at him a bit. Miroku shifted in his seat slightly. "Just forget I said anything." Silence. And then, as if they'd been cued, the others all resumed talking and eating simultaneously.

 

Well, that was rather … stupid. Miroku toyed with the food on his plate for a bit before eating it. No one had been alarmed, no one had laughed at him. Of course, no one had any idea of what the name implied, either. "So what?" Shippo had asked." So what", indeed. That was the past, this was the present. Across the table, Sango looked at him with a small congratulatory smile

 

"He who is wise never tries to revise what's past and gone".

 

_|__|_

(•. •)

--( • )--

(____)

 

Inuyasha found himself wondering what he was doing, sitting at a table with people eating dinner when he was incapable of eating. They'd even left a seat open for him next to Kagome. It felt very strange to be sitting at a table with nothing to do as everyone around him was eating food.

 

But it wasn't about the food, obviously. Everyone was talking a laughing, making him feel as if everything was just great, that he had been miserable over nothing. They were irrepressibly cheerful. Kagome turned to him with a grin and a witty comment. Very, very cheerful. Eh, things weren't so bad. They could be worse. The poltergeist found himself wondering why he'd been feeling so horrible in the first place. A little gloom was allowed, of course, but it all seemed so melodramatic in retrospect. The past was the past. It was gone and over with. Set in stone, and there was no way to change it.

 

"He who is wise never tried to revise what's past and gone." After all, he still had a future to worry about.

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Miroku headed back up to his room with a feeling of accomplishment. He'd told everyone his full name. That was the first step. Next step, tell them what happened. That is, if anyone cared. At this point, he could take it or leave it. After blurting his name out so ridiculously at the table and no one seemed to care, he didn't really either.

 

It was the past, done and gone. There was no more to do or say about it, and that was that. He walked out of his room with a toothbrush in hand and headed to the bathroom. Kagome was already there and brushing her teeth. She waved at him and spat. "Hi."

 

"Good evening." Miroku replied and unscrewed the cap of the toothpaste. Kagome washed her toothbrush and grabbed a comb.

 

"So what was the thing with your name at dinner?" She asked curiously. Miroku looked at her calmly without a trace of his former agitation. He squirted some of the paste on his brush and shrugged.

 

"I just said my name." He replied. Kagome rolled her eyes and looked at him pointedly. "I was expelled from the University of Maebashi." He said finally, fiddling with his toothbrush.

 

"What?" Kagome put the comb and down and diverted her attention to the violet-eyed man. "Why? What did you do?" She asked incredulously, imagining some horrible groping incident.

 

"I had a theory, and I clung to it stubbornly, stupidly." Miroku shrugged. "Of course no one believed me, and either called me crazy or laughed in my face and then called me crazy. I lost a lot of friends that way."

 

Kagome winced. "Well, what was you theory?" She asked. Miroku certainly didn't seem like the loony type who'd try and convince the world that there were "aliens walking among us".

 

"I was convinced that demons from legend were real and that they were still among us." He replied solemnly. Ouch. If she didn't know any better, Kagome would've thought that it was just as bad as aliens. "And eventually I got quite a reputation. The University was forced to 'silence the crazy man', as fate would have it." His smile was off a bit. "And so I was expelled."

 

"But you're right!" Kagome exclaimed. "You can go back and prove it to all of them and then they'd feel really bad about kicking you out and you'd get your classes back!" Miroku shook his head.

 

"How do you think people would react?" Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. "And my poor 'evidence' would probably taken away to get tested in all sorts of terrible ways." No wonder Shippo hid so long… "The demon wouldn't be treated as a senescent being."

 

"Oh, that's horrible." Kagome said and resumed brushing her hair. "You know you're right, but you can't do anything."

 

"My sentiments exactly." Miroku sighed and began to brush his teeth. Kagome stared unseeingly at the mirror, lost in thought.

 

She'd never really thought of Shippo being a demon as alarming, never thought about the larger implications. "Demons do exist, and they live among us." She let the thought sink in, then grinned. "It sounds like some sort of old science fiction movie."

 

Miroku nodded sagely. "In many ways, it almost is." He agreed. Sango poked her head around the door with a grin. She patted Miroku on the shoulder supportively and almost made him choke.

 

"What's wrong?" She asked hastily and he began coughing. "Are you okay?" She laughed nervously. "Miroku?" He was still coughing. "Are you okay?" She repeated.

 

"You just…" He stared at her in surprise. "You just touched me without it being painful." He looked at her thoughtfully. "Huh." Today was a very interesting day.

 

"Why would I hurt you?" Sango asked suspiciously. "Clean thoughts." She reminded him, just in case. Miroku nodded. "You didn't do anything….yet." She grabbed the toothpaste. "And don't think of doing anything." She added forewarningly. Sango twisted the cap off of the tube and squeezed some of the white paste on her toothbrush.

 

Kirara wandered into the bathroom with a mew and jumped onto Sango's shoulder. She looked reproachfully at Miroku with intelligent red eyes. "Hello." He said politely. He assumed that the little fire cat was an intelligent being. She batted a paw in the air, a vague parody of a wave.

 

Kagome left the bathroom and headed to her room with a weary yawn and a "goodnight". Sango looked at Miroku out of the corner of her eye. "So you told her," she said in a conversational tone.

 

"I did." Miroku replied and spat out toothpaste. "And she didn't care." He added. Sango nodded and rinsed off her toothbrush.

 

"I didn't think that she would." She admitted. If Kagome didn't care that she was living with two demons and a spectral half-demon, she doubted that the raven-haired girl would mind living with a suspected nutter whom she knew wasn't crazy at all.

 

Miroku looked at her thoughtfully. "You said you believed me." He said slowly. Sango watched him carefully. "Did you mean it?" He asked with a frown.

 

Kirara mewed on Sango's shoulder and the young woman rubbed the little cat's head absently. "Of course. Why would I lie?" Miroku shrugged. "Besides," Sango added. "I had proof myself." She looked pointedly at the demon on her shoulder,

 

Miroku nodded, expression unreadable, and left the bathroom with a courteous "goodnight" to Sango. She frowned slightly after he left. "I wonder what that was about?" She asked Kirara.

 

"Mew." The little fire cat replied. Sango nodded with a smile and put the toothpaste away. She grabbed her toothbrush and comb and left the room.

 

(\ /)

(•. •)

(><)

 

Inuyasha floated high in the air, above the house. The moon hung in the dark night sky like a newly-minted nickel. With nothing left to occupy his thoughts, they drifted back towards Kikyo, and the entire incident. With a resigned sigh, he left his mind to his memories.

 

He was surprised when his mind moved away from thoughts of Kikyo -whom he was very, very confused about- and towards a certain raven-haired girl slumbering below. He stared down at the little black square that was the house below him with surprise. Sometimes he didn't understand himself.

 

So what was so special about her that he kept thinking about her? It was actually slightly disturbing for him. She was always lurking in the back of his mind and when he didn't have anything better to do, he found himself wondering what she was doing at that moment, where she was. And half the time he'd ended up going to see her. Huh. It was a mystery, but not really.

 

Because if he really tried to understand, he knew what he'd find.

 

(\ /)

(0.0)

(><)

 

AN: Tell me! Next chapter, or improve the old ones? You are all included in the decision-making process! So… tell me! (I didn't write a cliffhanger this time! Yay!)

 

And WOW, is it just me or is Miroku incredibly OOC in this chapter? If so, please tell me how to fix it! (Because he gave me lotsa hell this chapter…)