InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Ways ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter Nine:

Miroku smiled happily down at the tajiya who was in his embrace, her eyes peaceful as she continued to relax on the heat of his body. I suppose Kyoko was right. She does care for me, and I for her. Sango looked up and met his gaze, smiling softly herself. Her cheeks started to glow red also as she touched her lips that were slightly puffy from the kiss he had given her. Her first kiss. It was forever implanted in her memory now.

"Sango," he sighed, bringing her closer, resting his head on top of hers. He would marry her as soon as his awful curse was lifted. Then she would bear him children, many children and her backside would get larger and her hips would-

"Houshi-sama? What are you thinking about?" Sango's voice drifted through his ears, bringing him out of his hentai fantasy. He grinned at her and winked.

"Nothing at all, beloved," he chuckled nervously as she sat up. The tajiya shrugged and stretched a bit, standing up.

"Let's pretend this didn't happen. It would be very embarrassing for the members of our group to find out that we now have… relations…" She stated, biting her lower lip slightly.

"Find out about what?" A perky voice called, startling them both. Shippo popped out from a tree. "That you guys smell really weird and that you were kissing?" Miroku grabbed the kitsune and clamped his hand over his mouth. Shippo struggled and made muffled sounds of protest but stopped when the monk began to speak with him.

"Mention one word and-" He made a motion of cutting his head off. The fox youkai child nodded simply, gasping for breath when Miroku released him.

"OWWW!" He howled, wanting attention. Sango made some tsk-ing sounds and scooped Shippo up.

"You really are starved for attention aren't you? Haven't you been playing with Rin at all?" She questioned him, running her fingers through his silky red hair. The kitsune child sighed and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, a little, but then Kyoko-sama said that Rin needed to sleep when I wanted to play with her again," He pouted but then returned to his normally chipper attitude. "I'm all right though!"

Sango giggled and patted him on the head. "I'm sure you're fine," she replied, setting him down. "Houshi-sama was being a bit forceful with the way he told you not to tell, Shippo-chan. Please don't tell, for me?" she sent a skeptical gaze to the man who had kissed her minutes before. He responded to her gaze with the most innocent of looks.

"I'm gonna go find Kagome. She and Inuyasha smelled really weird too earlier," Shippo said, scampering along and out of site.

Miroku's eyebrow's fixated together after Shippo had left. "Kagome and Inuyasha too? My goodness! We are all just getting our feelings out in the open aren't we?" He stated, standing and pulling Sango against himself.

"Yes. I think it has to do with Kyoko-chan's influence though. She helped me to sort out my feelings for you," she said, resting her arms behind his neck as his arms encircled her waist.

"Funny, she did the same thing for me," he replied, kissing her softly.

**

"So you'll really come, Kyoko-sama?" Rin exclaimed, bouncing up and down to spite herself. Kyoko grinned in return and laughed when Rin thanked her and Sesshomaru again. The taiyoukai was emotionless, if not slightly irritated that she was coming along. He had only done this to please Rin but who could complain? Kyoko was ecstatic that she was now going to be living in castle!

"'Course, Rin. I said I was gonna be yer ma so I'll go with `ya," she answered the small girl. "I best be goin' to tell Inuyasha n' Kagome n' Miroku n' Sango `bout this. No doubt lil' Shippo'll `ave a fit," She added, standing and exiting the cave. She heard footsteps behind her and saw that Sesshomaru had followed her.

"In my castle, we shall do things a little differently. You will keep watch over Rin and when she is sleeping you will be educated. I do not want her to pick up your horrible habits for speaking," He told her in a firm voice. Kyoko's eyes narrowed.

"'Course, Lord Sesshomaru. I'd be glad to watch Rin for `ya. I'd also be obliged if y'all would teach me to read n' write," she said with sarcastic tones, rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah," she finished, continuing to walk along to find her friends.

She came across Kagome and Inuyasha and rolled her eyes again when she saw them arguing over something. "Hey y'all!" she roared, catching their attention. "I guess I'm goin' to Sesshomaru's castle place."

Inuyasha's eyes were wide. "You're goin' where?"

"His cas-sle," Kyoko repeated slowly, crossing her arms. "I'm goin' to watch Rin for `im and be `er so-called Okaa-san. It ain't no problem fer me."

Kagome smiled at Kyoko and went to hug her. "I think you're doing a good thing, Kyoko-chan. You even get to live in a castle with a youkai who is half-bad looking," she whispered and the two young women giggled. Inuyasha spluttered when he heard Kagome say that his half-brother was attractive.

"You got that right," Kyoko laughed in response and hugged Kagome. She then turned and held her arms out to Inuyasha. "Come on, `ya beast. I'm goin' away. Gimme a hug," she ordered, watching when he stubbornly crossed his arms. "Inuyasha, I'm goin' to miss y'all. Please?" she asked, her dark eyes growing larger as if she were going to cry. The hanyou noticed this and immediately embraced her roughly and quickly. Kyoko grinned at him. "There now! That weren't so hard now, were it?"

"Feh," he mumbled, glancing at Kagome when she patted him on the shoulder, smiling brightly at him.

"Thank y'all for everything `ya did for me. I `ppreciate it lots," Kyoko added, bowing to them.

"You helped us out, idiot!" Inuyasha barked at her with a perplexed look on her face.

"Huh? Whu'd I do?" she shrugged, honestly not knowing what she did.

"You brought us together," Kagome answered, leaning her head on Inuyasha's shoulder. Kyoko made an `oh' shape with her mouth and nodded, realizing finally what she had done.

"Hm… I guess I done that with Miroku n' Sango to then. Better go say bye to them, too! Bye y'all!" she called as she went to search for the houshi and the tajiya.

**

"Yep, I'm goin'. I'll see y'all and I hope y'all are real happy together," she teased, hugging the monk and the demon slayer good bye before she went back to the cave, seeing Sesshomaru, a battered looking Jaken and a very perky Rin waiting for her return. There was also a two-headed dragon standing behind them and her eyes widened in shock a bit.

"What the hell is that thing?" Kyoko spluttered, pointing to the youkai. Rin took her hand and led her up to the creature, pointing up at its face.

"This is Ah and Uh. Rin likes to ride on Ah and Uh when Sesshomaru takes her places," the small girl told her, giggling when Sesshomaru lifted her up onto the dragon youkai's back.

Golden eyes met her dark ones as he came to stand in front of her. "Do you need help to get up, also?" he asked stoically, his face stony.

"Nope. I kin take care of it," she replied, hopping up, grabbing onto the saddle piece that was stationed on the dragon's back. "See? I kin do it," she grinned down at Sesshomaru. He only stared at her impassively before flying ahead on a cloud-like substance with his toad servant by his side.

As they rode along, Kyoko taught Rin a song about flowers in the spring that she used to sing in the slave markets and they continued to sing it all the way back to the palace. Sesshomaru had turned around to glare at Kyoko a few times to silence her but she only leaned forward with her eyes narrowed, and sang impossibly louder. She frightened Ah and Un a few times with her voice.

**

"Whaddya mean I gotta bathe and get clean? I AM clean!" Kyoko yelled in outrage when they arrived at the castle. Rin had been sent to go and wash up and Jaken was ordered to prepare a hot spring and gather a few youkai servants to help clean the human woman up.

"Clean?" Sesshomaru walked forward and grasped her arm that was smudged with dirt and overall grime that had built up over the months. She had avoided Kagome's soap and only succumbed to using the shampoo in her hair, which was still impossibly tangled and matted. "You call this clean? You have much fairer skin tone than this, I assure you," he added, dropping her arm and then looked over the torn and tattered kimono she was wearing. "You also need new clothes."

"New clothes?" she barked, her hands flying to her hips. "It's one thing to tell me I needs ta bathe. It's `nother to tell me I needs to be edj-cated but when `ya insult mah clothes that my best friend made fer me, that's when I get pissed, Lord Sesshomaru!" she roared, crossing her arms. "Make me change mah clothes and take a bath." She snorted, her eyes hard as she gauged his reaction.

Sesshomaru's eyebrow lifted a fraction of an inch at her challenge. Not being one to back down, he stepped forward and grabbed her kimono at the neck. Kyoko gasped at being jolted forward so suddenly but started to shout at him, calling him a beast and such. "I shall make you change your clothes, even If I have to do it myself," he told her point blank, smirking when her face blanched and then blushed furiously. "Then," he added, his eyes narrowing in mischief, "I will bathe you."

Kyoko pushed him, trying to force his hand so she could escape his grip. "Fine! I'm goin'! I'm goin'!" she exclaimed and felt extremely relieved when he let her go. A few youkai came and took her by the arms and started to lead her down the hall. "This ain't over Lord Sesshomaru! You may `ave won now but you just wait! I'll git `ya!" she screamed down the hall, over her shoulder as he disappeared from her sight to go and be bathed.

**

"Ow! OW!" Kyoko screamed, splashing and spluttering when scalding hot water was poured over her naked body in the hot spring. "DAMN THAT'S HOT!"

"We're sorry, m'lady but we need to clean you. Your hair is in huge decay," A neko hanyou stated as she lathered some soap in her hands and delved into the forest of Kyoko's hair.

"Your skin also. We must scrub until we can see your fair skin," a kitsune also said as she took a cloth and began to scrub madly with soap at Kyoko's arms and legs.

Kyoko finally gave up after about an hour of protest. The servants who were attending her hadn't gotten very far but saw how pruned her skin was getting. They had managed to get the tangles out of her long hip length hair but her skin was still coming with progress.

"Let's not let her get sick. We shall finish her skin later," the kitsune told the neko as they helped Kyoko out of the tub and dried her off. The young woman sighed as she dressed in the new red and brown silk kimono that had been laid out for her. The neko hanyou began to brush her hair and Kyoko took a look in the looking glass.

"Well. Ain't that a site? I acshully look kinda like a woman," she laughed.

"What do you mean? You will look beautiful once your skin has been properly washed, m'lady," the kitsune said in a reassuring voice as she tied up Kyoko's long, tamed hair into a bun with a few loose strands hanging down her face.

"Nah. I ain't beautiful. I'm mas-coo-line," she told the two youkai who were attending her. They only shook their heads and disagreed but Kyoko just kept rambling. "What do I gotta do now?"

"Lord Sesshomaru wishes it that you go to the study so he may teach your literacy," the neko informed her. "I think he will be very pleased with what you look like. If not, we shall finished cleaning the mud and grime off of your skin later tonight."

"Yep. All right-y then," Kyoko replied as the kitsune led her to the study.

(A/N: Dun dun dun… I might update again soon! YAY!)