InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Incorrigible ❯ Compromising Position ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this bit of mischief… especially for the protective one. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.

 

A Debt of Gratitude: With a cheerful wink towards mine beta, Fenikkusuken.

 

This oneshot was posted on April 10, 2008.

 

oOo

Compromising Position

 

“This way, Kagome-sama! In here!” Miroku urged, dropping his shakujou and pushing the young woman towards a narrow cleft in the cliff face. She scrabbled over loose shale, trying to wriggle more deeply into the rocky alcove so that there would be room for the monk as well. It wasn't easy. Their scanty shelter was little more than a crack, a v-shaped wedge that offered no flat surface on which to stand. Kagome was forced to brace herself upright with her hands as she leaned against one sloping side, panting and trembling from exertion and fear. She watched Miroku use a sutra to seal the entrance, the shimmering barrier flaring into place just in time to ward off the creeping cloud of miasma they'd nearly failed to outrun.

 

“Do you think the others are safe?” she ventured once she caught her breath.

 

“Yes, I'm certain they'll be fine,” the monk replied confidently. “It may be quite some time before we can leave; perhaps we should make ourselves more comfortable?”

 

Kagome had to admit that Miroku had a point. Their small haven was a tight fit, and her muscles were already beginning to cramp. She was just about to voice her consent when, to her utter dismay, the monk began untying his purple kesu. “What are you doing?” she demanded in alarm.

 

Miroku glanced up in surprise, and taking in Kagome's pale face and wide eyes, he chuckled. “My apologies, Kagome-sama. I merely intend to use the cloth for padding.” He pointed to the back of the niche, near her feet. “It would be best if I sit there.”

 

The miko looked down blankly, then asked, “Where would I sit?”

 

“On my lap.”

 

It took a moment for his answer to register, but once it did, Kagome was shaking her head. “I don't think so,” she countered adamantly.

 

Ignoring her, Miroku continued to calmly—if awkwardly—divest himself the outermost layer of his robes and fold it into the semblance of a cushion. “We'll need to trade places,” he announced pleasantly.

 

Warning him off with an upraised finger, Kagome frowned impressively. “Don't come any closer!”

 

“Kagome-sama,” sighed the bemused monk. “I daresay you're more frightened of me than of Naraku's miasma.”

 

“With good reason,” she retorted with a stubborn tilt to her chin.

 

Miroku shook his head disbelievingly. “This is hardly the time or place for making advances… let alone casting aspersions…” The mild rebuke did nothing to soften the young woman's resolve, so he tried again. “What if I were to tell you that the only prospect that is tempting me right now is the one afforded by a moderately comfortable place to sit?”

 

She eyed him skeptically. “You're not just saying that?”

 

“I am not,” the monk reassured.

 

This seemed to give Kagome pause. “Are you sure?” she ventured, the tiniest of pouts betraying a hint of disappointment at this revelation.

 

Miroku bowed his head, attempting to hide the smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. Ah, women… so fierce, yet so fragile. The monk eased closer to Kagome, planting his hands on either side of her shoulders and leaning forward in the small space until his face was mere inches from hers. She squirmed backwards, bumping her head against the wall behind. Pressing his advantage, he used his most seductive tones as he murmured, “Kagome-sama, lovely as you may be, you are the only thing standing between me and that which I desire. Now… if you would be so kind…?”

 

Blushing furiously, she avoided his eyes. “Fine. You can have this spot, but I'm not sitting on your lap. I'll just… stand over there,” she mumbled as she nodded towards a spot roughly three steps away.

 

“That is most gracious,” Miroku smiled, shifting to one side so Kagome could edge around him. She watched warily as he crouched down, brushing aside loose stones and arranging his makeshift cushion with care. Easing himself onto the seat, he tested the comfort of his backrest and apparently found it satisfactory. As he extended his legs, he glanced up at his companion, nodding towards her awkwardly placed feet. “You really should sit, Kagome-sama.”

 

“No, thank you,” she replied crisply.

 

Giving the young woman's muscles a few minutes to begin protesting, Miroku resumed his coaxing. “I have no plans to take advantage of our circumstances, Kagome-sama. Come and sit with me,” he urged, patting his lap.

 

“I… I really don't know, Miroku-sama,” she responded, but her hesitation was enough to let the monk know she was weakening.

 

“Is there nothing I can say to put your mind at ease?” he inquired, the picture of patience.

 

“Well… do you promise to behave?”

 

“Of course,” the monk agreed readily, placing his hand over his heart. “I would even stake my family's good reputation on it.”

 

Kagome's jaw dropped, and she looked prepared to point out the obvious. Instead, she covered a giggle as the tension broke. “Now you're just teasing,” she accused with a smile.

 

“Indeed I am,” he acquiesced. “If it will aid your decision, I could point out that… given your current attire and my enviable perspective, it would be in your best interests to reconsider your position.” He chuckled as her hands flew to the hem of her skirt, then held out his hand to her. “Come and take your ease, Kagome-sama.”

 

“I don't really have much choice,” she sighed. “You're really not going to try anything?”

 

“There is a time and a place for such behavior, and I am quite capable of telling the difference,” he stated blandly.

 

“Oh… all right,” Kagome huffed. Miroku had the good grace not to gloat as he helped steady her descent into the proffered seat. Feeling distinctly awkward, she remained ramrod straight, too self-conscious to even fidget.

 

When long fingers gently insinuated themselves around her waist, Kagome jumped with a squeak and batted furiously at the hands that were making themselves at home on her hips. Miroku quickly released her, propping his elbows on the sloping walls to either side with a longsuffering sigh. “Really, Kagome-sama, I was merely attempting to…”

 

She twisted around to glare into his face, which somehow managed to communicate injured innocence and boyish charm. “I knew it… such a lecher… ulterior motives… wandering hands…” Her disjointed spluttering was accompanied by impressively snapping eyes, and for a moment, the monk thought she might actually try to throttle him.

 

“My deepest apologies, Kagome-sama,” he soothed. “I meant no offense, and I am open to other suggestions. Where would you like me to put my hands? Here perhaps?”

 

Warm palms splayed companionably over the tops of her thighs, fingertips managing to tickle the skin below her skirt's hem. With an indignant shriek, she slammed her hands over the top of his, trapping them before they could wander into further mischief. “No! No, you will most certainly not be putting your hands there,” she practically shouted.

 

“Ah,” he murmured, giving the syllable all the wistfulness of disappointed hopes.

 

Kagome was seething. “How dare you! How could you! What are you thinking! Don't you know the meaning of self-control? You're shameless! You're hopeless! You're completely incorrigible!”

 

The monk remained calm throughout the young woman's harangue, and when she paused for breath, he got his word in edgewise. “And you are no longer petrified,” Miroku observed bluntly.

 

Kagome's mouth snapped shut and her anger faded so quickly she seemed to deflate. Silence reigned for several moments, and when she finally found her voice, she kept it simple. “Oh.”

 

“Better,” the monk decided with an approving nod. “Now… where would you suggest I rest my arms?”

 

“I guess… we could … compromise?”

 

Miroku's mouth crooked upwards. “I'm famous for compromising positions,” he deadpanned, earning a token elbow to the ribs.

 

oOo

 

“We're close,” Inuyasha called, scanning the rock-strewn ravine as Kirara padded to a landing behind him.

 

Hefting her weapon, Sango hurried to his side, and Shippo clambered up onto the hanyou's shoulder. “Do you think they're okay?” the kit asked, for what felt like the hundredth time.

 

“They better be,” muttered Inuyasha grimly.

 

“Look over there, Inuyasha,” Sango interrupted, pointing. “There are gaps all along the cliff face. Maybe they found a place to take shelter.”

 

“Right,” nodded the hanyou. “Let's split up and search.”

 

Several minutes of clambering over stones, and the kitsune sent up a whoop of discovery. “Inuyasha! Over here!”

 

The hanyou was beside him in a moment, and Sango wasn't far behind. Together, they peered through the faint shimmer of the barrier the monk had erected, taken aback by the scene that met their eyes. Inuyasha was the first to break the stunned silence, though he did so in an undertone. “What in the hell is she doing?”

 

Shippo looked up at the bristling hanyou with a smirk. “I think someone's jealous.”

 

Sango frowned thoughtfully at the picture their two friends made. The monk was ensconced in a shallow break in the rocks, both arms loosely circling Kagome, who looked completely at home as she slept in his embrace. Given the size of their bolt-hole, the arrangement was… understandable. The growl-inducing detail that couldn't quite be ignored was the fact that they were holding hands. Kagome's fingers were intimately woven through Miroku's as she cradled them in her lap.

 

“Houshi,” drawled the hanyou in a warning tone.

 

The monk cracked an eye, then straightened with a pleased expression. “You found us!” Ignoring Inuyasha's dangerously-narrowed eyes, Miroku gently jostled his companion. “Wake up, Kagome-sama. Help has arrived.”

 

She blinked sleepily, then smiled her welcome. “Thank goodness you're all safe! I was so worried.”

 

Inuyasha, made a show of folding his arms and turning his back. “You two certainly seem… cozy,” he commented, sarcasm barely masking his confusion.

 

The young woman quickly glanced over her shoulder at Miroku. “What are you talking about, Inuyasha?”

 

“Keh,” he snorted, nodding towards the seated pair. “You're holding hands with him, Kagome.”

 

She blinked down at the strong hands she still grasped within her own, then met the hanyou's accusing glare with chagrin. “I'm not holding hands with Miroku-sama,” she asserted, turning wide eyes next to Sango. “I mean, I know I'm holding onto his hands, but we aren't holding hands.”

 

Inuyasha scowled at the evidence to the contrary, and Miroku came to her rescue by gently extricating his fingers. “She's telling the truth, Inuyasha. For some reason, Kagome-sama felt safer knowing where my hands were.” With a no-nonsense air, he transferred his grip to her waist and boosted her out of his lap and towards the door. Levering himself to his feet and draping his kesu over one arm, the monk reached over Kagome's shoulder to release the sutra guarding the entrance. “I can't imagine why,” he added lightly.

 

Sango rolled her eyes as she moved forward, offering her support as Kagome stepped out of the niche on stiff limbs. “Sounds to me like self-defense,” she remarked dryly, giving Miroku a flat look.

 

“Yes, yes,” Kagome hurried to agree. “It wasn't romance; it was… protective custody.”

 

“That so?” replied the hanyou, moving to bar Miroku's exit from the cleft and extending a hand. Warily, the monk accepted the offer of assistance, wincing slightly at the firmness of Inuyasha's grip. “Care to explain the need for precautions?”

 

“If holding my hands made Kagome-sama feel more secure, then I wasn't about to deny her request. There's no need to read more into the handclasp than that… unless, of course, this is an unspoken declaration on your part.” With a twinkle, Miroku brought his other hand up to enfold Inuyasha's between his own. “I had no idea you cared,” he added coyly.

 

“Oi!” protested the hanyou, snatching his hand away. “You made your point, already.”

 

As their party regrouped for travel, Kagome slipped up beside the monk and gave his hand a quick, impulsive squeeze. “Thank you, Miroku-sama,” she whispered bashfully.

 

“Whatever for?” he inquired softly.

 

“Well, in all the confusion, everyone kind of overlooked the fact that you saved me,” she explained. “I just wanted you to know that… well… even though it's about the only thing I can trust in those hands of yours, I know my life is safe in them.”

 

“Truer words were never spoken,” murmured Miroku, fully enjoying the changing expressions that flashed across Kagome's face as his hand grazed the small of her back and eased its way south. “You are quite welcome.”

 

oOo

 

End Note: This oneshot was written for the Live Journal community mirkagfic and their prompt for Contest #04—Ulterior Motive. 2,071 words.