InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Latex Blues ❯ Chapter 5

Part 5

Inuyasha slipped silent and unseen through the night, following the scents of his friends. He had gone to Kagome's house to try to find some evidence of who this 'mystery man' was, so that he could find the guy and kill him. He had found something that had raised his suspicions hidden in the same drawer where he had found those hateful 'things', but before he could know for sure, he needed Miroku's help. As he passed into a dense patch of forest, the scent grew stronger, and soon he could hear the voices of his friends. They had settled for the evening in a small clearing, using the surrounding brush to conceal their whereabouts from youkai and other nightly predators. Inuyasha emerged from the inky darkness that surrounded the tiny campsite where the houshi, the kitsune and the demon slayer sat chatting around a small, smokeless fire.

"Oy! Miroku!" he said gruffly, interrupting their conversation. The companions started at the sound of his voice. Sango reached for her katana, while Miroku pulled at the rosary on his right hand. Shippou hid behind Miroku. Only Kirara, who had smelled him coming, was unaffected. She remained asleep, curled up in Sango's lap.

"Inuyasha? You startled us!" Sango exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest to steady her racing heartbeat. Shippou popped out of hiding and climbed onto Miroku's shoulder to glare menacingly at Inuyasha.

"You're back." Miroku said simply.

"I need to talk to you…alone!" he said, giving the kitsune a meaningful glance.

"I wouldn't talk to that asshole, Miroku!" Shippou said, bristling at the dog demon. "He made Kagome leave again!"

"Hey Shippou, when he wants your opinion, he'll ask for it!" Inuyasha barked. He aimed a blow at the kitsune's head, but missed as Shippou leapt off of Miroku's shoulder.

"Whatever!" Shippou snorted, hopping away. Without checking to see if Miroku was following, Inuyasha stormed off into the forest. Miroku hastily excused himself from the others and followed him.

"What did you want to see me about, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked when they were far enough from the campsite to speak privately. Inuyasha pulled a small piece of paper from out the folds of his yukata and handed it to the monk.

"What does this say?" Inuyasha demanded, avoiding eye-contact with the houshi. He found it humiliating that he had to reveal to Miroku his inability to read. He didn't like exposing his weaknesses, especially to another male. Miroku said nothing on the matter, but quickly gave the paper a once-over. When he was finished, he looked back at Inuyasha with a strange expression on his face.

"Where did you get this, Inuyasha?" he asked, puzzled.

"What difference does it make?" Inuyasha said evasively, becoming more agitated by the second. "Can you read it or not?"

"Of course I can read it." Miroku said calmly, "but I don't believe that I should read it to you unless I know whether or not it was meant for you."

"I, uh, got it from Kagome." he said, uncomfortably. It wasn't really a lie. He had found it in her room.

"Oh, I see." Miroku said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Well, in that case, I'll read it to you. It says- " He cleared his throat, and in a very solemn manner, he began to read. "Dearest Inuyasha, I know that we fight all of the time, but I can no longer hide my true feelings. The reason that I get so flustered around you is that I am secretly in love with you. I am waiting for you to come to me and admit your love as well, but I am very shy, so I may act surprised when you come for me. I may even pretend that I never wrote to you, but rest assured, my love, that it is all an act, for I cannot live without you. With all my love, Kagome." Inuyasha eyed the monk suspiciously.

"It says all that, huh? That seems awfully long for a scrap of paper."

"Are you accusing me, a follower of Buddha, of lying?" Miroku asked, a grave expression on his face.

"Don't act so shocked!" Inuyasha hollered at him.

"Don't lie to him, Miroku!" Shippou said, suddenly re-appearing on the houshi's shoulder, "It really says 'Hey Inuyasha! I hate you! Don't you ever bother me again, unless it's to bring me back so that I can see cute little Shippou and bring him all the treats that I used to bring to you. Don't forget to remind me to bring him those treats when you come to get me, 'cause sometimes I'm very forgetful. I might even forget that I wrote this note. Sincerely, Kagome.' That's what it really says."

"NO IT DOESN'T!" Inuyasha screamed, lunging at the kitsune.

"How would you know, baka?!" Shippou screamed back as he leapt out of harm's way. "You can't read it! Boy, are you stupid! I'm a little kid and even I know how to do that!"

"Fuck you!" Inuyasha cried hotly, bearing his fangs at the kit. "It's not my fault that no one ever taught me!"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku scolded, bringing his staff down upon Inuyasha's head. "Leave Shippou alone. You don't have time for games. You need to do something about this letter right away."

"Oh, I'll do something alright," Inuyasha grumbled, rubbing his head. He grabbed the slip of paper from Miroku's hand, then, turning back toward the camp, he called out "Sango!"

"I'm not getting involved!" the demon slayer called back.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha yelled, breaking through the foliage back into the camp. "I'm always helping you out!"

"Fine." she sighed, rolling her eyes. "What is it?"

"All I want to know is what this stupid thing really says!" he griped.

"Is that all?" Sango asked, turning to Miroku and giving him a disgusted look. "Why are you tormenting him? I was just beginning to relax before you three started making such a racket!"

"Me?" Miroku asked innocently. He came forward and took her hand in his own. "Sango, I am a monk. I am only looking out for his best interests."

"And I am only looking out for your other hand!" she cried as his fingers grazed her bottom. She pushed away from him, then slapped him across the face with a loud, resounding 'SMACK!!!'.

"It can't be helped," Miroku sighed, touching his face where she had slapped him, a perfect image of her hand appearing in an angry red upon his cheek, "don't forget, this hand is cursed…"

"Hey, you two!" Inuyasha yelled at them, "Could you work out your personal problems later?"

"Gomen, Inuyasha." Sango apologized. "Let me see that." Inuyasha thrust the letter into her hand. "Hmm." she said after a moment. "This couldn't have been written to you."

"Ok! Fine, it wasn't!" he confessed. "Could you please just read it anyway?!"

"Alright!" she said, testily. "I don't see what all the fuss is about. All it says is 'You bought and paid for these, so you should keep them. Maybe they'll fit your Mystery man. Be sure to let me know! Love, Eri.' Whoever that is." Sango said with a shrug.

"That's one of Kagome's friends from her time!" Shippou exclaimed excitedly. "She told me all about it. There's Yuka, and Ayumi - she's the smart one - and there's Eri! Kagome says they're always trying to get her to go on dates with some guy named Houjou."

"What's a date?" Miroku asked, suddenly very interested.

"It's what they call courtship in Kagome's time. Kagome says she doesn't really like Houjou, though. He's too weird and boring. She told me once that instead courting her with flowers, he brought her dried lizards."

"Kagome does not share the young man's affection then?" Sango asked. She felt a little uncomfortable gossiping about Kagome's private life, but she found the story too fascinating to ignore.

"Nope." Shippou said absolutely, shaking his head. "But her friends don't believe it, 'cause they think that Houjou is 'gorgeous'!" at the word 'gorgeous', he raised his voice into a high falsetto, in an uncanny imitation of a teenage girl. "So when Kagome tells them that she's not interested in him, they accuse her of having a secret boyfriend."

"How do you know all this?" Inuyasha asked accusingly.

"Baka! I listen when Kagome talks to me! That's why she talks to me!" Shippou puffed out his chest, proud to be the knowledgeable one for once.

"So, we can assume that this letter was sent to Kagome from her friend." Sango replied.

"Yes, and it was sent along with a gift for Kagome's secret boyfriend. See, here it says 'Maybe they'll fit your mystery man.' I wonder what 'they' are, and if they fit him or not?" Miroku pondered, giving Inuyasha a sideways glance. Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably.

"But Kagome doesn't have a 'mystery man'!" Shippou protested.

"No?" Miroku asked, raising an eyebrow. "There's no man in Kagome's life that her friends might find…mysterious?"

"There's Inu-" Sango began, before Inuyasha cut her off.

"Keh! This is stupid and pointless! Give me that, Sango." Sango handed the scrap of paper back to him, and he tossed it into the fire. They watched it curl up and turn to cinders within seconds. As for Inuyasha, he had suddenly become very sullen and quiet.

"So. Inuyasha." Miroku said, breaking the silence. "Have you learned what you needed to know?" Inuyasha nodded his head absently. He reached into his robes and pulled out the small jar containing the shikon shards that Kagome had thrown at him. He stared at the tiny bottle, holding it up to the light of the fire and twisting it back and forth, watching the shards twinkle as they caught the light, mesmerized.

"Now what?" he sighed.

"Now?!" Shippou yelled at him, "Now you go apologize to Kagome!"

"Huh? Who said anything about Kagome!" Inuyasha asked, getting angry.

"He's right." Miroku said. "I don't know what happened between you two, but until you apologize to Kagome-sama, we won't be able to continue our search."

"I agree." Sango said, nodding.

"How about you?" Inuyasha asked, looking at Kirara. "You got an opinion too?" The cat demon just stared at him. "No? Well, here's my opinion. I think that you guys need to mind your own damn business!" And just like that, he vanished into the trees.

"Moron." Sango said.

"Asshole." Shippou agreed.

"I give it two more days." Miroku said, smiling.