InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Phony Digits ❯ On the Fence ( Chapter 22 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: InuYasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I have nothing.

Chapter Twenty-two: On the Fence

"Well, will ya look what the dog dragged in!" Miroku exclaimed as InuYasha entered their apartment and tossed his keys on the coffee table.

A muttered "Keh." was his roommate's only response.

"So...anything interesting happen today?" he pried.

"Cut the act. You already know what happened today." InuYasha said as he breezed past into the kitchen.

Miroku stood from the couch and followed him. "Details, InuYasha! I need details!"

"No, what you need is to get a life. And hey, by the way, thanks a fuckin' lot for not telling me that Kagome was Rin's roommate." the hanyou snapped, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "She probably thinks I'm some dirty hobo now."

"Well, she thought you were a jerk before, right? 'Loveable tramp' has got to be a step up from 'arrogant asshole'." Miroku said, his brow furrowed as his gaze locked on the zipper of InuYasha's jacket where it rested against his chest, noticing that he didn't appear to be wearing anything underneath. "Are you not even wearing a shirt? Wow...I knew you were slipping, but I had no idea the extent..."

"I wore a shirt, you idiot. It just got ruined." InuYasha said, rolling his eyes as he turned toward the hallway. "I'm taking a shower."

"Hey wait! I have something for you." Miroku called out to his back.

InuYasha turned back slowly. "What is it?"

"I mean, please, by all means do take a shower, but first…" Miroku walked over to the kitchen counter, grabbing a white fiberboard box and bringing it over to the table. "Happy late birthday!" he said as he opened the box to reveal a dozen cream-filled donuts with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles. "Do you forgive me for forgetting?"

With suspicion in his eyes, InuYasha scanned the donuts, then his roommate, then returned to the donuts before snatching one up and cramming half of it in his mouth in one bite. "I forgive you." he mumbled through the mouthful of sugar and dough.

"Well, if I knew it was going to be this easy to buy your forgiveness with just the donuts, I wouldn't have bothered with getting you these too." he said, pulling an envelope from his pocket.

InuYasha stopped chewing and lifted a brow at his friend. "What's that?"

"Opening day Mets versus Phillies." Miroku said as he pulled the tickets from the envelope.

InuYasha wiped his free hand on his pants and took the tickets from his friends hand to inspect them. "huh...decent seats." He idly remarked. "Four?"

Miroku nodded. "Well, I figured you might want to take someone besides just me and Sango."

"Keh! That's kinda presumptuous of you to invite yourself."

"It's common courtesy to invite the person who bought the tickets…" Miroku defended. "and besides, you like Sango don't you?"

"Yeah. I was gonna invite her, but how do you know she won't want to bring some other guy?" he teased.

"Ha. Ha." Miroku said flatly. "Very funny."

"Wasn't tryin' to be funny." InuYasha said, shoving the remainder of the donut in his mouth and picking up another one. "You know she's a Yankee's fan though, right?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I know." Miroku sighed. "I guess she had to have some flaw..."

Both men chuckled.

"I wonder if Kagome likes baseball?" Miroku asked suggestively.

InuYasha sighed at his friend's obvious attempt to change the subject and said. "You are such a nosey bastard."

"So what happened today anyway? Did she have dinner with you and Sango?" Miroku continued his questioning, unfazed by the insult.

"No."

Miroku frowned. "So is she still mad at you then?"

"She was at first, but...I don't know, we didn't get a chance to really talk. She had to leave because she fell and cut her knee."

"Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She just had to get a few stitches. That's why I'm not wearing a shirt. I used it to bandage her leg."

"Oh, so you are her loveable tramp in shining armor!" Miroku teased.

"Keh. Yeah, sure. Anyway, she texted me and said thanks...so maybe she's not mad anymore. She didn't say anything about seeing me again though." he said before popping the last bite of his second donut into his mouth and reaching for a third.

Miroku pulled the box away from him and shut the lid. "I'm cutting you off."

"You shouldn't have got so many! You know I have no self control when it comes to food."

Miroku chuckled. "Listen, do you want my advice on this situation with Kagome?"

"No." InuYasha huffed.

"Well, too bad, because you're going to get it anyway." Miroku continued. "Don't wait to make another move. You've dragged this out too long already. Ask her to meet you again, talk things over, be civilized, wear a shirt." he accentuated the statement with a poke to his friend's chest. "Just be yourself and don't over think things. Worst case scenario: she says 'no' and you can both move on with your lives. Can you do that?"

"Yes! Of course I can do that. Don't talk to me like I'm stupid."

"Don't be stupid and I won't."

"Keh!" InuYasha scoffed. "I'm taking a shower now." He turned and stomped his way down the hall, removing his jacket as he walked and bringing it up to his nose, breathing in the scent of Kagome on the fabric. He absentmindedly wondered how long the scent would linger. Maybe it would last until he saw her again...if he saw her again.

"Don't use my towel." Miroku called out to his back.

"Keh."

"And don't use my razor."

"Keh!"

<<>>

The following morning, Kagome awoke to a stiff knee, an achy tongue, and a metallic taste in her mouth. She sat up in her bed and surveyed the room, momentarily disoriented and confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. "Oh, right. New apartment." she mumbled to herself before slinging her legs over the sides of the bed and standing slowly. Hey! I can talk again! That doctor wasn't kidding when he said that tongues heal fast. Her tongue was still a little sore, and a little swollen, but leaps and bounds better than it was the previous day.

She hobbled her way down the hall to the bathroom, and after relieving her bladder and giving her mouth a good peroxide rinse, she headed for the kitchen. Along the way she heard a knock at the door, and diverted her path toward it. Furrowing her brow, she glimpsed through the peephole, and was met with the friendly and welcome visage of her mother.

"Hi Mama!" she exclaimed as she pulled open the door. "What are you doing here! I wasn't expecting you."

"I came to check on you. How are you feeling?"

"Better, but sore." Kagome answered as she backed up to allow her mother entrance. "How did you know I fell?"

"Shippo told me when he dropped my car off yesterday evening."

"Oh." Kagome said with a nod as she eyed the grocery bag hanging from her mother's wrist. "Whatcha got there?" she inquired.

Her mother smiled as she reached into the plastic bag and pulled out a box of popsicles.

Kagome let out an excited gasp. "For me?" she asked. No matter how old she got, she would never lose her enthusiasm for her mother bringing home popsicles.

"Of course they are for you, silly. I thought they might feel nice on your sore tongue."

"Thank you Mama!" Kagome said as the whipped her arms around her mother and squeezed her tight. "You're the best."

"Would you like one right now?"

"Sure!" Kagome said, reaching out to the box, tearing into it and pulling out a popsicle.

She inspected it carefully, holding it up toward the window, trying her best to see through the white wrapper to reveal the flavor underneath. She couldn't see anything, so she just hoped for the best. Come on, be cherry! She thought hopefully as she ripped open the plastic to reveal...grape.

Oh well… Kagome sighed and popped the popsicle into her mouth. Maybe next time.

"Why don't you go back in your room and relax while I make you some soup? Does that sound good?" her mother asked.

"That sounds great. I'm starving." she said as she wrapped her mother in another hug. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome dear. Now go lay down and leave the cooking to me."

Kagome limped back into her room, her injured knee held straight to keep from busting out the stitches. She plopped down onto her bed and grabbed her laptop. Rin was right about the show they had begun watching the previous evening. She did love it, it was addicting. I wonder if InuYasha has seen it? She thought, then she shook the thought away. What made her think of him all of the sudden? She picked up her phone and looked at the time on the display. He was probably at work right now. He's probably sitting at his desk thinking about what a clumsy loser I am...I wonder if he still wants to talk...what was it that he was going to tell me anyway? I could probably just call and find out, but the last time we had a phone conversation it didn't go so well, so maybe that's not such a good idea... We never seemed to have any of these misunderstandings back when we were just texting…

Her eyes lowered back down to her phone and she stared at it contemplatively as she ate her popsicle. Maybe that was the best course of action. But what should I say? Hey, Rin says I look just like your ex-girlfriend, maybe you could use me as a stand in. XOXO? Kagome giggled at herself as she tried to think of a conversation starter. As she twirled the soothing ice against her tongue, writing on the stick between her fingers caught her eye. The cheesy joke printed on the popsicle stick read: Why did the belt go to prison? She would have to finish the rest of the popsicle to see the punchline. She smiled to herself as an idea came to her. She opened the message app on her phone and began to type a message to InuYasha. 'Why did the belt go to prison?'

She clicked play on her laptop and began to watch another episode of the addicting series as she continued to eat the popsicle. She didn't expect him to answer right away, as she was sure he was at work, so it was a pleasant surprise when she heard her phone ding just a few moments later. She tossed her laptop aside, the show she had previously been so engrossed in quickly forgotten.

She found his response was merely a series of question marks. '????'

As quickly as she could without giving herself a brain freeze, she took several more bites of popsicle to reveal the answer underneath. She let out a snort of laughter before typing and sending him the punchline: 'Because it held up a pair of pants'

'Did you make that up yourself?' he responded.

'Got it off a popsicle stick'

'Ah. I thought it seemed a little too clever for you.' Kagome giggled at his teasing insult.

'Rude' she wrote back, accompanied by an angry, red-faced emoji.

'How old are you again?'

'Not nearly as old as you you dusty old fossil.'

For several minutes he didn't respond, and Kagome was halfway concerned that she may have actually offended him. Then, finally her phone chimed at her side.

'How do snails fight?' He came back with what she assumed to be a cheesy joke of his own.

She typed out 'how?', but backspaced before she sent it as the answer suddenly came to her. 'They slug each other' she answered.

'You cheated and googled it didn't you?'

'Nope. I'm just smart.'

'No, that can't be it...'

Kagome giggled at the screen, and before she could respond she received another message.

'You don't even know how to walk up stairs.'

Her mouth fell open and she let out an indignant squeak. "That jerk!" she said to herself as she received yet another message from him.

'Too soon?'

She let out a growl as she typed her message. 'Your mean!'

'You're*' he corrected her.

"Why that smug little...!" She let out another, slightly louder growl of irritation, this one mostly directed at herself for making the grammatical error. 'NEXT TIME I SEE YOU IM GONNA SLUG YOU LIKE A SNAIL!!!' she responded.

'Next time? Is there going to be a next time??' The double question marks somehow gave the text a hopeful tone.

'Well I am roommates with your niece now...and I did promise you that talk so...'

'I thought maybe you changed your mind'

'I thought about changing my mind. My inner voice told me I should.'

'Don't trust that guy. The last time I listened to him I ended up screwing things up with this girl I really like.'

Kagome smiled to herself as she typed her response. 'Is that so?'

'Yes. It was really stupid. If you want I can tell you all about it at dinner tomorrow night.'

Kagome stared down at her screen, her heartbeat becoming steadily faster as she fought the inner battle with herself and her desire to accept his offer and throw caution to the wind. I think he's worth a second chance. Sango's words of advice rang through her mind. A slow and cautious second chance.

As much as she wanted to say 'to hell with logic', she typed a message in response. 'Dinner on a friday night sounds an awful lot like a date.'

She wasn't the least bit surprised when she received his rejoinder: 'And that's a bad thing?'

'Yes. I don't want it to seem like something it's not.' Kagome couldn't help but think that if they hadn't left their last meeting so ambiguous it could have saved a lot of heartache. This time when she saw him, it would be clearly and explicitly not a date.

'If it's not a date then what is it?'

'Just 2 friends eating and talking.'

'What do you suggest then, friend.' He said, conveying as much facetiousness as a text message possibly could.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the screen before suggesting the least date-like meal of the week. 'Lunch on Sunday'

'Lunch on a Sunday is something you do with your grandma.'

'That's my offer. Take it or leave it.'

'Fine. I'll pick you up at 12 sunday.'

'No, i'll meet you somewhere.'

'That's stupid. I'll pick you up.'

"Stubborn." Kagome said with a sigh. 'Ok but it's NOT a date. Got it?'

'Fine'

'Good'

'Good'

'Fine'

'I'll see you sunday then.'

'Ok grandma.'

'Cheeks wench.'

'*Cheeky. damn autocorrect'

'Lol. Cheeks.'

'Go eat some popsicles and let your tongue heal. You're gonna need it for sunday.'

Kagome furrowed her brow as she read the message, then let out a surprised squeak at its contents. 'whats that supposed to mean?!'

'You'll need it for talking! Geez get your mind out of the gutter!'

'What was I supposed to think! You could be a pervert for all I know.'

'YOU could be a pervert for all I know.'

'This conversation is going downhill fast.'

'Rest and heal. I'll see you sunday at noon.'

'Ok. bye'

'Bye'

"Hmm...that was kinda like old times." Kagome said aloud to herself before falling back onto her pillows and letting out a long sigh. "Friends." Sure. We can just be friends. I have other guy friends. Like Shippo. Shippo's my friend...and Kouga is...sort of my friend, I guess… "But the difference is, I don't have depraved fantasies about either of them." she said as she slapped a hand over her face and let out a pained sounding groan.

"Everything okay?" he mother said from the doorway.

Kagome jumped slightly in surprise and her head turned to look at her mother. "Everything's fine." she said, hoping her mom hadn't heard her little monologue.

"Well, as long as everything is okay and you aren't being plagued by any depraved fantasies, dear." the older woman said, barely containing her mirth.

Kagome gasped as Mrs. Higurashi chuckled at her daughter's dismay.

"Is it anything I can help you with?" Her mother asked.

"I don't think so." Kagome said shaking her head.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Kagome blew her bangs out of her face. "The universe is trying to play matchmaker with me."

Her mother chuckled. "And you don't like the person the universe seems to have chosen for you?"

"I super like him actually." Kagome whined.

"So I take it he has some flaw that is making you feel hesitant to pursue a relationship with him?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, it's not really that either."

Mrs. Higurashi took a seat beside her on the bed. "So what is the problem?"

"I apparently look exactly like his ex-girlfriend."

"Ah." her mother said understandingly. "So you are worried he is trying to use you as a replacement for her."

"Well, no, it's...not exactly that either. We sort of met before we ever actually saw each other's faces so that pretty much rules that out."

"Met before you saw each other?" Her mother asked.

"He is the guy I was texting a while back."

Mrs. Higurashi narrowed her eyes at her daughter and nodded. "Oh yes, I remember...the one you assured me you weren't going to meet."

"Eh, yeah." Kagome gave a nervous chuckle. "That one."

"So have you spoken with him about any of this?"

Kagome shook her head in the negative. "No. He doesn't even know that I know about looking like his ex-girlfriend. My roommate Rin, who just so happens to be his niece, is the one that told me."

"Well, it sounds to me like he is the one you need to be having this conversation with." her mother said. "That is, if you are interested in him."

Kagome sighed and pouted her lower lip childishly. "Do you think I'm blowing this out of proportion, Mama?"

"Yes, dear. You always blow things out of proportion." Her mother said candidly, giving her a teasing smile and pat on the head. "You got that from your father's side of the family, not mine."

Kagome giggled. "Project calm on me, Mama."

"Okay sweetheart." her mother said as she leaned in and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I need to go stir the soup so it doesn't burn."

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome." Mrs. Higurashi said as she stood and turned to leave.

"Mama?" Kagome called out to her again before she could exit.

"Hmm?"

"Can you make some rice, too?"

"Sure."

"And eggs and toast."

"Rice, eggs, and toast. You got it."

"Thanks." Kagome said with a smile before turning back to her laptop and feeling very grateful for such a wonderful, caring mom.

<<>>

"How's your tongue." Sango asked Kagome as the two of them met outside, and strolled into their usual coffee shop the following morning.

"Tongue's okay." Kagome answered flatly. "Ego's a little sore though…"

Sango chuckled. "I've seen you do way more embarrassing things than this."

"Yeah, but not in front of anyone that mattered." Kagome complained.

"Hey!" Sango whipped her head around to give her friend an offended look. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"You know what I mean. You matter, you're just not someone I feel like I have to impress."

"I know. I'm just messing with you." Sango said, patting her friend on the back. "So did you enjoy having a day off from work at least?"

"Not really. It was pretty boring actually. Mama came over and waited on me hand and foot while I laid in bed and watched movies. My first day of independence and I had to have my mom come nurse me." Kagome said with a sigh.

"Well, I hear weaning can be very difficult for both mother and child." Sango teased.

"Eww!" Kagome crinkled her nose. "I meant nurse me back to health!"

Sango laughed at her friend's dismay. "Chill out, Kagome. I was just making a joke. Oh! And speaking of chilling, Mirkou is going to meet us here. I hope that's okay."

Kagome shrugged. "Fine by me. I've been wanting to meet him anyway...see if he's really worthy of you."

"Aww!" Sango said, wrapping an arm around Kagome's shoulder. "Are you trying to protect me, Kagome?" She chuckled.

"I will if I have to! You'd do the same for me wouldn't you?" Kagome turned and looked up at her friend.

"Of course I would! In fact, I have!"

"You have?! With who? Oh god," She slapped a hand over her eyes. "it wasn't InuYasha was it?" she whined. "What did you do?"

"Calm down, Kagome. I mean, yeah, it was InuYasha...and yeah, I yelled at him a little...okay, a lot, actually...and I think I called him a stupid ass." Kagome's mouth fell open. "But in my defense, he was being a stupid ass!" Sango added before Kagome had a chance to speak. "And I think he called me a psycho bitch." Kagome's mouth fell open again, even wider this time. "But in his defense, I was being a psycho bitch."

"When did this happen?"

"The first time I met him...about half a second in."

"Sango!" Kagome scolded.

"I didn't mean to!" Sango threw her hands up in surrender. "I just saw his face and it made me mad!" she defended, then the two girls turned to look at each other before both burst into a fit of giggles.

"That's actually a perfectly logical explanation." Kagome said, still chuckling. "So, Miroku's coming here? Didn't you just see him last night?"

Sango nodded. "Yeah, I think meeting you is his true motive for coming. I told him I get coffee with you every morning, and he basically invited himself."

"Why would he want to meet me?"

"He's nosey." Sango answered quickly.

"Oh." Kagome giggled. "Well, it sounds like you two already have at least one thing in common."

"Hey! I acknowledge my shortcomings I'll have you know!" Sango said, wagging a finger. "My flaws are endearing. They make me more relatable to the commoners."

Kagome let out a snort of amusement. "You're truly an inspiration to us simple folk." she said, patting her friend on the back. "I'll get our drinks. What are you having? Your usual?"

"Yep. Biggest and strongest." Sango said enthusiastically as she snagged a seat at an open table. "Same for Miroku too. He'll pay you back when he gets here."

Kagome nodded, headed up the counter and ordered their drinks. Upon bringing the coffee back to the table, Kagome found that Miroku had arrived in her absence and was currently too engrossed in conversation with Sango to notice her return. She sat the drink holder on the table in front of them, drawing their attention.

"Oh! Miroku, this is Kagome. Kagome, Miroku." Sango introduced them, pointing back and forth between the two.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kagome." Miroku said, standing and extending his hand toward her.

"Nice to meet you too." she said as she accepted his offered handshake.

Miroku walked around the table and pulled out a chair for her.

Kagome thanked him as she accepted the offered seat and sent Sango a nod of approval.

Miroku then returned to his seat directly across from her and distributed the coffee accordingly before removing his wallet from his back pocket. "How much do I owe you."

"Um, it's three twenty-five."

"So...nine seventy-five for all three." he said as he pulled out a ten dollar bill and held it out to her over the table.

"Oh, you don't need to pay for mine." Kagome argued.

"I know." he said unmoving.

She lifted her hands in protest. "No really, there's no need-"

"It's impolite to argue about money at the table." he cut her of, still holding the money out to her insistently.

"Take it or I will." Sango said.

"Fine." Kagome grumbled as she snatched the money. "Thank you for the coffee." she added, somewhat begrudgingly.

"It's my pleasure." he returned.

A moment of awkward silence passed between the three as Miroku looked over Kagome's face appraisingly. He opened his mouth as if contemplating speech, only to close it abruptly, and further fuel the awkward moment.

Kagome took a sip of her coffee, all the while boldly reciprocating his inspection over the rim of her cup through narrowed eyes, as if in challenge. She wasn't sure what the hell kind of game he was playing, but she wasn't going to be bested by him. Finally she turned to Sango and asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

Sango shook her head in the negative.

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I was just lost in thought." Miroku finally spoke.

"About?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing, really. Just something InuYasha said…he told me that you resembled someone we know and...wow...you really do."

"His girlfriend," Kagome said, sounding slightly irritated. "Yeah, I already know."

"Ex-girlfriend." Miroku corrected forcefully. "So I take it he finally told you?"

"No, Rin told me."

"Ah, Rin. I see." he said, pausing and looking at her face another moment before continuing. "I'm telling you, it's unsettling how much you look like her. It's not like a 'one of your parents was unfaithful' kind of resemblance, it's more like a 'I'm going to steal your identity' kind of resemblance." he stopped abruptly and let out a grunt as Sango threw an elbow into his ribs at noticing her friend's obvious discomfort.

Kagome looked down at her cup, fiddling with the insulated sleeve. "Yeah, I get the picture already."

"I'm sorry, Kagome...that was rude of me. It's just surprising, is all."

"Yeah, I'm aware, thanks." she retorted facetiously.

Sango pointedly cleared her throat. "Let's talk about something else, shall we."

Miroku nodded. "Yes...something else...so have you talked to InuYasha?" he asked Kagome.

Sango slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand. "That's not exactly changing the subject." she told him, then turned to Kagome. "Have you though?"

Kagome chuckled at her nosey friend and contemplated what, if anything, she should tell them. "Yeah, we've texted."

"And…" Miroku drawled and he and Sango both leaned over the table.

"And you need to mind your own business."

He deflated. "C'mon. I'm his closest friend. I could help you."

"Help me what exactly?"

Miroku shrugged. "You like him, don't you?"

Kagome turned and narrowed her eyes at Sango, who looked away sheepishly.

"I don't know." she answered. "There's the whole 'me looking like his ex' thing. And plus, he's just... he's a lot older than me...and he's like so cool and good looking and I'm just an uncoordinated science geek who falls walking up stairs..."

Miroku held up a hand to cut her off. "Okay. I'm gonna stop you right there, Kagome. First of all, 'So cool'? Are you serious? We can't be talking about the same guy here? I've actually seen him wear socks with sandals on more than one occasion."

Kagome looked at him, unblinking. "But…"

"You're overthinking this. You're allowing yourself to be intimidated by a grown man whose favorite food is hotdogs."

"Is this supposed to be a sales pitch, because it sucks." Sango cut in.

"No Sango, I'm just trying to be encouraging." he defended.

"Encouraging her to what? Run away?"

"Look guys, I appreciated what you're trying to do here, but I think you two are reading too much into this. " Kagome asserted. "And with all due respect, I'd appreciate it if you would kindly cease and desist with the matchmaking."

"I'm very sorry Kagome. I was out of line. I hope I haven't made a bad first impression."

"No, Miroku, I know you have good intentions, I just, I don't know yet...I just don't know what I want."

Miroku nodded solemnly. "I understand." He looked at his watched. "Well, I really should be getting to work. It was a pleasure meeting you Kagome."

"You too." Kagome returned his sentiment.

"And are we still on for tomorrow?" he said, turning to Sango, to which she responded with an affirmative nod. "Excellent." he said as he leaned in and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He stood from his chair and grabbed his coffee. "You ladies have a great day."

"You too." Kagome returned with a smile and leveled her eyes on Sango, not missing the flirty smiles and winks the two exchanged.

"So...a second date, huh? Any special plans?" Kagome asked after Miroku had exited.

"If he doesn't come onto me or say anything suggestive the whole night, I'm gonna invite up to my apartment and jump his bones."

"Sango!" Kagome gasped, then giggled. "What about your fifth date policy?"

"My fifth date policy can be waived at my discretion, and we've been hanging out a lot. He gets date credits for equivalent experience."

"Wow. I've never known you to break policy for anyone. You must really like him." Kagome said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I'd really like to bang him." Sango amended.

Kagome gasped, sucking coffee down her windpipe, launching her into a coughing fit. "Sango!" she scolded when she finally gained her composure. "What's gotten into you?!"

Sango shrugged. "He's gonna be good. I can just tell. He's got that vibe, ya know?"

"No, I really don't know." Kagome said, shaking her head. "So, what if he does come onto you or say something suggestive?"

Sango smirked and brought her coffee almost to her lips. "I'll probably just slap him, then jump him anyway."

<<>>

A/N: Hey, betcha thought I was dead, huh? Well, jokes on you 'cause I'm STILL ALIVE SUCKERS!

There are a lot of words here, but not a lot of substance. Thanks for reading it anyway.

Sorry I've been slow. Writer's block. Unmotivated. Lazy. But I've got a ton of stuff written for later in the story...I just need to decide how I want to get there. Please bear with me...or not, do whatever you want, but I promise I'll get there one day!

Also, some of Miroku's clever lines (specifically the ones about Kagome being a prime candidate for identity theft) came from the brain of Inunanna, not me. So, credit where credit is due!!!

Have a great day!

-SW