InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Smooth Sailing ❯ The Trump Card ( Chapter 3 )

AN: Hey, sorry about the delay. I was going to have this out yesterday, but I got back from my Winter Guard Trip late last night. So today will have to do. Hope you'll forgive me. I was also planning on writing more to this chapter, but if I did that, it would take another few days to get it out, so I decided to stop it where I did. Read more at the bottom AN.

 

Um… for some reason the paragraphs aren't separated. I'm trying to fix it, but really sorry if this is still happening when you read it. You can email me at kawaiianime88@hotmail.com for the chapter if you wish.

 

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Smooth Sailing

By: dragonfire onna

 

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Chapter 3: The Trump Card

 

 

Kagome took a deep breath and glanced down at the crinkled, sweat-stained paper in her hand. It still contained the same number on it as when Sango gave it to her. 101. Her room. Looking up, she confirmed that the room number matched the one of the paper once again. "This is it," she said to herself as she slipped her cardkey into the awaiting keyhole. After a moment, the red light blinked and then turned a bright green. The smell of burning incense reached her nose as she entered. At first the scent was overwhelming and too sudden for her liking, but within seconds she was used to it and found it relaxing.

 

The raven-haired girl gazed around at her quarters. The room itself was small compared to what she thought it was going to be. It was barely the size of her bedroom at home; but at least it was comfortable size. She believed anything bigger would leave an empty feeling inside her. Every movie she had seen with cruise ships in it had always shown extravagant rooming complete with designer sofas, a king-sized bed with silky covers, and a single, tidy balcony where one could stand over the ocean; or at least a giant window to look out of. Yes, she decided, movies were definitely misleading. Kagome shrugged it off as she studied the furniture. A twin bed was situated in the middle of the room with the headboard up against the wall. Covers with an intricate beach-themed pattern were folded at the edge, wrinkleless. A large painting of palm trees and a sunset hung delicately over the bed. Beside the bed was an oak table stand with a mini bar on it. Kagome grinned. She would have to check that out later. Beside a television set was a small desk with the service phone and a pad of paper. Room service. That was going to be the best part of the cruise, she resolved.

 

Tiredly she walked over to the bed and placed her carryon bag on it. Kagome plopped down next to it and was pleasantly surprised to find it was a waterbed. "This is great! I've always wanted to sleep on one of these." A knock on the door interrupted her play time.

 

"Excuse me, Miss Higurashi? I have your luggage."

 

It was a man's voice, and it sounded very familiar to her. Curious, Kagome climbed off the bed and opened the door. Her breath caught in her throat---at least for a moment. "Miroku?! What the hell are you doing here?!"

 

"Now, now, Kagome. Is that anyway for a young lady to talk---and to her best friend who came all this way to see her?" He grinned shamelessly at her, holding his arms wide open for a hug. She jumped into them and embraced him while trying to hold back a shriek of excitement in her throat. He patted her on the head and glanced down at her, smiling charmingly with his white teeth.

"How did you get on the ship? Did you buy a ticket? Did Sango invite you as well? Are you even going with me, or did you just come on to say goodbye?" Kagome shot him question after question without giving him time to confirm or deny anything. She rocked her weight back and forth from one foot to the other and walked around in front of him as she talked, leading him to believe she wasn't waiting for him to answer her but rather going through all the possibilities to her questions in her head. Why would Miroku be there on the cruise with her? As far as she knew, Sango didn't invite him along, too---not that she minded him being there. It was just that she was confused and wanted answers. And if Sango had invited him, why didn't he tell her?! That little sneak! He probably wanted to come on board alone so all the women wouldn't mistaken him as a taken man. Stupid Miroku.

 

Miroku watched nervously as her expression changed from surprise, to confusion, to anger. Her mood swings were deadly, as he had learned in the past. His mind sent him a warning flare telling him to "run away," and fast; he could still make it back to shore before the ship departed and avoid any of her soon-to-come accusations. But then he would miss out on all the cute models and celebrities on the ship. He couldn't have that…. They needed him to be there.

 

"Is this going to be your room too, because if it is, we might have some problems," Kagome stated in a low tone, her eyebrows furrowing.

 

Miroku waved his hands in front of his face as if he could fend off her intense stare. He took a step back to add more distance between them. "Let's just talk this out, okay Kagome? No need to jump to any conclusions." He suddenly grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her back into the room, shutting the door and locking it behind him so no one could barge in. He took a seat on the bed and, reluctantly, she sat beside him, eyeing him the entire time. He sighed, contemplating on what to say to his best friend in a way that she would not freak out. He did not need to have her admonishing him in the way she did with Juan. He shuddered as he remembered how she took the man down. Definitely can't have that….

 

"What's going on…?" she asked suspiciously, tilting her head slightly in bewilderment. Miroku sat in front of her with innocent eyes, but that didn't fool her. She knew his act: innocent until proven guilty---and then keep acting innocent anyway. But then why was he acting so strange, dragging her into the room and then locking the doors, as if he's running from someone. He didn't do anything illegal, did he? Kagome's eyes widened as the thought popped into her mind. "Spill," she demanded, her fist clenching at the bed sheets in an attempt to control her anger, "and don't you dare lie."

 

He cringed at the sternness of her voice and decided it would be wise to tell the truth. "I snuck onboard. Well, actually…" After the first sentence of truth, he chose to change his tactics and lie. The truth was meant to be altered, anyway. It wasn't as though he was going to completely lie…. "That woman Sango helped me to sneak onboard, because she thought I was so sexy---"

 

He rambled until Kagome held up her hand. She drew the line there, knowing he was lying because of that added bit. But she decided to play along, at least for awhile. "Why would she do something like that? It doesn't seem like her type… you know, the thinking you 'sexy' part, I mean." She hid her amusement well.

 

Miroku pouted and shot her a hurt look before shrugging, but when Kagome glared at him, he figured he should give her an explanation to why Sango would help him. After all, she was scary when she was angry, and circumlocution was not the best solution to avoiding that problem. Now to only think of a reason why the agent would help him…. Something believable, something good. After a long moment, he came up with zilch. He should just say it straight out…. Miroku gave a fleeting look at his friend; her annoyed mien said it all. Yeah…. maybe he would save the truth for another time, like when he visited her at her grave, assuming of course she died before he did. "Well, after you boarded, I confronted Sango and told her that I was your best friend. She recognized me from De Juan and the rest is history."

 

"Where's the rest of the story? You know, the in between." Kagome prodded him for more information. "I know there's more."

 

"Details, details… why get caught up in all the particulars when the outcome will still be the same?" Miroku grinned and lain a resting hand on her shoulder for comfort, nodding his head as though he spoke in a way that would give one a change of heart, like Confucius or Moses did. "The point is I'm here, and I'm here to stay. And the problem is that I don't have a place to sleep."

 

Kagome glared at him. "We are not sharing a room."

 

Miroku sighed again. He knew she would be this stubborn, but eventually she would come around to see it his way; he had no doubt about that. It was just that getting her to understand that was a hassle but something he always, miraculously, succeeded to do. He recognized that in order for her to at least partially consider letting him stay in the same room, he would have to tell the truth. "Fine, here's the truth. I snuck onboard. Period."

 

Kagome nodded smugly, satisfied that he finally told her the truth. But she was not about to let him get his way with the situation. There was no way she'd share a room with him. "Great. Now you can just sneak yourself right back off the cruise. I'm not going to get in trouble with Sango or anyone else just because you want to see all the women." She stood and headed to the door. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look around a bit. Maybe I'll finally see Inuyasha on the way."

 

Miroku tripped while trying to get off the bed and stop her from leaving. He landed face down on the soft sandy-colored carpet with a thud that shook the painting and lamps, but that did not stop him from getting back up. He slipped in front of Kagome and blocked the doorway, holding out his arms and broadening his stance. He was not going to budge until she agreed to let him stay. "No one would ever have to know! I'll hide when the room and cleaning service comes, and when I'm out of the deck, no one is going to ask who I am or for any identification!"

 

"And what if they do?" Kagome placed her hands on her hips and gave him a pointed look. "I don't believe that's out of the question. We---as in you and me---would get into so much trouble. I don't want to chance it." Miroku sank to his knees the way a desperate man pleading for his life would. Kagome almost pitied him. Almost, because she knew him too well. He'd get over it. "No way."

 

"Please Kagome? Best buddy 'ole pal." He clung to her ankles and cried out. She couldn't do this to him! He had been her loyal best friend since preschool when he had left her stuck in a tree because girls had cooties back then! Or when he had stuck glitter glue in her pigtails, or the time when he had stole her apple and cheated off her quiz on the ABCs! She couldn't just throw all that away, just like that. It was unthinkable! She wouldn't dare…. Would she? Miroku was beginning to doubt that she wouldn't. He had to think of something else, and quick! Think, Miroku, THINK. A home video of Kagome he had brought along with him popped into his head. He smirked suddenly, alarming Kagome enough that she backed away. "Kagome, do you remember the time when---"

 

"Shut up! You can stay, just don't bring it up," she muttered bitterly, shooting him a dark glare. Kagome ambled over to the bed and fell onto it, sighing profoundly. He had won; he had played his trump card and played it well. She didn't want anyone to see the home video. There were so many memories on it. Her potty training had been caught on the tape, and she made many comments on it that she wished she hadn't, too. There was also the time when she had gotten into her mother's makeup, and the time when she and Grandpa had been demon-proofing the shrine. And a couple of times when she ran around the house naked while her mother chased after her yelling for her to put on her clothes. And then there was when Miroku had talked her into eating a worm by convincing her it "tasted like chicken." She still was not able to find out just how those events were recorded on tape, but between Miroku, her mother, and Grandpa….

 

Kagome shuddered. While those were her childhood memories, she wasn't very fond of them for obvious reasons and definitely did not want them revealed to the public, even if she was just a little child when all that happened. She was still extremely embarrassed to have anyone see them, especially Sango or Inuyasha or anyone else on the ship. And the worst part was that Miroku would show them. How Miroku got a tape was beyond her, though she had reason to believe her brother and best friend had been in cohorts with each other. Great, just great, she thought. "But you're not sleeping on the bed with me. You'll get the couch."

 

The dark-haired teenager turned to look at the couch and frowned. "That's too small."

 

"Deal with it," she spat bleakly. His frown deepened. "You know what you're doing is called blackmail." Kagome said softly, suppressing a yawn in the process. She stretched and rolled over onto her stomach, nuzzling her head into her silky pillow. Her friend nodded, but she could not see him. Rolling back over, she got up, electing not to let this ruin her good mood. "I'm going to go ask for a cot. I'll be back in a moment." She paused. "Where's my luggage? You said you had it, right?"

 

Miroku fidgeted under her gaze. "Um… well, you see, I didn't really have it. I just said that so you'd open the door." She gave him a reproachful look before leaving the room, grabbing her cardkey on the way out and sticking it into her pocket. It wasn't worth arguing again. He would win anyway.

 

"Stay here." Miroku watched her as she left and let out a sight of relief. Finally he'd be able to relax for awhile without having to defend himself. He snatched up the remote control to the TV and flipped through the channels available. While it wasn't his satellite and tivo, it would do. It would do. He nodded his head in satisfaction.

 

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AN: Like I said at the beginning AN, I really am sorry this was such a short chapter. I had planned on it being at least twice as long as this, but that didn't happen. Kagome and Inuyasha will meet in the next chapter (which will be my longest chapter yet, I'm sure), so don't worry. I've got a lot planned for this story, and now that I've finally added Miroku in, the story will run a bit smoother (hopefully). Lol.

 

Please, if you can, review this story. It really means a lot to me, more than you could ever know. I really appreciate those who reviewed my last chapter, especially those few that took the time to answer my questions and give me a critique. Those are the people that keep my fingers glued to the keyboard to type this story. As for questions in this chapter, they're the same as last chapter except for another added one:

 

1) How was my writing style? Did the story flow well at all times?

2) Did you see any plot holes yet or something that should be fixed?

3) Were my characters well-rounded?

4) Was there something I should have explained better?

5) Did my last chapter and this flow together smoothly? As in the chapter's styles fitted together well and matched.

 

If you have anymore things you wanted to add in a review, please do. I really would like to hear from those reading my story to at least hear what they think. Something is better than nothing, but like I said before, those who take the time to tell me what they liked about my story and what I could work on are the people that keep me writing more. Thanks again to all who reviewed! Look for the next chapter soon. It shouldn't take over a week---but please remember that I'm in school so I don't always have time for writing this.