InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Youkai and the Exterminator ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter Six

 

 

Miroku's expression was thoughtful as he walked through the forest. It had been a quiet day, nothing more exciting than helping Kaede with a couple of ailing villagers. He didn't mind very much, one of the old women had a lovely young granddaughter. Her grateful smile had lightened his heart for a few moments and he found himself watching her as she hurried to make tea for Kaede and himself.

 

Mentally, he gave himself a boot as soon as he realized he was considering asking the sweet-faced girl his favorite question, she was far too young and Kaede would likely think him the worst kind of pervert.

 

Too late, she'd already noticed the direction of his gaze. “Houshi-sama!” she said in a disapproving tone. He blinked at her, casting the innocent mask back onto his face. Miroku grinned. Too young for now, but the lovely thing about girls was that they would blossom into women. No matter, he had more important things to worry about.

 

Kagome had left for her homeland two days ago and he had to admit he felt a sense of relief. If the tension between her and Inuyasha got any worse, he was thinking of going down that well himself. Difficult to travel with a pair that couldn't seem to get along without arguing most days, far worse when the same two weren't speaking at all.

 

He actually preferred the arguments, they added a certain sense of continuity to his days and he had to admit, he never got tired of watching Kagome put the sit on Inuyasha. It puzzled him that she hadn't done it recently, but obviously there was more going on than a simple monk understood.

 

Inuyasha seemed relieved that Kagome had left, he'd been looking a might harried and stressed these days. Miroku had an idea of why, but for the life of him he didn't understand why the stupid dog didn't just go find himself an agreeable demon female if Kagome had rejected him. He didn't think Inuyasha was innocent of what males and females were supposed to do with each other and finding a way to relieve the tension seemed like a simple enough concept. He was frustrated himself, but you didn't see him tearing around the village and barking at people for no reason.

 

Not that he hadn't thought about it.

 

Miroku decided he was still a little depressed over Sango's quiet rejection. He was seriously going to miss teasing the exterminator, whether or not she'd have ever taken him up on his offer was only part of the appeal. He sighed, scratching absently at the back of his neck. It made no sense to him, but something had changed between them.

 

He looked into his rosary bound hand. “You are the cause of this,” he admonished mildly. Of course, traveling with two extremely attractive and unavailable women wasn't exactly helping either. Especially when said females seemed to disapprove heartily of any attempt to find friendlier companionship. He sympathized the half-demon. Cold uptight bitches indeed.

 

He was startled out of his thoughts when he heard Inuyasha's voice raised up in a strident question. “Sango, why the hell not?”

 

“I'm not ready. I don't know what to say!” Miroku hurried over to where the sounds were coming from, his ears already starting to twitch. Something was going on and maybe this would be the time he'd find out what. He leaned against a tree trunk, hoping the hanyou was too distracted to notice his presence. It was pure hell trying to sneak up on a half-demon.

 

Miroku sank silently to the ground and used a single finger to move aside a cover of leaves. He could just see Inuyasha's bright red clothing through the thick brush. “I don't give a fuck if you aren't ready. You should have thought about that earlier. I'm tired of lying.”

 

Lying about what? Miroku chewed on his lower lip. Falsehood was hardly Inuyasha's strong point but what could he have to lie about for Sango?

 

The girl's voice was so soft he had to strain himself to overhear. “I'm not asking you to lie. It's just I don't know how Kagome and Miroku will feel. It's going to be shock.”

 

The hanyou made a disparaging sound. “I don't care what they think.”

 

“That's you, I care about it. If we don't tell them in the right way, they'll just think the worst of both of us.”

 

Hmmm? Miroku frowned, this wasn't making any sense. What could those two be up to that they don't want to talk about?

 

“Are you ashamed?” Inuyasha asked quietly.

 

Sango didn't answer immediately, Miroku waited several heartbeats to catch her reply. “I'm...I'm not ashamed.”

 

“Then what is it?”

 

Miroku thought he'd never heard such a gentle tone from the hanyou. He heard Sango sigh softly. “Inuyasha, it's like you said earlier. I'm a demon exterminator, I'm supposed to hunt and kill youkai, not go to bed with them.”

 

Miroku's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Did I just hear what I think I heard? No, I've got to be wrong about this.

 

Inuyasha's soft chuckle made him sit up straighter. He had to see their faces to see if he really was hearing what he thought he'd heard.

 

“Okay, Sango. I promised I'd wait until you were ready to tell them so I will. It was easier to keep quiet when I thought it was just a one-time thing, but I guess it's not going to be that way, is it?”

 

No way, Miroku thought furiously, feeling a tingle of jealousy. He did not just say that, he did not just say that! Sango replied in a soft, intimate tone Miroku had never heard before and the monk felt his heart drop into his stomach like a ball of ice and sharp glass.

 

“I don't know how to thank you for being so patient with me.”

 

Inuyasha laughed again, Miroku could hear the smirk in his voice. “Don't worry. I'll think of a way you can pay me back.”

 

They drifted away and he sat still at the base of the tree. He couldn't deny the truth and felt a little pang like the blade of a knife slipping into him. It was quite obvious that Sango and Inuyasha were lovers. That had to be the cause of the tension between the half-demon and Kagome. The girl had finally worked up her courage to offer herself to him and he had rejected her.

 

Miroku kicked himself for not seeing the truth sooner, but all the confusion regarding Kohaku had distracted him, kept him from reading the signs. Kagome was probably still ignorant of what had been happening right under their noses. Miroku finally stood up, dusting the leaves and dirt off his robes.

 

Kagome deserved the truth, whatever the outcome.

 

oOo

 

Sango was dreaming about Kohaku, he was lost and she couldn't find him. Desperate, she ran through the deep darkness of the forest, calling out his name. The harder she ran, the louder she yelled, the darker the forest became. Eventually it felt like she was running in place, lost in the blackness and felt herself becoming overwhelmed by despair.

 

Trust me.

 

Her eyes opened suddenly and Sango felt to become herself quite calm. The panic of the dream was receding quickly and the exterminator stared up at the star-filled sky. Longing for her brother filled her heart. Where are you now, Kohaku? Is he taking care of you, are you feeling better? I want to know, but at the same time, I'm afraid I'll hate what I find out.

 

Trust me.

 

Just before he'd left her, exhausted and spent on the forest floor, the youkai had leaned close, his lips brushing her ear. Sango closed her eyes again and shivered, even the memory of his mouth so close to her made her tremble. How could she trust him when she didn't even know him? She couldn't trust her own feelings; even her own body had turned on her. Trust him? She hardly had any choice about it. Kohaku was gone, Sesshomaru refused to so much as hint about why he had taken the boy away.

 

Sango reached out her arms and stretched sensuously, rolling over to snuggle her face tight into her blankets. If that was the demon's idea of punishing her for defying him, she hoped she'd have more opportunities to do just that.

 

She flushed, embarrassed by her own thoughts. What the hell was wrong with her these days? She'd been in a dead panic at losing Kohaku and now all she wanted to do was lay here and think about how Sesshomaru made her feel when he touched her. Her little brother could be in danger; she had no way of knowing what the demon's plans for Kohaku were.

 

Trust me.

 

Oh, damn you anyway, the girl thought, scowling to herself. It was going to be a long night.

 

oOo

 

The boy's eyes opened slowly, blinking against the sunshine that was pouring into the room from the open window. Kohaku thought he could smell flowers and for the first time in what seemed like forever, a sensation of peacefulness filled his young body. He didn't hurt, not anywhere, and it had been such a long time since he could say that.

 

A small face pushed itself into view and Kohaku started, almost reaching up to defend himself from this stranger. Only he recognized her a moment later and a happy toothy grin was her response to his wide-eyed stare.

 

“Kohaku-kun,” the girl squealed. “You're finally awake!”

 

“R...Rin?” he asked, stammering a bit. He remembered this girl, he remembered a voice inside his head, instructing him to kill her, slit her throat, cut her up. He shook off the memory with a sudden chill. “What are you doing here?”

 

That made the girl laugh, she looked so happy he found himself smiling back at her. “Rin lives here,” she said, her eyes dancing. “Kohaku can live here too and be friends now!”

 

He sat up, looking around him in confusion. He was in a small, somewhat plain room. The furniture seemed to be of good quality but there wasn't much in the way of decoration. It was also spotlessly clean. He didn't recognize this place at all and wondered where his sister was.

 

“Okay, Rin, then what am I doing here? Where am I?”

 

She danced around the room, full of exuberant energy. “I told you, this is where I live.” The girl turned back to him, a serious look on her face. “I'm glad you're feeling better, you seemed to be really sick when Sesshomaru-sama brought you home.”

 

Kohaku froze, staring at the young girl in shock. “Sesshomaru-sama? He brought me here?” This was bad; he didn't remember the demon taking him anywhere. “Rin, this is important. Where is my sister? Have you seen her?”

 

Rin shrugged, fiddling with the bed covers. “Rin doesn't know,” she said softly. “Sesshomaru-sama was alone when he came with you. He told me to let you sleep until you weren't sick anymore. I've been waiting for you for four whole days.”

 

Four days? He was out of it for four days? Kohaku shoved the blankets off his legs and tried to get out of bed. His knees were awfully weak and all he wore was a light-sleeping robe. “Do you know what they did with my clothes?”

 

“Your clothing was thrown out, it was filthy,” a voice said from the doorway.

 

Kohaku spun around, trying not to wobble too much. A pretty woman with braided dark hair was giving him a mischievous look. In her hands was a tray that held a few dishes. A wonderful smell was coming from the bowl and Kohaku's stomach woke up and let him know that it hadn't eaten recently.

 

“Who are you, ma'am?”

 

She smiled at him, showing pearly fangs. “Well, a human with manners. How nice to see that. Rin's a right little barbarian.”

 

“Rin is not a barbarian,” the little girl said loftily. “Rin is a very polite child and does so have manners.”

 

The woman snorted in amusement. “Not to hear Sesshomaru-sama tell it. You've been a brat since you got here. Nothing I've done or anyone else has done has changed that.”

 

Kohaku stared at her. “You're a youkai.”

 

She settled on the edge of the bed and arranged the tray neatly in front of her. “How observant you are,” she said pleasantly. “Why don't you sit back down, young human? You have to be starving. I didn't know humans could survive fevers that high, but you're obviously tougher than you look.”

 

He wasn't going to move without answers. “Who are you? I don't remember how I got here. Where's my sister...did he take her too?”

 

“I am Makiko and I'm in charge of getting you healthy again. I also have the doubtful honor of trying to keep Rin out of trouble when Sesshomaru-sama is in residence. Do all humans ask this many questions?” The young woman gestured at him again. “Please sit down and eat, Kohaku. You'll catch chill if you keep standing there.”

 

His legs were getting cold so Kohaku did as he was asked and got back into the warm bed. “Does my sister know where I am?”

 

Makiko didn't meet his eyes, looking away from him placidly. “I have no way of knowing that. As I said before, you were very ill, delirious in fact. The lord doesn't keep me informed as to his reasons and it is considered impolite to ask such things.”

 

Kohaku tried the soup. It was very tasty and warmed him from the inside out. He hoped there'd be more of it. “I don't remember anything; the last thing Sango told me was that we were going back to Kaede's village to see if she could treat my fever. I don't know why I'm here.”

 

He looked up and met the woman's gaze. “Sesshomaru-sama scares me.”

 

“Then you are wise, young human.” Makiko stood up and took his now empty bowl. “I'll bring you more to eat in a few hours, when you're ready for it. Don't let Rin talk you into getting out of bed before you're ready. She's a devilish child and has no compassion for anyone who doesn't share her outlandish energy.”

 

Rin leaned over to him conspiratorially. “She's not normally so cranky, but she's been sitting up with you for the past few days and I think she needs a nap.”

 

oOo

 

Kagome stood up and looked at her companions. “I can't take it anymore. I need a bath and I need to wash my hair.”

 

The past two days had been uneventful. She and Inuyasha had settled on not speaking to each other about anything other than the weather. So far, the tension between them was still evident. Kagome decided she wasn't about to forgive him for what he did or what he said. Even when she was at home, she found herself thinking about it.

 

“Who the hell does he think he is?” she said aloud, forgetting that she was walking to class with her friends.

 

Eri shot a knowing look to the other girls. “Here she goes again, talking to herself about her boyfriend.”

 

Kagome stopped and caught the girl with a glare that would have made a youkai cringe. “He is not my boyfriend. Don't you ever refer to him as that again. I hate him, I hate everything about him!”

 

The girls looked startled. “Don't tell me, you had another fight?” Yumi asked uncertainly. Kagome's expression was pretty scary. “Did you catch him cheating on you again?”

 

Kagome held her temper, trying to remind herself that they were just asking a simple question. “No. It wasn't like that. We just...” She became aware that they were staring at her with rapt expressions. I can't tell them, what would they say? That I let him put his hands all over me and worse, and then he tells me I'm not Kikyou and it's wrong? They'll tell me I got what I deserved for ever putting up with the two-timing jerk in the first place.

 

“Was it something he did?” Eri asked eagerly.

 

“Was it something he said?” Yumi chimed in.

 

Kagome flushed, embarrassed. “It was kind of both,” she confessed. Maybe they would understand.

 

“Did he kiss you?” they asked. Kagome smiled shyly.

 

Eri and Yumi grabbed her hands. “Did he put his tongue in your mouth?”

 

“He didn't kiss me on my mouth,” Kagome said softly. The girls' eyes went so wide she was afraid they'd pop out of their sockets.

 

“Kagome!”

 

She glared at them and they shrank back again. “Don't look at me like that! You don't understand, it just happened. It wasn't like I planned it!”

 

“Oh my god, Kagome,” Yumi said, her expression shocked and a little impressed. “How far did you go?”

 

“Not far enough,” she whispered, looking down at the ground. Her friends stood silently, sensing for the first time that Kagome was really upset; this wasn't a normal fight at all.

 

“What then?” Eri said in a tiny voice.

 

“He...he stopped. He said it was wrong because I wasn't...her.”

 

The other girls drew in breaths of horror. “Oh no, his ex-girlfriend? Oh Kagome...”

 

“It's okay,” she said, forcing the cheery look back on her face. “I'm fine, really. I've just decided that it wasn't going to work out anyway and if he's still that hung up on her.” Her friends blinked at Kagome's harsh tone. “Then he should just go find her and they can be really happy together in hell.”

 

“Wow, you're really fed up with him, aren't you?” Yumi murmured. They had no way of knowing how literally Kagome meant her words.

 

Then why am I back here again? Kagome looked over at Inuyasha and he pointedly looked away. Fine. “Well, I'm going to take a bath, there's a beautiful hot spring nearby and we were going to stop soon anyway. Sango, did you want to join me?”

 

Sango grinned. “Yes, I think a hot bath sounds wonderful too.”

 

Kagome dug her shampoo and a towel from her backpack. Shippou jumped up and clung to her leg. “Me too! I want to take a bath, see how dirty my tail is?”

 

She brushed him gently aside. “No, Shippou. You can take a bath later. I'll even wash your hair for you. Right now, you need to stay here and make sure the pervert doesn't peep at us.”

 

Miroku shook his head. “I resent that.”

 

She tossed him a casual look over her shoulder. “What makes you think I'm talking about you?” She paused and the monk started to grin widely. “Keep your distance just the same.”

 

Inuyasha turned and watched the girls make their way into the trees. “Did she just call me a pervert?”

 

Miroku gave the hanyou a cool glance. “I believe she did.”

 

Inuyasha scowled and muttered something rude under his breath. The monk ignored him and stretched out on the ground. He was a little tired as his recent discovery had been keeping him awake at night. He'd been watching Inuyasha and Sango together and thought that they were certainly doing a good job of keeping their secret. Not a hint of previous intimacy showed in their interactions, if anything Miroku would say that they were treating each other with an even greater casualness.

 

It didn't make sense to him, had he been so lucky as to have charmed Sango into his arms, he'd make sure the universe knew about it.

 

oOo

 

Lowering herself into the steaming water, Sango let out a sigh of pure bliss. She felt the tension in her muscles evaporate and leaned back to let herself completely relax. Beautiful. She heard similar sounds coming from Kagome and opened her eyes to smile at her friend.

 

Kagome splashed around for a few moments, getting her shampoo and soap ready. She lathered her hair, sighing to herself and scrubbing her scalp. It felt so good. Sango watched her, noticing the still slightly unhappy turn of her mouth.

 

“Kagome, can I ask you something?”

 

The girl ducked under the water, shaking her head to rinse her thick hair thoroughly. Heavenly hot springs aside; it was work to get her hair really clean when she didn't have water pressure. She popped back up gasping. “Of course, Sango. You can ask me anything.”

 

“What happened between you and Inuyasha?”

 

Kagome gulped. “What are you talking about?”

 

Sango watched as the girl's face turned red and knew it had nothing to do with the heat of the water. “Come on Kagome, you two have been sniping at each other for over a week. Do you want to talk about it?”

 

She twisted her washcloth in her hands, knew she was blushing hard and didn't know what to say. “I'm not sure. It's kinda embarrassing. We had an argument and he told me that since I'm not Kikyou, it was wrong for us to ever...”

 

Sango blinked at her. “That's all?”

 

“Isn't that enough? I'm so sick of being compared to her I can't stand it, Sango. You'd think after everything we've been through together, he'd see me as myself, as Kagome, not just her copy, not just as someone who wasn't Kikyou.”

 

Sango leaned her head on her arm, letting the warm water wash over her skin. “That's rough, Kagome. He cares about you, he's just an idiot.”

 

“I'm not so sure,” Kagome murmured softly. “Maybe it's not just that, maybe it really is me. For all I know, Kikyou is just an excuse to keep away from me.”

 

“Don't say that,” Sango said seriously. “Inuyasha is difficult at the best of times, but you're important to him. And not because you're Kikyou's reincarnation either. He probably can't even admit it to himself; the guy has some serious problems with trusting people. He'll come around eventually.”

 

Kagome grinned at her. “I can't believe you're defending him. How many times have you told me not to put up with his attitude?”

 

Sango reached for the shampoo and started to work on her own hair. “I just don't like to see either of you suffering like this. When are you going to get around to forgiving him? Even if he did say something that stupid, it's sure as hell not the first time.”

 

Kagome ducked under the water again so she wouldn't have to answer that question. I do want to forgive him. I want to stop being angry, she thought to herself. I can't blame Inuyasha, not entirely. I was doing everything I could to encourage him, but I have to admit I'm probably not ready either. Maybe he sensed it and that's why he stopped when he did. Could he have thought I was teasing him somehow?

 

Kagome surfaced again, floating over to sit next to Sango. “I know. I'll get over being mad, I always do. Thanks for talking with me about it, you're like the big sister I always wished I had.”

 

The exterminator laughed, rinsing out her hair. “I'm glad I could help. Don't worry about it so much, you two will eventually get it all sorted out.”

 

Kagome was about to reply when she noticed a dark mark on Sango's left breast. A slightly circular bruise, just like a bite mark. “Where did you get that?” she asked, pointing to the purplish coloration.

 

Sango looked down and blushed hard. He'd bitten her, not hard enough to break the skin, but still enough to leave evidence.

 

“I don't know where I got it,” she lied.

 

Kagome moved closer. “How could you not know you got bit there?” The bruise was flush against the curve of her breast, an unusually intimate place for an injury. She studied the mark, aware that Sango had become tense and felt her friend's discomfort increase.

 

“I just don't remember, maybe I ran into something,” the exterminator said tersely.

 

Kagome shook her head. “No, it looks like a bite. I can see teeth marks.”

 

She turned away, covering her chest with her arms. “I'm fine, don't worry about it.” Sango moved out of the hot spring, reaching for her clothes. Kagome watched her dress hurriedly and disappear into the trees before starting to climb out of the water herself.

 

Kagome toweled her hair, frowning slightly as she tried to figure out when they'd been fighting anything that would leave a bruise like that. It did look like teeth marks; she could clearly see the outline of fangs. But why would Sango hide something like that? Unless she really didn't want her to know who or what had bitten into her with such aggressive fanged teeth.

 

She stopped suddenly, a strange expression on her face. She only knew of one person, one demon that had teeth shaped like that. She'd felt them herself. She knew who could have had the opportunity to get that close to Sango without question and Kagome sank down to the ground in shock.

 

Sango had looked embarrassed; Sango didn't want to talk about it, turning away from her with her face flushed like Kagome had asked her about her most intimate secret. Her hands were trembling and Kagome was finally making sense of the situation. Maybe it wasn't Kikyou he'd been thinking about after all.

 

“Inuyasha, you son of a bitch!”