InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Binding of Souls ❯ Chapter 4

Kagome lost her balance as Miroku gently pulled her towards him, and felt his grip tighten on her arms. She inhaled with anticipation, expecting to feel his lips upon hers, but was surprised when he simply kissed the tip of her nose and then fell back to the sand. His tight grip on her gradually lessened, and her eyes flew open to glare accusitorily at Miroku, although for what she wasn't quite sure. The monk was back upon the sand with his hands behind his head, and the kiss had been barely a peck.

"W-why did you do that!?" Kagome asked. The type of kiss you would give your little sister, really.

"Collecting my boon, of course." Miroku nodded solemnly, pulled himself up, and sat next to her on the sand. He hoped she was buying his act, because it was all he could do not to pull her back down and kiss her so thoroughly that all questions would flee her mind. Given his musings in the water, he was determined to prove to himself that he was not ruled by his passions. It was no way to repay Kagome's kindness by taking advantage of her worry.

"By kissing me on the nose?" Kagome bristled at his mild tone. It had been such a perfunctory kiss, without the slightest hint of lust. I could win a wet t-shirt contest in these dripping clothes!!!

"You have a very cute nose, Kagome-sama. Sprinkled with freckles and just a bit damp from the river." Miroku glanced at the disgruntled miko, and tried to get his raging hormones under control. Maybe he had been in the sun too long, for her playful manner had been so alluring that he had been unable to help himself. Only a sharp pain of conscience had made him change his course at the last minute to a chaste kiss.

Kagome threw him a suspicious look, wondering if he was teasing her. Her temper was quickly rising at his blasé explanation, and the fact that he was actually behaving. Doesn't he find me even the teensiest bit desirable? Hmph!

"It was really crying out to be kissed. …A wonderful boon, Kagome-sama. I thank you."" Miroku smiled with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yes, well umm, you're welcome." Kagome's tone was less than gracious.

Miroku was confused by her reaction to the innocent kiss. He had expected her to grin and laugh off the whole thing as a joke. Instead she was bristling like a kitten who had been rubbed the wrong way, and was giving him dirty looks. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Before he could read into her behavior too deeply, a loud voice called out. "Kag-o-me!"

Startled, they jumped back from one another to a further distance, and then a flash of red came flying through the air to land on the sandy shore. Not far behind Inuyasha, Sango and Shippou rode upon Kirara, worry showing on their faces. They were all covered in blood and gore from their battle upstream, but looked unhurt.

"Kagome-chan! Houshi-sama!" Sango cried out and jumped to the ground to go to Miroku's side.

"Are you allright?" Inuyasha growled under his breath, and he searched the area for any remaining creatures. When he was content that there was no further danger, he came to Kagome's side and brushed a stray lock from her face, making sure she was really safe.

Kagome nodded, and smiled gently at the concern in his voice. He might not love her, but he would always care for her, and he would always protect her. "We're fine, Inuyasha. There was only one of the creatures, and Miroku was only slightly injured."

"Damn, Miroku! Those things were harder than they looked, took me and Sango a while to take them down." Inuyasha grinned cockily at the houshi on the ground.

"I didn't kill the creature, Inuyasha. Kagome-chan did." Miroku flashed a crooked smile. "She saved my life, the creature almost drowned me."

The clearing went silent as her friends gawked at Kagome in open amazement. She shifted uneasily under their gazes, and smiled nervously.

"Kagome killed it? That's a good one….." Inuyasha laughed as though Miroku had made a joke.

"Yes, I killed it. I'm not a total weakling, you know." Kagome glared at Inuyasha.

"Kagome-chan's powers have been increasing since….recently. The creature grabbed a hold of me while I was fishing, and she jumped in to save me. She was able to cloak her presence with her miko's powers, and then blew it from the water in one blast. It was a magnificent sight!" Miroku's eyes shone with pride.

Kagome blushed at the praise, and Sango and Shippou congratulated her excitedly. But Inuyasha stood back a ways from the group, gazing at her intently, strangely silent. She met his gaze, and he seemed as though he would say something more, but then decided not to.

His voice was brusque and no-nonsense when he next spoke. "Let's get everyone back to camp and dried off. Its getting dark, and we don't want to run into any more of those demons."

Kagome turned to help Miroku up, but Inuyasha cut her off and quickly pulled her onto his back, leaving the others to take the monk back to camp. Miroku watched their exit curiously, and caught Sango staring after Inuyasha with a hurt look in her eyes.

That evening dinner was a quiet affair as everyone was tired from fighting the water demons. Inuyasha was strangely attentive to Kagome, and for once there was peace with no fighting. Everyone settled down for the night quite early, and only the quiet chirping of the crickets could be heard in the small grove.

Kagome was restless, despite the battle with the demon earlier. She tossed about in her bed roll uncomfortably for a while but soon gave up, rising to step into the forest for a moment alone. She found a smooth boulder at the crest of a hill, and climbed up to gaze at the stars. Speaking to Miroku had put many things into perspective earlier, but it seemed for every problem she straightened out, another popped up that was more confusing.

She hadn't anticipated that her new powers would affect the role she played in the group. She had always been the weakest fighter, the one who was pushed to the back, always protected and shielded from trouble. Or the mediator, smoothing over arguments between them all, and guiding them towards the next shikon shard with a cheerful optimism. Feeding, nurturing, healing, taking care of everyone as best she could. What role would she play now?

A soft rusting in the bushes caught her attention, and she gathered the energy around her without thinking, glowing brightly in the night.

"It's me, Kagome-chan, I didn't mean to startle you. I noticed you leaving camp, and wanted to make sure you were safe." Miroku spoke quietly as he climbed over the crest to join her.

Kagome relaxed and quickly released the energy, smiling apologetically. "I just needed a moment alone with my thoughts, is all. And I'm quite sure I can take care of any unwelcome intruders." She winced at the bitter sound of her own words.

"Ahhh, but even so, it is a gentleman's privilige to worry about a lady's safety. We like to think we are useful at least some of the time." He winked and climbed besides her on the boulder.

"I'm so restless from the attack earlier, I just can't get to sleep." Kagome hugged her knees, and gazed into the night.

"It must be exciting, finding that you have new powers. It seems to be instinctive on your part, I've never seen anything like it." Miroku leaned back on the heels of his hands, and admired her silhouette in the dark.

`If its instinctive, I'm worried I might make a mistake," she admitted. "Can you imagine what would happen if I started blasting things everytime I got angry?"

"Inuyasha would be a smear on the ground." Miroku winced.

"And think of the burnt hair smell." Kagome replied dryly, and wrinkled her nose.

Miroku laughed at the hanyou's expense, but then his face grew serious."If you truly are worried, then you must begin practicing and experimenting with your new powers, Kagome-sama. I'm forever grateful for your aid earlier, but you may not be so lucky next time. You could hurt yourself with that kind of power, on accident."

Kagome sighed. "Maybe it would be better if I didn't learn at all. I think Inuyasha would be happier that way, being my protector."

"The world doesn't revolve around Inuyasha, and he's going to have to deal with his own issues." But your world does.

"You are too strong a person to allow someone else's shortcomings to hold you back, little flower." Miroku smiled gently in the moonlight.

"How would I train without disrupting everyone's lives, our travels, our quest?" Kagome pondered the issue hesitantly.

"Our powers are similar in many ways, perhaps I could help in some way. I have trained for many years, and have learned much in my travels."

Gah, what are you thinking man? Do you enjoy torturing yourself? No, he told himself. Kagome was his friend, and she needed his help. He was capable of deeper emotions than a wink and a wiggle with a woman. He had to do this for himself, as much as for her.

Kagome was gazing at him intently, studying him it seemed. Did he really mean to help? She didn't want to hurt the others by making a mistake with her new powers, she needed to get them under control. Bah, the truth is, you aren't sure if you can trust yourself with him. For all of his reputation, you're the one having hentai thoughts. You wanted him to kiss you earlier, and you know it.

"….Perhaps we could train in the evenings for a bit, before bedtime? I don't exactly want to hide my training from the others….but I think I would learn better without distractions and interuptions." Kagome bit at her lip, hesitantly offering her idea.

Miroku nodded and suggested. "I think that would work out very well, and if we have time, we can talk on the road about lessons. You'd be surprised what you can practice while travelling." Well, that's that, you coward.

"Let's get back to camp for now, we've a long day ahead of us, and we can start the lessons tomorrow evening." Miroku rose and offered Kagome his hand to help her to her feet. A spark flickered between their hands when they touched, and they each laughed nervously as they walked back to the campsite.