InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages ❯ Questionable Tactics ( Chapter 12 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters, though with all the time and work I put into stories about them that I earn no money off of, you could probably say that they own me.

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Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages

Chapter Twelve

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Kagome tapped the pen in her hand on the desk in a distorted pattern, too bored to even bother making the effort to time it properly. Several feet away from her, the professor continued to talk about things that were far beyond her comprehension at the moment.

'Ugh, do I really care what an artist was thinking when he decided to take up finger painting? At least, that's what it looks like to me. I bet Rin could do a better job if I gave her some paint.'

Kagome glared in irritation at the ugly picture being gestured to by her teacher, as if it were the painting's fault entirely that she was stuck in class when she would much rather be somewhere else.

Or, to be more exact, with someone else…

'I wonder what Inuyasha and Rin are doing right now? Probably deciding what they want for lunch…ramen, or ramen.' Kagome smiled at the thought. 'Or maybe Inuyasha's being subjected to a morning marathon of educational children's programming.' This made her smile turn very Inuyasha-like. What she wouldn't give to see that!

Suddenly, a certain memory popped into Kagome mind and made her blush. To hide it, she crossed her arms and rested her head on them. 'Oh my God, I can't believe that happened last night! I feel like such an idiot! With Inuyasha so close to me and in such a position, not only did I enjoy the entire thing…I didn't want him to move, either! Aggghh, stupid Miroku! He'll probably tell Sango all about the fact that Inuyasha and I were in bed together last night, and then I'll never hear the end of it!'

Poor Kagome was so distracted by her mental rants that she completely missed anything that went on during the rest of her class.

"Excuse me, Higurashi-san, but I think you might be interested in knowing that class is over."

Kagome jerked her head up and found herself staring the teacher in the face. "I, uh, I mean…I'm so sorry!" Flushing even more brightly now than she had earlier, Kagome made a hasty exit before she could be questioned about not paying attention.

"I can't believe I did that!" She wailed out loud, causing the other students that she was passing by to stare at her like she was insane. "Oh, I am such an idiot!"

It took her until she was about halfway home, but Kagome finally managed to get her embarrassment under control just enough to look at the situation a little more carefully. She really needed to do something before her grades could take a turn for the worse.

'As embarrassing as it is going to be, I think I need to go talk to Inuyasha and clear things up. I mean, nothing REALLY happened last night, right?' She chewed one of her fingernails nervously. 'I'm just being stupid and worrying about something that he probably hasn't even given a second thought about!'

Cringing, she tried to ignore how little that thought actually comforted her.

"I am just being stupid again!" She berated herself out loud, once again earning herself attention from other people on the street. "All I have to do is go talk to him and everything will be fine! Then I won't keep making a fool of myself by zoning out in class like I did today."

Never mind the fact that she was making a fool of herself anyway. She just didn't seem to notice all the strange looks that everyone was giving her as she turned and made her way down the street where her apartment building was located.

Oh well, ignorance is bliss…

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"Where are we headed, anyway?" Sango questioned Miroku, suspicion lacing her voice. "Not knowing what you have planned isn't a feeling I like very much."

Miroku gave her a wounded look. "Do you really trust me so little, Sango?"

The dark-haired girl didn't bother to answer him and instead gave him a 'look' over the top of Rin's head. The little girl was happily skipping between the pair, oblivious to the slight tension between her companions.

"Okay," Miroku sighed in defeat. "If you must know, we are headed back to the café for lunch, and I am generously planning to treat you and little Rin to a wonderful meal. Doesn't that sound nice?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and barely managed to keep his hands to himself.

Sango groaned. "Nice? Great, now not only do I have to deal with a pervert, but HER too! Can't you think of somewhere else to go instead?"

"Nope!" Miroku smiled. "No cash." He pulled the lining of his pockets out to prove it. "Besides, I promised Rin she could meet my 'favorite' employee, and I wouldn't want to break a promise." His smile had turned to a telling grimace, a rare look for Miroku to have.

Rin looked up at him. "Who am I gonna meet? And what's a pervert?"

Sango winced and placed one of her hands on Rin's head. "You don't need to know that right now, Rin, but I'm sure you'll find out when you're older."

"Okay." Shrugging, Rin suddenly grabbed Sango's hand and pulled on it. "Let's hurry so we can get there real fast 'cause Rin is hungry!"

Sango obliged her and allowed Rin to drag her hand in hand down the rest of the block while Miroku stared after the pair speculatively.

'Sango would make a very wonderful mother, that is plain to see. Sometimes I wonder why I bother fooling around so much when I could make a serious effort where she is concerned. When I behave, she can almost stand being around me.' Miroku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. 'Perhaps I should rethink my strategy.'

Giving the subject several more moments of deep thought, the plotting café owner suddenly smiled happily and hurried to catch up to Sango and Rin.

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Miroku politely pushed the café door open and allowed Sango and Rin to enter before him, just as a polite gentleman should. Sango watched him like a hawk and was very surprised when he made no move to touch her as she passed.

'Maybe he's decided he shouldn't act like a lech with Rin around.' That was the only logical reasoning poor, confused Sango could come up with for his behavior. She had to admit that if that was the case, at least he was starting to show some good sense, if not much. 'Perhaps all those knocks on the head are actually doing him some good instead of harming him.'

After shutting the door, Miroku politely smiled to all the ladies in the room before jogging towards the counter. "I'm back!" He called out, a nervous edge to his voice.

"You don't have to shout, I'm coming!" Another voice yelled in response. A moment later the door leading to the kitchen opened and someone came around the corner of the counter to greet the group with a cold stare. "Didn't I tell you earlier to get lost and stay lost?"

Sango gave the woman a strained smile. "It's so nice to see you, too, Kagura."

The woman didn't bother to respond to the greeting and instead turned her eyes towards Rin, the sight of the small girl causing them to widen in surprise. "Who is that?"

"I'm Rin!" The small girl examined the woman standing before her carefully and noticed the very odd eye color, which caused Rin to stare at her in confusion. "You look kinda mean. Are you a youkai or something like my Papa Sess?"

"Rin!" Sango gave her a stern glare, trying not to smile at the amusing comment. "Don't say things like that to people. It's very rude to comment about their looks. And yes, she is a youkai."

"Believe me Rin, there is no youkai on earth quite like your 'Papa Sess'." Miroku added with a half-laugh and wary glance in Kagura's direction. "Just ask your Uncle Inu; I'm sure he has some interesting stories about your papa, although I'm not sure he'll tell them to you. He might, though, just to be mean."

"So this is the little girl that mutt Inuyasha is taking care of, eh?" Kagura had a coolly amused gleam in her eyes, obviously over the thought of Inuyasha having to take care of a child.

'Those two never have been able to get along very well.' Sango mentally observed, correctly guessing the cause of the smirk on Kagura's face. 'Although that could be true about Inuyasha and nearly anyone, those two seem to get along especially badly for no real reason.'

Sango frowned and watched as Miroku introduced Rin properly, noting the way Kagura huffed and turned her nose up before going back to work without saying a word. 'That idiot! I'll never know why he keeps her around like he does. Probably too scared to fire her…'

Kagura and her job working during the week at Miroku's café was something of a mystery. She worked the day shift while Shippo took the night shift during the week, and that left Miroku to come and go as he pleased. It was such a small place that it didn't take much work to run, and he tended to take advantage of that fact and use his free time to terrorize Sango (and other innocent women) as much as he possibly could.

'I suppose she really is nice enough to the customers, and gets her job done, but she certainly is rude to everyone else.' Sango continued to regard the other woman thoughtfully. 'Especially Miroku. Although I guess it is a big plus that Miroku is too scared of her to actually grope her.'

Miroku suddenly grabbed Sango's arm and pulled her towards a table, startling her from her thoughts. "Come with me so we can sit and talk for a while. Kagura will keep Rin busy."

"Why in the world did you want to introduce Rin to Kagura of all people?" Sango questioned as she sat down. The woman in question was staring down in annoyance as Rin questioned her about her youkai powers. She obviously didn't like children very much.

Miroku smiled sheepishly. "Because I knew it would annoy her, so I couldn't resist."

"Cruel."

"I felt like a little revenge. Unlike Shippo, she tries to get rid of me every chance she gets, even if it means more work for herself."

Sango glared at him. "More like you want revenge because she won't let you touch her."

"That too." Miroku agreed calmly.

The dark-haired man cringed inwardly when Sango's stare became ten times colder, almost on par with Kagura's. He really didn't understand why he enjoyed baiting her where other women were concerned, but for some reason it gave him a faint hope that she might like him, if even just a tiny bit.

'Most of the time I feel like I have no chance with her at all.' He reflected. 'Then that causes me to do stupid things that I probably shouldn't, just to gain her attention. I really am pathetic, aren't I?' This thought made him sigh despondently.

"What, don't tell me you're getting depressed just because you can't grope Kagura. Are you really that twisted?" Sango looked ready to clobber him, all the while telling herself that her reaction was based on sheer principle and that jealousy had nothing to do with it whatsoever.

Miroku mustered a smile. "Actually, I was just feeling sorry for myself because I can't fire her."

"Yes, you could."

"Then you must really want me to die a swift, painful death to think I could do that."

"Swift maybe, but not too painful." Sango couldn't resist smiling at the playfully wounded look he gave her. "I'd actually feel sorry for you if you died for doing something other than groping."

Feeling slightly more hopeful than he did before, Miroku suddenly decided this might be a perfect chance to try the change in tactics he'd thought of earlier. Maybe it would work like it should and soon he and Sango would be on the right track towards bliss.

"Sango, have you ever thought about having children?" He kept his expression carefully blank.

"Wh-what do you mean?" The sudden change in topics threw Sango off balance slightly. "Where in the world did that question come from?" She glanced at Rin, who was happily eating a sandwich Kagura had fixed her to get her to shut up for a while.

"I believe you would make a wonderful mother."

Sango blushed. "I-I'm still in college! I would like kids later, but it isn't really something I think much about right now."

Miroku smiled, realizing how flustered he'd made her. "But you have thought about it, correct? It seems you and I think quite a bit alike, then. I personally would love to have a child with your excellent good sense and my charming attitude to take over this place one day."

As much as she'd hate to admit it, Sango felt almost flattered. At least until it clicked that he seemed to be talking about them having children TOGETHER.

"Sango, I have something very important to ask of you." He picked up her hand and held it gently to stop her from speaking.

'Oh my God, what does he think he's gonna ask me?!?!' Sango could feel her heart rate rise dramatically. 'Is he thinking marriage? But I'm not even out of college! I can't think about something like that yet! It's too soon for us! I-'

"Sango, please think about this carefully before you answer me." Miroku continued. "Will you please do me the great honor of…'

'He's really going to ask me!' Sango's mind shrieked.

"…bearing all of my future children?"

The dead silence that followed this was so thick that you could have heard a pin drop. All the old ladies in the room were nearly sitting on the edge of their seats while waiting for the answer, and even Kagura had stopped her work to listen with interest.

Sango finally managed to find her voice which had been lost moments before. "YOU DISGUSTING PERVERT!" she shouted, shaking off his hand. "And here I'd actually hoped that you were being serious for once in your pathetic life!"

"Hoped?" Miroku echoed in a daze, suddenly more than a little shocked himself. "You were actually hoping…"

Sango clapped a hand over her mouth in horror over the fact that she'd practically just admitted to him that she was interested. Without saying another word, she dashed from the building, automatically remembering to clobber Miroku on her way by. Some old habits die hard, it seems.

Rin and Kagura walked over to the fallen man.

"Are you okay, Uncle Miroku?" Rin asked, patting him on the head in concern and getting peanut butter from her fingers in his hair.

"Wonderful…" He murmured dreamily.

Kagura rolled her eyes before turning and heading back to the counter. "Well, what do you know. Maybe someone likes you a little bit after all, though I have no idea why."

Miroku just sighed happily.

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Finally, almost a whole chapter featuring Miroku and Sango! But don't worry, Inuyasha and Kagome will be back into focus again in the next chapter since I can't ignore my favorite couple for very long. Anyway, I love hearing from all of you, so let me know what you think! ^_^