T.Y.O.M. Chapter 10: Valentine's Day Special

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 10: Valentine's Day Special

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Pretend this isn’t a late Valentine’s Day update, it’s a celebratory double digit chapter!

You know how they say Valentine’s Day is a day for couples, chocolate and just… love? Well that’s utter bullshit. Kagome huffed, eyes focusing on nothing in particular as she picked at the edges of the heart-shaped package in her lap. She didn’t have the ‘A-OK’ to go home yet and she didn’t have the half dog demon who said it to poison. She suspected that Kikyo was nearby but just let it go, nothing screamed romance like another ‘lovers’ quarrel’ when he sneaks off to see another girl on the official day of ‘romance’--well the modern day of romance actually. What a waste of Honmei-choco…

Without a moment to spare, she tore open the tediously tied ribbon and held a small piece of chocolate to her mouth, taking her time to savor the hours of burning fingers and her empty piggy bank back home as it melted slightly onto her fingers as well as on her tongue.

“What assortment of your future’s confection do you have today, Kagome-sama?”

She jumped--almost choking on the smallest darned piece of chocolate--when her eyes met his purple glimmering eyes that didn’t miss the slightest shift of her skirt.

“Nothing for your pervy mouth!”

“Surely you don’t mean that, Kagome-sama…” he gasped albeit slightly mockingly as he rocked back and forth on his heels, making no move with the silent question of her allowance of his presence. She looked at him. He looked at her. Nothing happened for a good couple of seconds and he sighed good naturedly, turning slightly back the direction of their temporary camp. Probably too far…?

“Do you promise to sit like a good boy and speak when you’re spoken to?”

“I can’t not when given instructions like I’m some mischievous child… Though, your words are quite… stirring.”

“Just shaddup and promise, ya’ bag of testosterone.”

Miroku held his arms out in a weak display of surrender and plopped down next to the defensive female, “Yes, yes. Cross my eyes and hope to cry.”

“It’s ‘cross my heart and hope to die.’”

He hummed. Making a mental note? She followed his stray, curious eyes toward the opened present in her lap. Well, there’s no point in eating it alone.

“It’s Honmei-choco.”

“Honmei... choco?”

“Yeah, chocolate that’s usually given by women to men they like in a romantic sense on Valentine’s day. They can be pretty expensive, and painful if they’re homemade.”

“Hmm. If I remember correctly, ‘Valentime’s’ day is for love and lovers? And you bought...” He looked down at the cute, cartoon-ish bandaids on her fingers, “No, made them for Inuyasha...?”

“Yeah.”

Kagome’s answer was bitter but she covered it up with a generous shove of the mentioned chocolates in her mouth and the closed and still-full gift box thrown in the distance.

“I’ll… pick that up later.”

“We can always burn it for the campfire, if that’ll make you feel better.”

He plucked one of the chocolates from her hands, earning an indignant squawk from Kagome’s stuffed mouth, and nibbled on it, looking far more wise than a man with a glittering, pink dyed piece of chocolate should look. It was fairly sweet, if not slightly burnt. There was a sudden burst of liquid in his mouth and that was when the heat bit his tongue. With a not-so-subtle yelp, Miroku’s face exploded in pink as if fire entered his defenseless bloodstream.

“Oh my god!” At once, Kagome choked on her own chocolate and collapsed back into the grass in a dangerous outburst of laughter.

“I can not believe your luck, Miroku-sama! You actually got that one!”

Breathing was hard. Eyes watering, he started coughing and collapsed beside her for a completely different reason as his eyes swirled. Man, he must’ve looked pitiful. Kagome tried to get up and reach for her bag but the giggles wouldn’t stop.

“Hahahaaa… Holy shit. I can’t sto--,” her breathing became ragged as she forced her trembling form to rip her bag open,” That… hahah… was meant as a prank! Oh shit, your face!”

“Please… laugh after you’re done killing me, Kagome--...sama!”

“Hold on--.”

She let out another burst of laughter before handing him a bottle of water. He downed it in one go, spilling at least a third of it onto his robes, before returning any semblance of his composure. She grinned at him cheekily only for him to turn his chin away with a soft pout. What a rare turn of events.

“I’m sorry, Miroku-sama. I really didn’t mean to laugh…”

Her voice was like it was directed toward crying babies or stupid hanyous. He didn’t turn, even hunching further into himself with crossed arms in sleeves. She paused and took in his posture. It wasn’t serious, which made her grin wider.

“Oh Miroku-sama, come on. I’m really sorry, you know I didn’t mean it…”

She grabbed at his sleeve with an exaggerated pout, dragging out each ‘o’ a tinge too sweetly.

“... I know... better,” his voice was already hoarse, which almost broke her fragile sense of composure, before he mumbled again, “But as a man, I can’t help but feel embarrassed for making that mistake.”

“Yeah, it’s a just-in-case if he was a jerk about it...”

His eyes dragged to meet hers with a cheesy smile as he found something. Without a reply, he drew in closer. Her smile slowly dropped into a small ‘o’ shape. Oh lord, his eyelashes are long. Ba-dump. His fingers brushed against her cheek, picking up something on the outer line of her lips, as her breath hitched. He leaned back into a more tolerable distance to show her the offending piece of chocolate.

“I’m assuming this one isn’t pranked?”

She only gaped her mouth open and closed as he plopped the stray piece of chocolate into his mouth.

“Very good, Kagome-sama. Thank you graciously for sharing some with me.”

“No problem.”

There was a slight pause to his jaw, chocolate no doubt melting in his hesitation.

“What is it?”

“Is… is it impolite to eat love chocolate meant for another person?”

She glanced at his slightly furrowed brows, a little touched by his consideration, and shook her head.

“Nah, you look like you’re enjoying it.”

He stared into her eyes and she into his before his eyes crinkled at the corners. Another moment of misleading communication...?

“Well, if it isn’t any trouble, could I have some more? Preferably not laced with fire from the pits of hell?”

“Oh. Yeah! Sure, hold on, let me go get the gift box.” She rose up from the grass with a gleeful expression, bending slightly for a tastefully sinful view of her patting the dust off her skirt, and rushed to get the forgotten gift box. He hummed at the sight. Red is a surprisingly bashful color. She came back, slightly out of breath, and opened the roughly dented box. The display was a rather messy pile of loose chocolate paper wrappers and carved chocolates but there was no mistaking the time and effort she put into it. It took a little bit of silence and blue-to-purple eye contact before he noticed her nudging the box toward him.

“You know, I was imagining more of a mouth-to-mouth or a little hand-fed… uhhhh---Ok! I apologize,” Miroku held his arms up in surrender at her scornful expression, ”I sincerely didn’t mean it, please don’t throw the box at me and waste the chocolate, Kagome-sama!”

Kagome just huffed and held the box closer to him. Without missing a beat in fear of the already-fragile atmosphere, he plopped a safer-looking light brown chocolate into his mouth and closed his eyes at the pleasant feel of it melting into his mouth. He dared to sneak a peek at his suddenly-silent companion, slowing to chew more thoughtfully at her lost expression. She really wanted to please him. Stupid, blind dog. Something twinged in him at the thought but he knew better.

“Kagome-sama.”

Her name got her attention and he turned to fully face her, hands encircling hers over the box.

“If it’s any consolation, as friend to friend, these were made wonderfully and I am glad to be the person you share it with---even if I wasn’t your ideal choice.”

She was quiet, words stuck on the beads and warmth pressing into her bandaged hands, and the frozen upturn of her lips grew into something more shy.

“You’d be a lot of people’s ideal choice in my school.”

Kagome dared to send him a cheeky glance, diffusing the intimate scene once again, and he rose up to her challenge with a jut of his chin and a charming twitch of his eyebrows, “Is that so?”

She nodded, hair bouncing, “For sure!”

“Then, would they be willing to bear my children?”

She snorted and didn’t say a word, he figured that to be the answer.

“Their parents would probably kill you if you asked that. In the Future, couples don’t usually think about children until at least 25 or something!”

“Strange.”

“Strange, indeed. Anyways, I’m here to eat my feelings out and then reward myself with a well-deserved nap. So no more chit-chat!”

Miroku looked like he had more to say and, after a moment of contemplation, she sighed softly and held a single finger up, “One question.”

“One question, it is!”

He smiled at her antics and smoothed down his robes, “Would you allow me to join you?”

“Sure, why not?”

There was no hesitation.

Intro | Chapter 9 | Chapter 11

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 15: Tossing Grapes

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Mindless physical intimacy and dumb dumb teens in desperate need of a childhood.

Plop. Crunch. Crunch. Kagome beamed as the light sweetness that burst in her mouth melded into a delicate tart flavor. There’s nothing like catching crisp grapes in your mouth on a warm, sunny day with no demons to worry about. Of course, it's a little boring by yourself when nothing is trying to kill you or kidnap you for your jewel shards, but beggars should definitely not be choosers in this situation.

“Why not play a game, me? ...Hell yeah, me, what kind of game?”

There was no one to answer her self-asked question but herself so she quickly set the rules in her head. Picking one large, juicy grape from her large plastic container, she lightly tossed it into the air, eyes following the little fruit ball and jerking her head back, mouth open, to catch it in her mouth. Plop. Crunch. One point for Kagome. She grabbed another grape, brows slightly scrunched, and threw it twice as high as in the first ‘round’, butt slowly rising to free her legs to move into place. Plop. Crunch. 5 points for Kagome!

The rules didn’t specify the point system but Kagome was definitely winning. She pumped her fist with slightly puffed cheeks before continuing. She was on a roll. A two streak roll but a roll, nonetheless. Locking the bowl onto her waist with a tight grip, she blindly grabbed a grape and tossed it higher than the last round. Her aim was off, feet backpedaling with each anticipated second before she flicked her head back, the grape landing on her back molar with a pop. 9 points!

The rounds kept on going, faster and more risky than the last, she didn’t even have time to chew or swallow the grapes as her stubborn competitive streak became fueled by the chance of ‘winning’ and her pride. 18 points. It kept her sliding, jumping, running and jogging around in circles just to catch the slippery suckers but she caught them all, one after the other. 37 points. It didn’t take long for her to lose all track of her surroundings, eyes glued to the sky for falling grapes. 56 points.

Cheeks full and bowl half-empied, she took one more grape and held it gently in her fingertips. This is it, Kagome. The final round, the crowd is on the edge of their seats, watching. Don’t panic. Breathe. Breathe. It’s all or nothing! Without pause, the grape went high into the sky, seemingly disappearing into thin air.

“Oh shit!”

She tossed it too high. Her eyes burned at the brightness of the sun but she continued to squint, looking for any signs of movement. 

Nothing. Her legs carried her backwards, hair bouncing and flying into her face and feet stumbling over small lumps in the grass. 

There…? She twisted lightly on her ankle and craned her neck with a small pop, eyes landing on something small, something fast...

There!

Picking up the pace and running further and further back, her heart dropped at the thought that she couldn’t make it like this. It almost stopped her in her tracks but, no, she could! Bowl now secured in both hands, she stretched her legs as far as she could running backwards and jumped, praying for a soft landing as her eyes followed the grape. She caught the offending grape in between her lips like a dog with a few too many tennis balls in its mouth. Here comes the ground, she thought ruefully, eyes scrunching closed at the thought of the impact. With a small ‘oof’, she slammed onto something. She expected to be sprawled on the grass in an ungraceful mess and choking on grapes but soft fabric surrounded her exposed skin as her mid back was supported by something. 

“Feeef wike a perffen--”

She still had those goddamned grapes in her mouth, and the one balanced between her lips was without a scratch. Nice. Her pride swelled at the fact as she hummed her victories.

“That was quite the magnificent catch, Kagome-sama.”

Her eyes popped out of their sockets and she sat up from her seat. Her landing spot ended up being Miroku’s lap. She looked down at their laps, then to his eyes, and then to the bowl in her arm. Who knew Miroku’s lap would be so comfortable? ...What the hell, Kagome.

“Wan’ suff?”

She made no effort to hide the cheeky flush in her hamster-rivaled cheeks or the childish sparkle in her eyes, nudging the bowl towards him. He let out a small smile. How ridiculous. There was a glint in his eyes and she didn’t miss it but she realized the intent too late.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

She smiled around the grapes but felt her heart thud as he leaned closer to her face, eyes trailing down to her lips.

“H… Hey!”

She shut her eyes tight, breath stuck in her throat. She could feel his breath fan over her lips and swallowed thickly, teeth slightly indenting the grape in between them. Crunch. There was no brush of skin but she knew he ate something. Testing the waters, she squinted out of one eye and watched him chew thoughtfully with eyes closed. She just stared, frozen like a deer in headlights. It was enough for him to stop his next teasing words.

“Are you ok, Kagome-sama?”

She plucked the grape from in between her teeth, slowly chewing the rest, and choked as her eyes found it to be half eaten. With a fist covering her mouth, she looked at the grape, then into Miroku’s eyes, and for a quick second she briefly glanced at his lips, to which he blew an amuse puff of air from his nose, before burning disbelieving daggers in the innocent grape. Taking her time, she finished off the rest of the grapes in her mouth in silence and Miroku couldn’t help but think that he broke her.

Letting out a nervous chuckle, he started, “Kagome---”

“I--- You---”

“You did offer.”

She took a pause and quickly glanced at his lips again, feeling heat crawl up her neck. He felt sweat gather, he was not used to this submissive Kagome, still in his lap, instead of slapping him into the next life.

“I guess I… I did...”

There was an uncomfortably long pause between them. No anger, no panic, both of which began his slow descent into a fear-induced adrenaline rush. Anything to get Kagome back to normal before the others caught them like this.

“Anyways!” He scratched the back of his neck and grabbed another grape from the bowl,”...these grapes? Fantastic! I’ve never had anything like them.”

Crunch. Chewing slowly, he snuck a glance, she was biting her bottom lip and looking anywhere but at him. This is not good.

“Oh! What was that game you were playing before, Kagome-sama? It certainly looked very interesting!”

No response. She was staring at him now, wide-eyed and ghostly, and he gulped. Sango is going to kill me.

“Would you mind if I tried? Uhhh… Ummm…”

Without a second thought, he threw up the grape with the hand not supporting her still frame and leaned back, his impending-doom-influenced shakiness messed up his aim and it bounced off his nose.

“Oh, ah-ha-ha! Looks like I missed, what’re my points looking like, Kagome-sama?”

Nothing. Kami, please help me. He started panicking and grabbed another grape.

“Ok! One more! I’m betting this’ll be at least 20 points!”

He tossed it high and bounced softly in his seat to catch the grape, it settled in between his teeth and he flashed her a thumbs up.

“Wha’ to you ‘hink?”

His eyes glanced over her entire face with out-of-place desperation.

“Kago-he-sa-ha?”

As if she were a video pressed on play, her face exploded in red and she grabbed his shoulders tightly. He flinched but felt his eyes get drawn in the sudden fire in her gaze. Her jaw was clenched, eyebrows furrowed, and an angry growl erupted in her throat. Here it comes. Accepting his fate, he just let the corner of his lips settle into a familiar ‘can’t-be-helped’ grin. He was prepared for the slap of his life but something he would never imagine happening happened. She dove in quick and fast and bit half of the grape in between his teeth. Crunch. Everything she felt transferred onto him and he felt something burst in his chest. His eyes popped comically, just like hers a moment ago, and he felt the air disappear in his lungs. He didn’t even budge when she pushed herself from out of his lap.

“Now we’re even!”

Her voice cracked but he didn’t even notice, he just stared at her. That did not just happen. Shoving the grape basket into his chest, she covered her mouth with one last glance at him. He couldn’t say anything, let alone breathe, and she ran away, screaming a repeated string of ‘omgomgomgomgomg’. Miroku watched her go, mind still processing the last few seconds, as he mindlessly plopped a grape into his mouth. Grape chewed and swallowed, the reality of what had just occurred settled. Miroku placed his beaded hand over his mouth with a silent groan and a late flush settling on his cheeks.

“Well, that was not what I was expecting.”

Falling onto his back, with the intentions of burying his blush and calming his mind, he inhaled deeply...They were softer than he thought.

Intro | Chapter 14 | Chapter 16

T.Y.O.M Chapter 2: P-ah-nts

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

As soon as she stepped out of the well, Kagome knew something was off. When she tilted her head to look up, Kagome was greeted by warm smiles and various heads poking in to see her, three heads too many in fact. Ah, there it is. With a small smile, she slowly climbed her way up, carefully grasping onto each vine while shouldering her giant monstrosity of a backpack. Strangely enough Kagome got used to the tedious climb, her muscles barely straining against gravity.

Grab, foothold, grab, grab, foothold. It didn't take her long to reach the top but a hand inched toward her face before she reached the ledge. It was larger than hers with familiar rough calluses and long feral nails. She grabbed it, allowing Inuyasha to lift her the rest of the way. He grumbled as usual but he was careful.

Miroku smiled a couple feet from the teetering Inuyasha, seeing the familiar soft ebony peek out from the well’s edge. Kagome's hair gave way to her cute little face, with big doe eyes and a bright smile. He missed seeing her, everyone did, but he missed her legs in particular. He couldn't wait for that lovely future invention, the ‘skurt’, to flash a bit of those lovely, dark blue-- Wait, dark blue skin?

She was wearing… leg covers. What did she call them again? Oh right, she was wearing a ‘p-ah-nt’. Even though they hugged her legs nicely, he was disappointed. He didn't hesitate to hum out his observations causing Kagome to tilt her head in cute oblivion. She dusted her pants off, waiting for an answer, but he just shook his head, his staff ringing softly at the movement. Thinking back to his line of focus, he seemed to be looking at her legs before his gaze met hers, a bit of disappointment in his eyes. Disappointment at what? 

“Welcome back, Kagome-sama.”

“It's good to be back.”

When Inuyasha barked at them to start moving, Kagome slowed her pace, staying back to look over herself. Was it something I did? Kagome didn't change her hair, she wasn't particularly dolled up, her chest was moderately covered, she was wearing her new pair of jeans… Oh, her pants.

She smacked her forehead at the realization. Of course, Miroku-sama loves peeping on bare skin. I wouldn’t have pegged him as a thigh guy though… Speeding up a bit, Kagome's gaze fell down from the back of Miroku’s head to the patched dark purple robes that curtained his well known but unpredictably lean body. Maybe she could peek… She definitely should peek. It’s only fair. A blush formed on her face as she caught up with the rest of the group.

They packed up from Kaede’s village and started their journey, once again. Inuyasha was at the front with Sango, Miroku trailing behind them, and Kagome and Shippo were all the way in the back. Kagome happily chatted with the young fox demon before a harsh cry, a loud slap, and the thump of a body dropping to the floor interrupted all movement. Inuyasha watched from afar as Kagome jogged by with the usual routine to keep a hold on Sango, just in case that she might end up killing the perverted monk. Sango was positively boiling, steam coming out of her ears as Miroku smiled at her, brushing himself off the ground. Kagome sighed, changing her pace. There was only so much damage Sango’s large boomerang could do and Miroku seems to be getting immune to it. With a shift in her heel she started a mental count, pieces of ideas coming into her mind as she stopped right behind the monk himself.

Three. She picked up the fallen monk’s staff and twirled it experimentally. The chiming’s kinda pretty, she thought as Miroku blurted out some good-natured excuses. Two. Kagome firmly grasped the end of the golden staff and hooked it underneath the back end of Miroku’s robe. One. She lifted the staff high, raising the modest purple fabric up to his upper thigh, and quickly squatted down with an inquisitive tilt of her head to check out what was underneath Miroku’s coverings.

The reaction was explosive. Yelps and jaws dropping filled out in the background as Miroku stood stiff, muscles so tense you would think he was a statue if not for the strained breathing exhaled in an awkward sigh. Kagome mentally patted herself on the back and laid her elbows on her bent knees, lying her chin on her interlocked hands with satisfaction.

“Your legs are hot, Miroku-sama! Too bad you’re wearing leggings.”

“L-leggings, K… Kagome-sama?” Miroku found it a bit hard to speak, turning his head stiffly to look down at the suddenly-confident girl. She nodded with a small smirk,” Leggings, Miroku-sama, kind of like… stretchy, tight-fitting pants.”

Miroku nodded with a shaky hum, turning completely to pat down the back of his robes, and suggested,” So just like your ‘p-ah-nts’, Kagome-sama?”

Kagome looked up, eyes brightening with awe as her smile widened. Miroku was coughing off his embarrassment kind of cutely, a gloved-and-beaded fist covered his mouth as he held out his left hand for her to grab. Dark indigo eyes roamed over her face with the faintest shade of pink dusting his cheeks, Kagome wasn’t too sure if she actually saw it. She blinked a couple of times, making sure to commit the image to memory before taking his hand.

“Just like my pants.”

He smiled at the new knowledge, though mocking a sigh as he took his staff from Kagome’s hands. Kagome smiled, knowing there was going to be a good reply in his attempt to save himself from the situation.

“Anyways, how shameless of you to peep on a holy monk such as myself,'' he chastised her jokingly. She just laughed and dusted off her pants.

“Forgive me, Miroku-sama, it’s easy to forget that you’re as saintly as they come.”

Intro | Chapter 1 | Chapter 3

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 4: Giggling, Giggling, and More Giggling

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Warning: Kind of similar to Chapter 1, Kagome’s getting better at thwarting the Monk O.O

Giggling, giggling, and more giggling. Usually she found the sound cute… when babies were doing it. Unfortunately, the laughter was not from small, helpless infants, not anywhere close. Kagome could feel her eyebrow twitch, her fist clench, and her patience running low. Who knew that she would get paired up with Miroku for the day. Especially in a village abundant in single women. Kami, is this a joke?

She tapped her foot against the ground, slightly impatient with a hint of something unfamiliar. She could practically hear his lecherous thoughts through all the giggling and chatter. Any second now, Kagome thought with a huff.

“Lovely miss, would you do me the honor of bearing my children?”

There it is, Kagome snickered. She thought back to the first time he asked her that question, What an odd day. Her hands tingled at the memory of his large, and very warm hands clasped over hers, the feeling of textured cloth and prayer beads over her left hand wasn't… terrible. She smiled in a stupor, leaning on a tree, before the daunting reality of what laid beneath the cloth and beads finally hit her as she stared at it, clasped around another woman's hands.

She sucked in a breath, all traces of anger fleeting… He could die right now, and nobody would be able to save him. All because of Naraku. How… How could Miroku act all okay? Like everything is fine, like he doesn't have an actual black hole in his hand that could kill him and anything in the vicinity. How can he just choose to stay with us, for all this time? How can he just smile and laugh, how can he just flirt shamelessly without receiving anything in return, how can he just be the Miroku that we know him as? Is this even who the real Miroku is? The thoughts of it gave her stomach a violent twist, her eyes looking for just the most miniscule indication of sadness or even fear in Miroku’s smile. There was none, at least not here. Just strong, captivating eyes and charmed smiles.

Her eyes started burning. No, she quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. Crying meant that Naraku won, that Miroku’s fate was sealed, and that was as far from the truth as Kagome could fight for. Naraku will never win. I won't let him. If Miroku can be strong, then so can I…

Her eyes focused on Miroku laughing with the village women and she chuckled. Kagome lifted herself from off the tree and calmly walked her way over, a slight bounce in her steps. I will fight for him and for everyone, but that doesn’t mean I can’t entertain him every step of the way. She cleared her throat and the giggles softened as the women's attention focused on her. They parted for Kagome, whispering into each other's ears in anticipation. Miroku noticed the silence and shifted his gaze to the center of their attention.

It was Kagome-sama, who looked quite different than usual when he was in the presence of village women. He waited for a slap, a glare, something. Anything. Kagome just smiled, brilliantly, respectfully, confidently. It was gorgeous.

What did I do to deserve this? Miroku couldn't help but smile back. She winked and flicked her wrist toward his face. It’s a slap?

She booped his nose instead, flicking the tip of his nose gently. Miroku stumbled in surprise, staff chiming in protest, as she turned to speak to the suddenly awed village women that he was just wooing a couple seconds ago. She grabbed the thin layers of his sleeve, and stuck her tongue out at them cheekily.

“I'm sorry ladies, I need to take my monk back. We have some things to take care of before we take our leave.”

They just nodded in response, giggles ensuing once again as they left the two alone. He raised a sharp eyebrow questionably but she shook her head, denying him an answer. He didn't mind, he could always figure it out. Miroku let a teasingly pleasurable smile shine at Kagome's gaze. She waited for his response.

“So, Kagome-sama, your monk?”

She stood frozen, mouth open to answer but her reeling thoughts got the better of her. She shook her head in mock disappointment and swiveled on her heels, away from Miroku’s calculating gaze.

“Of course you focus on unimportant details, Miroku-sama. We need to grab supplies so let's go!”

He chuckled at the clear embarrassment on her part. Her steps a little too loud to not be angry when he sped up his pace to keep up with her. He glanced at the side of her face, the smile didn't necessarily leave her face, which was strangely mood lifting.

They walked through various market stalls for a good couple of seconds, grabbing a few things and looking through some more items. It was peaceful but Miroku had a reputation to keep. His right hand twitched at a devious idea, beads clicking once against each other, as his palm made a straight beeline to her behind. A distinct screech greeted his ears and he grinned. Now that's more of a normal Kagome-sama response.

Intro | Chapter 3 | Chapter 5

Ayo Classic Zutara! Hopefully fans can hype this UP. Imagine an ending where these two ended the ATLA series. No Kiss but with the beginning of something.

I got both flipped versions. Anyone wanna do matching pfps??? >3<

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 6: Caught Ankles

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

They came as they heard. Rumors of beautiful women being taken away by hordes of demons instantly peaked Miroku’s interest and concern, the rest weren’t as motivated until whispers of jewel shards and possibly Kikyo’s involvement actually got Inuyasha going. That seemed to be enough for everybody.

How dumb, Kagome thought at the memory. Turns out that, yes, the women were beautiful, and yes, they were taken by hordes of demons. There was actually more than one jewel shard, but no sight of Kikyo. How did Kagome come across this information, you may ask? The girl just sighed, her ankles and wrists bound with rope, blood quickly rushing to her head, as her body hung upside down with even more rope. She got captured. Of course, she did. Someone had the brilliant idea to butter her up on a silver platter, call it her post-matchmaker Mulan moment.

Kagome didn’t think it would work, compared to the other scared, stunning women who happened to cross her way in the village but look at her now. She didn’t get the luxury of pants underneath and the unwelcome breeze on her legs was due to the fabric bunched by gravity and rope, panties out for the world to see.

She couldn’t see through her blindfold but she could guess by multiple counts of breathing that they were from the captured women, unconscious hopefully, hung in the same way around her. They weren’t hurt and she didn’t know why but she knew she had to escape. There was a flash of something in the room, the lighting in the room shifted along with a creak at her eyelevel. Were one of the women awake? Silence answered her, a shuffle of feet passing by greeted her from outside.

“Inuyasha will be here soon and everything will be ok.” Kagome’s voice was low as she reassured herself, strength gathered as she swung upward to catch the taut rope at her airborne feet.

“That’s a pretty flattering angle, Kagome-sama.” A voice came from above and Kagome missed the rope, swinging down violently. It was Miroku.

“Quiet, you!”

“Here, let me help.”

“Help the other women! That’s why you decided to go, right?”

There was silence, his staff must have been in another room. Kagome swung upward again, straining until she felt a hand guide hers to the rope holding her, prayer beads against her fingers. Miroku took off the fabric of her blindfold and smiled in reassurance. They were about a good ten to fifteen feet from the floor and Miroku was hanging above her rope from the cross beams. He shrunk back up and started crawling toward another set of rope.

“If you’re that insistent, that’s the extent of my help right now. I’ll get back to you soon, alright?”

Kagome nodded, hoping that her kimono was properly covering what needed to be covered at this point. Paying attention to the situation at hand, she heard faint sounds of a rope beside her being untangled as she ripped into the poorly made knots that separated and somehow connected her ankles. With a grunt, she freed one ankle. Who did these knots? Seriously. Her left leg dangled as she worked on her right, sweat peppering her face. The knot came undone but she forgot to secure herself. The air rushed from beneath her, her eyes closing with the anticipation of an impact, but her leg miraculously tangled into the rope. She fell before the end of the rope’s length stopped her, tightening on her ankle painfully. She swung wildly, dizzy and freely. How graceful, she huffed, hearing soft and uncontrollable laughter from above.

“I’m starting to think you do need my help, Kagome-sama.” She didn’t answer, hiding her reddened face in her still tied-up hands.

“Hold on, I’ll get you--Hnn!”

There was a series of rope snapping and tightening before a heavy weight was swinging just as wildly. Kagome just burst out in laughter at the glimpses of Miroku’s wide-eyed, embarrassed expression passing by like a pendulum. It took only a short time for him to slow down, Kagome’s hands reaching for his causing them to spin with Miroku’s remaining momentum. It took a bit for them both to calm down, the ropes twisting between the two of them. Though it was a little too close for comfort, Miroku’s arm ended up wrapped around her waist and Kagome’s bound wrists around his neck. She felt hot from laughing too hard, a blush on her cheeks, and a joking comment on her lips.

“I think you just fell for me.”

He paused at her small smirk.

“You fell first, Kagome-sama. So have you anything to confess?”

She paused at his wider smirk.

“Yeah. We gotta get out of here, can you untie my wrists? I can’t feel them.”

Miroku nodded, smile still stuck on his face, as he untangled the rope. They fell apart swinging, rope still miraculously stuck around their ankles, before the monk suggested,” How about you climb up and untangle the women and I’ll go down to catch them?”

“And leave them to your lecherous hands? Does that really sound like a good plan?”

“Better than leaving them up there for some demons.”

Her only response was a sigh and a slow climb to the cross beams connecting all of the ropes. Miroku jumped down with a silent huff and waited for falling angels to greet him. There was the first one, he caught her eagerly with every intention to rip the blindfold off of her. He looked with satisfaction at full lips and untied the blindfold. He yelped, catching Kagome’s attention, and almost dropped the girl in his arms.

“Oh! Oh my god, they’re…”

“Beautiful? Grope-able--?”

He glanced down at her awkward and enlarged features before putting her gently on the floor.

“Um...Not my type. Let’s just get this over with.”

She laughed as she played with the rope and then they started again. Untie, drop, catch. It was a cycle of work, each face worse than the last somehow. Was he imagining it? Each time, he would suck in a breath only to let it out in disappointment. He didn’t know how relieved he was when Kagome whispered, “Last one!”

He held out his arms half-heartedly but fell down at the force, it seemed to have dropped from a higher height than the others. Sighing out half of a lung, he practically had to wrench his eyes open and forcibly tilt his head down, looking down to stop at two startling pools of pretty blue.

“Kagome-sama?”

“I’m the last one!”

“Ah, what a sight for sore eyes...” She just giggled.

“Hmm… Kagome-sama, I think the demons are taking their beauty.”

“Or maybe that’s your excuses talking.”

Suddenly, chaotic noises echoing from the door outside had them separate at a reasonable distance as the door broke down. Inuyasha and Sango finally came.

“Those demons looked unnaturally pretty, Inuyasha-san. You don’t think they stole the women’s attractiveness, do you?”

Miroku gave Kagome a slightly smug look.

“Yeah, yeah, monk. You were right.”

“Thank you, Kagome-sama.”

Intro | Chapter 5 | Chapter 7