T.Y.O.M. Chapter 13: He Felt Alive

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 13: He Felt Alive

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Kagome was never one for photos. With an old disposable camera at home, developing the photos or even buying extra cameras were a hassle that she didn’t want to indulge. Why take pictures when you can just enjoy the moment as it is? Maybe it was her naivety that was fueling her irrational irritation but she just didn’t find the use of a camera very useful.

She looked at the cursed camera in her hand and sighed. Out of all the places, it was  stuffed at the bottom of her yellow backpack. She didn’t bother asking how it survived everything that bag went through as memories of her bag being dropped in the river, tumbling over a cliff, and being thrown off her bike in the fields of Japan emerged in her head. It was a miracle of its own.

“When did you even get in there?”

“When did what get in where, Kagome-sama?”

Miroku settled down next to her, the shade providing good reason for their interaction. She welcomed the single clap of a paper fan in his hand as it blew soft, cool air over the two. His movements were relaxed and his hand was busy with the fan so she didn’t feel the need to move.

“I’m talking about this.”

She plopped the instant film camera into his lap and dropped herself back onto the grass. What was I looking for again, she thought as the soft sunlight bleeding through the leaves of the tree distracted her. It was a warm, sunny day. No shards, no stress. Inuyasha’ forest, left alone, looked the same the day she met the hanyou himself and she admired its tenacity. Without air pollution, the air was more bearable. It was humid but it was also all the more delightful. It caused a healthy tint in her deprived skin and she relished the calm that followed the smallest of breezes that teased the greenery around her. Various small blades of grass tickled her ear, the breeze tingling on her partially exposed skin, and she wiggled her toes in her sandals. Her eyelids closed to bask in the warmth.

“...I would be willing to praise an ordinary box if you were any ordinary woman. Anything given to me by a woman is bound to be fascinating enough, of course, but I have a feeling this is more than your average box, Kagome-sama.”

Kagome’s lips didn’t move at first. She stretched lightly, like an indoor cat under the sun, and his eyes followed her small movements without a word. With a small peek at the man beside her, she said, “It’s a specific type of camera. It captures still, beautiful moments and keeps them forever in photographs if you save them. Like a painting but more detailed than that, if that makes sense. Instead of taking hours, days or even months to finish, it takes only a second and you have an instant copy of what you can see with your eyes. It’s very accurate, some cameras need people to develop the actual photo because it doesn’t store it in the camera itself, but mine sort of copies it as soon as the picture is taken. It’s rather finicky with sun exposure so I’m not a huge fan myself but it’s a nice thing to have for memories.”

By the end of her spiel, she had scooched next to the monk with her legs tucked under her. He had a pretty funny expression on his face and she couldn’t resist pulling herself closer to admire it for a good laugh. It was a mixture of disbelief and childlike wonder. She’d like to imagine smoke escaping his ears from the heat of overstimulated curiosity but there was something about the way his eyes shimmered at the future artifact that made her warm up considerably.

“That IS fascinating! Think about all of the women I could capture with this handy little device!”

She smacked his arm playfully. The light quirk of his brow showed none of the ill will described in his words and he carefully placed the camera back into her hands. Any questions he had were stowed away for future sleepless nights.

“I’ll bring some books for you to read later, Miroku-sama. They might explain them a lot better.”

He hummed but internally disagreed. He liked the way she skipped over the details and bounced on the exciting bits. It was just like her to focus on the big picture, especially with such a gap in functionality and innovation in their time periods. Right, time periods. Did the world really change this fast?

“Thank you for sharing this with me, Kagome-sama.”

The way he froze earned him a wary glance from Kagome, who in turn tried to lighten the air.

“No worries, I can’t hog all the comforts of the Future to myself.”

“If you insist, but the things we are capable of--- It’s incredible! I mean, a tool that captures moments before your very eyes and provides living proof of the existence of that specific memory. I couldn’t imagine anything better than that.”

There was a wistful glint in his eyes, hands forming grand gestures as to enhance his wonder and underlying desolation. She swallowed the list of examples that she knew would deepen his overwhelming display of fascination at the subtle hints of bitterness in his voice and reached out her hand to squeeze his. With a soft breath, he collected himself smoothly, the transition between his frenzied erect pose to a cooler laze in his posture practically invisible as though his spiel hadn’t just happened merely moments before.

“Your world…”, he offered a small twitch on the corner of his lip,” It sounds wonderful.”

“It’s your world too, Miroku-sama.”

He blew a small breath from his nose, amused, at her words and the air cooled over her cheeks. She felt the ridiculousness of her words and felt her heart twist. The thought of a future, her Future especially, was something Miroku didn’t have the luxury of exploring. He was chained to this time, to a mortal body and a curse that threatened to pull him under with each growing day, and the well only opened for her and Inuyasha… She could feel her slipping never ending void of depression, one she was sure she could see Miroku delving into before her, but quickly collected herself---though not as smoothly as her well-seasoned friend. Willing herself to think like Kagome, she felt a burst of renewed love for her camera and her Future luxuries, as well as her Kagome-brand positivity, and squeezed her hand over Miroku again, the fan in their grip crinkling softly.

“I would love to show you sometime.”

Breaking out of his ever growing and dark trance, he simply quirked a brow at her words, no doubt questioning her line of thought. They both knew their limits. With a soft smile, she shook her head as to assure confidence in her claim and scooched closer to the man beside her.

“Well, we know I can’t promise immortality, Kami knows we haven’t reached that answer in my time nor can I promise passage to my time…”

He just nodded, resigned to their conclusion, but she wasn’t finished.

“...I think we can start with this.”

She held out her camera for him to see, the smallest glimmer of wonder returned to his eyes and she grinned.

“And I do remember promising a certain monk with books? There’s an endless stock of them just waiting for you---”

Fiddling with the knobs, she continued listing the many ways she could provide the feudal-tweaked tour of the Future, quickly placed a practiced arm around Miroku’s shoulders and brought him close. Quietly thanking her friends’ recent obsession with polaroids and instant film cameras and months of selfie practice, she gave the bewildered monk a quirked brow of her own.

“Just look at the circle here,” she pointed at the lens, “try not to blink---it can get brighter than my flashlight, and… Smile?”

He only tilted his head at her as she redirected her gaze into the open lens. With a giggle, she bumped his shoulder and smiled into the camera.

“Say cheese.”

It came out softer than she expected but she heard him mirror her words and pressed the shutter button. With a small flinch, she untangled herself from him, suddenly warmer at the contact and the barest flash of summer’s heat, and waved the camera around, urging it to develop faster. She chuckled at the laser focus he projected onto the offending camera, unanimated once the picture popped out of the bottom slit.

“Eyes over here, Miroku-sama!”

She thrusted the film into his hands and leaned over to watch the magic happen. As if his gradually shaking hand were any sign of his impression, she took in his sharp inhale as a positive and grinned when their faces emerged from a sea of white.

“What…?”

She quickly became bursting with excitement at his awe and shook his shoulders.

“That’s us!”

Eyes flickering between her bouncing form to the developing photo in his hands, he shook his head vigorously in disbelief.

“I--- How? This isn’t some late joke that I wasn’t privy to, is it? Kagome-sama?”

“Nope, call it Future magic, if you want, but that is the real deal! You couldn’t fake that famous Miroku-rat-tail anywhere!”

With a slowly growing upturn of his lips, he looked down at her and let out a semi-splintered laugh. It was like time froze, a picture developed before her and she wished her camera had the ability to capture the view before her. The way the light bounced off the curves of his face and the smallest smile to grace his face, with soft wind-tousled hair, and a relaxed but truly juvenile admiration air that surrounded Miroku. It was something she didn’t realize she needed from this very broken, lonely man and she willed the memory to dig itself into her most conscious of memory banks.

“It’s yours.”

As soon as it came, the picture in front of her shifted as he glanced back at the photo, barely pinching the edges as if it were a fragile, precious child.

“I couldn’t possibly…”

She could feel his hesitation and patted his shoulder once more. “I insist. Plus…”

She stilled as to fix her gaze on the man. He quickly returned it at her pause and her smile turned cheeky, replicating a familiar smirk that came after a successful fondle.

“It’ll be the first of many! I intend to follow through with my promises.”

With a resigned shake of his head, one of weathered joy, he leaned back onto the grass, as if drained from his child-like behavior and new found discoveries and delicately inserted the polaroid into the folds of his robes, the empty hand then traveling up to cover his face.

“I’ll hold you to that, Kagome-sama.”

At the slightest tremor in his rather smooth voice, she leaned down next to him and looked up to the sky.

“I’ll expect no less with your persistent disposition! I just don’t know where to start! I have some of my school textbooks back at Kaede’s, there are a lot of developmental topics, general and theoretical, or even philosophical, content and intros to some of the basic stuff that I can go over with you. Anything you find interesting, I can swing by the library to pick up too. I find that other cultures from around the world to be particularly enlightening, maybe you would like to browse the religious impacts and ideology first? Of course, I can tickle your fossilized taste buds with the luxuries of Future fine-dining for cheap at the convenience store---”

She rambled on and on, things reminding her of even more things, as a loose plan formed. She wasn’t aware it quickly became a one-woman speech but he didn’t have the energy to reply. He basked in the bubble that Kagome created, almost seeing everything she described in front of his eyes, breath slowing, speeding, and tensing at every turn. He felt alive.

Intro | Chapter 12 | Chapter 14

Resident Frosty Boy....? Not sure what I wanted to accomplish here but he’s cool (like ice, someone stop me)

Also pretend his staff transformed into a snowboard or something idk

“Just a little while longer... You haven’t saved anyone yet, Deku.” 

Ch. 306 is going to kill me. Anyway here’s vigilante Deku! AGED UP! So this is legal o.o

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

Too good. I love it

concept: willy wonka and harry potter take place in the same universe the ministry of magic haaaates Willy Wonka

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 5: Oh, Just Find a Healer, Miroku-sama

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Kagome’s ankle throbbed uncomfortably. Out of all the reasons, she happened to be running away from a band of demons and tripped, twisting her ankle on one of the demon soldiers’ decapitated heads, foot in their rotting mouth and everything. Looking around, she found herself alone and weak. Everyone was too busy fighting, even her little baby Shippo. 

Her heart sunk at the crashing and burning pain and insecurities of her own helplessness. Heat crept up her neck, she couldn’t breath under the weight despite her lungs crying for oxygen. She dug her nails into her palms to ground herself but tears welled up in her eyes, she tried so hard to not drag everyone down, but damn it, it was already happening. Her throat itched to scream but she bit down hard on her hand. She’d have to apologize for the needless abuse of her appendages later, she couldn’t risk drawing attention to herself. The demons might come back for her.

Kagome leaned heavily against a nearby tree, testing her ankle. Her unharmed leg shook as she played around with the weight distribution. Hey… It isn’t so bad-- Nope! She groaned, jerking her injured leg away from the offending floor, she can’t even protect the future correctly and now she was going to die at the hands of a weak demon army. Oh Kami, why me?

A dismayed yelp caught her attention and she reluctantly sprung toward that direction, all darkness and apparent pain plaguing her gone. Limping, she notched an arrow on her trusty, surprisingly not broken, bow. The scene before her was just as expected. Inuyasha was fighting fiercely against waves of blood-thirsty demons, swinging his Tessaiga in purposeful albeit reckless movements. Sango and Kirara were the definition of a ruthless, perfect tag-team, slaying various demons left and right. They worked in perfect unison, exposing the center where Miroku was impressively holding up on his own with an injured Shippo at his side, his staff chiming against the blunt force and spiritual sutras thrown with precision. Kagome aimed, projecting a single emotion into the arrowhead, and shot straight through an enemy’s heart.

The arrow flashed, burning bright and pink and dissolving the demons' cries as the impact brought out a weak wave of pure energy. It burned a nearby evil entity, causing it to hiss and focus their attention on her. She froze, the hungry, malevolent look in its eyes was far too unnatural due to its hunger for power. She quickly notched another arrow, aiming only to miss the target rapidly approaching her. She narrowed her eyes, fear fueling her currently weakened ankle, as she grabbed another arrow and ran toward her pursuer. Another burst of her reckless courage, she would later guess. The demon’s bloodlust brought on more demons, all chasing after her slower-paced form. She didn’t connect the shaft to the bow string though, catching the eyes of her teammates. Inuyasha called out to her in protest but she didn’t stop to listen, not this time. Her heart pounded, blood rushing and emotions flying, she already decided. She was going to bring these demons down, she will prove herself worthy of her team. Letting out a warcry, the arrow pulsated, energy multiplying magnificently as pink enveloped her hand. She quickly ducked under the aggressive demon’s hand and stabbed its corrupted heart, gaining deep scratches from another’s claws. The effect was instantaneous, the pulsing energy from the arrow spread to the close vicinity of various demons. Cries of agony rang in her ears as she curled underneath herself, predicting another painful backlash. It didn’t come.

“What…?”

Kagome heard herself utter, glancing at the protective figure in front of her. She expected the heavily saturated red of Inuyasha’s robes and was suddenly shocked at the deep shades of purple instead. It was soothing. “Miroku...sama?” He grunted against the force of a particularly nasty snake demon, quickly assessing her with his unusually swirling eyes.

“Are you alright, Kagome-sama?!”

Kagome nodded, voice too stuck in her throat to properly reply. He didn’t see it, mumbling chants and smacking his golden staff against snarling mouths and vicious claws. After another whine from a nearby wounded demon, Miroku found a small opening between defense and offense and put up a quick spiritual shield. It's a bit fainter. He must have already used Kazaana when I tripped.

“You were limping when you ran, Kagome-sama. Is your ankle alright?”

Good eye, the cheeky-- She shook her head.

"It's a bit hurt right now. I… I tripped over a decapitated head, I think you could see teeth marks if you look hard enough.” Miroku let a small amused look pass through his otherwise battle-ready expression before Inuyasha leapt between the monk and another wave of demons, his weapon sparking against the onslaught of claws and swords.

“Take Kagome and Shippo! We can take care of it from here.”

“Inuyasha! I’m not helpless! I can help here just fin--Whoa!”

Miroku seemed to have swept Kagome up, hands at a respectable distance due to the impulsiveness of his action. She protested at first, her hand already grabbing hold of his chiming staff as prayer beads dug into her lower thighs. He was fast, inhumanly so, causing her breath and her dying comment to catch in her throat. With an unconscious Shippo safely in her hold, Kagome felt blood pool at the edge of her uniform shirt. Her adrenaline made no sense of the pain, blood smearing on Miroku’s staff in her hands. Seconds past, but it felt like time slowed down between them.

“Miroku-sama.”

“Yes? What is it?” His breath was oddly composured despite running a considerable distance with additional weight and fighting against a demon army just moments before.

“I think you’re bleeding.”

“What do you mean, Kagome-sama?”

“There’s blood.” 

Now she was the one who was breathless. Why? Miroku stopped for a second, assessing the blood that seeped into his own robes. Something must have happened, Kagome thought, watching his eyes narrow with concern before he fixed a reassuring smile on his face. It didn’t look right.

“What’s wrong, Miroku-sama? Forget to grope me?”

Her vision blurred and Miroku laughed with a hint of hysteria, running again. His pace was faster than before.

“Yes, Kagome-sama. I did. There’s a village nearby, I’ll take my chances there.”

They reached the skirts of said nearby village, but by that time, Kagome was feeling a bit lightheaded.

“Miroku-sama.”

“Yes? What is it?”

Kagome scrunched up her nose faintly, this conversation sounded familiar.

“I think I’m bleeding.”

Miroku’s grip was tight on her form and she couldn’t focus on anything else really. The pain finally seeped into her consciousness and all she could think was that Miroku’s prayer beads was surely leaving marks on her skin.

“Hey, filthy hands off, Miroku-sama. You could corrupt Shippo.”

A chuckle was her only response as his grip relaxed. She laughed along too, humored by the ridiculous situation, before gazing up at him. He was close. Warm. His eyes, as lovely as they undeniably were, looked odd. In fact, he looked concerned. Oh, we can't have that.

Wasting no time, Kagome brought her unbloodied left hand and squeezed Miroku’s right bicep softly. Humming appreciatively, she nodded with satisfaction, gaining the monk's attention from searching for herbs or otherwise help.

“Nice muscles, monk.”

“I… Now who's groping who?” She had the strength to actually blush, retracting her hand quickly to her chest.

“Oh, just find a healer, Miroku-sama!”

Intro | Chapter 4 | Chapter 6