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

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 7: Body Pillow?

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Tired was an understatement, Kagome was completely and utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. Countless days and nights without proper sleep, full of bickering and fighting enemies and allies alike. It was draining, she couldn’t even remember the last time she actually got to rest. Sighing, she looked at the feeble campfire, throwing stray twigs in with the hope of absorbing the energy of the flames. Inuyasha wasted no time setting off into the forest, most likely to follow the scent of ash and clay, and the others settled into ‘bed’ after a small nibble of dinner and half-assed conversation. 

Everyone fell asleep quickly but Kagome’s eyes were glued open. Somehow she was too tired to actually sleep. Her behavior was strange enough, the lack of sleep made everything distorted and slow. Sort of like a drunk feeling. If that’s the right analogy. She rubbed her eyes, body straining at the simple action, before giving up halfway and staring to the right. Deep violet eyes greeted her from the other side of the campfire and she brightened up a bit. If there was a possibility that she couldn’t sleep tonight, at least she had company, and just like that she did her best to scooch her way--in her sleeping bag--to the smiling monk.

It was probably, no, definitely, the most inefficient way of doing it but she didn’t have the energy to really think about it. So there Kagome was, the smallest squishiest caterpillar with the dopiest smile, settling down as Miroku watched with a mirthful grin.

“Enjoying yourself, Kagome-sama?”

“Not sure, are you?” He glanced at her glassy eyes and the stress indented into her skin before looking up at the stars.

“Hmm, tough inquiry. But with you, I might as well be.” Kagome yawned, she couldn’t really think about what he said seriously. Whether it was just a formality or if there was something more, she stashed it away in her brain for later. His voice suddenly seemed to play on repeat and she couldn’t dissuade the strangely smoky tone for some odd reason. The words came before the thought did.

“Did you know that you have, like, a really nice voice?” Miroku quirked a brow at the compliment. Sure, he got the same compliments from many women but somehow hearing her say it felt heavier, full of value and warmth rather than a shallow comment. It was hard to word what he felt as he gazed into Kagome’s eyes, curious, mellow purple met dazed, giddy blue.

“Yes, I’ve heard many say that my voice is really nice, as you put it. But what about you?” She scrunched her nose and slumped back onto the tree trunk supporting the both of them, still looking at the still monk.

“What about me?” He got a little close, probably too close if she was in the right state of mind.

“Did you know that you have beautiful blue eyes?” She huffed good-heartedly, pushing him back slightly through her sleeping bag, a blush staining her cheeks. His eyes crinkled at her reaction and he settled back into his spot.

“Oh, you tease. Is that how you get all your lady friends?” 

She wiggled her eyebrows goofily, causing him to chuckle.

“Not at all. Only my special lady friend.” She didn’t register that fully but still answered, “Ooooh, lucky me.”

“Quite the opposite actually. I believe I happen to be the lucky one, Kagome-sama.” She smiled and lazily looked up, stars twinkling out in the open unlike the foggy nights in the future.

“You’re quite the charmer.”

“Thank you, I only learn from the best.”

“And who’s that?” She looked back at him, watching his lips form into a cheesy smirk.

“Me.” 

“Of course, it’s you. Hey, you think you can give me lessons?” 

She couldn’t resist a giggle and he, in turn, wiggled his own eyebrows.

“Sure, I could give you some private lessons.”

“Maybe some other time.’’

“Hmm, sure. I don't believe you’ll have the same mindset in the morning.”

“I’m just tired, Miroku-sama, not drunk. Besides I’m underage.”

He tilted his head with a quirked brow, and they shifted into a weirdly comfortable silence. Kagome felt more relaxed, happy even, maybe she’ll get some sleep tonight. Feeling a bit giddy, she unintentionally started looking at Miroku’s face. He was, indeed, attractive. High cheekbones, sharp jawline, he was angular but soft but she just really admired his eyes, swirling violet purple with long lashes. It was almost distracting enough to hide everything else…

Dazed spell broken, she furrowed her brows. Stressed wrinkles from a lifelong burden smoothed at night, dark, sunken eye bags, and a certain hardness suddenly popped out and she felt the urge to say, to do, something. Without a word, she scooched closer to Miroku, knees touching, and poked her hand out of the sleeping bag. He looked at her hand, eyes illuminating in the silence.

“When’s the last time you’ve slept properly, Miroku-sama?” Just asking the question made him deflate from the façade of ease he kept.

“I’m not too sure. Does it matter?”

She pouted, unintentionally a bit childish and cute. 

“To me, it does. If you can’t, I can’t, so take responsibility.”

“I wish I could, Kagome-sama. If you asked me maybe 5 years ago, I could have.”

His words felt bitter, just like the sudden crease in her eyebrows, and she felt helpless. Using her lack of sleep to excuse her sudden irrationality, she wiggled out of her sleeping bag, dug into her misshapen yellow bag and procured a large blanket. She threw the blanket over the unsuspecting monk with a fancy flourish and shimmied back into her own sleeping bag.

“Any better?” His lip twitched into a barely-smile and he mocked a sigh.

“Yes, maybe, but I do wish for the physical comfort of a beautiful woman by my side though.” 

“Pity, is it easier to sleep sitting like that or you ok with lying down?”

“Lying down is a nice luxury and yes, it is quite a shame…” His words dragged on as she scooched further along the tree and patted her leg with an expectantly warm smile. His expression asked the question for him.

 “I’m female, sooo…..?” He didn’t understand.

“....Soooo?”

“....Body pillow?”

“...Body… pillow. What a strange offering to a holy man, Kagome-sama.”

The insinuation jumped over her head.

“Oh hush, I’m tired. The offer stands for a short time period, so take it while you can!” After considerable silence, she feared she just ruined her wonderful friendship with the man in front of her but physically beamed when he hesitantly lowered his head onto her lap. Hands out of her sleeping bag, she yawned and adjusted his blanket, watching him turn slightly to look away from her. She hummed in confusion, catching his slightly reddened ears, and grinned.

“Feeling embarrassed, Miroku-sama?”

“... No. It’s not often when a beautiful woman willingly engaged with me.”

“You know I prefer ‘special lady friend’ over ‘beautiful woman’.” He glanced over at Kagome for a quick second, barely-smile widening just a tiny bit. Kagome returned the smile, lightly combing her fingers through his hair.

“...Thank you, Kagome.” The gratitude went beyond just the comfort of physical contact, how far, Kagome didn’t know but she felt closer to the monk in this moment after two years of knowing him. She felt his breath even out and his body loosen.

“Good night and sweet dreams, Miroku-sama.”

It didn’t take long for her eyes to shut, hand rested securely on his tense shoulders.

Intro | Chapter 6 | Chapter 8

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

T.Y.O.M. Chapter 8: Battle, Exercise, and Poison

Pairing: Miroku x Kagome

Warning: I like joking about near-death drama a lot so all this emotional depth (if any) is just weak lol

The battle came out of nowhere, as did many fights have before, but something about this one seemed off. Maybe it was because she was somehow five times more clumsier than usual, maybe it was because Naraku showed up for the briefest second, screwing up any stable mentality the group had at the moment, or maybe it was because the stupid horde of demons managed to overpower and separate their group with a surprise attack in the goddamned rain.

Sango in one direction, murderous fire tattooed onto her face, and Inuyasha in another, a forlorn look in his features as familiar ebony hair whipped through the forest away from the others. Shippo and Kirara somehow trailed after Sango in a panic as claws and fangs tore the air to shreds, keeping Kagome from following them. All which happened in a matter of probably five minutes.

She would be lying if she said her legs weren’t screaming as breaths were harder to make without gasping as water pelted against her face heavily. Their situation was pretty bad, she knew it, hand in hand with the infamously lecherous but wounded monk, running deeper to god-knows-where in the security of the forest. He had protected her from a cowardly attack from behind when she tried to shoot one of Inuyasha’s many enemies. The blood was too much, more than she had seen in her life and she couldn’t help but squeeze Miroku’s slippery hand at the thought of his actions, feeling the beads dig into her palm as he swerved quickly in an attempt to throw off their pursuers. The attempt was useless really, his fresh wounds were just the bait thrown to the wolves. The leaves rustled crazily from each side, pushing them further uphill as snarls bit at their heels.

Kagome’s eyebrows furrowed as he stumbled over his robes, she was scared that Miroku wouldn’t make it to safety without fainting. Her arrows ran out a long time ago--turns out she still wasn’t a hell of a shot yet--and she wasn’t ready to face off hungry demons with a bloody metal staff and a misshapen patchy backpack in the rain. Yeah, the rain isn’t exactly her favorite at the moment.

“Miroku-sama?”

He grunted softly as a sort of involuntary response, tugging her hand as gently as he could while nursing his side to avoid an attacker pouncing from the left, who slid into the bushes on the other side with the rain’s assistance.

“I’ll be fine. Let’s worry about escaping alive, hm? You could do without those wet clothes.”

Without so much as a breathless squeak of surprise and a discreet shirt shifting, they continued on, Kagome worryingly catching up to the slightly dizzy monk as they burst through the clearing. Miroku fell to the ground, splashing against the mushy grass and skidding with a painful ‘oof’ as Kagome tripped on top of him--she was looking at the edge of the ground where it cut off into the view of the sky and the forest below. Water rushed in front of them from a wide river into a very steep waterfall. It’s usually clear liquid stained with brown, leaves and fallen branches muddling the river as it fell over the edge. With a glance over the edge, there was nothing but trees, stray branches along the walls of the waterfall, and a small pool covered in rocks continuing dangerously further down below. It had to be at least a 30 foot drop.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry, Miroku-sama. Will you be ok?”

Quickly spinning to his feet in a proper defensive stance, Miroku shrugged off her apology and narrowed his eyes at the mutated demons closing in by the waves---almost as chaotically as the river behind them. He grabbed his abandoned staff as a crutch and Kagome flanked his side, slightly trembling---from the cold or from fear, she didn’t know. Surrounding them was just a line of fangs, claws, and drool that inched through the bushes, their tongues flickering at the droplets of dark red left behind as their eyes flashed a similar shade. Kagome instinctively reached for her arrows, fingers grasping at air and water droplets aimlessly. She forgot she ran out, looking quickly to the taller monk as if to ask ‘what’s the plan now’. Miroku looked ready to rip off his prayer beads, already pushing her behind him before a hazy hum droned out from all directions. Poison bugs, damn. She furrowed her brows again helplessly but his expression didn’t change, the grit he put into clenching his jaw contrasted greatly against his clammy, pale complexion. The haunting flutter of their wings didn’t seem to deter the monk, in fact, it only drew him on as he shifted to unravel the beads. Kagome pulled at his hand.

“Miroku-sama, you can’t--!”

“We have no other choice, Kagome-sama! Stay behind me and hold on. Please.”

He slung off the beads, pulling Kagome tight against his side as the void in his hand prickled and expanded. The wind howled, pulling in the suddenly submissive predators and any obstacles without much effect. They managed to dig their nails into the softened dirt as the hovering bugs were sucked in, drawing poison into his veins as he staggered back in pain. He motioned Kagome to move behind him as he brought his other hand to support his slightly trembling arm. About thirty of the demons fell in, their last words being indistinguishable screams mixed with inhumane whining but the bugs wouldn’t stop coming. Kagome noticed, feeling the muscles slacken in Miroku’s back, as he went under a dizzying spell.

Kagome had to stop him before he killed himself, eyes burning as she dug her fingers hard into his soaked robes. Knowing Inuyasha would chew her thin for her recklessness, she shook her head in resolve and swiped the bloodied prayer beads from his whitened grip. He protested, hints of anger and panic in his voice, as she brushed her unoccupied hand along the length of his right arm and clasped his fingers closed underneath hers with force. The dark abyss disappeared as their hands glowed light pink, rubble and leftover forestry falling as the indescribable force faded. In shock, he could only watch as she moved with a once-in-a-lifetime grace to twist her body and her grip to wrap his wrist with the beads in a way she had seen him do hundreds of times.

Rain almost freezing in time, they stared at each other, blue eyes fiery and almost challenging while deep violet dimmed in response. The bugs fled in a swarm into the dark sky and the snarls of the still overwhelming and recovered group of demons brought back their attention. Biting his lip, Miroku went back to applying pressure on his wound as he edged backwards, causing Kagome to follow.

“So what’s the... pla---...n… Kagome-sama?”

He drew out the last syllable, allowing himself to lean on her lightly when she nudged his side. She didn’t necessarily plan what to do after. His eyes squinted against the sprinkle of rain, jumping back when one of the demons snapped forward. Their pursuers continued their slow, predatorial pace, cornering the two further against the edge. It was only till Kagome felt her feet brush against the edge when she sucked in a deep breath and froze. The seconds slowed into impossible lengths, the thudding of her heart faded as Miroku’s heart thumped loudly in her ear. Ba-bump… Ba-bump… Ba….Bump… There’s no other way, he can’t go on like this. She quickly felt her way down his arms and squeezed his hand, stressed tears pricking at her eyes.

“Ok, we gotta go.”

It sounded more tender than she’d like.

“Go?”

She nodded, warily eyeing the enclosing rows of demons.

“Mhm. Down there… Can you swim?”

“Sw...im? I can... certainly try for a pretty… lady.”

She couldn’t help but let a frantic giggle pass her lips, he probably didn’t even know what she was talking about.

“On the count of three.”

“Alright, fairly confident that… I can count that much, Kagome-... sama.”

Gathering Miroku’s staff, her backpack, and her partially useless weapon, she smiled at his comment and threw their stuff over the edge and away from the water. She could see it, the muscles tensing from beneath layered skin or matted fur as their eyes narrowed. They’re going in for the kill. Without a second to lose, she scrapped the thought of counting and leapt backwards, dragging the surprised, yet barely conscious monk with her.

“Kagome-sama, wait--!”

The wind whipped through her hair, lashing around her face as she hugged Miroku close to her body, hand protecting his head against her chest as he held onto her tightly. They fell fast, the rain surrounding them as they probably plummeted to their deaths. Eyes fluttering shut, she curled slightly into him, tightening her grip on him to keep them close, and prayed.

The water was harsh and cold, dragging them along like ragdolls along the strong overflowing current as Kagome struggled to swim to shore with additional deadweight. He would still paddle every now and then, filling Kagome with more energy and purpose. She had to get them somewhere safe and fast. Blinking her eyes against the stubborn water droplets, she felt the current ease only for a second and guided Miroku onto the shore before joining him in a less graceful heap. She stayed there only to catch her breath, then checked Miroku’s breathing--which was a tired but still teasing huff in her ear, how he managed that was beyond God at this point--and quickly guided him back in the direction of the waterfall.

His hand rested against any stray trees along their path as his breaths finally appeared labored, he couldn’t see much as black dots and blurring filled his vision but hummed when Kagome leaned him against what seemed like a cave’s entrance. He sunk slowly and closed his eyes, blinking in and out of consciousness as his hand found its way onto his wound again, the poison pricking all over his body finally affecting the fluidity of his body as Kagome ran out into the forest.

The seconds ticked by, warmth somehow draining but filling him as the color faded from his usually tan skin. The trickling of rainwater from outside of the cave felt calm, almost too calm, but he redirected his focus on mediating his heartbeat and strength. The poison must’ve spread quickly through their little water adventure and he wasn’t exactly in the healthiest condition, wound screaming in his attempt to stay awake. Without a pause, he felt clumsy footsteps coming closer and relaxed his muscles with a small, strained smile. She didn’t hesitate to throw her bag down, along with the miraculously intact bow and staff and a pile of mostly dry sticks and herbs, before digging in as if her life depended on it. Well his did, so it was completely justified. Seemingly finding what he needed first, she crouched next to him and popped open the cap. It looked to be a strange, sterile liquid, similar to the first time he managed to get poisoned.

“Oh Kagome-sama, I don’t think I have the strength to drink this all myself. Would you be open to--”

“Miroku-sama, you still got time to joke around?”

He noticed the slightest quiver in her voice as her sniffles became more audible, completely gluing his tongue to the roof of his mouth when he met her reddened eyes.

“It’s going to be alright, Kagome-sama. So maybe asking for mouth-to-mouth transfer is a bit too extreme…” He took a hold of the bottle, placed his hands over hers on the small container, and continued, ”How about just helping me?”

She only nodded, adjusting her position, and pushed the bottle against his lips. It went down smoothly and he leaned his head back, it felt better to rest his eyes. He let her drape a towel over him before dragging everything closer to his still form. Various little noises echoed through the shallow cave, a fire started after a couple minutes of silence and then a soft bubbling of something being boiled in a small pot with additional grinding of rocks creating a pulp with a familiar herbal aroma.

“Um..”

“Yes, Kagome-sama?”

“Are you ok to take off your clothes by yourself?”

“How bold, Kagome-sama--”

“Not like that!”

She was blushing, and he couldn’t help but feel relieved, it was more her than the hysterical girl she was earlier. He untied the knot on his robe, slowly shrugging his torso free from the fabric. It peeled slightly around the slowly clotting wounds, causing Miroku to wince and Kagome to forget about how his body was unfairly toned. Sucking in air through his teeth, he scooched closer to the fire, basking in the warmth as the light flickers over his skin. He didn’t notice Kagome settling in beside him until he felt a warm washcloth against his side. It didn’t hurt but it startled him enough to whip his head toward her.

“Sorry. Can I treat it?”

He nodded, turning slightly to give her better access as he tried to dry himself off with one hand. It was a fairly long process, cleaning, crying, comforting, applying ointment and herbs, and then dressing it. He only paid attention to the smallest brush of contact and the way her breath fanned across his torso as she felt more comfortable to fill the silence with rants about what just happened and then her Future problems. The pain flickered every now and then but the Future’s ‘painkillers’ seemed to help similar to a multitude of herbs he couldn’t name at the moment, the only difference was that it was making him quite drowsy.

“I’m probably boring you, huh?”

“As a holy monk, our lifelong mission is to seek and spread knowledge under the guidance of God… and personally I’d love to hear more about these ‘planes of air’, they seem quite revolutionary!”

So she continued, wrapping each layer of the bandages with tender care with a recovered sparkle in her eyes. He didn’t know it was over until fingers lightly trailed over his shoulders, his arms, and his face to finish off the little scrapes left over and she became more animated in her explanations while drying out his hair. She even dried out a blanket and placed it near the fire for him, giggling too as she tucked in his mostly naked form with another blanket. She hung his robes out on the other side of the fire as the silence filled the cave, leaving only the raspy breaths and the crackles of the reasonably small fire.

They looked at each other, eyebrows comically wiggling in an intimate conversation before he smiled, words already sent telepathically into her head.

“...Don’t thank me, I didn’t do anything. In fact, you almost died because of me.”

“Well, I don’t think I have to ask you to guess who also saved my life earlier, Kagome-sama.”

She smiled softly, almost as if to say ‘ok, I’ll give up only because you’re literally gonna die otherwise’, and he quirked one of his eyebrows cockily. Looking outside, Kagome sighed before a small sneeze escaped her. Miroku looked at her again, eyes glued at a certain spot with a sputter as he gave her a strangely familiar look. She tilted her head slightly. Something about it was off… It wasn’t cocky like earlier and it’s not necessarily happy either. Somehow it gave her the creeps.

“Gesundheit, Kagome-sama…”

“Um, thanks.”

She squinted her eyes in suspicion as he smiled even wider.

“You seem to still be quite wet, that is to say your clothes leave little to the imaginati--”

“Holy CRAP! You perv, look away! I swear to Kami, when you get better I’m going to beat the living daylights out of you.”

She covered her shivering form with what little dignity she could as her face grew hot. It caused him to chuckle as she ran over and pulled the blanket over his face with a speed that rivaled Inuyasha’s. Keeping the blanket over the laughing pervert with her foot, she quickly pulled off her clothing and attempted to hop into her dry pajamas. It proved to be quite difficult as she tripped on her pant leg, landing on his exposed arm.

“Oh jeez!”

“That stung. Although I have to confess black is such a suitable color on you, Kagome-sama--! Ah!”

“Oh. My. God. I’m going to kill you!”

“Well keep your clothes off if I’m going to die--!”

He was silenced with a soft yet stern flick on his forehead that basically promised a very foreseeable death and he slowly drew the sheet off his face to meet eye to eye with a scarily beautiful sight. Upside down pursed lips, pink dusted cheeks, and lively blue eyes plus a messy job of putting on a shirt.

“Ooh, what a scary angel.”

“Oh please, just as human as any person here…”

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly, leaning even closer to brush her forehead against his.

“I think you have a fever, Miroku-sama.”

“Take care of me?”

She huffed lightly at his cheesy smile, flicking his forehead again before getting up.

“Already on it, ya nasty perv!”

Intro | Chapter 7 | Chapter 9

Lukanette but make it Avatar AU? Inspired by the dance party with one of the fire nation colony schools episode.

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<