Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Waiting on a Wish	By : Quillwing717 Category: InuYasha > General Views: 42890 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
Chapter 13

The city of Tokyo spent the day after the worst rogue
attack in decades in utter chaos. News reports focused
repeatedly--and sometimes excessively--on the events and casualties
of the previous night. Politicians argued publicly, newspapers
reported growing unrest with the Alliance and its actions, water
cooler chats across the city swelled with the wildest of
speculations…and, inexplicably, the Alliance itself was
mysteriously absent from the debate--closed off, unavailable for
comment, and inaccessible to even the highest-level government
officials.

Neither InuYasha nor Kagome were aware of any of it.

By
unspoken agreement, they spent the day shut away together, locked
snugly within the walls of her apartment. The television stayed off,
the radio unplugged, and the door closed tight as they ignored the
world around them. Later that morning--while she made something
resembling a decent breakfast--Kagome watched as InuYasha sat on her
kitchen table and rummaged through her purse until he found her cell
phone…then very deliberately shut it off, his expression
daring her to object and promising swift retribution if she did.

She
didn’t object…but he still got his retribution.

It was
an interesting day for Kagome. InuYasha didn’t tire her out (as
she’d been half-expecting he would--she was quite familiar with
youkai stamina), but he didn’t let go of her for much, either.
Most of their time was spent in her bedroom, where they alternated
between napping, pillow talk, and the kind of curious, delighted
exploration that always marks new relationships.

He
found quite a few of her sensitive spots, and dedicated himself to
becoming thoroughly versed on how to exploit them; she discovered how
picky he really was about his ears. He actually did like it when she
played with them, but had a low tolerance for too much
stimulation--she could always tell when he’d had enough,
because his left ear flattened defensively into his hair. Also, not
only was his lower belly one of the most sensitive places on his
body, but he was ticklish
there as well. (He scowled viciously at her after she figured that
out, then proceeded to attack her sides in retaliation until she
absolutely swore that she would never
tell anyone.) She
found it adorable, but she didn’t tell him that.

It
surprised her how much he liked to cuddle. Besides actual sex, lazing
in bed with his arms wrapped around her, enjoying sporadic bouts of
pleasant chatter and comfortable silence, seemed to be his favorite
activity. She figured it had something to do with his acute sense of
smell--he had a special fondness for keeping his nose buried
somewhere on her body. Although, regardless of what they did, he was
never very far away.

He
actually listened to her when she talked, too. She found that almost
shocking, as most of the other men she’d ever dated had spent
all of their time extolling their own accomplishments to her,
obviously caring little for anything she had to say. InuYasha didn’t
seem very interested in telling her much about himself.

They
did talk about their friends, though. Miroku really was InuYasha’s
closest friend, and he’d had a front row view from the other
side of Miroku and Sango’s unusual courtship--he had enjoyed
the monk’s humbling just as much as she’d enjoyed the
proud hunter’s unprecedented enthrallment. Intrigued at that
particular discovery, they swapped stories, both plagued with a faint
sense of disbelief that they had never encountered each other before,
even though their best friends had been engaged for years. InuYasha,
especially, seemed very irritated by that fact.

He
also told her more about the Alliance--only a little bit, as the
subject made him cranky--and she told him more about her job. She
told him how amazed and excited she’d been when Kaede had
personally called her and asked her to come for an interview shortly
after she’d graduated. She told him how lucky she was to be
working for such a knowledgeable woman, and how much she loved what
she did. She’d even told him about some of the training she’d
gone through before--and
how frustrated the whole thing had made her…at which point, he
had gotten very quiet, then suddenly seemed to decide that they’d
done enough talking for the day, and proceeded to do his very best to
distract her.

It
wasn’t until much later that night that they both fell back
asleep--exhausted, but cozy and content.

Well,
she had promised her
mother she’d rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the
time the shrill peal had interrupted the pre-dawn quiet of the
apartment for third time in a row, he’d had enough. He was out
of the bed and in the kitchen faster than his far more sluggish
bedmate could react. For a moment he just stood glaring at the
blaring, evil little contraption on the wall that had dared to
interrupt their sleep, wondering why she even had it if she was never
home anyway. It was being one hell of a pain this morning.

The
first time the ring had woken them both from sleep, Kagome had told
him in no uncertain terms that he was not to answer her phone for any
reason. Then she’d simply snuggled close and gone back to
sleep. He’d certainly been willing to let it slide until the
second time the phone had cut into the silence only a few minutes
later. Unfortunately, that time she hadn’t even stirred--not
even when he nearly
jumped out of his skin. The third time, he was determined to stop it;
how she could sleep with all that noise was beyond him, but its high
pitch had started to hurt his ears. Whoever was calling wasn’t
stopping, and ignoring problems had never been his style.

His
scowl deepened. He figured that Kagome would be pretty pissed if he
just shredded her phone, and simply hanging it up again would
probably only result in yet another series of loud shrieks a few
minutes later, so…. He decided to go for the least of all
evils and just plucked the receiver up out of its cradle.

Besides,
he wanted to know just who the hell thought they had business with
her important enough to warrant interrupting her sleep.

“Who
the hell are you, and why the hell are you calling Kagome before six
o’clock in the fucking morning?”

There
was a pause, then, “Well, good morning to you too, InuYasha.”

Somehow,
he was only partially surprised to hear the suave, gloating tone that
replied to his less-than-friendly greeting. “Miroku. What the
hell is so important that you couldn’t wait to talk to her
until after the sun rose?”

“Oh?
Am I interrupting your sleep…or something else?” At his
responding growl, the other man dropped the teasing and cleared his
throat. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you,
but thanks to a few destroyed transponders, everyone in the city’s
been having cell phone problems, and yours seems to be one of the
casualties. When Kagome didn’t answer hers, this was the only
other way I could think of to get in touch with you.”

He
rolled his eyes in annoyance. He’d turned Kagome’s cell
phone off earlier, unwilling to tolerate any further disturbances on
her day off, but he’d forgotten about her house phone. He knew
he should have just taken her home with him after her mother had
interrupted them yesterday--his place didn’t have
a phone.

Unfortunately,
he’d just kept getting distracted before he could make the
suggestion. “Whatever the damn problem is, it can wait until
later.”

Kagome
came skidding into the kitchen on the last of his reply, her eyes as
blazing as they could get while still partially filled with sleep. “I
told you not to answer my phone!” She hissed the accusing words
at him in a stage whisper. “Who is it?”

He
turned his scowl on her, only to have it vanish the moment he took in
her appearance. Speaking of distractions.

He
wondered if she frequently wandered her apartment in the first decent
thing she could get her hands on--in this case, his t-shirt--or if
this was a special occasion. The rip in one side allowed it to droop
over one shoulder, presenting a rather enticing display of smooth,
rounded skin. Her hair clouded around her head, mussed and tangled,
and her mouth looked a little swollen, giving it a pouty look. Legs
completely bare, fists propped on her hips, half-asleep and still
glaring at him.

Of
course, he hadn’t really let her wear much of anything at all
for the past twenty-four hours, but his
t-shirt gave her a special something, he thought…he was
definitely going to get her in his shirt more often. More often than
not would be preferable. Suddenly, he wasn’t particularly
interested as Miroku’s voice continued in his ear.

“Actually,
this is pretty important.” His voice lowered. “Listen, I
just got a call from my father, and apparently--”

“I’m
hanging up. If this phone rings again, I’m ripping it out of
the damn wall. Call back after the sun rises.”

“Wait,
InuYasha, something’s--”

He
clicked the off button and started to toss the cordless onto the
table--hesitated, thought about it--and pulled the battery off the
back, just to be safe.

She
gave the pieces of her phone a horrified look. “InuYasha! You
can’t just go hanging up on people! It could have been an
emergency!”

He
crossed the small space and grabbed at her hips, pulling her against
him. “It was just the monk. He can wait.” He bent so his
nose could nuzzle against that one spot, right behind her ear.

He
felt her swallow, then back up a step. He promptly followed, this
time adding a lick to his nuzzle--a slow, wet little swirl that
caused her entire body to shiver--while his hands framed her waist so
she couldn’t escape.

“Ah!”
The excited little gasp that escaped her throat was like a caress
against his skin, and he took a subtle sniff at her neck as the
immediate shift in scent rose enticingly from her pores. Her head
tilted slightly. “InuYasha, I need sleep, remember? Work in a
few hours?”

His
lips twitched into a smirk as he bit into her earlobe. “So
sleep. Who’s stopping you?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For
the fourth time in her professional career--the second time since
meeting InuYasha--Kagome was late for work. And she didn’t even
care.

That
probably wasn’t a good sign.

She
was shaking her head as she stepped into a much calmer clinic later
that morning. She was going to have to think about establishing some
ground rules--otherwise, she was never going to get anything done. As
it was, she felt lucky that he’d simply dropped her off at work
and left her alone without too
much objection.

She
paused just inside the doors, her gaze making a quick, searching
sweep of the waiting room.

She’d
already decided that her first stop this morning would involve a
quick chat with Dr. Hiraga. Reality had hit her full force sometime
this morning, and she’d reluctantly acknowledged that it was
time for her to resume being the responsible adult she knew she was.
The risk hadn’t been that
great--InuYasha was hanyou, and as such, basically immune to most
human disease, and she
was at the wrong time in her cycle to get pregnant.

For
now.

But
she definitely could--and the degree of eventual risk was uncertain.

InuYasha
was a hanyou. Hanyou were generally less fertile than any average,
full-blooded species, but they’d proven time and again that
they were capable of reproducing. And some, it seemed, were more
capable than others. The phenomenon was unpredictable, erratic, and a
mystery to modern science--it had something to do with the
supernatural quality of youkai blood, the un-measurable potency of
their youki, whatever….and the stronger their demon heritage,
it seemed, the more likely it was that a youkai-human hybrid would be
able to produce children.

From
what Sango had told her about InuYasha and his family, his youki
would be very strong. Besides, as stubborn as he was, she very much
doubted he’d let a little thing like nature get in his way.
Better safe than sorry, as the saying went.

She
sighed and looked around as she headed for the back and her sign in
sheet. Dr. Hiraga should be winding down the last hours of his shift.
She could have an emergency prescription written and filled out
before the end of the day. Honestly, she would have preferred to do
it anywhere but at the
clinic where she worked, but she doubted she’d have the time or
the opportunity to go somewhere else before InuYasha showed up at the
end of her shift. And there was no way she would be able to convince
him to wait until she did--her mind went over the past twenty-four
hours, and her stomach clutched in a tight, anticipatory little
squirm.

She
doubted she could convince herself.

A
little grin turned up the corners of her mouth, and she was well
aware of the heated flush that burned her cheeks. She gave a
fatalistic shrug and headed for the back. Oh,
well. At least it’s Miso’s day off today.
At least she would have until tomorrow to prepare herself for the
uncomfortable scrutiny and questions she was bound to face.

The
conclusion lasted her all of the thirty seconds that it took her to
reach the reception desk, where she spotted the nurse in question
sitting in her normal place, hastily jotting something onto a chart.
Startled, Kagome stopped dead in her tracks for just an instant of
dread--at the very moment that Miso glanced up from her work.

She
gave a brief, distracted smile. “Hey, Kagome. Welcome back.”
She had turned back to her chart almost before she spoke. “Have
you seen all the furor--” She cut off abruptly as her head
jerked back up in the most painful-looking double-take Kagome had
ever seen, dark curls bouncing and gray eyes rounded as they raked
over the doctor’s features for another moment of silent,
expectant study.

The
wicked, Cheshire-cat grin that split her face was the only warning
she got.

Miso
let out a loud, undignified whoop--drawing the shocked, somewhat
scandalized stares of the people in the waiting room--then dropped
her chart onto her desk and made a grab for the phone at her elbow.
She shot Kagome a sly look as she punched in the number she wanted.
“Had a satisfying day off, did we?”

Kagome
winced, glancing self-consciously around the room before glaring at
Miso. “I thought you weren’t coming in today!”

Still
waiting for someone to pick up on the other end, the nurse shrugged.
“I switched for another day.” Her grin widened. “And
boy am I glad I did. I would have been so disappointed if I had
missed this. So…” Her eyes were simply shining with
laughter. “Does he taste as good as he looks?”

She
felt the flare of deep red that flooded her face, but could
absolutely nothing about it.

“Hello,
Aki?” Miso’s attention turned momentarily to the
telephone in her hand. “Do me a favor and get Juri.” Her
gaze continued in critical, sparkling sweep of the doctor who stood
in front of her. After a moment, she shook her head. “Wow. He
must be good. You’re glowing.”

Kagome
groaned, and covered her hand with her eyes, mortified. “Couldn’t
you at least wait until I’m out of the room?”

If
Miso’s grin got any bigger, her face would split in half. “And
miss your reaction? Besides, I want details--Ah! Juri! It’s
Miso. Start spreading the word--Higurashi just walked in the door,
and we’ve just
made ourselves enough money to hit Osaka next summer.”

Kagome
heard the answering squeal of excitement, and couldn’t help
another groan. Within the next thirty minutes, she knew, everyone in
the building would know exactly
what Dr. Higurashi had been doing on her day off, and
who she’d been doing it with. Great.
Just…great.

She
started to walk away, only to realize she wasn‘t sure where to
go. Frowning, she glance back at the distracted Miso. “Could
you at least tell me where Dr. Hiraga is?”

Miso
gave a brief wave of her hand towards the back of the clinic, not
bothering to look around. “Umm….exam room two…I
think….” She paused, then turned to give Kagome a funny
look. “….Why?”

If she
hadn’t been so ridiculously flustered, she never
would have answered that question. “I need him to write me a
prescription.” She was already walking away as she said it, so
the hand that wrapped around her arm and yanked her backwards caught
her completely off guard.

For
a moment, she found herself looking blankly into Miso’s
saucer-wide gray eyes. “You can’t write it yourself? A
prescription…as in…a prescription
prescription? For you?”
Kagome just stared at her, cheeks still bright hot and only getting
hotter. Miso blinked. “Tell me you didn’t…with
him…without…”

Kagome
felt her eyes widen as she realized what she’d just said. Oh,
damn! Mentally kicking herself, she scrambled
to come up with a reasonable explanation. “No! Well--that’s
not what I--”

Too
late. Miso had already turned back to the phone, excitement painting
every line of her face. “Ooooh, Juri! I have a new one for
you--and I’m not even sure where to put my money on this one!”

Helpless
to stop the storm that would come, Kagome just turned on her heal and
fled for exam room two before she did any more damage to her
reputation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One
hour after she got to work, Miroku walked in the front doors.

Kagome
was in the room behind the reception desk, reviewing a patient chart,
so Miso spotted him first. She waved cheerfully, calling him over to
where she sat at the reception desk, counting money and answering
calls. Kagome emerged from the back hall just in time to see Miso
hand a grinning Miroku a wad of cash.

Considering
the number of grins, looks, and whispered comments that she’d
been subjected to since the moment she’d stepped out of Dr.
Hiraga’s office earlier, the sight of two of her chief
tormentors, conversing across the raised counter of the reception
desk, tripped a nerve. Momentarily forgetting her waiting patient,
she steamed her way over to the desk, ignoring the faint sense of
déjà vu that struck her as she went.

Miroku
saw her coming and stepped away from Miso and around the desk to meet
her in the hallway, completely unfazed by her harassed expression.
“Kagome. You’re looking lovelier than normal this
morning. You must have had a good night--why, you’re
practically--”

She
cut him off, eyes sparking with temper. “Say the word ‘glowing’
and I’ll have you drugged and in an operating room so fast you
won’t even know what hit you until you’re fifty and
childless.”

That
wiped the grin from his face with gratifying speed. He quickly
pocketed the money and held up his hands in his best conciliatory
manner. “Whoa. Of course. Will ‘a vision of mercy and
kindness’ do?”

She
eyed his somewhat alarmed stance for a moment, then sighed, feeling
vaguely guilty for taking her frustration out on him. “I’m
sorry, Miroku. It’s just been a little…difficult this
morning.” She offered him a small smile. “You know I’d
never do that to Sango.”

He
relaxed, then grinned again, a little less potently this time. “I
know. At least, not unless she asked you too.” He shook his
head, then stepped back to give her a more thorough inspection, the
dark hue of his eyes carefully taking in her appearance. “Well,
you look fine. Sango will be relieved. She was worried when you
didn’t answer your phone yesterday, and she finally sent me
over here to see if you were all right.” One dark eyebrow rose.
“Although, I think InuYasha may have rubbed off on you a bit
more than is healthy.” His grin widened. “Assuming rubbed
off is a term that won’t get me
sterilized before I leave.”

This
time she didn’t let him faze her. She just gave a tiny shake of
her head, her smile widening. “I’m glad to see you’re
all right, too.” Her brow furrowed, her teeth digging into her
lip with sudden worry. “How is Sango, Miroku? I saw something
on TV, and I was really…. I did
try calling you, right after the rogue attack, but neither one of you
was answering your phone.”

Miroku’s
easy expression slipped, leaving him with one of his rare, serious
frowns. “Well, she…got a bit banged up, but she’s
healing nicely.” A shrug, and a crooked imitation of his
previous smile. “Her parents are keeping her bed-ridden in the
family home until she’s recovered enough to break out herself.
I’m sure Kirara’s listening to her rant as we speak.”
He held up a hand, forestalling Kagome’s questions before
she’d even opened her mouth. “You’ll see her soon
enough, if she has anything to say about it--you can examine her
yourself then, ok?”

He
waited for her hesitant nod, then tapped her shoulder with an
affectionate finger. “In the meantime, do me a favor and turn
on your phone. You two would get all this information so much faster
if you did, and it would save me
quite a bit of time and trouble.”

She
gave an exasperated sigh. “I’m sorry. I’m not the
one who turned it off in the first place.”

This
time, both eyebrows lifted. “Yes, I gathered this morning that
you two were busy yesterday.” She didn’t even bother to
hide the light blush that climbed her face. At this point, she
figured it would be a miracle if it wasn’t permanent. Lucky for
him, she completely missed the telltale glint of speculation that
briefly flashed in his gaze.

He
drew a deep breath and glanced around at the semi-bustling atmosphere
of the clinic. “Where is he, by the way? I need to speak with
him.”

Kagome
glanced down at the chart in her hand, trying to remember what she’d
been doing before Miroku showed up to distract her. “He’s
not here.” Absently, she flipped it open, then paused and sent
a suspicious glance over his shoulder at the glass doors in the
waiting room. “He’s not
here, is he? He told me he was going home.”

“Home?
Hmm. After the last attack, I’m a little surprised that he
would leave you alone.”

She
rolled her eyes. “He didn’t want to. I had to threaten to
make him sleep on the balcony to keep him from following me around
all day.”

He
laughed softly. “You’re learning fast, aren’t you?”
His head tilted at her, his gaze shrewd. “I’m more
surprised he actually fell for that, though.”

She
returned his grin with one of her own. “So am I.”

“Hey,
Higurashi!” A doctor passing at the opposite end of the hall--a
middle-aged gentleman with a stethoscope around his neck and
industrial strength yellow rubber gloves on his hands--called out as
he went by. “Could you hurry up and help me with those snake
guys in room three? They’re still stuck together, and I think
one of them got a hold of a syringe or something!”

Kagome’s
eyes widened. Ah, that’s what I was
doing.

She
drew a deep, calming breath and let it out, then met Miroku’s
concerned look with another roll of her eyes. “They’re
brothers. They hate each other, but somehow managed to get themselves
stuck together with some kind of youkai version of super glue. We’ve
been experimenting all morning to see who can get it dissolved before
they kill each other.” His expression went from concerned to
alarmed, and she grinned again. “Don’t worry. I’ll
be fine.”

She
half-turned away, then placed a gentle hand on his sleeve. “Thank
you so much for coming to check on me, and for telling me about
Sango, but I have to get back to work now.”

Miroku
still looked skeptical, but he nodded to her. “I have to go see
InuYasha anyway. I’m pretty sure he’ll want to hear what
I have to tell him.”

Kagome
paused, then gave her friend an odd, hesitant look. “Miroku…you…
You know where he lives, don’t you?”

At her
tone, his brows furrowed slightly. “He hasn’t told you
yet, has he?” He sighed, shaking his head. “He’s a
bit single-minded about certain things, so little details sometimes
slip his attention. Don’t worry about it too much. The way he
is, I have the feeling you’ll be seeing his place a lot more
than you ever see your own.”

Kagome
started to smile, only to have it turn to a wince as a loud
crash--followed by a distinctly fleshy-sounding whump--echoed from
the back. She whirled, chart in hand, and started down the hallway.
“It sounds like things have gotten rough. We might have to
administer more sedatives. Miso!” She stopped momentarily to
call back over her shoulder at the nurse, who--along with the entire
population of the waiting room--had turned to look at the
disconcerting noise. “Get some nurses back here. We may need
some help.”

Miroku
cast an appraising stare down the hallway where the other doctor had
disappeared. “Hmm. It seems like your job is
more…interesting…than
I thought, isn’t it?”

She
didn’t even turn around. “Sometimes, you have no idea.”
With a distracted little wave, she disappeared around the corner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The
steady pulse of the shower beat a dull, constant pattern around his
body before falling to slap against the tile. He didn’t move,
just stood enjoying the heated spray as it washed over him. He didn’t
really need one--he was already clean. He’d taken advantage of
Kagome’s shower earlier before he took her to work….

The
tiniest smirk curved the lines of his mouth.

…Of
course, she’d been in
it at the time.

But
showers were always good for a mindless activity, and after the past
few days, he figured he could use one. He’d asked his old witch
of a landlady and her son to have the more modern shower installed
not long after he’d moved in, finding the traditional bath
sometimes consumed too much time for his liking. Right now, he was
just happy to have the hot, relentless pressure pounding into his
skull.

He
stared down at his hands, palms up, fingers spread in the air in
front of him. The water dripped from the razor edges of his claws,
stretching out in light, near-scalding fingers along his body. Hands
that, only hours ago, had caressed over smooth, white skin while his
ears vibrated with the sounds of enthusiastic, feminine approval.

His
gut clenched hotly at the memory. His eyes drifted closed as his
hands followed suit, curling to hold on to the phantom sensations.

Gods.
He’d never even considered how it would feel, the effect it
would have on him--such intense relief, such intense satisfaction,
such intense…feeling. He’d been anticipating for so
long…but he’d never anticipated this, never really
understood what it meant. It had never occurred to him to wonder what
life would be like once he actually found her. He’d known she’d
existed; but until now, he hadn’t known her.
Now that he’d felt her, tasted her, talked to her…

It
was real. He knew it--had never felt even the
smallest sliver of doubt--but still, he had to keep telling himself.
She was real, they were real, everything was real. And now she was
his. She had made him wait six days of pure agony--and if he was
absolutely honest with himself, it was almost a small miracle that
she’d given in so fast--but she was his. Now all he had to do
was keep her safe.

The
tiny smile faded.

Now he
understood how horribly he could fail.

When
he’d been younger, it had seemed so simple: find her and
protect her. He may have managed the one, but he wasn’t
anywhere near the other. He still had no idea what he was protecting
her from. It was so
godsdamn frustrating. He knew
something was coming--it couldn’t be any other way--but what
form would it take? How would he know? It could be anything. He had
to find some way to deal with it, to keep everyone out of danger.

He
growled low in his throat and reached out to jam off the spray of the
shower. For a moment, he just stood there, glaring at the wall. The
droplets of water falling from his skin and hair made random,
high-pitched plops as they hit the tiled floor and joined the water
swirling down the drain. Steam, thick and heavy in the enclosed
space, floated around him, making it feel as if he hadn’t
really turned the water off at all.

This
Naraku bastard who’d surfaced worried the living shit out of
him. Hearing the son-of-a-bitch’s name was like hearing nails
on a chalkboard--his whole body reacted, tensed, went into rigid
defense mode. It made him want to smash something.

But
Naraku was attacking the Alliance. Kagome didn’t have anything
to do with the Alliance; she didn’t even know much about it.
So, other than the fact that she lived in the city and might be hurt
by the rogues, how the hell did that threaten her?

But
damnit, he couldn’t shake this feeling….

With
another growl, he grabbed at the nearest towel.

The
best answer, as far as he could tell, was to keep her as close as
possible. That way, no matter what was coming, he would be there to
protect her.

Deciding
he could find absolutely no downside to that plan, he wrapped the
towel around his hips and gave a shake to clear some of the water
from his hair. Then he opened the door, getting hit by a rush of cool
air, and stepped out into the hallway.

As
soon as he got a whiff of the clearer, steam-free atmosphere of the
rest of his apartment, he knew he had company. He scowled
immediately, his first thought being to wonder how he’d gotten
in. Then, since his nose also told him that his company had brought
food, he headed for his room to throw on some clothes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How
the hell did you get in here?”

A soft
‘tsking’ was the immediate reply. “Is that any way
to greet a guest? Especially one who brings gifts?” Miroku
didn’t sound the least bit concerned when InuYasha--now
decently dressed in jeans and a t-shirt--emerged from the hallway,
tossing out the question with only a fraction of his usual
aggression. “You know, you should really learn listen to me
when I tell you something’s important.”

“You
should really learn not to call people before the sun rises.”
The hanyou eyed him suspiciously as he crossed the living to join him
at the edge of the kitchen

His
friend sat at the large island that marked the end of the open
kitchen. The food he’d brought was already spread out on the
counter behind him, and he presently had his elbows propped back,
remote in hand, his sock-encased feet resting loosely against the
lower bar of his stool. The television in the living room was going
through an odd-sounding succession of voices as he idly flipped
through the channels.

Miroku
grinned from his relaxed sprawl against the counter, though his eyes
never left the screen. He clicked again, going from an infomercial
about knives to an anime featuring several busty, scantily-clad girls
fawning over some boy who was on obvious sensory overload. “Hmm.
That was mild. Ah well, you’re looking rather passive this
morning, anyway. Have a good night?”

He
responded with a sour look. “Shut up.”

Miroku
looked affronted. “What, no details?”

His
brows narrowed in a slight frown. “Do you actually have
something important to say?”

“You
didn’t seem too interested in what I had to say this
morning--although, I suppose I can understand that
well enough. Eat, will you? I went to all this trouble to treat you,
the least you can do is eat it.” The anime went into
commercial, and Miroku cut the volume, tossing the remote off to the
side. “I just walked in, by the way--the door was unlocked. I
keep telling you--if you don’t lock it, it’s as good as
an invitation. Anyone can just barge in.”

He
made a quick survey of the food offering on his counter: packets of
various sweet breads, convenience store onigiri, a couple of
paper-wrapped tayaki pastries that had probably come off a street
vendor, and two styrofoam cups that had ‘Starbucks‘
printed on the side. With a snort, he gabbed one of the fish-shaped
pastries and settled comfortably onto the counter next to the food,
his bare feet resting on a stool. “What trouble? You breezed
through a few stores that were on your way over. And I
keep telling you, it’s
not like I have to worry about intruders. In case you forgot, it’s
a pain in the ass to even get on the damn property.”

At
that, Miroku chuckled, and reached out to pluck up a sweet bread. “As
if I could ever forget your charming landlady. I have to admit--she
is formidable. I certainly
wouldn’t cross her.” He took a bite, chewed, swallowed,
then grinned. “Of course, since she likes me, it’s not a
problem I ever have to face.”

InuYasha
just rolled his eyes and concentrated on his make-shift brunch, not
particularly caring to rise to whatever bait Miroku might set out.
Besides, he just wanted to get the inevitable over with--no way would
Miroku just let recent events slide without comment. There was no way
he could stop it, so he didn’t even try.

“I
stopped by the clinic to see Kagome. My compliments. She looked
particularly…” his grin widened, “…glowing
this morning. I never knew you had it in you.”

His
brows twisted in a mild annoyance. “I’m not giving you
details.”

At the
flat statement, Miroku looked slightly perturbed. “Why? I bet
Sango gets full details from Kagome.”

His
scowl deepened just a bit. “Then get them from Sango. I’m
not telling you anything. I thought I told you two to stay out of it,
anyway.”

Darkly
violet-hued eyes cast a speculative glance at him before turning back
to his bread. “That’s rather unfair, don’t you
think? Kagome was my friend before you even met her. You can’t
blame either one of us for being concerned.” He twisted on his
seat, reaching back to snag up a cup. “Besides, it’s not
every day that your two closest friends fall into a relationship at
breakneck speed, is it?” He took a delicate sip. “Especially
not when one of them has had his eye out for the other since
practically the day he was born.”

Whatever
retort he’d been forming died in his throat. He stilled,
staring down at the remaining tail of the fish-shaped pastry in his
hand. Damn him. He’d
slipped that in so smoothly he almost hadn’t noticed--typical
Miroku style. His jaw clenched, then he sighed, bracing for the
questions. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“Oh,
come now. You were--what, seven? Every little kid needs to be able to
tell someone his fondest dreams, don’t you think? I told you
mine, didn’t I? Yours just happened to be more interesting.”
Miroku’s brows furrowed slightly as he considered his coffee.
“Besides, I saw you, remember?” A dry, humorless chuckle.
“No wonder you never wanted to sleep over. If your mother
hadn’t already told Mushin to let you be, he would have rushed
you to the nearest hospital.” His frown deepened, and he
leveled his gaze on his friend. “Hell, he almost did anyway. We
both thought you were dying.”

“Stupid--it
wasn’t that bad.” He scowled, upset and somewhat
embarrassed by the memory, resistant to the entire conversation.
“It’s not like you ever believed me anyway.”

Miroku
gave light ‘tsk’. “That’s not true, InuYasha.
I never doubted you. Not even after you started pretending it didn’t
happen.”

The
quiet sincerity in the monk’s voice struck him, and InuYasha’s
head twisted around swiftly in surprise.

His
childhood friend sat up straight and regarded him gravely. “Why
else would I be so easy over the fact that you met, immediately
obsessed over, and then slept with a
good friend of mine--my fiancée’s best
friend--all within a week of meeting her?” He paused, then
shrugged. “I already know how serious you are.”

He
stared at him for a long moment of silence, completely taken aback.

Miroku
shifted on the stool, then shook his head. “I’m not
foolish enough to think I understand everything that’s going
through your head--I know that something happened those years you
were gone, you know. You were different when you came back.” He
sighed. “But you know… Despite everything else to worry
about right now, I’m sure I don’t have to worry about
Kagome.”

For a
minute, he wasn’t sure what to think. Then it hit him--what
Miroku was saying--and he blinked, swallowing around a sudden,
unexpected surge of gratitude. It replaced his uncertainty, flashing
briefly in his eyes before he glanced away, his gaze straying to the
anime still playing in colorful, overblown, bouncing view. “Keh.”
His voice was quiet, but gruff. “Of course you don’t.
None of you do. I told you that a long time ago.” His eyes
narrowed on a well-endowed brunette wearing nothing but a bikini made
of leaves. “You told Sango?”

Miroku
finished off his gulp of coffee with a grimace. “Ah…no.
Just because I believe you doesn’t mean she will--and if she
did, there’s no guarantee that she’d react well. We have
enough problems at the moment without her trying to hurt you again.”

InuYasha
glanced over, his hand lifting to finish off last bit of his tayaki.
“Heh. You just don’t want to get blamed for not saying
anything sooner.”

“That,
too.” The monk agreed, readily and unabashedly.

“How
is she?”

Miroku
made a face, reaching up to scratch at the back of his head.
“Eh…she’s a little tired, a little upset. He
parents won’t let her out of bed, and she’s angry that I
sided with them.”

Exasperated
golden eyes rolled to the ceiling. “She got thrown head-first
into a damn building. She needs to rest.” His brow furrowed and
he glanced back at Miroku. “You?”

“Ah,
well, you know…” The hand dropped from his head to rest
against his rib cage. “I’m recovering. They’re only
bruised, really.”

Silence
fell as they both stared at the end of the anime, the dark set of
eyes almost appreciatively interested, the lighter ones skeptical.

“So
I’m assuming, considering the recent development, that you’ve
been a bit out of touch the past day or so?”

InuYasha
scoffed, then picked up the coffee cup resting beside his hip. “You
could say that.” He gave it a cautious sniff. Miroku generally
liked his coffee black, which sometimes led to an unpleasant surprise
for InuYasha if he didn‘t check first. Detecting a satisfactory
amount of sugar and cream, he started to take a sip.

Dark,
violet-tinted eyes studied him casually. “Haven’t seen
the news at all? It’s pretty disturbing. The newest friction is
between the Alliance and…well, pretty much everyone else now.
People, youkai--everyone’s upset about it.”

His
hand paused halfway to his mouth, and another scowl fixed on his
features. “Damn. The last rogue just gave those asshole
politicians more ammunition to say whatever shit they want.”

“Yes,
except this time, I’m afraid it’s more than just talk
They’re seriously calling for reforms.” Miroku gave a
heavy sigh. “And now they have the weight of public opinion.”

InuYasha
snorted, giving his opinion of public opinion. “If the Alliance
caved every time someone didn’t like ‘em, they’d
never have lasted this long.”

“Maybe.
But this time feels different. Even the sitting lords are all upset.”
Miroku’s voice was grim. “Whatever else the attacks are
doing, they’re certainly succeeding in discrediting the
Alliance in the eye of the people, if not the government. That’s
a problem.” He hesitated, then spoke almost delicately. “Did
you…find out anything about Naraku?”

A
growl vibrated his throat, simmering with rage. “You mean that
he was the bastard
behind Ryukotsusei? That the Council’s scared shitless of him?
Or that he’s a fucking thief who’s been too much of a
fucking coward to find before now? Or do you mean that he has the
fucking balls to be hiding somewhere in the city?”

Miroku
winced, then looked a little startled. “Yes, all that, although
I didn’t know he was in the city. Do you know where?”

A
brief snarl. “No. All I could get was that he is positively
operating from somewhere inside the city.”

“How
about that he’s been contacting Alliance lords?”

“What?”
He looked up.

“It’s
nothing but rumors so far, but everyone’s pretty sure that it’s
true. The Council is being very closed mouth about everything they’re
doing. Of course, no one is admitting to it.” Another shrug.
“As to why…your guess is as good as mine.”

InuYasha
frowned, then brought the cup to his lips, taking a large gulp.

“Your
brother killed one of the lords during the attack.”

He
choked, then coughed and sneezed in quick succession as coffee made
its way up his nose. Shocked golden eyes pinned down the monk beside
him with a glare as he managed to grate out some words. “What!
What the fuck did you
say?”

The
monk didn’t even bat an eye. “Lord Sesshomaru killed one
of the Alliance lords, on Alliance grounds,
during the rogue attack on Roppongi.”

That
time he dropped his cup. It slipped through stunned fingers, crashed
to the floor and popped open, spilling his remaining coffee across
the tiled flooring and into the carpeting. Killing an Alliance lord
had serious consequences all on its own…but killing one on the
unflinchingly neutral grounds of the Alliance was…unthinkable,
even for InuYasha. “WHAT?!”

Miroku’s
lips turned up in a small, grim smile. “He killed Lord
Atsumushi--one of the human
lords. They were found in the forbidden documents room of the inner
library in the restricted area of the castle. I gather there wasn’t
much left of Lord Atsumushi. Sesshomaru didn’t even try to deny
it. Personally, I think he’s lucky they didn’t just kill
him on sight.”

His
feet hit the floor, completely oblivious to the rapidly cooling
puddle of coffee. “You couldn’t have told me sooner? Why
the hell did he do that?”

Miroku
sighed and shook his head. “My father wasn’t free to tell
me until he called me early this morning. I tried to get word to you
right away, but…”

“Screw
that. What happened?”

Again,
Miroku hesitated, and his expression became grave. “Sesshomaru
claims that the lord he killed was working for Naraku. That’s
all I know.”

Naraku….

“Shit!”
He paled, then whirled, heading for his room and his haori. “Where
is he?”

“Last
I heard, they had him confined--with quite a bit of holy magic, I
might add--in one of the rooms in the castle.” He watched the
hanyou with interest. “Are you going to see him? It could be
difficult to even get in. The gates are still closed, you know.”

InuYasha
paused, then turned a grim gaze on the monk. “I know. But as
much as I hate to admit it, I’m still the pretty bastard’s
family. Their precious rules say they can’t keep me out.”
He growled. “It’s not like I care, but if Sesshomaru
knows something about this bastard Naraku, I have to find out.”
He crossed the living room quickly, disappearing down the hall.

Miroku
stared after him, one black eyebrow lifted in incredulity. “What
do you know? He really does
know the rules.” Then he remembered the other reason he was
here, and looked around for his jacket.

By the
time the monk actually appeared in the open doorway of his bedroom,
InuYasha was already tying off his red hakama. “If you’re
going anywhere, then don’t forget this.”

He
barely glanced up, so he almost missed the small silver object flying
towards his head. Reflexively, his hand reached up and snatched it
out of the air. He looked it over, then gave Miroku a confused frown.
“What the hell is this?”

A
smirk flirted with the edges of his mouth in reply. “And here I
thought that was obvious. It’s a phone, InuYasha--your
phone, actually. I forgot to tell you…someone found your
jacket in the ruins near Roppongi, and it appears your old one has
died a tragic death.” He nodded at the phone. “I took the
liberty of securing you a new one. I didn’t think you’d
mind.”

“Keh.”
He found a fairly secure place to stick it, then pulled on his haori.
“Nice of you, considering getting one was your idea in the
first place.”

Miroku’s
dark head dipped in a non-committal nod as he watched InuYasha slip
Tetsusaiga against his waist. “It’s basically the same
phone--same number, same features.” A grin turned the corners
of his mouth. “I didn’t want to confuse you or anything.”

“Ha
ha.” He was already out the door. “Why don’t you
concern yourself with your future wife and leave me alone?”

“Because
my future wife isn’t very happy with me right now, and you’re
so much more fun to bother than she is.”

“Oh
yeah? How about if I start knocking you on the head every time you
act like an ass?”

Miroku
stopped in the middle of his living room and appeared to mull that
over. “That could make my life very difficult.”

InuYasha,
at the front door, suddenly stopped and turned to face Miroku.
“Miroku….” He looked troubled. “I shouldn’t
be gone long, but….”

Miroku
gave an easy nod. “Kagome works till late afternoon, right? I
think maybe Sango wouldn’t mind if I dropped her off some lunch
before I get back her.”

Kagome’s
clinic was on the other side of the city from Sango’s family
estate. He would be going far out of his way twice in one day.
InuYasha felt the frown ease from his face. “Thank you.”

Miroku
just waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it.
Sango’s mad at me anyway--if I stop and get Kagome some food,
I’m hoping she’ll put in a good word for me.”
InuYasha snorted and turned again, yanking open his front door and
stepping out onto the balcony. Miroku grinned. “Don’t
forget to take your keys. I’m locking up when I leave, and we
don’t want you having to break into your own apartment
tonight--especially if you have our lovely Kagome with you. Someone
might mistake you for a burglar.”

InuYasha
was barely paying attention. “Yeah, I--” He froze, and
his frown returned in full and suspicious force. “Lock up?”
He whirled, glaring at the grinning man who’d just made himself
comfortable in one of the two armchairs on either side of his couch.
“Where the hell did you get keys to my
apartment?!”

Miroku’s
smile widened imperceptibly. “Hmm. That’s a very good
question. How curious that I would have keys to your apartment. I
wonder how I got them?” With a bemused shake of his head, he
glance back at the hanyou glaring at him from the doorway. “Weren’t
you going somewhere?”

With a
growl, InuYasha slammed the door shut and left.

With a
sigh, Miroku pulled out his cell phone to let Sango know he’d
be later than planned.
- 13
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Waiting on a Wish