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
- 15
- 16
- 17
Chapter
15

InuYasha
never really left Kagome for the rest of the day.

After
dinner, he took her back to work, and was waiting for her when she
was finished. Somehow, he even convinced her that her orphans would
be all right with just a phone call checkup for the night. And then
he took her back to her apartment. There was a kind of quiet
desperation to his touch that night--a rough, subtle energy that
harkened back to his earlier embrace and ensured that she was both
too distracted and too exhausted to worry about anything else for the
rest of the night.

It
wasn’t until much, much later that her subconscious finally hit
her with the connection she’d somehow missed during Mama’s
phone call. It woke her up out of a dead sleep; she sat right up in
the middle of her bed--so suddenly that she jerked an
alarmed-at-being-unexpectedly-woken-up hanyou with her. She reassured
him as best she could, managed to let him grumble, scowl, and wrap
her back up in the safety of his arms without giving herself away,
and waited until he fell back asleep.

Then
she just lay there, hurt and confused, her thoughts a jumbled-up mess
of chaotic dismay. She ruthlessly fought back the tears that pushed
at her eyes, struggled to understand why and what it meant, and
desperately searched for the best way to respond. And when she
finally fell into a fitful sleep, many hours later, it was with the
unease of someone who’d found a solution that was risky at
best, and the determination of one who was willing to play the odds.

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

She
knew exactly what and who to expect. Really, it was starting to get
predictable.

Kagome
was already clocked out and waiting by the time his car pulled into
the limited parking beside the clinic. She had her bag in hand--not
her medical bag this time, but a large, formless brown suede tote
that had doubled as a book bag a few times during university--and was
sitting in one of the chairs in the lobby, one sandaled foot tapping
impatiently against the cold tile floor.

It was
already dark outside; the artificial lighting inside reflected the
bustling activities of the clinic back on itself, and made seeing out
the glass doors impossible. So, in the interest of keeping the
element of surprise, she chose to sit in a chair that rested against
the same wall as the main entrance so he wouldn’t see her
before he actually walked in the door. She didn’t want him
getting suspicious or bracing himself for anything. She had the
distinct feeling that she would need to get--and keep--the upper hand
if she was going to convince him to do what she wanted tonight.

Miroku,
for all his faults, could be quite loyal when it came down to it.

It was
Kagome who was
surprised, however, when one of the glass doors opened and her
appointed guardian walked in. He had brought a familiar and dearly
missed face with him.

Sango
appeared first, wearing a simple skirt and a warm sweater, her hair
down in a straight, silky mass that fell past her face and shoulders.
She was talking in a low murmur to Miroku as he followed her inside.
They were so intent on their conversation that they didn’t even
notice her sitting there as they walked right by her.

“I
still don’t like it, Miroku. He should have just told her.”

“Of
course he should have. She’s going to learn the truth
eventually anyway, and you should have heard him when he asked me to
do this--he wants her
near him, and it’s killing him not to have her.” He
sighed and allowed the door to swing shut behind him. “I think
he’s convinced himself that this is the best way to protect her
tonight, but he’s sulking his way through it.”

Sango
gave a disdainful “humph” and crossed her arms over her
chest. She turned to scan the reception desk, oblivious that the
person she was looking for was sitting in a chair two feet behind
her. “He’s just too stubborn for his own good. We
know. What’s the harm in her
knowing?”

“Indeed.
I did wonder about that. I’m not quite sure what’s going
on in his head right now…. Not to mention the fact that it
would have been so much less work for us.”
Miroku shook his head, and allowed a delighted grin to spread across
his features. “On the other hand, just think of the price he’ll
have to pay for it later, after she thinks back a bit and puts two
and two together.”

Kagome
sighed quietly to herself. He’d been sending Miroku in his
place since he’d met her; she would have been sincerely
disappointed had he done any less tonight. Apparently, though,
InuYasha had asked for double the protection tonight. She supposed
she shouldn’t be surprised, really--he would be feeling more
vulnerable, and of course that
would translate to her. And it wasn’t as if she could
complain--she was finally getting
to see Sango. A tiny, brief smile twitched across her lips. It had
only been about a week, but it felt
like ages.

“But
how are we supposed to explain it, Miroku? It’s not exactly
normal for us to invite ourselves to dinner at the shrine, is it?”

Kagome
sighed again, louder this time, and stood to her feet. “How
about you don’t even try?”

It was
almost funny, the way they both jumped, then whirled to face her.
Sango’s hands had actually come up in a half-defensive stance
before she realized who had spoken. “Kagome! I thought you
would still be working!”

She
shook her head. “Nope. I got off thirty minutes ago.” I
arranged to leave early the second I got in this morning.
They didn’t need to know that, however. “You’re
late,” she informed them.

“Oh.
Uh…sorry?” Sango exchanged a bemused look with Miroku,
then turned back to Kagome. She stared at her for a moment, her large
brown eyes tentative, then smiled softly. “It feels like it’s
been forever, Kagome.”

Kagome
felt a return smile warm her face, and she set aside her goal for
just a moment. “Yes, it does. So much has been happening
lately, hasn’t it?” She studied her best friend with a
clinical eye. “You look pale. How are you feeling?”

“Well,
the bump’s gone.” Sango put her fingers to her forehead
and gave a wan smile. “I’m fine, Kagome. Just a little
tired is all.” Behind her, Miroku’s brows tensed
unhappily at her words--a look that Kagome didn’t miss, but
decided to address later.

She
nodded and reached out to grasp at Sango’s free hand. “All
right. We missed our lunch this week, didn’t we? We’ll
have to make it up soon.”

Sango
squeezed her hand in return. “Yes, we will.” Her look
turned stern. “You have
a lot of questions to answer.”

Kagome
smiled again, and released her hand. “Later, I promise.”
She turned to include Miroku, who was listening to their brief
bonding session from a few feet away, the universal look of patient
masculine indulgence on his face. “Well then….”
Her smile brightened considerably. “Shall we go?”

Identical
looks of surprise returned as they shared another glance. Miroku
stepped forward, his smile turning quizzical. “Well, ah….
Yes. Actually, Kagome, we were wondering--”

“You’ve
come to give me a ride. I know.” That pulled them both up
short, and they exchanged yet another
speaking look. Kagome rolled her eyes. “He asked
you to do this, right? He told you to stay close for the night, make
sure I was ok?”

They
stared at her in silence. Finally, Miroku just shrugged, and rubbed
at the back of his head, a rueful twist to his lips. “He’s
only worried about you, Kagome.”

She
nodded, keeping her expression serene. “And since he couldn’t
come with me tonight, he decided to ask you instead. I understand.”
She turned away, tossing them another look over her shoulder as she
started for the doors. “So let’s go.”

Without
waiting for a reply, she pushed out the doors and into the much
cooler nighttime air. She tugged her thick sweater a little closer,
readjusted the bag slung over her shoulder, then searched for
Miroku’s car. She was already tapping her foot, standing beside
the back door of whatever sporty model import Miroku currently
owned--he’d told her what it was when he’d bought it, but
she knew almost nothing about cars, and cared even less--when they
caught up with her.

They
both pulled up short on the sidewalk to stare at her again.

She
raised an impatient brow at Miroku. He hesitated, frowning, then
pulled his keys from his jacket pocket. A second later, the car alarm
beeped, letting her know that the door was unlocked. She pulled the
door open and scrambled into the back seat. While she settled, the
front doors opened, and Miroku and Sango climbed in. Then they both
sat there, eyeing her as if she had suddenly sprouted horns and
webbed feet.

Sango
had twisted around so she could stare at her fully, wrinkles forming
in the space between her brows. “Kagome….” Kagome
could see the concern in her eyes, even through the darkness of the
car. “I know you’re anxious to see your family, but--”

“We’re
not going to see my family.”

Her
smooth, unruffled interruption had the two in the front glancing at
each other, mystified. Sango raised both brows questioningly at her
fiancé, and Miroku shrugged an answer with a tiny shake of his
head.

Kagome
almost smiled as she watched their silent interplay. This
is kind of fun.

Miroku
turned in his seat so he could see her face. His dark gaze swept over
her, noting the firm set of her shoulders, the odd glint in her eyes.
He obviously didn’t like what he found, because he was
beginning to look uneasy. “But…. InuYasha said that you
had a family dinner tonight.”

This
time she did smile--sweetly. “I did. But I called Mama earlier
and told her I wouldn’t be able to make it after all.”
She shrugged lightly. “She postponed it until tomorrow.”

“Ah.
I see.” He paused. “Then where are you in such a hurry
to--”

She
dropped the smile, giving them her steeliest look of determination.
“You’re taking me to see InuYasha, of course.”

A
thick, awkward silence followed her statement as her two closest
friends absorbed her words and intent. Miroku’s eyes narrowed
into a sharp frown. Sango twitched. Her eyes locked with Kagome’s.
Understanding flared, and a quiet acknowledgement flashed between the
two women.

Sango’s
expression ran a quick gamut of emotions--from shock to guilt, and
sheepishness to contrition--before it finally settled into
thoughtfulness. She didn’t break from Kagome’s stare, and
Kagome refused to drop the faint challenge from her eyes. Finally,
Sango broke the stalemate by dropping her gaze and giving a faint
nod. She turned in her seat and looked at Miroku, whose expression
had smoothed out--gone blank with surprise for just an instant--and
tapped at her jaw with one finger.

Kagome
didn’t say a word. She just sat back comfortably against the
fine leather seats and waited--somewhat impatiently.

Finally,
Miroku seemed to gather himself. His attention focused once more on
the doctor in his backseat, and his mouth turned up into what Kagome
could only assume was what she had heard InuYasha
not-so-affectionately refer to as his ‘bullshit smile’.
She felt the skin around her mouth tighten.

“Ah…him.
Well, I’m afraid he’s indisposed for the night.”

Kagome
sat forward and fixed a stare on him. She didn’t say anything,
just stared at him until he started to squirm. Then she sighed,
suddenly tired of all the word games. “Of course
he’s indisposed for the night.” She paused,
then dropped all pretense, looking him straight in the eye, both
serious and solemn. “He’s human.”

She
watched with extreme satisfaction as Miroku’s eyes widened.
Then he sighed and turned around. “He didn’t tell you.”
It wasn’t a question.

“No,
he didn’t, but that’s between him and me.”

“Then
I can’t--”

“Oh,
stop it.” She sat back with a huff, rolling her eyes to the low
ceiling. “Who does everyone think I am? I’m a doctor.
I treat humans, youkai, and hanyou.
I know a lot about the physiology of all three. Did he really think I
wouldn’t figure it out?” She gave a vague wave of her
hand. “Most hanyou cycles are directly tied to nature, you
know. Their human periods tend to fall on natural events that
happened around the time of their births, from things as simple as
the first blooming of certain kinds of plants, to the first day of
each new season, or more commonly….” She gestured again,
out the window at the moonless sky. “Solar and lunar
cycles.”

Another
tense silence fell over the car.

Then
Sango turned to Miroku. “I told you this was a bad idea.”

Miroku
sighed again, shaking his head. “If you’ll remember, I
never disagreed with you.”

Kagome
stared at them both from the back seat. “You know where he is,
right? So take me to him.”

She saw
Miroku’s fingers tug at the collar of his jacket. “Kagome….
I can’t. I promised him I’d look after you tonight.”
Another tug before his hand dropped back to the steering wheel.
“Besides, he’d kill me.”

She
blinked at him for a moment. “I understand.” Then she sat
forward again, leaning between the seats to give him a soft smile.
“But if you don’t help
me, I’ll tell him you just abandoned me at the shrine to go
spend your evening alone with Sango.”

It took
a minute for the threat to sink in, but then his head whipped around
and he stared at her in disbelief. Whatever he saw in her eyes must
have convinced him she was at least semi-serious, because a moment
later, he literally paled--though he did manage a faint scoff. “You
wouldn’t.”

Kagome
almost felt sorry for him. Her smile turned sympathetic. “In
this case? I most definitely would.” She thought for a minute,
then added. “In fact, I’ll even spend the night in my old
room and call him to come pick me up in the morning so that he can
see for himself.”

Anger
flashed through his gaze, followed quickly by panic as his fingers
tightened around the wheel. “That would be…. I’m
his best friend, Kagome. He knows I wouldn’t do that. He’ll
believe me--especially when he finds out you already know about
his….um, time.” He paused, then said quietly. “I’m
sorry, Kagome. I really am. But I won’t.”

She
blinked at him again, a frown wrinkling her forehead as she
considered him. “Are you sure, Miroku? It’s not exactly
in your best interest to tell me no.”

He
looked faintly queasy, but shrugged carelessly. “It’s not
exactly in my best interest to do what you want, either. He won’t
react well to having you show up on his doorstep tonight of all
nights.” He hesitated. “It’s not a fair thing to
do, Kagome. I won’t help you ambush him.”

For a
moment, she was at a loss. She rarely saw him this serious; he really
had no intention of helping her. She bit her lip, her heart starting
to constrict in her chest as she realized she might be fighting a
losing battle.

She
still didn’t know where InuYasha lived, and if Miroku refused
to tell her, she’d never find him on her own. Certainly not
before the end of tonight, when the urge to be with him was pushing
her so strongly. Her shoulders slumped with sudden dejection.
“Please, Miroku.” She whispered it, trying to keep her
throat steady. “This is important. I need….” I
need to see him. Tonight, I need to be with him. She
didn’t say that last bit aloud, but the words seemed to hang in
the enclosed space of the car anyway, lending unspoken weight to her
plea.

And it
was true.

It had
taken her longer than it should have to figure out why he’d
reacted so strangely to her mother’s request. She’d been
so preoccupied trying to hide her disappointment that the obvious
hadn’t hit her until the middle of the night last night. It had
been then--after she’d gotten through the anger and hurt that
he hadn’t seen fit to trust her--that she’d realized that
she couldn’t let him be alone on his most vulnerable of nights.
The sentiment was so strong, so fierce….

And
yet, she’d been afraid that she couldn’t simply ask
him. For some idiotic reason, he was trying to keep it
from her. She needed to show him that he shouldn’t have--that
he didn’t have to.
This had been the only way she could think of to do it.

But
now…. He might actually have to be alone.

Sango’s
dark brown eyes had widened at her, their look almost stricken as she
took in the expression on her best friend’s face.

Miroku
considered her for a moment, then turned to stare down at the
steering wheel. He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “I
made him a promise, Kagome. I can’t just go back on it.
Besides….” He shook his head, his expression regretful.
“It’s not my place. I can’t force this on him.”

Her
heart sank at the finality in his tone. She bit her lip, trying to
think of some way that might convince him. She couldn’t do this
on her own. She needed help.

Then
Sango surprised them both by leaning across the seat and tapping an
affectionate finger against her fiancé’s arm. “You
know…. I bet he’ll believe me
when I tell him what a wonderful evening we had together
after we left Kagome alone at the shrine.”

Kagome
gasped, then sat up straight, giving her a hopeful look. Sango met
her gaze and her lips turned upward in a tiny grin.

Miroku’s
brows shot up in surprise. “Wha…. Sango….”
He looked from her determined face, to Kagome and back again.
“But…..”

Sango
was completely unrepentant. “It is the
only fair thing, Miroku. She deserves better than this kind of
deception--and we’re not
going to help him with it anymore. If he wants to lie to her, let him
do it himself.”

Now the
dark violet of Miroku’s gaze sparked with reprimand. “Sango,
this is one thing he has the right to do in his own way. You know
how defenseless he is during this time. We have no right
to force this kind of confrontation on him.”

“Kagome
knows, too, Miroku.” Accompanied by the
faint groaning of well-kept leather, Sango leaned across the gap
between their seats to emphasize her rebuttal. “And InuYasha’s
the one who started this whole thing, chasing after her like he did.
He has no right to keep a secret like this when he was the one who
forced himself into her life in the first place. Honestly.” She
sat back against her seat and crossed her arms. “My best friend
needs our help, my dear lord monk.” Her large brown eyes
narrowed, and her thick lashes clashed ominously as she gave him a
look she reserved only for special occasions. “And, Miroku…if
she doesn’t get it, then I think you should prepare to get used
to sleeping in your own apartment
for a while.”

“What?!”
The panic was back in his face. Apparently, he took that threat very
seriously. “That’s not fair, Sango!”
He glanced back at Kagome and tried to sound reasonable. “Come
now, ladies. This is a bond of masculine trust. You can’t
seriously be expecting me--”

“Miroku.”
Kagome once again sat forward. She placed a pleading hand on his
forearm, her gaze as honest and sincere as she could make it.
“Please. This is
important to me.”

“Besides,
what’s more important? Masculine trust, or a warm bed at
night?” Sango added. She was eyeing her fiancé as if she
were re-considering her choice of future husbands.

The
look of cornered desperation that slowly dawned on his face was
enough to make both women exchange tiny, triumphant grins. “Can’t
we just…all go out to dinner or something?” When their
grins just widened, he groaned, putting his head back against the
headrest. “Very funny, you two. You know he’s going to
kill me, right?” His head lifted and he sent a pathetic look at
the woman in his passenger seat. “He’s going to kill me,
Sango, and we’re never going to get married in a beautiful
ceremony, and we’re never going to move into that apartment
that’s as far away from our parents as possible, and we’ll
never have that baker’s dozen of beautiful children we’ve
always dreamed about.”

At the
phrase ‘baker’s dozen’, Sango’s eyes widened,
her cheeks flushed darkly, and for a moment she looked like she was
getting ready to smack him. Then a smile twitched at her lips, and
she shook her head, then turned to look through the windshield. “Look
at it this way, Miroku. You’re damned if you do, damned if you
don’t, so you might as well be damned in the most entertaining
way possible.”

He
dropped his mournful expression to stare at her with horrified
amazement. “What convincing reasoning.” He sighed, then
gave her a crooked smile. “You do know me so well, my lovely
Sango.”

“Lucky
me,” she muttered, still looking away from the two other
occupants of the car.

“Besides,”
Kagome added, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. “If we do it
my way, I can probably keep him from actually
killing you.”

He
thought about that for a moment, and his crooked smile slowly morphed
into a wicked one. He reached out and turned the keys in the
ignition. “Another excellent point, dearest Kagome. Very well,
ladies. You win.” As he gave the engine a moment to warm, he
looked over at Sango. “You’ve never been to InuYasha’s
place, have you, Sango?”

Sango’s
eyes widened, but she shook her head. His smile only deepened as he
pulled out of the parking spot. “Well, then. Entertaining
it should be.”

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

Somehow,
Kagome wasn’t the least bit surprised when Miroku started
maneuvering them through a suburban area that seemed very well-to-do.
It was similar to the area where the orphanage was located--an entire
community of walled-in houses, offering rare privacy for its
residents in a city that was incredibly crowded.

She was
a little more surprised when Miroku suddenly turned off onto a short
driveway that ended at a set of large, wrought-iron gates. They were
a little farther back from the road than the other gateways they’d
passed had been, and seemed to be the only entrance to a property
that ran the entire length of the block.

And
they were shut tight.

The
eyes of both women focused on Miroku as he came to a stop right in
front of the gates. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, his
eyes studying the structure blocking their way, then gave a sigh and
a slight shrug. “Ah, well. Let the fun begin.”

Leaving
the engine to idle, he opened his door and stepped from the car,
walking casually over to the side wall, where a small electronic
panel was set into a hollow in the smooth stone. Well aware of his
avid audience, he reached out and pressed one of the many buttons on
the panel, then glanced up, drawing their attention to a small
plastic dome set further up in the wall. He raised a hand in a
cheerful greeting.

Nothing
happened.

Still
in the car, Sango and Kagome exchanged a bemused look.

Then an
electronic-sounding whine cut through the air, causing both women to
jump, and an old, wrinkled, tough-sounding voice echoed into the
night from…wherever the speakers were hidden. “You! Damn
lech! What do you want this time? Don’t you know how to do
anything but bother my tenants?”

Shocked,
the girls exchanged another look.

Miroku
just smiled and bowed slightly, his gaze still directed upward. “My
dearest, lovely landlady. You know the only real reason I come is to
hear your sweet voice and bask in the glory of your presence.”

A
decidedly un-lady like snort followed that declaration. “Hn!
Hogwash. The only reason you’re here is to pester that hunter
in my building. Your silly lines don’t fool me.”

Miroku’s
grin widened. “Of course I’ve come to pester him. I
wouldn’t be his friend if I didn’t. It’s why you
always let me in.” His hand went to his heart in a
semi-dramatic pose. “And may I remind you, dear lady, that
lines are only lines if they are untrue.
No untruth could ever be told in your divine presence.”

“Balderdash.”
The response was a grumble, but both Kagome and Sango could detect a
flattered hint in the life-worn tone. “Alright, monk. What are
you here for?”

“Why….
I have a very special guest to see InuYasha.” His hand swept
back to indicate the car.

The
bodiless voice seemed to hesitate. “Guest?” She--whoever
she was--didn’t sound pleased with the declaration. “You
expect me to let someone else on
my property this time?”

The
monk’s smile never wavered. “Not just any
guest, dear lady. A very special
guest.” He turned and startled Kagome when he
opened the back door of his car. For a moment, she just blinked at
the proffered hand that reached in. His fingers curled up in a ‘come
here’ gesture.

She
glanced at Sango, who just shrugged. Seeing no protests on Sango’s
part, Kagome hesitantly place her hand in Miroku’s. His fingers
closed over hers and tugged gently, pulling her from the car. Free
hand clenched in a white-knuckle grip around the strap of her bag,
Kagome followed mutely, both anxious and curious as to what Miroku
was up to now.

Miroku
stopped her only a few feet away from the electronic panel on the
wall. Ignoring the buttons and the dark, flat-screen viewing panel,
he dropped her hand--only to place both of his on her shoulders and
adjust her standing position so that she was directly below the small
plastic dome high in the wall. Since Sango was still sitting in the
car, observing his every movement, Kagome allowed it without comment.

Finally,
Miroku seemed satisfied, and turned to face the dome again, dropping
into a slight bow. “My dearest landlady, allow me to introduce
Higurashi, Kagome.” Automatically, she looked up at the dome
and the camera that was obviously behind it. The landlady didn’t
respond--Kagome got the oddest feeling that she was being
examined--and Miroku straightened. “Kagome and InuYasha only
just recently met, but I thought I should bring her to meet you,
since you’ll be seeing a lot of her from now on.”

“Oh?
Be seeing a lot of her, will I? And why would that be?” The old
woman suddenly sounded a lot less formidable.

Miroku
simply smiled again. “Why? That would be because InuYasha is
extremely fond of Kagome…. Let’s just say that they are
very good friends.”

Her
breath caught and her cheeks heated as she turned a furious glare on
him. From the car, Sango’s outraged “Miroku!”
sounded quite clearly into the silence following his insinuation.

But the
old woman behind the impressive stone walls seemed amused. “Oh-ho….
So it’s like that, is it?” The ancient voice snorted a
brief almost-laugh, then sighed. “All right. You might as well
bring her on in. To the house, lech. We’ll have some tea.”

A buzz
sounded loudly, and the gates began opening of their own accord.

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

It was
almost as if they had entered a forest. The grounds were obviously
extensive, and as Miroku drove slowly down the paved drive, trees
grew thick and wild on either side. The tall, broad trunks and
green-heavy boughs were like a thick layer of insulation within the
walls--extra protection against the surrounding city--and were so
pervasive that it took a few moments before they thinned and cleared,
revealing two buildings nestled within a much larger,
better-manicured area of the grounds. The drive rounded on itself,
circling around a large, stone-lined, plant-covered pond that sat
opposite the larger of the two buildings before leading right back
out to the entrance.

Kagome
was so curious, she was almost pushing her nose against the glass of
her window as they drove around it, passing by the larger building.

That
had to be where InuYasha lived.

It was
only three stories, and its construction only faintly resembled the
generic, boxy construction of most modern apartment buildings. The
entrance was elaborate: a stone walkway led up to a wide porch and
two doors that appeared to be made of carved, solid wood. Two small
lamps on either side of the entrance illuminated the doors with soft,
glowing yellow light. Windows peppered randomly along the face of the
building, and glass sliding doors, each underlined by their own
private railed balconies, indicated individual apartments on each
floor. The length of space between each veranda was greater than she
would have expected; Kagome found herself wondering how big the
apartments actually were.

She
also found that she liked it immediately. For some reason, despite
its size, the whole place felt natural and earthy. The grounds were
green and well kept, but wild and thick enough to feel completely
independent of the surrounding city. The building was secure and
comfortable-looking; it had a peaceful, unaffected vibe that
impressed Kagome as far more habitable than the sterile, uninspiring
building she currently resided in. Soft, warm lights filtered through
most of the curtains and blinds, serving as little reminders of the
life that existed within.

In
fact, only the top floor remained completely dark.

Kagome
bit her lip and pulled her gaze away, her fingers twisting together
in her lap in a fit of nervous anxiety. She was well aware of the
risk she was taking--a test to a relationship that was so new and
fragile and tentative that the wrong pressure might break it.

This
time, she was
intruding on him.

She had
no idea how he would react to her presence on this, his most
vulnerable of nights…. No, vulnerable didn’t even begin
to cover it. Defenseless, weak, afraid--being the primary physician
for an orphanage full of hanyou children had made Kagome well aware
of how most hanyou viewed their human times.

And a
small part of her was desperately afraid right now. She was afraid
that he would be angry--truly and sincerely angry--at her
interference. She was afraid that her own anger and hurt would rise
in response and cause damage that she was desperately trying to
avoid.

But
most of all, she was afraid that he would reject her. Would he tell
her to leave, tell her it was none of her business? If he truly felt
that this part of himself had nothing to do with her--even after the
whirlwind of madness and intimacy that had characterized the past
week-and-a-half between them--then what was it all for?

Regardless,
very soon now, she would have to deal with whatever consequences
would result from her impulsive act. She would
see if fate had indeed presented her with something that was as
special and unique as it felt--or if she’d been playing a
fool’s game from the very start.

In an
effort to distract herself, she allowed her gaze to drift to the
surrounding landscaping….

And
found herself marveling.

The
property had the most remarkable abundance of neatly kept, widely
varied greenery she’d ever seen. Bushes and flowers trimmed the
building itself, and a wide variety of shrubbery lined its front
walkway and filled the yard with color and vegetation. Kagome noted
with some surprise that a few of them would actually produce edible
fruit during the right time of year.

But it
was the second building--much smaller, off to the left of the first,
and consisting of a single story with a simple, cottage-like
design--that Miroku was directing his car towards. He pulled off the
drive and onto the grass, parking near several other cars haphazardly
arranged in the flat, vegetation-less distance between the two
buildings. Kagome noted with a small start that one of them belonged
to InuYasha. She’d actually forgotten he had one.

He’s
really here.

The car
engine purred to a stop, and Miroku glanced at his two passengers
with a faint grin. “Interesting place, isn’t it?
Apparently, these particular grounds have always been like this. The
land has been in this family for generations.” He paused.
“Well, a few generations, anyway. I don’t think the
original owner died all that long
ago.” He pulled the keys from the ignition and opened his door.
“Let’s go have some tea, shall we?”

Exchanging
a shrug, both women followed him as he strolled off in the direction
of the cottage, ignoring the larger building entirely. Kagome cast a
hesitant glance over her shoulder--first at the cars, then at the
scattered glowing windows in the larger building--before frowning at
the man in front of her. “Miroku….”

“Have
patience, Kagome. You’ll get to him.” Miroku didn’t
turn around as they made their way along the path that led to the
front door, but his voice was solemn. “This will only take a
little while.” She heard a sly grin enter his tone. “You
just have to pass inspection first.”

Inspection?

Ok, and
that didn’t make her
nervous or anything. As if she wasn’t suffering enough from the
emotion already.

Beside
her, Sango frowned at Miroku, eyes narrowing with suspicion on his
back as they followed in his wake. Kagome found herself quite
unexpectedly distracted as she got a better look at the many kinds of
vegetation and shrubbery growing along the path and around the house.
She recognized quite a bit of it.

Where
most people would have grass, here some truly rare medicinal herbs
grew in abundance. She stared in half-amazement, her brain
automatically cataloguing all the specific plants and their uses as
they walked by. This place was better-stocked than the garden they
maintained at the clinic, and it was all neat, subtly organized--some
of it was even arranged in crop-like rows--and obviously tended with
loving, knowledgeable hands.

She
looked back at the house before them, studying it curiously. Just
who lives here, anyway?

It
didn’t surprise her at all when Miroku veered around the side
of the house and followed another path that led around to the back.
They passed several more clusters of rare plants along the way, and
by the time Miroku actually stopped walking amid the more
traditionally arranged rows of gardening in the back, Kagome had seen
just about every herb or specialized plant she’d ever read
about.

Her
mouth was already partially open in amazement, so her face registered
no significant change in expression when she noticed the back door.
It was a sliding door, made of wood…and startlingly huge. It
was nearly twice the height of the cottage’s quaint front door,
and a significant breadth wider. A small light protruding out over
the door cast a dim yellow glow that managed to illuminate only the
trampled, packed-down dirt of the ground immediately surrounding the
back entrance.

Both
Sango and Kagome halted, gaping at the sizable door as Miroku glanced
at them over his shoulder and gestured ahead. “Well…
Here we are.”

Sango,
who seemed to be having a much easier time of figuring out what she
wanted to say than Kagome was, once again turned an uncertain frown
on her fiancé. “Miroku, who exactly
lives here?”

He
looked genuinely surprised. “Why, InuYasha’s charming
landlady and her son, of course.” He scratched at his head. “I
thought that much was obvious.”

Sango
glance back at Kagome, worry in her pink-shadowed eyes. “But….
Miroku, this door is….”

Miroku
was shaking his head. “Sango, Sango. Don’t you trust your
beloved fiancé?”

Sango
sniffed and crossed her arms. “Not really.”

Miroku
gave her a look of wounded dismay, then shrugged and stepped into the
small pool of light. “You shouldn’t worry so much. This
will be relatively painless. Kagome will do fine, believe me.”
His lifted a hand and rapped his knuckled lightly against the
abnormally large door.

“Relatively
painless?” Sango stomped over to him, sounding as
if she were ready to do him bodily harm. Kagome followed quietly, not
sure what to think. “Miroku, I’m warning you, if you--”

Her
fiancé cut her off with a loud sigh, then turned to fix a
serious look on both women. “Anyone who wants general access to
that building,”
he pointed in the general direction of the larger building behind
them, “has to go through this
woman first. It’s her building, and she’s
very particular about who she lets in.”

“What?”
Sango stopped dead in her tracks and glanced back at her friend, who
was looking more uncomfortable by the second. “But why?”

Without
warning, the door to the cottage was flung open with a loud,
deep-sounding scrape, and the aged voice from the gate reverberated
with surprising force through the foliage. “I have my reasons,
girl, as I’m sure you’ll figure out for yourself soon
enough.”

With
identical gasps of surprise, Kagome and Sango both jumped their gazes
turning towards the slightly hunched-over figure currently being
dwarfed by the hugeness of the doorway. Interior lights spilled
around her and out into the garden beyond, but not so harshly that
they couldn’t make out her features. She was a frail-looking
and skinny woman, her ancient face hollow and weathered with
wrinkles, her expression permanently stamped with a determined frown.
A pale kerchief covered her head, and a loose knot of thinning gray
hair peeked out from under it at the back of her neck. She was
currently dressed in a long house-robe and thick pair of
house-slippers.

She
looked like she was ready for bed.

Which
served as a wonderful reminder as to how late it actually was.

Utterly
dismayed at the thought of having disturbed her, Kagome stepped
forward, breaking the frozen tableau that had fallen at the woman’s
appearance, and bowed deeply, her voice soft and apologetic. “Umm….
Please.” She straightened, but kept her head meekly lowered. “I
am deeply, deeply sorry for bothering you so late, but it’s
very important that I see InuYasha tonight. Won’t you please
tell me where he is?”

The
older woman didn’t move, didn’t change expression--just
stared at her.

After a
few moments of tense silence, they heard a grumpy sigh, and the old
landlady looked at Miroku. “Humph. One
special visitor, eh, lech? So why do I have two
girls on my doorstep?” Without waiting for a
reply, she turned her back on the three in the garden and started
shuffling back into the interior of the cottage. “Well, come on
in, then. Tea’s waitin’ in the kitchen.”

In the
wake of her shadow, both women turned to stare at Miroku.

He gave
another unhelpful shrug and a grin as he moved to follow.

*******************************************************************

The
interior of the cottage was much larger than it seemed to be from the
outside. The ceilings were very high--almost as high as the roof
itself--and all the doorframes that lead from room to room on the
inside were as large as the back door had been. The floors were
hardwood and carpeting--no tatami mats to keep clean--and the
decorations were simple, neat, and consisted of potted plants, sparse
furniture, and bookcases that were filled mostly with books on
plants.

She led
them straight through cottage, down a hallway that ran past three
rooms before they reached the kitchen. The first, immediately beyond
the back door, was a long room with a packed-dirt floor, filled with
bags of fertilizer and gardening tools; the second was a small room
that looked to be dedicated to drying and preserving herbs; and the
third, the living room, contained a small television set, some random
furniture, and the majority of the books.

The
kitchen itself was small but lined with shiny modern appliances,
randomly interspersed with light-curtained windows. A short wooden
table set up on a rug off to one side. It was towards this table that
the shriveled landlady gestured as they walked in. “Go on you
three, sit down,” she said, giving them her back as she
shuffled her way over to the stove where the tea was steeping. They
complied, kneeling cautiously by the table and waiting in silence.

She
checked the tea, mumbled to herself, then started pouring--into five
cups, Kagome noticed, not three, which suggested not only that
(despite her protestations) she’d known about Sango before
they’d shown up at her door…but that someone else would
be joining them as well.

“So….
It’s very important for you to see that hunter, is it?”

It took
Kagome a moment to realize the old woman was addressing her. “Oh!
I, uh….” She hesitated, eyeing first the hunched-over
back of the woman who had yet to turn and look at her, then an
enigmatic Miroku before turning her gaze down to the clenched fists
in her lap. “Yes.”

A
non-committal grunt. “And what’s so important that you
gotta do it tonight?”

“ Because
I--” She broke off, at a sudden loss. “Tonight is…um….”
She bit her lip, beyond uncomfortable. “Very…special…to
me,” she finished lamely.

“That
so? Special, is it? You want me to let you in my building for
‘special’?” She picked up the tray with the cups
and shuffled it over to the table. “Hn.”

Kagome
fidgeted. The older woman may or may not know anything about
InuYasha, but there was no way she could tell a complete stranger the
circumstances that had prompted her unexpected visit. “I would
appreciate it very much.”

The
tray hit the table with a forceful thump. Kagome gave a slight jump,
then looked up to see the old woman standing next to her, staring
down at her with a rather intimidating glare. “That really all
you got to say?”

Kagome
hesitated again, her knuckles whitening with tension as she
considered the question. For some reason, a less-than-subtle
challenge laced the older woman’s tone, and Kagome found
herself resenting it. Her relationship with InuYasha was none of this
woman’s business--tenant or no. Imperceptibly, her lips firmed
and her chin rose as she met the landlady’s gaze squarely.
“Yes.” Her tone was stiff, polite, and inflexible.

“And
if I say that isn’t good enough?”

Pursing
her lips to hide her dismay, Kagome kept her eyes defiantly and
unflinchingly direct. “Then I’ll find him on my own, even
if I have to bang on every window in that building from the ground
floor up.” If anyone thought
she would leave here without seeing InuYasha first, they were in for
one hell of a surprise.

Tension
thickened the kitchen as everyone seemed to freeze, waiting for the
landlady’s reply.

“Heh.
You got guts, dontcha? That’s good.”

Shocked
more at the faint satisfaction that softened the woman’s gaze
than at her words, Kagome blinked again. “Good?”

“It’s
none of my business, pryin’ into that hunter’s life.”
She held out a thin clay teacup. “Glad you got the gumption to
stand up for that. You’ll need it when dealing with that one.”

“ ‘That
one’…. You mean InuYasha ?” She quoted, a confused
frown wrinkling her forehead as she accepted the cup.

Another
grunt came from the older woman as she settled onto her knees beside
Kagome. “That hunter is one of the prickliest, stubbornest,
rudest, most inconsiderate examples of the male half of any species
I’ve ever met,” she started matter-of-factly. Kagome’s
eyebrows shot upward in surprise, but the landlady continued as if
she hadn’t noticed. “If he hadn’t saved this place
from that damn rogue….” She paused, then glanced
begrudgingly out a window. “But he did, and he would again, and
that’s worth more to us than almost anything in the world.”
A sniff, and a sip of tea. “He’s a good one, I
suppose--if you can get underneath all the rough.”

“He…saved…?”
Kagome was having a hard time following the thread of the
conversation.

“If
you’re gonna be involved with him, you need to be able to stand
up for yourself, else he’ll walk all over you--in everything
you do.” For a moment, the old woman sounded
strangely musing, almost wistful. An almost smile twitched at her
thin mouth, and for a moment her age-weary eyes grew fond and
distant. “Youkai are like that, you know. Dominant by nature,
they are. Even the gentle ones.”

Her
meaning was obvious, and a faint blush colored Kagome’s cheeks.
For a moment she was speechless. Across the table, she heard Miroku
stifle a chuckle, followed immediately by a quiet sound of pained
objection as Sango pinched him in retaliation.

The
woman next to her took another sip of tea, then sighed. “Course,
he’s a hanyou, so you’d need to have a strong will
anyway. They don’t necessarily live easy lives, you know--and
anyone close to them has to be ready to take on the trouble that can
go with them. Not as bad as it used to be, of course, but still….”

Kagome
felt her spine stiffen to match her voice. “There’s
nothing wrong with being a hanyou.”

Dark,
rheumy eyes blinked at her in surprise, the action almost immediately
followed by a loud, barking laugh. “Course there isn’t!
Never said there was! Wouldn’t have expected you to think so,
anyway, seeing as you and that pretty one up there are friendly
enough for a midnight visit.”

Kagome’s
blinked at the woman, her flush darkening. Then she sent an
infuriated look at Miroku, who was too busy sipping at his tea in an
effort to avoid Sango’s glare to notice hers.

The old
woman was still chuckling to herself. “Besides, if I thought
there was anything wrong with being hanyou, then I imagine that
things around here would be very different.”

A loud
scrape and thump was heard from another part of the house. While
Kagome and Sango looked around and Miroku calmly sipped his tea, the
old woman turned to call over her shoulder to the door that lead out
the other side of the kitchen. “Done checking those trees, are
you? Come into the kitchen. Company’s here and we’re
having tea.”

There
was a brief pause, then a timid, gentle baritone called back in
response, “Yes, Ma.” This was followed by a series of
faint, heavy, regular thuds, drawing progressively nearer the
kitchen.

Kagome
exchanged a curious look with Sango. Ma?
The old woman’s son?
And then he shuffled his way into the kitchen, and both women
realized why the ceilings and doors were so abnormally large.
Surprise drifted across both faces.

The
person who made his entrance was at least ten feet tall, with a
great, slightly-hunched-over bulk and strong, thick arms almost as
long as his body. His head rounded off a thick neck, his nose and
mouth elongated and narrowed to resemble a muzzle, and he had large
bulbous eyes that were a curiously pretty powder blue. Thin black
hair was pulled back into tail at his neck, and his clothes were
patched, careworn, and--at the moment--covered in dirt.

He
hesitated when he entered the room, his remarkable eyes going from
his mother, to Miroku, to each of the girls in turn before they
settled on Kagome. Unsure of what to do, she just sat there and
blinked at him. Wait…. Her son is a
youkai? But…. Her gaze jerked over to
Miroku, demanding an explanation.

The
monk set his teacup aside as he smiled a polite greeting. For the
first time since they’d entered the kitchen, he spoke up.
“Jinenji. I’m glad to see you again. The grounds are
looking well.”

To
Kagome’s surprise, the larger youkai nodded his head timidly in
return and spoke again, his voice surprisingly soft and diffident for
such a large and imposing youkai. “Lord monk. You’ve…come
to visit with InuYasha?”

Miroku
gave a nod. “Actually, tonight I have brought a few visitors
who I thought you’d like to meet.” He gestured behind him
with one hand. “This beautiful woman beside me is my fiancée,
Sango. She also is a hunter, and she and InuYasha often work together
for the Alliance.”

Sango,
who had also been mostly silent up until now, smiled hesitantly and
bowed her head, though she still looked mildly uncertain. “Jineji.”

As a
response, Jinenji nodded again, even more shyly than before.

Miroku’s
smile widened as he gestured once again, at Kagome this time. “And
this, Jineji, is Kagome. She is the reason we’re here tonight.”
He paused for the space of a breath. “She’s come to see
InuYasha.” Without waiting for a reply, he turned to Kagome,
his sharp-eyed gaze warning her that he was about to say something
important. “Jineji here is the legal owner of the property
we’re on. Jinenji’s father, you see, was a youkai who had
a strong connection to the earth. He was the one who preserved this
place in its natural state and left it to Jinenji and his mother
after he died.”

Behind
Miroku, Sango’s eyes widened in realization.

Across
the table, gray eyes blinked again at the monk as the young doctor
took in his words. “His father was….” Oh.
Comprehension washed the surprise off her face. Of
course. The old woman’s posturing and
questions made a little more sense now--her son was a hanyou as well.

Much of
the stiffness dissolved from Kagome’s shoulders. This
was territory she was very familiar with. She offered
the gentle giant in front of her a smile and a respectful bow of her
head. “Hello, Jinenji. Thank you for allowing me to see your
home. This is a lovely place.”

She
wasn’t sure, but she thought she detected a faint blush spread
across his cheeks. He ducked his head like a shy schoolboy.
“Th-thanks. Most of it was left by my pa. I just keep it all
up.”

That
reminded Kagome about all the unusual landscaping that had so
startled her on the way in. She tilted her head in inquiry. “I’m
amazed at how many rare herbs and plants growing around here. Some of
them are foreign, and some of them can’t even be found in the
wild anymore. How did you get them? Do you know how they’re
used?”

A tiny
smile stretched the oddly shaped mouth of the hanyou. “Yes. My
pa used to travel a lot and collected lots of plants when he was
younger. He taught me about all the uses of every plant here.”

She
felt her eyes widen at his words and blinked at him again. “All
of them? Every single one? But there are so many!”

Jinenji’s
blush darkened and he shuffled a little closer to the table. “Pa
knew a lot about the earth and plants. He could feel them and talk to
them, could make them grow anywhere. He taught me how to coax the
earth into producing the best environment for them to grow.”

Kagome
just sat still for a moment, absorbing the hanyou’s words. She
could feel excitement momentarily infringe on her urgency to see
InuYasha. She had the oddest feeling that she’d just found an
invaluable source of help in treating her patients. A youkai with an
affinity towards plants and earth? An instinctual knowledge of herbs
and their uses? What might he know that other doctors and modern-day
scientists might not have thought of? It was possible that he could
tell her more about the medicines she used to treat the youkai at her
clinic, or even new ways to treat wounds and chronic conditions.

She set
her cup down and sat forward eagerly, a bright, delighted smile on
her lips. “Jinenji, would you mind showing me some of your
garden sometime? Maybe tell me something about them? I would very
much like to hear what you know about the herbs you grow here.”

Jineji
looked surprised, even truly shocked. He stared at her for a moment,
then swung his large head to look at his mother. The older woman’s
attention was riveted to them, her dark eyes swinging from one to the
other as they spoke. When her son turned his gaze to her, however,
she looked away, taking an absent sip from the teacup in her hand
with a quiet “humph”.

Kagome
waited patiently, realizing her suddenness of both her visit and
request would be far atypical of anything the retiring landowner had
ever encountered, and slightly embarrassed that she’d put him
in such an uncomfortable situation. She wasn’t usually so
forward, but she’d let her eagerness carry her away. She bit
her lip, then started to offer an explanation as to why a stranger
would be so interested in a garden. Jinenji’s voice stopped
her.

“You….
You really want to?”

She
felt the warmth of a relieved smile break across her face as she
rushed to reassure the blushing youkai. “Oh, yes, I would. Very
much.”

A
hidden tension released from the large shoulders as Jinenji nodded.
“All right.”

Another
“humph” had Kagome turning to face the old woman beside
her before they could discuss it further. She was greeted by a pair
of dark eyes that eyed her suspiciously.

“What
interest would you have in my Jinenji’s garden anyway?”

“Oh,
did we forget to mention?” Miroku spoke up again, an extremely
pleased, almost gloating smile across his face. “Kagome is a
doctor. She works at a clinic that takes in all manner of patients.”

Heavy,
thin brows of gray lifted questioningly. “All manner, eh?”

Kagome
smiled and nodded. “Yes. We treat any patient, regardless of
what species they are.”

Risen
brows abruptly narrowed. “You meaning to imply you treat hanyou
as well?”

Kagome
nodded again--but it was Miroku who spoke, still grinning like a
Cheshire cat. “Of course, dear lady. In fact, Kagome here,”
he gestured across the table “actually specializes in patients
of mixed species--she has to, considering she’s the primary
physician for an orphanage full of hanyou children.”

Miroku
said the words with the sort of special inflection that is meant to
have more meaning than it sounds, but Sango and Kagome couldn’t
figure out why. Jineji and his mother, however, seemed to find that
last tidbit extremely interesting. Kagome thought the old woman’s
brows must get a lot of exercise as they lifted once again in
surprise.

A
moment of quiet expectation reigned in the kitchen as the old woman
stared at a grinning Miroku.

Then,
to everyone’s shock, the old woman burst out laughing.

She sat
and laughed for a full minute, her scratchy, old husk of a laugh
reverberating off the various surfaces in the kitchen. Sango and
Kagome exchanged mystified looks, Miroku set his cup on the table
with a self-satisfied air, and the giant half-youkai simply watched
his mother.

Finally,
the old woman began to calm down. She wiped at her eyes with a
gnarled hand and glanced over at Kagome. “An orphanage full of
hanyou, is it? No wonder you aren’t afraid of Jinenji. I
suppose you use herbs in your healing?”

Hesitantly,
Kagome nodded. “They usually work better on youkai.”

The old
woman shook her head, still chuckling. “So they do. Very well
then.” She put her hands on the table and started to struggle
her way into a standing position.

Jinenji,
seeing his mother’s efforts, simply reached out one of his long
arms, plucked her up, and set her on her feet. “Be careful,
ma.”

She
patted a few fingers of his large hand affectionately. “Thank
you, Jinenji. You’re such a good boy.” With that, she
turned and shuffled her way over to counter by the sink. “Just
out of curiosity,” she called over her shoulder as she yanked
open a drawer and started rummaging, a strange metallic sound--like
coins rubbing against each other--emanating from within the drawer.
“How did you and that hunter meet?”

Kagome
blinked. “Well, um…. He was a--a patient of mine.”

Miroku
chuckled. “He was seriously injured by a rogue and Kagome came
in to the clinic and saved his life--on her day off, no less.”

“Oh-ho?
Is that so?” The old woman seemed amused by this as well. “I
think you’ll do just fine.” She found whatever it was she
was looking for and slammed the drawer shut before shuffling her way
back to the table. She stopped right over Kagome and looked down at
her. “Kagome, was it? The night’s getting old, so if
you’re done with your tea, you might as well head on over there
to see that hunter.”

Kagome
hesitated for only a minute, gray eyes wide and staring at the old
woman hovering over her. Then the reason she was here pushed to the
front of her mind with full force and she scrambled to her feet.
“Really?”

The old
woman nodded. “Course. You’re welcome here anytime.”
She nodded off in the general direction of the larger building. “The
hunter’s on the top floor. Just take the stairs. It’s the
only apartment up there, so you can’t miss it.”

Kagome
stared at her for a moment longer as she realized what the old woman
was saying. She’d just been given a stamp of approval.
Gratitude and relief surged through her in a rush, and she forward in
a deep bow. “Thank you very much.”

She
glanced at Sango, who gave her a small smile, her expression mixed
with relief, encouragement, and her own dose of worry. Miroku
declined to speak, just gave her a reassuring smile and nod. She
nodded back at him. Her hand snagged up her purse, pulled it over her
shoulder, and she started to turn for the door.

She was
stopped by a gnarled hand on her arm. Startled, she found herself
staring at InuYasha’s landlady once again.

“Do
you know why I make it a habit to screen most of the visitors that
come through here?”

Kagome
blinked at the unexpected question, then furrowed her brows. She
hadn’t really thought about it, but….

Sango
spoke up from her place next to Miroku. “You want to keep
unfriendly visitors away from your son.”

The old
woman grunted, then cast an appraising look at the female hunter.
“Good guess, but that’s not all of it. If it were just me
and Jinenji, it wouldn’t matter so much. But we got our tenants
to worry about, too.”

“Tenants?”
Sango’s brow furrowed in mimicry of Kagome’s confusion.

Jinenji
stirred, nodding his head, and speaking up with his soft-toned voice.
“Hanyou.”

“Hanyou?”
Kagome felt her eyes widen. “Everyone?”

The old
woman nodded as well. “Yep. Hanyou and family, every one of
them in that building over there.” She sighed. “There was
a time, after Jinenji’s father died, that we didn’t know
we had legal rights to this place. We had to live on our own, out
there, back when things were a lot worse for hanyou than they are
today. Jineji and I both had a hard time of it. When we were finally
able to come back, Jinenji wanted to make sure there was a place
where at least a few hanyou who might be in the same situation could
find a place to live peacefully. That’s all.”

“Jineji
did?” Kagome swiveled to face the large half-youkai behind her.

“Humph.”
The old woman snorted softly, but her voice was humble. “Of
course Jinenji did. He’s always had a heart just like his
daddy.”

Kagome’s
entire expression softened, and she reached out a hand to rest
against one long, bulky arm. “That’s…. That’s
a very kind and generous thing to do.”

Jinenji
went from light pink at the touch of her hand, to dark pink at her
words. “It’s…. It’s not really anything. Ma
and me, we only need a little room, so this house is plenty, and I…
I like having the company around.”

She
smiled. “Well, I think it is special. Thank you for doing it.”

She
heard a crusty sigh from behind her. “No use getting all
sentimental or anything. Just know that we don’t want it spread
around. We only offer the apartments on a very select basis, and
everyone who knows about this place keeps quiet about it. We don’t
want an army beating down our gates. As far as this neighborhood is
concerned, this is a private residence, just like every other home in
this area.”

Kagome
nodded and drew a deep breath. “I understand. I won’t
talk about it.”

The old
woman nodded her satisfaction. “Good. You had better get going,
or the sun will rise and you’ll lose your night.” She
reached out and clutched one of Kagome’s hands within the
gnarled clutch of her own. Something small, warm, and hard pressed
firmly against her palm. “Don’t forget: top floor, only
apartment.” She dropped Kagome’s hand and started to sit
once again. “And you needn’t bother to knock. Just go
right on in.”

Kagome
took another moment to stand in stock-still surprise as she realized
what her hand now fisted so tightly around. She blinked around the
table and took in the grinning, confused, and indifferent expressions
before she smiled. She bowed low once again, then turned to dash out
of the house.

She
paused only once, to bow to Jinenji. “Thank you for your
hospitality. I hope we can discuss your garden more sometime soon.”

Jineji
surprised her by tipping his head down in his own version of a bow.
“Okay… You can to visit anytime you want. I’m
always here.”

Kagome
nodded. “Yes.”

She
sent one last look of thanks to Miroku as she made her way back
towards the door they had come in. In her wake, the kitchen was
silent for a few moments.

Then
the old woman chuckled again. “A doctor for hanyou children,
eh?” She pinned Miroku with her gaze. “You could have
just said so at the gate, lech. You knew I wouldn’t have any
objections. No danger in her meeting any of the others if she‘s
fair enough to treat them as children.”

“I
could have,” Miroku acknowledged with a smile. “But it
was more fun this way. Besides, you were going to have to meet her
eventually. I strongly suspect she’ll be the newest addition to
your little community here before too much longer--if not after
tonight.”

“Miroku!”
Sango gave him a sharp rap to the back of the head, infuriated that
he would talk so freely about their friends’ private lives.

“Ouch!”
Miroku rubbed at his head defensively. “It’s only the
truth, Sango. I’ll be surprised if he lets her go back to her
apartment for more than her clothes.”

Sango
huffed and sat back, crossing her arms. “I sincerely hope you
don’t talk about us like
this in front of other people.” Her eyes narrowed. “That
would be seriously bad for your health.”

Miroku
looked thoughtful, then apprehensive. “How bad, exactly?”

“Miroku!”

Across
the table from them, the old woman lifted her hand and sipped noisily
at her tea., eyeing them with one eye over the rim. “So…
You are the one who is bound to marry this fool of a monk?”

Sango
sighed, and her shoulders slumped wearily. “Unfortunately.”

“I
see that Kagome isn’t the only one in need of a strong will.”

“Not
at all, dear woman. She already has my will wrapped neatly around her
talented little fingers.” Miroku’s smile was slightly
wicked, and his eyes gleamed with humor.

Sango
sighed again--wearily--and swiped said fingers of one hand through
the loose fall of black hair around her face. “So you say….
Now if only I could figure out how to manipulate it, maybe you
wouldn’t give me so many headaches.”

The
weariness that had set in her shoulders was now evident in her voice,
earning her a concerned frown from her fiancé. He studied her
for a moment, his eyes taking in her pale skin and tired-looking
eyes. His gaze skimmed over her cup and noted that it was almost as
full as it had been when she received it, and his frown grew
momentarily dark.

When he
turned back to the old woman and Jinenji, however, his expression was
mild. “I do believe it is getting to be late, and we have taken
enough of your time. We are on our way out to eat, and we need to
hurry if we are going to get to our restaurant in time.” He
pushed to his feet, one hand discreetly wrapped around Sango’s
elbow to pull her up with him; she came without a hint of protest. He
bowed to both the old woman, and the hanyou. “Thank you
both--for the tea, and for allowing Kagome to see InuYasha. I believe
this will be good for him. Please excuse us now.”

“Hn?
Look a bit on the sick side, don’t you girl? Fine, fine. Leave
the cups. They’re mine anyway.” The old woman eyed the
couple suspiciously. “You know what’s so important about
tonight for that girl, don’t you, lech?”

Miroku
smiled. “I do indeed, dearest lady. But, sadly, most of my
secrets are not mine to tell.” He nodded once again to Jineji.
“Good night to the both of you.” without waiting for a
reply, he ushered Sango in front of him, guiding her through the
cottage and out the door.

It
wasn’t until they were back in his car that Sango sighed
heavily, leaning her head against the headrest and looking up at the
larger building some distance away. The windows on the top floor were
still dark. “I wonder if they’ll be ok, Miroku? I think
Kagome was more upset than she let on that InuYasha kept this from
her.”

Miroku
glanced over at her as he started up the car, letting the engine hum
to warm. “I don’t think she can hold it against him for
too long. She--maybe even better than you or I--knows what it’s
like for hanyou at times like these. And….” He
hesitated. “InuYasha may be stubborn, but he’s not a
fool. He won’t lose her over something like this. He’s
been waiting too long.”

“What?”
Sango lifted her head off the chair.

Miroku
took the opportunity to rev the engine a couple times. Then he smiled
cheerfully at his fiancée. “So, where are we going now
that we don’t have to watch out for Kagome?”

Sango
eyed him suspiciously, then gave a shrug and another sigh. “I
don’t know. I don’t really feel like going out.”
She sighed again and glanced up once more at the darkened top floor
of the apartment building. A small smile curved her lips. “How
about we pick something up to eat at home? Something that would go
well sitting on the couch in front of a good movie.”

Miroku
pondered the suggestion, found he had no objections to a night of
cuddling, then gave her a considering glance. “What movie were
you thinking of?”

For the
first time in while, his Sango
gave him her slow, sinfully wicked, blood-thickening smile. He felt
her hand start to trail up and down along his thigh, and practically
breathed out the next. “Oh, nothing in particular. Just one of
those that we won’t mind completely ignoring.”

Gods,
did he love that smile.

His
delighted grin was followed almost immediately by the car going into
gear. “Whatever you want, my dearest Sango.”

He also
made a mental note to pick up some aspirin, just in case that
headache of hers tried to get the best of her.
- 15
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Waiting on a Wish