Fic Post: Intertwined_Chapter 2
Title: Intertwined
Author: songoffate
Fandom: Harry Potter/Inuyasha
Pairings: Sesshomaru/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Inuyasha/Kouga, Sango/Miroku, mentions of Kagome/Hojo
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters, or the majority of the settings for that matter. I'm just borrowing them, and they will all be returned unharmed. Well. Relatively.
Chapter 2 - Let’s count the stars.
Ron’s head hit the table with a dull thump, followed by a loud, pained groan.
“Double potions? Again? Didn’t we do this already?!” He whined, hands pulling at his red hair. Harry shot him a sympathetic look before scowling slightly to himself. He was not looking forward to going through that again either.
Hermione’s brow was furrowed, which mean she was confused and annoyed by it. “And with the Slytherins no less.” Ron whimpered again and she patted his head absentmindedly. “I would think the professors would be trying to keep us as far away from them as possible this year.” She said, eyes meeting Harry’s who shrugged.
“Maybe Dumbledore is still holding out hope that pushing us all in the same space will keep the Slytherins traitorous tendencies to a minimum.” He retorted with a snide sneer towards the Slytherin table. “Fat load of good that will do.” A week back in Hogwarts and Harry was already sick of them and he could honestly say that he had no idea what the professors were thinking, sticking them in almost all the same classes together. Again, as Ron had said. Shouldn’t graduating students get a bloody say in things like this?
And the Slytherins were proving to be particularly unbearable this year, Harry had noticed. They’d wasted no time waiting for everyone to get settled before schooling the younger years in the art of tormenting their fellow students. But the sixth and seventh year Slytherins were unnaturally quiet; sending the younger ones off to happily do their dirty work while they watched from the back round, their expressions blank and cold. They had no regard for the punishments the professors were doling out left and right. A few had actually already been expelled. And they all showed absolutely no remorse; acting like they had nothing else to lose.
And well, maybe they didn’t.
Harry, Ron and Hermione already had far too many of their own house’s first years coming to them crying and pleading for help because their rivals had decided that unprecedented cruelty was their drug of choice this year. The elder students had all decided that they were going to walk with the younger ones around when classes started. Things could only get worse from here and they weren’t taking any chances.
Ron had lifted his head from the table and was sullenly chewing on a piece of bacon when he spoke, ignoring Hermione’s disapproving glare. “Well he’d better have some kind of plan in mind because I don’t think I can take much more of those slimy gits before I do something drastic.”
“I’d be right there with you in a second, mate.” Seamus cut in from Harry’s other side. “Smarmy bastards would just be getting’ what’s comin’ to ‘em tha’s for sure.” He growled, head gesturing back in the direction of the Slytherin table again.
Suddenly energized by their friend jumping right up on his bandwagon, Ron sat up straight with an eager nod. “Too right. And have you seen Malfoy and his lot lately?” He asked. “ Sitting up their on their pedestals, pretty as you please, while they let the first years wreak havoc.”
“It’s a damn injustice is what it is.” Seamus agreed. “All of the other younger years are scared witless!
Harry let his gaze drift past Hermione’s shoulder across the Great Hall to where Draco Malfoy was sitting, flanked by Zabini and Crabbe. It was almost jarring seeing Blaise wrecking the symmetry of Crabbe and Goyle’s hulking frames next to Malfoy that had become a normal sight around Hogwarts. But as Goyle had been killed at the end of last year during a Death Eater attack, of which he had been apart of, it was clear that the ‘Malfoy and his apes’ routine was never going to be witnessed here again. Harry couldn’t really find it in himself to feel bad about that.
The Slytherins had come back with a vengeance this year and they were taking the ‘House Rivalries’ to an entirely different level. It wasn’t Slytherins vs. Gryffindors anymore. They were going after everyone and anyone that even hinted they didn’t agree with their viewpoints.
He felt his teeth grind together angrily at the tittering laughter that suddenly erupted from the Slytherins at the expense of a couple of trembling Hufflepuffs that were trying to move as quickly as they could back to their own table. Malfoy and the other elder Slytherins watched impassively. Not encouraging except with small nods when looked to for confirmation, but not actively joining in themselves either.
Malfoy’s expression was as cold and inflectionless as it had been the day they arrived at Hogwarts. Harry had yet to see him say anything more than a few words to anyone since then. He always just stared. They all did. Gone were the antagonistic remarks and borderline-dangerous pranks that the Gryffindor’s had constantly come to expect from them, only to be replaced with the odd, watchful silence that their rivals were delivering instead.
But it was only the elder ones. The sixth and seventh, and only a choice few of the fifth years. And it was unnerving. After years of preparing for confrontation almost every time they came in contact with someone sporting Slytherin’s colors, it was odd to just have them walk right past without even a backwards glance. Harry had no doubt in his mind that something was going to happen, and soon. There wasn’t going to be any of this waiting until the end of the year for their grand plan to come to fruition. Whatever it was they were hiding, they had to be ready for it to happen at any moment.
Harry almost jolted out his skin when Malfoy suddenly shifted his head to the side and caught his eye. Harry glared at him almost out of pure habit and was shocked to see the corner of the blond’s mouth turn upwards in a smirk, his grey eyes flashing a malicious silver for just a moment before the mask slipped back in place. It was the first hint of the old Malfoy he’d seen in awhile and it didn‘t fail to rile him.
Nails digging viciously into his palms, Harry had to fight down the all too familiar urge to run over and throttle the git. But in that small gesture Malfoy had given him all the confirmation he had needed, so he resisted the temptation.
I’ll be waiting, you bastard. He snarled mentally.
“Harry?” Hermione’s voice broke him away and he automatically sent her a reassuring smile in return.
“I’m sorry ‘Mione. Was just thinking.”
Her eyebrow ticked up slightly in a silent question and he tilted his head to the right in response. Harry had never been quite sure when they had developed this silent language, but especially during the last few years it had definitely come in handy.
“Of course you were.” She smiled at him but her eyes were narrowed in a way that said, we are talking about this later, Harry. “ I was just saying that Ron and I were going to head back to the dormitory, are you finished?”
“Yeah, mate. I want to enjoy the last few days of freedom we have before this madness starts all over again.” Ron said, his brow furrowed. He hadn’t missed their gestures.
Harry laughed and nodded, pushing his plate forward and going to stand and waving goodbye to Seamus as he replied. “Alright, let’s go.” They had things to discuss anyway.
He took off swiftly towards the Gryffindor tower, Ron and Hermione at his sides as always. They reached the Fat Lady and Harry muttered the password, “Salvatoris.” and she happily swung aside for them to enter. The moment they were all inside and they made sure no one else was around, Harry spun around to face his friends.
“Harry?” Hermione questioned.
“Malfoy’s got something planned.”
“Aye?” Ron asked. “Doesn’t surprise me. But how do you figure? He hasn’t said more than two bloody words to anyone since the first day.”
“Exactly.” Harry confirmed, eyes narrowing in thought. “Not a thing, yeah? Not one sarcastic remark or ‘harmless’ prank. Nothing about mud bloods or how his father is going to do this or that. Since he ‘stopped’ talking, so have the other older Slytherins. They don’t even glare at us anymore.” He tilted his body and leaned his hip against the wall and crossed his arms. “But he just as good as told me something was going to happen.”
Hermione looked skeptical again. “What did he do exactly? I didn’t see him do a whole lot of anything in the Great Hall.”
Ron shrugged. “That’s because he wasn’t doing much of anything. Doesn’t mean his twisted little mind wasn’t running a million miles a second.” He told her before looking back at Harry. “Was he looking at you weird, Harry? I mean, not that that dead, staring thing he’s been doing lately isn’t weird but you know what I mean.”
Harry smirked ruefully, casting his eyes down and away to look at the roaring fire that was ever present in their tower. “That’s just it. It was the look he gave me. I know Malfoy’s scheming face anywhere. And he hasn’t showed any kind of emotion since we got here.”
“Well that’s right, isn’t it? Are you sure he’s not just trying to get to you?” Hermione asked. “Or maybe even a fluke? I’m not trying to say that the Slytherins aren’t up to something, but Malfoy knows you too. He knows how to make you suspicious.” She fidgeted slightly, as if she was waiting for him to get frustrated. He let his lips curl into a smile that he knew would soothe her before his gaze hardened, determined and lifted slowly to look Hermione and Ron in the eyes again.
“Trust me.” Harry said, voice certain. “This wasn’t a fluke. This was a challenge.”
_____
They were fighting again. Granted, that wasn’t at all unusual in the ‘Inuyasha and Kagome’ relationship. It was just how they worked. People were more concerned when they weren’t snarling at each other every five minutes then when they argued over something stupid. But this time, he had to say, was way different than normal.
Okay so this shit was crazy.
Inuyasha’s mind was reeling with the sudden onslaught he was receiving and he couldn’t do anything but stare at the obviously psychotic woman in front of him and ask. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Kagome stomped her foot and let out an angry, wordless shout to the sky. “I can’t handle this anymore!”
“Can’t handle what anymore?!” He flailed, confused and irritated already. The girl had been back for all of five minutes and she was already freaking out. They didn’t have time for this shit. He pointed at the Bone-Eater’s Well, “I don’t even know what you’re problem is! You’re the one that outta that thing screaming like a banshee!”
“Well maybe if you paid any attention to me at all and stopped thinking about the stupid jewel shards for one second, Inuyasha! You don‘t even ask about how I am! As soon as I get here it‘s, ‘So can you sense any shards?’ or ‘How far away is the next one?’ I‘m just a tool to you!”
Inuyasha blanched at her, mouth gaping. He fought back the pang of hurt that the accusation brought on. Did…did she honestly still think that after all this time? Still? How many times did he have to risk his neck for her, and show her parts of himself that he’d never shown anyone before, for her to realize that he actually fucking cared?!
“Seriously? Seriously Kagome? How fucking long have we been doing this, huh?! You’re the one that broke the damn thing, it’s your responsibility to help find it and that’s just the first part!” He growled, crossing his arms across his chest as he glared down at her. “You’ve had plenty of fucking opportunities to leave and not have to deal with this shit if you didn’t want to but you kept coming back because you wanted to help!”
“I know that!” She cried, exasperated. Like it was his fault this fight was happening in the first place. “I know it’s my fault. It’s not like you ever let me forget it!”
“Well since you keep bringing this up it seems like you need a little freaking reminding!”
*
Their voices trailed across the clearing to where Miroku, Shippou and Kirara were camped out waiting for Inuyasha and Kagome to finish their spat. Sango sighed tiredly as she walked up to them.
“Are they going at it already? Kagome just came back, you‘d think he‘d leave her alone for a few minutes.”
Miroku turned to smile at her over his shoulder. “This may surprise you, but it actually wasn’t Inuyasha’s fault this time.”
“Oh?” Sango’s eyes widened skeptically.
Shippou jumped up onto her shoulder. “It’s true! Kagome looked really mad when she came out of the Well and as soon as she saw Inuyasha she just starting tearing into him right there!” He chewed the inside of his mouth worriedly. “I wonder what’s wrong…”
“It’s certainly not like Kagome to pick a fight like that.” Miroku said, arms resting across his staff while he watched the spectacle. Even from as far away as he had been, Kagome’s bad mood had been obvious from the second she climbed out of the Well. He felt Sango settle next to him and smiled again.
“Well, what’s it about this time?” She asked.
Miroku pressed his lips together in thought. “You see, this is where it gets confusing. From what I can tell she’s back on the ‘you don’t think of me as a person’ thing.”
Sango caught on to their confusion. “….Didn’t she get over that a couple years ago?”
“She did.” he nodded. “I really don’t think this has anything to do with that. I think something else is going on and she just needed an excuse to rile him so she can give herself an opportunity to throw it at him.”
“Miroku.” Sango chastised lightly. “You can’t honestly think she’d be as manipulative as all that?”
“Fine then! If that’s what you want then fucking go back home Kagome! No one’s keeping you here!”
“Oh sure! Like you won’t follow me and drag me back as soon as you decide you need me again!”
“No, you know what? Just go. I’m sick of this shit. You’ve done enough. Go home to your normal life with your normal family and normal friends or whatever the hell it is your so damn excited to get back to!”
“Ugh! I can’t believe you! Maybe I will go home! I never get treated this way back there! And at least when someone wants me around, they actually tell me so!”
They flinched in unison and Miroku tilted his head to the side as he pressed his lips together again.
“Maybe not on purpose…” He started but trailed off as the shouting got louder again.
“Houjo? Who? That scrawny kid that stalks you all the time? What the fuck does any of this have to do with him?”
Sango’s head fell onto his shoulder with a groan. “Oh no…”
Shippou curled nervously around her neck and tried not to whimper. He really didn’t like it when Kagome was upset and it was worse when she threatened to go home.
“He treats me like a decent human being! He’s kind and caring and wonderful and worries about me when I’m gone or sick and brings me all of my homework and actually tells me how he feels! He doesn’t hide anything from me! Unlike some people!”
Miroku shot Sango a knowing look, raising his eyebrow at her in a silent ‘see what I mean?’ gesture. Obviously, this was what Kagome had been trying to get to in the first place. Sango sighed again and shook her head sadly. This wasn’t going to end well. It usually didn’t.
“Fuck that! Don’t try using me as a damn excuse! If you want to go back home and play house with some human kid then fine. But you are not gonna sit there and make me out to be some horrible person so you don’t feel guilty about ditching out on us later!”
“Trust me I don’t have to do a lot to make you horrible -”
“If I hadn’t heard it myself…“ Miroku grit his teeth and stood.
The hurt in Inuyasha’s voice was easily heard, even from the distance and Miroku decided then that enough was enough. His jaw set angrily as he started toward the feuding pair. He didn’t have to look to know Sango was following after telling Shippou to stay with Kirara, she broke off aiming for Kagome herself while he went to Inuyasha.
He barely resisted shooting a venomous glare at the girl when he put a firm hand on the half-demon’s shoulder. Never once had Miroku felt anything but affection for Kagome but Inuyasha was his best friend and for her to just decide one day that she was going to callously break his heart and run home made his blood boil uncharacteristically.
“C’mon Inuyasha.” He said as calmly as he could with a light push in the opposite direction. Inuyasha sent one last disgusted glance back at Kagome, before turning towards the touch and stalking past Miroku into the forest. Miroku stopped to make sure Sango was alright, but judging by her angry stance and the firm look she was giving Kagome he was pretty sure she had it handled. He sighed again, gripping his staff. Now to deal with a livid and more than likely hurt Inuyasha.
This was definitely not how he’d expected to spend his night.
Author: songoffate
Fandom: Harry Potter/Inuyasha
Pairings: Sesshomaru/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Inuyasha/Kouga, Sango/Miroku, mentions of Kagome/Hojo
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of these characters, or the majority of the settings for that matter. I'm just borrowing them, and they will all be returned unharmed. Well. Relatively.
Chapter 2 - Let’s count the stars.
Ron’s head hit the table with a dull thump, followed by a loud, pained groan.
“Double potions? Again? Didn’t we do this already?!” He whined, hands pulling at his red hair. Harry shot him a sympathetic look before scowling slightly to himself. He was not looking forward to going through that again either.
Hermione’s brow was furrowed, which mean she was confused and annoyed by it. “And with the Slytherins no less.” Ron whimpered again and she patted his head absentmindedly. “I would think the professors would be trying to keep us as far away from them as possible this year.” She said, eyes meeting Harry’s who shrugged.
“Maybe Dumbledore is still holding out hope that pushing us all in the same space will keep the Slytherins traitorous tendencies to a minimum.” He retorted with a snide sneer towards the Slytherin table. “Fat load of good that will do.” A week back in Hogwarts and Harry was already sick of them and he could honestly say that he had no idea what the professors were thinking, sticking them in almost all the same classes together. Again, as Ron had said. Shouldn’t graduating students get a bloody say in things like this?
And the Slytherins were proving to be particularly unbearable this year, Harry had noticed. They’d wasted no time waiting for everyone to get settled before schooling the younger years in the art of tormenting their fellow students. But the sixth and seventh year Slytherins were unnaturally quiet; sending the younger ones off to happily do their dirty work while they watched from the back round, their expressions blank and cold. They had no regard for the punishments the professors were doling out left and right. A few had actually already been expelled. And they all showed absolutely no remorse; acting like they had nothing else to lose.
And well, maybe they didn’t.
Harry, Ron and Hermione already had far too many of their own house’s first years coming to them crying and pleading for help because their rivals had decided that unprecedented cruelty was their drug of choice this year. The elder students had all decided that they were going to walk with the younger ones around when classes started. Things could only get worse from here and they weren’t taking any chances.
Ron had lifted his head from the table and was sullenly chewing on a piece of bacon when he spoke, ignoring Hermione’s disapproving glare. “Well he’d better have some kind of plan in mind because I don’t think I can take much more of those slimy gits before I do something drastic.”
“I’d be right there with you in a second, mate.” Seamus cut in from Harry’s other side. “Smarmy bastards would just be getting’ what’s comin’ to ‘em tha’s for sure.” He growled, head gesturing back in the direction of the Slytherin table again.
Suddenly energized by their friend jumping right up on his bandwagon, Ron sat up straight with an eager nod. “Too right. And have you seen Malfoy and his lot lately?” He asked. “ Sitting up their on their pedestals, pretty as you please, while they let the first years wreak havoc.”
“It’s a damn injustice is what it is.” Seamus agreed. “All of the other younger years are scared witless!
Harry let his gaze drift past Hermione’s shoulder across the Great Hall to where Draco Malfoy was sitting, flanked by Zabini and Crabbe. It was almost jarring seeing Blaise wrecking the symmetry of Crabbe and Goyle’s hulking frames next to Malfoy that had become a normal sight around Hogwarts. But as Goyle had been killed at the end of last year during a Death Eater attack, of which he had been apart of, it was clear that the ‘Malfoy and his apes’ routine was never going to be witnessed here again. Harry couldn’t really find it in himself to feel bad about that.
The Slytherins had come back with a vengeance this year and they were taking the ‘House Rivalries’ to an entirely different level. It wasn’t Slytherins vs. Gryffindors anymore. They were going after everyone and anyone that even hinted they didn’t agree with their viewpoints.
He felt his teeth grind together angrily at the tittering laughter that suddenly erupted from the Slytherins at the expense of a couple of trembling Hufflepuffs that were trying to move as quickly as they could back to their own table. Malfoy and the other elder Slytherins watched impassively. Not encouraging except with small nods when looked to for confirmation, but not actively joining in themselves either.
Malfoy’s expression was as cold and inflectionless as it had been the day they arrived at Hogwarts. Harry had yet to see him say anything more than a few words to anyone since then. He always just stared. They all did. Gone were the antagonistic remarks and borderline-dangerous pranks that the Gryffindor’s had constantly come to expect from them, only to be replaced with the odd, watchful silence that their rivals were delivering instead.
But it was only the elder ones. The sixth and seventh, and only a choice few of the fifth years. And it was unnerving. After years of preparing for confrontation almost every time they came in contact with someone sporting Slytherin’s colors, it was odd to just have them walk right past without even a backwards glance. Harry had no doubt in his mind that something was going to happen, and soon. There wasn’t going to be any of this waiting until the end of the year for their grand plan to come to fruition. Whatever it was they were hiding, they had to be ready for it to happen at any moment.
Harry almost jolted out his skin when Malfoy suddenly shifted his head to the side and caught his eye. Harry glared at him almost out of pure habit and was shocked to see the corner of the blond’s mouth turn upwards in a smirk, his grey eyes flashing a malicious silver for just a moment before the mask slipped back in place. It was the first hint of the old Malfoy he’d seen in awhile and it didn‘t fail to rile him.
Nails digging viciously into his palms, Harry had to fight down the all too familiar urge to run over and throttle the git. But in that small gesture Malfoy had given him all the confirmation he had needed, so he resisted the temptation.
I’ll be waiting, you bastard. He snarled mentally.
“Harry?” Hermione’s voice broke him away and he automatically sent her a reassuring smile in return.
“I’m sorry ‘Mione. Was just thinking.”
Her eyebrow ticked up slightly in a silent question and he tilted his head to the right in response. Harry had never been quite sure when they had developed this silent language, but especially during the last few years it had definitely come in handy.
“Of course you were.” She smiled at him but her eyes were narrowed in a way that said, we are talking about this later, Harry. “ I was just saying that Ron and I were going to head back to the dormitory, are you finished?”
“Yeah, mate. I want to enjoy the last few days of freedom we have before this madness starts all over again.” Ron said, his brow furrowed. He hadn’t missed their gestures.
Harry laughed and nodded, pushing his plate forward and going to stand and waving goodbye to Seamus as he replied. “Alright, let’s go.” They had things to discuss anyway.
He took off swiftly towards the Gryffindor tower, Ron and Hermione at his sides as always. They reached the Fat Lady and Harry muttered the password, “Salvatoris.” and she happily swung aside for them to enter. The moment they were all inside and they made sure no one else was around, Harry spun around to face his friends.
“Harry?” Hermione questioned.
“Malfoy’s got something planned.”
“Aye?” Ron asked. “Doesn’t surprise me. But how do you figure? He hasn’t said more than two bloody words to anyone since the first day.”
“Exactly.” Harry confirmed, eyes narrowing in thought. “Not a thing, yeah? Not one sarcastic remark or ‘harmless’ prank. Nothing about mud bloods or how his father is going to do this or that. Since he ‘stopped’ talking, so have the other older Slytherins. They don’t even glare at us anymore.” He tilted his body and leaned his hip against the wall and crossed his arms. “But he just as good as told me something was going to happen.”
Hermione looked skeptical again. “What did he do exactly? I didn’t see him do a whole lot of anything in the Great Hall.”
Ron shrugged. “That’s because he wasn’t doing much of anything. Doesn’t mean his twisted little mind wasn’t running a million miles a second.” He told her before looking back at Harry. “Was he looking at you weird, Harry? I mean, not that that dead, staring thing he’s been doing lately isn’t weird but you know what I mean.”
Harry smirked ruefully, casting his eyes down and away to look at the roaring fire that was ever present in their tower. “That’s just it. It was the look he gave me. I know Malfoy’s scheming face anywhere. And he hasn’t showed any kind of emotion since we got here.”
“Well that’s right, isn’t it? Are you sure he’s not just trying to get to you?” Hermione asked. “Or maybe even a fluke? I’m not trying to say that the Slytherins aren’t up to something, but Malfoy knows you too. He knows how to make you suspicious.” She fidgeted slightly, as if she was waiting for him to get frustrated. He let his lips curl into a smile that he knew would soothe her before his gaze hardened, determined and lifted slowly to look Hermione and Ron in the eyes again.
“Trust me.” Harry said, voice certain. “This wasn’t a fluke. This was a challenge.”
_____
They were fighting again. Granted, that wasn’t at all unusual in the ‘Inuyasha and Kagome’ relationship. It was just how they worked. People were more concerned when they weren’t snarling at each other every five minutes then when they argued over something stupid. But this time, he had to say, was way different than normal.
Okay so this shit was crazy.
Inuyasha’s mind was reeling with the sudden onslaught he was receiving and he couldn’t do anything but stare at the obviously psychotic woman in front of him and ask. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
Kagome stomped her foot and let out an angry, wordless shout to the sky. “I can’t handle this anymore!”
“Can’t handle what anymore?!” He flailed, confused and irritated already. The girl had been back for all of five minutes and she was already freaking out. They didn’t have time for this shit. He pointed at the Bone-Eater’s Well, “I don’t even know what you’re problem is! You’re the one that outta that thing screaming like a banshee!”
“Well maybe if you paid any attention to me at all and stopped thinking about the stupid jewel shards for one second, Inuyasha! You don‘t even ask about how I am! As soon as I get here it‘s, ‘So can you sense any shards?’ or ‘How far away is the next one?’ I‘m just a tool to you!”
Inuyasha blanched at her, mouth gaping. He fought back the pang of hurt that the accusation brought on. Did…did she honestly still think that after all this time? Still? How many times did he have to risk his neck for her, and show her parts of himself that he’d never shown anyone before, for her to realize that he actually fucking cared?!
“Seriously? Seriously Kagome? How fucking long have we been doing this, huh?! You’re the one that broke the damn thing, it’s your responsibility to help find it and that’s just the first part!” He growled, crossing his arms across his chest as he glared down at her. “You’ve had plenty of fucking opportunities to leave and not have to deal with this shit if you didn’t want to but you kept coming back because you wanted to help!”
“I know that!” She cried, exasperated. Like it was his fault this fight was happening in the first place. “I know it’s my fault. It’s not like you ever let me forget it!”
“Well since you keep bringing this up it seems like you need a little freaking reminding!”
*
Their voices trailed across the clearing to where Miroku, Shippou and Kirara were camped out waiting for Inuyasha and Kagome to finish their spat. Sango sighed tiredly as she walked up to them.
“Are they going at it already? Kagome just came back, you‘d think he‘d leave her alone for a few minutes.”
Miroku turned to smile at her over his shoulder. “This may surprise you, but it actually wasn’t Inuyasha’s fault this time.”
“Oh?” Sango’s eyes widened skeptically.
Shippou jumped up onto her shoulder. “It’s true! Kagome looked really mad when she came out of the Well and as soon as she saw Inuyasha she just starting tearing into him right there!” He chewed the inside of his mouth worriedly. “I wonder what’s wrong…”
“It’s certainly not like Kagome to pick a fight like that.” Miroku said, arms resting across his staff while he watched the spectacle. Even from as far away as he had been, Kagome’s bad mood had been obvious from the second she climbed out of the Well. He felt Sango settle next to him and smiled again.
“Well, what’s it about this time?” She asked.
Miroku pressed his lips together in thought. “You see, this is where it gets confusing. From what I can tell she’s back on the ‘you don’t think of me as a person’ thing.”
Sango caught on to their confusion. “….Didn’t she get over that a couple years ago?”
“She did.” he nodded. “I really don’t think this has anything to do with that. I think something else is going on and she just needed an excuse to rile him so she can give herself an opportunity to throw it at him.”
“Miroku.” Sango chastised lightly. “You can’t honestly think she’d be as manipulative as all that?”
“Fine then! If that’s what you want then fucking go back home Kagome! No one’s keeping you here!”
“Oh sure! Like you won’t follow me and drag me back as soon as you decide you need me again!”
“No, you know what? Just go. I’m sick of this shit. You’ve done enough. Go home to your normal life with your normal family and normal friends or whatever the hell it is your so damn excited to get back to!”
“Ugh! I can’t believe you! Maybe I will go home! I never get treated this way back there! And at least when someone wants me around, they actually tell me so!”
They flinched in unison and Miroku tilted his head to the side as he pressed his lips together again.
“Maybe not on purpose…” He started but trailed off as the shouting got louder again.
“Houjo? Who? That scrawny kid that stalks you all the time? What the fuck does any of this have to do with him?”
Sango’s head fell onto his shoulder with a groan. “Oh no…”
Shippou curled nervously around her neck and tried not to whimper. He really didn’t like it when Kagome was upset and it was worse when she threatened to go home.
“He treats me like a decent human being! He’s kind and caring and wonderful and worries about me when I’m gone or sick and brings me all of my homework and actually tells me how he feels! He doesn’t hide anything from me! Unlike some people!”
Miroku shot Sango a knowing look, raising his eyebrow at her in a silent ‘see what I mean?’ gesture. Obviously, this was what Kagome had been trying to get to in the first place. Sango sighed again and shook her head sadly. This wasn’t going to end well. It usually didn’t.
“Fuck that! Don’t try using me as a damn excuse! If you want to go back home and play house with some human kid then fine. But you are not gonna sit there and make me out to be some horrible person so you don’t feel guilty about ditching out on us later!”
“Trust me I don’t have to do a lot to make you horrible -”
“If I hadn’t heard it myself…“ Miroku grit his teeth and stood.
The hurt in Inuyasha’s voice was easily heard, even from the distance and Miroku decided then that enough was enough. His jaw set angrily as he started toward the feuding pair. He didn’t have to look to know Sango was following after telling Shippou to stay with Kirara, she broke off aiming for Kagome herself while he went to Inuyasha.
He barely resisted shooting a venomous glare at the girl when he put a firm hand on the half-demon’s shoulder. Never once had Miroku felt anything but affection for Kagome but Inuyasha was his best friend and for her to just decide one day that she was going to callously break his heart and run home made his blood boil uncharacteristically.
“C’mon Inuyasha.” He said as calmly as he could with a light push in the opposite direction. Inuyasha sent one last disgusted glance back at Kagome, before turning towards the touch and stalking past Miroku into the forest. Miroku stopped to make sure Sango was alright, but judging by her angry stance and the firm look she was giving Kagome he was pretty sure she had it handled. He sighed again, gripping his staff. Now to deal with a livid and more than likely hurt Inuyasha.
This was definitely not how he’d expected to spend his night.