"Miroku, may I have a word with you?" Nashori asked as she peeked her head inside the monk's hut. When he waved her in, she went in & sat in front of him on the floor where he burned a small fire to warm him. "Miroku, I was told of you curse, & I wanted to say I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I had no right to treat you like that."
Miroku's lips lifted into a smile as his eyes rose to meet her own. "It's quite all right Nashori, you have a right to be protective of yourself," he spoke softly as he handed her a cup with sake inside. "To ease your spirit some."
"Thank you Miroku," she said as she quietly sipped from the cup, grimacing slightly since she had never really had the chance to try the stuff. She sighed & looked up at him, her tail swaying from side to side behind her. "Miroku?" He looked up at her from his cup. "Do you want me to stay here? Honestly, not just for sexual reasons..."
A look of thought crossed Miroku's features for a few moments before he set his cup down & looked at her. "It would be nice to have you here with our village, Nashori. Not only are you beautiful, despite what you think, & very wise for your young age, you bring out a good side in Reikon Hakaisha & I am not the only one who has taken notice of this," he answered. "Nashori, you are the only one the boy has been nice to; ever. Kaede thinks that your motherly ways towards him is the cause of his slight change for the better."
Nashori smiled slightly. "Miroku, do you think there is a good chance for me to be able to stay here at the village?"
"I hope so. I would like for you to be able to stay here." He watched as she drank some more sake & held the cup above her legs. "Nashori, can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Why did you tell me not to call you beautiful?"
Nashori lowered her head & looked to the side. "Because I don't think I am."
Miroku frowned. "Nashori, why not? You're as beautiful as a seducing Kitsune demoness." He saw her confused look & remembered that she was from Kagome's time. "That's far more beautiful than any woman in the world."
"I'm sure I'm not that beautiful," Nashori said as a blush began to cover her face.
"But you are Nashori... Why won't you admit your beauty?"
"Miroku, I've heard nothing all my life from the kids in my school & everyone around me, but my caretaker, that I was ugly. And that I would never be beautiful."
His frown deepened as he finished off the rest of the sake he had poured for himself & she finished off hers. "They were & still are wrong Nashori... You're a very beautiful woman."
"Miroku, I wish you would quit telling yourself that lie."
The monk rose to his feet & walked behind her, sitting down with one leg on either side of her, & wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him. He watched as her ears went back as a result of his action & he rubbed her back as he kissed the top of her head. "Nashori, you are beautiful; no matter what you think." He rubbed her back, but held her close when she tried to pull away. "Nashori, trust me. I won't try to make a move on you unless you let me." She relaxed against him & he started rubbing her back, listening to her begin to purr, apparently liking the soft rubbing.
-Why is he being so nice to me?- She asked herself, raising her head so she could look into his eyes. He smiled at her, his eyes mirroring his smile. -Maybe this is what Sango told me about when I asked her about him always being perverted.- She lowered her head & laid it against his chest, listening to the soft, even heartbeat inside his chest. -I shouldn't be letting myself get this close to him; I should be pulling away... Then how come I'm not?-
-She's showing me a considerable amount of trust by letting me hold her like this, taking into account how untrusting she was of me a few days ago...- He thought as he stopped the rubbing of her back, & wrapped his arms around her as much as he could so he could hug her to him. He felt her curl up against him & snuggled her head into his chest. -Nashori, what else are you not telling me about your past?-
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"Kaede, why do you think she should leave?" Sango asked, looking into the eyes of the old woman.
"Her being here has helped young Reikon Hakaisha; yes. But it has also made Inu Yasha more hostile than he has ever been; it is a hard decision to make. Sango, I am thinking about the safety of this village when I make this decision," Kaede answered, explaining herself.
"Please give it more time Kaede; until two full moons have passed. Things might blow over by then."
Kaede lowered her head as she thought Sango's request through; carefully thinking it through before she rose her head & brought her eyes to meet with Sango's. "All right, she may have until the passing of two full moons before I make my final decision."
"Thank you so much Kaede," Sango said, nodding her head slightly.
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"Inu Yasha, can I talk to you?" Nashori asked, peeking her head into his hut. It had been a few days since their last run-in & she was still a little afraid of him; but she was also determined to get through to him.
He looked at her growled softly, nodding. "Come in, but stay by the door unless I say it's okay for you to come closer," he said. She said as told. "What do you want?"
"I want to know why you seem to have such a problem with me when I have done nothing to you at all..."
"You helped the brat."
"Even before I helped him you seemed to hate me. I want to know what I've done to you Inu Yasha."
"Keh! You have no right to be in this village; that's what. You shouldn't be here but you are."
"I'M HERE ORIGINALLY BECAUSE OF YOUR GODDAMNED BROTHER! I HAD NO WANT TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE!" She saw the look of shock on his face by her outburst. "BUT NOW I STAY HERE BECAUSE I WANT TO! Because unlike you, EVERYONE ELSE WANTS ME HERE & I LIKE IT!" She glared at him, her eyes slow flashing red every few moments.
He knew he had pressed her limits somehow by the fact that her body was trying not to let it's youkai blood take over; something he had gone through plenty of times before. "Why do you like it here so much?"
"Because people show that they want me here," she answered calmly, her eyes now normal. "Unlike back in my time, where I'm hated for no reason & have no one but a caretaker; here I have an entire village, save one person, who likes me. I actually feel like I belong somewhere for once." She looked down, tears in her eyes. "I like that feeling..." A few tears fell from her eyes before she looked back up at him. "I've been rejected throughout my life; only having my mom & dad, up until the most past few years of my life... Even during the years of my life, at home was the only time I was accepted by anyone until I met Hokuro, & within a week he was stolen from me... So I went from losing my famly, moving to a new home, new school, meeting a new guy, & having him hurt me within three years... All I have EVER wanted Inu Yasha, was a home where I would be accepted once & for all; never have to worry about people not loving me again. Here I am with that place & only ONE person hates me..." She wiped the tears from her cheeks & looked at the hanyou's calm expression. "I have done nothing to you, but try to be nice, & you slap me & still treat me like shit... Now you can either stop being such a whiny little brat & be nice to someone for a change; or you can keep being an ass..." She left the hut & came face to face with one of the village women.
The woman gave her a look of pure pity & wrapped her arms around her. "Lady Nashori, you poor girl," she said.
Nashori hugged the woman back & pulled away slowly. "Don't pity me Miyoko," she said softly. "I don't want anyone's pity; only for them to accept me." She said as she walked to the hut she was allowed to stay in. She laid on the bedding Miroku had brought from a village earlier that day & sighed softly.