The Opposite Of Attraction – Part Eight: The Condition
Aamalie: …Still on hiatus, but updating anyway. Because I heart you all. Count your blessings, kids, and
have a good Easter. :)
Disclaimer:
Do I
own Inuyasha? I’ll give you one guess.
-x-
“For some
reason, I’m really starting to hate these cards.”
Miroku grinned, bridging the deck that he had just shuffled. “That’s
because there’s not much else to do, and the TV seems to have disappeared
overnight.”
Sango sighed, resting her chin on her palm. “Probably
because Shippou almost destroyed it yesterday.
It looked like a pretty expensive television, what with how big it was, and the
station probably didn’t want to be liable.”
“I suppose. I
guess that leaves it to us to design our own form of entertainment. Hmm...” A
slow grin spread across Miroku’s face as an idea came
to his mind. Sango watched him with some suspicion,
and she asked him about just what he was thinking. His grin widened when she
did so, and he leaned back on his chair, setting the cards on the table. “Oh,
something just occurred to me.”
“What occurred
to you, then?”
“Well, this
place does have a pool and a spa, you know,” he said, a devilish glint
in his eyes.
“There’s also
a pool table,” Sango said lightly, the flush that
heated her cheeks ruining her attempt to brush off his implied suggestion. In
light of her irrational and impulsive agreement to his crazy proposal the night
before, it was fairly obvious as to why, wasn’t it? Besides, everyone knew what
the mixture of reality TV and hot tubs led to, and that was a mess she wasn’t
quite willing to jump into.
“Sango,” Miroku reprimanded,
“Don’t be like that.”
“Like what?”
she returned, hoping that she sounded as unconcerned and oblivious as she was
aiming for. Judging by Miroku’s expression, though,
she was failing. However, he didn’t take the bait and instead continued with a
different attack method.
“Come on, how
often do you get to go to
“I’m having
plenty fun as it is,” Sango said, reaching forwards
and picking up the deck of cards. “What do you say to a round of Slap-Jack?”
“I say no.
We’ve been inside this house for far too long, and it’s high time for a bit of
sun and fresh air and exercise. God made
Sango felt her eyebrows draw together in something akin to perplexity
when he said that. He was almost making it sound as though she were acting like
some dried up old prude with Puritan upbringings who would rather sit around in
a closet every day instead of having a life. As exaggerated as that
interpretation was, it still struck a nerve.
“I’m not
overmodest,” she said decisively. “I’m perfectly comfortable with my body,
thank you very much.”
A corner of
his mouth twitched upwards a bit, just enough to add a touch of smugness to Miroku’s visage, and his eyes seemed to lighten so that the
lavender shade in them was more obvious. “Oh, really?
“Yes, really.” Although she kept up her own act of
self-assurance, Sango couldn’t help but wish that
he’d wipe that look off of his face. Miroku looked
far too much like the cat that had caught the canary. No… It was more like the
cat had cornered the unsuspectingcanary, and was
about to pounce.
What had she
gotten herself into?
With his reply
came the answer to that question. When he spoke, his tone was just as collected
and smooth and alluring as it always was, but this time, it was laced with a
subtle challenge. “Prove it.” Almost to emphasize his dare, Miroku
folded his arms and crossed one long leg over the other, altogether managing to
enhance his self-satisfied appearance to the point where Sango
decided he looked more like a jaguar or leopard than he did an ordinary
housecat.
That led to a
stray thought concerning the question as to why it seemed that
especially attractive men always ended up being compared to predatory felines,
but it was discarded in light of more pressing issues.
She had to
think fast. There were two options available to her— she could either laugh it
off, or she could rise to the challenge. If she chose the first, Miroku would immediately catch on to what she was doing. He
was something of a pervert, but a fool? No. And if she were
to decide on the latter… Well, if she were to do that, she knew she’d end
up in a compromising situation, and the very idea of finding herself being
kissed by Miroku made her heart do strange things.
‘Just laugh
it off,’ Sango told herself. However, when she
opened her mouth, something very different came out. “Fine, the pool it is.
I’ll go change.” She got to her feet, intending to head back up to the communal
bedroom.
Change,
indeed. At that point, she would have preferred to throw herself off a bridge…
Were there any bridges on
“Wait a
minute,” Miroku interrupted, jumping up and catching
her by the shoulder and using it as leverage to pull her around to face him
again. He was smiling, though no longer so smugly, even though he had claimed
victory over that little battle. “There’s something else.”
“What is it?” Sango asked, a bit distractedly. When Miroku’s
hand had touched her bare shoulder, a jolt of… something… unfamiliar had made
its way through her, making it very difficult to concentrate on words, because
all of her focus was suddenly on Miroku and his
sudden proximity. His negligent action had brought them close; close enough
that she could detect the scent of his cologne, which had worn off a little in
the few hours since he had applied it, and close enough that she could see the
flecks of violet in his eyes.
“What are you
going to be wearing?”
Caught
unawares by the nature of the question, Sango broke
out of her strange state to stare at him incredulously. “What?”
“What are you
going to be wearing in the pool?” Miroku repeated, unaffected
by the way she was looking at him. Her eyes narrowed a fraction in suspicion
and Sango’s arms crossed, the movement causing Miroku’s hand to fall away from her.
“A swimsuit, of course.”
A
long-suffering sigh whooshed from her companion’s lungs, and he lifted his
hands towards her in mock supplication. “Yes, of course, Sango.
But what sort of swimsuit.”
She wasn’t
buying his antics. “What sort of swimsuits are there? They’re all serve the
same purpose, so why does it matter?” Miroku’s
shoulders suddenly drooped as he realized that he was going to have to put it
into plain words for her.
“Is it going
to be one-pieced or two-pieced?”
Strangely, Sango was sorely tempted to give him a good slap across the
face for that unwarranted, inappropriate comment, but didn’t. Instead, she just
let her arms drop as she turned back to her earlier path.
“One, Miroku. I’ll be back down in a
minute.” She would have left then, but Miroku jumped
the couch to cut her off and stop her again, refusing to let her bypass him
until she heard him out.
“But, Sango! You can't wear a
one-piece! This is reality TV! You don't want our hosts to lose viewers by not
showing them a little of what they want to see!”
Sango’s retort was dry. “You mean, what you
want to see?”
He had the momentary
decency to appear abashed.
Then it was
gone.
“Relax, Sango. I’m not asking you to skinny-dip, you know!”
“Yet.”
“Well, ah…” He
quickly diverted the conversation from that particular topic. “Please? Just do
it, okay? You’re a beautiful woman. Flaunt it a little.” A teasing hint found
its way into his voice. “You know you want to.”
Unexpectedly,
the way he said that, coupled with the laughably hopeful pout on his lips, made
Miroku’s begging almost convincing to Sango. When he exaggerated the look by lifting his eyebrows
pleadingly, she burst into unexpected laughter and nodded.
“Oh, fine, you
clown. I’ll wear a bikini.”
So, that
was what someone looked like when they won the lotto…
“However…” Sango continued, “there is a
condition.”
Miroku paused in his private celebration party to ask, “And what is it?”
Smiling
devilishly, Sango discreetly turned off her
microphone and tugged Miroku close to whisper her
requirement into his ear. When she pulled away, he wore a contemplative frown.
“I must say,”
he told her, “you’re a much more underhanded woman than I took you for.”
Sango raised an eyebrow as she twisted to turn her microphone back on.
“Is that a refusal?” He pretended to scoff.
“You know me
better than that, my dear. You’re on. Besides,” he laughed, “it’s worth it.”
-x-
“This is the
camera feed room,” Kikyou announced, reaching the
last leg of her tour. She found it to be nothing short of a nuisance, having to
lead visitors around the building when someone else could have done it, leaving
her to her work. However, these visitors were important, and she had to impress
them if Opposites Attract was ever going to meet the eyes of the public.
“Those are
your… test subjects?” the woman, who had been introduced as Kagura
Hankousha, asked. As of yet, she had been the only
one talking, while Kikyou’s other visitor was stonily
silent. She wished he would say something. After all, it was he who
would be the one to ultimately determine whether or not she got more money to
continue filming. Kagura was just his secretary.
“Yes, you
could say that. This is their sixth day together.”
Kagura nodded, the emerald beads of her earrings swinging as she moved.
“And how has their chemistry progressed thus far?”
“It is
developing,” Kikyou said with a tight smile.
“I see. Well, what
are they going to do today, then? I’m sure you’ve come up with something to
encourage them along.”
“I believe
they’ve decided to visit the mansion’s pool today, so anything previously
planned is being postponed,” the producer replied. She might have further
elaborated, but the door swung open and Kagome sailed in.
“Hello!” she
said cheerily. “I hope I’m not interrupting, but I’m on my way to a Starbucks. Any orders? My treat.”
Noticing the
skeptical glance exchanged between the station owner and his secretary, Kikyou quickly stepped forward to introduce the two
parties. “Ms. Hankousha, Mr. Kanemochi,
this is Kagome, the show’s hostess. Kagome, this is Mr. Sesshoumaru
Kanemochi and his secretary, Kagura
Hankousha.”
“Pleased to
meet the both of you,” Kagome said politely, extending her hand. When neither
took the offer, she let it drop, undaunted. “So, about that coffee…?” After
writing down what both Kikyou and Kagura
wanted—Sesshoumaru had merely waved off her offer—she
set off again with a cheery wave and a promise to be back in twenty minutes.
“Perky girl,” Kagura commented idly, sinking down into a chair next to
where her boss stood. “Something of a suck-up, isn’t she?”
“Possibly,” Kikyou answered, unwilling to give this woman any
ammunition. “She does her job well enough, and that’s all I really care about
concerning her.”
“Is that—”
“—Kagura.” The name was intoned warningly, and both women glanced Sesshoumaru’s way at
hearing him so unexpectedly. His secretary rolled her cinnamon hued eyes.
“Whatever, Sesshoumaru,” she said in a dismissive manner, but she
changed the course of the conversation nevertheless. “Anyway, how are the
participants monitored?”
“Aside from
the two or so cameramen that follow them during the day time, there are hidden
cameras mounted in select spots that will catch things we may miss in certain
circumstances. However, due to the nature of particular arrangements, there are
no cameras in the master bedroom or bathroom.”
“Understandable,”
Kagura murmured, marking a few notes down on the
clipboard she carried. “Surely you wouldn’t mind if we stayed here and observed
for a while?” Without waiting for an affirmative answer, she slid into a seat
and turned her attention to the screens.
Kikyou didn’t bother to answer, instead merely fishing out a bottle of
water from her bag and taking a long drink to distract herself
from the idea of hurting this woman. She wasn't even done swallowing when Kagura suddenly said, “My God. That man isn’t wearing what
I think he is?”
The producer
quickly turned, and what she saw caused her to spit out the water left in her
mouth…
…All over Sesshoumaru and his secretary.
Whoops?
-x-
Sango sighed, glancing upwards towards the door as she slathered
sunscreen over her arms. Where was Miroku? She hadn’t
seen him for a good hour and a half now, which was rather unusual when one
considered how much they had been around each other over the past few days. Not
that she was worried or anything, or even suspicious. Just… curious… as to
where he was and what he was up to.
She needn’t
have wondered, for moment later, who but Miroku
emerged from the house? Of course, this was perfectly expectable, if not
completely normal, save for one thing.
He was wearing
a Speedo.
It wasn’t that
she had never seen a guy in one before, after all, she
had been on a swim team at one point. However, the nonchalant way Miroku sauntered over with a towel slung over his shoulder
was unsettling in the sense that it seemed that nothing at all was out of the
ordinary.
“Hello, Sango!” he said, practically making a show of letting his
eyes sweep over her. “Well, it looks as though we both held up our ends of the
deal. Need any help with that sunscreen?” Sango gaped
up at him as he grinned down at her, one hand extended for the bottle in hers.
It wasn’t until he unexpectedly let his fingertips move over her cheeks,
telling her that it appeared as though the effect of sunburn were already
setting in—she was just blushing—that Sango
practically jumped and scooted away from him.
“What do you
think you’re doing!” she cried, only half-noting that it was ridiculous that
she was getting so worked up about such a little thing, and one that she had
pretty much asked for in their earlier exchange. The point of that had to been
to embarrass him, not herself… That had backfired,
hadn’t it? Before Miroku had a chance to answer her
earlier exclamation, she cut him off. “Just… Go change.”
His eyebrows
went up. “But, Sango, that wouldn’t—”
Sighing, Sango stood up and all but shoved him towards the door.
“Just… do it.”
Miroku gave her a pointed look, though the shadow of a smirk was on his
mouth. Thankfully, though, he didn’t argue, and merely winked and strolled back
off. When he disappeared into the house, Sango
couldn’t help but let out a groan. What in the world was wrong with her?
Between her almost perpetual embarrassment and her unusual, impulsive
decisions, it had to be something.
Maybe it had
something to do with the way Miroku so adeptly set
her off balance.
‘But,’
she thought as she slipped distractedly into the spa, ‘just why does he throw me off the way he does? I’ve never had this
much trouble thinking straight around anyone I’ve known before now. What makes
him different? Besides the fact I find him attractive, of course. That’s too
much of a given.’ Sango leaned back against the
side of the hot tub, low enough in the warm water that it lapped at her chin, and her eyes drifted shut as she immersed herself in
her musings.
She wasn’t the
sort to lie to herself. While it was one thing to deny personal matters to nosy
outsiders, she didn’t find self-disillusionment conducive to being able to look
at something analytically and come up with a conclusion. In this case, the
facts were simple. They had both been willingly entered into a situation where
the intent was to set them up with someone whose personality was a foil to
their own yet was still attractive. And, although there were certain elements
of Miroku’s character that struck a wrong chord for
her—namely, his perversion—his warm personality more or less made up for it,
and while Sango wasn’t one to make weighty decisions
based on a judgement of someone’s looks…
To put it
plainly, Miroku had hit the gene-pool jackpot, and
he’d made a good effort to manage his luck well, judging by those washboard
abs.
“Well, don’t you
look comfortable?”
Sango’s eyes snapped open to see Miroku
climbing into the spa, a grin on his face and that Godforsaken Speedo exchanged
for the more normal option of trunks. In his hands were two glasses, one of
which he offered to her as he settled beside her. She took it with a critical
eye.
“What’s this?”
Miroku shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, just sparkling
cider. As much fun as it would be to get you drunk, for some reason I think
that earning your trust would be a better goal. The champagne can wait.
Besides,” he said offhandedly, his voice assuming its familiar tone of
lighthearted joking, “I hear that hot tubs and alcohol don’t mix well.”
Sango couldn’t help but simply stare at him. When he had spoken, he had
sounded so… sincere. Strangely, that, coupled with the warm, open way
his eyes had met hers, brought an interesting thought to mind. Was it possible
that he meant it? He really wanted to earn her trust?
Miroku’s laugh brought her back down to Earth.
“Sango, dear, you’re staring.”
She started,
quickly averting her gaze and muttering an apology, as well as a thank you for
the beverage. She took a sip of that said drink, hoping that it would help
distract her. Soon after it had departed from her lips, however, another hand
gently lifted it out of hers, setting the glass down beside its partner on the
edge of the spa. Blinking, Sango turned back to the
man next to her. “Miroku?”
Much to her
surprise, he was looking at her with something close to intense concentration,
and her eyes widened when he lifted a hand to her cheek. Out of the corner of
her eye, Sango could see the cameras moving in for a
close up. “You know,” Miroku murmured, not perturbed
by their audience at all, “you really aren’t at all what I expected.”
It took a
moment for Sango to find her voice, and when she did,
it was quieter than usual. “What do you mean?”
His thumb
began to slowly caress the skin beneath it. “When I came here on that first
day, I thought I’d get stuck with some bimbo who I’d get sick of by the end of
day two. But it’s funny, because when I saw you, I had a feeling you weren’t
going to be like that at all. I was right about that part. You are very
different. Very special.”
“How?” she whispered, honestly wanting to know what he really
thought of her. Sango didn’t know why she wanted that…
She just did. Miroku smiled, shifting closer.
“For one,” he
said, “you’re nothing short of a sight for sore eyes. Better than that,
actually, especially when you’re blushing like you are now. You’re intelligent,
witty, and did I mention pretty? Willful, gorgeous, mysterious, beautiful… Gorgeous. I don’t think I could ever stop saying good things
about you.”
Sango couldn’t help but smile a little. “Humph. I don’t know. There are
only so many synonyms for pretty, and I think you used up a good number
already, repeating yourself.”
“Oh, there are
other ways to get my point across, my lovely Sango.
For example…” he trailed off, letting his actions speak for him. The hand that
had been on her cheek slowly trailed down to the curve of her jaw, tilting her
face up towards his. Tentatively, his fingers traced her lower lip before
grasping her chin. Leaning in, he placed a kiss, no firmer than the brush of a
feather, on the apple of her cheek, followed by another, and then another, each
a bit closer to her mouth. The hand that wasn’t holding up her chin had found
its way to the inward curve of her waist beneath the surface of the water,
pulling her lightly so that she faced him more fully. His every movement was
tender and not at all abrasive; so much so that she faintly wondered why she
had been so nervous about her snappy decision to agree to do this.
This… acting for the cameras.
His lips
hovered over hers, and Sango could feel his breath on
her face. She could easily assume that the warm sensation was the same for him,
but then, what sensation was she referring to? The sensation of his breath, or
his lips, or maybe the way that every part of her body that he touched felt
warmer than it should have, even in the heated spa.
Was it really
just an act?
He paused to
give her a small smile, his darkened eyes travelling
over her face before finding hers again. Sango
couldn’t help but whisper his name just once before he closed the distance
between them.
It was a soft
kiss, and his lips were even softer as they pressed lightly against hers. He
seemed to pause a moment before he repeated the caressing gesture, and this
time, Sango returned it, her eyes drifting closed.
Every movement was relaxed and unhurried, and when he tugged her closer to him,
Sango didn’t resist at all, instead lifting her hands
to trace the contours of his toned arms. Miroku’s
lips quirked upwards over hers, and she figured he was smiling as he lifted his
own hand from her waist to cradle the back of her head.
It was a
patient affection, and the situation was almost strangely intimate. Although Sango had kissed and been kissed before, with Miroku it was undemanding and… fun.
When his lips
caught her lower lip, nipping at it slightly, Sango
couldn’t help but laugh a little. Pressing her mouth to his once more, she
pulled away, a small smile on her face and a little shaky from the giddiness
kissing Miroku had lit within her. Realizing that she
had moved almost on top of him during their little session, she stood up.
Before she had a chance to do anything else, Miroku
reached forward and took her hand.
“Where do you
think you’re going?” he asked, drawing her back towards him. Sango smirked, resisting his pull.
“Follow me,
and you’ll find out.”
He laughed,
rising to his feet in the warm water as well. “Fair enough.”
Her hand still enveloped in his, Sango climbed the
steps out of the spa, shivering slightly at the change in temperature. She
shrugged it off, as she had left her towel on the table instead of bringing it
with her, and headed towards that same table. Halfway there, though, she
stopped, swinging around to face Miroku. Not giving
him a chance to say a word, Sango leaned upwards and
kissed him again. Even though he was surprised, he wasted no time in returning
the favor, and the moment Sango felt his fingers
brush her arms as he started to bring her into his embrace, she acted.
She pushed him
straight into the pool.
Miroku came up spluttering, and gave her a dark look that was ruined by
the upward tilt of his mouth. “You, Sango,” he said,
treading water, “are a devious woman.”
“You tripped,”
she informed him, slipping into the pool as well.
“Oh really?” Miroku asked, making his way
towards her. Sango nodded in the affirmative, letting
him approach her. When he did reach her, he looked over her thoughtfully,
brushing his fingers through her hair before trailing them down her cheek.
Thinking he was going to kiss her again, she tilted her head up to him,
however, she was soon proven wrong when Miroku’s hand
found its way to her backside and squeezed indulgently. Before she had a chance
to react, however, the hand left its place and it and its partner were on her
shoulders, dunking her into the water.
By the time Sango broke the surface, Miroku
was already halfway out of the pool. More than annoyed, she set off after him.
“Damn it, Miroku! Get back here!”
He did no such
thing.
The chase was
on.
-x-
Aamalie: Ha. Nine pages.
Complain about length now, Iggy-chan. Just be
warned I might hurt you if you do. –grin-
-x-
Fantastical Queen Ebony Black- LoL. I’m glad you think
that the fast-paced-ness has a shred of logic. Besides, people are stupid on
reality TV. Especially the romance ones… I remember I saw one once, forget
which one, and all these women were practically throwing themselves at this
guy. He made out with like, 8 women in one day, and his daughters were watching
through the cameras. I’ve tried to keep this fairly tame, especially
considering Sango’s personality… -shrugs-
DarkHeartKeyBlade- Oh, no. He wasn’t distracted
about that. His mind was just wandering with the idea he proposed to Sango later on. Sorry for the confusion.
Stripe- Yeah… That sentence
was weird. And yes, magnets mess with TVs. Tis a very
bad thing… Cause it screws them up past repair. Believe me. I did it when I was
about 3. Didn’t get caught though, and didn’t make any mention that it was me
who messed it up to my Mom until earlier this month. Eh hee.
Starzki- I’ll have you know that I wrote and uploaded
this just for you, because you’ve been waiting on this chapter for just
about forever. Feel like paying me back with an update of your own? –wink-
AngellGoddess- Miroku? Up to no
good? How could Miroku ever be up to anything
bad?
Super
Divine-Red-Crayon- Sango?
Bold? Err… Yeah. Not sure how it happened, but… Yeah.
Breath-of-Ice- Yes, some people do go
overboard with R, however… And even though you can stretch the PG-13 rating
pretty far, some people are overly nit-picky about that sort of stuff, and
would report me for pushing the rating just cause
they’re jealous of review-count and whatnot. Which would,
frankly, suck. If I raised the rating of this, it would just be to
prevent that sort of underhandedness, because frankly, I had enough trouble
writing the scene in this chapter. I wouldn’t put myself through the torture of
going overboard. And, btw… The 399 was bugging me too.
XD So thanks.
Crimson Enchantress- Talking to Kikyou? Now, why would he do
that?
Vampire-Elf- x.x Ugh. That’s a nasty picture.
–whacks you- Don’t hurt yourself, smarty! And don’t
worry. I forgive your lengthy absences. Sort of.
-x-
You know you
want to make a comment or two. –winks- Review.