Who Were YOU With Last Night? - (3 Parts)

[KawaiiKitty]

Okaaay...I haven't been posting a lot of stuff about sneezing lately, so I thought I'd remedy that by putting up one of my shorter stories. This is just a silly little thing I wrote based on an idea I got from a commercial that was on a while back.

I don't remember what brand it was for, but there was a cold medicine commercial that implied that if two people from the same office came down with colds at the same time then everyone will know that they were fooling around. So one of them needed to use this medicine so nobody would suspect a thing. (If that theory were true then about 200 people from my old office were fooling around together...) So I came up with this story based on the idea of being "caught out" by catching someones cold.

Now, this is rated G. Despite the rather racy-sounding title, there's no "funny business". However, an unmarried man and woman will sleep in the same bed so if you are offended by that or feel that it implies "funny business" please don't read it. Yes, they sleep. That's it. No fooling around. That's not the sort of thing these two would get up to anyway.

And as usual, this is pulled from the Inuyasha fandom. Oh, of course it's Miroku doing the sneezing. In somewhat of a departure for me, there's a bit of female sneezing towards the very end courtesy of Sango. But you have to wait, I've broken this up into parts to allow me a break in between typing it up.

And, as usual, I'm far too lazy to rustle up reference pics for non-fans. However, once you can get past the initial few paragraphs, it will be very friendly for readers unfamiliar with the fandom. Sure, there's some references to demons or whatever but it's pretty much a fluffy little moment between a miserable man and the woman who wants to take care of him.

So anyway, lameness ahoy!

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Title: Who Were YOU With Last Night?

Fandom: Inuyasha

Rating: G (I think)

Summary: Wanting to take care of Miroku, Sango sneaks into his room at night. But when she catches his cold, will everyone figure out where she was all night?

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Miroku shovelled the last remaining soil onto the freshly created graves. He was happy to help the villagers bury the newly dead, in return for food and lodgings for everyone for the night. He was always happy to help regardless of the payment (although the payment was always a factor). It was the least he could do in the face of the death and destruction that had become a daily occurrence, whether inflicted by demons, or when the humans insisted on doing it to each other.

But the fact that he was doing it alone annoyed him.

Yes, he did tell everyone not to worry and to go indoors where it was warm and start their meal without him. However, he'd mostly said that for the benefit of the two women and young Shippo, the fox-child. It was supposed to make him sound very chivalrous. Inuyasha, though, could have stayed to help.

Inuyasha should have stayed to help, being the strongest one of the bunch. The whole thing would have been finished by now, if he'd helped.

Miroku gave a small cough. His throat had been painful through the whole day. Of course, that was often the result of exerting oneself in such cold weather. Still, it was irritating. He coughed again, trying to clear the itch, wondering all the while why he felt unusually warm despite the wintry weather. Also the result of exertion, no doubt.

There, now, that was the last of them-finally he could go inside and join the rest of his friends. He poked some lit sticks of incense into the top of the grave, and knelt down to pray the souls of the dead a safe voyage into their next life.

His nose twitched, and he rubbed his finger underneath it to try and itch away the tickle. It didn't work, so he rubbed harder. He scrunched up his face, trying to delay the inevitable. But the inevitable, by it's very nature, always happens anyway…

"Hu…hu…hnngk-tchyaa!"

That was strange, he thought with a sniff. Must be the incense-more than once when he was a young boy training to be a monk, the incense in the temples often made him sneeze, usually earning him a swat on the back of his head from his master. The same thing still happened to him sometimes, but usually indoors. This was the first time, perhaps ever, that the incense had affected him in the open air like this.

His nose twitched again. He gritted his teeth in an effort to stop the sharp intake of breath but knew it was a losing battle. He raised his hand to his face just in time to catch the "hyaa-TCHH!" onto the back of his wrist. Out of habit, he flinched slightly, half-expecting the swat on the back of his head.

Even though the swat never came, the words of his boyhood master, ingrained deep into his memory forever, echoed through his mind: "You mustn't do that, Miroku, it's not very dignified."

"Huhhh..nnnNNKKH!" he sneezed again, pressing his fingers firmly against his nose to try and quell it. Not very dignified, indeed.

Tiring of his battle with his ticklish nose, and his old nemesis the incense, Miroku decided it was high time he joined his friends for the lavish dinner they had no doubt all but devoured by now. Which would be unfair and completely ungrateful of them, because it was purely of his own efforts and charm that he had secured them a nights stay in the fine home of a very rich man. He rose to his feet, and made his way towards the house, with his staff in one hand and the shovel in the other.

"HYAAA-tchhh!"

What the? The incense was all the way back there! How dare it follow him all the way to the house like this? He took a few deep breaths, trying to will any remaining sneezes to let themselves out now, before he went inside. None came. Apparently, he was finished, something that relieved him to know.

"Hey, Miroku!" Kagome greeted him with a smile as he entered the room where everyone sat on the floor in a circle, heaps of food in front of them. "I saved you some of these nice dumplings. Inuyasha wanted to eat them all up."

"Thank y-" he tried to begin, but his voice came out as a squawk. How strange. He coughed and started over. "Thank you. What else do we have here?" He perused the remaining food on offer, and contrary to his expectations, it was still plentiful. Kagome, who always took on a rather "mother-figure" role at mealtimes, insisted on loading up his bowl which he gratefully accepted. He had been looking forward to a good meal all day.

Only…now he did not feel much up to eating it. He poked around with his chopsticks, forcing small bits of food into his mouth, but he couldn't quite muster up much of an interest in it. His head felt heavy and sitting up was feeling like far too much of an effort.

He turned his attention to the tea, then frowned slightly. Holding his long black sleeve in front of his face, he tried his best to hide what was about to happen.

"Hnngkh…kuh. HNNGH-kuh. HNNKGH-KYUH!"

He tried his best to slam his jaws shut but the rush of air was determined to force it's way out regardless. And, in a twist he hadn't planned on, most of the air was instead forced out of his nose which now throbbed with displeasure at having been disturbed so, and threatened to start running in punishment.

Knowing that the eyes of the group were now upon him, Miroku adopted a haughty expression and gazed off into the distance to discourage anyone from speaking to him as he raised his teacup delicately to his lips. The knew enough to leave him alone. Miroku often withdrew into deep thought, although not usually at mealtimes. When it was time for food and enjoyment, he was usually the liveliest of the bunch. The unspoken assumption was that he must be feeling sombre after having dealt with so many dead bodies.

"hnnn-kahuuh! HNNKKH-HUHH!" The silence was suddenly interrupted. Sango stole a glance at him sideways. She could tell from his face that something wasn't quite right with him tonight. His violet eyes had been robbed of their sparkle and life, an then there was that pinkish tinge in his cheeks. That could have been caused by the wind outside, but it had failed to diminish now that he was inside.

"Hnnkgh-TCHH!"

And then of course there was that. Every time he did that she felt the rather odd urge to run over to him and throw her arms around him and stroke his hair. Not exactly the sort of thing she could do in front of everyone. Well, if she was honest, it wasn't the sort of thing she could do even not in front of everyone. He wasn't hers. Not hers to embrace, not hers to stroke, not hers to look after. Why she suddenly came over all girlish at this moment, she had no idea. But her cheeks now flushed with a redness to rival Miroku's although for entirely different reasons.

Miroku turned his head towards his shoulder in an attempt to cough without anyone noticing. He had an increasingly urgent problem, his nose was threatening to drip unceremoniously at any moment and he had no means to take care of that problem, much less unnoticed. It didn't matter, he'd had enough of this dinner anyway.

"If you'll all excuse me, I think I'll retire early," he said, climbing to his feet. Kagome gave a knowing nod, certain now that his mood was caused by too much thought of death and graves. Inuyasha simply grunted.

"If you're not eating that, can I have it?" piped up the ever-oblivious Shippo. Sango paused mid-bite, her chopsticks resting on her lips, following the departing Miroku with her eyes without even turning her head.

The home they were staying in was so lavish, that they each had a bedroom to themselves. A nice change from sleeping in the woods. Miroku was secretly grateful for this concession. For, although he would customarily be seen sleeping while sitting upright, he really felt like lying down to sleep tonight. And, alone in this room, he could do so in peace without anyone noticing or asking why.

He tugged at the knot at the front of his robes, intending to change into some nightclothes. But he hesitated. His loose and flowing robes were likely to be far warmer than any nightclothes could ever be, so it might be prudent to just sleep fully clothed tonight.

He crawled onto the mat on the floor and pulled the white blanket over his shoulders. It felt so good just to lie down and relax. Plus, being alone meant that the tickles in his nose that arose from time to time could be relieved more expediently. Burying his face into the blanket, he delivered a satisfying: "hnnghkhuh-TCHHH!"

He rested his tired head back onto the firm rectangular pillow. He could still hear the voices of his companions as they continued their merriment.

"HYAA-tchhh!"

Wait a minute. If he cold hear them, could they hear him? He should try to be a bit more surreptitious.

"Hnnngkh-kuh…"

Yes, that would do.

Then, footsteps. He could hear the sound of footsteps echoing through the hallway, sometimes stopping, with various voices calling "good night" before disappearing completely. So that was that. Everyone had gone to be yet he, the first to retire to his room, was still awake. That was easily remedied. He shut his eyes and sank his head into his pillow. Just as he thought he was drifting off to sleep, he was awoken by his own lungs uttering a "KEH-TCHH!" so powerful, it jolted him upright. Recovering from the surprise, he settled back into his bed and closed his eyes for what he hoped was the final time before morning.

To be continued...

[The Sneezster]

I'm looking forward to the rest!

[tma]

I'm not really familar with the fandom but this is SO cute. I am loving it. I cannot wait to read more.

Thanks for posting it.

[_Thread]

Awww .

The only reason I know those characters is because my sister has a poster of them in her room. She was once crazy about Inuyasha. Now, her obsession seems to be Fruits Basket...

[mystic-chibi]

Wow!!! You're so talented!!! Your stories are amazing, I can wait for the next part!!!

[dojichick13]

KawaiiKitty,

Awwwwwww!!! This story is so cute and fluffy! I've always liked Miroku, he's so hilarious and adorable and sweet (in a pervy way, of course). You're doing a great job writing him & I hope you'll post more!! I love it!

BTW, here's a cute pic that I found in my archive of Inuyasha images I've downloaded (mostly I have Sesshoumaru stuff, but lo and behold I found this mixed in:)

I hope it insipres you!

--Doji

[KawaiiKitty]

Thanks to everyone who replied for their super-kind words. I'm waving my hands at the screen and saying "Oh, shucks, stop!" but you can't see me! And, er, Dojichick...are you trying to KILL me with happiness overload? Waaah! But what a way to go...That is so adorable I can't even think of any word in any language to describe the happiness that gave me.

So I typed out part 2 in a flurry of procrastination of other things. I can't help but feel that it's a bit low on sneezing. But...you may have noticed by now that I like describing the "before and after" and how the characters feel about sneezing. So...there.

Another thing readers may notice is that I never ever write out "congested" talk. I will say "in a congested voice," but I never spell it out. The reason for that is once the spelling of words is messed around with too much, they no longer mean anything to my tiny brain. So I can't write like that (or if I do, I can't read it back to myself, ha, ha!), you'll just have to imagine it. Terribly sorry! (Ha, ha, my spell checker hates me enough as it is with all these sneeze spellings!)

Anyway...

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Part 2

It wasn't long before Miroku heard the faint sound of footsteps in the hall and the sliding open of his door. Then, footsteps approaching his bed. He opened his eyes in curiosity.

Okay, obviously this was a dream. A very nice dream, and one he'd admit to having quite often, but clearly a dream. There, next to his bed, stood Sango-in her nightclothes and not even possessed this time. Well, hopefully. He sleepily searched her face for signs that she was in fact fully in control of her own actions.

"Um, you don't mind me being in here do you," she asked.

"No, not at all," he replied hoarsely and patted the mat in invitation. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable."

And, damned if she didn't do exactly that! She sat down next to his pillow, so that his favourite part of her anatomy was inches from his face. Yes, this was definitely a dream, so he was going to make the most of it. Although, he thought with a cough, if this was supposed to be a pleasant dream where he got everything he desired, why should he still be unwell in it?

Either this was happening in real life, or it wasn't going to be a good dream. Either way, he should be careful and not do anything that would get himself slapped.

He felt the tickle rising in his nose again. This happened at the most inopportune of moments, didn't it? He began to suspect that his nose had a grudge against him for some reason, and felt the need to punish him. He pressed his hand up against his nose, in a futile attempt to stop it. His eye twitched as the inevitable grew closer. His body tensed as the unstoppable, unrelenting inhalations began…and kept going. Of course his nose would choose exactly this moment to put on the biggest production of them all! Then, after what seemed like an eternity, he finally delivered an "hnnngkh-etschh!" into his right hand. Which was a pretty stupid move, as the glove protecting that hand wasn't exactly something he could take off and wash. He scowled in annoyance with himself.

Unexpectedly, he felt Sango's slender, soft fingers brush briefly against his cheek before she lightly brushed away the hair from his face and pressed her palm against his forehead.

"You have a fever," she said.

"It's nothing," Miroku said dismissively, then added when he noticed Sango about to protest: "Compared with the other things I've had to endure, it's nothing. I've survived being poisoned to the brink of death, I think I shall survive a minor cold. I fully intend to be on my feet by tomorrow morning."

"Well, everyone said they don't mind stopping here for another day so you can rest. Well, Inuyasha minded, but you know what he's like…"

"Everyone is discussing this? I can assure you there is no cause for…hnngh-tchh! There is no…hnnnkgh-TCHH! Ugh."

"I just thought, in your condition…"

"HYAA-TCHH! I do not have a 'condition'."

Sango went to get up. "Okay, then. Suppose you don't need me here, then."

Miroku had his pride, but he wasn't stupid.

"Wait," he said, looking up at her with huge, pleading eyes. "I do need you here. Please…"

Sango snorted. "You're shameless, you know that?"

Miroku shrugged and gave a placid little smile-the meaning of which Sango tried hard to decipher. The nearest she could tell, the smile meant he'd won…and he knew it.

Sango fidgeted nervously. Okay, she was in here. She hadn't planned ahead much further than that. In fact this whole thing seemed like a hasty, ill-conceived farce. She had pretty much been concerned with getting in here. Everything after that…well…she felt a bit stupid now. She was sitting in front of him, in her nightclothes with her legs on full display, wondering what to do next.

She wanted to take care of him. But what exactly did that entail? She realised she wasn't too clear on that point, and she felt quite silly.

Miroku stirred and propped himself up on his elbow. "Are you comfortable there, Sango?" he said, in what he hoped was a friendly voice, but came out mostly congested and hoarse sounding, and punctuated with a loud sniff.

She smiled. "The more important question is: are you-"

"Hnngkh-SSSHHUH! Sorry."

As if a reflex, Sango's hand flew over to his face and she drew her fingertips over his cheek. "The more important question," she repeated. "Is are you comfortable?"

"Don't say such nonsense." Miroku pulled himself into a sitting position. "You're clearly freezing and I can't enjoy being warm and comfortable while knowing that you are not."

Sango felt a weight on her shoulders and blushed deeply as she realised that the blanket, accompanied by Miroku's arm, was the source. He was either being incredibly thoughtful, or a complete chancer. She stuttered as she struggled to think of something, anything to say that would make her feel less awkward. Anything to break the silence.

"HYAA-SSSH! Sorry again."

So it was Miroku who broke the silence, but it would do. Miroku squeezed Sango's shoulder playfully and gave her his best pacifying smile.

"You didn't come in here, just to sit and stare at the floor," he prodded.

"I just came to see if you were okay and…I don't know, really."

Miroku coughed. "Now that you know that I am perfectly f…Hnnkgh-TCHH! Oh dear, terribly sorry about that one!" he apologised, dabbing at Sango's freshly-misted neck with his sleeve.

"That's it, Miroku," Sango said sternly. "I am going to have to insist you lie down!"

"Oh, don't be like that. I promise not to do that to you again. Really."

"That’s NOT what I-" Sango shouted, then realised her voice was far too loud for this time of night. She began again in a hushed tone. "That's not what I was worried about. It was…it's you that I'm concerned about. That's why I came in here, if you must know. I was worried about you."

"You…what? Me?" Miroku stammered, momentarily robbed of the powers of coherent speech. "I am…er…I'm…hunngh-HYAA-TCHHH!"

He turned his head at the last moment and covered his face with the corner of the blanket. "See," he said triumphantly. "I did promise I wouldn't do it on you again, didn't I?"

"All the same," said Sango. "I would be a lot happier if you would just lie down in your bed."

She wasn't just saying that because the growing physical closeness was making her blush. Miroku had managed to slowly edge himself so close that his cheek grazed the side of her hair. His arm had increasingly made itself comfortable on her shoulder so his hand now dangled underneath her chin. And she could feel his chest rise and fall against her back with each breath he took.

Or feel the jerking of his body as he had another coughing fit.

Maybe this was her only chance to be close to him. But, she was supposed to be in here for his benefit, and sitting like this wasn't benefiting him at all.

"Please, do lie down," she said, putting her hands firmly but gently on his shoulder and easing him down onto his pillow. She removed the edge of the blanket from around her own shoulder and covered him to his chin, tucking the edges in around him like an indulgent mother. He closed his eyes and smiled in appreciation.

After some silence, he sniffed and drew his hand lazily under his nose.

"Is there anything I can do for you," Sango asked, tentatively reaching out to smooth his silky black hair.

"That's nice," Miroku said dreamily. "Keep doing that." He sat there, enjoying the treatment until his reverie was cut short. He sniffled, paused for a moment and then: "Hnnkgh-KETCHHH!"

"Sorry," he said with a sigh.

Sango smiled sweetly. "Just relax," she soothed.

Miroku raised his head again. "I can't," he said. "This isn't right."

Sango withdrew her hand in alarm. "What do you mean?"

Miroku held the blanket open and patted the mat invitingly. "You should be warm too. Why don't you make yourself comfortable next t-HETT-TCHH!…next to me?"

Sango gasped in horror. "You don't mean-"

"Don’t look so shocked," he said with exaggerated innocence shining in his eyes. "I wouldn't have the energy to try anything untoward in my condition."

Sango narrowed her eyes. "A mere moment ago, you took issue to me saying 'in your condition'."

Miroku shrugged. "Changed my mind. Now you have three choices. You can join me under this blanket. You can sit right there and shiver all night. Or, you can go back to your room and be warm b-hnggkh-tchhh!…warm but leaving me all alone with no one to look after me."

Sango rolled her eyes. He was clever enough to know exactly what to say. She looked over at his face, a juxtaposition of a hopeful smile and a pathetic looking reddened nose.

She turned her gaze to the floor and bit her knuckle in apprehension and blushed as she contemplated her "options".

To be finished in the next chapter!

[The Sneezster]

I'm melting! Melting! Oh...

[KawaiiKitty]

I finally typed up the last bit of this. And true to form, now that I see it laid out in all its glory I'm not too proud of it. So as always, if anybody has any suggestions about how I can improve my writing I would be glad to hear them.

Also...Yes, I know it's impossible to catch a cold overnight. I know about incubation periods and all that whatnot. This is called artistic license. Because I needed it to work this way for the purpose of the story.

Er...and the ending is pretty dumb. And I mean, "get out the crackers because here comes the cheese" dumb. Oh well. I can't change it because that IS the ending. It just IS. Can't explain it any better than that...

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Part 3

Sango looked at his face, then looked at the bed. It was only one night and perfectly innocent, and most importantly nobody would know. She smiled, putting her hand upon his. Miroku's mouth spread into the beginnings of a triumphant grin.

Perhaps too soon. Sango's hand sharply tightened around his, squeezing his fingers painfully.

"If you even think about touching any part of me tonight," she hissed. "I will break it."

"Let go of my hand."

"Are you giving me orders?"

"No, let go of my hand! I n-nee…huhh-sshhh! I need it." He finished rather superfluously, as the deed had already been done. "Sorry," he added glumly. Sango dropped her grip on his hand as if it were something recently deceased, freeing Miroku to dab the underside of his nose with the back of his wrist.

"Make a decision, Sango," he said wearily. "Because I'm going to sleep, regardless."

Moving as slowly as if she were made of wood, Sango inched towards the blanket. Trembling with nervousness, she lifted the edge of the blanket and crawled tentatively underneath, facing outward and away from Miroku. She felt him stirring next to her. She tensed, expecting his hand to land somewhere it oughtn't. But instead he was trying to manoeuvre his hand as close to his face as possible in that tight space.

"Hnnk-shuuh! HESSH-huh! HNNGKH-TCHH!"

Miroku sighed and mumbled a "Sorry" sleepily, followed by a loud and miserable sniff and a cough. Sango didn't say a word, as she felt his body gradually relax and sink as he drifted closer and closer to sleep. Sango herself, unable to sleep easily in the situation she found herself in, lay there with eyes wide open, fingers toying with the corner of the blanket.

She felt his hand rest on her back and his fingers tighten around a fistful of her clothes. Before she could admonish him, he buried his face into her clothing and delivered a series of "Hnnkh-shuuh! Hmmph-fuh! Hessh-HNNGH!" Then he sank back into his pillow as if nothing had happened.

But, he did keep his word. Exhausted and miserable, he had simply no energy to try anything untoward. He lay there, with his hands clutching her back, fast asleep. Sango felt the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, hypnotising her into a feeling of security. She could feel his warm breath on her neck as she closed her eyes.

Miroku edged closer in his sleep, burying his face into her hair, so that she could feel the heat of his skin on the back of her neck. Soon, Sango fell asleep, although it was a fitful and broken sleep. Every now and then through the night, Miroku stirred slightly and awoke just enough to utter a "Hessh-huh!" into Sango's hair, then drifting off again. They remained that way, throughout the night.

In the morning, Miroku stretched. He tried to speak, but had to cough a few times before he could find his voice. There were two reasons he didn't wish to get out of bed. One reason was the peacefully sleeping Sango next to him, who looked flawless with her black hair gently falling over her pillow and shoulders. It was a vision he feared he'd forget if he took his eyes away for a second, even to blink.

The second reason? If he had thought he felt terrible yesterday, that had in fact only been the beginning. Yesterday was only mildly unpleasant compared to how he felt today. His head felt too heavy to lift, while his nose alternated between throbbing angrily and tickling.

He struggled to a sitting position, leaving the warmth of the bed to greet the chilly morning air. His chest jerked violently as his lungs fought to fill themselves with as much air as possible. He brought both his long black sleeves up and buried his face in them.

"Hnnkh-ssshh! Hnkgh-huh! HESSH-huh! HYAA-tchhh!"

That was the other thing. At some point his sneezes had grown from one single easily concealed one, into a veritable storm of sneezing-unstoppable and impossible to disguise. He had said last night that he would be fully on his feet by today. What a stupid thing that was to say. Still, he intended to stick by it.

Sango awoke, roused by his commotion. Her eyes opened slowly as she got her bearings. She stretched and rubbed her eyes groggily.

"Hnkhh-huh! HYAA-tchhh! Hssh-hah!" Miroku said into his sleeve. The noise garnered Sango's attention and she looked over her shoulder in surprise. Miroku gave her a friendly wave. Sango sat up in shock, holding the blanket over her nightclothes.

"Morning," Miroku said in a husky, nasal voice. Sango gaped at him.

"Ssh!" she said. "I can hear everyone out there. Everybody is already awake. Oh, no! They're going to know that we're in here…together."

"Hessh-huh!…No, they won't. How would they? Here's what we'll do. I'm already dressed, so I will go out now. You wait a bit, and then go out. Its p…huh-tchh!…it's perfect."

"Okay," Sango said. She paused for a moment, waiting for Miroku to leave which he did not seem inclined to do. "What are you waiting for then?"

Miroku hesitated. What he was waiting for was…"Hnnnkgh-huh! Hetcch-ssssh! HYAAA-tchhh!" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, now I'm ready."

Which would be a lie. He wasn't ready for anything, except perhaps to go back to bed. Hopefully something hot to drink would perk him up. He had a feeling, however, that it wouldn't.

At any rate, this was going to be a less than pleasant day.

Out in front of the house, Miroku did his best to avoid any conversation with the others. Whether or not he managed not to sneeze, if he spoke his voice would certainly give away the game. That is, of course, if they could not see from looking at his face…the drooping, sparkle-less eyes, the reddened nose and flushed cheeks. But in his vanity, he believed he was doing a wonderful job of looking positively alert and normal.

He pressed his face into his sleeve and let go an unpleasant sounding "Hetcch-SSSH! Hnnkh-TCHH!", squirming under the gaze of his compatriots. Sango was certainly taking her time, wasn't she? He shifted his weight uncomfortably. He would wilt, if forced to keep this up for much longer.

Finally, Sango made her appearance, greeting the group with a half-hearted apology about having overslept. Miroku noticed that she looked drained, and wondered with a twinge of guilt if he had been too noisy during the night, keeping her awake. He would have to apologise once he had the chance to speak to her alone.

"Now that we're all here," Inuyasha said impatiently, "Can we please get going?"

"Unless," Kagome said pointedly looking at Miroku. "Anyone has any reason they want to stop here longer?"

Miroku shook is head brusquely, even as his nose prepared to show him up once again. "Hnngkh-tchhh! Hnnnkgh-huh!"

"Hi-esshh!" chimed in a female voice.

All eyes, including Miroku's, turned in disbelief on Sango. Horrified, she clasped her hands to her mouth. Of all the rotten luck and all the rotten timing! She had felt slightly unwell and ticklish this morning, but had assumed she would be able to escape everyone's notice. Not now, she couldn't.

"Hi-esssh!" she sneezed again.

Kagome's eyes darted back and forth between Miroku and Sango. Although she did not speak a word, her thought process was clearly visible from the expression on her face. Were it put into words, it would have sounded like "First he…and then you…but how is that possible? You didn't spend a moment together yesterday…how?"

Kagome looked straight at Sango. "Have you any reason you want to stop here longer?"

Sango coughed. "None at all."

Inuyasha growled. "Can we just go, instead of just standing here like fools?"

Sango had never been more grateful for Inuyasha's impatience.

As they walked ahead, Sango allowed herself to fall behind, drawing her arms closely towards her body to keep out the crisp, biting air. Miroku fell into step beside her, but she didn't acknowledge his presence until a "HESSSH-hnnkgh!" from his direction forced her to. She frowned at him. He merely smiled back, walking along with his arms folded, his hands hidden inside his long sleeves.

"I would have thought," he said with a smirk. "You would have wanted to rest in your condition."

"I do not have a 'condition'," she retorted.

Miroku laughed. "And yet you hated it when I said that."

"Hi-esssh! This is your fault you know!"

"I didn't ask you to come into my room!" Miroku protested angrily, then stopped walking for a moment. "But neither did I thank you for it. You know, it was because of you that I managed to have such a good nights sleep. You made it very warm and relaxing, by being there beside me. And if you were…HETTCH-huh…if you were kept awake because of me, I'm sorry…HNNKGH-huh! HYAA-tchh!"

"Hi-esssh!" followed Sango.

Miroku reached over and ran the tips of his fingers over her cheek, then moved his hand upward to brush the stray hairs of her fringe away from her face, then lightly stroke her hair.

"That's nice," she murmured appreciatively.

"Someone very kind once did that for me, and it helped me feel better."

Sango blushed furiously and looked away. After studying her feet for a moment, she stole a glance at him. "We still have a problem," she said. "How are we supposed to explain how we both happen to have colds now?"

Miroku looked thoughtful. "Perhaps no one has noticed yet. If we stay very, very close together all day today…well, they might just assume that you caught it during the course of the day. So I suppose the…HESSSH-huh!…the only solution is for you to spend the whole day right here with me."

Sango shook her head. "You really are shameless, aren't you?"

Miroku laughed and turned his eyes to the sky. This wasn't going to be so bad, after all.

THE END!

[tma]

EEEE!!! That was just TOO cute. And I don't care about the whole stupid "incubation time" thingee. Sometimes I think that a story just Needs to have certain things happen. and that worked Perfectly. Very sweet and cute. And I loved the diaglogue between the characters.

Thanks!

[Daphine]

WOW , I just LOVED this story! You are such a great writter More please!!!! I can't wait for more

[Guest shiranui]

OMFG! This was such a great read - I enjoyed it so very-very much. Miroku's so cool... I mean, he's really smart, perceptive, witty and really strong being human and all. Your characterization of him was great. There should be a real episode of this - and I'd be in heaven

I loved Sangos sneezes as well, the spelling really fitted her. Thanks so much for giving me so many Miroku-fixes *g*

... Oh, btw, I absolutely LOVED the awesome pic dojochick had in her archive *droooool!* Thanks for sharing

[KawaiiKitty]

OMFG! This was such a great read - I enjoyed it so very-very much. Miroku's so cool... I mean, he's really smart, perceptive, witty and really strong being human and all. Your characterization of him was great. There should be a real episode of this - and I'd be in heaven

Miroku says "thank you", but he would like me to point out that you forgot "charming".

If there was a real episode of a lot of the crap I think up, I'd be happy. You may yet get another Miroku "fix" yet...for every story I do post, I've got tons more that I don't post. I'm just trying to space them out so I don't spam the boards with them all at once.

Eeek, I don't normally like responding to my own story-topic unless it's with a new chapter but I just wanted to say Thank You to all the nice people who said such lovely things. It would be rude not to show my appreciation.

[Sneesee]

KawaiiKitty, I LOVED it! And I have no idea who any of those people are!!!! I thought the story was perfect! Thanks for sharing it with all of us!!!!

[(hippo)]

omg this is pure GOLD!! i mean, i NEVER read stories!! but this...this is too cute. thankyou so so much!!

[KawaiiKitty]

KawaiiKitty, I LOVED it! And I have no idea who any of those people are!!!! I thought the story was perfect! Thanks for sharing it with all of us!!!!

Eheheh! Okay, I'm all giggly now. I should have checked this before, I had no idea some new compliments were on here. That means alot, coming from you-a writer on these boards that I really respect and enjoy. Whee! I'm really happy now.

omg this is pure GOLD!! i mean, i NEVER read stories!! but this...this is too cute. thankyou so so much!!

Cue more girlish giggling from me. That's one of the best compliments I could ever recieve. I'm really happy that you enjoyed it and thanks for the kind words. My day has just been made!

[Geist]

OMG, I'm slow on the damned draw! I didn't notice you had finished this....I get an F-MINUS!

Wtf, I loved this bit...

"I would have thought," he said with a smirk. "You would have wanted to rest in your condition."

"I do not have a 'condition'," she retorted.

Miroku laughed. "And yet you hated it when I said that."

BANTER! I'm ALL about some BANTER! That was kick-ass and I hope you'll do more with them in the future! Oh and pssst.....you did some awesome spellings for Miroku...hhhngggh!!!

~Aku

[crazy_cat_girl]

wow! I love what you do with these characters!

I think that I have searched my whole life for stories like these!!!!!

You are a fantastic writer. I especially like it when he sneezes into her hair! SQUEE!

[Tangerine]

ahh I loved it! Your writing is amazing, and I love how you have the characters react to their "conditions". And I agree with on the congested talk in fics... I don't like having to read it aloud to myself to understand what's being said. Oh imagination..

[KawaiiKitty]

BANTER! I'm ALL about some BANTER! That was kick-ass and I hope you'll do more with them in the future! Oh and pssst.....you did some awesome spellings for Miroku...hhhngggh!!!

~Aku

That, coming from who I consider to be the queen of sneeze-spellings, is the highest compliment ever! Thank you.

wow! I love what you do with these characters!

I think that I have searched my whole life for stories like these!!!!!

You are a fantastic writer. I especially like it when he sneezes into her hair! SQUEE!

Well, THEY hate me for what I keep doing to them, but it brings joy to me to torture them so. And I'm glad that others enjoy it as well. If I were a pushy person with a huge ego I would suggest you may enjoy reading my other stories, but it's a good thing I'm not pushy or egotistical...

Heh, heh...you liked that part did you? That was one of my personal favourite moments as well...

ahh I loved it! Your writing is amazing, and I love how you have the characters react to their "conditions". And I agree with on the congested talk in fics... I don't like having to read it aloud to myself to understand what's being said. Oh imagination..

Thank you! So much, thank you! In sneezefics, I find the characters feelings and reaction to whatever it is that makes them sneeze to be crucial to my enjoyment. So the fact that you noticed that in my story, and enjoyed it, just made my day!

And y'know what really confuses me...when "congested talk" makes words look like other words! (laughs) I have TRIED to do it in the past and been confused by MY OWN writing. True story! So I'm glad that my lack of it does not ruin the story for everyone!