Hi guys! This is my first Inuyasha fanfic! I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review!
One Week With Inuyasha
Chapter One: Saturday Afternoon
Pain.
The thought flashed through the hanyou's head as one of the endless youkai or mononoke tried to chop his head off, missing his neck and stabbing him in the shoulder. Blood seeped through his red top even as he realized he had to lead the monster away from the well since Kagome had the shikon shards at the moment. He leapt to his left, flying through the trees and foliage, heedless of his wound, turned right, gave a running jump, kicked the side of the well as he tried to stop and toppled over into the well. As he did, the mononoke peered over the edge, snorted, and sealed the well shut by tossing pieces of charmed paper warding off anything that wasn't it. It decided to gather all the shikon shards it could before re-opening the well and once more facing the hanyou.
Inuyasha tumbled through the well on feudal Japan's side, landing with a thud on the bottom of Kagome's side. With a grumble, he climbed out and jumped back in, only to land once more on the bottom. Cursing rather vividly, he climbed out and stalked into Kagome's house, ignoring the protests of Sota, Kagome's mother, and her grandfather. Instead, he stormed up the stairs, threw open Kagome's door, and came face-to-face with the teenager.
"Er...hello, Inuyasha," Kagome said.
"Open the well," Inuyasha demanded.
"I didn't close it," Kagome told him, puzzled.
"It's not open. So open it," Inuyasha reiterated. "I fell through and can't go back. Open it, wench!"
Kagome glared. "I didn't close it! It should be open! Maybe you're just too thick to go through again!"
Inuyasha growled at her. "Open. The. Damn. Well."
Kagome narrowed her eyes. "It. Is. Open!"
Inuyasha took Kagome by the collar and dragged her out to the well, where he promptly jumped in and landed with a resounding thud.
"Inuyasha?"
"It's closed, wench. Like I said."
Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but I can't help you." It was Saturday afternoon and she had plans. Speaking of which, she checked her watch. "Dammit!" she cursed. "I'm going to be late! Inuyasha, stay here. Maybe if you're nice, Mama will make you some ramen."
"Ramen?" he repeated eagerly, instantly forgetting the current problem of the shut well.
Kagome nodded. "Bye!"
"Wait!" Inuyasha yelled as she ran.
Momentarily, she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"
"Where are you going?" he asked quizzically.
"To the movies with Hojo," she told him. "Er...and I'll be late. BYE!"
Inuyasha watched her dart off. "'Hojo'?" he repeated with distaste. "Feh! Sounds like a loser." He tried one more time for the well and limped back into the house.
"Inuyasha!" Sota yelled. "Hi!"
"Yo." He raised a hand in greeting.
"Ah, hello, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said. She steered him into the kitchen. "What brings you here today?"
"An accident," Inuyasha admitted. "The well shut itself so I'll be stuck here until it opens."
Mrs. Higurashi nodded sympathetically. "Poor boy."
Inuyasha pouted. "Kagome said you would make me some ramen..."
"Of course!" she agreed. "You just sit right here and it'll be ready in a few minutes.
Taking a seat, he thought about Kagome and her outting with Hojo. A thought struck him: "Is Kagome out on a date?!"
Smiling, Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "With Hojo, yes."
"Do they go to the same school?" he asked skeptically.
"Of course."
"Feh!"
A plan hatched in his mind.
"Why? Do you want to meet Hojo?" Mrs. Higurashi wanted to know.
"Er...yes."
"That's so nice of you to watch out for Kagome. He father died when she was younger, just a little girl, and her grandfather isn't much help. So for you to look out for her..."
"I do it all the time." He scratched his ear while she handed him his bowl. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
***
Kagome loked at her watch, trying to illuminate the face so she could read the time. Dammit, she cursed mentally.
"Higurashi?" Hojo whispered.
She jumped. "Yes?"
"Are you okay?" he asked with worry. "You keep looking at your watch..."
Inuyasha...you always cause problems...argh! Why did you have to pop up so suddenly?! she thought fervently. To Hojo she said, "My...mom's friend's son came over earlier. He's...in a spot of...trouble and...I'm just worried about him. He's a really close friend."
Hojo frowned. "You could have told me you couldn't come."
"No! I want to stay," Kagome addured him. "Besides, my mom and Sota and grandpa are all home. There's nothing I can do, anyway."
Hojo smiled and took her hand. "Okay."
Damn you, Inuyasha.
"Hojo?" she whispered.
"Yes?" he replied.
"I need to use the restroom and get something to eat," she explained.
He pushed some paper yen into her hand. She thanked him and escaped up the aisle, burst out the door and sank down against the wall beside it. Stupid Inuyasha. Making me worry about him and the well.
The image of Inuyasha floated through her mind.
He...he got hurt!
Kagome ran back into the theatre. "Hojo, I'm sorry, but...there's been an emergency. The friend I told you about had to go to the emergency room for his asthma. I'm sorry. Bye!"
She tore out of the cinema and hurried towards home. Inuyasha...you tried to hide it from me and probably his it from Mama...but I know you better than anyone else in this world and your world. She ran across the street, legs pumping furiously under her skirt. I know you're hurt...
"He just better not bleed all over my room," she grumbled as she stepped onto the Higurashi property. She found Inuyasha on the wall of the well, wincing and holding his shoulder while trying to remove his fire rat armor. "Inuyasha?"
He looked up and almost fell backwards, ears twitching. Shit. "Why aren't you with your," he paused to fight down a snarl, "date?"
Kagome sighed, rummaging around the shelves around the well and finally surfacing with a first aide box.
Inuyasha blinked and laid back his ears. "I'm fine."
With narrowed eyes, Kagome pulled him off of the edge of the well and made him sit on a wide, sturdy box. She plopped down on his lap, placing the first aide box on hers, and peeled back his armor. "Fine, eh?" she asked of him, feeling the blood in the material and also seeing it in the white cloth beneath the red.
Inuyasha had yet to move.
She peeled the white cloth back and opened the first aide box on her lap.
...Kagome...you know me too well... Of its own accord, Inuyasha's uninjured arm settled itself around her waist. Kagome's heart sped up, trying to leap out of her chest. She felt her cheeks burn at Inuyasha's sudden touchy-feely urges.
"Th-there." She patted his shoulder. "We need to wash this..." Before riding, she took his armor off along with the undershirt, gulping. It wasn't like she had never seen him like this before, just never this close...
Not to mention she was very aware of Inuyasha's fingers dancing along her stomach, his arm tightening. His golden eyes locked on her brown ones intently, and she tilted her head ever so slightly. Closer they came, Inuyasha opened his mouth a little bit, angled to catch hers.
"Ahem."
They sprang apart, Kagome tumbling into the well backwards, only to find Inuyasha had jumped up and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her out, blushing slightly, and she looked at her grandfather, grinning embarrassedly. "Sorry, grandpa," she told him, grabbing the red material. She reached to grab the white one as he did, their fingertips brushing. "Er..."
Inuyasha dropped it onto her head, abnormally quiet.
From underneath the blood-soaked white cloth, she said, "Inuyasha."
"...Yes?" he asked, almost fearfully.
"Sit."
She heard a satisfying crash and yelp.
Inuyasha scrambled to his feet as she left the small wooden shelter, holding the blood-stained materials. "What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, racing after her.
"Dropping this on me!" she told him, turning around and holding the white out. "I'm about to go wash it and now I have to take a bath because I have youkai blood on my hair!"
"It's nothing new, Kagome," he growled. "You've had my blood on you before! It's nothing to s-word me for!"
"And I always washed!" she huffed. She turned on her heel and started towards the house. "Inuyasha. My shikon shards."
"I don't have them," he lied.
"You're lying. Give them back," she stated.
"I don't have them, Kagome," he whined.
"Sit."
He fell over again, the shikon shards bouncing off of his person and landing at her feet.
"Thank you."
"Give those back!"
"No."
He got up and started after her again.
"Sit."
He fell and came back up.
"Sit."
He growled, fell, came back up, and ran.
"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!"
Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash.
"Damn you, Kagome!"
"SIT!"
He fell.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him and ran into the house to wash his clothes.
***
When Kagome had put Inuyasha's things into the washer, she came out to the living room to find her grandfather trying to teach Inuyasha how to play Go Fish.
"See, the goal is to get three or four cards with the same number on them. If you ask me for a number you have and I don't have it, then I say 'Go Fish' and you pick a card from the pile," Grandpa tried to explain.
Inuyasha looked cluelessly at him.
"Deal, Grandpa," Kagome said. "Inuyasha and I will be a team since you are like three people."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Feh! I don't need your help."
She stuck her tongue out at him again. He muttered something about sticking her tongue out again and he'd cut it off. "Right. You never need my help."
"Damn straight."
"Might I remind you of the s-word?" Kagome taunted.
"You let that word flow too freely here," he grumbled.
Kagome picked up their cards, organizing them in numerical order. "Any...fives?"
"Go Fish."
Kagome picked up a card. "See, Inuyasha?"
He nodded his great big silver head and watched, still quite shirtless.
"Nines."
Kagome handed over the nines.
"Chi! Why did you do that?" Inuyasha asked.
"Because if the opponent asks of it and you have it, then you have to forfeit it," Kagome explained.
"Feh."
"Any queens?" Grandpa asked.
"Go fish, old man!" the hanyou crowed.
Grandpa grumbled as Inuyasha examined their cards. "Any ones?"
"Aces. Those are called 'aces,'" Kagome explained.
Inuyasha nodded. "What she said."
Grandpa handed over two aces.
"Sixes?"
Grandpa handed those over too.
The half-youkai grinned wickedly. "Eights."
"Go. Fish."
"Shit!"
"Inuyasha, we're in a shrine you moron."
***
Shippo yawned. "I miss Kagome."
"Me too," Sango sighed.
"I, too, miss Kagome's beautiful face," Miroku admitted, only to find Sango's fist connect with the top of his head. He grumbled and rubbed the bump there.
Shippo's tail twitched and he sniffed the air, ignoring Miroku and Sango's antics. "Where's Inuyasha?"
Sango paused. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since he went after that mononoke. He should be back by now..."
Miroku grinned knowingly. "I'll bet he went to the well for a secret rendezvous--a tryst, if you will--with our fair la--"
Sango clamped a hand over his mouth. "Not in front of Shippo!" The monk tried to answer and failed. "Inuyasha wouldn't do that anyway."
"Let's go to the well," Shippo suggested. "He's bound to go there sometime!"
"Yes," Miroku agreed, ducking out of Sango's distracted hold. "Good idea. Come on, Sango."
They all trudged to the well.
Suddenly, Shippo stopped. "I smell Inuyasha, but not a lot. He was here a while ago." He sniffed out a trail. "It stops here." He ran over to where Inuyasha had briefly stepped on the well. "He went in!"
Miroku grinned obnoxiously at Sango.
She knocked him over the head.
"I'm going down to see if he really did," Shippo announced, dropping in. "Hey..." he said, then followed it with a pained cry as the charms repelled his kitsune feet. He clung to Sango as he surfaced, breathing hard with fear and pain. "Sango...Inuyasha went down there, but...how could he with those charms?"
Miroku peered over the edge and almost toppled backwards. "Those aren't just charms, Shippo."
"What are they?" Sango pressed.
"Seals. They're seals to ward off whoever tries to pass through the well again," Miroku sighed.
"Seals?" Sango repeated, joining him in peering over the ledge.
"Get behind me. I'm going to try to suck up the seals with my houkiri," Miroku informed them. Sango moved behind him as he removed his rosary. The air void opened and sucked in leaves around them but failed to pull the seals from their holds. "Dammit," he cursed, wrapping his air void up again.
Shippo whined and dropped to the ground, pouting. A terrible thought struck him: "Are Inuyasha and Kagome stuck on the other side?!"
Sango and Miroku exchanged looks, and Miroku nodded.
Shippo fainted.
"SHIPPO!"
***
"What's this?" Inuyasha asked, poking one of Kagome's books like it would bite.
"It's a textbook," Kagome answered distractedly as she tried to do her homework. A thought suddenly dawned on her and she looked over at him, eyes landing on his exposed chest. "We need to get you some clothes."
"I have clothes," Inuyasha retorted defensively.
"No. You have a rather dull outfit. What you need is clothes," Kagome corrected.
"What's the difference?" Inuyasha sighed. "I like my fire rat armor and my white shirt. Do you have a problem with it?"
"It's a little...er...old fashioned for what people wear now. Your hair is no problem--your ears we can hide by making you wear a hat. But your clothes...nothing will attack you here, but I'll carry around your armor in my backpack just in case you need it. But we need to get you modernized," she finished.
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "I'm not moving in, Kagome! I'm just--stuck here."
The telephone rang but Kagome ignored it. "And as long as you're stuck here you'll be stuck here if you don't get some more modern clothes."
"Kagome! Telephone! It's Hojo!" Mrs. Higurashi called.
"Coming!" she called back. She tossed a look to Inuyasha and tore off down the stairs, taking the phone from her mother with a thank you. Inuyasha collided into her from behind and Kagome glared as she said said cheerfully into the phone, "Hello, Hojo!"
Inuyasha sat on his heels and looked up at Kagome with this contraption to her ear.
"Er...my friend? Oh, he's fine," she lied. She motioned for Inuyasha to go away but he wouldn't budge. Rolling her eyes, she turned her back to the dog half-youkai. "It was nothing serious. They just gave him a shot and he was fine..." she paused, listening. "Oh? Next Saturday? You want me to go to a sit-down dinner with you?"
Inuyasha tumbled to the floor.
Kagome hid her smile and apologized to Inuyasha. "Ah? Oh, that was my friend. He tripped over my textbook." Inuyasha tried to threaten her but she put her hand on his forehead and held him at arm's length. "...His name? Ah...he's Inuyas--ogiri. Inuyasogiri."
"Inuyasogiri?" Inuyasha huffed. "What kind of name is that?"
"Shut up, Inuyasha," she hissed. "Oh...well, we call him Inuyasha...he dressed up as a dog for a party once and the nickname stuck. That's all...eh? Okay. I'll see if I'm doing anything next Saturday and let you know on Monday, okay? Bye!" Kagome set the phone back on the cradle and turned to Inuyasha. "Welcome to the modern world, Inuyasogiri."
Inuyasha snorted. "No thanks."
He started out the door, Kagome trailing him. "Well, in any case, Hojo wants to meet you."
"What's up with this Hojo guy?" Inuyasha demanded, whirling to face her. They stood in the middle of the property, in plain sight to anyone who happened by. "Ever since I got here it's just 'Hojo this' and 'Hojo that' and god you'd think he was your boyfriend!"
Kagome blinked. "Well...he is, sorta."
For a moment, Inuyasha did nothing. Then his face contorted into something resembling displeasure and hate and he stormed into the well.
"I doubt it's open by now. And why do you care, Inuyasha?" Kagome pressed, following him.
"Leave me alone, wench," he growled. He leapt over the edge and landed with a dull thump on the ground. "Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
"You've hardly been here three hours, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "It's not that bad!"
"For you, maybe, but for me..." Inuyasha looked up at her. "I've already been s-worded twelve times. That's four times in each hour."
"I'm sorry!" Kagome apologized, jumping in after him. The well didn't open for her either. "I guess it is closed."
With the well shut to the fuedal world, it seemed rather cramped with the muscled hanyou and Kagome in there. "I didn't mean to s-word you the last time."
"Yeah, but you did it eleven times when I first got here."
"Well, I had reason! First you dropped that bloody thing on my head, then you lied to me about having my shikon shards, and then you kept trying to steal them back."
"That's beside the point!" Inuyasha yelled. It echoed in the walls of the well and seemed louder than normal. "I don't belong here, Kagome!"
"Well, you're stuck here, so deal with it, dog boy!" Kagome yelled back at him.
"Feh." He rolled his eyes at her. "You're really bad at comebacks."
"And you're a petty crybaby," Kagome informed him. "I mean, really. If you would stop pissing and moaning about being stuck here I could make it enjoyable for you."
"Enjoyable? Chi. By doing what?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well, we could watch a movie, or we could watch TV, or you could play a video game with Sota, or we could go out if you would go and get some clothes with me," Kagome suggested.
He had other things in mind.
Gah! Shut up, hormones! Stop looking for a replacement for Kikyo in Kagome! the Inuyashabrain yelled at the rest of him.
Ah, but is she really anything like Kikyo? Sure, she's got the same soul, with the same looks and the same purification powers and the Shikon no Tama and shikon shards...but they act nothing alike, his hormones argued.
Inuyasha, while all this happened behind the scenes, had taken to staring at Kagome. "Clothes...?"
"Aha! So you'll go with me?" Kagome cried cheerfully. "Well, promise me this. Promise you'll go with me tomorrow because I have a lot of homework to do today and...well, just promise not to act all dumb tomorrow 'cause you'll be stuck in my house if you are." She held out her pinky. "Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear?" Inuyasha looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
"It's a promise, just it's made stronger by the pinky swearing. I don't know, I just like to do it." Kagome shrugged. "Well?"
"I promise and...pinky swear...whatever the hell that is," Inuyasha agreed.
"Hold out your pinky," she instructed. He did. "Now hook it around mine." He did. "Now, shake." They shook. "That's a pinky swear."
"...We just pinky-swore in the bottom of our well," Inuyasha said oddly. He looked down at Kagome, who smiled. He felt the irresistable urge to take her in his arms and hold her forever, little did he know that she wanted him to do the very same thing.
"Our well..." Kagome repeated, looking up at the top of the shed.
"That's what it is, isn't it? Only you and I could pass through it..." Inuyasha reminded her, shrugging.
Thump, thump.
"Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, Kagome?"
"Do you ever look up at the moon and wonder if the person you love is looking at the very same moon?" she asked quietly, folding her hands behind her back. Please say yes, please say yes...I think it all the time...
But we can never look at the same moon, Inuyasha thought despairingly. Especially not when we're where we belong...
"Feh. Hell no, Kagome. I don't do sappy shit like that," he told her.
Kagome looked at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. "Shut up, Inuyasha. I know you do. I watch you when you think everyone's asleep because you have your back to our camp. I watch you look up at the moon and I know you're wondering--is Kikyo looking at the moon right now too?" she spat.
"Kikyo?" he repeated. "Feh! Kikyo is in the past!"
"Only because you're here in modern times," she retorted. She began to climb up the ladder.
"Oi--Kagome, wait!" he cried. However, she had almost made it to the top. "Screw this," he muttered and leapt from the bottom out of the well. "What the hell is your problem, Kagome?!"
She refused to answer him.
"Kagome!" he shouted as she ran across the property. "Kagome!"
"SIT!"
"Dammit!"
***
Startled, Inuyasha came to the conclusion that Kagome had locked him out of her room. He felt violated and somewhat betrayed for this notion as he pounded on the wood. "Kagome! Kagome, open up!"
"Go away, Inuyasha! I need to do my homework!" she yelled.
Confused, he stood in the hallway, still without his shirt, when Kagome breezed out of the door and down to the washroom. She came back and thrust his clothes at him, ducking into her room and subsequently locking her door.
"Kagome..." he whined, pulling the white material over himself. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Go see if the well's opened yet."
"We just came from there! We know it isn't open," he argued. "Remember? We made that promise..."
Kagome threw open the door. "You just don't give up, do you?!" she cried. "Go away!"
Inuyasha pushed his way into her room. "I just wanna sit on your bed and keep an eye on the shikon shards..."
"Absolutely not!" she grabbed his arm and threw him out again. "And stay out, you mangy cur!"
He heard the soft click as the door locked again.
Sighing, he trudged down the stairs and joined Sota on the sofa. "What's up?"
Sota looked at Inuyasha scrutinizingly. "Why do you give Sis such a hard time?"
Inuyasha twitched and came face to face with the younger boy. "It's none of your damn business."
Quickly, Sota scrambled backwards. He tumbled off of the sofa and stood in the middle of the room, pointing an accusatory finger and crowing triumphantly: "You're in love with Sis!"
Inuyasha blushed ever so slightly and yelled, "I am not!"
Sota laughed and fled the room, leaving Inuyasha alone with his thoughts. Am I? he wondered. Am I in love with Kagome? Should I be in love with Kagome? Or am I just in love with Kikyo's soul that's in Kagome? If that's true, then do I love the soul-eating Kikyo? Are they the same? Is soul-eating Kikyo the same as Kikyo-souled Kagome? The hanyou scratched his head and stared blankly at the dark television screen. Everyone thinks we're in love...have we actually fallen in love and just not realized it?
"Too many thoughts," he grumbled.
Meanwhile, Kagome sat with her head on her textbook and pencil moving in random designs. Stupid Inuyasha. I hate him. Well, not hate hate but I hate him. He's so...stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Why does he have to have that affect on me? The effect that makes me want to shiver and want to kiss him until he can't breathe and I until I can't breathe and until neither of us can stand? she shivered at just the thought. He always makes my heart beat so fast...just like it is now. Stop...why does he have to make me feel this way? He loves Kikyo...he's made that more than clear...
"Inuyasha..." she murmured. She looked at her paper and realized what was on there. "GAH! STUPID INUYASHA!"
She had written his name repeatedly in the answer blanks on her worksheet.
"What did I do now?" he asked irritably from the other side of the door.
"You..." Kagome trailed off. "I just felt like yelling 'stupid Inuyasha.' Do you have a problem with it?"
She heard a snort. "I don't care what you think."
"Good. You wanna know what I really think of you?"
"Not particularly."
"Do you care?"
"Not at all."
Kagome huffed. "I think you're an arrogant, selfish, petty, greedy, delusional, uncaring, bloody-thirsty, ignorant moron!"
"Oh? Well you're a self-righteous, prying, nosy, selfish, petty, immature, childish, argumentative bitch."
"Go away."
"No comebacks, Kagome?"
"Why do you have to taunt me all the time?!"
"Because it's fun."
Kagome threw her door open so hard it nearly ripped from the hinges. She planted her foot squarely in his stomach and pushed as hard as she could, stuck her tongue out, and shut the door. Once more locked, Kagome sat down at her desk, erased all the Inuyasha marks and went happily about her homework.
Ha. In love with Inuyasha? No way.
Wait a second..."in love with Inuyasha"? Where'd that come from?
***
That evening, Inuyasha elected to eat his dinner out by the well so he could figure out exactly what had happened.
He set his dinner down on the box that he and Kagome had sat on earlier and had just about leapt into the well when Kagome entered the shed.
Sighing, he returned to his dinner and tried to ignore Kagome.
"Any luck?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I was just about to check and see if it had opened again."
"I'll go," Kagome offered. She began down the well when she felt him grab the back of her outfit and haul her out of the well. "What was that for?"
He shook his head again. "Don't go down there. I'm betting that the mononoke I was trying to lead away from the well earlier sealed it shut and I can't tell anyone. There's no way to remove the seals on this side, so I'm guessing I'm not stuck here forever."
A moment of silence passed. "I'm sorry about earlier, Inuyasha," Kagome admitted. She was referring to the string of insults she had aimed at him earlier. "I didn't mean to s-word you so much too. And...call you all those names but you're just so...obnoxious!"
Inuyasha twitched. "Hmph!" he set aside his dinner, leapt into the well, and landed with a thud on the bottom. "Ouch..."
"...Idiot..." Kagome told him as she peered over the edge.
Grumbling, Inuyasha climbed out of the weel and picked up his dinner again. Kagome sat next to him. "Inuyasha, do you like to wear hats?"
"What kind of hat?" he asked skeptically.
She found her bag and dug one out. She slipped it over his head and grinned. "You need it to cover up your ears."
"What?" Inuyasha asked. "Kagome, I can't hear anything with this on..."
She pulled it off and stuck it on her own head. "If only you had human ears...I suppose we could tell everyone that it's a wid and you're an actor." She giggled and smiled at him. "Inuyasogiri, also known as Inuyasha, the actor who has some trouble and is staying at the temple until he's okay."
Inuyasha snorted like a distempered horse.
"Ah well," Kagome shrugged. "You'll have to stick with it because I said so."
"Idiot," he informed her.
She ignored him. "Oh! We have to figure out where you'll sleep tonight." She scratched her head through the cap. "I'm sure Sota wouldn't mind you sleeping in his room, or we could put you in the living room. Or, if you want to sleep outside you can..."
"I want to sleep with you," he protested.
Kagome turned beet red exactly two seconds before the hanyou realized the implications of what he just said.
"Pervert! SIT!"
He crashed to the floor.
"Dammit, Kagome! I mean I want to sleep in your room! I'm used to sleeping where the shikon shards are and they're in your room," he explained. Not to mention I get lonely without you. Damned if I say it though.
"No." She shook her head. "I can't allow it."
"Kagome...I'm not Miroku. I won't try anything. Not to mention I don't want to try anything. We all sleep in a group in my time anyway."
"No, no, no. You sleep in the living room. In your time it's okay to sleep in the same room and space but here it's immoral unless you're related, married, or dating!"
He pouted at her.
"Stop. It won't work on me."
"Bah. I've decided I don't want to sleep in your girly room anyway."
"Even better."
"Let's go get me set up then. I've had a rough day."
He fingered Tetsuaiga and remembered the mononoke. Sighing, he walked with Kagome up to the house and watched her set up his temporary bed. It was just a blanket tucked into the sofa with a pillow and another blanket on top. He knew not half of the evening would pass before he moved into Kagome's room but he humored her anyway.
Kagome wanted him to sleep in her room because she felt safe with him, but it would look horribly wrong if she let him. "If you're really worried about the shikon shards, I can bring them down here..."
"Feh. I don't care," Inuyasha snorted.
Inuyasha...?
"Okay." She settled in a chair near Inuyasha on his makeshift sleeping area and flipped on the TV, startling him.
"I'm trying to sleep!" he snapped.
"You can sleep through anything. If you can sleep on the back of my bicycle, you can deal with the TV," Kagome retorted.
He groaned, lied down, and turned his back to Kagome. Within fifteen minutes, he had drifted off to sleep. A smile donned Kagome's lips and she snuggled into her chair. Not twenty minutes passed before Inuyasha tucked his rat coat around her sleeping form, picked her up, and toted her upstairs to her room. He contemplated undressing her and putting her pajamas on, but blushed profusely at the mere idea and tucked her in her bed. He also didn't want a sitting.
"Inuyasha..."
He froze and looked at her. She had her eyes barely open and peering over the edge of her covers. "Thank you...and I'm still sorry."
His golden eyes softened at her sentiments. He knew she wouldn't remember in the morning in light of his sneaking into her room in the middle of the night but it would work for now: "Don't worry about it." Silently, he shut off the lights and ducked out of the room, running down the stairs and turning off the television before lying back down. He could smell Kagome on the blanket and on his clothes, making him feel safer than he had ever felt and more at home. In fact, he felt more at home in Kagome's home than his own, which gave him the chills.
A sudden thought struck him.
Tomorrow night would have been the dreaded First Night, but...there was no way that tomorrow night in Kagome's world would be the same. Plus, he didn't know whether or not he would react the same way. He hoped he would stay human for the First Day as well, just so he could meet this Hojo chump.
He would protect his Kagome.
When did he start refering to her as his Kagome?
"Ah well," he muttered, and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
***
He woke at midnight.
He panicked, not realizing where he was but Kagome's scent around him calmed him somewhat. His mind caught up with his senses a moment later and he remembered where he was.
"That's it," he mumbled. This was the third time he had woken up without knowing where he was. It happened whenever Kagome left for the modern world in the feudalistic one as well, only he knew where he was most of the time. Grumbling, he grabbed his pillow and blanket with firm resolve and trudged up to Kagome's room. Slowly, he opened the door and looked at Kagome, sleeping peacefully with his red armor around her. He fought a smile as he shut the door, situating himself parallel to her bed, facing her.
Now he could sleep, which was exactly what he did.
Chapter One: Saturday Afternoon
Pain.
The thought flashed through the hanyou's head as one of the endless youkai or mononoke tried to chop his head off, missing his neck and stabbing him in the shoulder. Blood seeped through his red top even as he realized he had to lead the monster away from the well since Kagome had the shikon shards at the moment. He leapt to his left, flying through the trees and foliage, heedless of his wound, turned right, gave a running jump, kicked the side of the well as he tried to stop and toppled over into the well. As he did, the mononoke peered over the edge, snorted, and sealed the well shut by tossing pieces of charmed paper warding off anything that wasn't it. It decided to gather all the shikon shards it could before re-opening the well and once more facing the hanyou.
Inuyasha tumbled through the well on feudal Japan's side, landing with a thud on the bottom of Kagome's side. With a grumble, he climbed out and jumped back in, only to land once more on the bottom. Cursing rather vividly, he climbed out and stalked into Kagome's house, ignoring the protests of Sota, Kagome's mother, and her grandfather. Instead, he stormed up the stairs, threw open Kagome's door, and came face-to-face with the teenager.
"Er...hello, Inuyasha," Kagome said.
"Open the well," Inuyasha demanded.
"I didn't close it," Kagome told him, puzzled.
"It's not open. So open it," Inuyasha reiterated. "I fell through and can't go back. Open it, wench!"
Kagome glared. "I didn't close it! It should be open! Maybe you're just too thick to go through again!"
Inuyasha growled at her. "Open. The. Damn. Well."
Kagome narrowed her eyes. "It. Is. Open!"
Inuyasha took Kagome by the collar and dragged her out to the well, where he promptly jumped in and landed with a resounding thud.
"Inuyasha?"
"It's closed, wench. Like I said."
Kagome sighed. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, but I can't help you." It was Saturday afternoon and she had plans. Speaking of which, she checked her watch. "Dammit!" she cursed. "I'm going to be late! Inuyasha, stay here. Maybe if you're nice, Mama will make you some ramen."
"Ramen?" he repeated eagerly, instantly forgetting the current problem of the shut well.
Kagome nodded. "Bye!"
"Wait!" Inuyasha yelled as she ran.
Momentarily, she paused and looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"
"Where are you going?" he asked quizzically.
"To the movies with Hojo," she told him. "Er...and I'll be late. BYE!"
Inuyasha watched her dart off. "'Hojo'?" he repeated with distaste. "Feh! Sounds like a loser." He tried one more time for the well and limped back into the house.
"Inuyasha!" Sota yelled. "Hi!"
"Yo." He raised a hand in greeting.
"Ah, hello, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said. She steered him into the kitchen. "What brings you here today?"
"An accident," Inuyasha admitted. "The well shut itself so I'll be stuck here until it opens."
Mrs. Higurashi nodded sympathetically. "Poor boy."
Inuyasha pouted. "Kagome said you would make me some ramen..."
"Of course!" she agreed. "You just sit right here and it'll be ready in a few minutes.
Taking a seat, he thought about Kagome and her outting with Hojo. A thought struck him: "Is Kagome out on a date?!"
Smiling, Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "With Hojo, yes."
"Do they go to the same school?" he asked skeptically.
"Of course."
"Feh!"
A plan hatched in his mind.
"Why? Do you want to meet Hojo?" Mrs. Higurashi wanted to know.
"Er...yes."
"That's so nice of you to watch out for Kagome. He father died when she was younger, just a little girl, and her grandfather isn't much help. So for you to look out for her..."
"I do it all the time." He scratched his ear while she handed him his bowl. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Kagome loked at her watch, trying to illuminate the face so she could read the time. Dammit, she cursed mentally.
"Higurashi?" Hojo whispered.
She jumped. "Yes?"
"Are you okay?" he asked with worry. "You keep looking at your watch..."
Inuyasha...you always cause problems...argh! Why did you have to pop up so suddenly?! she thought fervently. To Hojo she said, "My...mom's friend's son came over earlier. He's...in a spot of...trouble and...I'm just worried about him. He's a really close friend."
Hojo frowned. "You could have told me you couldn't come."
"No! I want to stay," Kagome addured him. "Besides, my mom and Sota and grandpa are all home. There's nothing I can do, anyway."
Hojo smiled and took her hand. "Okay."
Damn you, Inuyasha.
"Hojo?" she whispered.
"Yes?" he replied.
"I need to use the restroom and get something to eat," she explained.
He pushed some paper yen into her hand. She thanked him and escaped up the aisle, burst out the door and sank down against the wall beside it. Stupid Inuyasha. Making me worry about him and the well.
The image of Inuyasha floated through her mind.
He...he got hurt!
Kagome ran back into the theatre. "Hojo, I'm sorry, but...there's been an emergency. The friend I told you about had to go to the emergency room for his asthma. I'm sorry. Bye!"
She tore out of the cinema and hurried towards home. Inuyasha...you tried to hide it from me and probably his it from Mama...but I know you better than anyone else in this world and your world. She ran across the street, legs pumping furiously under her skirt. I know you're hurt...
"He just better not bleed all over my room," she grumbled as she stepped onto the Higurashi property. She found Inuyasha on the wall of the well, wincing and holding his shoulder while trying to remove his fire rat armor. "Inuyasha?"
He looked up and almost fell backwards, ears twitching. Shit. "Why aren't you with your," he paused to fight down a snarl, "date?"
Kagome sighed, rummaging around the shelves around the well and finally surfacing with a first aide box.
Inuyasha blinked and laid back his ears. "I'm fine."
With narrowed eyes, Kagome pulled him off of the edge of the well and made him sit on a wide, sturdy box. She plopped down on his lap, placing the first aide box on hers, and peeled back his armor. "Fine, eh?" she asked of him, feeling the blood in the material and also seeing it in the white cloth beneath the red.
Inuyasha had yet to move.
She peeled the white cloth back and opened the first aide box on her lap.
...Kagome...you know me too well... Of its own accord, Inuyasha's uninjured arm settled itself around her waist. Kagome's heart sped up, trying to leap out of her chest. She felt her cheeks burn at Inuyasha's sudden touchy-feely urges.
"Th-there." She patted his shoulder. "We need to wash this..." Before riding, she took his armor off along with the undershirt, gulping. It wasn't like she had never seen him like this before, just never this close...
Not to mention she was very aware of Inuyasha's fingers dancing along her stomach, his arm tightening. His golden eyes locked on her brown ones intently, and she tilted her head ever so slightly. Closer they came, Inuyasha opened his mouth a little bit, angled to catch hers.
"Ahem."
They sprang apart, Kagome tumbling into the well backwards, only to find Inuyasha had jumped up and grabbed her wrist. He pulled her out, blushing slightly, and she looked at her grandfather, grinning embarrassedly. "Sorry, grandpa," she told him, grabbing the red material. She reached to grab the white one as he did, their fingertips brushing. "Er..."
Inuyasha dropped it onto her head, abnormally quiet.
From underneath the blood-soaked white cloth, she said, "Inuyasha."
"...Yes?" he asked, almost fearfully.
"Sit."
She heard a satisfying crash and yelp.
Inuyasha scrambled to his feet as she left the small wooden shelter, holding the blood-stained materials. "What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, racing after her.
"Dropping this on me!" she told him, turning around and holding the white out. "I'm about to go wash it and now I have to take a bath because I have youkai blood on my hair!"
"It's nothing new, Kagome," he growled. "You've had my blood on you before! It's nothing to s-word me for!"
"And I always washed!" she huffed. She turned on her heel and started towards the house. "Inuyasha. My shikon shards."
"I don't have them," he lied.
"You're lying. Give them back," she stated.
"I don't have them, Kagome," he whined.
"Sit."
He fell over again, the shikon shards bouncing off of his person and landing at her feet.
"Thank you."
"Give those back!"
"No."
He got up and started after her again.
"Sit."
He fell and came back up.
"Sit."
He growled, fell, came back up, and ran.
"Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit!"
Crash, crash, crash, crash, crash, crash.
"Damn you, Kagome!"
"SIT!"
He fell.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him and ran into the house to wash his clothes.
When Kagome had put Inuyasha's things into the washer, she came out to the living room to find her grandfather trying to teach Inuyasha how to play Go Fish.
"See, the goal is to get three or four cards with the same number on them. If you ask me for a number you have and I don't have it, then I say 'Go Fish' and you pick a card from the pile," Grandpa tried to explain.
Inuyasha looked cluelessly at him.
"Deal, Grandpa," Kagome said. "Inuyasha and I will be a team since you are like three people."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Feh! I don't need your help."
She stuck her tongue out at him again. He muttered something about sticking her tongue out again and he'd cut it off. "Right. You never need my help."
"Damn straight."
"Might I remind you of the s-word?" Kagome taunted.
"You let that word flow too freely here," he grumbled.
Kagome picked up their cards, organizing them in numerical order. "Any...fives?"
"Go Fish."
Kagome picked up a card. "See, Inuyasha?"
He nodded his great big silver head and watched, still quite shirtless.
"Nines."
Kagome handed over the nines.
"Chi! Why did you do that?" Inuyasha asked.
"Because if the opponent asks of it and you have it, then you have to forfeit it," Kagome explained.
"Feh."
"Any queens?" Grandpa asked.
"Go fish, old man!" the hanyou crowed.
Grandpa grumbled as Inuyasha examined their cards. "Any ones?"
"Aces. Those are called 'aces,'" Kagome explained.
Inuyasha nodded. "What she said."
Grandpa handed over two aces.
"Sixes?"
Grandpa handed those over too.
The half-youkai grinned wickedly. "Eights."
"Go. Fish."
"Shit!"
"Inuyasha, we're in a shrine you moron."
Shippo yawned. "I miss Kagome."
"Me too," Sango sighed.
"I, too, miss Kagome's beautiful face," Miroku admitted, only to find Sango's fist connect with the top of his head. He grumbled and rubbed the bump there.
Shippo's tail twitched and he sniffed the air, ignoring Miroku and Sango's antics. "Where's Inuyasha?"
Sango paused. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him since he went after that mononoke. He should be back by now..."
Miroku grinned knowingly. "I'll bet he went to the well for a secret rendezvous--a tryst, if you will--with our fair la--"
Sango clamped a hand over his mouth. "Not in front of Shippo!" The monk tried to answer and failed. "Inuyasha wouldn't do that anyway."
"Let's go to the well," Shippo suggested. "He's bound to go there sometime!"
"Yes," Miroku agreed, ducking out of Sango's distracted hold. "Good idea. Come on, Sango."
They all trudged to the well.
Suddenly, Shippo stopped. "I smell Inuyasha, but not a lot. He was here a while ago." He sniffed out a trail. "It stops here." He ran over to where Inuyasha had briefly stepped on the well. "He went in!"
Miroku grinned obnoxiously at Sango.
She knocked him over the head.
"I'm going down to see if he really did," Shippo announced, dropping in. "Hey..." he said, then followed it with a pained cry as the charms repelled his kitsune feet. He clung to Sango as he surfaced, breathing hard with fear and pain. "Sango...Inuyasha went down there, but...how could he with those charms?"
Miroku peered over the edge and almost toppled backwards. "Those aren't just charms, Shippo."
"What are they?" Sango pressed.
"Seals. They're seals to ward off whoever tries to pass through the well again," Miroku sighed.
"Seals?" Sango repeated, joining him in peering over the ledge.
"Get behind me. I'm going to try to suck up the seals with my houkiri," Miroku informed them. Sango moved behind him as he removed his rosary. The air void opened and sucked in leaves around them but failed to pull the seals from their holds. "Dammit," he cursed, wrapping his air void up again.
Shippo whined and dropped to the ground, pouting. A terrible thought struck him: "Are Inuyasha and Kagome stuck on the other side?!"
Sango and Miroku exchanged looks, and Miroku nodded.
Shippo fainted.
"SHIPPO!"
"What's this?" Inuyasha asked, poking one of Kagome's books like it would bite.
"It's a textbook," Kagome answered distractedly as she tried to do her homework. A thought suddenly dawned on her and she looked over at him, eyes landing on his exposed chest. "We need to get you some clothes."
"I have clothes," Inuyasha retorted defensively.
"No. You have a rather dull outfit. What you need is clothes," Kagome corrected.
"What's the difference?" Inuyasha sighed. "I like my fire rat armor and my white shirt. Do you have a problem with it?"
"It's a little...er...old fashioned for what people wear now. Your hair is no problem--your ears we can hide by making you wear a hat. But your clothes...nothing will attack you here, but I'll carry around your armor in my backpack just in case you need it. But we need to get you modernized," she finished.
Inuyasha sweatdropped. "I'm not moving in, Kagome! I'm just--stuck here."
The telephone rang but Kagome ignored it. "And as long as you're stuck here you'll be stuck here if you don't get some more modern clothes."
"Kagome! Telephone! It's Hojo!" Mrs. Higurashi called.
"Coming!" she called back. She tossed a look to Inuyasha and tore off down the stairs, taking the phone from her mother with a thank you. Inuyasha collided into her from behind and Kagome glared as she said said cheerfully into the phone, "Hello, Hojo!"
Inuyasha sat on his heels and looked up at Kagome with this contraption to her ear.
"Er...my friend? Oh, he's fine," she lied. She motioned for Inuyasha to go away but he wouldn't budge. Rolling her eyes, she turned her back to the dog half-youkai. "It was nothing serious. They just gave him a shot and he was fine..." she paused, listening. "Oh? Next Saturday? You want me to go to a sit-down dinner with you?"
Inuyasha tumbled to the floor.
Kagome hid her smile and apologized to Inuyasha. "Ah? Oh, that was my friend. He tripped over my textbook." Inuyasha tried to threaten her but she put her hand on his forehead and held him at arm's length. "...His name? Ah...he's Inuyas--ogiri. Inuyasogiri."
"Inuyasogiri?" Inuyasha huffed. "What kind of name is that?"
"Shut up, Inuyasha," she hissed. "Oh...well, we call him Inuyasha...he dressed up as a dog for a party once and the nickname stuck. That's all...eh? Okay. I'll see if I'm doing anything next Saturday and let you know on Monday, okay? Bye!" Kagome set the phone back on the cradle and turned to Inuyasha. "Welcome to the modern world, Inuyasogiri."
Inuyasha snorted. "No thanks."
He started out the door, Kagome trailing him. "Well, in any case, Hojo wants to meet you."
"What's up with this Hojo guy?" Inuyasha demanded, whirling to face her. They stood in the middle of the property, in plain sight to anyone who happened by. "Ever since I got here it's just 'Hojo this' and 'Hojo that' and god you'd think he was your boyfriend!"
Kagome blinked. "Well...he is, sorta."
For a moment, Inuyasha did nothing. Then his face contorted into something resembling displeasure and hate and he stormed into the well.
"I doubt it's open by now. And why do you care, Inuyasha?" Kagome pressed, following him.
"Leave me alone, wench," he growled. He leapt over the edge and landed with a dull thump on the ground. "Dammit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
"You've hardly been here three hours, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "It's not that bad!"
"For you, maybe, but for me..." Inuyasha looked up at her. "I've already been s-worded twelve times. That's four times in each hour."
"I'm sorry!" Kagome apologized, jumping in after him. The well didn't open for her either. "I guess it is closed."
With the well shut to the fuedal world, it seemed rather cramped with the muscled hanyou and Kagome in there. "I didn't mean to s-word you the last time."
"Yeah, but you did it eleven times when I first got here."
"Well, I had reason! First you dropped that bloody thing on my head, then you lied to me about having my shikon shards, and then you kept trying to steal them back."
"That's beside the point!" Inuyasha yelled. It echoed in the walls of the well and seemed louder than normal. "I don't belong here, Kagome!"
"Well, you're stuck here, so deal with it, dog boy!" Kagome yelled back at him.
"Feh." He rolled his eyes at her. "You're really bad at comebacks."
"And you're a petty crybaby," Kagome informed him. "I mean, really. If you would stop pissing and moaning about being stuck here I could make it enjoyable for you."
"Enjoyable? Chi. By doing what?" Inuyasha asked.
"Well, we could watch a movie, or we could watch TV, or you could play a video game with Sota, or we could go out if you would go and get some clothes with me," Kagome suggested.
He had other things in mind.
Gah! Shut up, hormones! Stop looking for a replacement for Kikyo in Kagome! the Inuyashabrain yelled at the rest of him.
Ah, but is she really anything like Kikyo? Sure, she's got the same soul, with the same looks and the same purification powers and the Shikon no Tama and shikon shards...but they act nothing alike, his hormones argued.
Inuyasha, while all this happened behind the scenes, had taken to staring at Kagome. "Clothes...?"
"Aha! So you'll go with me?" Kagome cried cheerfully. "Well, promise me this. Promise you'll go with me tomorrow because I have a lot of homework to do today and...well, just promise not to act all dumb tomorrow 'cause you'll be stuck in my house if you are." She held out her pinky. "Pinky swear?"
"Pinky swear?" Inuyasha looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
"It's a promise, just it's made stronger by the pinky swearing. I don't know, I just like to do it." Kagome shrugged. "Well?"
"I promise and...pinky swear...whatever the hell that is," Inuyasha agreed.
"Hold out your pinky," she instructed. He did. "Now hook it around mine." He did. "Now, shake." They shook. "That's a pinky swear."
"...We just pinky-swore in the bottom of our well," Inuyasha said oddly. He looked down at Kagome, who smiled. He felt the irresistable urge to take her in his arms and hold her forever, little did he know that she wanted him to do the very same thing.
"Our well..." Kagome repeated, looking up at the top of the shed.
"That's what it is, isn't it? Only you and I could pass through it..." Inuyasha reminded her, shrugging.
Thump, thump.
"Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, Kagome?"
"Do you ever look up at the moon and wonder if the person you love is looking at the very same moon?" she asked quietly, folding her hands behind her back. Please say yes, please say yes...I think it all the time...
But we can never look at the same moon, Inuyasha thought despairingly. Especially not when we're where we belong...
"Feh. Hell no, Kagome. I don't do sappy shit like that," he told her.
Kagome looked at him sharply, narrowing her eyes. "Shut up, Inuyasha. I know you do. I watch you when you think everyone's asleep because you have your back to our camp. I watch you look up at the moon and I know you're wondering--is Kikyo looking at the moon right now too?" she spat.
"Kikyo?" he repeated. "Feh! Kikyo is in the past!"
"Only because you're here in modern times," she retorted. She began to climb up the ladder.
"Oi--Kagome, wait!" he cried. However, she had almost made it to the top. "Screw this," he muttered and leapt from the bottom out of the well. "What the hell is your problem, Kagome?!"
She refused to answer him.
"Kagome!" he shouted as she ran across the property. "Kagome!"
"SIT!"
"Dammit!"
Startled, Inuyasha came to the conclusion that Kagome had locked him out of her room. He felt violated and somewhat betrayed for this notion as he pounded on the wood. "Kagome! Kagome, open up!"
"Go away, Inuyasha! I need to do my homework!" she yelled.
Confused, he stood in the hallway, still without his shirt, when Kagome breezed out of the door and down to the washroom. She came back and thrust his clothes at him, ducking into her room and subsequently locking her door.
"Kagome..." he whined, pulling the white material over himself. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Go see if the well's opened yet."
"We just came from there! We know it isn't open," he argued. "Remember? We made that promise..."
Kagome threw open the door. "You just don't give up, do you?!" she cried. "Go away!"
Inuyasha pushed his way into her room. "I just wanna sit on your bed and keep an eye on the shikon shards..."
"Absolutely not!" she grabbed his arm and threw him out again. "And stay out, you mangy cur!"
He heard the soft click as the door locked again.
Sighing, he trudged down the stairs and joined Sota on the sofa. "What's up?"
Sota looked at Inuyasha scrutinizingly. "Why do you give Sis such a hard time?"
Inuyasha twitched and came face to face with the younger boy. "It's none of your damn business."
Quickly, Sota scrambled backwards. He tumbled off of the sofa and stood in the middle of the room, pointing an accusatory finger and crowing triumphantly: "You're in love with Sis!"
Inuyasha blushed ever so slightly and yelled, "I am not!"
Sota laughed and fled the room, leaving Inuyasha alone with his thoughts. Am I? he wondered. Am I in love with Kagome? Should I be in love with Kagome? Or am I just in love with Kikyo's soul that's in Kagome? If that's true, then do I love the soul-eating Kikyo? Are they the same? Is soul-eating Kikyo the same as Kikyo-souled Kagome? The hanyou scratched his head and stared blankly at the dark television screen. Everyone thinks we're in love...have we actually fallen in love and just not realized it?
"Too many thoughts," he grumbled.
Meanwhile, Kagome sat with her head on her textbook and pencil moving in random designs. Stupid Inuyasha. I hate him. Well, not hate hate but I hate him. He's so...stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Why does he have to have that affect on me? The effect that makes me want to shiver and want to kiss him until he can't breathe and I until I can't breathe and until neither of us can stand? she shivered at just the thought. He always makes my heart beat so fast...just like it is now. Stop...why does he have to make me feel this way? He loves Kikyo...he's made that more than clear...
"Inuyasha..." she murmured. She looked at her paper and realized what was on there. "GAH! STUPID INUYASHA!"
She had written his name repeatedly in the answer blanks on her worksheet.
"What did I do now?" he asked irritably from the other side of the door.
"You..." Kagome trailed off. "I just felt like yelling 'stupid Inuyasha.' Do you have a problem with it?"
She heard a snort. "I don't care what you think."
"Good. You wanna know what I really think of you?"
"Not particularly."
"Do you care?"
"Not at all."
Kagome huffed. "I think you're an arrogant, selfish, petty, greedy, delusional, uncaring, bloody-thirsty, ignorant moron!"
"Oh? Well you're a self-righteous, prying, nosy, selfish, petty, immature, childish, argumentative bitch."
"Go away."
"No comebacks, Kagome?"
"Why do you have to taunt me all the time?!"
"Because it's fun."
Kagome threw her door open so hard it nearly ripped from the hinges. She planted her foot squarely in his stomach and pushed as hard as she could, stuck her tongue out, and shut the door. Once more locked, Kagome sat down at her desk, erased all the Inuyasha marks and went happily about her homework.
Ha. In love with Inuyasha? No way.
Wait a second..."in love with Inuyasha"? Where'd that come from?
That evening, Inuyasha elected to eat his dinner out by the well so he could figure out exactly what had happened.
He set his dinner down on the box that he and Kagome had sat on earlier and had just about leapt into the well when Kagome entered the shed.
Sighing, he returned to his dinner and tried to ignore Kagome.
"Any luck?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I was just about to check and see if it had opened again."
"I'll go," Kagome offered. She began down the well when she felt him grab the back of her outfit and haul her out of the well. "What was that for?"
He shook his head again. "Don't go down there. I'm betting that the mononoke I was trying to lead away from the well earlier sealed it shut and I can't tell anyone. There's no way to remove the seals on this side, so I'm guessing I'm not stuck here forever."
A moment of silence passed. "I'm sorry about earlier, Inuyasha," Kagome admitted. She was referring to the string of insults she had aimed at him earlier. "I didn't mean to s-word you so much too. And...call you all those names but you're just so...obnoxious!"
Inuyasha twitched. "Hmph!" he set aside his dinner, leapt into the well, and landed with a thud on the bottom. "Ouch..."
"...Idiot..." Kagome told him as she peered over the edge.
Grumbling, Inuyasha climbed out of the weel and picked up his dinner again. Kagome sat next to him. "Inuyasha, do you like to wear hats?"
"What kind of hat?" he asked skeptically.
She found her bag and dug one out. She slipped it over his head and grinned. "You need it to cover up your ears."
"What?" Inuyasha asked. "Kagome, I can't hear anything with this on..."
She pulled it off and stuck it on her own head. "If only you had human ears...I suppose we could tell everyone that it's a wid and you're an actor." She giggled and smiled at him. "Inuyasogiri, also known as Inuyasha, the actor who has some trouble and is staying at the temple until he's okay."
Inuyasha snorted like a distempered horse.
"Ah well," Kagome shrugged. "You'll have to stick with it because I said so."
"Idiot," he informed her.
She ignored him. "Oh! We have to figure out where you'll sleep tonight." She scratched her head through the cap. "I'm sure Sota wouldn't mind you sleeping in his room, or we could put you in the living room. Or, if you want to sleep outside you can..."
"I want to sleep with you," he protested.
Kagome turned beet red exactly two seconds before the hanyou realized the implications of what he just said.
"Pervert! SIT!"
He crashed to the floor.
"Dammit, Kagome! I mean I want to sleep in your room! I'm used to sleeping where the shikon shards are and they're in your room," he explained. Not to mention I get lonely without you. Damned if I say it though.
"No." She shook her head. "I can't allow it."
"Kagome...I'm not Miroku. I won't try anything. Not to mention I don't want to try anything. We all sleep in a group in my time anyway."
"No, no, no. You sleep in the living room. In your time it's okay to sleep in the same room and space but here it's immoral unless you're related, married, or dating!"
He pouted at her.
"Stop. It won't work on me."
"Bah. I've decided I don't want to sleep in your girly room anyway."
"Even better."
"Let's go get me set up then. I've had a rough day."
He fingered Tetsuaiga and remembered the mononoke. Sighing, he walked with Kagome up to the house and watched her set up his temporary bed. It was just a blanket tucked into the sofa with a pillow and another blanket on top. He knew not half of the evening would pass before he moved into Kagome's room but he humored her anyway.
Kagome wanted him to sleep in her room because she felt safe with him, but it would look horribly wrong if she let him. "If you're really worried about the shikon shards, I can bring them down here..."
"Feh. I don't care," Inuyasha snorted.
Inuyasha...?
"Okay." She settled in a chair near Inuyasha on his makeshift sleeping area and flipped on the TV, startling him.
"I'm trying to sleep!" he snapped.
"You can sleep through anything. If you can sleep on the back of my bicycle, you can deal with the TV," Kagome retorted.
He groaned, lied down, and turned his back to Kagome. Within fifteen minutes, he had drifted off to sleep. A smile donned Kagome's lips and she snuggled into her chair. Not twenty minutes passed before Inuyasha tucked his rat coat around her sleeping form, picked her up, and toted her upstairs to her room. He contemplated undressing her and putting her pajamas on, but blushed profusely at the mere idea and tucked her in her bed. He also didn't want a sitting.
"Inuyasha..."
He froze and looked at her. She had her eyes barely open and peering over the edge of her covers. "Thank you...and I'm still sorry."
His golden eyes softened at her sentiments. He knew she wouldn't remember in the morning in light of his sneaking into her room in the middle of the night but it would work for now: "Don't worry about it." Silently, he shut off the lights and ducked out of the room, running down the stairs and turning off the television before lying back down. He could smell Kagome on the blanket and on his clothes, making him feel safer than he had ever felt and more at home. In fact, he felt more at home in Kagome's home than his own, which gave him the chills.
A sudden thought struck him.
Tomorrow night would have been the dreaded First Night, but...there was no way that tomorrow night in Kagome's world would be the same. Plus, he didn't know whether or not he would react the same way. He hoped he would stay human for the First Day as well, just so he could meet this Hojo chump.
He would protect his Kagome.
When did he start refering to her as his Kagome?
"Ah well," he muttered, and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
He woke at midnight.
He panicked, not realizing where he was but Kagome's scent around him calmed him somewhat. His mind caught up with his senses a moment later and he remembered where he was.
"That's it," he mumbled. This was the third time he had woken up without knowing where he was. It happened whenever Kagome left for the modern world in the feudalistic one as well, only he knew where he was most of the time. Grumbling, he grabbed his pillow and blanket with firm resolve and trudged up to Kagome's room. Slowly, he opened the door and looked at Kagome, sleeping peacefully with his red armor around her. He fought a smile as he shut the door, situating himself parallel to her bed, facing her.
Now he could sleep, which was exactly what he did.