DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. Tatsuo is an OC.
Chapter 1:
"There's no way I can talk to her."
Tatsuo was sure of himself in a lot of things. He was confident in his career, his faith, and his belief that everything worked out someway in this world for a reason.
He almost always knew what he wanted from when he purchased his first home down to what type of socks he would wear for each day of the week. There wasn't much in Tatsuo's life that he was unsure of.
But of course the one exception was the one enigma that had been plaguing men since the beginning of time.
A woman.
"Tatsuo. If you don't go over there I will." Immediately, said man tensed up and glared at his best friend who held up his hands in surrender.
"You do and I'll kill you."
Anyone else would have been terrified of a 250 pound MMA fighter towering over them at 6 foot and 3 inches but Hikaru had known this man all of his life and saw him more as an overgrown teddy bear who sometimes turned into a raging grizzly bear. But most of the time that was only in the ring.
"I'm just saying! If you keep standing here stalking her from across the club all night without actually talking to her you're gonna miss out! The worse thing that can happen at this point is that she notices you staring and becomes creeped out." Hikaru shrugged and sipped his drink as the rest of their friends nodded in agreement. If it was him he would have already been dancing with the beauty but Tatsuo wasn't exactly too graceful when it came to women.
In all actuality, it was like watching a bull in a china shop when Tatsuo attempted to flirt. Women were either scared of him or extremely turned on by his massive build initially. It made Tatsuo too nervous to function because he didn't know how to deal with either reaction.
If the woman was scared, Tatsuo did everything he could to prove he was a gentle soul making himself appear smaller or smiling to ease her mind. If she wasn't and was actually interested, he would clam up and become shy. Why? He had no idea. His friend was a great catch and had everything going for him! He should be surrounded by beautiful women!
Tatsuo's shoulders slumped. The last thing he wanted was for the girl of his dreams to be creeped out by him. He knew he was a bit – ok, more than a bit – bigger than most guys but he was hoping it wouldn't play against him like it had in the past. Hence his hesitation.
He took one more look down to the first level of the club to see his beauty still dancing in the middle of her circle of friends. His heart sped up when he saw her smile as another one of her friends twirled her around to the fast pace of the music.
Kagome. Higurashi Kagome. He had known of her since their early years together in school. They hung out often when they found out they shared many classes together. Unfortunately once high school came around and puberty hit Kagome like an 18-wheeler with the brakes cut, Tatsuo made it a priority to spend less and less time with her as he thought she was way out of his league.
Kagome being the kind-hearted little thing she was definitely didn't go without a fight. Texting him all day, calling him, showing up to his house, and waiting for him at lunch. To this day, he still wondered how he mustered up enough willpower to stay away from the girl.
Tatsuo sighed. He could spend another night regretting his acts in the past. Right now he had to man up before another opportunity slipped through his grasp.
"Fine. I'm going." The thundering sound of his heartbeat became drowned out by the sound of his friends cheering as he slowly walked over to the stairs to descend into the crowd of people.
"You got this man! Just be you! And relax!" Hikaru shouted drunkenly.
Tatsuo scoffed. How was he supposed to relax when his stomach was in knots just from the idea of speaking to a woman?
'This is pathetic…..I am pathetic….''
"Look! He's finally coming over!"
Kagome rolled her eyes as her friend Eri, the main reason she was even in this place, giggled uncontrollably and leaned on her as the object of her obsession descended from the VIP section above them.
What had turned into an innocent night of catching up and quality time became a drunken escapade focused on reeling in the most attractive men. Had Kagome known what man-eaters her friends were she would have said "no" to this outing more than a million times. She wasn't the type to go out and attempt to bait men knowing that she wouldn't want anything to do with them the next day. She was much more old-fashioned and therefor dubbed the "grandma" of the group.
'Still don't see how wanting a genuine relationship makes me a grandma….they should try it sometime…' Kagome thought as she watched her friend dance, rather sadly might she add, to capture the attention of the guy that was steadily walking closer.
"He's so..manly! Look at that beard! And those arms! And that chest! Eri, if you don't sleep with him tonight….." Yuka shook her head with a smile as she eyed the man as well.
'She's probably already sleeping with him in her mind…'
While she wasn't as man-crazy she could see why the girls were so excited. He was quite the catch although he was much bigger than the guys she was use to dating. He was a tall one, easily over 6 feet, with a broad muscular chest and equally muscular arms that he showcased through the black shirt that he wore. The somewhat thin fabric stretching over his torso nicely. He had a mustache and a beard that connected to the facial hair on his lower cheeks, all of which was neatly cut and groomed.
To her surprise and amusement, he had even pulled his hair up into what society deemed the "man bun". Althouh she wasn't a fan of the increasingly popular hairstyle, on him it looked good. His right arm was littered with tattoos and he had a piercing in each ear. All in all, he embodied the opposite of what she looked for in a man which was clean cut, clear-faced, and much less intimidating looking.
As he came closer though and it became clearer that he was staring at her rather than Eri, her heart rate began to speed up and she swore that her phone was harder to hold as her palms grew clammy.
He was just a few feet from them now before Eri moved in front of her, blocking the view in order to garner the gorgeous man's full attention.
"Hi," she purred as soon as the mysterious stranger reached their little group. Kagome would have laughed at the sound of Eri dragging out the word in a slurred drawl but she was too immersed in the man's steady stare to respond.
"Hi." Resounded the deep timbre of the man's voice as he spoke. If any one were to ask Kagome years down the road when exactly her taste in men changed she would reflect back to this moment where a simple "hi" was enough to make her forget her name.
"I'm Eri!" Her friend yelled over the sound of the music projecting herself forward and plastering herself on the man's chest, of which she became momentarily jealous.
Ayumi giggled and leaned over to whisper in Kagome's ear. "She wastes no time."
"Yeah, she doesn't," Kagome whispered back.
Things were becoming increasingly uncomfortable as dancers began to shove as the music increased in tempo. Kagome already had 3 drinks and counting spilled on her and was tired of random men grabbing on to her as she walked by.
Besides that, she was tired of watching Eri throw herself all over this man who was looking increasingly alarmed as time went by.
"Look I'm sure you're great-"
"Oh trust me I'm a lot things. Anything you want me to be."
Cue gagging.
"That's not necessary. I'm actually here because I-"
"Want to dance! Sure, let's go!"
The man chuckled nervously as Eri's movements resembled a dying fish. The liquor had done her in and she was more flailing limbs and awkward body rolling.
"How about we leave the happy couple hm?" Ayumi joked. If there was one thing Kagome appreciated about Ayumi was the fact that she knew when to bow out. There was no way she could take another minute of this especially when she had been slightly interested in the man too.
"Yeah let's. I'd rather not watch this train wreck." Kagome laughed as she hooked arms with her slightly more sober friend.
"Wait!"
The pair turned to see Eri standing behind the man donning an expression of confusion and anger.
"I'm sorry but I was wondering if I could actually talk to you." Kagome's eyes widened as he reached out to her.
"What?!"
Ignoring the girl behind him, he continued. "I've been trying to work up the courage to talk to you all night and I'm sorry if my staring has creeped you out at all it's just because I was nervous and didn't want to seem like an idiot and most women tend to run away from me rather than talk to me because of how I look and I didn't want that to be the case with you and-"he took a deep breath. "Can I please get you a drink?"
Kagome's eyes were the size of saucers by the time he was finished. He had talked so fast that she was surprised she understood what he said at all.
Honestly, he looked so cute standing there holding his body still against the onslaught of dancers as he awaited her answer with hopeful brown eyes.
Ayumi nudged her. "Answer the man."
Kagome blushed. "Um...yeah..…I guess we can-"
He smiled, his eyes crinkling and teeth shining bright in the glare of the strobe lights. She felt her arm being releasing from Ayumi's hold as the man moved to grab her hand.
"Are yoush seeeeeerious?! You're choosing that..that grand…ma over m-me?!"
Ayumi and Yuka made attempts to quiet Eri all the while pulling her away, which proved to be harder than they thought since there was so many people dancing around them. "N-no let meeee gooooo!" Kagome didn't know if she should have been angry, sad, or amused at Eri's outburst. Her friend was too drunk to talk properly and she could barely move on her own.
"Is she gonna be ok?"
Kagome shivered as she felt him press against her side to lean down and whisper in her ear. His body was incredibly warm and he smelled fantastic. Her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head as she leaned in closer to take in more of his scent.
"Kagome?"
She snapped out of her stupor, feeling embarrassed. "S-Sorry-wait…how did you know my name?"
The man looked panicked raising Kagome's suspicions. "I heard one of your friends say it!"
"How? None of them said my name…."
Tatsuo began to stutter. "Um..w-well…"
"Look you're cute and all but that's just a little weird. Do I know you from somewhere else?"
He could already see this conversation going downhill before it could even get started. If he didn't say the right thing and soon he was going to miss out and he wasn't sure when would be the next time he could face her.
"Well?"
He sighed and grabbed her hand, doing his best to ignore the pleasure that coursed through his body at her touch, and led her through the crowd towards a corner near the bar. Seeing that there weren't nearly as many people around eased Tatsuo's mind as he set forward to explain himself.
"You do know me. Thing is, we knew each other a long time ago when I was scrawny, baby-faced, and couldn't even spell the word puberty." He laughed in order to lighten the mood.
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Ok, so you're saying you knew who I was since the beginning of the night. Which is why you've been watching us? "
"You."
"What?"
Tatsuo blushed and rubbed the back of his neck as he looked down at her sheepishly. "You. I've been watching you."
Kagome gapped her mouth open, surprised that he would even admit it.
"Like I said before I just wanted to talk to you. Maybe even get you a drink or ask you out on a date…and I can't believe I just said that."
'Well then. At least he's an honest one. So cute too….'
"Your name?"
"Hm?"
"Your name. You still haven't given me your name."
"Oh! It's Tatsuo."
Immediately memories long thought forgotten flooded Kagome's mind as the man in front of her morphed before her very eyes, becoming the one childhood friend she never thought she would see again. Kagome gasped. "No way! Nakamura? You can't possibly be the same guy you're…..much bigger." She eyed his arms wondering if they were as hard as they looked.
"Ha, yeah. Believe it. College did me more good than high school ever could." He chuckled cheering internally as he noticed Kagome eyeing his body like a starved man staring down a piece of meat.
He was doing much better with her than he thought.
"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one," Kagome laughed quite delighted at the turn of events. But just as quick as the joy had come, so had the anger when she thought about why they were reuniting now after so many years apart.
Tatsuo furrowed his eyebrows in apprehension as he watched Kagome's face turn from one of happiness to suspicion and dare he say, anger?
"Are you ok?"
Kagome scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't know you tell me. You're the one who just pops back up in my life asking me out on a date randomly, after ceasing all communication with me while you were gone. I'm not even going to bring up high school."
Tatsuo sighed. He knew eventually he would have to come clean regarding his reasoning behind forcing himself from Kagome's life. Honestly, he easily could have contacted her any time before tonight. He knew where her mother lived and often looked up her social media pages to see what she was up to. He had just become too much of a coward to do anything about it, the irony of it not escaping him.
"Look Kagome, I'm not even going to lie to you or make up some crappy excuse as to why I left like I did." Tatsuo stepped a bit closer to Kagome, making room for a shoving couple to reach the bar behind him and for her to be closer to him to see just how genuine he was.
Slightly unnerved by the proximity Kagome stood stock still as he grabbed on to her hand, gently and slowly. "I was a coward in how I dealt with you. There was more going on with me personally and I felt that I didn't deserve to have you in my life and that you didn't deserve to be dragged down with me."
Kagome shook her head. "What was going on that you just dropped me like that? We were best friends, what happened that you couldn't tell me?"
Said man sighed, opening his mouth to reply but was cut off when Kagome was shoved harshly into his chest. Just like when he first grabbed her hand, a satisfying and pleasurable feeling coursed through him especially when he felt her dainty hands tightly gripping at the front of his shirt.
"Hey, are you ok?" Tatsuo whispered into her ear.
Being so close to a man, well this man, was becoming increasingly unnerving. His scent, size, and voice were doing things to her that she hadn't expected. While she was accustomed to the fluttery feeling of "butterflies" that most movies and women's magazines described, these feelings were on its own spectrum. A heat pooling in her lower belly, a fire running through her veins, a faint light-headedness coming about her and a warmth enveloping her face as she was sure it was covered in a blush that conveyed her attraction.
She felt the tickle of his beard as he leaned down to speak to her of which caused her to shiver. "Yes, I'm fine. No serious harm done, though some would compare your chest to a brick wall."
Tatsuo laughed, a sound deep and rich. Kagome looked up at him wonder in her eyes.
'Is this what they call swooning? Any longer and I won't be able to hold myself up.' In the event that she literally became weak in the knees she was more than sure that Tatsuo would have no problem holding her up for the rest of the night.
Though his body was sorely against it, Tatsuo loosened his grip to unwrap an arm from Kagome's waist which he grabbed when she was shoved into him by accident.
Pulling his phone from his back pocket he handed it forward. "Here, give me your number and we can arrange a time to meet up where I can explain and grovel for your forgiveness properly." He joked as Kagome took his phone and put in her number.
"Hmmm….like a date huh?" Feeling emboldened, Kagome slipped the phone back into his back pocket and lightly ran her hands around his waist as she pulled away.
Tatsuo was both shocked and amused by her actions but relieved to see that she wasn't as upset as she was when she first learned of his identity.
Before he could speak, a shrill ringing silenced him barely noticeable over the sound of heavily pumping music. Kagome reached into a small purse hanging from her shoulder. Taking out her phone, she grimaced as she read the caller ID.
"I guess the drunken trio are ready to go. It's amazing they haven't left me yet."
"In that instance, I would have no problem taking you home."
Kagome blushed again, the innuendo not lost on her. "I'm sure you would love that."
Tatsuo shook his head as he grabbed her hand, ready to lead her to the front doors of the club. "That's not what I meant."
"Mhm sure." Kagome giggled. "But for the record, I would have no problem with letting you take me home." He stopped mid-stride the look of shock on his face when he turned to her solidifying the satisfaction at her flirtation attempts. While she wasn't sure where her and Tatsuo would be going relationship-wise she knew the ride to figuring that out would be a fun one.