Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. And I do not intent to gain any kind of retribution for this work of fanfiction.
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Soulmates
Part. 1 The bond
Kagome looked at her best friends being lovey-dovey on her couch as she tried to remember why she had to invite them over. She sighed. Right, they had invited themselves over.
Narrowing her eyes she tried to recall the reason why she was supposed to withstand their not-so-secret looks and caresses. She understood the reason why they were like that. They were Soulmates. Yep, capital S and everything, the real deal. And they had been apart for almost a year when Miroku went to the US in a exchange student program and he had just come back a week ago.
"I'd appreciate if you could stop pretending I can't see where your hands are NOT..." Kagome said before sipping from her cold tea.
Sango smiled a little embarrassed as she separated herself from her boyfriend to occupy the second seat in the couch, that until that moment had remained untouched by the couple. Miroku on his part smiled quite smugly before raising his hand in an apologetic manner.
"I'm sorry we made you uncomfortable, Kagome. We still lose track of what's around..." he turned to brush a lock from Sango's face and tuck it behind her ear. "We haven't get used to the pull being this strong..."
Kagome rolled her eyes. If she didn't say something soon they were going to get lost in each other again.
Clearing her throat, she said excessively sweet, "So you wanted me to help you to do what exactly?"
Miroku looked at Kagome again. He didn't stop touching Sango, his hand moved from her face to one of her hands as he focused his attention on Kagome. "I need your help finding a good place for a friend of mine."
The woman in front of him nodded interested, her demeanor changing from annoyed to business-like. Miroku smiled. She wasn't one of the best realtors in the city just because of her looks. She was a very intelligent woman and charming too... when she wanted at least.
Kagome took the note pad that was on the stand beside her chair and started to take notes. "Very well, what kind of house is he looking for?"
Miroku shrugged "He has no money problems, so you can show him all the great places you said I had no business even looking at... And he has a dog so you need to take that in consideration... let me think what else."
Kagome wrote on her notepad before looking at him with narrowed eyes and an arched brow "I told you that because you said you wanted the cheapest you could get but you wanted mirrors on the ceiling, a pool and jacuzzi... all of those things in an apartment." Kagome deadpanned at her shamelessly grinning friend.
"Sorry. Champagne tastes on a beer budget..." Miroku shrugged again as the two women smiled and shook their heads.
"So, do you have any more information about what he wants?"
Miroku shook his head as he searched for something inside his pocket and gave it to her.
"This is his contact..."
Kagome reached for the piece of paper and read it out loud. "Inuyasha Takahashi. E-mail: inugami at gmail, and his phone number. The guy lives by his name, huh."
Miroku chuckled "You have no idea..."
-.-.-.-
Inuyasha stared outside from his window, enjoying the view. It would be one of the last times he would be looking at that ocean from this side of the world.
The tall buildings' silhouettes against the setting sun. The people and the types of trees he know he won't be seeing anymore. It made him feel almost sad of leaving.
"I keep telling you that you should go back tomorrow with me!" the older man said behind him.
Inuyasha turned around with a sour face in place, "I'm not gonna follow'ya like a little boy. I'll go when I'm ready."
His father hit his shoulder playfully with an easy smile in his face, "I didn't mean it that way. But going together is less boring. Besides, would it kill you to spend more time with your old man?"
The hanyou huffed and walked to the kitchen. "I'm not going to be manipulated, old dog."
After another laugh the older man sat in front of his son in the kitchen and tried again, "I'm not saying that you can't be alone but I would like to go back together," the smile on the man faltered, "after all we came here together."
Inuyasha handed him a beer as he pretended not to see the sadness in his father's face. He remembered why they had to move to another continent. He remembered the silent cries of his father, the sudden rage. The unbearable feeling of losing a Soulmate. Also the heartbroken preteen that lost his mom.
They both needed to get away from the memories, from the broken routine. And they did. They flew away to pick up the pieces and make a new life.
Taisho Takahashi was a huge man, even for American standards. With a hard face but kind eyes and easy smile, with the same golden eyes he had inherited to his children, but a special mischievous glow that was only his. His silver hair that used to be long and up in a ponytail was now short, it had been short since the woman who used to brush it with her fingers died.
Inuyasha cleared his throat ready to say something and break the gloomy atmosphere but his father, as usual, beat him to it. "So, when are you gonna follow my steps, pup?"
The son hid his smile, and mock-growled, "Fu-Back off, man!" His dad raised a finger acknowledging what had almost been said, and Inuyasha gave him a huge grin. "Didn't say it, didn't."
His father narrowed his eyes and Inuyasha cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for my transfer to be finalized and I'd like to find a place to live before I go."
Taisho nodded and drank from his bottle, not taking his eyes from his son. After his beer was on the table again he softly said, "You know you can go home with us..."
Inuyasha gave him a half smile and shook his head with his eyes focused on his own bottle. "I'd rather not... Besides Lord Asshole lives there." The both knew why he didn't want to go back.
His father drank the rest of the beer and stood up and threw the empty bottle in the trash, knowing that the best way to disregard the sibling's competition was to ignore the final comment, besides he was ready to go home. "So, are you still up for tomorrow?" he asked as he picked up his jacket from the couch.
Inuyasha followed him to the door. "I will, don't worry, Dad."
Taisho turned around and smirked, "I always worry, son. Always."
-.-.-.-.-.-
Kagome stared at her computer ready to send an e-mail to Miroku's friend when she felt a rush of anxiety run through her, making her hands tremble for a moment. And she couldn't repress the anger that always came along with foreign emotions, the emotions that were not hers. Maybe if someone was around her she would have pretended not to be upset but she was alone at home and she savored every syllable as it came out of her.
"Fucking shit!" was almost shouted.
And as soon as the words left her lips a mortified blush covered her face. That impulse was not hers as much as the anxiety that was still making her sweat. Kagome hated it!
Why did she have that kind of strong connection with her Soulmate? She even hated saying the word in her head. Why couldn't she have a weak and almost nonexistent bond like Yuka did?
Kagome pouted. Yuka had fallen in love many times because she chose to look for the love of her life! And herself? She had tried too, a couple of times and each one ended worse than the last.
The dreaded bond had never brought anything good to her life. Besides the inexplicable rage-and need to curse-the anxiety and the general sour mood that sometimes washed over her like it was doing right now, there was nothing her soulmate had done for her.
Kagome sighed. At least she didn't wake up at the middle of the night screaming in pain as she had when she was seven. The only thing that made that memory a good one was that it gave her hope about the bond weakening over time.
She looked at the paper resting on the desk before her and shook her head. Enough of the pity party, she had things to do. And setting her goal of finding the best house for this unknown man she decided that an e-mail was too impersonal and that her work required some human touch. Disregarding the possible charges for international calling she dialed the number-after Yahoo!-ing the country's code-and waited for an answer.
It ringed once, it ringed twice. It ringed twice more without an answer.
Kagome smiled feeling the anxiety slowly leave her body. Seemed that focusing on something helped keep those parasitic emotions at bay.
"What?!" The gruff voice surprised her. "Is this you Miroku? I'll fucking kill you!" The man took a deep breath that sounded more like an animalistic growl. "I've been telling you all fucking week! Let me get some fucking sleep!" Another growl... "I will knock some brains..."
"I-I'm sorry," she interrupted knowing his cursing was not going to stop and she was beginning to feel very angry herself for being yelled at without a warning. But now the line was dead quiet.
She cleaned her throat trying to gain more time to think about what was she going to say to the growling man. "Ah-um. I'm sorry..."
"Yeah, you said that," the man pointed out in a much softer way. Well, she could not really call it soft, it was more about volume than attitude. The latter was one hundred percent still present.
"You got something else to say, or can I go back to sleep?"
Kagome gritted her teeth. One day someone was going to make her curse in public. "Yes, I do." She took a deep calming breath "I am Higurashi Kagome, I'm the realtor Miroku contacted to help you get a house before you arrive..." She waited for him to answer politely and add his name into the conversation. Maybe a 'nice to meet you' or maybe, just maybe a 'thank you for your help,' but he remained silent.
"And I have a couple of questions about a what you're looking for in a property, to make this easier for the both of us..." she made another polite pause. And even if she wanted to talk, even if she felt the need to fill the silence she made a pact to herself about not speaking again until the rude man said something.
She felt her anger rise again. What if the man had fallen asleep and she was losing her time? The woman opened her lips to ask if he was still awake when his voice, now bored-sounding came to her.
"He DID tell you I am still in the U.S..."
It was not a question but she felt the need to say carefully "Yes...?"
His voice was once again loud, "Then why did you call me at five in the morning?"
Kagome looked at her clock as she mentally kicked herself. She had forgotten the time difference! She must have gasped or made some kind of sound because he continued talking
"Yeah, well now you know. If you can't do the math for the time, send me an e-mail or text me."
Before she was able to say something else he hanged up. The asshole hung up without a warning. Now besides feeling stupid, she felt angry and was positive that this time at least most of those emotions were hers.
The screen of her phone was black again when she let out another curse, savoring it much more than the first of that day because this one was for herself.
-.-.-.-.-
Inuyasha wiped his forehead, where the cold sweat still covered his skin. His hand shot outside of his bed to turn on the light and he left the arm hanging from the bed.
The stupid woman had woken him up and as much as he hated being awake early in the morning without a real reason, it was much better than the dream he was having before.
It was a recurring nightmare. Something that visited him from time to time since he was ten years old. Since his mother died, it seemed to be the way his mind dealt with everything that happened at that moment.
It started like a normal dream, with his family at their house, listening to all of them doing normal things. His father working on some project in his office. The asshole just turning the pages of a magazine not even making a sound breathing. His mother humming softly in the kitchen. Out of nothing the day becomes black and he turns into a human, not being able to to locate them anymore. The only sound his human ears could hear was his mother screaming his name with urgency. The dream went on and on as he looked for his family around the house without being able to find any of them. His mother's cries increasingly urgent as he ran through the halls he no longer recognized.
This time his dream ended before the final part where he found himself inside a room with only one window that let him know that the night had ended but his hanyou form did not come back. Coming out of that room became impossible; at the same time his mother gave a final cry, this time a long pained and desperate sound. The darkness and silence consumed everything, and he always woke up when he cried his mother's name over and over, shooting his hands forward trying to find a way to escape.
Inuyasha stood up and walked to the kitchen trying to get the stuffy feeling off his chest. He needed some distraction. Where was Ramen when he needed her? Looking at the couch he found the sleeping white shiba, with her belly up and her tongue hanging on the side.
"Still too early for you too, right girl?"
Maybe it was a good idea to go back to sleep. He had to take his father to the airport midafternoon, and that was everything he had planned for today. He walked back to his bed and plopped on it with an arm across his face.
He took a deep breath trying to relax and go back to sleep. Sleep eluded him as his mind went back to the call from the realtor. What did she say? He frowned trying to remember what she had talked about.
The only thing clear was that he had believed it was Miroku and he had remained angry during the whole call. He needed to call her and apologize for being a dick. He sighed; there was no way she knew that was his 'default mode'. He decided to call later. A wicked smiled appeared on his lips. Maybe around five in the morning in her city.
He started to feel groggy when the almost screeching sound of the phone ringing. Without looking he patted the mattress for the phone and answered just to make the damned sound stop. He pressed the 'speaker' button and immediately a shouting voice reached his ears.
"-you the best realtor I know and you insult her when she is trying to gather information to help YOU!?"
The sound of Miroku taking a deep breath told him the man still had a lot to say. And Inuyasha didn't want to hear the rest of it, so he interrupted.
"She called me at 5am and I was sleeping so I told her to call me later!"
"Still not cool, Inuyasha," complained Miroku.
"I'm not cool, so I don't care."
In reality he felt a little-just a little bit-guilty about what he was almost sure he said. But he was not going to apologize to Miroku. And now not even to her! She had ratted him out with Miroku! Was she a ten-year-old telling the teacher he had misbehaved? Screw them both.
"Still, she made time to talk to you to give you good service. That she is not charging you for, by the way and you-you know what?" He did not make a pause but Inuyasha interrupted him with a "what?" Just to mess with him.
"Shut up!" Miroku shouted before taking another long calming breath
Inuyasha had a full grin on his face. For the first time in a long time he was the one making Miroku angry and not the other way around. And it felt really nice. His brows went low. Maybe he was feeling too good about himself to be entirely his emotion.
Completely ignoring Miroku's nagging Part three, Inuyasha focused in the way his father had taught him long ago. Looking for that emotion that was different, that was not entirely his... and there it was... he smiled again. His soulmate was very happy and feeling smug. He enjoyed when both of them felt the same, when they were in sync. It made him feel at peace.
"-tell her to charge you! You don't deserve that kind of special treatment!" Said Miroku with a smug tone.
"Ok..." Inuyasha answered not interested.
"Ok? You say that because you don't know how much her services cost!"
Inuyasha paused, "If she charges that, it's because she is that good... so it's ok."
The rest of the conversation was lost to the hanyou as he enjoyed the feeling that was being shared with him.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Kagome was jolted awake by the obnoxious sound of the phone ringing. It was not time for her to wake up because that was not the sound of her alarm.
Before her mind got rid of the fog she had her phone on her ear. "Higurashi..."
A voice that was fairly familiar said with a chirpy voice that should be illegal before nine in the morning, "Good Morning! I have all the information for you to do what you do but I don't have your contact info..."
She sat down on her bed rubbing her eyes. "What?"
"Ohh! I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" His tone was way too sweet and it instantly-and truly-woke her up, along with a fiery rage.
"Why the hell are you calling me at this hour?"
Inuyasha's lips started to twitch into a smile at the outrage in that shouted question. And it became a full grin when he heard the whispered, "Stupid asshole-jerk!"
"What kind of swearing is that?" he asked before laughing.
"You didn't hear that!" She said feeling her cheeks flush in embarrassment.
"I sure did."
There was a pause before Inuyasha heard a long breath being drawn and a firm, "Well, you are!"
And with that Inuyasha couldn't help it and laughed, laughed as he had not done in a long time.
"Am I a joke to you?" Kagome said, but for some strange reason she didn't feel as angry as seconds ago, and she wanted to curse again. Stupid Soulmate of hers having a good time when she wanted to be angry? If she ever met whoever her Soulmate was, she was going to hit that person hard!
"I'm sorry... not really. Your swearing sucks!" Inuyasha was trying to stop laughing.
After another pause, Kagome took another deep breath. "Any reason to call me at five in the morning?"
"Yeah, I already told ya."
"You didn't."
"I did."
"No, I would remember."
"You were more asleep than awake when I TOLD ya I had the info ready but not your e-mail address."
"Wait..." Kagome huffed, "You woke me up to ask for my e-mail address...?"
"Yeah." The smile and smugness was evident in his tone. "...In part."
"In part?" Kagome was feeling angry again, Soulmate or no Soulmate getting in her head.
"Yeah, it's also payback for ratting me out."
"I did not!"
"Ya did. I got yelled at, so now we're even."
Kagome stared at her phone... oh no! They were not even. It was on!
Kagome hung up and texted him her e-mail address. He was going to know what it meant to mess with her!
-.-.-.-.-.
Inuyasha looked at the clock with a dark glare on his face. Only three minutes to five, she was going to call in a few minutes. And he felt a curious mix of anger, anticipation and excitement.
This was the seventh day of their whatever-it-was they had. It had started with waking each other up at five a.m. Then she had started to send one sentence texts to tell him something. It had taken her more than an hour to tell him she had found a place, with two bedrooms, in an apartment complex, that accepted dogs, that was available starting next week, and after those five texts plus another eight more giving him extra information, she sent him one last message at two am saying "sadly they ask for twice your budget."
He had retaliated by waking her up at the same time, just to ask if she was awake, to say he was sorry for waking her up, thank her for the update and then saying, "Too bad it's too expensive," and hanging up.
During their third or fourth day they had somehow started to send each other graphic jokes to interrupt each other's work day.
Now, he was sleep deprived, had been moody all week but he was expecting that call. He wanted to know what she had prepared for him today. The contradiction between his frown and his small grin was as incomprehensible as his own emotions.
The phone rang. Inuyasha cleared his throat and practiced a few vocalizations, trying to make his voice lower and groggier. Soon he found the perfect mix between angry and sleepy.
"What?" He asked a little longer than normally and waited for her giggle before asking, "You have a reason to call me or just a boring life?"
Instead of taking the bait as she had been doing in the week they had been sharing this routine, she ignored the taint and let out a little squeal. Inuyasha stared at the phone laying down beside his head... she had giggled? After being insulted? Was she sick?
Kagome laughed again, and apparently he had asked the last question out loud because she answered with a, "Don't worry! I'm good. And you know what?" She asked with a chirpy tone that for the first time was not fake and he found himself asking "What?" with a soft smile playing in his lips, just enjoying the conversation developing.
She took a deep breath-and this one sounded a little different, it was not another wait to perform a silent scream- "I found it!"
" You did?"
"Wait, are you still asleep?"
Inuyasha huffed at the phone, "No! Why?" He felt almost insulted.
"Because we've been talking for... more than a minute and you have only insulted me once."
"You make me sound like I'm always mistreating you.." He faked an outraged tone at the same time he realized this conversation was vastly different than any other they had before.
Kagome mock gasped, "But you always mistreat me!"
"I do not!"
"You do!"
"I don't fucking mistreat you woman!"
Kagome gasped. "I'll tell your father you cursed!"
"It doesn't count if he is not prese-How the fuck do you know my father!?"
Kagome giggled again, and he decided he really liked that sound.
"If you would stop trying to fight me I could tell you!" she chirped again.
Inuyasha sighed, long and melodramatically. "You gonna tell me or not?"
"Ok. Ok. Your father-I'm guessing Miroku gave him my contact info- insisted that he come house hunting with me..." She waited for Inuyasha to make a snarky comment about it but he remained silent.
"...and we found you a great apartment!" She finished and he could hear her clapping in excitement.
Another silence made Kagome insecure of the accomplishment. Maybe he was mad-really-mad about her having met his father. Was that a problem? Kagome tried to think back to something Mr. Takahashi had said that implied some kind of estranged relationship. But all she could think of was how much the man loved his son-and wanted to physically introduce him to her- and all the different warnings and ways to read him the man had provided. And a million pictures he had showed to her to prove his son was a 'hunk.
"... how is he?" his voice was low and his words had been carefully pronounced as if he was holding back from asking more.
Kagome was lost about what he was talking about so she tried say everything that came to mind. The silence on the other side of the line was getting on her nerves.
"Um... He looked good. I mean he is good looking-I mean for his age." She could hear herself speaking too fast, and confusing, "Well considering he is youkai that isn't really important. But he looked good... You and your brother look a lot like him too-"
"Kagome..."
She stopped talking.
"You're rambling." He said in the same careful pronunciation, the faintest shadow of amusement.
"Oh, sorry. But he was really excited about helping you find a place." Inuyasha could hear the smile in her voice, "He said that he wanted you to be in a place that felt like home but wasn't."
"Stupid old dog," he said with a smirk.
"I like your father..." Kagome said in attempt to lighten up the mood. And it seemed to work when Inuyasha chuckled and sighed at the same time.
"I see... all that talk about my good looking father worried me."
"It did?" She didn't know how to take that last part. It made her nervous and gave her a couple of butterflies, that were short lived.
"I worried thinking about the possibility of you stalking him like you do with me!"
"Shut up you asshole-jerk! But focus! I called you to tell you I found your house. It has everything you asked and it's even cheaper bellow your budget, so it's basically perfect!"
He heard someone talking in the background and Kagome answering that she would be there soon.
"I need to go."
Did she sound disappointed? Frustrated? Or was it his imagination?
"I have a client waiting. I'll e-mail you the pictures and information for you to confirm so I can make it official. Bye Inuyasha"
"Alright, talk to you later, Kagome."
Kagome hung up and stared at the phone. That was the strangest and most surprising conversation they'd had yet. And for some reason she was looking forward for that 'later'.
Before the next client walked into her office she half-amused thought about it seemed that her soulmate was also in a good mood, because for the first time that person's feelings were not dampening her feelings.
To be continued…
A/N:
Thank you for reading!
This will be a story with three parts, I'm already working on the second part.
This is thanks to the feelings I got from reading Keichanz's oneshot about Soulmates.
I wanted to finish this for Inukag week 2017 but life happened and was Impossible
So I will dedicate this to the awesome Inukag-4ever and my beloved Dogboy because today's is his birthday according to the fanon.
Thank you again to all the people who takes the time to like and review this story!
Love,
Nanna.