Arachnophobia

A/N: Ha! You didn't expect me to update that quickly did you? Well… neither did I. So be happy! Cause after this my update rate really gets iffy… blame it on school people, college is a kick in the ass.

Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama- and what story is complete without a bit of action in there somewhere?

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I own my favorite old hooded sweat shirt but if I had ownership of anything remotely profitable (in terms of the green stuff my wonderful readers & reviewers) I don't think I'd be doing FAN fiction.


As she wrapped her arms around her shoulders, Kagome tugged her knees to her chest and stared unseeingly out the window of her room. She had missed her birth home so much, and now a heavy weight of guilt sat atop her shoulders; if she had been home, if she had been there, she could have saved Souta. Souta would not have been put into a coma with little hope of ever waking if she had. It was all her fault, just as it was her fault that the shattered Shikon no Tama had ruined so many lives.

There was one difference between the two events, however. Whereas she was useless aside from her miko senses during their search for the jewel, she was trained now, and at least a little more useful; though that idea was swiftly forced from her mind. She wasn't as useful as she wished she could be. Ever since she'd found out what had happened to Souta, she had been trying to heal her brother at each visit. Each time she saw him, she pushed more healing ki into the boy but nothing ever happened. This, of course, only reinforced the conviction that she was barely useful.

Despite this, she still daydreamed about what she would do to the youkai that had done this to Souta when she found it.

"Kaa-san! Someone's here to see you!" Shippo's voice came from downstairs, as he shouted up to her.

With a groan, Kagome swung her legs around so that her feet met the floor –she wasn't sure when her position changed– and uttered a mantra beneath her breath. "Please don't be Hojo, please don't be Hojo…"

Still, she plastered a smile on her face and headed downstairs. She was the happy one, the cheery schoolgirl of the modern era who kept everyone else together; it was what she did, it was what she was good at. It was all she was good at. As she hopped over the last step, she'd just barely walked into the kitchen when she was snatched up. "Eh?!"

"My woman!"

Lips crashed against her own, her eyes shot open, but she couldn't push him away. He'd waited five centuries to see her again, and Shippo had warned her that he'd gotten worse over the ages. He allowed her to breathe finally and she looked up to meet his smug cerulean gaze. The grin that had twisted across his face made her heart flutter – in a purely platonic sense mind you – and the sense of being home increased a substantial amount.

One by one they were all coming back to her.

"Kouga!" She wrapped her arms around his waist and settled her head against his chest. She hadn't had to wait as long as he had, but she had missed him all the same. She was, after all, Higurashi Kagome; and Higurashi Kagome needed people, she needed companionship. It was the one thing she'd willingly admit she had in common with Kikyo; the two of them could not bear to be alone.


"I'm not leaving without it."

The miko grimaced. "Sango…" She shook her head and sighed. "Oh alright. Just don't be obvious about it, please?" The bland look that the taijiya woman gave her did nothing to ease her worries, but Kagome trusted Sango well enough. She had wanted to take the older female shopping, but at the declaration of going out, Sango had strapped on her wakizashi and outright refused to leave without it. "Please?"

"Kagome…" She grinned, shook her head playfully at the miko, and murmured placatingly, "You don't need to worry so much."

"Its not really you I'm worried about… its whatever poor soul ticks you off," the miko replied dryly. Her palm pressed firmly against her forehead, Kagome could only sigh, shake her head, and lead the taijiya off the shrine grounds. "Don't blow up the shrine Miroku!"

He sighed and shook his head after the two departing females. "Destroy one toaster, and you just can't let it go."

A snicker escaped Shippo as he strolled outside and leaned casually against the counter that displayed the fake Shikon no Tama key chains. "Don't worry Kaa-san! I won't let bouzo here wreck the place…" He smirked, added, "Now Kouga… he's another matter entirely."

"Oi kit I'd watch your tongue," the wolf instantly protested.

"I'm over five hundred years old. I'm not a kit, Kouga."

The two were nose to nose in a very Inuyasha vs. Kouga fashion, and both nearly jumped out of their skin when the miko's holler met their ears.

"If you two so much as put a scratch on anything, you'll learn just how much power one word can hold!"

The image of the multiple times Inuyasha had met the ground made the two gulp nervously, much to Miroku's amusement.


Arms laden with bags after bags of clothing, Kagome dragged Sango into the nearest mall café. She slid into a booth, dropped her load of bags on the floor at her feet and stretched her arms over her head in a very feline like manner.

"You can sit down Sango. I doubt a youkai is going to pop out of the wall and attack you." She craned her head to the side and adopted a thoughtful expression. "They seem to be secretive about their existence in this era…"

Sango sat down – though still hesitant to do so – and shifted herself to a comfortable position on the strange large 'futon'. "That doesn't really ease my nerves Kagome."

Kagome would agree without hesitation on that point. There was something far more unsettling about not being attacked daily than actually being attacked fifteen times within the hour.

Fear of the unknown was always far worse than what could be expected.

"Higurashi-san?"

Oh no...

She slammed her head down on the table and plastered a grin on her face before picking it back up. "H-Hojo-kun…"

She listened to him go on about tickets to a movie for ten minutes straight, and knew it was time to end the one-sided conversation when Sango's left eye began to twitch. "Anou, Hojo-kun… Sango here just moved to Kyoto and I'm trying to show her around. Gomen nasai, but we already have plans. Rain check?"

If he wasn't so pathetically nice she would have long since scared the boy off. He was after all, only a boy, and Kagome both wanted and needed a man. A dejected look crossed his face –and she felt bad for a moment– before he offered an understanding smile and jogged from the restaurant.

"I can see why you try to avoid him…" Sango picked up the object Kagome had called a 'menu' and narrowed her eyes at the thing in scrutiny. She was one of the more learned people of the feudal era, but reading was still a rare skill amongst those who were not of noble decent.

"Would you like me to order for you?" Kagome had seen the trouble Sango was having, and offered an easy way out for the taijiya. "The black tea is good here… and you like udon, ne?"

The appreciative smile she got was all she needed. It gave her such a sense of usefulness that her heart nearly burst in her chest and she felt as if she should be the one thanking Sango. But she didn't say a word of the sort, not wanting to burden Sango with her own insecurities.

However, before either could say another word, they suddenly found themselves interrupted; loudly. "Oi, I remember you!"

The miko raised her menu in front of her face like a shield at the new arrival's volume as he all but materialized right beside their table, whilst Sango had snatched up the salt shaker and was prepared to launch said object at the speaker's head.

Another person apparently found this highly amusing, if the low chuckle was anything to go by. "Watch it, Yusuke. She's dangerous."

A snicker escaped her lips as Kagome slowly lowered her make-shift shield and looked at the two. He would never know just how true that statement was. As she regained her composure, Kagome realized that they were the same two men she had met earlier that week. She huffed, and blew her bangs from her face; it was a small damn world. She grinned though and glanced towards Sango – who had slowly placed the salt shaker back down – and then back to Yusuke. "Yeah, she kind of is."

"That, coming from you, scares me for some reason…" He grinned nonetheless and turned to introduce her to Kurama. Luckily, there was no need.

"You seem to be feeling better."

Her face flushed red at the way he looked at her, but Kagome nodded all the same. "Hai, arigatou gozaimasu."

So Kurama knew her. It didn't surprise him that the fox would have met a girl like her, but the thought left him with an uneasy feeling in his gut. In the next moment, though, he brushed it aside and continued trying to mooch off one of his best friends. "C'mon man, please? Just a few bucks and I'll leave ya alone."

"I think not Yusuke," Kurama responded for the fifth time, and smirked at him slightly. He gestured to the women at the booth. "I doubt the ladies here would enjoy experiencing the scenes that come of your dining in a public restaurant."

Yusuke opened his mouth to defend himself, but his attention was drawn back to the girl when she snorted at them. "You swallow a bug or something, Kag?"

Sango raised an eyebrow and turned her gaze to Kagome at the nickname. "Kag?"

She waved her hand dismissively at the taijiya and Yusuke both. "No. I'm not in the habit of dining on insects." She fished around in her pocket for a moment, then grabbed Yusuke's hand – effectively making him blush a subtle shade of red – and dumped a fair amount of yen in his outstretched palm. At the questioning glances she was being given, she shrugged at the redhead – she only just realized she never got his name – and leaned back in her seat casually. "I'm sure I've seen worse in terms of table manners… and I owe you for the tea."

Green eyes sparkled. "You don't need to pay me back," he pointed out, amused. "Least of all by giving Yusuke the means of trashing the place."

She raised an eyebrow, glanced at Yusuke, then back at the redhead and shrugged. "If he does I could always sic Sango on him."

"I'm not a dog Kagome…" She let one eye scan the male that was gaping indignantly at the miko. "But I could entertain you if I must."

Yusuke gulped, and took a rather large step back from the two. He took a breath and – in an attempt to steer the conversation away from his ass getting kicked – grinned victoriously at Kurama. "Looks like I don't need you after all! Money from a beautiful woman is much more rewarding."

Kurama snorted, then quirked a brow. "Ah, so you're in the habit of taking money from beautiful women? I see; perhaps I should keep you away from homeless shelters, ne?"

The comment made her uncomfortable, but she didn't say anything as it made her giggle too. She settled for being amused by it, rather than offended; said amusement lit a long forgotten fire in her eyes. "I suppose it says something for his masculinity… he's either got none… or is simply secure enough to be able to take the cash."

"K-Kag!"

The indignant way he gaped at her made another giggle bubble up her throat as she moved further into the booth. "Just sit down and order your food already. Having you stand there looming over us…" She trailed off and shook her head. "Just sit down."

He needed no further encouragement and plopped right down next to her while he told the waitress his order. The redhead – she still hadn't gotten his name, not that she'd asked – sat beside Sango, as Kagome ordered for her and her sister figure. Their food arrived fifteen minutes later. She was right, she had seen worse. While he did indeed make a decent sized mess, she had dealt with far worse when it came to Inuyasha's table manners –or lack thereof– and as a result it did not bother her. Instead she only laughed and stared at what he was shoveling in his mouth. "What are you eating?"

"A'mon gri an ho'sauss."

She blinked, and then offered him a bland look. "Swallow first."

"I did warn you," the redhead inserted with a frown in Yusuke's direction.

She rolled her eyes at him – though she was thankful that he at least was a bit more tactful in eating – and put a few more inches between herself and Yusuke as she turned back to the man when she heard him gulp.

"I said, salmon onigiri and hot sauce," Yusuke responded with a grin.

Sango cringed but said nothing, and Kagome raised an eyebrow. "And… you call that food?"

He sported an offended expression. "What's wrong with it?"

She shrugged, a skeptical look on her face. "It's just… weird."

"Is not!"

Sango sighed and sank into her seat as she watched the two. "And they're off…" She'd heard the term on television – after Kagome had convinced her that the appliance wasn't going to attack – and it seemed to suit the situation rather aptly. Her gaze was drawn from one to the other, back and forth, back and forth, back and- they were making her dizzy.

"Oi…oi...minna. Oi!" she shouted, and tossed a balled-up napkin at Yusuke. "Shut up already." Two sets of eyes spun to stare at her as she calmly lifted a noodle to her lips. She blatantly ignored the two and returned to a leisurely meal.

Kagome huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, then glanced at Yusuke through the corners of her eyes. "It's still weird."


Kagome was damn near floating when she got home, and was only slightly aware of the taijiya walking at her side. The outing had done her a world of good. She was sent crashing back to earth from cloud nine, however, when a pair of arms latched around her waist. "Shippo-chan?"

"Where the hell were you just now?" he asked, as he grinned much like the fox he truly was. "You didn't see me coming at all, did you?"

She flushed when Sango nudged her in the ribs and Shippo raised a knowing eyebrow – damn his kitsune instincts! – and averted her gaze towards the Goshinboku as she shifted where she stood. "I don't know…"

Sango gave her a bland look that very much mirrored Shippo's own expression. "Sure, Kagome…" The taijiya turned to Shippo and spoke rather casually. "She's daydreaming about one of those youkai she ran into." She raised her eyebrows into her hairline. "Or… both?"

"Sango!" The miko opened her mouth to defend herself but Shippo cut her off with a snicker.

"Gee, Kaa-san… here I thought I was the kitsune," he teased.

"You- you guys!" she squeaked indignantly.

Immediately, Kouga was there, as he stepped up beside her and threw a casual arm around her shoulders. "Are you two harassing my woman?" he demanded, a playful glare pinned on each of them.

"What would ever give you that idea?" Shippo asked innocently, as an equally innocent expression covered his face; far too innocent an expression for a fox.

Kouga snorted. "I don't know… perhaps because she's a brighter shade of red than the mutt's haori?"

Kagome buried her face in the palms of her hands and shook her head in mock despair. She listened to them go back and forth for a few moments before she snuck away into their shared home. She waved at Miroku as he welcomed her home, then slunk upstairs in hopes of a nice long bath. She grabbed a change of clothes, stripped, and sunk into the steaming hot water with a relieved sigh. She could still hear them bantering downstairs but it brought a grin to her face. When a crash rattled the house she was only able to chuckle at the scream that followed.

"Hentai!"


A/N: Here's to all of you who've read and reviewed so far and especially for those who have added me to their favorite's lists. Arigatou gozaimasu minna! And special thanks goes out to my new, wonderful beta The Sorrowful Vampress. She's a great author herself so check out her work!