I do not own the rights to InuYasha.
Two weeks. It had been two whole weeks since she'd last since her roommate. He left for his "fancy date" with Kikyou and she hadn't seen him since. She'd called him, texted him, emailed him, and even considered posting "missing roommate" flyers around campus. Kagome puffed at the hair that fell in her eyes and shot an irritated glance at her phone on the coffee table.
He finally texted her on Monday afternoon - four days after his "Kikyou-napping" as she was beginning to refer to it. He'd sent a quick "Hey, sorry I've been out of touch. I'm alive and should be home in the next day or two. I've got so much to tell you!" Apparently, a day or two actually means another week and a half. Scanning the movie collection from across the room, Kagome sighed. If he didn't come home, he'd miss another Thursday movie night.
Heaving herself up from the couch, she blindly grabbed a movie and popped it in the DVD player. The screen flickered to life as she tossed a bag of popcorn in the microwave. "So he has a lot to tell me, huh?" She asked the humming microwave. "Well, I've got a thing or two to tell him! Like how I don't think Kikyou is as sweet as she pretends to be. Or how he should really stay in touch so I don't worry that he's dead in a ditch somewhere. Or," she pointed at the microwave, "that I definitely don't appreciate him ditching movie-night three Thursdays in a row! Surely, Kikyou can spare him for 2 hours one day a week. Don't you think?" The microwave beeped its agreeance and Kagome shuffled back to the couch.
Halfway through the movie, she heard the lock on the door click and her missing roommate stumbled in. She wanted to give him hell, but considering the conversation she was planning on having with him, she figured it might be best to start out gentle.
"Help! Help! There's a stranger in my apartment!" She playfully called out to him., throwing a piece of popcorn at him.
He shot her toothy grin as he hopped over the back of the couch to sit by her. "I know. I know. I'm a horrible roommate. I should have let you know where I was." He confessed half joking and half serious as he reached for the coveted popcorn bowl.
Kagome pulled it just out of his reach, clucking her tongue. "And don't you forget it. You even missed two and a half movie nights you know. It was one of your favorite's last week, too."
"You watched it without me?" Inuyasha whined and flung himself back on the pillows. "Be still my beating bleeding heart. How could my roommate be so cruel?" Kagome tossed another piece of popcorn at him and he caught it in his mouth.
"Cruel, huh? I figured if I put your favorite film on, you'd find your way home. Like leaving a blanket and bowl of water out for a lost dog." Kagome retorted. She'd intended to keep it entirely playful, but clearly her tone betrayed how hurt by his disappearance she actually was.
He turned to her, playfulness gone, "I am sorry. Truly."
Smiling, Kagome extended the popcorn bowl as a peace offering. "It's ok. I was just worried about you, Inuyasha. It's not like you to just disappear like that without letting me know where you are for days. I kept thinking you'd been in a car crash or that something terrible had happened. You're my roommate. I feel accountable for knowing you're safe, just like you worry when I'm working late and haven't let you know. Besides, you're my closest friend. I missed having you around."
"Aww, Kags. You're getting all sentimental on me."
She stuck her tongue out at him and reached for a pillow to lob his way.
"Hey, hey! You've been throwing things at me nonstop since I walked in the door! Give a fellow a break." He laughed, dodging the fluffy projectile. Throwing a smile her way, they settled down to finish the end of the movie.
As the credits rolled, Kagome turned back to him. Silence crept through the room and settled around the pair.
"So." Kagome broke the silence, her voice sounding too loud in contrast to the quiet that had made itself at home.
"Yes?"
"What all did y'all get up to on your two-week hiatus? She better have fed you or I may have some words with the woman."
"Well, you know," he paused. "This and that."
Kagome's eyebrow raised. "This...and that? You spent two weeks doing 'this and that'?" She asked, clearly unimpressed with the answer given to her.
"Just a lot of stuff, Kags. Two weeks is a long time to list everything we did."
Knowing Inuyasha couldn't resist a good meal, or even the memory of a good meal, Kagome decided that would be a good place to begin. "So start at the beginning. How was your fancy dinner?" A chill spread over her skin as she recalled Kikyou's treatment of her two weeks before, but she shook it away unwilling to bring it up with Inuyasha yet.
His eyes lit up at the recollection. "Oh man! The food was incredible! And there was so much of it. I mean, you know how sometimes fancy places give you like a rice-sized amount? Well this place was the total opposite! No wonder it's so hard to get reservations. And the service there was incredible."
Kagome smiled. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I don't think our glasses were ever empty and everyone treated us practically like we owned the place. And when it was time to pay they just said they'd put it on her tab. How cool is that? I told her I could pay for dinner, but she said you have to have a membership with the restaurant. I've never heard of a restaurant where you have to have a membership, but it was super cool."
Kagome's brows furrowed. "Inuyasha? Don't you think it's a bit strange that a place where you have a membership would refuse to ever serve you again if you cancel a reservation?"
"What?"
Kagome chewed on her bottom lip, choosing her next words carefully. "Well, remember when you brought her over to eat dinner at our place? She got really upset when you suggested the two of you cancel your reservation and stay here to eat. She said that if you ever cancel a reservation, you can never make another one." Kagome paused, gauging Inuyasha's reaction. Deciding he was considering her words and not flying to Kikyou's defense yet, she continued. "I'm not sure she was entirely truthful with you. That just makes me nervous. For someone to lie about something so silly - a restaurant reservation - I just don't want her to play you."
Now, it was Inuyasha's turn to frown. "Kagome, Kikyou did nothing but pamper me for two weeks. Why would someone who's so intent on making me happy lie to me about something like that? And like you said, to lie about something like that would be silly. It's probably a super difficult restaurant to have a membership at. I told you, it was really nice. Just because you haven't heard of a restaurant like that doesn't mean one doesn't exist. Have you considered that? And she's not "playing" me. You know what she told me? She told me she was concerned about you."
"About me?" Confusion washed over her.
"Yeah. She said it's unhealthy for you to be so dependent on our friendship. And I was willing to let the way you treated her go - hoping it was a one time thing. But it looks like you really are just as jealous as she said."
"Inuyasha, what are you talking about? The only interaction I've had with her was when she came over to our place."
"Exactly. She told me that while I was changing, you grabbed her by the face and told her she was nothing and to stay away from me. What the fuck, Kagome? That's seriously messed up. Is that why you wanted to meet her? Just so you could push her away so no one would date me and you could keep me all to yourself?
Kagome felt like she'd been slapped. In all the time she'd known him, Inuyasha had never said something like that to her and he had never gotten worked up the way he was now. "Inuyasha...that's not what happened. That's not what happened at all."
"She said you'd say that. She told me about it after dinner and I spent the rest of the evening comforting her. You really upset her and I defended you. I told her it must have been a misunderstanding or maybe you were just trying to play some sort of weird joke on her. And here I am, not even home two hours and you're already attacking her and trying to tear us apart."
Blood pounded in her ears and the room spun. "Tear you apart? Inuyasha please, just listen to me. You've known me for three, almost four years. You know me. You know I wouldn't do that. I just want you happy with someone who's good and honest and kind."
Inuyasha stood. His body shaking. "Gods, it's just like she said. She said you would try to twist everything around. She said you'd try and manipulate me into thinking she was bad for me. Well you're wrong. You won't. You're the one who's bad for me. It's not my fault you're obsessed with me. You were calling me and texting me practically the whole time I was with her, trying to force yourself between me and Kikyou even when you're not there. Well it's not going to happen."
"Inuyasha!" Kagome stood, her fists clenched by her side. The two faced off over the coffee table. The unseen energy flying between the two of them had Kagome on edge, filling her mouth with a metal tang. "I was concerned for you. You've never disappeared like that and I was worried you wouldn't come back to our apartment because you were dead!"
"You can stop lying to me now, Kagome. I see you for how you really are. You're manipulative. You put on this act like you're some kind of nice girl, but really you're just jealous and controlling. And stop calling it 'our place' and 'our apartment.' After the way you treated Kikyou, it's your place. She said I could stay with her any time I want. And I definitely don't need to be around someone as venomous as you."
Inuyasha stormed to the door and slammed it on his way out, shaking the whole apartment.
The back of Kagome's throat felt dry as she stood in the middle of their empty apartment. What...just happened? We were laughing on the couch. And then...and then this happened. Her thoughts echoing through her head.