Chapter 7
The Date
By Auroras-flame
Kagome watched her screen saver roll by on her computer, bored and miserable. It had been over a week since Inuyasha left. Nothing of great import really happened… Kouga was still hitting on her, totally oblivious to her sudden change of mood, Yuka and Ayumi met with her a couple times, trying to convince her to see Eri again, to which she refused whole heartedly, and her house had never felt more lonely and barren to her… It was just awful.
Since Inuyasha's departure, she had taken up having lunch at the ramen house with Sango. She was a fun woman… a little inelegant, which was funny, because she was so beautiful, but was good company and fun to rant with. Sango had most graciously offered to put a warrant on her "ex boyfriend" and throw him in jail if they ever found him, but Kagome told her it wasn't necessary, knowing that even if they did see Inuyasha, he would most likely be in dog form.
Kagome closed her eyes and listened to the hypnotic tapping of her fingers on her desk. Everyday after he left she would arrive home, hoping to find him barely clad, sitting in her kitchen, eating sausage or something. Obviously, he was never there. After a week, she had just about given up all hope…
He wasn't going to come back, was he?
"Hel. Lo. Ka. Go. Me!" entered Kouga with a sing-song voice, destroying Kagome's foul mood. He crouched by her desk and smiled, "Guess what I'm going to ask right now?"
Could this man be any more annoying?
"Have any e-mails from the Shichinintai Corporation involving our trade gotten in yet?" Kagome ventured, holding up a piece of paper.
Kouga cooed at the sight and yanked it out of her hands, before coughing and getting back to the unwanted conversation, "Uh- No. Kagome, will you go out to dinner with me tonight?"
"Yes."
Kouga blinked, "Really?"
"No."
"What's holding you back, Kagome? Why won't you have a friendly dinner with me?" Kouga pouted.
"What's holding me back? Well let me think," Kagome threw up her hand and began listing off reasons with her fingers, "Company protocol, suspicious situations, the fact you are annoying, the fact I'm having difficulty trusting men at the moment, the fact I don't want people whispering more than they already are…" Kagome brought up her other hand, "My mother always told me not to date people I just met, and common sense!" Kagome held up the seven fingers, "There! Seven reasons off the top of my head why I'm holding back."
Kouga looked at the fingers shoved in his face with resentment, "Well… I bet you couldn't think up ten reasons…"
Kagome face planted into her desk. She just wasn't going to win this… She might as well should have been reasoning with a wall. What this man lacked in cleverness he made up for stubbornness.
She gave in, "Fine, okay. Will you stop pestering me if I give you one date?"
Kouga grinned madly and corrected her, "Friendly get together."
"Sure," Kagome grumbled.
"Where would you like to go," he asked, radiating like sunshine.
"I don't care, just choose a place…"
"How about that bay restaurant… Tokyo Banquet-"
"Anywhere, but there!" Kagome cut in sharply before Kouga could finish. She explained, "My boyfriend just dumped me there over a week and a half ago, I'd rather not go back."
Kouga didn't comment about her ex, just named another restaurant, "Well, then how about Sushiland?"
Kagome fought hard so she wouldn't laugh at the ridiculous name, "Where is that?" she managed out.
"A couple blocks away from Tokyo BanquetSea. I could pick you up at your house if you like. In fact, I will do that," Kouga decided, not even asking if Kagome wanted to be picked up.
Kagome recognized that there was no way to deny him so she merely took out a piece of paper and began scribbling down her address. Kouga glanced at what she was doing and said, "Oh, you don't have to do that. Your address is on file, I can just look-"
Kagome finished it up and forced it into his hand, "Don't look at my file!"
Kouga shrugged and walked back to his office with a goofy look on his face.
Kagome stopped him, "What time?"
"Huh- oh, how about seven?" he asked, snapping out of his daze.
"Whatever…" Kagome returned to work as Kouga shut the door.
-,-
Kagome stood in front of her closet, looking over her set of cute clothes. Choosing for this date was harder than one might think. She didn't want to give him the wrong impression so she didn't want to look too nice, but at the same time she didn't want to look like a slob because that would be rude and just an embarrassment to herself.
She finally picked out a nice, blue dress shirt and black thy-length skirt. She was very careful not to choose any shoes that said (in the words of Yuka) "Fuck me" on them. Just a pair of very minimally high heeled slip-ons… nothing provocative about them.
By the time she put on her makeup (yet again, minimal), her doorbell rang and she gathered her things to meet Kouga at the door.
Almost too stereotypically, Kouga was leaning against the doorframe when she opened up to see him. It was like he had predicted the dressiness of her clothes and planned accordingly, for he did not look over or underdressed beside her.
"Hey, Kagome," he greeted her smoothly.
Kagome slipped her purse over her shoulder and walked past him to exit, "Hey, Kouga."
He ran to catch up to her, and Kagome only figured out all too soon why he wanted to pick her up so badly. In her driveway, there was a spanking new, silver Porsche with tinted windows. Kagome was willing to bet there was leather seating inside too. She refused to let herself look impressed.
Kouga gloated, "I just bought her, she's a beaut, isn't she?"
Kagome was never much of a car person, but one only needed eyes to see that this car was indeed glamorous. She shrugged and let herself in (there was leather seating!) and mentioned blandly, "You can buy anything with money."
Kouga winced and went around to the driver's side, "Ouch. That was a bit harsh…"
Kagome realized she was being mean and apologized, "You're right, I'm sorry. I've just been in a bad mood for the last week."
Kouga chuckled and started up the car, "Hope it wasn't all me…"
"No," Kagome admitted truthfully, "Just partly…"
Kouga laughed and started up the car, "Yet again: Ouch."
Kagome smiled and Kouga gaped, "Hey! She can smile!"
Kagome frowned immediately and Kouga mumbled, "And then it's gone in a flash…"
The car began to move and they were off to Sushiland. The first half of the carried was relatively silent. Kagome couldn't help but feel the quiet was of her doing. She acknowledged that she had been pretty much nothing but mean to Kouga, and that might deter him from trying to talk to her. Go figure, she tries everything to shut him up and leave her alone when he was asking her out everyday, and now that she was out with him, he didn't say a word. She just didn't understand men…
All of a sudden, Kouga asked, "Kagome, do you believe in signs?"
Kagome gripped her leather seat, and remarked critically, "Kouga, I hope you're talking about traffic signs, because I really don't want to hear anything cheesy right now…"
"No, I'm serious," Kouga told her, "My father has been bugging me lately about not having a girlfriend and then I abruptly get transferred to Totosai's building and I meet you."
"What does that have anything to do with signs?" Kagome asked.
"That morning, my horoscope said that I would meet the woman of my dreams," Kouga stated with a sly smile.
Kagome twisted her head around towards him, "What? Is that actually why you kept on pestering me? Because of your horoscope?"
"Well, the fact that you're pretty and spirited might also have something to do with it," Kouga added, making Kagome blush from the compliment, "You're so tightly wound," he went on, "You don't take bull from anyone, and you act almost as if you resent the whole world…"
"So in short, I'm a mean-spirited witch who is about to crack," Kagome summed up, folding her arms.
"No," he protested, "You're interesting. I've never seen anyone like you."
Kagome sighed, "Not knowing me isn't the best reason for dating me…"
"Ah-" Kouga said with a smirk, "I thought we agreed this would be a dinner between friends…"
"Hm," Kagome grunted dismissively, dropping the subject. Kouga was quiet for a while and she stared out the window. They were driving by the ocean now, passing by miles of sandy beaches. It was sunset, so the ocean possessed a pinkish-orange-ish colour that would dance upon the ripples for a moment before turning back to a grey-green.
Kagome grimaced as they passed Tokyo BanquetSea. Kouga said that this Sushiland was only a couple blocks away, so they should likely be arriving soon. And sure enough, Kouga pulled into a parking lot with a sign that had "Sushiland parking ONLY" written on it.
Kagome stepped out of the car and looked around. She had passed this area a few times and thought nothing of it, really. The restaurant itself was on a small wharf, overlooking the beach. Two little 'whoots' resounded as Kouga locked his car. He got next to her and said, "Shall we go?"
Kagome nodded and walked with him warily. She wasn't afraid to be seen with him; unless he began talking he wasn't humiliating in the least. She felt this cautiousness for another reason, one she couldn't exactly pinpoint. She felt like something bad was going to happen.
Kagome shook her head, rejecting the thought. Kouga had stuck all these ideas of signs and fate in her head that she was beginning to have premonitions.
They walked into the restaurant and he told the matridee, "Kouga, for two."
The matridee picked up two menus and said, "This way, Sir," seating them immediately.
Kagome had to admit, as she walked through the restaurant, that Sushiland actually had a pretty nice atmosphere… It wasn't as romantic as Tokyo BanquetSea (which she was eternally thankful of), but everything was neat and tidy, it wasn't very loud like some restaurants were, and it, just like Tokyo BanquetSea, used its location by replacing one wall with a giant glass window that one could see the ocean from.
They were seated and handed their menus. Kouga picked up his and began reading it immediately, but Kagome was still entranced by the sea, watching the waves crash on shore, and then drift out, only to crash and wash up again.
"Kagome…?" Kouga called her back to reality.
Kagome blinked and turned her attention back to him, "Oh, sorry, yes, Kouga?"
Kouga motioned to the waiter who was standing beside her and just out of her periphery, "Do you want anything to drink?"
Kagome gasped, and blushed, "Oh, I'm sorry, just water. Thank you."
The waiter bowed and left. Kouga smiled sympathetically, "Tired?"
Kagome put her hand to her forehead, "A little bit…" she focused up on him, but something else caught her eye, right behind him.
Her muscles tensed and her lips formed a hard, straight line. Only a few tables away sat Hojou and Eri, just being seated. Neither looked terribly happy, almost as if they were bothered by something, but they both managed to smile at the matridee as he left.
Kouga frowned and waved his hand in front of her face, "Kagome, are you okay?"
Kagome snapped out of her stare and cursed under her breath. She ducked her head low and held up her menu, shielding her from Hojou and Eri, but also inadvertently cutting off Kouga as well.
Kouga stood up and tried to see her over the menu and asked, a little louder than she wanted him to, "Kagome? What's wrong?"
Kagome hushed him, "Sit down!"
He did so and Kagome removed the menu and whispered, "My ex is sitting a couple tables behind you with his new girlfriend, and I don't want him to notice me."
"Your ex? Where?" Kouga wondered, turning his head to look, totally oblivious to Kagome's desire to remain inconspicuous.
"Kouga, turn back around!" she slapped his hand from across the table.
Kouga turned back to her and asked with a hint of disgust in his voice, "You dated a bald guy?"
Kagome stared at him in disbelief, and noted how a bald man possibly in his forties was having dinner with a young lady. She got offended and hissed, "Not the bald one! The young guy with the girl who's my age with short hair!"
"Oh," he turned back around to check it out. Kagome tensed as she noticed that they were starting to get attention from the other patrons. She kicked Kouga from under the table and snarled, "If you have to see them, can't you do it without being noticed?!"
But it was too late. Eri looked about to see what had captured the interest of all the other people in the restaurant and spotted Kagome. She gasped, tugging Hojou's sleeve and pointed her out. Kagome groaned and finally rose, "It's over. I'm leaving."
She walked straight to the door, strolling right past Hojou and Eri, refusing to make eye contact with them. She heard Kouga's pleas to wait up for him, but she wasn't slowing down. This sucked. This sucked so much…!
Kouga finally caught up with her when she was outside. She didn't even make it to the car before hearing Hojou's voice yelling from the diner, "Kagome! Wait!"
She didn't turn around. Kouga did, briefly, but Kagome growled in a threatening voice, "Kouga, don't you dare stop walking. I'm warning you…"
Kouga turned back to her, and Kagome was surprised to find his face looked rather strained. Kagome didn't let it bother her though. She would do anything if it would avoid another confrontation with Hojou.
"Wait, Kagome! What's going on?! Who are you with?!" he demanded, voice still from faraway.
Kouga stopped in his tracks and Kagome heard him murmured, "Forget this," before marching off towards Hojou.
Kagome pivoted around and shouted, "Kouga! Don't!!" She ran over to try to stop the inevitable jealousy fight. But Kouga was already right in front of Hojou.
Hojou halted and asked, sounding confused and angry, "Who are-?"
The moment Kouga was close enough, he delivered a right hook that sent Hojou flying across the pavement. Kagome froze in horror and Eri screamed, having just come out of the restaurant.
Hojou sat up and stared at Kouga in shock, holding his bruised jaw tenderly. Kouga walked over to him and crouched down. Hojou winced, expecting another punch, but Kouga lifted him slightly by his shirt and spoke directly to his face, "Do you have ANY idea how long I had to wait until she finally said yes to go on a date with me? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?!!" he shook him.
Eri stood like a statue and Kagome was speechless. She had suspected some yelling and shoving, but nothing like that!!
"I waited fucking TEN DAYS!!! I asked her every single day and she said no, but today, she said yes, but we had to run out of the bleeding restaurant because YOUR cheating ass was making her uncomfortable!!! TEN DAYS!!!" he reiterated, giving Hojou and hard shake with each syllable, "I'd give up on Utada Hikaru after four!" He punched Hojou in the face again.
Eri screamed again and Kagome finally began to intervene. She ran up to Kouga and pried him off of Hojou telling him, "That's enough!! You're beating him black and blue!!!" she turned to a cowering Eri and shouted, "You! Stop snivelling and help him!!"
Eri flinched, but rushed over to Hojou compliantly. She lifted up his head and he moaned in pain.
Kagome grabbed Kouga's arm hard and dragged him off to the car. Kouga looked positively livid, and more than ready to hop back in and continue thrashing Hojou. Kagome kept her hold firm and finally got him to the car. She asked seriously, "Should I drive?"
Kouga gave her an appalled look, "No! It's my car!" "Fine," was Kagome immediate answer as she climbed into the passenger's seat. "Get in," she ordered.
With a grumble, he obeyed. He started her up and he began to drive Kagome home.
As soon as they were driving, she buried her face in her hands. This was horrible! She just took part in the merciless beating of a (more or less) innocent man! What would happen to Kouga? Would Hojou call the police? Would he sue? Kouga could probably pay any sum Hojou could demand from court, but no amount of money was going to get him out of ten years in jail…
And what would happen to her? She was the cause of this, ultimately. Hojou could just as easily sue her and she would have to begin living in poverty!
Kagome cringed. Why didn't she do something sooner? She didn't hold herself responsible for the first smack, but if she had just reacted properly and wasn't standing around like an idiot, watching Kouga go on and on, she could have done something to protect Hojou from another walloping.
Kagome was so frightened when Kouga stopped and strode over to Hojou, but she never imagined he would pull anything like this! And Hojou! What must he have been thinking when Kouga just walked straight over to him and without a single word socked him down to the ground…
Kagome stopped fretting and pictured it for a moment. Hojou, desperately trying to stop her, even after all he's done and Kouga finally gets fed up with him, and before he can even say "who are you?" whacks him into the ground.
Kagome smiled, wickedly amused by the notion. The more she thought about it, the funnier it became. It started as giggling, her face still in her hands. Kouga undoubtedly heard her, but wasn't saying anything. Her giggles soon turned into wails of laughter, her hands finally falling from her face to grasp her sides.
Kouga began chuckling too, and quickly joined her in laughing. They laughed for so long and so hard that after a time, Kagome was worried that Kouga's might impair his driving. However, she was laughing too hard to care.
The hilarity eventually died, and Kouga asked, sounding slightly guilty, "I hope this means I haven't totally ruined my chances with you, Kagome."
Actually, it kind of had, but she didn't want to sound mean so she said, "We'll see, Kouga. Maybe we'll try again one day when you can control your temper," she began sniggering again, the memory still making her grin.
Kouga returned her smile weakly, but then squinted his eyes at something on the road, muttering aloud, "What's that…?"
She blinked and looked out on the road and saw red and yellow road blockers, right in front of her block. Her head tilted to the side, "That's strange…"
"Those weren't here when we left," Kouga mentioned, stopping his car right in front of them, "Is the road being repaved or something?"
"No," Kagome said certainly, "There haven't been any signs at all… Perhaps something has happened at one of the neighbour's houses…"
"I don't see any police cars though, or ambulances," Kouga said, looking farther down the road, "Who on Earth pitched these up?"
Kagome sighed and opened up her car door. As she got out, Kouga leaned over and asked, 'Hey, where are you going?"
"Home," Kagome stated simply, "It's just right over there, I can walk."
"Do you want me to park the car and walk you there?" he offered sounding hopeful.
She smiled and shook her head, "No, it's okay. Thanks for trying to take me to dinner…"
Kouga frowned, "I'm sorry that I punched out your ex…"
Kagome tittered, "No, thank you for that. I would have done it myself if I wasn't so afraid of being sued." Kouga cringed and Kagome waved to him, shutting the car door, "Believe me Kouga, it wasn't the worst date I've been on," she told him, remembering said date, "You still have a chance."
Kouga beamed optimistically and said, "Thanks. See you tomorrow morning, then?"
"At eight o' clock sharp," she nodded. She stepped away from the car and he drove off. She watched him go, feeling that he might be a little less annoying from now on.
But then again, this was Kouga we're talking about.
She started down her block, looking for signs that might hint to why the roadblocks were there. By the time she was at Koharu's house, she still could spot no reasons for their existence. She shrugged it off, deciding that it wasn't important.
She retrieved her keys from her purse and began to walk up her driveway to her front door. She froze on spot when she saw that it was open.
They were here again…
She jogged over to the side of her house, careful to stay out of view from anyone who could be looking through a window or the open door. She crouched down below the eaves of her garage and reached for her cell phone to check it. There were no new messages… Why hadn't her alarm system gone off, and called to inform her?
Kagome grumbled and figured that since she had the phone in hand…
She dialled 1-1-
"Don't push another button…"
Kagome jumped and looked beside her, only to see the bad end of a gun pointed at her head, and the mocking smirk of bright-red lipstick "… or you'll regret it."
-,-
(A/N::Screams and dodges bullets:: Okay! I get it!! You don't appreciate the cliff hangers!!!
::Dodges another few her way:: And you hate me for not having Inuyasha come back immediately…
::Avoids a few more:: Oh, now what's your problem????
::Gets shot at again, and finally collapses to her knees:: ALRIGHT!!! I admit it! I like Kouga!!!!!
::Receives weird stares from the readers:: NOT LIKE THAT! I like the character of Kouga! I love his idiotic persistence and the role he undoubtedly plays in the stories!!! I don't care if it's cliché, I love nothing more than a good, clearly outweighed love triangle!!!! So sue me if I glorified Kouga a bit::Holds up Kouga plushie victoriously:: He is my love triangle GOD!!!
::Kouga plushie gets a couple shots to the head and Aurora screams:: Well, that's just not nice!!!! A/N End)
PurrDragon: Aww, perhaps… Sorry for not bringing him back in this chapter, he'll be in the next though, I swear. Thanks for the review!
MusicLuva: That's good to hear. I'll be sure to look out for it! You asking for help was much more flattering than you know, not a burden in the least (I get words stuck in my head all the time too, sometimes even whole phrases!!) I hope you didn't totally hate this chapter because Inuyasha wasn't in it (I'm sort of worried about my other readers…)
Oofie: Okay, your review just made me laugh. I'm possibly the biggest fan of the clichéd "NOOOOOO!!!!!" (I nearly peed my pants at the last Star Wars movie…) I also loved the concept of Inuyasha being in a lab coat! XD Maybe not… Inuyasha will come back in the next chapter, I swear. :)
Kumikonhan: I can no longer keep you in the general thanks section. You've become such a dedicated reviewer, I couldn't bring myself to do it anymore! Thank you so much for your reviews! They do mean a lot to me!
Beautiful.Black.Joy: Uhhhh… ::Brings up shield in preparation for objects about to be thrown her way for A) not having Inuyasha in this chapter at all and B) Ending with another cliff hanger:: Well, at least I update quickly, right?
Sessi: Yeah, and he's still not back yet… I'll update as soon as I can, just please wait for it! Thank you for reviewing! It's always good to hear from you!
Yamayo69: For reviewing multiple times, I take you out of the general thanks group! Thank you for reviewing so often! I'm very happy that you like my story enough to dedicate a portion of your time to review, thank you!
Priestessmykala::Cringes:: I wouldn't suppose that Kagome with a gun to her head would be a slightly more bearable cliffy, would it? …. I suppose not…. Thank you for reviewing!!
JennyKim319: Now you know. I hope it was sort of entertaining at least… I was afraid I made her friends a little too mean… But I guess I just really want them to be replaced by Sango. ::Shrugs:: What can I say? I like Sango better. Thank you for reviewing all these times and I hope to hear from you again!
Flames Chaos and Wolf::Strokes chin thoughtfully:: Hmmm… that might require me boosting the rating though… It would be fun to guess Inuyasha's reaction though (Unless he did it on purpose) O.O;;;
Bunny: Addicted to? Wow. Thank you! I hope I keep up to your expectations! I hope to hear from you more later, and thanks for the review:)
Lady KCassandra: Nrg… hmm… sorry…? Inuyasha's not back yet, but he will be next chapter, and he'll pop in really early, I promise! T.T Thank you for reviewing!
Kylexi: O.O Sorry about the date being with Kouga, but I sort of shuddered when you said you hoped it would be with the dogcatcher, (even if it was to find Inuyasha) because I meant him to be Mukotsu, the fat poison guy from the band of Seven and he's so creepy!!! O.o I know I'd never get within a close distance of him if I didn't absolutely have to (although Inuyasha might be worth it…). ((-.-)) I hope to hear from you again!
OhBrother: Nope, no Yura, but yes, a date with Kouga. He didn't exactly corner her though… I find Kouga to be more of the annoying persistent type than the threatening, black mailing type. Or, at least he is in this fic. Thanks for reviewing!!!
Shadow thief wolf, Doghanyou3693, and Icyattitude: Thank you all for reviewing my humble fiction! It was very nice of you to take time to write them out, and I do hope to hear from each of you again. I'll try to keep each of you happy with my fic, and thank you.
