Vines
Chapter 7
It was nearly seven in the morning when Kagome stumbled in to her apartment, tiredly locking it and dropping her forehead against the back of the door. Just another day in the life of fate's punching bag, she thought humorlessly, closing her eyes. A deep whoosh of air left her, shoulders slumping forward. Her shift had been more stressful than usual last night; and it was all his fault, she decided.
'His,' of course, being Shuuichi.
The nurses on her shift had immediately demanded to know details about her 'engagement ring.' She had tried to fend the questions off, pretending to be busy, but there were only so many times she could check on her sleeping patients before it started to seem suspiciously like evasion. Tomo, one of the older, friendlier nurses she knew, was the one who finally managed to ferret out information about her 'promise ring' but Kagome didn't tell them his name. He was just 'the boyfriend' and thankfully they didn't care too much about that, preferring to know what he looked like and how sweet he was. Kagome made stuff up as she went along, wanting to strangle a certain red-head the whole time.
"I'll kill 'im," she mumbled to herself, savoring the cool metal beneath her cheek and the quiet sanctuary away from the outside world; the wriggling around her ring finger was quickly becoming a familiar comfort.
An abrupt snore caught her off guard and Kagome jumped, looking in the dark abyss of her apartment. Faint morning light was beginning to creep through the thin drapes in the living room, but it was hardly enough to discern a lamp from a thief. Kagome swallowed thickly, mentally weighing her options. She could leave and call the police or she could find out who had the nerve to intrude on her home while she was earning rent money.
Kagome hardly hesitated. Gramps had bought her a small can of pepper spray when she moved out for 'protection,' and there was no better time to test it than the present. And if it's a demon, Kagome thought with a malicious grin, he'll be sorry.
The snoring only got louder as Kagome crept quietly in to the living room. The television was on, some infomercial playing quietly in the background, and there were empty containers of her take-out from two days ago scattered across the floor. The glow of the television stretched across the rug and up…. She sighed, shoulder slumping forward with relief, lowering the pepper spray when she saw just who was sprawled across her couch.
Souta.
Of course it would Souta.
His mouth was wide open and he looked pretty uncomfortable, head crooked to the side and her couch too cramped for his tall, lanky frame. Some textbooks were mixed in with the take-out on the floor, and Kagome figured he must have fallen asleep studying and raiding her left-overs.
But why was he here? She told him she wouldn't be h-
Kagome aimed the pepper spray at him suddenly, her small frame shaking with tense muscles and narrowed eyes. Oh, she knew why he was here. Souta was waiting to pounce, just so he could be the first to lead an Inquisition on her personal life. Kagome knew she shouldn't have told him where she hid her spare key.
She should spray him for being such a… such a...!
She stayed like that for a moment longer, then turned away, irritably stuffing her revenge back in to her purse. For being such a brother, she sighed. He was worried about her, that was all. Besides, if mama found out she pepper-sprayed her 'darling' little brother, she wouldn't hear the end of it.
Moving around the couch, she tossed her stuff down on the counters in the kitchen.
But that didn't mean she wouldn't get some revenge.
Without mercy, Kagome flicked on the lights and started bustling around the kitchen, opening and closing cupboards loudly.
There was a loud groan from the couch.
"Time to get up, squirt!" she called cheerily over the din.
"Five more minutes," was the muffled reply.
Kagome only had to glance at the radio next to the sink before she turned that on too, cranking the volume up. It was some annoying, upbeat pop song that would even put her in a bad mood this early. Pouring herself a bowl of cereal, Kagome put on a pot of coffee, and felt satisfied when a messy head of dark hair finally emerged over the ridge of the couch to glare balefully at her.
"You're evil," he said.
"And you're going to be late," she replied around a mouthful of fruit loops. She motioned to the clock on the wall with her spoon. "School starts in twenty minutes."
"Shit!" Souta stumbled off the couch, but his foot slipped on the mess of papers across the floor and hit the floor face-first. He ignored her as she laughed at him, just grabbing his bag and slamming the bathroom door behind him.
"Tell mom thanks for the food when you get home tonight," she called through the door. She had noticed the neatly-marked containers of food in the fridge. Nothing was better than mama's cooking, but the 'get well' note atop them was a little odd. "Though I'm not sure if I should shoot the messenger or thank him."
"Well, what'd you expect?" Souta said a few minutes later, emerging from her bathroom with messy, damp hair falling in his eyes and a wrinkled uniform. "You hung up on me last night without telling me anything."
"So you told mom I would be home last night?"
"Duh," he said, grabbing an apple off the counter and taking a bite. He took the chair beside her, watching her calmly finish off her cereal and move on to the small container of yogurt. He narrowed his eyes. "So?" He pressed. "What's going on?"
"I don't know- what's with you breaking in to my apartment?" she countered, meeting his gaze with her own hard look.
"Oh, c'mon, sis! Tell me something."
Kagome sighed. Why me? Would a little sister be this annoying?
"Look, Souta, if I choose to date someone that's really none of your business. I don't pry in to your life, do I?"
"You do it all the time."
"But I'm your wise older sister. It's my job to know what's best for you and boss you around."
"Right," he said, looking as if he wasn't buying a word of it. "So I guess that makes it my job to tell you you're full of it and that your business is my business."
"You can try," Kagome replied, shooting him a cheeky grin. "By all means, ask away."
He didn't say anything for a long moment, then, with all the tact of her favorite inu-hanyou, asked, "is your boss taking advantage of you?"
Kagome choked on her yogurt, slapping her hand against her chest a few times until she was sure it went down the right way.
"What gave you that idea!?" She demanded, sparks shooting out of her eyes. "No, I'm not messing around with my boss! What kind of person do you think I am?"
Souta leaned back, holding his hands in front of it. "Whoa! No, I didn't mean it like that! I just thought… Well, you're always at work and I thought, maybe," he cringed under intense gaze, "that, you know… That he was forcing himself on you or something."
"Like I would let my boss do something like that," she huffed, getting up. Grabbing a mug out of the cupboard, she poured a cup of coffee, not bothering to ask him if he wanted one, too. As she mixed in creamer and sugar, she took a deep breath. You would think after all these years people would have some faith in my judgment.
"Yuka introduced us," Kagome finally said, glancing at him over her shoulder. He leaned forward in his seat, listening intently. "He's pretty good-looking and smart. We haven't gone on many dates, but there's something about him." Kagome mumbled the last part to herself, her hands slowing until she caught herself. She could feel the weight on her left hand more and more as she told the best half-truth she could muster. "I thought he was a good guy, too."
"But?" Souta moved to stand beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him, offering a slight, wavering smile at his gesture of support.
"I don't think he's entirely human," she said, watching his eyes widen. She turned back to the coffee machine. "So you should probably tell Mama and Gramps to be on guard. I'll stop by the shrine on Wednesday like I promised and put up some protection scrolls around the house. I don't think he'd do anything, but it wouldn't hurt to be prepared."
"Kagome…" Souta began. This was another reason he hated it when his sister dated; she had absolutely no luck with guys. She always ended up getting hurt one way or another. "Are you okay?"
She turned in a small swirl of dark hair, thumping him on the chest with a small fist. "Of course I am!" She declared, giving him a grin. "I survived the feudal era, remember? This is no big deal; I'm perfectly okay. But, you, on the other hand, are the one I'm worried about."
"Me? Why?"
"Because mama will kill you if you you're late for school again." Both of them glanced at the clock. 7:05.
"Shit!"
Double update complete! Until next time. ;)
