Chapter Seven: Sugar and Spice
Hello, my lovelies! Thank you all so much for reviewing in my last chapter. I've been walking around with this scary happy-happy smile plastered on my face for the past few days... It's rather terrifying, or so I'm told. This chapter is quite a bit longer than my previous ones. Yay! You guys have no idea how proud I am of myself. XD. It was done on a much shorter amount of time than usual too. Go me.
This chappie is dedicated to Saikoubi-Megami, who is just adorable, ShadowlessMutt, who is effing awesome, and Woven Bamboo Pattern and Painted Canvas again. -sighs- I have to stop dedicating things to you two. Gosh. Totally spoiling you guys. Oh, and heavens lil cherry too, for being absolutely hilarious. I heart you guys. Hmmm.
Prepare for the mad avalanche of fluff! When your instructor says go, you may proceed with caution. XD.
The moment they entered their classroom, Kagome was immediately washed away by a wave of her friends. Inuyasha didn't mind, but he let go of her hand rather reluctantly. He headed over to the corner where he saw Miroku waiting for him, lounging in his desk with careless poise.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Miroku said in a sing-song voice as Inuyasha neared, not even bothering to look up from his book. "I saw what you did to that poor Kikyou girl outside. You could've been nicer."
"Should I have jumped her and snogged the heck out of her right there, perhaps?" Inuyasha asked, his sarcasm spurred by Miroku's scolding. "That would've been 'nicer', wouldn't it? Or would you rather have me pour chocolate all over her and commence in some sort of scandalous lick-a-thon? I don't think so." The idea itself was pleasant, but its recipient was not. He had a different person in mind for such activities. He couldn't help but smile slightly at that thought. He glanced over at his princess.
"Don't even go there," Miroku said loftily, flipping a page of his book with a yawn.
Inuyasha scowled.
Kagome was being harassed by her friends for juicy details between her and Inuyasha. Yuka and Eri peeped over at him constantly on the other side of the classroom and even Sango seemed more excited than usual.
"And now you guys are living together?"
"Temporarily," Kagome asserted hastily. She'd given them the sketchy details of the entire story, but had left out many key parts. Naraku and the Shikon no Tama had been conveniently abandoned in her storytelling. "He was hurt that night- what was I supposed to do? And now that his apartment has been trashed, he won't be able to go back for a while-"
"Do your parents know about this?" It was Sango who'd put forth the grim question.
"Uh… No. Not… not yet." Kagome looked sheepish. "I will eventually-?"
"Oh, whatever, Kagome! You are so lucky! Do you have any idea just how gorgeous he is?" Ayumi piped in.
Oh, yeah. I know. Don't worry.
"He's… decent-looking," she allowed. God, it felt like uttering a sinful falsehood. He was beyond decent-looking, that's for sure. It was blasphemous to associate him with anything less than God.
"What about his friend over there?" Yuka pointed to the back of the room at Miroku. Sango sniffed loudly in disdain. "He definitely ain't bad lookin' either, if y'all know what I mean." Yuka bounced her eyebrows with a grin.
"Hey, Kagome, Inuyasha's looking at you," Sango whispered suddenly beside her. Kagome's head jerked up. Their eyes met and she bit her lip to suppress a smile. Her prince was so shamelessly handsome that she couldn't bear for the impalpable beauty of her dreamy soap bubble to be broken by the rude contact of some actual circumstance.
The classroom blurred away around them…
In my world there is just you and me.
In my world there is just you and me and the stars.
The theater door clanged shut behind them. Kagome lifted herself up onto the edge of the stage, Inuyasha boosting her up carefully before swinging up himself. They'd been sent into the school's performing arts center to look for their teacher, Mrs. Kaede's, attendance roster, which she'd left there during morning rehearsals. She was Ryukuo High's theater director.
Originally, only Kagome had been assigned this particular errand, but Inuyasha had charmingly volunteered to accompany her, insisting she would be in need of some assistance in this terribly strenuous task. Mrs. Kaede had consented. Eri had snickered loudly.
"Hey, Inuyasha, gimme a hand with these boxes," Kagome called from the corner of the stage. She was flipping through a stack of papers she'd found in one of the boxes. Exhausting those, she turned back to rifle through the contents of another box.
"Yeah?" Inuyasha crouched down beside her. They spent a good five minutes, each rummaging through their respectable boxes before Kagome finally muttered, "This is weird. I can't find it."
"Not something every guy wants to hear," Inuyasha joked beside her.
Kagome giggled, "Geez, you're bad, Inuyasha."
Oh, he'd love to just man-handle her. In one swift movement, Inuyasha had Kagome pushed up against the wall, her wrists pinned above her head. I'll show you bad. He brought his face close to hers with a sly smile. "No, sweetheart… I'm actually very very good."
Kagome laughed at his invitation and responded with a kiss, soft and sensual. He stroked the back of her neck as he moved closer, deepening the kiss with a dangerous growl. His heart thumped traitorously in his chest.
Kagome had never felt Inuyasha in such a dominant position before as his mouth moved on her with devastating skill. The friction between their bodies escalated in succulent spirals and she moaned with the subtle pleasure that seemed to tease him into further arousal. He tasted divine, his tongue playing exotic French games with her.
Kagome's Aphroditian scent seduced him with a tempting music, wreaking havoc on whatever resolve Inuyasha'd had to for them to stop. Her lips were like heated silk against his, playing clever tricks on him that taunted all sensation with an even spicier promise.
He pressed kisses down the side of her throat, her hands still trapped above him with one hand, although his grasp was gentle. His other hand was hooked possessively around her waist, pulling her to him. "I must say, you're not bad," she gasped, as his fingers traced sultry circles up against her side.
He finally let her wrists slip from him as he moved his mouth back to hers. Her arms rested easily on his shoulders and she moved her hands up to massage his neck and hair. He nibbled at her lip softly and was panting as he broke away. Inuyasha grinned, "You're pretty good yourself." She liked the rough edge to his voice.
"Oh, you haven't seen anything just yet." Her smile was wicked, like an eldritch goddess. She flipped them over, reversing their positions. Now it was Inuyasha against the wall. He felt amused, but longed for the merciless suspense with a fiery pleasure.
She lavished attention along his jaw line with tiny stinging kisses that brought out a glorious eroticism in him and he tightened his grip on her waist in return, closing his eyes again to enjoy the treatment. He groaned, high off of the undeniable thrill she sent through him. His skin smelled like chilled amber with a mysterious vetiver spice. He could feel his body responding to hers, and he could taste her delicious response back. She arrived with a playful nip at his lips again.
And she gave him such a heart-stopping kiss that everything else disappeared. She stole his breath and gave him her own. He stole her heart, and gave her his own. There was only them, there was only this.
"What took you guys so long?" Sango asked Kagome later during cooking class. They stood at the counter dicing tomatoes. It was the last period of the day. When Inuyasha and Kagome had gotten back to class some thirty minutes later, Mrs. Kaede had been most suspicious. Kagome's hair had been rumpled and Inuyasha had an unquestionable strawberry at the corner of his jaw. Thank god their elderly teacher seemed not to notice the unmistakable evidence. They'd taken their separate seats.
"Well… w-we… " She hovered between telling her best friend and keeping the delicious secret. Kagome couldn't help but smile; she could still taste him.
"Oh, don't even bother." Sango sighed; she could more or less read her mind anyway. Kagome was still looking dreamily off into space as she chopped the vegetables. "You really should concentrate when you're handling a knife, Kag-"
"Ouch!" Kagome's knife fell clattering onto the tabletop. She'd sliced open her palm.
Inuyasha ears twitched on the other side of the room.
"Oh my god, Kagome, lemme take a look at that," Sango dropped her own knife and pulled Kagome's hand to her.
"I'm fine," she protested, "It's just a little scratch-"
"You're bleeding onto the counter!"
"Tomato juice!"
Inuyasha scoffed, coming up behind her. "C'mon," he said, "I'll go patch you up. I've already asked Mrs. Midoriko. She says there's a first aid kit in the back room." Kagome looked surprised, (How the heck had he found out so quick?) but let him lead her away.
Wow. Sango thought, gazing after them. K-High's legendary bad boy was… Wow.
Kikyou watched Inuyasha and Kagome disappear into the backroom. Her anger simmered into a barely suppressed fury. She couldn't believe Kagome – the nerve of that girl! How dare she inflict her company on my Inuyasha? She was tempted to try for a finger or two with her own knife to see if Inuyasha would respond in the same fashion. Kikyou suppressed the urge, vowing for revenge on Kagome in its place. The knife's attraction remained just as strong as before, even though the object of its conquest had changed.
"There. All better," Inuyasha said, as his agile fingers finished taping up the bandage and gauze around Kagome's hand. The wound was deep, but the cut was clean. The fingers on her left hand felt vaguely unattached, although every time she tried to move them they reattached again with a painful jolt up her arm.
"Thanks," she watched him repack everything back into the small white medicinal box.
"Nah, but I'm gonna run and get you some ice for you to hold onto, okay?"
Kagome followed him as he returned the first-aid kit back onto the shelf. "I'm fine, you don't-"
"I don't want to hear a peep from you," he said sternly.
"But, I-"
"Ah, you're peeping!" he scolded with a laugh before disappearing into the walk-in freezer. The door slid shut behind him.
After a minute or two, when Inuyasha didn't emerge, Kagome grew a little restless and finally decided to venture in after him. Kikyou saw her enter, the heavy metal door snapping shut with a decisive thud.
Perfect.
Kikyou walked over to the door and reached out, turning the lock. The bolt ground into place. Smirking, she strolled back outside. She heard the final bell ring, dismissing them all from school.
It never occurred to her that Inuyasha was in there as well.
"Inuyasha?" God, it was cold in here. Kagome moved among the metal bar shelving towards Inuyasha.
"I can't find any ice!" he called. She walked up beside him. "So I'm trying to decide which of these would be a suitable replacement," he said. "Bag of frozen peas?" He offered her the frosty plastic bag.
"This is fine," she took it and let it press against her palm. The annoying throb numbed. Not the intended use of his peas the Green Giant would have hoped for, but good enough.
"Let's get outta here, it's too cold," Inuyasha said, ushering her to the door. He grabbed the handle and pushed, ready to dispel the chill with a rush of warm air.
Nothing happened. The door didn't budge. No way. Dread flooded into him and his stomach sank. He jiggled the handle and shook the door. This could not be happening.
He looked over at Kagome. Their eyes met and he knew that they were thinking the exact same thing.
No way.
After a few minutes they exhausted themselves yelling and pounding at the virtually sound-proof metal wall. They heard the bell ring, a far-off tinnying sound. School was over. The immediate clamor of students rushing off school premises to more tasteful activities was immense. There was no way they'd be heard.
"That's it," Kagome said, her panic pushing her to be unreasonable, "Inuyasha, break down that door!"
"I would, but I bruise like a peach."
She sighed. They both knew it was impossible. Not that Inuyasha didn't try - he spent the next 10 minutes hurling himself at the door in a vain effort. Kagome stopped him, not wanting him to reawaken any previous injuries.
They now sat huddled together against the back wall. Inuyasha had his black hoodie jacket draped around Kagome.
"Cold?"
"No." I can't feel my feet. "You?"
"No." I'm going van Gogh, my ears are falling off.
They were both total liars and they both knew it.
"It'll be alright," he gave her a reassuring kiss on the mouth. She smiled, her lips still felt bruised by his previous attack.
"I know."
He pulled her into his arms so she sat between his legs, her back to him, his arms surrounding her. "And how do you know?"
"'Cause I'm with you."
They couldn't let themselves fall asleep, or else their body temperature would drop, so they curled together, talking. Inuyasha insisted his first love was Sailor Moon, Kagome professing her childhood dream to be a Power Ranger. Inuyasha confessed to having a soft spot for grilled salmon, Kagome to ravioli. They both agreed enthusiastically to pesto salad. They planned out the perfect meal as their stomachs rumbled. There was nothing they could eat that didn't have to be defrosted first, and being quartered in a room several degrees below zero, anything thawing out was a mathematical improbability. They went hungry. It was 6:30 pm.
The fatigue began showing in their voices as time went past, and their teeth began to chatter slightly. It was more noticeable in Kagome than Inuyasha, but only because he tried harder to bite down on it and not let it show. Their voices grew increasingly softer, seemingly suitable for their gradual change to more sensitive topics, but in actuality due to nothing more than their continued exposure to the unnatural cold. Inuyasha told her about his mom, who had died when he was 5. He had never known his father, who had died before he could remember. He was fine alone. Inuyasha had never known a complete family; he and his mom had been happy, but their time together had been far too short, and now it seemed like far too long ago.
Kagome told him about her family in turn – Mom, Dad, Grandpa, Souta. With a guilty pang, Kagome realized just how blessed she was having a complete set of family members, if not more. Inuyasha had no one. The thought seemed to hurt her more than it did Inuyasha. Maybe because he didn't know what he'd been missing, although he could imagine. Kagome's heart ached, and she vowed she'd pay him back ten-fold for everything he'd ever missed.
It was a bit past midnight, or so Inuyasha's watch said if it hadn't already been frosted into mechanical submission. An hour previously, Inuyasha had started doing push-ups in an attempt to keep warm. He had succeeded briefly, until he got to 52, where he collapsed due to the pain in his shoulder and side festering from still unhealed wounds.
Kagome couldn't quite make herself move so much, her smaller frame losing heat at a much more rapid pace than his. He wrapped an arm around her to quiet her shivering, trying to soak his heat into her body. They lapsed into silence, Inuyasha giving her a kiss periodically to make sure she was awake. Kagome did the same for him likewise, stroking his cheek to call him back from a doze.
Silently, both of them blamed themselves for their current predicament. Inuyasha thinking if he hadn't taken so long in the freezer when anything he would've picked would have worked just fine. Kagome thinking if she hadn't cut herself in the first place. Neither of them were willing to contemplate the idea of the night being fatal for them.
Their noses stung with every icy breath they took, their lungs numbing with reluctant absorption. They were both getting drowsy. The dizzying cold was destroying their senses, especially Inuyasha's, and it stole all conscious thought. Soon, the darkness became so unbearably overpowering that its welcome shadowed that of the light – the thin meager glow of the single lightbulb in the freezer sad in comparison to the heated power of the darkness. With one last careless thought to whether they'd ever wake up to this world again, they let the soothing darkness surround them, content on living in a world where they heard nothing more than each other's heartbeat.
It was 5:30 am.
Oooh, sad, isn't it? Hahahaha. I know. I'm such a terrible person. Please read and review!! Not updating till I hit somewhere close to 120! Bit of a lofty goal, I know, but that gives me a bit more time to do my summer homework instead of typing madly on my computer all day trying to come up with the next chapter. -lol. Sorry, guys! I know I'm evil. -is chased down by an angry mob-
And we all know what time it is...!
PARODY TIME!!
"What took you guys so long?" Sango asked Kagome later during cooking class. They stood at the counter dicing tomatoes. It was the last period of the day.
"Well… w-we… " She hovered between telling her best friend and keeping the delicious secret.
"Oh, don't even bother." Sango sighed, rolling her eyes.
"We dueled with his Yu-Gi-Oh cards!" Kagome blurted out, "And then we totally found some costumes in the theater and started role-playing! Oh, it was such good fun, Sango! He let me be Seto Kaiba!"
"K-kaiba-?"
"Yes, and guess who I made him be?" Kagome asked with an evil grin.
Did she dare ask? "Who?"
"MOKUBA! HAHAHAHAHA..."
