Author's Note
This one took a bit longer to write because the details hadn't been pre-planned like most of the others. I had the whole chapter written down as a two-sentence idea.
Hopefully the wait was worth it!
Lead Me Down the Garden Path
21 Questions
Inuyasha threw the magazine down so hard on the table it caused Miroku to jump. It slid across the table and bumped Miroku's elbow.
Inuyasha stood there silently, towering over the side of the table opposite his employee and friend, his eyes scouring Miroku's face for a reaction supporting the rage Inuyasha felt. Without exchanging words, Miroku could feel the tempest building in his employer's presence. Curiosity striking him, Miroku turned his eyes from his phone to the document.
On the front page of the tabloid was an image of Kagome and Inuyasha standing outside together on the patio of Kobura. Kagome was looking up at Inuyasha with a smile on her face. She was a vision in her high heels and sequin dress with wavy raven locks tumbling down her back. Inuyasha's arm hovered behind Kagome's back, his open palm almost touching her but not quite. It was clearly a motion to usher her into the building for which he held the door open with his other arm. In large, bolded font the words "Sexy New Romance?" loomed over the two people in the picture. Inuyasha may not have been smiling with his lips, but his eyes squinted in a way that suggested he was pleased, content, or happy even.
Despite the melodrama of the image, Miroku couldn't deny it: they looked well together.
"It's you and Kagome," Miroku said nonchalantly, turning his eyes to observe Inuyasha's expression.
"Yeah, it's fucking me and Kagome. How the fuck is this front-page news?"
Miroku turned his eyes back to the magazine cover. "You saw the media there, Inuyasha. It's hardly a surprise they sunk their teeth into this. As Japan's most notorious bachelor, a close second to me," he said playfully with a wink, "you can hardly blame them. Besides, you haven't been seen in public, like this, with a gorgeous creature of the opposite sex since—"
Inuyasha's growl stole the words from Miroku's lips.
Miroku sighed, his eyes turning back to the image. "Has she seen it?"
Inuyasha growled again. "How the fuck would I know?"
Miroku rolled his eyes. "Sango and I saw the two of you together, Inuyasha," he said, tongue-in-cheek.
"So?"
"Based on how—" Miroku paused pensively— "how should I put it…wrapped up ineach other you were, I would have assumed you left the club that evening with her phone number."
Inuyasha's body dropped angrily into the dining room chair beside Miroku. A pout covered the entirety of his face.
"Sango came for her before I had a chance to ask."
Miroku nodded knowingly.
"What the hell happened there, anyway?" Inuyasha demanded, accusatory eyes ensnared on Miroku's casually-dressed figure. "Kagome was left wandering all by herself, no thanks to you two assholes. Then Sango just shows up right at the end of the night to take Kagome home? What the fuck happened to you?"
Miroku sighed then laughed sheepishly, a hand absently rubbing at the back of his scalp. "She may have not liked how…forward I was by the end of the evening."
Inuyasha snorted and shook his head. "What'd you grab this time? Her chest?"
"Her ass," Miroku sighed.
Inuyasha scoffed. "You and those God damned lecherous fingers. After how obviously you copped a feel when the two of you crashed into each other, I'm surprised she even let you around her, you pervert."
Miroku sighed again and turned his attention back to the cover photo. "It wasn't that all of my affections were poorly received. That Sango is surely something else. Wouldn't you agree, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha scoffed in response.
Miroku sighed. "Will you see her again? Kagome, that is?" he asked, changing the subject.
"She works here, doesn't she?"
Miroku rolled his eyes at Inuyasha's sarcastic remark. "Outside of work, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha sat broodingly, his eyes staring into his lap. Of course he wanted to see her again. After how things had ended between the two of them? Inuyasha mentally shook his head to criticize the warmth developing in his lower belly.
Thoughts of Kagome caused his mind to trail back to the tabloid he had essentially flung at Miroku. Over the years, he had never actually read those celebrity-obsessed Hollywood-esque magazines—God knows the crap and speculation those writers put in those things—but the second he saw Kagome on the cover…he had to know what those assholes said about her.
Before storming into the dining room to accost Miroku, Inuyasha had curiously flipped open the document and read the magazine article. Much to his surprise, Kagome was a shadow, a large question mark throughout the piece. The article focused solely on Inuyasha, pondering his relationship status and commenting on how coincidentally his newest girl looked like his ex.
He felt anger swell in his throat in memory of the comparisons he had read between Kagome and Kikyou, and the ridiculous breakdown and analysis of the picture. Did it really fucking matter that his hand was "almost but not quite touching the small of her back"? The words resurfaced to his memory antagonizingly.
Arguably, the intimate embrace suggests a chemistry or, dare I say, a protectiveness demonstrated by the mysterious Inuyasha towards our even more mysterious heroine. Who is she? How did she ensnare the heart of the enigmatic Inuyasha? Could it be that this woman is the reason KikInu is no more? At this time, we can only speculate so much. After all, this picture suggests more than a platonic relationship. Like all pictures, this too is worth a thousand words.
Inuyasha's eyes turned back to the image. Kagome didn't look that much like Kikyou. Those magazine fuckers just wanted to improve their ratings by continuing to ensure a publicly-obsessed celebrity match-up continued to haunt Inuyasha's future.
KikInu—Thank fuck that stupid fucking nickname is finally dead, he thought—was a thing of the past. But, he recognized that the nickname was a piece of marketing propaganda that had made serious money for the media. Of course they'd want to bring it up whenever they could, with no consideration of Inuyasha's irritation.
The funny thing was that those stupid fucking tabloids didn't know the half of it.
The public had never known he was never all that attached to Kikyou like that. Anytime he thought about their former relationship, he felt as nostalgic about it as he did classmates with whom he spent clustered periods of time in his youth. The fact that Kikyou now belonged in his past was nothing for Inuyasha to get choked up over.
Even though the media romanticized the relationship as one that should have led to an engagement, he knew what it really was: a six-year stint of long distance, companionable text messages, and angry rage sex. When they weren't between the sheets, they never got along behind closed doors. Despite how irritating he found Kikyou, and how egotistical she found him, they were both someone to turn to when they were bored.
When they both agreed that this shit just wasn't worth it anymore, Inuyasha didn't really grieve for the ending relationship. If anything, these days, the thing he missed most was having someone to text regularly who wasn't flabbergasted that he was the Inuyasha Taisho.
Kikyou never cared about his past, nor did she ever show an interest in the public's obsession about Inuyasha. Despite the hypotheticals, conspiracy theories, and endless Internet forums dedicated to learning the "Truth" about Inuyasha's involvement with The Band of Seven scandal, Kikyou never once asked him about the trial or investigation into the band.
Inuyasha sighed. Theirs hadn't been a romantic relationship, but it had been a necessary one for both their public images.
For the majority of years they were together, both Inuyasha and Kikyou agreed they only stayed together because it was good for their public selves. Dating the brother of the infamous model and designer, Sesshoumaru, had been good for Kikyou's career; and, as Miroku had said countless times, the more that people obsessed over KikInu, the more they were distracted from The Band of Seven.
Kikyou had been nobody when she first met Inuyasha. She was just some side bitch of Bankotsu's, the former lead singer of the band, and Inuyasha hadn't given her any of his time. The first time they ever really interacted was when he approved her photo for the band's album art and they worked out the details of her commission.
Once her popularity had started to grow, Kikyou hung around a bit while the band traveled the continent. It was good for her image to continue to be associated with the band. However, even though she and Inuyasha had started getting intimate behind Bankotsu's back, Kikyou jumped ship as soon as Kyokotsu was busted with the four grams of heroin. That was when she formally dumped Bankotsu.
When the investigation began, however, Kikyou then stopped all contact with Inuyasha completely. Not that he had really blamed her. Shit was really hitting the fan and her career was just starting. She couldn't afford to be associated with that bullshit.
But she always would be. Regardless what ended up happening to the band, Kikyou couldn't deny that she owed her fame to The Band of Seven.
Inuyasha's thoughts were shortly distracted when Miroku stood from the table with the excuse that he had to go pick up Inuyasha's dry-cleaning. Inuyasha watched him leave following a nod of his head. Turning to his phone and seeing that it was just past seven o'clock on a Sunday evening, Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the realization that Miroku had some other business for which he needed the car, which he wasn't at liberty to share with Inuyasha.
Inuyasha snorted and shook his head. That suited him just fine. He didn't want to know what his lecherous friend got up to past working hours.
Being alone at his sixteen-seater table in his nine-foot ceiling dining room, Inuyasha's sigh partially echoed. He felt frustrated with how things had ended with Kagome.
He scratched his head in frustration. He hated that he had women on the brain.
For days, he had intentionally kept his distance from Kagome, not really knowing how to approach her, not really knowing how to talk to her. Now, after grinding himself into her for an evening, he really had no idea how to follow up with the situation.
He liked that she wasn't like other non-celebrities he'd been around before. As much as the initial oh-my-God-you're-Inuyasha worship amused him, he arguably liked it even more that she seemed to be normal with him. That whole evening, Kagome never gave him the impression that she was overwhelmed with the knowledge of who he was or what he'd been through.
Well, he thought, no one really knew what he'd been through.
But Kagome, at least, had never given him that glazed-over look of idolization that, when lingered too long, made him feel uncomfortable. And for what reason was he popular? Because he was a backup dancer when he was sixteen? Because he wore boxer briefs designed by his brother for magazine photos? Because of the shitstorm that was the band?
Inuyasha sometimes struggled with the premise of his fame, not really knowing why people cared about him so much. When he dipped out of the public eye for stints at a time, it wasn't long until Miroku was contacted by "tribute interviewers", or Inuyasha saw his face on a magazine cover with the words "Where's Inuyasha now?" or "What happened to Inuyasha?" on the front. These days, Inuyasha couldn't escape the fame no matter how low he lay or how long he left the country.
Inuyasha knew that the wave of fame he rode out was primarily due to the calamity of the investigation and the trial more so than any family tie or personal accomplishment.
He was famous for being a fucking conspiracy theory.
It was a few months after the trial when Inuyasha first found the forums on the Internet. His eyes had skimmed the posed questions, the jackass-turned-Private Investigators trying to script a play-by-play of what happened following Kyokotsu's arrest and how Inuyasha was rumoured to be the mastermind who staged the whole thing.
That discovery, seeing what the public really thought of him, had instigated Inuyasha's dark period.
Not only had Inuyasha broken the computer, his phone, and the phones belonging to all his staff, but Miroku then made the executive decision that Inuyasha's old premises would be without the Internet for a while. That was when Inuyasha's lifestyle went off the grid. He had left the public's eye, dyed his trademarked, infamous silver hair black, and spent months at a time traveling America, Thailand, and New Zealand.
Even though he didn't do anything to stay famous, when Inuyasha returned to Japan, he was still as popular as he had been when he left. That was when things with Kikyou picked up again.
"I'm sorry to intrude, sir, but…" The mousy female voice trailed off as Inuyasha raised his head to observe the speaker.
"What?"
The girl wrung her apron in her hands. "There's someone at the front gates. They've been paging quite a few times now and, well, I wanted to see if you were expecting someone."
Inuyasha sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Did anyone think to ask who this person is?"
She flinched at his words. "It's a woman, sir. I'm not the one who responded to her; but since Mr. Houshi is not at home, protocol is to approach you about the call. Whoever she is, sir, she won't seem to go away. She's quite adamant."
Inuyasha stood, his eyes cool and uncaring. "I don't give a fuck who answered the damn call. Get back on the intercom and tell them to get the fuck off my property!"
The girl's face frowned fearfully. "Shiori tried, sir. The woman is insistent that she must see you."
Inuyasha groaned. "And no one thought to get her name? What do I pay you idiots for? How many times has she rung?"
"Six, sir," she grimaced.
"Get her name," her barked. "I'm not letting some fucking random woman onto the property. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!" she squeaked, before turning and disappearing from his sight.
Pressing his palms into the table, Inuyasha stabled himself, feeling his backside begin to ache from the hard wooden chair. Turning out of the room, and navigating the halls of his family's heritage home, Inuyasha allowed his body to collapse into the welcoming plush seat of the sofa in the first floor library.
He wasn't seated there two minutes before the same girl—shit, what was her name? Inuyasha thought—appeared.
"Sorry to intrude again, sir," she spoke quickly, flustered. "The woman outside? She says her name is Kagome Higurashi. She says she has business with you?"
Inuyasha leaned forward in his seat and rested his forearms on his knees. Before his mind took off, questioning what Kagome was doing here on a Sunday evening, he instructed the girl to have Shiori open the front gate to allow Kagome entrance. The girl curtsied then scurried away.
Inuyasha felt so flustered he had to stand. Sticking his hands in his front jean pockets, he began to roam the first floor of his house. Various questions beginning with 'why' formed in Inuyasha's head: Why was Kagome here? Why did she want to see him? Why now when they would see each other when she came to work tomorrow?
After rounding the front foyer once, Inuyasha decided he didn't want to appear antsy once Kagome got there, so he ignored the knots forming in his stomach and returned to the library. Sitting down on the sofa—this time feeling somewhat claustrophobic by how closely the cushions hugged his legs—he waited impatiently for one of his housing staff to escort Kagome to him.
What felt like hours, but was really only five minutes, passed before a soft knock on the library door caused Inuyasha to raise his head.
"A Ms. Higurashi here to see you, sir," a different woman said with a slight bow of her head before extending an arm to motion Kagome into the room.
Kagome ushered a quick 'thanks,' to the maid before turning an amused smile to Inuyasha. Her expression almost felt as if she was offering him a non-verbal 'ta-da'.
Inuyasha took in the sight of her, barely inside the room. She wore black tights and a long royal blue tunic cinched at her waist with a thin belt. A jean jacket was thrown over one arm, which she clutched to her stomach. Her hair was down, straight and not as well-groomed as the other night, but still looked well-looked-after. Her face was delicately made-up. She wasn't the sexy vixen from the last time he saw her, but she was the same Kagome that drew his attention and appeal.
"Hi, Inuyasha," she finally said, releasing a breathy laugh through her nose.
Despite the inclination to return the pleasantry, Inuyasha couldn't help the "What the hell are you doing at my house?" that stumbled out.
Kagome chuckled awkwardly and gripped the jacket at her stomach. "I know it's Sunday and I have no reason for showing up like this. I'm…" She paused for a few moments. "I'm sorry for showing up like this," she continued, turning her eyes downward. "I know it's really inappropriate for me to be here. I just…
"I just…" she repeated. He heard her release a heavy breath. "I just felt badly for how I ghosted you Friday night. I had a really nice time with you, and I can't thank you enough for being around when some of those jerks got handsy with me."
She stopped speaking at the growl she heard curdling in Inuyasha's throat. To try and lighten the mood and simultaneously relieve some of her anxiety, she laughed at herself, saying, "I was really in the bag." Seeing how non-responsive he was to her, she cleared her throat and continued her rambling. "But after it was just you and me for a while, then Sango just showed up and she said Miroku was perverted with her, and I know I just left without saying anything to you and…" she finally slowed down to catch a breath. She turned her eyes slowly to meet his. "Long story short, I didn't feel right with how things ended."
"So you decided to show up here?"
She laughed nervously in response.
"You're lucky I was home," he responded, crossing one leg over the other.
"I didn't really think about it too much, actually." She smiled nervously at him. "I just sorta realized that I had no way of getting in touch with you, and I didn't feel right just letting things go until Monday. So I got in my car before I could talk myself out of it."
He snorted. "So you just came over for shits and giggles?"
Kagome couldn't hide the blush that came over her face. "I—uh—well, I wanted to apologize to you."
"And you couldn't wait until you came to work tomorrow?"
Kagome pouted. "I didn't know if I would see you during my working hours. We never seem to cross paths during the day." She released a tense sigh then asked, hesitantly, "Is it okay that I'm here?"
Inuyasha snorted. "Well, you basically harassed my staff to get in here, so that doesn't matter now, does it?"
Kagome pouted and said, "Well, no, I realize my showing up was kind of reckless, but I didn't harass anyone." Inuyasha could hear a mild temper building in her voice. "I understand the importance of household security, especially for someone as famous as you, but whoever I was speaking to wasn't even willing to give you my name." She paused to take a shallow breath, calming herself. "I thought—" Kagome stopped herself and shook her head. "If this was a mistake, if you don't want me here outside of work hours, please just tell me."
"I didn't say I don't want you here," Inuyasha blundered, his eyes wide.
"I don't want to make you uncomfortable," she pressed. "I know your rules are that you don't want us in your house so—"
"I'm not uncomfortable! Don't put words in my mouth," Inuyasha griped, beginning to feel flustered. "If I didn't want you here I'd say I don't want you here."
Kagome smiled slightly. "So I can stay?"
"Sure, yeah, whatever," Inuyasha stated, motioning the comment away with his hand.
He watched a broad smile take over her features as she moved to sit down on one of the other couches. Inuyasha turned his face away from her slightly, worried she would see the slight flush that had appeared on his cheeks.
A gentle knock on the door distracted him shortly from the hollowness developing in his stomach. Despite their confrontation, he still couldn't really believe that Kagome was in his house.
"Sir?"
"What?"
"Kaede has prepared some light snacks for you and your guest. Shall I bring the refreshments here or would you like to take them outside?"
"The patio's fine," Inuyasha said, nodding his head to dismiss his staff.
Kagome raised her brows, turning over her shoulder to watch the woman walk away. "Wow, you have so many people who work here."
Inuyasha snorted. "You've seen the size of this place. Obviously I can't look after the dump myself."
Kagome looked around her, taking in the mostly-wooden contents of the room: flooring, bookshelves, desk, panelling on the walls.
"It's not a dump at all. The remodelling turned out really great."
"Remodelling?"
Kagome blushed and bit her bottom lip. "Oh, uh, I saw you on that show with Molly? You said you redid the inside of your dad's house? It turned out really nicely."
Inuyasha scoffed at Kagome with a raised eyebrow. "You watch that shit TV?"
Her eyes widened. "No—not ever, actually. I was just at Sango's and it was on and, well, I hadn't met you then and I dunno," she laughed nervously, "I was just curious, I guess."
"Curious about me?"
Kagome flushed and nodded.
"Why?"
"'Cause you're famous," she laughed in an obviously sort of way. "I can't say I've ever met a celebrity before."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and stood then with a groan. "The snacks and stuff will be outside by now."
"Oh," Kagome said, rising to her feet. "That's really kind of you, but I don't need anything—I—"
Inuyasha walked past Kagome, heading out of the room before she could finish her thought. Kagome's few first steps caused her to skip to keep up with Inuyasha.
He led her through a large, high-ceiling hallway and she couldn't help but peer into the many rooms whose doors were open as they passed. She swore that the house was so large at least three generations of families could live in it comfortably, along with all their wait staff. He led them through a large, dark cherry-wood modern kitchen before walking into the sunroom. Kagome's eyes couldn't keep up with her there was so much to take in.
Hearing the sound of a door bolt unlocking, Kagome turned to look in front of her to witness Inuyasha opening one of the French doors for Kagome. The scene in front of her almost caused her to gasp audibly.
By the time she had driven her Corolla the forty minutes to Inuyasha's house, it was already beginning to get dark. The colour of the sun in the sky was getting to that point of evening where you knew the sun wasn't much longer for this world. When she crossed the threshold of Inuyasha's house, the sky's brilliant pink-orange was already turning purple.
Now, after spending some time inside with Inuyasha, the warm evening colours had been replaced with periwinkles and dark purples, and the cloudless sky revealed bright, white evening stars.
The patio, which Kagome had only ever seen during the day, took on a whole new presence after the sun had set. The beige-coloured canopy housed small white lights that swooped in curved arches like multiple "w's" along the underside of the cloth. She noticed the same lights were wrapped around the wooden legs that held up the circus-like tent. Looking into the distance, streams of white light billowed up every tree trunk throughout the backyard of the property, illuminating the forested yard and giving the atmosphere a faint, haunting glow.
A handled wooden tray sat on the glass tabletop. Atop the tray was a stainless steel bucket containing a bottle of white wine, and various fruits, meats, and cheeses arranged masterfully on a rectangular marbled cheeseboard.
Kagome gulped nervously and stepped outside onto the patio, listening to the whoosh of the glass door closing behind her. She watched Inuyasha sit himself down on the edge of a lush cushion and she quickly followed suit, sitting adjacent to him on another seat.
Placing her jacket and purse beside her on the couch, Kagome watched Inuyasha lean forward and lift the wine bottle from the ice bucket. Uncorking the bottle, Kagome watched the gorgeous golden liquid blub-blub-blub to the centre of her tall champagne glass. She took a deep breath and reached for her glass, muttering a small thanks to Inuyasha before welcoming the cool, dry taste of the fizzy liquid in her mouth.
"It's delicious," she gasped with a wide smile after taking a hesitant first sip.
"It's the only wine I drink in the summer," he responded, leaning back onto the seat and resting his arm along the length of the couch.
"I understand why," she said, smiling at him. She watched him turn away from her and focus his gaze on the contents of his glass.
Taking another small sip and allowing a reactionary smile to take over her face, Kagome raised her head to look up at the canopy lights and then behind her.
"It's so beautiful out here. The perfect summer night."
"It's alright, I guess," Inuyasha responded immediately.
Kagome laughed through her nose. "How long have you lived here?"
"A couple years."
"You said it used to be your dad's?"
"Yeah," he said, his tone laced with melancholy.
Kagome's brow furrowed. "I'm sorry if I said something to upset you, Inuyasha…"
"Nah," he declared, taking another sip. "I'm fine."
Kagome licked her bottom lip. His tone suggested otherwise, but Kagome knew it wasn't the time or place to argue him about that.
"Did you have fun on Friday?" Kagome asked, gripping the cool glass tightly in her hand and looking over at him.
"It was alright. It wasn't my party."
Kagome smiled and asked, "Well, did Rin have fun, at least?"
Inuyasha snorted. "If she remembers any of it."
"Whatever those servers were carrying was delicious," Kagome laughed, justifying his comment. "I had quite a few."
The corner of Inuyasha's mouth rose into a knowing, playful smirk and he turned his golden eyes on her. The look caused Kagome to gulp.
"You were pretty drunk, Kagome."
"I had a few, I suppose," she retorted, taking a sip of her wine.
"Yeah, right," he snorted, "a few too many, maybe."
"I know my limit, alright?" she argued, a defensive yet somehow combative smile showing itself. "I can look after myself."
Inuyasha leaned forward, accepting the challenge. "You can, can you? Tell me, Kagome," he began, angling his body to face her, "What led to us spending the night together?"
"Wha—what?" Her eyes widened and her mouth opened.
Inuyasha's cheeks flushed with horror and he shook his head. "Not—not like that. Don't be a pervert, Kagome, you know what I meant. You knew what caused us to meet at the bar."
Kagome recalled the man who had placed a large hand on her belly and his grip on her wrist. Her cheeks turning pink, she turned a knowing look to Inuyasha.
"Everything was under control."
"My ass it was!" Inuyasha barked. "You were petrified of the idiot. If I hadn't come along—"
"I already said thank you for that, didn't I?" she interrupted, her eyes full of fire.
"Well," Inuyasha sputtered, turning his eyes away from her, "you need to be more cautious of your surroundings when you're drinking, idiot."
"What like right now?" she teased.
Inuyasha turned a pouting expression towards her. "That's not what I mean."
"Well, I'm drinking now. I'm already one glass deep. Are you saying I need to watch myself around you?"
Kagome's inner voice was going wild. Sure she had maybe not eaten too much today, and the one glass of wine may have left her feeling slightly buzzed, but what was she saying? Kagome knew she could be playful, but this? Really? She shouldn't be egging him on like this.
Kagome gulped.
Inuyasha didn't respond to her comment, instead, she watched him lean forward and refill her empty glass, and then his. Kagome's eyes watched him carefully after that.
She took in the tight almost-black jeans he wore. The merlot-coloured t-shirt that teasingly revealed his collarbone. She watched the ends of his hair wisp over the back of the couch whenever a soft breeze picked up. She saw the silvery glow that lit his face from the canopy lights hanging overhead.
When Kagome had sat in her car, trying to muster the courage to accept the consequences of her actions and ring the intercom at Sengoku Manor, she would never in her life pictured this. She didn't even know how the events would have played out. She had called Sango asking if celebrities even answered their front doors, and Sango simply laughed at Kagome and bid her friend good luck. Kagome had gulped nervously before getting out of her car to push the round black button of the intercom. The entire time the tinny female voice spoke back to her, Kagome couldn't stop the flashes of memory that appeared of her and Inuyasha on the dance floor. She could still feel the tingle of his nails grazing up and down her thighs.
Kagome sighed as she breathed in a lungful of summer, country air. Her eyes turning to Inuyasha, she smiled. He had such a larger-than-life presence about him. Even if Kagome had been blind, she would have known he was near her by the magnanimous air he exuded. The way he carried himself could be somewhat intimidating, yet at the same time, the curious and sometimes juvenile look in his eyes was so inviting.
A part of Kagome wished she hadn't sat so far away from him.
She felt herself jump in reaction to seeing his eyes catch and return her curious gaze. Their visual exchange didn't feel like the first time they had made eye contact, but his glance still had an intrigued innocence about it. To them both, it felt like like they were trying to figure out who the other was simply by looking at them.
After another few sips of wine, Kagome finally burst into giggles and their visual exchange ended. After a few more minutes of silence, Inuyasha finally asked her what led her into the landscaping business and a few hours later the two of them were deep in conversation, two bottles of wine in.
They hadn't touched the food that had been prepared, and, after returning from the restroom, Kagome and Inuyasha at some point ended up side-by-side. Kagome's legs were tucked underneath her as she leaned on her right hip, her right elbow draped over the back of the couch. Inuyasha had both arms arched over the back of the seat, his mostly empty wine glass tight in one hand.
They both laughed in response to the conversation's topic.
"I was nineteen," Kagome said, her cheeks pink. "You?"
"Fifteen."
"Oh my God, that's so young!"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "It's not that young."
Kagome raised her eyebrow in response, saying, "That is really young, Inuyasha. How do you even know how anything works at that age?"
Inuyasha squinted his eyes at her. "It wasn't young," he disputed, narrowing his eyes. "But forget it. It's my question now."
"That was your question," Kagome argued with a laugh. "It's my turn. Umm…"
Inuyasha watched with fascination as her eyes roamed the ceiling of the canopy for inspiration for her next question.
"What's your favourite thing about being famous?"
Inuyasha laughed in his throat and turned his eyes towards the glass in his hand. "There's nothing that great about it."
Kagome scoffed, saying, "I don't believe you for a second. There has to be something you like about it."
Inuyasha sighed and leaned forwards, grabbing the bottle and emptying the drops remaining into his and Kagome's glasses. She thanked him, then turned hungry eyes onto him, eager for his response.
"It's allowed me to travel," he said finally, still not meeting her eyes. "I've always had the freedom and ability to just up and go anywhere I want. I wouldn't have that luxury if I weren't famous."
She leaned back and tiled her head to the side in contemplation. "Doesn't that get old though?"
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Well," she mused, "if you just wanted to up and go to California you could go right now if you wanted to, yeah?"
"Yeah."
"See, I like planning," she replied, a soft smile directed at Inuyasha. "I like the anticipation. I like having something to look forward to. If I could just get on a plane at any second and take off, I feel like it would lose some of its appeal to me. I mean," she laughed, waving a hand in the air, "don't get me wrong. I would love the ability to travel the world without having to worry about the financial side of things, but the mystery and romance, and the general thrill of exploring would be lost.
"Is that not the case for you?" she asked, finally.
Inuyasha shrugged. "You think too much about it," he scolded, his eyebrows still raised.
She laughed and nodded her head saying, "I know. It's a character flaw."
He smirked. "There's worse flaws to have."
"What's one of yours?"
Inuyasha shook his head at her with a smile. "You already asked your question. It's mine now."
Kagome dramatically rolled her eyes and took a sip of her wine. Her head was spinning but in the best way possible. She felt entranced by Inuyasha's presence, by the wine, by the ambience of the night around her.
It had initially been her idea to play 21 Questions; however, that had been at least an hour ago. Kagome lost count of how many questions they had gone back and forth. She guessed they had to be at least past 50 questions by now, but neither she nor Inuyasha seemed to care. They seemed too lost in the appeal of getting to know each other.
Kagome, in particular, felt too lost in the appeal of being so near Inuyasha.
"It's still your turn, you know," Kagome reminded, her eyes meeting his playfully.
Inuyasha sneered at her, said he was still thinking, and they returned to their silence.
Kagome finished the contents of her glass by the time Inuyasha asked his next question.
"Not that I care or anything, but how come you've never asked me about the band?"
The question shocked Kagome and she blinked at him several times, digesting the question he had directed at her.
"Oh, um," she responded, taking a second to mull over an answer in her head. Finally, she laughed gently, and looked back into his glowing amber eyes. "Honestly? It's none of my business."
Inuyasha stared at her, the confusion of her words clearly visible on his face. "You actually don't care?"
She smiled. "It's not that I don't care. I said it's none of my business. I try to think about it if our roles were reversed. If I was you, I wouldn't want my entire life to be defined by one part of my past. Just because my life had been made public to everyone, doesn't give everyone the right to know all about my private life, you know?"
Inuyasha turned his head away quickly, unable to fathom the words he was hearing.
She shrugged. "Plus, I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would. You haven't, so I won't bug you about it."
"So you haven't read all the blogs and magazines and fucking stupid forums guessing what really happened?" Inuyasha asked blankly, his demeanor darkening.
Kagome smiled idly. "I've never really been someone who cared too much about celebrity news and gossip. I won't lie," she laughed, covering her mouth with her hand embarrassedly. "I didn't know who you were when I first took this job."
Inuyasha felt floored. "You're fucking joking, right?"
Her stomach exploded with laughter. "I'm really not. Sango had to tell me."
He couldn't the smirk that overtook his features. "You really do live under a rock, Kagome. You weren't kidding."
She laughed and shrugged her shoulders in response.
Their laughter dying down and becoming replaced by the sounds of insects in the trees and the natural sounds of nighttime, Kagome sighed, closed her eyes, and rested her head on her arm along the back of the couch.
"It's so peaceful out here. I'm a little jealous."
"It's one of the best things about this place," Inuyasha replied gently. "I can't imagine living in the city."
"It's not all bad," she replied drowsily. "This is really nice though."
There was silence for a few minutes between them before Inuyasha chose to break it.
"Kagome?"
"Hmm?"
No response from him caused Kagome to open her eyes and raise her head slowly, her eyes locked on his face in curiosity.
"You okay, Inuyasha?"
He wouldn't return her look, so she angled her head somewhat until she was within his peripheral vision. She saw his golden irises slowly turn to his left to acknowledge her.
Kagome couldn't help but lick her lips in response to the look her gave her. The whites of his eyes looked glassy and seemed to shimmer as they darted back and forth between her eyes. His lips were tightly drawn together and Kagome saw the tightness in his jaw from his clenching his teeth together.
"Inuyasha?"
He didn't respond to his name verbally, but he sat up slightly and turned his head to face Kagome directly. His left arm still draped across the couch, his other fell into his lap as his body turned. Kagome couldn't help but gulp. While they had talked, the two of them had been sitting close enough that her bent knee touched the side of his thigh.
Kagome dropped her hands into her lap and felt her eyes pacing between his, eager to understand what the look on his face meant. She had an idea, but she couldn't be sure. Kagome knew how her body responded to him. Despite her trying to ignore it all night, she felt how rapidly her heart had been beating, especially whenever topics of a sexual nature came up. Past relationships, losing their virginity, things they look for in a partner, things that drove them crazy about their exes, their worst first date ever.
Kagome's heart had been a rhythmic pulse inside her ribcage while they bantered and teased and poked and talked.
Kagome having withdrawn inwardly for the briefest of moments, she hadn't realized that Inuyasha had moved closer to her. She guessed his face had to be five fingers away from hers. Her eyes jumped to life and couldn't decide whether they wanted to observe his semi-parted lips or the intoxicating look in his eyes that wouldn't break their gaze on her.
"Inuyasha?"
The question was soft and almost inaudible leaving her lips. She watched his eyes almost seem to close as they dipped downwards to watch his name form and dissipate on her lips, reddened from being bitten and licked nervously.
He had made the mistake on Friday of wanting to ask her if he could kiss her, worried that he was taking advantage or picking up signs prompted by intoxication. But this entire evening, he hadn't been ignorant of how she responded to him, how she looked at him.
She was coyly brave when she was sober. But that coyness seemed to disappear ever so slightly the more she drank. Even though he could tell in how she composed herself that she still had her wits about her, Inuyasha couldn't deny that he liked how 'Buzzed Kagome' enjoyed goading him on. Instead of challenging his flirtations, she responded to them with her own.
Yes, he wouldn't make the same mistake as before. He knew her body was responding to him, alcohol-be-damned. He saw in her eyes and from how she bit her lip that she wanted him to kiss her.
He could only imagine how delicious the inside of her mouth would taste, having marinated for hours in the sweetly dry beverage they had both enjoyed.
What was once maybe four fingers of space between them was down to two now. He could feel her breath on his face, taste her panting, wanting release of air through her parted lips.
Their noses touching ever so slightly, Inuyasha heard Kagome's rush of breath and gulp, and he watched her bite and tongue her bottom lip.
"You need to stop doing that, Kagome," he whispered hoarsely. It was barely a whisper, barely a groan. She wouldn't have heard him if she was any further away.
He could feel his heart blaring from the centre of his chest it was beating so heavily in expectation. He knew he was torturing himself, teasing her like this. He could read Kagome well enough to know she wouldn't take it upon herself to close the distance between them. He knew she was waiting for him to finally take her mouth, to claim her as his conquest.
"Why?" she breathed.
Their lips were so close, Inuyasha couldn't tell if he could feel a tickling sensation on his lips. He couldn't tell if it was the feeling of her lips moving as she mouthed the question, or if she was just so close he could feel the words projected from her lips. Their eyes were still searching, longing, seeking.
"Because—"
Inuyasha was certain their lips were touching. Grazing. Just barely, but just enough that he could taste her breath as clearly as his own. He swore he could feel the soft, dry pillow of her bottom lip as his nose caressed the bridge of hers.
"Otherwise, Kagome, I might—"
A woman's scream. The sound of glass shattering. Every single light went out.
These three things happened simultaneously, causing Inuyasha to withdraw from Kagome, coldly, fearfully.
He swore under his breath, but it was still audible to Kagome. Her lips and throat were dry as she sat in the darkness. Her eyes not yet adjusted to the dark that she couldn't make out Inuyasha. She was so stunned by the suddenness of everything her stomach felt sick.
She felt the couch cushion dip and then release as she felt him stand.
"Inuyasha?"
"Stay here, Kagome," he barked, the ice in his tone causing Kagome to jump and raise a frightful hand to her chest. "Something's not right."
Author's Note
*Spastically rubs at goosebumps on arms*
Sorry (not sorry) for the cliffhanger. I promise the next chapter will be one to remember :D65
