After revealing the startling indifference he had towards the death of his brother, Sesshoumaru resignedly offered his arm to Kagome again to escort her back to the castle. Without hesitation, Inuyasha intercepted the gesture.
"I'll be walking her back, thanks," he said, pushing Sesshoumaru's hand away as he wound Kagome's into his own. He didn't want a repeat of their previous stroll. His brother shrugged and started walking away without comment, evidently not possessive in the least. Inuyasha felt a twinge of relief.
"Jealous?" Kagome asked, once he was some distance away.
"No!" Inuyasha replied, possibly a bit too quickly.
"Afraid I'll tell him you lost?" she pressed, faking a compassionate tone and expression.
"Whatever. You can tell him if you want."
"Then what? You want protection from the cat?"
"Yup. That's it. If it comes back, make sure you throw some flowers at it."
Kagome laughed, and they started walking.
"So do you come here often?" she asked after a pause.
"Where? Town? All the time."
She smiled and seemed somehow gratified by that. "I've never been to the town around my home."
"Why?"
"I wasn't allowed to go. My parents saw no reason for it. Everything we needed was brought to us, we had plenty of land for walks or whatever, and they didn't exactly have an interest in getting to know any townspeople. Plus, they thought it might be too dangerous for me. I could accidentally get a tan or something and that would ruin my marriage prospects forever."
"You can't get a tan on your own land?"
"We have a lot of trees."
"Ah." They walked in silence for a bit, Kagome observing her surroundings, and Inuyasha observing her reactions to them. It was a bit odd to experience something he was so familiar with through new eyes. He would have felt self-conscious about it, except that she was so clearly pleased with what she saw.
"Thanks for walking me back," she said suddenly, turning back to look at him. "I was trying too hard to mimic Sesshoumaru's aloofness on the way here to enjoy it."
"I guess it's lucky for you that you're such a good fighter and that feral cats are so fierce," Inuyasha mumbled, looking at the ground and trying to pretend he hadn't been watching her.
Before long, they reached the castle, and stopped right before its doors.
"Thanks for walking me back," Kagome said, dropping his arm. "I should go change. I got this dress a bit dirty, and I don't want your mom to know before I get a chance to clean it. But I'll see you at dinner?"
Inuyasha nodded, and she smiled and skipped off behind the doors. He stood for a moment, contemplating what to do until then. As he thought, he leaned against the tree he had leaned against earlier that day waiting for her to arrive. What was with him? He used to do plenty of things. All by himself. But right this second he couldn't think of anything he'd rather do than lean against a tree and wait for dinner time. He scoffed at his own ridiculousness.
Suddenly, his ears twitched and he got the peculiar feeling that he was being watched. Quickly, he glanced around, then at each of the windows, catching one of them in time to see the suspicious fluttering of a curtain. Great! Something to do.
He bounded inside and up one flight of stairs, then quietly took position outside the door of the room. It wasn't long before he heard his mother's voice.
"You're right; he probably didn't see us. But did you notice that he walked her back arm in arm? Seeing their faces so close together, I can really picture their children..."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"What's even better is that he seemed not to know what to do without her when she left! He looked like a lost puppy!" his dad responded enthusiastically.
Inuyasha wrinkled his brow. Was it that obvious?
"And speaking of puppies, let's go back to the children. His white ears with her dark hair? Can you imagine?"
They both chuckled maniacally.
"What do you think, son?" his father called out, obviously smelling him near.
"Hey, dad..."
His mother burst through the door and hugged him, then drew back and grabbed his shoulders, staring him down with the most intense eyes he'd ever seen her have. "Have you kissed her yet?" she asked in an almost reverent-sounding whisper.
"Still no." Izayoi's face fell dramatically, like he had just told her he'd burned a barrel of puppies and then sprinkled their ash in her breakfast.
"I'm so disappointed in you."
"We raised you better than that, son."
"What, do you think you'll find someone else? Someone else of Kagome's caliber that would be at all interested in you?"
"It's pretty doubtful, son."
"I've known her for two days!" Inuyasha exclaimed, brushing off his mother's hands and storming off.
"She's gotten engaged in less time than that!" she called after him.
Inuyasha froze.
"Really?"
"Her record is 3 ½ minutes."
He contemplated this. "And how long before the engagement was over?"
"...Another 3 ½ minutes, but that's not the point!"
"It is the point! If I pursue her too soon, she'll run!"
"Ah ha!" His mother shrieked, jogging up to him to point a triumphant finger. "So you are trying to pursue her!"
"I didn't say that! I was just saying... that... IF I were, it wouldn't be smart to push it, but that was all theoretical and... Shut up!"
"Kiss her tomorrow."
"I won't!"
"If you don't, I will throw a ball the very next day and invite every eligible bachelor in the area and one of them will steal her from you and it will be all your fault for not taking the initiative yourself."
"That seems counterproductive to your goal."
"OUR goal, sweetie. Admitting it is the first step."
"I'm just saying that if you want grandkids..."
"And I do."
"Then why would you try to throw Kagome into a room full of other men?"
"Because I know you'd hate it, and I want to give you a little incentive to kiss the girl! And besides. I like her. So if you can't man up enough to get her, I at least want her to be happy."
"How do you know I'll hate it?"
"Because you're clenching your fists, dear. Try not to get blood on the carpet." Inuyasha looked down, startled, and released his hands, flexing them a bit to get rid of the tension. Then he grimaced, realizing that his mother had him and she knew it.
"We'll see," he said tersely, before stalking off.
"Tomorrow, dear! By midnight."
"I got it!" he called over his shoulder, thoroughly annoyed.
"Tonight would work, too!"
"I SAID I GOT IT!"
Now he was going to have to come up with a stupid plan.
