Silver boy with golden eyes
~Kitty
Don't Forget Me
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"
And here she comes, bounding back. Inuyasha stepped out of his box and met with a sight he hadn't expected. Her arms were laden with clothes and shoes and she was a colorful walking wardrobe. She came gasping up to him, out of breath with cheeks flushed.
"What the hell is all this?"
"I have a date! I have a date tomorrow! I don't know what to wear!"
Her eyes were frantic and she looked at him desperately. Honestly, she was surprised she fell asleep at all tonight.
Inuyasha was busy taking in the mess of clothes and random other items in her hands.
"What's a date?"
Kagome heaved a sigh, dumping her things down on the ground and sorted through the odds and ends.
"A date is when you go out with a boy and have dinner and talk and get to know each other."
Inuyasha frowned.
"Why do you care what you wear for this 'date' then?"
Kagome gaped at him.
"Because, you want him to like you!" She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Something tickled the edges of Inuyasha's consciousness, like an insect crawling up his leg.
"Why do you care if this guy likes you?"
Kagome threw her hands up in an exasperated fashion.
"Never mind, just help me pick something to wear!"
Kagome promptly let herself into his metal box and slammed the door on his face.
"Oi! Get outa my box!"
Inuyasha angrily slammed open the sliding door to demand the intruder to leave. The sight he came upon froze him straight down to his toes. Naked save for a thin, lacy scrap of fabric across her bottom and her chest, the two young people stared at each other for a breath. And then things started flying at his face.
"PERVERT!"
Inuyasha's ears rang with her screeching voice and while his mind tried its best to catch up with what was happening, Kagome had forcefully kicked him back out and slammed the door on him again. Inuyasha held up the old teddy bear she'd flung at him, dazedly staring at the two black beaded eyes. It was as if the sight of her bare skin had been branded into the very backs of his eyeballs and he buried his face in the worn stuffed animal's belly, desperately trying to erase the vision he'd just witnessed from his mind, while at the same time committing every last detail to memory.
After several minutes, the shoji door slid open shyly to reveal a very pretty young woman, the swishing fabric of her skirt instantly catching the white-haired boy's gaze.
"What do you think, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked him nervously, trying to decide how to read his expression.
"Uh… uh, looks good?"
"Just good?"
Kagome fiddled with the skirt, then the blouse, and then all Inuyasha could look at was the shirt's neckline and how gracefully it lay against her chest.
He gulped.
"I'll try on the next one."
Kagome slapped the door shut and made a bustle of rustling sounds from behind the door. Dates are fun things, Inuyasha decided, if he was going to get a fashion show like this each time.
This time, when Kagome slid open the door, the blush on her face was unmistakable and she nervously tugged at the hem of her shirt to straighten it out. She'd seen the way he looked at her first outfit, how his eyes roved her body up and down and it made her giddy and frightened all at the same time.
"How's this one?"
Inuyasha was better prepared to appreciate the outfit this time and took more care to critique the paired jeans and top. He had to say, he preferred the teasing of the skirt to the jeans.
"First one was better."
The next outfit. The next outfit had Inuyasha all up in arms. There wasn't a chance in fucking hell that he would let anyone see his Kagome in that outfit.
Inuyasha swallowed hard.
"Why are you going on this date again?"
It was a struggle to keep his eyes on her face. The dress was still modest by most standards except for the way it clung to her curves and plunged down her back. He positively drank the vision in with his eyes and his mouth felt very, very dry.
If the boy hadn't been so distracted by the visual temptations, he might have noticed how Kagome adapted very quickly to his strong reaction to her clothes. The shyness turned coy, and a dash of sultry crept into her movements. She was enjoying having this effect on him.
"My friends pushed me into it," she said, "This boy in my class asked me out today. We're going to dinner downtown tomorrow."
Inuyasha's mind was quickly catching up and strongly disliking where this conversation was going.
"You're going to dinner with this guy? Alone?"
Kagome arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"Yeah, that's kind of the idea."
"NO."
"What?"
"I said NO. You're not going, Kagome."
"Of course I'm going!" Kagome frowned, her anger sparking at the thought of him forbidding her to do something she chosen to do.
"No! Out of the question. Now get out of those clothes."
Inuyasha shoved her back into the box and slammed the door shut. Kagome began to change but shouted through the door.
"You can't stop me! I can go out on dates if I want to!"
A growl crept into Inuyasha's voice as he shouted back at her.
"I don't like it! I said no! What's the point anyway?"
Kagome slammed the door open, a deep frown etched onto her face. Her ire was real now and she didn't hold back when she answered him.
"Maybe I like this boy! Maybe I want to get to know him better! Maybe I want to grow up and date boys and kiss and have sex and get married!"
Somehow, it was as if all his fears were coming true before he even realized he feared these things. A myriad of emotions crossed his face and his throat worked hard to dislodge the lump that sprung up behind his voice box.
"Fine then! Get lost! See if I care."
Inuyasha shoved his way past her, back into his box. He grabbed the clothes she held in her hands and slammed the door, which vanished as he closed off his heart to her to struggle with his rampaging emotions alone inside the metal structure.
Kagome screamed at him to return her things, pounded on the walls of the cage he'd built for himself. For a long time, she demanded entry and was ignored. And then for several hours, they sat in silence against the metals walls, neither willing to surrender first. Kagome stared at the discarded teddy bear, angry and hurt by Inuyasha's behavior. And by a strange thread of feeling that pulled at her heart.
Nostalgia.
Kagome pushed herself forward to pick up the teddy bear. So he'd kept it with him all these years. She'd noticed the terrible artwork she'd given him on the walls of the box, several old books and an old cassette player she'd given him one day. Kagome held the stuffed animal close, smelling the old musty scent and another wave of nostalgia washed over her.
Her childhood was ending.
That's what she was feeling. Her childhood was ending and that meant leaving things behind. She suddenly had an inkling of understanding. And then she felt an inkling of doubt. Her brow creased and a very serious question came to her mind.
"Inuyasha? Are you real?"
When he didn't answer, a shock of terror ran through her heart.
"Inuyasha?"
Her voice was met with silence.
"INUYASHA?!"
"What the fuck is it? Don't you have to go on your date?"
The window was slammed open and his angry face glared at her but she never felt so much relief. And then she was crying, because the thought of losing Inuyasha left a hole nearly as large as the one her father had left and she didn't want to think about it anymore. Didn't want to wonder about whether these dreams were real, or whether they were a figment of her imagination. She needed Inuyasha to be real.
And then he was outside again, concern twisting his face as he stared at her, a clawed hand on each of her shoulders.
"What's the matter with you, wench?"
"Can I have a lock of your hair?"
"EH?!"
"Please?"
Kagome looked up at him desperately.
"Please?"
The racket of her alarm broke the tension in the meadow and both of them jumped in surprise.
"Argh, fine wench, but bring me ramen tomorrow."
He took a section of hair in his hands and sliced it off with his claws. Kagome held it close to her chest and for a moment, the look on her face seemed to reach down into his soul. A sadness crept onto his face as he brought up a hand to her cheek.
"Go on your date, wench. And don't forget the ramen."
He watched her disappear into the forest and just before her scent vanished, he couldn't help himself and begged into the silence.
"Don't forget me…"