Disclaimers: I don't own Devil Does Exist or Devil Beside You - the manga and drama that this story is based on.


The Joke's On You

Chapter Ten: Adorable

Sw33t-Sorrows

"You're going to visit Grandma?" Kagome's eyes lit up as her mother made her annoucement. The older woman nodded.

"Taisho and I are going to visit your grandmother this weekend, so we're going to be away." The two young adults didn't notice the uncertainty in Hitomi's voice, they were too busy thinking of other things - like what they were going to do this weekend now that their parents weren't going to be home. Maybe I should call Sango and we could have a girls' night out! Kagome thought excitedly. It wasn't long before Kagome and Inuyasha found themselves standing outside their home and saying goodbye to their parents.

"Hey Mom, say hi to Grandma for me, I haven't seen her in ages!" Kagome and her grandmother from her mother's side of the family were very close. Her grandmother's name was Kaede, and when Kagome was growing up, they spent every waking moment together - baking cookies, going shopping, riding her bike, everything. Kagome thought it was a shame that she wasn't able to go, however, she had promised Sango that they'd have a girls' night out this weekend.

"Alright sweetheart, I'll see you when I get back." Hitomi found herself forcing a smile onto her face. The events of the other night found its way into her head. What if Inuyasha and Kagome were involved with each other? The older woman had an uneasy feeling inside her stomach and it only got worse when she got into the car and they started to drive away. She could see her daughter waving to them in the side mirror, and she tried to relax. However, she found it rather difficult.

"Hey, Kagome." Inuyasha said as he approached the girl.

"What?"

"Your mom was acting weird, wasn't she?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nevermind. Hurry back inside, I'm hungry!"

"Seriously, you have a monstrous appetite. I don't understand how Uncle manages to feed you all the time." Kagome said as she hurried back into the house.

Hitomi found the car ride surprisingly short as she found she had already arrived at her old home. Why was this troubling her? She never really listened to Amaya anyway, sad to say. Amaya had always told her that Kagome's career choice wasn't exactly the best, and she had always ignored her. Now, the old woman says that Inuyasha and Kagome might be involved with each other romantically and Hitomi couldn't get it out of her head! What am I thinking? I should trust Kagome and Inuyasha, shouldn't I? I'm sure the old woman is just out of her mind again...but, why am I so worried?

"Hitomi?" Her fiancé's voice snapped her back into her senses as he helped her get out of the car. "I'll take care of the luggage, you go right on in." Hitomi nodded and looked up, smiling at her mother who was standing before her.

"Mama,"

"Hello, dear. It's nice seeing you again." Kaede opened her arms and enveloped her in a mother's embrace. Hitomi closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling as she rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "Is something wrong, Hitomi?" Kaede always knew when something was bothering her daughter. Kaede's eyes caught every bit of emotion and nothing could be hidden from her. But Hitomi thought she would try anyway.

"No, Mom. I guess I'm just a little tired, that's all." It was silent for a few minutes before Kaede released her daughter and invited her and her fiancé inside for some tea. "Mom, I can get it. Why don't you rest for a while?"

"Oh no. It's been a while since I've had guests." Kaede chuckled. "I almost forgot what it's like." Hitomi almost felt guilty for not visiting her mother all these years. "But I understand that you and Kagome have lives to live and people to see and things to do. Speaking of that girl, where is she?"

"Taisho and I decided to come by ourselves."

"So she's home alone?"

"Oh, Mom. It's not like she's a child anymore, she's in college. Besides, Inuyasha's there with her."

"Inuyasha? A boyfriend of hers, no?" At this moment, InuTaisho let out a laugh.

"I'm afraid not, Ma'am. Inuyasha is my son." Kaede grinned, obviously embarrassed as she and her future son-in-law shared a laugh. However, Hitomi couldn't shake off that uneasily feeling in her gut.

"I don't know," Kaede said uncertainly. "I heard there's a storm coming their way. With Kagome's playful personality, aren't you afraid she'll get herself into trouble?" What? What will they do? "She's probably spending time with Sango, no? Knowing her, she'll probably lose track of time. The buses will be closed down." Sango? Yes, Kagome did say she was spending the weekend with Sango...so I have nothing to worry about, right?

"So, where can I put these bags?" InuTaisho came in with the luggage in his arms, with a smile on his face. However, his smile was soon wiped off his face as Hitomi spoke.

"Sorry, Mama." She apologized, "But I'm afraid our visit must be cut short. I'm worried about Kagome and Inuyasha. I want to go back." Hitomi noticed that Kaede looked disappointed but didn't say anything.

"Well, I just received a phone call from the school, calling me back for an urgent meeting. I declined, but I guess I can call them back."

Although Hitomi felt bad for leaving her mother, she needed to go back home. She needed answers. If Inuyasha and Kagome are romantically involved with each other, what will Taisho and I do? They're about to become brother and sister...what if - that means...I can't get married. Hitomi frowned at her sudden selfishness, how could she think such a thing? However, would she really be strong enough to give InuTaisho up? She already lost her first husband, her first love. Was she ready to lose InuTaisho, too? The woman desperately fought back her tears when she realized that she wasn't. Hitomi didn't want to let go, but she wanted her daughter to be happy. What am I thinking? I don't even know the truth yet. Maybe Amaya is just thinking too much... "We're here." Getting out of the car and saying goodbye to InuTaisho, she watched as he drove away to the school. As he disappeared down the street, she ran into the house.

Only to find that it was empty.

"Kagome?!" She ran into the kitchen, into their rooms, checked the washrooms and the basement. "Inuyasha?!" She didn't receive an answer. They're really not home... Hitomi sunk down onto the couch and couldn't help but give in to tears.

"So, tell me again why you wanted to come here?"

"You don't want to visit your dad?"

"It's not that, I just didn't think you'd suggest to." Kagome looked at Inuyasha questionningly as they made their way into the cemetery. Inuyasha was holding a pretty bouquet of lilies, indicating that he remembered the last time they came here.

"So, your father was Houjo's teacher when he was back in high school." Kagome was surprised when Inuyasha asked her that question. "I'm sure he helped a lot of people." The conversation was going quite nicely, actually. Until someone came by and broke the news.

"You two aren't from here, are you?" The cemetery was located just outside of their little hometown, so of course Kagome and Inuyasha didn't know... "There's a storm coming this way." The woman pointed out towards the sky, "The clouds are rolling in, weather is changing. You two better head back before the train stations close down." The woman walked off after that, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome wondering how they would get home. Taxis were awfully hard to catch during this time of day.

It wasn't long before the storm hit. The two young adults found themselves running as fast as they could in the rain, desperately trying to find shelter from the cold winds. "Inuyasha, what do we do? The train stations have closed down, how are we gonna get home?" Kagome was panicking, making Inuyasha very uneasy.

"Okay first of all, we don't freak out." Kagome rolled her eyes. "We need to go."

"Go where?"

Kagome's heart almost stopped when they showed up at a hotel. In fact, she panicked even more when they got to their room. "Let's hope the storm passes by soon, if it doesn't, we'll be stuck here all night." She nodded at his words, not trusting her voice. Taking the thick blanket off of the bed, Inuyasha sat next to Kagome on the couch and wrapped it around them. "Are you alright?" Kagome didn't say anything until her cell phone rang. As it vibrated on its place on the glass table, Kagome didn't have the courage to answer it, somehow knowing who it was. Inuyasha picked up the small device and looked at the display screen. "Someone's calling from home." As he was about to press the 'answer' key, Kagome grabbed the phone out of his hands and shut it off. "Uh," Inuyasha didn't know what was wrong with her, but decided he was freezing and wanted to go take a hot shower. "I'll be right back." Kagome frowned when she heard the bathroom door shut.

"What the hell am I going to do?"

Well, it's not like he's going to do anything to you. Her inner voice said.

"How do you know that?"

Because - it's Inuyasha. He loves you, remember? He's not going to force you into anything.

"I'm still scared."

I don't understand you. But then again, I am you! Why don't you listen to me and stop panicking. This is just until the storm is over. Besides, you're sitting on a pull-out couch. You don't have to sleep together, if that's what you're thinking.

"What are you talking about?! I don't think about stuff like that."

Really...

"Yes really."

Whatever.

"You're crazy!"

Hah! Coming from the girl who's talking to herself...

"Ugh!" Kagome stopped listening to that little voice in her head, figuring it would one day drive her insane. When Inuyasha came out from the shower, his clothes were partially dry and he repositioned himself on the couch next to the troubled girl.

"Inuyasha, let's go home."

"How? The trains are-"

"I don't know, I just want to go home!" Inuyasha didn't miss the scared tone in her voice, however he decided to ignore it.

"Are you afraid of staying here with me?"

"...No. It's not that. I just..."

"What is it then? Are you really that scared?!"

"I am!" He turned to look her straight in the eye, to find that she was staring back at him with equal intensity. "You can't honestly tell me that you don't care about them finding out about us. You can't honestly tell me that you think that we can possibly keep this a secret forever. I don't want to hide anymore, I'm tired of it!" Frustrated, Inuyasha turned away from her.

"If you want to go home, go by yourself."

"What?"

"Go home. Dad and Auntie won't suspect us if you get home first. Just tell them you were at Sango's or something." Kagome almost felt guilty when she saw the anger in Inuyasha's eyes. "I'm telling you to go because I know how much you care about your mom."

"Inuyasha, I-"

"Go!" Kagome felt the tears coming as she grabbed her purse and made her way out of the hotel room. Inuyasha didn't look after her as she pulled open the door and disappeared into the hallway. What's happening to me? He leaned back onto the couch and placed his arm over his eyes. Keeping this a secret...if this continues, Kagome will withdraw even more. She'll only feel even more uncomfortable about our situation. Inuyasha's eyes widened as he came to his conclusion. What if she thinks about...giving up? It was his turn to run out of the hotel room.

I'm sorry, but I can't live with Kagome as my sister. I just can't.

"I'll just say I went out with Sango and lost track of time. Yeah, that's it." Kagome said quietly to herself as she hide from the rain underneath a bus shelter. "If they ask where Inuyasha is, I'll say I don't know..."

"Kagome!" What's going on? Why has it all of a sudden just become like this? Aren't I supposed to be happy that I'm with him? He makes me so happy, but our love just causes everyone else pain. Is that what we really want? Kagome couldn't suppress her feelings as she saw him standing before her. What do I want? She finally realized her answer to that question as she slowly approached the boy standing no less than three feet away. They didn't say anything as the girl wrapped her arms around him and he returned her embrace. I don't understand why this has to hurt so much. When I first met Inuyasha, didn't I hate him with a fiery passion? But as soon as we find out we're about to become stepsiblings, we fall in love. In fact, I don't really remember what it was like hating him. However, maybe I shouldn't care anymore. I just know that I want to be with him.

"Can I ask your mother?" It was like he was reading her mind. "Can I ask her to let you be with me?"

Kagome didn't respond, she only held him tighter and clung onto him for dear life.

Author's Notes: Okay, rather short compared to my other chapters, and I know I said I'd make my chapters longer, but I couldn't help it. Anyway, I also promised that I would update every week. But my schedule is getting more crammed each day. Exams are coming up and I'm getting piles of assignments. So I'll try to update whenever I can. Today is a long weekend, so here's my gift to all of you. I hope you've enjoyed this holiday and this chapter as well. Thanks to all of you supportive readers! Please review, it'll only take about three seconds?

Sw33t-Sorrows.