Chapter 10: Always be Anatomically Correct
Kagome woke up the next morning feeling a little achy from all of her exertions the day before. She tumbled out of bed and into the shower even as Rin knocked on her door softly to wake her up.
"I'm up!" Kagome called from the bathroom. Rin called something out that Kagome didn't hear. She popped the door open and spoke again.
"Kagome, did you hear me?" She said.
"Yes, yes," Kagome said as she undressed. Rin closed her door back and went back downstairs.
Kagome hopped into the hot shower, savoring the delicious feeling of warm water on her skin. She loved crisp fall mornings, but it was getting more and more chilly every day. For a few moments she just savored the heat and the stream of the shower, then set to work on her hair. Halfway through her lather, though, she realized she had no soap. No matter, Rin had been to the store recently-surely she would have thought to buy soap? Maybe it was downstairs in the canvas grocery bags she'd seen on the kitchen counter.
Dripping wet, Kagome opened her door and called out to Rin. The other girl didn't answer, and Kagome was getting cold. She fished around her room for a towel and discovered that she must have forgotten to get her towels out of the dryer...again. She grabbed her hand towel and dabbed at her hair a little bit before realizing it still had soap in it. She floundered around for her robe, but that was missing as well. Whatever, she thought. It won't be the first or last time Rin sees me naked.
She trundled herself downstairs, holding her arms loosely across her chest and tip-toeing to avoid getting the floor wet (which wasn't really working, but whatever, she could clean it up later). She turned left at the foot of the stairs to trot lightly into the kitchen. Unfortunately, her wet feet combined with the slick linoleum spelled certain disaster.
"Rin, did you get some-WHAT! Ooomph!"
Kagome slipped comically on the slick floor, but not before seeing a rather red-faced hanyou sitting at the kitchen table where Rin appeared to be pouring him a cup of coffee.
"WHAT THE HELL KAGOME?" Rin shrieked as Inuyasha lurched forward and grabbed Kagome just before she hit the ground. He set her on her feet and quickly shrugged out of his jacket and tossed it to her. She held it in front of her naked body sheepishly and backed up to the counter so no hanyous in the room could see her behind. Rin was fishing around in the dryer and tossed her a towel and her robe, muttering curses under her breath.
"Uh, thanks Rin," Kagome said. She eyed Inuyasha, who was not looking directly at her, but his face was about as red as the jacket now covering (not enough of) Kagome's body, and he looked like he was trying to hide a smile. "I came down for the….soap."
"Here!" Rin tossed a bag at Kagome, then realized her mistake as Kagome instinctively lifted her arms to catch it. "God, Inuyasha get on the porch!"
The hanyou made his escape while the two women fumbled to get Kagome into her robe and up the stairs. Lucky it was cool outside because his cheeks were on fire. He'd seen naked women before, but it was usually on purpose. Every day with Kagome was an adventure, apparently.
"What the fuck is wrong with you Kagome?" Rin clucked like an angry chicken as she pushed her roommate back into the bathroom to finish her shower. "I told you he was here. Apparently Mr. Taisho wants you escorted to and from work from now on."
"You never told me he was here!" Kagome exclaimed, washing soap from her long tresses.
"Kagome I stuck my head in here this morning and I specifically said 'Inuyasha is here don't come downstairs naked', and when you didn't answer I asked if you had heard me and you said yes!"
"Well, I didn't hear you."
"Ha, maybe you did and you just wanted him to see you naked."
"Rin, if I wanted Inuyasha to see me naked don't you think I would have shaved before coming downstairs?" Kagome looked woefully down between her legs, an area that had been neglected in more ways than one.
"Hey, I don't claim to know how you think."
"Sometimes it feels like you do. Can you just make me some coffee please?"
"Fine, but you owe me! I had to play hostess to a grumpy demon this morning and now I'm going to have to go down there and pretend not to notice his boner while he waits for you to get done."
"I do NOT have a boner!" A gruff voice yelled from downstairs.
"Demon hearing!" Kagome groaned.
"Worse, dog demon hearing," Rin agreed, then yelled back down to Inuyasha, "at least have the courtesy to pretend you have normal hearing!"
"I will as long as you're not talking about my...penis!"
Both Rin and Kagome busted out laughing at this. Downstairs in the kitchen, where he had poured himself another cup of coffee, Inuyasha rubbed his shoulder uncomfortably, a little embarrassed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ever needed to say the word penis out loud. It felt weird, and it certainly hadn't had the desired effect. The girls were still cackling upstairs like a pair of jackals. Women. They were the worst.
An hour later, Kagome was washed and blow-dried and bundled into the car with Inuyasha. Once they pulled away from the house, an awkward silence descended. Kagome pressed her hands up against the hot air vents and looked at the scenery passing by. It was early enough to still be slightly dark, and the frost glittered on the grass and the rooftops.
"I love this time of year," Kagome sighed. Then brightened. "Hey!" She turned to Inuyasha, "Do you think we could take the kids apple picking? Or, you know, to a corn maze or a pumpkin patch or something?"
"Uh," Inuyasha hedged for only a second. "Probably not."
"Why not? Is it because of me?" Kagome's eyes went wide.
"No," Inuyasha said quickly, face scrunching up grumpily. "Not everything is about you, you know."
"Shut up. Why can't we go? Don't we want the kids to have normal experiences?"
"I just don't think my brother will go for it. First and foremost, we need to keep the kids safe."
"You're acting as though someone is hunting the kids."
"Listen Kags," Inuyasha said with a sneer. "I know you've been living in lala land your whole life, but some of us here have been around long enough to know that the world isn't the safest place for demons-or part demons-like your kids."
Kagome stared at the unpleasant look on Inuyasha's face, then slumped against the seat of the car in defeat.
"You're such a dick," She mumbled.
All Inuyasha thought was dick! Why didn't I say 'dick' this morning? It just sounded better than the other…..