I Stole Your Soul
By: Patche
Disclaimer: I, Patche, do not own Inuyasha, any of its characters or the lyrics to "This Is Twice Now" by Lydia (which will never be used in the story, but were great inspiration for the story)
Chapter Eleven: Kind of Like Cinderella
--
Inuyasha sat perched atop the school's roof during his lunch hour. It was quiet; he enjoyed the silence for a change.
Kikyou hadn't been to school since he yelled at her in the cafeteria. However, Inuyasha felt sitting at his usual table was a risk he wasn't willing to take today. Besides, he knew this was where Kagome had run off to once Kikyou offended her.
His gaze travelled from the skyline to the ground beneath him. He didn't know why, but he felt like his mind wouldn't be made up, no matter how much debating back and forth he did. Of course the boy wanted to live. He wanted a shot at life without the curse Tsubaki bestowed upon him and his family. However, what if becoming human didn't save him? After all, if the curse was out to kill him, it would find other methods rather than a virus that kills half demons. And if he was a human, he'd only be more vulnerable than he was now…
But, the curse would be broken once he was truly accepted…
"You'll be accepted as a human…"
He could become a human and be rid of the virus and the curse that plagued his friends. He could…
Inuyasha sighed. 'I could live… a little longer than just a month and a half… I could tell Kagome…' He felt the familiar pang that assaulted his chest when he thought of her. Those big brown eyes that seemed to look at everything and everyone as if it were more precious than anything. That long black hair…
Her smell… the wild infusion of lavender and vanilla that sent his brain into a mad rush.
'Damn it…' He mentally cursed realizing he let his mind run away from him once again. It seemed to be an everyday occurrence lately.
Inuyasha felt troubled by his sudden feelings for Kagome, though. He recalled feeling nothing but a sense of loathing for her until he discovered her identity. So, were all these newfound feelings simply because he discovered she was the girl he'd been hoping to cross paths with once again since he was seven years old? Did he only care about that girl and not Kagome herself?
He shook his head remembering that smile that sent his world aflame. Seeing her smile… That was Kagome… Not just the girl he saved. And he loved seeing that smile.
Inuyasha groaned. 'What the hell? Quit thinking about her!'
The way she felt when she linked their arms together after their date with Ayumi and Kuro…
'STOP thinking like that!'
The way her lips tasted faintly of a minty strawberry and how he was dying to taste it once more…
'QUIT IT!'
"Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha turned and saw Kagome standing in the doorway to the roof of the school.
"What are you doing here?" She asked carefully, taking a step toward him.
"I just wanted some fresh air… what's your excuse?" He grumbled, turning his attention from her.
Kagome sighed and sat down a few feet from him. "This is where I've been sitting." She said, looking out at the skyline. "You're the intruder, you know?"
"Keh!" Inuyasha stuck his nose in the air. "I ain't intruding. It's my roof just as much as it is yours."
"Are you hungry?" Kagome asked, ignoring his remark. He turned his head to find her offering the contents of her bento box to him. "I'm feeling a little full." She said quietly.
"No…" Inuyasha trailed off.
Kagome nodded and set the bento box beside her as she looked out at the cityscape from the rooftop. Their school really was high off the ground. One could see most of the city skyline from the rooftop, which was commonplace in most high schools.
Kagome always enjoyed the view, even when she'd subjected herself to sitting with her friends at lunch. This was where she always came to sit when things in the cafeteria got a little… hectic. With such a social hierarchy as the one she found herself involved in, chaos erupted often enough…
"How did your play go?" Inuyasha asked.
Kagome smiled softly at his memory and placed her hands in her lap. "It was okay. Nothing spectacular." She shrugged. "Houjo ended up forgetting most of his lines… I wouldn't have minded if his improvising was decent." She sighed. "The boy really has no reason to be acting."
"Then why would you give him the main part?"
"Because I…" Kagome whipped her head around. "Wait, how did you know he had the main part?"
Inuyasha blinked and felt his cheeks growing hot. "I… lucky… guess…?"
Kagome arched her brow in disbelief.
"Fine! I saw the stupid play…" Inuyasha muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kagome tilted her head to the side, softening her eyes. 'He came… to the play?'
"Why do you have to look at me like that?! It had nothing to do with you, ya know!?"
Kagome smiled softly at his horrible defense tactic.
'Damn it… why does she always have to smile… at EVERYTHING I say?'
"I just think it's… nice…" She said letting the smile slowly fade from her features. "I didn't think you'd come to see it."
"I thought it was a little better than okay." Inuyasha muttered, looking away from her. "I mean, aside from Hobo's acting, it was good."
"His name's Houjo…" Kagome corrected him, flatly, so irritated that the giddiness she felt over the fact that Inuyasha had seen the play had been completely erased from her mind.
"Whatever. I'm paying you a compliment, woman! Thank me rather than correct me, why don't you?!"
"That's hardly a compliment. I cast Houjo, you know!"
"Well why would you cast someone with such horrible acting abilities?!"
"Because I felt bad for him…" Kagome said softly, pulling her arm up to her chest. "He really wanted the part.."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. 'Stupid girl… going around screwing up plays all because she feels bad for stupid boys…'
"Come on…" Inuyasha stood. "Lunch is over now."
--
'Winter Formal THIS WEEKEND!' A sign plastered against the wall read beside Kagome's locker. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow reading it.
'I could take off work… and maybe…'
He turned to Kagome who was hurriedly digging through her locker.
"Hey…" He started, catching the girl's attention. Kagome blinked her big brown eyes in curiosity at the hanyou.
Inuyasha merely stared at her, an assortment of expressions running through his face as he tried his best to summon the words from his mind and to his tongue.
'Damn it! What am I, nervous or something? Come on! It's Kagome… You can ask her!'
"Well what is it?!" Kagome asked, a hint of irritation underlying her tone.
"I…" Inuyasha managed to get out.
"Higurashi!"
Kagome and Inuyasha turned their heads to find the red-headed, blue-eyed, constantly smiling, Akitoki Houjo headed their direction, waving giddily at Kagome.
'Great…' Inuyasha thought bitterly.
"Houjo-kun…" Kagome started.
"Higurashi!" Houjo shouted once more as soon as he caught up to Kagome. He bent over, panting wildly to catch his breath.
'What a wimp…'
"I had a question to ask you!" He shouted excitedly, picking his head up. "The winter formal is this weekend, I'm sure you know…" He began, a soft blush gracing his cheeks as he looked away from Kagome nervously.
'Oh he better not…' Inuyasha thought angrily.
"I know about it, yes…" Kagome said softly, reaching behind her and closing her locker.
"Well, I was thinking… I really thought we had some fun with the play and you know, maybe… it would be… nice… for us… to… go… as… dates?" Houjo stammered, twiddling his fingers as he spoke.
Kagome's eyes widened and she quickly turned to Inuyasha, who was seething in Houjo's direction. 'Geez… what's wrong with him?' She thought, turning back to Houjo.
"Umm…" She started.
"I- I know you might still be upset over Kouga, but I can promise you, Kagome, it'd be so much fun!" He shouted eagerly. "Please?"
Kagome smiled weakly at the boy before her and placed a hand on his shoulder. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, waiting as anxiously as Houjo for her answer.
"That'd be great…" She said softly. "Thank you."
Houjo smiled widely. "Great! See you Saturday night then, Kagome. Bye, Inuya…" He blinked in bewilderment noticing the empty spot beside Kagome where Inuyasha once stood. "He was here, right?" He asked.
Kagome gasped and looked beside her. "Yeah…" She said, looking around for him. She felt her face fall slightly into a frown at the realization that he'd left her.
--
"Inuyasha and Kagome seem to be getting along much better…" Miroku mumbled mindlessly to the woman beside him. Izayoi smiled as she rolled out the dough for a pizza order she had to fill.
"Yes, they are. I think it's wonderful." She said, sounding cheerful.
Miroku sighed, leaning against the preparation table. "You know, I was a little worried at first…"
Izayoi raised her head in curiosity.
"I mean that maybe Inuyasha would stay with Kikyou…" He finished, looking out into the parking lot from the window.
Izayoi chuckled lightly. "Well why would that worry you?"
Miroku smirked. "Well then all those double dates with Sango and Inuyasha that I've been fantasizing about would be no fun…" He joked.
Izayoi shook her head. "You are just so ridiculous sometimes, Miroku…"
The man beside her sighed. "I know, I just really can't help the fact that the woman has the most alluring bottom I've ever laid eyes on…"
Izayoi chortled. "This is why you fantasize about taking Sango on dates?!"
Miroku waved her off. "Well, it is a little more than just her bottom…"
Izayoi nodded. "So, when are you going to tell her?"
Miroku arched an eyebrow. "Tell her what?"
"That you like her…for more than just her derriere." Izayoi answered, cutting the circular shape from the dough and smothering it in tomato sauce.
Miroku pursed his lips. "Well, I didn't actually have any plans of telling her…"
"And why not?"
"I just have the tiniest suspicion that with my previous behavior… she wouldn't take me seriously and wouldn't trust me anyhow." He shrugged. "I'm not complaining. I made my bed… I just wish I could control this damned hand of mine…" He murmured playfully, grabbing his right hand. "I swear it's cursed."
Izayoi smirked and patted him on the shoulder as the door chime rang through the restaurant.
"I think it's worth a shot, don't you?" She asked, winking at the boy.
Miroku cleared his throat and looked at the silhouetted figure walking through the doorway. He immediately recognized the hourglass shape as Sango's and mentally cursed her perfect timing.
"Sango…" Miroku said, smiling. He approached her and grabbed her hand. "You are looking lovely as ever, my darling…" He murmured, placing a delicate kiss on the hand in his grasp.
Sango felt her cheeks heat up at the gesture, but quickly yanked her hand from him. "Same to you…" She muttered, hiding her blush and moving hurriedly away from the boy before her.
Miroku sighed and turned to Izayoi, throwing his arms up in obvious defeat at the scene that had just unfolded.
'I told you…' He mouthed, his infamous smirk still etched across his lips.
--
"Inuyasha, dear…" Izayoi spoke softly as she stepped out from the kitchen to find her son sulking behind the counter. It was a Saturday evening, the night of the Winter Formal. Izayoi knew of the dance. Inuyasha had mentioned how badly Kikyou wanted to go a few months ago.
Inuyasha picked his head up and turned in the direction her voice had come from, raising his eyebrows in question.
"Why didn't you go to the dance?" She asked, approaching him.
"I didn't want to…" Inuyasha mumbled.
Izayoi scoffed. "Now, I don't believe that… You were looking at suits to wear just a few days ago! What happened?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Kikyou and I broke up, Kagome decided to go with Hoblow and I have to work."
Izayoi quirked an eyebrow. "Hoblow?"
Inuyasha chortled. "I don't remember the dickbag's name… All I know is I was going to see I she wanted to go with me." He closed his eyes, feeling slightly ashamed for revealing so much information… even to his mother.
Izayoi stared at her son with bewilderment. "You wanted to go with Kagome?" She asked. "I thought you barely even liked her, though."
Inuyasha sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I didn't like her. I hated her. Then I found out who she was…"
"Who is she?"
"She's not everything Kikyou made her out to be. She's nice… too nice for her own good and she's modest and humble and just…" He brought his forehead down to the palm of his hand. "She's the girl I saved…"
Izayoi's eyes widened. "She's the girl from… way back then?"
Inuyasha nodded.
"Well why are you sulking about it? She's the girl! You found her! And it's Kagome, and you don't hate Kagome anymore…" Her excitement was an unwelcomed change to Inuyasha's ears and he quickly flattened them.
"I'm dying, mom…" He said flatly. "And Kagome's been obsessing over this kid that saved her like he was her damn soul mate! If she knew it was me…" He shook his head before continuing. "She'd just hate me."
"Now, I know that's not true. You've got the Shikon Jewel. You'll become a human and you'll be fine and healthy and you can be with Kagome. Why are you making this so difficult?" Izayoi asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"Because I'm not using it."
Izayoi took a step back, away from her son. "What?"
Inuyasha breathed in raggedly. "I said, I'm not using it. I'm not going to become a human…"
"Inuyasha! Why?!"
He paused for a moment, searching for his rational explanation as to why becoming a human would only make matters worse. He knew his mother wouldn't be convinced with his oh-so logical 'it'll make me more vulnerable' argument. And so, he remained silent.
"Let's just make another appointment with Kaede-sama… and then we can see if she can find any other possible solution. Plus, Myoga-jii-chan is looking for a cure as well. I understand if you just want to wait and see what other options you'll have. But, I'm not letting you give up like this, Inuyasha. You're my son…" She moved closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. "I love you more than anything in this whole world. I'd be lost without you." He winced at the sound of her voice breaking and felt a tear drop onto his shoulder.
"Alright…" He said, his voice raspy.
Izayoi pulled back from her son, and smiled down at him. "You know…" She began. Inuyasha caught the glint in her eye that suggested he was scheming something ridiculous up. "I think I'm going to go home. I'm not feeling all that great… Do you think you can handle it?"
Inuyasha nodded, letting out a yawn. "Yeah, I'll be fine."
Izayoi nodded. "Alright. Goodnight, darling."
--
"Oh wow!" Akitoki squealed, as Kagome came to the door. She was dressed in a long, pink gown that poofed out slightly at the waistline. The dress had no straps, but still modestly emphasized her chest. Her hair was loose and curled into large ringlets. A few had been pinned back, away from her face.
She smiled, holding her hand out for him to take.
"You look amazing…" Akitoki said, breathlessly as he reached up to grab her hand.
Kagome felt herself blush. "Well, thank you… You look really nice yourself." She said, winking at him.
Akitoki led her from her doorstep and onto the driveway, smiling goofily. "So, where shall we eat?" He asked.
Kagome bit her bottom lip, racking her brain for food. She wanted to go to Taisho's… She knew Inuyasha was there and for some reason, she was dying to see him tonight.
"What about Hiroo? I hear that one's really nice…" Akitoki suggested.
"Akitoki, that place is ridiculously high priced!" Kagome exclaimed, grabbing at his arm.
Akitoki waved off her concern. "It's okay. I can handle it, Kagome."
Akitoki ran over to the other side of his car as they approached it and quickly opened the passenger door for Kagome.
She turned and smiled at him, approaching the opened door and climbing inside the car. Akitoki rushed to the other side and quickly climbed into the driver's seat. He started the engine and pulled out of the driveway.
"Do you know where it is?" Kagome asked him, inspecting the interior of his car. It was a nice car. Clearly, newer. It wasn't a car a teenager was supposed to be driving, but from the way Akitoki drove… she could tell this wasn't his father's car.
"I do. It should be just on the other side of the expressway."
Kagome nodded. She guessed that was right. She'd never been to Hiroo. She'd only heard of how nice a restaurant it was. Usually celebrities were spotted there. She thought it was a little strange that she, the daughter of a famous musician, didn't know about Hiroo and had to find out from wealthier students in her class.
It was a misconception that she would have so much money because of who her father was. No one took into account that her parents had spent the money long before she was old enough to see a dime of it.
Akitoki began his merge onto the expressway just as she heard her phone ringing from inside her clutch.
"Oh?" She said aloud, opening the bag and pulling out her phone.
'Izayoi' read across the screen.
"Hello?" She asked, answering the phone. She listened to Izayoi for a moment, before a smile slathered itself across her face.
"No, I understand… that's fine… Yes, I can…"
"Fell better!" She said before closing the her phone.
"Something wrong?" Akitoki asked, looking over at Kagome.
She sighed. "We're going to have to turn around. Izayoi got really sick at work and she needs me to come in and cover for her…" Kagome reached out and touched his arm. "I'm really sorry…"
"They can't call anyone else in?" Akitoki asked, feeling disappointed in the turn of events.
Kagome shrugged. "She said she called Sango already and Rin's been sick for a while now…"
Akitoki sighed and nodded, taking the first exit from the expressway. "You want me to take you home?" He asked.
Kagome shook her head. "Just drop me off there…"
--
Inuyasha's head shot up at the sound of the door to the shop opening. 'A customer?' He rushed from the kitchen where he was taking one of his usual naps and into the waiting area to find Kagome looking around the store, a confused expression on her face.
"Kagome?" He asked, taking in the sight of her. She was still dressed for the winter formal. Inuyasha blinked, too shocked to believe any of it. She looked beautiful.
"Izayoi made it sound like an emergency on the phone. Did you take care of everyone?" Kagome asked, noticing him.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your mom called me. She said she was sick and you were very busy and that I had to come right away."
'So, that's what she was up to…' Inuyasha thought to himself. He sighed. "We haven't been busy at all…" He said dryly.
Kagome nodded.
"So, you can go back to the dance, you know…" Inuyasha turned and headed for the kitchen once again.
"I'd rather be here…" Kagome mumbled, sitting down on the counter.
Inuyasha raised his brow. "Here? You'd rather be here than dancing with your precious Homo?"
"It's Houjo…"
"Whatever!"
Kagome nodded, pursing her lips as she did so. "Well, yeah… I feel kind of bad, he was so excited."
"Weren't you?" Inuyasha took a seat in the chair beside the counter.
"Not to go with him, no…"
"Then who…" Inuyasha trailed off, conflicted with his decision on whether or not he actually wanted to hear her answer.
Kagome smiled softly. "I think…" Her cheeks began to blush. "It would have been fun to go with you."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Me?" He asked.
Kagome bit her lip and nodded. "Well, yeah. You're fun to be around… sometimes. Plus, you're like the only person in school I can even stand to talk to anymore…" She chortled. "Kind of ironic…"
Inuyasha chuckled with her as he stood up from the chair before he spoke. "Well, we are alone, you know… and it isn't all that busy…" Kagome felt her face growing hotter by the second.
Inuyasha held out his hand to her, looking away, a faint color of pink gracing his cheeks.
Kagome grinned eagerly and nodded, taking his hand with hers and standing from the counter. Inuyasha pressed his hands at her waist and felt her bring herself closer to him. 'Kami… I don't think I can do this…' He thought to himself, feeling silly for getting so flustered over the girl. His heart was racing as she brought her arms around his neck and she looked up at him, smiling.
"I'm sorry my mom ruined your dance…" Inuyasha mumbled.
Kagome shook her head. "Stupid, this is even better…" She said, pressing her head against his chest in an effort to hide her insanely red face from him. Her heart raced as they swayed back and forth to the silence of the restaurant.
--
AN: …fluff? Haha… I figured it was necessary since things start to… happen… after this… You all are going to hate me so much!
Please review! I love to know what you guys think!
Love Always,
Patche