The Following Monday
Kagome clocked in and noticed Inuyasha's locker was open and his laptop was inside. She carried it out to the counter and looked around for him.
"Ayame, where's Inuyasha?"
"He took a sick week, babe."
Kagome was concerned. Inuyasha's sick? He took an entire week off? "A sick week? What does he have, the plague?"
Ayame giggled and shrugged. "He didn't sound sick when he called this morning."
As the two were talking, Sango came up from the stock room. "Hey, Kagome."
"Hi, Sango. What's up with Inuyasha taking a sick week?"
"I'm not sure. I knocked on his door this morning and he said 'go away there's nobody here.'"
Kagome nervously bit her lip. "I hope he's alright. I'm going to check on him later."
Sango raised her eyebrows and chuckled. "Good luck convincing him to let you in."
After Kagome's shift was over, she picked up some take out for Inuyasha and went to his apartment. Her heart started pounding and she felt incredibly nervous as she was about to knock on the door. In that instant, she pulled her hand back.
'What if he doesn't let me in?' She thought. 'Well. I'm already here.' Kagome took a deep breath and went for it. She knocked on the door and heard Inuyasha's footsteps and him opening the peephole. He unlocked the door but left the chain on and stared at Kagome.
"What do you want?"
'Well that's certainly no way to talk to someone who bought you dinner.' "I thought you were sick."
He faked a cough. "I am sick. See? I'm contagious. Come back another day." He shut the door but didn't lock it. 'What is she doing here? I don't want her to see me like this.'
"No! I bought you food and your laptop. I didn't come here for no reason now let me in. I know you're not sick." But if he's not sick, what else could it be? "…Did something happen with Kikyo?"
Inuyasha was silent for a minute before he removed the chain from the door and let her in.
Kagome got a good look at him. His eyes drooped like he was either high or didn't get a minute of sleep. His hair was a complete mess and his shorts were hanging off his butt showing his boxers. He looked like a slob…a miserable one at that.
"Here. I got some food from the restaurant by our job we always go to."
Inuyasha grabbed the bag and went into the kitchen without so much as a thank you.
Kagome ignored his awful attitude and looked around his apartment. It wasn't nearly as messy as he looked. He had a large living room, nicely furnished and modern. The red paint on the wall and the paintings were a nice touch.
"Your apartment is beautiful." Kagome said.
"I didn't make it look like this. Sango did. I don't know shit about decorating."
'At least accept the compliment.'
Inuyasha set the table in the dining room for them to eat.
The two ate in a melancholy and deafening silence. Occasionally, Kagome would look at Inuyasha and smile. He'd stare at her blankly, then just look back down.
Kagome could tell he was hurting.
"So…you live here by yourself?"
"Yup."
"Don't you ever get lonely?"
"…Nope."
The way he paused before responding told Kagome otherwise. She could only imagine how he felt at the moment and the way he shut himself up in seclusion during a time when he was hurting couldn't be healthy.
"Inuyasha. What's with you? Why did you call out from work? And for a week at that!"
"I already told you I'm sick. Are you deaf?"
"No! And I'm not stupid either. Tell me the truth."
"Yeah! Like you told me the truth?"
Kagome got quiet. She wasn't sure where Inuyasha was going with his statement or what he was implying.
"Why are you upset with me?"
"I overheard you and your friends talking about Kikyo at the mall. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you have to lie to me?" He shouted.
Kagome felt horrible. Not only did Inuyasha find out on his own, he heard her say it to someone else. She destroyed the trust between them. "Inuyasha. I'm so sorry. I tried so many times to tell you. I just…didn't want to hurt you. And I didn't think you would have believed me."
Inuyasha was actually angrier about the fact that Kagome was right than the fact that she didn't tell him. He sighed and rested his chin on his hand. "I'm not mad at you. You're right. I didn't believe it when I heard it but the truth came out the day before yesterday."
Inuyasha was at home with Kikyo. She came over and apologized for her attitude and he forgave her.
The two were sitting down watching a movie when Kikyo leaned in and kissed him. Their normally sweet and loving kisses quickly heated up and turned sexually passionate as Kikyo began to grope him and slide her tongue into his mouth.
Inuyasha was aroused by what she was doing but he was confused. He made a promise to Kikyo he would respect her vow to celibacy. Why was she coming onto him like this? "Kikyo...what are you—"
"Make love to me, Inuyasha." She pleaded as she ran her fingers down his chest.
"N-Now? What happened to the vow you made?"
She shook her head and began unbuttoning his pants. "It doesn't matter. I know I want to be with you. We don't have to wait any longer. I love you." She climbed on top of him and continued to kiss him more.
Inuyasha was getting more into it when a strange scent set him off. He pulled away from the kiss and began to sniff Kikyo.
"What's wrong?" She asked.
"Y-you…you bitch!" He shouted as he moved from beneath her. "You're pregnant! I can smell the scent of another demon's blood in you."
"B-but Inu—"
"So that's what you were trying to do? You wanted to have sex with me then pin the baby on me? You think I'm a real fucking idiot don't you?" He demanded to know as he stood, pacing back and forth. There was no way she could say that baby was his. That unfamiliar blood would have easily proved otherwise.
Kikyo slowly sat up. "Please stop pacing. Let's talk about this."
"No! Kagome was right about you, wasn't she! You've been playing games with me from the start! Why did you waste my time Kikyo? I loved you! I would…" He tried his best to force back his cries. "I would have fucking died for you. Why? Did I do something to deserve this?" He dropped to his knees and punched the carpet repeatedly.
Kikyo began to cry. "Inuyasha! I didn't want to be with him! I-I just couldn't get away. He was helping me financially and I really needed—"
"You could have asked me for money! But instead, you fucking two–time me? I was so patient with you, Kikyo. You said you wanted to take things slow. I waited a whole year before you even fucking kissed me. Then I respected your stupid vow—which turned out to be a fucking lie!"
"Inuyasha can we please work this out? I'm begging you."
"No! Go away! Leave your keys and get the hell out of my life. Go be with the bastard that impregnated you."
Kikyo placed her key on the coffee table, walked towards the door "Inuyasha. I do love you. I'm sorry." And shut it behind her.
Inuyasha got off the floor and locked his door. He threw all his pictures with Kikyo in the garbage and anything she had given him. After all his old things were in the garbage, he lied in his bed with a bottle of vodka and drank it straight.
Inuyasha stayed up all night until he passed out. When he woke up, he crawled to the kitchen, ate some cold pizza and started drinking more vodka. He had been drinking all day up to the time Kagome got there.
Inuyasha was slightly drunk, but more sad than drunk. He was just a complete mess in general. He felt so stupid and ashamed. He trusted the wrong person when the people around him who really loved him were trying to protect him.
Kagome felt so bad for him. "You poor thing!" Kagome stood and hugged him, bringing his head to her chest.
Inuyasha's eyes widened when his face made contact with her breasts but he liked the closeness. He felt the need to open up to her, which was very unlike him.
"I'm so lonely, Kagome." He whined as he rubbed his head between her cleavage.
Kagome gently stroked his hair and his ears as he sighed heavily and whined.
"And stupid. I didn't believe anyone."
"You're not stupid, Inuyasha."
"I am! I wasted all that time with a girl who was dating someone behind my back."
"We all make mistakes. We just have to learn from them."
"I guess so."
"Come on, Inuyasha."
"Where to?"
"To get you cleaned up. You're a mess." She told him as she dragged him towards his bedroom.
She looked around and shook her head. "What did you do in here exactly?" His bedroom was in shambles unlike the rest of the house.
"I don't remember. I was so angry and I...was drinking."
Kagome knelt down and picked up the empty vodka bottle. "Yeah, I see that." Kagome put her hand on her hip and sighed. "Okay! You go wash the smell of liquor off yourself and I'm gonna get this place cleaned up."
"Why bother? It's just gonna get dirty again."
"I don't think it'll get this dirty. Now go take a shower. You're in the way." She told him as she pushed him out the room.
Once Inuyasha was in the shower, Kagome began to straighten up his room, throwing away bottles and any other trash thrown around on the ground. "I honestly wouldn't do this for anybody else. Really! I wouldn't!" She said as she wiped her forehead.
As the room started becoming more decent, the only thing left for Kagome to clean was his dresser. She straightened out all the photos and other random objects he kept up there when one particular object caught her eye.
'This is mine…' She recalled as she held the silver, pink and black ribbon in her hand. She remembered losing it in middle school and being so distraught about it since her father bought it for her.
"You want that back?" Inuyasha asked as he came in the room. "You left it in my car a while ago. I forgot to give it to you."
"My dad gave me this. It meant so much to me. You held onto it all this time?" She asked as she clutched it tightly.
"It was the only assurance I had that you were still alive somewhere. I figured you'd call one day looking for it or something." He told her as he looked around. "Thanks for cleaning my room. I haven't had a girl clean my room since my mom was alive."
Kagome blushed and held her ribbon to her face. "I-I just wanted to help you. I'll be here for you until you feel better. It's the least I can do."
Inuyasha smiled and gave her a hug. He was glad he met Kagome, even if it was under such peculiar circumstances. The way one coincidence after another kept forcing them together and pushing them into one another convinced him they probably were fated to be together.
