A/N: Sorry for the delay! Here is Chapter 21. Onlya few more chapters until the actual dance. Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Disclaimer: Don't own it!
"InuYasha, you're not even concentrating!" Sota whined as he beat him for the fifth time in a row. Even though he knew the hanyou didn't patricianly like video games, after one or two his competitive nature would take over. Now he was just sitting there his legs crossed and head down. A small pout was on his lips and every so often he would gaze longingly at the now closed kitchen door where Kagome was helping her mother clear their breakfast dishes. Even though he felt uncomfortable around her after the little incident in her bedroom he missed her. He was avoiding her and though he knew it hurt her, it hurt him even more. He couldn't bring himself to face her, unsure of what to say and how to act. She had gazed past the tough barrier he had erected around himself and into his soul when he sobbed upon her shoulder. He was scared of what she thought of him. Did she doubt his abilities now that she had seen him weak and pathetic? Would she leave him and run into Koga's stronger arms relying on him to keep her from harm now that she knew the truth. Would she be disgusted with him and stay in her own time with Hojo? He could hear their voices and he cocked his head slightly to listen and his ears perked up when he heard his rival's name.
"What was Hojo doing here last night Mama?" He heard Kagome ask above the clatter of dishware. "InuYasha and I caught him leaving when we got here. He looked upset." InuYasha smiled despite his despair. One of the things he loved the most about Kagome was her genuine concern for others. He gently pried the Kitchen door open a crack and peered in. Most of the dishes were cleared off the table and soaking in the sink. Kagome and her mother were now seated at the table sipping coffee from flowered cups. He heard her sigh happily and knew she was thoroughly enjoying her stay.
"He wanted to talk to you. He was very adamant about it and insisted that it couldn't wait for another day. Since you weren't here yet I told him you were resting and didn't want to be disturbed. He tried to sweet talk me into letting him up to your room, but I refused and he left pretty sullen." She paused and took a sip from her cup. "I noticed he brought you flowers. Is he a good friend of yours?"
"I wish." Kagome mumbled and rested her chin on her hands. He studied her face carefully and frowned. She looked almost sad.
"Well he didn't exactly seem like an enemy to me. Haven't I seen him around here before?"
Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe once or twice. I only usually see him around school. It's pretty complicated…"
InuYasha held his breath nervously. Kagome hadn't mentioned much about Hojo to him except that he was a boy at her school. Judging from his behavior the previous night, InuYasha doubted that his intentions were just friendly. He had been carrying flowers, a gesture usually made by a lover, and InuYasha was beginning to wonder exactly how Kagome felt about him as well.
"Hojo has been asking me out for a while now."
InuYasha cursed under his breath and clenched his fists. 'If he ever comes near Kagome again I'll kill him no matter how many times she sits me afterwards! As if Koga wasn't enough to deal with!'
"Oh? I don't remember you accepting any of these dates." Her mother replied scratching her chin. She looked at Kagome with understanding and then to his dismay looked him right in the eyes. He started to back away from the door but she shook her head. His eyes lit up and he silently thanked Mrs. Higurashi for allowing him to listen in on their conversation.
Mrs. Higurashi resisted the urge to grin back at him, knowing that the gesture would arouse her daughter's suspicions. She had sensed tension between Kagome and InuYasha at breakfast, and InuYasha's sudden departure shortly afterwards only confirmed her suspicions that there was defiantly trouble in paradise. She wanted to help them to mend any rift that their relationship had suffered as quickly as possible, and hoped that Kagome's words would bring him comfort.
Kagome shook her head and sighed. "I couldn't Mama. I don't like Hojo in that way. My friends think that I'm nuts. They're all crazy about him as well as half of the girls in my class. Sometimes I even think I'm nuts, I mean what girl wouldn't want a guy like Hojo?" She paused then spoke quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I just don't love him."
His eyes met Mrs. Higurashi's and they both smiled. He knew relief was apparent in his face, but for once didn't care. All that mattered was the fact that Kagome was not in love with somebody else, meaning he still had a chance. He slid the door shut without incident and smiled softly. His resolve to stay away from Kagome was starting to crumble and was being replaced by the desire to be near her. Even if it would take every last ounce of his strength he would try to make things right again.
"You done spying on my sister now?" Sota sighed impatiently. His controller was still clutched in his hand and he rolled his eyes and pointed towards the screen. "We were in the middle of a game."
"Keh! I wasn't spyin!" He lied tossing his head. "Why would I waste my time spying on Kagome. She's just an annoying wench!"
Sota rolled his eyes. He didn't believe a word InuYasha was saying, but figured it would be best to humor him. "Sure you weren't." He muttered under his breath. He turned his attention back to more important things, his video game and tossed InuYasha his controller.
"Don't you ever get sick of these things?" He grumbled setting it in front of him. He crossed his arms into the now clean sleeves of his fire rat robe and growled. "I'm through." He glimpsed at the kitchen door again and began to tap his foot. It was taking Kagome longer than he had originally thought to finish her chores, and he was anxious to be near her. 'Maybe I should go to her?'
'InuYasha hasn't been acting like himself. I wonder if it has anything to do with Kagome.' Sota mused. He had recently begun to suspect that the feelings they head for each other weren't strictly platonic. 'Maybe they had another fight after I left.'
Both the hanyou and the boy were completely immersed in their own thoughts. Neither looked up as a third presence entered the room and fixed its gaze on the crestfallen hanyou. "There you are InuYasha! I've been searching all over the shrine for you. I have some work for you to do for me."
InuYasha stood and whirled on Kagome's grandfather and shook his head. "I ain't doing any work old man. Forget it!"
"You listen to me demon! You're lucky that I took mercy on you for my granddaughter's sake. Had she not intervened I would have destroyed you." Kagome's grandfather jumped up and down angrily, and InuYasha sneered at him and leapt gracefully to his feet.
"I would have liked to see you try!" He taunted back. Kagome's grandfather had been trying to banish InuYasha from his shrine for quite some time without success. He assumed that this time, it wouldn't be much different. "You're nothing but a fraud!"
"How dare you! Insolent demon, you will pay for that!" Her grandfather reached inside of his kimono and pulled out three very thin sutras with writing on them. "I have been saving these for quite some time now. They shall serve to be very powerful!" He brought them to his lips and mumbled a short prayer, then flung them in InuYasha's direction. He rolled his eyes and plucked them from the air with ease, then used his sharp claws to tear them into pieces. Gramp's jaw dropped and his shoulders slumped in defeat. 'Those were my best sutras, and they didn't even lay a scratch on him.' He thought dejectedly. 'I must practice harder.'
"Keh! What did I say old man!" InuYasha boasted, tossing the scraps of paper to the ground, then stomping on them for good measure. "You're no match for me! I was even going easy on you this time!"
"Hrmph!" The elderly priest huffed and pouted like a small child who didn't get his way.
"Now for the last time, you can take your stupid chores and shove them straight up your…."
"Sit boy!"
Though his ribs felt like they were about to crack, a small smile appeared on his lips at the sound of the Kagome's sweet voice radiated in his mind. "Ugh! Kagome! What did I do now!"
"Stop being so mean to gramps!" She shouted for her grandfather's benefit, causing his wrinkled face to turn up in a smile. She knelt down next to him and placed a timid hand on his shoulder. "Sorry InuYasha, but I had to do it. He never would have forgiven me if I hadn't jumped to his defense. Besides, he's old. What's the harm of humoring him? You're the only person he enjoys bossing around." She whispered in a tone meant for only his ears.
"But he wants me to work!" InuYasha whined. "I didn't come here to be his slave!"
"Come on InuYasha! It won't kill you to help him with a few things. Everyone is expected to help out around here. It's just… part of the price you have to pay to be a family." She blushed and looked down at her hands. She had seen the change that had come over his face as she implied that he was a member of their small family. His eyes suddenly lit up brightly, almost eagerly. She watched with unabashed curiosity as he picked himself off of the ground and rushed towards her grandpa, plucking the broom he was holding neatly out of his hands.
"Well now, that's more like it!" Her grandfather exclaimed thinking himself victorious. "It's about time you showed me the respect I deserve!"
"Give it a rest gramps! Just tell me what the hell you want me to do." InuYasha snapped at him. He glanced at Kagome and sighed when he saw her nod her head approvingly. 'The things I do for her!' He thought ruefully as he followed her grandfather out to the shrine's small courtyard, and began to listen to him as patiently as he could as he described the tasks that were in store for him.
"Wow Kagome! How did you get InuYasha to do that?" Sota cried from his seat on the couch. His video games were for the moment, were forgotten.
Kagome shrugged her shoulders. She had been asking herself that very question "Beats me. I just asked him nicely, and off he went. I thought that I'd probably have to sit him a few more times before he gave in."
"He's been acting strangely all morning. Is something bugging him?"
'You don't know the half of it.' She sighed heavily. Though she had hoped things would go back to normal at breakfast, but hadn't been surprised when he had entered the kitchen as sullen as she had left him. She had broken through his defenses and for a moment she became one with him. She had touched a secret crevice of his soul and shared in the pain he kept carefully hidden. It was only natural after an experience such as that, that he'd go to great lengths to avoid her. It hurt her to know he was in pain, and wouldn't let her offer comfort. The truth was simple: he didn't trust her. "I'm sure that he'll be all right." Kagome reassured him, and forced herself to grin for his benefit, then swiftly changed the subject. "So how are things going at school." She smiled as Sota's eyes lit up and he told her about the field trip that his class took to the local zoo. 'Maybe I should have a talk with InuYasha about what happened this morning. No he'd probably just get mad and yell at me or worse, brood around even more. There has to be something I can do to cheer him up…"
"…and then Massiku ate four hot dogs and threw up all over Mr. Kiyomi! I bet he has to stay after school for at least…." Sota continued on, unaware that his sister's attention had waned.
'Well I have to go and pick up his suit from the tailor around four o'clock. Maybe he'd like to tag along and check out the city some more. We could grab a bite to eat somewhere and maybe take a stroll in the park. It'll almost be like a date!'
"…he caught this boy and girl kissing behind a dumpster. They'll never live it down. They said it was a dare, but I don't believe them…"
"Wow, that's really interesting Sota." Kagome interrupted.
"I wasn't finished yet! I hadn't even gotten to the part where the monkeys were peeing on each other!"
She ignored him and raced towards her front door, flinging it open. A warm breeze caressed her body and she welcomed the heat of the sun's rays on her skin. It was a beautiful spring day and there were signs of new life every where she looked. Towards the well house was her mother's meticulously kept herb garden. Even from where she stood she could see tiny slivers of green beginning to poke from the dark earth. The once bare trees were clothed in small buds of various colors, which would flower about half way through the season. It was her favorite time of the year. "InuYasha?" She called uncertainly and waited for a response. None came. "InuYasha, I know you're out here!" She demanded once again. 'I know you can hear me!" She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her. She waited a few more moments, then hung her head in resignation. "Fine, don't talk to me then! See if I care!" She shouted and stormed back into the house, slamming the door behind her.
Near the God Tree, InuYasha sighed wearily as he swept the last pile of dust and litter into a little gray dustpan. The chore hadn't taken long, but annoyed him greatly and he was glad it was over. 'Now to get out of here before the old man realizes I'm done and sticks me with something else to do!' His ears perked up when he heard a voice calling his name and grinned. 'Kagome will get me out of this!' He thought happily and dropped the stiff broom to the concrete.
"Not so fast!"
'Damn! I didn't expect him to be back this soon.' InuYasha groaned inwardly as Kagome's grandfather shuffled to his side. He glimpsed at the now debris free courtyard and nodded.
"Not bad, not bad…" He clucked more to himself than to InuYasha.
"What do ya mean not bad. It's spotless!" InuYasha protested angrily as his sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a door slamming. He had been unable to respond to her calls and she had left. InuYasha cursed at her grandfather under his breath for delaying him. He doubted that she would go looking for him again, and knew as much as he hated it, that he would have to crawl back to her.
"You dare to raise your voice to me!" Kagome's grandfather argued with as much spirit as he could muster. He glared at the hanyou menacingly and reached into his kimono to retrieve his sacred sutras. "Maybe this will teach you to show me some respect!"
InuYasha nimbly dodged the first two sutras that were thrown at him. "Take it easy grandpa! I wouldn't want you to break a hip or something!" He mocked as another sutra went whizzing past his ears. 'I wish he'd give it a rest already. I don't have time for his games!' He thought with annoyance. He leapt onto the roof of the well house and glared down at the small elderly man who was flinging sutras left and right in a vain attempt to hit his target. "Would you knock it off!"
"Come down here and fight me like a man!" Grandpa fumed as another sutra missed its mark. InuYasha's mocking laughter rung in his ears and it took all of his strength not to throw a tantrum.
"Keh! If I did come down and fight you, you'd be dead before you even knew what hit you old man. Why don't you just quit while you're ahead?"
"And admit defeat to a half demon? I'd rather die." Her grandfather spat indignantly.
By now InuYasha's patience had worn thin, and he gracefully jumped from his perch and stood before Kagome's grandfather. He plucked him from the ground with ease, and held him in front of him as he made his way to the God Tree.
"Put me down this instant!" He cried struggling to free himself from InuYasha's iron grip. InuYasha bounded up into the maze of branches and deposited the sputtering priest on a large limb, about ten feet from the ground. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Keh, I don't have time to deal with you." InuYasha growled thinking only of Kagome. He wondered what she was doing, if she was thinking about him, and his desire to be near her grew stronger. Instantly he dropped to the ground again and looked up at the elderly priest who was now clutching the branch he was on for dear life and chuckled.
"What do you think you're doing? Get me down from here!"
"Find your own way down!" InuYasha spat, his golden orbs gleaming with triumph. He knew that it would take the old man at least an hour to climb down from his perch that was if he even had the courage to move. 'Plenty of time to make things right with Kagome.' He spun on his heel and left chuckling, as her grandfather's pleas for help became more desperate. 'That'll teach him!' InuYasha strode to the back entrance of the Higurashi home and flung open the door, pausing only a moment to embrace Kagome's sweet scent, then ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
His confidence waned as he slowly marched towards her closed bedroom door. His nerve was failing him much like it did when he was around her on the night of a new moon and he cursed. Part of him wanted to flee back to the safety of his own era, but he squelched those thoughts firmly resolved not to let his cowardice hinder him, and took a deep breath. He raised his fist, hesitated, and then softly knocked against the smooth wood. There was no answer. He knocked again, a little louder and tried the doorknob. It turned effortlessly in his hand and he slowly opened the door and poked his head around it. Kagome was seated at her desk, several books opened in front of her, scribbling furiously on a sheet of loose notebook paper. She hadn't seemed to notice his intrusion. Silently he padded his way across her floor until he was standing behind her. His eyes lit up mischievously and he swiftly covered her eyes with his callused hands, causing her to gasp. "Guess who!" It was a trick that Kagome often used on him and it gave him a small sense of satisfaction knowing that he himself had been able to pull it off. He felt her hands slide on top of his own, and an electric current surged through his body. Her hands lingered on his for a moment and he reveled in their soft touch.
"What are you doing back inside so soon. I thought that gramps had a huge list of things for you to do?" She stared up at him once he unveiled her vision.
"I um.. finished already." He lied and made his way towards her window. He peered out of it and smiled as his sharp eyes locked with her grandfather's. He saw him raise his fist angrily at him, smiled, and swiftly snapped the curtains shut. There was no doubt about it; he'd be in the tree for a good long while. He walked back to her side and peered over her shoulder at the open textbook that was lying in front of her and frowned. "What'cha doing?"
"Studying." Kagome responded with a faint sigh. She shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother anymore. I've already missed so much school. I'll probably never catch up to the rest of the class."
"Is there anything I could help you with?" The hanyou asked scratching the back of his head.
"Not unless you're secretly a whiz at math" She slammed her physics book shut and laid her head upon it dejectedly. "No matter how hard I try, I just can't get it!"
"Why don't you take a break, you know. Maybe it will come easier to you after a little relaxation." InuYasha suggested nonchalantly. He was feeling anything but relaxed basking in her gaze. He could feel a slick sweat break out over his palms and his mouth was dry. He had assured himself of his courage before he had entered the room, but now in her presence he felt his knees tremble. He noticed a hint of a blush rise to her face and she dropped her gaze to the floor. His breathing was coming quicker now in low raspy gasps. He struggled to forget what had happened between them, but found that the memory had been preeminently imprinted in his mind. He had held her closer than he had ever dared before and felt a faint tremble go through her body at his touch. Her hands caressed his back as he sobbed, choking back sobs of her own. He knew that she could feel his pain and now it was he holding her as she struggled to remain strong. They had shared something in those few minutes of contact. Their souls had touched.
"You're probably right." She twisted her hand nervously in front of her then giggled at her own foolishness. She didn't have any reason to be reason to be nervous. It was just InuYasha. Still as she regained her composure and flashed him a quick smile, she could feel her stomach flutter. "I bet you're bored out of your mind. Is there something that you wanted to do?" Assuming he would drag her on another embarrassing excursion to the market to drool over the seemingly endless cartons of instant noodles. It was almost like a tradition now every time they came back to modern times, and she grudgingly accepted it as another reason she loved him.
"Uh not really." He replied casually looking around the room, trying to avoid looking upon her face. "I mean, I'm pretty much up for anything that you want to do."
"Anything huh?" She mused quietly; trying to play down the shock that had come over her. InuYasha was so used to bossing her around in the Feudal Era that he usually didn't hesitate to try to flaunt his dominance in her own time. They normally came to suitable compromises only after many insults and sits. "Well there were a few errands I had to do around town. If you'd like you could come with me. We could grab something to eat and maybe talk a walk around the park, to relax of course." She responded shyly.
InuYasha gulped, but firmly nodded in agreement. He regretted the closeness they had shared and wished that he could take back every word that had been said, but he was anxious spend time with Kagome without her family getting in the way. Now that the chance had come, he would grasp it. He was still unsettled around her, but hoped that the feeling would vanish after a few minutes in her calming presence. He felt her eyes on him and for a second met them with his own. She was smiling at him gently as if she could sense his conflict and was understanding, and he felt gratitude well up in his chest. Silently she slipped her hand into his and gave it a light squeeze. He returned the gesture and gently began to caress the back of her hand with his thumb and he felt his fear melt away. They left her room hand in hand and ran downstairs to acquire the red and black baseball cap that was always hanging on a peg in her brother's room strictly for InuYasha's use. She fitted it over his ears and smiled at him. He was ready to go. Most girls would be embarrassed to be seen in public with someone as strange looking as InuYasha, but to Kagome it was the most natural thing in the world. She was proud to be by his side no matter what era they were in. In an instant InuYasha flung Kagome to his back and dashed out Sota's open bedroom window towards the looming buildings of downtown Tokyo both contemplating how they would react to each other when they were alone.
A/N: I know, not that great of a chapter, but I was having severe writer's block. I'm just glad I got it finished. Thanks for reading and remember to review.