Disclaimer: Blerg. Let's hear it from the horse's mouth – Sesshoumaru, what have you to say?
:Sesshoumaru: This Sesshoumaru is owned by no one.
…What happened to Rumiko Takahashi?
:Sesshoumaru: That wench has been dealt with accordingly.
…Um…?
A/N: -frantic- DUDE!! Finals start TOMORROW! -hides behind bush- I didn't study!! ...I suppose I should now then, ne? :( I hate studying...
AGE:
InuYasha: 19
Kagome: 18
Kouga: 19
Naraku: 19
Miroku: 19
Sango: 18
Kaede: 65
A Dark Past
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Have Some Dunch
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Instead of vocally answering, she pressed her lips against the tip of his nose.
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Kagome readjusted her bad as she pushed open the front door. She waved at a passing co-worker who smiled in return. It had been a hassle to convince Kaede to allow her to run home quickly. After assuring the old woman that she would return and would resume her duties as expected of her, her boss caved and granted permission. Kagome currently hummed as she walked down the hall with a bounce in her step, very happy that she was allowed the trip home.
She checked her watch before turning down the hall that led to the exit to the Outdoor Activity field. Kagome pushed open the heavy, metal door and paused in the doorway to thoroughly scan the fenced-in area. She really didn't feel like lugging erself over to where they were, but like the loyal nurse she was, she ignored the little voice in the back of her head that was whining about how long of a walk it was and started trekking. The warm, summer air of late June beat down on her and she relished in the feeling.
Once she had gone all the way to the other side of the expanse of land, she paused. The small group that were out for their session of Outdoor Activity were fumbling around as they tried to figure out just what they were doing with the rubber kickball animatedly. After a few seconds, it somehow got into the hands of who Kagome supposed was the pitcher. The boy blinked in surprise at the ball in his hands before giving an unsure look to the male nurse in charge. He gave the boy a reassuring nod and the boy rolled the ball over to a girl who was staring at it wide-eyed. When it came near her, she yelped and leaped – quite literally – out of the way. She flopped on her stomach, threw her hands over her head and screeched, "Are you trying to kill me, baka?! Don't throw things at me!"
All the kids, at the mention of killing, started chattering in a panicked tone. Some of them started running around in circles – literally. The older ones were asking each other why the game had turned violent. A few just looked bored and rolled their eyes at the display. And one stood in the middle of the mayhem, arms crossed, eye brow quirked, eyes flicking back and forth as kids ran by.
That person was, of course, Inuyasha.
Kagome wrinkled her nose at the comical display. The silver-y haired boy's head turned in her direction and Kagome offered him a warm smile. He smirked in response. Kagome gestured at the nurse in charge that she was picking up Inuyasha. He stuck up his thumb in an a-okay gesture and so the two started off.
"Keh," Inuyasha grumbled as they trekked back towards the building. "Why in the seven layers of hell do you have that bag, wench?" he asked as he glanced over at her.
Kagome stuck out her tongue. "It's a secret, so be patient!"
Inuyasha gave her a dry look. "What are we – three?"
Kagome harrumphed and crossed her arms indignantly. "I just won't tell you, then!"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh, no. Whatever will I do?" he asked in monotone.
She gave him an icy glare as she slid her ID card through the reader as they approached the door. "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Neh."
Kagome decided she needn't bother to reply to that. They continued through the halls in silence for a few seconds before she spoke up again. "Do you think your parents will, like. . . bring you a welcome home present or something?"
He gave her a reproachful look before sarcastically replying, "Yeah, okay. Sure, they're going to do that."
Kagome glowered at him. "Why wouldn't they?" she demanded.
" 'Cuz they hate me?"
"Inuyasha! They don't hate you!" she automatically barked.
"Keh." He crossed his arms huffily. "Sure they don't."
Kagome glared at him, her good mood souring fast. "They're your family – why would they hate you? No matter what, your family will always care for you even if it doesn't seem like it."
"Just keep telling yourself that," he grumbled.
Kagome sighed, growing exasperated. "Inuyasha, I don't know what you have against your family, but I can almost guarantee that most of it's just in your head."
"Sure it is," he remarked sarcastically.
"Inuyasha, I am going to kick you in the shins if you don't knock it off," she declared, giving him a reproachful look.
"Kick me in the shins?" he repeated. "Isn't that slightly. . . immature?"
Kagome harrumphed. She pulled out her ID card as they approached his cell and slid the card through the reader. It beeped and Inuyasha pulled it open for them. "Ladies first," he drawled sarcastically.
"Oh, thank you, young sir!" Kagome replied in the same tone, giving a mock curtsy. She daintily entered the room and gingerly took her place on Inuyasha's bed, flicking off invisible flecks of dust off the area around her. She let the bag slip from her arm and tsked at him. "You really need to learn how to keep your room clean."
Inuyasha gave her a look as he plopped down beside her. "Whatever you say, wench. Now will you tell me what's in the bag?"
Kagome pinched her nose. "You need to learn how to have more patience." But her scolding was in vain for she was pulling the contents out of the bag as she spoke.
Inuyasha's ears flicked in curiosity as he made a face at the two smallish boxes. "What are those, wench?"
"Dinner," Kagome replied brightly.
"It's barely three in the afternoon," he pointed out.
His nurse blinked at him. "What of it?"
"It's too early for dinner," the hanyou said slowly, his tone suggesting he was talking to an incompetent toddler.
Kagome blinked again "Then it's lunch. . .?"
"It's too late for that, as well."
Her brilliant blue eyes narrowed. "What is it, then, oh, Great-Mighty-Smart One?" she demanded indignantly.
Inuyasha thought about that before shrugging. "Keh. Why would I know something like that?"
Kagome frowned at him, not at all satisfied with that answer as she also thought as to what it was called. After several seconds, she pulled out two pairs of chopsticks, handed a bento lunch/dinner to him, and pulled the lid off of hers. "We're having dunch."
". . . Dunch?" His chopsticks slipped in his grasp as he rearranged them so he was holding them properly.
"Yes." Kagome nodded. "Dunch – dinner and lunch all rolled into one." She then patiently waited until he had also opened his bento. When he had done so, she softly murmured, "Itadekimasu," before dipping her hand down for some rice.
"Yeah, yeah, itadekimasu," Inuyasha grumbled, before continuing. "Why is it dunch, wench? I'm sure that there's an actual name for it?"
Kagome swallowed her bite before asking, "Like what?"
". . . Like 'late lunch'? Or 'early dinner,' perhaps?"
Kagome chewed slowly on another bite before swallowing just as painstakingly slow and replying, "I like dunch. But thanks for the memo."
Inuyasha huffed, stuffing his mouth full of something – he didn't pay attention to what it was, exactly – before talking through his bite. "Counnent yoow at weast call it som'in better 'in dunch?"
Kagome gave him a distasteful look. "And what would you have preferred I call it, then? Linner?"
"Luhwhat?"
"Precisely." Kagome nodded. "Dunch is more aesthetically pleasing. Linner sounds like a name of some sort of rocker-dude. . . Or some sort of wild cat."
Inuyasha paused in eating to give her a look.
"What?" she asked defensively.
"Shut up, wench, and just eat."
She stuck her tongue out at him but did resume eating as instructed. "So-o-o-o," she began after a few moments of silence, "how is it?"
"It's okay, I guess. . ."
Kagome's bubbly exterior and happy smile fell away almost immediately. "It's okay, you guess?" she repeated, her tone dark and menacing.
Inuyasha looked over at her in surprise. "What? What's wrong with you?"
"It's okay, you guess?" she growled again. Upon closer inspection, Inuyasha gulped when he saw what resembled flames crackling in her bright eyes.
"Kago- - -?"
"I raced home, prepared a delicious meal, fought through early afternoon traffic only to have a guess as to whether or not it tastes good?" Those were definitely little flames in her eyes.
"Uh. . .?" Inuyasha blinked, thoroughly confused and thoroughly afraid. He resisted the urge to whimper as she stood, her hands fisting at her sides.
"Is my cooking that disgusting?" Though it seemed like an innocent enough question, her tone was daring him to say yes.
He hastily shook his head. "No. No, it's delicious," he quickly assured her. "Who in their right minds would ever think of insulting food of such quality?" It was corny as all hell to say, but it did the trick. Kagome looked at him for a few seconds before she blinked, extinguishing the fire in her gaze, and plopped down beside him.
"Well, why didn't you just say so then, you silly thing?" She gave him a dazzling smile before picking up her lunch again and daintily taking a bite.
Inuyasha let out a shaky breath before looking down at his lap where his own lunch lay. He also picked up another bite but instead of jamming it into his mouth, he inspected it. Whatever it was, it was yellow. And mushy. Inuyasha had seen his mother eat something that resembled the yellow gush, but he had never tried any himself. His brow furrowed as he tried to remember what it was – the center's food was okay, but it wasn't the best and they had never served anything like this. He glanced up at Kagome in a moment of stupidity and met her unwavering blue gaze.
"Something wrong?" she asked him in a sweet, innocent voice. He knew that if he said even one word besides no, she would have his head. So he shook his head and turned his attention back to the morsel dangling off the end of his chopsticks. He didn't look to see if Kagome was still looking, so instead he slowly pushed the bite into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed.
It didn't taste too bad, actually, but. . .
"What the hell is it?"
His ears flicked and he whipped his head up to see Kagome, in all her pissed glory, glowering down at him. Apparently he had sounded disgusted when he said that. "What did you say?" she asked, tone deadly calm.
Shit.
"Nothing!" he quickly amended. "It actually tastes really good!" He scooped several bites into his mouth. "Hee? I'n n'eatin' it!" he managed around his full mouth.
Kagome continued to look at him icily before she sighed. "Do you even know what you're eating?" she finally asked, calmed down.
"Um. . . Yeah?"
"Really now?"
"Hell, yeah, wench. I'm not stupid." He huffed.
"I never said you were stupid or not," Kagome pointed out. "I just asked whether or not you knew what you were actually eating."
He debated truthfully answering, slightly fearful of her reaction. It was a blessing that she decided to enlighten him without his reply.
"It's an egg omelet – my specialty." She grinned. "So is it yummy?"
He mentally snorted at the word 'yummy,' but answered anyway. "Surprisingly, yeah."
Kagome nodded, still grinning, before something sank in. "Surprisingly?"
Inuyasha winced and prepared himself for her anger. He was completely floored when she snorted softly. "You thought I was going to be a bad cook or something, Inuyasha?"
Mentally, he was gaping at her, wondering why she wasn't growling at him about insulting her culinary skills. Outwardly, he 'keh'ed. "Yeah, wench. It's actually good."
She stuck her tongue out at him before snorting again. "Eat your dunch, baka. I've got to get you to your next session."
It was about that time that Inuyasha realized that the slower he wanted his last day with Kagome, the faster the time was going to fly by. It was times like these that he really hated time.
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Kagome glanced down at her short stack of papers.
"Kagome?" a meek voice inquired.
She flicked her gaze up and beamed. "Yeah? 'Sup, Ellen?"
The little girl stared at her for a few minutes before shaking her head. "Nothing. Neh- Never mind."
Kagome frowned but returned her attention to her weekly paper work on her patients – this one was Ellen's. She mechanically filled in the boxes and lines as was expected of her. When she had finished several minutes later, she nodded and flipped the small packet over so that she could write the date on it. "Are you sure you didn't want to tell me something- - - Mayu?"
"Hunh?"
Kagome blinked before leaning forward slightly so she could read the name better. Indeed, right in front of the name Ellen was Mayu in short, neat strokes. She stared at the name for several long moments before her eyes slowly rose to meet Ellen's – or Mayu's. Or whatever she was supposed to be called.
"Mayu?" she repeated slowly, testing out the name.
"What?" the little girl replied, looking around nervously, not sure what to make of the scene.
"Is that. . . your name?"
The girl nodded at her slowly, eyes slightly wide. "Yeah. It's the name my mommy gah- gave me."
"Your mommy- - -? But I thought you had a Western name?"
Ellen-Mayu shook her head. "No. Ellen is my middle name. But after I moved in with my aunt, she cuh- called me Ellen since she didn't like my original name."
"So. . . then, you're actually Mayu?" Kagome asked.
"I guess. B- But I'm also used to being called El- Ellen."
Kagome frowned. "Do you even like being called that?"
The little girl shrugged. "I'm used to it. I- I guess that's mostly what matters. I've been called Ellen for m- most of my life now."
Kagome gazed thoughtfully at the girl for a while before nodding to herself. "Right, then. I don't care what you say, from now on, you're Mayu. Sound good, Mayu?"
Mayu's brows crinkled. "Yeah, I d- d- don't mind."
The raven nurse barely managed to keep from smiling when she noticed the happy flush that tinted Mayu's cheeks. "So, anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Oh. . . It wasn't anything, really. . . I just wanted to know if you and I- Inuyasha were going to get m- married soon."
"Beh- - -Kuh- - -Eh- - -Wah?!" Kagome sputtered intelligently, her cheeks flaming hot.
Mayu blinked, not sure what she had said wrong. "I asked when you were getting married," she repeated.
Kagome let our a squeaky whimper of surprise. "Mayu, uh. . . What gave you that idea?"
"Well, you're dating, ri-i-i-i-i-ight?" she asked in a sing-song voice.
Kagome ducked her head, unable to deny it since they were technically dating, after all.
"Kagome, do you love him?" Mayu inquired, tone laced with excitement.
Said nurse stared at the little girl like she had grown another, monstrously green arm. 'Do I love him?' she repeated. 'Uh. . .' She couldn't come up with an answer, so instead she snuck a peak at her watch and resisted the urge to whoop when she saw that it was getting slightly late.
"I've got to get you to your next session, Mayu, so let's get going, ne? I've also got to go pick up that baka."
Mayu's face scrunched up as she thought about that. "Should you be calling your husband that?"
Kagome squeaked before giving a nervous chuckle and rattling "Oh-Mayu-look-at-the-time-I-need-to-hurry-or-everyone-will-wonder-where-you're-at-and-we-don't-want-that-now-do-we?" all in one breath before nearly picking the little girl up and zooming down the hall.
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"Wench?"
"Hm?" she nearly squeaked.
"My face is up here." To demonstrate his point, he tapped his right cheek. Kagome bit her lip before looking up to meet his gaze hesitantly. "Much better," the hanyou said, nodding in approval.
Kagome snorted in a very un-lady like manner.
Inuyasha frowned at her, pouting slightly. "I'm kinda hungry."
Kagome rolled her eyes. When dinner had rolled around, Inuyasha had decided he was still full from their dunch together, so he took Inuyasha to his room, told the lunch ladies that Inuyasha wanted to eat in his cell, and tossed the meal in the trash as she left the room. It wasn't exactly the smartest thing to do, but she wasn't supposed to bring in food for the patients, thus skipping the meal completely was off her list of choices.
"You'll be able to eat in the morning. Your parents are coming bright and early so they can take you home- - -" Involuntarily, she broke off with a wince. The topic was still a little sore. She cleared her throat and forced herself to finish her sentence. "So they can take you home and eat breakfast with the whole family." She tried to tell herself that her voice cracked because her throat was dry.
It was a little hard to believe her logic when she clearly felt a stinging in her eyes.
'I'm being stupid!' she scolded herself. 'He has to go. He's free to go tomorrow. I should be happy. I should be happy. I should be happy. I should be happy. I should be- - -'
"Keh, wench, what else is in this bag?" Inuyasha poked around the bag that Kagome had brought their dunches in. "Is that. . ." He crinkled his nose. "Clothes? Why do you need clothes?"
Kagome whapped his arm with the back of her hand. "Baka," she mumbled to him, her voice coming out slightly rougher than she would have liked.
He snorted but crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. When several seconds of silence passed, he raised a brow. "Well? You gonna tell me what's up with the clothes or what?"
Kagome – despite her desire to break down into tears and latch onto Inuyasha, demanding he not leave – managed to give him a reproachful look. "They're here because I'm going to need them tomorrow," she informed him thickly.
"Need them tomorrow?" Inuyasha repeated before giving her a look that demanded she elaborate.
Sticking out her tongue, Kagome did so. "I – well, you see. . ." She drifted off and sighed, breaking eye contact as a pink flush warmed her cheeks. "I decided I to sleep here – with you – on your last night."
Inuyasha made a guttural sound that was a cross of complete shock and surprise.
Kagome whipped the nearest object – her shoe – at him. "Not that like that!" she screeched at him, burning a bright red. "Pervert! Miroku does have a huge influence on you and don't even try to deny it!"
Inuyasha also turned a pretty pink. "Well excu-u-u-use me for assuming the wrong thing when you said you wanted to sleep with me- - -"
"I know what I said!" Kagome cried, throwing her hands over her ears like she was blocking out some sort of verbal poison. "And I didn't mean it like that, so let's move on, okay? I never made that comment and we never had this conversation."
Inuyasha shrugged, his blush fading. "Sounds fair enough to me."
Kagome grumbled to herself about stupid dog-boys who needed to get their minds out of the gutter and Inuyasha merely smirked at her behavior.
His nurse stuck up her nose at him before searching through her bag, pulling out a small pile of clothes, and haughtily making her way into the small bathroom. She pointedly locked the door, making as much noise with the lock as possible.
She stepped out again a few minutes later in a pair of light blue pajamas. She tucked away her dirty clothes before pulling out two blankets.
"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked curiously as she continued to work.
"I'm laying out my bed," she replied simply.
Little alarms went off in his head. "Why are you sleeping on the floor?" he demanded. "It's cold and hard and uncomfortable."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Thank you for pointing that out to me. I never would've guessed if you hadn't told me," she dryly remarked.
"You're not sleeping on the floor."
Kagome looked up at him and quirked a brow. "Then where do you suggest I sleep?"
"My bed?" His tone suggested it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And where are you going to sleep, hm?" She sat on her haunches and crossed her arms.
"Well, I sure ain't sleepin' on the floor, either, that's for sure."
"So you're suggesting we sleep in the same bed?" Kagome gave him a calculating look.
Inuyasha snorted. "We did it before. Only. . . we didn't actually sleep the first time. . . But we did the second time! And you had a hissy-fit about it, remember?"
"Blah. I'm fine on the floor." With that, she slipped under her blanket. "Now, we better go to sleep, Inuyasha. Your parents are expecting you to leave with them by eight tomorrow morning and it's already almost t- - -What are you doing!" she cried in protest as Inuyasha deftly picked her up – blankets and all – and dropped her unceremoniously on the bed before crawling in beside her. "Oi!" she protested. She attempted getting up, but almost immediately Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her midsection, keeping her where she was.
"Just go to sleep, wench. I thought that it was getting late?" He chuckled when she weakly struggled and tightened his hold, pushing her flush against his chest. He momentarily marveled at how every curve of her body seemed to fit his perfectly –
'Like we were made to complete each other,' he thought slightly drunkenly as he inhaled her sweet, sweet scent.
He could feel her warm up as she blushed to the tips of her roots. "I would much rather sleep on the floor, ya know," she weakly protested.
He chuckled again and Kagome resisted a shudder when she felt the vibrations from his vocal cords spread into her, tickling her back.
"Inuyasha. . ." she weakly mumbled. It wasn't a protest, but more of a plea.
"Yeah, yeah," he replied softly, resting his chin on the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. He let his head lay comfortable on Kagome's as his eyes fluttered shut in pleasure. "I'm not going to leave you."
Kagome felt the bite of tears behind her eyes lids again. "Say it again?" she asked so softly she barely heard it herself. But Inuyasha's superhuman hearing picked up on it.
"I'm not going to leave you."
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Kagome wasn't sure when she fell asleep, exactly, but she did know when she woke up. The sun's rays were barely peeking through the window and she could feel the rise and fall of Inuyasha's chest behind her. For a moment, she didn't move, enjoying the moment. But then, against her better judgment, she looked at her watch and resisted the urge to sigh, groan, or do both.
"For once in your life, forget about the damn time," Inuyasha's voice demanded from behind her. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin and rolled over so she could face him. Due to their proximity, their noses were touching and their lips brushed when one of them spoke.
"I sorta hafta look at the time when your parents are probably already here."
Inuyasha let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around her, resting his forehead against hers. "Do you have to remind me, wench? You've totally ruined the moment."
Kagome's dark brows rose. "We were having a moment?"
Inuyasha gave her a weak glare. "Were. It's over now."
She grinned before trying to slip out of his grasp. Trying' being the key word.
"Kagome, what are you doing?"
"I've got to get changed and so do you. Then we have to go out to meet your parents." She tried to keep her tone from going dead and melancholy.
From the sad look Inuyasha gave her, she knew she failed.
"Keh," he weakly huffed. He hesitated a moment before tightening his grip on her even more. Inuyasha breathed in her scent before he reluctantly let go. "We'll get changed, I guess."
"Oh, good." Kagome rolled off the bed, landed on her feet, and made her way over to her bag. After fishing around for a few seconds, she pulled out another pair of clean clothes. Kagome grinned at Inuyasha before heading into the bathroom.
Inuyasha sighed and also stood up and went over to his dresser. He pulled out a random outfit that he hadn't worn in a while. It was at that time that his youkai piped up.
'Why won't she just change in front of us?'
Inuyasha had not been expecting that, and as such, he sputtered and choked on dry air. 'Why do you think, you idiotic thing?'
'Oo, a thing am I, now? No matter, just go in there and show her that her uncooperative behavior is not appreciated. She didn't lock the bathroom door.'
'Uncooperative behavior?' Inuyasha repeated before growling and shaking his head as he pulled off his pants. 'Shut-up! We're not mates and I would appreciate if you would shut-up for once.'
'It's only a matter of time,' his youkai cackled.
Inuyasha growled as he yanked off his shirt. 'What's that supposed to mean?' he demanded.
He got no reply.
Inuyasha growled as he pulled on his clean clothes. The bastard-voice had the worst timing on when and when not to shut-up. Of course when he wanted the damn thing to talk, it would not do so. . .
The opening of the bathroom door broke his thoughts and for a second, the thought 'If she had come out a second earlier, I would've been shirtless' crossed his mind. He immediately hunted the thought down and forced it to go through a slow and painful death.
"Ready to go?" Kagome asked, forcing a smile.
"No," Inuyasha glumly replied.
Kagome's enthusiasm deflated. "Yeah, neither am I. . . But we, uh, might see each other again!" she told him optimistically. "There's a chance that, um. . . And that. . . er. . ."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but he had little prickles of cold disappointment all over. "Keh. Kagome, for once, just shut-up." With that, he pulled her in and let their lips connect.
The kiss was chaste, and not intense, but it was also hungry and desperate. Neither made a move to deepen in. Instead, they just allowed their lips to relish in the feel of the other. Inuyasha nibbled gently on Kagome's bottom lip before pulling away.
"Do we still have to go?" Inuyasha mumbled to her.
Kagome swallowed but nodded. "Yeah, we do."
"God. . . can I take you with me?"
Kagome laughed softly and a small smile bloomed on her face. "I wish I could go with you," she replied truthfully.
Inuyasha made a face. "I do, too."
Kagome grabbed his hand and they walked down the hallways, fingers laced.
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Kaede, Kagome, and Inuyasha were standing outside – apparently the Takahashi's limo had been caught in traffic – when two cars pulled into the large parking lot. The first was a sleek, black limo and the second was a nice, purple sports car. The purple car parked not far from Kagome's red Lamborghini and the limo pulled up along the entrance to the center where the trio was standing.
Kagome swore that everyone was holding their breath then.
The purr of both cars died and they were all standing in a deafening silence. To top it off, no one stepped out of either of the two cars. Kagome glanced at Inuyasha who shrugged at her. Kagome returned her gaze to the parking lot for any hint of movement and nearly gave a relieved whoop of joy when the door on the driver's side opened. Kagome waited as a leg appeared and then the whole body of –
"Eh?" Kagome blinked in surprise, not sure how to react.
"Miroku!" Inuyasha growled as said man jogged over to them, grinning joyously.
"Hey, y'all! 'Sup?" He stopped in front of them, giving a nod of acknowledgment to Kaede.
Kaede smiled in response. "It's good to see you again, Miroku. How have you been?"
Miroku chuckled. "I found me a piece of coral to call my own," he replied. The three gave him a look. He merely chuckled again, not offering any clarification.
Any questions the three – Kaede, Inuyasha, and Kagome – would've bombarded him with were cut off short as the door to the limo opened. Kagome expected a suspenseful three seconds as she wondered what Inuyasha's parents would be like. Instead, a young-looking, beautiful woman got out. Her long, raven locks seemed gleamed in the early morning light as she smiled at them.
"Inuyasha," she greeted him, her eyes twinkling merrily as she gave him a short hug. "It's so good to see you! Oh, you're father would be so proud at how handsome you've grown. And Kaede, thank you for taking care of this center so wonderfully."
Kaede nodded at her, grinning. "It's always been a pleasure, Izayoi-sama."
Izayoi laughed before turning her attention to Kagome. "Ah, and this must be that nurse I hear so much about. I must say, you truly are as gorgeous as I thought you would be."
Kagome's eyes widened and she blushed to the tips of her roots. "Um, no, I'm not that- - -"
Izayoi laughed again, a melodious sound that had Kagome instinctively relax. "And you're so modest! Inuyasha, you were surely lucky to have her care for you." She turned her attention to Inuyasha, who huffed.
"Kaa-san, no need to give her a swelled head – it's already swelled enough."
Kagome glowered in his direction and Izayoi chuckled heartily. "I'm very glad that you can put up with him, Kagome. I must say, I congratulate you on putting up with that."
Kagome wrinkled her nose. "Eh, I hid my sanity away so I wouldn't lose it, no worries."
The older woman smiled before realizing something. "Oh, Inuyasha. You're father wishes to eat by ten. So – Kagome, Kaede – I'm sorry to be so abrupt, but we need to get going."
Kagome nodded in understanding. "Of course, Miss. . ."
"Izayoi. Just Izayoi. I'll probably be seeing you around, so I'll talk to you later." She smiled before turning and walking over to the car. She stepped in and patiently waited for her son to join her.
Inuyasha crossed his arms and took a step forward. Kagome thought for a second he was gong to leave without even offering a good bye. But then he turned in her direction and smirked. Kagome opened her mouth to demand what was so interesting but she didn't get a chance to. The words died in her throat when he tenderly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him.
"Inuyasha. . .?" she murmured, slightly confused.
"Shh," Inuyasha shushed her. "Just shut-up, Kagome." She felt his hand enter her pocket for a second before retreating and her curiosity and confusion grew.
Kagome nodded, unsure as to what he was getting at.
"So then next time I see you, I want my dunch." He pulled away and Kagome looked at him, confusion evident in her eyes.
Inuyasha smirked before turning and getting in the car. The door shut and to Kagome, the moment the tinted glass hid Inuyasha from view, it was like they had suddenly become world apart. He was going back to his mansion – back to his life of stardom, more than likely.
Kagome had never felt so abandoned in her life. Small prickles teased her eyes and she realized she was crying on when she felt the warm droplets fall onto her clench fists. Kaede most likely offered some words of support, since her mouth was moving, but Kagome couldn't hear it. The limo's engine purred to life and Kagome panicked inwardly. She wanted to call out for Inuyasha to wait – to stop, to stay, to anything besides leave – but her words didn't leave her throat.
He was going home. He was going home and leaving and she shouldn't be bothered. Because he had wanted to go home for a long time. Because he had been miserable in the stupid center. Because he would be happier home than here. Because he was just a patient and she was his nurse and –
And the realization came with no dramatics. There were no warm, fuzzy feelings in her chest. There were no happy emotions that came with it. The car didn't stop as it pulled out. There was no Inuyasha running to her, grinning like mad as he asked what took so long for her to realize it.
The only thing she felt as her new epiphany sank in was a cold, cold sense of acute loneliness. She watched the black limo as it drove away until it was no longer visible. Only then, when she no longer had any sense of closeness to Inuyasha, did she slowly sink so she was sitting on her haunches and let out a sob.
It was then that she allowed her thoughts to surface again. And the one thought that repeated itself in her mind only made her even more miserable.
'Oh, God. Oh, God. I love him. Oh, God. I love him. Oh, oh, oh God. What's wrong with me? He's my patient. I'm a nurse. Oh, God. Oh, God. I actually love him. I love him. I love him. I love him so, so, so much. It hurts. It hurts. Oh, God. I love him. I love him. I love
000000000
(E/N: I AM GOING TO JAPAN!! Yes I know I'll put the pictures on a website when I get them. I'm going this month on the 12th of June!)
Sometimes I hate my beta… why does SHE get to go to Japan without me? –glowers- Anyhoo…
In case you didn't know, "Itadekimasu" is literally "let's eat" and is what you say before a meal in Japan. Forgive all the crap cooooorn and corniness of this chapter, as well!
Um… R&R?
Ja ne!