Series: Inuyasha/Hunter x Hunter
Pairing: Knuckle/Kagome/Shoot
Note: I wrote this for myself. super self-indulgent
Knuckle cursed the way the front door creaked after being opened to a certain point. He was trying to slip in quietly, damn it.
"You're late," Shoot called from the kitchen.
Groaning, Knuckle bit out, "I know. My damn phone died and I didn't have a way to charge it on my way back." In his defense, he was only a day late getting home from a job. He doubted that would make much difference to Kagome though. Things had been different since the NGL and Chimera Ants. Not that he could really blame her.
She ran a small veterinary clinic in the country that stretched out after leaving Swaldani City. The clinic, which was also attached to her house, doubled as an animal rescue for lost and abandoned pets. That was how the two beast hunters had come to meet her.
Knuckle had a penchant for helping strays, though he couldn't really keep any pets himself since he often had to travel for work. So late one evening, creeping into the early hours of the morning, after many frustrating calls to shelters that were full or closed, he and Shoot found themselves traveling to the outskirts of the city to the only shelter that answered and said they had room.
Kagome had taken in the small box of four puppies happily and with a sleepy smile. She also became Knuckle's go-to because she never turned him away when he showed up with another animal in need.
Knuckle (and Shoot, after some prodding) began donating portions of their earnings to Kagome's clinic/shelter to help ease her financial burden since they kept leaving animals with her. Then one day over breakfast (because they'd just gotten back into town from a job early that morning, but there was this very pregnant stray cat, you see), Kagome pointed out "I have a couple of spare rooms, you know."
Whether dropping off new animals or checking up on old ones, the two men realized they spent nearly as much time at Kagome's home as they did either of their own.
After much discussion and listing of pro's and con's, it was decided that the two of them would take up Kagome's offer on her spare rooms. It gave both men a stable address for official forms that mail and documents could be sent to and reliably received. There was the added bonus of being able to come home to a warm house with fresh food in the kitchen. And their donations turned into rent.
But then Knuckle and Shoot took off for a job that took them to the Republic of Rokario where they'd fight Gon and Killua for the chance to go to the NGL. They hadn't been expecting to be gone for as long as they were, and with everything that had been going on, they hadn't had time or thought to let Kagome know when to expect them back.
It wasn't until after everything was over and they were on the mend in the hospital that they realized how big of a mistake they'd made.
Knuckle, patched up the few places he needed it, was sitting in Shoot's room with Morel when there was a flare of aura from down the hallway. Sitting upright instantly, with wide eyes. He recognized the aura the second he felt it, had felt it often enough at home, but he'd never realized how big it was, how strong. Knuckle looked to Shoot, who was still unconscious from one last round of surgery, before his eyes shot to his teacher.
"What is she doing here?" Knuckle asked, anxiety building as the source of frazzled aura quickly drew closer.
"You do remember that she's listed as the emergency contact for both of you, right?" Morel responded, not looking up from his magazine.
It was then that Kagome appeared in the doorway, panting as though she'd just run up several flights of stairs and the hall to reach the room. Hell, maybe she had. But her eyes landed on Knuckle first and he recoiled at the fire there.
Her eyes scanned over him quickly, taking in the few bandages but seeing that he was mostly unscathed before she tore into him. Or tried to, at least. "How could you...you just...and then...I can't believe..." She couldn't quite seem to find her words or where she wanted to start, and Knuckle felt a little fear prickle across the back of his neck when she finally took a deep breath to let him have it. It was then, however, that her eyes finally shifted over to the bed only to freeze there.
Knuckle watched her breath leave her all at once. Her shoulders dropped and in less than three seconds, Knuckle watched as all of the anger and frustration Kagome had blown in with crumbled, leaving her only with fear and worry. The way her expression broke apart when she saw Shoot lying in that bed, the way her tears had welled up before finally spilling down her cheeks, was something Knuckle would never forget. It hit him like a punch to the gut.
Kagome didn't say another word as she pulled a chair to Shoot's bedside and took his hand. She was still crying as her hands began to glow pink in a technique Knuckle had only ever seen her use on animals, on where Kagome suffused her aura through a particularly sick or injured patient to help boost their natural healing.
She came and went like that for three days. Showing up in the mornings and left in the evenings, sometimes bringing food or clothes, sitting with Shoot, not speaking to either of them until they were both well enough to take the tongue-lashing that they knew was coming.
But three days was apparently enough time for Kagome to calm down. She certainly wasn't happy, but there wasn't any yelling. Her only condition that she made both of them promise to abide by was that they had to let her know when they were leaving for a job and when they'd be back, giving her a heads up if they were going to be longer than expected.
Which was the problem Knuckle found himself currently faced with. He knew he was late returning home. After they had disappeared for months without a word and returned beaten and broken, Kagome had become a little prone to assuming the worst if they weren't home when they said they would be.
"Where is she?" Knuckle asked as he stepped into the kitchen where Shoot was sitting at the table but had his nen hands working on making breakfast. He still wasn't quite cleared for field work again, but was almost finished with his physical therapy.
"Outside feeding the dogs," Shoot said. "She's also not in a good mood."
"I was afraid of that," Knuckle said as he sank into a chair at the small breakfast table. He didn't like it when Kagome was mad at him.
When they'd first moved in with her, it had just been an arrangement between acquaintances that was mutually beneficial for all of them. Then they'd steadily gotten closer and become friends during the down times when the hunters were home. Sharing meals, grocery shopping, helping around the clinic, Friday night arguments over what movie they were going to watch. It was homey in a way that neither man had experienced in a long time. Though sharing a single bathroom had initially presented some interesting challenges.
Knuckle was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the back door open followed by a stampede of footsteps. There were five dogs in particular from the shelter that none of them could bear to part with and had ended up deciding to foster themselves.
Laughing as they all swarmed him, the biggest trying to climb into his lap, Knuckle let himself enjoy the canine affection until he felt a chill run down his spine. Kagome was now in the kitchen plating the food that Shoot had been cooking, and she was very pointedly not looking at him.
Kagome walked over to the table with three plates, maybe setting Knuckle's down with a little more force than necessary. She was just about to sit down when there was a commotion from the back yard. With a sigh, she straightened back up and said to Shoot, "I'll be right back, you go ahead and start eating without me."
Knuckle watched her go and felt his chest go tight. Being ignored by Kagome was almost physically painful. He caught Shoot giving him a look and snapped, "What?"
"Just apologize and get it over with," the older man advised, taking a bite of his breakfast. When Knuckle only groaned and let his forehead meet the table, Shoot added, "And maybe tell her while you're at it."
"Tell her what?" Knuckle asked from where his face was still pressed to wood.
"How you feel about her," Shoot said calmly, as though it should be obvious.
"I could say the same to you," Knuckle grumbled while turning a glare up at his hunting partner.
Shoot continued to eat even as color rose to his cheeks. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Chicken," Knuckle muttered as he finally sat up. "You're full of shit."
It was then that Kagome returned to the kitchen and took her seat, the three of them eating in tense silence until Knuckle couldn't take it any longer. "I'm sorry," he blurted out. "My phone died. I didn't mean to make you worry."
Kagome stared at him for several long seconds before she sighed and gave him a softer look. "I found your phone charger in the living room after you left," she said. "Just...promise you'll take it or an extra battery with you next time. I know you're both professionals and good at what you do, but I still worry."
"Yeah," Knuckle agreed feeling awkward, but with that the tension seemed to melt away, leaving Kagome's usual light as she began to tell him a story about some mischief the dogs had gotten up to while he was away.
It was nice, having breakfast together like this. Even as he laughed and told his housemates about how his job had gone, Knuckle wondered what things would be like, how things would change, if one or both of them ever actually admitted to having feelings for the petite woman who essentially took care of them.
Things might change, but something told him they probably wouldn't. Not that much, anyway. If there was one thing he was sure of at this point, it was that Kagome had a very large heart, possibly with room enough to accept both of them. If they ever said anything, that is.
