One down, one to go. Koga would be more difficult only because, unlike Miroku, he had a burning desire to prove himself superior to Inuyasha. But it wasn't Inuyasha that would be his undoing and that's what Koga had been and would still be wrong about. Kagome and Inuyasha knew it plain as day. Just like Miroku, Koga wore his weakness on his sleeve. With Koga though, it all came down to timing. Ayame could be ruthless, Kagome knew that first hand. They had thankfully been on the same side in college, but Ayame was far from dumb and was likely even more clever than Koga, though she lacked maturity evidenced by her earlier pouting and jealousy. They'd never trick Ayame, but as they had just proved, the team as a whole needed to be focused and in sync. Ayame could be as ruthless and focused as demonly possible, it wouldn't matter because Koga was weak. Koga had a crush on Kagome. It was obvious and his feelings would be his undoing.
That's how the world worked after all. Feelings were weaknesses that would be exploited. Emotions were vulnerabilities that left you open for attack. Hope was naive and misplaced. The only way to protect yourself was to build a strong defense and the best defense was offense. Kagome and Inuyasha knew that well. It was why he suggested the plan. It was also why she agreed to it. Koga would have his feelings and emotions used against him, just as they had had their emotions used against them to compel them into playing. The fun thing about chicken? The only rule was survival. Everything else was fair game.
All is fair in love, war, and chicken.
The two remaining teams circled each other for a time, each carefully watching the movements of the other. Each advancing and retreating in an almost rhythmic manner. However, neither had succeeded in knocking the other over. After several minutes passed it became clear to both Kagome and Inuyasha what they had to do.
Kagome and Inuyasha had set up a code in high school. To that day no one had cracked it. They had always had a plan. Always. And they always stuck to it. Well, that was until they hadn't.
Maybe they were too competitive for their own good, but Inuyasha and Kagome had always pulled it out in the end. It was their specialty and neither were willing to relinquish their throne. Especially not to a mangy wolf.
Kagome sniffled ever so slightly, setting the plan into motion. It was an action that was almost imperceptible to everyone else, but Inuyasha wasn't everyone else. He was different. One of the things that made him different? His hearing. It was far better than most, even other canines like Koga. His ear twitched milliseconds after her fake sniffle and he knew it was go time.
He had to make it look convincing though. Just as they agreed. Shouldn't be that hard, he thought, the wolf isn't that bright. Inuyasha had to make Koga think he was about to win. Koga would be too enraptured, too blinded by his lust for victory and Kagome to see that he was being played.
Inuyasha lunged forward toward the wolves haphazardly. Koga lunged forward, thinking that he had an advantage, bringing Ayame with him. Koga charged a naive grin on his face, savoring victory too soon. Ayame thrust her hands forward in an attempt to push Kagome backward, off Inuyasha's shoulders. And that was his cue. Inuyasha released one of Kagome's thighs and threw his arm behind her back to "steady" her. As he did, Inuyasha quickly grasped one of the innocent strings that held her bikini together and yanked down on it. The strings instantly came loose and Kagome gasped drawing Koga and Ayame's attention. Inuyasha took his chance and tripped Koga while Kagome pushed Ayame to the side.
As soon as Ayame tumbled off Koga's shoulders, Kagome's arms came to her chest to cover herself and Inuyasha dropped Kagome behind him to further shield her. He quickly turned around, forcing his eyes to remain up and away from her exposed chest as she repositioned the bathing suit over herself. Kagome held the triangles of fabric against her, and murmured sheepishly, "can you, uh, help me?"
He nodded, as she turned her back to him, careful to hold up the fabric. Inuyasha's clawed hands gently danced along her back, leaving burning trails along her chilled skin and pulling the strings together again to securely fasten them behind her.
The game was over. Their record was untarnished.
"You cheated!" Koga roared the moment he resurfaced, as Ayame popped up behind him in the water.
"We did not!" Kagome fired back, her hands on her hips and all her lady parts secured safely once more.
"Oh my fucking god!" Miroku laughed, grabbing his sides as he bellowed. "I can't believe you two! Don't get me wrong, that was fucking beautiful, thank you! But damn."
"First of all, that was an accident!" Kagome lied, "second, it's not our fault you men all have a one-track mind! Sango was fully focused and Ayame was paying attention! But both the men failed!"
Koga opened his mouth to respond, but instead just stuttered and stammered in a futile attempt to defend his actions.
"Yeah Koga, you shouldn't have looked!" Ayame spat. "We could have won!"
"Oh man," Miroku chuckled, "you two never cease to surprise me. It's my fault. I should have known not to challenge the dynamic duo. Silly me to think things have changed."
Both Inuyasha and Kagome fell silent, easily catching Miroku's underlying meaning and avoiding the other's gaze. It made Kagome feel suddenly self-conscious, the alcohol chilling her high and rearing its ugly head as the depressant it was. She turned away from Inuyasha and began to head toward the pool's exit. "This has been a lot of fun, but given my recent wardrobe malfunction I think it might be best for me to get changed."
"Kagome, do you want me to come with you?" Sango asked, wading through the water to get closer to her friend.
"No! Stay here! Enjoy the weather. I'm just going to go upstairs and change. Maybe get some water." Kagome answered, feigning a smile and waving kindly.
"Are you sure?" Sango asked concern etched on her face.
"Yeah, plus my mom would kill me if I got sunburned before the wedding."
The wedding. Those words burned on her tongue and not in a fun way. They tasted bitter and slimy as they tumbled out. A brutal reminder of why she was here in the first place. A slap back to reality. Sure, she and Inuyasha remained a team to fear and respect, but it was only a game. In real life, they were anything but. They were enemies and would remain as such for the rest of time as soon as he and Kikyo said their vows. Maybe they were undefeated in the game of chicken, but Kagome was beginning to feel like the biggest loser in the game of life.
Kagome climbed out of the pool, leaving the rest there, and grabbing a final beer from the case before heading inside.
"She didn't even have a piece of cake," Koga whined, as her form disappeared into the expansive hotel.
Sango stood at the edge of the pool, eyes wide with concern and mind reeling as she tried to piece together the last few moments. She turned, watching Miroku wade through the water coming to a stop next to Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked even more irate than he had earlier if that was even possible. Whereas Miroku's face was oddly expressionless.
Miroku came up next to Inuyasha, keeping his voice low so as not to betray anything to the other canines. He looked at his oldest friend and shook his head. "Are you going to go after her?"
"No. Why should I?" Inuyasha answered.
"We both know that stunt was your idea," Miroku whispered.
"It was the only way to win." He hissed. "She agreed to it."
"Yeah, because winning a stupid game is so much more important than the dignity of an amazing and stunning woman, right?" Miroku questioned. "Listen, you either did that to embarrass her or because you wanted to see her exposed. Both are concerning given that you are about to enter her family through marriage to another woman. I think you need to talk to her and smooth this out."
"Lay off, would ya'? I didn't even want to play or be here. All of this is due to your fucking scheming!" Inuyasha snarled. "If anyone should apologize or talk to her, it's you."
"Inuyasha, I wasn't the one who untied her bathing suit at a crowded pool for an immature game," Miroku answered sternly.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and sighed heavily. This day was certainly not going as planned. It seemed to be going wrong in literally every conceivable manner. "Fine," he growled, "I will go talk to her."
Miroku nodded, "I think that would be best."
"I don't want any more shit from you for the rest of the weekend." Inuyasha spat. "I've played your stupid games and both times I've been burned. No more scheming against me. No more tricking me. Got it?"
"Understood." Miroku nodded, stepping away from Inuyasha and making his way back over toward Sango.
Inuyasha grumbled expletives as he pushed through the water on his way out. It was all dumb. All of it. He wouldn't be in this mess had Miroku not provoked him and Koga. The whole day was a goddam shit show and Inuyasha just wanted it to fucking end. He wasn't sure it could get much worse.
Kagome padded through the halls of the hotel. The air conditioning felt slightly sobering as she meandered to her room, the prior events racing through her mind. Her emotions felt much stronger than they normally did likely as a result of the alcohol. She shook her head trying to rid herself of the fog clouding her mind and the sadness taking hold of her heart. Once she reached her floor, Kagome began to struggle to see straight.
"Crap, I really shouldn't have had that last beer." She mumbled, placing her hand on a wall and using it to balance as she looked for her room number. Twice she misread the numbers outside the doors and attempted to enter the room with her room key. Only when the door handles flashed a red light did she realize that she had the wrong room number.
"Ugh!" She exclaimed each time, pushing off the wall and meandering further down the hall. On the third try, she was finally able to enter her room. Kagome let the door slam behind her and looked around. Her eyes glazing over the scene before landing on the minibar on the far right. Kagome grinned and knelt down.
She flung open the mini-fridge and scanned the various labels. "Oh, hello vodka." Kagome plucked a nip of vodka from the center tray and quickly opened it. It tasted bitter and burned as it went down, but it felt better than that shitty thing her heart was doing at the moment.
Wobbling and using the bed next to her to pull herself up, Kagome got to her feet and ambled over to her suitcase. She needed out of her wet bathing suit. She carelessly began tossing things around until she found her casual clothes. Kagome grabbed dry underclothes, a shirt, and shorts before stumbling over to the bathroom.
Laying the clothes down on the counter, Kagome looked up into the mirror. She felt like shit. Utter shit. She was exhausted, dehydrated, and drunk. But, she didn't look bad. So there was solace in that right? Her bangs were drying and would only need a small touch-up, whereas the sun had gently kissed her skin intensifying the tiny freckles on her cheeks and forehead. Sure, some of her concealer that had hidden the bags under her eyes washed away, but otherwise, she looked like the fresh-faced young woman she normally was.
She glared at her reflection, "you need to get it together."
Kagome sighed heavily, pulling away from the mirror muttering nonsense to herself. She then shimmied out of her wet suit and tossed on a crop top with frayed jean shorts. She pulled out the band that held her braid together, finger-combing her wet raven locks until they were mostly unknotted. Without looking in the mirror again, she left the bathroom.
"What should I do?" She muttered, looking around the suite, her brown eyes landing on the television at the center of the wall opposite the beds. She nodded approvingly and grabbed the remote before plopping down on her bed. She flipped through channel after channel, trying to find anything to distract her mind from replaying the scene at the pool over and over again. Kagome sighed loudly, frustrated with herself for agreeing to that stupid plan.
Kagome landed on Animal Planet, where they were playing a special on giraffes. She figured that might be exactly what she needed. Especially because giraffes were relatively neutral animals, unlike a wolf or, you know, a dog.
Just as she was settling into the docu-series on the world's tallest animals, there was a knock at her door. She briefly looked over at the large, solid wood divider before looking back over at the television. She wasn't interested in getting out of bed and the only other person she was willing to converse with at that time had a separate key card to access the suite. Everyone else was unwelcome. No need to get up just to see which unwelcome person was at the door.
Apparently, the intruder didn't get the message though, as the knocking continued, increasing in intensity with each passing minute.
"Coming!" Kagome snapped, lifting herself up despite her lack of desire, her head tilting to the side as she walked up to the door, cracking it open to see who was so intent on sabotaging her education on the gentle giants of the savannas. "Ugh," she exclaimed, opening it wider to reveal a now fully clothed half-demon. His bangs were more fluffy than usual. It instantly made her feel that much more sour realizing how much she had once enjoyed his stupid bangs and yet how they were now almost staring mockingly at her.
"What?" She asked, pulling her gaze away and walking back to her bed, quickly finding her spot on the bed and looking only at the television again.
"Just checking in." He mumbled with an abnormally and uncharacteristically meek voice.
"On what? What the hotel rooms look like from the inside?" She joked, her eyes glued to the screen and watching the large creatures walk across some random, uninhabited section of Africa.
"Checking in on you." He replied.
Kagome rolled her eyes, the timidness and concern in his voice quickly annoying her. "I'm fine, thanks." She muttered, "sorry for embarrassing you in front of your friends."
"You didn't embarrass me," he retorted, the meekness falling away in favor of his usual indignation. That tone she knew well. That tone she could handle.
"Okay, whatever. Sorry for acting like a child and agreeing to expose me to win a stupid game." Kagome added. "Not that it matters, our record is untarnished so there's always that."
"What, uh, what are you watching?" He asked, trying to steer the conversation to a less incendiary topic, having quickly seen the way her brow knit in anger when she talked about the pool.
"Not sure. Looks like a documentary on giraffes. They have some really long tongues. Did you know that? Like, look at that guy going for that leaf. It just wraps all the way up around it." She laughed, watching the giraffes on the screen eat as the narrator described their diet and habits.
Inuyasha stood awkwardly between the door and where Kagome lay on her bed, shifting from one foot to the other while watching her ignore his existence. He didn't know what to say or what to do, but he didn't want to just leave things as they were. His brows came together in frustration as he tried to think of a way to improve their situation, or at the very least, not make it worse.
Noticing the lack of a response, Kagome attempted to make a joke. "Movie is a little dull, but the soundtrack is good."
"Kagome," Inuyasha murmured, worry evident in his tone.
Hearing him say her name felt like taking a bullet to the gut. For the sake of civility, Kagome fought the urge to physically convulse and throw a pillow at him like she desperately yearned to do. She kept her face relatively expressionless, blankly observing the images displayed in front of her on the screen. She wouldn't so much as look at him. She couldn't. If she did, Kagome was sure her composure would falter. "Yes?" She asked, firmly maintaining her gaze on the lumbering brown-spotted animals. "You can sit if you like. It's a little strange having you stand over me."
He sighed out of frustration and discomfort but remained where he stood.
"What?" She pressed, "sit. Take a load off. Watch the giraffes. They are kind of funny."
Inuyasha didn't feel like fighting her, so he sat on the bed opposite her. "Kagome," he began again.
"Ugh, what?!" She exclaimed, unable to control her outburst. She hated it when he said her name. Hated it. And now he'd said it twice and not much else since interrupting her.
"Can you stop being difficult?!" He barked back.
"Inuyasha, I'm fine. Really. You don't need to check in on me. I'm an adult and can handle myself." She stated, grabbing the remote and beginning to flip through channels again. The giraffes were cute and all, but they were just not doing it for her with him in the room.
"You've been drunk since you showed up in the city and hopping beds, you're not fine." He insisted.
Kagome inhaled sharply, dropping the remote and turning to glare at him. "Hopping beds?" She hissed. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah, first Yura and now Koga? Come on." He snarled. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Be careful," she warned, her voice dripping with vitriol. "Someone might think you're jealous."
"Jealous? As if!" He sneered. "Been there, done that. Not interested."
The words were out before he could even really register what he was saying. Fuck, he thought as he watched in real-time as Kagome's soft face turned to steel before him. He hadn't meant to say any of that, he sincerely hadn't. As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. But the problem with words was that once they were out in the world you couldn't take them back. And boy did he want to. Instead, he could only watch as her mild annoyance and irritation transformed into a deep, bitter rage bubbling through the surface despite her effort to quell it. His ears flattened against his head and he swallowed hard waiting for the storm to hit.
"Get out." She mumbled. "Now."
"Kagome," he tried, desperate to fix what he had just broken, desperate to reach out and do what exactly? He wasn't sure, just something. Anything to express his sorrow and beg for her to forgive him.
She had an immediate and visceral reaction to her name leaving his lips. Her eyes closed tight and her head twitched to the side as if she'd just been slapped across the face. "Get. Out." She repeated, briefly looking back over at him, her eyes almost black with anger. Her voice was calm and steady, hiding the burning wrath he knew was building underneath. He'd done enough and realized that the best thing he could do for her right now might be to just leave. He couldn't make it right, at least, not at that moment. So, he stood and left, careful not to let the door slam behind him all the while internally cursing himself.
As soon as the door clicked shut, Kagome grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it. Then another, and another, until there were no more pillows on her bed, all having been piled up next to the door as if they would shield her from the pain rippling violently outward from her chest.
"Jerk," she spat at where he had been moments ago. "You fucking jerk!" Kagome punched the bed, trying to exercise some of the buzzing and seething anguish. Scalding tears ran down her cheeks and she collapsed into the blankets. She sank into the bed, quiet sobs tumbling out uncontrollably, her small body shaking at the sheer force of her attempts at expelling her pain.
Kagome wasn't sure how long she laid there like that, face buried in blankets, tears draining into the stiff, cotton sheets. But she stayed like that, unmoving and unmotivated until the rivers from her eyes ran dry. If I was dehydrated before, I might as well be a raisin now, she thought to herself when numbness finally came to soothe her.
Her cheeks dried quickly, once the tears stopped falling. Slowly, she lifted herself, her mind quiet for the time being. Kagome inhaled deeply and ran a hand through her messed-up hair. Most of it had dried, though the pieces near her face were still damp. Umber eyes dragged over the room, landing on the mini-fridge again. Without thinking, Kagome crawled over to the edge of the bed, slowly sliding off and up to the minibar. She pulled open the door and stared at the remaining nips and the sparse mixers thrown in. Kagome grabbed several of the drinks and slammed the fridge door shut before crawling back onto the bed.
She laid the nips next to her tenderly, while fishing out the remote from the blankets. The screen lit up and a dark, twisted, self-deprecating laugh escaped from Kagome as the made-for-T.V. movie began. "You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled to herself, grabbing a nip of whiskey and gulping it down. "Whatever, my life is a joke anyway, this, I guess, makes sense." She leaned back on her elbows, choosing to watch the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Intending on having a little fun with her circumstances, Kagome pulled out her phone and quickly searched online for a Beauty and the Beast drinking game. Once she settled on a version she liked, she grabbed another nip with a different brown liquid and lifted it toward the heavens.
"Cheers to you, Belle."
Sango looked around nervously and pulled out her phone. Kagome had leftover two hours ago and Inuyasha shortly after her. Neither had returned to the pool and neither had returned their friends' text messages. Sango, personally, had sent Kagome a plethora of messages attempting to get in contact with her and make sure she was okay following the bathing suit debacle. But just as Kagome had ignored her messages from the prior evening, Kagome was ignoring her now, leaving Sango's phone devoid of any response.
Miroku walked up to Sango after having said bye to Koga and Ayame. He threw on his shirt and sighed heavily, looking around for Inuyasha again.
"No sign of either of them?" Sango asked.
"Nothing, you?" He replied looking over at her.
"No, and Kagome has a fitting in about twenty minutes."
"Let's go check on her. You're both staying in the hotel right?" He confirmed, grabbing his bag and the leftover beer glasses.
"Yeah," she answered, following his lead and gathering her things. They walked through the hotel lobby and into the elevators in silence. Sango looking, unfocused, ahead of her the entire time.
"She may have fallen asleep." Miroku offered, "last night and today have been a little tiring."
"Maybe," Sango responded, giving him a small, appreciative but doubtful smile.
Miroku nodded, and pulled out his own phone, firing another round of messages to Inuyasha. The half-demon wasn't exactly known for his communication skills, but still, how hard was it to let Miroku know he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere? Though, Miroku was beginning to wonder if that wouldn't have been such a bad reality.
Sango stepped out of the elevator as soon as the doors had opened enough for her to pass through. That nagging at the back of her mind was present again and growing stronger with each step she took toward her shared room with Kagome. As the pair approached the suite, they could hear Kagome. Her slurred speech carried easily through the halls as she yelled. Miroku and Sango briefly exchanged looks of concern before Sango pushed open the door, almost tripping over the wall of pillows.
"Don't do it, Belle!" Kagome exclaimed, gripping the mess of blankets she sat on. "Monsters never change! Truss me."
"Kagome?"
Sango's voice seemed to have broken through whatever alcohol-induced trance Kagome had found herself in. The young woman whipped her head around, a broad and lopsided smile spreading across Kagome's face. "Sango! Thank god! Help me tell this bitch Belle that she's making a big mistake. The Beast is a jerk. A big jerk face. He sucks! Run away!"
Sango moved inward, giving Miroku space to enter, both surveying the scene in front of them. Pillows were strewn all over the front entrance of the suite, Kagome's bathing suit had been discarded on the floor in the bathroom, and various empty plastic liquor bottles were haphazardly perched on the nightstand and littered around Kagome on the bed. "Hey, Kagome?" Sango murmured, also noticing that Kagome's eyes were slightly bloodshot and puffy. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fan-fucking-tastic, Sango." She slurred, "but Belle is a moron though. Trust me girl, he is not your happily ever after." Kagome pointed toward the television with the last tiny bottle from the minibar before emptying that one as well and tossing it aside.
"Well, she sounds like she's in a good place," Miroku muttered sarcastically, stepping over the pillows and closing the door. "Did you get in a fight with the door?" Miroku asked, raising his voice so Kagome could hear him.
"No," Kagome mumbled, rolling her eyes. "I threw them at Inuyasha's shadow."
"Why?" Miroku asked with trepidation, though he was beginning to understand why a certain half-demon was ignoring his texts and calls now.
"He called me a slut." Not even half a dozen nips of liquor were enough to dull the fire in her eyes as she bit out the last word. "I should have slapped him in his terribly hideous and handsome face. Jerk."
"Kagome, you have your fitting in like, fifteen minutes," Sango stated, deciding to deal with the Inuyasha issue later. "So, why don't we have some water and move the pillows out of the way?"
"Ugh, fine." Kagome groaned, sliding off the bed and toward the mini-fridge she was well acquainted with at that point. She grabbed a small bottle of water and took one sip before gagging. "Why is water so gross?!"
"Please, keep drinking it." Sango cooed, coming to sit next to her friend on the floor, while Miroku began cleaning up the various bottles and moving the pillows back to the bed.
"I don't want to keep drinking it," Kagome replied. "I don't want to ruin my buzz when I have to see the flawless usurper Kikyo."
"I don't think you're using that word correctly. Please drink more water." Sango begged. "Maybe we should also get you in the shower quickly, you smell of alcohol."
"A shower won't fix that," Miroku answered, throwing the last of the empty bottles away. He came over and knelt next to Kagome who was slowly nursing the bottle of water. "Kagome, why did he call you a slut?"
"He's your friend, why don't you ask him?" Sango snarled. Sango knew it wasn't Miroku's fault, and that she was inappropriately displacing her anger, but she was livid and couldn't contain it. In the four years she had known Kagome, Sango had never seen her even close to this bad. Sure, Kagome had had bad days in college and had had a little too much to drink before, but this… this was all something else entirely. Kagome had been on a constant binge since their arrival and wasn't showing any signs of letting up. It deeply concerned Sango. Especially because it seemed like everyone else was in on the big secret except her. What the hell is happening around here? "I'm sorry," Sango stated. "I know it's not your fault."
"Don't worry, I'm used to be being on the receiving end of whatever hell Inuyasha has inadvertently caused." Miroku gave her a reassuring smile, before refocusing on Kagome. "We need to help her to the fitting. I sincerely doubt she'll be able to get there on her own."
"How are we going to get her there?"
"I can carry her." Miroku offered. Sango nodded and removed the mostly empty bottle of water so it wouldn't spill. "Ready Kags?" He asked, sliding his arms under her and lifting her off the ground.
"I can walk!" She protested, flailing her legs for half a second before getting too dizzy and stopping.
"I never said you couldn't walk," Miroku replied, as Sango pulled open the door to the room allowing Miroku to walk through with Kagome still in hand. Miroku would most certainly be having a conversation with Inuyasha as soon as this was over.
"This is harassment!" Kagome exclaimed, "kidnapping!"
"Kagome, why don't you tell us about the movie you were watching. I think you were telling Sango about a girl named Belle?" Miroku asked, attempting to distract Kagome from yelling things like "harassment" and "kidnapping" in public. They were already making a scene by carrying a grown woman through the halls, Miroku really did not want to involve the police or hotel management.
"It was the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast! You know who Belle is. Look, Emma Watson is amazing, but poor Belle." Kagome began, her hands flying through the air as she talked, forcing Miroku to keep a tight grip on the woman. "She just… her heart is too big. It's too big. Too fucking big. You know? Gotta let monsters be monsters. It's like that story with the snake and the frog. No… wait… scorpion. Scorpion and frog. You can't change their nature. You gotta protect yourself. Monsters never change and they will never love you. So, in sum, Belle is beautiful and perfect but she is being an idiot, with a capital I, by trusting and living with the Beast. I'm just saying." Kagome continued to mumble to Sango reiterations of the same message over and over warning of misplaced love as Sango tried not to cringe.
Sango couldn't help but wonder if Kagome was referring to a different "monster" as she continued with her rant. In the time she'd known Kagome, she'd never heard of any love or really any long-term relationship. It had never bothered Sango until now. As Kagome turned a beloved fairy tale into a cautionary example of falling too quickly and trusting against someone's better judgment, Sango began to wonder who the hell had damaged Kagome so?
The fitting was located in one of the rooms that the bridesmaids would be using on the day of the wedding and was thankfully not that much of a hike for Sango or Miroku as he carried Kagome. Still, Sango became increasingly anxious as they neared the room. Kikyo hadn't seemed thrilled with Kagome's actions earlier that day at brunch and Sango had a hunch she wouldn't be all that thrilled with her younger cousin showing up totally inebriated to the fitting either.
Kagome was still mumbling about Belle making a mistake when Miroku began to slowly put her down, careful to keep a hold on her just in case she stumbled. Kagome managed to stand up on her two feet without falling and Miroku cautiously released her. Kagome nodded appreciatively toward him for his assistance. He reached out and squeezed her hand tenderly. He could only imagine how much pain Inuyasha's words had caused. "Hey," he murmured, looking at Kagome. "Please, if you need to talk to anyone or if I can help you, let me know. You're my friend too."
Kagome's eyes dropped to the floor. She wanted to believe him, and maybe one day she would reach out, but right now was not that time. Kagome needed to survive. That was all. Increasingly, it was looking more and more like survival meant she needed to distance herself from Miroku. As much as she wanted to support Sango's crush, she just couldn't fucking do it. It had barely been twenty-four hours and in that time she had lashed out on multiple occasions, abandoned Sango twice, and exposed herself at a party full of strangers. Drunk or not, Kagome could barely recognize herself.
Kagome nodded, "thanks."
"Yes, thank you." Sango seconded, her eyes widening in appreciation and sorrow. He gave her one final knowing smile then turned to leave.
As much as he wanted to stay and make sure the girls would get on okay, there was something else he needed to deal with. Or, rather, someone else.
Sango opened the door for Kagome to the fitting. All the others were already there, lined up and waiting for the seamstress to evaluate them one final time. Kagome stumbled on her feet for a moment but managed to stay upright as she trudged forward. Though Sango would not need to be fitted for the event, she stayed around. Keeping an eye on Kagome was her top priority at the moment. She wanted to trust her normally responsible friend, but Sango had a sinking feeling that if left to her own devices, Kagome would only exacerbate the already strained relationship she had with the rest of the women. Though, one look at Kikyo told Sango that the bride-to-be was already irate.
The tall woman walked over to Sango and Kagome, her onyx eyes locked on her sloshed and slurring cousin. She stopped in front of Sango, eyes burning. "What the hell happened to her?"
"Your fiancé," Sango hissed. "Maybe you should keep him on a tighter leash."
"Excuse me? What exactly does that mean?" Kikyo questioned, her voice dripping with venom and waiting to pounce.
"Kikyo!" Kagome cut in, "can we please get started with the fitting? I'm losing my buzz." She chuckled to herself, "buzzzzz. I'm like a bee. Bzzzzzz."
"I think you've had enough for tonight." Kikyo cautioned dryly, glaring at Sango one final time before marching back to where her seamstress was.
"Oh Kikyo," Kagome laughed, "I'm just getting started."
Yura, who had been watching the exchange from the other side of the room, jogged over and grabbed a bottled water from the tray of complimentary refreshments then walked up to Kagome and Sango. "Why don't we all just take a deep breath and get through the fitting?" She smiled, handing Kagome the water and sending Kikyo a reassuring smile.
"Fine," Kagome groaned, accepting the water from Yura and taking a large sip.
"See? All better." Yura replied, looking at Kikyo. Kikyo stared intently at her maid of honor but otherwise didn't speak. After a moment, she nodded then returned to her spot across the room. Sango watched Yura's shoulders relax as soon as Kikyo began working with the seamstress, turning her attention away from Kagome and the others. The demoness then looked back at Kagome, a slight frown where her smile had been moments before. "It'll all be over soon Kagome."
Kagome merely rolled her eyes and took another sip from the water.
"Thank you for your patience," Sango mumbled coming to stand next to Yura.
"We all know this is hard on Kagome. Kikyo is impatient and insecure, so she forgets to account for Kagome's pain. I'm happy to help where I can." Yura placed a hand tenderly on Sango's shoulder and smiled sweetly at the young woman. "You may have to help Kagome into her dress tonight though."
Sango laughed and thanked Yura again. Before Yura returned to her position next to Kikyo, she squeezed Sango's hand. The demoness walked away, but her words stayed with Sango. What pain was Kagome going through? It had to be something big, right? I mean just look at her. Mulberry eyes dragged along her friend, her barely coherent and plastered friend. Why don't I know anything about this?
The rest of the fitting went by quickly and smoothly. None of the women had really gained any weight or lost it since the last time they were measured. Most of the time was spent waiting on the seamstress to finish with Kikyo and her elaborate wedding dress. All the others had marveled and complimented Kikyo endlessly. Notably missing from the litany of praise were Sango and Kagome. Both stood in the back, counting the minutes until they could make their grand escape. Kagome had spent the majority of the time muttering nonsense and sipping on water. Thankfully, as the hour passed, Kagome's thoughts and speech became more coherent. The water and lack of alcoholic refills appeared to be helping her sober up.
Sango barely paid any mind to it though. No, her thoughts kept drifting back to what Yura said. "We all know this is hard on Kagome. Kikyo… forgets to account for Kagome's pain." Sure, weddings weren't always the most fun and often resulted in guests reflecting internally on their own lives, but what about this wedding, in particular, was causing one of the best and brightest around to fall off the deep end? Everyone here seemed to know a history Sango was desperately trying to piece together. Why would Kikyo feel insecure? What's there to be insecure about?
"Hey, you wanna get dinner?" Kagome mumbled, walking up to Sango after she'd been measured and re-dressed.
"Sure, that sounds like a good idea," Sango answered. "What are you in the mood for?"
Kagome frowned. She wasn't really sure. "I don't know. Maybe soup?"
"Ramen?" Sango asked absentmindedly, still trying to thread things together.
"No," Kagome answered quickly and bruskly. "I'd be down for pho though."
"Sure," Sango smiled. "That actually sounds really nice right about now."
"I know a great place around the corner." She smiled, stepping around Sango and leading the way out.
Inuyasha lay on his bed staring up at the blank ceiling, or rather, glaring up at the ceiling, when he heard the front door to the apartment swing open. He closed his eyes and sighed heavily, 1… 2… 3…
"Inuyasha!" Miroku roared, slamming the front door shut, then quickly crossing the kitchen and living room before thrusting open Inuyasha's bedroom door without waiting for a response. The half-demon let his head fall to the side, gold eyes meeting Miroku's firm gaze. "You wanna explain to me how and why you ended up calling our lovely Kagome a slut when you were supposed to be checking in on her?"
"Not really," he muttered, turning back to look at the ceiling.
Miroku rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly, trying to figure out what the best way to approach the situation was. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, Miroku inhaled and exhaled loudly, trying to calm himself while Inuyasha lay staring up at the ceiling reliving his monumental fuck up several times over in his head.
He didn't really need the lecture or the scolding. He was well aware he'd made a mistake. Inuyasha had wanted to express his concern for her. Kagome didn't act like this. She didn't drink like this or flirt with anything that moved; that was what Miroku did. Kagome didn't seem like she was herself and he had only intended on pointing that out.
"It came out wrong." Inuyasha finally admitted, breaking the strained lull.
"Inuyasha, that was really bad," Miroku informed, taking a few steps forward and observing his friend closely. "She drank most of the mini-bar in her room by herself and got so drunk I had to literally carry her to her fitting."
"I get it," he bit back. "But I'm also not responsible for her inability to control her drinking."
"You need to be nice to her. I get you guys have a troubled history, but you're about to be in her family dude. That alone is hard enough on her, but you calling her a slut for what? Dating other people? That is not the way to peace and prosperity my friend." Miroku warned.
"I don't need a fucking lecture." He whined. Seriously, he wasn't that dumb. Okay, sometimes he was, but this was not one of those times! Inuyasha understood he'd hit a nerve. It was hard to miss the way her mild annoyance had erupted into a murderous glare in a matter of seconds.
"Look, I get it. I do! She's definitely provoking you. I mean that red bikini… damn." Miroku whistled, momentarily appreciating his friend's figure before snapping back to the serious conversation before him and the amber eyes ready to tear him apart. "My point is, I know she's doing things to get a rise out of you that have significance to you. She knows red is your favorite color. She wore it for every special occasion back in the day! I understand it's hard to not respond and get emotional over it, but you can't hit below the belt like that again. Got it?" Miroku scolded.
"Why is what I'm doing hitting below the belt but what she's doing acceptable?! This is a garbage double standard!" He barked.
"Do I really need to remind you?" Miroku asked in astonishment. "Inuyasha, you hit below the belt the moment you started dating her cousin. I don't care who broke up with who, that's not cool. You're already below the belt, Inuyasha. Let her get in whatever little hits she wants. It doesn't fucking matter."
"It does matter!" Inuyasha snarled, closing his eyes and clenching his fists in frustration.
"No, it doesn't." Miroku argued, "you're marrying Kikyo, not Kagome. You chose Kikyo. So let Kagome play whatever games make her feel better. In a few days, it will be old news and you won't have to see her again if you don't want to."
"I didn't choose this." He answered, anger laced with pain dripping from every syllable. "Why am I the bad guy when she left me?"
"You're impossible." Miroku mumbled, "I'm not saying you're the bad guy. But, again, you're literally dating her cousin. Not even just dating, about to fucking marry. You proposed and all that shit. You're days, hours even, from marrying a different woman. Stop thinking about Kagome or, alternatively, call off the wedding."
"You know I can't do that," Inuyasha grumbled, rolling his eyes.
"You could call off the wedding if you wanted to. Pretty sure there's some law about marrying people against their will."
"Was she really that bad?" He asked, his ears drooping at the thought.
"I plead the fifth," Miroku answered, turning away to grab his phone that had begun vibrating endlessly in his pocket. He unlocked it quickly. A new message from Koga open on his screen. Miroku sighed heavily. He was so fucking over dealing with all the canines.
"What is it now?" Inuyasha asked, narrowing his eyes up at his friend.
"Koga is bitching and moaning," Miroku mumbled back.
"Isn't that really all he does?" Inuyasha remarked, marginally thankful that the wolf was testing Miroku's patience because it meant that, at least for a moment, the heat was off himself.
Miroku rolled his eyes. "What are you doing for the rest of the evening?"
"I have dinner with Kikyo in a bit." Inuyasha groaned.
Miroku raised an eyebrow and briefly looked up from his phone, "you sound thrilled to bits."
"She's been pissed off all day. I don't want to deal with it."
"So cancel the dinner."
"Is that your answer to everything?" Inuyasha growled, "just cancel it?" Mocked Inuyasha.
"No, but I agree you've had a long day and deserve some downtime. If you don't want to go, don't."
"I gotta go. She made reservations or some shit."
"Yeah okay," Miroku answered, no longer interested in fighting with him. "Let me know if you want to do something later on. Otherwise, it'll just be me and the wolf tonight."
"Oh you mean you're not going to hang out with your new best friends?" Inuyasha sneered.
"Pretty sure I'm guilty by association." Miroku frowned, "how disappointing. Sango was a breath of fresh air."
"She's not dead, you can still hang out with her."
"Still, I think she and Kagome may need some space after today. Give Kikyo my best," Miroku muttered, waving dismissively before turning and exiting his friend's room.
"Right," Inuyasha grumbled, turning to face the ceiling again. He felt numb and slightly out of control himself. The way Kagome's expression had trans morphed into pure anger and rage before him earlier had been burned into his memory. He'd been replaying that scene over and over in his head for the last hour or two, unable to fully process everything. He'd never seen her eyes that hard or cold before. Her expression stood out in stark contrast to all his other memories of her. And it was killing him. Kagome wasn't an angry or vicious person, but she looked seconds from maiming him back in the hotel room. It had been unsettling seeing such dark and hateful emotions displayed on her features. They didn't sit right. Kagome should be smiling and happy. She should be laughing and teasing. It just… it wasn't right.
He also couldn't understand why his heart ached as it did. She had broken up with him years ago. He was supposed to have gotten over it by now. He was supposed to be madly in love with Kikyo. He wasn't supposed to have such strong reactions to her scent or to her image and yet he couldn't stop himself. He was supposed to have outgrown Kagome in some way, wasn't he? That's what happened with normal people and their exes, right? Over time they realized their mistakes and moved on? So why wasn't he there? Why didn't he look at her with apathy? Why was it that whenever he thought about her or looked at her he just felt pain and sadness?
He wasn't even supposed to really see Kagome. But in less than twenty-four hours she had shown up everywhere. She was in every person he walked by in the street. She was in every thought and daydream he had. Everything he did or did not do, her memory was embedded in all of it. Not to mention, she had been literally in his grasp earlier that day. Being around her hurt more than he knew how to admit even to himself
Inuyasha didn't give a shit about the red bikini. Sure, Kagome looked good in it, she looked fucking amazing if he was honest. It had been a challenge not to stare at her while they were at the pool. Kagome had worn red during most of their milestones when they had dated, but it wasn't the red bikini that that really set him off. It was that damn dress. The yellow dress. Fuck her, he growled turning over in his bed.
Inuyasha was upset. Even he could piece that together. He just couldn't quite figure out why exactly. He knew he messed up, that much was clear. He had meant well. He truly had. He thought he knew her and wanted to talk to her about why she wasn't herself. But maybe that was the problem. It had been years since Inuyasha had last seen her. What made him think he actually knew the woman she was now? Maybe he'd once known the teenager, but this Kagome he didn't. She was different. His Kagome was different.
His Kagome…