{Disclaimer: Inuyasha doesn't belong to me. I am just borrowing him; so for the love of God, don't sue me.}
What to Do When There Are Two
By Striking Falcon
Thursday
"Happy Birthday Kagome!" Alexander exclaimed, picking her up with one arm and whirling her around like a toy. Kagome giggled and lightly slapped his arm.
"Thank you, Alexander. Now put me down!"
Alexander set her down with a sweep of the arm and she motioned for him to come inside. He had been expecting the weird look from Shippou, but not the ones from her mother, grandfather and brother. Souta looked ready to pounce him, her mother eyes watered and her grandfather stared, stunned. Kagome sensed the tension and introduced him.
"Everyone but Shippou, this is Alexander."
Instantly the tension shifted and they seemed to sigh in relief. Souta whispered to her grandfather as he walked past,
"He looks so much like Inuyasha, its scary."
Alexander blinked, surprised. "Kagome, why didn't you tell me they already knew my name?"
Kagome stopped in her tracks and Alexander felt like he had let out a big secret. She turned to face her family slowly.
"You're name's Inuyasha?" Souta asked.
Alexander nodded. "Yup. Its my first name."
Kagome's mother stared her down. "Why did you tell us his name was Alexander?"
Alexander rushed to the rescue. "Its what I asked her to call me. I'm sorry if I confused you." Her mother's face softened.
"No problem. We're too uptight. Now lets get this party started!" She said and went into the room with
Kagome's other friends. Alexander caught Kagome by the belt loop of her jeans before she could fly past him.
"Well?"
She knew this look. She'd had two years to study it. "Well, what?"
Alexander growled, which was pretty intimidating for a human. She was familiar with this too.
"Why didn't you tell me you know another Inuyasha?"
She stammered slightly. "Why is it important, Alexander?"
Shippou and Myouga knew what was coming next.
Alexander's growl deepened, and she swooned inwardly.
"You know why it's important! You cry every time you say it, and I think it has something to with this other Inuyasha! I want to know why!"
Kagome was trying to hide something, and he could tell. His dark eyes never left hers, and they demanded an explanation. Kagome sighed.
"Can it wait until after the party?" She looked up at him imploringly.
"Please?"
Alexander felt his heart skip, and seemed to remember a time where that would have bothered him. His expression softened and he smiled at her.
"Go Kagome!" Shippou whispered under his breath. Alexander was human, so he couldn't hear him, right?
"I heard that, you little brat!"
Shippou looked up to a familiar scowl.
"And I'll get to you later."
Alexander redirected his attention to Kagome and nodded. She smiled (the things he was putting up with to see it, he thought with disgust) and dragged him into the other room.
"Here's the birthday girl!" Grandpa shouted and pulled her toward the cake and away from Alexander. Her friends swamped him immediately and he looked to her for help. Kagome shrugged, laughing. As she stood in front of the cake, she sighed. All around her were her friends, family (including Shippou and Myouga), and the one person that made her feel complete. She flashed him a smile, and fought the urge to run to him when he smiled back. Kagome turned to the cake and its nineteen candles and smiled when the singing began.
***********
Happy birthday to you!
A scraping could be heard from the bottom of the well. A clawed hand suddenly burst out of the dirt.
Happy birthday to you!
Another hand joined in freedom, and they started to dig frantically.
Happy birthday dear Kagome,
The hands yanked their master from his prison. He shook the dirt from his frame.
Happy birthday to you!
He leaped out of the well and toward the shrine.
***********
As Kagome was trying to find something to wish for, the back door flew open, the night air rushing in and blowing out the candles. Everything went dark. She could hear Shippou squeal, Myouga and her mother gasp and Alexander mutter some recognizable curses. She giggled. She hadn't been the least surprised by his language. Her surprise came when Souta clicked the light switch on. In the doorframe stood a memorable face indeed. He walked in stiffly, then raised his head to meet her eyes.
"Kagome."
Her voice caught in her throat. Kagome just knew she was seeing things. There he stood, all white hair, dog ears and amber eyes. She heard Alexander mutter something ugly under his breath. She turned to him, utter disbelief written all over her face. She turned to the back door again.
"Inu-Inuyasha?"
His ears twitched, eyes gleaming in the light. "I kept my promise, Kagome."
She turned to look at Alexander, then Inuyasha, then Alexander again before her mind shut down. For the second time in four days, Kagome fainted dead away.
***********
Alexander and Inuyasha were on her in a flash, catching Kagome before she hit the floor. They both breathed a sigh in relief, then turned to look at each other.
"Who the hell are you?" they shouted at each other. The guests at the party were struck dumb. If the new boy hadn't looked or dressed so different, they could have sworn the two men were twins. Inuyasha and Alexander sniffed each other warily and glared at each other, not believing what their noses told them.
"You're me," Alexander whispered. Inuyasha nodded and said the same. Alexander took his chance and snatched Kagome from the demon's hands and into his own arms. Inuyasha howled and was going to hit him when a little voice in his ear stopped him.
"If you hit him, you'll hurt Kagome!" Myouga hissed hurriedly into Inuyasha's ear. It flicked the little flea off, but its owner listened and stopped mid punch. Alexander was shielding Kagome from the impending blow. Inuyasha sniffed him again.
"You are a part of me at least. And it seems we have something in common."
He glanced at Kagome, who looked absolutely peaceful in his arms. It bothered Inuyasha to see her so content. Alexander sat her tenderly on the couch, smoothing the hair out of her face. Inuyasha sat on the other side of her, neither paying attention to the guests that were filing out of the house. Shippou jumped in Kagome's lap.
"Kagome! Look what you two did!" he yelled at them.
They knocked Shippou off simultaneously, then looked at each other.
"That's one more thing we have in common."
Kagome's mother looked like she was ready to fall through the floor. Suddenly Kagome's grandfather ran at them, tossing ofudas in their direction.
"Demons! Demons! Get out of here, the both of you!" he shouted. Kagome sniffed, bringing all commotion in the room to a standstill. Kagome opened her eyes and stared at the both of them. They sat beside her, both glaring at the other.
"Its alright, mom, grandpa. I've got this."
They nodded and went upstairs. Myouga jumped from one knee to the other, studying both men. Kagome groaned and leaned into the couch.
"I would really like an explanation!" she groaned. Alexander was the first to speak.
"Who are you?" he asked his white-haired twin. He scoffed.
"I'm Inuyasha. Who the hell are you?"
Alexander ignored him a moment and looked at Kagome, who was having some trouble looking at either of them. "This is the other Inuyasha?"
She nodded miserably.
Inuyasha snickered. "So the reincarnation has heard of me."
Kagome head twisted in his direction, scowling. "That's not funny, Inuyasha. You know how that made me feel when Kikyou called me that, so don't do it to him."
Inuyasha turned his head, sulking. However, he was well aware of Alexander gently pulling her chin to face him.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked her softly. Inuyasha and Alexander both sensed the sorrow and confusion coming from her as she started to cry. Alexander put his arms around her and Inuyasha snorted.
"I come back from the dead for the girl and she can't even look at me. Talk about gratitude."
Kagome started to sob, his words hurting her more than he realized. Alexander glared at him.
"Shut the hell up," he hissed, his eyes glowing with hatred. Inuyasha whipped around, his eyes showing the same fire.
"What the fuck did you just say?"
"You heard me. Shut-the-hell-up."
Inuyasha shoved Kagome off Alexander and lifted him to his feet. "What you don't seem to understand is that you're human. You can't do shit to me, even if we are so much alike."
Kagome stood to break the two up when they shoved her back down. Alexander pried Inuyasha's fingers off his shirt, much to the surprise of all around him.
"I don't care what, or who, you are. All I know is that I don't like you. And if you make my girl cry again, I'll seriously fuck you up."
Kagome looked around the room for help. Shippou and Souta were watching the whole exchange, amused looks on their faces. Myouga was whispering frantically in Inuyasha's ear, jumping from one to the other to avoid being flicked. As the two muttered threats and curses at each other, Kagome's patience snapped. She breathed in sharply and both men cringed, one in instinct and the other in anticipation.
"Inuyasha SIT!"
Thump!
Thump!
Shippou stared in open-mouthed shock, then howled in laughter as one grunted in routine and the other yelped in surprise. Kagome stared at them both, plastered to the floor, her hand over her open mouth.
"What just happened?" Alexander groaned. Inuyasha sighed.
"Welcome to my world."
Shippo shrieked with glee. "You've just been SAT!"
A pair of throats growled warningly. Kagome found her voice.
"What just happened?" she breathed, repeating what Alexander said earlier. Shippou and Souta were rolling on the floor.
"Whoo….Who cares what happened? I just know it was great!" Shippou squealed, his face red. A flash of white and a glint of black appeared on either side of him. Shippou looked up. He knew what was coming.
SMACK-SMACK-SMACK!
"Owww…Kagome."
'Why does this feel so familiar?' Kagome asked herself sarcastically as she caught the crying ball of fluff. She raised her hand to stop both men, glaring at them.
"Stop, or I'll say it again."
"For what?" Alexander protested. Inuyasha nudged him, shaking his head.
"Man, let it go."
Kagome put Shippou down and paced in front of them. Inuyasha leaned over to Alexander, whispering so only he could hear,
"So you're an Inuyasha, too, huh?"
Alexander nodded.
Inuyasha snorted. "Lucky bastard."
Kagome glared at them. "I don't understand this. Alexander doesn't have a submission spell on him, yet when I said the 's' word, you both went down. You both seem to have the same senses, and the same temperament," she said, looking at Shippo in pity. They smiled and she shook her head in disgust. Kagome was wondering what sick and twisted mind had screwed her like this.
"Come here, Shippou," she called. Shippou stood at her feet, looking up at her adoringly. Both men gagged, instantly stopping when she glared at them. She shook her head again.
"Smell them."
Shippou raised his eyebrow. "Why?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. Good help was so hard to find.
"Yesterday you said that Alexander smelled like he was missing something when you smelled my hair. See if it's the same."
As Shippou approached cautiously, Inuyasha's face reddened.
"What do you mean 'in your hair'?"
Kagome blushed and Alexander snickered. Inuyasha shot him a dirty look and saw just how scary it was when Alexander shot it back. Kagome's patience, found only moments before, snapped again in a different way.
"Don't fucking start you two! I'm trying to figure out something!" her voice piped up. They stared at her in shock over her sudden filthy mouth, then turned their backs on each other and allowed Shippou to do his work.
"Nope. He smells right!"
Kagome patted his head, then directed the two to different sides of the room. "Smell now."
Shippou went from one end of the room to the other and shook his head. "Something's missing again. From the both of them."
Kagome sighed. This was exactly what she was afraid of. "Thank you, Shippou. Go get some cake."
Shippou and Souta raced for the kitchen, leaving Kagome to the two men and her thoughts.
"She smells like she's pissed off," Alexander noted.
Inuyasha studied him curiously. "You can smell her?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
Alexander shrugged. "I just can."
"Have you been always able to do this?"
Alexander shook his head. "Didn't start till I met her."
Inuyasha snorted. "That's normally when all my trouble starts."
They snickered.
"It's wonderful that the two of you are getting along and all, but I can't think." Kagome sighed.
"I'm going for a walk" she froze her followers in place "alone. If I catch either of you, human or not, in the trees, I'll sit you so hard your neck will snap."
Thump!
Thump!
Kagome sighed. "Serves you right," she said as she walked out the front door.
**********
Kagome sighed. How had a simple birthday party gotten so out of hand? She started to laugh, knowing that the people going past her most likely thought she was nuts.
"I am so screwed," she said to herself. Alexander's words came to mind. 'Why didn't you tell me?' She shrugged her shoulders. She knew that they were the same person, but she was having a hard time between them. 'So this is what Inuyasha felt like. I'll have to apologize when I get back.'
"Omph!" Kagome moaned. She wasn't paying attention where she was going and had run into what she thought was a fire hydrant. It spoke,
"Do you have the time?"
Kagome regarded it, realized it was a man and mumbled, "sorry no watch" as she hurried down the concrete. He jumped in front of her suddenly, and that's when she got the first feeling something was wrong. She stumbled back.
"What?" she asked. He started to laugh.
"You weren't this rude 500 years ago."
"Oh no," Kagome gasped. Now she was starting to wish the boys had come with her.
"Jakken."
The little toad laughed. "It's so nice to know you still recognize me."
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a nearby limo. He tossed her in through the sunroof and she screamed before it closed.
*******
The 'twins' were discussing if going after her was worth getting sat when Alexander's head jerked up.
"You heard that, right?" he asked. Inuyasha was already standing up.
"Let's go."
They ran toward the sound, the both of them trying to outmatch each other. Alexander noticed how fast they were going when they sped past a truck going 50. He was amazed and loved it. Inuyasha smiled, then shot past him.
"You can't outrace me, human," he called.
Inuyasha knew Alexander wasn't a mere human. He was as fast as him, his senses were as sharp and they were both struck down by Kaede's necklace, even though he was wearing it. He also realized something else. Kagome loved him, too. He could smell it on her, and knew Alexander returned the feelings. As his mind wandered, Alexander caught up with him. Studying his face, he realized this was his chance and bolted, yelling behind him,
"What was that you were saying about outracing me, demon?"
************
"She was here," Inuyasha said, sniffing the dirt.
"No, shit, Sherlock. What was your first clue?"
Inuyasha hadn't the slightest idea who Sherlock was, but he didn't like Alexander's tone.
"Can you do better?"
Alexander snickered. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I can."
He imitated Inuyasha's former position and concentrated, his open indigo blue silk shirt flipped over one side. He could smell Kagome, and she was scared. He felt his blood boil. He caught a whiff of another, but he didn't know this one.
"Hey, Inuyasha. Do you recognize this?" he said, pointing to the ground. Inuyasha sniffed and stiffened.
"Jakken."
He followed it into the street, Alexander close behind. The smell stopped in the middle of the street. Inuyasha growled.
"My brother has her."
He motioned for Alexander to get on his back. "Come on. We'll follow the smell of their chariot."
"Huh?"
Alexander sniffed the road and gagged. "Man! That's not a chariot. That's gasoline!" Alexander struggled to get himself under control.
"That could be any car here. We may as well go back." He groaned.
"Her mother is going to kill us."
Inuyasha could see it now, the woman waking up to find Kagome gone and instantly blaming the first half demon she set her eyes on. Alexander had an idea.
"My apartment! We could get Shippou and go there!"
Inuyasha nodded. It was better than getting beaten on the head, and he knew Kagome's mother had a good swing.
-----------
SF: {::runs across the stage ducking fruit::} Woah! Give me a break, people! The fruit showers are getting ridiculous! {::slides behind podium::} Try to be more understanding! It is Kagome's birthday, after all and you guys are ruining it!
{Fruit shower continues. SF sighs and holds up a sign for anyone paying attention.}
Help! See you tomorrow!
Hoshi-chan: Good to see you still with me! Stay on board, because things only get weirder from here!
Trunks Soatome: Thanks for the review! I'm so glad the characters are in character! I was so worried about that! I hope you still think so when its all over!
Pyro-bear: Just in case you missed it, this story is in real time. I've been waiting for a chance to say this: This story ends next Monday. Sorry for disappointing anyone who thought it would be longer.
Confused and loving it: Surprise!
Silver Wolf: Thanks for letting me know. I'm coming!
Ack! I just tried to post, and fan fiction.net is down! Ack! If you're not reading this on 6/19/03 by 3:44 a.m., then I'm still struggling! Gomen!