Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Inuyasha. Those are the property of one Rumiko Takahashi. I thank her whole-heartedly for giving us such an amazing manga/anime to read/watch.
ONE HEART – Chapter 3
Human Inu-Yasha walked awkwardly in the pair of sandals Ji-chan had given him to wear. He wasn't used to anything on his feet, although the open sandals were less confining than regular shoes would be.
Kagome kept sneaking glances his way, still amazed at how handsome he looked wearing modern-day clothes. She could tell he wasn't comfortable in them, but contrary to his usual reaction to things he didn't like, he wasn't complaining. She made a mental note to herself to let him take the footwear off when they reached the park. She was certain his now-human feet would be tender and prone to blisters. They would need a rest.
Kagome had decided to try looking at her school first, since other than her house, that was the place in her time Inu-Yasha had been to the most.
It took longer than normal to walk there, since Human Inu-Yasha was still adjusting to the feeling of wearing shoes on his feet.
The school building was dark, its doors all locked until morning. The fenced courtyard used by the gym classes was deserted.
They circled the building. Human Inu-Yasha silently cursed both his youkai half and the fact that he no longer had his superior youkai senses. Even if Youkai Inu-Yasha had been there, they would never know. Human Inu-Yasha couldn't track him if he couldn't pick up the youkai's scent.
After coming up empty at the school, Kagome and Human Inu-Yasha continued looking. They went to the park and to the grocery store they had shopped at several times before. It was all to no avail. They found no sign of the youkai. It was as if he had vanished.
After a time, Kagome suggested they stop for some dinner. Searching on empty stomachs was not going to help. She found a small diner that she knew had good food and led Human Inu-Yasha to a booth near the back. She slid onto the bench seat, surprised to find Human Inu-Yasha sitting next to her.
After a waitress came to the table and took their order, Human Inu-Yasha looked at Kagome.
"Well, now what. You know your way around here better than I do. We didn't find even a trace of him. What now?" He didn't intend for his voice to sound harsh, but it came out that way. He was becoming frustrated with the unsuccessful search and quite frankly, would much rather just sit at the restaurant and enjoy Kagome's company.
Kagome shook her head. "I'm sorry. All I can do is try the places I know you have been to before."
"You mean that he's been to, don't you?"
Kagome looked at him, her brow furrowing. "You're both part of the same person."
"Maybe we're both better off this way."
Before Kagome could react, the door of the restaurant opened, admitting several teenage girls dressed in the same school uniform Kagome wore.
"Kagome!" one of them shouted excitedly.
Kagome cringed inwardly, trying to maintain a smile as the girls approached the booth where she and Human Inu-Yasha sat. The three girls all crammed into the open bench across from them, each eyeing Human Inu-Yasha and looking at Kagome questioningly.
"Aren't you going to introduce us to your 'friend'?" the first girl gave Kagome a knowing wink. It hadn't taken the three long to figure out exactly who this mystery man with Kagome had to be. They had heard her talk about him too many times not to have put two and two together.
Kagome thought she would die, but luckily Human Inu-Yasha was prepared. Ji-chan had talked to him about the possibility of them running into people Kagome knew.
"Just call me 'Yashi'," he said, smiling at the girls. He had to keep up the appearance that he belonged there. The last thing they needed was for him to attract unwanted attention by acting too differently.
The three girls giggled simultaneously, looking at Kagome expectantly. She knew they wouldn't be happy without an explanation.
Kagome gasped as she felt an arm slide around her, pulling her towards Human Inu-Yasha. She glanced at him and saw him looking at her.
"I don't want to be rude, but Kagome and I really don't get much time to be alone. Do you think you girls could talk to her later?" He smiled at Kagome's friends, all three nearly melting at the sight of this extremely handsome young man smiling at them.
One by one they stammered out some excuse, sliding out of the booth and walking to the door. Each looked back before they left the diner, wanting to have one more look at Kagome's boyfriend. Their excited whispers were loud enough to carry to Kagome and Human Inu-Yasha.
"No wonder she puts up with his attitude." "He's so dreamy." "How did she get to be so lucky." They giggled and nudged each other as they left.
Kagome sighed. She knew she would be in for a barrage of questions the next time she talked to her friends. She would have to have some answers ready. She looked at Human Inu-Yasha, who was looking at her with an amused expression.
"It seems your friends already know about me." It was more a question than a statement.
How was she going to explain this away? She looked at her hands while she tried to think of a response. Both she and Human Inu-Yasha were startled by a voice.
"Higarashi?"
Kagome looked up in surprise. Was this day going to just continue to get worse?
"Houjou-kun," she smiled nervously at the boy from her time. She could feel Human Inu-Yasha's arm tighten around her waist. It was clear that he wasn't happy with the intrusion. She could see him sizing Houjou up out of the corner of her eye.
"Please don't start a fight," she thought. Even in his human form, Inu-Yasha would have no trouble beating Houjou in a fight.
"I thought I saw you in here so I decided to come in and say hello. I'm glad you seem to be feeling better. Those herbs I brought you must have worked." He smiled cluelessly at Kagome, not paying attention to the young man she was with. Or, so she thought.
Houjou turned his gaze on Human Inu-Yasha. He held out a hand.
"Higarashi and I attend the same school. " It was Houjou's turn to size up Human Inu-Yasha.
"Maybe he's not as clueless as I thought," Kagome thought to herself.
Houjou babbled on for a minute, talking about school and some new herb he would bring her to help with her horrible illnesses. He then rather nervously looked at his watch and excused himself, stammering out something about being late for something. He quickly retreated from the restaurant. He had heard Kagome's friends talk about some boy she was interested in. Now that he had met the guy, he was bound and determined to double his efforts to win Kagome. This boyfriend of hers was going to be some serious competition, after all.
Human Inu-Yasha felt relief when Houjou left. He hadn't given any thought to Kagome having suitors in her own time until Miroku and Sango had mentioned some boy from her time being interested in her. He felt he had his hands full with Kouga back in his own time. The last thing he needed was some overly polite pretty-boy from Kagome's own time as competition.
"So, now I know why you are always so anxious to come back to your time. No wonder you are so interested in that 'school' thing."
Kagome looked at him, trying not to allow herself to hope that he might actually be jealous. She muttered something about Houjou being a sweet guy, but that she wasn't interested in him. Before she could say more, the waitress appeared with their meal.
The subject was tabled as they ate their meals in silence. It was getting late and they would have to return to Kagome's house soon. Both knew that tracking Youkai Inu-Yasha in the dark would be useless. They would need a good night's sleep before starting again in the morning.
The walk back to Kagome's house was long and slow. Human Inu-Yasha's feet had blistered in several spots from the sandals. Now he complained all the way home.