A/N: I forgot to say that I kinda switched from 'Oswari' to 'sit' because what would Inuyasha say? I'm not very good with the Japanese language so I didn't know how that would work. Go ahead and flame me…besides, I want to get this story posted and done with before my stupid computer dies on me. That's all, to the story!
Inuyasha: *reading the end of the script* There ain't no way I'm doing that!
Kaykoha: Please Inuyasha, just this once? I'll give you ramen…
Inuyasha: I said there ain't…did you say Ramen? Okay! Deal!
Chapter 2
Kagome woke, to a very quiet setting, and shifted slightly in her sleeping bag. Not wanting to make too much of an effort she lifted her head and twisted it to the side slightly to see what time it was. The clock read 9:53 am and Kagome closed her eyes. She decided to sleep some more…but her groggy mind had seen something. Kagome's eyes snapped open and checked to see if she had seen right. Supporting herself into a half-sitting position, she looked at the couch to see that Inuyasha wasn't there. The blanket had been messily thrown back, but Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen. With a frown, Kagome pushed back her sleeping bag covering and shivered at the icy air, despite the fact that she was wearing a sweater. It must be really cold outside.
As quietly as she could, for the others were still sleeping, she picked her way over them and began searching the house. Looking out the window the sky was overcast and it looked quite bleary outside. She slipped on her shoes and a reached for her winter jacket, but paused. Had Inuyasha really gone outside…that baka. The house was silent, so he wasn't inside. She grabbed her coat and a scarf and put them on, slipping outside.
It wasn't so bad outside…but then a light breeze blew across Kagome's face and she shook from the cold. Nope, she was wrong, it was FREEZING outside. She wouldn't have been surprised if she saw snowflakes falling. Kagome scanned the area for any signs of Inuyasha, but couldn't find him. Walking around the house and to the shrine gripping her jacket fiercely, searched for him, but she still couldn't find him. Where could he have possibly gone? Worry and doubt started creeping into her mind and she called his name. She exhaled the cloudy, moist fog as the familiar name sounded in the air. Nothing. But somewhere, not to far from where Kagome was, a pair of silver, doggy ears twitched at the sound of her voice. She tried again, her teeth chattering and her voice shaking.
"Kagome?" asked a familiar voice. Kagome spun around to find Inuyasha staring at her with his worried amber eyes. He wore his usual red clothes, and was even barefoot, but didn't seem bothered by the cold at all. He closed the twenty feet easily and she gave him a part relieved, part surprised look.
"What the hell do you think you're doing out here in this weather?" he questioned, sounding angry, but Kagome knew that he was just worried.
"I could ask you the same thing," she retorted. He stopped, and just stood in front of her.
"I…just needed to get out for a while. A youkai like me can't stand being indoors for too long," he said coolly, but at the same time he seemed a little distant, as if he had been thinking about something. Kagome decided not to correct Inuyasha about the youkai part, because that would just hurt his ego. Besides she didn't feel like arguing with him early in the morning. She gave an involuntary shudder from the cold air, and Inuyasha looked back at her with his worried face again. He turned his back to her and crouched down. Huh?
"Get on. You should get to your house before you get sick," Inuyasha told her. Kagome decided not to object, and clambered on, loosely grabbing him around the neck. Supporting her legs with his arms, Inuyasha effortlessly leaped his way back to her house and they were at the door within seconds. His back was warm, and his silver hair fluttered over Kagome's face. Letting her slide off his back Inuyasha even opened the door for Kagome, which I can tell you surprised her even more. What had gotten into him? He was rarely ever THIS nice.
"Thanks," she said, wondering at his sudden politeness. Inuyasha smiled a little before following after her. Kagome gratefully welcomed the heated environment of her house and took off her scarf and coat. As soon as they entered the living room, a little brown furball shot into her arms.
"Kagome! I woke and you weren't there! Where did you go?" asked a little voice, which belonged to Shippo. He looked like he was about to hyperventilate.
"Calm down, Shippo, I was outside looking for Inuyasha," she explained, soothingly rubbing him on his furry head to calm him down. Just then, everyone else came in looking almost as worried as Shippo.
"Ah, there you are Kagome," said Miroku, who was followed by Sango.
"Where were you?" Sango asked.
"I think we'd all like to know that. How very interesting that you and Inuyasha should go missing at the same time," Miroku added. Ugh! Couldn't that hentai get his mind out of the gutter for one second?
"Inuyasha went outside early, and I just went out to look for him," she explained to the group of people, saving her glare for Miroku.
"That's IT? Can I go back to bed?" Sota pleaded to his mom.
"Hm…I might as well put breakfast on since we're all up," Mrs. Higurashi decided. "You might as well put away your sleeping bags while I prepare breakfast."
They all gave an 'okay' and began to do just that.
As soon as they finished wrestling their sleeping bags into their cases, Kagome told the to just set them up against the wall near the couch, since they'd be using them again tonight. They watched some T.V until breakfast.
"Breakfast is ready!" called Mrs. Higurashi from the kitchen.
"Oh boy, food!" cried Shippo happily as he bounced into the kitchen. Everyone migrated in the same direction and took their places at the table. There was Miso soup already ladled into small bowls, gohan (a type of rice) and a plate with toast stacked on it.
"Green tea anyone?" Mrs. Higurashi offered. Everyone politely nodded and she served that too. Everyone picked up their chopsticks and dug in. Pretty soon all that could be heard was the sound of munching and the occasional shifting.
"Inuyasha, Miroku. As soon as we're done, we'll take the bus to the mall and I'll buy you temporary clothes," Mrs. Higurashi announced. Of course, as both Inuyasha and Mrs. Higurashi knew, this was really to get Kagome's gift rather than to buy clothes.
It wasn't long until they were finished and they deposited each of their dishes in the sink. Mrs. Higurashi, Inuyasha and Miroku got ready to leave. Miroku left his staff by the front door and it took some convincing for Inuyasha to leave Tetsusaiga too. He reluctantly agreed, and Kagome found him a hat to wear to cover his ears.
"There ain't no way I'm leaving Tetsusaiga here, they can't be bothered by it too much!" he protested.
"Inuyasha I promise it'll be safe here," confirmed Kagome's mom kindly and he set it up against the wall.
"You better take care of it, you hear that Kagome!" warned Inuyasha, shaking a fist at her. Instead of listening to him, she rummaged around in a closet and came up with a blue cotton snow hat for his ears.
"What is THAT for?" Inuyasha growled, glaring distastefully at the hat.
"Inuyasha, humans aren't accustomed to seeing silver-head people with dog ears. It might freak them out, and it'd probably be better that you don't attract a lot of attention. Besides it's pretty cold out," Kagome said shoving the hat on his head making sure it hid his ears.
"Ouch! That HURT Kagome!" he yelled, and turned his glare on her. He just barely held back cursing at her, as Mrs. Higurashi wouldn't have been too pleased.
"It did not! So stop complaining!" she yelled back just as loud. Inuyasha could be a real pain sometimes…Mrs. Higurashi, sensing the sparks of an argument, intervened.
"Kagome you can find something for Sango and Shippo to do while we're gone, we won't be long. Oh and Sota, don't spend too much time playing video games," Mrs. Higurashi told her children. Kagome and Sota nodded 'okay' and they left. Sota went into the living room and immediately set up the video games on the TV, deciding he'd only play for an hour.
"So what would you like to do?" Kagome asked turning to the youkai-exterminator and the little kitsune.
"Do you think Miroku and Inuyasha will be okay wearing what they've got on?" Sango asked her.
"Well, they'll probably attract some attention, but there's not much we can do. We don't have any clothes that would fit them anyway," she said, blowing out a heavy sigh.
"Besides, I think we should worry about the rest of Japan first," she added jokingly and Sango smiled. Yeah, a hentai and a hanyou with a hot temper…that could be trouble. ^_^
Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome's mom were gone for about two hours and in that time Kagome had taught Shippo and Sango how to play Baba-nuki, and Shinkei-suijaku. They had a lot of fun, except for Shippo, who was lost every single time.
"Don't feel to bad Shippo you'll get the hang of it eventually," Kagome said kindly to him. Shippo, however doubted that very much…
"Kagome, can I take a…shower?" Sango asked her at the end of the first game. Kagome nodded. "It'd probably be better that you did that now while that lecherous monk isn't here anyway." They both rolled their eyes.
"True," Sango agreed and headed upstairs to collect her temporary clothes and wash herself.
*************
Meanwhile, Inuyasha, Mrs. Higurashi and Miroku boarded the bus to go to the mall. It was loud and a bit dirty, and people kept staring at them.
"What are YOU staring at?" Inuyasha growled at them and glared back at them with his temperamental amber eyes. Some of them shrunk back at his anger and Mrs. Higurashi put a hand on his shoulder.
"Please, Inuyasha. Try not to yell at them," she requested softly in his ear. Inuyasha just snorted and sat cross-legged in his seat.
It seemed that three of Kagome's friends were also out for early-morning shopping and eyed Miroku and Inuyasha curiously. They guessed that one of them had to be the boy, Inuyasha that Kagome kept talking about, because they were with her mom. However they couldn't figure out who was the boy; they both looked pretty hot…
Inuyasha could feel them staring at him, but decided to ignore them since they weren't directly bothering him. Miroku however was in heaven. He knew it would be wrong, but his perverted mind got the better of him. In less then a second, he was sitting next to them with a sly grin.
"Hello ladies. My you're looking beautiful today," he said in his most flattering voice. They giggled in his presence, and Miroku knew he had hit gold.
"Would one of you pretty ladies bear my ch-" he started, but Inuyasha interrupted him harshly. He knew that this wasn't the place to ask that question from the way Kagome had told him off yesterday.
"Cut that out Miroku!" he snapped at him with a warning glare before the perverted monk got the rest of the sentence out. Miroku's face fell but turned to them.
"You'll have to excuse me," he said politely, but not before grabbing the hands of the closest girl in front of him. They giggled again, but then tried to get a good look at Inuyasha.
"Hey! Are you Inuyasha?" One of them with short brown hair asked him. How the heck did they know his name? He thought that Kagome said that humans weren't used to demons. He narrowed his eyes at them in an irritated glare to hide his surprise.
"So what if I am? What's it to you?" he asked not at all kindly. They whispered excitedly and giggled. He must be the one; they'd have to talk to Kagome later…Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Why were these girls so irritating? At least Kagome wasn't like that…she was different. She could be really sweet sometimes…except when she was 'sitting' him. Inuyasha casually looked up to find the face of Miroku peering into his and nearly fell over.
"What's your problem monk? You nearly gave me a heart-attack!" Inuyasha yelled and had to keep himself from testing his claws on Miroku.
"You wouldn't happen to be thinking about Kagome, would you?" he asked the hanyou.
"Feh. What gave you that idea?" Inuyasha snapped. Miroku threw up his hands in defense.
"I was just ASKING," the monk answered, and decided he'd place himself somewhere not next to an angry Inuyasha. He'd have to do something about the two…and at the same time think about how he'd get Sango at the same time.
The trio finally arrived at the mall. Inuyasha tried to ignore all the stares that were thrown in his direction, and Miroku had to use all his willpower to keep from attaching himself to every pretty girl he saw. It was tempting though, as there were quite a few of them. He grinned every time a group of girls giggled at him, and their boyfriends gave the monk warning glares. Miroku didn't mind one bit though, he was just having a bit of FUN.
Inuyasha however wasn't so pleased every time a girl threw him a seductive smile. He found it rather annoying, and had to give them a scowl to tell them he wasn't the least bit interested.
They entered the first store and Mrs. Higurashi started going through the racks looking for suitable clothes for the two. After about three sets of clothes she found some that actually fit Inuyasha. The first set that fit him was a simple blue t-shirt, a red sweatshirt with pockets as well as a hood, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of simple, white sneakers. She also found him a pair of boxers to wear.
"Jeans, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and sneakers," she told Inuyasha, pushing him into the men's changing room, and set off to find clothes for the monk.
Inuyasha had some trouble at first. The first door he came to was locked and he nearly ripped it off its hinges in frustration before he heard an angry shout from the other side and Mrs. Higurashi came rushing towards him to help.
"Inuyasha, find one that's not being used. There's one over there," she said, pointing to the farthest one their right. Inuyasha, somewhat embarrassed slowly walked over to it, went inside and shut the door. He found himself in a rather tiny room, and hoped he wouldn't be here for very long. Luckily he was smart enough to figure how everything went on, but grew frustrated with the zipper, as his claws couldn't seem to work it out. He couldn't believe that he, a half-demon could be defeated by such a small contraption.
"Kagome's mom?" he called out awkwardly. Luckily for him, Mrs. Higurashi was coming to check on him.
"Yes, Inuyasha?" she asked.
"I'm having trouble with this…thing on my…jeans," he explained, and let Mrs. Higurashi come in. He had his shirt and sweater one, so he was decent enough. Mrs. Higurashi bent down and zipped up his pants, while Inuyasha tried not to burn from embarrassment from having her so close to…uh you know where. She stood up and smiled at him.
"There," she said simply. "Do you need some help with your shoes and socks too?" Inuyasha had almost forgotten them and nodded. She helped him with those too and Inuyasha found he felt most uncomfortable in these clothes. His feet felt trapped and he felt like he couldn't move his legs in his pants.
"Thanks," he mumbled. She nodded and Inuyasha looked in the mirror.
"You look very handsome, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi complimented, looking in the mirror as well. Inuyasha couldn't help but grin; he did look pretty cool, even if he was dressed in some foreign clothes. He wondered if Kagome would like the way he looked…
"You need to undress so Miroku can try his clothes on too," Kagome's mom told him. Inuyasha nodded and waited for her to leave before he did that. He was grateful to be back in his normal clothes where he could at least maneuver.
Kagome's mom left to tell Miroku he could go to change. The monk waited for Inuyasha to finish up, before doing his round of trying on clothes. After trying on several sizes, Mrs. Higurashi had found him black jeans, a green t-shirt, a purple sweater and black sneakers. After experimenting with the zipper, he had no trouble in working it. He too, needed some help with the shoes, but quickly caught on. Miroku admired himself in the mirror and could imagine Sango with her arm at his waist.
"Do those work for you, Miroku?" Kagome's mom asked him.
"Yes, they fit me well," he answered back from the tiny room.
"I'll need those too, so undress and we'll find you each two more sets of clothes," Mrs. Higurashi told him. Miroku quickly undressed and came out with the clothes folded over his arms and handed them to Kagome's mom. She took them and went off to find more clothes. They finally decided on their second set of clothes, and meandered to another part of the mall to find Kagome's gift.
"We're finding a present from Inuyasha to Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi explained after Miroku asked what they were doing. That gave Miroku an idea.
"Could I find a gift for Sango as well?" the monk asked. Mrs. Higurashi nodded in agreement and they walked into the first store.
It was a gift shop store with a lot of pretty and quite expensive trinkets; it seems the prices were increased just for the occasion. The selection of gift included things like as diamond rings, pearl necklaces, bracelets made of thin gold, and shiny lockets. There were also cards as well as stuffed animals and glass sculptures. What would be the perfect gift, though? What would Kagome want? Mrs. Higurashi let the two wander around and she too helped look for gifts that she thought Kagome would like.
Inuyasha looked around at all the pretty gifts and finally found what he thought she'd like the most. A little white, stuffed dog dressed in red caught his eye, sitting in a glass cabinet. It was posed in a sitting position and its tongue flopped halfway out of its mouth. Small, clear, plastic, brown eyes looked at Inuyasha. Around the dog's neck was a simple bracelet made of tiny silver chains. Beside it were several other stuffed cats and dogs toys. On the other half of the cabinet were small silver letters that looked like they attached to the bracelets.
"Oi! Kagome's mom!" Inuyasha shouted and Mrs. Higurashi came over.
"Inuyasha, there's no need to shout. What do you need?" she asked and Inuyasha pointed to the dog.
"Do you think Kagome would like this?" he asked, lowering his voice, but not by much. Mrs. Higurashi looked at the stuffed dog and nodded.
"I think she'll like that a lot. I'll go have your names clipped onto the bracelet," she said and went to talk an assistant. Their names? He didn't think of that…but it sounded like it would add a nice touch to the gift.
Inuyasha headed over to where Miroku was looking for a gift for Sango, but was having less luck. What do you get for a youkai-exterminator that gives you cold glares very five seconds? It wasn't his fault if he couldn't control that hand of his…Luckily for him Mrs. Higurashi came over to help.
"The man is attaching your names. Having some trouble Miroku?" she asked the monk. He nodded.
"I found a few simple charm bracelets over there that might look interesting," Mrs. Higurashi said and they followed her to the jewelry section of the store. Mrs. Higurashi pointed to several different charm bracelets. One of them was made of part gold and in it's case had little gold numbers, 1-20. Just then, the man who was working on Inuyasha's gift called to Mrs. Higurashi and she went over to retrieve it.
"That one would be perfect. For all the times you groped her," Inuyasha muttered with a wry smirk. Miroku slapped on his innocent look and kept searching for the right bracelet. Mrs. Higurashi wandered back over with Kagome's gift.
"Found anything?" she asked. He shook his head. He didn't know finding the right gift would be so difficult.
"I'm sure she'll like anything you'll give her," Mrs. Higurashi assured. Miroku finally decided on a bracelet that would have her name attached to it, and he found a little silver kitten that looked a lot like Kirara when she was in kitten form. Mrs. Higurashi decided to get a little something for Shippo so he wouldn't feel left out. She got him a coloring book full of pages of different kinds of animals and a box of twelve-color crayons.
Mrs. Higurashi had Sango's bracelet done too and paid for their gifts. They walked out of the store and decided it was about time to head home.
***********
Sango had just come downstairs after her shower, wearing her new clothes. Kagome had decided she might as well get dressed too. Shippo went in to watch Sota play video games while the two changed. Sango wore the short, pink skirt and the blue sweater with the white, snowflake patterns on it. Kagome decided on a forest green shirt that hugged her body that had a yellow star on the front, and red skirt. They both wore white stockings, but decided to go bare-foot for now.
Just then, Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome's mom entered the house. The first thing Inuyasha did was made sure Tetsusaiga was safe before anything else. Miroku and Inuyasha hid their presents in their clothes, so they could surprise the girls later. Mrs. Higurashi had Shippo's gift in her purse and would give it to him later tonight. She took out Miroku and Inuyasha's clothes and folded one set before setting them on a nearby table, but gave them each the other set.
"I'll just set them here, so tomorrow you can just take them. In the meantime you can change into one set and I'll wash your clothes," she told them. They both nodded and did just that.
While they changed, Inuyasha set his gift in a nearby closet where Mrs. Higurashi told him Kagome would never look and Miroku slipped his gift into his sweatshirt pockets, finding it quite handy.
"I'm preparing lunch boys, so when you're done, come on down," Mrs. Higurashi called up to them from downstairs.
"Okay!" they replied and finished getting dressed.
Inuyasha and Miroku came down in their new clothes and carrying their normal ones. Mrs. Higurashi took them and put them somewhere that they didn't see to be washed.
Everyone sat in the usual places, and started to eat. Lunch was really simple; Mrs. Higurashi cooked up some Soba for everyone, and Ramen for Inuyasha.
"Ramen!" Inuyasha shouted happily, but then cleared his throat and sat down. Everyone stared in confusion at his sudden outburst that was very un-Inuyasha-like. Pretty soon though, it was forgotten and everyone ate without much conversation.
Kagome began stacking her dishes when everyone heard a ringing sound. The four guests cocked their heads in curiosity and Kagome jumped. She wanted to answer it but…
"Go ahead, Kagome. I'll take care of your dishes," Mrs. Higurashi said kindly. Kagome nodded 'thanks,' and made her way to her room.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," she said to her phone, which was ringing annoyingly at her on her desk. She picked it up and answered it. She should've expected what she heard next.
"Kagome!" It was her friend Eri. She could hear her other friend's chatting in the background.
"Oh! Uh, hi guys!" Kagome said, dreading the next part of the conversation.
"Why didn't you tell us Inuyasha was visiting? Can we come over?" her other friend Ayumi said eagerly. Kagome sweat-dropped.
"How did you know Inuyasha was here?" she asked, slightly puzzled.
"We saw him with your mom and the other cute boy. So can we come over?" they asked again.
"Um…well, you see he's…uh, taking a nap, and he can be pretty grumpy if he doesn't take his mid-day nap," Kagome lied quickly. She could just picture her friends' disappointed face, but she really didn't want to have to explain Shippo, or the extra odds and ends Miroku and Inuyasha had brought with them.
"But, I-I guess it wouldn't hurt if you came over for a little while later," she said. Yeah, maybe that'll work. At least they'd have some time to get prepared. Kagome had to hold the phone arms length away from her to keep herself from becoming deaf from her friends excited squeals.
"Okay, Kagome! We'll be right over!" They all said with another round of high-pitched squeals.
"Wait! I-" she started but then heard a click, telling her that her friends had hung up the phone. Did they just completely ignore what she said before? Kagome raced downstairs to tell or rather warn everyone about her friend's soon-to-be arrival. Much to Inuyasha's distaste, they hid his Tetsusaiga as well as Miroku's staff in a nearby closet. They dressed Shippo in one of Kagome's large t-shirts, in hopes that it would hide his tail. They also found another hat, one that belonged to Sota for Shippo's ears.
Kagome could see her friends heading up to her house in their uniforms and turned to the gang.
"Okay, they'll only be here for five or ten minutes, so try not to do anything weird. And Inuyasha behave yourself," Kagome instructed all of them and shot a warning look at Inuyasha. He forced himself not to growl at her. He could behave himself if he tried…
Ayumi, Eri and Yuka came in and saw Inuyasha. He began to back away with a nervous look in his eyes; these were the girls he saw earlier…He tried to slip away but the three of them immediately pounced on him.
"It's you again!" Eri squealed and they wrapped themselves around his arms. Inuyasha didn't have to be this close to smell the perfume they were wearing, and nearly sneezed while uncomfortably began prying them off his body. They all looked slightly disappointed, and turned to Kagome.
"So, are you two back together? Because if you aren't he's mine!" said Ayumi longingly, and waited for an answer. What should she say? Right then, Miroku stepped in to save the day. Unfortunately, it was probably the wrong way to go. Yuka froze, let out a startled yelp and jumped about five feet in the air. Everyone glared at Miroku.
"My, uh…hand slipped," he said, not at all convincingly. Shippo jumped up into Eri's arms and she looked down at him in surprise, nearly dropping him.
"Oh, Kagome who's this cute little fellow? Is he your cousin?" Eri asked her friend.
"Uh, yeah. He is," Kagome lied quickly. All her friends thought Shippo looked simply adorable in his hat and Shippo was enjoying the attention as well.
"Okay, I think it's time for you to go," Kagome said, trying not to sound rude.
"Kagome, we need to talk to you for a minute," Yuka said and they pushed her out the door. Kagome knew what was coming next, but tried to play dumb.
"Uh, what's up guys?" she asked, slapping on a clueless grin.
"Kagome, is that boy Inuyasha your boyfriend or what?" Yuka asked.
"Yeah, are you still in love with him?" Eri joined in. Kagome shrunk back at their interrogation. This time there was no way out, and Kagome wished she hadn't let them come over after all. They all waited expectantly as Kagome stared hard at the ground with a frown.
"I don't know, I really like Inuyasha though," she answered truthfully, hating being pressed like this. "Don't you guys have something to do?"
Just then Hojo came by, riding his bicycle. Kagome groaned…not him too.
"Hey, Kagome. I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight," he asked with a hopeful look. Her friends stepped in for her.
"She can't Hojo, she already has plans," Eri told the boy. His face fell and he pulled out a little wrapped package.
"I bought this for you Kagome, I hope you like it," he said handing her the gift. She took it and slowly unwrapped it. Inside was a really pretty diamond necklace that she bet was really expensive and winced guiltily inside.
"Um…thanks, Hojo. It's great," she said, putting on what she hoped was a happy look. He smiled back and nodded to her.
"Okay, see you on Monday!" he called to her, before riding off.
"He'll never give up," said Yuka.
"So exactly what do I have planned for this evening?" Kagome said expectantly to her friends.
"Aren't you doing something with Inuyasha?" Ayumi asked. Kagome thought about that for a minute. No, she didn't have anything planned, but if she told them that, then she was sure they'd MAKE plans for her.
"Uh, yeah, I-I think I do actually," she lied with a great, big fake smile
"Okay, we'll see you Monday," they said to her and walked off whispering to each other. Kagome gave a relieved sigh and already began thinking up what she'd tell them tomorrow as she headed back to her house.
Inuyasha saw Kagome coming back, and to his relief, her friend's weren't with her.
"So what did you finally do to get them to go away?" he asked, making sure they were really gone.
"That's for me to know and for you to never find out," she answered, hoping that he really WOULDN'T ever find out. She gave another sigh and thought of an idea.
"Hey Sango, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked her friend, and grabbed a coat.
"Okay," Sango agreed and slipping on a coat and followed her out of the door. Miroku smiled, and for once it wasn't a lecherous grin.
"That's perfect. Inuyasha we need to talk," he said. Miroku turned to Shippo, who was staring after the girls. "Shippo, why don't you go play with Sota?"
"Why can't I stay here?" the little kitsune-youkai whined. Mrs. Higurashi heard that, and came in.
"Shippo, let the boys talk for a while, I'm sure it's very important," she said with a wink to the two of them. "I bought you a little present, come see." Shippo's face brightened and he bounced after her.
Miroku opened the door and followed Inuyasha outside to the back of the house.
"What do you want, Miroku?" grumbled Inuyasha, crossing his arms and leaning up against Kagome's house.
"I think you should make a move on Kagome," Miroku suggested and Inuyasha turned his head in defiance. The first comeback to use would be to turn the question on Miroku, but since he had already made plenty of moves on Sango, that kinda fell apart.
"Inuyasha, listen to me. The hunt for the jewel shards is almost over. If we defeat Naraku, you two will have to decide what to do about your relationship." Miroku pressed.
"There ain't no relationship!" he growled at the monk, but Miroku wasn't giving up.
"Inuyasha, Kagome really cares for you and you really care for her. You can't deny it," Miroku tried. Inuyasha pretended to be interested in a passing fly, but was really thinking about what Miroku was saying. Kikyo was dead (again), so he couldn't physically have her anymore. She died while trying to kill Naraku and by the time Inuyasha had come, she was just a body with no life in her. This should've made everything simpler, but it just tangled it up even more.
"So that leaves the simple question. Do you love Kagome or don't you?" He asked. Inuyasha just stood there, with a confused expression at his supposedly simple question.
Meanwhile, Sango and Kagome were having pretty much the same conversation, sitting on the bench under the Oak tree near the shrine.
"Kagome, you and I know that Inuyasha cares for you a lot, even if he doesn't always show it," Sango told her best friend. Kagome nodded.
"It's just that if we kill Naraku…and make the jewel whole again, what next?" Kagome asked with a sigh.
"He'll come around," Sango said reassuringly. Kagome decided to switch subjects.
"So how about you and Miroku? You really like him, don't you?" Kagome asked her friend. Sango smiled faintly and looked at her lap.
"When he's not being a pervert," she added. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Well, I think he likes you too. I'll have to do something about you two," Kagome decided.
"I don't think he needs anymore motivation," Sango said with a wry smile. Kagome laughed.
"I guess you're right," she agreed. They stood up and headed back to Kagome's house.
When they got inside, they took off their coats and Kagome hung them up. She scanned the room to make sure Inuyasha wasn't around.
"Sango, follow me," she said and they went upstairs to her room. Kagome reached into one of her desk drawers, and pulled out a small, clear glass bottle with a cork for a top. Sango could barely believe her eyes at what was inside.
"That's…!" gasped Sango in surprise. Kagome nodded.
"I'm giving it to Inuyasha as a present. I hope he'll like it," Kagome said looking at the bottle in her hand. Sango just stared at it with a dumbfounded expression.
"I know he'll like it," Sango confirmed. Kagome took out a sheet of teddy-bear wrapping paper and a black jewelry box she found in her drawers. Then she wrapped her gift and tied a blue ribbon on it before slipping it into her skirt pocket. (A/N: A cookie to anyone who can guess what the gift is ^_^ )
************
Miroku followed Inuyasha back inside, still without an answer from the half-demon. The girls came downstairs and saw that they had returned.
"There you are Kagome. Would you and your friends like to bake some cookies for desert tonight?" Mrs. Higurashi asked them. Kagome nodded happily.
"Sure!" Kagome answered back enthusiastically. "Come on guys!" Everyone followed her into the kitchen and waited for instructions from Mrs. Higurashi. She already had all the ingredients and utensils out ready for use. A wooden spoon was set in a large mixing bowl, and two baking pans were set out on the counter. Measuring spoons, cups, flour, a bag of peanuts, a dozen eggs, a box of margarine and brown sugar were also set on the counter beside the bowl. Kagome dragged a chair, so that Shippo could help too.
"Okay, Miroku, would you mix one stick of margarine and Sango would you pour one cup of brown sugar into the bowl?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. They stood there, looking quite confused at her directions and Kagome helped them out, showing them what she meant. Miroku thought of giving Sango a friendly squeeze, since to his luck she was next to him, but decided against it as Kagome's mom was there. Miroku had some trouble un-sticking the margarine, but finally got it off. Sango was very careful in pouring the brown sugar so that it didn't spill and tipped it into the bowl. Then, Miroku mixed it as Mrs. Higurashi instructed and they waited for the next part.
"Good. Shippo, you can beat in two eggs and mix in a bit of the vanilla extract," Kagome's mom said, reading off the recipe. Shippo nearly jumped up in excitement, eager to finally help. He had some trouble with cracking the egg and Kagome ended up sifting through the batter for eggshell. ^_^ Shippo ended up adding in a bit too much vanilla extract too…Kagome felt like she was teaching a bunch of five year olds how to cook, but had to admit that it was a lot of fun. She wondered how Inuyasha would get along with his part.
"Inuyasha, you can mix in…one and three-quarter cups of flour," Mrs. Higurashi told him and Kagome showed him the right cups to use. He lifted the sack of flour and dumped it over the first cup.
"Inuyasha-!" started Kagome, her eyes widening, but stopped him a little too late. With a soft 'phff', the white powder spilled onto the kitchen counter and white dust filled the air, covering everyone in flour to one extent or another.
Kagome was about to tell Inuyasha off, when she saw his expression of stunned confusion. She burst out laughing and had to steady herself on the counter with her left hand.
"You…should…look at your…face!" she giggled, her other hand covering her mouth. Inuyasha recovered from his temporary shock and grabbed a handful of flour from the pile, before tossing it over Kagome. She stared incredulously at him, and picked up an egg, gently rolling it in her hands. She brought her hand down towards Inuyasha's head.
"Come on, let's not start that!" Mrs. Higurashi warned them, but it was too late as a crack was heard, and Inuyasha's head was covered in egg slime.
"That does it, I'm gonna get you Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled and grabbed another handful of flour. Shippo ran and hid under the table. Mrs. Higurashi sighed and rolled her eyes. She quickly left the room, leaving them to finish their little 'ingredient fight' and to get some rags for cleanup…
Meanwhile, Kagome ran behind Sango and ducked. Sango froze, from being hit with the flour. Normally she would try and stop their fights, but decided to join in for once.
"Okay Inuyasha…" Sango said, grabbing an egg and pelting it in Inuyasha's direction. For a girl, she had pretty good aim and the egg landed squarely on Inuyasha's face with a crack. He fell back a step, but then was up in an instant.
"You're gonna pay!" Inuyasha growled and took the entire bag of flour. With an 'eep', both girls ran and hid behind Miroku.
"Do not worry ladies, I'll protect you!" Miroku said with a grin and shielded them from Inuyasha's wrath. Inuyasha made a motion to dump the bag of flour, aiming more for the girls than for the monk. Then Kagome got an idea…it was cruel, but it would work.
"Hey Inuyasha!" she called from behind the monk.
"What?" he called back and stopped for a second.
"Oswari." Inuyasha plummeted to the ground but luckily the bag of flour broke his fall, so he didn't bruise to badly. Great…instead of dirt, it was flour.
"Mffm!" Shouted Inuyasha, which translated into 'unfair'. She'd really pay for that one. Concerned that she actually hurt him, Kagome cautiously walked over and bent down.
"You okay?" She asked. Before she knew it, she felt an egg slap her on top of her head and looked up in confusion. Inuyasha was back up off the ground and flour was caked on his face thanks to the previous egg that glued it on.
"Ha! Got you, wench!" he cried triumphantly. Luckily for him, Kagome's mom was still getting towels, or he would've been in trouble.
"Hey!" she whined, but then stopped; she did deserve it after all. Mrs. Higurashi came downstairs with a few towels in her arms.
"Okay, it's fine that you had fun but now you have to clean it up," her mother said handing them the towels. "Then, I want all of you to take a shower." They all nodded and everyone pitched in to make the kitchen spick and span again. It took them a little more than a half an hour to scrape the egg, and flour off the kitchen floors, walls and table. Even Inuyasha helped, and in the end, they did get those cookies baked. ^_^
****************
Everyone was sitting in the living room, having already taken a shower, and sitting doing one thing or another. Mrs. Higurashi was reading, Shippo and Sota were coloring, and Sango, and Miroku were watching a movie. Kagome was attempting to do some homework. Suddenly a scream, well rather a yelp-ish growl could be heard from the bathroom. Everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed upstairs to see what was wrong. Kagome frantically banged on the bathroom door.
"What's wrong Inuyasha!" she called to him in a worried voice.
"Why is this so damn HOT?!" he cried out, not bothering to keep the cursing out of his sentence. They heard the hissing of the hot water splashing into the tub. Apparently Inuyasha had turned on the hot water and had not tested the temperature first.
"Get on a towel and let me in!" Kagome ordered, and Inuyasha, shaking, quickly wrapped one around his waist. He opened the door and she stumbled into the room.
"Inuyasha! I thought you said you understood how to work it!" she cried out, in a frustrated tone, mostly worried that he had hurt himself. She quickly twisted the hot water tap off, and the steam began to clear. Red marks crept up Inuyasha's arms and down his chest, and Kagome's face softened as she winced. She reached out a slender hand and brushed it lightly on his hot skin.
"Does it hurt much? I'm so sorry…" she said, biting her lip. Inuyasha didn't know what to think. One second she was yelling at him, the next, she looked like she was about to cry. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm okay now, Kagome. Sorry I worried you," he said, trying to push the no-worry tone into his voice. Inuyasha ran a clawed hand gently through her raven hair, but stopped when he realized what he was doing. Blushing he looked down at the tiled floor and Kagome smiled almost sadly at his red-tinged body. Mrs. Higurashi rummaged around in the medicine cabinet, and pulled out some cream in a white tube.
"Here, put this on him Kagome," she said. "I'll leave you two alone." Then she beckoned for everyone else to follow her back downstairs. In the meantime, Kagome squirted some of the cream on her left hand.
"Okay, turn around. This'll feel a little cold, but it'll help sooth the pain," she said gently. Inuyasha, instinctively was about to protest, but then consented, turning his back towards her. With her slender hand, she began to massage his back. He winced at the coldness of the cream, but then relaxed easily. Kagome started with his shoulders and worked her way down to just above his waist. His skin felt hot, and she could feel the firm muscle underneath it. Kagome worked as tenderly as she could, and did it in no hurry at all.
Inuyasha usually hated being treated, but Kagome's hands felt so soothing on his skin that he almost didn't want her to stop. She paused briefly a couple times to squirt more cream into her palms, but then went back to work. Inuyasha closed his eyes, as she rubbed the top part of his body up and down in the rhythm. Silence fell between the two, but they much enjoyed each other's company. The time spent between them felt like at least a half an hour and ended all too soon, but it calmed them both quite nicely.
"Done?" Inuyasha asked, opening his eyes after she had stopped for longer than usual. Kagome nodded and wiped the excess cream off her hands on a nearby towel.
"Just let that cool your body for a few minutes. Then I think you'd better try a bath, instead of a shower. This tap is cold, this one's hot," She explained, pointing to both of the silver knobs. "This time, test it before you get in, okay? I don't want this happening again." Kagome said while taking a deep breath.
"Hm…you know what? I think I'll do it this time," Kagome said and ran Inuyasha's bath water. Dipping her finger in the now still surface she nodded. "That should be okay, now," she said before standing up and leaving. Part of Inuyasha wish she would stay, but knew it wouldn't be right for her to.
"Oh, um…thanks Kagome," he said, with a glance at her. She smiled and nodded once before walking out and shutting the door. Inuyasha unwrapped the towel and stepped in, truly thankful for Kagome's help.
*********
That afternoon, things were actually decent between everyone. Even Miroku and Sango seemed to be in good terms, and not once did he try and grope her. The hours rolled by, and surprisingly enough Kagome got caught up on most of her work. Since it was overcast out, as dinner neared, the evening came early today.
"Kagome, I made your favorite: Oden," Mrs. Higurashi called and Kagome cheered.
"Thanks mom!" Kagome squealed and hugged her mom, tightly around the waist. She thought she had smelled her favorite dish and she was right.
Everyone once again took their places around the table, took up their chopsticks and dug in hungrily. Satisfied sounds filled the air, and it wasn't long before the pot was empty. The meal might've been simple, but it sure was good.
Everyone stacked their dishes and set them in the sink before settling back down in one of the main rooms. Kagome's mom struck up a fire in the fireplace and soon enough it crackled merrily, as the dusk crept upon them.
Inuyasha nervously glanced at Mrs. Higurashi and she nodded at him. He stood up and from the closet he pulled out Kagome's gift. Then he left to go outside. Kagome watched him go to a different room, but couldn't see what he was doing, as the lights were turned out. She heard the door shut and got up to follow him. She felt for the little gift in her skirt pocket and nodded, satisfied that it was still there.
"Kagome, at least put on your jacket," Mrs. Higurashi requested. Kagome slipped on her jacket and opened the door.
She hugged her coat extra tight and scanned the area for Inuyasha. She was surprised at how cold it felt outside, and how still her dark surroundings seemed to be. Then she caught a glimpse of red and saw Inuyasha heading towards the shrine. He couldn't be going home, could he? No…his sword was still inside, up against the wall near the door. She knew he wouldn't even consider leaving without his precious sword. And his normal clothes were still inside…
Kagome followed him all the way to the shrine and he stopped under the Oak tree. Kagome, a bit puzzled by seeing him just stand there jogged to him. Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound of her footsteps, extra loud because of his keen sense of hearing and turned to her with a smile. Kagome slowed and looked at him curiously; he was smiling and it was a real smile this time.
When she was only a few feet away from him, Inuyasha took his hands out from behind his back held in his hands good-sized package.
"I got this for you," Inuyasha said, a little nervously. Would she like it? He prayed she would.
He got her a gift? Blushing slightly, Kagome reached out for it, wondering what it could be. Gently, with her slender fingers unwrapped the package and it revealed a white stuff dog, dressed in red. Around it's neck was a beautiful silver bracelet. Inuyasha unclipped the bracelet and Kagome shifted the dog into her right arms, so he could gently set it into her palms. Kagome stared down at the bracelet to find her name as well as Inuyasha's on it.
"D-do you like it?" he asked. Kagome almost laughed at the way he was acting. The red sweatshirt, blue jeans, sneakers, and his nervous attitude made him look almost like a normal human boy. Kagome smile, she never thought she'd live to see a nervous Inuyasha.
"I love it," she answered back truthfully. Inuyasha gave a relieved smile and helped Kagome clip the bracelet onto her wrist. She hugged the plush dog with a smile.
"Oh! That remind me, I got something for you too," she said, reaching into her skirt pocket and pulling out the little gift. Inuyasha was genuinely surprised and took it delicately with his clawed fingers. It was his turn to wonder, as he unwrapped the gift. He could not have prepared himself for what was in the black case. He stared down, speechless what lay in his hands. It was the last jewel shard!
"I've been saving it, you know for emergencies," she said and pulled out the almost complete Shikon no Tama from her other pocket. The young miko handed him the jewel and he placed the sliver in the crevice. The jewel glowed a bright pink that seemed to light up the entire place and when it dimmed a perfect sphere now laid in Inuyasha's palms. Kagome suddenly frowned and just stared at the Shikon no Tama. It was over…no more demons to fight, no more long nights under the stars…
"When…when you become a youkai…don't forget me, okay?" Kagome whispered, trying to keep the sad bitterness from her voice. Inuyasha's eyes widened at what she was saying and he gazed back at the glowing, pink treasure in his hands. That's why he wanted the jewel right? So he could become a full demon; so he could be powerful and no one could tell him what to do. So he could finally be accepted…but…he was already accepted. The young girl standing in front of her had accepted him, as well as all of his other…friends? Yes, he had FRIENDS…
Kagome turned to go back to her house, but a large, firm hand reached out for hers and she stared at it.
"Kagome, I could never forget you. When I'm with you, I feel so…alive. Something I hadn't been able to feel even when my parents were still with me. You accepted me for who I was, even though I'm a hanyou." Inuyasha turned Kagome towards him and looked at her face. His hand still on hers, he set something in her right hand. When Kagome uncurled her hand, the Shikon no Tama had been placed there.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, while searching his face with a puzzled look.
"I'm giving it to you; you should decide what to do with it. I fully realized I have everything I could ever want." Kagome gazed into his amber eyes and realized he meant every word he said. She closed her hands protectively over the jewel because that was what she was supposed to do. She was the reincarnation of the miko who lived protecting it and died by it. Slipping it back into her pocket, she was still amazed at Inuyasha's decision, not to mention his maturity change.
"We…should probably-" Kagome began, but then gasped when Inuyasha did something that surprised them both. He pulled her close to him and with his fingers on her chin, lifted it upwards. Inuyasha leaned in and his warm breath, still scented like Oden, brushed her face gently, as soft as if a butterfly had landed on her cheek. A few strands of her hair shifted slightly from his breath. Kagome's heart sped up and thumped hard against her chest. She swallowed, not daring to break the silence. He's going to…
In one split second, Kagome found her lips touching his in a few chaste kisses. She tensed, but not because she didn't like it, but because she didn't know what to do. The plush toy was still in her right arm, but seemed to be nearly forgotten in the excitement. Inuyasha could feel her tense and frowned.
"Relax," he breathed, pulling away just a hair to say that before returning to caress her mouth. Relax? How could she do that when the one person she loved the most was kissing her? Kagome tried though, and fell into the rhythm of the kiss. Inuyasha opened her mouth with his tongue so he could really kiss her. (A/N: no, it's not a French kiss, guys) She tested her own skills and kissed him back, enjoying the hinted flavor of Oden. Despite how cold it was, his lips were warm and moist. For a hanyou, he wasn't a bad kisser. ^_^ She had never experienced anything like this before and knew she'd probably be grinning for days. The warmth of his body pressed against hers was almost too much excitement for her to contain.
Inuyasha was enjoying the kiss as much as Kagome was. Her lips felt so soft and though she felt inexperienced, she caught on quickly. He couldn't believe it himself when he told her to relax, but that quickly slipped his mind. Throughout the kiss the hand that had been on her chin, now rubbed her cold, pink-tinged cheek affectionately.
Everything around them seemed to disappear, and even though it was probably less than thirty degrees out, neither of them wanted to pull away. Nothing could have felt more right between the two. It wasn't quite how Kagome pictured their first kiss, but on the other hand, she didn't care. She didn't need to tell him how she felt; their feelings were said through the kiss.
Eventually their lungs protested for fresh air, and reluctantly, they pulled apart, panting heavily. Kagome felt slightly weak; partly from the lack of air, but more because she was still convincing herself that this wasn't a dream. The two rosy-cheek teenagers spent a few minutes breathing in the cold, wintry air.
Inuyasha sat down on the cold, gray steps leading to the shrine and motioned for Kagome to sit with him. She folded her skirt with one hand underneath her and steadying herself, started to sit down. Inuyasha however grabbed one of her hands and pulled her closer to him. Kagome couldn't hold back the smile and sat in front of him, loving the fact that she could be so close to him again. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around him, and Kagome closed her eyes. A single snowflake floated in front of them and Inuyasha roused Kagome gently. One snowflake after another floated silently down from the heavens.
"It's snowing!" Kagome gasped with a smile. Soon enough, they were caught in a winter wonderland and the white flakes of fluff got caught in their hair.
"You're so pretty Kagome," Inuyasha said, staring longingly at her face. Snowflakes dotted her hair and she looked almost magical. Her cheeks were softly colored a warm blush, and her lips looked slightly red from the pressure of the earlier kiss. Kagome grinned and mumbled 'thanks'. He wrapped her into another kiss and they completely ignored how cold it was, because in each other's arms they couldn't care if it was below zero.
"Kagome, it's not over yet. We still have Naraku to destroy," Inuyasha pointed out, after they pulled away for another breather. Kagome nodded. That was true. They weren't quite finished yet. She smiled inside; they didn't have to make the parting decision yet.
"Inuyasha, we should probably go inside," Kagome said a little hesitantly. He frowned, wondering if he did something wrong.
"Are you cold?" he asked. Kagome began to shake her head, but then nodded slowly. He would have wanted to stay out here where they could be alone, but if Kagome wanted to go inside…besides he didn't want her to be cold.
"Fine," he said and he leaped back to her house, carrying her bridal-style. Kagome's mom was by the door and had her coat and boots on, just about ready to go search for the two. She opened the door for them so they could come in and smiled seeing the two together. Inuyasha set Kagome down gently.
Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze as they made their way into the living room. A crackling, glowing fire burned merrily in the fireplace and everyone was gathered on the floor or on the couches. Grandpa was snoozing on a chair, and Sota and Shippo were both on the floor, coloring. They both noticed that Sango had something glittering on her wrist. But what surprised them even more was that she had let Miroku come within an arms distance beside her. He was wearing his purple sweater and black jeans. Kagome sat down on the couch beside Sango.
"Did Miroku give that to you?" she whispered to her friend. Sango couldn't hide her smile and nodded. Of course Miroku heard that, but pretended he didn't. Inuyasha pulled Kagome close to him again. Sango smiled at her friend and Kagome winked back. Miroku dared to reach a hand out, but this time he wrapped it over her shoulder, where it hung casually around her neck. Surprisingly, Sango let him, but after giving him a warning look. But then she leaned into him, and Miroku grinned. She even let him kiss her on the cheek. The monk wished this day called Christmas Eve would come more often, but had a feeling this was a one-time opportunity.
The couples snuggled with each other, watching the amber fire crackle and the light dancing on their contented faces. They silently enjoyed their Christmas Eve as the snowflakes gathered softly on the ground outside. This would definitely be one night that everyone would remember…
Inuyasha: *reading the end of the script* There ain't no way I'm doing that!
Kaykoha: Please Inuyasha, just this once? I'll give you ramen…
Inuyasha: I said there ain't…did you say Ramen? Okay! Deal!
Chapter 2
Kagome woke, to a very quiet setting, and shifted slightly in her sleeping bag. Not wanting to make too much of an effort she lifted her head and twisted it to the side slightly to see what time it was. The clock read 9:53 am and Kagome closed her eyes. She decided to sleep some more…but her groggy mind had seen something. Kagome's eyes snapped open and checked to see if she had seen right. Supporting herself into a half-sitting position, she looked at the couch to see that Inuyasha wasn't there. The blanket had been messily thrown back, but Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen. With a frown, Kagome pushed back her sleeping bag covering and shivered at the icy air, despite the fact that she was wearing a sweater. It must be really cold outside.
As quietly as she could, for the others were still sleeping, she picked her way over them and began searching the house. Looking out the window the sky was overcast and it looked quite bleary outside. She slipped on her shoes and a reached for her winter jacket, but paused. Had Inuyasha really gone outside…that baka. The house was silent, so he wasn't inside. She grabbed her coat and a scarf and put them on, slipping outside.
It wasn't so bad outside…but then a light breeze blew across Kagome's face and she shook from the cold. Nope, she was wrong, it was FREEZING outside. She wouldn't have been surprised if she saw snowflakes falling. Kagome scanned the area for any signs of Inuyasha, but couldn't find him. Walking around the house and to the shrine gripping her jacket fiercely, searched for him, but she still couldn't find him. Where could he have possibly gone? Worry and doubt started creeping into her mind and she called his name. She exhaled the cloudy, moist fog as the familiar name sounded in the air. Nothing. But somewhere, not to far from where Kagome was, a pair of silver, doggy ears twitched at the sound of her voice. She tried again, her teeth chattering and her voice shaking.
"Kagome?" asked a familiar voice. Kagome spun around to find Inuyasha staring at her with his worried amber eyes. He wore his usual red clothes, and was even barefoot, but didn't seem bothered by the cold at all. He closed the twenty feet easily and she gave him a part relieved, part surprised look.
"What the hell do you think you're doing out here in this weather?" he questioned, sounding angry, but Kagome knew that he was just worried.
"I could ask you the same thing," she retorted. He stopped, and just stood in front of her.
"I…just needed to get out for a while. A youkai like me can't stand being indoors for too long," he said coolly, but at the same time he seemed a little distant, as if he had been thinking about something. Kagome decided not to correct Inuyasha about the youkai part, because that would just hurt his ego. Besides she didn't feel like arguing with him early in the morning. She gave an involuntary shudder from the cold air, and Inuyasha looked back at her with his worried face again. He turned his back to her and crouched down. Huh?
"Get on. You should get to your house before you get sick," Inuyasha told her. Kagome decided not to object, and clambered on, loosely grabbing him around the neck. Supporting her legs with his arms, Inuyasha effortlessly leaped his way back to her house and they were at the door within seconds. His back was warm, and his silver hair fluttered over Kagome's face. Letting her slide off his back Inuyasha even opened the door for Kagome, which I can tell you surprised her even more. What had gotten into him? He was rarely ever THIS nice.
"Thanks," she said, wondering at his sudden politeness. Inuyasha smiled a little before following after her. Kagome gratefully welcomed the heated environment of her house and took off her scarf and coat. As soon as they entered the living room, a little brown furball shot into her arms.
"Kagome! I woke and you weren't there! Where did you go?" asked a little voice, which belonged to Shippo. He looked like he was about to hyperventilate.
"Calm down, Shippo, I was outside looking for Inuyasha," she explained, soothingly rubbing him on his furry head to calm him down. Just then, everyone else came in looking almost as worried as Shippo.
"Ah, there you are Kagome," said Miroku, who was followed by Sango.
"Where were you?" Sango asked.
"I think we'd all like to know that. How very interesting that you and Inuyasha should go missing at the same time," Miroku added. Ugh! Couldn't that hentai get his mind out of the gutter for one second?
"Inuyasha went outside early, and I just went out to look for him," she explained to the group of people, saving her glare for Miroku.
"That's IT? Can I go back to bed?" Sota pleaded to his mom.
"Hm…I might as well put breakfast on since we're all up," Mrs. Higurashi decided. "You might as well put away your sleeping bags while I prepare breakfast."
They all gave an 'okay' and began to do just that.
As soon as they finished wrestling their sleeping bags into their cases, Kagome told the to just set them up against the wall near the couch, since they'd be using them again tonight. They watched some T.V until breakfast.
"Breakfast is ready!" called Mrs. Higurashi from the kitchen.
"Oh boy, food!" cried Shippo happily as he bounced into the kitchen. Everyone migrated in the same direction and took their places at the table. There was Miso soup already ladled into small bowls, gohan (a type of rice) and a plate with toast stacked on it.
"Green tea anyone?" Mrs. Higurashi offered. Everyone politely nodded and she served that too. Everyone picked up their chopsticks and dug in. Pretty soon all that could be heard was the sound of munching and the occasional shifting.
"Inuyasha, Miroku. As soon as we're done, we'll take the bus to the mall and I'll buy you temporary clothes," Mrs. Higurashi announced. Of course, as both Inuyasha and Mrs. Higurashi knew, this was really to get Kagome's gift rather than to buy clothes.
It wasn't long until they were finished and they deposited each of their dishes in the sink. Mrs. Higurashi, Inuyasha and Miroku got ready to leave. Miroku left his staff by the front door and it took some convincing for Inuyasha to leave Tetsusaiga too. He reluctantly agreed, and Kagome found him a hat to wear to cover his ears.
"There ain't no way I'm leaving Tetsusaiga here, they can't be bothered by it too much!" he protested.
"Inuyasha I promise it'll be safe here," confirmed Kagome's mom kindly and he set it up against the wall.
"You better take care of it, you hear that Kagome!" warned Inuyasha, shaking a fist at her. Instead of listening to him, she rummaged around in a closet and came up with a blue cotton snow hat for his ears.
"What is THAT for?" Inuyasha growled, glaring distastefully at the hat.
"Inuyasha, humans aren't accustomed to seeing silver-head people with dog ears. It might freak them out, and it'd probably be better that you don't attract a lot of attention. Besides it's pretty cold out," Kagome said shoving the hat on his head making sure it hid his ears.
"Ouch! That HURT Kagome!" he yelled, and turned his glare on her. He just barely held back cursing at her, as Mrs. Higurashi wouldn't have been too pleased.
"It did not! So stop complaining!" she yelled back just as loud. Inuyasha could be a real pain sometimes…Mrs. Higurashi, sensing the sparks of an argument, intervened.
"Kagome you can find something for Sango and Shippo to do while we're gone, we won't be long. Oh and Sota, don't spend too much time playing video games," Mrs. Higurashi told her children. Kagome and Sota nodded 'okay' and they left. Sota went into the living room and immediately set up the video games on the TV, deciding he'd only play for an hour.
"So what would you like to do?" Kagome asked turning to the youkai-exterminator and the little kitsune.
"Do you think Miroku and Inuyasha will be okay wearing what they've got on?" Sango asked her.
"Well, they'll probably attract some attention, but there's not much we can do. We don't have any clothes that would fit them anyway," she said, blowing out a heavy sigh.
"Besides, I think we should worry about the rest of Japan first," she added jokingly and Sango smiled. Yeah, a hentai and a hanyou with a hot temper…that could be trouble. ^_^
Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome's mom were gone for about two hours and in that time Kagome had taught Shippo and Sango how to play Baba-nuki, and Shinkei-suijaku. They had a lot of fun, except for Shippo, who was lost every single time.
"Don't feel to bad Shippo you'll get the hang of it eventually," Kagome said kindly to him. Shippo, however doubted that very much…
"Kagome, can I take a…shower?" Sango asked her at the end of the first game. Kagome nodded. "It'd probably be better that you did that now while that lecherous monk isn't here anyway." They both rolled their eyes.
"True," Sango agreed and headed upstairs to collect her temporary clothes and wash herself.
*************
Meanwhile, Inuyasha, Mrs. Higurashi and Miroku boarded the bus to go to the mall. It was loud and a bit dirty, and people kept staring at them.
"What are YOU staring at?" Inuyasha growled at them and glared back at them with his temperamental amber eyes. Some of them shrunk back at his anger and Mrs. Higurashi put a hand on his shoulder.
"Please, Inuyasha. Try not to yell at them," she requested softly in his ear. Inuyasha just snorted and sat cross-legged in his seat.
It seemed that three of Kagome's friends were also out for early-morning shopping and eyed Miroku and Inuyasha curiously. They guessed that one of them had to be the boy, Inuyasha that Kagome kept talking about, because they were with her mom. However they couldn't figure out who was the boy; they both looked pretty hot…
Inuyasha could feel them staring at him, but decided to ignore them since they weren't directly bothering him. Miroku however was in heaven. He knew it would be wrong, but his perverted mind got the better of him. In less then a second, he was sitting next to them with a sly grin.
"Hello ladies. My you're looking beautiful today," he said in his most flattering voice. They giggled in his presence, and Miroku knew he had hit gold.
"Would one of you pretty ladies bear my ch-" he started, but Inuyasha interrupted him harshly. He knew that this wasn't the place to ask that question from the way Kagome had told him off yesterday.
"Cut that out Miroku!" he snapped at him with a warning glare before the perverted monk got the rest of the sentence out. Miroku's face fell but turned to them.
"You'll have to excuse me," he said politely, but not before grabbing the hands of the closest girl in front of him. They giggled again, but then tried to get a good look at Inuyasha.
"Hey! Are you Inuyasha?" One of them with short brown hair asked him. How the heck did they know his name? He thought that Kagome said that humans weren't used to demons. He narrowed his eyes at them in an irritated glare to hide his surprise.
"So what if I am? What's it to you?" he asked not at all kindly. They whispered excitedly and giggled. He must be the one; they'd have to talk to Kagome later…Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked out the window. Why were these girls so irritating? At least Kagome wasn't like that…she was different. She could be really sweet sometimes…except when she was 'sitting' him. Inuyasha casually looked up to find the face of Miroku peering into his and nearly fell over.
"What's your problem monk? You nearly gave me a heart-attack!" Inuyasha yelled and had to keep himself from testing his claws on Miroku.
"You wouldn't happen to be thinking about Kagome, would you?" he asked the hanyou.
"Feh. What gave you that idea?" Inuyasha snapped. Miroku threw up his hands in defense.
"I was just ASKING," the monk answered, and decided he'd place himself somewhere not next to an angry Inuyasha. He'd have to do something about the two…and at the same time think about how he'd get Sango at the same time.
The trio finally arrived at the mall. Inuyasha tried to ignore all the stares that were thrown in his direction, and Miroku had to use all his willpower to keep from attaching himself to every pretty girl he saw. It was tempting though, as there were quite a few of them. He grinned every time a group of girls giggled at him, and their boyfriends gave the monk warning glares. Miroku didn't mind one bit though, he was just having a bit of FUN.
Inuyasha however wasn't so pleased every time a girl threw him a seductive smile. He found it rather annoying, and had to give them a scowl to tell them he wasn't the least bit interested.
They entered the first store and Mrs. Higurashi started going through the racks looking for suitable clothes for the two. After about three sets of clothes she found some that actually fit Inuyasha. The first set that fit him was a simple blue t-shirt, a red sweatshirt with pockets as well as a hood, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of simple, white sneakers. She also found him a pair of boxers to wear.
"Jeans, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and sneakers," she told Inuyasha, pushing him into the men's changing room, and set off to find clothes for the monk.
Inuyasha had some trouble at first. The first door he came to was locked and he nearly ripped it off its hinges in frustration before he heard an angry shout from the other side and Mrs. Higurashi came rushing towards him to help.
"Inuyasha, find one that's not being used. There's one over there," she said, pointing to the farthest one their right. Inuyasha, somewhat embarrassed slowly walked over to it, went inside and shut the door. He found himself in a rather tiny room, and hoped he wouldn't be here for very long. Luckily he was smart enough to figure how everything went on, but grew frustrated with the zipper, as his claws couldn't seem to work it out. He couldn't believe that he, a half-demon could be defeated by such a small contraption.
"Kagome's mom?" he called out awkwardly. Luckily for him, Mrs. Higurashi was coming to check on him.
"Yes, Inuyasha?" she asked.
"I'm having trouble with this…thing on my…jeans," he explained, and let Mrs. Higurashi come in. He had his shirt and sweater one, so he was decent enough. Mrs. Higurashi bent down and zipped up his pants, while Inuyasha tried not to burn from embarrassment from having her so close to…uh you know where. She stood up and smiled at him.
"There," she said simply. "Do you need some help with your shoes and socks too?" Inuyasha had almost forgotten them and nodded. She helped him with those too and Inuyasha found he felt most uncomfortable in these clothes. His feet felt trapped and he felt like he couldn't move his legs in his pants.
"Thanks," he mumbled. She nodded and Inuyasha looked in the mirror.
"You look very handsome, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi complimented, looking in the mirror as well. Inuyasha couldn't help but grin; he did look pretty cool, even if he was dressed in some foreign clothes. He wondered if Kagome would like the way he looked…
"You need to undress so Miroku can try his clothes on too," Kagome's mom told him. Inuyasha nodded and waited for her to leave before he did that. He was grateful to be back in his normal clothes where he could at least maneuver.
Kagome's mom left to tell Miroku he could go to change. The monk waited for Inuyasha to finish up, before doing his round of trying on clothes. After trying on several sizes, Mrs. Higurashi had found him black jeans, a green t-shirt, a purple sweater and black sneakers. After experimenting with the zipper, he had no trouble in working it. He too, needed some help with the shoes, but quickly caught on. Miroku admired himself in the mirror and could imagine Sango with her arm at his waist.
"Do those work for you, Miroku?" Kagome's mom asked him.
"Yes, they fit me well," he answered back from the tiny room.
"I'll need those too, so undress and we'll find you each two more sets of clothes," Mrs. Higurashi told him. Miroku quickly undressed and came out with the clothes folded over his arms and handed them to Kagome's mom. She took them and went off to find more clothes. They finally decided on their second set of clothes, and meandered to another part of the mall to find Kagome's gift.
"We're finding a present from Inuyasha to Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi explained after Miroku asked what they were doing. That gave Miroku an idea.
"Could I find a gift for Sango as well?" the monk asked. Mrs. Higurashi nodded in agreement and they walked into the first store.
It was a gift shop store with a lot of pretty and quite expensive trinkets; it seems the prices were increased just for the occasion. The selection of gift included things like as diamond rings, pearl necklaces, bracelets made of thin gold, and shiny lockets. There were also cards as well as stuffed animals and glass sculptures. What would be the perfect gift, though? What would Kagome want? Mrs. Higurashi let the two wander around and she too helped look for gifts that she thought Kagome would like.
Inuyasha looked around at all the pretty gifts and finally found what he thought she'd like the most. A little white, stuffed dog dressed in red caught his eye, sitting in a glass cabinet. It was posed in a sitting position and its tongue flopped halfway out of its mouth. Small, clear, plastic, brown eyes looked at Inuyasha. Around the dog's neck was a simple bracelet made of tiny silver chains. Beside it were several other stuffed cats and dogs toys. On the other half of the cabinet were small silver letters that looked like they attached to the bracelets.
"Oi! Kagome's mom!" Inuyasha shouted and Mrs. Higurashi came over.
"Inuyasha, there's no need to shout. What do you need?" she asked and Inuyasha pointed to the dog.
"Do you think Kagome would like this?" he asked, lowering his voice, but not by much. Mrs. Higurashi looked at the stuffed dog and nodded.
"I think she'll like that a lot. I'll go have your names clipped onto the bracelet," she said and went to talk an assistant. Their names? He didn't think of that…but it sounded like it would add a nice touch to the gift.
Inuyasha headed over to where Miroku was looking for a gift for Sango, but was having less luck. What do you get for a youkai-exterminator that gives you cold glares very five seconds? It wasn't his fault if he couldn't control that hand of his…Luckily for him Mrs. Higurashi came over to help.
"The man is attaching your names. Having some trouble Miroku?" she asked the monk. He nodded.
"I found a few simple charm bracelets over there that might look interesting," Mrs. Higurashi said and they followed her to the jewelry section of the store. Mrs. Higurashi pointed to several different charm bracelets. One of them was made of part gold and in it's case had little gold numbers, 1-20. Just then, the man who was working on Inuyasha's gift called to Mrs. Higurashi and she went over to retrieve it.
"That one would be perfect. For all the times you groped her," Inuyasha muttered with a wry smirk. Miroku slapped on his innocent look and kept searching for the right bracelet. Mrs. Higurashi wandered back over with Kagome's gift.
"Found anything?" she asked. He shook his head. He didn't know finding the right gift would be so difficult.
"I'm sure she'll like anything you'll give her," Mrs. Higurashi assured. Miroku finally decided on a bracelet that would have her name attached to it, and he found a little silver kitten that looked a lot like Kirara when she was in kitten form. Mrs. Higurashi decided to get a little something for Shippo so he wouldn't feel left out. She got him a coloring book full of pages of different kinds of animals and a box of twelve-color crayons.
Mrs. Higurashi had Sango's bracelet done too and paid for their gifts. They walked out of the store and decided it was about time to head home.
***********
Sango had just come downstairs after her shower, wearing her new clothes. Kagome had decided she might as well get dressed too. Shippo went in to watch Sota play video games while the two changed. Sango wore the short, pink skirt and the blue sweater with the white, snowflake patterns on it. Kagome decided on a forest green shirt that hugged her body that had a yellow star on the front, and red skirt. They both wore white stockings, but decided to go bare-foot for now.
Just then, Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome's mom entered the house. The first thing Inuyasha did was made sure Tetsusaiga was safe before anything else. Miroku and Inuyasha hid their presents in their clothes, so they could surprise the girls later. Mrs. Higurashi had Shippo's gift in her purse and would give it to him later tonight. She took out Miroku and Inuyasha's clothes and folded one set before setting them on a nearby table, but gave them each the other set.
"I'll just set them here, so tomorrow you can just take them. In the meantime you can change into one set and I'll wash your clothes," she told them. They both nodded and did just that.
While they changed, Inuyasha set his gift in a nearby closet where Mrs. Higurashi told him Kagome would never look and Miroku slipped his gift into his sweatshirt pockets, finding it quite handy.
"I'm preparing lunch boys, so when you're done, come on down," Mrs. Higurashi called up to them from downstairs.
"Okay!" they replied and finished getting dressed.
Inuyasha and Miroku came down in their new clothes and carrying their normal ones. Mrs. Higurashi took them and put them somewhere that they didn't see to be washed.
Everyone sat in the usual places, and started to eat. Lunch was really simple; Mrs. Higurashi cooked up some Soba for everyone, and Ramen for Inuyasha.
"Ramen!" Inuyasha shouted happily, but then cleared his throat and sat down. Everyone stared in confusion at his sudden outburst that was very un-Inuyasha-like. Pretty soon though, it was forgotten and everyone ate without much conversation.
Kagome began stacking her dishes when everyone heard a ringing sound. The four guests cocked their heads in curiosity and Kagome jumped. She wanted to answer it but…
"Go ahead, Kagome. I'll take care of your dishes," Mrs. Higurashi said kindly. Kagome nodded 'thanks,' and made her way to her room.
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," she said to her phone, which was ringing annoyingly at her on her desk. She picked it up and answered it. She should've expected what she heard next.
"Kagome!" It was her friend Eri. She could hear her other friend's chatting in the background.
"Oh! Uh, hi guys!" Kagome said, dreading the next part of the conversation.
"Why didn't you tell us Inuyasha was visiting? Can we come over?" her other friend Ayumi said eagerly. Kagome sweat-dropped.
"How did you know Inuyasha was here?" she asked, slightly puzzled.
"We saw him with your mom and the other cute boy. So can we come over?" they asked again.
"Um…well, you see he's…uh, taking a nap, and he can be pretty grumpy if he doesn't take his mid-day nap," Kagome lied quickly. She could just picture her friends' disappointed face, but she really didn't want to have to explain Shippo, or the extra odds and ends Miroku and Inuyasha had brought with them.
"But, I-I guess it wouldn't hurt if you came over for a little while later," she said. Yeah, maybe that'll work. At least they'd have some time to get prepared. Kagome had to hold the phone arms length away from her to keep herself from becoming deaf from her friends excited squeals.
"Okay, Kagome! We'll be right over!" They all said with another round of high-pitched squeals.
"Wait! I-" she started but then heard a click, telling her that her friends had hung up the phone. Did they just completely ignore what she said before? Kagome raced downstairs to tell or rather warn everyone about her friend's soon-to-be arrival. Much to Inuyasha's distaste, they hid his Tetsusaiga as well as Miroku's staff in a nearby closet. They dressed Shippo in one of Kagome's large t-shirts, in hopes that it would hide his tail. They also found another hat, one that belonged to Sota for Shippo's ears.
Kagome could see her friends heading up to her house in their uniforms and turned to the gang.
"Okay, they'll only be here for five or ten minutes, so try not to do anything weird. And Inuyasha behave yourself," Kagome instructed all of them and shot a warning look at Inuyasha. He forced himself not to growl at her. He could behave himself if he tried…
Ayumi, Eri and Yuka came in and saw Inuyasha. He began to back away with a nervous look in his eyes; these were the girls he saw earlier…He tried to slip away but the three of them immediately pounced on him.
"It's you again!" Eri squealed and they wrapped themselves around his arms. Inuyasha didn't have to be this close to smell the perfume they were wearing, and nearly sneezed while uncomfortably began prying them off his body. They all looked slightly disappointed, and turned to Kagome.
"So, are you two back together? Because if you aren't he's mine!" said Ayumi longingly, and waited for an answer. What should she say? Right then, Miroku stepped in to save the day. Unfortunately, it was probably the wrong way to go. Yuka froze, let out a startled yelp and jumped about five feet in the air. Everyone glared at Miroku.
"My, uh…hand slipped," he said, not at all convincingly. Shippo jumped up into Eri's arms and she looked down at him in surprise, nearly dropping him.
"Oh, Kagome who's this cute little fellow? Is he your cousin?" Eri asked her friend.
"Uh, yeah. He is," Kagome lied quickly. All her friends thought Shippo looked simply adorable in his hat and Shippo was enjoying the attention as well.
"Okay, I think it's time for you to go," Kagome said, trying not to sound rude.
"Kagome, we need to talk to you for a minute," Yuka said and they pushed her out the door. Kagome knew what was coming next, but tried to play dumb.
"Uh, what's up guys?" she asked, slapping on a clueless grin.
"Kagome, is that boy Inuyasha your boyfriend or what?" Yuka asked.
"Yeah, are you still in love with him?" Eri joined in. Kagome shrunk back at their interrogation. This time there was no way out, and Kagome wished she hadn't let them come over after all. They all waited expectantly as Kagome stared hard at the ground with a frown.
"I don't know, I really like Inuyasha though," she answered truthfully, hating being pressed like this. "Don't you guys have something to do?"
Just then Hojo came by, riding his bicycle. Kagome groaned…not him too.
"Hey, Kagome. I was wondering if you'd like to go out tonight," he asked with a hopeful look. Her friends stepped in for her.
"She can't Hojo, she already has plans," Eri told the boy. His face fell and he pulled out a little wrapped package.
"I bought this for you Kagome, I hope you like it," he said handing her the gift. She took it and slowly unwrapped it. Inside was a really pretty diamond necklace that she bet was really expensive and winced guiltily inside.
"Um…thanks, Hojo. It's great," she said, putting on what she hoped was a happy look. He smiled back and nodded to her.
"Okay, see you on Monday!" he called to her, before riding off.
"He'll never give up," said Yuka.
"So exactly what do I have planned for this evening?" Kagome said expectantly to her friends.
"Aren't you doing something with Inuyasha?" Ayumi asked. Kagome thought about that for a minute. No, she didn't have anything planned, but if she told them that, then she was sure they'd MAKE plans for her.
"Uh, yeah, I-I think I do actually," she lied with a great, big fake smile
"Okay, we'll see you Monday," they said to her and walked off whispering to each other. Kagome gave a relieved sigh and already began thinking up what she'd tell them tomorrow as she headed back to her house.
Inuyasha saw Kagome coming back, and to his relief, her friend's weren't with her.
"So what did you finally do to get them to go away?" he asked, making sure they were really gone.
"That's for me to know and for you to never find out," she answered, hoping that he really WOULDN'T ever find out. She gave another sigh and thought of an idea.
"Hey Sango, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked her friend, and grabbed a coat.
"Okay," Sango agreed and slipping on a coat and followed her out of the door. Miroku smiled, and for once it wasn't a lecherous grin.
"That's perfect. Inuyasha we need to talk," he said. Miroku turned to Shippo, who was staring after the girls. "Shippo, why don't you go play with Sota?"
"Why can't I stay here?" the little kitsune-youkai whined. Mrs. Higurashi heard that, and came in.
"Shippo, let the boys talk for a while, I'm sure it's very important," she said with a wink to the two of them. "I bought you a little present, come see." Shippo's face brightened and he bounced after her.
Miroku opened the door and followed Inuyasha outside to the back of the house.
"What do you want, Miroku?" grumbled Inuyasha, crossing his arms and leaning up against Kagome's house.
"I think you should make a move on Kagome," Miroku suggested and Inuyasha turned his head in defiance. The first comeback to use would be to turn the question on Miroku, but since he had already made plenty of moves on Sango, that kinda fell apart.
"Inuyasha, listen to me. The hunt for the jewel shards is almost over. If we defeat Naraku, you two will have to decide what to do about your relationship." Miroku pressed.
"There ain't no relationship!" he growled at the monk, but Miroku wasn't giving up.
"Inuyasha, Kagome really cares for you and you really care for her. You can't deny it," Miroku tried. Inuyasha pretended to be interested in a passing fly, but was really thinking about what Miroku was saying. Kikyo was dead (again), so he couldn't physically have her anymore. She died while trying to kill Naraku and by the time Inuyasha had come, she was just a body with no life in her. This should've made everything simpler, but it just tangled it up even more.
"So that leaves the simple question. Do you love Kagome or don't you?" He asked. Inuyasha just stood there, with a confused expression at his supposedly simple question.
Meanwhile, Sango and Kagome were having pretty much the same conversation, sitting on the bench under the Oak tree near the shrine.
"Kagome, you and I know that Inuyasha cares for you a lot, even if he doesn't always show it," Sango told her best friend. Kagome nodded.
"It's just that if we kill Naraku…and make the jewel whole again, what next?" Kagome asked with a sigh.
"He'll come around," Sango said reassuringly. Kagome decided to switch subjects.
"So how about you and Miroku? You really like him, don't you?" Kagome asked her friend. Sango smiled faintly and looked at her lap.
"When he's not being a pervert," she added. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Well, I think he likes you too. I'll have to do something about you two," Kagome decided.
"I don't think he needs anymore motivation," Sango said with a wry smile. Kagome laughed.
"I guess you're right," she agreed. They stood up and headed back to Kagome's house.
When they got inside, they took off their coats and Kagome hung them up. She scanned the room to make sure Inuyasha wasn't around.
"Sango, follow me," she said and they went upstairs to her room. Kagome reached into one of her desk drawers, and pulled out a small, clear glass bottle with a cork for a top. Sango could barely believe her eyes at what was inside.
"That's…!" gasped Sango in surprise. Kagome nodded.
"I'm giving it to Inuyasha as a present. I hope he'll like it," Kagome said looking at the bottle in her hand. Sango just stared at it with a dumbfounded expression.
"I know he'll like it," Sango confirmed. Kagome took out a sheet of teddy-bear wrapping paper and a black jewelry box she found in her drawers. Then she wrapped her gift and tied a blue ribbon on it before slipping it into her skirt pocket. (A/N: A cookie to anyone who can guess what the gift is ^_^ )
************
Miroku followed Inuyasha back inside, still without an answer from the half-demon. The girls came downstairs and saw that they had returned.
"There you are Kagome. Would you and your friends like to bake some cookies for desert tonight?" Mrs. Higurashi asked them. Kagome nodded happily.
"Sure!" Kagome answered back enthusiastically. "Come on guys!" Everyone followed her into the kitchen and waited for instructions from Mrs. Higurashi. She already had all the ingredients and utensils out ready for use. A wooden spoon was set in a large mixing bowl, and two baking pans were set out on the counter. Measuring spoons, cups, flour, a bag of peanuts, a dozen eggs, a box of margarine and brown sugar were also set on the counter beside the bowl. Kagome dragged a chair, so that Shippo could help too.
"Okay, Miroku, would you mix one stick of margarine and Sango would you pour one cup of brown sugar into the bowl?" Mrs. Higurashi asked. They stood there, looking quite confused at her directions and Kagome helped them out, showing them what she meant. Miroku thought of giving Sango a friendly squeeze, since to his luck she was next to him, but decided against it as Kagome's mom was there. Miroku had some trouble un-sticking the margarine, but finally got it off. Sango was very careful in pouring the brown sugar so that it didn't spill and tipped it into the bowl. Then, Miroku mixed it as Mrs. Higurashi instructed and they waited for the next part.
"Good. Shippo, you can beat in two eggs and mix in a bit of the vanilla extract," Kagome's mom said, reading off the recipe. Shippo nearly jumped up in excitement, eager to finally help. He had some trouble with cracking the egg and Kagome ended up sifting through the batter for eggshell. ^_^ Shippo ended up adding in a bit too much vanilla extract too…Kagome felt like she was teaching a bunch of five year olds how to cook, but had to admit that it was a lot of fun. She wondered how Inuyasha would get along with his part.
"Inuyasha, you can mix in…one and three-quarter cups of flour," Mrs. Higurashi told him and Kagome showed him the right cups to use. He lifted the sack of flour and dumped it over the first cup.
"Inuyasha-!" started Kagome, her eyes widening, but stopped him a little too late. With a soft 'phff', the white powder spilled onto the kitchen counter and white dust filled the air, covering everyone in flour to one extent or another.
Kagome was about to tell Inuyasha off, when she saw his expression of stunned confusion. She burst out laughing and had to steady herself on the counter with her left hand.
"You…should…look at your…face!" she giggled, her other hand covering her mouth. Inuyasha recovered from his temporary shock and grabbed a handful of flour from the pile, before tossing it over Kagome. She stared incredulously at him, and picked up an egg, gently rolling it in her hands. She brought her hand down towards Inuyasha's head.
"Come on, let's not start that!" Mrs. Higurashi warned them, but it was too late as a crack was heard, and Inuyasha's head was covered in egg slime.
"That does it, I'm gonna get you Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled and grabbed another handful of flour. Shippo ran and hid under the table. Mrs. Higurashi sighed and rolled her eyes. She quickly left the room, leaving them to finish their little 'ingredient fight' and to get some rags for cleanup…
Meanwhile, Kagome ran behind Sango and ducked. Sango froze, from being hit with the flour. Normally she would try and stop their fights, but decided to join in for once.
"Okay Inuyasha…" Sango said, grabbing an egg and pelting it in Inuyasha's direction. For a girl, she had pretty good aim and the egg landed squarely on Inuyasha's face with a crack. He fell back a step, but then was up in an instant.
"You're gonna pay!" Inuyasha growled and took the entire bag of flour. With an 'eep', both girls ran and hid behind Miroku.
"Do not worry ladies, I'll protect you!" Miroku said with a grin and shielded them from Inuyasha's wrath. Inuyasha made a motion to dump the bag of flour, aiming more for the girls than for the monk. Then Kagome got an idea…it was cruel, but it would work.
"Hey Inuyasha!" she called from behind the monk.
"What?" he called back and stopped for a second.
"Oswari." Inuyasha plummeted to the ground but luckily the bag of flour broke his fall, so he didn't bruise to badly. Great…instead of dirt, it was flour.
"Mffm!" Shouted Inuyasha, which translated into 'unfair'. She'd really pay for that one. Concerned that she actually hurt him, Kagome cautiously walked over and bent down.
"You okay?" She asked. Before she knew it, she felt an egg slap her on top of her head and looked up in confusion. Inuyasha was back up off the ground and flour was caked on his face thanks to the previous egg that glued it on.
"Ha! Got you, wench!" he cried triumphantly. Luckily for him, Kagome's mom was still getting towels, or he would've been in trouble.
"Hey!" she whined, but then stopped; she did deserve it after all. Mrs. Higurashi came downstairs with a few towels in her arms.
"Okay, it's fine that you had fun but now you have to clean it up," her mother said handing them the towels. "Then, I want all of you to take a shower." They all nodded and everyone pitched in to make the kitchen spick and span again. It took them a little more than a half an hour to scrape the egg, and flour off the kitchen floors, walls and table. Even Inuyasha helped, and in the end, they did get those cookies baked. ^_^
****************
Everyone was sitting in the living room, having already taken a shower, and sitting doing one thing or another. Mrs. Higurashi was reading, Shippo and Sota were coloring, and Sango, and Miroku were watching a movie. Kagome was attempting to do some homework. Suddenly a scream, well rather a yelp-ish growl could be heard from the bathroom. Everyone dropped what they were doing and rushed upstairs to see what was wrong. Kagome frantically banged on the bathroom door.
"What's wrong Inuyasha!" she called to him in a worried voice.
"Why is this so damn HOT?!" he cried out, not bothering to keep the cursing out of his sentence. They heard the hissing of the hot water splashing into the tub. Apparently Inuyasha had turned on the hot water and had not tested the temperature first.
"Get on a towel and let me in!" Kagome ordered, and Inuyasha, shaking, quickly wrapped one around his waist. He opened the door and she stumbled into the room.
"Inuyasha! I thought you said you understood how to work it!" she cried out, in a frustrated tone, mostly worried that he had hurt himself. She quickly twisted the hot water tap off, and the steam began to clear. Red marks crept up Inuyasha's arms and down his chest, and Kagome's face softened as she winced. She reached out a slender hand and brushed it lightly on his hot skin.
"Does it hurt much? I'm so sorry…" she said, biting her lip. Inuyasha didn't know what to think. One second she was yelling at him, the next, she looked like she was about to cry. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm okay now, Kagome. Sorry I worried you," he said, trying to push the no-worry tone into his voice. Inuyasha ran a clawed hand gently through her raven hair, but stopped when he realized what he was doing. Blushing he looked down at the tiled floor and Kagome smiled almost sadly at his red-tinged body. Mrs. Higurashi rummaged around in the medicine cabinet, and pulled out some cream in a white tube.
"Here, put this on him Kagome," she said. "I'll leave you two alone." Then she beckoned for everyone else to follow her back downstairs. In the meantime, Kagome squirted some of the cream on her left hand.
"Okay, turn around. This'll feel a little cold, but it'll help sooth the pain," she said gently. Inuyasha, instinctively was about to protest, but then consented, turning his back towards her. With her slender hand, she began to massage his back. He winced at the coldness of the cream, but then relaxed easily. Kagome started with his shoulders and worked her way down to just above his waist. His skin felt hot, and she could feel the firm muscle underneath it. Kagome worked as tenderly as she could, and did it in no hurry at all.
Inuyasha usually hated being treated, but Kagome's hands felt so soothing on his skin that he almost didn't want her to stop. She paused briefly a couple times to squirt more cream into her palms, but then went back to work. Inuyasha closed his eyes, as she rubbed the top part of his body up and down in the rhythm. Silence fell between the two, but they much enjoyed each other's company. The time spent between them felt like at least a half an hour and ended all too soon, but it calmed them both quite nicely.
"Done?" Inuyasha asked, opening his eyes after she had stopped for longer than usual. Kagome nodded and wiped the excess cream off her hands on a nearby towel.
"Just let that cool your body for a few minutes. Then I think you'd better try a bath, instead of a shower. This tap is cold, this one's hot," She explained, pointing to both of the silver knobs. "This time, test it before you get in, okay? I don't want this happening again." Kagome said while taking a deep breath.
"Hm…you know what? I think I'll do it this time," Kagome said and ran Inuyasha's bath water. Dipping her finger in the now still surface she nodded. "That should be okay, now," she said before standing up and leaving. Part of Inuyasha wish she would stay, but knew it wouldn't be right for her to.
"Oh, um…thanks Kagome," he said, with a glance at her. She smiled and nodded once before walking out and shutting the door. Inuyasha unwrapped the towel and stepped in, truly thankful for Kagome's help.
*********
That afternoon, things were actually decent between everyone. Even Miroku and Sango seemed to be in good terms, and not once did he try and grope her. The hours rolled by, and surprisingly enough Kagome got caught up on most of her work. Since it was overcast out, as dinner neared, the evening came early today.
"Kagome, I made your favorite: Oden," Mrs. Higurashi called and Kagome cheered.
"Thanks mom!" Kagome squealed and hugged her mom, tightly around the waist. She thought she had smelled her favorite dish and she was right.
Everyone once again took their places around the table, took up their chopsticks and dug in hungrily. Satisfied sounds filled the air, and it wasn't long before the pot was empty. The meal might've been simple, but it sure was good.
Everyone stacked their dishes and set them in the sink before settling back down in one of the main rooms. Kagome's mom struck up a fire in the fireplace and soon enough it crackled merrily, as the dusk crept upon them.
Inuyasha nervously glanced at Mrs. Higurashi and she nodded at him. He stood up and from the closet he pulled out Kagome's gift. Then he left to go outside. Kagome watched him go to a different room, but couldn't see what he was doing, as the lights were turned out. She heard the door shut and got up to follow him. She felt for the little gift in her skirt pocket and nodded, satisfied that it was still there.
"Kagome, at least put on your jacket," Mrs. Higurashi requested. Kagome slipped on her jacket and opened the door.
She hugged her coat extra tight and scanned the area for Inuyasha. She was surprised at how cold it felt outside, and how still her dark surroundings seemed to be. Then she caught a glimpse of red and saw Inuyasha heading towards the shrine. He couldn't be going home, could he? No…his sword was still inside, up against the wall near the door. She knew he wouldn't even consider leaving without his precious sword. And his normal clothes were still inside…
Kagome followed him all the way to the shrine and he stopped under the Oak tree. Kagome, a bit puzzled by seeing him just stand there jogged to him. Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound of her footsteps, extra loud because of his keen sense of hearing and turned to her with a smile. Kagome slowed and looked at him curiously; he was smiling and it was a real smile this time.
When she was only a few feet away from him, Inuyasha took his hands out from behind his back held in his hands good-sized package.
"I got this for you," Inuyasha said, a little nervously. Would she like it? He prayed she would.
He got her a gift? Blushing slightly, Kagome reached out for it, wondering what it could be. Gently, with her slender fingers unwrapped the package and it revealed a white stuff dog, dressed in red. Around it's neck was a beautiful silver bracelet. Inuyasha unclipped the bracelet and Kagome shifted the dog into her right arms, so he could gently set it into her palms. Kagome stared down at the bracelet to find her name as well as Inuyasha's on it.
"D-do you like it?" he asked. Kagome almost laughed at the way he was acting. The red sweatshirt, blue jeans, sneakers, and his nervous attitude made him look almost like a normal human boy. Kagome smile, she never thought she'd live to see a nervous Inuyasha.
"I love it," she answered back truthfully. Inuyasha gave a relieved smile and helped Kagome clip the bracelet onto her wrist. She hugged the plush dog with a smile.
"Oh! That remind me, I got something for you too," she said, reaching into her skirt pocket and pulling out the little gift. Inuyasha was genuinely surprised and took it delicately with his clawed fingers. It was his turn to wonder, as he unwrapped the gift. He could not have prepared himself for what was in the black case. He stared down, speechless what lay in his hands. It was the last jewel shard!
"I've been saving it, you know for emergencies," she said and pulled out the almost complete Shikon no Tama from her other pocket. The young miko handed him the jewel and he placed the sliver in the crevice. The jewel glowed a bright pink that seemed to light up the entire place and when it dimmed a perfect sphere now laid in Inuyasha's palms. Kagome suddenly frowned and just stared at the Shikon no Tama. It was over…no more demons to fight, no more long nights under the stars…
"When…when you become a youkai…don't forget me, okay?" Kagome whispered, trying to keep the sad bitterness from her voice. Inuyasha's eyes widened at what she was saying and he gazed back at the glowing, pink treasure in his hands. That's why he wanted the jewel right? So he could become a full demon; so he could be powerful and no one could tell him what to do. So he could finally be accepted…but…he was already accepted. The young girl standing in front of her had accepted him, as well as all of his other…friends? Yes, he had FRIENDS…
Kagome turned to go back to her house, but a large, firm hand reached out for hers and she stared at it.
"Kagome, I could never forget you. When I'm with you, I feel so…alive. Something I hadn't been able to feel even when my parents were still with me. You accepted me for who I was, even though I'm a hanyou." Inuyasha turned Kagome towards him and looked at her face. His hand still on hers, he set something in her right hand. When Kagome uncurled her hand, the Shikon no Tama had been placed there.
"Inuyasha…" she whispered, while searching his face with a puzzled look.
"I'm giving it to you; you should decide what to do with it. I fully realized I have everything I could ever want." Kagome gazed into his amber eyes and realized he meant every word he said. She closed her hands protectively over the jewel because that was what she was supposed to do. She was the reincarnation of the miko who lived protecting it and died by it. Slipping it back into her pocket, she was still amazed at Inuyasha's decision, not to mention his maturity change.
"We…should probably-" Kagome began, but then gasped when Inuyasha did something that surprised them both. He pulled her close to him and with his fingers on her chin, lifted it upwards. Inuyasha leaned in and his warm breath, still scented like Oden, brushed her face gently, as soft as if a butterfly had landed on her cheek. A few strands of her hair shifted slightly from his breath. Kagome's heart sped up and thumped hard against her chest. She swallowed, not daring to break the silence. He's going to…
In one split second, Kagome found her lips touching his in a few chaste kisses. She tensed, but not because she didn't like it, but because she didn't know what to do. The plush toy was still in her right arm, but seemed to be nearly forgotten in the excitement. Inuyasha could feel her tense and frowned.
"Relax," he breathed, pulling away just a hair to say that before returning to caress her mouth. Relax? How could she do that when the one person she loved the most was kissing her? Kagome tried though, and fell into the rhythm of the kiss. Inuyasha opened her mouth with his tongue so he could really kiss her. (A/N: no, it's not a French kiss, guys) She tested her own skills and kissed him back, enjoying the hinted flavor of Oden. Despite how cold it was, his lips were warm and moist. For a hanyou, he wasn't a bad kisser. ^_^ She had never experienced anything like this before and knew she'd probably be grinning for days. The warmth of his body pressed against hers was almost too much excitement for her to contain.
Inuyasha was enjoying the kiss as much as Kagome was. Her lips felt so soft and though she felt inexperienced, she caught on quickly. He couldn't believe it himself when he told her to relax, but that quickly slipped his mind. Throughout the kiss the hand that had been on her chin, now rubbed her cold, pink-tinged cheek affectionately.
Everything around them seemed to disappear, and even though it was probably less than thirty degrees out, neither of them wanted to pull away. Nothing could have felt more right between the two. It wasn't quite how Kagome pictured their first kiss, but on the other hand, she didn't care. She didn't need to tell him how she felt; their feelings were said through the kiss.
Eventually their lungs protested for fresh air, and reluctantly, they pulled apart, panting heavily. Kagome felt slightly weak; partly from the lack of air, but more because she was still convincing herself that this wasn't a dream. The two rosy-cheek teenagers spent a few minutes breathing in the cold, wintry air.
Inuyasha sat down on the cold, gray steps leading to the shrine and motioned for Kagome to sit with him. She folded her skirt with one hand underneath her and steadying herself, started to sit down. Inuyasha however grabbed one of her hands and pulled her closer to him. Kagome couldn't hold back the smile and sat in front of him, loving the fact that she could be so close to him again. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around him, and Kagome closed her eyes. A single snowflake floated in front of them and Inuyasha roused Kagome gently. One snowflake after another floated silently down from the heavens.
"It's snowing!" Kagome gasped with a smile. Soon enough, they were caught in a winter wonderland and the white flakes of fluff got caught in their hair.
"You're so pretty Kagome," Inuyasha said, staring longingly at her face. Snowflakes dotted her hair and she looked almost magical. Her cheeks were softly colored a warm blush, and her lips looked slightly red from the pressure of the earlier kiss. Kagome grinned and mumbled 'thanks'. He wrapped her into another kiss and they completely ignored how cold it was, because in each other's arms they couldn't care if it was below zero.
"Kagome, it's not over yet. We still have Naraku to destroy," Inuyasha pointed out, after they pulled away for another breather. Kagome nodded. That was true. They weren't quite finished yet. She smiled inside; they didn't have to make the parting decision yet.
"Inuyasha, we should probably go inside," Kagome said a little hesitantly. He frowned, wondering if he did something wrong.
"Are you cold?" he asked. Kagome began to shake her head, but then nodded slowly. He would have wanted to stay out here where they could be alone, but if Kagome wanted to go inside…besides he didn't want her to be cold.
"Fine," he said and he leaped back to her house, carrying her bridal-style. Kagome's mom was by the door and had her coat and boots on, just about ready to go search for the two. She opened the door for them so they could come in and smiled seeing the two together. Inuyasha set Kagome down gently.
Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze as they made their way into the living room. A crackling, glowing fire burned merrily in the fireplace and everyone was gathered on the floor or on the couches. Grandpa was snoozing on a chair, and Sota and Shippo were both on the floor, coloring. They both noticed that Sango had something glittering on her wrist. But what surprised them even more was that she had let Miroku come within an arms distance beside her. He was wearing his purple sweater and black jeans. Kagome sat down on the couch beside Sango.
"Did Miroku give that to you?" she whispered to her friend. Sango couldn't hide her smile and nodded. Of course Miroku heard that, but pretended he didn't. Inuyasha pulled Kagome close to him again. Sango smiled at her friend and Kagome winked back. Miroku dared to reach a hand out, but this time he wrapped it over her shoulder, where it hung casually around her neck. Surprisingly, Sango let him, but after giving him a warning look. But then she leaned into him, and Miroku grinned. She even let him kiss her on the cheek. The monk wished this day called Christmas Eve would come more often, but had a feeling this was a one-time opportunity.
The couples snuggled with each other, watching the amber fire crackle and the light dancing on their contented faces. They silently enjoyed their Christmas Eve as the snowflakes gathered softly on the ground outside. This would definitely be one night that everyone would remember…