Disclaimer: No matter how many of her drinks I drug, Rumiko never agrees
to transfer ownership. Damn... so I guess that means I DON'T own Inuyasha.
(But I'm gonna keep trying! ;-))
AN: WOW! THANKS SO MUCH YOU GUYS! I've never gotten that many reviews for a chappie before! And THANKS SO MUCH remix-69er... you were my 100th review!!! ^_^ You guys should have seen me when I got it, I put on some god awful music and started jumping around my room. I have a weird way of showing happiness, sue me ^_^
Anyway, here's the chappie!
Chapter Twenty
Talk about Territorial
"And in other news, Michael Jackson makes an appearance on Jerry Springer with long time friends Hilary Duff and Justin Timberlake. Apparently Jackson and Timberlake were secretly planning to elope, but Duff helped Timberlake realize that he's only slightly gay and stole the heart of the famous pop star. Jackson was devastated, it seems, but after what happened behind the scenes yesterday, he appears to be getting back on track. Congratulations to the happy couple!" a few people clapped in the background, and Kagome snorted as a picture of Michael Jackson and Jerry Springer floated across the screen, pausing midway for some shouts of approval and scattered applause. Flopping back onto the couch in only a single movement, she clicked the remote off and buried her sleepy face into the white fringe of the pillows. What was the point in getting up this early if Inuyasha wasn't up to harass?
As if reading her thoughts, Inuyasha sleepily padded into the room, half lidded eyes barely acknowledging her as he stretching his arms over his shining white hair with a yawn. Kagome noted with a giggle that he was still clad in his pajamas, and she couldn't WAIT to see his reaction when he found she knew that he wore pajamas with dog bones on them. How fitting.
"Morning Inuyasha!" Kagome called cheerfully from the couch. She held up her plastic blue glass in greeting. "How's life treatin ya?"
Inuyasha took the bait. "Like a dog treats his crap," his eyes slowly began to focus on the smiling girl in front of him. "What are you doing up so early, anyhow?" he questioned, a bit accusingly. It was VERY unlike Kagome to be up early unless she was plotting something, and he looked around suspiciously. Nothing to be seen, but he could never be certain. Just because he couldn't SEE her traps never meant there weren't any.
"Well I couldn't really sleep after what happened last night. It was so WEIRD, I nearly came in to get you, but then I found out she didn't want to hurt me so I figured it wouldn't be THAT horrible to stay behind. But if you think about it, she could very well have been lying and tried to kill me; that would've sucked! Should I have gotten you or something?"
Inuyasha clapped a hand to his forehead, urging his poor brain to comprehend everything she just said. When he found that his brain hadn't gotten any farther then the word "well", he rolled his amber pupils at her. "It might actually make more sense if you told me what the fuck you're blabbering on about".
Ignoring his language for once, Kagome laughed in realization. "How silly of me, I guess I should've told you first," she set her coke down on the wooden table before her, then patted the cushion beside her own, indicating for the hanyou to put his feet up. "Sit down, then".
"No thanks, I'm fine right here," he crossed his dog bone covered legs and leaned against the wall, his bangs invading his scowling face, making himself look like some kind of high school gangster who smokes weed and ditches school more then he attends. Holding back a laugh, Kagome found herself reliving her encounter.
"Well, I was just minding my own business, about to go to sleep, when suddenly the window starts pounding. I go to see what it is, and it was this really weird youkai chick that flew around on a feather. I asked her if she was going to hurt me, but all she would say was "beware of ... um... I don't really remember the name. Semokaru or something, it was rather hard to pronounce. Then she just gets on her feather and leaves without another word, totally freaking me out for the rest of the night of course. Who could sleep after something like that?" she finished in only a few breaths. During her talk she had drawn herself up to her knees, crossing her arms on the back of the couch in order to face Inuyasha. Inuyasha himself was astonished that he actually absorbed all that, since to him her speech hadn't sounded like much then a bunch of words carelessly strung together with no real logic.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not that weird. Either some gangster on a dare or someone from the media looking for an excuse to see what we do in our spare time, if you catch my drift," he sent her a saucy wink, which caused her to shiver into the couch.
"Eww, no thanks," she blanched, using her arm to push herself to her feet. "So, what's for breakfast?" she asked hopefully, she WAS rather hungry.
Inuyasha looked alarmed. "You haven't made breakfast yet?" he accused.
Kagome looked shocked, then a bit miffed. "Inuyasha, this is YOUR house. I don't even know where the breakfast stuff IS, let alone how to make it!"
"Kind of a worthless one then aren't you? Can't cook, and obviously can't clean, I've seen that room of yours. What a bitch!"
Kagome's eyes widened in anger. "You ass! What gives you the right to go into my room? And geez, what a chauvinistic jerk! How dare you imply that all women are good for is cooking and cleaning?" she accused, leaning forward while placing her hands upon her hips. She looked a bit like a mother who just caught her little boy with his hand in the cookie jar, and Inuyasha had to stifle a laugh.
In all honesty he hadn't meant for it to come out that way, but hey, if it would make Kagome mad then it worked for him. "As you yourself pointed out, it's my house hon. I have the right to go into whatever room I want. And what ELSE would you possibly be good for besides good sex, and I'd bet my money that you yourself are as crappy at that as you are at everything else," he smirked as he watched her fume at his words. O.K, so maybe that had been a little harsh. Again, so what? Watching her become enraged with fury was quite entertaining.
Kagome's cheeks flamed red, though she wasn't positive whether it was from embarrassment or fury. "YOU JERK! HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT? You just want to make fun of ME for being a, oh never mind! Just go to hell!" her fists clenched and her eye began to twitch. The NERVE of this bastard...
Inuyasha's haughty expression instantly changed to one of genuine curiosity. "A what?"
Kagome's eyes narrowed. "You know perfectly well what".
"No, not really," he asked with interest, and while she couldn't tell whether he was acting or not, she couldn't ignore the look in his eyes.
"A virgin. There, happy?" she crossed her arms and turned away from him, waiting for the stream of haughty sniggers sure to follow.
Inuyasha shrugged. "That's it? I thought you were going to say you were really a man or something. Then again, maybe you were just trying to hide it. Want me to check?" he hid a muffled giggle as a livid Kagome turned to face him, fire clouding her normally cheerful eyes.
"NO!" she screeched, stomping her foot in indignation. "YOU ARE SUCH A JERK!!!"
"WELL YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH!" he retorted.
"That's rich, seeing as the female dog around here is much more likely to be-".
"OH SHUT UP!" he glowered at her. ALWAYS the dog insults with these people.
The two grew silent for a moment, as if not sure what to say. Should they continue fighting or just try to get along? While Kagome normally would've argued all day, she wanted to be in a good mood for Kouga's arrival. Fixing a rather cheerful smile upon her face, she turned to Inuyasha with her hand held out.
"Truce?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows in a "you-better-agree- or-I'll-kill-you" look. Inuyasha decided to save his ass now and get her back later, so he stuck out his fist and shook hers in return, gripping it a bit stronger then he really needed to.
"Truce," he agreed reluctantly.
"Good!" Kagome chirped, then turned toward the kitchen to make breakfast with Inuyasha. "What's the date?" she asked in pleasant curiosity, and Inuyasha shrugged and glanced at the wall calendar.
"Uh, June 9th, I believe," he stated, making his way toward the pantry to grab some of his beloved chicken ramen. He peered around the dark room, looking for his adored food, when out of the blue, a bloodcurdling scream made its way to his sensitive ears.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"KAGOME!" he yelled in worry, running out toward the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him. He skidded to a stop, expecting to come face to face with a dangerous situation, but was quite surprised when the only thing he came face to face with was a terribly excited Kagome. She was jumping up and down enthusiastically, and her face lit up when she saw him. She ran to him and enveloped him in a tight hug, letting go almost as quickly as she grabbed on.
Inuyasha glanced at her, utterly confused and a bit perturbed. "What the heck is going on?"
Kagome glared mockingly at Inuyasha. "Don't tell me you forgot our anniversary!"
For a moment, total silence reigned as Inuyasha stood, paralyzed to his spot on the kitchen floor, his eyes wide open in terrified shock. Suddenly he snapped back to his senses and turned on the girl.
"Our WHAT?!!" he cried out in disgust. "Sorry to disappoint, but we aren't even together!"
Realization began to dawn upon Kagome, and she broke up into giggles. "Inuyasha! You dork! I meant it's been a whole week since I moved in here!" she bent over a bit, clutching her stomach in her fit of giggles. "You're so," she sputtered, "stupid!" her giggles turned into full out laughter, and an obviously embarrassed Inuyasha fumed silently at her antics.
Attempting to regain the upper hand, he scoffed at her. "Yeah, well I still hate you as much as I ever have," he muttered, and Kagome laughed.
"The feeling's mutual, Inuyasha," she sent him a wink to let him know she was only joking, and his only response was to cross his arms and turn away. Kagome sighed and turned in the opposite direction. He could be so aggravating!
"So," his voice softly broke into the tension. "Are you done cooking breakfast yet?"
"ARG!" Kagome screeched, yanking a strand of her hair in agony. "You are so impossible!"
"You're a bitch," he snapped back, and Kagome sighed in annoyance.
"Fine, whatever. I'll make your damned breakfast then," she trudged toward the kitchen wearily. Inuyasha really had a knack for wearing down your last nerves.
"Hey look, she's submissive!" an unfamiliar male voice rang through the room, and both Kagome and Inuyasha snapped their heads toward the sound, trying to muffle their giggles at the sight that stood before them.
Miroku and Sango looked as normal as they ever did, Miroku carrying a brown paper bag of some sort, hopefully breakfast, and Sango carried a similar bag, also hopefully full of breakfast. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary if you discarded the fact that both their free arms were intertwined. Miroku didn't seem fazed in the slightest, but Kagome could tell that the red faced Sango would've loved to evaporate from her spot at the moment. Deciding to save her teasing until they were in private, Kagome spoke up in greeting.
"Hey Miroku! Hi Sango! How's it goin?" she waved, and they smiled at her.
"Morning Kagome," Sango greeted. "And good morning to you too Inuyasha, don't think I don't see you over there".
"Feh," he grunted softly, causing Miroku to shake his head. "Aww come on Inuyasha, we brought donuts!"
And as Inuyasha often liked to say, nothing says forgiveness like getting high on sugar.
~*~
"Ahh, here it is," the cold male voice spoke up from the corner, causing Kagura to turn her head in irritation.
"Please keep it down. I'm trying to finish this magazine," she turned her head back to Teen People, searching for anything she may find on the popular male idol. "Nope, no Inuyasha here," to anybody else her voice would've sounded purely apathetic, but in all reality she was nothing short of relieved. The less they found out, the more time it would take them to go through with their plans.
"Very well, then, I have all I need anyhow".
"You have, then? May I inquire as to what that would be?" she tried to sound as disinterested as possible, but truly she was dying of curiosity.
"It appears Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's older half brother, full youkai like us," he added before she could ask. "According to my findings he always had a hatred for Inuyasha, mere jealousy I suppose, though I don't understand why. He himself is a very powerful and successful man, but it can't hurt to get some information. I got his number off the internet, so I think I'll pay him a little visit," a malicious smirk lit up his face, and Kagura did her best to concentrate on almost anything besides the poisonous man, anything to keep her from literally throwing up all over the fluffy carpet.
"That's nice," Kagura said, gritting her teeth to keep from insulting him. "Have fun," damn how she wanted to wring that skinny little neck of his.
"Oh no, my dear, you will be accompanying me as my secretary, and if you let anything slip to Sesshomaru," he drew a finger across his throat. "You know".
Kagura gulped and nodded. "Fine, let me just grab my purse".
~*~
"Let's have a sing-a-long!" Kagome chirped happily, clapping her hands at the thought. Inuyasha groaned and slumped against his window, attempting to plug his ears before Kagome burst into song. Ever since the sugar rush that morning she had been excessively cheerful, most likely awaiting Kouga's arrival, though for some reason that thought angered him slightly. The taxi driver glanced back sympathetically at Inuyasha; the girl had been driving him crazy from the moment they had stepped into the taxi, asking both him and the driver embarrassing questions and trying to convince them to play "fun" games with her.
"How about not," he muttered, sending her an annoyed glance.
"Oh all right. How about the license plate game?" she glanced around at surrounding cars, looking for an unfamiliar license plate. Her eyes lit up when she found exactly what she was looking for. "I see New York!" she slapped Inuyasha's arm playfully, and the hanyou rolled his amber eyes at her.
"THEY ALL SAY THAT," he declared crossly, slouching back against the window. Why did he agree to accompany her on this ridiculous escapade?
"Aww, you're no fun. But I bet you already knew that," she stuck her tongue out at him, and he stuck his out right back. Both of them sighed angrily and crossed their arms, Inuyasha leaning his head against the window and Kagome sinking back into her uncomfortably stiff seat. After a few seconds of tension, Kagome decided it was time to lighten the mood.
"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall! 98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer-" she sang loudly, swaying her head from side to side with the beat. Inuyasha groaned and covered his sensitive ears with clawed hands, only to find that, to his dismay, the sound was as clear as ever.
"AW FUCK!"
~*~
"More peanuts, sir?" a waitress with soft blonde hair winked at the man sitting before her. She fought the urge to lick her lips at the sight of his strong, tanned body and generally rugged appearance. His long, black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that would've looked feminine on anybody else, but for some reason it suited him just perfectly. Muscled arms were crossed over his chest, which was clad in a brown sweatshirt over a pair of baggy blue jeans. His legs were stretched out in front of him, revealing a pair of top-of-the-line sneakers, and his mouth was curved in a smirk at the waitress's poor attempt at flirting.
He turned his bright blue eyes on her and gave what he hoped passed as a genuine smile. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks for asking," he turned back to his magazine, hoping she'd take a hint and leave. She misinterpreted the gesture, and her annoying presence hovered around Kouga like a mosquito that just wouldn't quit biting..
"Yes?" he asked, a bit irritated.
She giggled. "Have you ever thought about male modeling?" she flipped her hair flirtatiously, and he fought the urge to gag.
"No".
"With a body like that, you could go far," she grinned, allowing a lock of blonde hair to fall over her sapphire eyes.
"Mmm," he mumbled incoherently, never allowing his eyes to leave the magazine. Just a few more hours, and he could finally see Kagome. Now THAT was something to look forward to, and it even made putting up with mentally challenged waitresses worth it.
"Amy, this is the tenth time I've told you today! No small talk on the job!" a mustached man stomped up behind the young woman, dragging her toward the back of the plane. "The customers want their drinks, and it's your job to provide the people with what they want," his ranting carried through the entire aircraft, and most turned to watch the scene, with the exception of Kouga. He just grinned and turned back to his magazine, which, in all honesty, he wasn't even paying the slightest bit of attention to. For all he knew, he was reading Victoria's Secret.
'Just a few more hours,' he slunk back into his cushioned seat. 'Just a few more hours till Kagome. You'll blow her away with your new look for sure, she won't be able to resist you this time. She'll quit living with that arrogant mutt to come live with me, I can protect her better then he'd ever be able to. We could raise a family together, just her and I. All I have to do is convince her,' he smirked. 'And since it IS me, that shouldn't be a difficult feat to achieve'.
~*~
Inuyasha slipped the final coin into the machine, grinning when he saw the flashing light. Slowly, the milk chocolate Butterfinger made its way forward toward the ravenous hanyou, and he licked his lips in anticipation. The mouth watering goodness of the chocolate against his lips as he savored its flavor... he smiled at the thought. It almost made that dreadful taxi ride seem bearable. Almost.
"Flight 457 has now landed at Gate 26, flight 457 at Gate 26" the cool voice made its way through the microphones just as Inuyasha reached in to grab his sugary prize, when suddenly a hand clasped itself around his wrist, pulling him away from the machine.
"Come on Inuyasha, that's Kouga's plane!" she chirped, pulling a struggling hanyou to the best of her abilities. "What's your problem?" she raised an eyebrow, and Inuyasha glared at her.
"Some kid just stole my Butterfinger because of you. You owe me a candy bar!" a disgruntled Inuyasha accused, and Kagome rolled her eyes.
"You probably have a whole case of them at home".
"Two cases actually," he replied smugly, and Kagome laughed.
"Kinda proves my point, doesn't it? Now come on!" she grabbed his wrist again, and he reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged through the halls by the hyperactive teen.
"Will you slow down?" he finally spoke up. "You're gonna rip my arm off!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure it'd be an improvement," she said sweetly. "After all, once you've hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up!"
Inuyasha snarled at her, and she sent back a teasing grin. "I'm only kidding you dork, oh! Here it is! Now we just have to find Kouga," her shining eyes scanned the vicinity, hoping to spot her beloved companion. "Help me out, Inuyasha; you can smell demons, right? Try to find a wolf youkai," she instructed, and he complied, but only half-heartedly. After seeing that Inuyasha would be of no help, she resigned herself to shouting, trying her best to locate them. The last of the passengers had exited the plane, what if something had happened? Or what if she'd gotten the wrong flight? Kikyo would surely kill her!
She gave a sigh of defeat, and began to turn around. "Inuyasha, I don't think he's-" she broke off, unable to finish her sentence as an ecstatic grin took over her entire face.
"KOUGA!" she shouted happily, rushing into his arms like a tornado. Inuyasha, standing on the sidelines, was surprised the impact didn't knock him flat on his ass; he'd never even seen her run that fast before. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing, though Inuyasha wasn't too sure why, and apparently Kouga wasn't either. He wrapped his arms loosely around her slight frame and shook her back and forth with a contented smile, breathing in to inhale the scent of her midnight tresses. He was obviously enjoying himself, and from what he could see of Kagome, she wasn't complaining much either.
For some reason the sight of Kouga and Kagome triggered something odd in the pit of his stomach, something he DEFINITELY wasn't used to feeling. He couldn't tell what it was, but it made his skin bristle and his claws flex in disgust. For some reason he wanted to lunge at the man in front of him, tear his throat out with all the strength he could muster. Why on Earth did they appear so comfortable with one another? Kagome herself had said that she Kouga and she were just friends, but he had noticed her blush at that. What if- he almost gagged at the thought. What if she LIKED HIM?
Kagome broke apart from the embrace, smiling up at her dear friend. "Your hair is so long!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "I thought you planned to cut it".
"Yeah, well, I kind of liked the rugged look so I decided to stick with it. Good choice, no?"
"Definitely," smiled, reaching up again to pull him in for a short hug. "It's so good to see you," she mumbled into his shoulder. He returned the embrace fondly, resting his head on hers.
"You too, Kag, you too".
"AHEM!" Inuyasha coughed, his face twisted with a scowl. Kagome jumped apart from Kouga immediately, causing the wolf youkai to eye the hanyou with disgust. What right did he have to interrupt such a perfect moment between him and Kagome?
Kagome rushed over to him, seeing that he was apparently hurt at being left out. She reached up and slung an arm around his neck, pulling him against her in a kind of buddy hug, gesturing at him with her remaining arm. "This is Inuyasha, the annoying jerk I share an apartment with," she smiled teasingly at him, and he scoffed in return. Kouga's eyes narrowed as he looked the two over suspiciously for a moment before forcing his lips into a polite smile and holding a hand out to Inuyasha.
"Pleased to meet you," he forced out, sounding a bit like an android.
"The pleasure's all yours," Inuyasha shot back instantly, sounding every bit as robotic. The two shook hands a bit longer then truly necessary, each one trying to squeeze the life out of the other before they both gave up and let go. Kouga smiled at Inuyasha as pleasantly as possible and attempted to make conversation.
"Yes, Kagome certainly told me a lot about you. Apparently you're an arrogant superstar stereotype with the brains of last week's tuna surprise and a heart so cold Satan couldn't even stand you," he did his best not to shoot him a smirk, since Kagome seemed to be eyeing him a bit disapprovingly.
Inuyasha stared at Kagome for a moment, his eyes glazed over in a façade of apathy, but Kagome could see the hurt protruding from behind the amber mask. Quickly she tried to reassure her newest friend that she had said nothing of the kind. Well at least, not recently.
"Yes, but I'd never met him before, and he's only half as much of a jerk as I originally thought," she smiled fondly up at him. "Isn't that right Inuyasha?" she giggled. He snorted and looked away, causing Kagome to frown a bit. Suddenly he turned toward Kouga, biting the insides of his cheeks to keep from puking.
"So you're Kagome's friend?" he inquired, hoping to get a clearer definition of their relationship.
"Yea, Kagome and I are really close," he boasted, shooting a cocky glance to the girl in question. "Aren't we Kags?"
Kagome gulped nervously. "Uh, yeah. We're pretty close I guess," she looked a bit embarrassed, while Inuyasha looked like he wanted to hurl. KAGS?!
"That's nice," Inuyasha said evenly, trying not to show any emotion on his face. "I'm glad Kagome has such good taste in friends".
"Yes, though that impeccable taste seems to be slipping a bit, ne?" he gave Inuyasha a once over.
Inuyasha gave a low growl; it was taking everything he had to keep from lunging at the arrogant wolf demon. Kagome glanced back and forth between the two nervously as their eyes locked upon each other, glaring more venomously then she'd ever seen either of them glare before. She stepped between the two, pushing them both back a bit. With a somewhat fixed smile, she looped one arm through Inuyasha's and the other through Kouga's, forcing her to walk in between her fighting comrades.
"What do you two say we go get something to eat?" she knew them both well enough to know that food was their definite weak spot, and she wanted to do everything she could to distract them from one another. It certainly wouldn't do to have them hating each other; after all, Kouga was one of her best friends! But while she'd only known Inuyasha for a week, she was getting awfully close to him as well. She'd have to try to patch things up between the two arrogant meatheads.
As the three fell in step, Inuyasha and Kouga glared daggers at each other above Kagome's oblivious head, one thought running through all of their minds.
It was going to be a LONG night.
A/N: I was supposed to finish all the Kouga stuff in this chappie, but it was getting a bit long so it'll cut to next chapter as well. That's fine, it'll make next chapter even better! There's also even a bit (dare I say it) FLUFF! But like last time, don't expect anything huge. They aren't exchanging wedding vows, it's been a week. You'll also get to find out a bit about Inuyasha's mysterious closet!!
Does anybody else think Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship is going a bit fast? I'm a bit worried that it is, but then again, so far it doesn't look like anything but a harmless crush. And if you spent 24 hours a day with one person for an entire week, you might actually end up liking them too by the end of it. But don't worry, this story is far from over.
Hint: MORE REVIEWS = FASTER UPDATE! (unless I have an insane hw load ;-))
AN: WOW! THANKS SO MUCH YOU GUYS! I've never gotten that many reviews for a chappie before! And THANKS SO MUCH remix-69er... you were my 100th review!!! ^_^ You guys should have seen me when I got it, I put on some god awful music and started jumping around my room. I have a weird way of showing happiness, sue me ^_^
Anyway, here's the chappie!
Chapter Twenty
Talk about Territorial
"And in other news, Michael Jackson makes an appearance on Jerry Springer with long time friends Hilary Duff and Justin Timberlake. Apparently Jackson and Timberlake were secretly planning to elope, but Duff helped Timberlake realize that he's only slightly gay and stole the heart of the famous pop star. Jackson was devastated, it seems, but after what happened behind the scenes yesterday, he appears to be getting back on track. Congratulations to the happy couple!" a few people clapped in the background, and Kagome snorted as a picture of Michael Jackson and Jerry Springer floated across the screen, pausing midway for some shouts of approval and scattered applause. Flopping back onto the couch in only a single movement, she clicked the remote off and buried her sleepy face into the white fringe of the pillows. What was the point in getting up this early if Inuyasha wasn't up to harass?
As if reading her thoughts, Inuyasha sleepily padded into the room, half lidded eyes barely acknowledging her as he stretching his arms over his shining white hair with a yawn. Kagome noted with a giggle that he was still clad in his pajamas, and she couldn't WAIT to see his reaction when he found she knew that he wore pajamas with dog bones on them. How fitting.
"Morning Inuyasha!" Kagome called cheerfully from the couch. She held up her plastic blue glass in greeting. "How's life treatin ya?"
Inuyasha took the bait. "Like a dog treats his crap," his eyes slowly began to focus on the smiling girl in front of him. "What are you doing up so early, anyhow?" he questioned, a bit accusingly. It was VERY unlike Kagome to be up early unless she was plotting something, and he looked around suspiciously. Nothing to be seen, but he could never be certain. Just because he couldn't SEE her traps never meant there weren't any.
"Well I couldn't really sleep after what happened last night. It was so WEIRD, I nearly came in to get you, but then I found out she didn't want to hurt me so I figured it wouldn't be THAT horrible to stay behind. But if you think about it, she could very well have been lying and tried to kill me; that would've sucked! Should I have gotten you or something?"
Inuyasha clapped a hand to his forehead, urging his poor brain to comprehend everything she just said. When he found that his brain hadn't gotten any farther then the word "well", he rolled his amber pupils at her. "It might actually make more sense if you told me what the fuck you're blabbering on about".
Ignoring his language for once, Kagome laughed in realization. "How silly of me, I guess I should've told you first," she set her coke down on the wooden table before her, then patted the cushion beside her own, indicating for the hanyou to put his feet up. "Sit down, then".
"No thanks, I'm fine right here," he crossed his dog bone covered legs and leaned against the wall, his bangs invading his scowling face, making himself look like some kind of high school gangster who smokes weed and ditches school more then he attends. Holding back a laugh, Kagome found herself reliving her encounter.
"Well, I was just minding my own business, about to go to sleep, when suddenly the window starts pounding. I go to see what it is, and it was this really weird youkai chick that flew around on a feather. I asked her if she was going to hurt me, but all she would say was "beware of ... um... I don't really remember the name. Semokaru or something, it was rather hard to pronounce. Then she just gets on her feather and leaves without another word, totally freaking me out for the rest of the night of course. Who could sleep after something like that?" she finished in only a few breaths. During her talk she had drawn herself up to her knees, crossing her arms on the back of the couch in order to face Inuyasha. Inuyasha himself was astonished that he actually absorbed all that, since to him her speech hadn't sounded like much then a bunch of words carelessly strung together with no real logic.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not that weird. Either some gangster on a dare or someone from the media looking for an excuse to see what we do in our spare time, if you catch my drift," he sent her a saucy wink, which caused her to shiver into the couch.
"Eww, no thanks," she blanched, using her arm to push herself to her feet. "So, what's for breakfast?" she asked hopefully, she WAS rather hungry.
Inuyasha looked alarmed. "You haven't made breakfast yet?" he accused.
Kagome looked shocked, then a bit miffed. "Inuyasha, this is YOUR house. I don't even know where the breakfast stuff IS, let alone how to make it!"
"Kind of a worthless one then aren't you? Can't cook, and obviously can't clean, I've seen that room of yours. What a bitch!"
Kagome's eyes widened in anger. "You ass! What gives you the right to go into my room? And geez, what a chauvinistic jerk! How dare you imply that all women are good for is cooking and cleaning?" she accused, leaning forward while placing her hands upon her hips. She looked a bit like a mother who just caught her little boy with his hand in the cookie jar, and Inuyasha had to stifle a laugh.
In all honesty he hadn't meant for it to come out that way, but hey, if it would make Kagome mad then it worked for him. "As you yourself pointed out, it's my house hon. I have the right to go into whatever room I want. And what ELSE would you possibly be good for besides good sex, and I'd bet my money that you yourself are as crappy at that as you are at everything else," he smirked as he watched her fume at his words. O.K, so maybe that had been a little harsh. Again, so what? Watching her become enraged with fury was quite entertaining.
Kagome's cheeks flamed red, though she wasn't positive whether it was from embarrassment or fury. "YOU JERK! HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT? You just want to make fun of ME for being a, oh never mind! Just go to hell!" her fists clenched and her eye began to twitch. The NERVE of this bastard...
Inuyasha's haughty expression instantly changed to one of genuine curiosity. "A what?"
Kagome's eyes narrowed. "You know perfectly well what".
"No, not really," he asked with interest, and while she couldn't tell whether he was acting or not, she couldn't ignore the look in his eyes.
"A virgin. There, happy?" she crossed her arms and turned away from him, waiting for the stream of haughty sniggers sure to follow.
Inuyasha shrugged. "That's it? I thought you were going to say you were really a man or something. Then again, maybe you were just trying to hide it. Want me to check?" he hid a muffled giggle as a livid Kagome turned to face him, fire clouding her normally cheerful eyes.
"NO!" she screeched, stomping her foot in indignation. "YOU ARE SUCH A JERK!!!"
"WELL YOU ARE SUCH A BITCH!" he retorted.
"That's rich, seeing as the female dog around here is much more likely to be-".
"OH SHUT UP!" he glowered at her. ALWAYS the dog insults with these people.
The two grew silent for a moment, as if not sure what to say. Should they continue fighting or just try to get along? While Kagome normally would've argued all day, she wanted to be in a good mood for Kouga's arrival. Fixing a rather cheerful smile upon her face, she turned to Inuyasha with her hand held out.
"Truce?" she questioned, raising her eyebrows in a "you-better-agree- or-I'll-kill-you" look. Inuyasha decided to save his ass now and get her back later, so he stuck out his fist and shook hers in return, gripping it a bit stronger then he really needed to.
"Truce," he agreed reluctantly.
"Good!" Kagome chirped, then turned toward the kitchen to make breakfast with Inuyasha. "What's the date?" she asked in pleasant curiosity, and Inuyasha shrugged and glanced at the wall calendar.
"Uh, June 9th, I believe," he stated, making his way toward the pantry to grab some of his beloved chicken ramen. He peered around the dark room, looking for his adored food, when out of the blue, a bloodcurdling scream made its way to his sensitive ears.
"AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"KAGOME!" he yelled in worry, running out toward the kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him. He skidded to a stop, expecting to come face to face with a dangerous situation, but was quite surprised when the only thing he came face to face with was a terribly excited Kagome. She was jumping up and down enthusiastically, and her face lit up when she saw him. She ran to him and enveloped him in a tight hug, letting go almost as quickly as she grabbed on.
Inuyasha glanced at her, utterly confused and a bit perturbed. "What the heck is going on?"
Kagome glared mockingly at Inuyasha. "Don't tell me you forgot our anniversary!"
For a moment, total silence reigned as Inuyasha stood, paralyzed to his spot on the kitchen floor, his eyes wide open in terrified shock. Suddenly he snapped back to his senses and turned on the girl.
"Our WHAT?!!" he cried out in disgust. "Sorry to disappoint, but we aren't even together!"
Realization began to dawn upon Kagome, and she broke up into giggles. "Inuyasha! You dork! I meant it's been a whole week since I moved in here!" she bent over a bit, clutching her stomach in her fit of giggles. "You're so," she sputtered, "stupid!" her giggles turned into full out laughter, and an obviously embarrassed Inuyasha fumed silently at her antics.
Attempting to regain the upper hand, he scoffed at her. "Yeah, well I still hate you as much as I ever have," he muttered, and Kagome laughed.
"The feeling's mutual, Inuyasha," she sent him a wink to let him know she was only joking, and his only response was to cross his arms and turn away. Kagome sighed and turned in the opposite direction. He could be so aggravating!
"So," his voice softly broke into the tension. "Are you done cooking breakfast yet?"
"ARG!" Kagome screeched, yanking a strand of her hair in agony. "You are so impossible!"
"You're a bitch," he snapped back, and Kagome sighed in annoyance.
"Fine, whatever. I'll make your damned breakfast then," she trudged toward the kitchen wearily. Inuyasha really had a knack for wearing down your last nerves.
"Hey look, she's submissive!" an unfamiliar male voice rang through the room, and both Kagome and Inuyasha snapped their heads toward the sound, trying to muffle their giggles at the sight that stood before them.
Miroku and Sango looked as normal as they ever did, Miroku carrying a brown paper bag of some sort, hopefully breakfast, and Sango carried a similar bag, also hopefully full of breakfast. Nope, nothing out of the ordinary if you discarded the fact that both their free arms were intertwined. Miroku didn't seem fazed in the slightest, but Kagome could tell that the red faced Sango would've loved to evaporate from her spot at the moment. Deciding to save her teasing until they were in private, Kagome spoke up in greeting.
"Hey Miroku! Hi Sango! How's it goin?" she waved, and they smiled at her.
"Morning Kagome," Sango greeted. "And good morning to you too Inuyasha, don't think I don't see you over there".
"Feh," he grunted softly, causing Miroku to shake his head. "Aww come on Inuyasha, we brought donuts!"
And as Inuyasha often liked to say, nothing says forgiveness like getting high on sugar.
~*~
"Ahh, here it is," the cold male voice spoke up from the corner, causing Kagura to turn her head in irritation.
"Please keep it down. I'm trying to finish this magazine," she turned her head back to Teen People, searching for anything she may find on the popular male idol. "Nope, no Inuyasha here," to anybody else her voice would've sounded purely apathetic, but in all reality she was nothing short of relieved. The less they found out, the more time it would take them to go through with their plans.
"Very well, then, I have all I need anyhow".
"You have, then? May I inquire as to what that would be?" she tried to sound as disinterested as possible, but truly she was dying of curiosity.
"It appears Sesshomaru is Inuyasha's older half brother, full youkai like us," he added before she could ask. "According to my findings he always had a hatred for Inuyasha, mere jealousy I suppose, though I don't understand why. He himself is a very powerful and successful man, but it can't hurt to get some information. I got his number off the internet, so I think I'll pay him a little visit," a malicious smirk lit up his face, and Kagura did her best to concentrate on almost anything besides the poisonous man, anything to keep her from literally throwing up all over the fluffy carpet.
"That's nice," Kagura said, gritting her teeth to keep from insulting him. "Have fun," damn how she wanted to wring that skinny little neck of his.
"Oh no, my dear, you will be accompanying me as my secretary, and if you let anything slip to Sesshomaru," he drew a finger across his throat. "You know".
Kagura gulped and nodded. "Fine, let me just grab my purse".
~*~
"Let's have a sing-a-long!" Kagome chirped happily, clapping her hands at the thought. Inuyasha groaned and slumped against his window, attempting to plug his ears before Kagome burst into song. Ever since the sugar rush that morning she had been excessively cheerful, most likely awaiting Kouga's arrival, though for some reason that thought angered him slightly. The taxi driver glanced back sympathetically at Inuyasha; the girl had been driving him crazy from the moment they had stepped into the taxi, asking both him and the driver embarrassing questions and trying to convince them to play "fun" games with her.
"How about not," he muttered, sending her an annoyed glance.
"Oh all right. How about the license plate game?" she glanced around at surrounding cars, looking for an unfamiliar license plate. Her eyes lit up when she found exactly what she was looking for. "I see New York!" she slapped Inuyasha's arm playfully, and the hanyou rolled his amber eyes at her.
"THEY ALL SAY THAT," he declared crossly, slouching back against the window. Why did he agree to accompany her on this ridiculous escapade?
"Aww, you're no fun. But I bet you already knew that," she stuck her tongue out at him, and he stuck his out right back. Both of them sighed angrily and crossed their arms, Inuyasha leaning his head against the window and Kagome sinking back into her uncomfortably stiff seat. After a few seconds of tension, Kagome decided it was time to lighten the mood.
"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall! 98 bottles of beer on the wall, 98 bottles of beer-" she sang loudly, swaying her head from side to side with the beat. Inuyasha groaned and covered his sensitive ears with clawed hands, only to find that, to his dismay, the sound was as clear as ever.
"AW FUCK!"
~*~
"More peanuts, sir?" a waitress with soft blonde hair winked at the man sitting before her. She fought the urge to lick her lips at the sight of his strong, tanned body and generally rugged appearance. His long, black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that would've looked feminine on anybody else, but for some reason it suited him just perfectly. Muscled arms were crossed over his chest, which was clad in a brown sweatshirt over a pair of baggy blue jeans. His legs were stretched out in front of him, revealing a pair of top-of-the-line sneakers, and his mouth was curved in a smirk at the waitress's poor attempt at flirting.
He turned his bright blue eyes on her and gave what he hoped passed as a genuine smile. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks for asking," he turned back to his magazine, hoping she'd take a hint and leave. She misinterpreted the gesture, and her annoying presence hovered around Kouga like a mosquito that just wouldn't quit biting..
"Yes?" he asked, a bit irritated.
She giggled. "Have you ever thought about male modeling?" she flipped her hair flirtatiously, and he fought the urge to gag.
"No".
"With a body like that, you could go far," she grinned, allowing a lock of blonde hair to fall over her sapphire eyes.
"Mmm," he mumbled incoherently, never allowing his eyes to leave the magazine. Just a few more hours, and he could finally see Kagome. Now THAT was something to look forward to, and it even made putting up with mentally challenged waitresses worth it.
"Amy, this is the tenth time I've told you today! No small talk on the job!" a mustached man stomped up behind the young woman, dragging her toward the back of the plane. "The customers want their drinks, and it's your job to provide the people with what they want," his ranting carried through the entire aircraft, and most turned to watch the scene, with the exception of Kouga. He just grinned and turned back to his magazine, which, in all honesty, he wasn't even paying the slightest bit of attention to. For all he knew, he was reading Victoria's Secret.
'Just a few more hours,' he slunk back into his cushioned seat. 'Just a few more hours till Kagome. You'll blow her away with your new look for sure, she won't be able to resist you this time. She'll quit living with that arrogant mutt to come live with me, I can protect her better then he'd ever be able to. We could raise a family together, just her and I. All I have to do is convince her,' he smirked. 'And since it IS me, that shouldn't be a difficult feat to achieve'.
~*~
Inuyasha slipped the final coin into the machine, grinning when he saw the flashing light. Slowly, the milk chocolate Butterfinger made its way forward toward the ravenous hanyou, and he licked his lips in anticipation. The mouth watering goodness of the chocolate against his lips as he savored its flavor... he smiled at the thought. It almost made that dreadful taxi ride seem bearable. Almost.
"Flight 457 has now landed at Gate 26, flight 457 at Gate 26" the cool voice made its way through the microphones just as Inuyasha reached in to grab his sugary prize, when suddenly a hand clasped itself around his wrist, pulling him away from the machine.
"Come on Inuyasha, that's Kouga's plane!" she chirped, pulling a struggling hanyou to the best of her abilities. "What's your problem?" she raised an eyebrow, and Inuyasha glared at her.
"Some kid just stole my Butterfinger because of you. You owe me a candy bar!" a disgruntled Inuyasha accused, and Kagome rolled her eyes.
"You probably have a whole case of them at home".
"Two cases actually," he replied smugly, and Kagome laughed.
"Kinda proves my point, doesn't it? Now come on!" she grabbed his wrist again, and he reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged through the halls by the hyperactive teen.
"Will you slow down?" he finally spoke up. "You're gonna rip my arm off!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure it'd be an improvement," she said sweetly. "After all, once you've hit rock bottom, there's nowhere to go but up!"
Inuyasha snarled at her, and she sent back a teasing grin. "I'm only kidding you dork, oh! Here it is! Now we just have to find Kouga," her shining eyes scanned the vicinity, hoping to spot her beloved companion. "Help me out, Inuyasha; you can smell demons, right? Try to find a wolf youkai," she instructed, and he complied, but only half-heartedly. After seeing that Inuyasha would be of no help, she resigned herself to shouting, trying her best to locate them. The last of the passengers had exited the plane, what if something had happened? Or what if she'd gotten the wrong flight? Kikyo would surely kill her!
She gave a sigh of defeat, and began to turn around. "Inuyasha, I don't think he's-" she broke off, unable to finish her sentence as an ecstatic grin took over her entire face.
"KOUGA!" she shouted happily, rushing into his arms like a tornado. Inuyasha, standing on the sidelines, was surprised the impact didn't knock him flat on his ass; he'd never even seen her run that fast before. She wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing, though Inuyasha wasn't too sure why, and apparently Kouga wasn't either. He wrapped his arms loosely around her slight frame and shook her back and forth with a contented smile, breathing in to inhale the scent of her midnight tresses. He was obviously enjoying himself, and from what he could see of Kagome, she wasn't complaining much either.
For some reason the sight of Kouga and Kagome triggered something odd in the pit of his stomach, something he DEFINITELY wasn't used to feeling. He couldn't tell what it was, but it made his skin bristle and his claws flex in disgust. For some reason he wanted to lunge at the man in front of him, tear his throat out with all the strength he could muster. Why on Earth did they appear so comfortable with one another? Kagome herself had said that she Kouga and she were just friends, but he had noticed her blush at that. What if- he almost gagged at the thought. What if she LIKED HIM?
Kagome broke apart from the embrace, smiling up at her dear friend. "Your hair is so long!" she squealed, jumping up and down. "I thought you planned to cut it".
"Yeah, well, I kind of liked the rugged look so I decided to stick with it. Good choice, no?"
"Definitely," smiled, reaching up again to pull him in for a short hug. "It's so good to see you," she mumbled into his shoulder. He returned the embrace fondly, resting his head on hers.
"You too, Kag, you too".
"AHEM!" Inuyasha coughed, his face twisted with a scowl. Kagome jumped apart from Kouga immediately, causing the wolf youkai to eye the hanyou with disgust. What right did he have to interrupt such a perfect moment between him and Kagome?
Kagome rushed over to him, seeing that he was apparently hurt at being left out. She reached up and slung an arm around his neck, pulling him against her in a kind of buddy hug, gesturing at him with her remaining arm. "This is Inuyasha, the annoying jerk I share an apartment with," she smiled teasingly at him, and he scoffed in return. Kouga's eyes narrowed as he looked the two over suspiciously for a moment before forcing his lips into a polite smile and holding a hand out to Inuyasha.
"Pleased to meet you," he forced out, sounding a bit like an android.
"The pleasure's all yours," Inuyasha shot back instantly, sounding every bit as robotic. The two shook hands a bit longer then truly necessary, each one trying to squeeze the life out of the other before they both gave up and let go. Kouga smiled at Inuyasha as pleasantly as possible and attempted to make conversation.
"Yes, Kagome certainly told me a lot about you. Apparently you're an arrogant superstar stereotype with the brains of last week's tuna surprise and a heart so cold Satan couldn't even stand you," he did his best not to shoot him a smirk, since Kagome seemed to be eyeing him a bit disapprovingly.
Inuyasha stared at Kagome for a moment, his eyes glazed over in a façade of apathy, but Kagome could see the hurt protruding from behind the amber mask. Quickly she tried to reassure her newest friend that she had said nothing of the kind. Well at least, not recently.
"Yes, but I'd never met him before, and he's only half as much of a jerk as I originally thought," she smiled fondly up at him. "Isn't that right Inuyasha?" she giggled. He snorted and looked away, causing Kagome to frown a bit. Suddenly he turned toward Kouga, biting the insides of his cheeks to keep from puking.
"So you're Kagome's friend?" he inquired, hoping to get a clearer definition of their relationship.
"Yea, Kagome and I are really close," he boasted, shooting a cocky glance to the girl in question. "Aren't we Kags?"
Kagome gulped nervously. "Uh, yeah. We're pretty close I guess," she looked a bit embarrassed, while Inuyasha looked like he wanted to hurl. KAGS?!
"That's nice," Inuyasha said evenly, trying not to show any emotion on his face. "I'm glad Kagome has such good taste in friends".
"Yes, though that impeccable taste seems to be slipping a bit, ne?" he gave Inuyasha a once over.
Inuyasha gave a low growl; it was taking everything he had to keep from lunging at the arrogant wolf demon. Kagome glanced back and forth between the two nervously as their eyes locked upon each other, glaring more venomously then she'd ever seen either of them glare before. She stepped between the two, pushing them both back a bit. With a somewhat fixed smile, she looped one arm through Inuyasha's and the other through Kouga's, forcing her to walk in between her fighting comrades.
"What do you two say we go get something to eat?" she knew them both well enough to know that food was their definite weak spot, and she wanted to do everything she could to distract them from one another. It certainly wouldn't do to have them hating each other; after all, Kouga was one of her best friends! But while she'd only known Inuyasha for a week, she was getting awfully close to him as well. She'd have to try to patch things up between the two arrogant meatheads.
As the three fell in step, Inuyasha and Kouga glared daggers at each other above Kagome's oblivious head, one thought running through all of their minds.
It was going to be a LONG night.
A/N: I was supposed to finish all the Kouga stuff in this chappie, but it was getting a bit long so it'll cut to next chapter as well. That's fine, it'll make next chapter even better! There's also even a bit (dare I say it) FLUFF! But like last time, don't expect anything huge. They aren't exchanging wedding vows, it's been a week. You'll also get to find out a bit about Inuyasha's mysterious closet!!
Does anybody else think Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship is going a bit fast? I'm a bit worried that it is, but then again, so far it doesn't look like anything but a harmless crush. And if you spent 24 hours a day with one person for an entire week, you might actually end up liking them too by the end of it. But don't worry, this story is far from over.
Hint: MORE REVIEWS = FASTER UPDATE! (unless I have an insane hw load ;-))