Disclaimer: HANDS OFF! HE BELONGS TO ME, HANDS OFF!!!! dragged away
screaming DAMNIT, GET OFF OF ME! I WANT TO SEE MY INUYASHA! Ooh, but I
will settle for one of these super cool jackets O.O
A/N: Ag! Gosh, sorry for the lack of updating! Don't blame me, though, blame the Cat 6! (Translation: middle school version of the SATs). I'm trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep for once, apparently these tests actually DO count towards whether or not we're placed in A.P classes, so at the moment this is just a TAD more important to me then fanfiction. Testing week is over soon, however, so expect more frequent updates!
By the way, check out my new fic, Shades of Gray! I love the plot idea for it (much more then that crummy highschool fic. I was starting), and I plan to concentrate fully on that story once I'm finished with this one. But without any further ado...
Chapter Twenty Two
Mall Rats
Sunlight streamed through the windows of the luxurious apartment, and Kagome held back a groan as she raised the lid of a groggy eye, shielding her face from the rays of the sun with a weary hand. Yawning, she stretched her arms above her head, stiffening as she looked around and realized she hadn't the slightest idea of where she was. She felt something shift on her knee and glanced down with a muffled gasp, a rose colored blush covering her cheeks when her eyes fell upon the dark mane of Inuyasha as he lay face down, burrowing into her knee.
Carefully, so as not to wake the sleeping hanyou, she braced her arms under his armpits, attempting to shove him off her lap without awakening him. Grunting from the effort, she finally managed to lightly deposit him on the floor, him being none the wiser of her scheme. She quickly stumbled to her feet and padded out the door of the closet, watching contentedly as Inuyasha curled into a ball on the ground, and she had to work a bit to stifle her laughter. At that particular moment, he resembled Buyo almost perfectly!
Gingerly closing the door behind her, she turned back toward her room, sighing when she saw a paint chip fly from the wall and hit the ground below. Inuyasha would probably flip out, and she didn't want to be around when it happened. She glanced at the clock to see that it was about ten in the morning; it was quite the surprise that Inuyasha still lay dormant. 'But,' she mused logically, 'He DID go through a lot last night. I'll let him sleep'.
She entered her bright, cheerful room, throwing back the shutters with a smile on her face, the too audible noise awakening a sleeping Buyo in mere instants. Patting the dog on the head affectionately, she slipped into some jeans and a T-shirt, swooping down to grab her purse and swing it over her shoulder before donning her sneakers and heading out of her sanctuary.
She walked toward the front door of the house, her pace quickening as she passed the no longer mysterious closet door and heard a muffled groan from inside the darkened room. She pushed open the front door hurriedly, wincing as it banged shut behind her.
'If he wasn't awake before, he sure is now. Way to go Kagome,' she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity, her steps almost matching a run as she neared the elevator, and she drew in a breath as she heard the door of the apartment slide open behind her. 'It's just my imagination,' Kagome reassured herself, not daring to look back. 'Come on, you're almost there,' her hand stretched out desperately to push down the down switch on the elevator when suddenly a deep male voice made her stop in her tracks, the elevator long forgotten.
"Kagome?" it asked, surprisingly timidly seeing that the owner of the voice was identifiable as none other then Inuyasha. Inuyasha being timid about ANYTHING would normally have sent Kagome into a dead faint, but after the previous night's events, she couldn't help but see him in a bit of a new perspective.
"O-oh, Inuyasha," Kagome ran a hand through her hair nervously, her cheeks tinged a bit pink at the remembrance of the night before. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice; actually he looked a bit too dazed for his own good. Kagome looked at him fearfully for a moment before drawing back in relaxation.
'He doesn't remember,' she sighed in relief, stiffening at his next words.
"Erm, about last night," Inuyasha trailed off, not used to admitting to this sort of thing, but for some inexplicable reason he felt he owed it to Kagome, she had, after all, helped him out quite considerably in the past few weeks.
'Shit! He remembers!' Kagome swore inwardly, gulping her nervous expression into a sickly smile as she faced the hanyou before her. "Y- yeah?" she stuttered nervously. "What about it?"
Inuyasha drew in a deep breath, unsure of what words to use exactly, saying anything so kind was quite a new experience for him, and he knew the feeling of these words on his tongue would take some getting used to.
"Thank you," he muttered softly, turning away and crossing his arms so she wouldn't see the pink tinge on his cheeks. He felt so embarrassed and weak at having to actually admit feeling gratitude, actually he felt like a total wimp. How...ugh.
Since she wasn't in his direct line of sight, Inuyasha was oblivious to the growing smile that was spreading across Kagome's rosy cheeks, stretching so wide that it seemed to dominate her entire face. It took all she had not to dash over and hug him, but she knew that to him it would seem like nothing more then a blow to his stereotypical male pride. She'd settle for second best, at any rate.
"Oh Inuyasha," she clasped her hands together in front of her, a warm grin resting lightly on her lips. "You have no idea how happy this makes me!"
Still facing the opposite direction, he seemed to tense up a bit, then freeze in slight agitation. "Oh, so my misery makes you happy, is that it?" he asked sarcastically, and Kagome giggled lightheartedly in his direction.
"No, you dunce," she laughed once again, crossing the distance between them in only a few strides and whirling him around so that the two faced each other, each ensnared in the powerful gaze of the other. "It's just that that's the first time you've said anything nice to me before! I may not know you as well as, say, Sango, but I know you well enough to know that "thank you" is a phrase that doesn't regularly grace your third grade vocabulary," she giggled again at his smirk which flipped into a playful scowl.
"Oi, wench, I can cuss in 5 different languages. That's more then you can say for yourself, I'm sure," he boasted proudly, becoming even more irritated as her ever familiar giggles pierced the air.
"You're right about that," she attempted a poor imitation of his own usual smirk. "I can cuss in six," she clapped her hands in glee as his jaw seemed to drop, his ears twitching in either amazement or resentment at actually being topped for once. Such was a very rare thing.
She giggled for a final time before waving and turning back toward the elevator. "Bye Inuyasha!" she waved gleefully, pushing the small button with ease and casually leaning back against the decorative wall to wait for her transportation. Inuyasha cocked his head in disappointment; he had been expecting to spend the day with her.
"Where are you off to?" he asked offhandedly, trying not to sound like he really gave a shit.
"Oh, I promised Sango I'd go to the mall with her. You know, a sort of girl's day out," she laughed as she saw Inuyasha's ears droop slightly. "Oh, but don't worry Inuyasha, I'll be back in a few hours. We can go out to dinner or something, or better yet, why don't you accompany us?" she asked brightly, hiding the slightly sarcastic laughter. Inuyasha and shopping were just two words that she'd NEVER thought she'd hear in the same sentence.
"Please, I feel the same way about shopping as I feel about you. Hate it with a passion," he smiled sadistically at her, and she rolled her eyes in response. Wasn't this the same guy who, just two seconds ago, was getting all embarrassed over the prospect of showing even the tiniest amount of gratitude toward her?
'He has double personality disorder or something,' she thought with a grin, turning back toward the elevator for what felt like the millionth time that morning.
"Well now that we've established how much you absolutely love shopping, I'll be on my way. Bye Inuyasha!" she waved with a knowing smile, flinging herself into the sliding doors of the elevator before he had the opportunity to process what she'd just implied.
Not ten seconds after the door shut behind her, an angry growl came from just a few feet above her. She smiled in spite of herself, he really was quite funny to annoy once in awhile. I guess what they said about temperamental actors is true....
The elevator door slid open, and Kagome skipped down the hall toward the familiar sight of Sango's beige front door. She rapped a few times before the door flew open, and a breathless Sango stood gasping for air before her.
"Oh," she panted. "Oh, hi Kagome. Erm, I'll be right there, just give me a minute," she shut the door and trudged back inside, whispering something that Kagome couldn't make out, though she was straining to hear it.
"Oh, don't worry about it Sango," a husky voice laughed before pushing open the door with a wave of a hand. "Hiya Kagome," he panted, every bit as breathless as Sango. Kagome shot startled glances at both Sango and Miroku, not sure whether to become flustered or burst out laughing. In a combination of the two, she backed away, bent over in her giggles.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she stuttered out between laughs. "I'll just leave you two," she giggled some more. "Alone then," her giggles turned to full out laughter, and Sango's eyebrow twitched as she scowled at Miroku, her fists clenched.
"WE WERE EXCERCISING!" Sango protested indignantly, deciding she'd throttle Miroku in the future instead of the present. After all, Kagome WAS a witness.
"You certainly found a good way to do it!" Kagome giggled more, sinking down on her knees as she crossed her arms across her stomach to hold in her laugher. With a few more hearty shakes, she rose once again to her feet and looked Sango squarely in the eye.
"If you're truly done, then let's get out of here. Unless of course, there's something else you'd like to do," she winked, causing an interesting shade of pink to rise on Sango's cheeks.
"N-no," Sango protested. "I'm ready. Let me just get my purse," she trailed off, ducking behind the door for a few moments and reemerging with a rose colored purse over her shoulder. Kagome couldn't help but notice that her cheeks were the same shade of red as the purse, but she'd keep that little tidbit to herself for the time being. Sango seemed embarrassed enough as it was.
"Bye girls!" Miroku called out from behind them, secretly enjoying the view of their hips swaying subconsciously in unison, and sighed dismally when the elevator door slid shut behind them with a wave from Kagome and not a single acknowledgement from Sango. Ah well, he'd make it up to her later...
Kagome and Sango moved up a step in line, balancing their trays on the narrow counter before them. When their turn finally arrived at the buffet style fast-food joint, the two quickly piled on as much food as their plates could possibly carry before slapping some money on the register, stumbling under the weight of their purchases. They maneuvered through the enormous crowds to an unguarded table, sinking down into the plastic chairs with relief as they let their bags drop to the floor below them.
"What a day," Kagome panted, a mesmerizing grin on her face.
"I haven't shopped like this in years," Sango grinned, equally as weary. Kagome laughed and picked up her gooey pizza with ease, slurping the extra cheese from the vertex of the pizza before proceeding to gobble down the rest of it in only a few bites.
"You sure have a healthy appetite," Sango laughed, as she'd only taken about three bites of her enormous chicken teriyaki dish.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Kagome responded, uncrossing her feet below her and swinging them under the table as she waited for Sango to finish her meal. "So....," she trailed off, knowing that Sango would slaughter her if she continued even a word of that sentence.
"So.....what?" Sango egged her on with a grimace, sounding an awful lot like a woman waiting for her death sentence.
Kagome gave a sly grin, lowering her voice so as not to attract the attention of surrounding customers. It didn't matter, they were much too caught up in their own lives to worry about the trivial affairs of the two girls, but Kagome understood that Sango preferred to keep her privacy intact. "So, what were you and Miroku REALLY doing? And if you say "exercising", I'll throttle you," she added, seeing Sango draw in a deep breath to protest Kagome's claim.
A pink tinge spread across Sango's cheeks, and she leaned closer to the girl, oblivious to the fact that nobody cared less. "Look, we WERE exercising. It's just that I chose to wear my sweats, which are really more close to spandex then anything," she trailed off, giving Kagome an uncomfortably embarrassed smile. Kagome threw back her head with a boisterous laugh, propping her chin up with her elbows when she was finally through humiliating her friend.
"Oh Sango, you're really that idiotic? You should've known he'd try something!" she leaned forward eagerly, like a schoolgirl waiting for the newest school gossip. "So," she said coyly. "How far did you two get before I spoiled your fun?" she had to contain her giggles at the unwilling blush that was spreading across the older girl's cheeks, despite her failed attempts at concealing it.
"We were only kissing; we weren't even to first base," she squeezed her eyes shut tightly in a fit of embarrassed giggles. "Oh, we're being silly. We're talking like high school students," she let out a laugh at their immaturity, swallowing a rather large spoonful of rice and teriyaki sauce as she did so.
"Well you forget, it wasn't so long ago that I WAS a high school student. You, on the other hand, have no excuse," she pointed out, and Sango grinned at that.
"So anyway," Sango began between mouthfuls, attempting to turn the tables on Kagome for once. "What's been going on between you and Inuyasha? You two seem awfully close".
Instead of the blush and giggles that Sango would've thought sure to follow, Kagome's expression suddenly turned grave and distant. "Sango," the younger girl began softly. "I need to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me truthfully".
"All right...," Sango agreed uncertainly, not liking the direction this was headed.
"Who is Rin?"
Well that question had certainly caught Sango completely off guard. She had been expecting something more along the lines of "Does Inuyasha have a girlfriend?" She debated giving the girl her answer, then did a double take as realization began to dawn upon her. How did she even know Rin's name? "Wait a second, how do you know about Rin?" she asked sharply, narrowing her eyes a bit subconsciously. She couldn't help it, there were just too many things to keep secret, and these days it was difficult to trust even the best of people.
Kagome sighed and leaned toward Sango, cupping a hand over her mouth, for she was as paranoid about the crowds as anybody though she refused to admit it. She proceeded to relate to Sango the events of the night before, watching in curiosity as Sango's eyes grew wider and wider at her tale.
"Wow," Sango said softly as Kagome finished her tale breathlessly.
"Wow what?" she asked, propping the front legs of her chair a few inches off the ground by balancing her feet against the table legs.
"Well, it's just that Inuyasha doesn't normally doesn't trust people with that sort of thing, especially after only a week of knowing them. He tends to be excessively secretive about certain aspects of his life, sometimes a bit to the extreme even. He's NEVER opened up to anybody this fast," she finished seriously, stuffing the last bit of rice into her mouth, but not bothering to clean the excess sauce off with a napkin. This news was much too stunning to think of miniscule things.
Kagome shifted in her chair nervously. "Wow, I guess I feel honored," she gave a half-hearted laugh. "But I'd feel better knowing about what's going on. What happened with Rin and the rest of Inuyasha's family? Is that why he's such a jerk?" Sango hid a laugh as she saw the girl was being genuinely serious.
"Nah, he's always been a jerk. If anything he's less of a jerk now, that's about the only way it even changed him. After it happened, something in him just seemed to die. It's almost like he was living in an alternate universe, he always seemed rather distant. It scared us to see Inuyasha so quiet and sullen, and we, that is to say, Miroku and I, were pretty sure that Inuyasha would never be the same again. But honestly, who could blame him? Then you came along, and I can honestly say that his old personality never sparks quite as much around anybody else as it does around you. It's almost like you're drawing him back out of his shell, and seeing as it's Inuyasha, that's quite a feat to achieve," she smiled warmly at Kagome.
"Great, so now I'm turning him back into a jerk. Yay for me," she said dryly, hidden laughter behind her voice, and it didn't take Sango long to join in.
"But in all seriousness, why did he get so upset about something as silly as family pictures? Even if what happened WAS depressing for him, don't you think rigging alarms is just a tad extreme?"
Sango rolled her eyes knowingly. "Inuyasha is MORE then a tad extreme. He's one of the most melodramatic people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting," she giggled. "But he isn't really a bad guy, Kagome. I think you're good for him. It's nice to see him smile genuinely once in awhile, not one of those stupid cocky smirks he uses 24/7".
"Oh I know, isn't it annoying?" Kagome piped up laughing, and the two continued to swap their most hated annoying mannerisms of Inuyasha until far later in the day. Kagome decided that it was enjoyable enough; after all, it wasn't often anymore that she got to bask in the memories of being a gossipy teenager. Besides, what better way to take out one's frustrations then beating up on Inuyasha when he wasn't there to defend himself?
"What a fuckin fantastic day this has been, eh Miroku?" he gave his buddy a light punch on the arm, but a half-hearted grin was his only response. He swung his legs up on the couch behind the the man, crossing them lazily and draping his hand across the snowy white top of an overly fluffed pillow.
'Oh yeah, Inuyasha, being cramped in my own stuffy apartment with an insanely bored and currently in denial hanyou couldn't be more perfect. Where are you Sango?' he sighed inwardly, propping his legs up on the grimy coffee table before him. Though, suffice to say, he couldn't help but note that his usually sloppy house had become sufficiently cleaner in the time since Sango's arrival. 'I guess having a girl paid off in more ways then I ever thought it would'.
"Yea Inuyasha, today couldn't have been better," he gave a sickly smile before turning his head away with a grim shudder. 'Riiight, and I could've been a monk'.
"We'll have to do this again sometime. Just you and me, the boys day out. What do you say?" he gave a toothy smile before cuffing his friend on the shoulder. "Eh?"
'That's just it. We haven't BEEN out. Talk about becoming stir- crazy. Besides, I'd much rather be with Kagome and Sango on the 'girl's day out'. For all I know, they could be in a steamy dressing room in Victoria's Secret, comparing breast size and...mmmm these mental visuals really are a nice little treat. Wait, why is there a giant hand caressing the stall? What the hell....
"Miroku! Snap out of it!" Inuyasha grunted gruffly, leaning back and repeated the familiar gesture of crossing his arms as Miroku seemed to awaken out of whatever fantasy he'd currently been drowning in. Inuyasha may not have known the extent of this particular dream, but he could take a pretty accurate guess as to what it was about. Rolling his eyes, he attempted to change the topic. He just didn't feel like dealing with Miroku's perverted tendencies at this particular moment. But trickery, on the other hand...
"You're a really good friend Miroku," Inuyasha's eyes became rather dazed and his smile rather fixed as he gazed longingly at the man before him. "A real good friend".
"Yeah, that's nice," Miroku said absently, currently engulfing himself in a new fantasy. As soon as Inuyasha's words processed through his brain, he whipped around so fast it was a wonder he didn't contract whiplash. 'I MUST have been hearing things there'.
"WHAT?" Miroku's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at Inuyasha in awe. "Did you just... COMPLIMENT me?" he asked unbelievingly.
"You know Miroku, I really like you a lot," his head lolled to one side as he struggled to keep his laughter guarded; it was at times like these when he felt his being an actor truly paid off.
"That's nice Inuyasha," Miroku tried to keep his voice from shaking a bit, he was known for his unbelievingly calm front after all, but this was just plain creepy. One of his other male friends he could surely understand, but Inuyasha? That was a different cup of tea entirely. 'Kagome? Sango? HELP!!!!'
"Miroku, may I ask you a simple question?" he pushed himself up with his arms and forward until he was facing Miroku eye to eye. Said man gulped nervously, scooting as far away from the hanyou as he possibly could under the circumstances
'KAGOME! SANGO! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
"Will you bear-?" he began saucily, closing the distance between himself and Miroku inch by inch, still successful in concealing his laughter from the obviously nervous man.
"Hi guys!" a cheerful female voice floated in from the doorway, and Inuyasha snapped back into his seat in enormous haste, putting as much distance between himself and Miroku as viable. Miroku was almost beside himself in gratitude, as he leapt up from the couch and whizzed out the front door, dragging Sango along by the arm as he left.
"Where the heck are we going?" Sango hissed as they continued their fast-paced jog down the hallway.
"As far away from here as possible," Miroku stated grimly, and Sango gave him a confused and somewhat suspicious glare.
'What a strange guy...'.
Just a few minutes later, Kagome and Inuyasha sat calmly on Inuyasha's white leather couch, gingerly sipping soda while watching some bizarre late night cartoon called Angry Beavers. Neither really seemed to be giving much of their concentration to the show, and soon the absurd show was shoved aside entirely in order to engage in the much more exciting (and violent) event of actually talking to one another.
"So," Inuyasha began, calmly setting down his 7up and leaning back against the leather frame of the couch in order to see Kagome more clearly. "Why'd you come home so late?" Kagome wasn't quite sure if she was imagining the accusatory tone in Inuyasha's voice, but she couldn't help but giggle all the same.
"Oh Inuyasha, you sound like one of those soap opera mothers who seem to have nothing better to do with their lives then scream at their children for breaking curfew," she grinned lightheartedly and sent him a playful smirk, mocking his own usual gesture. "So what do you have to say to that, eh Inuyasha?" she attempted in a sarcastic tone of his own voice, instead sounding more like some drunk chick from Boston, though Inuyasha decided to overlook the tempting insult for more pressing matters.
"You went out with that Kouga guy, didn't you?" he scowled angrily, crossing his arms and looking away from her.
"Inuyasha, of course not! Sango and I were bored after the mall, so we decided to go see a movie! I'm sorry Inuyasha, but the whole world does not, in fact, revolve around you," she huffed, angry that he would think such a thing of her. Inuyasha turned around slowly, a scowl still apparent on his face. He didn't seem to say anything; however, he seemed to be brooding more like.
"You can get over your shock now, Inuyasha," she said dryly, and he scowled even more, turning his glare upon her. She found it difficult not to wince under the powerful gaze in his eyes, but she knew that holding your ground was the number one key to winning arguments against the fiery hanyou. The trusty technique hadn't failed her yet, and she certainly had no reason to believe that it would now!
He still didn't respond, or even signal that he'd even received her incessant insults, as he seemed to be deeply concentrating on something. She watched in confusion as he inhaled deeply, then, when he seemed satisfied, sank back onto the couch with a smirk.
"Guess you really weren't with Kouga. I don't smell him on you," he would've had to be blind to miss the look of horror resting in Kagome's eyes.
"You were smelling me?" she shuddered at the thought. "EWWW!" she screeched playfully, laughing as she did so. "I guess I'll just have to wear stronger perfume next time," she sighed in feign distress, catching the look of disgust in Inuyasha's eyes.
"Don't please, perfume makes me gag, writhe, and fall over onto the ground in a dead faint," he stated bluntly, propping his legs up on the table where his soda currently rested. It swayed a bit, but didn't give in to pressure of his body and remained in place.
"I'll keep that in mind," Kagome laughed dryly.
"So," he began, trying to take the subject away from himself. "What movie did you two see anyway? My Girlfriend's Ex: Cannibal of Death PART TWO?" he asked with a surprisingly genuine laugh, and Kagome couldn't help but catch on to the infectious giggle, fondly remembering the incident of only a little more then a week before.
"No, surprisingly Sango shares my taste in movies, at least some of the time. We got to see that supposedly sappy romantic movie I was telling you about earlier, and it was actually really good and not at all cheesy," she said seriously, curling her legs under her in preparation for a long conversation. She glanced at the clock, and a gasp lodged itself in her throat. Gods, she hadn't the slightest notion that it was so late!
"Inuyasha, it's midnight!" she said worriedly, and he shrugged indifferently.
"What? Afraid that you're going to turn into a pumpkin?" he snorted at his own joke, and Kagome rolled her eyes.
"You know what I wanna do?" she giggled. "Let's have a sleepover!" she squealed at her brilliant suggestion, oblivious to the strange looks she was receiving from Inuyasha.
"What, with Sango or something?" he asked in genuine confusion. Kagome beamed and shook her head.
"No silly! You! It'll be fun! We can stay up late and play games and talk and," she was interrupted by an obviously annoyed Inuyasha.
"And talk about guys and paint our toenails and share our feelings?" he chimed in sarcastically. "That's all right with me, thanks, I'll go to bed".
"Noo!" Kagome pleaded. "I'm too hyper to sleep, and it isn't like there's anybody else to talk to! Besides, who says sleepovers are only for girls anyway? And we don't have to play any stupid games, we can just talk. It'll be really fun, PLEASE INUYASHA? We can spend the entire night getting to know each other better and just having a ton of fun!" she clasped her hands in front of her in a pleading motion and put on her best puppy-dog face, rather confused when she saw a growing smile take over Inuyasha's face.
"Yes, Kagome, we can spend the entire night getting to know each other better and just having a ton of fun," he said seriously, struggling to contain his laughter. "Well, that does it for me. I'm in!"
Realization dawned upon Kagome, and she groaned in exasperation. "INUYASHA!" she yelled, slightly infuriated (not to mention disgusted). Shaking any remaining perverted thoughts from her corrupted mind, she continued her rant. "Seriously, let's! At the risk of sounding like a "Family Game Night" commercial, it'll be a good chance to spend some quality time together. What do you say Inuyasha? Pretty please?" the puppy-dog expression was back on her face in a matter of seconds, and Inuyasha had to admit she had talent. He sighed, rolling his eyes at the girl.
"Fine, fine whatever," he said allowed, drumming his fingers on the table in annoyance. Inwardly, he was much more anxious then he let on.
'What am I getting myself into?'
A/N: So, like the chappie? Pretty lighthearted, the next one probably will be too (and for anybody having pervy thoughts about this 'sleepover', realize that NOTHING is going to happen, or at least, not like you're all thinking. The worst that's going to happen is that they'll humiliate each other, and is that really anything new?) Things start to pick up again in the chapter after, but until then, this is good-bye! Expect an update sometime in the next week!
A/N: Ag! Gosh, sorry for the lack of updating! Don't blame me, though, blame the Cat 6! (Translation: middle school version of the SATs). I'm trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep for once, apparently these tests actually DO count towards whether or not we're placed in A.P classes, so at the moment this is just a TAD more important to me then fanfiction. Testing week is over soon, however, so expect more frequent updates!
By the way, check out my new fic, Shades of Gray! I love the plot idea for it (much more then that crummy highschool fic. I was starting), and I plan to concentrate fully on that story once I'm finished with this one. But without any further ado...
Chapter Twenty Two
Mall Rats
Sunlight streamed through the windows of the luxurious apartment, and Kagome held back a groan as she raised the lid of a groggy eye, shielding her face from the rays of the sun with a weary hand. Yawning, she stretched her arms above her head, stiffening as she looked around and realized she hadn't the slightest idea of where she was. She felt something shift on her knee and glanced down with a muffled gasp, a rose colored blush covering her cheeks when her eyes fell upon the dark mane of Inuyasha as he lay face down, burrowing into her knee.
Carefully, so as not to wake the sleeping hanyou, she braced her arms under his armpits, attempting to shove him off her lap without awakening him. Grunting from the effort, she finally managed to lightly deposit him on the floor, him being none the wiser of her scheme. She quickly stumbled to her feet and padded out the door of the closet, watching contentedly as Inuyasha curled into a ball on the ground, and she had to work a bit to stifle her laughter. At that particular moment, he resembled Buyo almost perfectly!
Gingerly closing the door behind her, she turned back toward her room, sighing when she saw a paint chip fly from the wall and hit the ground below. Inuyasha would probably flip out, and she didn't want to be around when it happened. She glanced at the clock to see that it was about ten in the morning; it was quite the surprise that Inuyasha still lay dormant. 'But,' she mused logically, 'He DID go through a lot last night. I'll let him sleep'.
She entered her bright, cheerful room, throwing back the shutters with a smile on her face, the too audible noise awakening a sleeping Buyo in mere instants. Patting the dog on the head affectionately, she slipped into some jeans and a T-shirt, swooping down to grab her purse and swing it over her shoulder before donning her sneakers and heading out of her sanctuary.
She walked toward the front door of the house, her pace quickening as she passed the no longer mysterious closet door and heard a muffled groan from inside the darkened room. She pushed open the front door hurriedly, wincing as it banged shut behind her.
'If he wasn't awake before, he sure is now. Way to go Kagome,' she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity, her steps almost matching a run as she neared the elevator, and she drew in a breath as she heard the door of the apartment slide open behind her. 'It's just my imagination,' Kagome reassured herself, not daring to look back. 'Come on, you're almost there,' her hand stretched out desperately to push down the down switch on the elevator when suddenly a deep male voice made her stop in her tracks, the elevator long forgotten.
"Kagome?" it asked, surprisingly timidly seeing that the owner of the voice was identifiable as none other then Inuyasha. Inuyasha being timid about ANYTHING would normally have sent Kagome into a dead faint, but after the previous night's events, she couldn't help but see him in a bit of a new perspective.
"O-oh, Inuyasha," Kagome ran a hand through her hair nervously, her cheeks tinged a bit pink at the remembrance of the night before. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice; actually he looked a bit too dazed for his own good. Kagome looked at him fearfully for a moment before drawing back in relaxation.
'He doesn't remember,' she sighed in relief, stiffening at his next words.
"Erm, about last night," Inuyasha trailed off, not used to admitting to this sort of thing, but for some inexplicable reason he felt he owed it to Kagome, she had, after all, helped him out quite considerably in the past few weeks.
'Shit! He remembers!' Kagome swore inwardly, gulping her nervous expression into a sickly smile as she faced the hanyou before her. "Y- yeah?" she stuttered nervously. "What about it?"
Inuyasha drew in a deep breath, unsure of what words to use exactly, saying anything so kind was quite a new experience for him, and he knew the feeling of these words on his tongue would take some getting used to.
"Thank you," he muttered softly, turning away and crossing his arms so she wouldn't see the pink tinge on his cheeks. He felt so embarrassed and weak at having to actually admit feeling gratitude, actually he felt like a total wimp. How...ugh.
Since she wasn't in his direct line of sight, Inuyasha was oblivious to the growing smile that was spreading across Kagome's rosy cheeks, stretching so wide that it seemed to dominate her entire face. It took all she had not to dash over and hug him, but she knew that to him it would seem like nothing more then a blow to his stereotypical male pride. She'd settle for second best, at any rate.
"Oh Inuyasha," she clasped her hands together in front of her, a warm grin resting lightly on her lips. "You have no idea how happy this makes me!"
Still facing the opposite direction, he seemed to tense up a bit, then freeze in slight agitation. "Oh, so my misery makes you happy, is that it?" he asked sarcastically, and Kagome giggled lightheartedly in his direction.
"No, you dunce," she laughed once again, crossing the distance between them in only a few strides and whirling him around so that the two faced each other, each ensnared in the powerful gaze of the other. "It's just that that's the first time you've said anything nice to me before! I may not know you as well as, say, Sango, but I know you well enough to know that "thank you" is a phrase that doesn't regularly grace your third grade vocabulary," she giggled again at his smirk which flipped into a playful scowl.
"Oi, wench, I can cuss in 5 different languages. That's more then you can say for yourself, I'm sure," he boasted proudly, becoming even more irritated as her ever familiar giggles pierced the air.
"You're right about that," she attempted a poor imitation of his own usual smirk. "I can cuss in six," she clapped her hands in glee as his jaw seemed to drop, his ears twitching in either amazement or resentment at actually being topped for once. Such was a very rare thing.
She giggled for a final time before waving and turning back toward the elevator. "Bye Inuyasha!" she waved gleefully, pushing the small button with ease and casually leaning back against the decorative wall to wait for her transportation. Inuyasha cocked his head in disappointment; he had been expecting to spend the day with her.
"Where are you off to?" he asked offhandedly, trying not to sound like he really gave a shit.
"Oh, I promised Sango I'd go to the mall with her. You know, a sort of girl's day out," she laughed as she saw Inuyasha's ears droop slightly. "Oh, but don't worry Inuyasha, I'll be back in a few hours. We can go out to dinner or something, or better yet, why don't you accompany us?" she asked brightly, hiding the slightly sarcastic laughter. Inuyasha and shopping were just two words that she'd NEVER thought she'd hear in the same sentence.
"Please, I feel the same way about shopping as I feel about you. Hate it with a passion," he smiled sadistically at her, and she rolled her eyes in response. Wasn't this the same guy who, just two seconds ago, was getting all embarrassed over the prospect of showing even the tiniest amount of gratitude toward her?
'He has double personality disorder or something,' she thought with a grin, turning back toward the elevator for what felt like the millionth time that morning.
"Well now that we've established how much you absolutely love shopping, I'll be on my way. Bye Inuyasha!" she waved with a knowing smile, flinging herself into the sliding doors of the elevator before he had the opportunity to process what she'd just implied.
Not ten seconds after the door shut behind her, an angry growl came from just a few feet above her. She smiled in spite of herself, he really was quite funny to annoy once in awhile. I guess what they said about temperamental actors is true....
The elevator door slid open, and Kagome skipped down the hall toward the familiar sight of Sango's beige front door. She rapped a few times before the door flew open, and a breathless Sango stood gasping for air before her.
"Oh," she panted. "Oh, hi Kagome. Erm, I'll be right there, just give me a minute," she shut the door and trudged back inside, whispering something that Kagome couldn't make out, though she was straining to hear it.
"Oh, don't worry about it Sango," a husky voice laughed before pushing open the door with a wave of a hand. "Hiya Kagome," he panted, every bit as breathless as Sango. Kagome shot startled glances at both Sango and Miroku, not sure whether to become flustered or burst out laughing. In a combination of the two, she backed away, bent over in her giggles.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she stuttered out between laughs. "I'll just leave you two," she giggled some more. "Alone then," her giggles turned to full out laughter, and Sango's eyebrow twitched as she scowled at Miroku, her fists clenched.
"WE WERE EXCERCISING!" Sango protested indignantly, deciding she'd throttle Miroku in the future instead of the present. After all, Kagome WAS a witness.
"You certainly found a good way to do it!" Kagome giggled more, sinking down on her knees as she crossed her arms across her stomach to hold in her laugher. With a few more hearty shakes, she rose once again to her feet and looked Sango squarely in the eye.
"If you're truly done, then let's get out of here. Unless of course, there's something else you'd like to do," she winked, causing an interesting shade of pink to rise on Sango's cheeks.
"N-no," Sango protested. "I'm ready. Let me just get my purse," she trailed off, ducking behind the door for a few moments and reemerging with a rose colored purse over her shoulder. Kagome couldn't help but notice that her cheeks were the same shade of red as the purse, but she'd keep that little tidbit to herself for the time being. Sango seemed embarrassed enough as it was.
"Bye girls!" Miroku called out from behind them, secretly enjoying the view of their hips swaying subconsciously in unison, and sighed dismally when the elevator door slid shut behind them with a wave from Kagome and not a single acknowledgement from Sango. Ah well, he'd make it up to her later...
Kagome and Sango moved up a step in line, balancing their trays on the narrow counter before them. When their turn finally arrived at the buffet style fast-food joint, the two quickly piled on as much food as their plates could possibly carry before slapping some money on the register, stumbling under the weight of their purchases. They maneuvered through the enormous crowds to an unguarded table, sinking down into the plastic chairs with relief as they let their bags drop to the floor below them.
"What a day," Kagome panted, a mesmerizing grin on her face.
"I haven't shopped like this in years," Sango grinned, equally as weary. Kagome laughed and picked up her gooey pizza with ease, slurping the extra cheese from the vertex of the pizza before proceeding to gobble down the rest of it in only a few bites.
"You sure have a healthy appetite," Sango laughed, as she'd only taken about three bites of her enormous chicken teriyaki dish.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Kagome responded, uncrossing her feet below her and swinging them under the table as she waited for Sango to finish her meal. "So....," she trailed off, knowing that Sango would slaughter her if she continued even a word of that sentence.
"So.....what?" Sango egged her on with a grimace, sounding an awful lot like a woman waiting for her death sentence.
Kagome gave a sly grin, lowering her voice so as not to attract the attention of surrounding customers. It didn't matter, they were much too caught up in their own lives to worry about the trivial affairs of the two girls, but Kagome understood that Sango preferred to keep her privacy intact. "So, what were you and Miroku REALLY doing? And if you say "exercising", I'll throttle you," she added, seeing Sango draw in a deep breath to protest Kagome's claim.
A pink tinge spread across Sango's cheeks, and she leaned closer to the girl, oblivious to the fact that nobody cared less. "Look, we WERE exercising. It's just that I chose to wear my sweats, which are really more close to spandex then anything," she trailed off, giving Kagome an uncomfortably embarrassed smile. Kagome threw back her head with a boisterous laugh, propping her chin up with her elbows when she was finally through humiliating her friend.
"Oh Sango, you're really that idiotic? You should've known he'd try something!" she leaned forward eagerly, like a schoolgirl waiting for the newest school gossip. "So," she said coyly. "How far did you two get before I spoiled your fun?" she had to contain her giggles at the unwilling blush that was spreading across the older girl's cheeks, despite her failed attempts at concealing it.
"We were only kissing; we weren't even to first base," she squeezed her eyes shut tightly in a fit of embarrassed giggles. "Oh, we're being silly. We're talking like high school students," she let out a laugh at their immaturity, swallowing a rather large spoonful of rice and teriyaki sauce as she did so.
"Well you forget, it wasn't so long ago that I WAS a high school student. You, on the other hand, have no excuse," she pointed out, and Sango grinned at that.
"So anyway," Sango began between mouthfuls, attempting to turn the tables on Kagome for once. "What's been going on between you and Inuyasha? You two seem awfully close".
Instead of the blush and giggles that Sango would've thought sure to follow, Kagome's expression suddenly turned grave and distant. "Sango," the younger girl began softly. "I need to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me truthfully".
"All right...," Sango agreed uncertainly, not liking the direction this was headed.
"Who is Rin?"
Well that question had certainly caught Sango completely off guard. She had been expecting something more along the lines of "Does Inuyasha have a girlfriend?" She debated giving the girl her answer, then did a double take as realization began to dawn upon her. How did she even know Rin's name? "Wait a second, how do you know about Rin?" she asked sharply, narrowing her eyes a bit subconsciously. She couldn't help it, there were just too many things to keep secret, and these days it was difficult to trust even the best of people.
Kagome sighed and leaned toward Sango, cupping a hand over her mouth, for she was as paranoid about the crowds as anybody though she refused to admit it. She proceeded to relate to Sango the events of the night before, watching in curiosity as Sango's eyes grew wider and wider at her tale.
"Wow," Sango said softly as Kagome finished her tale breathlessly.
"Wow what?" she asked, propping the front legs of her chair a few inches off the ground by balancing her feet against the table legs.
"Well, it's just that Inuyasha doesn't normally doesn't trust people with that sort of thing, especially after only a week of knowing them. He tends to be excessively secretive about certain aspects of his life, sometimes a bit to the extreme even. He's NEVER opened up to anybody this fast," she finished seriously, stuffing the last bit of rice into her mouth, but not bothering to clean the excess sauce off with a napkin. This news was much too stunning to think of miniscule things.
Kagome shifted in her chair nervously. "Wow, I guess I feel honored," she gave a half-hearted laugh. "But I'd feel better knowing about what's going on. What happened with Rin and the rest of Inuyasha's family? Is that why he's such a jerk?" Sango hid a laugh as she saw the girl was being genuinely serious.
"Nah, he's always been a jerk. If anything he's less of a jerk now, that's about the only way it even changed him. After it happened, something in him just seemed to die. It's almost like he was living in an alternate universe, he always seemed rather distant. It scared us to see Inuyasha so quiet and sullen, and we, that is to say, Miroku and I, were pretty sure that Inuyasha would never be the same again. But honestly, who could blame him? Then you came along, and I can honestly say that his old personality never sparks quite as much around anybody else as it does around you. It's almost like you're drawing him back out of his shell, and seeing as it's Inuyasha, that's quite a feat to achieve," she smiled warmly at Kagome.
"Great, so now I'm turning him back into a jerk. Yay for me," she said dryly, hidden laughter behind her voice, and it didn't take Sango long to join in.
"But in all seriousness, why did he get so upset about something as silly as family pictures? Even if what happened WAS depressing for him, don't you think rigging alarms is just a tad extreme?"
Sango rolled her eyes knowingly. "Inuyasha is MORE then a tad extreme. He's one of the most melodramatic people I've ever had the displeasure of meeting," she giggled. "But he isn't really a bad guy, Kagome. I think you're good for him. It's nice to see him smile genuinely once in awhile, not one of those stupid cocky smirks he uses 24/7".
"Oh I know, isn't it annoying?" Kagome piped up laughing, and the two continued to swap their most hated annoying mannerisms of Inuyasha until far later in the day. Kagome decided that it was enjoyable enough; after all, it wasn't often anymore that she got to bask in the memories of being a gossipy teenager. Besides, what better way to take out one's frustrations then beating up on Inuyasha when he wasn't there to defend himself?
"What a fuckin fantastic day this has been, eh Miroku?" he gave his buddy a light punch on the arm, but a half-hearted grin was his only response. He swung his legs up on the couch behind the the man, crossing them lazily and draping his hand across the snowy white top of an overly fluffed pillow.
'Oh yeah, Inuyasha, being cramped in my own stuffy apartment with an insanely bored and currently in denial hanyou couldn't be more perfect. Where are you Sango?' he sighed inwardly, propping his legs up on the grimy coffee table before him. Though, suffice to say, he couldn't help but note that his usually sloppy house had become sufficiently cleaner in the time since Sango's arrival. 'I guess having a girl paid off in more ways then I ever thought it would'.
"Yea Inuyasha, today couldn't have been better," he gave a sickly smile before turning his head away with a grim shudder. 'Riiight, and I could've been a monk'.
"We'll have to do this again sometime. Just you and me, the boys day out. What do you say?" he gave a toothy smile before cuffing his friend on the shoulder. "Eh?"
'That's just it. We haven't BEEN out. Talk about becoming stir- crazy. Besides, I'd much rather be with Kagome and Sango on the 'girl's day out'. For all I know, they could be in a steamy dressing room in Victoria's Secret, comparing breast size and...mmmm these mental visuals really are a nice little treat. Wait, why is there a giant hand caressing the stall? What the hell....
"Miroku! Snap out of it!" Inuyasha grunted gruffly, leaning back and repeated the familiar gesture of crossing his arms as Miroku seemed to awaken out of whatever fantasy he'd currently been drowning in. Inuyasha may not have known the extent of this particular dream, but he could take a pretty accurate guess as to what it was about. Rolling his eyes, he attempted to change the topic. He just didn't feel like dealing with Miroku's perverted tendencies at this particular moment. But trickery, on the other hand...
"You're a really good friend Miroku," Inuyasha's eyes became rather dazed and his smile rather fixed as he gazed longingly at the man before him. "A real good friend".
"Yeah, that's nice," Miroku said absently, currently engulfing himself in a new fantasy. As soon as Inuyasha's words processed through his brain, he whipped around so fast it was a wonder he didn't contract whiplash. 'I MUST have been hearing things there'.
"WHAT?" Miroku's jaw dropped slightly as he stared at Inuyasha in awe. "Did you just... COMPLIMENT me?" he asked unbelievingly.
"You know Miroku, I really like you a lot," his head lolled to one side as he struggled to keep his laughter guarded; it was at times like these when he felt his being an actor truly paid off.
"That's nice Inuyasha," Miroku tried to keep his voice from shaking a bit, he was known for his unbelievingly calm front after all, but this was just plain creepy. One of his other male friends he could surely understand, but Inuyasha? That was a different cup of tea entirely. 'Kagome? Sango? HELP!!!!'
"Miroku, may I ask you a simple question?" he pushed himself up with his arms and forward until he was facing Miroku eye to eye. Said man gulped nervously, scooting as far away from the hanyou as he possibly could under the circumstances
'KAGOME! SANGO! GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
"Will you bear-?" he began saucily, closing the distance between himself and Miroku inch by inch, still successful in concealing his laughter from the obviously nervous man.
"Hi guys!" a cheerful female voice floated in from the doorway, and Inuyasha snapped back into his seat in enormous haste, putting as much distance between himself and Miroku as viable. Miroku was almost beside himself in gratitude, as he leapt up from the couch and whizzed out the front door, dragging Sango along by the arm as he left.
"Where the heck are we going?" Sango hissed as they continued their fast-paced jog down the hallway.
"As far away from here as possible," Miroku stated grimly, and Sango gave him a confused and somewhat suspicious glare.
'What a strange guy...'.
Just a few minutes later, Kagome and Inuyasha sat calmly on Inuyasha's white leather couch, gingerly sipping soda while watching some bizarre late night cartoon called Angry Beavers. Neither really seemed to be giving much of their concentration to the show, and soon the absurd show was shoved aside entirely in order to engage in the much more exciting (and violent) event of actually talking to one another.
"So," Inuyasha began, calmly setting down his 7up and leaning back against the leather frame of the couch in order to see Kagome more clearly. "Why'd you come home so late?" Kagome wasn't quite sure if she was imagining the accusatory tone in Inuyasha's voice, but she couldn't help but giggle all the same.
"Oh Inuyasha, you sound like one of those soap opera mothers who seem to have nothing better to do with their lives then scream at their children for breaking curfew," she grinned lightheartedly and sent him a playful smirk, mocking his own usual gesture. "So what do you have to say to that, eh Inuyasha?" she attempted in a sarcastic tone of his own voice, instead sounding more like some drunk chick from Boston, though Inuyasha decided to overlook the tempting insult for more pressing matters.
"You went out with that Kouga guy, didn't you?" he scowled angrily, crossing his arms and looking away from her.
"Inuyasha, of course not! Sango and I were bored after the mall, so we decided to go see a movie! I'm sorry Inuyasha, but the whole world does not, in fact, revolve around you," she huffed, angry that he would think such a thing of her. Inuyasha turned around slowly, a scowl still apparent on his face. He didn't seem to say anything; however, he seemed to be brooding more like.
"You can get over your shock now, Inuyasha," she said dryly, and he scowled even more, turning his glare upon her. She found it difficult not to wince under the powerful gaze in his eyes, but she knew that holding your ground was the number one key to winning arguments against the fiery hanyou. The trusty technique hadn't failed her yet, and she certainly had no reason to believe that it would now!
He still didn't respond, or even signal that he'd even received her incessant insults, as he seemed to be deeply concentrating on something. She watched in confusion as he inhaled deeply, then, when he seemed satisfied, sank back onto the couch with a smirk.
"Guess you really weren't with Kouga. I don't smell him on you," he would've had to be blind to miss the look of horror resting in Kagome's eyes.
"You were smelling me?" she shuddered at the thought. "EWWW!" she screeched playfully, laughing as she did so. "I guess I'll just have to wear stronger perfume next time," she sighed in feign distress, catching the look of disgust in Inuyasha's eyes.
"Don't please, perfume makes me gag, writhe, and fall over onto the ground in a dead faint," he stated bluntly, propping his legs up on the table where his soda currently rested. It swayed a bit, but didn't give in to pressure of his body and remained in place.
"I'll keep that in mind," Kagome laughed dryly.
"So," he began, trying to take the subject away from himself. "What movie did you two see anyway? My Girlfriend's Ex: Cannibal of Death PART TWO?" he asked with a surprisingly genuine laugh, and Kagome couldn't help but catch on to the infectious giggle, fondly remembering the incident of only a little more then a week before.
"No, surprisingly Sango shares my taste in movies, at least some of the time. We got to see that supposedly sappy romantic movie I was telling you about earlier, and it was actually really good and not at all cheesy," she said seriously, curling her legs under her in preparation for a long conversation. She glanced at the clock, and a gasp lodged itself in her throat. Gods, she hadn't the slightest notion that it was so late!
"Inuyasha, it's midnight!" she said worriedly, and he shrugged indifferently.
"What? Afraid that you're going to turn into a pumpkin?" he snorted at his own joke, and Kagome rolled her eyes.
"You know what I wanna do?" she giggled. "Let's have a sleepover!" she squealed at her brilliant suggestion, oblivious to the strange looks she was receiving from Inuyasha.
"What, with Sango or something?" he asked in genuine confusion. Kagome beamed and shook her head.
"No silly! You! It'll be fun! We can stay up late and play games and talk and," she was interrupted by an obviously annoyed Inuyasha.
"And talk about guys and paint our toenails and share our feelings?" he chimed in sarcastically. "That's all right with me, thanks, I'll go to bed".
"Noo!" Kagome pleaded. "I'm too hyper to sleep, and it isn't like there's anybody else to talk to! Besides, who says sleepovers are only for girls anyway? And we don't have to play any stupid games, we can just talk. It'll be really fun, PLEASE INUYASHA? We can spend the entire night getting to know each other better and just having a ton of fun!" she clasped her hands in front of her in a pleading motion and put on her best puppy-dog face, rather confused when she saw a growing smile take over Inuyasha's face.
"Yes, Kagome, we can spend the entire night getting to know each other better and just having a ton of fun," he said seriously, struggling to contain his laughter. "Well, that does it for me. I'm in!"
Realization dawned upon Kagome, and she groaned in exasperation. "INUYASHA!" she yelled, slightly infuriated (not to mention disgusted). Shaking any remaining perverted thoughts from her corrupted mind, she continued her rant. "Seriously, let's! At the risk of sounding like a "Family Game Night" commercial, it'll be a good chance to spend some quality time together. What do you say Inuyasha? Pretty please?" the puppy-dog expression was back on her face in a matter of seconds, and Inuyasha had to admit she had talent. He sighed, rolling his eyes at the girl.
"Fine, fine whatever," he said allowed, drumming his fingers on the table in annoyance. Inwardly, he was much more anxious then he let on.
'What am I getting myself into?'
A/N: So, like the chappie? Pretty lighthearted, the next one probably will be too (and for anybody having pervy thoughts about this 'sleepover', realize that NOTHING is going to happen, or at least, not like you're all thinking. The worst that's going to happen is that they'll humiliate each other, and is that really anything new?) Things start to pick up again in the chapter after, but until then, this is good-bye! Expect an update sometime in the next week!