Authors' Notes: This fanfic is a collaboration between authors KellyChan85 (ff.net id: 92753 ) and TailFluffGirl (ff.net id: 324872 ).
A while back we decided that it would be fun to write an AU humor/romance featuring our respective two favorite pairings to write in fanfiction (Inuyasha/Kagome and Bankotsu/Jakotsu respectively.) Soon this idea was born and we set out to write it. We will probably be updating it weekly on Wednesdays. (KellyChan usually spends the weekend at TailFluff's and so we'll be sitting down together to write it at that time.)
Also, since we do not want people reviewing or emailing us about it- We will state right now that these are the following pairings that will appear in this piece. We will not change or alter them, so if you don't like it- turn back now.
Listed in order of plot significance and the size of their roles in the story:
In major roles: Inuyasha/Kagome, Bankotsu/Jakotsu, Kouga/Ayame.
In minor roles: Sesshoumaru/Kagura, Suikotsu/Kikyou, Inutaishou/Izayoi, Rin/Kohaku, Miroku/Sango, and Hiten/Kaguya.
As a note- The Jakotsu and Inuyasha relationship in this is purely one-sided- just like it is in the series. Jakotsu's attraction to Inuyasha is purely physical lust, and Inuyasha in no way, shape, or form reciprocates.
This fic is rated PG-13 for suggestive themes. (Thank you Jakotsu and Miroku.)
Also- if you haven't noticed already- this deals with the issue of homosexuality and issues of "coming out." If for some reason that is unsettling to you, then please turn back. We don't need your immature flames. Thank you.
We ask that you all please read, review and enjoy ^^
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~Under Queer Circumstances~
By KellyChan85 & TailFluffGirl
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Three weeks for a college student isn't much time.
Three weeks to avoid an embarrassing secret from being spilled.
Three weeks to throw someone in the closet and drag them out.
Three weeks to un-straighten one to save the other's masculinity.
Three weeks under queer circumstances.
But hey- it's all in the name of love.
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Chapter 1:
On The Straight and Narrow
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It was just a simple Monday in the campus cafeteria. The same faces, the same line to wait in, and the same food that was always offered. The mid-day classes just finishing up left the line growing in length by the moment as everyone rushed to get a quick meal before their afternoon courses. Tables were filling up, and the usual dull roar of conversation filled the air, it seemed just like any other day. But the sound of the intercom system clicking on quieted most, and left expectant ears awaiting the mid-afternoon campus radio program.
"Goooooood Afternoon boys and girls, this is everyone's favorite DJ, Monkeyman Naraku spinning out some tunes for ya here on Saru85- the Hakurei University radio station. But before that, we've got a little treat for all you out there that sent in for our ticket raffle. As you all know- in three weeks, the brand new 'Castle of Illusions' theme park is opening up here locally and our lovely little station managed to snag up some special Exclusive Premiere Night passes for four. That's right; four lucky students here will get to see the theme park before the rest of us suckers. Soooo listen up now, because the winner is…"
The voice paused as the room fell silent in curiosity.
"And….it's…. oh damn got the paper upside down. Just a second. And the winner is… Jakotsu Douseiai."
A high-pitched squeal of joy resounded throughout the cafeteria as the one whose name had been announced registered his victory. His black-hair was tied up in a loop and it bounced up and down as he jumped in excitement. From across the room, a shorter boy with a long braid leapt up from his chair and ran across the cafeteria, accidentally knocking into a young female on the way. With a quick apology he continued towards his friend, flinging his arms around him in a hug.
The girl, who had been run into, sighed in slight annoyance as she looked down to the handful of textbooks that she'd dropped as a result of the collision. Before she could reach down to pick it up though, a boy from nearby in line stepped in front of her.
"Uhh here," He stuttered. The dark haired girl looked up at him, registering who the long silver-white hair and ever present bandanna he wore tied on his head belonged to. As he leaned down to pick up her dropped books and hand them to her, the girl blinked in surprise. "Kagome… are you okay?" The young man asked, concerned that she may have been hurt due to being ran into. Kagome shook her head.
"Ah, I'm fine," She paused and smiled brightly. "Thank you Inuyasha." The white haired boy turned away, a tinge of pink appearing on his cheeks.
"Keh!" Kagome adjusted her backpack and bit her lip.
"Well ah… I'll see you later, okay Inuyasha?" She managed, her voice slightly nervous. The young man scratched the back of his head.
"Uhh… sure," He replied. Kagome turned away and waved, a smile on her face as she headed to her table, leaving Inuyasha behind. He stared after her for a few moments, before shaking his head and making his way over to the area of the cafeteria he usually sat in.
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Kagome leaned back in her chair with a light sigh- piling her textbooks up neatly and placing them in her backpack to avoid future disasters. From across the table a young woman with red hair tied in dual ponytails on the sides of her head gave the other girl a knowing smile.
"So Kagome, what happened over there with Inuyasha?" She asked as she took a sip of her Sprite. Kagome blinked, not knowing her friend had seen their encounter.
"It was nothing Ayame, I just dropped my books and he picked them up." Ayame laughed to herself.
"You like him don't you?" She inquired with intent. Kagome's eyes widened and she blushed lightly.
"Ayame!"
"Oh come on Kagome, ever since we moved into that apartment building you two have just kept running into each other…" Ayame trailed off. She and Kagome lived downstairs a level from Inuyasha and his roommate in the college owned apartment complex they resided in.
"We're just friends," She replied lamely. The red-haired girl grinned.
"Really now?"
"Seriously Ayame, it's Inuyasha. He's so… immature." She replied, thinking of the way he sometimes overreacted negatively in situations.
"Then you should stop blushing every time I mention him to you like this," Ayame retorted. She didn't reply for a moment, but finally sighed deeply.
"I guess I didn't know I was so obvious," The young woman confessed.
"Oh you are," Ayame paused. "You know Kagome… I think he likes you too." The other girl pointed out, thinking of his slightly flustered demeanor that he carried every time he encountered Kagome.
"No he doesn't…" The black haired girl sighed, disappointment clear in her tone. The redhead shrugged and took another sip from her beverage.
"Trust me, he does. He gets even more flustered than you do, and from what I've seen- it's not like him to pick up just any random girl's textbooks." Kagome glanced over in the direction of where Inuyasha sat across the cafeteria.
"Maybe…" She interrupted herself. "No Ayame, we're just friends, in fact… we barely know each other." Kagome pointed out. Truthfully, the two of them rarely did anything but have short encounters at school or when they saw each other in the hallways at their apartment. "We've never even gone anywhere together." Ayame wagged her finger in her friend's direction.
"Well then maybe… you should change that." She suggested.
Kagome bit her lip as her eyes wandered in the silver haired boy's direction. Maybe…I should.
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Across the room at their usual table, Inuyasha tapped his finger impatiently as he watched the braided-boy walk back to his seat.
"So, that's Kagome right?" He asked plopping down in his chair.
"Keh! At least I wasn't like… hugging Jakotsu," Inuyasha muttered lamely. The boy shrugged.
"What's wrong with being happy for my friend?"
"Bankotsu…he's like…you know and…." He trailed off. Rolling his eyes, the black-haired boy shook his head.
"So he's gay. What's the problem?" Inuyasha glared at an unseen spot on the wall.
"The problem is he's…like that towards me. Why can't he go be gay on someone else?" Laughing to himself, Bankotsu sighed.
"You afraid he'll scare that Kagome girl away?"
"No! I just…don't want him…clinging on me and…stuff…" Inuyasha grumbled.
"So what was that about anyways? I couldn't tell since I was talking with Jakotsu." Bankotsu inquired curiously.
"What was what about?" He snapped.
"You picked up her books right, Mr. Romance?" The black-haired boy smirked at the way his friend spluttered on his drink.
"Keh! Shut up. It's…not like that!" Inuyasha shot back, a blush appearing on his cheeks. Knowing all too well from being the less-than-romantic boy's roommate, Bankotsu could only shake his head again.
"Why don't you just ask her out and get it over with?" Inuyasha glared, not liking where this discussion was going.
"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?" He retorted in irritation.
"You just," Bankotsu paused taking a bite from his sandwich, "Need to talk to her."
"Talk…to her?" Inuyasha blinked innocently, not sure what 'talking' would entail.
"Well…isn't that how those things work?" The braided boy cocked his head to the side.
"I don't know, you tell me!" He said with a 'hmph' before returning to his own food.
"Hey, I've never had a crush on someone like this before." He shrugged.
"It's not a crush!" The white haired boy exclaimed, punching the table in frustration as his blush deepened.
"Hmm…why don't you just, you know, write down something nice to say to her and like…ask to go see a movie or something? That's what most people do… I think," Bankotsu suggested, not being all that well versed on the ways of romance himself.
"Keh- Why would I write it down?" He crossed his arms sulkily.
"Well… would it help you to know what to say if you wrote it down?" Bankotsu wondered. Inuyasha sighed.
"Hmph, I guess it would." The young man reached down and unzipped his backpack, pulling out a piece of paper and a pen. "I don't know why I'm doing this anyway." He put his pen to the paper and tapped it, unsure of what to write. Finally, he gulped, and scribbled something down. Bankotsu glanced over inquisitively to see what he had written.
Kagome…
"Umm Inuyasha, I don't think just writing her name is going to tell her anything." The braided boy pointed out.
"Keh! I wasn't done!" He grumbled and scratched her name out with the pen in frustration. With an annoyed sigh, he started over.
Kagome- Do you want to go do stuff with me?
Bankotsu creased his brows as he read. "That sounds… wrong."
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha retorted, blushing and crossing it out when he finally registered how it sounded out of context. Pausing to take a sip of his Mountain Dew, he tried again.
Kagome- I've been watching you for a long time and I...
He quickly scratched that one out, not wanting to sound like a stalker.
Kagome- Will you go out with me?
Inuyasha winced, that just seemed… too blunt. Bankotsu shrugged.
"Maybe you should just say what comes to you then?" He offered. Inuyasha shook his head and began writing again.
Kagome- I like being with you. It would be nice if we could spend some time together.
Inuyasha paused to collect his thoughts, pleased with how this attempt had come out so far. Bankotsu glanced at it and smiled.
"I think that one is a good start," The young man stated. The white haired boy nodded and put the pen to paper again, stopping when a squeally voice caught his ears.
"Inu…ya…sha!" Jakotsu exclaimed wrapping his arms around the disgruntled boy's neck.
"Get off me you freak!" Inuyasha said, struggling to free himself from the vice-like grip. Bankotsu on the other hand, just glared.
"So didya hear?" He gushed, tightening his grip on his current infatuation, "I won some tickets to that new amusement park."
"Like I care- now get off me!" The young man continued to jerk away until finally he just stood up, his chair clattering to the ground. Smirking with a predatory gleam in his eyes, Jakotsu licked his lips.
"Come on cutie, don'tcha want to go with me?"
"No!" Inuyasha yelled back, "Why the hell would I want to do that?!" Sighing Jakotsu produced a slight pout.
"Aww, come on. You know I think you're adorable. Why not? I'll make it fun…"
"Just no! Stay away from me!" He continued, wondering how in the world Jakotsu had gotten any impression that he even thought of him as more than his roommate's best friend.
About to retreat, his affections once again denied, the taller boy noted with interest the waylaid note on the table.
"Oh no…" Inuyasha began, but it was too late. Jakotsu had snatched it up and was now grinning wickedly.
Hoping to save himself any embarrassment, and not sure what else he could do, the white-haired boy quickly grabbed Jakotsu by the arm and dragged him out of the cafeteria into the hall.
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Back across the way, the two girls who had been previously discussing him looked up as the commotion at his table caught their attention. Before they could observe any further though the loud clatter of a tray being haphazardly sat down on their table drew their eyes over to a black-haired boy with a long ponytail.
"Hey, what's dog-ear boy doing with the gay guy?" He asked, his two friends sitting down beside him.
"Kouga," Ayame warned, knowing all to well that her boyfriend wasn't exactly on good terms with Inuyasha.
"You don't think he's…." One of the other boys trailed off running a hand up through his spiky white hair.
"Hakkaku! Inuyasha's not gay!" Kagome cut in. The red-haired girl just smirked.
"And here I thought you didn't care about him…"
"Well I… I know he's not gay," She replied lamely, a light blush growing on her cheeks.
"Then why is he out in the hallway with that Jakotsu guy? They don't talk that often, so it seems kinda…suspicious," The gray and black haired boy questioned.
"Ginta, you think that they're hiding some…" Hakkaku began, but Kouga cut him off.
"Maybe he's hiding some secret love affair with him."
"Now that is just enough!" Ayame said standing, causing all three of the boys to shrink down in their chairs, "Don't go and dash all of Kagome's hopes of getting him for a boyfriend."
"Who said I wanted him to be my boyfriend?!" Kagome stuttered, her blush deepening.
"Just trust me, Inuyasha isn't gay. He's probably one of the straightest guys here…" She continued, twisting a strand of her red-hair between her fingers, "You three are just nuts."
"Hey, Ayame- what are you saying…" Kouga began, not too pleased with how that undermined his masculinity.
"I know you're straight too, you idiot. Sheesh Kouga, chill out."
"But I wonder what they're talking about…" Kagome spoke up, her eyes looking off in the direction they left in.
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Out in the hallway, Inuyasha skidded to a halt and quickly removed his hand from Jakotsu's arm as if he'd touched a hot stove.
"Don't you dare…" He growled under his breath, making it known that this was not to be spoken of aloud ever.
"Don't I dare what?" Jakotsu questioned, waving the note about above Inuyasha's head.
"Give that back!" The boy demanded, fearing for what could be the biggest embarrassment of his life.
"So this is why you haven't been returning my affections?" The black haired young man taunted. "I bet this 'Kagome' would love to see this." Inuyasha blanched and snapped his arm out to grab the note, glaring when Jakotsu pulled his hand out of his reach.
"Don't you dare tell her!" He threatened dangerously. Jakotsu waved the note a bit.
"Okay then, let's make a deal."
"I'm not making any sick twisted deals with you!" Inuyasha yelled. "Just give it back!"
"Oh you're no fun," Pouting, he started to tap the center of his forehead as to spark an idea. "Well how about this…in three weeks, that amusement park opens up and I have four passes to the premiere night." The shorter boy glared, still not liking this whole predicament.
"Yah, so?" He muttered, afraid of where this might be going.
"So I want to get to go with some cutie of a guy and enjoy myself." Inuyasha shuddered, seriously hoping that this would in no way whatsoever involve him. "It really is kind of a downer now that I know you've got your heart set on someone else- a girl of all things," Jakotsu sighed, "So, either you come up with some guy that I like to go with me or you are coming with me in his place." He finished with a smirk. Blinking, and balling his fists as he looked to the note the other boy still held, Inuyasha exhaled loudly.
"So get you a boyfriend or I have to…go with you?" He said with a gulp at his sealed fate.
"Basically yes," The black-haired man said with a sadistic smile playing on his lips, "But, it can't just be any guy. The guy you get has to be gay. I don't want to be wasting my time with just anyone."
"Well I'm not gay!" Inuyasha protested, "Why the hell drag me with you then?" Jakotsu laughed.
"You're cute enough I can overlook that little problem," The white-haired boy withheld a gag.
"Is that a deal then? You get me a new boyfriend and heck- I might even be inclined to give you and that girl the other passes," His expression darkened, "But… if you can't get me a hot sexy man all willing to be mine, then you're mine for the night."
Looking between the floor and the note still clutched in Jakotsu's hand, Inuyasha realized that it was either this or humiliation in front of Kagome. Some of those earlier attempts at writing down his thoughts were…well, downright embarrassing.
If I agree, then I have three weeks to get some gay guy for him to go with and I'm safe. But…if I don't… Inuyasha winced at the thought. If I don't… then Kagome will see the note...
"Fine," He snapped, "I'll get you a stupid boyfriend in three weeks." Jakotsu giggled.
"Good luck cutie, I've been looking all over this campus for anyone to my taste for the three years I've been here and haven't found someone yet. Don't think you're off the hook as my date yet."
"Oh yah well… Keh!" Inuyasha whipped around and stormed off, turning back when a thought crossed his mind. "But you have to hold up your half of the deal." He narrowed his eyes. "That note gets shown to no one." Jakotsu placed the note in the pocket of his jeans, and patted it.
"I won't say a word unless you fall through," He replied, devious smirk still on his face. Not wanting to deal with this issue anymore, and extremely pissed off, the white-haired boy balled his fists as if he was almost considering beating Jakotsu until he could get the note back, but then just returned to storming back into the cafeteria.
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Having been left at the table alone was bad enough, but the fact he was currently wondering what was going on between his roommate and his openly gay best friend left Bankotsu with a very sour taste in his mouth.
Every few seconds he would glance in the direction they left in, almost half-tempted to get up and follow them. That's when; Inuyasha came stomping back into the cafeteria. And an angry Inuyasha only meant one thing to Bankotsu- Jakotsu had done something to cause it.
"What are you looking at?" He snapped as he righted his chair and sat back down.
"Keh!" Bankotsu's braid swished sharply as he turned his head away, "I'm glad to see you two are getting along so well."
"Keh! What the hell's your problem?!" Inuyasha shot back.
"So let me guess, you two are going to go and be all lovey-dovey at that stupid amusement park thing. Just fucking peachy," His can of Pepsi slowly caving in as his hand constricted around it.
What the…Inuyasha blinked noticing his friend's stranger than usual behavior. He's acting all…jealous because Jakotsu didn't ask him. He halted then, realization dawning upon him.
"You wanted him to ask you, right?" He questioned, testing his theory.
"Why wouldn't I? But no, he's too caught up in you," Bankotsu retorted, the aluminum finally giving as his hand crushed it. He didn't even seem to notice the sticky liquid running over his fingers.
Oh yah, he's…really jealous. So maybe… Inuyasha looked between his roommate and the figure of Jakotsu who'd just re-entered the cafeteria. Well, he seems to like Jakotsu. They are best friends… and… He dared a quick glance at his brooding friend. I guess Jakotsu would think he's err… 'hot.' If only he was gay.
Then it hit him, Wait…that's it! All I have to do is make Bankotsu…think he's gay. And then, I'm free.
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Preview for Chapter 2:
With three weeks 'til the opening of the theme park, Inuyasha finds himself faced with the task of convincing his friend and roommate, Bankotsu, that's he's gay so he can be Jakotsu's 'new boyfriend.' But…how do you convince someone they're…gay?