CHAPTER FIVE
*
Kagome sighed as the hot water poured over her hair and bare back. Showers were a luxury she had learned to appreciate whenever she came home, complete with shampoo and bath gel. Even hot springs didn't measure up to this sort of feeling.
The thought of hot springs made her grimace again. Sometimes Inuyasha could just be so unbearably dense -- especially when it came to her feelings.
I know he's still infatuated with Kikyo, she thought, but does he have to ignore me completely? I mean, I'm practically identical to her... physically, anyway. On the inside, we couldn't be more different, even if we do share a soul. Shouldn't I be at least a little attractive to him?
Well, he had gawped a few times, when he HAD seen her naked. He'd forgotten about the jewel one time. But one of those times, he had just announced, "I got NO interest in lookin'!" But then, he'd gotten all flustered in the broom closet...
Maybe I'm just fooling myself, she thought, lathering her stomach and back. But it WOULD be nice, after all we've been through, if he would at least say I was pretty.
The soap squirted out of her hand. As she groped around to pick it up, her foot slipped.
*
Inuyasha didn't understand women. Or more precisely, he didn't understand one in particular.
He huddled up on Kagome's bed, crossing his arms on his knees and staring moodily out at the darkening sky.
He wished Kagome weren't so hard to figure out. Kikyo had been hard to figure out too -- now that she was one of the living dead, perpetually angry, she was even more difficult -- but at least that had been a distant kind of complexity. On the other hand, Kagome just confused him at times. Sometimes she could almost read his mind, and he could almost read hers; at other times, it was like she was speaking another language. Those encounters usually ended with "sit!"
Why can't she be more like Sango? Inuyasha thought. He wasn't attracted to Sango, but at least she had a straightforward kind of personality. He had once asked Miroku why Kagome could be such a mystery to him, and Miroku had offered the helpful answer, "Women will always be a mystery to us men." Great line, but it didn't tell Inuyasha what to do.
He stretched out on her bed, keeping his ears pricked for that annoying uncle of hers.
Kagome was really pretty, yeah. And contrary to what she thought, he was a little tempted whenever she was wearing one of those tiny tight things she swam in. But that sorta stuff, he thought, resting his head on his arms, is what separates me from Miroku. No way am I gonna be like a pervert monk...
His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp squeal and a crash.
Inuyasha was off the bed in a moment. "Kagome!" he shouted, bursting into the hall.
At the sound of running water, he burst into the bathroom. Kagome shrieked as his hand closed on the shower curtain. "Don't! Don't touch it!" she shouted.
Inuyasha yanked his hand back. "But I heard you --"
"I slipped on the soap and hit my head. I'm fine." Kagome peeked around the curtain.
"So what, you want me to leave?" Inuyasha leaned over to where Kagome was peeking at him. "Are you sure you're ok-"
Before Kagome could answer, Inuyasha froze at the sound of a footstep in the hall. Behind him loomed Uncle Toshi, with a long wooden stick in his hand.
Behind the curtain, Kagome switched off the water and huddled naked at the edge of the tub. She could hear Inuyasha yelling in outrage, and the sound of toothbrushes clattering to the floor -- he'd probably jumped on the sink. "Don't hurt him!" she shouted. "Don't kill him! Uncle Toshi, give Inuyasha a minute to explain!"
"Just try that again, you old FREAK!" Inuyasha shouted from somewhere in the hall.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
Kagome sighed as the hot water poured over her hair and bare back. Showers were a luxury she had learned to appreciate whenever she came home, complete with shampoo and bath gel. Even hot springs didn't measure up to this sort of feeling.
The thought of hot springs made her grimace again. Sometimes Inuyasha could just be so unbearably dense -- especially when it came to her feelings.
I know he's still infatuated with Kikyo, she thought, but does he have to ignore me completely? I mean, I'm practically identical to her... physically, anyway. On the inside, we couldn't be more different, even if we do share a soul. Shouldn't I be at least a little attractive to him?
Well, he had gawped a few times, when he HAD seen her naked. He'd forgotten about the jewel one time. But one of those times, he had just announced, "I got NO interest in lookin'!" But then, he'd gotten all flustered in the broom closet...
Maybe I'm just fooling myself, she thought, lathering her stomach and back. But it WOULD be nice, after all we've been through, if he would at least say I was pretty.
The soap squirted out of her hand. As she groped around to pick it up, her foot slipped.
*
Inuyasha didn't understand women. Or more precisely, he didn't understand one in particular.
He huddled up on Kagome's bed, crossing his arms on his knees and staring moodily out at the darkening sky.
He wished Kagome weren't so hard to figure out. Kikyo had been hard to figure out too -- now that she was one of the living dead, perpetually angry, she was even more difficult -- but at least that had been a distant kind of complexity. On the other hand, Kagome just confused him at times. Sometimes she could almost read his mind, and he could almost read hers; at other times, it was like she was speaking another language. Those encounters usually ended with "sit!"
Why can't she be more like Sango? Inuyasha thought. He wasn't attracted to Sango, but at least she had a straightforward kind of personality. He had once asked Miroku why Kagome could be such a mystery to him, and Miroku had offered the helpful answer, "Women will always be a mystery to us men." Great line, but it didn't tell Inuyasha what to do.
He stretched out on her bed, keeping his ears pricked for that annoying uncle of hers.
Kagome was really pretty, yeah. And contrary to what she thought, he was a little tempted whenever she was wearing one of those tiny tight things she swam in. But that sorta stuff, he thought, resting his head on his arms, is what separates me from Miroku. No way am I gonna be like a pervert monk...
His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp squeal and a crash.
Inuyasha was off the bed in a moment. "Kagome!" he shouted, bursting into the hall.
At the sound of running water, he burst into the bathroom. Kagome shrieked as his hand closed on the shower curtain. "Don't! Don't touch it!" she shouted.
Inuyasha yanked his hand back. "But I heard you --"
"I slipped on the soap and hit my head. I'm fine." Kagome peeked around the curtain.
"So what, you want me to leave?" Inuyasha leaned over to where Kagome was peeking at him. "Are you sure you're ok-"
Before Kagome could answer, Inuyasha froze at the sound of a footstep in the hall. Behind him loomed Uncle Toshi, with a long wooden stick in his hand.
Behind the curtain, Kagome switched off the water and huddled naked at the edge of the tub. She could hear Inuyasha yelling in outrage, and the sound of toothbrushes clattering to the floor -- he'd probably jumped on the sink. "Don't hurt him!" she shouted. "Don't kill him! Uncle Toshi, give Inuyasha a minute to explain!"
"Just try that again, you old FREAK!" Inuyasha shouted from somewhere in the hall.
TO BE CONTINUED