Disclaimer: Yo no own-o Inuyasha. Don't you just love my Spanish? And believe it or not, I have the highest grade in my class. O_o
A/N: My GOD. Sorry for the long wait! And I'm even more sorry for putting my other two stories on hold for so long! I'm trying to update them, I really am! Writer's block SUCKS so much!
Okay, so I lied. There is a bit of fluff in this chapter. Actually, there's a lot, in my opinion anyway. At least it will make you fluff lovers out there happy eh? I just couldn't stay away from writing it! ::sobs:: And for those who think this is going too fast don't say it to me! 'Cuz I know! ::pulls out her hair in frustration:: I'm trying to slow it down as much as possible!
Ch. 4Heh, heh, this'll be perfect, Inuyasha sniggered silently in glee as he made his way to Kagome's bed. She had stayed in her room the rest of the previous day, filling out papers. She had slept without dinner and now it was morning once again. In the back of his mind, Inuyasha wondered when he had felt so comfortable around the girl, but he pushed the thought away, intent on filling out his plan.
He neared the sleeping girl, smirking a devious smile before…
"GET UP!"
Kagome gave surprised squeak and tumbled out of the bed. Inuyasha howled with laughter as she peered through her disheveled hair, completely disoriented.
That is, he was laughing until Kagome retaliated with a slap.
With his cheek stinging, he glared at her, "What was that for?"
Kagome glared back, "For rudely waking me up at," she glanced at her clock, "7:00 in the morning!"
Inuyasha crossed his arms in a huff. "If I have to be awake at this time of day, then I'm not going to be the only one!"
"Why you…" Without thinking, Kagome grabbed her pillow and bashed her youkai over the head with it. He slumped over at the unexpected attack.
"Oh… now it's war!" He declared and grabbed another pillow that lay conveniently by his side. He raised it high over his head and Kagome gave a small screech before shuffling quickly to the side to avoid getting hit.
Kagome evened the score with a hit to the ribs he had left vulnerable. "Got you!"
Inuyasha turned mimicked her attack and hit her in the ribs as well.
"Hey!" She cried indignantly, straightening her back. This gave Inuyasha the chance to hit her squarely in the rump. She gave a squeak and fell forward. Angrily, she raised her pillow as high as she could and brought it down on his head. The pillow exploded in a flurry of feathers.
Kagome gasped. "You broke the pillow with your stupid, fat head!" She cried out.
"Hey!" He scrunched up his face after recovering from her assault. "Which is more important, my head or your stupid, fat pillow?!" He rubbed his sore ear that had taken the blunt of the hit.
"Stupid! Your head was the stupid, fat one, not the pillow!"
"That's completely off topic!"
"Then what is the topic, pray tell?" She said, putting her hands on her waist.
"I don't know!" He shouted under the pressure of her glare. "There is no topic!"
"Then how can I be off topic?!" She cried in exasperation.
"Wagh! You're confusing me!"
"Good!"
He growled before tackling her to the ground.
"Ouch!" She cried weakly as her head hit the carpeted ground.
"Take this!" He shouted triumphantly as his nimble fingers sought out her sides. Kagome giggled helplessly under the onslaught. He eased off a little bit when her face began to take on a purplish color. But once she had recovered, he proceeded to tickle her again.
"St-stop!"
"Heh, make me, bitch." Inuyasha smirked.
"I'll s-scream!" She threatened. It would have been more intimidating if her face hadn't been beet red from laughing.
"Hell if I care," he replied.
But as he discovered he was nearly sitting on the girl, his tickle attack came to an abrupt halt. A sudden realization had hit him. Kagome gave a few breathless gasps, her helpless giggles subsiding, before pushing herself up onto her elbows. "What's the matter, Inuyasha?" She asked, concerned.
"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?" He asked quietly, almost to himself.
"Hn?" Kagome cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"Why am I acting like this? What am I doing? I'm just a lowly youkai. A half-breed no less." He spat out. "I shouldn't deserve pleasures like this. My only purpose in life is for experimental usage. I deserve to be imprisoned. I am a monster. A monster that should be chained up." His eyes hardened as he recited the words that had been drilled into his mind day after day in his previous life.
Kagome couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it!"
He looked at her surprised.
"You aren't a monster." She said quietly.
His eyes flashed. "Yes I am!" He shoved his hands in front of her face. She didn't flinch. "Look at these claws! They could kill you without a second thought! I could kill you without a second thought! I am a monster!"
Suddenly, she took his hands into her own. She touched the edges of his claws lightly. "They aren't that dangerous." She commented. "They only are when you want them to be." She looked into his eyes. "And I know you aren't that kind of person."
"You don't know shit about me!" He snarled angrily.
"I do." She said evenly. "I know that you are gentle enough to not once hurt or scratch me when you were tickling me. I know that behind that gruff exterior, you can be nice. You are just like me. The only difference is that you have been mistreated and exploited. The people that held you prisoner greatly wronged you and you deserved none of it. If you can be nice enough to thank me for a meal, or gentle enough to have a tickle fight without once intentionally or unintentionally hurting me, that's good enough for me." She smiled lightly at him before letting go of his hands.
Inuyasha felt his heart beating heavily in his chest. What was this feeling? He didn't like not knowing things. It made him feel weak. "F-feh!" He managed, crossing his arms and trying to look indifferent.
Kagome gave another smile. She didn't miss the waver in his voice.
But the moment was broken when she heard the doorbell ring.
"A visitor!" She said happily.
She jumped to her feet and made her way to the door, leaving Inuyasha to mull over what had just happened. What had just happened? Why in the world had she been acting so nice. He was a hanyou for god's sake! She was supposed to be mean and nasty and cruel! Why was she being so nice?! He found himself asking that question more than any other question he had asked his whole life. He gave a long sigh. Life was so much simpler before he met Kagome. But he had to admit, it did feel nice to be treated equally for once in his life.
*
Kagome opened the door and was surprised to be greeted by the smiling face of Hojou. She plastered a delighted smile on her face. "Why, Hojou-kun! How nice to see you! What are you doing visiting so early?"
Hojou tilted his head a bit to the side. "Early, Higurashi-san? It's nine o' clock."
Kagome glanced at her ever-faithful clock to confirm his reply. "Wow." She exclaimed. "Time sure did fly. It was seven this morning when Inuyasha woke me."
Hojou's eyebrows lowered in confusion, "Who is Inuyasha?"
"Oh! It's my youkai! You know the one I told you about?"
"I see…" The corners of Hojou's mouth curved downward in a frown. "You let him live in the same room as you?"
Kagome scowled. "Yes." She replied shortly. "Anyway, you never answered my question. Why are you here?"
"Oh, yes!" He brightened. "I wanted to see how you were doing. That is, making sure you were okay." He blushed.
I can take care of myself, you twit! She wanted to yell out, but she held it in check if only for the sake of hospitality. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine living on my own!" She said in what she hoped was a happy voice. "Plus, my friends live close by, if I were in any trouble I could just go to them!" She lied.
"Well… alright. But I hope you don't mind if I check in once in a while. You're face always brightens up my day." He said honestly.
Kagome couldn't help but blush. Who was she to turn down a compliment? "That's sweet, Hojou. You can drop by if want."
Hojou's mouth lifted in a smile again. "That would be great! And while I'm here, would you… care to see a movie with me?" Red tinted his cheeks again. She didn't have the heart to turn him down.
"Sure."
Suddenly, she was aware of a growling sound behind her. She turned around to see an angry Inuyasha disturbingly close to her. She frowned. How did he get so close without her noticing? She mentally shrugged. Must have been the youkai abilities.
"Kagome… is this your youkai?" Hojou asked.
"Yes." She nodded. "Hojou, this is Inuyasha." She looked up at the hanyou and was surprised to find him scowling.
"What is it?" Kagome asked softly.
Hojou gave her a strange look. "Were you just trying to talk to it, Kagome?"
Inuyasha's scowl deepened and Kagome had the urge to mirror the look but again, she held it in check. "No." She denied.
Unbelievably, he seemed to believe her.
"Alright, then! I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven!" He gave her one last smile before leaving.
Inuyasha glowered. "Who is that moron?" He asked after Hojou had disappeared out of sight.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome reprimanded. "Don't be so mean. Hojou is a nice guy, he just… isn't all that smart…"
Inuyasha smirked. "See? You agree with me."
"Hey, I never said he was bright."
Suddenly, she smiled happily for no apparent reason.
"What?" He shifted a bit, self-consciously.
"You're acting care-free again!" She commented.
Inuyasha immediately frowned, as if to contradict her observation.
"Come on, Inuyasha." She said exasperatingly, "Smile more! You look better when you're not frowning." She moved her hand to his face and lifted the corners of his mouth up. Inuyasha batted her hand away and deepened his frown.
"Humph," she pouted. Without warning, her stomach growled loudly. She gave a sheepish laugh. "Well, sounds like I'm hungry. I'm going to get some breakfast. Want to join me, Inuyasha?" She extended her hand in invitation.
Inuyasha felt his heart flutter at her smile. Then again, it could possibly have been his stomach demanding for food. He chose to stick with the latter. What has this girl done to me? He asked himself.
He tentatively placed his hand in hers as she led him to the refrigerator.
But… whatever she did do to me…… I like it…
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AUGH! Ridiculously short! And TOTALLY OOC! I know it! So don't tell me about it! I tried, I really did, but the fluff made up for it right? Right? ::sighs as readers advance with pitchforks:: I guess not, but oh well. Even if just to flame me, REVIEW!! See the weeee lil' bluish purple button on the bottom left? Press it! And then write something! And then press the bar! That's all you have to do! Not THAT hard now, is it?
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Review Responses
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Okay, I'm trying something new with my review responses. I'm putting them in one big chunk to save space. That way, you won't be deceived (as much) on how long the chapter is ^^ I got the idea from Aejavu. Thanks Aejavu! Hope you don't mind me stealing your idea! ^_^
Alana-star: I'm glad you liked it ^_^ Inu's starting to trust Kag and I'm trying to lay off the fluff for a while, but I'm failing miserably. I just love fluff too much! I should start a story with just fluff in it! That is… after I get some stories out of the way first… ::sighs:: X-with stars: Wow, I'm surprised you haven't changed your screen name yet! J/k. Aren't they so adorable? Inu/Kag is my all time favorite couple! AnimeBrat: LOL. So you like Kagome giving Inu his punishment, eh? LOL. Here's the next chapter! Hope you liked it! Ganko: There's nothing wrong for going mushy! I totally love it when Inu and Kag have cute exchanges, like in the fic The Babysitter by The Literary Dragon. I'm completely in LOVE with that story! Mkh2: LOL. Thanks for the review! Cheetos? How random. LOL. Thanks for the review! Frisbee: Well here's chapter 4, hope you liked! Lovethestory: Wheee! Thanks! LilNezumi LilInu: Heh heh, sometimes Inu should learn to keep his mouth shut, eh? Of course that has nothing to do with a certain lunatic authoress… ::whistles innocently:: Queen Quantepec III: Thank you so much! But I'm sure a million is a bit exaggerating ^^ I'll be lucky to get 200! The Turmoil Twins: Haha! That was such a cute review! With your 'lalala's and all… I am a Ranma fan, but I didn't know there was a movie… I've read books 1-2, 4-6, 20, 22, 23, and 24. I think… I missed a bit in the middle there, didn't I? But I know a fair amount. Thank you so much for the review! Midnight-Blue-Wolves: Yeah, I guess I made him a bit OOC, but it IS a nice change. Thanks for reviewing! Shatteredjade: Kagome can talk to other people's youkai. She can just talk to youkai in general. Sorry I didn't make that clearer! Here's the next update! Porridgengrits: LOL. I really don't know what to say! But here's the next update. Hope I didn't disappoint you!