Special Disclaimer: This is the approved" version! For the more adult version, search for this story on Mediaminer, go to the "Iridescent Dreams" website, or my own site at inuyasha dot ficbit dot org! (Replace those "dot"s with "."s.) Just please leave a review when you're done! Please? begging
Rating: R - If sexual situations or bad words offend you.. how in the world have you gotten this far anyway? ;)
Disclaimer: Inu Yasha, Kagome, Shippo, and Sesshoumaru are NOT mine! If they were, I'd be doing side stories like Murakami Maki does for "Gravitation" (aka explicit lemony doujinshi.. mmmmm….). They do belong to Takahashi Rumiko, though. The planet of Amoi, the city of Tanagura, and the rest of that world aren't mine either.. those are Yoshihara Rieko's. I'm just having way too much fun with it! :D
Ai no Koinu
By Elora
Chapter 4b
"Bonding" - Part Two
But no one knew this. Not even Kagome-sama. Several times he had wanted to run to her when he awoke, tell her everything, and let her console him. He had started to think of the Pet as a mother to him. She was gentle and kind. She never talked down to him, even though he was Furniture, and therefore, her servant. She always answered him when he spoke, and when he made her laugh, she had the brightest smile he had ever seen.
At the moment, however, relaxing darkness was all he knew.
Until his alarm went off and the curtains parted, letting full sunlight stream into the room.
"Urgh," he mumbled. "I don't wanna get up." He buried his face in his pillow.
But he could already feel the energy gathering in his muscles as his mind came back to reality. There was breakfast to be made, the living room to straighten, Inu Yasha-sama and Kagome-sama to awaken…
With a groan, he forced himself out of bed.
He had just finished putting on his uniform when he happened to glance at the clock.
No, his eyes were just playing tricks on him. It had to be a little after six, not eight.
He kept staring, but the number didn't change.
Shippo went over to the alarm control panel, and he almost felt his heart stop.
He had accidentally switched the timers on his and Kagome-sama's rooms!
"Oh NO!" he cried, and scampered out of his room as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Kagome-sama! Kagome-sama! I'm so very sorry..!" The door of her room opened, but Kagome wasn't there. Shippo was immediately struck with even more guilt. He had woken her up! He rushed back out of the room. Maybe she was in the kitchen?
He checked. No sign of her.
He scoured the study, the office, the spare bedrooms, EVERYWHERE except Inu Yasha-sama's bedroom and the bathroom.
Shippo gulped. She couldn't be in Inu Yasha's room, could she?
The Furniture tiptoed to the remaining bedroom. He raised his hand and drew close enough to knock. The door slid open before he could even touch it.
Nobody there.
Panic set in.
"Where IS everybody?!" he wailed. He hadn't seen any notes lying around. Where were they?!
Then he remembered there was one room he hadn't checked.
"Please, please let somebody be in there!" Shippo thought as he ran pell-mell down the hall and across the living room. He tried to take the short steps leading to the slightly sunken area in the middle of the living room two at a time, but he misjudged the distance and ended up stubbing his toe on the third step. He crashed to the ground, his knees and elbows stinging from the impact, and his toe throbbing from the abuse he had put it through. He spared only a moment to pull himself together before forcing himself to his feet and shakily starting to run again. He took the three steps going up a bit more carefully.
He had the momentum to fling himself at the door, the names of his Master and Kagome-sama already on his lips, waiting to be cried out in his next breath…
When the sound of a muffled voice from the other side of the bathroom door made him choke back the words.
"Someone's there. Oh thank Jupiter!" he thought. The tension left his body all at once and he collapsed into a kneeling position, his limbs trembling in the aftermath of the adrenaline rush. "They didn't leave me. I'm not alone."
Then the sounds from behind the door grew louder. Two familiar names were spoken in broken tones, interspersed with soft moans and other unintelligible phrases.
Shippo's mind froze in shock. They couldn't. They weren't.
A cry full of longing, ripped from the throat of one who had reached completion, dispelled any doubt.
"Inu Yasha-sama."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Shippo stayed where he was, too swamped with disbelief and fear for the two people he valued most in his life to move.
The bell rang again.
He had to get that. If he didn't, Inu Yasha-sama and Kagome-sama would come out of the bathroom and see him sitting there, having obviously listened in on their private moment.
The doorbell rang a third time.
Shippo got to his feet and scampered to the door
"Who is it?" the Furniture asked.
"Delivery for Inu Yasha-sama," came the reply.
Shippo keyed in the opening sequence and the door slid open. Before him stood a blackhair in a delivery uniform. The man looked a bit nervous.
"I can take that," Shippo offered, staring at the package the man held.
The blackhair shook his head. "I'm sorry. I was told to hand it to Inu Yasha-sama directly."
"By who?" Shippo put his fists on his hips.
"My boss. I can ONLY give this to Inu Yasha-sama. Please understand."
Shippo sighed in frustration. He didn't want to intrude on his Master and Kagome-sama's privacy any more than he already had, but this idiot was making him. "Oh, all right. Just stay there, okay?"
The deliveryman nodded his head in assent, and Shippo turned back toward the bathroom.
He just hoped Inu Yasha-sama would take out his frustration on the delivery guy, not him!
"Inu Yasha-sama!" the familiar voice of Shippo called as he pounded on the bathroom door.
"Go away, brat. I'm busy!" Inu Yasha called back, trying to keep the hint of annoyance out of his voice.
"I'm sorry, Inu Yasha-sama, but there's a messenger here with something he needs you to sign, and he won't let me do it!" this last part sounded like the Furniture was slightly insulted by that.
"Damn it," the silverhair muttered so that only Kagome could hear. "I'm sorry."
Kagome shook her head. "It's all right. I need to get cleaned up a bit anyway."
Inu Yasha turned so that he faced the door. "I'll be right there!" he yelled. Then he heard Shippo leave. He gave Kagome one last squeeze, planting a kiss on her forehead before reluctantly disentangling himself. He rose and, with a decided lack of concern for protocol, simply grabbed a clean towel and wound it about his waist.
He knew Sesshoumaru would kill him if he ever found out that Inu Yasha was being so casual, but the silverhair knew his older brother wasn't there to see, so who cared? He strode confidently over to the door, keyed in the unlocking sequence, and left the room looking ever-so-slightly like a drowned rat.
As Inu Yasha made way to the front door, the reaction of the poor man holding the package made him smirk. Obviously, the last thing the delivery guy expected to see was a nearly naked silverhair, his white-grey mane damp, and a towel as his only garment. The man's eyes widened as he fought the impulse to gape open-mouthed.
"I heard you've got a package I have to sign for," Inu Yasha said easily, as if this were an everyday occurrence.
"Y.. Yes, sir," the messenger stammered. "I was told to hand this to you.. and you alone."
Curiosity piqued, Inu Yasha went closer and peered at the package. He'd recognize the slightly sloppy script on it anywhere. "Oh yeah! I'd forgotten about it."
The delivery person held out a clipboard and pen, and the silverhair added his signature to the receipt. The package was held out on a slightly shaking hand, and Inu Yasha took it, giving his most charming grin in return. "Be sure and tell your boss 'thanks' for me."
The messenger bowed slightly. "I.. I will. Thank you very much for your patronage," and the apparent blackhair quickly turned back toward the elevators.
Inu Yasha shut and locked the door, tilting the box this way and that. If the contents were what he thought… "Damn that was fast," he muttered.
To be continued...
Preview: A gift.. some banter.. a date.. nothing in the world could ruin such a perfect day. Right? Chapter 5, "Slipping the Leash", is coming soon!
Author's note: 62 reviews?!? Holy Guacamole! I don't know what to say! I never expected there to be so many up through Chapter 3! Think you're done with the fluff.. oh not hardly! Next up, a whole chapter of it! Of course, we'll probably all need it to get through the chapters following. evil grin
And as always.. please review! Please, please? I live for feedback.. always have, always will! It's my writer's paycheck of sorts, except it means much more to me than just plain money ever could. So please do? HUGE anime eyes