Ahh! Gomen, I should have double-checked stuff. I guess her mom left the front door open? How careless of her. And Kouga has a big mouth, like Inuyasha. However, unlike Inuyasha, Kouga doesn't know that Kagome has to keep everything a secret.
Whew! I apologize for any holes that may suddenly appear. I try to avoid the huge gaping ones, but some are just sneaky.
Disclaimer: Nani? Oh, I'd hoped you'd forgotten. Fine, I don't own Inu Yasha.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Kagome looked at her friends' startled faces and gulped.
"Hello," she said, feeling very awkward as she let go of Kouga's tail and stood up shakily. "How are you?"
"Ka…Kagome?" Hojo took a tentative step forward, and was immediately blocked by a growling youkai.
"Stay away from my woman," Kouga snapped, baring his fangs protectively. The startled boy stumbled back a few more paces, and then frowned.
"Listen, you, I don't know who or what you are, but I won't let you hurt Kagome!" His voice was firm, and Kagome blinked with surprise. She'd never expected Hojo to show that kind of backbone.
"Hojo-kun, it's all right," she said reassuringly, stepping around the menacing wolf prince. "He's not going to hurt anyone, right Kouga?"
Hojo shot Kagome a confused look, and her friends rallied around him.
"Who is he, Kagome?" Yuka asked, eyeing him critically. She blushed a bit, but there was a look of fear in her eyes. "And why does he have a tail and fangs?"
"I'm Kouga, leader of the wolf demon tribe," the wolf prince stated before Kagome could answer. "And this is my woman, so back off!" He growled again at Hojo.
"How many times do I have to tell you, she ain't your woman!" said a voice from the top of the stairs. Jaws dropped as a boy wearing a red haori and sporting fuzzy white ears made his way toward them, one hand casually resting on the battered hilt of a sheathed sword. He stopped and glared at Kagome, who was starting to look sick.
"Hey, Kagome," he snapped, "how come it's me that's gotta go upstairs, and the wolf gets to stay down here?"
"He's got ears!" Yumi squealed, making the fuzzy appendages twitch in pain. "They move!"
The shocked group turned back on the tense miko. "Kagome, would you care to explain what's going on here?" Eri demanded, too surprised to be polite.
"Um…costumes?"
Hojo seemed to look relieved, but the girls didn't look convinced at all. Yuka stepped forward, and looked at her seriously. "Kagome, I think there's something going on here that you don't want to tell us about."
The miko gulped and looked at the floor. "I…" She lifted her gaze back into the girls' faces, and smiled widely. "There's nothing going on. Don't be silly! They're just costumes, can't you see? They're rehearsing for a play."
"That sounds interesting," Hojo said, smiling at the hanyou. "I'm sure it'll be spectacular, with such elaborate costumes and diligent actors."
"Where is it going to be?" Yuka asked skeptically.
Kagome fumbled for a bit. "Out of town?"
The girls sighed, and Kagome had to look away.
"Listen, Kagome," Eri said, taking Kagome's hands. "We're supposed to be friends, aren't we? You have to be honest with us."
Kagome shook her head frantically. "I'm telling you the truth. These," she continued, suddenly standing at Inuyasha's side, "aren't real." She reached up and tweaked his ears, and the hanyou's eyes widened.
"See? Who would have dog ears like this?"
Yuka pointed at Kouga. "What about his tail? I saw it move."
"It's wired." Kagome's smile never faltered, even when Kouga looked at her under a raised eyebrow. She shot him a look, ordering him to keep his mouth shut.
There was silence as Kagome's friends contemplated the situation. Kagome couldn't tell if it was the clock or her heart that was thundering in her ears.
"Wow, they're really amazing," Yumi said suddenly.
Kagome let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. She couldn't have felt more relieved if Naraku had exploded into itty-bitty pieces and Kirara had eaten him up. "Yeah, amazing," she echoed, her head still spinning.
At that precise moment Mrs. Higurashi came in, balancing two bags of groceries in either arm. "Oh, hello," she said politely when she noticed the group assembled in her living room. "Kagome dear, I didn't know your friends were visiting."
"We just dropped by to see if Kagome was feeling well enough to return to school, Mrs. Higurashi," Hojo said respectfully. "Would you like some help with those?"
"Oh, no thank you," she said pleasantly. "I'm almost to the kitchen, anyway. Kagome, why haven't you asked them to sit down?"
"That's all right, Mrs. Higurashi," Eri said gracefully. It was then that Kagome noticed she was the only one that was still looking at Inuyasha and Kouga suspiciously. "We were just leaving. Kagome," she added in a whisper, turning to the nervous miko. "We'll have to talk soon. Honestly."
With that, she ushered the other two girls to the door. Hojo hesitated, and watched nervously as Mrs. Higurashi disappeared into the kitchen.
"Kagome," he said finally, running a hand through his hair. "I've missed you around school lately. I was hoping that you might feel well enough to come back next week."
Inuyasha growled, and Kagome almost cried. *Why doesn't he leave? Does he want to get hurt?*
"I'm not sure, Hojo-kun," she answered softly. "I'll try and make it back as soon as possible."
Hojo beamed at her. "Higurashi, you're such a spirited girl," he exclaimed. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you!" Then, abruptly, he leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Before anyone could register what had happened, he was out the door, waving back to her happily as he skipped down the steps and out of sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The room was dark except for the shimmering coming from the nearly completed Shikon no Tama resting in an elegant palm. The former lord's eyes peered down at it, but he saw nothing. They, like the rest of him, worked only for the dark hanyou that was using his body as his latest masquerade.
"Kagewaki's body has served me well," Naraku murmured into the darkness. "Too bad Kikyo had to walk around in an inferior shell of earth and bone." He stared down at the jewel, its light reflecting eerily in his pupils.
"And in the end, she failed to keep that." He chuckled. "She would have died, either way. That fool. She actually thought I would lower myself to joining forces with her."
He closed his hand around the Shikon and narrowed his eyes. "Onigumo could not leave her alone. He desired Kikyo, to have mastery over her." He closed his eyes. "It may not turn out to be such a poor idea, considering the fact that she is the greatest threat to me."
"For myself, I make no distinction between Kikyo and that girl, Kagome. But because of one, the other is about to become mine."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There! I'm working on this now, and it'll gain a little more momentum in the next chapters. Tell me what you think, minna-san!