Number One Priority: Chapter 7
The early morning rays were shining through the window and Kagome opened her sleep clouded eyes to find that she was alone in Miroku's bed. Feeling selfish she snuggled down deeper into the still warm covers and buried her head under the pillow that he had abandoned. She could hear the shower running but that didn't really mean too much when she had a full size bed to enjoy.
Perhaps it was the loud crashing noise of pots and pans emitting from the kitchen that caused her to extract herself from her warm cocoon. Kagome cast the warm get-away a longing last look before heading for the kitchen, hoping to stop the racket that would inhibit her slumber.
What she saw caused her to cover her mouth in order to stifle the giggles that wanted to emerge. Inuyasha looked as if he were attempting to make pancakes, but was covered in mix instead. He looked adorable all powdered up, but the really cute thing was the red blush staining his cheeks when he noticed he had a visitor.
"I was just—"he started to explain but Kagome held up her spare hand to halt his words. Inuyasha stood silently, granting her reprieve to speak.
"You were just making an incredible mess. I can see that for myself." Kagome grinned at him and Inuyasha dropped the pancake mix on the counter as he angrily crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Keh, let's see you do better." Inuyasha taunted. He watched from the corner of his eye as Kagome moved to inspect the various cabinets for food. She frowned at the selection she found.
Kagome settled on a bowl of fruit and moved it to the center of the table, before sitting down herself. She held up an orange for Inuyasha. Moodily he walked towards the table and sat across from her, taking the offered orange. He began to shred the peelings before looking back up at her. She was watching him intently. "What?" He barked at her.
A disarming smile was his answer. Inuyasha looked back at his fruit again. "At least I was trying to cook something. I could have grabbed a piece of fruit on my own." Inuyasha grumbled under his breath.
"Well, there is different soups but that is not very practical for breakfast," Kagome explained. "I'll have to go shopping later so we can have better things." She reached for banana then and pulled back the yellowy layers.
Inuyasha was watching her closely. How cliché was it for an attractive girl that was found sleeping in his bed to eat a banana in front of him? As if he wasn't having enough problems dealing with the fantasies he had already entertained himself with regarding her! "Why do you care what we have to eat? You're not welcome here."
Calmly Kagome placed the tip of the banana in her mouth. Her eyes locking on his in mock innocence as she shoved the length of the fruit in the surprisingly large cavern of her mouth. She then pulled out the majority of it and bit off the tip with a malicious glint in her eyes.
Inuyasha tugged on the collar of his shirt. She was doing this on purpose! He was about to tell her exactly what he thought of her little impressive, er---stupid display. His mouth was open to protest and everything.
"Good morning," Miroku greeted cheerfully from the kitchen doorway. His gaze pivoting between the two breakfast eaters. "Is there something going on?" He asked, his voice concerned.
Kagome smiled at him brightly. "It's great of you to join us Miroku! We were just enjoying our breakfast."
Miroku looked at Inuyasha suspiciously but gave Kagome an encouraging smile as he sat beside her at the table. He reached for a piece of orange from the fruit bowl. "Banana?" Kagome offered, holding her partially eaten fruit out to him. Miroku quirked a brow, but noticed she had the only banana. He shook his head at the offer and satisfied himself with the orange.
Kagome pulled the peelings back up the banana and walked towards the waste collector and dumped the banana in there. Inuyasha and Miroku looked at her questioningly. She looked directly at Inuyasha when she explained, "It was too limp and mushy for my tastes, I prefer fresh and firm."
Miroku looked at the pair questioningly, but decided he really didn't want to know if he had corrupted his dear Kagome's mind. "So what do you have planned for today?" Miroku asked Kagome as she repossessed her vacated chair beside him.
"I had thought that you and I could go shopping. You have no groceries. And I promised I'd meet my friend for lunch so I need to meet him at that bookstore again." Kagome explained as she continued to watch Inuyasha from the corner of her eye. Satisfied to see his cheeks had a permanent red hew. She wasn't sure what he had said last night exactly, but she knew that it had to have been something cruel about her. Miroku and Tasuki wouldn't have been so upset otherwise.
Miroku shook his head. "No can do my little priestess. I've got to work all day at the lab. Maybe Inuyasha will go out shopping with you?" Miroku flashed his roommate a meaningful look.
"No! I don't want to go anywhere with him. He's a selfish jerk. What about Tasuki, is he busy at work too?" Kagome asked, her eyes wide and pleading.
"I'm afraid Tasuki isn't an option either. He has to work same as I do. Besides, I don't know that I like the idea of you spending time with him." Miroku answered as he scratched the back of his neck nervously, hoping that Kagome didn't yell at him.
Kagome pointed an accusing finger at Inuyasha. "But you encourage me to spend time with him? Why? It's obvious he can't stand me! I heard him last night. What about Chichiri or Nuriko?" Kagome asked. She simply had to meet Hotohori for lunch. Wait! Wasn't that the name of the guy that called when Nuriko was over for dinner?
"I don't know that it would be a good idea for you to hang around with them either. Chichiri did lose you the other day after all. I still can't believe he left you all alone at that bookstore and then you got kidnapped!" Miroku exclaimed.
Inuyasha's orange fell to the floor. He stared at Kagome with mouth agape. "You were kidnapped?"
"No! I wasn't kidnapped! I went to lunch with a friend." Kagome explained. The wheels were turning in Inuyasha's head. Hadn't she called him Hotohori last night?
"Would your friend happen to be named Hotohori?" Inuyasha asked slyly. The steam rising in Kagome seemed to disperse at the question.
"What's in a name?" Kagome answered with another question.
"You had lunch with Hotohori yesterday?" Miroku shouted as he rose to his feet. That would explain why his behavior at the meeting last night. She must have made quite the impression on the stoic model.
Kagome stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going to get ready for the day. I'll figure out something to do today. Something that doesn't involve him." Kagome stressed with a pointed look in Inuyasha's direction.
After the revolving kitchen door swung shut after her, Miroku turned to Inuyasha. "What exactly happened between you two this morning?"
"Hell if I know." Inuyasha mumbled as he wiped off the rest of the orange juices upon his pants. He felt really dirty right now and was in need of a cold shower in more ways than one.
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Miroku was acting jittery. He was constantly spilling chemicals on himself. Annoyed with his lack of grace in the laboratory, Tasuki took over the more delicate task of mixing chemicals and had the distracted man working on calculations.
"How many moles of ethanol do I need to add, Miroku?" Tasuki inquired, calling over his shoulder. Miroku pushed his wire frame glasses higher on the bridge of his nose as he continued to scribble on his scratch paper. He hated wearing his glasses. It wasn't that he was vain, he just preferred to never wear them in public, ever.
He looked up from his calculations. "Three moles are needed to dilute the solution." Miroku answered, setting aside the paper and sitting on the stool, watching the distillation of another mixture.
Miroku felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and noticed that the caller was Sango. He was curious about what she could want, but not in the mood to talk to her at the moment. Tasuki was giving him odd glances.
"Something on your mind?" Tasuki inquired, finding it ironic that after his rotten night that he was the one that was focused on the task that day. "Perhaps it is something to do with Kagome?"
Miroku glared at his co-worker with angry violet eyes. "This has nothing to do with Kagome." He assured him with clenched teeth. He began to play with the magnetic stirring rod, rolling it between his index finger and thumb. "Did you know she met Hotohori yesterday too?" Miroku asked, speaking more to himself than Tasuki.
Tasuki shuffled closer to his distracted co-worker. "Too? So you are upset because she met Hotohori and myself?" Tasuki ground his teeth together, trying to keep his temper in check. It would do no good to lose his cool in an environment full of volatile chemicals with his volatile personality.
Miroku realized that Tasuki was there and schooled his face. "I'm just annoyed that I seem to have no control over who she meets. She's been hurt pretty bad in the past and I was just trying to protect her from anything like that happening again." His tone was equivalent to a forecaster predicting another day of sunshine.
"Let me get this straight. Your idea of protecting her is to refuse her meeting your friends? You don't want her associating with the people you know and trust the most?" Tasuki was incredulous. This was the most ridiculous train of thought he had ever heard. The glass stirring rod in his hand snapped under his anger. He barely noticed the pain of the glass shards.
Miroku's violet eyes locked with Tasuki's topaz ones in complete seriousness. "I don't want her getting to know the people that know me. The image she has of me is fragile and I don't want it tarnished." He looked away, far into the distance. "I don't think I could live with myself if she thought of me the same way that everyone else did."
Tasuki grinned, revealing his fang like teeth in his humor. He walked over towards Miroku to cuff him hard upon the back. "But we like our perverted womanizing holy man."
Miroku cringed under the title. "That's what I'm talking about. I need to call Sango back and see what it is she wants."
Tasuki waved him off. "Whatever, go on. You just better show back up before the boss man decides to check on us. I'm not covering for your sorry lazy ass."
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Kagome glared over her shoulder at her stalker. "Would you go away? I said I don't want to go anywhere with you."
"Keh, I'm not about to leave you to wander the streets of Tokyo." Inuyasha glared at the troublesome woman, golden eyes narrowed and determined.
"Look, I'll be fine. I just have to find that bookstore I was at yesterday. I'm sure I can find my way." Kagome assured him as she tried to evade him once more. He was too stubborn though to let her leave him behind.
"Is there a problem?" A cool voice inquired, behind Inuyasha. Kagome smiled at the beautiful stranger. He was tall, lean, had ice blue eyes, long jet black hair, and a smile to die for!
Inuyasha's back stiffened at the voice. Without turning around, "Go away Kouga. This doesn't concern you."
Kouga quirked a brow at the tone just used against him. "Perhaps that is for the lovely lady to decide, not you dog-face." Kouga smiled charmingly at the vision before him. "May I be of assistance to you my angel from above?"
Kagome could feel her cheeks flaming under the barrage of compliments. "I need to find a certain bookstore. It sells really old books in it. I am supposed to meet my friend for lunch and he said he'd either leave me directions to his modeling shoot from there or meet me himself."
Kouga brushed past Inuyasha, purposely hitting him hard with his shoulder in doing so. He smiled at Kagome all the while and offered his arm to her. "My angel, you may call me Kouga. What might I call you while I help you on this all important quest?"
Kagome was unaware that her cheeks could become more crimson, but she was proven otherwise. "My name is Kagome." Recognition flashed through Kouga's icy orbs at the name. He recalled his rather feverish roommate rambling on about Miroku's secret woman, and her name was Kagome.
"Shall we be off, Kagome?" Kouga asked, stressing her name with a seductive wink that caused Inuyasha to growl.
Kagome glanced back over in Inuyasha's direction. "Don't wait up." She and Kouga began to walk away, leaving Inuyasha boring holes in their retreating backs before he ran to catch up. He grabbed hold of Kagome's free hand, effectively sandwiching her between himself and Kouga as they walked down the street.
"Miroku would kill me if I left you in the hands of this wolfish fiend." Inuyasha explained, careful to keep ulterior motives out of his explanation.
Giving up, Kagome shrugged her shoulders and allowed the two temperamental men to guide her to the bookstore, where hopefully she could meet up with Hotohori.
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Hotohori ran a nervous hand through his long silky mane. The bookstore owner only shook his head at him in amusement. Two loud, masculine voices could be heard arguing with one another at the entrance of the store as the entrance bells rang.
"Just let go of her." Inuyasha growled under his breath as he tugged Kagome closer to him. He didn't trust her in the hands of that dirty wolf.
"I'm escorting Kagome. I was asked, not you, so why don't you leave us alone." Kouga answered as he inspected the nails of his unoccupied hand. "Ah, we're here." He announced unnecessarily.
"Finally," Kagome sighed as she extracted herself from both men's hands. The irritation melted off her face when she spotted her favorite male model. "Hotohori!" She exclaimed as she ran over to him. He opened his arms and she wrapped herself tight into his welcoming embrace. She buried her nose deep into his chest, relishing in the pleasant aroma he gave off.
"I see you had some help finding your way back here." Hotohori commented when Kagome pulled herself back out of his arms and smiled up at him. Kagome looked over her shoulder at the two men that were glaring daggers at Hotohori. She opened her mouth to introduce them when Hotohori stopped her, placing a finger to her lips. She looked back at him questioningly. "I am already familiar with Inuyasha and Kouga."
"So are we going to get lunch or spend some time at your modeling shoot?" Kagome asked, purposely ignoring the men behind her. Hotohori, on the other hand, was finding it difficult to ignore the warrants of death being sent his way.
"Why don't we all go to lunch? Perhaps afterwards you would like to accompany me to the rest of the shoot. It gets terribly boring for me to be by myself there all day long. Afterwards, I could show you that apartment." Hotohori suggested, wrapping his arm around Kagome's shoulder and already heading out of the bookstore.
"Apartment? What apartment? I thought you were staying with Miroku and me." Inuyasha questioned confused.
Hotohori stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Inuyasha as if he were an idiot. "Do you never talk with your brother?" He demanded, quite aghast at his ignorance.
"Keh, why would I talk to that pansy?" Inuyasha sulked as he crossed his arms in a pouting fashion.
"He got the number of your old friend, Kikyo I believe her name is, anyways, she and Kagome will most likely be moving into the vacant apartment across from Sesshoumaru and myself." Hotohori answered.
"Really?" Kouga asked; taking up the position on Kagome's other side, the one that didn't have a male model attached to it. "That would be awesome. You'd live right below Tasuki and me then." He smiled endearingly at her.
"You and Tasuki are roommates? That would be so cool to live right below you. I'd be across from Hotohori," she cast him a sugary heart melting smile. "I'd also be just a flight of stairs away from Miroku and you," she gave Inuyasha a pointed glare. "I guess it had to have some type of flaw to it."
Not being able to think of a good comeback to that, Inuyasha said the first thing that popped into his mind. "Keh."
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TBC