Inferno Six

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Disclaimer: The last thing I would want happen to me is to be used because not only do I not have the money but I don't have the time…I do not own Inuyasha…

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Four: Cat and Dog

Inuyasha was silent during the bus ride back to the hideout. Miroku didn't bother to ask the guy why. He saw the pain written across his face. He let the guy brood over the controversies of his mind in silence. Inuyasha was feeling as if he had just died but that his body was still wandering the earth in search of his soul. He still couldn't believe that his brother's hot date was the same girl he couldn't get out of his mind. She was much too good for him, he thought. But then again, she was too good for Inuyasha also.

They departed the bus still in silence until Miroku patted the guy on the shoulder for comfort. He didn't know what had caused him to shift moods suddenly but he knew the guy was aching.

Inuyasha looked at the guy and grinned slightly, his mind still on Kagome.

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Inuyasha:

Why am I mad anyways? I mean she wasn't my girlfriend just the girl of my dreams! I have no right to do or say anything but yet all I want to do is take his head and beat it with a bat. The bastard! He gets everything he wants…he thinks he is so much better than me. He has my dad's love, the fucking good looks, even the car, and now the girl I've been waiting for all of my life! I hate him! I hope he rots in hell!!

It's no use anyways. I saw the look in her eyes when she saw me. She didn't see a man, she saw a beast. That's what I am, right? A walking talking beast. I can't do anything right…I'm such a screw up. She would never love me back even if I forced her, which I don't want to…but God I think I love her and shit I don't even know her name. He knows her name…he always gets everything…

I should just give up before I get even more hurt…I mean I don't even go to college. She doesn't look like she would date a high school drop out let alone a leader of a downtown gang. But she's so beautiful that it's impossible for me to give up. I could still win her over…with what? Your bad manners? No, my charm. I have charm when need be. And I don't look half bad. I mean I've scored a couple chicks and there was no complaining. But then again I never had a girlfriend. Me and a girlfriend!! Ha-ha, that's a laugh. I can't even commit to a brand of deodorant let alone a human being. I always saw them as an accessory and not a necessity. They'd call and bug me like hell but once I got what I needed from them it was goodbye. I was a real jerk. That girl would never want me as a boyfriend, not even a friend.

I turned to Miroku then who was bumming because I was acting like a sad case. I could tell the guy was thinking of something too but he was keeping it inside. The guy was always hiding stuff from me. I have to practically bite his face off to make him tell me. But I wasn't in the mood to argue with me. I was happy for his company even though it reflected my own melancholy.

He turned to me then and raised an eyebrow, "So do I have to ask you what's wrong or do we have to continue walking like a couple of sad dopes?"

I smiled then and sighed, "Why should I tell you? You never tell me anything."

"I tell you stuff…like how I sometimes fantasize about Kagura."

"You fantasize about every girl." Kagura was involved in our rival gang. She was a bitch to the extreme. She even threatened to slice our balls off but somehow Miroku found that sexy.

"True. Hey, besides you're the open one in this relationship."

I chuckled and turned away, "Fine, I kinda have this mad crush…well maybe not a mad crush…I don't know what it is…but--"

"You like your brother's girlfriend."

"Well you knew already why did you make me go through that?"

"Hey what are friends for?"

"Making you feel like a fucking loser." Miroku laughed.

"Okay when did you meet her?" he asked still laughing.

"I didn't really meet her. She just fell on me. But I can't get the girl out of my head. It's fucking insane!"

"Thank God I'm an expert at this. So you going to steal her away from Sesshoumaru or what?"

The thought was too inviting but was I the type of guy to do that? And to my own brother? Then again the guy and I were practically strangers with the same last name. But we were still brothers. The thoughts are driving me insane!

"I don't know. I have to think about this. I mean I always get like this…I get into some girl and then next day I'm over her. I need some time."

"Whatever…I'm going to head over to the hideout, you coming with?"

"No, I think I'm going to go home."

"Okay, I'll see you later." Miroku headed off to the left and hopped over a fence before disappearing completely from view.

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With Miroku away from his side, Inuyasha began to think over Miroku's suggestion. He still wasn't quite sure he should stop now and wish them a long and happy life together or give in to his bad side and steal her away from his brother. He shook his head and looked up, shocked he was already in front of his house, which like the inside, was slowly falling apart. Because they had no money for repairs, windows lost their hinges and the screen door was on its last leg. The lawn resembled more of a miniature jungle and a couple pieces of wood which in the past was part of the house, was now plastered onto the dirt lawn. Inuyasha headed towards the door and momentarily turned his head to the left. He felt relieved when he realized his father's car was still out. He wasn't in the mood to confront the bastard. The inside resembled the outside—like a tornado had just hit it. Mountains of pizza cartons and Taco Bell leftovers inhibited what use to be end tables and a couch. The floor was littered in paper plates, dirty laundry, bills, and newspaper clippings. Inuyasha pushed the garbage aside with his right foot and headed towards the kitchen in search for a sandwich. But he was met with no such luck. Not only was there no bread but any meat, lettuce, and mayo.

Inuyasha sighed and listened to his stomach rumble in pain. He searched frantically through the fridge and caught sight of a jar of peanut butter. Although he was never liked the stuff, he grabbed for it nevertheless and ruffled through the utensil drawer which served a dual purpose as a drawer of clutter. Finally he saw a knife and figured it was clean. He opened the jar and jabbed at the peanut butter but was disappointed to see that a muddle had grown inside it. He casted it aside and headed towards his room hungry and mad. His stomach still aching for food, he had completely forgotten about Kagome until he heard his brother's car drive up. The sound made his heart sink which made him forget about food entirely.

He listened carefully to the car door close, his footsteps walking towards the cemented driveway and porch, the door open, and finally the floor creak from the weight of his body against the carpet. The door opened and Sesshoumaru entered the room glowing. His mood had lightened since Inuyasha had last seen him, which he figured was impossible since he was shining like a baby's ass. Inuyasha ignored him and rolled onto his side, facing the window.

Sesshoumaru took off his shoes and plopped onto his bed whose springs were slowly falling apart. Although the bed was growing uncomfortable, his mind was too transfixed on the thoughts of Kagome and her lips.

Inuyasha turned his head slightly and looked over to his love-struck brother. He rolled his eyes and sighed as he watched him as he looked at the ceiling above in contemplation, a smile across his putrid face.

'The little bitch, he's probably thinking about her right now.'

Suddenly, Sesshoumaru, still glowing, turned to Inuyasha, "Hey I thought for sure you'd be out."

"Well I'm not. What's it to you?" Inuyasha retorted in annoyance.

"Nothing. God, what happened? A rat crawl up your ass?" Sesshoumaru sat up and took off his shirt, throwing it at Inuyasha. Inuyasha got the shirt on his face and tore it away as if it contained some viral disease.

Sesshoumaru laughed and laid back on his bed in peace. He couldn't believe how amazing Kagome was. He had wanted to kiss her goodnight at her apartment steps but he decided against it. He wanted to make it work. He could have. After all, she had kissed him first, which was a complete surprise. She didn't seem like a girl who'd do that. But he guessed wrong.

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Kagome stared up at the ceiling and began to rewind the time, piecing together every fabric of detail that had happened on the date. She sighed and closed her eyes in bliss.

Flashback: Kagome and Sesshoumaru's Date—ooh Romance!

Kagome let go of her hold on Sesshoumaru and then slowly opened her eyes to the shocked impression on his face. His eyes were still closed and his lips still pursed, but he appeared completely perfect. She giggled under her breathe and stared at him intently as he rose his eye lids and stared back at her. It wasn't like it was his first kiss or anything. He was a man of twenty one and had a killer body to match his personality—perfect. But he had never expected Kagome to kiss him. She was so pure and beautiful. He never saw her lips coming.

She touched him on the shoulder and pushed him to go out of the car, blushing and giggling uncontrollably. Obviously, she didn't mean to kiss him and was now shocked she had done something like that. She didn't know she had it in her.

When he came to, she wasn't sure what she should do or say so she decided that an act of violence was the only way to break the ice. So Kagome started pushing him and telling him to get out of the door, hoping he wouldn't see the shade of pink streaked across her face.

"Hey Kagome watch it!" Sesshoumaru yelled in between laughs, "I'm ticklish!"

"You are?" Kagome asked and then ran her fingers through his sides. Sesshoumaru began to laugh louder and Kagome took that as a sign to stop.

He relaxed and began to breath easier and then looked up at Kagome who was still watching him. "So, where did that come from?"

"Well, you said you were ticklish so I--"

Sesshoumaru chuckled and said, "No, you idiot, I meant the kiss."

"Oh that…"

"Yeah, that."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to, I just--" But Kagome was cut off by Sesshoumaru's intruding lips. He kissed her gently and she closed her eyes in bliss.

"I liked it," Sesshoumaru said. They went out of the car and headed for the restaurant. The place was a little fancy and Kagome wasn't sure if Sesshoumaru could afford the place. She wasn't dumb and she was quite aware that the guy wasn't rich. But she didn't say anything in fear that she might attack his ego.

Sesshoumaru gulped when he saw the place. He had never brought a date to this kind of restaurant. He could never afford it. But he thought that Kagome looked like someone who would go for a place like this so he saved up for a week and even took a couple bucks from his savings for the place, something he rarely did.

The dinner went well and they even discovered that they had a few things in common like the love for The Great Gatsby and violent sports.

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Inuyasha watched his brother reach over to his bookshelf which was kept by his bed for easy access. The guy loved to read and had persuaded Inuyasha to love it too but Inuyasha realized early on he wasn't a big fan. Sesshoumaru reached forward and grabbed his tattered copy of the Great Gatsby and began to read it as if he had never read it before despite the fact the pages were falling apart and it no longer had a back cover.

"You read that like a million times," Inuyasha said.

"Yeah I know but I think I've gained a greater respect for it," Sesshoumaru responded in a hushed voice, his eyes scanning the pages with vigor.

Inuyasha rolled back to his side and closed his eyes curious about the date. Kagome was on his brain twenty four seven. Finally he couldn't resist anymore and violently turned to his brother.

"Okay so tell me how the date was?" Inuyasha asked.

Sesshoumaru looked at him puzzled and put down his book, "You want to know how my date went?"

"Yeah, can't I know?" Inuyasha asked annoyed.

"Sure but you never cared before."

"Fine don't tell me. I don't give a damn!" Inuyasha said, rolling to his side.

"Okay I'll tell you," Sesshoumaru said half amused and half confused.

Sesshoumaru rested on his arms and laid on his bed, his feet crossed. "It was great. No more than great. It was perfect. She was beautiful and her lips…awww God her lips were amazing…I mean I only kissed th--"

"You kissed her!" Inuyasha screamed.

"Yeah, is that a crime?"

Inuyasha sat up on his bed in dismay and stared at his brother, "I would never have expected you to kiss on the first date!"

"So what? Like you don't kiss on the first date!"

"That's different! I'm scum!"

Sesshoumaru laughed, "Yeah no denying that!" Inuyasha threw a pillow at him and stood from his bed. He was overcome with anger from the jealousy that was escalating inside his body.

Sesshoumaru sat up and watched his brother in bewilderment, "Why the hell are you going mad over my kissing a girl. I thought you'd be happy I got something on a first date!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Inuyasha stared at his bed and thought twice about sleeping on the couch. He didn't know what the hell was on it. He reclaimed his spot on his bed and curled up in a ball and pressed his face on his pillow.

"Dude, calm down! What the hell happened to you?"

"Nothing!"

"Well if you're still wondering, my date was great. We're perfect for each other."

While Sesshoumaru continued to stare out into nothing, Inuyasha began to go over his plot to steal Sesshoumaru's girlfriend.

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Inuyasha woke up that morning and found he had forgotten to check the answering machine. To his surprise it was the university telling he had gotten the job and could start on Monday. Inuyasha mentally leapt for joy and as if driven by sheer happiness he started to clean the house. But he quit after thirty minutes and headed over to the hideout instead to celebrate with some beer and a pack of smokes.

Come Monday, Inuyasha was ready to do anything they asked him. When he arrived at the office, they gave him the guidelines and a compact description of his job. He was then lead to the charge who instructed him on his duties. He was surprised to see that they had assigned him to campus grounds because he was never a gardener type. But he didn't complain and listened to the man attentively. The charge said that he would rotate him and then decide where he would permanently stand. Inuyasha had drowned out his voice a couple times unconsciously whenever he thought he saw Kagome passing by. But it turned out to be someone else and he was pulled back into reality. True, Inuyasha had taken the job, hoping he would see her.

Lastly, the charge, who called himself Tray, handed him an orange suit. Inuyasha looked at it and raised an eyebrow. Tray, a man standing at a tall 6 feet and who appeared to be about forty or so, looked at him in amusement, "Get use to it kid. We're the help. We don't get the fancy stuff."

"I didn't expect anything else."

Inuyasha gladly received the orange suite and was directed to the employee bathroom to change. Tray said he would be following him today to evaluate his work. Inuyasha didn't have a problem with it and headed towards the bathroom.

In a few minutes, he was ready to work. He went out of the Carter Building employee room with a new view on life. Okay, so many he was ready to scope the campus for hot babes and one in particular.

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Inuyasha wiped the sweat on his brow and looked up into the blistering sun. He had been working in the yard for a good two hours without a break. He was craving some water but believed that his persistence would impress Tray the more. So he worked until his back ached and then some. Finally, Tray patted him on the shoulder and told him to head out for lunch. Inuyasha walked towards the employee room slowly and reached inside his locker to realize he didn't have any food. He hadn't eaten anything remotely healthy for the past few days and his stomach was beginning to torture him by sending him a few pangs of pain every once in a while. He wrapped his arms around his stomach and sighed. The work had exacerbated his hunger pains and soon he knew he would collapse. He shut his locker door and reached inside his jeans to find a five dollar bill. He was saving it for a rainy day. He guessed this was as food as any so he unbuttoned his jump suit and threw it in the locker and headed out the door in search of a vending machine.

To his luck he found one just outside the building. He looked around and realized he had been there before. Of course, he was half naked at the time. Drool slipping off his lips, he reached over to the vending machine and began to unfold his five. But before he could place it inside, a hand reached over and ceased him. He looked down and followed the contours of the arm until it brought him to its owner—the girl of his dreams. They had to have been meant to be, he thought, if fate had brought them back together like this. It was a big school. The chances of them meeting again without any intrusion on his part was nearly impossible. But here he was now, staring at her. She smiled at him and released her hold on his hand. He wished she could keep it there forever.

Kagome looked at him and swore she saw him before but couldn't pinpoint when. She shook the thought out of her mind and took his five. Inuyasha, too perplexed and mystified, stared at her and every muscle in his body was cramping up from the sight of her.

"Sorry about that but this machine eats your money up. If you put this in, you'll never get your change back. I can show you the vending machine that gives you two for the price of one," she said chuckling. Inuyasha smiled slightly and nodded his head. He had tried to mentally kick himself over the head, repeating 'Snap out of it!' over and over again. But it was useless.

As they began to walk, she turned to him and asked him whether he was a transfer. Too dumbstruck, he just nodded his head.

"Where did you come from?"

Inuyasha looked down and knew he should tell her the truth.

'Sorry Kagome but I'm a high school drop out and gang leader.' No he couldn't say that. She'd run away and never come near him. He looked up at her and smiled.

"I went to the community college down the street."

"Oh, really? Have you decided what you are going to major in?"

Inuyasha froze and searched through his brain for answers. Then he saw it in clear black and white—The Great Gatsby.

"I'm studying Classical Literature and Philosophy," he lied. He had just told her his brother's double major.

Kagome froze and looked at him with stars in her eyes, "That's amazing! I know someone who's majoring in those two subjects also. I feel so lucky. It's so seldom you meet someone in that field. I think it's so romantic…"

Inuyasha smiled and said, "It's really quite fascinating. As a kid I use to read a lot and then before I knew it the stuff stuck and I loved…um…reading so much I wanted to teach it."

Kagome, a smile still on her face, clung onto her backpack searching for the right words to say to such a "brilliant" guy.

"So what's your favorite book?" she asked curious.

"I like a lot of books, you know, but I think the Great Gatsby is one of my favorites," that was hard for Inuyasha to say considering he had wanted to rip the book apart when Sesshoumaru tried to make him read it.

Kagome looked at him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Inuyasha froze and blushed slightly, "No way! I love that book too! Tell your favorite part! No, no! Tell me the meaning of the yellow car."

Inuyasha looked around and wished he had read the stupid book. He said the only thing that came to his mind.

"Death."

Kagome looked puzzled at first and then her eyes grew wild and she smiled, "Oh my god! You're right. I mean their life styles are reckless and it is within the yellow car that they drive dangerously. Yellow is Fitzgerald's symbol of death. That's amazing."

Inuyasha let out a cry of relief in his mind and smiled as if he had known all along. They talked like such for a couple more minutes before they came across the vending machine. Kagome turned from him and slipped in the five. Like she said, the machine gave him two cokes. He watched her bend over to pick them up and held them, one in each hand. She looked up at him and gave him a warm smile. He thought he was going to melt. He shook his head and wondered what was driving him to act like such a girl.

She reached over and handed him the two cokes. He grabbed the one on her right hand and snapped it open before taking a long hard gulp. He needed that badly.

He turned to Kagome, who still held the other coke in her hand.

"Why don't you take that one?"

She smiled, opened it, and took a small sip. "I hope we see each other again…" she said, staring at him. Inuyasha nodded and turned his head when he felt his cheeks fluster from the comment.

He cleared his throat and tried to play it cool, "Yeah sure, maybe. We could discuss...er...books or something."

"I'd like that," she paused and held out her hand, "I'm sorry, I'm Kagome." Inuyasha turned and nodded, 'yeah, I know,' he thought.

He reached over and shook her hand. He liked the warmth her touch gave me—it was comforting.

"I'm Inuyasha."

Kagome smiled and looked down at her watch, "Oh shit! I have class in like three minutes. I should go. So see you," she said. Inuyasha nodded and watched her run off into the distance. He looked down at his own watch and realized it was time for him to get back to work. But how could he when he made Kagome believe he went to school here. She would never go out with some cheap ass janitor. He sighed, knowing all too well that he couldn't afford to lose this job—literally. But if it meant Kagome finding out, he needed to be careful.

It was then that he turned to find a very familiar naked body staring at him as a poster on the wall. He read it: OMEGA BOYS CAUGHT ON CAMERA!

There was no doubt about it, it was him and Miroku stripped down to their boxers.

Inuyasha's eyes grew wide and in one long sweep he reached over and tore the human sized poster off the wall. He looked around and realized they were everywhere.

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