Yashagawa-kun's first name is revealed in this chapter. (Hint: this story is titled after the main character, 'kay? lol ^-^V) As for what his name means and how Inuyasha died, (for Bejipan-san and anyone else who wanna know ^-^) read the a/n at the end of the chappie, ne? ^-^ Luff ya and thanks for the reviews!!! I really appreciate them!
Disclaimer:: I SO do not own Inuyasha. So SO do not sue me.
____________________________
Inuki
Chapter Two :: Surprise
"Tadaima."
Kagome looked up, expecting to see her mother waiting to greet her with a cheerful smile. Instead she blinked at the sight that in her hallway, raising one eyebrow. There were large cardboard boxes lining the wooden floor, some stacked on top of each other, pushed up against the wall, leaving just enough space to walk down the hallway towards the other rooms as long as you walked sideways.
There were only about four or five of them, some of them marked "winter clothing," and another marked, "bedroom." Perplexed, Kagome mumbled out, "Mama???"
Mama peered out of the living room and smiled. "Ah, Kagome-chan! Okaeri."
"Mama, what's with the boxes?" Kagome wondered aloud as she crab-walked down the hallway, and Mama smiled. "Well, I know I didn't tell you, but with your having to catch up on schoolwork I didn't want to bother you."
Kagome nodded as she set down her backpack and accepted the warm tea her mother handed her, and Mama smiled. "I've told you about Shoko-chan, my friend from childhood?"
"Yes," Kagome agreed, remembering the pictures her mother had shown her. Shoko had been a small, pretty woman with very long black hair. But if she recalled correctly, Shoko had died when she was only about twentysomething, and according to Jiichan, Mama had been devastated. Despite this, Mama smiled. "Well, Shoko-chan's son is going to be staying with us for awhile."
Kagome almost spewed out her tea. "Mama! It takes everything we have to support the four of us; we hardly have enough room for someone else!!"
Mama waved a hand at her daughter, undaunted. "Oh, Souta-kun has already volunteered to let Inuki-kun stay in his room, and Inuki-kun will most certainly be supporting himself. He has a job working at the video rental store. Which is why he's late, I'm sure. He should be coming home around eight tonight."
Kagome looked irked. "You seem to know quite alot about him. I know you said you didn't tell me because I was studying, but that was only for the past two months. How long has this been planned?!"
"Oh, for quite some time. We've been communicating by letter until he shipped me his things. I think it was right after you stopped going to the Sengoku Jidai." Mama treaded on the subject carefully, her tone soft, and Kagome blinked, suddenly realizing why Mama had said nothing.
The last thing Kagome had cared to hear about after what happened in old Japan was that some boy she'd never met before was coming to live in her house. Kagome nodded, sighing, and then asked, "Just curious though, doesn't he have a family? He has to stay with the family of his mother's friend?"
Mama shook her head. "Afraid not. When Shoko-chan died, Inuki-kun was about four. The poor boy was shuttled back and forth between his older brother and his aunts and uncles until now. His father died before he was born. He's never really had anyone he can call family."
Kagome blinked. "I see." She perked slightly. "Well, I'll do my best to get along with him."
"Thank you, Kagome-chan."
~*~
Kagome sighed as she flopped onto her bed like dead weight. She was exhausted, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. Meeting that Yashagawa kid had again drug up the memories she would rather forget.
Again and again the scene in the stairwell played in her head. Everything was like him. The way he frowned, the way he snorted. That aloof toss of his head as he stomped down the stairs, his bookbag held over his shoulder. It took little to no thought to turn Yashagawa into Inuyasha instead. Perky dog ears and white hair instead of his black tresses, and golden eyes instead of brown. Red, loose clothes instead of those dark tight ones, barefoot instead of worn sneakers, Tessaiga instead of a schoolbag.
Tessaiga... Kagome rolled over and gently slid off the bed, reaching underneath it to grab what lay protected underneath. Her fingers grazed the soft wrappings she had taken care to sheathe it in, and tugged it out, pulling into her lap a very old katana wrapped in a red cloak.
She unraveled the hi-nezumi haori, letting it slip down into her lap, and her fingers brushed against the familiar, satiny wood sheathe of Tessaiga. She marveled at it even though the sight of it was so everyday for her.
The cloth wrapped around the hilt was old and withered, torn in long trails at some places. Carefully she slid the sword from its sheathe and even nicked and rusted, Inuyasha's blade shone in the incandescent light. Despite how broken over him she had been that very morning, she smiled fondly at the sight of his sword. She gathered the sword and cloak in all, up to her face, and held them. His scent was still soaked in the red fur and she sniffled as tears gathered in her eyes.
They were her souvenirs from her hanyou. The picture he'd been embarrassed to take, the red armor that protected him and the sword he'd refused to let go of.
Kagome heard the faint sound which was unmistakably the sliding of the front door and suddenly Mama's elated voice. "Kyaaa~!!!!!! INUKI-KUN! How you've grown since I last saw you!! You're so tall! Just like that father of yours!! And you look JUST like your mother!!! Come in, come in!! Kagome-chan!!! Inuki-kun is here, please come down for a moment!"
Kagome gently put away Tessaiga and headed downstairs, turned into the hallway--
--and stopped short. She gawped at the boy her mother had been so excited to see.
Yashagawa Inuki looked back at her, his slitted eyes widening, and his face twisted in aggravation. At the same time, both of them screamed, "YOU!"
Mama, Souta and Jiichan looked on in awe as Inuki groaned, slapping his forehead and letting his backpack slide to the floor at his feet. "I have to stay with you!? If I had known that Ofukuro's best friend was YOUR mother, I'dve preferred living in a cardboard box!"
Kagome fumed. "Well you're most certainly welcome to, you idiot!!! Why don't you pull the one you use for a brain out of your head and live in that!!!"
"What was that?!"
"I'm confused," Mama admitted, and Kagome pointed accusingly at Inuki. "THAT can't be Shoko-san's son!! She was too nice to be related to that swine!"
"At least I'm not an ungrateful twit!" he growled, and Jiichan stood between them, lifting his hands with a loud, "ENOOOOOOUGH!"
All sound stopped.
Jiichan looked at Kagome. "What is going on, young lady?"
Kagome pouted, crossing her arms. "That moron and I met in school today! He's an idiot!!"
Inuki snorted. "Heh~! At least I had the decency to offer your my help even though you crudely refused, you pig-headed wench!"
"Pig-hea...!! I oughta slap you!"
"Can you even reach this high, Thumbelina?"
"YOU JERK!"
"Brat!"
"Idiot!"
"Stupid!"
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Jiichan huffed, and again it was quiet. Mama tilted her head. "Kagome-chan, would you please be civil to Inuki-kun? And Inuki-kun, as a guest in this house I do expect you to be polite."
Inuki and Kagome turned their heads and crossed their arms with a huff, obviously not about to agree. After a moment of the battle of wills, Kagome sighed, throwing in the towel. "Since he needs a place to live, I'll be nice to him."
"Oh thanks alot. How can I EVER repay your disgustingly gracious hospitality." Inuki droned, and Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't push your luck, you idiot."
"Stupid."
~*~
"... and he's selfish and rude and he's a jerk!" Kagome finished and Yuka laughed on the other end. //Kagome-chan, he can't be that bad, I SAW the guy. He's cute!\\
"Yuka-chan, do you even try to look for personality or do you just give up on the surface level?" Kagome wondered and Yuka laughed again. //Guys are all the same, Kagome! So why bother with scrounging for personality when there ISN'T any?\\
Kagome sighed, wondering when Yuka had become so shallow, and shrugged. "In any case, the guy is a jerk. Besides, dating is out of the question. Not because he doesn't have any manners or class but because.."
Yuka sounded bored. //Yeah, yeah you've got that boyfriend. The badass, overly jealous, violently possessive, two-timing boyfriend. You know Kagome-chan, you should really just give up on such a guy get someone better he's not good enough for you! Such a two-timing violent person can't be very--\\
"He's dead."
For a long time there was silence on the other end and then Yuka hesitantly responded with, //What?\\
Kagome bit her lip. She hadn't wanted to break it to Yuka so quickly and so suddenly, but hearing her talk about him like that even though she didn't know him-- Kagome couldn't take it. "My boyfriend was in an accident. He died, five months ago."
Yuka gasped, sounding genuinely remorseful, and a little regretful for having spoken of him. //Oh, my god! Kagome-chan, I'm so sorry!! Why didn't you tell me sooner, I would've been there for you!\\
"It's alright, I'm okay now," she said, even though it was only half true. It wasn't alright, and she was hardly over it. But she found herself saying it anyway. It seemed like the right reponse; she didn't want to worry her friend.
Yuka babbled how everything would be okay and that Kagome would find another guy whom she loved just as much or more, and that if she ever needed a friend, call her; the basic lines when someone close dies. Their convenient little chat had withered to nothing and finally both girls decided it was time to hang up.
Kagome tossed the phone down and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling blandly.
If she ever needed a friend.
She couldn't see herself collapsing into Yuka's lap and crying about Inuyasha. Even if he hadn't been a half-man, half-dog demon from Sengoku Jidai, she couldn't see it. Yuka hadn't known him; all she had was a vague picture of who he was, and even then the only time Kagome ever talked about him was when she was mad about him, and so all Yuka and the others knew was that Inuyasha had been selfish, reckless and violent.
*He was. Inuyasha was selfish and reckless and violent and possessive. He was stupid and jealous and he was cheating on me always.* Aloud, she whispered, "But he was courageous and reliable and he protected me and it made me happy just to see him."
She sniffled and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow, but she didn't cry. She felt all cried out. She lay in silence for a moment.
She needed someone to talk to. A friend she trusted. A friend who had also been affected by his death. The friend whose shoulder she wept on the night they buried him.
But she didn't think she could bear to face her now.
*After I left... I didn't even think about returning, for a moment. The well isn't sealed, but... I haven't been back in so long... Surely Sango-chan and Miroku-sama have gone on with their lives... without me...*
Kagome closed her eyes, feeling very tired of it, tired of everything. As she often felt when she thought of him. Of living without him. It was exhausting.
And so she slept.
~*~
She woke abruptly, as one does when you're startled awake but don't know why. She was suddenly wide-awake, and parched and very hot. She found the cause of that fairly quickly; she'd fallen asleep in her clothes and they stuck to her uncomfortably.
Kagome glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table; 1:36 am. It wasn't very late, and she'd only slept for about four hours. Jiichan was indefinitely asleep as he was old and weary, even though he protested it to no end. Mama was in probably in her bedroom reading, and Souta also probably in bed.
She slipped down the stairs quietly, padding down the hall towards the kitchen just as soundlessly when she suddenly heard: "Just where the hell are are you going?"
She fought the urge to squeal and spun to face the intruder, grabbing a weapon nearest to her --a flower pot-- and fully intending to bash it over the head. That is, until she met Inuki's dark slitted eyes as he glared stonily at her.
She gawped, halfway at him and partly at her own stupidity-- how could she forget about the newest addition to their household? "How did you know I was here, I didn't even make a noise!"
"I have very good hearing," he reasoned, and then turned back towards the book and began to write messily. "Besides that, I could smell you coming." He continued to scribble notes into his notebook, unaware that Kagome was fuming. She threw the flower pot at him anyway, and it shattered over his head.
"OW! What the hell did you do that for?!" he demanded angrily and she clenched her fists. "You just said I stink!!!"
Inuki jumped to his feet. "I did not say you STINK! I said I could smell you!!! That does not mean that you stink!"
"Then what DID you mean!?!" she demanded and Inuki plopped back down, casually rubbing his head. "I have a very sensitive nose. Sorta like a dog's, or a wolf's or something. I can smell things or people before they're close."
Kagome looked irked. That was just weird. At least Inuyasha had had an excuse for being able to smell her; he was part dog. This guy was all human.
That meant he had to be Inuyasha, didn't it?
Abruptly she noticed the pile of books that surrounded him, and the several notebooks. "What are you doing, anyway?" she wondered and Inuki looked up at her as if she had asked him the most obvious question in the world. "Uhm, homework? We have to read the first chapter in history, do pages 23-28 in math, read chapters 1-3 of english and write a short narrative on it, not to mention the kanji character study with alternating right and left parts, and then the--"
"Okay, okay, I got it," she droned, shaking her head as if she were dizzy. Inuki raised an eyebrow. "No wonder you got such bad grades in junior high, you never did your homework."
Kagome saw red. "EXCUSE ME?! I was SICK when I was in junior high and that's none of your business so why the hell are you even bringing that up how did you know anyway?!!"
Inuki looked like he regretted saying anything. His eyes had grown huge. "I heard from some kids who went to 4th district with you, jeez! Sorry, I didn't know you were sick, you don't have to bite my head off! Don't be such a bitch."
"I'm NOT a bitch!" she argued and Inuki rolled his eyes. "Keh. You suffer from stick up my ass syndrome, then? Are you always this uptight?"
Kagome's patience with this guy was wearing thin. "And lemme guess, you suffer from some sort of foot in mouth affliction? Who asked you?!" Inuki rolled his eyes again and looked up at her. "You still didn't answer my question. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to a get drink of water! Since when do I have to report to you to walk through my own house!"
Knowing the kitchen like the back of her hand, she didn't bother to turn on the light as she yanked a glass from the cupboard and angrily filled it with water, muttering insults under her breath. Suddenly the light flicked on and she looked up. Inuki was staring into the pantry.
"WHAT are you doing?" Kagome demanded and Inuki turned to look at her. "I'm starving. Could you make me something to eat?"
Kagome's mouth dropped open. "Oh I SEE! You call me a bitch and then expect me to COOK for you?! Are you THAT stupid?"
"No, just THAT hungry. C'mon, please?"
Kagome rolled her eyes and pulled a small kettle from the floor cupboard, filled it with water and then set it to boil. Once she had, she marched to the pantry, pushing Inuki aside, and pulled out a can of cup ramen, slamming it down on the table.
"There. That'll have to do." she said frostily, in the back of her mind hoping he would be absolutely devastated she wasn't actually cooking, but instead his face grew delighted. "RAMEN!"
He picked the can up and began to huggle it, and Kagome watched with wide eyes.
"Inuyasha..."
Inuki stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowed. "What?"
Kagome clapped a hand over her mouth and turned away. "I'm sorry, Yashagawa-kun, I didn't mean... Forget it." She turned around, plastering a fake smile on. "Forget I said that name, okay? It doesn't mean anything." Inside her head she laughed bitterly.
Inuyasha... Doesn't mean anything...
What a joke.
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: Aah, questions!! ^-^ Okie, so here goes answers!
Yashagawa means "Demon River" and Inuki means "Dog demon." For Inuki's name I wanted something that used "inu" and "yasha" (I'm cliche, gomen! u.u;;;;;) The kanji I used for his last name is "yasha" (the same as Inuyasha's) and "kawa" and it means demon river. Lame I know (especially since "yasha" actually means "forest spirit" ^^;;;;;;; Think anybody'll notice?)
The kanji for his first name is "Inu" (dog) and "ki" which is a reading of the kanji "oni" which means demon. Thus "Inuki" means the exact same thing that Inuyasha does, just with a different kanji. ^-^ (With all the different readings for kanji his name could very well have been read "Inubake" or "Inuoni" Ich how nasty is that!)
As for how our loveable hanyou passed away, it will be revealed later on. Right now the only thing I'm really focusing on are Inuki and Kagome and the development of their relationship. Later when they go to visit Miroku and the others Inuyasha's death will be explained (this isn't just some random Inu-gets-reincarnated ficlet; I have a whole good guy/bad guy/ass-kicking plot for it as well) As well as why Kagome didn't use the Shikon no Tama to bring Inuyasha back to life. (I bet you guys are dying to know that one ^-^V)
Well, I hope that helps a little!! Also, btw, if anyone wants to see Inuki, I finally fnished some art of him, email me or review and I will send you some (just be sure to send email addresses) Or you can just use your imagination: he looks just like Inuyasha does on the new moon, except his hair is in a braid and he wears jeans and a t-shirt. Very simple ^-^
And lastly, a message to my recent flamer, "Alitha the Inu spelling correcter." First, you misspelled "correcter;" it's CORRECTOR. Use spell check. It's a useful little luxury, I promise. Two, if you knew ANYTHING about Japanese you would know that the language has no set-in-stone boundaries on their spelling of anything (and by anything I mean the connectors like the "tsu" in Tetsusaiga, the "o"/"ou" debate and so on), unless you deliberately go out of your way to spell Kikyou "Kikuu" and so on. Two and a half, KIKYOU is the spelling in the original manga, written in furigana next to the kanji. Check it out sometime. Three, you can vent all the "fustration" you want but you can't get over the fact you can't spell okay?
The next time you decide to flame someone do your homework first.
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
~Tessen
Disclaimer:: I SO do not own Inuyasha. So SO do not sue me.
____________________________
Inuki
Chapter Two :: Surprise
"Tadaima."
Kagome looked up, expecting to see her mother waiting to greet her with a cheerful smile. Instead she blinked at the sight that in her hallway, raising one eyebrow. There were large cardboard boxes lining the wooden floor, some stacked on top of each other, pushed up against the wall, leaving just enough space to walk down the hallway towards the other rooms as long as you walked sideways.
There were only about four or five of them, some of them marked "winter clothing," and another marked, "bedroom." Perplexed, Kagome mumbled out, "Mama???"
Mama peered out of the living room and smiled. "Ah, Kagome-chan! Okaeri."
"Mama, what's with the boxes?" Kagome wondered aloud as she crab-walked down the hallway, and Mama smiled. "Well, I know I didn't tell you, but with your having to catch up on schoolwork I didn't want to bother you."
Kagome nodded as she set down her backpack and accepted the warm tea her mother handed her, and Mama smiled. "I've told you about Shoko-chan, my friend from childhood?"
"Yes," Kagome agreed, remembering the pictures her mother had shown her. Shoko had been a small, pretty woman with very long black hair. But if she recalled correctly, Shoko had died when she was only about twentysomething, and according to Jiichan, Mama had been devastated. Despite this, Mama smiled. "Well, Shoko-chan's son is going to be staying with us for awhile."
Kagome almost spewed out her tea. "Mama! It takes everything we have to support the four of us; we hardly have enough room for someone else!!"
Mama waved a hand at her daughter, undaunted. "Oh, Souta-kun has already volunteered to let Inuki-kun stay in his room, and Inuki-kun will most certainly be supporting himself. He has a job working at the video rental store. Which is why he's late, I'm sure. He should be coming home around eight tonight."
Kagome looked irked. "You seem to know quite alot about him. I know you said you didn't tell me because I was studying, but that was only for the past two months. How long has this been planned?!"
"Oh, for quite some time. We've been communicating by letter until he shipped me his things. I think it was right after you stopped going to the Sengoku Jidai." Mama treaded on the subject carefully, her tone soft, and Kagome blinked, suddenly realizing why Mama had said nothing.
The last thing Kagome had cared to hear about after what happened in old Japan was that some boy she'd never met before was coming to live in her house. Kagome nodded, sighing, and then asked, "Just curious though, doesn't he have a family? He has to stay with the family of his mother's friend?"
Mama shook her head. "Afraid not. When Shoko-chan died, Inuki-kun was about four. The poor boy was shuttled back and forth between his older brother and his aunts and uncles until now. His father died before he was born. He's never really had anyone he can call family."
Kagome blinked. "I see." She perked slightly. "Well, I'll do my best to get along with him."
"Thank you, Kagome-chan."
~*~
Kagome sighed as she flopped onto her bed like dead weight. She was exhausted, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. Meeting that Yashagawa kid had again drug up the memories she would rather forget.
Again and again the scene in the stairwell played in her head. Everything was like him. The way he frowned, the way he snorted. That aloof toss of his head as he stomped down the stairs, his bookbag held over his shoulder. It took little to no thought to turn Yashagawa into Inuyasha instead. Perky dog ears and white hair instead of his black tresses, and golden eyes instead of brown. Red, loose clothes instead of those dark tight ones, barefoot instead of worn sneakers, Tessaiga instead of a schoolbag.
Tessaiga... Kagome rolled over and gently slid off the bed, reaching underneath it to grab what lay protected underneath. Her fingers grazed the soft wrappings she had taken care to sheathe it in, and tugged it out, pulling into her lap a very old katana wrapped in a red cloak.
She unraveled the hi-nezumi haori, letting it slip down into her lap, and her fingers brushed against the familiar, satiny wood sheathe of Tessaiga. She marveled at it even though the sight of it was so everyday for her.
The cloth wrapped around the hilt was old and withered, torn in long trails at some places. Carefully she slid the sword from its sheathe and even nicked and rusted, Inuyasha's blade shone in the incandescent light. Despite how broken over him she had been that very morning, she smiled fondly at the sight of his sword. She gathered the sword and cloak in all, up to her face, and held them. His scent was still soaked in the red fur and she sniffled as tears gathered in her eyes.
They were her souvenirs from her hanyou. The picture he'd been embarrassed to take, the red armor that protected him and the sword he'd refused to let go of.
Kagome heard the faint sound which was unmistakably the sliding of the front door and suddenly Mama's elated voice. "Kyaaa~!!!!!! INUKI-KUN! How you've grown since I last saw you!! You're so tall! Just like that father of yours!! And you look JUST like your mother!!! Come in, come in!! Kagome-chan!!! Inuki-kun is here, please come down for a moment!"
Kagome gently put away Tessaiga and headed downstairs, turned into the hallway--
--and stopped short. She gawped at the boy her mother had been so excited to see.
Yashagawa Inuki looked back at her, his slitted eyes widening, and his face twisted in aggravation. At the same time, both of them screamed, "YOU!"
Mama, Souta and Jiichan looked on in awe as Inuki groaned, slapping his forehead and letting his backpack slide to the floor at his feet. "I have to stay with you!? If I had known that Ofukuro's best friend was YOUR mother, I'dve preferred living in a cardboard box!"
Kagome fumed. "Well you're most certainly welcome to, you idiot!!! Why don't you pull the one you use for a brain out of your head and live in that!!!"
"What was that?!"
"I'm confused," Mama admitted, and Kagome pointed accusingly at Inuki. "THAT can't be Shoko-san's son!! She was too nice to be related to that swine!"
"At least I'm not an ungrateful twit!" he growled, and Jiichan stood between them, lifting his hands with a loud, "ENOOOOOOUGH!"
All sound stopped.
Jiichan looked at Kagome. "What is going on, young lady?"
Kagome pouted, crossing her arms. "That moron and I met in school today! He's an idiot!!"
Inuki snorted. "Heh~! At least I had the decency to offer your my help even though you crudely refused, you pig-headed wench!"
"Pig-hea...!! I oughta slap you!"
"Can you even reach this high, Thumbelina?"
"YOU JERK!"
"Brat!"
"Idiot!"
"Stupid!"
"I SAID ENOUGH!" Jiichan huffed, and again it was quiet. Mama tilted her head. "Kagome-chan, would you please be civil to Inuki-kun? And Inuki-kun, as a guest in this house I do expect you to be polite."
Inuki and Kagome turned their heads and crossed their arms with a huff, obviously not about to agree. After a moment of the battle of wills, Kagome sighed, throwing in the towel. "Since he needs a place to live, I'll be nice to him."
"Oh thanks alot. How can I EVER repay your disgustingly gracious hospitality." Inuki droned, and Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't push your luck, you idiot."
"Stupid."
~*~
"... and he's selfish and rude and he's a jerk!" Kagome finished and Yuka laughed on the other end. //Kagome-chan, he can't be that bad, I SAW the guy. He's cute!\\
"Yuka-chan, do you even try to look for personality or do you just give up on the surface level?" Kagome wondered and Yuka laughed again. //Guys are all the same, Kagome! So why bother with scrounging for personality when there ISN'T any?\\
Kagome sighed, wondering when Yuka had become so shallow, and shrugged. "In any case, the guy is a jerk. Besides, dating is out of the question. Not because he doesn't have any manners or class but because.."
Yuka sounded bored. //Yeah, yeah you've got that boyfriend. The badass, overly jealous, violently possessive, two-timing boyfriend. You know Kagome-chan, you should really just give up on such a guy get someone better he's not good enough for you! Such a two-timing violent person can't be very--\\
"He's dead."
For a long time there was silence on the other end and then Yuka hesitantly responded with, //What?\\
Kagome bit her lip. She hadn't wanted to break it to Yuka so quickly and so suddenly, but hearing her talk about him like that even though she didn't know him-- Kagome couldn't take it. "My boyfriend was in an accident. He died, five months ago."
Yuka gasped, sounding genuinely remorseful, and a little regretful for having spoken of him. //Oh, my god! Kagome-chan, I'm so sorry!! Why didn't you tell me sooner, I would've been there for you!\\
"It's alright, I'm okay now," she said, even though it was only half true. It wasn't alright, and she was hardly over it. But she found herself saying it anyway. It seemed like the right reponse; she didn't want to worry her friend.
Yuka babbled how everything would be okay and that Kagome would find another guy whom she loved just as much or more, and that if she ever needed a friend, call her; the basic lines when someone close dies. Their convenient little chat had withered to nothing and finally both girls decided it was time to hang up.
Kagome tossed the phone down and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling blandly.
If she ever needed a friend.
She couldn't see herself collapsing into Yuka's lap and crying about Inuyasha. Even if he hadn't been a half-man, half-dog demon from Sengoku Jidai, she couldn't see it. Yuka hadn't known him; all she had was a vague picture of who he was, and even then the only time Kagome ever talked about him was when she was mad about him, and so all Yuka and the others knew was that Inuyasha had been selfish, reckless and violent.
*He was. Inuyasha was selfish and reckless and violent and possessive. He was stupid and jealous and he was cheating on me always.* Aloud, she whispered, "But he was courageous and reliable and he protected me and it made me happy just to see him."
She sniffled and rolled over, burying her face in the pillow, but she didn't cry. She felt all cried out. She lay in silence for a moment.
She needed someone to talk to. A friend she trusted. A friend who had also been affected by his death. The friend whose shoulder she wept on the night they buried him.
But she didn't think she could bear to face her now.
*After I left... I didn't even think about returning, for a moment. The well isn't sealed, but... I haven't been back in so long... Surely Sango-chan and Miroku-sama have gone on with their lives... without me...*
Kagome closed her eyes, feeling very tired of it, tired of everything. As she often felt when she thought of him. Of living without him. It was exhausting.
And so she slept.
~*~
She woke abruptly, as one does when you're startled awake but don't know why. She was suddenly wide-awake, and parched and very hot. She found the cause of that fairly quickly; she'd fallen asleep in her clothes and they stuck to her uncomfortably.
Kagome glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table; 1:36 am. It wasn't very late, and she'd only slept for about four hours. Jiichan was indefinitely asleep as he was old and weary, even though he protested it to no end. Mama was in probably in her bedroom reading, and Souta also probably in bed.
She slipped down the stairs quietly, padding down the hall towards the kitchen just as soundlessly when she suddenly heard: "Just where the hell are are you going?"
She fought the urge to squeal and spun to face the intruder, grabbing a weapon nearest to her --a flower pot-- and fully intending to bash it over the head. That is, until she met Inuki's dark slitted eyes as he glared stonily at her.
She gawped, halfway at him and partly at her own stupidity-- how could she forget about the newest addition to their household? "How did you know I was here, I didn't even make a noise!"
"I have very good hearing," he reasoned, and then turned back towards the book and began to write messily. "Besides that, I could smell you coming." He continued to scribble notes into his notebook, unaware that Kagome was fuming. She threw the flower pot at him anyway, and it shattered over his head.
"OW! What the hell did you do that for?!" he demanded angrily and she clenched her fists. "You just said I stink!!!"
Inuki jumped to his feet. "I did not say you STINK! I said I could smell you!!! That does not mean that you stink!"
"Then what DID you mean!?!" she demanded and Inuki plopped back down, casually rubbing his head. "I have a very sensitive nose. Sorta like a dog's, or a wolf's or something. I can smell things or people before they're close."
Kagome looked irked. That was just weird. At least Inuyasha had had an excuse for being able to smell her; he was part dog. This guy was all human.
That meant he had to be Inuyasha, didn't it?
Abruptly she noticed the pile of books that surrounded him, and the several notebooks. "What are you doing, anyway?" she wondered and Inuki looked up at her as if she had asked him the most obvious question in the world. "Uhm, homework? We have to read the first chapter in history, do pages 23-28 in math, read chapters 1-3 of english and write a short narrative on it, not to mention the kanji character study with alternating right and left parts, and then the--"
"Okay, okay, I got it," she droned, shaking her head as if she were dizzy. Inuki raised an eyebrow. "No wonder you got such bad grades in junior high, you never did your homework."
Kagome saw red. "EXCUSE ME?! I was SICK when I was in junior high and that's none of your business so why the hell are you even bringing that up how did you know anyway?!!"
Inuki looked like he regretted saying anything. His eyes had grown huge. "I heard from some kids who went to 4th district with you, jeez! Sorry, I didn't know you were sick, you don't have to bite my head off! Don't be such a bitch."
"I'm NOT a bitch!" she argued and Inuki rolled his eyes. "Keh. You suffer from stick up my ass syndrome, then? Are you always this uptight?"
Kagome's patience with this guy was wearing thin. "And lemme guess, you suffer from some sort of foot in mouth affliction? Who asked you?!" Inuki rolled his eyes again and looked up at her. "You still didn't answer my question. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to a get drink of water! Since when do I have to report to you to walk through my own house!"
Knowing the kitchen like the back of her hand, she didn't bother to turn on the light as she yanked a glass from the cupboard and angrily filled it with water, muttering insults under her breath. Suddenly the light flicked on and she looked up. Inuki was staring into the pantry.
"WHAT are you doing?" Kagome demanded and Inuki turned to look at her. "I'm starving. Could you make me something to eat?"
Kagome's mouth dropped open. "Oh I SEE! You call me a bitch and then expect me to COOK for you?! Are you THAT stupid?"
"No, just THAT hungry. C'mon, please?"
Kagome rolled her eyes and pulled a small kettle from the floor cupboard, filled it with water and then set it to boil. Once she had, she marched to the pantry, pushing Inuki aside, and pulled out a can of cup ramen, slamming it down on the table.
"There. That'll have to do." she said frostily, in the back of her mind hoping he would be absolutely devastated she wasn't actually cooking, but instead his face grew delighted. "RAMEN!"
He picked the can up and began to huggle it, and Kagome watched with wide eyes.
"Inuyasha..."
Inuki stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowed. "What?"
Kagome clapped a hand over her mouth and turned away. "I'm sorry, Yashagawa-kun, I didn't mean... Forget it." She turned around, plastering a fake smile on. "Forget I said that name, okay? It doesn't mean anything." Inside her head she laughed bitterly.
Inuyasha... Doesn't mean anything...
What a joke.
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: Aah, questions!! ^-^ Okie, so here goes answers!
Yashagawa means "Demon River" and Inuki means "Dog demon." For Inuki's name I wanted something that used "inu" and "yasha" (I'm cliche, gomen! u.u;;;;;) The kanji I used for his last name is "yasha" (the same as Inuyasha's) and "kawa" and it means demon river. Lame I know (especially since "yasha" actually means "forest spirit" ^^;;;;;;; Think anybody'll notice?)
The kanji for his first name is "Inu" (dog) and "ki" which is a reading of the kanji "oni" which means demon. Thus "Inuki" means the exact same thing that Inuyasha does, just with a different kanji. ^-^ (With all the different readings for kanji his name could very well have been read "Inubake" or "Inuoni" Ich how nasty is that!)
As for how our loveable hanyou passed away, it will be revealed later on. Right now the only thing I'm really focusing on are Inuki and Kagome and the development of their relationship. Later when they go to visit Miroku and the others Inuyasha's death will be explained (this isn't just some random Inu-gets-reincarnated ficlet; I have a whole good guy/bad guy/ass-kicking plot for it as well) As well as why Kagome didn't use the Shikon no Tama to bring Inuyasha back to life. (I bet you guys are dying to know that one ^-^V)
Well, I hope that helps a little!! Also, btw, if anyone wants to see Inuki, I finally fnished some art of him, email me or review and I will send you some (just be sure to send email addresses) Or you can just use your imagination: he looks just like Inuyasha does on the new moon, except his hair is in a braid and he wears jeans and a t-shirt. Very simple ^-^
And lastly, a message to my recent flamer, "Alitha the Inu spelling correcter." First, you misspelled "correcter;" it's CORRECTOR. Use spell check. It's a useful little luxury, I promise. Two, if you knew ANYTHING about Japanese you would know that the language has no set-in-stone boundaries on their spelling of anything (and by anything I mean the connectors like the "tsu" in Tetsusaiga, the "o"/"ou" debate and so on), unless you deliberately go out of your way to spell Kikyou "Kikuu" and so on. Two and a half, KIKYOU is the spelling in the original manga, written in furigana next to the kanji. Check it out sometime. Three, you can vent all the "fustration" you want but you can't get over the fact you can't spell okay?
The next time you decide to flame someone do your homework first.
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
~Tessen