Broken Glass
Chapter Four

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"I think Inuyasha should come over to dinner," Mrs. Higurashi announced unexpectedly the next morning at breakfast. Kagome nearly choked on the piece of rubbery egg halfway down her throat and fisted her hand before pounding her chest in an attempt to start breathing again. Souta observed her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" Kagome peeped out, her blue eyes wide as she stared at her mother in surprise.

Mrs. Higurashi seemed unfazed by her daughter's shocked expression and continued. "Well, if he's ushering my daughter around like a chauffer, don't you think I have a right to get to know him?"

"Absolutely correct mom," Souta said with a grin and jabbed an elbow into Kagome's side. "What a splendid idea."

"Stop brownnosing, Souta," Kagome grumbled as she propped an elbow up onto the counter and leaned against it as she ate her yellow eggs grumpily.

"We'll invite him when he comes to pick you up, okay?" Mrs. Higurashi gushed and began cleaning dishes.

"Doesn't anyone care what I think anymore?" Kagome asked herself with a frown.

"No." Souta grinned playfully and ignored the poke his sister tried to deliver to his side.

Several minutes later a knock sounded through the apartment, signaling that Inuyasha had indeed arrived just as he always did. Souta was closest to the door and was thrilled to open it for his newly determined idol when he came to pick up his older sister. He grinned triumphantly as he opened the door and revealed Inuyasha in an outfit similar to what he'd always wear. He tipped his hat to Souta and slipped into the apartment.

"Hey, Souta, is Kagome ready?" Inuyasha asked politely.

"M'yep, let me go get her," Souta said eagerly, darting away to go and collect his sister so that his idol could be on his merry way.

Kagome finished putting away the dried dishes her mother handed to her just as her younger brother appeared and pointed rapidly towards the doorway. "Inuyasha's here! Inuyasha's here!"

"So I heard," Kagome mumbled softly before tucking a black lock of hair behind her ear. Turning on her heel, she walked towards the foyer where Inuyasha stood and pulled on her shoes and her winter jacket. "Morning," she said quietly.

"Good morning, Sunshine," Inuyasha said cheerfully, smiling brightly at her and opening the door to her. Kagome called a goodbye to her family before leaving with Inuyasha to her school.

"How are you today, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked pleasantly, trying to engage in a simple conversation as they made their way up the hill that would eventually lead to their school's parking lot.

"Okay," Kagome said meekly and struggled to keep up with his pace. Despite her winter jacket, she was rather cold and eyed Inuyasha's hat enviously. He was always wearing a hat; she noted to herself dully and blinked oceanic eyes. Inuyasha must have felt her gaze on him because he tilted his head and looked down at her. With a small yip of embarrassment Kagome straightened her gaze and they continued on. "How are you?" Kagome seemed to remember her manors.

"Peachy keen," he declared proudly and Kagome couldn't help a small giggle to escape her lips as she watched the sidewalk below her feet.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered out, clenching her eyes shut tightly. Her mother had oh-so-conveniently forgotten to invite the boy when he was in her apartment and, knowing that her mother would be disappointed if she didn't invite him, knew that the burden was on her. Gulping down an apprehensive lump that had lodged itself in her throat like her eggs had at breakfast, Kagome braved the idea of rejection for the first time since middle school. "Do you… what are you doing tonight?"

Inuyasha eyed her and shrugged. "Escorting you to and from work?" he asked, confused, taking the question in a way that suggested that he expected there to be only one right answer instead of an inquiry of his own personal answers.

"I'm not working today," Kagome said quietly and looked up at him before breaking her gaze and watching cars zoom by at their left.

"Um… then absolutely nothing," he declared. "Granted I don't have homework."

"Do you want to come over to my house for dinner?" Kagome rushed out in one breath. She said it so quickly that it sounded like one big, long word from a different language. It was almost incoherent enough that Inuyasha had to stop for a moment and process what the girl had said. Realizing that she had indeed spoken English he smiled brightly.

"I'd love to," he said with a nod. "Thanks."

Kagome timidly nodded her head, the apprehension of the possibility of rejection slipping away for the time being.

The Thursday morning was particularly cold and Kagome felt another shiver pierce her body briefly as she sneezed. She hadn't realized it was going to be this cold and in her attempts to maintain some of her body heat, Kagome huddled into a small, hunched over figure, ignoring the screams of protest coming from her back. Inuyasha glanced at her again and his eyes softened sympathetically at the girl's obvious discomfort.

Stopping abruptly, and causing Kagome to stagger in her steps to halt as well, Inuyasha placed his backpack on the ground and began fishing around inside for something Kagome couldn't see. Raising a curious eyebrow, Kagome peeked over his shoulder as he found what he was looking for. Standing back up and shouldering his knapsack, he held out a scarf and gloves to her.

"The gloves are fingerless," he said apologetically; the smile on his face could have melted anyone's heart. "But it will still keep you a little warm. The scarf, too."

Kagome reached out cold fingers and wrapped them around the two articles of outerwear. The smile on her face was thanks enough for the boy, however. Over the past three days he hadn't seen her smile a real smile once. He was delighted to see that he could at least make his charge for the next two weeks smile.

"Thank you," she said weakly and ducked her head as she pulled the gloves over her fingers. After the scarf was securely wrapped around her small neck they began their trek over towards the giant hill and eventually to their school.

The whole way Kagome flushed pleasantly against the bitter winds that slapped against their faces like a thousand hands; but despite that, she felt good. The demonstration of Inuyasha's kindness had soothed her worried heart. No boy who was tricking her would be so kind to her, no matter how much they had to act. Inuyasha was genuine.

As they reached the school, Sango and Shippou were downstairs to meet her. Being the first time she'd seen Shippou that semester, Kagome rushed forward and gave him a big hug. "Shippou," she greeted with a smile. "It's good to see you."

They talked in idle chitchat before Kagome actually started to really talk to her little sophomore friend.

Inuyasha stood awkwardly for a moment before jabbing a thumb behind him. "I'll be right back…" he murmured, feeling like a voyeur. He turned on his heel and walked briskly away. Once he turned the corner, his pace slowed and he began to dawdle, his eyes roaming along the walls, reading the advertisements the student ASB had put up. He let out a sigh. Even if he was helping Kagome get around and see what was on the board it was clear that he was not a part of her world.

---

Sango waited until she was positive that Inuyasha was out of hearing range before whirling on Kagome. "He's being nice to you, right?" she demanded and Shippou peeked over Sango's shoulders to see Kagome's reaction.

Kagome nodded her head. "He's really nice," she admitted with a gentle smile, feeling content for the moment in her assurance that Inuyasha was doing all of this out of the goodness of his heart and not for ulterior motives.

Sango pursed her lips and observed her best friend's reaction. She knew that Kagome was a shy and awkward girl and rarely shared her feelings, and when she did it was only with close friends or family. She also knew that Kagome was not one to flaunt after a boy who was bad at heart. For the most part, she didn't trust Inuyasha simply due to the rumors that followed him like a silent shadow and because she was naturally protective of her sweet, shy friend. But there was also something about Inuyasha. She was certain that Kagome had felt it too, but there was something about Inuyasha that rubbed her the wrong way. And though his motives were honorable, there was something deep within him that was sinister.

And she was determined to find out; for her friend's sake.

"Do you like him?" Shippou peeped out after observing Kagome's dazed expression as Sango spoke to her about Inuyasha.

Kagome's face melted into a deep frown and her cheeks burst with the familiar red color that often accompanied her facial expressions. "What?" she squeaked out, shock radiating off her body like waves from an ocean. Shippou recoiled a bit by Kagome's distressed look. "Of course not! I barely know anything about him! I've only known him for three days, after all…" She frowned and looked away, blue eyes straying to her penny loafers. The last time Kagome had had a crush on someone had been the worst days of her life…

Sango frowned again and gave Shippou a disapproving look and a quick elbow to the stomach. "So, if he were to, say, ask you out… you'd say no?"

Kagome nodded her head quickly. She clenched her eyes shut and muttered out a quick, "Who would ask me out?"

Sango sighed, aggravated by Kagome's lack of self-esteem. Every time the girl muttered her own insecurities, which majority of the time were imaginary, she had the unquenchable urge to strangle her best friend silly until her avid babbling grew into something that actually made sense. The girl was impossible.

"Any guy would be lucky to have you," Sango sighed half-heartedly. She'd had this discussion with Kagome so many times before that it was growing repetitive and stupid. The only reason she bothered telling Kagome something she didn't even listen to was to assure the girl that she still thought like that and had yet to agree with the lack of confidence.

"Don't try and make me feel better," Kagome muttered to her lap as she frowned deeply at Sango's fruitless efforts to assure the insecure girl of her beauty and admirable state of character.

Shippou and Sango breathed with sighs of disappointment in the girl's lack of sense of worth. "It's hopeless," Shippou muttered before getting another elbow in the stomach from Sango.

"Kagome," Sango sighed and rubbed the growing headache from her temples. She glanced at her watch and let out another sigh. "Want to go get breakfast? We have a few more minutes and I could really go for a bagel." Kagome meekly nodded her head and, followed by Shippou, the three friends moved to the cafeteria to purchase the said food.

---

Inuyasha didn't come to Spanish class after the bell rang, after the pledge of allegiance, after the morning announcements, or when Mr. Kyo was taking attendance. No, it was halfway through the lesson that Inuyasha appeared, the same cheerful smile on his face and his hands readjusting the wristband on his right hand.

"Inuyasha, is there a reason you're late?" Mr. Kyo barked out in Spanish. Inuyasha flashed him a toothy smile.

"Uh… late bus?" he asked curiously; his dark eyebrows rose up so they were hidden under his hairline. Mr. Kyo gave him a dry look.

"I don't think so, Inuyasha. Why don't you go report yourself to the office and tell them you aren't absent?" Inuyasha let out a sigh, trudged to his chair and dropped off his backpack before hopping over an empty desk and leaving the room. After Inuyasha had made his exit, Mr. Kyo returned to the lesson.

Kagome stared lazily out the window, her fingers fiddling with the red and orange scarf that she'd forgotten to return to Inuyasha, simply because he wasn't really around to receive the return. Her blue eyes flickered to Mr. Kyo's lean face as he explained the history of Spain (as was the curriculum for the third year of Spanish), and explaining that the book they were going to have to read would need a permission slip because of its inappropriateness in some places.

Letting out a small breath of air again, Kagome returned to daydreaming lazily about things that only she cared about.

About fifteen minutes later Inuyasha returned with a late slip from the office he was supposed to present to Mr. Kyo. Smiling cheekily, he delivered the slip of paper to Mr. Kyo as he looked down at it.

"Why does this say excused?" He asked tensely as he glanced at Inuyasha.

"My Bubbie called and said that I had issues with transportation and that I should be excused. So they did." He shrugged nonchalantly and chuckled at the angered expression that played across Mr. Kyo's face.

Letting out a tense, stressful sigh, Mr. Kyo waved a hand. "Fine, fine, take your seat and leave me be."

"Will do, sir," Inuyasha chirped delightfully and walked to his seat, silkily sitting down and smiling charmingly at Kagome who ducked her head and sheepishly handed him his scarf.

---

Jenny slammed a stamp down on her homework packet signaling that she'd completed the necessary assignment. Smiling cheerfully at Kagome, she handed her back the homework she'd been looking over and moved on. Kagome let out a small breath of air and fiddled with her red correction pen, tapping the ballpoint tip against her worksheet she'd been working on. Letting out another tired sigh she stared lazily up at the board as their substitute tried to explain a problem on the homework the students didn't understand. Her eyes darted towards Inuyasha before returning to the front.

Jenny moved to Inuyasha's paper and glanced it over. Unlike Kagome's, his was wrinkly and bent at the angles with sloppy handwriting that was barely legible.

"I don't think you've completed this," Jenny said with a frown as she flipped the paper over to see if there was any work on the backside. There wasn't. She clucked her tongue and placed the paper down on his desk with her flat palm. "I'm only going to give you half credit."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Inuyasha asked with a cheerful grin. Though this time the smile seemed rather creepy looking. Jenny raised an eyebrow and her lips thinned out into a small horizontal line. She clucked her tongue again and stamped his homework packet in the 'half credit' section and moved on. Inuyasha frowned and shrugged. "It was worth a try."

Kagome ignored him and began working on her next homework assignment, ignoring the teacher's lecture about how all of them should already know what the quadratic formula was.

After about fifteen minutes of working, Kagome heard the teacher trying to call the students attention and Kagome glanced up to see what she wanted. "Okay class," their substitute said with a clap of her hands. "We're going to play a little game." Whoops of excitement erupted from some of the more rowdy of students. The teacher frowned and cleared her throat. "We're going to divide up into teams and do relays and pass these two balls." she held up two Nerf balls, one purple and one golden. "And whoever can complete the task the fastest gets to answer the math question. Whoever gets the most points wins."

More whoops of anticipation.

"Now then, we need to team leaders. Who wants to be a leader?" Several kids raised their hands and the teacher was thrilled to see that she had successfully stimulated the class into life. It was easier than teaching. She pointed out two kids at random and they ran to the front. Both were boys… boys who were jerks.

Kagome let out a sigh and leaned over to Inuyasha whispering, "Do we have to play?"

"Why don't you ask?" Inuyasha whispered back after shrugging one shoulder. Kagome quickly shook her head.

"No way," she straightened herself and stared feebly at her homework.

"Choose who you want on your team first, Hiten." The boy, with black hair and dark red eyes smirked. He was one of Naraku's friends and had been with Naraku when he'd insulted Kagome's choice of dress wear.

The boy thought for a moment before calling on his friend, Brian. Then the other team's leader, John, called on one of his friends. It went from there.

Inuyasha leaned back in his seat, propped up his feet onto his desk and sighed. "This is stupid," he spoke Kagome's mind perfectly and she nodded in agreement. She hated these kinds of games, especially with these people in her class. Inuyasha was the only person she could remotely stand.

"Inuyasha." The said boy jolted and realized he'd been chosen, reluctantly, by John. Shrugging his shoulders, he stood up and strolled to the long line that had been formed down one of the aisles.

Hiten frowned and looked around the room before his gaze landed on Kagome. She was the only one left, she realized with a furrow of her brow.

Hiten, still scowling continued to look around the room before he declared, "Jenny."

The T.A. looked up with a withered expression and did another one of those clucks using her tongue and shook her head. "I'm correcting your tests, so I cannot play this game." She seemed inclined to play but instead returned to the grading she was burdened to do. The substitute sat at a chair and clapped her hands, causing the attention to morph to her.

"You." She pointed at Kagome who squeaked in surprise, her face heating up. "Over there." She pointed at Hiten.

Hiten and the majority of the team groaned. "Oh no, not Kagome! She's horrible at these games. Come on, let's use Jenny; she's an athlete."

"Tests," Jenny reminded and ignored them, though she sent a worried glance towards Kagome as she dejectedly stood up. She moved slowly to the line, ignoring the amounts of groans and complaints that seemed to grow louder as she approached. Flushed with shame, Kagome stood at the end of the line with her head bowed and struggling to keep the shameful tears in.

The game only went worse from there. Her teammates found it extremely enjoyable to criticize everything that she did, which didn't do too well when she was trying to hold in the tears that were threatening to stream down her cheeks. She tried to do the stupid tasks with the ball like weave it between her legs twice before holding it up to declare they won, but she kept fumbling and dropping the ball causing her to have to start over. To make matters worse, she could feel their scrutinizing eyes on her like fire and felt more shame wash over her.

They were losing. They were losing horribly and the only reason that they weren't losing completely was when Inuyasha's team got an answer wrong and her team got a chance to answer the question. That's where she found her relevance, saying the answers to the nice girl next to her (who wasn't glaring) where she'd be responsible for saying the answer. Though everyone thought that the girl next to Kagome was giving the answers and not the timid little girl herself, she still found herself feeling a small bit of worth in the long line of assholes.

"Kagome, stop being so damn slow; we could be winning," Hiten snapped.

"Hey," Inuyasha called from his side of the room, his dark eyebrows slanted downwards and his golden eyes flaming dangerously. "Leave her the fuck alone."

The teacher snapped at both of them for swearing and for making fun of Kagome. But the students ignored them.

"What are you going to do about it, Inuyasha?" Hiten sneered with a snarl. A knowing look crossed his face and he smirked deviously. "Back in middle school you'd-"

"I said," Inuyasha snapped, cutting Hiten off before he could finish his sentence. "Leave her alone."

"Ch'," Hiten snorted with an upturn of his nose. "It's not like Kagome cares. She rarely shows any emotion other than embarrassment." Kagome's cheeks flushed with humiliation as the truth of his words hit her. The shameful tears returned again and she stared at her feet, biting her lip and willing it to go away.

Feeling her breath coming out shorter than it should, Kagome turned on her heel, covered her face with her hands and rushed out the door of her portable and down the ramp, not caring if she slipped on the ice. She just wanted to get out of there.

Inuyasha made to go after her but the substitute stood upright. "Don't even think about it, young man," she snapped distastefully and Inuyasha paused in his step to glare at her. "What's that girl's name? I'm writing it down and reporting her to the office."

Inuyasha ignored her and continued to make a move to leave the room. "Young man," the substitute snapped. "Leave that room and I'll be writing you up."

"Like I care," he snapped and reached for the door handle, glaring at anyone who got near him.

The sub's lips twitched and she didn't look happy. "I'll call your parents." That got the boy. He tensed, his hand still poised in the air. He looked at her again with angry golden eyes. For the math class it had been the first time they'd really seen him angry, and he was barely containing that rage. His fingers twisted the material of his wristbands, stretching the elastic as he took in a shaky breath.

He didn't want the school to call his grandmother. She'd be so disappointed in him.

Turning another glance at the door, his eyes saddening slightly he glanced at the sub. "Can I go to the bathroom?"

"No; do you think I'm stupid?" the temporary teacher looked as frustrated as Inuyasha was.

Inuyasha let out a sigh and concealed all his anger. Pushing it into a little ball and holding it deep inside him allowed a headache to make its way into his temple; but he allowed a cheerful smile on his face. "Whatever you say, ma'am." He hated to do it, but he couldn't disappoint his grandmother. He didn't care if he was a momma's boy (or in this case grandma's boy)… he had to protect his bubbie from the pain he caused her. He cast one more regretful look towards the door and let out a sigh. The anger confided within him bubbled and broiled but he refused to release it again. He had to remain calm. If he didn't, he'd have to go back…

"I'll go get Kagome," Jenny volunteered, bored of correcting tests and wanting to go comfort the girl if she could, since her boyfriend wasn't allowed to. She glanced at the girl's boyfriend, Inuyasha (she assumed them to be going out) and saw a look of gratitude flash over his otherwise blank eyes. He was concealing himself. She'd seen it before.

"Fine." The sub seemed fed up and waved Jenny away before she addressed the students and started chastising them for being rude to Kagome in the first place.

---

Jenny found Kagome on a bench down near the end of the parking lot, her knees pulled to her chest and her head hidden behind her legs and arms. It was obvious the girl was crying and she tensed when Jenny's feet knocked some stray gravel onto the pavement. She glanced up, half expecting Inuyasha to be there before lowering her gaze and trying feebly to wipe away her tears.

"There you are," Jenny said as her greeting as she sat down next to Kagome. Kagome turned her face away, ashamed and tried to pull her sobs together. She hated crying… especially when she was at school. "Are you okay, Kagome?" Jenny asked softly as she gently touched Kagome's shoulder.

"I'm fine," Kagome murmured out, her voice wavy. She lifted her gaze and gave Jenny a watery smile, her blue eyes pooling with unshed tears. Her cheeks were blotchy red and she lowered her gaze. "It all just hit too close to home."

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked, her hazel eyes watching the teenager.

"It's nothing, never mind," Kagome said gently and shook her head again.

Jenny wasn't convinced, but didn't press the issue. Letting out a sigh she turned her gaze towards the sky. "I'm sorry about what happened in there. No teenagers should do that. They should have more sense than that."

"I know," Kagome said faintly and smiled without mirth. "But they do anyway."

"Kagome, I'm very sorry about all that."

"It's not your fault."

"Someone should have stopped them."

"Inuyasha tried."

"Inuyasha's one guy."

Kagome didn't have a retort to that and stared at her feet as she moved her knees back to a proper sitting position and the penny loafers she wore kicked at the pebbles and dirt on the ground. She didn't meet Jenny's gaze.

"What I mean to say is, the teacher and I should have stopped it. We just didn't hear until near the end." Jenny let out a sympathetic sigh. "Do you want to go back now?"

"No."

"Would you like to go see the counselor, then? She should be in her office by now," Jenny suggested softly, trying to comfort the girl.

"I think I'd like to go home…" Kagome said softly, as if afraid Jenny would deny her. Jenny smiled and nodded her head.

"I'll bring you to the office."

---

The knock outside the door signaled that school was indeed over and Inuyasha had made his way to her home. Kagome knew that the moment she didn't step out of her third period he'd be even more worried. She also had a feeling he'd feel worse after she didn't appear at lunch or block or at the end of the day.

She opened the door slowly, as if half expecting him to snap out at her for running away from class. But instead she found a small bouquet of flowers thrust into her hands and Inuyasha looking down at her with concerned golden eyes. "I'm so sorry!" was the first thing that left his lips. As sweet as Inuyasha was, she knew that he had no reason to apologize. He seemed slightly bothered when she told him so. "But… you ran away… and you went home…"

He looked dejected and Kagome stepped aside to let him in. Slipping off his shoes he continued to explain. "I mean… you just seemed so crushed… and I couldn't help you. I tried to go after you, but our sub wouldn't let me!"

"It's okay," Kagome said, touched by his concern. "Jenny found me."

"I'm still sorry," he said sheepishly, sounding meek for the first time.

Kagome marveled instead at the bouquet he'd given her. They were gorgeous. Bright pink and white tiger lilies, some blooming some not, stared up at her. Their white petals dotted by light and dark pink spots darkening as it neared the center. Kagome stared. "You… didn't have to get these…"

"I know," he said gently, smiling. "But I wanted to."

Mrs. Higurashi must have heard Inuyasha's voice because she turned the corner and smiled. "Inuyasha, you're early."

"Yes'm," Inuyasha beamed. "I wanted to check in on Kagome and make sure everything was okay. She had me worried when she didn't come back to class…"

"Isn't that sweet of you. Well, dinner's not for a few hours so make yourself at home," Mrs. Higurashi bubbled before darting back into her room to work on her taxes.

"I also brought your homework and work you missed in class today," Inuyasha offered with a tender smile as he showed her a folder she hadn't seen him holding earlier. She opened it to reveal a worksheet about a discussion in class they'd had. "I can help you with the discussion. You didn't miss too much."

So, they spent about two hours working on homework and studying for a large exam that was coming up. Inuyasha revealed that he was terrible at history but was his favorite subject nonetheless. "I love to think about what my life would be like if I'd lived back then," he'd explained with a toothy smile. Kagome smiled as well. She had thoughts similar to him. Soon they fell into their other similarities. Kagome was shocked at how similar the two were.

Though certainly Inuyasha's taste in music was an acquired taste that she didn't much care for and he didn't take too well to the classic rock she loved to listen to, they found that they liked almost the same things. Soon it became a game to see who could think of a question that the other didn't have the same answer to.

"What's your favorite genre of book?" Inuyasha asked with a grin.

Kagome's face reddened. She'd never felt so at ease with a guy before. True, she still was a little tense around him, but a lot more relaxed than she'd ever been with someone outside of her family. She liked Inuyasha. She was glad he was here.

"Fantasies and Adventures."

"Really? Why?" Inuyasha asked, genuinely curious. One of his eyebrows disappeared under his long, silver bangs.

"Well, yeah. Fantasies because I love to think that mythical creatures exist… and that… happy endings always happen… if you wish hard enough." She knew she sounded lame, but that's what she believed. "And adventures because… I know that I'll never be brave enough to go on one myself."

Why had she just told him that? She'd never told anyone that. And now that she had, she felt foolish.

Inuyasha was silent for a long moment, his fingers pressed to his lips and he appeared to be in deep thought. "Happy endings can happen in real life, too."

"Only if you're optimistic," Kagome muttered.

"And you're not?"

Kagome stared at him quickly, surprised he'd heard. She shook her head slowly. "I'm pessimistic, I suppose."

"Well, Kagome, it's like what my bubbie always says… apart from her random Yiddish screeches, she also likes to tell me that 'life's too important to be taken seriously.'"

Kagome blinked in surprise before she found a giggle ripple out of her. Inuyasha beamed; he'd made Kagome laugh. "That's a quite the paradox…"

"My bubbie's senile though, so whatever." Inuyasha shrugged and laughed.

Kagome decided a change of subject was in order. "What's your favorite type of book?"

"Comics," he declared.

"You know what I meant." She felt so carefree all of a sudden. She could speak her mind… but only to Inuyasha. He'd proven that he listened… and it made her feel secure.

He laughed and Kagome flushed with pride at being able to make him laugh.

"You're right… but really I'll read anything… I'm actually a TV junkie, I'll admit." He seemed rather thrilled with sharing this information with her and she idly wondered if she was the first one he was telling this too. "Do you watch the Simpsons?" he asked eagerly, cutting off her thoughts with a question. His eyes were glittering like a child's did when he realized it was his birthday.

Kagome smiled faintly. "Sometimes."

"Homer's my idle," Inuyasha declared happily, his voice laced with an almost youthful glee.

Kagome giggled, entertained by the boy's declaration of idolization. "I like Maggie."

"She's adorable," Inuyasha agreed and continued to smile at her. Kagome returned her smile meekly before standing up and muttering a quick apology. She came into the kitchen to see her mother had started making dinner.

"Do you need help, Mama?" Kagome asked as she eyed the food her mother was preparing. Mrs. Higurashi smiled and nodded her head, handing her daughter a chopping board and a knife.

"Can you make the salad, dear?" The mother questioned as she delicately diced some tofu. "I'm making our dinner now. I hope Inuyasha's not allergic."

"I can go check," Kagome offered and at Mrs. Higurashi's nod she darted from the room and went out in search of Inuyasha. She found him in Souta's room, playing video games with the boy. She watched them for a brief moment, surprised that they'd already connected. But Souta really seemed to like Inuyasha and she was glad. The two boys continued to battle one another on the video game before Inuyasha came out the victory. She gently knocked on the doorframe to get their attention.

Inuyasha tilted his head back so that he was looking at her upside down. He grinned. "Hi!" he beamed. His voice was purposefully high-pitched and he sounded like Souta. Kagome wondered briefly what he'd be like on a sugar high if he acted like this without any caffeine or sugar in his system.

"My mom wants to know if you're allergic to anything," Kagome said softly without preamble.

Inuyasha blinked his eyes. "Why, is she going to poison me?"

Souta laughed and answered before Kagome could. "No, silly, it's so mom won't kill you."

"Oh, well in that case, I'm allergic to chocolate," Inuyasha declared. Kagome and Souta watched him in stunned silence. "What?"

"How can you live without chocolate?" Souta proclaimed with wide, uncomprehending eyes. The mere thought of not being able to have chocolate was astounding.

Inuyasha blinked. "Uh… it's not that bad. The last time I had chocolate my throat swelled shut and I almost suffocated myself to death." He said it so nonchalantly the two siblings were unsure whether or not to take him seriously. "Chocolate tastes bitter and disgusting to me, anyway, and even without the suffocating thing it's pretty bad. Swollen face, red rashes everywhere," he counted the symptoms on his fingers, pushing each finger on his hand down with his index finger whenever he rattled off a new disgusting exploit his allergies had give him. "Oh, and one time I got hives…"

Kagome squeaked in disgust, imagining the pain an agony the poor chocolate-hating boy had to endure, and shivered. "I'll… just go tell mom not to give you any chocolate," she said softly and dismissed herself before he could tell her more horror stories.

When Kagome had left the room, Souta turned a curious gaze towards his new idol. "So you don't miss chocolate?"

"Not in the least."

---

When dinner was ready, the occupants of the house flocked to the dinner table. For the first time since he'd visited Kagome's apartment, Inuyasha got to meet her grandfather. He slept through the morning and therefore had not had an opportunity to meet him. He'd just gotten home from his trip to bingo night at the community center.

"Who's this?" the old man barked as he observed the tall, scrawny boy before him.

Inuyasha observed the rather plump, short man before him before grinning awkwardly, bending at the knees and offering his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir, I'm Inuyasha Cohen. I'm Kagome's friend from school."

Grandpa Higurashi eyed the boy and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Who name's their child Inuyasha?" he asked with a frown.

Inuyasha drew back his hand awkwardly and instead moved it to scratch the back of his head. He laughed uncomfortably and for a brief moment his laugh lacked any mirth. He shook his head.

"Gramps," Kagome scolded gently as she cast an apologetic look quickly at Inuyasha. "You shouldn't be rude to Inuyasha."

"But really who would name their child Inuyasha?" her grandfather hissed to Kagome.

"It's poetic justice at its finest, I suppose," Inuyasha cut in. The two family members were surprised the boy had heard them. Kagome blushed hotly in embarrassment and the old grandfather simply glared at the boy. "My parents were… interesting people… I guess."

"Were?" Souta echoed from behind the three people.

Inuyasha smiled and closed his eyes, reliving a blissful memory only he knew. "I don't know who they are, where they are, or what they're doing," he said finally after a pregnant pause. Silence followed his remark and he rocked gently on the balls of his feet and his heels. Back and forth… back and forth… back and forth.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said calmly as she entered the room everyone was chatting in and set food down onto the table.

"I'm not; my Bubbie takes care of me just fine," Inuyasha announced proudly as he plopped down into a seat next to Souta and diagonal to Kagome. At their perplexed looks he took a sip of water and smiled charmingly. "Bubbie is what I call my grandmother. It's a Jewish thing. Grandpas are called Zadies…"

"Do you have a gr-er, a zadie, Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi asked politely as she stood and began serving everyone's foods by plopping them onto their plates.

"He died a long time ago," Inuyasha said gently and poked at his food with his fork before quickly setting it down when no one else made a move to eat. He sighed lightly before getting his head bonked by the old man sitting at his right. He snapped his gaze to the man at the head of the table in confusion to see him frowning. "What?"

"Remove your hat, young man. It's rude," the old grandfather declared.

"Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said gently, cutting off the old man's rants about manners. "Kagome here is a vegetarian so we have a lot of vegetarian alternatives for her. We also have chicken dishes for Souta and Grandpa, since they can't stand tofu."

"It's nasty," Souta tried to defend himself.

"I've never had tofu," Inuyasha said with a raised eyebrow. "Is it good?"

"It's squishy and gross and-"

"It tastes like whatever you cook it in," Mrs. Higurashi gently cut off her son. Souta pouted.

"Sounds interesting, may I try some?" Inuyasha asked as he looked up at the woman towering over him with a giant serving platter and spoon. Mrs. Higurashi nodded enthusiastically and placed a slice of fried tofu coated in some kind of substance on his plate along with his vegetables and rice. "Thank you."

"Remove your hat," The grandfather demanded again. Inuyasha eyed him.

Mrs. Higurashi moved towards Grandpa and began serving his food but Inuyasha seemed hesitant. "Inuyasha, is something wrong?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, concern for the sudden stillness and quiet that resounded of the usual bubbly boy.

"Ma'am…" he said gently and he let out a sigh.

"Do you have lice or something?" Souta ventured to guess and Kagome silently kicked him under the table. Inuyasha gently shook his head.

"It's kind of a… family disorder," He said as gently as he could as he stared at his plate. Once again Kagome was shocked to see him look actually embarrassed and reserved. "It's kind of shocking."

"It can't be as shocking as your whit hair and golden eyes, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi chastised gently. "Honestly, I'm surprised your grandmother didn't gut you when you died your hair that color."

Inuyasha smiled without mirth.

"Remove your hat," the grandfather demanded for the third time. His anger and suspicions towards the young man were growing thin on his patience. He was an old fashioned man and did not want to see hats at the table. 'Or elbows for that matter,' he added with a small glare towards his grandson's direction.

"As you wish," Inuyasha said gently and his hand strayed to the blue beanie he wore on top of his head. His fingers grasped the fabric and pulled it off completely.

Shocks of silver hair tumbled down over his eyes and over the back of his head and he silently bowed his head. Silence filled the apartment, only interrupted by the gentle clack of a serving spoon slipping from Mrs. Higurashi's hand and hitting the floor.

Two dog ears sat atop Inuyasha's head, drooped and twitching gently towards the sound of the giant metal spoon hitting the wooden floor. Kagome stared in surprised awe, Souta in amazed shock, Mrs. Higurashi in dumbfounded silence, and Kagome's grandfather in a silently suppressed rage.

"Demon," the grandfather hissed out.

Inuyasha smirked ruefully- and it was bitterly different from his ordinary, beautiful and bright smile. "I've been called that before… and no, I'm not a demon."

"That certainly is poetic justice," Souta murmured in amazement as he stared at the furry appendages protruding from Inuyasha's skull. They twitched towards the boys' feather-soft voice before drooping yet again.

"Yep," he smiled apologetically again.

"I think they're cute," Kagome ventured to say before she grew flustered and turned her gaze away, her face ducked down and hiding blue eyes underneath a curtain of black hair. Inuyasha watched her in amazement before a small smile, much like his usual gentle one, appeared on his lips.

"Well, let's eat then," Mrs. Higurashi chirped, no longer fazed by the boy's odd features. He was, after all, someone who was helping Kagome and he was a very sweet boy. His dog ears didn't change a thing about him.

---

Author's notes: (dies) finally. Oy! Next chapter we learn more about Inuyasha's past and all that good stuff, since all of you are so eager to know.

Bwhaa, I am officially sixteen today! (Birthday's are fun…) One year ago today I was writing Forgotten Snow…ah, the memories. I think that's when I first got obsessed with angst. Now all you must suffer for it, though the angst is fairly moderate in this story. So you're all in lucky.

Jewish Notes: 'Zadie' is actually pronounced 'Say-dee', for the record. Crazy Jewish spelling and pronunciation.

Fanart:
By krys
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