Chapter Twelve
Quick author's notes: This chapter is dedicated to Lil' Inu-yasha because she reads my mind so perfectly in her reviews (shakes fist) you steal all the excitement from my life, Inu-Kun! (smile)
Inuyasha cringed and opened his eyes when he felt an arm hit his middle. He suppressed a small yelp of pain and kept his eyes shut. A small sigh and snore escaped the occupant's mouth beside him and ruffled his silver hair.
'Where am I?' Inuyasha questioned mentally to himself, cracking open a golden eye and staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above him. He turned his head and stared in shock at the young boy staring at him.
"Uh…" Inuyasha vocalized intelligently. No matter who you were, waking up to someone staring at you was not something you looked forward to. Souta, Kagome's younger brother, grumbled something before his eyes fell closed and he snuggled closer to Inuyasha, greedily hogging his body warmth. Inuyasha paled. "Uh," he said again and tried to wiggle his way out of Souta's hold, but the boy held firm.
Sighing and giving up, Inuyasha stared at the ceiling above his head, recollecting all that had happened the night before. His cheeks reddened the slightest bit and his lips curved into a smile when he remembered Kagome's bashful face after he'd kissed her cheek.
'She's so cute,' he decided to himself. It hadn't been the first time he'd thought that. He laughed quietly to himself.
"Shuddup," Souta grumbled into Inuyasha's chest. Inuyasha cringed as the boy's hold on him tightened painfully around his middle.
'Remember, this is better than Kagome's grandpa… he'd probably have killed me in my sleep. I don't know why I didn't just sleep on the couch. Sheesh.'
A short while later, Souta's alarm blared and the boy flopped out of bed. He turned to look at Inuyasha and yawned, rubbing his brown eyes. "Good morning," he said sleepily as Inuyasha scooted from out of his bed.
"Morning," Inuyasha said with a small wave as he retreated from the room in search of Kagome.
He found the girl in the kitchen preparing their lunches. She was humming lightly and rubbing her eyes, desperately trying to the force the sleep from her. Inuyasha smiled as the girl bustled around the kitchen like a natural chef.
"Good morning, Kagome!" Inuyasha chirped happily and Kagome jumped with a small yelp of surprise. She turned to look at him in shock as he grinned guiltily. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
Kagome struggled to speak, her cheeks flaming red. "Inuyasha… you're not wearing a shirt."
Inuyasha raised an amused eyebrow. Out of all the things to say, Kagome decided to point out a very obvious fact. "Well, yes, so I'm not." Inuyasha glanced down at his bandaged, bare chest. "My shirt was beyond repair last night. Your mom threw it away."
Kagome nodded numbly.
"Do you have an extra shirt I can borrow?" he questioned and Kagome lowered her head.
"I don't know if they'll fit you… and they're girl clothes."
"I wear girl clothes all the time," Inuyasha said with a shrug. He smiled nonchalantly and waved a hand in Kagome's room's general direction. "So, can I borrow one? I don't think I'll be able to fit into your brother's clothes."
Kagome nodded stiffly and set down the jar of peanut butter she'd been holding. Leading the way, she brought Inuyasha into her room. Inuyasha glanced around. It had been the first time he'd come into her room and he took in the sight of it all.
It was small, with yellow paint on the wall. A full sized bed in the corner with a giant pink comforter overlooked a window, closed off by blue curtains. Inuyasha hummed his approval as Kagome moved to her closet and opened it, digging around.
"There are these," she tossed some shirts to him: t-shirts and blouses. Inuyasha observe them all before plucking a lavender button down from the pile and handing the rest to her. Smiling, he slipped into the lilac-colored blouse and buttoned it up.
He observed the shirt before rolling up the sleeves, high enough that it wasn't a bother but low enough to cover his wounds. He beamed proudly. "Hurray! I'm gay!"
Kagome stared at him, blushed brightly and ducked her head, trying to suppress her giggle. Then she sneezed.
"Are you sick?" Inuyasha questioned with a curious look. Kagome shook her head as she sniffled.
"No, I'm fine." Inuyasha didn't look convinced, but she shrugged her shoulders and refused to meet his gaze. "You don't look gay…" she said sheepishly.
Inuyasha beamed proudly and escorted the girl from the room and back to the kitchen, where Kagome fixed their lunches, Mrs. Higurashi made their breakfasts and Inuyasha attempted to help only to be shooed away by the two Higurashi women.
"If I had a choice you wouldn't be going to school, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said calmly as she popped four pieces of bread into the toaster. She sighed and shook her head, ignoring Inuyasha's curious look. "You're still injured and going to school is not wise."
Inuyasha smiled shyly. "I have a chemistry exam today… I can't miss it." Hearing Inuyasha express concern for his schoolwork was oddly entertaining for Kagome. Inuyasha tried hard at school, but it certainly was not one of his top priorities in life. The silver-haired boy, if given the choice, would skip school completely and move on to real life.
Mrs. Higurashi pursed her lips and her eyebrow traced her hairline as it rose up towards her forehead. "Inuyasha," she said calmly. "I'm not naïve. And I'm certainly not stupid. I'm not completely sure what happened to you last night, but right now… I think school is the least of your worries."
Inuyasha didn't have a witty retort to this accusation, simply because the elder woman spoke the truth.
"Are you working today?" Inuyasha questioned on their way to school a short while later. Their backpacks were slung over their shoulders and flopped against their back -as they were designed to do- and thumped as they moved down the sidewalks. Inuyasha's golden eyes glanced down at the shorter girl he walked beside, occasionally navigating around objects she hadn't detected.
Kagome shook her head. "No. I am tomorrow, though. Today's been a light week. They have all these volunteers coming in for community service." Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "It's an assignment that the freshmen have to do: ten or so hours of community service."
Inuyasha nodded his head. "Thank God I never had to do that…"
Kagome shrugged her shoulders. "It wasn't too bad. I did my community service in the library and ended up working there." Inuyasha processed this information before slowly raising one shoulder and dropping it.
"Whatever you say," he said, an atypical response for the boy. Usually he was enthusiastic. Obviously he was still sluggish and slow from his ordeals the previous night.
Kagome looked at him silently, eyes soft as she observed him for any unusual movements signaling discomfort. Inuyasha either didn't notice or chose to ignore her. But had he tried to meet her gaze the girl would have become flustered anyway.
They approached school and Inuyasha fiddled with the collar of the lavender shirt he now wore. The shirt was a little small for him and clung to him like a second skin. He fiddled with the buttons and pulled at the sleeves, as they stopped short of his wrists.
Kagome noticed his fidgeting. "Is it too small?" she questioned, an apologetic tone in her voice.
Inuyasha smiled shyly. "It will be fine for the day. Thanks for lending it to me."
Kagome nodded her head and crossed the street with Inuyasha by her side. He, once again, jumped from white line to white line and even managed to get Kagome to join in on the last half of it- after she was sure no one was around to make fun of her.
His hand touched hers and grasped it as he hopped across the crosswalk, dragging the girl along with him. His lips curved into a delighted smile when she responded in kind, her feet jumping along with his. He laughed and looked down at her, but the girl refused to meet his eyes. Though, he could make out her delighted smile, almost identical to the one on his face.
"Make your wish," he declared as their feet touched down on sidewalk instead of asphalt. Kagome nodded her head meekly and clenched her eyes shut, as if that would better assist in her wishful thinking. It was rather comical looking, and Inuyasha suppressed a tender smile.
"Make one?" he questioned when the girl's sky blue eyes reopened and looked up at him shyly. She nodded her head and began walking. "Me, too," Inuyasha declared, leading the way to school and not letting go of her hand. She didn't protest.
They walked together in silence, the serenity between the two teenagers only interrupted when a breeze blew and threatened to whoosh up Kagome's pleated skirt.
They approached the school and Inuyasha's hand left Kagome's. Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. The comforting gesture had been so reassuring that it had practically gone unnoticed by her. Only when his large hand was released from her petite one did she realize that they had, indeed, been connected on their way to school.
Her cheeks turned pink but a smile graced her lips. Her hand tingled from the contact and was thankful that Inuyasha had spared her embarrassment and more rumors for the rumor mill.
Inuyasha clapped his hands together when they approached their Spanish classroom. Kagome peeked over his shoulder to see Sango sitting there. The two were aware of Sango's dislike for the boy, but Inuyasha didn't seem to mind. "Oh my god, it's Sango!" He acted surprised to see her and frolicked towards her. Kagome felt the color pale from her face as she stared after the silver haired boy.
Sango looked up from the book she was reading and gave him an odd glance before spotting Kagome and sighing.
"Good morning, Inuyasha," she said calmly, forcing a smile on her lips. The girl wasn't fond of Inuyasha, but for Kagome she'd make an effort to be nice to him. Who knows, perhaps her dark suspicions towards the guy were false. But, she couldn't wipe away the facts she knew.
Shaking her head to herself, she stuffed her romance novel into her book bag and watched as Inuyasha sat slowly on the bench, mindful of his wounds. Sango, of course, was unaware of his injuries and observed him curiously.
He grinned at her and tipped his hat. "And a good morning to you, too."
Kagome finally reached them, since Inuyasha had taken it upon himself to dash to Sango, and squeezed in between her two friends.
Halfway through Spanish, where the students were working on their presentations for the class, a messenger came with a slip of paper. Messengers often came in and out of classes, delivering notices to teachers or students, delivering the school newspaper, newsletters and other such malarkey that rarely anyone truly cared about.
Mr. Kyo scanned the paper before walking to Inuyasha and placing it on his desk and moving on without so much as a sideways glance. Inuyasha's eyebrows rose and disappeared under his hairline as he slipped open the white half-sheet of paper and read over it.
He sighed deeply, folded the paper, stood and walked to Mr. Kyo. Kagome watched him curiously as the teacher and student conversed. Mr. Kyo nodded his head and waved his hand in a dismissing manner. Inuyasha returned to her and smiled. "I'll be right back, okay?"
She nodded her head and watched as he left.
She sat alone in her classroom, working on her half of the presentation she'd have to say in front of the class -something she was dreading beyond all belief- and fixed some grammatical errors on Inuyasha's script.
'He has nice handwriting,' She mused to herself as she observed the beautiful penmanship that covered the piece of lined paper. 'Kind of like a girl's.' She giggled to herself and shook her head.
After she'd fixed his errors, she leaned back in her chair and read over hers, muttering it softly to herself and trying to get the dreadful realization of speaking in front of her classmates out of her head. She despised speaking in presentations, but there was no way around it. She needed to get good grades, of course, so she often sacrificed her embarrassment for school.
She sighed. She always started to sweat and shake violently when she stood in front of the class or did some kind of presentation. 'Which is probably why I got a bad grade in Theater Arts,' Kagome thought dryly as she recalled the year-long class she'd taken in freshman year.
A short while later, Inuyasha returned and plopped down into the chair next to her. He sighed lightly and rubbed his temples on the side of his head. Golden eyes stared at the desk and he muttered something to himself.
He turned to look at her and plucked his script off her desk slowly. His gorgeous amber orbs looked at her and he offered a small shrug of his shoulder. "I've got detention," he said casually, answering the question in her eyes.
Blue eyes widened curiously. "Why?" she squeaked out.
Inuyasha sighed. "Because I beat up those guys on Monday," he said with a small growl of annoyance. His hand fisted. "They told the administrator that I'd beaten up on them."
He looked away and Kagome was in shock. "Just detention? Why weren't you suspended?"
Inuyasha tensed, his shoulders going rigid, and he growled out, "I got a warning since this is my first year…"
Kagome knew there was more to the story, but it appeared that Inuyasha didn't want to talk about it, so she let it go. "Um," she murmured out and decided to change the subject. "Have you memorized it? We have to present tomorrow."
Inuyasha sighed and was thankful for the subject change. "Yeah, pretty much. I'm a little uneasy with this last part. How do you pronounce this word?"
When math rolled around, students were scattered throughout the classroom, sitting with their friends, slacking off, and not bothering to do their homework. Ms. Shim was unable to keep order, being an undisciplined teacher, and no one listened when she tried to call attention. Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"She was showing such potential last time I changed seats," Inuyasha said to himself as he sat down next to Kagome. He shrugged his shoulders. "Her loss; she's lost control over the class."
Kagome nodded her head weakly and sniffled. Her nose was getting runny; she'd probably caught the cold running around her school. They sat in silence, Kagome working on her homework and Inuyasha having issues with the trigonometry homework. Their class was doing a review on it since Ms. Shim had come to the startling realization that her juniors (and some overachieving freshmen and sophomores) did not know how to do basic trigonometry.
Inuyasha stared at his page blankly. "Kagome," he murmured, drawing the girl's attention. "Is number two supposed to be cosine or sine?"
Kagome glanced at her completed work, searching for the requested homework number. "Cosine," she murmured and pointed at the three sides of the triangle. "Cosine is the adjacent leg over hypotenuse. Sine is opposite leg over hypotenuse."
Inuyasha nodded his head and sighed. "I'm glad Ms. Shim lets us use notes during the test, or I'd be very screwed."
Kagome smiled at his crude language and went back to her work.
"It's true," Inuyasha protested, mistaking her amusement for skepticism. Kagome smiled reassuringly and laughed quietly.
"I know."
"You're not supposed to agree so willingly, Kagome," Inuyasha said dryly and Kagome's face flamed.
"Oh! I-I'm sorry," Kagome began but was cut off by a wave of Inuyasha's hand.
"Don't be; I don't care." He smiled at her and laughed, golden eyes reflecting the light from the ceiling.
"Okay, class," Ms. Shim called attention to herself as best she could, her words slurred in her Korean accent. "I'm handing back last weeks tests now…" And she did just that. Moving between rows, she handed each student their designated test paper.
Inuyasha received his, looked it over, sighed and slipped it into his backpack. Kagome watched him curiously. "Sixty percent." Inuyasha actually sounded proud of the score and he beamed at her. "Better than my last grade."
Kagome nodded her head and accepted the test packet that Ms. Shim placed on her desk. She looked at it and felt the color flush from her cheeks. She felt herself quiver and a cough rack her body. She bowed her head and placed a hand against her chest.
"Kagome, are you okay?" Inuyasha questioned, leaning over her and glancing at the paper she held. "A seventy-nine percent? Good job, Kagome," he beamed proudly, but Kagome continued to cough and gag. "Are you okay? Kagome?"
His golden eyes widened and he placed a hand on her back, gently whacking it. Kagome's cheeks flamed pink when she felt the gazes of her classmate's on her. Ms. Shim paused and looked at the coughing and hacking girl.
"Kagome," Ms. Shim asked worryingly. "Are you okay?" Kagome managed to shake her head.
Ms. Shim frowned. Jenny spoke up from her corner of the classroom, "Maybe she should go to the health room?" she questioned once Kagome's coughing fit had died down and she was heaving slightly. Ms. Shim nodded her head and Inuyasha stood abruptly.
"I'll take her." The way he said it left no room for debate. He grasped Kagome's forearm and hauled her up.
Kagome bowed her head and muffled her coughs as best she could.
"I'm sure she's not sick," she heard someone hiss and she tensed as she walked, nearly tripping over her feet.
"Yeah, they're probably not going to come back," another student murmured to the first speaker. The first speaker nodded his head gravely.
"I heard that Inuyasha's gay," someone else hissed and Kagome's blue eyes widened in surprise. "So why would he bother? Especially with a girl like Kagome?"
Kagome bit her lip and felt hot tears spring to her eyes. The door shut behind them and Inuyasha moved towards the health room, his hold on her tight and his lips pursed.
Her head lifted and sky blue eyes landed on the beanie on top of his head. She observed him for a long moment. 'His dog ears. They must give him excellent hearing…' she realized as she recalled the times when he'd heard her whispering and muttering to herself. 'He must have heard them if I did.'
"Inuyasha?" she asked meekly and he came to a stop. He turned towards her, golden eyes worried. "I'm a little dizzy," she said apologetically. "Can we sit for a moment?"
Inuyasha nodded his head and sat her on a bench in front of the school. Kagome smoothed the pleats of her skirt over her legs and looked at him curiously.
"You can hear them, can't you?" she asked faintly. "The rumors people say," she elaborated when he looked at her with a confused expression.
Inuyasha sighed. "I do," he admitted.
Kagome was silent for a long moment, thinking about what to say next. "And… It doesn't bother you?"
Inuyasha turned to look at her, all amusement gone from his eyes. He frowned thoughtfully. "No. It doesn't."
"Why not?" she asked weakly, almost crying out from the intense look he gave her. He was so serious and so grim.
Inuyasha continued to look at her with his smoldering gaze. "Because, Kagome. If I -or anyone- were to listen to what other people say, I'd constantly be worrying about what I looked like. If I cared what people thought I'd have died my hair and worn colored contacts so I'd look normal compared to everyone else. I wouldn't be running around wearing girl's pants or a lavender shirt I borrowed from a girl."
Kagome couldn't bare to keep looking at him and bashfully turned her head away. Inuyasha's hand shot out and grasped her chin, earning a gasp of surprise from the said girl. Bright, disbelieving blue eyes stared at him as he forced her to look at him. He continued to frown.
"If you don't care what they think, Kagome, they can never hurt you," he said firmly, gazing down at her.
Kagome felt herself quiver, and she closed her eyes, trying to force the intense look from her mind's eye. No such luck. His smoldering gaze haunted her.
He released her and stood, waiting for her to open her eyes and stand as well. They walked to the health room in silence.
After Kagome explained to the nurse what was wrong with her, the elderly woman ushered the girl to a bed and let her lie down. "I can't give you any medicine," she told the girl apologetically. "That's against the rules, I'm afraid."
"Stupid," Inuyasha declared without hesitating.
The woman gave him a wary glance. "Yes, it is," she agreed after a small frown graced her lips. "But there's nothing I can do. Just wait and see if you feel better."
She left the room and Inuyasha pulled up a chair, sitting beside her. "You don't have to wait for me," she said faintly.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "I don't have to," he agreed. He smiled. "But I am."
Kagome sighed. She'd lost.
Throughout the day, Inuyasha felt his head lolling forward only to jerk it back up. His brow furrowed in confusion. 'Why am I so drowsy today?' he questioned to himself as he stared down at the chemistry test he was supposed to be taking.
Kagome had gotten better near the end of math class and he'd escorted her back. They'd spent the time in the health room in an almost uncomfortable silence. Had it not been for the nurse bustling in and out, Inuyasha would have dared to say that the room was filled with tense thick enough to cut with a knife.
He sighed again and felt his droopy eyelids fall over golden eyes again before he jerked his head up. Mr. Weber, his chemistry teacher, gave him a look from his desk, a hidden almost innate warning in the gaze. Inuyasha grinned apologetically before scribbling down a formula and moving on.
His head pulsed with a headache and he found that his hands were shaking. 'Relax. You've taken tests before… why are you nervous?' he thought to himself with a frown.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. 'Think of something that can calm you down.'
His mind instantly went back to last night. The fight didn't calm him down, of course, but his memory retreated back to when he'd gone to Kagome's house. The look in her eyes had sent shivers down his spine. He hadn't seen such an intensely penetrating gaze in his life. The beautiful blue eyes, hazed with worry and her fear, had thrown aside her insecurities and looked at him like she did her family.
Inuyasha smiled wistfully at the thought. He'd been slumped against the couch while she'd sat as stiff as a pole. Half of his body was practically off the couch when his head had lolled against her shoulder tenderly. Granted, Inuyasha was much taller compared to Kagome, but slumped over while she was sitting perfectly upright had allowed him to rest his head against her soft shoulder.
'She really is soft,' He thought tenderly and stared blankly down at his test. For a brief moment his cheeks turned a light pink as he remembered the chaste kiss he'd placed upon her soft cheek.
'And that girl… she has absolutely no idea just how amazingly beautiful she is.'
Inuyasha sighed as he heaved his backpack tenderly against his back. He was still sore from the night before and was looking forward to the end of detention so that he could flop down on the ground and sleep. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
Walking outside, he spotted Kagome talking with her cousin Kikyou and her friend Ayame. Ayame spotted him first as he approached and her eyebrow rose curiously. Kagome turned around and smiled shyly at him. "Hi, Inuyasha."
He smiled and nodded his head, his eyes flickering to Kikyou and Ayame. The two girls stared at him. Kagome cleared her throat. "Right, Inuyasha," she said shyly and pointed at Kikyou. "This is my cousin, Kikyou, and this is my friend, Ayame."
After introductions had been made and the two girls went off to get their buses, Inuyasha was left smiling down at her. "What?" she questioned at his look, fidgeting.
He continued to smile and laugh. "Nothing. You're just…" He trailed off and shook his head, wiping silver bangs from his forehead. "Listen. I have detention to attend to… So…"
"I'll take the bus home," Kagome said quietly. "I'm sorry you have to go to detention."
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter."
He waved his hand and took a step back. "I'll talk to you later, Kagome. Be safe." He waved again, turned on his heel and walked briskly back into school, ready to face his punishment.
Kagome watched him go with soft blue eyes, her hands clasped together as she gently weaved the scarf he'd given to her two days ago around her neck and down her back. She smiled shyly and felt her cheeks turn red.
"You, too," she said faintly, knowing perfectly well that he couldn't hear.
He sat down abruptly into an old chair attached to the desk and stared at the board. Students there to serve detention filed in after him and some were already seated. Several minutes later, much to Inuyasha's annoyance, Naraku entered.
The boy sauntered up to him and sat in the desk beside him.
"Hello, Inuyasha," he greeted silkily.
"I have a headache that hurts like a bitch and I'm feeling nauseous. Not to mention that my whole body hurts like a bitch," Inuyasha stated without preamble, his voice carefully masked and stoic, his face as cold as an iceberg. "So I'd very much appreciate it if you left me the hell alone, Naraku."
Naraku sneered at him and remained seated.
Inuyasha sighed. "Wishful thinking," he muttered to himself with a roll of his golden eyes.
Naraku growled lightly but didn't answer him.
Detention started when the teacher entered. "You're here for one reason and for one reason only," he stated. "To pay for whatever your reason you're in here for."
"Wow, amazing," Inuyasha said dryly.
The administrator's eyes snapped to Inuyasha. He pointed a beefy finger at him. "You. I will take attitude from no one." He glared at the boy, but Inuyasha didn't move. He eyed the boy's lavender shirt with a curious gaze which was met with a roll of golden eyes. The boy was used to the regarding of his lavender shirt by now.
The teacher continued. "You can do what you like. Homework. Talk. Play hacky sack. I don't care. Just don't leave the room until I dismiss you."
The room bustled with energy as chairs scraped against the hardwood floor and students fumbled over to selected groups of friends. Inuyasha didn't move, and much to the boy's annoyance, neither did Naraku.
"Naraku, you made it very clear that I am no longer part of your group," Inuyasha said coldly, disallowing any emotion to seep into his voice. His headache pounded against his temples and he felt sick to his stomach. "Go the fuck away," he snapped.
"Temper, temper," Naraku stated coolly, a smirk on his lips. "I do not wish to move."
"Then I will."
"I don't think you will," Naraku said and Inuyasha paused in ascent upwards. "For I have something important I must speak with you about."
Inuyasha leaned against the back of his chair. "What do you possibly have to say that will be any interest to me? In case you hadn't noticed, Naraku, I hate you."
Naraku didn't seem to like that statement. "Damn it, Inuyasha. You just turned your back on all of us!"
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Yes. And I paid the price. I left the gang… and I have the cuts to prove it," he stated coldly.
"We're blood brothers. Does that mean anything to you?"
"Thanks to you I probably have AIDS," Inuyasha said sardonically. Naraku gave him a withered glare and Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "I know. That wasn't funny. AIDS is a serious problem and I-"
"What the hell's happened to you?"
"Uh, well, I have a headache…" Inuyasha trailed off.
"You know what I mean, you sissy little pansy."
"You know I could school you, Naraku," Inuyasha stated simply.
"And risk being suspended? And make your little girlfriend and your little grandma cry? I don't think so." Naraku snickered darkly to his own mockery towards the boy and Inuyasha silently bristled.
"What do you have to say that's so important?" Inuyasha questioned with his voice emotionless again.
"You know…" Naraku acted as if he hadn't heard him. "It would be a shame… really… to have something happen to your little girlfriend."
Inuyasha tensed. When he spoke his voice was void of emotion. "What are you saying?"
Naraku regarded the silver-haired boy like one would a young child. "I'm simply saying that… a girl as meek as… Kagome can be… let's say, caught in compromising situations easier than others her age…"
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "You won't touch a hair on Kagome's body."
Naraku gave him a small smirk. "And neither will you. If you know what's good for you."
"What do you want from me?" Inuyasha demanded angrily. "I'm fucking gone from the group! I no longer wish to be part of your life! Why can't you leave me alone?"
"Because you were great!" Naraku snapped. "You struck fear into everyone's hearts and you were only thirteen! Being held back a year meant that you were older! That you were older than everyone else. That those younger looked up to you and feared you, respected you."
"There is a large difference between fear and respect, Naraku," Inuyasha said darkly.
"You threw it all away. You had so much going for you!"
"I did not. And you know that, Naraku," Inuyasha's emotionless voice determined coldly. "You and I both know that. I don't want to know you anymore. And you will not go anywhere near Kagome."
Naraku smirked. "We'll see."
Inuyasha slammed out of the school and was shocked to see Kagome standing there. Her cheeks were red from the cold wind blowing her raven hair from her blue eyes. Her skirt ruffled in the wind and her purple and green stripped scarf fluttered in the wind. He recognized the scarf as the one he'd given her two days ago on Valentine's Day.
His anger dissipated like snow on a sunny day and he smiled at her. "Kagome," he greeted. "What are you doing here?"
Kagome's cheeks brightened and this time it was from his words and not the weather. "Well… I went home… and I decided that you might need some cheering up after spending an hour inside the detention hall."
"Did you wait this whole time?"
Kagome shook her head. "I went home and made some tea." At the mention of the drink she held out a thermos to him and he took it eagerly. "And came back."
"You walked here all by yourself?" He sounded concerned and Kagome was touched by his worrisome nature. She nodded her head. "You didn't have to do that for me."
"But I wanted to," she insisted and smiled shyly. "I was going to make hot chocolate but then remembered that you're allergic."
He smiled. "You're too sweet, you know that, Kagome?"
She blushed brightly and ducked her head before nodding. "You're sweet, too, you know," she insisted and fiddled with the end of her scarf.
Inuyasha laughed and unscrewed the cap of the thermos before sipping the tea inside. He inhaled the scent and felt calm overflow him like a warm wave. "Thanks, Kagome; it means a lot to me."
"Oh, right," Kagome said suddenly and dug around in her pocket. "When I got home, Mom said that your bubbie stopped by this morning. Seems she just missed us," she murmured as she pulled out a see-through orange container Inuyasha recognized as his antidepressants.
"Bubbie said the school wouldn't let you take them if she delivered them," she stated, "And that you weren't allowed to take them at school anyway because your doctor was cutting you back, so she left them since she knew that you usually walked me home."
Inuyasha was only half-listening as a shaky hand grasped his pill container. He'd completely forgotten about his medication. He'd spent the night at Kagome's house and of course he didn't have his Doxepin pills with him. He unscrewed the cap and took out his daily dosage before dry swallowing them- completely forgetting about his tea.
Kagome watched him with a sad look in her eyes. "Have you suffered from withdrawals?"
"Yeah, I've had a killer headache all day. I've also been slightly drowsy and nauseous," Inuyasha frowned. "I hadn't realized it was withdrawal. I'd thought it was the flu that's going around."
Kagome nodded her head and he pocketed his pills. "Maybe someday I can get rid of them," he murmured.
Kagome looked at him sadly. "You will. You said so yourself. Your doctor wants to get you off them by college, right?" Inuyasha nodded numbly. "So you will…"
He shook his head. "Sometimes it takes longer… who knows; maybe I need them to keep myself from being depressed."
"Was your past so bad that you need them that much?" Kagome questioned before she could stop herself. She made a small noise in the back of her throat and turned her head away, her face flaming red. Inuyasha looked down at her with a far away look in his eyes. He chuckled without mirth.
They walked slowly back towards Kagome's house, Inuyasha sipping the tea she'd given him and offering the thermos to her periodically. She happily accepted it at those times. Inuyasha smiled behind the rim of the thermos, sipping the warm tea. She looked so cute, with her cheeks wind-kissed and her blue eyes bright with curiosity.
He realized now that taking his medication now probably hadn't been the wisest, but he felt the withdrawal syndromes numbing away and he felt lighter. 'Pity I need drugs to feel light on my feet,' he thought with a barely suppressed scowl.
Kagome walked slowly beside him, her hands tucked behind her back and blue eyes peeking up at him every so often. Like Inuyasha had been thinking during his chemistry test, she too had been thinking about the kiss he'd given her. Her cheeks reddened at the memory.
He'd been so sweet and so tender with her. Yet, the kiss had been chaste and innocent. He hadn't moved for her lips, he hadn't maintained any bodily contact except the presence of his lips against her cheek. That had been her first kiss from a guy outside her family. Unless she counted the little boy she used to play house with in preschool, which she didn't. Inuyasha had shown her more affection than all the other guys in the world combined.
She felt her knees go weak at the mere thought of his lips upon hers. His lips had been like velvet while at the same time like satin. He'd been tender and gentle. He'd been… romantic.
She nearly stopped in her walk when a sudden thought hit her and her eyes widened.
"Oh my God," she murmured.
Inuyasha looked at her. "What? What is it?"
Kagome shook her head quickly, her cheeks flaming as they moved. "It's nothing."
He didn't seem satisfied but followed after her when she began to walk.
As they moved towards her apartment, Kagome could only think of one thing. One thought plagued her mind. One startling realization haunted her thoughts. She gulped down a lump that had grown in her throat and peeked up at Inuyasha. Her legs went weak and her heart thundered.
'I like Inuyasha.'
Fanart:
Inuyasha and Kagome
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