Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
In a World of Demons
Chapter 7: Of Demons and Humans
"Kouga?" Kagome said in surprise as she walked up the steps to the school's entrance, Sango at her side. "What are you doing here?"
A little more than a week had gone by since Kagome had last seen Kouga at his pack's bar, or more correct, his home and seeing him show up at her school with Ginta and Hakkaku in tow surprised her. What shocked her more was thew fact that Kouga was in the school uniform the guys had to wear at school, though it was also quite funny since Kagome had only before seen Kouga in tight leather and the change was drastic. The same applied to the two wolves behind him, though they looked more comfortable then Kouga did. Like Inuyasha and Miroku, Kouga had decided against wearing the tie that went with the uniform. Was he just trying to blend in or…? Did this mean…?
He met her halfway down the steps to the double doors that lead inside. He took one of Kagome's hands and kissed it gently like he had done as a goodbye last time they had met. It seemed his way of greeting her and bidding her farewell. Ah, well, she was not complaining. If he ever went too far, Kagome could always trust Sango to hit him over the head with any large object nearby.
"Hello, Kagome," Kouga said.
After holding it for a few lingering moments, Kouga let go of Kagome's hand to her relief. He gave Sango a nod of acknowledge which she returned. Kagome said a quick greeting to Ginta and Hakkaku, who returned it with a nod of their heads.
"What are you doing here?" she repeated.
"I'm enrolled in high school again," he told her with a shrug, "I never did get past tenth grade before dropping out."
"Enrolled, seems like too big a word for you," Inuyasha said with a glare at Kouga as he came up next to Kagome in an almost protective way.
"Shut up, mutt-face," Kouga told him.
"But really Kouga, why are you here?" Kagome asked, curiously. This was the third time she had asked the question and hopefully he'd answer soon. Like everyone says, whoever this "everyone" was, third times a charm.
"I allied my pack with you so I might as well keep an eye on you at the same time. To take Naraku down I need to protect you so you'll be able to fight him. Ginta and Hakkaku were the only decent wolves of mine that were still in high school, so they transferred to this high school so we'd be able to protect you, if needed," Kouga explained.
Should I feel flattered, or feel like I'm being stalked? Kagome wondered while Inuyasha gave Kouga a cold glare.
"I think the three of us are fine at taking care of Kagome already. We don't need your help. You're only here because you want to be close to her," Inuyasha accused.
Kagome felt her cheeks warm as Kouga answered, "you don't seem to be doing a good job at protecting her if one of my weaker wolves found her and knocked her out so easily."
He was insulting Inuyasha, for his inability to keep her safe, and Yukio and Kagome, for their weaknesses, all at the same time, although he did not realize this, only meaning to insult Inuyasha. He got a three for one special, it seems.
Ignoring the possible insult, Kagome asked, "you only finished up to sophomore year? How old are you?"
"I'm only eighteen, which is young in demon years. Some of my pack members are hundred of years older than me," Kouga told her. He jerked his head toward the two brother wolf demons. "Ginta and Hakkaku are sixteen like you."
He was only eighteen? That was only two years older than she was and he had his own wolf demon pack? Wait, hadn't he told her he was pack leader since he was fourteen? That was young to be a leader of a pack, wasn't it?
"Wait, so your only eighteen and all those older demons take orders from you? How does that work?" Kagome asked.
The bell that warned them first period would start soon sounded and the group walked inside, joined by Miroku, who walked next to Sango as they listened to Kouga and Kagome's conversation. Inuyasha did not seem too happy that Kagome had taken such an interest in the wolf demon. She had taken a similar interest in him when they had first meet too. No, he could not be jealous of the other demon already… could he? It was not like Kagome belonged to him or he made any claim to her, though he had a feeling Kagome would be pissed off if anyone declared a "claim" to her.
"Age doesn't matter with demons, only strength. I was stronger than the last pack leader, even though he was nearly three hundred, and I beat him fair and square after I challenged his position as pack leader. The rest of the wolf demons respect the strongest male," Kouga explained to her.
"You don't mind?" Kagome asked, eyeing Ginta.
Ginta shrugged. "Like Kouga said, we're still young too, so we'll except any leader who has proved himself to be the strongest."
"Kouga is fairer than the last leader anyway," Hakkaku told her.
She wondered if they actually believed that, or only said it because Kouga was standing right next to them, Their words sounded sincere so she excepted them, though she heard Inuyasha's snort of disbelief. She glanced at him and caught his eye for a moment before both of them turned away.
Sango and Miroku said a quick "see you later" as they turned down a different hallway, headed toward their first period class, leaving Kagome with the four demons. Well, technically, it was three and a half demons, but who wanted to get specific? Either way, it was not such a good thing since Kagome could easily feel the tension between the pack leader and the hanyou.
"I don't understand why you would want to come back to high school though," Kagome told Kouga, "I can't wait to graduate."
He shrugged. "I doubt I'll be here often. I'll probably skip a lot. I'm just here really to protect you. And Ginta and Hakkaku will be doing the same."
"You really don't have to—" Kagome began.
"But I want to," he interrupted, cutting her off with a sly smile. "Besides, I don't trust Yukio not to show up and try something."
"Would he really?" Kagome asked, worriedly.
"He might, but don't worry," he gave her a charming smile, "that's why I'm here."
She smiled back slightly while Inuyasha looked ready to choke the air out of him. Before he could, Kagome said quickly to Kouga, "don't you have to go get your schedule from the principal's office or guidance office?"
Ginta, sensing the danger, quickly took one of Kouga arms and Hakkaku took the other, while Ginta said, "that's right. Let's go, Kouga." With that, the two dragged their leader off down another hallway, while the students made way, watching the new boys go by curiously.
Kagome took Inuyasha's hand and dragged him through the crowded hallway to their first period class, which seemed to surprise him and all the students around them. No one had been seen around Inuyasha much, since most of the people in school were afraid of him and Inuyasha had made it a habit to stay away from Kagome during school, only keep an eye on her from afar.
"I don't like him," Inuyasha growled to her when she finally let go of his hand and they walked at a normal pace to their classroom.
"No, really?" Kagome said sarcastically.
"And he was flirting with you!" he said irritated, then added, "and you went along with it."
He said the last sentence like an accusation and she rolled her eyes as a smile came onto her face.
"Jealous?" she inquired, the one word covered with fake sweetness.
"Jealous? Of him? Why the hell would I be jealous? I'm not," he told her rather loudly, his temper rising.
Kagome's smile did not falter but she thought sadly, no, of course not, it's not like we have anything between us. It was just so confusing at times though! One minute he'll be almost kissing her and the next he was storming away and acting like he was angry at her. What had she done to make him act in such ways?
He seemed to waiting for her response, so she said quietly, "come on. Class is gonna start soon."
He tilted his head, much like a puppy dog would, and regarded her with an odd expression on his face, but she turned and walked into the classroom without another word. She felt him follow behind her, gazing at her back all the while she walked to her seat. She could feel him boring a whole into her back with him gaze and the tension in between her shoulder blades grew.
Finally she sat down then turned her head sharply to look at him as he began to sit down and snapped, "would you stop staring at me?"
"Why are you angry? Shouldn't I be the angry one here?" Inuyasha retorted his golden orbs still focused on her.
"And why should you be angry?" she asked crossly.
His hand shot out and slowly trailed down the side of her face, the side that the makeup so carefully hide the bruise that was given to her by the wolves. She winced and drew away from his gentle touch. The bruise was almost entirely gone a week after Yukio had hit her, but still it hurt when it was touched.
"That's why. The wolves did that to you and you're so fast to trust them," Inuyasha told her just as crossly.
"Not wolves, one wolf that has a had a grudge against me since middle school. Kouga won't hurt me. Anyway, you seemed fine with the alliance before. You just don't like Kouga," Kagome said crossing her arms.
He was about to respond when the teacher came into the room, slamming the door behind him. He glared evilly at Kagome and Inuyasha and said, "that's enough you two. Any more talking from either of you and you're both in detention. I'm sick of your constant flirting in my classroom, you can flirt just as well in detention."
Can anyone say, bad mood? Kagome blushed a deep red color at his comment and Inuyasha crossed his arms and glanced away from Kagome while students around the room snickered though one glance from Inuyasha stopped the laughter on their lips.
The teacher waited until the room was silent, then introduced Hakkaku as the new student in the classroom. Inuyasha stiffened noticeably at the wolf demon's presence, but he was seated on the opposite side from Kagome and Inuyasha, thankfully enough. Kagome could just imagine the two fighting if the two sat near each other. How bad would it be if Kouga and Inuyasha were in a class together? She did not even want to think about the blood that would be shed.
Kagome wandered the hallways as she headed toward the soda machine. She grimaced as she remembered she had Math to go to next as her last period. Just thinking about all the algebraic problems she would have to solve made her shudder. If ever in need of a headache, math class was the place to go. She'd probably wind up sleeping anyway. The teacher was always too into his lesson to actually notice half the class was asleep while the other half was passing notes freely.
The bell rung and she hurried her steps to get her soda quickly and go to math. She'd be at least five minutes late as it was. Sango was in that class with her and she discovered today that Ginta was too, but she really did not feel like going. A thought struck her. Then why should she? Why not skip? It was a simple enough question. Would she dare? The answer: hell, yeah.
Smiling, she slowed her pace, taking her time and when she finally got to the machine, she took her time deciding what she wanted. She pressed the button for cherry cola and when she went to retrieve it, two soda cans had come out. Either that or someone had left one behind. Shrugging she took both, but instead of heading to the cafeteria where most kids went during their off periods, she proceeded outside.
Kagome headed to the tree she had sat under with Inuyasha so long ago it seemed. Had it really been over a month ago? Her heart sped up as she walked to it, half-hoping he would, half-fearing he would be at the same time.
She stood under the larger tree's shade, looking around her. In September when she had sat under it, it had been to get away from the hot sun, now, in November, she stood under it to get a better look at the figure in the tree.
Inuyasha sat in the tree on one of the branches, just high enough that she had to tilt her head slightly upward to see him. One leg dangled off the side of the branch and his face was turned away from her, looking off into the distance, lost in thought.
"Catch," she called as she tossed one of the cans of soda to him.
He caught it without looking at her, the catching of it mostly a reflex, but once he looked at what his hands had caught, he glanced at her.
"What's this?" He asked, one eyebrow raised as he gazed down upon her.
She half-smiled and answered in a mocking, cheery voice. "It's called soda. You see this can if full of liquidity-goodness and once you open it, you put it to your lips and you drink it. It's very scientific." From the cold glare he gave her, she sighed as she sat down on the ground, saying, "it's a peace offering." She hoped he would forget the argument they were having that morning.
He jumped down to sit on the grass beside her while saying, "either that or you got two by mistake."
He leaned back against the tree's trunk and Kagome did the same, putting them very close. She glared at him evilly and said, "you're either a really good guesser or you can read minds. I can't figure out which."
"Or I used my high-tech eyeballs to watch you buy it," he told her, pointing to the window in the side of the school building that showed inside the hallway that drinks and snacks were sold in. He opened the can with a pop sound and took a sip while watching her, waiting for her response.
"And why, pray tell, were you watching me?" she asked while opening her own soda.
To her own personal delight, a light pink color came into his cheeks and she fought with herself not to laugh because if she did, she knew he would get pissed off and leave while Kagome wanted him very much to stay.
"Aren't you suppose to be in your eighth period class?" Inuyasha inquired for a quick change of subject.
"Hmm," Kagome answered lazily, which was her version of yes. "Math makes my brain hurt."
"So Kagome, little miss goody-two shoes, has cut class?" he said in mock surprise, "the world must be coming to an end as we know it."
Kagome closed her eyes, her lips curving upward, as she leaned back against the tree, slumping down slightly. "I can practically see the sky crumbling and falling to the ground." Though her statement only got her thinking of the little guy from the story that went around saying, "the sky is falling! The sky is falling!" making her laugh out loud.
The two sat in a relaxed silence, Kagome half-drifting to sleep, which was really what she would have done if she were in class anyway. She took a few sips of soda here and there as her mind began to wonder aimlessly.
Her thoughts came to what it was like before she knew Inuyasha. Her life was not as interesting she could say that, but it was not really his fault for that either. She was lucky he was around to save her and help her now and she was in actuality very happy that he was nearby, but he confused her so much sometimes. The emotions that she felt for him were jumbled inside her head and it puzzled her to no end. The more time she spent with him the more confused she got. Why, oh why, could life not be simple anymore?
Kagome's thoughts then drifted to Sango and Miroku and what it was like before them. Boring, mostly, and lonely. Very lonely. Kids had not liked her and the only friend she had was Hojo. She frowned when she thought of it more.
"Why are you frowning?" Inuyasha asked her, looking over at her.
"I'm just thinking. I get why other kids didn't come near me when I was younger because of my powers, I really do and I don't blame them but… I wonder why Hojo was never awkward around me like the rest and became my friend," she confessed as she took a sip of the soda she had in her hand.
Inuyasha looked embarrassed and answered, "well, actually. Remember when we talked about some people having ancestors from a long, long time ago that were demons? Well, Hojo is one of those people."
Kagome spit the soda she had been drinking out all over the place and stared laughing hysterically. A moment ago she had been serene and peaceful. Now she was full of laughter, her energy surfacing again.
"Hojo? Part demon? But he's so sweet and harmless! I think he'd cry if he squished a fly by mistake and he trips over his own feet all the time!" she cried out while continuing to laugh.
Inuyasha scowled at her. "Stop laughing! He's a disgrace to demons everywhere, alright? And it's only a small portion anyway, hardly noticeable. Some full-blooded demons might not even notice it."
She wiped the tears from her eyes as she tried to contain her laughter. "Thanks," she told him.
"For what?" he asked suspiciously.
"I needed a good laugh," she told him.
"Yes, I am your humble servant of entertainment," Inuyasha said dryly.
"And don't you forget it," she added, only making him frown more. A giggle escaped her again and he gave her a cold glare. "Sorry, I was think about the whole Hojo-being-a-demon thing again."
He sighed defeated. "I'm going to regret telling you that, aren't I?"
"Yeah," she said as another giggle escaped.
Inuyasha stretched out of the grass, lying down on his back, his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes but his face contorted with anger after a few minutes. Kagome peered down at him, kneeling at his side, wondering what he was thinking. He opened his golden eyes as though he sensed her gaze and before he could say anything, she asked softly, "what are you thinking about?"
"You don't want to know," he told her, though he could not take his eyes off her face.
"Let me guess, Kouga?" she questioned.
He snarled and responded, "not everything has to be about the wolf demon."
"But it was, wasn't it?" He looked away and she became frustrated again. "What is it?"
"How could you trust him so easily? He could be lying, for all we know and you go out and believe every word he says and all his sweet talk," he replied angrily.
"Ah, yes, I'm falling for the older men now," she said sarcastically. Kouga was only two years older and she was not falling for him. No way, not after knowing him for little over a week. She was not that fickle.
"See! What the hell is that about?" he snapped, obviously missing in the sarcasm in her voice.
"Must I explain sarcasm to you now too?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
His cheeks became red again, but he continued, as he sat up, "no, you don't. But how can you trust them so easily after what they did to you? And not just now, I mean in the past too when all those demons attacked you and Sango when you were younger. They almost killed you, Kagome, and you go and trust them like it was nothing."
Her voice softened as she spoke, no longer yelling at him. "That was a long time ago and it was Yukio's fault, not Kouga's. I saw how the two fought and neither one likes the other, but Kouga has him under his control. So I can trust Kouga, I know I can. He's all I got, because face it, you, me, Sango, and Miroku can't take on Naraku alone," Kagome told him. "So can you forget about your dislike for Kouga for just the time being so we can fight whatever comes at us?"
Inuyasha grumbled for a bit then replied, "I guess."
Kagome smiled slightly and gently touched the bruise on her cheek. Inuyasha watched her as she did this and asked, "how's your bruise?"
"Healing," she responded, removing her hand. She sighed and confessed, "I think my mom believes I've gone out and joined a gang because of all the bruises I keep coming home with."
She was only half-joking. She had no idea what her mom thought of all that had been going on in Kagome's life and Kagome was afraid to ask. Her mom still knew nothing of demons and her powers, but she did see how banged up Kagome was when she came home and she had seen the worry in her mother's eyes. Kagome wished she could tell her, but she did not want to spoil the ignorance her mother had on the subject. It was said ignorance is bliss and on this matter, it was very true.
"I'm pretty sure the teachers think that too, or they just think I'm getting abused by my family… or a boyfriend, or something."
She wondered if anyone thought that Inuyasha was abusing her. She blushed at the thought telling herself quickly, not because they thought him her boyfriend, no, just because they had seen her with him from time to time.
Inuyasha, unsure how to respond to such a comment, kept his silence but Kagome had not been looking for a response, she had just felt like telling someone her troubles to and did not necessarily need an answer from him. Just that he had listened had been enough for her.
The bell rang, signaling the end of their school day. Kagome stood up flashing Inuyasha a quick smile, telling him, "I better get going before Sango finds me and yells at me for skipping math. I wanted to get some sleep before I baby-sit tonight anyway." She sighed. "Children are so exhausting."
"Spending Friday night baby-sitting a kid?" Inuyasha asked, eyebrow raised. "You really know how to live it up." She stuck her tongue out and began walking away when he added, "I'll walk you home."
That made Kagome turn around, her hands on her hips. "I'm a big girl. I can walk myself home." Though she began walking with him beside her, not arguing further.
"Yes, and that's how you got hit and captured by the wolf demons last time."
"And then I got us a few allied friends."
"Just let me walk you," he growled, "you don't have to be so difficult."
"Well, when you ask so nicely, who am I resist?" she asked wryly, then added, "and yes, I do."
They talked for a while longer about odds and ends, just talking for the sake of talking and to keep the silence away. They finally reached her house and they parted there with a quick goodbye, Inuyasha continuing to walk down the street to who knows where and Kagome walking up to her room, falling asleep as soon as her face hit the pillow.
"Rin," Kagome said warningly as Rin held the water bottle over her friend's head while deciding whether or not she should pour it over his head or not. "Don't."
"Don't what?" the seven-year-old girl said innocently as the water bottle tilted slightly in her hands, making a tiny drop fall onto her target's head.
Her friend squeaked and jumped out of his chair, beginning to run around the room with Rin in hot pursuit. Kagome shook her head laughing slightly. She would not be able to get them to stop, so she did not even try. She only got up and followed them as their running around went into a different room.
Usually she only babysat Rin, but her mother had explained that she was having a friend sleeping over that night and that she hoped Kagome did not mind. Kagome had told her she had not minded, thinking, how hard could it be taking care of two kids? How wrong she had been. All Rin had done the whole time was tease the boy, Shippo, and vice versa and Kagome could do nothing to stop them, because every time she did, they just did something else to tease one another.
"Kagome!" Shippo yelled, hugging Kagome's legs, hiding behind her, "make her stop!"
Kagome, becoming Shippo's human shield, grabbed the bottle from Rin's hands as she tried to run around her to get to Shippo. Rin squeaked in protest and kept jumping up and down, reaching for the bottle that Kagome held in the air.
"Not fair! You're too tall!" Rin told her, pouting slightly, then she came up with a better idea and just began chasing Shippo anyway without the water bottle.
They ran around the room, jumped over couches, going under and over tables, and running around Kagome and other pieces furniture as Rin ran after her prey. They disappeared into another room for a few moments but reappeared soon after.
Kagome frowned as her eyes crossed for a second and for that second Shippo had a tail and some kind of animal feet instead of human. She frowned further. She had had that weird tingling feeling in her stomach since she had got to Rin's house but she had ignored it. The last time she had felt it had been when she had met with Kouga and his two wolves that morning. A thought struck her, but, no, he couldn't be could he…? But there did not seem to be another explanation, unless her mind was playing tricks on her.
"You're a demon?" she said surprised, even before she knew she had said it.
Both children froze in their fight and turned to Kagome. Then Shippo turned to Rin, his face angry.
"You told!" Shippo accused.
"Did not! I didn't tell Kagome anything! Right, Kagome?" Rin questioned her.
Kagome shook her head. "She'd didn't tell me anything. I figured it out on my own," she explained to Shippo.
Shippo looked from one girl to the other suspiciously then with a sigh, he said, "oh, well. Guess the secret's out now."
He flopped down on the couch and a cloud of smoke appeared around him. There was a "pop" sound and once the smoke cleared, instead of a little boy, there was a little demon sitting in front of her. He had the same blue eyes and orange hair as before, only now he had a slightly less orange tail too and his feet had changed to the little feet of an animal. He was shorter also, but not by much.
Rin sat down next to the demon like it was the most casual thing in the world to do. She then turned her gaze from Shippo to Kagome. "Wait, how do you know about the demons?"
Kagome bit her lip nervously. "I…uh… it's a long story," she settled for that, but added, "I also have a friend that's a demon, well part-demon and know a few other demons too." Then she gave Rin the same accusing gaze she had given her. "How'd you find out about him being a demon?"
"Oh, he told me last year. I thought it was pretty cool," Rin told her.
"I wasn't suppose to tell anyone. My parents will be really angry if they find out, but I trust Rin. She's my best friend," Shippo told her, then worriedly, "your not going to tell my parents, are you? Or Rin's?"
"What? Oh no, I wouldn't do that. So I suppose your parents are demons too?" Shippo nodded. Kagome asked Rin, "and you don't mind that he's a demon? You weren't afraid when he told you?"
Rin looked at her with a puzzled expression on her face. "No, why would I? He's my friend and that's all there is to it. It doesn't matter whether he's demon or not, boy or girl. He'll still be my best friend."
Kagome bit her lip, thinking of what she said. Such wisdom from a child, but how long would this type of thinking last? At a young age, her mind was untainted with bias thoughts, but what might happen when she is older? Would she grow afraid of Shippo? Although Shippo looked too harmless to ever be afraid of, but who knew what the future might bring. She could get angry with him for ever telling her about the demons that lived side by side with humans because she then knew of all the horrible things demons could do. Still, Rin seemed to trust and love her friend so much; it was hard to think of a time when they might dislike each other.
Realized they were watching her as she thought and growing quite bored, she asked Shippo, "so what type of demon are you? And how'd you disguise yourself like that?"
Shippo smiled happily. "I'm a fox demon! I can use my fox magic to disguise myself. See, watch." He stopped moving for a moment then the smoke came around him and the popping sound was heard once again. When the smoke cleared there were two Rins sitting on the couch.
Kagome blinked slowly, confused for a moment, as one of the Rins laughed and the other mimicked the first. Then the second Rins' hair slowly began to turn orange and Shippo popped back into view, still laughing while Kagome joined in too.
A sudden banging was heard from above and all three heads turned upward toward the skylight in the ceiling, the laughter stopping. A crashing sound was heard and someone came through the ceiling, landing neatly on the floor. The kids screamed and hid behind Kagome, while Kagome stared blankly at the person. What the hell was he doing here?
"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed, "what are you doing here!" Her gaze went up to the ceiling. "How'd you get in? Did you break that window because if you did I am so not paying for it."
She would have rambled on but Inuyasha, ignoring her first question, said, "relax, alright? I came in through that window in the roof. It opened so I went through."
She looked up worriedly. "Is it suppose to open?" If he broke something it would be her neck on the line…. But what she was more curious about was… "why are you here?"
"I smelt a demon nearby and smelt your scent too. I thought something might be attacking you." He gazed at the kitsune. "That little runt is the demon?"
Rin and Shippo came out from behind her and Rin asked, "You know him?" While Shippo yelled, "I'm not a runt!" Pause. "Or little!"
Inuyasha picked him up by the tail and brought him up to eye level. "Yeah, you are."
The two began to throw insults back and forth at one another. Inuyasha got really ticked off and his ears appeared halfway through their verbal fight, as Rin and Kagome could only watch, unable to stop the two demons.
Rin tugged on Kagome's pants, getting her attention. "Is this the demon you were telling us about? Is he your bodyguard? Is that why he was here to protect you from demons?"
Kagome smiled at Rin and the two others stopped their fight, each crossing their arm over their chests, looking opposite ways. Everyone listened to Kagome's response.
"This is Inuyasha, the part-demon friend I was telling you about before. No, he's not my bodyguard, he's… well, it's complicated, but let's say not all demons like me that much."
Which, in fact, was untrue since all the demons that wanted to get their hands on her wanted to use her, not harm her, but she did not want to have to explain this to the two children so she kept her mouth shut.
"I think a poodle on a leash would be more protection then the hanyou over here," Shippo told Kagome.
"Watch it, fox-boy," Inuyasha growled.
"I'm bored, Kagome. Let's play a game," Rin told her, tugging anxiously on her shirt. Obviously, Rin had a very short attention span and had only been entertained by the newcomer for ten minutes, tops.
Kagome bit her bottom lip thinking. What games did she know? Suddenly a devious smile came on her face, one Inuyasha did not like that made him narrow his eyes as he gazed at her. Her eyes sparkled with amusement and she began explaining the game to them.
"Okay, this game is called 'Monster'. We couldn't play it before because we didn't have enough people to make it fun, but we can play it now that Inuyasha's here." Inuyasha looked like he was about to leave, but Kagome held his arm in a tight grip. "My dad and my brother and me use to play this all the time when I was younger. Alright, one person is the monster and they have to count to ten while the others hide, then the monster has to go and try to find the others who are playing. If you get tagged, you're in jail. Now if the monster is nearby, you can run out of your hiding spot to avoid him and you don't have to hide again, but if you get tagged you have to go in jail. Anyone that's not in jail, besides the monster of course, can get the people out of jail out to safety by tagging them." Kagome took some pillows and put them in random spots in the rooms downstairs where they would be playing. "The pillows are base, so you can't get tagged while on them. If everyone is tagged, the monster wins and whoever was put into jail first once everyone is caught is the new monster. Understand?"
The two kids nodded their agreement after Kagome explained a few parts over again and Inuyasha just said "feh" which she took as a yes.
"Who gets to be monster first?" Shippo asked, excited to play.
Kagome looked at him with a wide smile. "When I use to play, my dad was always the monster first. It was decided that the oldest is always the monster first."
All three glared at Inuyasha. "What?" he said, annoyed.
Inuyasha, who had to take freshman year in high school twice, was more than a year older than Kagome, which meant…
"Oh, no," Inuyasha said, "no way."
Kagome ran swiftly and darted under the table, her heart beating rapidly as the two children called out for her to help them from jail. She must have gotten them out of jail five times already, but Inuyasha was too fast and caught them again after a few minutes. She had only got caught once, but Shippo and quickly tagged her out while using his fox magic to distract Inuyasha for a few moments, which Inuyasha said was cheating. Shippo only stuck out his tongue at Inuyasha and darted to the nearest pillow so Inuyasha could not tag him legally, though he seemed intent on pounding him for a while.
Inuyasha had yet to tag all three of them at the same time so he continued to be the "monster", much to his annoyance. When Kagome had use to play with her dad, he had always moved agonizingly slow, much like a zombie would do, or Frankenstein, because an adult can easily catch a seven year old and a two year old, the age of her and her brother, but Inuyasha did not care about this and moved as fast as he wanted. The only reason she had not been caught yet was she spent most of her time running from one base to the other.
Quickly checking to see that Inuyasha was not around, she ran to the two armchairs she had pushed together to make a jail and quickly went to touch one, but then she heard Inuyasha coming and had to leave before getting them out. He moved too fast for her to get to the jail before he caught her, so she decided against letting them out just yet.
She ran out of the room and around the other way so she could get them out from the opposite direction. Then suddenly Inuyasha popped out of nowhere and pushed her against the wall, none to gently.
"Boo," he told her in a growled voice.
Her pulse sped up even more and her heart jumped into her throat as she felt pure fear well up inside of her for a moment. She had not seen him coming and he had scared the living daylights out of her. Kagome was about to tell him so when she caught the look in his golden eyes.
The look was a pure predatorily one, hardly human at all. She knew he could smell her fear for that moment it had built up inside her when he had startled her and now it rose slightly again. His eyes were unfocused, the golden eyes shining brighter than normal with an intense look in them that made her pulse speed up even more, if that was even possible.
Inuyasha growled softly and buried his face into the side of her neck, breathing in deeply taking in the scent of strawberries and powers which was mixed with slight scent of fear. His breath was warm against her skin, tickling all her senses and she shivered against him. He drew his face back, his eyes focused again but a deep meaning was still hidden in them.
The distance cries of her name from the children to help them get out of the "jail" brought Inuyasha and Kagome back to themselves. Another soft growl, this time of annoyance, came to Inuyasha and he picked up Kagome bridal style, which surprised her completely, making a small cry of protest come from her. He ignored this and continued to carry her to the other room where the kids were and brought her to the jail.
The girl and fox demon scrambled away as Inuyasha dropped Kagome into the two armchairs. She might have laughed as she bounced when she landed but a glance at Inuyasha told her he did not want her laughing as the same heat was still in his eyes, his demon nature not yet receding all the way yet.
She glanced away, the look in his eyes too much for her, and Inuyasha walked out of the room, not coming back until sometime later.
The two kids slept contently on either side of Kagome, wiped out after all the running they did. Inuyasha, who was back to normal, sat to the side of her as they watched some television, though Rin was squished in between them.
Kagome put a finger to her lip to tell Inuyasha to keep quiet and picked up Shippo while Inuyasha carried Rin, since he would probably be less violent toward the girl if she woke up. Shippo had no such guarantee if Inuyasha had been holding him. They placed both of them on one of the twin beds in Rin's room, while Kagome covered Shippo with a blanket, hoping that he remember to change back to his boy form disguise before the next morning came since Rin's parents did not know anything of demons.
She turned off the light and closed the door almost entirely silently, murmuring a goodnight as they left. When they went back into the television, Inuyasha turned to her, his face serious. She was about to ask what was the matter, when she heard the back door open as Rin's parents came home.
Quick as a flash, Inuyasha jumped up, going through the skylight in the roof he arrived from, closing it behind him. Kagome stood for a moment a little light-headed after his abrupt leaving but, of course, she did not want Rin's parents to know he was there. That would only lead to awkward questions and the fact that Inuyasha's ears were still atop of his head did not help the case.
Rin's parents paid her and drove her home, while Kagome remained silent, replaying the day's event over in her head. She smiled, her own way of a goodbye, and got out of the car when they arrived, walking slowly up the driveway and then up the stairs to her bedroom.
Sango dangled a string in front of the kitten, yanking it away when the kitten pounced as the kitten grew quite annoyed. Finally, Sango swung the string over the cat youkai's head and let her catch it so that she could munch on it thoroughly.
They both sat on Kagome's bed, watching the kitten as they talked. It was late at night, maybe a little after eleven, Saturday night. As Sango had told her, her and Miroku did not go out every Saturday night to hunt demons, and this Saturday night Miroku was going on a date with his latest victim, much to Sango's annoyance, so Sango was over Kagome's, sleeping over, instead.
It bothered her, Miroku going out with other girls, Kagome could tell, though Sango would never admit it. It was not like he hadn't gone out with any other girls before, no, he had gone out with more people than some others would in a lifetime, but it annoyed her all the same. Of course, Sango and Miroku did not have a relationship, even if sometimes they acted as if they did, unknowably to them.
"So, what are you naming her?" Sango asked Kagome as she reclaimed the string from the cat again.
"Hm, I haven't really decided yet, but I think you should name her. You are going to be taking care of her now," Kagome told her.
Sango pulled the kitten into her lap and asked, "are you sure you don't mind? You could keep her if you'd like. She might grow up to be a pretty strong youkai."
Kagome laughed. "I'd love to keep her, but my mom would never let me. We already have Buyo, who's just fat and lazy. My mom wouldn't want another cat. Plus there's the whole, cat-being-demonic thing. I don't think I'd be able to explain the two tails, red eyes thing to my mom." She smiled as she watched the youkai fall asleep in Sango's lap. "I'm sure she'll be happy with you anyway."
There was a silence for a while as Sango thought. Finally she spoke, saying, "I think I'll call her Kirara."
Kagome shrugged. "Works for me."
After another long silence, Kagome asked slyly with a sidelong glance at Sango, "so, are you bummed Miroku's not here?"
Sango gave her an irritated glare and questioned in the same, mocking tone of voice, "so, are you bummed Inuyasha's not here?"
Her cheeks flushed and she said, "why would I care if he were here or not?" Though her eyes darted to the window he always came and left through.
Sango caught the look and smirked. "Missing the hanyou already? It's been, what? A day?"
"I-I am not!" Kagome exclaimed, though she stuttered slightly.
"Uh-huh," Sango said in a disbelieving way. She shook her head sadly and said, "Kagome, if your face turns any redder, cherries might get jealous."
Kagome pressed a cold hand to her cheek in an attempt to cool herself down, unsuccessfully.
"Didn't take long, did it?" Sango commented.
"What didn't?" Kagome asked curiously.
"To fall in love."
"I'm not in love!" Kagome cried out, in utter denial. Then she said, hesitantly, "but… I do have… feelings toward him."
"But with a hanyou…" Sango murmured, more to herself than to Kagome.
Kagome gave her a glare. "What's wrong with hanyous?"
"Nothing!" Sango said quickly, "it's just that you have so many demons after you already and you don't know what to expect from Inuyasha. He is half demon."
"And he is half human too. I can trust him to help me, because he's done it before. He won't turn on me," Kagome mentioned as she looked out the window into the darkness. This conversation was oddly familiar, and she then remember explaining similar things to Inuyasha about Kouga. The only difference was Kagome did not have feelings for Kouga, not the way she had feelings for Inuyasha.
"You don't know that for sure," Sango remarked, "if his demon side ever takes over…."
"He can handle his demon side," Kagome told her, "just like he did last night."
His demon side had showed itself after chasing down Kagome in the game and then her instant fear and being scared. She wasn't frightened of Inuyasha, it was just one of those moments, like when someone walks up behind you and startles you because you weren't paying attention. She had been unsure at first, but he was able to keep his demon side in check and Kagome knew she could trust him. She just knew it.
Realizing she had slipped, she tried to turn the conversation away from last night, but Sango asked sharply why she had seen him last night. Kagome rubbed her aching temples and then began explaining how Inuyasha had showed up while she had been out babysitting last night. She even mentioned Shippo, though warily, since she did not want Sango to be chasing after the small boy. Sango, however, mentioned the fact that Shippo and his parents were harmless, having heard of them before. Kagome went on with her tale, winding up telling Sango everything that had happened between Inuyasha and herself, even from a while ago, and her confusion in regard to him.
"I don't know what to tell you," Sango said once Kagome was finished. She had made a comment here and there, though had mainly let Kagome tell her the story without much interruption. "Except, in my opinion, you got it bad. Then again, it seems like he does too."
"Or maybe I'm just looking into things that aren't there and just telling you the wrong information," Kagome said with an audible sigh as she fell onto her back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling above.
Sango lay down beside her, also staring up at the ceiling. "Everything in life is complicated. Did you expect love to be so easy?"
Kagome opened her mouth to protest once again, saying she was not in love. Sango, anticipating what she had to say, kicked her lightly just as the words began forming in her mouth.
Kagome made a squeak of protest, and kicked her back, so starting their very girlish fight of kicking each other back and forth while Kirara looked on annoyed, them having interrupted the youkai's sleep with their excessive kicking.
A knock came from Kagome's window and her heartbeat sped up as both Kagome and Sango sat up in the bed abruptly. Who could be knocking on her window? Could it be…?
The window slid open and Miroku stepped inside and Kagome's heart fell. No, of course it had not been him. He probably would not have knocked anyway. Not that she was not glad to see Miroku; she just would have rather seen another face come through that window.
Miroku closed the window behind him and came to the bed, sitting on the edge of it as he regarded the too. When they were younger, Miroku had often climbed up the tree and into her window when the three of them ha sleepovers without her mother's knowledge. She had always gotten use to Miroku coming and going through the window, he just had not done it lately, so it had caught her off guard since another male had been using the window as a entrance more frequently.
"Hello, my two lovely ladies," Miroku said to them in greeting.
"What are you doing here, Miroku? What happened to your date?" Sango asked, with a trace of bitterness that Kagome noticed, though the question was valid and he was still wearing the fancy clothes he had worn on the date.
"Koharu? Ah, yes, while she a fascinating young girl, but she unfortunately had a curfew. So that leaves me her with you two ladies instead," Miroku told them, flashing them a smile.
"Nothing better than being second best," Kagome muttered wryly.
Sango rolled her eyes at Miroku's statement. "That's what you get for going out with a freshman. There too young to stay up past bedtime," Sango mocked.
"It is odd, a junior going out with a freshman," Kagome agreed.
"Yes, but she had such innocent eyes that sparkled with glee… lovely hair that shines in the moonlight…" Miroku began.
He went into this whole description, mainly just to annoy both of them greatly. And it was working. Kagome and Sango shared a glance, and both grabbed a pillow from the bed and chucked them at him and continued to do so until they ran out of soft things to throw at him. Of course, then Sango only tried to smother him with one of the pillows.
Finally, he seemed to realize it would be better if he stopped talking and in doing that he might live through the night without Sango suffocating him. Kagome's mirthful laughter was heard throughout the room, while Sango continued grumbling about annoying monks and Miroku only had a goofy looking smile on his face.
Kagome searched through her drawers and threw Miroku some clothes that she had at her house for him, for cases just as these. He nodded his thanks and left from the room to change, coming back only minutes later.
They all sat on the bed, continuing to talk until well after midnight, discussing random things that came to mind. It started off with a talk about the wolves and traveled from there, going to all sorts of weird conversation, ending in a talk about peanut butter. It sounded illogical, but talk of wolves had led to Kouga, which went from there to school. They then talked of their teachers and Kagome told them how much she disliked her science teacher. Then they were talking about people they disliked which led them to Miroku mentioning he disliked a guy who happened to have a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of his mouth. See? Peanut butter. And the conversation only got stranger from there.
"It's amusing to see a person who has that fear eat something with peanut butter, because then they're scraping at the roof of their mouth frantically trying to get it out of their mouth," Miroku commented.
"Yes, it's just as amusing as… putting a claustrophobic in a box, let's say," Sango said sarcastically, showing her disapprove at Miroku's comment.
"Okay, well maybe it isn't amusing then," Miroku said.
Sango's stomach grumbled suddenly and she said as she stood up, "I think I'll go raid your kitchen for something to eat. This talk of peanut butter got me hungry, I think."
Miroku stood up also saying he would go with her. He went to the door before she could get there and opened it for her, motioning for her to go through.
"Ladies first," he said, being the gentleman that he was. Yeah, right.
Sango shook her head. "No way, I don't trust you one bit if your walking behind me. Actually, I don't trust you one bit either way, but if you go first it's at least a little safer."
Miroku sighed and shook his head sadly. "I sometimes regret you knowing me so well. My tricks don't work on you anymore…."
Sango snorted, gesturing for him to go first and reluctantly he did with a feigned sad face on.
Kagome watched them leave, shaking her head as she heard them bicker as their voice got softer and softer and they drew farther away, going down the stairs.
Inuyasha watched Kagome's window as he sat in a tree in her yard. Her and that demon slayer friend of hers had been sitting and talking for a long time. He frowned when he saw the monk climb up the tree and into the room with the two girls and sit casually with them. If he could, he would have done the same, but thing only seemed to get awkward when he was around and when Kagome's friends were there too.
The sound of Kagome's joyful laughter found his ears, though very faintly. She must have been laughing loudly for it to have reached all the way to him outside, although his hearing was a lot better than any human's. He could not hear anything they were saying though, so he only watched.
He watched as Kagome listened intently to whoever was speaking and would smile and laugh every once and a while. He observed as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, an instinctive movement and how she sat with her legs under her. She was in perfect ease with her two best friends, worries forgotten for just the few hours they spent together. In those moment of perfect ease, she seemed to have a pure, innocent glow about her and she was beautiful. No other words could describe how unnaturally her radiance glowed. Just… beautiful.
The slayer and monk left through the door, proceeding downstairs, as Kagome laid out a sleeping bag and pillow on the floor, meaning the monk was probably staying for the night too, only he was not allowed on the bed, which Inuyasha was quite glad about. She turned out the lights next, making the only light in the room the pale moonlight that shone through the window, teasingly throwing fractured light all throughout the room.
As he watched her more, he felt drawn to her. In one fluid movement, he had jumped from his tree branch onto the one by her bedroom window. In another moment, he had the window open and he was in the room.
Kagome spun around quickly, startled when she heard the window slide open. Her eyes widened for a moment, then she was back to normal, though her heart was beating abnormally fast.
Was she afraid of him now since after he had turned predatorily on her? He had not meant to, but after he had smelt the fear across her skin when he had scared her, his other side had just taken over. But no, the look in her eyes had been a startled one, not one of fear.
"Inuyasha?" she asked questionably in a whisper. There was something about a dark room that always made a person want to whisper instead of talking in a normal voice.
There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he really should have said and explained. He cared about her greatly, more than he really should have ever cared for a human. The fact that he wanted to be close to her, that he could see himself being with her for a long time to come, should have scared him away and it did a little, but he'd rather take the chance and try to be with her. Every fiber of his being told him that he should not get involved with a human since it could be dangerous for both him and for her, especially since she had such a price on her head. One of them was bound to get hurt, maybe even die, eventually in the battle that might come between them and Naraku, but he did not care about that. He could not care about anything else but being with her and he didn't want another demon, like Kouga, taking her away from him.
Kagome was so pure and innocent and every time she was around, Inuyasha felt at ease, like he had never felt before. His horrible past was gone when she looked at him with those brown eyes and he did not need to be human or the hero in her eyes. He just needed to be himself when he was with her, because that was all she wanted, it seemed.
He had never had that feeling before. He had always thought he would have to prove himself in some way, but Kagome just wanted him as he was. And for that reason, when he looked at her, he wanted to be able to hold her and tell her everything would be okay, like he had before when she had cried while he held her. Inuyasha wanted to be able to embrace her and tell her things that would lift her spirits, even if they were only comfort words. He wanted so many things, but mainly, he just wanted her.
Somehow, he could not form his thoughts into words, could not tell her what needed to be said. Words could not form in his mouth because words did not seem appropriate at the moment.
Inuyasha realized that he had been quiet for a long while and now Kagome eyed him curiously. She took a few steps forward, though she did not talk either. Not a word had been uttered since she had called out his name.
Inuyasha took another step toward Kagome, bringing them very close together, as he reached out a hand and stroked her cheek, very gently until finally he cupped her cheek in his hand. He tilted her face upward slightly, making her brown eyes meet his golden ones and looking into those golden orbs made her just the smallest bit light-headed.
His name came to her lips, but before she could make a sound, his lips descended onto hers. At first it was a slow, gentle nearly chaste kiss and Kagome was too astonished to respond. Then she began to react and he took it as an invitation. The kiss became more heated, more intense, turning into that of a passionate kiss.
His hands slid down her to her waist, then played up and down her sides again, making her shudder against him. One of her hands was at the nape of his neck, pulling him closer until their bodies were pressed together, while her other hand was partly tangled in the strands of his long, silver hair.
His body enveloped hers, sending searing heat throughout her body as she melted into his embrace. A warm feeling spread throughout her, giving her a numb feeling for a second, before the heat came back. His tongue parted her lips, exploring her mouth as she let out a moan of pleasure, as she brought his mouth closer when he pulled back slightly, hungrily wanting more.
They were cut short, however, as the sound of Sango and Miroku trudging up the stairs became apparent to both of them. Who knows how far they would have gone if Inuyasha had not jumped away from her then, leaving as fast as he had come.
When he jumped away, Kagome staggered back a few, her eyes unfocused with passion and her head extremely in a dazed state. She brought one hand up to her kiss-swollen lips, placing two fingertips gently on top of her bottom lip.
That was how Sango and Miroku found her when they came into the room. Kagome was standing in the dark room, pooled in the moonlight with her fingers to her lip, with a dazed, thoughtful expression on her face.
Her first kiss.
Kagome stood nervously in front of the mirror, checking her appearance for the umpteenth time that morning. Her hands kept unclasping and clasping in front of her, then she clasped her hands behind her back, while shifting her weight from one foot to the other, then back again.
She reached for her brush again, wanting her appearance to look perfect, but Sango swatted her hand away.
"Stop fidgeting!" Sango said, scowling at her from behind, though Kagome could see her through the mirror.
Sango brushed a piece of fuzz off of the back of Kagome's shirt with a sweep of her hand while Kagome responded, "I can't help it! I'm nervous!"
"There's nothing to be nervous about. They won't bite your head off, or anything," Sango told her.
"Yeah, they only did that once and it was under extreme circumstances," Miroku teased from where he was laying down on her bed.
Sango turned around with a frown while a look of horror came on Kagome's face.
"I was joking," Miroku told Kagome, when he saw her expression via the mirror.
The horror lessened, though the tense look she had did not fade. Miroku sighed and rose off the bed, going behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. He began massaging them, trying to work the tense out of her while Sango continued to scowl, not liking his intention. Sure, they always started out innocent enough, but then he always did something perverted and very worthy of a slap.
The thought that if Inuyasha was there he would have broken Miroku in half just for touching her in such a way brought a smile to Kagome's face and the tension eased, while a light blush came on her features after thinking of Inuyasha.
She was still exceptionally nervous though. She was going to meet the mysterious "they" finally. Sango had mentioned that morning that they had wanted to meet her today, while Kagome had yelled at her and threw a pillow, asking why she hadn't told her sooner. Sango had replied she had not wanted her to get all stressful and panicky like she was now. That shut Kagome up very quickly.
"Time to go," Sango told her and Kagome nodded slightly following her out to the car with Miroku not far behind. Miroku was smart enough now to know that it was not a very good idea to try anything on Kagome when she was in a panicky state of mind.
They walked outside and into the bright morning sun. It shouldn't be so sunny and bright when I'm in such a nerve-racking mood, Kagome thought grumpily.
So this was it. She was finally going to meet whoever it was that gave Sango and Miroku orders.
Kagome climbed into the back seat of the car as she felt the butterflies intensify in her stomach with one last finally sigh.
A/N: Thank you to my reviews! There's not many of you, but the reviews I do get are enough to keep me more than happy. All my reviewers are loyal and review for multiple chapters. As long as I know someone reading, I'll keep on writing chapters and getting them out as fast as I can. Also,Kirara just has a small form in this fic and doesn't become giant, fighting Kirara.