A/N: Hallo, all! Sorry for the last chapter- but this chapter's good, I promise. Really! Anyway, keep reading, because this chapter has good stuff in it.
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Chapter Eight
"Where should I turn?" I asked Kagome, still not sure about the directions to the Loonie House. Hey, I didn't go there that often- nor did I want to. But I had no choice.
She looked up from my iPod, putting her thick, black hair to the side. She blinked. "Hmm? Oh, right here- oh, great job, you missed the turn."
"Well it's not like I go here every day, ya know!" I barked back, looking for a place to make a u-turn or to circle the block.
"Well, you should know the directions," she replied, with that little pouty mouth of hers. "It's not as if you haven't driven me there before. Sheesh, Yasha!"
I rolled my eyes. "Why're you making such a big deal about it, woman, it's not worth dying over," I said, turning at a stop sign intersection.
Wrong thing to say. She paused, silent, sitting there with her arms frozen. I could see the water glazing over her huge brown eyes, looking straight forward. I bit my lip. Goddamnit, why did she have to be so sensitive…I sighed. "Look, I didn't mean that, Kags. Don't cry about it-"
"I am not crying!" she said, turning to me with tears almost spilling out of her eyes.
"Oh, Jesus Christ!" I exclaimed, pulling over. The car almost ran into the sidewalk as I threw my arms over her shoulders and said, "Look, Kags, I really didn't mean it- okay? So just don't cry."
We stayed like that for a while, and then she pushed me off. "You're a jerk, Inuyasha- but I love you."
"Yeah, I love you, too, I guess," I mumbled. She smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek. "When you're not being such a damn woman," I finished.
Scowling, I shifted the car into drive again. I felt my face getting hot. Inuyasha Miyazaki is not the affection type, and she didn't realize that because Kagome Higurashi is the affection type. We pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. She walked in. I grabbed my iPod and followed in after.
Lo and behold, the Grand Annoyance himself was in there, sitting with his hands on his lap again by the seat closest to Kagome's therapy room. Wondering why he sat that way, I went over discreetly to the farthest seat I could find.
And I could've pulled if off- if not for that magazine on the floor. I tripped over the magazine, and, cursing my clumsiness, crashed into the coffee table, the noise I made causing him to look up at me from his CD player.
"Shit," I said to myself, rushing for the door.
"Yashie!" he exclaimed. He got up from his seat and, in his traditional fashion, threw his arms around me like a clingy little puppy.
"Get! Off! Me!" I shouted, prying him off. As usual, he crashed into something- this time that "something" being a row of chairs. Down they fell like cheap metal dominos, him being the cause.
The woman behind the front desk, with her big fishlike lips and dry beehive hair, scowled. I scowled right back, but didn't say anything.
"What the hell are you looking at, woman-filth!" Jakotsu started to say, loud. The woman's eyes widened in confusion. I looked down at him, looking up with a scowl and the most fierce look I'd seen in him since I met him. "Yeah I'm talking to you! Why don't you keep your dirty eyes in your head and stop staring at people higher above you!"
She shook her head and went back to sorting papers. I stared at her reaction for a little while- it seemed like she was used to it. Maybe they'd met before…Jakotsu's grinning face, black, wavy hair messed up and out of its loop, popped up in front of my vision.
I pushed my palm against his face and pushed him away. "Don't fuck with me right now," I muttered.
Obviously, I'd done some pain, so I was satisfied. "Sheesh, you're cold," he said, rubbing his cheek. "Sooooo, you're here with your girlfriend, I guess?"
"Not 'with.' 'For,'" I corrected. "And what's it to ya?"
He pouted. "Bummer. You should go with me instead- I'll make it worth your while," he said, licking his lips.
I blinked. "No thanks," I answered, putting the chairs back how they should be. I sat down in one and started to read a magazine.
He got his CD player and ran back to me like a puppy dog to its master and sat in the seat next to me. I looked at him. He grinned. I rolled my eyes and turned on my iPod.
A smile crept on his face. He poked me. "What?" I asked, pausing System of a Down's Psycho. Appropriate music while sitting next to the appropriate person.
"Whatchya listening to?" he asked, with that grin on his face.
"Music," I replied curtly, putting the music back on. I felt him poke me again, and I paused the music again. "What do you want?"
"How come your music thingy is pink?" he asked, pointing to my iPod.
I held it up and looked at it- near-mint condition, nothing scratched or damaged, and hot pink. "It used to be my girlfriend's," I told him, rubbing it further in. He was just listening. "And then my girlfriend wanted it inanother color, so she gave me this one. Anymore questions, Sherlock?"
"Why are you dating your girlfriend if she sounds like such a fickle woman-bitch?" he asked, grinning.
"Watch what you say you freak," I growled. The insane smirk came onto his face again- he liked it when I was angry. What a fucked-up kid…
"You know, you're really cute when you do that," he said, his voice dripping with seduction. I wasn't buying it. I rolled my eyes, the popular reaction of the afternoon, and put the music back on.
And he poked me again. "WHAT DO YOU WANT!" I near-shouted.
"Can I have a listen at your music?" he asked.
"No, you may not!" I exclaimed.
"How come?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
"Because!" I cried, "I don't like you! I actually rather hate you! So piss the hell off, you fucked-up freak!"
"Oh, come one!" he pleaded. "You can listen to mine!"
"Fine!" I exclaimed, throwing the iPod at him. He handed me his CD player- the really cheap kind, all banged up and stuff. There was a rhinestone glued to it, paint stains flecked here and there. A huge red scratch ran along the back. I raised an eyebrow and turned it on.
The music blared, an eighties tune. I jumped- it was loud. Wincing, I turned the volume lower, and made an attempt to listen to the lyrics, kicking my leg impatiently while waiting for him to finish up with my iPod. The voice was a woman's, who sounded maybe British, singing to the airy eighties guitar:
"…Sticky on the shag rug, look at the tile/ I remember the way he groaned, moved with an animal skill/ I rubbed my face in the sweat that ran down his chest/ It was all very, run-of-the-mill/ but I noticed his scent started to change somehow/ His face went berserk and the veins bulged on his brow/ I said, 'Baby, oh, Sweetheart-'"
My iPod landed back on my lap. I paused the music and gave his walkman back to him, saying, "What was that song?"
"What song, Yash-eee?" he asked, smiling cutely and clicking his tongue.
"It was something about sex and very, very vivid imagery," I said. "A girl was singing it…said something about a 'shag rug.'" I shuddered. Too vivid…I mean, it didn't sound like a bad song, but it was…weird. Just…too…Jakotsu-ish for my tastes.
"Ohhhh," he said. He laughed, that insane cackle he always laughed. He snorted and looked at me. "Uhmm it's called Up the Neck by the Pretenders. It's my favorite-est song ever."
"Yeah, I figured," I grumbled. "Why'd you give me my iPod back?"
"'Cause your music sucked asshole," he said, very nonchalantly.
My eye twitched, a little offended. "Well, your music's not any better," I muttered.
Jakotsu smiled, consolingly. "Oh, sad, Yasha- some of it was good. I liked that song…uhmm…what was that song…" He started to think, his hand on his chin.
"Forget it," I grumbled, sorely convinced that he was lying.
"It was called…Bullet Wings? Winged-Butterfly? Hmm…" Suddenly his grin came back, his huge gray eyes shooting open again. "Oh yeah! Bullet With Butterfly Wings. That was good. I liked that one. But the other stuff was just stupid. You should open yourself more up to music besides rock music, Yasha."
"Oh, and what're you, the Music Doctor?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I went back to my magazine.
"Why is your girlfriend here, anyway?" he asked, resting his head on my armrest.
I pushed his head away. "None of your damn business," I replied gruffly. "Why're you here?"
"'Cause I'm fucked-up in the head," he said simply. I stared at him for a while, in confusion. How could he admit it that simply? How could anyone?
He caught me staring through the corner of his eye. "Like what you see?" he purred.
"No," I snapped, and looked away.
Someone came through the door. I looked behind me- two people, I guess. One was a tall, bald one, with a head as shiny as Venus in the Holy Heavens. There was something about him I didn't like- his eyes, that was it. He looked suspicious. Next to him was that short guy, who just looked shorter next to the tall one. He was wearing a t-shirt that said "Bob Marley- Exodus." Feh. A Rasta and a monk.
Jakotsu got up, gathering his puffy black down jacket. "Oi! Bankotsu!" he said, waving.
The short one waved back, a smile on his face. I hid my head- I knew the short one didn't like me, and I figured the tall one would hate me.
"Eew, why'd ya bring Renkotsu here?" Jakotsu asked, sticking out his tongue.
"Renkotsu," who I suspected was the bald one, rolled his eyes. "Don't be so immature, Jakotsu. Let's go."
Jakotsu pouted. "Meanie." He picked up his CD player. I was hoping he'd throw that monstrosity in the trash can, but he tucked it under his jacket, instead. Damn. That thing was a disgrace to any and all electronics, and I was fairly set on destroying it. Hmm… "Okay, I'm ready! Let's go." He turned to me and waved. "Bye, Yashie!"
"Yeah. Bye." I ducked my head further- that bald one looked like he could be carrying an armed weapon. I was sure of it.
As Jakotsu reached the door, he turned around, making the shape of a rainbow with his arms. "Expand your musical horizons, Yashie!" he chimed, cackling insanely. I gave him the finger.
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I walked through the door and took my jacket off, throwing it on the banister head. What a fucking day. "I'm home!" I shouted down the hall. Not as if I wanted anyone wanted to know- I screamed just for the sake of screaming.
My mom came down the hall. For once she wasn't cooking something. It was good to see that she even had a life. "Inuyasha, honey, hi! How was your day?"
"Umm, okay I guess," I said. "Is Dad home?" I asked.
"It's Saturday, so he won't be coming home 'til late," she said. "Do you know where your brother is?"
I smirked. Good. One less annoyance. "Not a clue. Not like I'd care, anyhow."
"Oh, don't say that," she said, smiling warmly. She walked into the living room. "Oh, by the way, something came for you in the mail."
"What was it?" I asked, kicking off my sneakers.
"Some letter from someone," she replied. "I didn't bother to look at it. It's up in your room."
"Okay. Thanks," I muttered. I ran upstairs.
Sitting on my desk was a loose-leaf envelope, square and tattered. It looked like somebody just folded paper over another piece of paper. On the front, in sweeping, neat Catholic schoolgirl black-ink cursive, it read:
To: Yashie
From: Jakotsu Himekawa
Next to my name, "Yashie," was big heart, filled in with crappy blue pen. I opened up the homemade envelope. The contents spilled out. I bent down and picked up two pieces of paper.
The first was a note that read:
Dear Inuyasha,
Open your heart to something new. It's the insides that count the most. I hope I spelled your name right.
Love,
Jakotsu
Weird letter. I shrugged, and, putting the tattered loose-leaf letter on my desk next to my keyboard, looked at the next thing: a blank CD. Heh. Expand my horizons. For some weird reason, I stopped to listen to it.
The first song had a mellow sounding intro, followed up by a fast and repetitive riff. It was another eighties song- not too bad. The singer was a man, with a nasal voice.
"I would say I'm sorry if I thought that it would change your mind/ But I know that this time I have said too much, been too unkind…"
I rolled my eyes and let out a "feh" at this weird gift. I folded up the papers and put them on my computer, wondering what to do next.
"I try to laugh about it, cover it all up with lies/ I try to laugh about it, hiding the tears in my eyes…"
I sat on the foot of my bed. Jakotsu was crazy, real messed up. But there was something strange about him, too, otherworldly- this rare separation from the rest of the world that made him the way he was. I don't know. I laid down, trying to make sense of him. Whatever had happened to him, it had made him what he was. Kagome said something about people's pasts making them who they are. I didn't really listen to her lectures much, because that's the time she would start quoting her stupid therapist. Maybe next time I'd listen…whatever. Maybe I'd take a nap or something…
"'Cause boys don't cry/ Boys don't cry…"
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A/N: At least now Inuyasha doesn't completely hate Jakotsu…he thinks he's irritating, but he doesn't hate him. Though he does want to stay as far away as he can. Hee hee. Well, this chapter was good- it's to make up for that horrid last chapter…eesh…