"Moshi moshi!"
"Hello, may I speak with Kagome-san?"
"Just a moment!" Mrs. Higurashi covered the mouthpiece with her hand and motioned Kagome to come. "It's a boy," she whispered. "It's not Hojo, either," she added quickly. Kagome gave her mother a quizzical look.
"Moshi moshi.Kagome speaking."
"Higurashi-san. We haven't met, but this is Sohma Yuki. You are friends with Hana and Uo?
'The famous Yuki,' she thought. 'I wonder why he's calling me?'
"Yes! It's nice to meet you, well, talk to you anyway."
"It's nice to finally talk to you too. Higurashi-san,"
"You can just call me Kagome."
"Ok, then, Kagome. You can call me Yuki. This weekend I am going to the carnival with a couple of other classmates, one of them is also new, so I was wondering if you would like to join us?"
"Sure! That sounds great!"
"We are going to have dinner at my house, if that's alright..."
"I'd like that," she said smiling. After Yuki gave her directions, she hung up the phone.
"Who was that, dear?" Kagome's mother asked.
"Yuki...He invited me to a carnival this weekend."
"How exciting! Is he cute?"
"Mo-om!" Kagome giggled. "Well, he's kind of feminine..." The older of the Higurashi women raised an eyebrow. "But, in a beautiful way. Apparently, he's pretty popular. Why he wants to hang out with me is a mystery," Kagome shrugged.
"Well of course he wants to date the prettiest girl in school." She wrapped her arms around her daughter after causing an embarrased groan.
"It's not like it's a real date or anything. I haven't even met Yuki face to face yet."
"Well, he sounds like a very nice, polite boy. Just have fun, ok?" Kagome gave her mom a squeeze.
"Okay mama."
Saturday evening
Kagome slowed her pink bicycle until she came to a stop. 'I think this is the place...' She walked the bike toward the house when she was greeted by a smiling Yuki in the doorway.
"You look very nice, Kagome," he said, his violet eyes looking straight into brown ones.
"Th-Thank you," she stammmered, mesmerized by his gaze. 'I guess the yellow sundress and blue cardigan were a good pick after all,' she thought, making a mental note to thank her mom.
"Come in." Kagome stepped into the house to find a man looking no more than 30, in a kimono, reading the paper. 'Wow-this guy is hot!'
"So you must be the new high school girl Yuki told me about. Kagome, right? Yuki failed to mention the exquisiteness of your-"
WHACK!
Yuki had smacked the back of his head. "Sorry Kagome. This is my lech-cousin Shigure."
"Geez! I was just trying to be friendly," Shigure grumbled.
"You didn't have to hit him, Yuki," Kagome yelled, rushing to Shigure's side to inspect the freshly acquired lump. Yuki gave them a look ofconfusion mixed with annoyance. Here he was, trying to be an honorable guy and she defends the pervert trying to hit on her?
"Oh, Kagome! You have an angel's touch! How sweet you are for tending to my wounds! What did I ever do to deserve such kindness"
"Absolutely nothing," Yuki said under his breath and left the room.
"Well, I think it's going to be ok," Kagome said, beginning to back up after noticing the flirtatious glint in his eye.
"Thank you for your care, Kagome," Shigure gave a wicked smile.
"Sure! No Problem! Anytime," Kagome laughed, trying to brush off his advances.
"Anytime, huh?" Shigure stepped closer and cupped her face in his hand. Nervous, but enthralled, Kagome did not pull away from him, encouraging the man all the more. He leaned close to her face, noses touching, his mouth hovering mere centimeters away from her own, his eyes still burning into hers.
"I would love for you to play nurse for me again, Kagome," Shigure said in a low, husky voice. He turned around brusquely, "But for now I must get back to work!" As he was heading out the door, he stole one last glance at the girl he had left fully flustered.
Kagome flopped down on the couch and tried to regain her composure. 'What just happened,' she thought. She closed her eyes. 'And why did I let it'
Yuki returned, along with Tohru.
"Kagome?" Kagome snapped her eyes open.
"Tohru! What are you doing here? Are you coming along, too?"
"Well, I live here with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo. I'm so glad it's you who's coming to the carnival! Yuki said he invited someone new along, but he didn't tell me it was you."
'Living here? Lucky girl,' Kagome thought.
"Cool! This is going to be great!"
"Inuyasha said he'd come too," Tohru continued. "He's also a new student. He should be here any-" The door swung open
"Hey. Did I miss the chow?" It was the same wild-haired boy Kagome had confronted the first day of school.
"You! What's this guy doing here?" Yuki and Tohru exchanged concerned glances.
"Feh! Same to you, wench!" He crossed his arms, matching her pissed-off glare.
"Um, Inuyahsa, you and Kagome have met before," Tohru asked.
"This jerk nearly ran me down on the first day of school!"
"You're the one who wasn't paying attention!" Inuyasha stopped arguing when his sense of smell was slowly being overwhelmed with the scent of animals. Ever since Sesshomaru had taken him in, Inuyasha had begun to practice his demon strength and senses. One of the earliest senses to re-awaken was his excellent sense of smell. He thought Kyo had smelled strongly of cats, yet there were none in this house. He sniffed a bit more. He smelled the same feline scent, mixed with rat and dog as well.
"Do you need a tissue, Inuyasha? You look like you're about to sneeze," Tohru commented. Kagome couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the boy scrunching his nose furiously.
"He looks like a dog on the hunt for some scraps! Calm down, Inuyasha. We'll have supper really soon. Do you need a walk?" Kagome was now laughing hysterically. Yuki tried his best to stifle a chuckle.
"I don't need any damn thing!" A flush of embarrasment and anger darkened his face.
"Woah! Sit boy," Kagome said, enjoying how much her teasing affected him. Yuki erupted in laughter, joining Kagome.
"Shut the hell up!" Inuyasha stormed outside. Tohru followed.
"Wait Inuyasha! Please stay. I didn't know the two of you didn't get along. I'm sorry, you probably never want to hang out with me again."
"Don't be stupid! I'm not leaving. I just wanted to step outside. So don't worry or anything." Tohru took his hand.
"Let's go eat."
Shigure sat down next across from Kagome and took a deep breath through his nose. Scanning the table, his eyes settled on Inuyasha, who stared right back at him. Each of them smelled dog.
"Inuyasha," Shigure started. "Would you call yourself a dog lover?"
"Dogs? What are you getting at?" Inuyasha clenched his fist, still hidden under the table. This guy didn't just smell of dogs, he smelled like he was a dog. Could he also be part demon?
"Nothing, nothing. Just making conversation. What about you, Kagome? What's your favorite animal? I can definitely see you as a dog lover." Inuyasha nearly choked when he heard that.
"Shigure," Yuki warned.
"I've always wanted to get a puppy. I have a cat, Buyo, but I've always thought it would be fun to have a dog to play with. I'd scratch behind his ears, and rub his tummy, and he would give me doggy kisses."
"Inuyasha, is the food too spicy? You look like you're burning up," Tohru touched the back of her hand to his forehead, which reddened his face all the more. Shigure smirked at Inuyasha's reaction. If he really was just a human, why did he look as flustered as Shigure felt after all of Kagome's puppy-love talk? Something was definitely up and he was going to find out.
"Yuki, may I see you in the kitchen?"
"Fine, Shigure." Yuki trudged to the adjoining room.
"Ok, what is it?"
"That Inuyasha...there's something off about him."
"You can say that again. He's actually friends with Kyo, for starters."
"I want you to keep an eye on him. Tell me if you notice anything suspicious."
"Of course. I don't trust this guy with Tohru."
"So, do you really like this Kagome? You've never brought a girl home before."
"I was actually hoping to set her up with Inuyasha...but she hates him. I can't blame her for having good taste. She is cute."
"There's nothing like a high school girl!"
"Shigure, you lech! Can you stop that!"
"Watch out for him, Yuki. Keep your eyes on him," Shigure said in an unusually serious tone. Yuki nodded.