Chapter Five

The First Day

o0o

Kagome raised an eyebrow at the man across from her. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I swear, you have no manners."

"Oh…right. That was good. Thanks." He belched softly, and raised a hand to belatedly cover his mouth. "Oops. Sorry."

She shook her head before standing, grabbing the empty dishes sitting between them, and making her way back toward her kitchen.

When she returned she found that he was gone from the table, and flopped lazily across her couch. She sighed and moved into the living room and sat on the recliner across from him.

It was her favorite seat in the entire house. It didn't match the couch and loveseat, but she didn't care. The chair had been her father's. After he died, Kagome used to sneak downstairs during the night to curl up in it, just so she could smell his scent again. Usually, though, she would come down the stairs only to see her mother already curled there in her favorite old blanket, with tears slowly drying on her cheeks, or leaking from her closed eyelids. So, more often than not, she would climb up next to her mother and curl up beside her, wipe the tears from her sleeping face, and fall asleep next to her.

Now she tucked her feet beneath her, placed her hands in her lap, and looked inquiringly at the man who was staring determinedly at her ceiling.

"Well?"

She saw his chest rise as he sighed loudly. "Well, what?"

She glared at him. "You know exactly what! I'd like some answers, here!"

He looked at her finally, and she could tell that he had been trying to think of some way to delay this conversation. She shook her head and began what was bound to be a difficult and frustrating conversation. "Listen, if I'm going to be stuck with you all the time," she ignored his look of indignation, "Then I think it best we lay out some rules and boundaries."

He crossed his legs, propping them up on one arm of the couch, while his head rested on the other. Kagome glared at him.

"Rule number one: Keep your dirty shoes off my furniture!" He narrowed his eyes at her, but complied, sitting up and swinging his long legs around in front of him and onto the floor.

"Good. Rule number two: You don't interfere with my job."

He opened his mouth, but she plowed on. "Rule number three: You don't tell me what I can or can't do."

She could tell that he was about to interject angrily, so she hurried on. "Rule number four: You don't leave me in the dark about things. I want to know what's going on, if I'm going to be dragged into this whole mess."

He shot to his feet in an explosion of anger. "Do you think I like this any more than you do? Do you think I want to follow your sorry ass around all day? I don't! I'm not a damn babysitter!"

She shot to her feet angrily. "Rule number five: Don't yell at me!"

"Don't boss me around!" he yelled back.

She lifted her chin and glared up into his face. "Don't act like such an ass all the time!"

He leaned down and yelled in hers. "Don't act like such a bitch all the time!"

They were now nose to nose and fuming. Kagome saw anger spark in his eyes, and suddenly she became very aware of how close they were. She blushed fiercely as she swallowed, her voice lowering. "Don't…don't get so close."

He blinked at the nervous quaver in her voice and his eyes softened somewhat. It wasn't really her fault, after all, that they were caught in this mess. He cleared his throat, but didn't move otherwise, and when he spoke it was in a much softer tone. "You're just going to have to accept it, Miss Higurashi. I can't just let you walk around unprotected with that thing inside you. Whether you like it or not, we're going to be spending a lot of time together."

Her shoulders slumped suddenly and she pulled away. He stepped back as well and crossed his arms, watching for a reaction. She looked tired. Tired and afraid.

"It's that dangerous, huh?"

"Yeah…it is. Lots of demons are going to be after that jewel inside of you. They'll kill you to get it."

She swallowed loudly and sat abruptly in the recliner behind her. She didn't look up at him, but stared at her fingers as the pulled at the stitching in the blanket draped across the chair. He restrained himself from putting out his hand to make her stop fidgeting.

"I don't mean to scare you, but it's kinda necessary. You said you didn't want to be left in the dark…" he trailed off.

She nodded and looked up, giving him a watery smile. "I know, I just…I didn't want to accept it, I guess."

He grimaced and hoped with every ounce of his being that she wouldn't start crying, because she certainly looked like she would at any moment.

She did.

'Aw, shit. Waterworks.'

She dashed a hand over her eyes and continued to stare at her lap. "I-I'm s-sorry. I d-don't mean to c-cry." She took deep breaths to try and get control again.

Inuyasha looked around the room frantically for some sort of distraction, but no luck. His eyes did rest on a tissue box sitting on her end table, and he quickly grabbed it and thrust it beneath her nose, determinedly not looking at her.

She looked at the box shoved unceremoniously into her face before looking up at Inuyasha, who was red, and looking very uncomfortable. She gave a soft giggle and took a tissue. "Thanks," she mumbled.

She blew her nose, dried her eyes and cheeks and took a long breath, blowing it out slowly.

"Ok. I'm ok. I just…it's a little much to handle. In the past 24 hours I've witnessed a murder, been chased by a killer, found out that a race of mythical creatures are not really mythical at all, absorbed a jewel that could light up Tokyo, found out that I'm supposedly mentioned in some age-old prophecy, and that I could be attacked and killed at any moment for it."

Inuyasha grinned. "I suppose it is a bit much."

She returned a smile of her own. "But it's not your fault, and I'm sorry for giving you such a hard time about it. You're only trying to help." She stood and stretched out her hand to him.

He looked surprised and glanced from her outstretched hand to her face. Flustered, he clasped her hand in his and shook it. "Apology accepted, I guess."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "And…?"

He looked confused. "And…what?"

She scowled. "And…don't you want to apologize to me for anything?"

He scoffed. "Like what?"

She growled and shook her head. "I give up. Listen, it's been a long day. I'm taking a nap, and then I'm going to spend the rest of the evening trying to pretend my life is normal."

He almost smiled at that, but he stopped when he caught the wistful expression on her face. She seemed depressed, and her eyes looked…haunted.

He let it go. There was obviously a lot about this woman that he didn't know, and they were both too tired for him to explore the matter. He simply nodded. "Ok. So, you're not leaving the apartment tonight?"

"Pffft. Not if I can help it. I'm not leaving here until I go into work Monday morning. I'm spending all day tomorrow either sleeping, or relaxing in some way, shape, or form."

"Right, and what time do you go in on Monday?"

She tucked her feet beneath her again and leaned back in her recliner, watching him. "I go in at four."

His eyes widened. "In the morning?"

She nodded. "Yes, I have a parent who drops off her son and daughter very early, on her way to work. I need to leave by four, so I can be there early enough to be sure everything is straightened up and taken care of before I open at 4:30."

"How the hell can you stand to take care of kids at that hour?" He still looked shocked.

She grinned. "She usually carries them in asleep. Then I put them on mats where they can sleep until the other children get there. It's actually quite calming…I have some coffee and do some yoga and…relax."

He shook his head incredulously. "I'd be more relaxed if I just stayed in bed."

Her smile broadened. "Now you see why I was so mad you woke me up. Saturday is my only day to sleep in."

"And Sunday."

"Huh?" She looked confused for a moment.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And you get to sleep in Sunday, right?"

"Oh! Oh…right. Right, Sunday!" She laughed and gestured her hand vaguely. "Silly me, yes of course Sunday."

His expression was dubious. She was acting strangely, but he let it go with a shake of his head, his long silvery hair swinging back and forth. "Right, well…I'll be across the street." He pulled a slip of paper out of his back pocket and held it out to her. She took it just before her turned away and headed for the door. He opened it and turned over his shoulder saying, "That's my cell number, and my apartment number. Call me if you decide you're leaving, or if you hear or see anything strange."

She nodded mutely, but he was already out the door.

o0o

Inuyasha sipped the can of soda in his hand, watching Kagome from his window. She was peering anxiously back and forth, her head poking out her doorway. Checking that the coast was clear, she pulled her hat further down over her face, locked her door, and scurried down the steps to the sidewalk below and headed down the street, in the opposite direction of the Taisho building, and her daycare.

'Well, she's obviously not heading in to work.'

He smirked as he watched her glance behind her and ahead of her, from side to side. She was checking to see if anyone was following her, and he could bet that it was him that she was looking for. She checked for oncoming traffic, crossed to his side of the street, and kept going straight, and right out of his sight. "I thought you weren't going anywhere today, Kagome," he mumbled to himself.

He sighed, crushed the empty can in his hand and walked to the other side of the rooftop. It was handy, really, living on the top floor of his building. He could get to the roof easily through a latched door leading from his bedroom ceiling, and he also had a second escape, should someone ever break in to his apartment. Not that he needed to escape, but it was still nice knowing it was there. He watched her walking below him and on past his building, still looking in every direction for a follower.

He smirked again and leapt to the neighboring building, following her. He kept up with her and watched her eventually walk into a fenced in area, through the large wrought-iron gate at the entrance. He frowned and leapt from the roof he was perched on to land gracefully on the sidewalk below. The street was vacant now, and he followed Kagome through the slightly open gate.

She wasn't hard to find. The aura that the jewel gave off was shockingly powerful. He knew he had felt waves of power emanating from her before, but that was nothing compared to what was coming off of her now. He was shocked, actually, that nothing had tracked her down yet. It was probably because she had remained in her apartment, and no one had taken real notice of it yet. His job would only get harder once she was out wandering around again. He frowned. 'Like she is now.'

He watched her, keeping far enough away that she wouldn't be aware of his presence. It was a graveyard. There were small grave markers all about him.

Kagome knelt beneath a tree toward the back of the cemetery. He watched her pull three roses out of her pocket, and put one each on three of the graves before her. He crossed the graveyard, his shoes soundless on the mossy stone pathway.

She was kneeling in the damp grass, and above the smells of the city, and of the grass, and the damp moss, he could detect the scent of her tears.

She sniffled loudly, and let her fingers trail lovingly over one of the stones.

"Mama," she whispered. "I miss you so much."

She wiped her free hand over her eyes. "And…and I'm frightened. I wish you were here. You, Papa, and Souta. I could really use my family, right about now…I could really use some people I can trust."

Inuyasha looked over the three stones. The smaller one was obviously her younger brother's. 'Beloved son and brother,' it said. The larger ones held the names of each of her parents.

He noticed how new the ones for her mother and brother seemed to be, and checked the dates. It was just over a year ago.

He jumped slightly when she spoke again, more loudly this time. "They were killed in a car accident. It was a Sunday. I come every Sunday to…" She trailed off.

"My father died a long time ago…he was killed when I was little. Momma would never tell me how he died. I always wondered and now…I'll never know."

Inuyasha looked down to find her watching him. She sighed. "I'm sorry I tried to sneak out. I knew you'd probably know I left, but…"

"You could have told me. I would have understood."

She nodded and looked back at the graves in front of her, still kneeling on the ground. "I know. I just…" she trailed off vaguely, with a shake of her head. "I had a feeling you'd be watching me, but I just didn't want to bring it up. It's always something I've done alone."

"It's ok. I understand."

She sent him a grateful look, and he held out his hand to help her to her feet. She accepted, and when she was standing next to him, looking down at the graves, he cleared his throat.

"When you said you wished you had someone you could trust…" He shook his head and started again. "Well…I'm just saying…you can trust me," he finally finished.

o0o

"This is ridiculous."

"No it isn't."

"Are you masochistic?"

"No, I'm dedicated."

Inuyasha shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket moodily. He tried to ignore the fact that it still smelled like the woman walking briskly beside him.

He glared at her. "I thought you hated mornings anyway."

She gave him a cheery smile that was indecently bright for someone up so early in the morning. "I do when I'm supposed to be sleeping in! But when I have a job to do, a job that I love to do, I'm more than happy to be up so I can enjoy it." She shrugged and took a sip from the lidded cup in her hand that she had picked up from a corner coffee house on their way down the block. "Besides…I've got my morning coffee. I'm officially ready to take on a new day!"

He looked at her and shook his head in disgust before turning his eyes back to the sidewalk in front of him. "So where is this place anyway?"

"Just one more block. Oh!" She turned to him excitedly and grabbed his sleeve with her free hand. "Can we make a tiny little detour? There's a little bakery behind my building. It's in the first floor of one those apartment buildings. Please, pleeeeaaasseee?"

He rolled his eyes. "Keh. Whatever."

She gave him another grin, and they turned right down the block before where her building would, and took another left so that they were directly behind where her building would be. Inuyasha stood outside holding her coffee for her until she came bounding out with a large, white paper sack in her hand. She took the coffee from him in her free hand, and turned to walk past the building.

"Wait, don't we need to go back the way we came?"

She looked over her shoulder at him but kept walking, calling out, "Nope! Follow me, I know a shortcut!"

He rolled his eyes and jogged to catch up with her. Two buildings past the bakery they came to a narrow and dark alleyway. The sun was not yet peeking over the horizon yet, as it was still only around 4:20 in the morning, so the sky was still dark. The alley, though, was even darker.

He narrowed his eyes at it. "Do you come this way every morning?"

She shook her head, standing just at the entrance. "Oh no, never. I wouldn't come by myself." She turned around and grinned at him again. "But you're with me. So what could happen?"

And with that she walked quickly between the buildings and slipped from sight.

Inuyasha stared after her only for a fraction of a second before hurrying to follow her. "Stupid girl. She should at least let me go in first."

He could see the dim outline of her before him, but could hear her so clearly that he could follow her movements better by sound, so light wasn't necessary to tell him that she was going fairly slowly. She seemed to be picking her way through the obstacles strewn about the alley.

Inuyasha knew what was happening before she had even realized she was falling. Her foot caught on the edge of an old crate, and she began to stumble forward. Inuyasha's arms, however, were there to catch her gently, and he wrapped one about her waist and pulled her over beside the obstacle. She looked up to see his golden eyes glinting in the darkness and his silvery hair seemed to glow. She cleared her throat. "Thank you," she said throatily.

He didn't answer, but merely nodded his head to indicate that she should proceed. They were almost out of the alley and she could see the street ahead on which her business resided.

Inuyasha cleared his throat as she made her way a bit more carefully toward the opening, and shook his head as he followed, unable to be rid of the tightening in his chest that he had felt when he had his arms wrapped about the young woman's waist.

o0o

Inuyasha nibbled his lower lip in concentration, his golden stare fixed on the structure in front of him.

"How is he doing that?" Sango turned to Kagome, finally taking her eyes off the hanyou seated cross-legged on the carpet across the room from them.

Kagome shifted Kohana on her waist and cocked her head thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure. Maybe he's just naturally good with children?" She snorted indelicately at the idea and shook her head. "Ok, unlikely. Maybe those four just have something in common, like…an aptitude for destruction."

Sango thought back on the morning. It hadn't started off well. When she had arrived, Kagome was already at the end of her patience, and Inuyasha was in a towering temper. Kagome introduced Sango to him in short, clipped tones, and quickly strode off to appease a child who was crying…crying because Inuyasha had apparently just scared him to death when he screamed at him for one cause or another.

When the tears were dry and the child was calmly playing with some toy trucks, Kagome stalked over, grabbed Inuyasha roughly by the arm, and pulled him into the small room she used as her office before slamming the door.

Sango watched over the children and sang a loud song with them, trying to cover up the raging argument that was issuing forth from behind the closed door.

When the two finally emerged, they were both tight-lipped and irritated, but from then on, Inuyasha had managed to keep his temper…barely.

Now, both women were shocked to find that, while most of the children in the daycare avoided the scary and loud stranger, the Triplets of Terror (as Kagome and Sango had dubbed them) seemed enraptured by him. The women had never seen the three boys behave so well.

Across the room, speaking in calm and quiet tones, the Triplets sat on their knees in a semi-circle in front of Inuyasha, who was still focused on what he was doing with full attention.

"It's not big enough." Ichiro cocked his head thoughtfully to one side, looking at the structure.

"Feh, of course it's big enough." Inuyasha didn't remove his eyes from what he was doing.

"What's it supposed to be anyway?" Kenjiro eyed it speculatively.

"Feh, what's it look like? It's a fighting ring."

Renzo wiped his nose noisily on his sleeve with a loud sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiff. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" He placed a final block on the top and sat back, eyeing his masterpiece with satisfaction.

After nodding his approval at his work, he gazed at the three young faces around him. "And now, for the most important part. Demolition."

Kagome and Sango both jumped at the sudden outburst of yelling and the sound of clattering blocks. The both looked over to find Inuyasha and all three of the Triplets swiping at the large block structure with abandon, yelling as they destroyed the building.

Sango ducked as a block flew over her head. She nodded. "I think you're right. Those four were made for each other."

o0o

The day passed uneventfully from then on. Sticking to the usual Monday routine, Kagome and Sango settled them all down for a movie after lunch, followed by a nap. Generally, half the children were asleep by the end of the movie anyway, so it all worked out nicely. Inuyasha was even quiet, and divided his interest between the movie, and the window, which he frequently stared out.

By early evening, he was focused on the door, through which parents had begun to arrive. Most of them accepted Kagome's explanation, that Inuyasha was a new employee, without question. When Miroku arrived to pick up Yukio, however, he took one look at Inuyasha and turned to Kagome saying, "So what's the hanyou doing here?"

Inuyasha growled and flexed his clawed fingers at his sides, Sango gave them all a puzzled look, and Kagome looked alarmed. She looked from one to the other, before sweeping them all into the back room momentarily, leaving the door beside her open so that she could keep an eye on the room of children yet to be picked up.

"How on earth did you know that?" she questioned Miroku with wide eyes.

Sango still looked confused. "A hanyou?"

Miroku shrugged. "I could always tell youkai apart from humans."

"Wait, Inuyasha's part youkai?" Sango gazed at him in fascination.

Inuyasha glared at Miroku and Kagome simply looked amazed. "You knew all this time that there were still youkai?"

Miroku smiled a dazzling smile. "Dear Kagome, I know many, many things. If either of you lovely ladies went out with me more often, I could share them with you!"

Inuyasha raised a hand threateningly, but Kagome swatted it down impatiently. "Knock it off, both of you."

Sango was still gazing at Inuyasha in fascination. He rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms impatiently.

Miroku turned to Kagome again. "You still didn't explain what he's doing here."

Kagome bit her lip. "He's…um…"

"I'm working here, dumbass. What else would I be doing here?"

Miroku gave them a half-grin. "Yeah, right. If you're the type to work with children, I'll eat my left shoe."

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. "Want some salt on that?"

Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation and Sango reached a hand up to Inuyasha's head. He swatted it away. She frowned. "Sorry, just thought I saw something."

"You did." Miroku grinned at her. "Those are his cute little puppy ears. They're masked by some concealment charm, but I'm betting that once you know that he's part youkai, the charms aren't effective anymore."

Inuyasha growled again at the mention of "cute little puppy ears" and swiped Sango's hand away once more. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth shaped into a round "oooh" of understanding. "I see them now! Oh, how cute!"

Kagome rubbed two fingers at her temples. "Ok, listen. No one else can know about this, ok? I trust you both. I'll explain some more later, but for right now you're just going to have to trust me when I say that there's a good reason for Inuyasha being here, ok?"

Miroku nodded simply. "Of course we can trust you. And you can trust us. I assure you, I'll tell no one that Inuyasha's a hanyou…on one condition."

Kagome glared at him, but he simply turned and smiled at Sango, still speaking to Kagome. "If you can convince Sango to go on a date with me, my lips are sealed." He made dreamy eyes at the woman next to him and she stepped away in alarm, glaring at him mistrustfully.

Kagome groaned. "Miroku, that's so not fair."

Miroku kept making eyes at Sango and didn't respond. Kagome glanced timidly at the other woman. "Please Sango? For me?"

She looked from Kagome to Miroku and back again. "Kagome…I can't. Not by myself." Her eyes lit with an idea and a devilish grin surfaced. "Hmmm…I'll go on a date with him on one condition…"

Kagome winced.

"Only if it's a double date, Kagome. You and someone else. You and another man. I don't care who, but you have to go on a date too. That way, you're forced to get out and see someone, and I'm not stuck being alone with Mr. Grabby Hands over here." She smacked Miroku's hand away from her rear end.

Kagome's shoulders slumped in defeat and she covered her eyes tiredly with one hand. "Alright, alright, fine."

Miroku grinned more widely. "Yes! How is Wednesday night for you two ladies?"

They both mumbled their agreement and filed out of the back room.

Miroku picked up a sleepy-looking Yukio and cradled the child so that his head was resting on Miroku's shoulder. He grinned over the boy's dark brown tousled hair, and retreated from the building.

Inuyasha scowled after him. "How did an idiot like that ever manage to get hold of a kid anyway? It's not his, is it?"

Kagome picked up the still-sleeping form of Cho, and carried her over to the door just as her parents were entering to pick her up. When they had gone, she turned back to him and gave him a sad smile. "Yukio is Miroku's little brother. He was born when Miroku was already eighteen. Their father died of a heart attack during the pregnancy, and their mother died giving birth to Yukio. He's been taking care of him since he was born."

"By himself? He's been raising that kid all by himself?"

She nodded, before walking over to retrieve one of the other children for a woman that had just entered.

He shrugged and looked over to Sango, who was standing nearby listening to the conversation in silence. "Well, if he's doing it all on his own, he can't be that bad, can he? I mean…I can barely stand to be around these runts for a day."

Sango didn't say anything, but stared thoughtfully into space, clearly lost in thought.

o0o

"Thanks for getting someone to look at my car."

Inuyasha blushed slightly, but shrugged it off. "I know some people. They said they'd pick it up from your daycare tomorrow morning and they'd have it finished as soon as possible."

She smiled at his nonchalant behavior. "That was very thoughtful of you."

He reddened again and turned away. Kagome's grin widened. "Well…things went smoothly today, I thought. The Triplets seemed to like you. I've never seen them cause so little trouble before."

He didn't respond to this, but simply kept walking. It was growing darker outside, but it was not yet quite as dark as it had been when they left that morning. When they finally reached her apartment, she glanced up at him quickly, swallowed once and opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.

"Well, you're home. See you in the morning, I guess," he said gruffly, and he turned quickly on his heel to walk across the street to his apartment. Kagome looked quickly from her own empty apartment windows above her, to Inuyasha's retreating form.

"Wait!"

He turned around in surprise, eyebrows raised.

She blushed slightly and twisted her fingers together. "Well…I mean…it's been a long day, would you…would you like to come in for dinner?" she finally managed to splutter.

He blinked at her from his spot in the middle of the street. A car horn blared, and he jumped, startled, and made his way quickly back toward her. "Um…sure."

She smiled up at him brightly. "Come on in, then. We can order in. I'm too tired to cook."

He gave her a tentative grin in return, and followed her up the stairs.

o0o

A/N:

Ok, there it is. Ahhh, finally updated! Wooo! I'm anxious to write the next chapter because more action will be there, I hope!

And of course, I can't wait until the double date.

I wonder who Kagome will find to take her…Hmmmm…..

Oh, and does that answer the question? Miroku does not have a son. It's his baby bro.

Alright, time to update Taking Over…which will have more fluff, as promised.