Chapter 6: First Shocked
Kagome looked awesome! Inuyasha thought. She wore a short black shirt over red tights and a silky, sleeveless red T-shirt. She had toed her long, beautiful hair back with a red ribbon. But it had come loose soon after they arrived at The Mill. Now it flowed down past her shoulders, waving behind her as she clapped and swayed to the music.
Inuyasha watched Kagome from the small stage as his fingers moved through the opening notes of "That'll Be the Day." Through the flashing red and blue lights, he could see her standing alone near the back of the dance floor, clapping to the beat.
What an excellent sound system! Inuyasha thought. He smiled at Koga and Miroku as their music flowed out over the crowed, throbbing dance floor. We sounded great!
Inuyasha began to do his Chuck Berry strut. His hands moved automatically. The music flowed through him, around him, inside him.
The set ended too quickly. Inuyasha wanted the quaking, shaking blur of throbbing sound and flashing lights, dancing bodies, shouts, and cheers to go on forever.
"The loved us!" Inuyasha cried as he stepped off the stage. "They love us!"
The cheers faded as the deejay turned the music up. The lights continued to flash. Red and blue, red and blue. Inuyasha pushed through the jumble of twisting, bobbing bodies and shadows to the back of the dance floor, where Kagome waited for him.
"How was it?" He shouted. He grabbed a used napkin from a table and mopped the sweat off his forehead.
"What?" Kagome shouted.
He leaned closer and shouted over the music. "How was it?"
She smiled. "Great!" Her tiny voice barely rose over the vibrating bass, the steady thud of synthesized drums.
"It's too loud to talk!" Inuyasha shouted into her ear. "Let's just dance."
They danced for a few songs. Kagome, he say, was too self-conscious to be a good dancer. She can't let go and just dance, he realized. He could see the concentration on her face as she struggled to keep the beat.
"Could we go somewhere and get some fresh air?" She pleaded as the second dance number led into the third. She pushed her dark hair off her shoulders, then grabbed his hand in both of hers and tugged him away. Her hands were hot and wet.
Near the exit they ran into Koga. He had his keyboard under his arm and was heading out.
"We were great! We were awesome! Rock 'n' roll!" Inuyasha cried, slapping him on the back.
Koga smiled halfheartedly. "We were doing okay, Inuyasha, until you pulled your amp cord out. Why did you decide to start strutting and dancing around like that?"
"Show biz, man!" Inuyasha cried. "Show biz. You've got to put on a show for them! Rock 'n' roll, man! They loved us! Did you see their faces? They loved us!"
Koga shook his head. "But you were taking away from us, man! We looked like your backup group."
"They loved us!" Inuyasha repeated. "They ate it up!"
"Later." Koga said. He smiled at Kagome then pushed open the door and disappeared.
Inuyasha realized he was still holding Kagome's hand. It felt tiny and soft inside his. He leaned close to her so he could smell her hair. It smelled like strawberries.
She is really great looking. He thought to himself. A lot of guys are staring at us. They're so jealous because I'm with her and they're not. Too bad she can't dance. And too bad she is so shy. She barely said two words when we drove to the club.
Inuyasha glanced back at the dance floor, flooded in swirling red lights. Miroku was dancing with Sango but still checking out some of the girls around him. Inuyasha gave Miroku a wave and shouted, but Miroku was just slapped across the face at that time, so he couldn't see him.
When I had entered the club earlier, Sango had greeted Kagome warmly and deliberately snubbed me. As if I cared. He thought.
Why did I ever date her?" He asked himself.
Oh, well, I've learned my lesson. No more charity cases.
"Let's get out of here." He told Kagome. "We'll get that fresh air you wanted."
He led the way out to the parking lot.
It was a clear night, cold for April, more like winter than spring. The stars shimmered in the purple night sky.
Kagome shivered as she lowered herself into the passenger seat of his red Bonneville. "I should've brought a sweater or something." She murmured.
He shut the door. I'll bet I could warm you up real fast. He thought to himself.
They cruised around the streets for a while. He slipped a CD into the player and turned it up. Classical guitar music. That always impressed girls. He thought.
He had to do most of the talking. He talked about the band, about his classes, about the summer vacation in Hawaii his family was planning to take when he got home from working as a camp counselor.
He wished she wasn't so shy and quiet. And he wished she wouldn't cling to the passenger door as if she might jump out at any moment.
"You're the one with the monkeys, right?" She said as they drove by Tokyo High, now dark and empty. "I mean, your science project?"
"Naraku and Onigumo? Yeah, they are mine." He drove with one hand, his right hand on the gearshift, even though the car was an automatic. "It's a diet experiment. I'm feeding Naraku only bananas and water. Onigumo is getting a mixed diet."
"Where on earth did you get the monkeys?" She asked.
"My uncle." Inuyasha told her. "He's an animal importer. He works for zoos. They're great monkeys, but I can't keep them. I have to send them back when the experiment is over.
"It's a neat experiment." Kagome said, settling back in the seat.
"I don't think my teacher appreciates it." Inuyasha told her.
She turned to him. "Why not?"
"Because the monkeys look so much like him!"
They both laughed. Her laugh sounded more like coughing than laughing. Inuyasha thought.
"Do you take them home on the weekends?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No, the teacher does."
He kept glancing at her as he drove, trying to decide if she liked him or not. Of course she likes me. Inuyasha thought to himself. But does she really like me?"
As he drove, he had a fantasy of the Higurashi twins fighting over him. They were wrestling on the ground, tearing and scratching at each other, each desperate to have him for herself (Like who in the real world hasn't had that fantasy lol).
Did he like her? He wondered. Of course he did. She was a babe, wasn't she?"
At a little before twelve, he pulled up her driveway and switched off the engine and the lights. He turned to talk to her.
But she startled him by nearly jumping into his lap. "I had a nice time." She whispered. Before Inuyasha could reply, she grabbed his head with both hands, pressed her face against his, and kissed him longingly."
The kiss lasted a long time.
Then, uttering a soft sigh, she raised her face to his and kissed him again, harder this time, and longer.
I don't believe this! Inuyasha thought. She is nuts about me!
She wrapped her hot hands around his neck and held his face close as she kissed him again. When it ended, they were both breathless.
"I've got to go in." She whispered. She pressed her forehead against his. Her hair brushed his face. "Want to come over tomorrow night? We could watch a video or something."
The question caught Inuyasha by surprised. He almost blurted out, No, I can't. I have a date with your sister tomorrow.
But he caught himself, and replied. "I whish I could, Kagome. I really do. But I'm—busy."
Her lips formed an unhappy pout. She brushed them against his cheek as she pulled away from him.
"Good night." She whispered. "Call me, okay?"
He watched her jog to the back of the house. He could still taste her lips on his, still feel the warm tingle of her hands on the back of his neck.
Wow! He thought. You never can tell with the quiet ones!
As he backed down the driveway, he couldn't help but grin to himself. "Inuyasha the Man scores again!" He cried out loud.
If she is the shy one, I can't wait to check out her sister!
Inuyasha waited for Kikyo the next night in the food court in the mall. She arrived a few minutes late, jogging towards Inuyasha, her black hair flowing wildly behind her.
She wore loose-fitting faded denim shorts and a bright magenta midriff blouse.
Oh, wow! Is she sexy! Inuyasha thought as he played it cool and forced her to come all the way to him. His first impulse was to tell her she looked incredible. But instead he murmured in a low voice. "Hey, how's it going?"
She didn't reply. Instead, she took his arm and pulled him toward the wall. "We can't do this, Inuyasha." She said in a low, frightened voice.
"Huh?" He reacted with surprised.
"We can't meet like this." She told him. Her eyes darted nervously around the crowded court. "Look! There's Kagome!"
To Be Continued
He is so busted. Read and review to find out how.