Kagome sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed. She grabbed her phone off the nightstand and saw she had a message from Dog Boy.
[Good morning. Still planning on tackling my food list today?]
She smiled at her phone, the same stupid smile she'd given her phone the last three days when she woke up to his good morning texts.
[Morning! Yep be there around lunch. Wish me luck, gonna need it to find everything on ur stupid list]
He was getting much faster with his replies and she only had to wait a minute before his response popped up.
[You'll be fine. Just don't forget the eggs...I want one of those omelets you were bragging about.]
In the three days since Kagome dropped off the phone, her new friend under the well had been texting her quite frequently. Not that she minded, they had some really good conversations. He asked a lot of questions about life on the surface, as he liked to call it, and she got to learn a little about him in the process. She knew ramen was his favorite food, red was his favorite color, and he was developing a thing for American rock music now that she'd taught him how to use a streaming music app. Oh, and he spoke fluent English; her new friend was apparently well educated.
On top of the good morning and good night texts every day and the bits of information they shared about themselves, there was definitely some light flirting going on. Again, she didn't mind; he spent the last year with nobody to talk to except her grandfather, and that was only twice a week at best. If he wanted to flirt with the only woman he had contact with then she was going to let him. She was also going to enjoy it.
[Not making you anything until I at least know your name, Dog boy]
She stretched a little and got up to start her day. She planned to make Thursdays her grocery days since she had the house to herself for a few hours in the afternoon. Sota would be in school until at least five o'clock with all the extra studying he was doing and her mother ran most of her errands then took a painting class in the afternoon. Once the shrine reopened to the public in a few weeks, it would be more difficult to find time to sneak off. That was a problem for future Kagome though; she had two more weeks to figure out how she would manage her time.
Kagome made her way downstairs to grab a small breakfast before heading out. She was surprised to find her mother had already left for the day but not before setting out breakfast for her daughter. After eating and cleaning up her dishes, Kagome finally made her way out to her car. Her phone chirped as she was getting in.
[That's a shame. It's gonna be hard to knock carrying all those groceries today.]
"Smartass," she mumbled and responded to his text.
[Are you challenging me, Dog Boy?]
She tossed her phone back in her purse; she wouldn't touch it while she was driving. She put her seatbelt on, double-checked all her mirrors, tugged on her seatbelt again, and started the car. The grocery store was only a few minutes away so she would hopefully be back in time for an early lunch.
A big advantage to Thursday morning shopping was the nearly empty store. She could stop and stare at his stupid list for as long as she needed to without worrying about feeling silly. After one trip around the store, grabbing only what she could easily find, she only had a few things left on the list. He'd done a decent job of grouping the items according to where she could find things so she had an idea of where to check for what she was missing.
"Higurashi, is that you?" she heard someone call from behind her.
She turned and saw Hojo approaching and had to resist the urge to groan. Instead, she smiled and gave him a short wave. "Hey Hojo, how have you been?"
"Alright, classes have been keeping me pretty busy. How about you? I was sorry to hear about your grandfather. Are you alright?" he asked and, in a bold move for someone like Hojo, took her hand and squeezed it.
"I'm alright," she said and pulled her hand back as politely as she could. "A little nervous about taking over the shrine duties but I'll have Mama to help me through that."
He seemed to notice her cart for the first time and he gave her an odd look. "Since when do you shop for groceries? I thought you hated cooking."
Damn, how did her grandfather do this for a whole year without anyone being suspicious? "I'm, um, trying to expand my cooking skills. Can't eat eggs for every meal, right?" She laughed and winced at how forced it sounded.
"RIght. Higurashi, are you sure you're ok?"
"Yep, fine! It was nice seeing you Hojo, but I've got a lot to do today so I better get moving."
"Oh, alright," he said and didn't try to hide the disappointed look he shot her. "Maybe we can catch up some time?"
"Sure, I'll text you. See ya, Hojo." She turned and made her way quickly to the next aisle. Great, now she had to find the last of the list while avoiding Hojo. Luckily she only had three things left to find.
She didn't see Hojo again until she was checking out and he was far enough away to pretend she didn't see him. She loaded her car up quickly and ran through her seatbelt and mirror checks in record time trying to get out of her parking spot before Hojo spotted her car. She let out a sigh of relief when she was finally on her way back to the shrine.
Her phone chirped a few times while she was driving and she worried how many messages were from Hojo. That was the first time they'd spoken since their breakup and it was every bit as awkward as she had imagined it would be. They hadn't ended on bad terms, Hojo was too sweet to be angry, but that didn't mean it wasn't a hard split. She found out weeks later that he'd been planning on proposing over the summer. She wouldn't have said yes.
She parked her car behind the house and pulled her phone out to check her messages. Two were from Hojo and three were from Dog Boy. She checked Hojo's first.
[Are you busy this Saturday? We could grab a coffee.]
[If you want to, that is. No pressure, I know you're probably busy.]
"Hmm, don't think so," she said.
[I'm busy on Saturday. I'll let you know when I have some free time.]
"Like never." She opened the messages from Dog Boy and her mood instantly improved.
[I already told you, you'll never get past my senses]
[How's shopping? Having any problems finding anything?]
[I'm gonna take your silence as a good sign and assume you're concentrating on my list too hard to think up a smart-ass comment. Let me know before you descend to my lair so I can make sure I'm (not) naked.]
Damn nerd...damn hot, sexy, adorable nerd that she absolutely did not want to see naked, not even a little. She was tempted to try and surprise him so she could knock on the damn door but his ears and nose would give her away anyway. Also, she was a little worried he actually would be naked and that would be...something.
[Just got back. It's gonna take me a few minutes to get all your groceries to the well then I'll be down]
She got out and started grabbing bags. It was going to be at least two trips across the shrine and probably three or four to get them all down the well. At least she would have help at the bottom.
Inuyasha closed his laptop and checked his phone. Kagome would be there soon and he wanted to finish making their lunch. He'd spent most of the morning preparing all the ingredients for his favorite ramen recipe. All he had to do now was put it all together and serve.
He moved to the kitchen and pulled out bowls and utensils but decided to wait to assemble everything. While he waited, he peeled the soft-boiled eggs so they would only need to be cut in half before adding them to the bowls. He was running low on some things but he had some spring onion and radishes cut and ready to go. He checked his broth for flavor one more time and was happy to find it perfect. He turned the heat back on low to warm it back up and finally turned to the chicken. He pulled the foil off the plate and started cutting it into strips. He was just finishing up when the hum of the platform motor reached his ears.
He knew from experience that it would take at least two trips to get all the bags down the platform so he went out to start grabbing what he could. She'd managed to fit a lot on her first trip, the bags all hanging from her hands and wrists.
"Why wouldn't you just set them down?" he asked when the platform stopped. "You had to know I was going to help you carry everything."
She stepped off the platform and let her arms fall, setting the bags down around her. "I didn't want to pick them back up if you were too naked to help me. But since you're here and fully dressed, I'm going to go back up and grab the rest."
He tsked but smirked, letting one fang show over his lip. "Who says I can't carry groceries naked?"
"Keep your clothes on, Dog Boy, I'll be right back." She stepped back onto the platform, shaking her head.
It only took one trip to get the first round of groceries into his kitchen. He left the door open so she could walk right in if her hands were full and started putting everything away. He was about halfway done when she stumbled through the door with the last of the bags.
"Just set them on the floor over here, it'll only take me a couple of minutes to finish this up. You have time to stick around, right?" He tried not to sound too eager.
She set the rest of the bags down and shook her hands to loosen her fingers back up. "Yeah, I've got some time. Mama and Sota shouldn't be back for at least a few hours."
"Good, I made lunch." He nodded to the counter where the ramen was waiting to be assembled.
"Mm, so that's what that delicious smell is. Do you want me to help with anything?"
"Nah, I got it. Just take a seat and get ready to enjoy the best ramen you'll ever eat."
He finished putting the groceries away but Kagome didn't move to sit. Instead, she leaned on the counter and waited until he put the last item in the cupboard. When he started towards the stove to finish up their lunch, Kagome walked out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"Hey, where are you going?" he asked and started to follow her. He was almost to the door when she started knocking. He reached the door but stopped with his hand hovering near the doorknob. So that's how it was going to be then. "Who is it?" he asked, playing along.
"You know who it is, let me in," she called back to him.
He whipped the door open and leaned against the frame with his arms crossed. "Can I help you?" he asked while examining the claws on one hand.
"Seriously?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. "Isn't lunch going to get cold?"
"Nope, got the heat on under the broth. Everything else is perfect at room temperature."
"Well, will you at least tell me your name now?" she asked.
He gave her a very serious look and held his hand out. "Give me your phone."
"No," she said automatically. "What do you need my phone for? You barely know how to use yours."
"That's rude and I'm insulted," he said but he smirked and kept his hand out. "I'm not letting you in until you give me your phone."
"Are you going to give it right back?"
"Maybe. You're not going to know until you give it to me. Unlocked, please." He quirked an eyebrow, a silent challenge.
"Fine," she said and pulled her phone from her back pocket. She held her thumb to the bottom of the screen to unlock it then handed it over. "Just don't go snooping through my pictures or messages."
He went into her contacts and looked for Dog Boy. "What kind of pictures are you taking that you don't want me to see, Higurashi?"
"Doesn't matter because you're never going to see them. Are you done yet?" She reached for her phone but he was much faster and much taller. He held it out of her reach, forcing her to step closer to try and grab it.
"Keh, get as close as you want, you still won't reach it." He waved her phone just out of her reach and grinned when she tried to jump for it. "Careful, don't want you to fall." He turned so his back was to her and finished what he was doing.
She moved around him and snatched her phone back. "What the hell, Dog Boy?"
"Don't worry, I didn't do anything bad. I promise." He pulled his phone out and sent her a quick message.
[Knock knock]
She looked down at her phone and a smile slowly spread across her face. "Nice to meet you, Inuyasha. Damn, Dog Boy wasn't that far off, was it?" she mused.
"Low blow, Higurashi. And after I made you lunch, too," he teased.
"Oh, you made me lunch? I thought you made yourself lunch and just decided to share with me since I went and bought your groceries." She went and sat on a stool while they had their back and forth.
"Nope, I made it just for you. Don't expect it all the time though." He closed the door and joined her in the kitchen to start assembling the ramen. "Can't have you thinking I like the company or anything like that."
She smiled and it almost took his breath away; he couldn't stop himself from smiling in return. He distracted himself with the ramen, preparing the noodles spooning the broth into bowls. When the noodles were done, he finished assembling everything then turned back around, a bowl of ramen in each hand. He glanced at his guest and saw that she was studying him with a thoughtful expression.
"Thank you," she said when he set her bowl and utensils down in front of her. She waited until he was seated before trying some of the food. Her face lit up again. "This is delicious. Is this your recipe?"
He shook his head. "My mother's. It was one of the first things she taught me how to cook. She used to-" he cut off.
The memory of his mother showing him around the kitchen hit him hard and his hand clenched into a fist where it was laying on the counter. He avoided looking at Kagome, his eyes burning with the effort to not let any tears fall in his ramen. Even after a year, the strangest things could trigger memories that would overwhelm his emotions and cause him to shut down. This was the price he paid for never facing and accepting his mother's death and the grief and guilt that went along with it. He was almost used to it by now, the way his mind locked up and shut down, but this time was different; this was the first time he had an audience for one of his breakdowns.
A small hand covered his fist and gave it a light squeeze. He still couldn't look at her, couldn't face the pity he would see. Her thumb gently stroked his knuckles and he closed his eyes, accepting the small bit of comfort. She didn't say anything, didn't try to push him to look at her or talk about what was happening, she just let him have his moment of grief. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Inuyasha let her scent wash over him, soothing him in a way he hadn't experienced since...since his mother was alive. He would never be able to tell her how grateful he was in that moment.
It took a few minutes but he was finally able to open his eyes and raise his head. She was looking at him but it wasn't pity he saw in her deep brown eyes, it was understanding; she knew exactly what he was going through. The depth of her gaze and the realization that that kind of understanding only came from experience stole his breath and suddenly he wanted to comfort her. He was the one having a breakdown but it was her pain he wanted to soothe, however old it may be.
Then, just as quickly as it happened, the moment was gone. She pulled her hand back and looked into her bowl of ramen. "Sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to bring up painful memories." Her voice was soft and it hurt his heart.
He wished he was better at the whole comfort thing so he would know the perfect thing to say. He wasn't even sure which of them needed the comfort more. "It's alright, don't apologize," was all he could manage and he hated it. He could do better. "Remembering her hurts but forgetting her would be worse." That was better, and true, and something he was sure she would understand.
He realized this was the first time he managed to get through one of his episodes without either lying in bed for a few hours or working out until he couldn't feel his limbs anymore. It was an odd feeling, almost being able to deal with his emotions. He was especially grateful that Kagome wouldn't have to witness him completely shut down. Maybe he should encourage more visits from the woman sitting across from him.
Her sad smile brought him the rest of the way back to himself. "Foods getting cold," she said and started eating her ramen.
"Right," he said. Food was a good distraction so he followed her lead and went back to eating. He kept glancing at her as they ate, trying to think of something to lighten the mood. "Did you have any problems finding anything? At the grocery store, I mean."
"Hmm? Oh, no, I found everything just fine. There were only like, three things I had to really look for. You organized the list well."
"Good, I try to make it easy when I put together my lists." It should have felt awkward, sitting there casually eating after such an intense few minutes. It didn't though and Inuyasha filed that observation away to examine later.
They finished their lunch and Inuyasha started cleaning up, waving Kagome away when she tried to help. "It's my kitchen, I'll clean up."
"Fine, fine," she said and went to sit on the sofa. She settled against the left armrest and asked, "What do you do all day, anyway? You have to get bored, there's only so much tv a person can watch."
"I spend a lot of time sleeping, cooking, and working out." He flexed his arms and she rolled her eyes but he caught the little bit of musk that crept into her scent.
"Alright muscles, how about something more interesting? You have to have at least one tv show that you like to binge."
"Muscles? That's a much better name than Dog Boy. I think you should have been calling me muscles from the very beginning." They were moving back towards flirting which was much safer territory, sort of. Inuyasha finished up in the kitchen and joined her on the sofa, plopping down to her right.
"Nah, Dog Boy worked just fine." She leaned forward and picked the remote up off the table to click the tv on. "Let's see what you watch." Some game show came up on the screen and Kagome let out a little groan.
"You got a problem with my choice of entertainment?" he asked, looking as offended as possible.
"Endless possibilities for entertainment and you watch a stupid game show. You know most of these are rigged, right?"
He grabbed the controller from her hand before she could even react. "You have a better suggestion?" He started flipping through channels just to give himself a distraction. Why had he thought sitting next to her was a good idea? That muskiness was still there and he swore it got stronger when he sat down.
"Hey, give that back," she laughed and tried to grab it back. "I need to find you something decent to watch."
He had the controller in his right hand and held it above his head which forced her to climb over his lap to grab it. She let out a little triumphant noise and settled back onto her side of the sofa. Her scent lingered around him and he wasn't sure how to feel about his reaction. It was very clear at this point that he was attracted to her and had been since he first saw her studying his living space. He had to make sure it didn't move past that initial attraction into more dangerous territory.
She wasn't making it easy on him. Hell, he wasn't making it easy on himself. He flirted just as much, if not more than she did. The texting was great but also a problem because it allowed them to talk almost all day and he genuinely enjoyed their conversations. He shouldn't be feeling anything after only a few days but how could he not? Maybe it was because she was the only person he had to talk to but he suspected it was more than that. And that moment they shared sitting at the counter-
"Inuyasha? Hello, earth to Inuyasha. You alright?"
"Huh?" Right, she was still sitting next to him. How long had he zoned out? "Sorry, lost in thought for a second."
"I was just asking if I could use your laptop really quick. I wanted to get you on a few streaming services so you can watch something besides game shows."
"Don't know what that means but sure, go ahead," he said. He didn't do anything on the laptop anyway. Except-
She settled at his desk and opened the laptop. The screen came to life and an article popped up, a name in bold displayed over a picture of a man with striking blue eyes and pointed ears. "What's this?" she asked.
He jumped up and slammed the laptop closed. "Don't worry about it." His voice came out much harsher than he'd intended.
"Why are you so defensive? It was just a news article about some guy. Koga, was that the name? You know him or something?" she asked and it was clear she was just curious.
"Why are you so fucking nosey?" He physically recoiled at the hurt that flashed in her eyes.
"What the hell is your problem?" she shot back.
"Just mind your own damn business. You don't know shit about me or my life and it's gonna fucking stay that way."
She stood up from the chair so quickly it almost toppled over. She glared at him, the hurt still clear in her eyes, and started for the door.
"Wait, Kagome. I didn't-"
"Don't," she cut him off. "I'm gonna go." She left and he didn't try to stop her. The door slammed, leaving him with the scent of her unshed tears and the spice of her anger. It was probably better that way. The best way to keep someone at arm's length is to be an asshole, right?
"Fuck, I'm an idiot." He was already planning his apology.
Koga hated meeting place six and was positive his associate had chosen it on purpose. Who the hell had a secret room for meetings underneath a dog grooming place anyway?
He glared at the man sitting across from him. He looked as pompous as ever in his dark blue business suit, long white hair pulled back at his neck, claws resting lightly on the metal tabletop. His tie was also dark blue but had the three red hexagons of his family's crest. The crescent moon and two stripes on the sides of his face indicated he was from an ancient line of yokai.
He was dignified and powerful and Koga fucking hated him. "Alright bastard, let's get this over with," he growled and slid a manila envelope across the table.
The man picked it up and extracted the papers from inside. His gold eyes widened slightly as he read what appeared to be police reports.
"Those are the original, unredacted reports from the day your father died. It's taken me years to get my hands on those without the wrong people finding out about my inquiries. Listen Sesshomaru, this shit is deeper than we thought."
Sesshomaru finished reading through all the pages and looked over the top at the wolf yokai. "This potentially changes some things. Do you still intend to kill him when you find him?"
"I don't give two shits about his life, I just want answers. If I have to kill him to get them then that's what I'll do." Koga reached across and snatched the papers from Sesshomaru. "I've got copies for you but I'm keeping the originals." He placed the originals back in the envelope and pulled a folder from his briefcase to hand over.
Sesshomaru took the folder and tucked it into his briefcase. "You have other information for me?"
"You know the name Higurashi?" Koga asked and pulled out another piece of paper.
"It is vaguely familiar. They are a shrine family, correct?" His tone gave away his distaste for humans, specifically spiritual humans.
"They are. I remembered the name from when I was running Toga's security so I've had people watching the shrine for a while, trying to catch anything suspicious." He slid the paper across the table. "The official story is the old man fell. It's a lot of steps so his injuries, as bad as they were, weren't considered suspicious."
Sesshomaru studied the paper, which turned out to be a picture. "How did you get this?"
"Told you, I got people watching. They always have cameras ready, just in case. Unless the old man can fly, there's no way he fell down those steps on his own."
The picture showed an old man in mid-air above high above a set of steep shrine steps. It looked as though he had been propelled forward out over the steps instead of simply falling.
"There had to be yokai involvement. No human could push him that far." Sesshomaru handed the picture back to Koga before asking, "How far does the shrine barrier extend?"
"It stops at the top of the steps. Nobody could have been behind him and my guys didn't see or smell anyone anywhere nearby." Koga growled, "If I find out your brother was involved-"
"Do not jump to conclusions. I want this fully investigated before we make any moves. Keep an eye on the rest of the family and try to discover the nature of their barrier." Sesshomaru stood to leave, giving Koga one last warning look. "You will still keep me informed of all details. Consider making contact with one of the Higurashis to determine if they may be hiding something. You make no major moves without consulting with me first."
He turned and left, not giving the scowling wolf yokai a second look.
