Inuyasha's eyes slowly opened as he heard the wind rattling against the window, he was lying on his side, his hand next to his face twitched as he saw the strains of black hair under it. He stared at it, his vision still a bit blurry from sleep. That's right; he was still human.
He remembers that Ms. Higurashi told him to go lie down for a bit after they got home from shopping since he was so upset. He stretched his hand out against the soft pink bedding, feeling the stiff joint give a satisfying pop. Pink, he thought to himself as he rolled over on to his back, rubbing his face with his hand. The room seemed a bit too dark for midday; he looked at the window, the trees were whipping back and forth, and the clouds were starting to get dark. The rain was coming.
"PINK!" Inuyasha gasped out as he shot up quickly, looking around, a blush staining his cheeks as it hit him. It was Kagome's bed! He had fallen asleep in HER bed. He pulled the pillow up to his nose, taking a deep breath. No wonder he felled asleep so fast, even though he didn't have his super smell, Kagome's scent was still dominant, filling his body with a calm feeling. It was the first time that day that he felt utterly composed, he wasn't worried about being human, the new moon, and the possibility of not getting back to his time. Just here, at this moment, with Kagome's scent. He nuzzled his face into the pillow more. She always had this type of power over him, making him feel calm in a mist of panic, and she wasn't even here.
"Inuyasha, you here? Mom said-" Sōta yelled out as he slammed the door open, scaring Inuyasha, causing him to chunk the pillow across the room. Inuyasha jumped off the bed quickly, panting as he felt the blush grow on his face, trying to act as normal as possible.
"Woah! Inuyasha! Your hair is black, and you're wearing normal clothes! What happened to you?" He ran over to him, trying to take in his features as he circled him like a vulture. Inuyasha released a breath he didn't realize he was holding as he relaxed. Good, it seems like he didn't get caught being a weirdo in Kagome's room. He looked at the boy, it's been a while since he was last here and now that he thought about it, he never really looked at him before. You could tell that he was Kagome's brother; they both share the same smile as their mother.
Sōta's face was in awe as Inuyasha told his story, how this was a normal thing for him back in his time during the new moon but never during the day, but he was an Hanyō when he jumped in the Well but came out the other end as a human and it was day, not night like it was back in his time.
"Mom said that you looked a bit different today! That's an understatement! Sis is going to freak when she sees you!" Inuyasha's body tensed at the statement as they walked down the stairs.
"Shit! I didn't think about that…" Inuyasha muttered to himself as he ran both his hands through his hair; panic filling his eyes. That's right; Kagome didn't know he was here, let alone a human on top of that! What was he supposed to tell her? That he might be stuck here forever so she better get used to it? Would she be mad at him? It wasn't like he changed into a human on purpose. But then she will know that he came after her and rub it in his face that he needed her, his left eye twitched at the thought.
"Inuyasha dear, how was your nap?" Ms. Higurashi's voice startled him a bit until he realized who he was talking to, the blush returning to his face with a vengeance as the memory flooded his mind. He embraced her in the street after he got overwhelmed with the memory of his mother. God, she had seen him at his lowest, but there she was, smiling at him sweetly. He nodded at her question, averting his eyes as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Part-timer, come help me repair some stuff in the shed before this storm hits." Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see Kagome's grandfather; he had become accustomed to the old man calling him part-timer ever since he tried working at the shrine when he broke Kagome's iron cart (bike).
"Oh, dear father, do you think this storm is going to be bad?" Ms. Higurashi asked as she looked out the window, the wind was already picking up more so than it did this morning.
"Don't worry; I will protect this family from anything to come." The old man stated with a matter of fact attitude. It caused Inuyasha to chuckle at his determination, he was quite impressed with his spirit, but they wouldn't have to worry because Inuyasha was here too if things became too much for the old man.
Inuyasha carried the wood for him as they walked to the shed, the wind blowing his hair in his face made it difficult for him to see what was in front of him. He cursed to himself as he tried to blow the hair out of his face as much as he could so that he could see at least something. But they made it to the shed where he climbed on the latter, hamming the wood against any possible leaks that could ruin the heirlooms. Once finished, they returned to the house, when they finally closed the door Inuyasha's hair was a mess, hair tangled in his face.
"Oh dear, Sōta love, can you please bring me a brush." Ms. Higurashi giggled as she saw Inuyasha and his hair, motioning for him to take a seat on the ground in front of her. He obeyed her reluctantly as he sat down in front of her, pushing his back against her legs. He jerked a bit when he felt her fingers run through his hair and then relaxed into her touch after a moment.
"Is this one good mom?" Sōta returned with a large brush in his hands, handing it to his mother with his question. She nodded, giving him a sweet smile.
"This is perfect love. Inuyasha dear, would you like me to pull your hair back until the wind dies down?" She gently grabbed Inuyasha's hair in chunks as she ran the brush through it, surprisingly the tangles gave the brush no resistance at all, and they just fell away. It took her no time at all to brush through all his hair if only everyone's hair could be this easy, she thought.
"Sure," Inuyasha answered casually, as he shrugged his shoulders, he was too lost in the feeling of the brush going through his hair. He hasn't had anyone brush his hair like this since his mother when he was a child.
Ms. Higurashi smiled as she scooped his long black hair with her hands, starting the motion at his forehead and slowly moving her hands back as she scooped all the hair across the length that her hands were traveling back towards her, making sure to leave the two thick locks of hair by his face alone. Once she had scooped and collected all his hair, she pulled his hair through the two elastic bands that she bought him earlier, as if she were to tie a simple ponytail. She then passed the elastic bands again; however, this time, she passed them only through half the distance of the end of his hair, repeating this until she got all of his hair into a loose and messy man-bun.
"All done, you won't have to worry about all that hair going in your face." She patted his back, he turned his head over his shoulder so he could look at her, she had a big prideful smile on her lips.
He couldn't help but give her a small smile back as he stood up and went to look in the mirror by the front door. It was strange looking at himself, it was the first time he had seen himself in the new clothing and now even his hair was different. The only thing reminding him of his world was the Beads of Subjugation that Kaede cursed on him.
The new hairstyle gave the illusion that it was short but not really since it all balled towards the top back of his head. He moved his head from side to side, feeling the weight of his hair shift with the movement; it seemed sturdy enough.
He felt a strange feeling grow in his chest, as he looked more at the stranger in the mirror. Is this what he would look like if he were born in Kagome's time? If he were, would he have ever met Kagome? He clenched his fist at the thought, he wondered how their first meeting would be like if it were in this time instead of the past, and he was a normal human-like her and not a Hanyō. Would she,
The wind raddled against the window with a vengeance, freeing him from his mind as he was brought back to reality. He turned to look at Ms. Higurashi; his eyes widen a bit; it was the first time that he had seen her with a genuinely worried look on her face as she stared out the window. She felt his eyes on her and caught his, giving him a small smile as she started walking towards him.
"Inuyasha, would you be a dear and walked Kagome home since the storm is getting close? It's just that I'm afraid that some people drive reckless during bad weather," Ms. Higurashi asked as she handed him an umbrella. Inuyasha looked at the stick confused, cocking his head to the side but took it regardless; Kagome must know how to use this thing.
She turned Inuyasha around as she started putting an overcoat that she called a jacket on him just in case it rains and because it was starting to get colder outside since the sun wasn't so high anymore.
"Drive?" Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to Ms. Higurashi as she helped him put his arms through the sleeves of the jacket, confused by the word. She caught his eyes and saw his confusion, a smile spreading on her lips as she tried her best to explain what it was.
"Oh, you know cars, they drove past us when we were walking home earlier. There are people inside of them that drive them. However, sometimes during bad weather, people tend to lose control of them." She went over to the coffee table and picked up a magazine, flipping through the pages until she found what she was looking for. She held up the book to Inuyasha's eyes, pointing at the car on the page. He eyed the object on the page suspiciously, resting his finger on his lower lip as he narrowed his eyes.
"You mean those Iron demons? Man, your world is pretty dangerous too huh? You don't have to worry about Kagome; I'll get her." Inuyasha smirked; he wasn't going to let a low life demon like that hurt Kagome. Hell, he was sure he could take it down; he's taken down stronger demons in his human form.
Sōta looked up at his mother as Inuyasha practically ran out the door, the wind whisking violently against the trees, only to see a sweet smile on her lips, she didn't say anything and went back to the kitchen to continue to work on dinner. She was up to something.
Inuyasha growled at himself as he put the closed umbrella behind his head, squeezing it with his hands, walking was tedious. If only he were still a Hanyō, he would have been to Kagome's school in no time. But no, he was a slow human, and for some reason, people look at you strangely if you run down the road.
He sighed out; he guessed it was okay; it was only about a 20-minute walk, and she still had about 10 minutes before she was able to leave, so by the time he gets there, she should be ready to go.
He narrowed his eyes, sad-like as he wondered if she would be angry when she sees him, would she even recognize him? He had a hard-enough time recognizing himself in the mirror earlier. Would she prefer him like this? He looked up to the dark clouds, squinting his eyes; the rain was getting closer, and so was the night. What will happen? Will he change back to a Hanyō? Or will he…
Inuyasha sighed out as he tucked the umbrella under his arm before he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, the air was starting to get colder, and the wind had luckily calmed down a bit, it was a constant breeze, it wasn't as crazy as it was earlier. Then again, he was walking away from the storm clouds, so that's probably why.
"Oh wow, look at him. Do you think he's a high school student?" One of the girls whispered as she pulled the other girl closer to her, pointing her chin towards Inuyasha's direction as they walked closer to him.
"Totally! He's so cute..." The second girl practically drooled as she ran her eyes down his body. Inuyasha eyed her suspiciously, taking a step to the side, deciding that he wanted to be on the other side of the sidewalk, away from that girl's hungry gaze as he passed them. He looked over his shoulder, his eye twitching with uneasiness as he saw the girl still eyeing him and licking her lips as she walked backward.
He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding once he was sure the girls were out of sight. Man, he had seen demons wanting to eat him before but nothing like that girl. He looked over his shoulder once more just in case they decided to jump him or something, but there was nothing. Now that he thought about it, those girls were wearing the same uniform that Kagome wore. He felt a shiver run down his spine as his eye twitched again; he wasn't sure if he was going to leave alive.
Luckily Inuyasha didn't run into any more girls on the way to the school. Unfortunately, it was when he got to the gates that he felt many eyes on him from both guys and girls. He didn't like being stared at; he ignored it when he was a Hanyō, at least he was used to being strange but right now he was supposedly human, he didn't have his canine ears so there shouldn't be a reason why these people would be staring at him so much. Maybe he looked out of place, he looked at his clothes and then the humans. The boys were wearing a black uniform with short hair, where he, on the other hand, was wearing a black jacket, a brown shirt and some jeans with his long hair pulled back in a man-bun. Perhaps that's why the guys were staring at him, but it didn't explain why the girls were looking at him like he was a piece of meat.
A blush spread on Inuyasha's face with a vengeance as more girls started whispering to each other as they walked past him, sending him the same hungry stares as that girl from earlier. He leaned his back against the gate, averting his eyes from them. He heard them giggle as the words "cute" and "shy" slipped off their lips.
His eyebrow twitched with annoyance as their whispers continued, and more girls started coming out to take a peek at him. What the hell! He thought these clothes were supposed to make him blend in, not create more people stare at him. He wasn't even doing anything; he was just standing here waiting for Kagome to get out of her damn class. He saw more gather close by, waving for more girls to come to take a look at him. He crossed his arms over his chest, trying to fight off the blush from the attention he was getting and started to fidget his index finger against his arm. His eye twitched as he tried to keep himself calm; he could feel himself beginning to get agitated as he was becoming uncomfortable with all the stares; where the fuck is that damn Kagome.
"Oi! What the hell are you looking at!" He yelled out as he pointed the umbrella at the crowd of people, feeling his mind finally snapped, narrowing his eyes at everyone with a growl on his lips. Some of the girls blushed and squealed as they lost their minds, believing that he noticed them, totally ignoring how pissed off he was.
"A hot guy with a bad temper. An American, maybe?" One of the girls whispered, fanning herself as Inuyasha hastily walked past the group that was now gathering, an embarrassed blush on his cheeks as he entered the courtyard.
He NEEDED to find Kagome; the quicker he found her, the faster they can get out of this hellhole. All he wanted to do was go back to the shrine and just wait for the night to come so that he can turn back to his usual self and cross the Well. Hell, he'll even take one of the shards with him if it meant that he could pass the Well faster, wasn't sure how much he could handle this new world.
He scanned his eyes across the courtyard, trying to look through the sea of girls who were wearing the same uniform as Kagome; hell, most of them even had the same color hair as her too. Fuck, he felt himself starting to get agitated again, this would be much easier if he had his sensitive nose; he would be able to pick her out from any crowd. He paused at the thought; he had always found her by her smell, never by her looks, didn't he? What exactly did Kagome look like? Kikyō maybe, she is her reincarnation after all. No. He shook his head; she didn't like it when he talked like this. She didn't want to be compared to Kikyō. Inuyasha took in a deep breath when his eyes caught sight of a large tree that reminded him of the Goshinboku.
In the beginning, he mistook Kagome for Kikyō, the two smelled and looked very similar, but now… Kagome is Kagome; there's no replacement for her. Her eyes for one, they held such a pretty blue; it reminded him of the sky; perhaps that's why he found himself getting lost in them so much. He looked up to the dark sky, getting lost once again until he felt a drop of water hit his cheek. He blinked, looking down as he opened his palm to the air as he felt more drops. Rain.
Inuyasha walked through the trees, getting lost as he watched the wind dance with the leaves. He ran his hand down one of the trunks as he wondered if the same trees would be in the same spot in his era. Maybe they were too young? They didn't seem big enough to be over 500 years old, not like the Goshinboku at the shrine that was even older than that.
How crazy it was that he was in the future, it was unheard of, him, a Hanyō at that, crossing to the future. What was it all for? What was the purpose? He had passed to the future hundreds of times before, but for some reason, he was now human this time. Why?
"Kagome…" Slipped off his lips as he looked up to the leaves. Was he supposed to learn something about himself as a human? Did it involve Kagome somehow? He saw a flash of green in his peripheral, breaking him from his trance as his eyes followed it. He turned his head as he watched the figure walk into the clearing. His body jolted as he saw her, a smile tugging at his lips, Kagome.
"Hey, Kag-"Inuyasha's eyes widen as his smile dropped when he saw a boy with short brown hair run towards Kagome, he seemed to be out of breath. Inuyasha stepped behind a tree closest to his right, pressing his back against the trunk, turning his head just enough that he could peek out from it. He clenched his hold on the umbrella as he watched the guy get too close for his liking to Kagome. He was asking her something. Wait; did he just touch her hand? Inuyasha jerked around, trying to get a better look because his mind MUST be playing tricks on him. He dug his fingers into the bark as he felt possessiveness seep through his body as he stared at their join hands.
"What the hell is this!" He growled to himself as he felt his cheeks get hot, not from embarrassment but from frustration. How could she let this guy touch her hand for that long? A second was too long in his book, but here she was, allowing him to hold her hand for like a minute.
However, a victorious smirk soon spread on Inuyasha's lips as he saw Kagome pat the boy's hand lightly with the same kind smile that she would give Koga as she slowly pulled her hand from his grasp. His ears would have twitched like crazy if he had them as he watched a blush spread on the boy's cheeks, putting one of his hands on the back of his head as he smiled at Kagome's words. It caused Inuyasha's eye to twitch with irritation. What could she be saying to make that guy blush like that? This was going on for too long, he should just go up there and tell that guy to fuck off, he thought as he shoved his back against the trunk. He decided that he had enough and couldn't watch this anymore as he crossed his arms.
He closed his eyes, sighing out. It's annoying how much longer he was going to have to wait until they finished. He was so pissed off at his thoughts that he didn't even notice that the rain was coming down until he felt his hair start to get heavy.
He opened his eyes, staring up at the sky; he was transfixed, the air always had this effect on him rain or shine. He was so lost in the thought that he didn't notice Kagome walking past him until he was looking at her back, her wet hair stuck to her shoulders.
He felt a blush burn on his cheeks as he noticed the pink outline of her bra strap against her soaked shirt on her back, how her skirt was hugging her hips a bit too nicely. He gasped as he caught himself looking and turned his head, looking back at where she was standing before with the boy, but he was also gone. Inuyasha suddenly started to feel agitated again as he remembered how that boy was touching her hand before he realized what he was doing; he was rushing up to Kagome, reaching out to her.
Kagome felt something yank her arm, causing her to shut her eyes tightly as she lost her balance for a second. It was rough, and she was sure if they had pulled any harder than they would have pulled it right out of the socket. It caused her to panic, Hōjō left, and Inuyasha wasn't here to save her, she was alone.
"Don't you touch me!" Kagome yelled as she dug her heels into the dirt, pulling her arm into her body, trying to break free from whoever had grabbed her. She stumbled back a bit due to the wet ground but wasn't able to free herself; instead, she was yanked more towards the culprit. She felt his grip on her tighten as he tried to prevent her from fighting him. How could this be happening? Was someone seriously trying to grab her at school? No way she would let that happen, she's learned a thing or two from Sango on how to not let people keep their hold on her so easily. She yanked back against him, trying to gain any ground but was pulled back with just as much force, if not more, until her body slammed against his chest.
"Stop it!" She heard him growl into her ear, her free hand came down hard and fast. However, it was stopped in midair as she felt him grab her wrist, yanking her hand down. She snapped her eyes open with shock; her eyes caught a glimpse of purple from the beads around the culprit's neck. Her eyes widened when she looked from the beads to his eyes, brown. She jerked back with a gasp, finally breaking free from his grip, a blush creeping on her cheeks as she took in his features. He was looking at her, annoyed, his chin turned up, narrowing his eyes down at her. His bangs plastered against his forehead; the two long black locks stuck to his cheeks and neck from the rain. She could see that the rest of his hair was pulled back, giving him the illusion of short hair. She ran her eyes down his face to his chest, taking another step back. She knew of only one person who wore that necklace…he…is this…
"Inu...Yasha..?" Her eyes widen as his name slipped off her lips.