Disclaimer: He's actually not mine. Shocking, I know. I'm filing for an appeal as we speak.
A/N And here I come to you again...like a year and a half after my last update. Last year was...uncool, and I had trouble finding inspiration for this chapter. It's not terribly plot-centric so I waffled for quite a while on what to have happen in it. But here it is finally. It has a much more light-hearted and comedic tone than previous chapters, but hey – it's fun. Enjoy!
Things we know about Inuyasha's death
–most likely spring, no snow on the ground
–outside, on pavement
–Inuyasha beaten, scratched, wound in chest
–Kagome there
–on a new moon; possible dates: January 10th, February 8th, March 10th, April 8th, May 8th, June 6th
"...This is wrong on so many levels," Inuyasha stated firmly as he and Kagome mulled over their newly created list in the library. "I never thought I would be writing down facts about my own death... ...that hasn't even happened yet. Can we at least change the title? It's giving me the creeps."
"To what? Inuyasha's fluffy adventure?" Kagome whispered back. "The only way we're going to deal with this and prevent it is if we face it square on. I've always avoided my visions in the past and this time, I'll do anything but."
"Okay, yes, I understand. But this topic is already morbid enough as it is. Do we really have to spell out 'Inuyasha's gruesome and horrifying death' right on the paper?"
Kagome frowned at the list. "I didn't write 'gruesome' or 'horrifying' anywhere on here."
"That's not the point!" Inuyasha argued back. "The simple fact of having 'Inuyasha's death' as the title and then 'beaten, scratched, wound in chest' in the list is enough to imply it."
"But those facts will help us. If we figured out how you die, we can keep you away from things like that."
"I'm not Sleeping Beauty and the spindle," Inuyasha grumbled.
"You could be. Should I change the title to Things we know about Sleeping Inuyasha's loooooong sleep? Would that make you feel better?" Kagome replied smartly.
Inuyasha gave her an accusing look. "Fine, just keep it as 'Inuyasha's bloody death'! I have no problem with it whatsoever."
Kagome scrutinized the paper again. "There's no 'bloody' in here either. Listen, death is terrifying enough on its own. I don't need to add colourful adjectives in to get the point across. Labelling this as Inuyasha's excruciatingly painful death wouldn't do either of us any good."
Inuyasha's face paled. "You really think it'll be 'excruciatingly painful'?"
"It was an example!" Kagome said in exasperation. "But...beaten, scratched and a wound in your chest can't feel very good, honestly."
"This is sounding less and less fun," Inuyasha moped, putting his head down on his crossed arms.
"May I remind you that it was never fun?"
"Well, yeah... But thinking of it as a fun murder mystery as opposed to a frantic race against time to prevent my death relieved a little of the stress before. Kinda feeling it come back now though..."
"Well, good. Because even though it's not fun, it's necessary. We don't have time to fool around. Now, let's get back to thinking about this," Kagome said, spreading the paper out on the table for both of them to see. "We've got the circumstances of your death, as far as we can tell from the vision. So that's a bit of how, when and where. Which leaves who and why. Who will do this to you, and for what reason?"
Inuyasha felt his heartbeat quicken. "I could think of someone pretty fast. Someone I'd really rather not..."
"You mean..."
"My parents' killer, yeah. And the guy who stuck me in a coma for five years. He's still at large, may I remind you," Inuyasha said pointedly.
"You really think it'll be him?" Kagome said in trepidation. "But why?"
"I would think that would be obvious," Inuyasha said flatly. "Maybe because, oh I don't know, he already tried to kill me and failed?"
"But...then...why wouldn't he have already killed you? Like...when you were in the coma, or as soon as you woke up? Why let you live this long when you could potentially identify him?"
"Maybe because I can't identify him. I don't know about the coma – maybe he thought I'd never wake up. But as for after...I don't remember anything about that night. So maybe that's why he's letting me live," Inuyasha tried to reason.
Kagome gave him a flat look. "You really think this maniac is that nice? After so brutally killing your father and even shooting a mother and her twelve year old boy in the back as they ran away, you think he would hesitate to take you out at the earliest moment just because your memory was a little foggy?"
"Well, I don't know how he thinks! He's a maniac, remember? But maybe he takes me out like in your vision because I remember something. Before letting his secret get revealed, he kills me. And what better night to do it than on that of the new moon, where I'm at my most vulnerable state?" Inuyasha theorized.
"Hey, that's gotta be a clue!" Kagome said excitedly.
"What is?"
"The fact that you're killed on the night of the new moon! Doesn't that tell you something really important?" Kagome pressed.
"...Not really seeing it," Inuyasha admitted.
"How would they know?! How would the killer know the new moon is your most vulnerable time? He must know you! He must be close to you and your family!" Kagome revealed.
"Dammit, I knew Sesshoumaru was out for my blood," Inuyasha muttered irritably.
Kagome whacked his arm. "Be serious! Sesshoumaru's not going to be the killer."
"Ow," Inuyasha complained, rubbing his arm. "But really, Kagome, Sesshoumaru is the only one who knows about my secret. No one else who's ever known my family has been told. It's not exactly something we like to get out."
"Still...I don't think I'm wrong," Kagome replied stubbornly. "I mean, think about it. If he doesn't know already, how's he going to find out without being close to you already? Like you said, it's not something you like to get out. Which means you're much more likely to let it slip to someone you trust than a complete stranger."
"I suppose..." Inuyasha conceded.
"And think about the night he attacked you the first time!" Kagome continued. "Wasn't he inside your house? He shot your dad in his study, and you and your mom were running outside, away from him. How could he have gotten that far into your house without your father knowing him and letting him in?"
"You think my dad knew him? Well gee, that narrows it down. My dad not only owned an entire company, but had like an infinite amount of contacts and business associates from other companies and countries. To say the killer was someone my dad knew is not very useful," Inuyasha said in disappointment.
"Well, it's a little bit helpful," Kagome insisted. "And besides, we're talking close enough to come visit your father at home, not just a vague business partner at the office. And someone you or Sesshoumaru would feel comfortable enough around to reveal your new moon secret."
"I'm telling you, we haven't told anyone, and we won't either," Inuyasha said.
"Still, let's operate with the idea he knows you. Now, starting again with people your father knew. Did he have any enemies?" Kagome asked.
"If he had enemies, I don't think he would have let them into his house," Inuyasha reminded her. "It would have had to be someone he thought was a friend, and someone he trusted."
"Hmm, you're right," Kagome admitted. "Okay... Well, did your father often or ever bring business back home with him? Like, did he often have work associates come to your house to discuss business?"
"Not often...but sometimes," Inuyasha said, thinking hard. "If he thought it was really important or couldn't wait. And sometimes he had the employees he thought were really exceptional come over for dinner. But most only came once each. Um, a few of his assistants would come if some major conflict came up, or if an upcoming event involved the entire family."
"Okay...so that's sounding like personal assistants or secretaries, and important employees. By important, I mean people crucial to running to the company. I doubt it'll be some cubicle worker low down on the food chain. He'd only meet and invite over the top dogs, the people who could fix a specific problem right away," Kagome said, jotting down notes further down on their sheet of clues. "What about people outside the company? He must have had friends outside of work."
"Well...yeah, but just a few from his old university days," said Inuyasha. "They only met rarely and most of them have companies now of their own. I don't think they'd really be out for his blood. My mom had a bunch of friends from her modelling days, but I don't see how any of them would want to kill my father."
"Maybe one of them loved your mother and was jealous of your father?" Kagome suggested.
"So he waited twenty-five years to kill him and try to steal her back? Oh, and wait. He didn't steal her back. He killed her too! What kind of jealous wannabe-lover would that be?" Inuyasha argued.
"Well...any way you look at it, it doesn't seem like he was initially after you and your mother," Kagome said. "He shot your father in his study. Then it seems you and your mother witnessed it, tried to escape, and he shot you too. That's what all the police said in the media. You and your mother were only shot because you witnessed the actual murder, not because he had any initial intention of killing you."
"I guess so..." Inuyasha conceded. "Still, it doesn't feel right to me that it was some jealous lover. Too many holes to it, and my gut just says no."
"Your gut?" Kagome said in surprise. "Maybe you will be able to remember something after all..."
"Maybe... Now maybe if my head didn't feel like it was splitting open every time I tried to remember something, we could get somewhere on that front," Inuyasha grumbled.
"It really hurts that much?" Kagome asked sympathetically.
"Yeah... Kinda like swimming down to a prize at the bottom of the ocean floor. Except the water's all acid," Inuyasha described.
"What a nice picture," Kagome said while grimacing. "Well, maybe your mind is protecting you from the memory. Like psychological repression as opposed to something physical in conjunction with your coma."
Inuyasha was looking at her blankly. "Psycho–what? Con–what?"
Kagome sighed. "You and your five lost years of education... I mean, maybe this is a problem with your mind instead of your body. Instead of your amnesia being a byproduct of being shot and put in a coma, maybe it's just because the memory was too awful to remember. Your mind suppressed it in order to help you cope. And so when you try to remember, your mind tries to prevent you and you just end up with a big headache."
"Ah."
"I'm not saying that's medically accurate or anything. I don't know for sure. But I read about repression in a psychology book a while back. It could be what's happening here," Kagome explained further.
"So what am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha asked, propping his chin in his hand.
"Well...erm...I'm not sure. But maybe instead of thinking so hard about it, you could first try relaxing and then idly thinking about that night?" Kagome suggested. "Or think about it before you go to bed and maybe you'll dream about it?" Inuyasha gave her a sceptical look. "Hey, it's worth a shot. My dreams are scarily accurate."
"Yeah, but you're some sort of seer," Inuyasha pointed out. "I am not anything of the sort."
"Well, give it a chance anyway. We don't have any other ideas. And meanwhile, I'll check out and read some more psychology textbooks. They might tell us more about remembering suppressed memories," Kagome said.
"Alright," Inuyasha said. "But for now, the bell's about to ring. We have to pack up."
"Yeah," Kagome agreed, stuffing the clues paper into her notebook. "Good thing we accomplished so much on our Physics lab, huh?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and picked up his forgotten textbook. "Yeah, we're amazing. Well, maybe we'll accomplish more in our multi-study period."
"Here's hoping!" Kagome said, leading the way out of the library.
..:V:..
"Knock, knock!"
Inuyasha lifted his head from his Calculus homework to regard Miroku in his doorway. Before he could offer a word of greeting, Miroku marched quickly past him and sat down on Souta's bed. His purple eyes bored into Inuyasha's own golden ones with such intensity that Inuyasha began to shift uncomfortably in his seat.
A long moment passed before Miroku spoke once again. "I have a problem." Inuyasha had never seen his friend look so serious before.
"Ooookay..." Inuyasha said, unsure of how to proceed.
"It's Sango," the other boy said abruptly.
When he didn't offer anything else, Inuyasha was forced to speak once again. "And...? Is she alright?"
Miroku continued in rushed tones. "Oh, she's fine, totally fine. Well, damn fine, if you know what I mean. Right? See what I did there?"
"I saw..." Inuyasha responded, clearly unimpressed.
"So fine... Very fine. Sango's a very fine girl. You know that, right, Inuyasha?"
"Sure I do."
"A fine girl born on a fine day. Yup, very fine indeed."
Inuyasha cocked his head and eyed his friend warily. "Are you alright?"
"The fine day, Inuyasha! It's approaching!" Miroku urged suddenly. "And I have nothing with which to adorn the fine lady!"
"...What the heck are you talking about?" Inuyasha finally asked.
Miroku sighed in despair. "Sango's birthday's coming up and I don't know what to get her for a present!"
"Oh." Inuyasha shrugged and turned back towards his homework, "I'm sure you'll figure it out. But if you could help me with this calculus problem, Mir–"
"You don't understand!" Miroku interrupted. "This is it! This is the grand climax, the main event! The showdown to end all showdowns!"
"I...don't get what you're trying to say to me right now," Inuyasha said flatly.
"On the hallowed day that is her birthday, I'm going to ask her out!" Miroku exclaimed, standing up and starting to pace. "But the gift has to be perfect! It has to be the gift to end all gifts! It must be the most suiting and wonderful gift any person has ever given to another. It must encapsulate the entirety of my affections for her and reveal them with the utmost honesty and earnestness one could ever imagine!"
Inuyasha blinked. "Wow." He once again turned back to his homework. "But make sure you keep the receipt in case she turns you down."
Miroku gaped at his friend's back. "No support. None. Just whatever did I come to you for?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "Beats me."
Miroku sighed. "You have to help me, Inuyasha," he pleaded.
"I don't know the first thing about buying gifts for girls. Why would you come to me? Don't you have any other playboy friends that can help you out instead?" Inuyasha argued.
"Ahaha..." Miroku laughed without inflection. "Very funny. But one, all my other friends are girls and two, playboys by their very nature don't usually buy gifts for women. I mean, there are just too many..."
"Definitely hold on to that receipt," Inuyasha responded curtly.
"Despite your obvious belief I will be turned down flat, you are the only one I can rely on in this matter," Miroku replied, trying to keep his irritation at bay.
"You just said you had a ton of girl friends. Wouldn't they be more qualified in helping pick out a gift for another girl?" Inuyasha said, still trying to get out of the task.
"Inuyasha, learn some tact. How would they feel if their beloved Miroku was using them to buy a gift for another woman? Their jealousy would undeniably get out of hand. I wouldn't be able to handle making that many women upset and heartbroken, carrying out a task so clearly despicable to them but that they would endure just to see me achieve a sliver of happiness... Oh, it's too much to bear!" the black haired boy cried dramatically.
Inuyasha stared at him for a few moments before replying. "In fact, I think you should just go ahead and laminate it."
Miroku dropped his airs and looked over to the other boy. "Laminate what?"
"The recei–"
"Oh, you're coming with me whether you like it or not!" Miroku grabbed Inuyasha's wrist and pulled him to his feet. "Grab your coat and let's go, smart ass."
..:V:..
"What do you think of a necklace?" Miroku asked anxiously. "Do you think she'd like a necklace?"
The two boys had travelled downtown and were currently in a small shop full of knickknacks.
Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno. She's your girlfriend."
Miroku gripped him by the shoulders, his eyes full of panic. "Have you missed the entire point to this outing? She's not my girlfriend! Not yet, anyways, and this is the make or break choice! It all rides on this!"
Inuyasha wormed his way out of Miroku's grip. "Chill, dude. Didn't she actually say she'd be happy no matter what you got her? Isn't that what you just told me she said to you?
"Aah, but that's how they get you, my friend," Miroku said slyly. "They say they don't want anything or they don't care what it is, but they do! And if you make the wrong choice, they judge you and all your chances with them are forever shot!"
Inuyasha gulped. "R-really?"
"Oh yes. 'I don't care what you get me' is actually the severest of tests. If I fail this, getting together with Sango will never happen!"
"How do you know all this if you've never bought women gifts before?"
"Inuyasha, please. As you said earlier, all my friends are girls. What do girls like to talk about more than their love issues? And in my case, I get to hear about how all their ex-boyfriends jilted and wronged them. Always with a 'But you'd never treat us that way, right, Miroku?' tacked on to the end. And now my time is at hand and I might make that fatal misstep myself!"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You really get way over dramatic when you're nervous. Besides...I don't think Sango would be that judgemental."
"All girls are. Kagome's bound to be as well."
Inuyasha started at this, and then swallowed thickly. "Well, but...what if you're already together? Are your chances still shot if you get it wrong?"
Miroku waved him off. "If you're already together, you're set. You've got it made. You could forget her birthday entirely and just a little grovelling and declarations of how much you love her will get you back in her good graces... Wait, what did you just say?"
Inuyasha blinked innocently. "What?"
"Y-you...and Kagome...are already together?"
Inuyasha coughed and reached out to finger the nearest piece of jewellery. "I think a necklace really suits Sango myself. She strikes me as a necklace sort of girl!"
A soft thud was heard as Miroku's wallet dropped from his hands to the floor. "Oh god...so it's true... Oh how? How could this happen?"
"...Sorry?" Inuyasha apologized uneasily.
"How could the two most socially inept people in the school start dating each other before I've even made my first move on Sango?!"
Inuyasha let the socially inept comment slide. "You've made plenty of moves on Sango! That's why you're always getting slapped, remember?"
"I haven't made a real move," Miroku protested. "Those were just jokes, goofing around. This is the real deal. And I'm totally going to screw it up!"
"You might not," Inuyasha suggested helpfully. "She seems to like you already."
"Really?" Miroku's face brightened.
"I think so anyway," the half demon wavered.
"That's not very encouraging," Miroku sighed returning to his slump.
"Well...what about getting her one of those?" Inuyasha said, pointing to a collection of bejewelled boxes further down the row.
Miroku made his way down the row until he was in line with the items. After careful inspection, he raised the lid of one of the boxes and delicate music wafted throughout the store. "Music boxes!" he declared in delight. "Inuyasha, this is perfect!" He proceeded to lift the lid of every box in the collection in turn, listening to the various songs they played. Finally he settled on one that seemed to satisfy him. "This is music from the ballet Giselle, Inuyasha. Sango told me her grandmother took her to see it when she was little, and she loved it. This is the one! This is the gift to end all gifts!"
"Joy and rapture," Inuyasha replied in a bored tone. "Can we go now?"
"Yes, yes, just let me pay for it," Miroku said, clearly excited.
After making the purchase, the two boys excited the shop and started to make their way back to the bus stop. Miroku seemed now to be much more relaxed, and could finally think about something other than his crisis.
"So how did you and Kagome hooking up happen, anyway?" he asked casually.
Inuyasha stumbled slightly before regaining his composure and continuing to walk. "Er...it's kind of a long story. But uh...it happened this past Sunday night."
"And you waited until now to tell me?!" Miroku protested. "Am I your friend or not! Come on, man, real friends share their conquests with each other almost as soon as they happen!"
"Conquests?"
Miroku coughed slightly. "Well, you know... Ahem, terminology isn't what's important right now. What's important is that you waited five days to tell me about it!"
"Well...ah..." Inuyasha felt himself go red.
Miroku noticed. "Oh, I see. You're at that stage."
"What stage?"
"The stage where you're embarrassed and delighted about it at the same time. And where you're afraid that if you speak about it out loud, somehow it will turn out not to be true. I remember when I first experienced that feeling myself..." Miroku reminisced.
"Really? When did it happen for you?" Inuyasha asked eagerly.
"When I was seven," Miroku responded flatly.
"Oh. You are a player, aren't you?"
"I prefer 'admirer of women'."
"You know, in order to actually start dating Sango, you're going to have to change that 'women' to 'woman'. You know that, right?" Inuyasha queried.
"Of course I do! Listen to me, Inuyasha. This is going to be different from all those flings in the past. This is the real thing! A real relationship. And I wouldn't consider going through with it for anyone but my sweet Sango," Miroku replied, his voice softening.
Inuyasha eyed him out of the corner of his eye. "Well you sound genuine so I hope–"
He was abruptly cut off by a loud bang that rang throughout the street. Suddenly Inuyasha's head felt like it was splitting open and he fell to the ground, clutching his skull. The smell of gunpowder reached his sensitive nose as he heard a woman scream, "Inuyasha, ruuuuuun!" His vision was completely black but he felt his back started to throb between his shoulder blades.
As the pain began to intensify, he was jolted by the sound of Miroku's voice by his ear. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha, are you okay?"
He opened his eyes to see and feel the cold pavement he was lying on. He was huddled up in a ball and as he slowly unfurled himself, he looked up at Miroku in bewilderment.
"Are you okay?" his friend repeated.
"Yeah..." Inuyasha replied slowly, noticing that all previous pain was subsiding. "What...what happened?"
Miroku scratched the back of his head. "Well...a car down the street backfired and then you suddenly fell down, holding onto your head. ...Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah...no, I'm fine. Car backfiring? It sounded an awful lot like..."
"What?"
A gunshot, Inuyasha thought grimly, though he hesitated to say it aloud. "Nothing, never mind. I just felt really dizzy all of a sudden, that's all. Let's go home."
Miroku shot him another worried looked but assented. Without another word between them, they hopped on the bus and headed home.
..:V:..
"What do you think it meant?" Kagome asked Inuyasha later that night as the two of them sat on his bed. He had just finished relating the events of the day, hoping to make sense of it.
"I don't know..." Inuyasha admitted. "It was so sudden... And it felt like I had actually been shot, though of course it was all in my head. It was just a car backfiring after all."
Kagome's eyes lit up. "Maybe it is all in your head!"
"Excuse me?"
"Could it have been...a memory?" she suggested tentatively. "Remember what we talked about yesterday? And you were saying that your head hurt every time you tried to remember something?"
"You think that's what that was?" Inuyasha asked. "So then...the pain in my back...was what it was like when I was shot five years ago?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, a chill ran up his spine.
"It could have been..." Kagome said quietly, the import of their theory weighing down on her.
"But the car was what triggered it... I don't think I could have remembered that much on my own," Inuyasha admitted.
"Maybe not yet," Kagome frowned. "But at least it proves that your memories are still hidden away somewhere in your head, instead of lost forever. There's still hope, Inuyasha!"
"I guess you're right," he replied wryly, before staring off into space.
He hadn't told Kagome about the voice he'd heard during his moment of pain. He had a good idea of who it might have belonged to. And if Kagome was right, and he was capable of recovering his memories, he shuddered to think of what he would remember. It was likely to be a living nightmare.
..:V:..
Kagome looked up from the book she was reading as Sango trooped into their shared room Sunday night. She couldn't help but grin as she took in her roommate's flushed cheeks and the gift bag she held in her hands.
"And how's the birthday girl this evening?" she smirked.
The red on Sango's cheeks darkened further and she beelined for her bed. Dropping her purse on the mattress, she opened the gift bag and carefully withdrew a jewelled box. "The birthday girl is fine, thank you."
Kagome sprang up and went to examine the gift. "Wow, Sango – that's gorgeous! Did you–know–who give it to you?" she teased lightly.
"I have no idea who you mean," Sango replied airily.
"Oh, you know... Tall, dark hair, gorgeous violet eyes, great body..."
"Hey you! Back off!" Sango cut in. "You already have Inuyasha, you can't take Miroku too!"
"Oh, so you do know who I was talking about," Kagome smiled deviously.
Sango opened her mouth as if to retort, and then snapped it shut when she realized she'd been caught. "Okay, fine. You–know–who gave it to me. But seriously, lady – I already have enough competition with like ever other girl on this planet; I don't need to fight you for him too!"
Kagome laughed. "Have no fear, I will completely back away from your personal man-hunk."
Sango sunk down on her bed and opened the box. Delicate refrains wafted into the room and she gazed down at the music box with an almost sad look. "That's the problem, though. He's not my personal anything."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, sitting down on the bed beside her. "He adores you."
Sango didn't respond to this, but instead continued staring at the box in her hands. After a moment, she said, "He asked me out today, you know. Like...to be his exclusive girlfriend."
Kagome clapped her hands happily. "Sango, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you!" When Sango continued to stare unhappily at her present, Kagome deflated. "But...you're not happy. Why not? Isn't this what you want? Isn't this your dream come true?"
Sango wrinkled her nose. "Okay, I'm not that much of a pathetic sap."
"...Did you turn him down?" Kagome asked cautiously.
"...No."
"Did you say yes then?"
"...No."
"What the heck did you say then?" Kagome asked, wondering how Miroku must have taken all of this.
Sango sighed and raked her fingers through her hair. "I told him to take me to the Christmas dance and that I'd give him my answer then."
Kagome frowned. "But you're planning on saying no?"
"I..." Sango seemed at a loss of words. "I don't know...!"
"...Okay, how about you just give me a rundown of what happened," Kagome suggested.
Sango shut the lid on the music box and sat up straighter on the bed. "Okay. So here's the deal. He picked me up at five, while you were out with your brother. Then he gave me this rose," she said, fingering the flower that had been resting gently on her pillow.
"Ah," Kagome interrupted. "I was wondering if there was a story behind that."
Sango smiled softly. "Yeah. So anyways, he then took me out to this beautiful diner downtown called Zephero's. I ordered the chicken parmesan and he had the alfredo pasta... It was delicious," Sango related, seeming to relish in every detail. "And then guess where we went next!"
"I have no idea. Why don't you tell me?"
"We went to the park," Sango sighed dreamily.
Kagome blinked. "Thrilling."
"Shut up, it made me happy," Sango joked with a wry smile. "Anyways, we just kind of strolled through the park and uh...flirted shamelessly. Eventually we sat down on a bench and he gave me my gift." She stroked the edges of the music box with her fingers. "This is one of my favourite pieces of music, you know? I can't believe he remembered..."
"So what happened next?" Kagome pressed.
"Well...that was pretty much when he sprung the question on me," Sango said awkwardly.
"And?"
"I don't think I've ever felt so happy," Sango admitted shyly.
"See! It was your dream come true," Kagome boasted proudly.
"Well, it only lasted a couple seconds though," the brunette continued. "I was so overwhelmed at first, thinking how I never thought he'd ask me out of all the girls he was always surrounded by, how the night was so perfect and how it was always so much better when it was just the two of us alone together...
"And then I couldn't help thinking that those moments were really rare. And most of the time, we were with other people. And there were all those other girls. And how if any of them are in the room, I only ever have half his attention. And that was enough to make me hesitate.
"So I asked him if he could escort me to the Christmas dance and wait to hear my answer there," she concluded. "Soon after, we came back to campus. It was kind of awkward and tense all the way home though."
"Holy..." Kagome breathed. "So you're basically completely lost?"
"Totally up the creek without a paddle."
"Gotcha." Kagome drummed her fingers on her chin. "But you know what you really wanna do, don't you?
"I want to jump that boy and ravish him until–" she caught Kagome's look, "Uh, yeah, I have a pretty good idea."
"Well then..." Kagome trailed off in a persuasive tone.
"But is it really a smart choice? Wouldn't I just be setting myself up for heartbreak? Uncontrollable jealousy, abused emotions and never-ending bitterness?" Sango sighed morosely.
"...Maybe?" Kagome said uneasily. She was no good at comforting others so she really didn't know what to say.
"Why don't we just trade?" Sango ribbed. "I'll take Inuyasha and you can have Miroku."
"You were just saying a few minutes ago how I couldn't have him," Kagome reminded her. "Really, which is it? Do you want to give him up without trying, or do you want to take on the challenge and put up a fight?" She was just pulling things out of the air at this point.
Sango pouted. "You just don't want to give up Inuyasha. No fair, how'd you get the unerringly loyal and devoted guy?"
Kagome blushed. "I don't know, it just happened..." she said shyly, fidgeting with the comforter.
Sango waved her off negligently. "Your love speak makes me sick."
Kagome stuck out her tongue. "You're the one who asked."
Sango flung herself backwards onto the bed, hands covering her face. "Ugh! What am I going to doooo?"
"Follow your heart?" Kagome quipped.
"Stupid fleshy organ!" Sango muttered bitterly. "What has the blasted thing ever done for me?"
"Well...if it makes you feel better, you have approximately two days to think it over. And since we're now on Christmas holidays, you can just sit in this room and think about it for all of those delicious forty-eight hours."
"Are you trying to comfort me or condemn me to torment?"
Kagome shrugged. "Both, I suppose." She stood up from the bed. "But you might want to keep in mind... How many other girls has he given such a thoughtful gift to? How many other girls does he make time for every day, without fail? How many other girls has he asked to be his exclusive girlfriend? Maybe you're something special to him after all..." With that, Kagome headed to the bathroom to wash up before bed.
Sango rolled over onto her stomach, gazing thoughtfully at the rose and music box nestled beside her on the bed.
..:V:..
"How's my bow tie?"
"Still fine." Inuyasha yawned lazily.
"You'd tell me if it were crooked, right?" Miroku asked frantically.
Inuyasha blinked owlishly at him. "No."
"God, you are the worst wingman ever," Miroku whined. "I'm dying here, man! Throw me a bone!"
"What can I possibly do to make Sango say yes to dating you?" Inuyasha asked. "Seriously, I should be warning her to stay away."
"Why? Why? What have I ever done to you? Why do you have to say things like that? Why can't you just be like, 'No, Miroku, you're worrying too much, man. Everything will be great. She totally digs you too'?" Miroku's voice seemed to increase in pitch the longer he rambled.
"Because I'm not a douchebag with five popped collars?" Inuyasha suggested helpfully.
Miroku was prevented from responding by the fact that the two of them had reached the girls' dorm room. Wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, he chimed, "Here goes!"
Almost as soon as he rapped on the door, it was opened by Kagome. She was wearing a halter top green dress that complimented her figure perfectly, and Miroku could hear Inuyasha swallow thickly beside him.
She smiled at seeing them, but Miroku noticed her eyes definitely lingered on his "wingman" dressed in black slacks and a silky red dress shirt. Damn this happy couple! he cursed in his mind.
"Shall we head out?" she asked Inuyasha, and the poor boy jerked his head in a robotic nod. Taking his arm, Kagome paused a moment to turn to Miroku. "Sango will just be a second, she was just putting her earrings in."
"Thanks, Kagome," Miroku said, smiling tightly as he watched the two of them take off down the hall.
"Miroku?"
At the sound of his name, Miroku turned back around and almost choked. Before him stood Sango in an elegant curve-hugging red dress, hair styled into an up-do and dark eyes glimmering. Quickly recovering, he gave a bow. "Sango, my dear, you look absolutely ravishing this evening."
The corner of her lips turned up in a smile and she dropped into a curtsey. "Why thank you, sir. You look pretty dashing yourself."
Miroku suddenly became very self-conscious about his suit. "Too much?" he asked with a cough.
"Au contraire. I think you pull it off perfectly," she replied.
"Well then, shall we be on our way then?" Miroku asked, offering his arm.
"We shall," Sango replied, taking his arm after locking her dorm room door.
Be cool, Miroku, just be cool, the mantra in Miroku's head kept repeating as he led his date down the hall and towards what could be the best – or worst – night of his life.
..:V:..
After showing their tickets and gaining admission to the dance, Inuyasha and Kagome strolled over to the punch table to get a drink. As Inuyasha held up his drink cup, he frowned at it. "Why did we come again? Didn't we hate the last dance we came to?"
Kagome paused for a moment to think, and then laughed aloud. "You're right! I think Sango got me caught up in the excitement somehow. And then I got to thinking that it might be a nice break from all the...stuff that's been going on with us. I forgot about how crappy it was last time though... Do you think it was a bad idea?"
Inuyasha downed his drink in one gulp and then placed his hands on her hips, pulling her towards him. "No way..." he said, his breath hot on her ear. "Not when you look like this."
Kagome blushed furiously at this. Since when had Inuyasha gotten so bold? It was certainly a change from his usually shy self, but maybe his teenage hormones were finally catching up to him... Not that she minded either side of him, as she felt her love for him grow.
As a melodic song came over the speakers, Inuyasha began pulling her in the direction of the dance floor. "Let's dance, Kagome."
"But I'm not finished my drink," she protested, holding up her cup that was still half full.
Inuyasha growled a bit in impatience. He took the drink from her and put it back on the table. "Finish it later."
Kagome was bewildered by his commanding presence. "Do you even know how to dance?"
Inuyasha sniffed in mock indignance and a lightness returned to the atmosphere between them. "Of course. My family had to attend to a bunch of fancy balls and stuff when I was younger. So my mom insisted I learn the proper art of ballroom dancing."
Kagome blinked. "Wow, I'm impressed. But you're not going to be, because I never learned any of that."
"That's okay," Inuyasha said, staring at her intensely. "All you need to do is follow my lead." With that, his one hand took up hers as the other came to settle on her back.
Whenever he took a step, his body language left no doubt as to where and how she was supposed to follow. Kagome found it easy to keep up with him as they swayed in time to the music. Despite picking it up easily, she mainly kept her gaze on her feet or in the direction they were headed, but once or twice her eyes met his and it caused her breath to hitch in her throat.
He was gazing down at her softly, as if unaware of anything else in the world. She was his sole focus and in that moment, it was doubtful anything could have torn his attention away. A few times during their dance, his arms would tighten around her reflexively, as if trying to guard a most precious treasure.
The second time she caught him looking at her that way, Kagome was forced to bury her face in his shoulder. Overwhelming emotion had rushed through her and she had felt tears spring to her eyes. When he gazed at her like that, she felt like the safest and most loved girl in the world. She felt like no hardship could ever reach her and it reminded her of a time before her personal nightmare had begun, back when her parents were alive and every day was filled with bliss. She never thought she'd see any light in her life anymore, but being in Inuyasha's arms felt like no darkness could reach her ever again. She sighed and nestled further into his embrace.
Inuyasha felt the girl snuggle closer and dropped his arms so both hands could settle on her lower back. He slowed their steps and abandoned the waltz in favour of swaying slowly from foot to foot, a form of dance much more acceptable to the teenage company they were in. They had garnered quite a bit of attention during their display, not that the pair had had the presence of mind to notice.
Kagome's arms snaked around Inuyasha's neck and her head tucked neatly under his chin. "Mmmm," she murmured. "I could stay here forever."
The soft refrains of the song slowly faded out, only to be replaced by a hip hop number with a heavy beat.
Kagome pushed herself back from Inuyasha's chest. "And there's forever! So glad we had this dance."
Inuyasha smirked and took her hand in his, leading her off the dance floor. Kagome was blushing profusely, which seemed to be her new look for the evening. How did he manage to make her lose her mind so easily? Before this evening, she always felt as if she had her wits about her when in the presence of Inuyasha. But tonight he was scattering her thoughts and making her heart flutter like nothing she had ever experienced before.
His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to his side as they reached the punch table once more. He grabbed her a new cup of punch since her old one had already been cleared away. As he went to hand it to her, her eyes were inevitably drawn to his exposed collarbone. Inuyasha had unbuttoned an extra button after their dance and for some reason, the sight of this bit of flesh sent Kagome's pulse pounding anew.
She had to get a grip on herself. Earlier she had been thinking Inuyasha had succumbed to his hormones, but now she considered it might be the other way around. Never getting close to anyone in her life inevitably had pushed away all possibilities for love. Now that she was experiencing these emotions for the first time, she feared they were rapidly spiralling beyond her control.
"Wow, they're really going at it," Inuyasha's voice broke her out of her reverie.
"Huh?" Kagome uttered, her eyes following the direction of Inuyasha's gaze.
In the middle of the dance floor, Sango and Miroku were dancing intimately, but with just the right amount of attitude to suit the hip hop song accompanying them. One look told Kagome they still hadn't discussed their situation, as the tension between them seemed to be at a palpable level, and fuelling the heat of their dance.
"Hope everything's going okay..." she mused to Inuyasha.
..:V:..
Sango let the rhythm of the music pound through her body as she danced unabashedly with Miroku. Despite his appearance as a bookworm, he was no slouch on the dance floor. She tried to clear her head and focus on the beat, loving the feeling of his hands on her waist.
As soon as they'd entered the gym, her anxiety had gotten the best of her. Still unsure of what to say to Miroku, she'd decided to put it off by enticing him into a dance. Now she was in the midst of it and her head was still a mess. She knew the dance was likely to lead him to think she was going to agree to date him, but at that moment, she didn't care.
She needed more time to think. Forty-eight hours hadn't been nearly enough. She knew she had fallen for the handsome boy, but she also knew how easy it would be to be hurt. The boy went gaga over the female form, any female form, and Sango wasn't sure if she would be able to compete with that and hold his interest. Which would just set her up for unbearable heartache.
She was a strong girl. She wouldn't allow herself to be caught in a relationship where she wasn't properly respected and taken care of.
Miroku was dancing behind her, his hands passing over her stomach and his breath on the nape of her neck. God, it felt good. Could she really turn this boy aside, even if it was in her best interests?
She heard him breathe her name behind her and it sent shivers down her spine. He was weakening her resolve, little by little. Hearing her name from his lips made her long to hear it every day for the rest of her life. It was so tender and loving, with a hint of longing that sent her senses reeling. It really did make her feel that she was special to him...
The dance ended and they detached awkwardly from each other. Sango caught Miroku looking at her with a question in his eyes and she started to panic.
"Sango–"
"I'm going to get some punch," she interrupted abruptly. "I'll be right back, so stay here, okay?"
Before he could say another word, she turned on her heel and beelined for the refreshments. By the time she got there, she was out of breath and she wasn't sure whether it was due to the dance, her anxiety or the memory of how Miroku's body felt against hers.
Refusing to think about it, she downed a cup of punch and grabbed a new one quickly. It was only when she reached the bottom of the second glass that she noticed Kagome and Inuyasha were two feet away, staring at her intensely.
"Alright there, Sango?" Kagome asked.
"Kagome, thank god!" Sango cried, pulling her away from her boyfriend. "What am I going to do?" she asked frantically.
"You still haven't figured it out?" her roommate asked.
Sango shook her head hopelessly. "I know what I want to do, which is the whole 'following your heart' thing we discussed earlier. But then there's this other organ called my brain which is all like, 'no Sango, that's the worst idea you've ever had. Do you want to end up like those stupid, passive girls who get cheated on constantly by their sex-crazed boyfriends?'. And the two of them just can't seem to come to any sort of agreement and I'm so tired and just want the whole problem to disappear on its own!"
Kagome looked at her friend in sympathy. "That's pretty rough... I'm not sure what to tell you either. Obviously I'd like to see the two of you happy together, but if you don't think it will work out well in the end..."
"Keh."
The two girls turned to see Inuyasha sporting an annoyed expression, but determinedly not looking in their direction.
"Did you have something to add, Oh Hearing–Enhanced One?" Kagome remarked lightly.
Inuyasha looked as if he was resisting saying anything for a moment, before his resolve withered away. "He may be an idiot pervert...but you're the only girl he ever talks about..." He paused before continuing, "And he talks so goddamn much about you, it's enough to make me sick! All I ever hear is 'Sango this' or 'Sango that'. It's like the guy doesn't even notice anyone else. Hello, there are other people and they're trying to get help with their Chemistry homework, thank you very much. Jeez, what an asshole."
Sango blinked and then giggled. Despite Inuyasha's crude manner, she understood the point he was trying to get at. If Miroku really adored her as much as everyone kept telling her he did...
Her eyes drifted back to the dance floor and widened.
In her absence, Miroku had become surrounded by girls, most of whom she recognized as those who had hung out with him at lunch before he had switched tables. One girl in particular was drawing him into an intimate dance, despite his feeble protests. Her arms went around his neck and she drew her body flush against his. Miroku tried to put his hands on her shoulders and push her away, but she only snuggled closer.
As Sango watched, the girl's hand trailed down from his neck so she could grab his butt, whispering words in his ear all the while.
"Oh, she did not just–" Kagome was cut off by the sound of Sango crushing her empty cup in her fist. Attention redirected, Kagome tried to salvage the situation, "Sango, I'm sure Miroku doesn't want that! He's totally trying to push her away, look!"
Kagome's cries were ignored as Sango tossed her cup aside and marched towards the dance floor.
"Oh, this can't end well..." Kagome said, biting her lip and gripping Inuyasha's arm.
As Sango neared the group surrounding Miroku, the girl attached to him took everything to a whole new level. Taking his face into her hands, she dragged his mouth down her hers.
Sango felt her blood boil and knew there was only one way to answer Miroku's offer after all. She stormed forward and grabbed the girl's shoulder, whipping her around. Miroku looked stunned and, after seeing Sango's face, panicked.
"What's your problem?" the girl who had just forced herself on Miroku asked, annoyed. "We were just having fun."
"My problem," Sango seethed, "is that you were kissing my boyfriend."
The girl stared at her in shock for a moment before laughing. "Are you kidding me? Miroku doesn't go steady, he shares his love with everyone," she smirked, giving the boy in question a wink.
"Maybe because he'd never found someone who could satisfy him before," Sango snapped, looking the girl up and down with disdain. "Have you ever made him feel like this?"
Before anyone had a chance to react, Sango grabbed the gaping Miroku by his lapels and kissed him fiercely.
Poor Miroku had no idea what was going on, but he suddenly found himself in a passionate kiss with the girl he adored. His mind had only long enough to think, "What the–" before all reason gave way and instincts took over.
Wrapping his arms around her, he crushed her body to his as he deepened the kiss. Her grip on his jacket relaxed and her hands travelled up to rake themselves in his hair. He groaned as her tongue darted into his mouth and without thinking, he let his hands travel down to her rear.
His eyes snapped open when he realized what he'd just done, knowing the inevitable consequences. He made to pull away and apologize when she moaned and pulled him closer instead. Miroku felt himself blush to his roots, but gave in once more to the heat of their exchange.
When they finally parted, both of them were light-headed and out of breath. A small crowed of gawkers had gathered around them, but the pair remained oblivious of the extra attention.
"I hope you didn't just kiss me like that to turn me down," Miroku panted.
"You better prepare yourself, Miroku," Sango warned. "I won't let any other girl go near you ever again. And if you stray from me, so help me, you don't want to know what I will do to you."
"I can very well imagine..." Miroku responded wryly.
"The only reason I ever hesitated about dating you was the possibility of me getting hurt," Sango continued. "But I know now that I wouldn't be able to stand seeing you with another girl. So in order to be with you, I will crush any competition that comes along. I will make it so I'm the only girl in your eyes. So I'm telling you again, Miroku. Prepare yourself, because from now on, mine is the only ass you're allowed to grab."
"Somehow, I don't think I've ever been more turned on..." Miroku admitted in a wry tone. Drawing her closer, he gently touched his forehead to hers and looked into her eyes, noticing how they softened in response. "But I don't think you understand the entirety of my affections for you. For many months now, you have been the only girl I could see. And you're the last person in the world I would ever want to hurt."
"You better mean that," Sango replied, her voice shaking a little.
"Oh, you can be assured of that," Miroku smiled as he captured her lips in a sweet kiss.
The crowd of onlookers were completely ignored, and the girls who had previously circled Miroku stood agape at this development. Some, including the girl who had kissed him, looked particularly indignant, but Miroku and Sango were too wrapped up in themselves to pay them any heed.
From the sidelines, Kagome and Inuyasha were shocked.
"Wow..."
"Yeah..."
"Didn't know Sango had it in her," Kagome said.
"You're telling me," Inuyasha agreed.
"I guess that problem's solved then... Man, was she bold!" she exclaimed with a touch of admiration in her voice.
With a smirk, Inuyasha asked, "What, you wouldn't do that for me? What if I were being pursued by a bunch of girls?"
Kagome stuck out her tongue before turning away from him. "Tch, who's going to come after you? I don't even know how I got stuck with you."
Inuyasha's arms wrapped around her waist and his mouth came down to her ear. "Aw, that's mean, Kagome. You know it's because of my devilishly good looks..."
"And irresistibly adorable ears!"
"Listen, wench–!" he was cut off by the sound of Kagome's giggles, causing him to pout.
Kagome leaned back slightly and turned her head to look at him. "What do you want for Christmas anyway? It's only a few days away..."
"Doesn't matter to me," Inuyasha said nonchalantly. "Maybe you could come visit me at Sesshoumaru's? He wants me to go back home for the rest of the break. Something about family bonding, but he probably just wants me to babysit Rin."
"That'd be fun!" Kagome said, becoming excited. "Do you think Souta could come too?"
"Sure, why not? Maybe even the new lovebirds will come by," Inuyasha said, nodding towards Miroku and Sango, still lost in their own little world. "The more people filling up Sesshoumaru's house, the more likely he'll get a headache. That would be the best Christmas present ever," he snorted.
"Oh, be good," Kagome chided lightly. "But this will be really great. I haven't celebrated Christmas properly in a long time."
"Keh, me neither. But mostly because I wasn't conscious," Inuyasha joked bitterly.
Kagome brought up her hand to cup his cheek. "Then we'll have to make this one extra special, won't we?"
"Yeah," Inuyasha mumbled in assent, leaning into her hand.
"But for now, I want another dance," Kagome said, her tone lightening as she broke away from his embrace to face him.
"You're on," Inuyasha grinned in response. "But if the music starts changing to what it was during the Halloween dance, we're making a break for the roof again."
"Deal."
With that, the two made their way onto the dance floor to join the new couple and enjoy the rest of their night.
A/N Alrighty then. Next chapter will have more plot-related stuff happening in it, and hopefully I can find inspiration to write that quicker than I did this chapter!
And remember, no matter how long it's been between updates...I'm going to finish this sucker if it's the last thing I do!!!