Disclaimer: I do not own Devil Does Exist or Devil Beside You - the manga and drama that this story is based on.
The Joke's On You
Chapter Four: Only Human
Sw33t-Sorrows
"What do you mean what am I doing here? I live here!" Kagome countered as she almost breathlessly stared at the man in front of her. I can't believe this is happening. Please, dear Lord, tell me this is just a horrible, horrible nightmare. Inuyasha and I can't become family, we hate each other! I know - he's trying to bring me to hell, isn't he? Why that little-
"Kagome?"
"Eh?"
"You know each other?" Before Kagome could answer her mother's question, the principal of her school was suddenly holding Hitomi in a romantic embrace. "Oh, come on, stop that! The kids are here." InuTaisho grinned sheepishly as he released the woman from his grip. Kagome and Inuyasha made faces at the scene before them, but as they turned their faces towards one another, they immediately ceased their foolishness and looked the other way. "So, Kagome. How is it that you know Taisho? I could have sworn you two have never met before." Kagome almost flinched at the little nickname her mother had given to the older man.
"Ma, Mr. Takahashi, is the principal." Hitomi's mouth dropped open slightly.
"Taisho, why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, I-"
"And why didn't you tell me you had such a handsome young boy?" Hitomi smiled as she looked at Inuyasha, who did something Kagome would never let him live down, he blushed. Aha! Inuyasha just blushed. I wish I had a camera, oh boy, just wait until Sango hears about - wait, no! Sango can't hear about this. She'll never let me live it down! "So, Inuyasha - what are you studying in college?" Great, they're getting to know each other. How about I let her know about the past two years of torture this handsome young boy has casted upon me? Actually, come to think of it, Inuyasha is pretty - NO STOP! "Kagome! Stop making those faces, you're only embarrassing yourself." Hitomi said matter-of-factly. Kagome stared at the table as she told herself not to look up at Inuyasha.
"Well, Auntie," Kagome flinched at the greeting. "I'm majoring in the arts."
"The arts? Really, wow. Kagome likes the arts too!"
"Oh, that's interesting. Kagome, what do you like about it?" Inuyasha smiled innocently as he leaned forward to get a better look at Kagome's face.
"Er...well, I, um..."
"Kagome likes music, actually. Not the visual arts kind of stuff."
"Music? Do you play an instrument? Or do you sing?" Kagome bit her lip to keep from screaming at him.
"Actually, Kagome sings and she dances." Kagome felt so embarrassed as her mother kept going on and on about her interests. She almost cried when she heard the older boy chuckle.
"I know we'll get along just fine."
"Oh, me too!" InuTaisho interrupted. "You know, Kagome, when I told Inuyasha he was getting a new little sister - he was so overjoyed! He kept asking me your age, your horoscope, what you were majoring in, what you looked like, all sorts of questions! It was pretty interesting seeing Inuyasha so excited. Can't imagine, huh?" InuTaisho smiled a huge smile, but Inuyasha's was immediately wiped off his face.
"Hey!" Inuyasha yelled, causing the whole table to jump in surprise. "Shut up, will you? You're talking too much." InuTaisho hung his head as his son said those words. You could tell he was embarrassed. Kagome smiled nervously.
"No no, you're not. I'm glad you guys are here." Hitomi let out a joyful laugh as she embraced her daughter.
"Kagome's such a good child, don't you say, Taisho?"
"Why of course! She's pretty, smart, funny, and has great manners. Just like her mother," InuTaisho grinned as he reached for his wine glass. "To your beautiful eyes, Hitomi." The woman blushed a brilliant shade of pink as she picked up her own glass and clinked it with the one he was holding. Inuyasha stuck his tongue out in disgust. "And to our wonderful future together."
"Hey, you're old. Stop the love-struck boy act." Kagome kicked Inuyasha from under the table. "Ow!"
"No, he's just trying to be romantic." Kagome smiled sweetly, and almost glared at Inuyasha.
"It's going to be wonderful with such a good daughter like Kagome. I've always wanted a daughter, you know." InuTaisho said happily as he held Hitomi's hand. "Oh, isn't it your birthday soon, Kagome? How old will you be turning?"
"Well, my birthday's next month. And I'll be turning 21." For the first time throughout the whole night, Kagome felt calm. Talking to InuTaisho was like talking to an old friend, and she could clearly see how kind he was to her mother. She felt that if she were to leave her mother in his hands, she wouldn't have to worry so much anymore. She looked across the table from her and saw Inuyasha staring at his plate of food. Maybe he was still uncomfortable with the fact that his father was remarrying, she wasn't sure. But as she remembered that day at the school, she was sure that Inuyasha wasn't going to be like this for very long.
"Auntie, where's the washroom?" Kagome almost laughed as he broke the silence with his awkward question. He excused himself from the table and stopped just before opening the door to the bathroom. "Hey, you two." He jerked his head slightly towards the older couple, "No kissing." Kagome could have sworn she saw a smile dance across his features.
You know, she never thought she'd be saying this, but - maybe being related to Inuyasha wouldn't be so bad after all.
Sunday morning.
Kagome groaned as the sunlight shone into her bedroom window. Rubbing her eyes, she lay there as her eyelids were half closed. "Good morning," Came a deep masculine voice. Who could that be? Oh well. Kagome turned towards the voice and smiled, responding to his greeting. Wait, something's not right here. Chocolate brown eyes met honey gold ones as Kagome realized just who was sleeping next to her in her bed.
"AHHH!" The girl instantly shot up into a sitting position. "You - Me - Last night...!" Lifting up the covers just to make sure she was still fully clothed, Kagome stuttered with her words.
"We slept together, last night." His smug smile made her want to die on the spot.
"WHAT? Where's Uncle?" Kagome had started calling InuTaisho 'Uncle', she found it made things less awkward.
"He's sleeping on the couch. And your mother is obviously sleeping in her own room."
"They're being way too irresponsible."
"Nope, they saw we were asleep together."
"They should have woke me up!" Kagome turned, looking Inuyasha in the eye. He had this strange look in his eyes, "What are you looking at?"
"Did you know that you talk in your sleep?" The girl's eyes widened.
"No way."
"Mhmm, you do." Inuyasha leaned closer to her and stopped as his lips almost touched her ear. "You were saying, 'I think I'm starting to like Inuyasha'." If possible, Kagome's eyes got wider as she heard him say these words.
"Not possible!"
"How would you know, you were sleeping."
"So were you!"
"I was pretending." He smirked. She screamed. Kagome shot out of the bed and made a run for the door.
"How is that even possible? I wouldn't like you! Why would I-" Her voice was cut off as she slammed the door behind her, leaving a laughing Inuyasha in the room.
To make things worse for the girl, InuTaisho decided he would bring them to school that morning. "Hey, that's the principal's son." One student would say. "Who's the girl?" Another asked. "I heard they're about to become siblings." Someone commented. Kagome could almost feel Inuyasha's anger as they heard the whispers and gasps of the students around them. Before Kagome could step through the doors of the college, she heard Inuyasha telling his father that there would be no more rides to school, ever.
"It's already awkward enough for her, why make it worse?" Kagome didn't mean to eavesdrop. It just ... happened.
"Oh, you're already worrying about her like she's your sister! I'm so excited." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"I'm not worried about her! Knowing her, she'd probably go and do something stupid, like cry." Inuyasha didn't make eye contact with his father as he said these words. But Kagome could tell that there was a possibility that he was hiding something. Does he really worry about me? Why now, when he's been so mean to me for the past two years? Slowly, she turned around and walked in the direction of her locker, knowing she would see Inuyasha during her first class. When she arrived at her locker, Sango and Miroku met her there. She clutched her books tighter when she saw them, believing they were still angry with her. Sango stepped forward, Kagome wanted to take a step back.
"Kagome! What took you so long? We've been waiting forever." Sango approached Kagome's side and linked their arms together.
"Sango, you're not mad?"
"We've been best friends since the third grade. I'm not about to throw that away. Besides, Miroku's not mad at you, so why should I be?" Kagome looked up and over at Miroku, who smiled warmly at her.
"Really? You guys aren't mad?"
"If we were, would we be standing here right now? Come on, Kagome. Lighten up, besides - you need us right now more than ever!" Before Kagome could ask her what in the world she was talking about, Sango interrupted. "Inuyasha spent the night at your house, right?" Kagome opened her mouth to say something. "Don't interrupt!" Kagome rolled her eyes. I didn't even say anything! Besides, she asked me a question. "News spreads pretty fast around here, huh? Well, anyway, did he try anything?" Kagome gave Sango a light punch in the arm.
"What's wrong with Inuyasha staying over at Kagome's? They're going to be siblings."
"Yes, but it's Inuyasha we're talking about, stay focused, Miroku!" The said boy nodded slowly as he returned back to the conversation. "Look, the real threat is Inuyasha. Therefore, you must steer clear of him, got it? You don't want any nasty rumours spreading, do you?" Kagome shook her head. "Okay, so if anyone asks, for the whole night, you were at least two feet apart. Sure, people will think you're paranoid, but it's better than people thinking you slept with your future brother-"
"Shut up!" Kagome cut Sango off as she placed her hand over the girl's mouth. "Tell it to the whole world, why don't you? Besides, we didn't even do anything. I woke up the next morning and there he was, in my be...d." Shit, I did not just say that out loud.
"Wait, he was in your...bed?!"
"SHHH!"
"OH MY GOD!"
"Sango! Quiet down!"
"Yeah, Sango. You're making a scene..." Miroku said as he approached her side, unknowingly to Kagome, he placed his hand on the girl's lower back. Sango immediately closed her mouth. "Hey, that worked." The boy smirked at the glare he received.
"What worked?"
"Nothing!" He said a little too fast. But Kagome was so caught up in her own problems that she didn't notice.
In the classroom, Inuyasha and the others sat around in a circle at their desks. "This is perfect."
"What is?"
"This!" Bankotsu received three other confused looks. "You know, you spent the night at her house last night, right 'Yasha?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You could get her to fall in love with you, then just..." Bankotsu held out his hand, then quickly balled it into a fist. "...Crush her! She'll be devastated, since she's about to become your sister, and she's gonna have to face you for the rest of her life. Wouldn't that be great?" Inuyasha's eyes were as wide as saucers. Kouga did him a favor and punched Bankotsu in the arm.
"Are you retarded?! No way!" Kouga said as he glared at the other member of their little gang. "Why would Inuyasha do that anyway, to his future sister no less."
"Well, I thought since you hated her so much..."
"I don't hate her. Where the hell did you get that idea?"
"You've been saying it for the past two years."
"..."
"Got'cha there 'Yash."
"Why do you hate her anyway? She's not bad, you know. I ran into her in the hallway the other day, and she smiled at me. Besides, she's pretty hot-"
"Shut up!" Inuyasha glared at his friends. Why Bankotsu even suggested an idea, he didn't know. But he was sure as hell wasn't going to do that to her. "She's going to be my little sister, who is also my dad's stepdaughter. Why would I go and do something stupid like that and ruin everything?"
"It's not that simple, is it 'Yash?" Inuyasha turned to Kouga, who was giving him an accusing look.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"For the past two years, you've been 'torturing' her, making her life a living hell, but only because you knew you couldn't have her for yourself."
"What? Shut up, you don't know anything."
"Really? When we first saw her, you said she was different from all the other girls. We've never been able to figure out why though. Other than the fact that she was the only girl who wasn't dying to go out on a date with you. Now, I can see it." Kouga said as he played with the small sheet of paper in his hands. "She's different, because..."
"Because of her innocence? I just think Kagome's the sweetest thing to ever walk the planet." Ayame smiled brightly.
"Well, sort of. Kagome Higurashi, to Inuyasha, is different from all the other girls in this school, because she's the only girl who's managed to get him to fall in love with her."
Silence.
"Right 'Yash?"
More silence.
"Holy...shit. You're in love with Higurashi?!" Bankotsu screamed. Inuyasha didn't respond. "In LOVE! Damn 'Yash. Why didn't you say anything?" Bankotsu scratched the back of his head. "Sorry for what I said earlier..." Although Inuyasha and his buddies seemed like complete jerks most of the time, doesn't mean they didn't respect each other. Bankotsu recalled when they were in high school, he was the outcast. Nobody talked to him, in fact, he was teased by everyone. Well, except for three people. Those three would be Inuyasha, Kouga, and Ayame. They took him in, included him in their group. Soon, nobody dared to make fun of him. It was because of Inuyasha that he was able to be who he is today. It was the exact same with Kouga and Ayame. Kouga used to be quite overweight, which made it tough for him to join the sports teams. Even the coaches insulted him.
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"You think you can join this team? You'll just slow everyone down, all you're good for is sitting on the bench and watching!" Kouga ducked his head down, ashamed. When he looked back up, he saw Inuyasha tackling the coach to the floor.
"Who do you think you are?!" The members of the team tried to keep him back, for the coach had already received a black eye. "You have no right, even if you are the damn coach!" Inuyasha continued cussing the coach out, and he was kicked off the team. "I don't care, that guy was an ass anyway. We're better off without it."
It was Inuyasha who helped Kouga through high school. It was also Inuyasha who helped Kouga drop the weight. "You'll feel better about yourself this way." It was also Inuyasha who set Kouga up with his current girlfriend, Ayame.
So to the three of them, Inuyasha was more than just a leader.
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"Don't start with the mushy stuff. I don't care," Inuyasha finally spoke, breaking all three of them out of their thoughts.
"Hey 'Yash, what are you gonna do, now? You can't date Higurashi, she's gonna be your sister." They didn't fail to notice the frown on his face as they said those words. The three of them exchanged nervous glances. "How about this, talk to your dad about it. He's always respected your needs."
"And ruin his happiness? No." Another thick silence fell upon the room. However, they were startled when they heard a loud thud. They all turned, and there was Kagome. "K-Kagome," Inuyasha stood up out of his chair, "What the hell are you-"
"Is it true?" The look in Kagome's eyes almost broke his heart. "You - You have feelings...for me?" She looked so lost and confused. "That's not possible,"
"Why not?!"
"Because we hate each other! You're not supposed to like me!"
"Maybe I never hated you."
"No! Don't say that!" Kagome turned around and dashed out the door of the classroom. Inuyasha stood there and stared at the door. The other three watched the scene unfold. Inuyasha had helped them in the past so much, and when the opportunity came to repay him, they had no idea what to do.
"Inuyasha's in love with you?!" Sango looked like she was hyperventilating. "Okay, breathe in, breathe out." She exhaled and Kagome resisted the urge to roll of her eyes. "Maybe he's pulling a prank on you or something."
"Why would he, and about that! That would totally ruin the atmosphere around us if our parents really got married."
"That's true." Sango placed her thumb and forefinger on her chin. "Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter. You're going out with Kouji now, right?" Kagome's eyes widened, realizing she hadn't spoke with Kouji in forever.
"Kouji...?" Sango's eyes widened.
"Yeah, you know. The guy in your philosophy class, the one you've been crushing on since forever? Have you forgotten about him already?!"
"I...I've been too busy worrying about this thing with Inuyasha, I haven't been..."
"Kagome, you've been thinking way too much about Inuyasha. Just forget about him."
"How?! Soon, I'm going to be seeing him every day."
"Why are you so caught up with this? It's not like you have feelings for him...wait, do you?" Kagome didn't answer. "Kagome? Don't do this, you're scaring me."
"It's just that, when I saw his gentler side, my opinion about him changed. He isn't as bad as we thought he was."
"What are you saying! This is Inuyasha, you can't give in! For all we know, he could be pulling an evil prank on you!" However, Kagome was unconvinced. Sango frowned, her best friend was falling for the devil of the school. However, even if Kagome did fall for Inuyasha, she had to be there to support her. "But it's not like you guys have a chance, you're about to become siblings!" For some reason, as she heard those words, Kagome felt a heavy feeling in her chest. Is this how Inuyasha felt when they were talking about this?
"I know."
"Kagome, are you sure about this?"
"No, but the fact that I'm willing to find out is more than reassuring for me." Kagome hugged her friend, "I can't believe this, I've fallen for Inuyasha."
"You can't control these things, don't blame yourself. Besides, falling in love is supposed to be a good thing, right?" Kagome smiled slightly, Sango was good at making her feel better. "Besides, Miroku and I will be there to support us every step of the way. I'm sure Inuyasha will be thrilled to hear about this." Should I really do this? She recalled the day she woke up next to him, her heart was beating loudly in her chest, her throat went dry, and she couldn't stop blushing. I guess that's a yes.
"What am I going to do about Kouji, though?"
"What do you mean what are you gonna do? You're gonna do that right thing, that's what." Kagome frowned as she realized what she had to do. "Want the phone?" Kagome shook her head, for something this serious, she needed to do in person. Today was Friday, she wouldn't see Kouji until Monday. She wasn't ready to face him just yet, she needed time to prepare herself.
"I'm sorry, Kouji."
Author's Notes: Oh my goodness. This chapter is so very long! I'm so proud of myself. Anyway, so I've revealed the real problem of the story already. I know it's sort of moving really fast, but I didn't want to put off the falling in love part too much. Because I want to get to the real conflict. So we've figured out that Inuyasha isn't as big of a bad boy as we thought he was - he actually cares about his father! Aw, how touching. So what are they gonna do now, now that they've discovered their feelings for each other? Stay tuned, and find out. Please review!
Sw33t-Sorrows.