Chapter 6: warming up
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INU POV
He still couldn't let her too far without following her. He was constantly afraid that she'd revert back, and he'd be back in the same situation he was two days ago. Today he wanted to devote to writing, but she stayed on his mind, and instead he was at the window of an upstairs room looking at her as she scaled the beach.
She hadn't gotten too far in the sea, she only walked the shore getting her feet wet as the wind picked up and thrashed her jet black hair every which way. She was in her standard position, crossing her arms as if she was cold, yet on her person all she wore was a long wrap. She hadn't noticed him yet, but as she walked further and further to the left she walked deeper into the water. The deeper she got the more unnerving he felt.
She walked into the tide letting the water stop at her knees. He stepped further into the window wanting to see more. He decided he'd switch to the balcony for an even closer look. He told himself he only watched her to make sure no harm came to her, but in honesty something else lingered in that obsession. He thought maybe it was just curiosity, he wanted to know more about who she had become, but even he knew it was much more than that.
He opened the door to the balcony seeing a better view of the beach. She had stepped away from the general view of the mansion and was off to the right. She had her arms rummaging at something at her back. He couldn't really tell from this distance, but after a few undoing she pulled off her cardigan and carelessly dropped it into the ocean. He stepped closer into the balcony watching her naked body from the back only for a slight moment until she dived head first into the water. She began swimming further until he couldn't detect her. He didn't think anything of it, thinking she was just swimming, but after a moment he became more and more anxious. She never resurfaced, she stayed down. There was no sign of her in the tide. He could feel his heart beat increasing until he couldn't just stand still. He turned away from the balcony and rushed out into the hall and down the spiraling stairs. He gave no notice to any of the help, he just opened the door and quickly rushed to the beach.
He didn't know why he was so nervous. How was he to know she wasn't just swimming. Maybe he wasn't looking in the right spot, but still as he made it to the beach he couldn't see her. He looked around rushing further to the right. He told himself he'd just call her name, if she responded he'd leave it alone. "Kagome..." He called. She didn't surface. He ran closer to the right, before deciding that he'd have to go into the water.
He had his hands on his shirt, pulling it up while walking deeper into the ocean when he saw her. She was heading farther from the mansion but closer to the shore. She wasn't too far from him, just to the right. He had mistaken her for going deeper into the current, when she was actually swimming against it. He felt instantly embarrassed for being so protective. He had asked a few of the help to keep an eye on her. If they hadn't seen any case to be alarmed, than why should he? Still he took a deep breath feeling releaved as he watched her naked form trail farther too the right. He decided at that moment he'd actually head home, but as he walked Kagome turned facing him, having heard and noticed him calling her name. At first she was angry. Who the hell was he? Her protector, now he felt like he could come to her aid anytime she was in distress. She only had to look up at the various balconies to know that he had been watching her.
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KAG POV
When she left the tide and heard him calling her name her anger made her ignore him, but as she watched him take a deep breath and exhale in relief something different came over her. She had never thought about it like that, but what if he was generally concerned. She hadn't had anyone who generally cared for her in awhile. Yeah she had her grandma, Sango, Souta, but she had a way of pushing them away, and their was something about Inuyasha that told her he wouldn't be pushed as easily.
(couple hours...)
She stayed on the beach longer just staring at the shore until hunger over came her. She couldn't help but let her mind drift towards him as she turned from the beach towards the mansion. She was confused more than anything, why he went through so much to revive her? Why did he treat her so well when she treated him horribly? As soon as she got halfway to the beach house one of the help came out with a long sweater and a towel. They had been extremely observant as of lately, and Kagome had a feeling that was Inuyasha's doing as well.
"Lunch is being served in a few minutes. Would you like to eat in the dining room?" One of them asked. She just nodded as she pulled on the sweater. It fell above her knees and she knew it was Inuyasha's. She walked past a few of the help going towards the double doors of the mansion. She walked off to the right towards the dining room expecting to see him. He was always early, but he wasn't there.
She sat waiting and when the help finally sat down a leafy looking salad she just stared at it. Where was he? She picked up a fork telling herself she didn't care. She had skipped breakfast, and she didn't care about seeing him then. So why now when she sat down and he wasn't in his spot she was so concerned. She told herself she was just curious. One of the help came by with a wine bottle in hand. It wasn't full. It had just enough to fill her flask. That's what they did to ensure she wouldn't ask for the entire bottle. It was a trick Myoga had created and she knew that he must of communicated it to Inuyasha. It served her right any how, for seeming so weak in front of him the other day. She pulled her feet up watching the dark red liquid hit the glass. It sort of memorized her and though she hadn't expected to say anything she turned towards the young woman pouring the bottle. "Where is he?" She asked.
The help looked down catching her glance. "In his study." She said and she nodded knowingly...
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INU POV:
"I can edit it if you'd like…" He said while typing away at the computer. The man on the other line seemed a bit pleased by that idea. "I just need to know exactly what direction you want the story line to go." He paused as he lost his train of thought. He minimized the document and closed the laptop. He hated when that happened. Usually he'd have to drop everything he was doing. It helped most of the time to jog his memory. "You know what…" he said suddenly. The director on the other line waited for him to continue. "Let me actually call you back." Before he could even stutter on the other line he hung up quickly.
He stared ahead at the wall trying to think back to what the main character was trying to convey. It was on the tip of his tongue and as he stared ahead at the wall his mind wandered into something else completely. He didn't know why but all of a sudden now that the fear of her drowning had ended he had a vivid picture of her naked body as she walked through the water. The image of her long wavy hair thrashing in the wind.
He pushed away from the desk slightly hoping that would disorient his thoughts. It was around 4 and she hadn't come to breakfast and he had missed lunch. He wasn't actually too hungry, but he could of eaten. He just had so much work to do and if he went downstairs and saw her that would be all he'd think about. It was a realization that occurred to him as soon as he left the beach earlier in the afternoon. He was too concerned with her well being, that's what he told himself. Than there were the things about her that had to do with just her. They played constantly in his head, the way she held herself, the way she spoke. He had no excuse for that.
He didn't want it to be awkward between them though. So he was constantly telling himself to leave her alone. Don't go looking for her just because she skipped a meal. He had a good amount of his maid staff watching her. None of them had said anything. That must have meant she was good, safe, fine.
He only contemplated that for a moment before sliding back into the desk. He was about to lift the laptop when he heard a soft shallow knock on the door. The first thing that went through his mind was 'dinner,' but it was only 4. "Come in." He announced. He lifted the lap top any way and pressed a random key to awaken it. No one had entered his study and he turned around to check if he had locked the door. It wasn't, "I said come in…it should be unlocked." He said even louder. Still no one entered…"okay suit yourself." He mumbled while rereading the last line he had written moments earlier. He was only midway through the sentence when he got an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Maybe it was because he hadn't eaten, but he knew it was because he could still sense the woman on the other side of the door. He sighed annoyed while turning in his seat. He was about to get up and pull the door open when he heard the knob twist itself.
He watched for a moment before turning back towards his desk. He waited till he felt the opening of the door to continue reading. He didn't bother turning around though he could admit he was interested to see who it was. "Did you hear me say you could come in?" He asked as he heard the door slowly close behind him.
No one said anything and he didn't have to turn around to know who it was. He knew her scent, especially when she had been to the beach. It mingled with the salt in the ocean perfectly. His blood began scorching and he felt his heart pick up. He turned slowly in his seat taking her in. She had one of his older sweaters that he no longer wore and that was all. Her long black hair had mostly dried and it was tossed to the left where it cascaded down one shoulder. She had her arms behind her back while she leaned against the door. His mouth instantly dried as he stared at her, she on the other hand was looking around the room. Things had been especially awkward between them since she had said her 'thank you' yesterday morning. He had no idea where they stood. "Hi..." He mumbled and she let her dark blue eyes fall on him.
She didn't say anything she just walked forward towards a book shelf and stared at it. He watched as she fingered old letters and read the spines of books. She noticed something in the series, he could tell by the interest that showed in her eyes. It was the same one that showed when he mentioned they should go to the other side of the island. He wanted desperately to speak to her, but he had no idea what to say. He decided to make small talk. "so you like the beach?" He asked and she turned at that, but something else lit her endearing features.
"You called me today?" She stated questioning. He sat up in his seat not understanding. "When I was on the beach, what did you want?" She asked and he just stared at her. He didn't know what to say, he had no words. "You remember?" She asked while stepping closer. Her eyes only shifted away from him momentarily to look at the computer screen. When he noticed he turned closing the laptop. She didn't seem fazed.
"I..." he stuttered still trying to find what to say. "I was looking out the balcony and I saw you diving...I thought you, I thought you weren't going to resurface." He admitted she watched his face for awhile almost as if she didn't believe him. After awhile she shifted her view again. There was something about him that unsettled her. She didn't know what it was, maybe it was because she believed that with every good act he did, a bad one was lurking. It wasn't so much that she didn't believe people changed, it was just that she believed that they regressed and reverted for the worse.
"What does whether I resurface have to do with you?" She asked and he didn't have an answer for that. At least not an answer he wanted to admit. She waited patiently to hear what he'd say. She told herself that was the only reason she came up here, to find out. He didn't say anything and she looked away again. "You know it's not your job to save me?" She muttered and he thought it over for a moment.
"Than whose is it?" He asked and she just stared not knowing what to say. It was an unexpected answer to a question that she didn't want an answer to.
She turned away from him taken a bit off guard. That was something that almost never happened to her. She never really cared about anything enough to be taken off guard. She looked around the room, it was almost bare, there wasn't much to see, but she was always fascinated by detail. She could find the littlest detail in a white room, it was a talent that helped her acting wise."What is this room to you?" She asked and he looked up at her.
"It's a study. I work in here." She nodded while looking around.
"What do you work on?" He was taken aback by the question. She could so easily jump from one topic to another. It was a bit weird, but Kagome had never been normal. Even before her break down, when she was fun loving and innocent. It was almost as if she was too much so.
"Scripts, movies, I write scripts now." she turned at that and he spotted the little bit of interest in her eyes so he continued. "There mostly what other people tell me to write. Nothing big, like if they want some sad movie about a dog I write it. They usually have something they want to happen in the end. I don't write a lot of original stuff. Only one or two, but I haven't given it to anyone, I sort of want to be the one to direct it." She waited just looking at him, almost as if she wanted to hear more. He didn't know what else to say so he just stared back at her.
"You just write scripts nothing else. No books." He shook his head implying 'no' and she turned away from him. "That's so useless. Books are a lot more substantial than scripts, movies, or anything like that."
"Well that's your opinion I guess..."
"It's just that books have more detail." She said cutting him off. "they have more emotion, and they have more of a story. Scripts are usually just dialogue. It's up to the directors and the actors to put the story in it." He nodded not knowing what to say. He had never had an actual conversation for this long with her. It was so weird how opinionated she was. He hadn't expected that. He had thought she didn't care. " You know that book." She said while walking back to the book shelf. "The blue jay's route." She pulled it out. It was a small insignificant book that was caught in between two bigger ones. In order to pull it out she had to separate it from the rest. "My dad used to read it to me when we'd come over..." She said and all of a sudden her voice trailed off. He was almost sad to hear she was done so soon. He wanted her to continue but she didn't, she just stared at the book for a really long time.
"What's it about?" He asked wanting to hear her speak again. He wanted to hear her opinions. When she spoke he could remember the old Kagome so vividly. The one who spoke endlessly about senseless insignificant things like books, flowers, movies. She used to be so innocent.
"The old house used to be filled with books." She said looking up at him, but he wouldn't dare say anything to stop her. "That's what I wanted to be when I grew older." She stated, but it seemed like she was talking to herself.
"What...what did you want to be?" He asked and she shrugged as if the thought was insignificant.
"An author, I wanted to put the stories in the books, I never really wanted to act them out." She looked through the pages of the small thin book touching them as if they'd come to life some how. Just the sight of them enacted memories, and memories always made her heart rush and emotions run vividly. Every time she explored another side of the beach the same thing happened. She was starting to begin to think memories weren't as bad as she had thought they were.
"Than why were you an actress?" He asked and she tensed up at the question. He cursed himself for asking it before quickly changing the subject. "Why do you think scripts don't tell stories. I think they do." She turned at that. He had expected her to walk away, but there was a new passion in her that wasn't before. Whatever it was it had driven her up here and she wasn't ready to leave.
"Yeah they tell the outline of a story, but have you ever read a script. It's just dialogue. You don't get to see what the characters are seeing. You don't get to feel what they're feeling. Only once the film comes out can you get the general idea, but you'll never know what's on her mind unless you read it in a book." It made sense to him, but he didn't say anything. He watched her for awhile. She placed the book on top of the book shelf.
"You can have it." He said and she turned to look at him. She had no one easily read emotion on her face. "If you want the book you can have it. It's no big deal. I've never even noticed it."
She stared down at it for awhile before pushing it against her chest. Almost as if it was something vulnerable to be cherished. She seemed so overwhelmed with his gesture that when she looked up her expression was so grateful. Almost like he had went back into the past and delivered her dead parents back to her. He thought that maybe the book was a piece of her father that she wasn't expecting to get back."Thanks..." she mumbled, making him yet again shockingly apparent that the word was in her vocabulary.
"No problem."
She looked back down at the book, before glancing up at him again."So why didn't you eat lunch?" She asked and he tapped silently on the arm rest of his office chair, just thinking of a response. He had so much things clouding his mind. Like the idea that she noticed. And the idea she could be so appreciative for a small petty children's book. She was so complicated yet very simple, it was just a missing piece he hadn't found connecting her emotions together. "I wasn't hungry." He said and she nodded. "Did you miss me?" He asked jokingly but it didn't register to her. Instead she turned away from him towards the door.
She paused near it staring down. He didn't know what she was looking at. Her long black hair covered her face. It seemed as if she was contemplating something. She suddenly turned to face him, raising the book up."Thank you for this...really, it means a lot to me."
She placed a hand on the door knob but before she could leave he sat up."Wait..." He called out. He didn't know why, but he didn't want her to leave. He just didn't. "Stay... I mean...have a seat." She turned looking at the extra chair near his desk.
She stared at it for an unusual amount of time before looking up at him again. "Why?" She asked bluntly. He didn't have an answer for that, and she knew he didn't. She still waited for a response that never came before turning to face the door again. He watched her as she left just staring at the door for awhile after...
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Dinner
He sat down at his usual spot in the dining room. Like usual she wasn't there, she was usually late. One of the help came by with a plate in her hands. He didn't say anything to her but when she finally set it down he looked up. "How is she?" He asked and she knew automatically what he meant.
"She's fine. She went back to her room for the rest of the day. She's on her way to dinner now." She said while smiling down and turning. He said his usual thanks as he pulled out a fork. He didn't know exactly what he was eating, it looked like seafood, but he couldn't tell what type. He didn't seem too concerned though. He placed a fork into his mouth. As he chewed another help came in with a second plate setting it on Kagome's spot, and almost as if by signal her scent minus the sea rushed into the room. He looked straight forward seeing her automatically. It seemed as if she took a shower and on her person she wore just a tank top. It was striped black and a dark blue. He knew he should have been used to it by now, but he didn't think he'd ever be.
Her long legs were on display and he could make out her black silk underwear from below. The tank top only stopped at the top of her hips. She crossed her arms as she walked almost like she was cold. Her long black hair was in a wet bun confirming his suspicion that she had just taken a shower. The help who had placed her food in its spot looked up, and when she spotted her with just a tank top and nothing else she widened her eyes.
Kagome didn't seem fazed though, she just walked passed her towards the far end of the table. She stared at her food for a moment. It was some sort of vegetarian pasta. It looked exactly like his own food but minus the sea food. She looked up at him, and he quickly tore his eyes from her and looked down at his plate. He didn't say anything but he could sense her getting closer to him. He didn't know why and after awhile when his curiosity peaked he looked up at her. She was standing near him her plate in her hand. She wasn't looking at him though, she just pulled up the chair beside him and placed the plate in it's place and sat down. He was obviously shocked that she'd actually sit next to him. It didn't seem to unnerve her. She was fine, as she sat she tucked her legs under her giving him a good view of her inner thighs before pushing forward in her seat.
She picked up her fork and placed it in the pasta and he just stared at her. The help came back with a couple of glasses and a bottle of wine. When she noticed Kagome's seat change she had to back track herself for a moment before going to the front of the table. She placed both the wine glasses down and poured her's first then his. She placed the rest of the bottle near Inuyasha away from Kagome who she had been warned was liable to drink a whole bottle if not watched.
He waited till she left before looking up at Kagome. "So you've actually decided to sit next to me." He said. She was actually unusually close. The chair that had been on the side of the table she slightly moved it so it was touching his own. Even her plate was only centimeters from touching his. He didn't know what to think, but he was slightly pleased. She glanced up at him for a moment.
"I went outside earlier today." She stated and he waited patiently for her to continue. She didn't seem as if she was going to. It made him ponder the statement for a moment but after a while she moved her petite form to the right so she was facing him. "I saw a jet taking off on the other side of the island." She said. And he took in her gorgeous face, he could tell she was asking a question instead of stating it. He knew the answer to it too, he wondered if he should tell her. He didn't know why he had to ask himself first, but he had his suspicions.
"Yeah that's the help." He told her and she waited wanting to hear more. The interest in her dark blue eyes had returned again. And he began to actually love the questioning glance she sometimes threw his way. It had him completely forgetting what he had been talking about and he sat up dropping his fork and picking up a napkin from beside his plate. He wiped his already clean mouth. "Have you ever ridden in a boat before?" He asked and she stared at him. He could tell she didn't understand. "My dad bought me a boat for one of my birthdays a while ago. You want to go on it tomorrow?" He asked. "You know now that I know you don't hate me enough to push me overboard." He said referencing the fact that she had moved her chair so close to his.
She looked back down at her plate for a moment and he waited, but she didn't say anything. He was going to mention something else when she turned to face him again. "What about the help?" She asked referring to what he had said earlier.
"They're leaving..." He said with a shrug. "I'm sending them back to their homes." Conflicting emotions flashed onto her face.
"Why?" She asked and he didn't like that she seemed so consumed with that subject.
"I don't know, I was always planning to. I just don't need them really. I have other plans." He said and Kagome looked back down at her plate putting a fork gently into her mouth. She didn't face him she just continued eating and he sighed before grabbing his wine glass. None of them said anything and as the quiet awkwardness left to finally be replaced by a comfortable silence she looked up.
"What type of boat is it?" She asked jumping to another subject. He looked over at her and she waited for him to patiently continue.
He shrugged not knowing what to say. "I don't know, it has a deck, it's not too fancy." He lied and Kagome could tell he was being modest. She thought it over not showing that she loved the idea very much. She just nodded looking back at her food while stifling an actual smile. Something that she never really did period. He smiled seeing how pleased she was.
"Is that a smile?" He asked making her look up slightly. He widened his own grin. "Then it's settle. We'll go after breakfast."
He watched her as the smile she had been trying to hide widened making her already gorgeous face stunningly beautiful. It made his heart stop and his blood heat up. It faded slowly and as he watched it go, he silently promised himself that he'd try his hardest to she her do it again.
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Sorry about the wait. Review please
