Leading On
By InusMistress
Chapter Three:
Complications
As soon as she'd let herself fall onto the mattress, exhausted, Kagome heard her friends come in. They were all quiet, and Sango opened the door slowly and silently, thinking she was asleep. "I'm awake," Kagome said as she sat back up and reached for the side lamp. "Did you have fun?"
"Hey!" Rin was all smiles as she popped in behind Sango. "We had an amaaaaazing time!" she sang.
Kagome grinned at her, and waited for the rest. Sango looked at her wearily. "I think Rin has a crush," she said gravely as she put her stuff on the desk and started taking off her clothes.
"I do not!" was Rin's childish reply. "I think Kagome has a crush!"
Kagome let out a laugh. "I think Kagome's crush likes her, too," Sango added.
"Can we stop talking as if we were eleven?" Kagura snapped as she walked past the door to get in the bathroom.
"What's her problem?" Kagome asked in a whisper to Sango. Rin had already rolled her eyes and gone to the kitchen. Kagome frowned. There was something wrong with those two.
"I don't get it," Sango said slowly as she put on some shorts and a tank top. "She's been cold all evening, and Rin's stopped trying to talk to her."
"Wow." Kagome was surprised. In the seven years that they'd known each other, this had never happened. "I'm sure it's nothing, though. How did the rest of the evening turn out?"
"It was great. Inuyasha talked to me about his friend's hotel in Paris. He took my number and is going to call back soon to see if I'm needed." She seemed psyched, but didn't miss the way Kagome perked up when she mentioned Inuyasha's name. "And he seemed a little down when you left," she added, teasingly. "I think he missed you."
Kagome stuck her tongue out at her to hide her embarrassment. "I think it's great, though – about the internship. I hope you get it. You really deserve it, and I'm sure you'd do a great job, and you'd really enjoy yourself, too."
"Isn't it??" Sango exclaimed as she bounced onto her bed. "I think it's amazing! It's a really good hotel, too! It's local, so I've never heard of it, but it's five star and really busy this time of year!" She grinned. "I'm going to go get ready for bed."
Kagome nodded and turned the light back off. They all tried to make as little noise as possible, and, just a few minutes later, she was sound asleep.
XX
The next morning, it was Kagome's cell phone that awoke her. The ringing startled her and she almost jumped out of bed to answer it.
"Hello?" she spoke into the mouthpiece groggily.
"Hey, gorgeous," she heard a male voice over the phone. "I'm in my car and I'm really close to the Hilton, so, if you're free, would you want to go have lunch with me?"
Kagome frowned. This person must have a wrong number. But he was talking about the Hilton. She looked over to Sango who was groaning into the pillow for her to get out of the room. She turned towards the bathroom silently.
"Hello?" the voice asked. "Kagome?" She'd now managed to rush into the bathroom, close the door slowly and sit on the toilet seat.
"Who is this?" she finally answered, toying with a towel on the counter next to her.
The man seemed a little surprised. "It's Kouga," he said, matter-of-factly. Kouga? 'Oh!'
"Oh – sorry!" Kagome caught herself. "I'm not used to your voice on the phone."
"We'll have to change that, then. So – lunch?" Kagome bit her lip. She really didn't want to see him.
"To tell you the truth," she started uneasily, "I just woke up."
"Oh, alright then." She could tell he was disappointed. "It'll just have to be for another time. How about tomorrow?" Kagome inwardly groaned. Why was he calling so early anyway? Had he ever heard of that three-day-rule? She'd never liked those idiocies but right now she wished he was one of those calculating guys who didn't call the morning after they'd met someone.
"We'll see, okay?" she answered gently, trying her best to turn him down without seeming too harsh.
"Perfect!" Kagome blanched. Had he understood her? She hadn't said yes. "Have a great day, then, Kagome. I'll talk to you later."
"Okay," she stuttered. "'Bye." Right after she'd hung up, she stared at her cell phone. It was already one in the afternoon, of course people were awake at this time. She walked into the living room and was surprised to see Kagura sitting there, curled up on the couch, alone, seeming a little depressed.
"Hey!" she said, her tone cheerful. "What are you doing?"
"Morning," was Kagura's answer as she attempted a fake smile. "Nothing, I just woke up. Were you on the phone?" She took a sip of the coffee she was cradling in her hands.
"Yeah," Kagome said. "I'll tell you about it later. Do you want to go tanning?" She could tell her friend wasn't feeling very happy, and wanted to cheer her up. She knew Kagura wasn't the type to tell anyone what she was thinking, or feeling, but maybe if they were alone she might decide to say something.
"Sure," Kagura answered after a few seconds. "Let me just put my concealment spell back on and change and we're off."
Kagome nodded. She was used to the fact that Kagura was a wind demon, but most people still weren't. She, and most demons who still lived on, wore a concealment spell that made them look human. Kagura didn't look much different when she was human – her ears were different, she had no demon marks and her eyes were a shade browner.
Kagome watched, fascinated, as Kagura closed her eyes and recited a little spell, her voice hardly above a whisper. She loved watching her change. It was thrilling to see her body relax in that way, her head sometimes fall back… It made her look serene.
"I hate it when you watch me do that," Kagura said when she was done, as she got up and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower.
"Sorry," Kagome called after her. She then walked back into her room and opened the closet she had decided to use. Sango hated hotel closets, so her clothes were still in her trunk, which was open on the floor next to her bed and took up most of the walking space in the room. She chose a red string bikini, remembering what Inuyasha had said the night before. Maybe she would cross him on the beach today, she wondered.
She placed the bikini on the bed, along with a jeans skirt, a white tank top and white sandals. When Kagura was done with the bathroom, she got in, and about twenty minutes later they were walking towards the beach, after writing a note to Sango and Rin.
"How do you like it here?" Kagome asked her friend as they chose two chaises longues to lay on.
"The chairs?" Kagura asked, frowning.
"No. The vacation – are you enjoying it?" Kagome watched as Kagura opened her back and took out some sun lotion. She laid a towel on the chair and sat down to take off her sandals.
"Yes," she finally answered. Kagome didn't say anything as she undressed and laid down, rubbing some lotion on her cheeks. "You know," Kagura started. "If you want to ask me something, you can just go ahead."
Kagome blinked. Why was she so perceptive? "I don't really have anything to ask you," she said slowly. "I'm just wondering what's wrong."
Kagura smiled at Kagome. She had been expecting that. She stared at Kagome's sweet chocolate orbs and could see the similarities between her and Rin – Kagome would have never been able to live knowing that something was wrong with her without even trying to help. "Don't worry about me," Kagura said. "I'm fine, really." The wind demon was more likely trying to convince herself than Kagome.
"Okay." Kagome nodded. "But if you need anything you can always come to me. You know that, right?"
Kagura chuckled as she rested her head on the seat. "Thank you," she whispered.
Kagome beamed, feeling very happy with herself after making her friend feel more comfortable. They both laid there in silence for a while, until Kagome spoke again. "Kouga called me this morning," she said, grimacing. "He's been all over me since last night."
Kagura pursed her lips and stared at her friend silently. "I really don't like him," she said. "He's been friends with Sesshomaru forever, but I've never been able to stand him. I can't tell what it is about him that I hate."
Kagome nodded, understanding what she meant. She wondered if she should tell Kagura that he'd kissed her the night before. 'Oh, stop acting like it was something,' her conscience castigated her. It had been a tiny peck – nothing worth talking about.
A minute later Kagome's cell phone beeped, signaling a text message. "Oh, no," she groaned, fearing it be Kouga. She glanced at the phone: Sango. She was asking for food on their way back from the beach.
Kagome smiled, showed the message to Kagura who chuckled. "How does that girl stay so skinny?" the wind demon wondered aloud. Both of them laughed, and sat in silence for a while, Kagome secretly hoping to see Inuyasha's gorgeous golden eyes glancing at her from the shore. Ironically, Kagura was thinking of the man's older brother.
They stayed there in silence for a while, not saying a word. Kagome loved that about Kagura – once you got to know her, you got used to putting aside her cold side and love that you didn't have to talk all the time around her.
XX
Inuyasha stretched his arms behind his head, his eyes closed as the hot water slid over his muscular frame. He almost hit himself for thinking about Kagome again. She was the fourth girl who'd disappointed him – and she'd been the quickest – in the past couple of months. He wasn't at all the type to get attached, preferring dating to relationships, but he occasionally saw a girl with… potential, and the past few months he'd been very disappointed in each.
He'd spent a few hours at the hotel gym, and he was now trying to relax under a hot shower. He had wanted to go take a walk on the beach – the breeze was perfect – but he didn't want to see Kagome at all. Kouga had bragged about a lunch date with her when he'd stopped by at the suite Inuyasha was sharing with his brother. He and Bankotsu were sharing another one. He'd went on and on about how sweet she sounded on the phone and how glad he was to have met her. Inuyasha might have killed him.
Inuyasha's cell phone rang on the bathroom counter. "Damn it," he cursed as he turned off the water and dried himself quickly before jumping out of the shower and grabbing his cell phone. "Fucking huge bathroom," he muttered as he stared at the caller ID.
A smirk lightened his face. "Kikyo," he greeted the girl calling him.
"Inuyasha," the cold voice answered somewhat happily. "I've missed you," she said. Not leaving him the time to answer, fearing the feeling not being mutual, she went on. "We're almost done here," she said, referring to the fact that she was in Paris shopping with her two friends Kanna and Ayame. "So we're coming to see you in Corsica!"
Inuyasha scratched his wet scalp, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His white hair was sticking to neck and back, full of shampoo, and his bangs were pushed back. His ears were soggy and falling to the front. I really do look like a wet dog, he thought.
"That's great," he said unenthusiastically. He'd never really been interested in Kikyo, but the attention was welcome since she was so addicted to him and showered him with attention.
"It is!" she exclaimed, completely out of character, out of frustration to get a better reaction from him. When she realized she wouldn't get anything better, he heard her sigh into the phone. "I'm off, okay?" She silently hoped he would say something more than…
"'Kay, see you soon Kiks."
"Yeah…" He could hear the disappointment in her voice and wondered if he should say anything else, but she'd already hung up. He shrugged and placed his phone back on the counter, right as the bathroom door slammed open, letting in a rush of cold air. Sesshomaru glared at his brother as Inuyasha yelped and he grabbed his towel and tried to hide himself.
"You honestly look like a wet dog," Sesshomaru said none-too-kindly as he grimaced in disgust after a few seconds of silence. "And don't bother hiding behind that towel like a scared child. I'm just here to tell you that we're having dinner with Kouga and Bankotsu and that they're going to ask the girls to come." And just like that, he was outside again.
"Damn it, you ass," Inuyasha yelled after him, "I wasn't hiding, you just fucking startled me!!"
He growled and got back in the shower to rinse the shampoo out of his hair. The girls might be coming? He wondered. Which ones? He knew Kikyo enough for her to take a jet and be there as fast as possible if that meant she would see him. Did his brother mean Kikyo and her group, or Kagura and hers?
He dried himself quickly and stepped out of the bathroom, walking towards the living room wearing nothing but a towel, intent on asking his brother who would be coming with them, when the answer manifested itself, very much alive, in the form of Kikyo.
"Yasha!" she squealed as she jumped into his arms. "I bet you weren't expecting me to be back this fast!" Apparently she was already in Corsica when she'd called him.
Inuyasha patted her shoulder and laughed. "I guess not," he said, and then looked straight ahead, behind the girl who was clinging to him. Ayame, Kanna and Sesshomaru were sitting in the living room, he noticed. He also noticed that his towel was getting dangerously loose, and that having a body attached to his wasn't helping. Gently, he pushed Kikyo off of him. "So, this is what you meant by 'the girls' Sessh?" he asked his brother.
"No," Sesshomaru answered, his eyebrow cocked. "Kagura, Kagome, Sango and Rin are coming to dinner, too."
Inuyasha's eyes widened. All of them? All of them were going to dinner? "Sessh we're going to be eleven!"
His brother didn't acknowledge his exclamation and resumed his conversation with Ayame and Kanna.
"Come on, sweetie," Kikyo said with a smile. "Get ready, we're leaving soon." Inuyasha glanced at his watch: it was seven already.
He walked into his room and closed the door, then sat on his bed and stared at the closet, frowning. Kouga, Kagome, Kikyo, and him, all at the same time – that wouldn't be good.
AN:
Hey sweeties!
I don't like this chapter that much… I think the next one will be better, but I can't help but think that my plot is going too fast. I don't really have a steady plot line, it's just stuff happening, mostly comedy/angst… but I have the end pairings in mind. I guess it's okay if it goes on like this, I'm just not used to having a million little complications and things happening all the time. I'm more of a one-big-problem type of writer, so this is something new for me. I'm enjoying it anyway, and it's a break from writing ISH, since it doesn't deal with anything as depressing…
Anyway, I'll stop rambling. Hope you liked the chapter, and any feedback in appreciated. I'm new at this kind of writing, and I'd like to know if I suck at it or not…
Love, IK/InusMistress