FIVE
After a couple more stops, it was only Taisho and I. Then it just started getting awkward after a bit.
"So, where do you get off?" I asked after a moment, leaning over the front of my seat. He turned to look at me from the window.
"Wherever you get off, apparently."
I stopped. "And why would that be?"
"InuYasha lives there, does he not?" I nodded, confused. "He's my half-brother. I am to be staying at your home, set up by your mother."
I gaped at him. "You can't be seious!" He nodded, very nonchalant.
"D-Don't you have... any other family?" His eyes tightened, shaking it a little bit.
"If I did, would that hanyou be staying at your home?"
"... What did you just call him?" I growled. "He is a person, just like you and I."
He gave a dry smile. "No; you and I are like you and I. He is like half of you alone, which really isn't saying much." I watched apprehensively as he raised his hand to the top of my head. I froze.
"And what are you doing?" I ducked away from him. He stopped for a moment.
"Lean forward, Ms. Higurashi."
I scowled but obeyed. "I have an actual name, you know."
"As do I." I felt a light scratching on the top of my head, and then immense relief. He had taken my headband off, releasing my ears.
"Oh, sweet beard of Zeus, that's good." I pressed them forward, leaning my forehead on the seat.
"Look at me," he said after a second. My heart accelerated a moment as I jerked my head up, covering my ears. I felt something warm on my fingers.
I stopped as I looked at him. He had turned his head to the side and moved his hair away from him.
"Your ears..." I gingerly touched the tip of it.
"What? Never seen demon ears before? You have wounded yourself." He let his hair fall back into place as the bus stopped. "This is our stop."
As we got off I stopped again. "And what do you mean, 'I've wounded myself'? I'm not an emo." He moved my hair to the side.
"You attempted to cut them off... Several times." I shook him off.
"Mind your own business." I walked briskly inside before he grabbed my wrist.
"Do not disregard what I say as simple dirt on your shoulder. My words carry weight that would be wise to you to listen and think them over." He pushed me to the door. "Now take me to the half-breed."
I glared at him, but led him up the shrine stairs. It had been left in my Grandfather's will for us to have it. We hired people to take care of it. It was spacious and it was a good source of income for tours. I odn't exactly know why, but mom insisted that we keep it. If she willed it to me, I would have the land sold.
I looked back at Sesshomaru to see his nose wrinkled.
"I smell a wolf."
I laughed. "Then that's probably Kouga, or maybe me. He lives here, too. Mom thinks of this place as a correctional facility for the young and mislead demon." Sesshomaru snorted.
"Interesting way of putting it." I shrugged.
"Momma, I'm home!" I called as I pulled back the door and stepped inside, removing my shoes on the mat.
"Welcome home, dear... Oh, and who's this?" she asked with interest as she rounded the corner, eyeing Sesshomaru suspiciously.
"Apparently this is someone who's putting up residence here."
"Oh! So you're InuYasha's older brother, Sesshomaru?"
As if on cue, InuYasha came into the kitchen, hearing his name. "Did I do something wrong?" He looked to Ozo.
"No. Your brother is here." She gestured to the body standing next to mine.
"Keh! Are you fucking kidding me! That icicle is staying here?" Ozo squinted, nodding her head. "But why?"
She stood up straight. "Because Sesshomaru didn't have a place to stay, and he being your only family available, I kept close contact with him. Even though he is of legal age to own property, the bank's having trouble depositing his money. So, I offered for him to stay here with us for a while until the bank can make the transaction so he can pay his taxes."
"No, no way in hell is that prick staying here." InuYasha said it like he got the final word. Ozo didn't comply.
"InuYasha, this is my home, and it is my choosing who I want to stay here and who I don't. And I choose to let Sesshomaru stay with us for a while. I'm not letting your only kin out on the street to freeze their bejeebers off while I have a place for them to stay." She crossed her arms, settling the matter.
InuYasha left the room grumbling. He knew that Ozo wouldn't waver. Even though she was a kind soul, she was tougher that a lot of people gave her credit for.
There was a swirl of dust and air as Koga appeared in front of me, looking ecstatic. "Kagome! I thought you were home!" He grabbed me up in a bone-crushing hug.
"K-Kouga! You fucktard, I can't breathe!" He dropped me immediately.
"So, how's my woman been while I was in the states. Did you miss me?" He ran a clawed hand through my hair, but I swatted him away laughing.
"I missed you horribly, Kouga. I thought that I would have to resort to Onigumo if you didn't come home soon!" I loved teasing him. I knew it was a little cruel, seeing as he was head-over-heels for me.
A cocky grin danced across his face. "As long as my heart is beating, you will never have to let your wonderful eyes grace his presence." He bowed regally.
I laughed once, dry with humor. "Yeah, well you're a bit late for that. Mom's trying to get him to be my babysitter again." I held onto his shoulder and dragged him out of the kitchen and into the living room to sit down and talk.
"Kagome, where are you going?" Ozo called.
I gave her an innocent smile. "I think that you and Mr. Taisho have some catching-up to do, so I'll just leave you two to go at it."
Kouga sat down on the far side of the couch, giving me room to lay down. I flopped down. laying my head on his lap.
"So, what's been going on with Onigumo lately?" He let his nails drag on the top of my head, emmiting a purr from me.
"He won't leave me alone whenever I'm out. Ozo has him following me around. He doesn't let me out of his sight until I send him home pissing himself."
Kouga sighed. "I don't know when your mom will see that he's just a creep that can only get some from a clay pot of his younger sister. And after him being caught red-handed with her, I find it amazing that your mom would even let him within a 100-mile radius of her, you, or any of us, for that matter."
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's a curious thought. She thinks that he's a good little boy that was just tricked by some of his friends. I don't get it, either."
"I guess I can't really blame her, though," he muttered. I gave him a quizzical look. "Honestly? I don't think that she should trust you. How many times did InuYasha and I have to carry you home because you were passed out drunk? Or when Sasuke had to drive around town for hours before he found you high as a kite inside the mill? As much as I think that having Onigumo babysit you sucks and is a bad idea on Ozo's part, I think that you do need someone to watch over you just for your own good."
I tried to glare up at him, but just really find the heart to do it. He did mean well, even if it really didn't sound right to me.
He sighed. "I can talk to her about seeing if I could... look after you, if you want to put it that way. Hey, don't give me that look, I'm way better than Onigumo. Not trying to be conceited or anything." He held back a cocky smile. I smiled back.
Kouga was just the kind of person that you could never really stay mad at for any amount of time. He was just thinking of my wellbeing, and I did try to appreciate it.
"Thanks Kouga... That really means a lot to me." His eyes softened as he looked down at me.
"Don't mention it, little onna." He bent down and kissed my forehead.
We sat there for a little while in a close, comftorable silence before I turned over and started dozing in his lap. I knew that he was on his way to sleep, too, from how relaxed and slow his breathing was becoming.
Nuzzling into his stomach, I fell into a warm and fuzzy sleep.
