Disclaimer: Does everyone know who Inuyasha belongs to? MEE!!! Just kidding. Sadness.
wk: Hey... I know you guys have been waiting a loonnnggg time for ONE of my stories to update. So, I'm giving you this. Happy early Merry Christmas! Hopefully, you'll remember the storyline. If you don't, I advise that you go read the other chapters first.
Yay!! Chapter Seven is finally here!
Chapter Seven
X's and O's
As soon as the last period started, Kaoru was distracted through the whole class. Constantly.
"Mr. Inuyasha. Is there something you would like to tell the rest of the class? Like why you're whispering into Ms. Kagome's ear and running a finger down her neck?"
There were a lot of "Oh!"s, and dirty looks, along with a few sniggering comments. Kagome was beet red.
"I'm just talking with my girlfriend, sir," Inuyasha said innocently, his finger still going down her neck. She slapped at it, and ended up hitting her own neck as a result. She looked at Myouga like saying, "See?"
"Inuyasha, I'm going to have to separate you from Kagome."
"What?" Inuyasha was instantly angry, scowling at the miniature teacher.
"Apparently, you can't behave yourself, so I'll put you somewhere else," Myouga snapped.
"No, no. I'll behave," Inuyasha said, scowling as he sat back in his own seat. Kagome let out a breath of relief, but that didn't stop the other girls from sneering at her.
It became a game to Inuyasha. Whenever Myouga turned around to explain something on the board or his attention wandered somewhere else (which was, sadly, very often), Inuyasha would lean forward and quickly nip at her neck or whisper something in her ear. Kagome started to squirm every time Myouga turned around.
"Stop it!" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth. She felt his mouth press against her shoulder, and the warmth went through her shirt. Swallowing, she tried to concentrate on what Myouga was saying.
"Myouga-sensei!" she burst out after Inuyasha gave a particularly hard nip. "May I go to the bathroom?"
"Yes, I suppose so…" Myouga grumbled, indicating the door. Kagome quickly slid out, frowning at Inuyasha who looked smug before closing the door behind her.
She went to the bathroom, and went into a stall. She ran her hands up and down her neck, frowning. She actually did have to go to the bathroom, so she quickly did her business. Two other girls entered the bathroom, chatting and putting on their make up. Kagome fixed her skirt and went out.
The two girls froze when they saw her, as if in the presence of a warmonger.
They both rushed out, whispering behind hands. Kagome frowned but was determined not to pay attention to it. She looked in the mirror, and she froze as well.
Inuyasha had put small, red bruises everywhere on her neck! There were small welts and big welts, making her look like she had chicken pox.
"That rat bastard!" she hissed. "I'm not going to sit anywhere near him anymore!" Kagome tried to rub it away, but it only made portions of her neck look more red.
Giving up after a few minutes, she went back to the classroom, tugging up the collar of her shirt self-consciously. The students all stared at her neck as she walked by. Even Sango and Miroku. Inuyasha was chuckling to himself, pleased with his handiwork.
Thankfully though, he stopped touching her and she was able to take notes without any further trouble from her stupid boyfriend. As soon as the bell rang, she hurriedly packed up and was out of the classroom like a shot.
Miroku and Sango stared bemusedly at Inuyasha, who followed along leisurely, whistling a tune as he walked out.
"Oy! Kagome!" Inuyasha called out as they neared her locker.
"I can't believe you kept on doing that, Inuyasha," Kagome hissed, shoving books into her locker. Inuyasha shrugged, leaning against her locker.
"Hey, we're gonna take off," Miroku said, clapping a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder with a grin. "Come on Sango. We need our alone time, too."
"Oh, shut up you perverted fool," Sango grumbled, but followed him, bickering the whole way. Well, more like her bickering and him making more comments.
"Well, up-side is that everyone knows you're mine now," Inuyasha said with a smug grin. Kagome nearly choked.
"Excuse me? Exactly what century are you from?" Kagome asked, bewildered and outraged. "I'm no one's. I chose you, not the other way around, Inuyasha. I could have said no to you at anytime."
"Oh yeah? Then why didn't you?" Inuyasha snapped, immediately miffed.
"Because I did like you, but if you demand on being outrageous and stupid, then I change my mind!" Kagome grit out, slamming her locker door shut and walking past him.
"Oy! I'm not done talking to you!" Inuyasha shouted at her back. The people moved out of their way, whispering wildly behind hands. What else was new?
As soon as they were outside, Inuyasha caught her arm. Kagome's eyes were blazing. Her mouth opened to blast him and perhaps tear the miserable hide off of his flesh, but she was interrupted by being tugged in the opposite direction. Inuyasha's growl was all that warned her when she turned around.
"Oh, Kouga… It's you," she said, not at all happy.
"Yeah… Kagome, I just wanted to apologize about last time," Kouga said with his head down, quite obviously ignoring the snarling Inuyasha.
Inuyasha yanked her behind him. Kouga's head snapped up, his own snarl surfacing.
"I was talking to her, dog shit!" Kouga shouted.
"Yeah, well, now you're done talking to her!" Inuyasha yelled back, gently shoving Kagome back into the school.
"I'll go get the principal or something—"
"No!" both boys shouted. Kagome looked at them quizzically.
"Why the hell not?" Kagome asked Inuyasha.
"Keh. I can handle this wimpy wolf all by myself," Inuyasha said, cracking his knuckles.
"Remember what Mrs. Kakashi said! She said to get a school—"
"Shut up, Kagome! I can handle this!" Inuyasha snapped. Kagome sputtered into silence, her glare on his back. The kids were all milling in around her, but kept their distance from her.
"Well, be careful at least!" she yelled at Inuyasha. Inuyasha smirked back at her. Then he leapt.
Kagome's heart got lodged in her throat as the two fought. She'd never seen demons—or half-demons for that matter—duke it out before. Quite frankly, she was impressed. She didn't know whether or not to get in the middle of it, or just watch, fascinated, as the other bystanders were doing.
With a heavy sigh, she decided she should go stop her stupid boyfriend and the psychotic, overzealous fan.
She walked out, despite all the gasps behind her, and strode right up to Inuyasha. "You! Stay right here," Kagome said, and continued on her way to Kouga. Before an astonished Inuyasha could catch up to her, she started to poke Kouga in his chest, making him stumble backwards in surprise.
"I don't understand what to do to make you understand!" Kagome shouted at him. "I already have a boyfriend, I'm happy with him, and you need to just find your own girlfriend!" she yelled at him. "If you want to be friends, that's fine, but you need to stop acting so crazy!"
Before she could rant further, Inuyasha was hauling her back, his face livid with anger. She distantly heard his lecture, but all she could focus on was a cut above his left eyebrow, and the broken skin of his lip. "Inuyasha…" Her hand came up. "You're bleeding."
He blinked, frowning down at her. "Kagome you didn't listen to a word I've said."
"What the hell is going on here?" The principal, Mr. Watanabe, demanded to know as he pushed and shoved his way through the crowd.
"Nothing, sir," Inuyasha immediately replied. "Me and my… friend here, tripped and fell flat on our faces. My girlfriend was just telling us how stupid we were to do that," Inuyasha said with a happy-go-lucky grin.
"I am not stupid, Inuyasha!" the principal roared. Kagome thought it was impressive that the principal was on a first-name basis with Inuyasha. Usually, Principals weren't so intimately… involved with students. The principal's eyes sharpened when they landed on Kouga's school uniform.
"You're beating up kids out of school now? When will the violence end, you hooligan!"
"We did just fall, sir," Kouga put in, to Kagome and Inuyasha's shock. He was wiping away the blood pouring from his bloody nose with his sleeve. He laughed a little. "Wasn't it stupid of us? We were tripping each other up for fun, talking about hanging out, and bam! We really did trip."
The principal was stuttering, obviously not expecting this alliance between what seemed to be enemies. Finally, grumbling, he went back inside, telling everyone to mind their own business, and to get on their way home.
"What a surly bastard," Inuyasha spat on the ground. Remembering Kouga, he turned to resume the fight, his whole back tense as he readied for more blows.
Kouga was already gone.
"Oh dear. Do you think I was too harsh with him? I really didn't mean to be, but he just made me so mad," Kagome remarked, biting her lip.
"Well, you only told him off in front of everyone," Inuyasha stated with a chuckle. Kagome punched him on the arm and winced. Inuyasha didn't miss it, his grin disappearing to have a concerned frown replace it. "What's the matter with your hand?"
"Nothing. I just didn't want to be so harsh with him," Kagome said. Inuyasha growled as he grabbed her hand. He pulled her along behind him to his motorcycle. "Let's go get lunch. My treat."
Kagome sighed. "Am I one to refuse?" She hopped on behind him, making sure her skirt was tucked under and between.
They arrived at a nice little café, where there was soothing music and the aroma of coffee lingering on the air.
As soon as they entered, Kagome felt tension slam into her and Inuyasha. Onigumo was in the far back, with three of his gang. Kagome tugged on Inuyasha's sleeve.
"Inuyasha… let's just leave," she murmured, uncomfortable at the way Onigumo was glaring at Inuyasha. To her, one fight that day was plenty. She didn't need any more violence in her life.
"Keh. I don't fucking think so," Inuyasha spat. He confidently strode to the front to order a coffee. "Oy! Kagome! What do you want? It's on me."
"No, that's okay. It's only a few dollars," Kagome said, reaching into her bag. Inuyasha grabbed her hand however, and pulled her beside him.
"Just let me pay," he said harshly, and ordered the same thing for her. Kagome thought that was rude, but then she realized why he was doing it. He was trying to show her off to Onigumo! In a very, very, very, very distant way, she was flattered. However, mostly, she was pissed since he was using her as a trophy. Still, she kept her tongue, since she didn't want to start anything with Inuyasha in front of Onigumo.
As they sat at a small table, Inuyasha and Kagome both did their best to completely ignore Onigumo. Kagome could tell Inuyasha simply couldn't, since his ears were twitching every few seconds to make sure Onigumo and his gang were still in the same spot.
When Onigumo got up, Inuyasha regarded him warily. Kagome saw Inuyasha's upper lip twitch, as if Inuyasha wanted to bear his teeth at him.
"Meet me at the warehouse tonight. Bring her," Onigumo said to Inuyasha as he passed by. Inuyasha's eyes hardened, but all he did was nod.
"Where are we going tonight?" Kagome asked, frightened but curious.
"We arenot going anywhere. You're staying at home."
"He told you to bring me," Kagome reiterated, her eyebrows drawn together to show her puzzled expression.
"Yeah, so he could take you from right under my nose. He wants you, 'Gome. He's gonna stop at nothing until he has you."
"Well, that doesn't seem too bright. I don't want him."
"That doesn't matter to that psychotic son of a bitch. So just do as I say, and stay home."
"No. You shouldn't go either. This is all very stupid. I chose you, so what's the problem?" Kagome asked huffily, miffed at the male gender in general.
"I can't do that!" Inuyasha immediately countered.
"Why not?" Kagome demanded.
"Because then I'd look like I was scared of him or some shit like that!" Inuyasha snapped, as if it was something Kagome should already know.
"Who cares?" Kagome asked, sipping her coffee and throwing him a puzzled look.
"Just stay home tonight, Kagome. I'm serious." Inuyasha got up and threw a bill on the table, although tips weren't required there. "Come on," he said, as if that settled that. Kagome kept her mouth shut, giving him an angry look before stalking passed him. Inuyasha was immediately annoyed at her attitude.
"I'm just trying to protect you, wench," Inuyasha snapped as they stepped outside.
"I don't need your protection, Inuyasha. Nor do I want it. When I do need it or want it, I'll tell you." Kagome put on her helmet and got on the motorcycle, waiting for Inuyasha to hop on. She was stonily silent throughout the ride.
Inuyasha, taking the silence for agreement, was appeased. "So when I pick you up tomorrow morning—"
"I fully expect to see you earlier than that. I'll see you tonight," Kagome stated calmly, taking off her helmet and getting off the motorcycle as he slowed to a stop in front of the temple stairs.
"Kagome," Inuyasha started through gritted teeth, "if I see you there, I'll spank you myself."
"You can try," Kagome said calmly, placing the helmet and strapping it back onto his motorcycle. Inuyasha took off his own helmet and kicked the kickstand into place. He grasped Kagome's shoulders, shaking her a little to her surprise.
"Kagome, I don't want you there!" Inuyasha hissed. His hand went behind her head to tangle his fingers in the hair there and yank her head back so she could look at him.
"What's gotten into you?" Kagome demanded. "It's like you're—" He cut her off with his mouth, and she tasted his desperation. He really was frightened for her, she realized. It was all the more reason to go and to stop this crazy insanity. Still, if it would calm him down… Maybe lying to him for now was a better solution.
"Kagome, promise me that you won't go…" Inuyasha requested into her mouth, nibbling on her bottom lip. She shook her head, her own hands coming up to frame his face. She couldn't promise. She always kept promises.
"Inuyasha, what if he outnumbers you?"
"I'm not going alone, stupid."
"That doesn't mean he can't outnumber you," Kagome said angrily.
"But you going is not going to change that," Inuyasha argued. Kagome couldn't deny that, but she refused to back down.
"Inuyasha, this is because of me. How could you ask me to hide away while you fought for me? That's completely unreasonable." Kagome shook her head. "I would rather you not go either, but I know you would somehow find a way to get there no matter what."
"Keh. We've only been going out for a little while and you can already read me like a book," Inuyasha said with a lopsided smile. His fingers were now combing through her hair rather than using them as a handle. "Please. For me… Stay here."
Kagome's lips tightened and she looked away. "I guess I will," she said at length, slowly. To Inuyasha, that was good enough. He gave her a smacking kiss, and grinned at her, and ushered her up the stairs. He hopped back on his motorcycle and didn't bother with the helmet before roaring out.
"Put on your helmet!" she yelled after him. He lifted a hand in an "Okay, okay" gesture at the corner, before turning. Sighing, she went up the stairs. As soon as she got in the house, she dialed Sango's number.
"Sango, I don't know if they'll invite you or not, but here's what's going to happen tonight, and what we're going to do…" Kagome smiled slyly as she told Sango her plan. Inuyasha, after all, never said how long to stay at home.
Inuyasha went to Miroku's house, hands in pockets. Miroku answered the door in pajamas.
"What's up man?"
"Dude, it's like in the middle of the afternoon."
"So I was taking a nap. Sue me." Miroku yawned as he opened the door wider for Inuyasha to enter.
"Onigumo issued me a challenge today," Inuyasha stated nonchalantly as he followed Miroku down to the basement.
"Another one?" Miroku asked, yawning again.
"Yeah. But this time it's different," Inuyasha said, sitting on Miroku's couch. Miroku sat across from him on a different couch.
"How so?" Miroku asked, rubbing his eyes.
"He really wants Kagome. He issued the challenge after seeing us together. I think he means to take her." Inuyasha's fangs were bared. "Over my fucking dead body."
"Yes, which is the reason for this fight, I suppose?" Miroku's brow creased. "You've never fought over a girl, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha sputtered for a moment. "Well, Onigumo's never liked one of my girls before," he defended heatedly. Miroku smirked knowingly. Inuyasha bristled. "Just call the other guys," Inuyasha snapped.
"Will do, boss-er-oo," Miroku said cheerfully, all tiredness seemingly gone in this new charged atmosphere. He got up and went back upstairs to retrieve his cellular phone.
"Sorry, Kagome. Inuyasha did call me. But I'll still go along with your plan." Sango paused. "Are you sure about this? Inuyasha will be hopping mad if he knows you're there."
"Sango, would you be able to sit back?"
"Good point," Sango muttered.
"I'll see you later tonight."
"Okay… I'd rather not, but I guess I'll be seeing you," Sango said with a defeated sigh.
Inuyasha lit a cigarette and put it to his mouth before inhaling deeply. He would just buy Kagome a flower. It wasn't really that big of a deal. He flicked it away when he was done, stepping on it before stepping onto the subway train with at least ten other fellows and one girl.
There were excited murmurs and loud promises of carnage. The other few passengers of the train got up to move to a different train.
Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango, however, were different. They were silent. It was the first time Inuyasha had not joined in on joking with the other guys about beating the other people into submission. That only hinted to Miroku and Sango how seriously Inuyasha thought of this fight.
In Inuyasha's mind, whether he knew it or not, he was fighting for a claim. Kagome was his, dammit, no one else's!
When they arrived at the stop, they nearly took up whole streets as they headed towards the warehouse near the ocean. This was "the spot" if anyone needed a private fight. Inuyasha had already known which warehouse Onigumo meant.
Before they stepped onto the premises, all the guys stopped, looking at Inuyasha for further guidance. It was a practiced movement.
Inuyasha was smelling the air. He smelled at least twenty, twenty-five different people.
"How is it, boss?" Bear asked quietly, breaking the silence. Inuyasha grinned back at his gang.
"Enough to watch your backs, and enough to have some fun. But be careful. Maybe two, three to a person."
The other guys all guffawed, chuckling quietly, confident in their own abilities. Inuyasha confidently strode towards the doors of the warehouse and flung them wide open before walking in. Miroku and Sango were half a step behind him.
Inuyasha shoved his hands in his pockets when he saw Onigumo. Onigumo had called most of his gang there tonight, and as Inuyasha had originally thought, he smelled twenty-three. Counting himself, his numbers were seventeen. They were outnumbered by six people.
"I thought you would have brought more people, Inuyasha," Onigumo said, smirking.
"I don't need numbers to beat you. Five minutes and this should be over," Inuyasha replied with a shrug, smirking in return.
"Where's Kagome? I told you to bring her," Onigumo hissed.
"I decided not to bring her. You would just use some underhanded tactics to get her," Inuyasha snapped.
"Afraid she'll come to me, as Kikyou did?" Onigumo taunted. For a tense heartbeat, no one moved, breathed, or wavered.
"I didn't believe you then, and I don't believe you now," Inuyasha said firmly, although his eyes held doubt. "Now shut up and let's tango, you and I," Inuyasha growled, removing his hands from his pockets to reveal sharp claws that gleamed in the slanted moonlight coming through one of the high windows.
"Gladly, you piece of dog shit," Onigumo hissed, his face twisting with complete hatred as he charged towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha stayed still as the rest of his guys rushed forward. When Onigumo finally came to him, Inuyasha swiped at Onigumo's midriff. Onigumo twisted away, as agile as a cat.
Inuyasha, despite his age-old hatred of Onigumo, couldn't help but admire Onigumo. Although he was human, he was able to fend for himself a majority of the time.
It was too bad Inuyasha hated his guts.
"Too slow," Onigumo taunted, his tongue coming out to lick his lips in an excited gesture. Inuyasha had just enough time to feel revolted before Onigumo swung. Inuyasha had only a millisecond to realize Onigumo had a knife in his hand. Too late—his skin had been cut.
He growled as he clamped a hand to his fresh wound.
"Are you okay, Inuyasha!" Miroku called, before quickly dodging a punch from his right.
"I'm fine," Inuyasha snarled. "That's pretty low, you bastard."
"You can't expect a human to defeat a hanyou, can you? I have to use whatever I have to beat you into a pulp. And I will," Onigumo sneered. The red-tinted blade flashed occasionally as Onigumo switched hands every few seconds. They circled each other silently, moving stealthily in the dark warehouse.
Onigumo lunged again, tearing a hole in Inuyasha's shirt, but not getting to the skin underneath. Inuyasha punched him, and Onigumo went flying. He landed near a large pile of wood and quickly rose to defend himself.
"You're dead meat," Inuyasha growled, walking closer. When he was close enough, he jumped.
Onigumo rolled, reached into the wood pile, and brought it around to impale Inuyasha through the stomach.
"No!" A feminine cry came from the doorway. Kagome was there, her chest heaving and tears pooling in her eyes. "Inuyasha!"
"Ka… gome," Inuyasha murmured, before Onigumo viciously yanked out the piece of wood. It was stained with blood. Inuyasha put a hand to the rather large hole in his stomach. The others had stopped fighting when they had heard Kagome.
Onigumo scrambled to his feet, his eyes on Kagome. Inuyasha took his chance, growling and punching Onigumo hard. His head hit the wall with a resounding crack, and Onigumo fell to the ground unconscious.
Inuyasha spat blood onto the ground as Kagome rushed over. "Try to fight fair, and what does the guy do? He tries to stake you," Inuyasha said jokingly, blood dripping onto the floor.
"Inuyasha, are you okay?!" Miroku asked, about to run over, but with a cry from his enemy, the fighting resumed. The fight was over quickly after Onigumo had been knocked out, and two of them carried the unconscious body outside.
"Shit. Man, shitty shit shit," Inuyasha muttered vindictively as Kagome fussed over him. She was crying. "Stop the waterworks," he said gruffly. "Why are you crying?"
"Why am I crying?" Kagome repeated incredulously. "Why am I crying?"
"You need to clean out your ears," Inuyasha started, but was abruptly interrupted.
" You were just stabbed right through your midsection!" Kagome yelled. Inuyasha winced.
"Yeah, I noticed." His gang ran over quickly, trying to lower him to the floor to apply pressure.
"I'm fine!" Inuyasha roared after a moment. "Miroku, get Kagome home, will you?"
"If any one of you touch me, I'll make sure you won't have any children," Kagome hissed. The rest of the gang looked at Inuyasha in askance. Inuyasha sighed.
Slowly and painfully, he sat on the ground against the wall. "Leave her here. I'll take her home. The rest of you scat. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Inuyasha, that's not the most wise—" Miroku started, looking dubiously at the pool of blood forming under Inuyasha.
"Miroku, you of all people know I've been through worse. Now seriously go home before I stab you, too."
"Well, that's a wrap guys. Let's go." He turned to Inuyasha. "We'll leave in a few minutes… We'll be outside if you need anything," Miroku said seriously. Inuyasha understood. Onigumo's guys could come back to finish the job.
After they left, Kagome's lip started to quiver.
"Oy, don't cry!" Inuyasha warned, reaching for her, but wincing back.
"How can you tell me not to cry?!" Kagome reached for his arm and began to tug on it. "Come on… Let them take you to a hospital!"
"No! I fucking hate hospitals," Inuyasha growled. "Just… let me sit here for a while. Then we can go to my house."
"Inuyasha, I doubt you can walk," Kagome said, her hand coming to his face to cup it. Despite his pain, Inuyasha reached up one hand to cover hers on his face. He didn't realize he was smearing it with blood.
"Just let me…" Inuyasha slid down the wall, leaving a streak of blood behind him. His head landed on Kagome's lap. He sighed. "You smell good Kagome. Just let me lie here for a little while…"
Kagome figured he was just trying to be difficult. She didn't understand why else he refused to get help for such a horrible wound. He was still clutching at it with one hand, and he grimaced occasionally in pain when he breathed too deeply. She knew he wasn't fully asleep, just dozing for a little while. Still, she combed her clean hand through his hair, her lip quivering now and then as she looked at his wound.
"You're so stupid, Inuyasha," she whispered down to him. "Why'd you have to go and fight him?"
"'Cause he really wanted you as his own. If I refused to fight him, that could have been taken for weakness, and they could have tried to take you by force from me. I couldn't allow that, now could I?" Inuyasha said, not opening his eyes. "And if you had just stayed at home like I told you to, this might not have happened, you stupid idiot."
"You didn't even know I was here until he stabbed you with a piece of wood!" Kagome hissed angrily.
"You've never seen me fight before, but if you knew, you would be able to tell I wasn't fighting to the best of my ability. I could smell you, you stupid little bitch. I was so busy trying to pinpoint your location, and making sure you were okay that he was able to fucking stab me," Inuyasha muttered, heaving a big sigh and wincing again. His hand clenched on his wound.
Kagome gasped at his proclamation, the tears spilling over as she covered her mouth with a hand.
"Oy! I told you not to cry!" Inuyasha snapped, heaving himself up against the wall.
"Don't move! And how can I not cry when this was my fault?" Kagome demanded to know. "You stupid jerk! I told you not to fight him!"
"And I told you to stay at home, in case something like this would happen!" Inuyasha snapped. "And it wasn't your fault. I just wasn't focused. That's the end of it."
"But--!"
"That's all there was to it. The end. History. I'll heal in another hour or so, so if you don't want to stick around, go home."
"I'm not going to leave you all by yourself!" Kagome grit her teeth. "Please, Inuyasha. I'm begging you to go to a hospital. Please!"
"I told you I'll heal," Inuyasha snapped.
"But you never know, Inuyasha. You don't know if you'll heal correctly, or if there might be an infection—"
"I can't get infections," Inuyasha said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, you still don't know if you'll heal correctly!"
"I'm fine, Kagome," Inuyasha said, sighing.
"Please," Kagome pleaded. "It'll make me feel better." She looked down, ashamed. "This was my fault anyway."
"It wasn't--!" Inuyasha all of a sudden sat up straight, which caused him to gasp and grasp his wound tighter. He doubled over, one of his eyes closed in pain.
"Don't move all of a sudden, you stupid jerk!" Kagome helped him sit back. "Let's go to a hospital, Inuyasha!"
"No means no, dammit!" Inuyasha barked, his breath coming a littler shorter now. "Wow. I forgot how much shit like this hurts."
"Inuyasha…" Kagome worried her lip. Inuyasha's hand came up to place his fingers on her lip.
"Don't do that. Don't worry over me. I'm fucking fine," Inuyasha grunted, and to prove it, staggered to his feet. He gave her a pained smile. "See?"
"You're just a dumb boy trying to prove his dumb masculinity to me," Kagome huffed, quickly getting up and slinging his arm around her shoulder. Inuyasha didn't object, which told her how much help he actually needed. Inuyasha was definitely not a person that needed to lean on people on a regular basis.
"Inuyasha, you really should—"
"When are you gonna quit blabbing your mouth and help me to my bike?" Inuyasha snarled. "Stop asking me if I'm gonna go see a doctor."
Kagome bit her lip and helped him to mount the motorcycle. Inuyasha took a deep breath, one hand remaining on his bloody wound.
"Let's wait here for a little while, at least until it stops bleeding," Kagome said, sitting behind Inuyasha and subtly letting him lean his weight on her.
"Yeah," Inuyasha grunted agreeably, slumping a bit against her. Kagome's hands went around his body to anchor him to her. She grimaced when she felt the warm wetness that was his blood against her arm.
"God, why are the dumbest people the most stubborn?" Kagome muttered.
"Why don't you ask yourself, if you want a dumb person's point of view," Inuyasha said, surprising her. She forgot he had those adorable ears.
An hour later, and a numb butt later, Inuyasha was almost as good as new. The deep wound was now nothing more than a shallow cut. Kagome's arms, however, were caked in blood. "Oh… Will this be hard to get off?" Kagome asked, her hands rubbing at the dried blood. Small, dark red flakes peeled off.
"No. Hot water, soap. That's really all you need," Inuyasha stated, pulling on his helmet. He paused. "Damn. I nearly forgot. Miroku!"
Startled, Kagome nearly fell off her numb ass onto the ground. "Geez, Inuyasha, don't yell all of a sudden," she snapped, holding onto the back of his jacket.
"He can't help it. He has a rare disease that makes him very temperamental." Miroku said, stepping out from behind the building.
"You're still here?" Kagome asked, surprised. "I thought you were only staying for a little while."
"He always says that," said Inuyasha, scoffing. "You got a ride home? Or do you need me to call someone?" Inuyasha asked, glancing back at Miroku. Miroku gave a hint of a smile, in return for the gratitude in Inuyasha's eyes.
"I already arranged rides for myself, thank you," Miroku said curtly. "I'm not quite the little tot you think I am," he added dryly.
Inuyasha snorted. "Could've fooled me. Put on your helmet, Kagome."
Miroku strode up, taking off his jacket. "Here you go, Kagome. So you can hide the blood on your arms."
"Thanks. Won't it smear on your jacket though?" Kagome asked, taking the article of clothing.
"No worries, fair lady. You need to hide your bloodstained skin from the evils of society," Miroku said gallantly and, in Inuyasha's opinion, foolishly.
Kagome gave him a patient smile, and slipped into the jacket. "And how do you think my arms became bloodstained if it wasn't from the evils of society? I'm hiding from the evildoer?"
"Hm… This is indeed a philosophical question that must not go unanswered."
"You can just say that the evil in society—"
"Bah! No more of this shit. Thanks Miroku. I'll see you later." Kagome barely had time to grab hold of Inuyasha's jacket before he peeled out.
"So rude," Kagome muttered, her arms encircling Inuyasha's waist.
"Let's go get dinner. I'm starved."
"Yes, that gaping hole in your stomach must have spilled out any life-giving substance you had in you," Kagome stated dryly. "I thought we were going to your house?"
"Yeah… We can eat dinner there."
Kagome stared at the back of his head doubtfully. "You can cook?"
"Only when I'm starving," Inuyasha replied. "And let me tell you, I think you're right when you said everything spilled out of me. I'm starved."
"Will you cook for me, too?" Kagome asked curiously.
"Well, gee, I dunno… If I'm making food for me, I guess I might as well make enough for you too," Inuyasha said sarcastically.
Kagome and Inuyasha made cracks at each other all throughout the ride. Kagome was laughing as Inuyasha pulled up to a humongous looking house.
She took off her helmet, and stared at the house in wide-eyed wonder. "Wow…"
"It's not that impressive," Inuyasha said nonchalantly, pulling off his own helmet and tucking it onto his seat.
"Are you kidding? Wow! I want a tour!" He followed her up the steps to his front door. She turned to him excitedly. "Can I get a tour?"
He couldn't help but smile at her childish eagerness. He hid it with a smirk. "Well, it is a pretty impressive house, I guess."
"Where's your room? Will I get to see it? Are your parents home?" Kagome fired question after question, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he stepped up to be level with her. His mouth came down on hers, swallowing her next question. He couldn't help but take the kiss deeper when she reacted with unhindered passion.
He took his time breaking the contact when he heard someone clearing their throat. His mind was fuzzy, and the only thing he could really focus on was Kagome's soft skin and her taste on his tongue. Kagome's eyes were unfocused, and she leaned towards him as if trying to follow him.
He caught her by the shoulders, and Kagome seemed to snap out of it. Inuyasha heard the throat clear once more.
"Dammit, what do you… want…" Inuyasha trailed off, and his hands slid limply off of Kagome's shoulders.
Alarmed, she looked over at the cause of Inuyasha's lack of mental thought processes.
Figuring it rude not to introduce herself (and Inuyasha did not seem to be capable of even speaking at the moment), she extended her hand and gave the person a friendly smile.
"Hello. My name is Kagome Higurashi. Nice to meet you." The girl returned the smile, and shook Kagome's hand. Inuyasha still seemed to be speechless, gaping at her.
"Inuyasha, you're being rude," Kagome said, jabbing him in the stomach with her elbow. The girl spoke up.
"No, it's quite all right. Nice to meet you too. My name is Kikyou. Inuyasha's girlfriend."
wk: (Bum bum bum da bum bum) Well... I hope this cliffhanger makes up for my lack of updates.
Sorry folks. My school load has been drowning me. I have five essays due soon, not to mention finals are coming up. (Sighs) Crap.