Author Notes: Thank you to all the readers and reviewers! You guys rock. I like writing this story because it flows out so much easier and it's just a blast to write. I mean, I always enjoyed the love-hate relationship Inuyasha and Kagome had in the beginning of the series a little too much. So expanding on that is entertaining. There is so much fire between these two that I couldn't help myself with this story. If you're familiar with P&P, you know we're about a little more than half way through. There's still a few things I have to figure out before I write the end, but I'm glad you guys are enjoying the middle! Thanks again!
Disclaimer: The Inuyasha world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Takahashi Rumiko.
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
By Hoshi-ni-Onegai
Kagome's cheeks hurt from how much she was smiling. A month and a half after her meddling -or better put, her pawning off- she found herself faced with an uplifting situation. She had felt slightly guilty for dodging Hojo's advances and sending them Ayumi's way, but now seeing them together assured her that Kagome had been right. Hojo made for a great boyfriend, just not for her.
Ayumi had called her about three weeks into her new relationship with news that they were hitting it off. The guilt that gnawed at her conscience for fixing them up withered away when she received an additional call from Hojo a week later thanking her for introducing him to Ayumi. He praised Kagome for getting over their previous dating history and thinking of him and Ayumi's happiness. After the two calls, she felt the guilt of not having the best intentions when it came to introducing them at the party. So in other words, she replaced one sense of guilt with another.
But all of that was pushed back, maybe unhealthily, because the newly formed couple had asked her to join them for coffee one Friday afternoon. The fact that the Friday was Valentine's Day made it slightly awkward to be a third wheel at a café, but Kagome was elated to see the happy pair.
The café was more of a bakery that happened to serve coffee, but the entire shop was decked out in Valentine's Day decorations of hearts, roses, and cupids. If anything, it was tipping on the side of cheesy, but the shop patrons seemed to be soaking in the atmosphere and enjoying themselves as they enjoyed their various sugary pastries. Going along with the ambiance, Kagome had ordered a bear claw and a cappuccino.
Taking a sip of her drink, she glanced around the shop and back to the couple sitting across from her. "So why did you two want to see me?"
Ayumi gave a nervous smile and shared a glance with Hojo before turning back to her friend. "We have some news."
Kagome raised a brow at the couple. "Should I be worried?"
"I don't know..." Ayumi began and exchanged a look with Hojo again. "We're... moving in together."
Hearing the news, Kagome nearly spit out the sip of coffee she just took. Instead, she was able to choke it down with a succeeding series of coughs. Patting her chest, her voice was strangled as she looked up at the couple. "Moving in?"
"I know it seems like we're rushing into things. You probably think I'm crazy." When Hojo shot her a petulant glance, Ayumi shook her head at him conspiratorially. "But things have just been going great and it just made sense."
Helping her out, Hojo pitched in. "My apartment lease is ending next month and I've been meaning to move."
Clearing throat, Kagome retrieved her previous smile -albeit a bit confused. "Wow. It's just... wow."
"You can say that again." Ayumi joked. "We figured, why wait?"
"This is big. This is huge. I'm just surprised. You two met just last month." Hearing herself, Kagome paused and amended her words with a genuine smile. "I'm happy for you two. I think it's great."
"Really?" Her friend tentatively tried confirming. "You're not upset?"
Kagome frowned at the question. "Why would I be upset?"
"Because you two used to date, and there's history there."
Kagome smiled at her friend's concern and shook her head. "Exactly, it's all history. We were in high school, and that was more years between now and then than I would like to admit to."
Hojo nodded in agreement. "See, I told you Kagome would understand."
She wasn't quite sure if her reputation of being kind hearted and open minded was well warranted. If anything, Kagome felt like this situation fell into her lap and she just so happened to not mind either way. But she honestly couldn't be happier that the nicest people in the world had some sort of spark and was stepping into a whirlwind romance.
"This is your relationship." Kagome reiterated with a grin. "You two don't have to worry about me, talk about me, or even ask for my approval. I'm thrilled you two are happy, and I don't expect a kick back."
Ayumi studied her friend for a long moment. Then, when she felt assured Kagome was telling the truth, she nodded. "Thanks Kagome."
"Nothing to thank me for." Kagome reassured and took a bite of her pastry. Surprised by how good it was she offered it to the couple. "This is delicious, you should try it."
Tearing off a piece for herself, Ayumi agreed. "I'm going to buy a baker's dozen of these before I leave. My office is going to love them."
Hojo laughed and stood up. "I'll go get some."
Watching her ex and Ayumi's current boyfriend walk toward the counter, Kagome chuckled. "You've been dating for less than two months and you've already got him well trained."
Ayumi blushed a bit and shook her head. "I don't know, I think he just gets me. Like in no way anyone else ever has. You know?"
"Not really." Kagome sighed and took a sip of her coffee. "I guess I don't know."
Kagome considered her ex who treated her all too well during their relationship in high school. She was notorious for her habit of ending relationships before they had a time to reach their peak. During more than one occasion she had been called a commitment phobe, which didn't seem that far from the truth.
As the happy couple left to start their life of cohabitation, Kagome was left with her second cappuccino and her thoughts. She didn't exactly have a great relationship history, but it wasn't a bad one. Her relationship with Hojo was a few years too early for her maturity level, which ended up putting her off of him completely. Not that she regretted it now, especially after seeing how happy Ayumi was with him. Then there were two main guys from college, but neither of those relationships were anything serious. Her track record since finishing college wasn't much to write home about. It didn't help that Miroku tried fixing her up with his friends like Bankotsu, but she knew her cousin meant well.
Glancing around the café, she could see couples everywhere. Was it the rule that all single people were banished to their homes on Valentine's Day while the couples were dispatched into the wild? Kagome never minded the cheesy romantic holiday, whatever her relationship status. She was never an avid participant of it when she did have a boyfriend, but she wasn't a bitter single gal raining on anyone's parade.
Except for this year. This year, she wasn't a fan of neither the holiday nor its romantic implications with a certain wealthy software programmer being the cause of her mood. Maybe it was her luck with men and the combination of Miroku's luck with Sango, but this was just not her favorite holiday at the moment.
"Kagome?" Her thoughts were interrupted midstride when a familiar face and voice approached her table. There stood Inuyasha, dressed in full business attire, with a young casually dressed teenage boy standing slightly behind him.
She mentally groaned. Okay, so make that two wealthy software programmers causing her downward turned mood. She had been blaming Kouga for her current dislike of the heart-laden holiday because he didn't return her phone calls after their date back in early January, but the other culprit was the currently dapperly dressed Inuyasha.
Although she spent the better half of the past month and half pushing Inuyasha out of her thoughts, her mind immediately jumped to the kiss from the last time she saw him. Trampling down her blush, she tried to look unaffected by his sudden presence.
"What are you doing on this side of town?" He asked.
Seeing that he was accompanied by younger more impressionable boy she kept her issues with Inuyasha in check. Plastering on a forced smile she answered politely. "I was meeting some friends here for coffee."
Inuyasha glanced at the empty chairs across from her and back to her. "Are your friends here now? Are you seeing them right now?"
At his questions, her smile disappeared. He wasn't inquiring if her friends had stood up to go to the bathroom or something, he was implying that she was insane and talking to a pair of imaginary companions. Narrowing her eyes she let her politeness fall away. "They left." Trying to avoid an argument, she peered around him. "Who's your friend? Or are you going to say he's a figment of my imagination too?"
Inuyasha glanced back at the boy and motioned him forward. "Oh, right. Kagome, this is Shippou."
"Nice to meet you." The young man with auburn hair, green eyes, and a toothy grin said in greeting.
Shippou automatically reminded Kagome of her little brother, so she couldn't help her own reciprocating smile. "Same." Glancing around the café, she noticed all the booths and tables were full. "You two probably want a table. Here, take mine. I've probably over stayed my welcome."
"No, stay. I'll grab us something to eat." Inuyasha offered, which seemed to surprise both Shippou and Kagome. He rolled his eyes at their skeptical gazes. "I'll get you the usual to drink Shippou. How about you? Another coffee?"
Looking down at her nearly empty second cup, she shook her head. "I better not. I really should leave you two to your... thing."
Seeing her getting out of her seat, he shot her a look. "Stay." He gestured for Shippou to take the seat across from her. "Keep her company."
With that, Inuyasha walked toward the line forming at the counter. Kagome frowned and glanced between the teenager, the commanding Inuyasha, and back again. "So, how do you know Inuyasha?
"He's my Big Brother, you know, like the mentoring program." He explained.
She was surprised by the revelation, but decided that questioning Inuyasha's volunteer motives wasn't exactly the best path to take. She considered the boy for a moment, then pointed out, "Aren't you a little old for that?"
"Well, he was my Big Brother, but he keeps in touch." Shippou clarified. "He keeps on saying that he invested good time into me and that I needed to stay on the straight and narrow. I didn't exactly have the best track record."
Kagome nodded in understanding. "Oh, I know the feeling. I have a little brother, a genetic one, who keeps me worried. I think he's not much younger than you. Are you in school?"
"Yeah, I'm a first year at Central University." He said casually.
She was taken aback by the name of the university. It was undoubtedly the best ranked college in the country and nearly impossible to get into without a trust fund to back you up. From what she could recall of the Big Brother Big Sister organization, kids involved in the program weren't from the greatest of socioeconomic backgrounds. Either Shippou was incredibly bright, or he had an anonymous benefactor.
"What are you studying? Are you into software programming like Inuyasha?" She inquired.
"No, that's too... tangible? Is that the word?" He questioned and answered at the same time
"Too tangible? I can barely keep my head on straight just thinking about all those codes." Kagome raised a brow. "So what are you into? Philosophy?"
Shippou laughed. "That's way too intangible. I'm studying theoretical physics."
"I get your tangible comment now." She mentally noted that Shippou was definitely in the university on his own merit.
"What do you do?" He asked and looked at her outfit. "Judging by your clothes, you're a real person with a real job."
"I work in an antique book store." She answered, expected the bored response back. "I look for rare or old books and documents for clients."
Genuine interest crossed his face and he scooted forward in his seat. "That's so cool. You're like Indiana Jones but with books."
She regarded the description and the boy who said it, and let out a laugh. "That's not how my little brother describes it."
"I don't know, it seems like a cool job to me. But I'd be terrible at it." He confessed with a grin. "I knew you weren't a starving student like me."
"You're starving?" She asked amused by his hyperbole.
"Okay, not starving but I'm bordering on malnourished from all the instant ramen I eat." He admitted.
"What happened to cafeteria dining?" She asked with a smile, familiar with this type of banter because of Souta. "If I recall, I got the infamous freshman fifteen from all that food."
Shippou grimaced at the thought of the cafeteria. "Your school may have had a varied selection, but a person can only take so much of the same food day in and day out. That's why I bug Inuyasha until he finally gives in and takes me out for real food."
"Don't let him fool you. For someone who wants variety in his meals, Shippou keeps picking the same restaurant." Inuyasha added in a comment as he set down three drinks on the table to rejoin them.
Shippou pilfered his coffee and slid the herbal tea toward Kagome, who took it gratefully. It was just the thing for her high strung nerves from too much coffee. Shippou shrugged, "That's because Kaede owns this place and she makes the best food."
Kagome glanced toward the menu above the counter and read through the items. "There's real food here? Not just sugary pastry goodness?"
"If you know to ask for it." Inuyasha clarified. "It's one of those deals where they make one type of dish for the day. You either take it or leave it, but she usually runs out before the late dinner hour."
She nodded. "A secret menu. That's interesting."
"You're getting today's menu du jour, so hopefully you like it." He remarked.
She frowned and exchanged looks with Shippou. "I'm sticking around for dinner? Because I definitely just had a bear claw and two cups of super sugary coffee."
"You're going to skip dinner because of the sugar? Isn't that all the more reason you should have decent meal?" Inuyasha pointed out.
Kagome raised a brow. "Who are you, my mother?"
"I already paid for the meal, you might as well eat it." He argued with a roll of the eyes. Inuyasha wasn't a stranger to her cold shoulder, even though he had been a witness to her more friendly personality she directed at Miroku and Sango.
"Correction, you sound like my frugal grandfather." She remarked
Shippou chuckled from the sidelines of their argument. "You guys are a riot."
She shot the boy a pointed look and changed the direction of the conversation. "So how do you like school so far? You're a semester and a bit in so you probably have a pretty good gauge of college life by now right?"
"It's okay. A little elitist, but I figured as much going to Central." Shippou admitted. "Classes are great though. If I keep front loading my courses early in college, I'll get to take Master's level course by my third year."
Hearing the genuine excitement in Shippou's voice, Kagome saw so much of her little brother in him. While Souta was currently going through that phase in life where being enthusiastic about anything was lame, Shippou was right at the beginning stages where caring about things was cool again. Kagome couldn't wait for her brother to get to this stage in life so they could have a legitimate conversation without his eye rolling.
Kagome became distracted from her thoughts and the conversation at hand when an elderly woman walked over with a plate.
"Here you go." The woman said as she set the dish in front of Kagome.
"Thank you." Kagome said smiling up at the older woman. "But I think Shippou should get the first one. He is the starving student after all."
"You won't hear me complaining." Grinning, Shippou reached over for the plate but his hands were lightly smacked away by the woman.
"Ladies first." She reprimanded Shippou with a maternal tone. "Kikyou will be out with yours soon enough." She turned toward Inuyasha. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?"
Inuyasha sighed, knowing the castigating tone a little too well. "Kaede, this is Kagome: Miroku's cousin. Kagome, this is Kaede: my surrogate grandmother of sorts."
"I prefer surrogate aunt." She corrected him and smiled at Kagome. "It's nice to meet you."
"Same." Kagome smiled back glancing behind the woman to see a svelte brunette approaching them with two more plates of food. "Shippou, I think you're in luck."
The woman had a stoic look to her face but retained a grace to her movements that Kagome was instantly jealous of. She set the plates in front of Shippou and Inuyasha, the latter gave her a polite nod before she turned away to get back to the counter.
"The taciturn beauty is Kikyou, my less than social niece." Kaede said having expected Kikyou to act the way she did, especially in front of Inuyasha.
"She's just really shy." Inuyasha defended off handedly.
Kaede nodded in agreement and turned her attention back to Kagome. "You've been in here a little while now."
"Sorry for hogging the table." Kagome apologized meekly.
Kaede shook her head. "I don't care about that. Especially since your friend bought out the rest of my bear claws."
"Oh, Hojo?" Kagome nodded recalling the pastry loot Ayumi and Hojo left with earlier.
Inuyasha shot her a confused look. "You were here with Hojo? Did you get roped in like you though?"
"No, actually he was here with a friend of mine." She started to explain, not quite knowing why she did. "They've really hit it off and are seriously dating after I kind of set them up at Sango's party. They were asking for my blessing."
Inuyasha raised a brow and chuckled. "What, are you the Godfather? Are you going to make me an offer I can't refuse?"
"I felt ridiculous when they asked for it too." Kagome confessed and turned to Kaede. "I'm not a mob boss like Inuyasha is making you believe."
"I didn't think so." Kaede smiled and motioned back to the counter. "I should get back, but it was pleasure meeting you. You should come in here with your cousin one day. I haven't seen him around in a little while."
"I will. Your pastries alone will bring me back across town." Kagome commented before the older woman turned away with a nod and returned back to the way of the kitchen. Turning toward the two men, Kagome tilted her head toward the retreating woman. "I like her."
"You would. She hasn't spent the better part of her time correcting your manners for years." Inuyasha sniped and searched around the table and frowned. "Did they forget our silverware?"
"Go get some." Shippou told him.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "Or you could go get them."
Seeing a raging petty battle, Kagome made to stand up. "I'll go get them."
"No, it's fine." Inuyasha stood up and shot Shippou a look. "I'll get them."
As Inuyasha walked back to the crowded counter, Kagome bit back a smirk. "You two seem to get along."
Shippou started picking at his plate with his fingers. "We have our moments."
"So how long have you known him?" She questioned, not quite sure she could wrap her head around a noble and caring Inuyasha. From what she witnessed in the short span of time today, Inuyasha seemed to act like a begrudging but worrywart older brother to Shippou. Maybe she had been wrong about him. Maybe business was really just business and it wasn't anything personal.
Studying the way she talked about his friend, Shippou chuckled. "You want to know if Inuyasha's always been a jerk. I get the feeling you're not exactly a fan of his."
Kagome opened her mouth to deny the statement, but sighed and shrugged. "Sorry. We didn't exactly have the best kind of first meeting."
"Don't worry, I didn't like him the first time I met him either." He admitted. "He can come off as an asshole, but he's a great guy. I learned that the hard way."
She considered his statement, it was strikingly similar to the one spewed out by her cousin but she was prejudiced by her own interactions with Inuyasha.
"You might not be able to tell by how he talks and acts, but he's really loyal to his friends." Shippou offered in the defense of his friend. "He recently warned a close friend of his to jump ship from a potentially disastrous relationship."
Kagome frowned at his words. Something about them resonated with her, but not in a good way. She furrowed her brows and glanced over to Inuyasha. "What did he do?"
"He talked a friend out of dating this one guy who is a notorious player. He didn't want her getting hurt, so he stepped in." He explained, confident he was helping Inuyasha out of the bad impression he left on Kagome. "See, he's not a terrible guy. If anything, he's like a diamond in the rough."
She barely heard the last part of Shippou's explanation. Instead, she focused in on the first part; the part where Inuyasha saved a girl from a womanizer. She immediately remembered the call she got from Miroku and the way he was heartbroken over how Sango stopped returning his calls. He has sworn up and down that the last time he saw her; they had been on great terms. Sango had even gone as far as to confirm their next date. But then, she disappeared. After a text saying she was too busy to go out that night, Miroku hadn't heard from her again. He had come to Kagome asking for a woman's perspective and advice. She had helped her cousin dissect what had happened, and she had been at a loss. She couldn't account for why Sango suddenly avoided Miroku when Kagome could have sworn she saw a definite spark between the two at the New Year's Eve party.
And now she knew why. Kagome turned her gaze to Inuyasha who was walking over with silverware in hand. He had gone out of his way to destroy the only relationship Miroku had taken serious interest in. Kagome knew that her cousin was known for his lecherous ways, but she also knew that he had kept his advances in check with Sango. Something about Sango had him turning a sudden corner and Kagome had noticed it by the way he was genuinely broken up about her sudden evasion. Even before then, he had been giddy like a love struck teenager and constantly asked for her advice. There was nothing Miroku needed less than help pursuing a girl, but he knew his usual ways wouldn't work on a woman like Sango.
Standing suddenly, Kagome grabbed her coat and her bag. "I haven't touched my food yet. Pack it up and take it with you, Shippou." Digging through her bag, she fished out a twenty dollar bill and set in on the table. "I just remembered something. I have to go."
Without another word she stepped away from the table and rushed out of the crowded café successfully avoiding Inuyasha. Struggling with her coat, she fumbled with it as she tugged it on once she reached the sidewalk outside. In her moment of flight, she forgot that it was February and that the bitter cold outside would not be staved off by her sweater. Kagome barely made it down the sidewalk past the café windows when she felt someone grabbing her upper right arm.
She glared at the perpetrator, knowing who it would be before she even had a chance to lay her eyes on him.
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Inuyasha questioned confused by her sudden departure.
Her voice was biting. "Let go of me."
He immediately snapped his hand back and raised them in a sign of surrender. "Sorry." He frowned at her sudden change in mood. "What's going on?"
"Nothing, I just remembered I have to be somewhere." Kagome was not in the mood to explain herself and just wanted to get away from him as soon as possible.
Inuyasha considered to explanation for a moment, and wrote off her sudden change in mood to her need to rush off. "I just wanted to ask you a question before you left." She frowned, but nodded for him to continue. "I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner sometime. Not like the one you're bailing on now, but one where it's just the two us."
"Are you asking me out on a date?" Kagome gasped out disbelievingly
"Yeah." Inuyasha fidgeted a bit by her tone, but shrugged. "I mean, I like you. Despite the fact that you seemed determined to argue with me every time I see you."
"That's not arguing. That's me driving you away because I hate you." Her eyes steeled and her tone harsh. "I don't like you Inuyasha, and I can't imagine I ever will."
He stood dumbfounded by her words, but after a long pause he questioned her. "Can I know the reason?"
"You don't get it do you? I've been rude and a bitch, but I have my reasons." She fumed. "You know I do."
"I tried extending the olive branch and you wouldn't take it." He countered. "I'm sorry about what I said about old books and what you do. I didn't mean it. I was trying to help you out of Kouga's trap. I didn't know you were the girl he'd been talking about."
"The only thing you hurt then was my pride." She narrowed her eyes at her denial of his other offenses. "You honestly think I could be with someone who sabotaged my cousin's relationship?"
He froze with a prepared retort, having been confronted with something he didn't think she had knowledge of. He stared at her, not knowing what to say in response.
"Can you deny it?" She waited for a response, but she had obviously caught him by surprise with the confrontation. "I can't believe you. How could you do it?"
He was still for a moment longer before he unfroze and composed himself to give his answer. "I didn't think Miroku was the best guy for Sango. She's the real thing and she deserves someone who isn't going to play around."
"He's your best friend." She objected.
"And she's my oldest friend." He responded sternly. "I've known her since grade school and I wasn't about to let her be another notch in Miroku's bedpost. I love the guy, but not for her."
"You don't know him at all, do you?" She retorted stepping into his personal space. "I've never seen him take a woman more seriously than he has with her. They were three dates in and he didn't make a move."
He seemed surprised by her statement, but pushed on after a beat. "I saw him putting the moves on a blonde at Sango's party."
"The moves? You idiot!" She shoved him angrily in his chest and it only pissed her off more when he barely budged. "He was asking her about where to take Sango on their next date. He was asking for advice, the same way he's been asking me for input every step with Sango. He doesn't want to mess this up with her." Seeing his gaping face, she shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "I guess it didn't matter because you would mess it up for him. But you're used to that, aren't you?"
Still maintaining his stance, he furrowed his brows at the last bit. "Used to what?"
"Messing up peoples' lives for your own entertainment." She snapped. "You leave a trail of bodies behind you and you don't even care." Her eyes burned into his, awaiting an answer. When she saw him hesitate, she pounced with her words. "What about Kouga?"
The man's name snapped Inuyasha out of his stupor. "Kouga?"
"Why did he deserve what you did to him?" Her tone was accusing. "He told me what you did to him and his company."
Clarity seemed to reach his eyes and contempt tugged his lips into a snarl. "I'm sure he told you a lot. He's good at telling stories."
"You're not even remotely sorry." She charged.
"Sorry for the pack of lies he spun for you? No." He seemed almost disappointed in her. "We're in the information age and you can't be bothered to look up the facts on Google?"
"What?" She reacted without much thinking.
"It's a fortune 500 company. These things make national headlines." He turned his head away from her. "So you've already made your mind up about me. Actually, you had it made up when we first met."
Kagome wanted to deny what he said, but couldn't. She'd been bias toward him because of their first meeting and all she'd learned about him only added fuel to the fire. "Whose fault is that?"
He faced her again and watched her, but all he could see was that she had a deep running hatred for him. There wasn't an ounce of affection within her for him, not like what he felt for her. He locked eyes with her and felt defeated.
"I'm sorry to have wasted your time." He stepped around her and headed back to the café. "You can go wherever you were running off to. I won't bother you anymore."
As he walked away from her, the chill of the cold night air swept through her and she never felt more alone than on that busy city sidewalk.