Chapter Six
"Scratching History"
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Inuyasha tried to fight the urge to wake up, but his body was strongly disagreeing with going back to sleep. It was around seven in the morning and he didn't have class until way later. He groaned and turned over on his back and looked to the ceiling with low eyes. He lay there for a few minutes and now knew why his body was forcing him awake so early. His girlfriend was there.
Not bothering to put on a shirt, he brushed his teeth and made his way downstairs in a pair of red, silk basketball shorts and socks and opened the front door to the morning breeze. He leaned on the door frame and watched as Kikyo closed the passenger door of her car and walked towards him carrying a white bag and her large sky blue tote purse that matched her long sleeved shirt and sandals.
"What's that?" He asked her, his voice still full of sleep.
"Breakfast. Good morning." She stopped in front of him and leaned up for a kiss.
"Morning." His husky voice replied as he pecked her lips over and over. He moved aside and let her enter the house as his eyes fell to the ends of her hair that swayed in front of her almost bare legs. The shorts she wore stopped in the middle of her thighs and Inuyasha stared as long as he could before she rounded the corner into the living room.
They got comfortable on the couch and ate silently while watching the morning news. When they were done with breakfast, Inuyasha cleaned up and took a seat on the floor in front of Kikyo who was sitting behind him on the couch. He occupied himself with his PS4 while she started to study for one of her classes.
"Come on! I had him! What the hell is this guy doing?" He complained about his Call of Duty Ghost online teammates. "Throw it back! Throw it back! Agh, you idiot! He's costing us points!"
Kikyo looked up from her notebooks at the TV screen. "Don't you think you'll wake your brother?"
"Sesshomaru doesn't sleep. If anything he meditates or relaxes...Yes! Another point for me, losers!"
"Don't you think you'll disturb him, then? You are a little loud, sweetie."
Inuyasha shook his head. "Eh, he'll be alright."
"You can be such a bother, brother." Sesshomaru said, entering the kitchen and costing Inuyasha a game life when he looked away from the screen, surprised to see him. "You should be more considerate. I was in deep meditation."
"Well, sorry. Anyways, how about a morning game? I hate to admit it but we do make a pretty good team. Nobody skilled is online right now."
Sesshomaru came out of the kitchen with sake in his hands. "No, thank you. I wouldn't want to intrude on you company. Besides, Ryoko is here."
"Oh, yeah?" Inuyasha's attention was back on his game. "I can pick up her scent now. I should have known. You never go in the kitchen unless you're getting sake and I know better than to think you'd be drinking so early in the morning. Not to mention the fact that you stopped cooking years ago."
"Why cook when I don't eat human food?"
"For me, duh. You don't take care of your little brother anymore, though." He complained as if he really had a problem with it. It was no big issue but he did miss Sesshomaru's cooking. For someone who didn't eat, he sure could whip up an amazing meal.
Sesshomaru started to walk away. "You can take care of yourself."
Inuyasha paid no attention to his brother but listened to his soft footsteps head back up to the second floor of the house they shared.
"Why is Ryoko drinking so early?" Kikyo voiced, turning back to her studies.
"Why don't you go ask her?"
"I don't really care. I was just kind of wondering." Kikyo shrugged.
"Scared, that's what you are. Scared of Ryoko." Inuyasha said then laughed when his girlfriend nudged the back of his head with her foot. Inuyasha paused his game and quickly turned to Kikyo on his knees and closed all of her books, pushing them to the side.
A smile grew on Kikyo's face as she realized the mistake she just made. "Wait, I'm sorry."
"Too late for that." Inuyasha hoped on the couch beside her and held her down as he tickled her like crazy.
"Stop!" She begged.
"Apologize the right way first."
"I'm so sorry, Inuyasha!"
"I said apologize, not say how sorry you are." He demanded, grabbing her feet and tickling them as well.
"Okay, okay, I apologize, Inuyasha! Now, stop before I hurt you!" She caught her breath as he stopped tickling her and wrapped his arms around her waist and forced her to lie down with him.
"I need to finish studying."
"Feh. Lay with me for a minute."
Kikyo turned to face him and her fingers traced to necklace bound to his neck. "Why did my sister curse you with these prayer beads?" She frowned a little bit.
"She babbled about them keeping me in check if need be." Inuyasha twisted his lips and watched as Kikyo thought amongst herself. "I guess she thinks I'm hot-headed just like everybody else around here."
"But I wasn't able to activate the word of subjugation."
"Maybe you have to wait until the appropriate time. When we tried we were just experimenting."
"Hm...maybe. In any case, I need to continue studying." Kikyo and Inuyasha both sat up and Kikyo grabbed her books and Inuyasha returned to his gaming spot on the floor.
Inuyasha tried not to yell at the TV from frustration at his teammates so he wouldn't disturb everyone else in the house, but that didn't work out too well.
"Inuyasha..." Kikyo sighed, turning a page in her text book.
"Uh, sorry." He responded absently. He flicked his ears a few times to try to rid himself of an itching sensation. He flicked his right one again and decided to reach up and finally scratch it.
Those ears are just to die for.
"Hmm..." Inuyasha rested his shoulders as thoughts of the first night he met Kagome ran through his mind. He remembered her drunken honesty of his looks and the way her soft fingers pinched and scratched at his ears. No woman had ever done that before, outside of the loving touch of his mother. But the way she did it was totally different from the way Kagome did it. It was only similar in the way that it was comforting.
I've been waiting to do this since I laid eyes on you.
Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek. "Hey, Kikyo?"
"Yes?"
"How come you've never scratched behind my ears or anything like that?"
Kikyo glance at the back of Inuyasha's head and at his ears. "Just because you're a dog demon doesn't mean that I have to treat you accordingly, Inuyasha."
"You've never thought about doing it before?"
"No."
"If I like it, could you do it for me often?"
"I don't know. It doesn't even feel right thinking of doing that."
Inuyasha paused his game and turned to look at her. "What do you mean? All you're doing is scratching my ears."
"Inuyasha, you're my boyfriend, not my pet."
"You make it sound bad that way when that's not how I'm suggesting you look at it. I might like it. It might make me feel good."
Kikyo met his gaze. "Why are you questioning this all of a sudden?"
"It was just a thought. You didn't just see me scratch my ear? I wanted to know what it would feel like if you did it." Of course he acted nonchalant with his answer. He wasn't lying, but he would never reveal to her the real reason he asked.
Kikyo sighed and shook her head. "I'll have to think about that one."
"Come on. What's there to think about? It's not like I'm asking you to do something gross. If Sesshomaru wanted his ears scratched, Ryoko wouldn't hesitate to satisfy him."
"I sure wouldn't." Ryoko suddenly appeared before the two, teleporting from her boyfriend's room. Inuyasha was too shocked to do anything and turned pale-faced while Kikyo just rolled her eyes.
"Don't compare our relationship to theirs." Kikyo said to Inuyasha.
"Trouble in paradise?" Ryoko sat sideways on the single sofa and crossed her ankles.
"I would appreciate it if we had some privacy, Ryoko."
"I actually came down for a social snack. No need to be touchy." Ryoko smiled at Kikyo, but it wasn't exactly friendly.
"Ryoko, wait." Inuyasha followed her into the kitchen and sat on the counter as she went through the fridge and cabinets. "Is there anything you won't do for my brother?" He wondered.
"Let's see...nope."
"What about the other way around?"
"Ah, I never get what I want, but that's okay. I like the chase." She winked at him.
"Is there anything he asked you to do that you think is 'weird'?"
"No. All of his requests are pretty reasonable." Ryoko started to mix two eggs and a little bit of herb into a bowl to prepare an omelet.
"Brother, why are you prying into our private affairs?" Sesshomaru quietly entered the kitchen.
"Damn! Would you two stop doing that?" Inuyasha raised a fist at them and drew a laugh from Ryoko. He was always easily scared by the people he was most comfortable around.
"I agree, Inuyasha. Our relationship is different from theirs." Kikyo walked up to the counter and sat in one of the tall chairs.
"Sesshy Bear, it's okay. He's not prying too much."
"Why all of these questions anyway?" Sesshomaru leaned on the counter beside Ryoko and crossed his arms.
Inuyasha glanced at Kikyo who had an unreadable expression on her face. "Just trying to see if you two are happy." He shrugged.
"Very much so. And you?"
"Yeah, of course."
"What is it that you want that Kikyo isn't giving you?" Ryoko asked as Inuyasha walked past her to get to Kikyo.
"I just want my ears scratched." He confessed, standing beside Kikyo, who was now scrolling through her phone as if she wasn't listening to the conversation at hand.
"That's all?" Ryoko walked over to him and scratched behind his ears.
Inuyasha tilted his head to the side. "Man, that feels good."
"Aw, you're so cute. Just like a puppy-yesh you are."
Kikyo snickered at Ryoko having proved her point from earlier and Inuyasha just gave her a blank face. "Ryoko doing it only gives off that vibe because she's like a sister to me. I want a lovers touch." He pouted his last sentence as Ryoko went back to her cooking.
"Forget it, Inuyasha."
"You two are arguing over petty things." Sesshomaru sighed.
Inuyasha sighed as well and hugged Kikyo around her waist, nuzzling his face in her hair to kiss her neck. "Nobody's arguing. It's the end of the discussion." He seemed to have lost this battle so he decided to let it go, though disappointment was sitting in the back of his mind.
"If you all will excuse me, I have to get going." Kikyo snaked out of Inuyasha's arms and went to pack up her books.
"To where?" Inuyasha followed in behind her then to the front porch.
"I promised Tomoe I'd have coffee with her before her first class." She said of her best friend. Tomoe seemed to be the only person Kikyo trusted and would be seen around, besides Inuyasha of course, and she and Tomoe's mutual friend Hitomiko.
Kikyo was a very private person for the most part, but when she first met Tomoe they instantly clicked and were open with one another. Tomoe was upset over her failed relationship with Kenshin and spilled her feelings out to Kikyo, who found she alone, crying at the Akabeko nearing closing time. Kikyo, Tomoe and Hitomiko kept a very close-knit circle.
"Hey, what's up?" Inuyasha grabbed Kikoy's waist before she stepped off of the porch, sensing something was wrong. She was avoiding eye contact with him.
"What do you mean?"
"No good-bye kiss?"
"I really have to go, Inuyasha." She tried to escape his grasp.
Inuyasha frowned and pulled her closer. "Kikyo, why won't you kiss me? What's the matter?"
Kikyo let a giggle slip at his first question and his child-like tone, but she still refused him. "Get off."
"Don't act like that. Are you upset about what happened in there?" He asked, referring to the ear scratching conversation.
"No," she lied. "I just have to go- Inuyasha!" She squealed as he scooped her up in his arms, jogging up the stairs towards his room, planting kisses on her neck the whole while.
"Put me...put me down. I'm going to be late meeting Tomoe." Kikyo was slowly giving in to her boyfriend as he lay her on his bed and started removing her shirt, his kisses going uninterrupted.
Kikyo's words continued to reject his actions but her body countered with full acceptance. Soft groans caused by Inuyasha's every touch threatened to escape but Kikyo refused to let them free. Inuyasha challenged her and eventually won, hitting all the right spots he had become familiar with over the course of their one year relationship.
Upon leaving his house ten minutes late, Kikyo was a bit self-conscious and kicked herself for letting Inuyasha lead them into yet another spontaneous moment of bonding, especially with Sesshomaru and Ryoko still there. There was no doubt in her mind that without them trying or even being interested, they still heard everything.
...
"Kikyo, it's about time you showed up." Tomoe looked up from her phone as Kikyo approached her table in a hurry.
"Sorry I'm late." Kikyo apologized, sitting across from her.
"What's with you? Looks like you just..."
"Uh, yeah. Inuyasha held me up." Kikyo cut Hitomiko's sentence short in order to keep her from stating the obvious. She was surprised to see her there but didn't ask any questions.
Hitomiko smirked and sipped her Green Tea. "Right."
"Good morning Kikyo. Would you like anything today?" Tae greeted with her forever friendly smile.
"Green Tea, please. Thank you, Ms. Tae."
"Sure thing, sweetie."
"So, I heard through the grapevine that there's a new priestess on the island." Hitomiko's silk voice expressed.
"She hasn't even been here that long and is already being talked about?" Kikyo rolled her eyes.
"I don't know why you're so surprised after what happened in your archery class with Kaede." Tomoe said, placing her cell phone on the table.
"How do you know about that?"
"I overheard the sophomore miko's Momiji and Botan discussing it in the courtyard yesterday when I was passing through."
"What happened?" Hitomiko questioned.
Tae came to the table with Kikyo's tea and asked if they needed anything else. She left when they thanked her and declined.
"It seems that her powers are almost up to par with my own. Archery happens to be her form of defense, though she could use some practice." Kikyo paused to sip her tea. "When she released her arrow, some of her spiritual powers were transferred through it."
"Is that so?" Hitomiko seemed interested. "Do you feel that she's stepping onto your territory?"
"As far as what?"
"Being the most powerful priestess in the school."
"Hardly. She doesn't even know how to use her powers, so until then, she isn't a threat." Kikyo tossed some of her long hair over her shoulder.
"You ever think of her entering Tamashi No Gemu?"
Tomoe's question made Kikyo freeze in thought. Kagome entering the Soul Games meant that she had to train under Kaede since she was a priestess. If Kagome's powers were to surpass Kikyo's then there was no doubt that Kaede would try to show Kagome her full potential.
Even before attending Shikon University, Kikyo had been trying for years to convince her family that she was the rightful owner of the Jewel of Four Souls. The human priestess Midoriko, who created the jewel and was given eternal life from it, had watched over the jewel as it had been passed down through many generations and used for both good and evil.
Right before it ended up in the hands of Kikyo's ancestors, Midoriko decided that the existence of the jewel was beginning to get too out of hand and endangered any innocent people. Being persuaded by Kikyo's ancestors, Midoriko decided to let them protect the jewel. For 50 years, the Shikon Jewel was used for good until a priest was curious of its powers and became greedy for its energy. This priest was Kikyo and Kaede's grandfather.
Obsessed with his evil powers, he had killed many people. It was then that Midoriko took the jewel back, killed him and fled to Feudal Island to keep it for herself with intentions to destroy it when the time was right. This infuriated Kikyo because after her grandfather, she was next in line to protect the jewel.
"You are not fit to be owner of this jewel, Kikyo. You are not strong enough. The Shikon Jewel has now been tainted with evil from your grandfather's hatred and I can sense that you are not yet strong enough to purify it. It will consume your soul just as it consumed his!" Midoriko told Kikyo right before she fled to Feudal Island.
"How can you be so sure when you haven't given me the chance?" Kikyo argued back. "My grandfather was a foolish man who only had a hunger for everlasting power! We may share the same blood but he and I are not the same people!"
"And how can you be so sure?" Midoriko challenged back. "You are angry with me now because of my decision that you don't even realize the hatred flowing through your heart at this very moment!"
Kikyo was unable to respond because her reflection on Midoriko's words made her realize she was right.
"If you think you are sole proprietor then train for one year to build your strength and develop your powers. After that, enroll in Shikon University and show me that this jewel is yours. But I must warn you, there will be other contenders, so be prepared."
Kikyo and Midoriko crossed paths a couple of times after that and even had another dispute about the jewel. Sometime after their argument, Midoriko had suddenly disappeared and the University was then taken over by a demon named Naraku.
It's been nearly a whole year since Midoriko's disappearance. Though Kikyo was curious of her whereabouts, one thing she was sure of was not having any problems with finally obtaining the jewel with Midoriko out of the way and her being the most powerful miko in the entire school and possibly on the whole island. Though, these thoughts weren't challenged until Tomoe asked about Kagome entering the Soul Games.
"No...I didn't think about that...I do not think of her at all." Kikyo responded. "But I'm not worried, either." She turned her gaze back towards her friends from the window nearby.
"Hm," Tomoe checked the time on her phone. "Let's get going. I have class in a bit."
As the three friends were walking out of the restaurant, two girls were entering, halting both parties for a moment.
"Excuse us- oh, hey, Kikyo, right?" Kagome hesitated with Sango standing beside her, not wanting to get her name wrong.
Kikyo, Tomoe and Hitomiko all filed outside as the door to the Akabeko closed.
"Right. I don't think we really got the opportunity to meet." Kikyo was snobbishly civil. "These are my best friends Tomoe and Hitomiko."
Kagome slightly bowed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kagome."
Hitomiko's eyebrows rose. "Kagome, huh?"
Kagome tucked some hair behind her ear. "Yeah. Pretty crazy name, I know."
Hitomiko shook her head. "Not at all. You must have gotten teased when you were younger?"
"You have no idea."
"Well, I don't see anything wrong with it. I think it's pretty." Sango tried to make her feel better.
"As do I. Nice to meet you, Kagome. Good to see you again, Sango."
"You too, Hitomiko. Come on, Kagome."
"So, that's the girl?" Tomoe sked once they were alone again.
Kikyo unlocked her car door and hopped behind the wheel of the driver's seat. "Yeah, that's her."
"She seems pretty harmless to me."
"I don't see her as a threat. Like I said, I'm not worried." Kikyo smiled at her friends.