Deceitful Time
Chapter Nine: Double

Idiot, idiot, idiot… idiot, not him, that was just him being normal Inu—no—Shiro. It was her fault for thinking that somehow he had changed but she was just a girl—a high school girl, he mentioned that often—so why would that alter how he had function for hundreds of years? Not that she wanted to change it, she wanted to go back to feudal era and check on her friends, on the right Inuyasha.

"Kagome?" Shiro muttered mid-way down the stair case. He had to take a step to the side to stop her flustered rush down the staircase.

"Move!" She shouted and took a step to the side; he did the same, so she tried twice more before, "Shiro! Stop!"

"What's wrong?" He asked as he switched his grocery bags around so they were all in one hand, "don't cry."

"I'm not going to cry!" She shrieked, she really wasn't—her eyes weren't hot with tears, there was no water about to creep out, maybe her face was red but that didn't mean she was going to cry over him having some harlot in his home.

"What happened?" He kept up and, again, stepped to the side to keep her from dodging him.

"Let me go, Shiro! First you take away my right to go back and forth between now and the past!? Then you stalk me! And now you won't let me go down the staircase!" Since she was a few steps above him still she kicked him in the chest. Her hasty actions must have caught him off guard enough for him to almost fall down the stairs.

When he caught his footing again he didn't bother to question her any further, instead he just bent down slightly and took a few steps up to swop her off of her feet and over his shoulder. Just like he thought she shrieked and spazzed out to, kicking and hitting him all over the place. Good thing for her she was wearing pants and not a skirt. Nothing sexy, no overly expensive lust red sweater dress like that woman was.

"Kagome!" He shouted once he got to his floor.

"What's going on out here?" His elder neighbor inquired as he stepped halfway out into the hallway to give Shiro the stink eye.

"He's kidnapping me!" Kagome cried out.

Shiro simply shook his head as he dropped her down on the ground, "I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Do I need to call the authorities?" The neighbor nagged.

"Yes," she shouted as he countered with a, "no."

"What is wrong with you!?" Shiro kept up as he pulled his keys out and opened his front door, "huh?"

"Nothing! Leave me alone!"

"Inuyasha," a provocative voice greeted, and before either entered or stopped their feud out front she stepped out into the entryway.

"What are you doing here?" He retorted as his auburn-ambers fluttered about her figure.

"Hope you don't mind, I still have a key," she shrugged slightly as she daggled her keychain in front of her, "I prepared dinner."

"Oh," he nodded before looking over to the steaming yet silent girl, "oh. Wait, Kagome—"

"No, whatever, I do not care whatsoever!" She proclaimed as she pushed him away. "Have a nice dinner with your girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend! Come back here! She'd be more interested in you!"

"Huh?!" That caught Kagome's attention enough that she stopped on the second stair down.

"She'd rather have you," he hinted before extending his hand out to her, "now settle down and come have dinner."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The dense diva dragged out.

He just rolled his eyes and sighed, "do I really have to spell it out for you?"

With a prompt 'hmph' she placed her hands on her hips and glared at him with a slightly tilted head, "apparently."

"She's likes woman," he explained. He hid a chuckle when he saw the way her eyes widened and shoulder sag as her hands slowly slipped from the former firm post.

{xoxoxoxoxoxoxox}

"That's Kagome?" She whispered as she leaned towards Shiro, both of them had their eyes on Kagome who was moving about to set the table, "the Kagome?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded; at least the drama was all done with. His stupid nosy neighbor actually did call the police and they really did show up. Thankfully, Kagome had cooled down enough to explain to them that they were just having a fight and she was fine then apologized enough for their inconvenience that they let it go.

"But… she's so young," she murmured, "cute, though."

"Don't," he grumbled between clinched teeth.

"Well… I'm happy for you, Inuyasha," she said with a weak smile and a pat on his shoulder.

"Thanks?" He murmured, "so what are you doing here, Akiko?"

"Can I not visit one of my oldest friends?" She pouted but his relentless stare got her to give in, "I'm just back in Japan for a while. I figured since I have a key to your place I am still welcomed to come stay here instead of going through all the hassle of finding a hotel."

"You could call ahead."

"You've never had a steady girl so I didn't think it'd matter," she whispered before wondering away to go help Kagome, "I'm so happy to meet you."

"Me?" Kagome questioned.

"I've known Inu for a long, long, time and it's always been 'Kagome this' and 'Kagome that', I have to say, though," she paused briefly as she came up behind Kagome, "I was sort of expecting more."

That was enough to making the tea pot she removed from the stove almost slip from her hand.

{xoxoxoxoxox}

"She's staying at yours?" Kagome mumbled once they reached her home, "for how long?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "however long she's in Japan, I think right now she lives in France for the most part… Why? Do you want me to ask her to stay a hotel or something? I am mean, she's a lesbian so it's not like we are going to—"

"You can do whatever with whoever," she countered quickly, "what is she? I can tell she's not human."

"A demon, a fire demon, we met a while back." He considered her a friend, he didn't have many of them and the ones he did he never really saw. It was kind of nice to see Akiko again but… he could just feel it in his bones that Kagome and Akiko wouldn't get along. She would probably flirt and taunt Kagome too much for her comfort, she was a cruel one. While he allowed his mind to wonder he hadn't noticed Kagome wondering over to the hut to stand at the closed door.

"Shiro…"

"Huh?"

"Are you planning on getting me something for Christmas?" She inquired as she turned her head slightly so she could look over at him.

"I could," he had sort of forgotten how that holiday was right around the corner.

"Do you know what I want?"

"Not happening," he assured, which caused her to open the door and enter the hut. With complete and utter reluctance he went over to glance in at her as she sat on top of the well, "you are going to do that again? 'Cause it's going to work just as well as the last time."

"Can he still get through?" She mused; all the while letting her fingertips graze above the see-through chains, her ebony waves falling over one shoulder more so than the other as her hazels drifted across the well to each scroll.

"Nope."

She bit her bottom lip and nodded weakly, "are you sure?"

Not at all, "yep."

"She looks like… Kikyou," she admitted feebly, "Akiko. She looks just like Kikyou."

"I thought you were supposed to look like Kikyou," he recalled as he leaned against the doorway.

"You said I didn't!" Her eyes shut right away; she meant Inuyasha—her Inuyasha—said so… she hadn't meant to yell it, either.

"Inuyasha," she mumbled with her lips against his bare shoulder as she snuggled up closer to him under the cover they shared.

"Kagome," he muttered back without bothering to open his eyes.

"Do…" she almost said so quietly that not even his dog ears could pick up on it. Her hand wondered from his shoulder up his collarbone then down his bare chest, "you… ever… think about…"

"Think about what?" He grunted. It was always when she stretched out what she meant to say like that when he knew he was in real trouble... when it was something that really bothered her. So he rolled onto his side and lifted himself up on an elbow to look down at her, his lover, his…

"Stop," she smiled as she covered his eyes with her hand, "you are getting as bad as Miroku these days..."

"I am not," he swore as he lifted his hand to remove hers down to his lips, allowing his gaze to once more to move along her nude figure, "we should split up into two groups to 'look' for shikon shards more."

"Stop," she giggled as he leaned down to start a new assault upon her neck, "Inuyasha—"

"You are nothing like her," he murmured into her ear, causing the most subtle of shivers to surge through her body, "you are Kagome. You two don't even really look alike, I've already told you that many times."

"I know but everyone says…" she almost pouted when he pulled himself away from her clinging arms to look her in the eyes.

"I say you don't." And that's all that mattered, their lips met again as he resituated himself on top of her, prying her legs apart while his hand roamed up the side of her body to her bobbing, harden, nubs.

"I like to hear that," Kagome gasped as she pushed him away only slightly, "I love you."

"I know," he replied before she allowed their lips to crash together once more. It was her gasped moan into their kiss that made him go over the edge before he—

"Shiro?" Kagome called out, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, those memories weren't useful at all. Not that he wasn't grateful for having some come back to the surface but... no, he didn't really want to remember anything more about her death. The images were enough, he needn't remember more."I'll see you later."

"Goodnight," she smiled ever so slightly.

{xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox}

"Why does she call you Shiro?" Akiko asked while she sat upon his red couch, her eyes following the wondering man about.

"I don't know," he replied, swirling his drink in his hand like he always did before taking a sip. He focused in on his windowed walls so that he could see Akiko's reflection as she draped herself across his sofa…

"I've decided," he whispered as he opened his eyes to see a priestess in his arms; water surrounded them as the sun began to set, a boat not too far off to his left. She slowly looked up to him, the softest sadness in her shimmering eyes, "I'm going to use the shikon no tama to become human."

"Inuyasha…" she hushed with her strong yet sweet voice, "you do not have—"

"You'd be free then, wouldn't you? From having to guard it? Then I could be with…" he trailed off as his gaze turned to the wavering water behind her.

"Yes," he looked back to her as she leaned forward for their lips to meet.

"You are a space case," Akiko declared before rolling over onto her back, "what are you thinking about so intently?"

"Nothing," he assured before looking back out to the Tokyo scene. "Nothing… Akiko?"

"Yes?"

"What do teenage girls like to do for their birthday nowadays?"

A snide smile swiped across her red lips as he shifted her feet to the ground so she could get up and walk over to him. She took his drink so she could have a sip before their eyes met, "depends…"

"On?"

"What type of message do you want to send to her," Akiko's grin grew, "and… what you want to end up doing. Inuyasha," she took a step closer to him so that she wasn't even a full centimeter away, "tell me, how is it that you haven't slept with her yet?"

"Keh," he laughed weakly, "that's none of your business."

"I thought so," she teased before finishing his drink off for him and heading towards his mini bar to refill it and get herself a glass, "it's remarkable that you haven't—"

"She wants the Inuyasha from five hundred years ago, not me."

"Then," she coaxed as she handed him his drink back, "make her change her mind. You are a cunning one and with my female intuition I can… help."

"Ha, you—"

"When's her birthday?"

"In two days."

"That's plenty of time," Akiko assured as she sat back down on the couch and crossed her legs as she leaned back.

"For what?" He asked before turning around to look at her.

"For me to plan the perfect birthday date," she surmised, "one that will make her forget all about anyone else."

"I doubt that," he groaned, "you haven't any idea how difficult she is."

"No, trust me, in three days she'll be yours. You want that, don't you, Inu?"

He wanted that... didn't he? Regardless, he gave a weak nod.