In Passing

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. All original characters do not belong to me and all credit goes towards Rumiko Takahashi.

A/N: Yes, Kagome is OOC. This is subject to change in the future. For right now, forget everything you know about her and pretend like this is a new story for those of you who aren't satisfied with her personality change.

This fic is rated M for language, sexual scenes, and suggestive content. If you are not 18+, read at your own risk.

Chapter Four

"Proposition"

My extremely loud outburst left my throat feeling raw as I found it quite painful to swallow afterward. During my stint of insanity, I'd managed to slip and fall back on my bottom, landing on the tiled floor with a loud smack. I all but ignored the stinging pain that resulted from the fall as I looked towards the very being that had caused me such distress in the first place. I involuntarily flinched when he shot me the nastiest look anyone had ever given me.

"What the fuck are you screaming for, you stupid girl?" He shrieked and I watched his ears flatten tightly against his skull.

I felt my anger flare up almost immediately at the stupidity of his question.

"I screamed because of you, obviously! What are you doing here?" I screeched as I picked myself off the floor and glared daggers at him. It took me a moment to realize I was still completely nude and I squeaked while covering my breasts with one of my forearms and blocked my "area" with the other.

The boy gave me a look of indifference before snorting.

"Keh, don't flatter yourself, you ain't got nothin' special." He said dismissively but still averted his eyes.

"E—excuse me?" I gasped.

What a total jerk!

I gritted my teeth in frustration and quickly swiped the towel off of the floor, clutching it tightly against my body. I spared a glance towards a nearby mirror and frowned at my reflection. I was as a red as a beet, right up to my ears.

"How can ya even see me anyway?" He asked while raising an eyebrow, completely ignoring my embarrassed expression.

"The same way I saw you on the street, baka!" I snapped, my eyes narrowing.

I mean, duh.

I heard a growl as he shot me another nasty glare.

"Why you—," he started, raising a clawed hand menacingly. I pretended not to be intimidated by the gesture and he dropped his hand. He turned his face away from me in a huff.

"You still haven't answered my question." I spoke up, hindering him from finishing his sentence. The boy flicked his eyes towards me again but didn't make an attempt to answer. It was my turn to raise a brow at his obvious hesitation.

"Why are you here?" I pressed, my tone a little softer than before though not by much. I was still very much peeved that this complete stranger—and a dead one no less—took it upon himself to follow me home.

I thought I'd gotten rid of him back in the street!

When he finally spoke up, his voice strangely calm.

"Because," he began, pausing for a second to think on his choice of words. "I figured you could be of use to me." He had a small smirk plastered on his face. I would have gave anything for an opportunity to wipe it off in that moment.

I blinked for a second before I felt my temper rise all over again.

"What am I, some—some little servant girl?" I stammered, gesturing wildly in the air with one arm while the other continued to hold the towel to my body.

The boy seemed to contemplate on my question and I immediately shook my head.

"You know what, don't even think about answering that." I said, raising a finger towards him when he opened his mouth to respond. "I don't care what you want, just leave."

I heard him chuckle softly behind me and I whirled around, my eyes wide with surprise.

How did he—

"Ya know," he began, his smirk widening at the expression on my face. "You're quite the mouthy bitch. It's almost as if you've forgotten what I can do."

To prove his point, the light above me began flicker and dim and strong gust of wind came in through the open window. I gasped at the feel of the cold air hitting my still mostly damp body and felt my cheeks heat up again as the bottom of the towel fluttered haphazardly with the breeze. There was no question where the wind was going.

"Cut that out!" I demanded, my fingers gripping the towel fiercely as I resisted the urge to swing at him. It wouldn't have done me any good; the blow would have passed through his body anyway.

"And would you stop calling me that?"

"What?" he asked while giving me a confused look and blinking slowly. "Bitch?"

"Yes!" I hissed.

He seemed to think on my request for a second before promptly shaking his head.

"No, I don't think I will."

I opened my mouth to shoot back another insult when I heard a rapping on the sliding stained glass door. The color completely drained from my face when my mother's muffled voice reached my ears.

"Kagome? Kagome, what's going on in there?" I listened as she tugged on the handle. "Why is this door locked?" She demanded.

Slightly panicking, I pressed my back against the door and silently willed her to go away. I cursed inwardly when heard her grab the spare key from on top of the door frame and insert it into the keyhole.

"N—no, mama. Don't come in, please!" I stammered, pressing harder against the door and shivering from the contact of glass on bare skin.

I heard the locking mechanism click as it detached and I quickly twisted the knob back in place. I heard her tug at the door again and I looked over my shoulder.

"What is all of that noise in there? I heard you scream." She asked, her distorted silhouette pressing up against the door to get a better view. I thanked the gods that she couldn't see anything with me standing there.

"I was stepping out of the tub and slipped. That's it." I replied lamely, my eyes flicking back over to the boy floating in mid-air. He had an amused expression on his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Who were you talking to so loudly then?" She asked suspiciously as she once again tried to open the door.

"Oh, um, just Sango. I called her to let her know I'd made it home safe." I forced out a laugh. I grabbed a nearby bar of soap off of a nearby counter top and held it in my hand, waving it around.

Please, let her believe me.

A few moments of silence passed before I heard my mother take a step back from the door.

"Keep your conversations down. You will wake the entire house." Her irritation was evident and I let out a small sigh of relief when the sound of her footsteps retreating back to her room reached my ears.

I shot a glare towards the boy who had been strangely silent during my struggle and he stared back calmly.

"You need to leave. Now." I said in a hushed tone and pointed towards the window. "Go back out there and go back to wherever you came from."

The boy threw his head back and let out a short, humorless laugh.

"Are you going to force me to leave?" He asked menacingly and inched closer towards me.

I gulped and attempted to increase the distance between us again but only managed to press even harder against the door frame. I pushed my palm against the glass and turned my head to the side, letting out a small whimper. I could feel the chill of his closeness and I saw a pale, translucent hand move across my face. My cheek stung as what I assumed was his finger made contact with my flesh. I squeezed my eyes shut at the icy pain.

What is he doing?

After a few seconds, I dared to sneak a peek and noticed he'd gone back to where he was, a smug look plastered on his face. I turned my head to face him and bit down on my lip to stop it from trembling.

"I knew it," I heard him say. "You are afraid of me."

I looked away at the ground dejectedly when he laughed again.

"Is that all you came here to do?" I whispered and looked back up, my eyes brimming with unshed tears. The boy stopped laughing and appeared stunned as I let the tears fall freely.

"Wha—what are you doing?" He sputtered, raising a hand defensively. "Stop that right now!" He demanded. I could hear the agitation in his voice.

"Why should I?" I shot back, not bothering to wipe the tears away. "I'm obviously some kind of toy you want to mess with. Nevermind the fact that I was just trying to mind my own business and get home safely!" I growled, smiling inwardly at the way he seemed to squirm at my rage.

"Wha—? You were sad just two seconds ago and now you're screaming at me?!" He screamed at me, his hands gripping his knees tightly.

"I was never sad, I'm just extremely freaking angry!" I yelled back, wiping furiously under my eyes with my fingers. "Who do you think you are just barging in here like this?"

He looked stunned before shaking his head and letting out another frustrated growl. He folded his arms and I saw his chest heave up and down as if he'd just let out a deep sigh.

"Look, I came here because I need you to do something for me." He said a bit sheepishly, his eyes never meeting mine. I couldn't help the look of incredulity that flashed across my face.

"Why exactly should I help you?" I asked with a raised brow. "For someone who needs help, you sure have a funny way of asking for it."

He shot me a nasty glare and previous situation forgotten, he zipped right in front of my face, his scowl deepening at my confusion.

"Who said anything about 'helping', wench? You owe me." He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

I raised my eyebrow at his statement. It was my turn to laugh.

"Owe you? I owe you nothing!" I said while scooting over towards the shower seat and sitting down. He followed me down and got down to eye level with me, his expression darkening.

"You owe me everything, bitch. I spared your life." He snarled.

I returned his glare with a skeptical one of my own.

"Oh, how very thoughtful of you." I replied, sarcasm seeping into my tone. I had to refrain from smiling at his stunned expression. "You wouldn't have killed me." I stated almost confidently, my fingers playing with the hem of the towel I was still using to shield my body from his eyes.

"Oh?" He breathed and regained his composure, amusement sparking again. "And just what makes you think I wouldn't have? I could still do it, ya know."

At that moment, I heard a high-pitched crunch and furrowed my brows slightly. Looking up, I watched as the light cover directly above me shattered. I shrieked and quickly put my free arm over my head while closing my eyes tightly. I sat there, waiting for the impact of the glass shards colliding against my exposed back but the sensation never came. I stayed in a semi-fetal position for a moment before I slowly removed my arm and dared myself to look up again.

The light cover was still there.

I stood up tentatively, taking note to watch my step in case it were an illusion. I placed a shaky hand on the cover and rubbed it to confirm it was still there. I let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding and looked back at the entity, who in turn let out another gut-wrenching laugh. I swallowed the lump in my throat and slid back down onto the chair, my legs too shaky to hold up my weight any longer.

"You see?" I heard him say, his laughter dying down to a soft, sinister chuckle. He leaned in close to my ear.

"I can bend your world to my will. I could set this house ablaze and kill you and your entire family, if that's what I desired. Do you need any more demonstrations?" He whispered the last part and I couldn't help the chill that went down my spine. I slowly shook my head in compliance.

"What do you want with me?" I choked out softly, relief flooding my being when he floated away once again.

He disregarded my question and glided towards the window. I stared after his wandering form and saw the slight twinkling of the stars through his translucent silhouette. He turned back towards me, his expression unreadable. I willed myself to stay silent and returned his gaze wearily. His startling amber eyes flashed for a second as he opened his mouth to speak.

"I want you," he began, the intensity of his gaze bore right into my soul and I almost didn't hear him over the steady crescendo of my pounding heart.

His next choice of words made my heart skip a beat.

"I want you to help me find my body."

.

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A/N: A short bathroom scene and a short chapter! I was going to make it longer but I felt like what I put already did this chapter enough justice. Before anyone asks:

Yes, Inuyasha is a poltergeist.

No, I will not make him into an antagonist (not really). Please, R&R!

In response to the people who have left positive reviews:

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this fanfic. I really do appreciate you. You guys are helping me get these chapters out quickly. I'm even brainstorming new ideas for chapters as I'm working my regular night shifts. I have quite a bit planned for the upcoming chapters ahead. Stay tuned!