Chapter Seven
"Moving on Up"
He'd made a promise to Sango to check in on Kagome. Which made literally zero sense because he was four hours away from her. Three if he broke all the speed limits and law enforcement didn't slow him down.
That was the reason he was slouched across his sofa, avoiding looking at all the boxes around him and the bags of trash behind him from his purging earlier, and staring at his phone as he craftfully typed out a message that wouldn't give himself away.
7:13pm
Bored without Sango yet?
7:14pm
Hardly.
Bosses gave me a crap-ton of work to do because I was gone Monday.
You 're STILL at work?
7:15pm
I 'm almost done.
I drove today, so I don 't have to worry about missing the train.
7:16pm
Go home.
It 's late.
I 'm almost done.
I 'll leave in fifteen minutes.
7:17pm
Text me when you're in the car.
K
He growled at her through the phone. It was already dark, and she was going to go wandering around a parking lot at night?
Did this woman have no sense of self-preservation?
He stared at the clock on his phone, clicking the side button to wake it up, to check again.
It had been two minutes.
Fine.
He'd go throw some more shit away.
Or maybe he should pack first and throw shit away later.
Or make a throw away pile?
Yeah. Good plan.
He sorted through a few things before tapping his phone.
She had two minutes before he called her to make sure she was leaving.
Two minutes.
He stared at his phone, growling freely in his apartment, as he roughly threw a bag of trash towards his front door. He'd take it out in a minute. Two minutes to be specific.
He tapped his claws angrily against the counter before tapping the screen again.
Still two minutes.
Snarling at the phone, he turned, stomping off towards the front door to throw away his trash, because maybe, just maybe, the fucking clock might be agreeable for once and move the fucking time along.
He grabbed the bag of trash and his keys, before stomping off towards the trash chute, ripping open the flip door and shoving his bag of trash down the chute, and letting the flap loudly fall back closed with a deafening clang.
Yeah, it might have been a shitty neighbor move, but oh well, wasn't like he cared about any of these fuckers. Wasn't like they invited him to anything or even fucking talked to him. He heard their comments about the hanyou on their hall, and he knew about the petition to get him evicted from the building because when the fucking hanyou move in that's when the neighborhood goes.
Fucking purists.
He should just save up and buy this whole damn building and then watch their faces as they realized that a hanyou fucking owned them. Make a hanyou hotel. Who the fuck cares?
He slammed the door behind him and picked up his phone.
It was 7:31, and there was no text from Kagome.
7:31pm
Have you left yet?
He waited for a moment, watching the screen intently for the three dots, which weren't fucking showing up at all.
He tapped his claws on the counter, harder than he intended, and leaving some small chips in the granite. Whatever, he wasn't going to be here much longer anyway.
7:32pm
Are you in the car?
He waited another moment for her to respond, growing more irritated.
7:33pm
Are you ignoring me now?
Kagome?
He growled. Bitch was fucking ignoring him.
This is the last time he helps out a friend. He turned back towards his sorting pile and started working.
When his phone finally dinged, he should've been ashamed at how quickly he dove for it.
7:44pm
Sorry! I'm not ignoring you! I swear!
My boss stopped me before I could leave.
And I said that I would text you when I got in my car!
He'd started to type out a response, starting with "I was worried" and then realized that that particular text would be a bad idea. It was, in fact, a super bad idea.
Instead, he took a deep breath.
So he'd been a little irritated. That didn't mean anything special. They were friends. It would be good to have a new friend.
It would also be good to have something more than friends.
But friends were good.
He just needed to test the waters before he jumped in, and he should probably do that in person.
Staring at the phone, his mind went blank.
Should he text her back?
Should he wait?
Maybe it was better to text when he was sure she wasn't driving?
Wait, how far away did she work and how long did it take her to get home?
Shit, he literally knew nothing about her except that she was pretty and Sango's friend, and she lived in Tokyo. Where he would be this Friday. For good.
7:49pm
Maybe don 't take so long next time.
Your boss is a dick for making you stay this late.
OMG. He 's not that bad.
It was important!
7:50pm
Aren 't you driving?
I 'm at a stoplight, DAD.
Text me when you get home.
YES SIR!
Okay, she was being cheeky. She at least felt comfortable enough with him to be snarky though. That was a good sign, right?
And he was kinda sounding like his own mother.
He—
He huffed at himself. It wasn't like he knew anything about her, really.
Though he sincerely hoped to change all that.
He was being dumb. So dumb.
She felt comfortable with him, and that was a step in the right direction, right? He leaned his head back against the armrest, rolling it slightly to look at the chaos that had swamped his apartment. He was pretty sure that he was going to have to go buy more trash bags at this point.
8:21pm
I 'm home!
How slow do you drive?
It 's a half-hour drive!
On a good day!
I thought that you might want me to follow the speed limit, DAD.
He huffed lightly to himself because she was being cheeky, and he'd been worried about her for one reason, but now he was worried for another reason entirely.
A half-hour drive to work? The trains were one thing; they were hardly ever on time.
But she'd said that was a good day.
How far did she live away from her job? Most people lived close to where they worked.
Hell, he lived like fifteen minutes from work now, and he was going to be less than that when he moved to Tokyo. His father had said roughly a five-minute drive, but he also knew how his father drove. Reckless was both an understatement and entirely appropriate.
8:22pm
Well, one of us has to be responsible.
And you think that 's you?
Like it 's you?
I 'm clearly the better choice.
Who took care of who at the wedding?
8:23pm
Pretty sure that was one time!
You were drunk! Twice!
You volunteered for that!
Both times!
His thumb hovered over the keyboard.
Ah, damn. She was right. He had volunteered. Both times.
The only other thing that he'd helped her with was Kouga, and he wasn't going to rub her face in that. Wolf-shit seemed to do that enough for the both of them.
But there was on more thing that he did help her with, and a dark grin spread across his face.
8:24pm
And the blisters?
I could 've handled it!
Suuuuure . . .
The three little dots appeared, disappeared, and repeated that pattern several times.
A clear indicator that he'd won. Fair and square. But then the dots disappeared and stayed gone, making him lean up from the couch and stare at his phone as the screen darkened and he tapped it lightly to wake it back up.
Had he—had he offended her? Was she upset? Had he gone too far with his teasing?
He'd thought it was okay? They seemed to like to banter back and forth, but how was he supposed to know if he crossed a line?
Calling her crossed his mind, but then the idea of speaking to her while she was mad didn't seem like a great choice either.
What were the rules for a situation like this?
8:26pm
How 's the packing coming?
Fine.
How 's the neck?
It 's already fading!
It looks much better!
Or they could just segue into a completely different conversation. And so for the next hour, Inuyasha remained glued to his phone and ignored the fact that he'd smiled more in that time than he had all week.
He was just bored, or at least, that's what he told himself. Normally, Miroku would be hounding him to talk about his day, his impending marriage to Sango, or whatever menial thing he'd seen on the subway that day, but now that he was gone, Inuyasha realized just how much he depended on Miroku for some sort of company.
God, he was a lonely bastard.
He stared at his piles of stuff—crap mostly.
He'd thought he lived pretty minimally, but now he was also considering throwing everything away and just buying what he needed.
He hated moving, but the idea that he would be that much closer to Kagome and whatever she meant made it almost appealing, and he almost felt motivated to continue.
Keyword: almost.
Kagome's week had been complete and utter shit.
To put it nicely. Very nicely.
Her water heater had gone out.
Again.
So it had been furiously cold showers and baths for three days because her super wasn't in any hurry to fix the issue. She'd already tried relighting the pilot light, but all she'd managed to accomplish was a couple of burnt fingertips.
But her super told her that he had more important issues to fix, but that he'd get around to it when he reached that line item on his to-do list.
There were very few things that Kagome wanted from her building, but hot water was one of them. Especially for her showers.
She just wanted a hot shower after her days of hell this week, was that too much to ask?
Yes. Apparently.
And with Sango gone, there wasn't anyone around that she could actively bitch to about said week, except for a bottle of wine.
She'd had one every single night.
Every.
Single.
Night.
Because collapsing into her bed in a partially drunken stupor was her way of coping with no hot water.
She had to boil water in a tea kettle to wash dishes! Boiling water! What was this? The Dark Ages?
Her only saving grace this week had been Inuyasha, which should've been weird. Right? It should've been weird.
Stepping into her dark apartment, she sighed, flicking the switch as the overhead light fluttered to life and then died. She flicked the switch again, staring at the light as it flickered twice and stayed dead.
Great.
There were exactly two windows and those were in her bedroom, which made the rest of her apartment really dark. She should probably invest in a nightlight or something for the hallway or living room so she didn't die trying to get inside her own home.
She kicked her shoes off, stepping further into the apartment before she ran her fingers over the light switch for the kitchen and finally a light came on and stayed on.
Her feet ached walking across the linoleum.
Work had been rough the past week, and she'd only been there for three days this week. So far. She'd taken off Monday, and she'd needed it, but when she'd gotten back, everyone seemed to be in a mood, especially her boss.
It also didn't help that Kagome didn't seem capable of doing anything right upon returning either. Everything had been one bad mistake after another, and she didn't know what her deal was. There were two today that she didn't even remember doing in the first place!
Not to mention that she'd heard her boss talking to HR about possible transfers and a potential growth plan.
She knew that he was going to be in a mood because she'd been out for a couple days, but at the same time, she'd only been gone for a couple days. It wasn't like everything could just fall apart over a weekend because she wasn't there!
Groaning, she walked over to the sink and hit the hot water just to see if there was any changes from this morning. After letting the water run for a solid two minutes, which is about how long it took for the water to heat up usually, there was no change, still cold as ice.
Great.
Still no hot water. Sighing, she turned the faucet off, stared at it for a moment before heading into her bedroom to change and get off her feet.
She picked up her phone scrolling to Sango's contact, before stopping herself. Sango was on the other side of the world right now, enjoying her honeymoon; she didn't need to hear about Kagome's bad day and week. That's what the bottle of vodka in her cabinet was for. She'd just pull out her laptop, sit on her bed with a pillow under her calves and a bowl of soup, and watch some terrible show on Netflix.
She supposed that she could call Inuyasha, but he was prepping to move tomorrow, and he probably didn't want to hear about her shitty apartment and job. Everyone had enough on their plates at the moment, and she didn't want to load even more on them.
She looked at the bathroom.
Maybe the ice cold shower first, then soup to warm up.
After exiting the shower, shivering profusely from the ice cold water, Kagome dressed quickly, sliding her feet into slippers, as she crossed her arms in front of her to help warm herself up. She'd learned her lesson yesterday. Don't put on extra warm pajamas because you'll wake up in the middle of night dying of dehydration because you sweat all night long.
But that didn't make her any warmer now though.
Soup, at least, was easy and didn't require any hot water. Just a microwave.
While it cooked, she slipped into her bedroom and found an old zip up hoodie that was about three sizes too big. Just the way she liked it.
Kagome carried her hot bowl of soup, setting it on her nightstand coaster as she settled herself into bed.
As she stuffed a pillow under her legs, she let out a content sigh.
She'd walked something like eight miles according to her phone in heels today, and her legs and feet were screaming for relief. Flipping on the television, she could only hope that her boss was in a better mood tomorrow and that she was able to get her shit together for the last day of the week.
The only bonus was that Inuyasha was supposed to be arriving tomorrow too, so that was something to look forward to.
Inuyasha firmly remembered why he hated moving. People stomping around his place, invading every nook and cranny of his home before shoving things in boxes. Then, there were the endless questions. He'd already packed up a suitcase and a few boxes for his car, but they didn't stop.
Just put the damn thing in a fucking box and shove it in the truck. He could throw it away when he got back to Tokyo.
"Sir?"
"What?" He snapped, spinning around to look at the man standing in his soon-to-be-vacated apartment.
"We ran into a problem with the box in the master closet."
There was only one fucking closet in this place, so where else did he think the closet was?
"What?" He asked again. Why did he have to repeat the question? Why couldn't people just ask what they wanted?
"There's a box," he started, clearing his throat.
Inuyasha realized what box he was talking about.
He'd—he'd completely forgotten about the box. He'd completely forgotten about that box in particular. He'd kept it, shoving it in into the nearest closed space that he could to hide it away from himself. And he'd done an amazing job at that.
"And what about it?" He snapped.
"Well, we were packing it away, but the bottom fell out from it and—well, we just wanted you to know, and what you wanted us to do about it?"
Inuyasha internalized his grimace, trying to hide how much he really didn't want to look at the contents of that box at all.
"Yeah, I'll take a look."
He stepped away from the windows and went towards his closet.
"We're really sorry," he placated as they walked into his bedroom. An avalanche of papers and photographs had cascaded from the torn box. Well, not so much torn, but falling apart. He probably should've replaced it years ago, but he'd never really intended to look in it again. He'd never intended to bring it with him either, but it had gotten shoved away into a box, and he, at the time, couldn't bear to throw it away.
He was being sentimental. But even now, he didn't want to throw them away either.
It was stupid.
Just papers and photographs. There was no reason for him to keep any of it. All it did was just remind him of everything that had happened and all the mistakes that he'd made.
He could just throw it away now and be done with it.
"We're so sorry. He said he just picked it up and it—it just crumpled in his hands."
"It's fine. It was an old box. I'll take care of it." He knelt down, shoving the papers back into the box, only to see a very familiar face staring back at him from a photograph. He shoved her back inside, picking up the pieces carefully before taking it out to the kitchen counter.
"Again, we are so sorry," the man said.
"Just finish up in here," he said, walking out to the bar where no one was currently standing or working. He set the box down, pulling the lid off and setting it to the side.
There was a stack of papers to sift through. Newspaper articles, photographs, letters. He should throw them all away. He should. But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to slide them into the trash right next to the counter.
He hadn't looked at this crap for years. It only came the last time, because he was too lazy to look at it. The box was literally falling apart from disuse.
But it was her face that stared back at him.
Familiar and smiling. The way that he remembered her.
She was gone now. A forgotten relic of a past life. He'd moved here to escape all the mess that she'd made.
A folded newspaper caught his eye: TAISHO FOUND
He growled, stacking everything in the box lid and then shoving it into a trash bag, wrapping it around so nothing could fall out. He found the nearest open box, shoving the bag inside.
"Tape it up and put it on the truck," he ordered, and the worker closed the flaps and taped it up quickly. "Thanks," Inuyasha mumbled after a moment. He moved back to the bar, throwing away the remnants of the box.
Fucking Kikyo. Still ruining his day almost a decade later.
2:13pm
How 's the packing going? Have you left yet?
He was moving back to Tokyo. The same city that Kikyo—he shook his head slightly to dispel the thought. It was a new city now.
It was no longer Kikyo's city.
Kagome was there. And maybe, just maybe, she could erase the damage that had been done.
2:14pm
Fine. Should be leaving in a couple hours.
Have you had lunch yet?
2:15pm
Just left!
Do I need to send you a picture as proof that I 'm eating real food?
Or do you believe me today?
She was feeling her oats today, wasn't she?
He'd promised Sango to check in on her, and he had kept that promise in the beginning, but now it was less for Sango's benefit and more for his own.
Knowing that at the end of the move, there would be Kagome, that make everything a little easier to withstand. Including broken boxes and bad memories.
2:16pm
You shouldn 't be eating this late.
Not healthy.
You 're one to talk, Mr. Ramen three times a day.
"Sir?" One of the workers interrupted. "We're going to break for lunch. We'll finish loading up the last of the boxes when we return."
"Fine," he said with a wave of his hand, dismissing them. He could stand for a bit of time where there were not people milling around what was left of his home.
He should probably go get something to eat. His mother said that he got an attitude if he was hungry; Miroku called him 'hangry,' and the last time, Sango told him he was a dick and punched him in the face.
So he actively tried to make sure that he was fed.
Also, he was glad Sango was now Miroku's problem.
He grabbed his keys and his wallet, heading down to the little restaurant at the corner. The food was okay, and the people left you alone. But he really just wanted the quiet.
Normally, he'd sit in a booth on the side and just listen to the white noise of people. It made him feel less lonely.
But today, today he was actively looking forward to not seeing people at all.
He walked out the door, locking it behind him, and he strolled down to the elevator and pressed the down arrow gently with the back of his curled finger, listening to the slow whirr of the motors as it drew the elevator up to his floor. He shifted slightly in the small hallway, looking up as the doors dinged.
An old lady stared at him, blinking owlishly before stepping out of the carriage and giving him a very wide berth. He let her step out before he went inside, pressing the button for the ground floor.
"Place is going to the dogs," she muttered, and he rolled his eyes at the comment.
He waited, leaning back against the wall of the elevator as it descended. He really wasn't going to miss the people here at all.
Walking out, he headed for the shop on the corner, heading for the ramen shop there.
He stepped inside, taking a whiff of the scents in the air. It was busier than normal, which made his desire to go back to his apartment even greater. He walked up to the front, ordering a bowl of beef ramen and another bowl of chicken ramen to go. He paid, dropping a few bucks in the tip jar as he walked out.
As long as he ate and tipped well, the staff there didn't care what he was.
He walked back to his building, bag in his arm, moving in behind a couple of women who were standing directly in front of the doors.
"Did you see the moving truck in the garage?"
"I did! Do you know who's leaving?"
"Sato was telling me earlier that the half-breed was moving out. Finally."
"Place is really going to the dogs when they let the hanyou move in, isn't it?" He stated.
"I know, right?" Said the one woman with the "I need to see a manager" haircut. She turned to towards him to continue the conversation. "I was just telling Mak—" The words died off, and her mouth kinda flapped like a fish for a moment.
He scowled at the both of them.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
"You gonna get on?" He asked, stepping forward between the two women. The one woman shook her head, and he shrugged. The doors started to close. "Gotta say though, I ain't gonna miss either of you bitches either."
The doors closed before either of them could say anything, and Inuyasha felt like his parting gift of conversation fodder was a fair parting gift to his terrible neighbors. He was such a charitable person. Practically a hanyou Mother Teresa.
When the doors opened again, he stepped out onto his floor, heading towards his apartment.
Upon opening his apartment door, he realized that there was a flaw in his plan for eating lunch: they'd already packed his chairs.
Oh well, he walked over the windows looking out over the mountains, plopping himself down on the floor before taking out one bowl and slurping down his noodles as he stared out his windows enjoying the view one last time.
Opening her door with a long sigh, she flicked on the light to the living room, because she'd yet to purchase that nightlight like she'd promised herself yesterday. Maybe she could try the pilot light again. Then she could get a bath at least. Her phone pinged as she set her bag on the small table by the entry.
4:05pm
Handsome Asshole
We just left for Tokyo. FYI.
6:26pm
I swear these guys have the bladders of an ant.
We 've stopped twice for them to pee.
Twice.
I could 've been there by now.
6:32pm
This is going to take FOREVER.
Are you STILL at work?
GO HOME KAGOME.
It 's fucking Friday!
Who fucking works this late on a Friday?
Nerd.
6:33pm
Go home and make my housewarming gift.
You promised me one.
She hadn't bothered to check her phone before she left work, but it was clear that Inuyasha was in a desperate mood for attention. Or at least someone to complain to. She understood that perfectly given this past week.
6:35pm
I 'm home!
Have a safe trip the rest of way!
Be nice to the workers! Not everyone has youkai bladders. Humans have to pee.
Let me know when you get here!
She stared at her phone, as if staring would encourage him to respond faster. But he was probably driving, and she didn't want to distract him from that. Besides, the man was moving into a new apartment, the last thing he probably had on his mind was texting a girl he met at mutual friend's wedding.
She smiled at the mention of a housewarming gift. At least he hadn't thought she was weird or anything for suggesting or even offering to bring him one.
What should she even make him?
Food?
Food was probably the best idea. She did have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that was to die for. She could make them for him. That would be easy enough to do for tomorrow.
She slipped over to her sink, flipping on the hot water and hoping that it would actually put out some hot water.
If there wasn't, she was going to go on YouTube and start trying to figure how to repair the hot water heater on her own. It couldn't be that hard, right? The last plumber to come fix something in her apartment hadn't even bothered to shut off the gas before he started working on anything. She'd been the one to suggest that he'd turn it off before he started welding or soldering whatever it was together before he blew up the building.
Or at least her apartment where she had all her stuff.
She sighed, waiting for the hot water, splashing the tips of her fingers through the water before air started sputtering through the pipes.
Panic briefly rushed through her veins as her water sputtered longer and longer, and she started to wonder if her water was cut off altogether. That would solve the problem of her missing hot water, wouldn't it? Can't miss the hot water if there's no water at all.
Brown water spurted out of her kitchen sink, and she jerked her hands away from the intermittent stream. The pipes rattled loudly overhead, and she prayed that her water would come out clean.
Any second now.
She watched her brown water spit and sputter through the pipes before it finally started spitting out clear water. She sighed, sticking her fingers under the faucet and feeling cold water. She dropped her head onto the counter with a low groan.
Picking up her phone, she called her super as she set a pot of water on the stove to boil, because she needed a hot bath.
He picked up on the sixth ring.
"What?" He snapped on the phone.
"This is Kagome in apartment—"
"I know which one."
"Great," she was using her customer service voice, but she really wanted hot water, "so I wanted to let you know that the hot water heater is still out."
"Nonsense, I fixed it myself today."
"Well, it's still only putting out cold water."
He sighed loudly.
"You have to let it run for a bit to warm up."
"I know. I've been letting it run for a few minutes now. It actually came out brown for a little bit."
"That's normal."
"Okay, well, it's been a few minutes and it's still only cold water."
"You made sure that the faucet is on the right side?"
"Yes. Both sides are cold water only, I checked." She had not, in fact, checked, but she knew how to turn on the hot water.
"Well, when I left today, the hot water was working."
"Well," Kagome mimicked, gritting her teeth as she inhaled sharply, "it's not working now."
"Look, if I have to come back up there, and it's working fine, I'm gonna have to charge you."
"Isn't being a super your job?"
Be nice, Kagome. You need the asshole to come fix your hot water.
"Yes, but tenants who abuse the privilege have repercussions."
"I'm not abusing your position as a super. My water is cold. Please, it's been a week. I would really like to wash my dishes in hot water that doesn't have to be boiled."
Another loud sigh from the other side.
"Fine," he groaned, "I'll be there sometime this weekend." The call disconnected, and Kagome refrained from throwing her phone against the wall.
No. She shouldn't do that. She couldn't afford another one at the moment.
She set a few more pots of water out on her stove and set them to boil while she went into her bathroom to run a bath. She looked longingly at her shower.
"One day," she whispered, lightly running her fingers over the chromed edge of the door.
She cranked the water on, keeping the drain open as brown water shot out of the faucet for a moment before clear water finally rattled through the pipes, and she let it run until the rattling settled down before plugging the drain.
She went back into the kitchen, checking on her water, which wasn't boiling before slipping back into her bedroom to pull out a pair of her daytime pajamas.
Yes, daytime pajamas are real.
Yes, she had several pair.
Yes, she ran around her apartment braless anytime she wasn't actively going out in public.
She looked at the water she was attempting to boil in several pots on her stove.
Well, it could be worse, right? She could have no water. She just needed to be thankful that there was clean water at the moment.
Right. She just had to think on the bright side.
Kagome sighed as she went into her bathroom, setting her clothes on the narrow strip of counter she had next to her sink before she turned to look at her tub, watching it fill to the halfway mark.
She turned off the water and slipped into the kitchen to check on her boiling water. She'd learned over the past week to let all the pots get to a boiling point before dumping them into the bath, because if she didn't, then she had lukewarm bath water.
Once all the pots were boiling, she took them one by one into the bathroom, dumping them into the bathtub.
Sadly this was probably the most use her pots had seen in the last year. It was hard to cook for one person she'd learned.
It was also lonely to eat by yourself. But she wasn't going to mull over this tonight, because she had a batch of cookies to make for Inuyasha. The Inuyasha who was coming to Tokyo. The Inuyasha who had been texting her off and on all week.
That Inuyasha.
And for whatever reason, she was excited about that.
Just a little.
The water was hot enough to be relaxing, and she stripped and slipped in.
The past week had been a disaster.
Like a disaster that just kept coming with hit after hit.
And her boss—she frowned.
Seriously, what had crawled up his ass and died? Normally, he was a little overbearing, but this week it was like nothing she did was right or up to his standards. He'd even made her remake his coffee, which she'd been making for over a year now, three times today. She'd made the exact same way each time, but the fourth time was apparently the charm.
She washed her hair, piling it up on top of her head as she soaked in the cooling hot water.
If there was any day that she was allowed to cry as she soaked in her tub, then it was definitely today.
She let out a slow breath before pulling the plug on the drain and hauling herself out with a groan.
Right, cookies.
She might even get to see Inuyasha sometime this weekend if she was lucky.
That was something good. Something to look forward too.
Her legs ached as she dressed herself, and she told herself that she could just make the dough today and bake them tomorrow.
And then maybe she had some frozen dinners in her fridge that would let her get off easy for dinner. She started dragging her out mixing bowl and ingredients, setting them all out on the counter, and putting another couple pots on the sink to boil for dish washing later.
Why was her life insistent in being so difficult?
Mixing up the batter, she dumped in an entire bag of chocolate chips, because more chocolate chips never hurt anyone. And Kagome had a feeling that after moving, Inuyasha was going to want some comfort food.
Tossing her utensils into the sink, she ran the faucet into the sink and slowly dumped one pot of boiling water into the water, letting it mix. Once it was hot enough to wash but not enough that she would burn her hands, she washed her dishes.
She was exhausted and thoroughly looking forward to curling up in her bed.
A low male groan echoed from the wall in front of her.
"Oh, you're kidding," Kagome grumbled staring at the wall in front of her sink.
A female moan matched the first one.
"You're not kidding."
Sighing, she quickly washed through everything as fast as she physically could, trying not to listen to the moaning through the walls.
Her neighbor had a pattern. Lots of moaning, a few shouts or screams, and then the banging against the wall. And that went on for literal hours.
A loud thud against the wall made Kagome glare at the woman on the other side of the wall. Well, her day definitely wasn't going to get any better.
Inuyasha pulled into one of his assigned parking spaces, seeing his father waiting for him in his own car. It was strangely relieving to see him there waiting for him. And Inuyasha was glad that he wasn't going to have to work through directing people to pit his stuff somewhere.
"Good to see you, pup," his father grinned as he stepped out of his car.
"Are you really wearing those?" Inuyasha pointed to his father's bright white sneakers. They were human 'dad' sneakers. "You are one of the richest men in the country, and you're wearing old man shoes?"
His father laughed.
"You don't like them?" He said, looking down at his feet. "Your mother thought they would be comfortable."
"She's been around demons for centuries. How does she not know that 'comfortable shoes' don't exist for us?" Inuyasha asked as his father gave a loud laugh, and wrapped his arms around him and squeezing him tightly.
"You're mother will be excited to see you on Sunday," he commented, holding him at arm's length. He let him go only to fish something out of his pockets. "Let's head up to see the apartment, shall we?" He held out a small keyring with a few cluster of keys attached to it before tossing it in the air, leaving Inuyasha to fumble out to grab it before it hit the ground.
He snatched the keys with a short glare at his father before looking back at the keyring.
"Why are there so many, old man?" He said, holding them out on his finger.
"You've got your mailbox, your elevator, and there are two for the apartment."
Inuyasha gave his father a side-eyed look.
"None of these are the same key. So I assume that you already took one."
"Your mother practically demanded it," he said with a hard pat to Inuyasha's shoulder as they walked to the elevator.
"What floor am I on?" He asked as the doors opened quickly, and they both stepped inside. He'd never forgotten about how imposing his father was in small spaces, but it was another to experience it again.
His father grabbed the keyring out of his hand, stuck the key into the keyhole, pressing the button with no label at the very top of the list.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Inuyasha groaned.
"Language, pup," his father warned, lightly flicking his temple. "You always complained about hearing your neighbors, and this way, no neighbors."
"No, I complained about what my neighbors said."
"Your mother agreed that this was the best setup for you. You'll see."
"You mean, you did exactly what mom suggested because you're a pushover."
His father didn't even flinch at the accusation.
"You'll understand one day."
Inuyasha scoffed as they rode the elevator up to the top floor.
"Is the building empty?" He finally asked, because the elevator hadn't stopped once for another floor.
"The key overrides the other floors. A safety feature in case you need to go out at an inopportune time."
Well, that was a good thing, he supposed. Not that he went anywhere on that particular night, but there was a strange thought that occurred to him.
"Who else has a key?" He asked.
"The doorman on duty. There's only one key shared among them and it has to be turned in at the end of each shift." His father nudged him with his elbow. "Part of your rent is that they will deliver any goods to the apartment."
Inuyasha gave a nod as the elevator binged and came to a stop, and the doors opened, revealing a short hallway with a singular door at the end.
"Couldn't make this look any less creepy, could you? Feels like I'm in that stupid hotel from The Shining." He muttered as they both stepped out and into the small hallway, and he drew his keys out, fumbling for the right one and unlocked the door. "No fancy lock?" He asked, and his father shrugged.
"Technology can be hacked."
"You run a fucking technology company," he drawled.
"Precisely. Sometimes old fashioned is the best way. And language."
"This is one of the things that hasn't been finished yet, isn't it?" He asked.
"A definite possibility," he said, motioning a clawed finger for him to turn around and look at his new home for himself.
His mouth hung open in a gape.
This place was fucking sprawling.
A hand clapped on his shoulder soundly.
"What do you think?"
"It's—" He paused to think of the word he wanted to use, "big."
"Thought it would be a bit of a change from your last place," he said, stepping inside fully.
"Does it take up the entire roof?"
"There's a balcony and a garden off the living room and another off the master."
"This is way too big," he said. "How big is this place?"
"Three bed and bath, an office, full sized-kitchen," his father rattled off, motioning to the various directions the things laid in.
"And why would I, of all people, need a three bedroom apartment?"
"You never know, pup," his father said, grinning. "Did I mention that the entire kitchen has been redone?"
"You said everything had been redone."
"Ah, so it was."
"How much is this going to set me back?" Inuyasha rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
"Same as your old place," he said.
"That's not even possible. What did you do?"
"Well, I'm your landlord now, so," his father let the statement fall away, and Inuyasha groaned. "Don't give me that attitude. I had to put the 1031 money somewhere. Thought an apartment complex would be a good differentiation in the portfolio."
"I'm not taking discounted rent."
"Trust me, pup," his father said with a laugh, "it was a fight to get you to pay anything with your mother at the helm."
Another long groan escaped him.
"It won't seem so large once all your stuff is in here, if that's any consolation."
"I don't think that there's enough stuff to fill it up."
"Well, then it'll give you something to spend your money on." He laughed. "Come now," his father grabbed his shoulder. "Let me give you the grand tour while we're waiting for the movers."
By the time the movers had unloaded all the boxes and his father had given up the ghost of trying to get him to either go stay with Sesshomaru or start setting up his home, it was nearing two in the morning.
"You sure you'll be alright on your own?" His father asked, hand on his shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring.
"Ain't like I haven't slept in a new place before," Inuyasha snorted at being treated like a child.
"Watch your tone," his father warned, but his face got soft as he stared. "We just worry about you. Your mother and I know that this city doesn't hold all good memories for you."
"It's been years since all that," he countered.
"There's nothing wrong in asking for help."
"I know, but I'm fine!" He repeated, sighing in exasperation. "I'll call if I need anything, okay?"
His father clapped a hand firmly on his shoulder.
"I'll hold you to that and let you handle this," his father gestured to the chaos waiting behind him that was going to take days to fix, "as you'd like. But call if it gets too much."
"Yeah, sure."
"Alright then. Well, I'm sure your mother will have nothing nice to say about me being out so late, so goodnight, pup."
"'Night, old man."
"Lock up after me," he said, closing the door behind him and leaving no room for Inuyasha to retort.
He let out a long exhale as he stared at his disaster of a home.
Everything was literally piled in the living room, and he sighed to himself.
He really should've asked more questions before moving. That was on him. He just thought that his father would've been more inclined to separate himself from major life choices like before.
His mother, whom he loved dearly, was definitely the one who was more hands on than he really wanted her to be in this area of his life. His father was only really worried, though concerned was more like it, on his human nights. His mother worried constantly despite his assurances that he was fine and nothing was wrong.
So he was pushing thirty, and unlike his elder asshole of a half-brother, he wasn't married.
Even though the son of a bitch had like three centuries on him, but whatever. It wasn't like he had to be in a rush or anything.
Besides, some of those wounds were still entirely too fresh for his liking.
Inuyasha stared at his couch trying to decide if it was worth clearing it off or if it would be better to just go ahead and make his bed and sleep there.
Either way, sleep sounded amazing.
Right sleep. After a shower and a change of clothes.
He groaned, realizing that he'd left everything, including his phone in the car.
"Fuuuck!" He shouted, hearing his own voice echo in the sprawling apartment.
Sighing loudly, he grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter and stomped his way back to the elevator because he knew himself well enough to know that he'd never get to sleep smelling like he did.
Stifling his own irritation at himself for forgetting until now, he strode to his car, deciding that he could easily do this in a couple trips.
He was a hanyou. He was strong. It was late, and no one else would be on the elevator, so it wouldn't matter.
The apartment was actually really nice.
Did he need three bedrooms? Not at all. However, having a guest room meant that he could get rid of that awful sofa bed he'd bought for Miroku and Sango when they visited him last year.
He'd bought it out of necessity and nothing else.
He leaned inside, grabbing his phone out of the console, and noting the messages from Kagome blink across his screen. His fingers were typing out a response before could think better of it.
1:47am
Made it into town. Have a good night.
He clicked 'send,' grabbed an armload of stuff, and hauled it up to his apartment. So he hated moving, but somehow the thought of at least being closer to her—and the rest of his friends!—made it more bearable.
After the second and final trip out to his car, he dropped everything on the floor, because what the fuck did it matter if there was one more thing on it at this point? And dug out a change of clothes and his bathroom supplies.
It was well after 2am before he stretched out on his dumbass sofa and passed right the fuck out.
Kagome woke slowly, happily missing her usual alarm in the morning.
Fumbling around for her phone, she caught 'Handsome Asshole' in the notifications and sat upright. She wiped the sleep from her face and unlocked her phone to read his messages.
He was here!
A broad grin covered her face.
He was here!
She squealed and hurriedly climbed out of bed to shower and get ready for the day.
She had cookies to bake, and then she had to find a cute plate to put them on, and—wait, why was she so excited to see him in the first place?
That particular psychoanalysis could wait though. She had to pee and then cookies to bake!
Because there was nothing like warm cookies on a chilly day after moving into a new apartment.
Stepping out into her kitchen, she cranked the oven on, listening to it rattle a bit before the low hum started.
It was probably not good that it was making that sort of noise, but the super insisted that everything was fine.
Like the water heater.
Like the outlet behind her sofa that crackled every time anyone got too close to it.
Like the washer that would literally walk itself out of the closet if she put more than four towels in it.
Yeah.
Life was grand.
Pulling out her baking sheet, she started scooping the cookie dough out and placing it on the pan as the oven warmed.
The good news was that despite the rattle, the oven heated up fairly quickly! Again, probably not a good thing since it had never done it before, but she was going to take whatever good news she could get at this point.
She hummed to herself, dancing a little as the oven beeped.
Shoving the pan into the heated oven, she made a mental note to watch the cookies in case the temperature was off.
Kagome wasn't completely foolish to trust all the appliances in her small apartment.
She smiled as she picked up her phone, quickly set a timer for her cookies before opening her messages.
11:17am
Good morning!
Your housewarming gift will be ready soon.
When can I visit?
She stretched her hands over her head, slipping back into her bedroom to make her bed and change into her so-called 'daytime pajamas' while she waited for his response.
Inuyasha groaned as his phone pinged from somewhere in the far distance.
But he knew that sound.
That the specific 'ping' that he'd set for Kagome, because he was in charge of making sure that she was safe. And he needed to know immediately in case she needed him for whatever reason.
He blinked his eyes open, staring at the piles of boxes littering the vast cavern that was now his living room. It was too early to be awake, but Kagome was texting.
He should get up and look for his phone. He pushed himself up with a groan and slid off the horrible couch that he definitely should not have paid to move.
The phone pinged again.
"Coming!" He shouted to absolutely no one. He stood, rubbing his face, and shuffling over to where the sound had been coming from. His phone sat on the edge of the counter, lighting up as he held it in his hand.
Kagome had texted him.
She had a gift for him.
A housewarming gift.
He grinned unabashedly.
She wanted to come over.
Shit.
She wanted to come over, and he was face deep in boxes. This place was a mess. He didn't even have groceries at this point. He did have a fridge though. So that was a step in the right direction.
Well, it wasn't like he couldn't go buy at least tea and some other stuff that would at least make him a good host.
And he'd need to unpack his plates and glasses.
But first he needed to message her back.
Or should he call?
They'd been texting since the wedding, so maybe he shouldn't chance it.
11:22am
Morning. Give me a couple hours?
Perfect! I 'll see you around 1:30?
Also, I need your address. 😊
Kagome's responses had been nearly instantaneous, and he smiled at it. However, that meant that he had two hours to get himself and his home into something that resembled order and cleanliness.
11:23am
There 's a lot of boxes everywhere.
No problem!
I 'll wear some work clothes and help!
That was literally exactly the opposite reason for him having her over.
But he had a feeling that Kagome would insist on helping no matter what he said.
He had to find a box with his address on it, zipping it to her, and then turning towards his very large project.
Good thing he'd already put in for comp time.
Kagome thought that she was prepared for whatever place that Inuyasha might've lived, but she was not prepared for whatever this—place was. She held her container of cookies closer to her as she stared at the clean glass doors of the massive high rise before her.
There was a doorman standing there, glaring at her. She wasn't exactly dressed for a place like this. She was barely dressed well enough to go to the grocery store.
Sure, she expected a place nicer than her own—almost any other place naturally was—but this was like stepping into some weird millionaire's playground. There was probably one apartment per floor or something else equally ridiculous.
Who even had doormen these days?
She dug her phone out of her pocket and dialed Inuyasha's number.
It rang once before he answered.
"Hey," he said, and she winced.
"Uh, I think I might be in the wrong place."
"You're early." He pointed out. "You're at the address I gave you?"
"By like five minutes! And yes, I'm positive."
"I'll be down in a minute."
"Okay, I'm right outside the entrance."
"What? Go inside! It's cold!"
"I'm not going inside! What if it's the wrong place? I'm pretty sure the doorman would punch me in the face if I tried to enter. He's giving me evil eyes."
An elevator dinged on his side of the call.
"Look, I'll be down in a minute, and we'll see if you're in the right spot."
"Fine. I'll see you in a bit." She pulled the phone away from her face and tapping the red button. "Hopefully."
The call ended, and she stuck the phone back in her pocket while she waited, adjusting her grip on the container in her hands. She stared at everything but the doorman, whom she was pretty sure wouldn't let her in even if Inuyasha was with her.
This was so awkward. She'd never be able to come back here.
Who was she thinking? If he lived in a place like this, her measly little offering of cookies wasn't going to do anything or be anything special.
She should've thought more into this.
She'd gotten excited about seeing him again, and she'd let her brain make poor stupid dopamine-based decisions.
"Kagome!" Her headed snapped up as Inuyasha came through the door. She grinned as he held the door open for her, and she walked briskly past the glowering doorman towards Inuyasha, who put a reassuring hand on her back as he guided her through the lobby—where there were literal security guards standing in the lobby and a front desk—towards the elevators.
Her mouth gaped at the marble floors she was walking across and the chandeliers—!
"What'd you bring?" He asked, leaning over a bit and sniffing the air as he pressed the call button for the elevators.
"Huh?" She asked, turning towards him. "Oh, I brought chocolate chip—oh my God, I didn't even think about it!"
The elevator dinged behind her, and he guided her inside easily.
"Think about what?" He asked, pressing a button as the doors closed.
"You—you're dog demon. These have chocolate in them! Chocolate!" She clutched the container closer to herself.
How could she have been so stupid? He probably thought that she was trying to murder or poison him!
He let out a sputtering laugh after a moment.
"Don't laugh at me, you jerk!" She punched his shoulder as he continued to laugh. "I could've killed you!"
"Hardly," he said, giving her a lazy grin. "I'm not going to die from a few cookies. Yeah, maybe from like a whole pan of brownies, but even then, probably not. But a dozen cookies isn't even going to make me feel bad."
"What about two dozen?"
"Not even a blip on the radar."
"You're sure?" She asked staring at him.
"I'll be fine with a few dozen cookies, Kagome," he said.
"But you're sure?"
"I've eaten an entire chocolate bar before, you know," he said, his deadpan look at her making her feel sheepish. "And why would you punch me?" He rotated his shoulder, wincing.
"Oh, be quiet, you big baby. Like I could even hope to hurt you."
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to a narrow hallway with a door at the end. Stepping out, Inuyasha led the way.
"Red rum," she whispered to herself, noting one of his ears flicking back to her.
"You thought it too, huh?" He said, glancing over his shoulder as he unlocked the door. "I should—uh—warn you. Literally nothing is unpacked yet."
"It's okay, really," she reassured him. "You just got here yesterday. It's not like I was expecting your place to be perfect."
"That's—that's good, I guess."
"Did you not want me to help?" She hadn't thought about it. She always helped her friends unpack and move, but they really didn't know each other, and maybe she was stepping on some toes here and hadn't realized it.
"No!" He blurted out quickly. "No, it's just a little—uh—intimidating?" He winced at his statement.
"Well, then two people would definitely help."
"Right." He gave her a quick nod before pushing the door open the rest of way.
Holy.
Shit.
A/N: Thank you guys again for being so patient with me.
I'm sorry that I haven't updated since May, but the good news is that I'm feeling loads better than where I was in June and July. I was a little worried with school starting that I wouldn't be up to par for posting, and while it's been slow going, I am getting better.
You are all amazing, and I sincerely hope this has been worth the wait.
As always, let me know what you think!