"It'll just be a day," an irritated voice recounted a previously bargained deal.
"And you'll stay here for a week after that?" another, equally irritated, voice confirmed.
The first voice belonged to a time-traveling girl from the future who was significantly behind in her schoolwork. The girl, Kagome Higurashi, released an exasperated sigh. Why did negotiating with him always have to be such an arm wrestle?
"Yes! I've already promised that!"
The second voice, belonging to a dog-eared half-demon boy, grunted. Not in satisfaction, but in acceptance. "Good!" The boy, Inuyasha, nearly shouted at her.
They had approached an ancient well, which was far more than just a well. It was a time portal connecting the different eras the boy and girl inhabited.
Kagome slung her yellowish, currently more brownish, backpack over her shoulder and swung one leg over the edge of the well.
"Fine!" She yelled back at him, jumping down into the well, disappearing into a vortex of time and space.
Inuyasha stared at the bright light that engulfed the girl before it dimmed and vanished.
'Why has she been traveling back and forth so much lately?'
His dog ears twitched. Kagome had been rather absent-minded recently. Just last time, she had forgotten to bring ramen with her. His ears perked up in alarm. 'Shit!' He cursed internally. He had forgotten to remind her about the ramen. He'd better follow her to ensure the very first thing she does upon reaching home is to pack the ramen.
Kagome clambered out of the well, hauling her worn-out backpack and considering asking her mother for a new one. This one was practically falling apart from carrying food, candy, first-aid kits, and a rather large wardrobe. What? A girl needed her PJs.
She briskly walked back to her house, closing the front door just as another flash of light emitted from the well-house of the Higurashi shrine.
Kagome removed her shoes in the small entrance of her family's home. She could hear chatter and laughter from the direction of the kitchen. She glanced at the row of shoes in the entryway, spotting a pair of men's shoes that were too large for Souta and far too tidy for her grandfather.
'Oh, crap!' She realized and swiftly moved towards the sounds of conversation.
Entering the compact kitchen, she saw her mother, grandfather, and younger brother, Souta, sitting around the table with a guest. All were enjoying a cup of tea and her mother's homemade taiyaki. The room fell silent as Kagome stepped in and bowed deeply.
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Kobayashi-kun!" She clasped her hands together in an apologetic gesture.
The man she addressed was Kaito Kobayashi, Kagome's high school senior and tutor. Kagome had reached a point in her studies, due to her sporadic attendance, where her math teacher had insisted on compulsory tutoring if she wished to graduate. The teacher had initially wanted her to attend cram school, but due to Kagome's "unpredictable health", she couldn't commit to daily after-school classes. They had agreed on getting her a personal tutor she met every Saturday.
Kaito Kobayashi was a top-performing student, as well as an active member of the kendo club. He had a tall, sturdy build, neatly trimmed dark brunette hair, and deep, almost black eyes.
"At ease, Higurashi-chan. I've quite enjoyed my afternoon." The boy flashed a pearly smile at Mrs. Higurashi. "Your mother is an exceptional homemaker. These cakes are delicious!"
Mrs. Higurashi modestly dismissed the compliment with a wave of her hand and a blush. She shot a meaningful look at Kagome, suggesting that this boy was definitely in the run to become her son-in-law.
"Uh, yes, she's fantastic at cooking, unlike myself." Kagome smiled uneasily. She cleared her throat and continued, "Should we go to my room, Kobayashi-kun?"
"Please, call me Kaito." He said, standing up and flashing another dazzling smile.
Kagome was grateful that her mother had thoughtfully made her bed and put away her laundry. She had left in such a rush last time, due to one impatient hot-head, that she hadn't had time to tidy up.
Kaito surveyed the layout of her room, commenting aloud on her cute taste.
Kagome blushed and rummaged through the drawers of her desk, frantically searching for her math books.
"Um, I haven't redecorated in the last few years, so I think it would be more accurate to compliment the tastes of 12-year-old Kagome," she nervously laughed. Kaito joined in, chuckling along with her.
Inuyasha perched in his usual spot on the tree outside Kagome's room. He hadn't wanted to barge in and go wait in her room like an impatient child. He should at least allow her to put her things away first and then barge in like an impatient child.
He watched Kagome move towards her desk, chatting with someone. Inuyasha couldn't make out the words; the window was closed and there was a brisk wind outside. But he was sure the one responding to Kagome was a man. His blood ran cold. He tried to strain his ears at the direction of the window as keenly as he could, but he was saved the trouble when a young man walked next to Kagome.
'THE FUCK?' he thought, nearly losing his grip on the tree branch.
'Who the fuck is that smug-faced asshole!?' He craned his neck as far as he could without being spotted. The smug-face sat comfortably on Kagome's bed, saying something that elicited a laugh from her.
'Sitting there like he owns the place,' Inuyasha growled, digging his claws into the bark beneath his hands. The only reason this guy still had a head was because he wasn't allowed to kill civilians. Well, at least not in front of Kagome.
He stayed there, in the tree, watching the two humans, ready to pounce at the slightest hint of the stranger laying a hand on Kagome. Inuyasha waited, eyes unblinking, half-hoping the man would make a move and give him a reason to craft him into fleshy origami with his Tessaiga.
Three hours passed before Kagome finally set down her pencil, closed her book, and stretched. After exchanging pleasantries, the boy packed his belongings and the two of them vanished from Inuyasha's view.
Inuyasha's imagination was way too vivid to allow him to sit still. He leaped off his perch to the small ledge outside Kagome's window. There was no-one in the room, but the door was left open, so hopefully Kagome was coming back soon. He slinked inside and sniffed around. Detecting no hint of pheromones in the air, he exhaled in relief. However, the man's scent still lingered on her comforter, stinking up the room.
'Unacceptable,' he thought.
After seeing Kaito off and expressing her thanks, Kagome was looking forward to nothing more than a long, hot bath. The thought of soaking until her fingers and toes pruned was so captivating, she almost missed the red lump sitting cross-legged on her bed.
"I see now why you're always in such a hurry to get back," a low jeer pulled her thoughts from the bath, causing her to jump in surprise. Kagome let out a gasp before recognizing the gruff voice as Inuyasha's.
"Goodness, you scared me!" Kagome wheezed, clutching her chest. Inuyasha just humph'ed and crossed his arms.
Coming back to her senses, she reeled over his earlier words. "What did you mean?" she asked, her brows knitting together.
"I meant your boyfriend," he spat, his bitterness evident.
"My..." Kagome was at a loss for words. She was used to his possessive tendencies and bouts of jealousy, but this was getting tiresome. She let out a fast huff through her nose. "He's my tutor. I'm seriously behind in my studies, you know why. School demanded that I need extra lessons on math."
Inuyasha stood up from the bed and approached Kagome. "Looked like ya were having fun," he said, eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Kagome pressed her hands to her temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Yeah! He was being nice! What's wrong with that?"
"Yeah, real nice," Inuyasha sneered. Even though the boy was gone, his scent lingered in the room like a fart. Kagome rubbed her temples and let out a frustrated growl.
"You are one..." She didn't finish the sentence, not wanting to engage further in an argument over a non-issue. She took a deep breath. "You promised me a day off. We can talk about this tomorrow if it still bothers you," she said finally.
"Tsk." Inuyasha snorted. "Like I care." He lied and raised his chin like a child that was too stubborn for his own good. Kagome glanced past him and noticed her bed looked different.
"Where's my comforter?" she asked.
Inuyasha's chin dropped as he mumbled, "I tossed it out the window..."
"WHAT?! Why would you do that?!" Kagome screamed, rushing to her window and almost knocking Inuyasha over. There, indeed, was her pale pink comforter, just out of the washer, lying in a heap by the tree outside.
Inuyasha watched as Kagome's whole body began to tremble in anger, her knuckles going white from squeezing the window frames violently. He was pretty sure that he was about to make a face first encounter with her floor in matter of seconds. He flattened his ears against his head, closed his eyes and started counting downwards from five.
Instead of a 'sit', she reached up and tugged his head down by his bangs. "Say you're very sorry, and I might spare your life," Kagome hissed, her voice laced with venom.
Inuyasha opened his eyes. Apologize for not wanting other males' scents on her, on her bed? "No," he defiantly replied.
Something snapped in Kagome's mind with that single uttered word. She had had enough of his jealousy for the rest of her natural life. She pulled his face even closer to hers until his mouth was aligned with hers. Then she slammed her lips onto his, not gently, not even passionately, but angrily.
Inuyasha's eyes bulged, and he opened his mouth in surprise. Kagome seized the opportunity and plunged her tongue into his mouth, challenging him into a wet and slippery duel. She was that close from osuwari'ng him through the crust of the earth, until he reached the core of the planet Earth. How could that dense mother- not still realize that no other man was a threat to him.
Inuyasha grunted and whimpered into her mouth, the feeling of relief and incredulity making his head spin. Her brain must be seriously malfunctioning right now. She must have mistook kissing for smacking his ass to a pulp. But he wasn't sorry about that.
After recovering from his initial shock, Inuyasha took more of the reigns. He grabbed the young woman by her waist and squeezed her body against his, marveling at her softness. He turned them around and walked Kagome backward to her bed until her knees hit the edge. They both tumbled down, with Inuyasha landing on top of Kagome.
Their mouths finally separated, and both of them paused, breathless, to look at each other.
"What's–" Inuyasha's voice came out thick and hoarse. Kagome immediately pressed her hand on his mouth, not letting him finish.
"For the love of all that is good and holy, don't speak," she panted. She knew that anything his foot-in-mouth-syndrome was able to produce would just end up irking her.
"Yeah." He nodded and dipped his head down to have more of her lips.
The girl let out a small whimper and threaded her fingers through his silken, silver mane, pulling him in.
He was growing hard and unsure what to do with his groin. The half-demon didn't want to scare her or pressure her into anything, so he tried to keep his waist from touching hers. He didn't have long to ponder that dilemma when he heard someone walking up the stairs. His ear twitched in the direction of her door.
'Shit. I don't want to stop,' he grumbled in his mind but reluctantly removed his mouth from hers.
"Someone's coming," he breathed, and the sight of her swollen lips made him want to steal another kiss while he could.
Kagome stiffened underneath him and tried to push him off.
"Sssh," she hissed and whispered, "Get under the bed!"
Inuyasha groaned silently but complied just as there was a knock on the door.
"Umm, Kagome-chan. I'm sorry to bother you still," it was Kaito's voice.
Inuyasha's head shot up like that of a mongoose. Kagome squished her palm onto his face and tried to force his head under her bed.
"What the FUCK is that guy–" he snarled quietly but Kagome shouted over his voice, terrified by the realization that she hadn't locked her door.
"Yes, just a sec, Kaito-kun! I'm changing!"
Inuyasha growled louder. "Don't tell him something like that!" But Kagome ignored his protests and pulled the blanket over the edge of the bed to prevent anyone from seeing under there.
Then she quickly disregarded herself of her seifuku and quickly grabbed the first thing her hand came in contact within her closet.
Inuyasha heard shuffling, her panting, and the slam of her closet door. Then hurried steps to open the door to her room.
"I'm sorry you had to wait, Kaito-kun!" she apologized, a little out of breath. "Did you forget something?" She tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.
"Oh," Inuyasha heard that smug-face gasp a little. Then he smelled it. His claws dug to the floor underneath him, trying to occupy his hands from making ribbons out of that guy. He smelled arousal.
"I... Uh..." The one called Kaito tried to recall his business. "I was just going to ask if it's okay that we move our next study meet forward. Is 1 pm okay for you?"
Kagome was silent for a moment. "I think that would be okay," she answered.
"Oh, good," the guy replied, sounding happy.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth.
"I'll see you then!" He said, and Inuyasha could hear the door close and the lock click into place.
He barreled out from under the bed, almost flipping it over in the process.
He saw Kagome's hand still on the lock of the door. She was dressed in a floral-printed dress that had a low cut at the bust, revealing the top of the valley between her breasts. And he knew she wore that brassiere thingy underneath to squeeze her breasts together to make them appear even larger and more... enticing. Such views were not often offered to him. In the feudal era, she usually wore her skimpy school outfit. Not that it was much better, barely covering her privates, but at least her tits weren't on a silver platter in them.
"I don't want you to see that guy anymore," Inuyasha demanded, tearing his eyes away from her chest, jealousy burning a hole in his heart.
Kagome's shoulders tensed in anger and defense. "Inuyasha! Stop being ridiculous! He's my tutor!" she tried to reason with him.
But the half-demon with dog ears shook his head. "I dun care who or what he is. He's after you."
Kagome ran a slow, aggravated hand along her face. How would she ever get this through to him? "It's not like I have a choice not to meet him!" She continued with a groan. "I wouldn't need a tutor in the first place if you let me come home more often to study!"
Inuyasha dismissed her protest with a condescending snort. "Sure, I bet it's a real drag to be alone with a guy like that. What does a miko need to study math for, anyway?"
"Why are you so... so... Argh!" She screamed, tearing at her hair.
She understood why he was jealous. Jealous of Koga, Hojo, any man that showed her some common courtesy, or, god forbid, even remote interest. He liked her, he wanted her. She had been in denial about it, trying to convince herself that he could never be into her that way. He had said as much. But all of that talk was undermined by how he behaved around her. He was possessive about her, he hated being away from her, he'd risk his life for her. He might bewail and gripe about her wants, but whatever she wanted, he always provided.
Her feelings for him had intensified in recent months, taking sensual and physical forms. She admired his bravery and kindness towards the people and youkai he sought to protect. He was strong, resilient, and loving, with a tender, bruised heart he was terrified to expose.
His efforts to push her away only drew her closer. She began to see him as more than just a headstrong man-child. His spirit, visible in his battle-ready eyes; his toned muscles as he wielded his sword; his chiseled chin, the amber glow of his eyes, his fanged smile that made her swoon.
Kagome longed for him, dreamed about him, and found solace in her hot baths, where she could fantasize freely. She had made herself unravel numerous times reminiscing about the few times she had caught a glimpse of his naked, divine, non-mortal body. That body which was so, oh, so, toned in muscles. What she would do to rake her claws over his sweated back.
Inuyasha looked at Kagome who had grown silent. Half expecting to still be smacked on the head.
But he smelled her. Her usual soapy smell starting to twist and transform into something utterly different. Heated, spicy, aroused.
She wanted to reassure him that there was no-one beside him she had eyes for. But she wanted for him to admit his stubborn feelings for her before that. She wanted him to admit that he liked her as well. But she also wanted him, wanted him so bad it drove her crazy.
She couldn't contain herself. Not stop herself from wanting. Kagome threw herself once more at him, infuriated with herself. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drowned him into heated kisses. Aggravated heated kisses.
Inuyasha was confused by her actions and the arousing scent she gave off, but he was unable to resist. Her scent drove him to the edge of insanity. That tantalizing, potent heat that oozed off her being. Scent that screamed come-hither at him.
He whimpered as Kagome pushed him against her window frame. She glided her hands over his biceps and his sides. Her smell intensifying. He gathered the courage to touch her back. He wrapped his arms around her and allowed his hands to descend unto her ass. He violently grabbed her cheeks and pulled her hips in, not bothering to hide his own arousal.
Kagome let out a moan and lulled her head back, revealing her arched neck to his now idle mouth.
Inuyasha hungrily latched onto her pulse, sucking the tender skin, and earning more of those sweet sounds from her. He grinded his hardness against her, confidently. She wanted him. She wanted him to take her, make her his. He didn't need to hide his excitement from her.
He wasn't the brightest star on the night sky, but even he understood the feminine desires.
"Get out," she murmured into his mouth, kissing him desperately.
Or not.
"What-" Inuyasha gasped.
Kagome tore her lips off his, her breath heavy.
"Get. Out." She repeated, slowly, slamming her window open and pushing Inuyasha out of it.
Just like that, he was banished from her bedroom, standing below the window with the most confused hard-on of his life.
Kagome took a moment to gather herself before running back downstairs. "Mom, could you schedule my gyno appointment for next Friday?" She had been meaning to get a prescription for a while now, having talked it over with her mother already. Of course, her mother thought it was only to regulate her cycle. She had been procrastinating for months, unable to commit to any appointments, but her new plan demanded that bit of security.