Welcome back, gals and ghouls! Halloween has passed but I'm still in the spirit. If you're still here from the first two chapters, thank you so much for sticking around. I was admittedly super nervous to write this chapter because, well, spoiler alert: InuYasha and Kagome have their first 1:1 interaction and I did not want to fuck it up. I felt a lot of pressure to write it well enough to where their instant connection is evident. I'm not quit sure if I achieved it - I supposed that's up for you guys to decide! But first, I actually have a couple notes about this chapter:
- First off, while Uber does exist in Japan, it's mostly limited to big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, according to my Googling. So this should be accurate for my purposes!
- Second, the Japanese currency is pronounced "en", but I spelled it out as yen for two reasons: 1) I couldn't find the symbol for it to put into my Word doc, and it was annoying me so I gave up trying and, 2) most people refer to it as "yen", so for easier communication, I simply spelled it out as such!
Okay, time for me to shut my trap. Enjoy reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to InuYasha or any of it characters, nor do I own any rights to the original Beautiful Disaster movie. Any likeness to any real person or event is purely coincidental and should not be taken as fact.
When Kagome had returned back to the dorm after class, Sango immediately knew she was in an irritated mood. It took no convincing for the fuming young woman to spill – Sango simply asked, "What happened?", and it poured out of Kagome like a tidal wave.
"It's that fucking frustrating demon, that's what happened!" Kagome howled, setting her bookbag down into her desk chair a little too aggressively.
Sango raised an eyebrow. "Inuyasha? That's who has you riled up?"
"Turns out he's in my Game Theory class, right? Which, I may have to drop that class after how stupid I was today – but that's beside the point – but I'm pretty sure that idiot is stalking me," Kagome rambled, waving her hands animatedly as she talked. "Anyway, he was in my class, sitting right behind me! Like a total creep! Then, after getting me in trouble, he had the nerve to say that we're going on a date. Didn't even ask! Just said he would pick me up tonight."
"Woah woah woah!" Sango stood up from her desk and crossed the room to her best friend, putting her hands on Kagome's shoulders. "You're going on a date?"
"Sango! You're missing the point," Kagome huffed, shrugging off Sango's hands. "He's so arrogant! Why the hell would I want to go on a date with him?!"
"Because you find him attractive?" It was said like a question, but Sango's tone indicated was more like a statement.
"I- . . . I- . . . No way, I am not!" the embarrassed woman stammered, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "There is nothing to find attractive!"
Sango rolled her eyes. "Kagome, you can't fool me. I see the way you practically eye-fuck him. You can find him irritating, sure, but you can't deny that you also think he's totally hot. Besides," Sango's brown eyes softened, "you deserve to let go a little bit. Your whole life has been controlled. What's wrong with having a little fun?"
Kagome couldn't bear to maintain contact with Sango's sympathetic gaze, so she let her eyes fall to the floor. "Because fun with me can be dangerous."
"Kagome," Sango sighed, sympathizing with her friend. "If you spend your whole life running from who your family is, you won't get to stay in one place long enough to live your own life."
Kagome fidgeted with her fingers, not really caring for the turn the conversation had taken. She decided to bring it back to the point. "Doesn't matter. I'm not going on a date."
"Ooooh, yes you are! I will drag you outside if I have to!" Sango argued.
For a moment, Kagome considered testing that theory. Sadly, Sango worked out nearly every day, and while Kagome was a fan of going on runs in the park, she wasn't nearly strong enough to take on Sango's physical prowess.
Kagome sighed, knowing there was no point in fighting. "Fine. But I'm not dressing up."
Sango smiled wide. "I'll take what wins I can get."
It was 8 o'clock, and Kagome was sitting on the steps to her dormitory building in an oversized hoodie and baggy sweatpants. She had received a text from an unknown number at 7:50pm: Be there in 10
It didn't take a genius to figure out Inuyasha had gotten her number. She would figure out later how that exactly had happened.
The sound of a motorcycle coming closer caught her attention. Looking up, she saw a head of silver hair riding the bike, coming from about 50 feet away until it stopped in front of her. Golden eyes stared back at her, a smirk gracing Inuyasha's face.
Inuyasha's eyes looked Kagome up and down. He saw that she had worn baggy clothes – he wasn't sure if it was to cover up her figure, make her less alluring, or to just be cheeky. Something told him that it was a little bit of both. Funnily enough, that didn't discourage him in the slightest. He didn't think she knew this, but she was alluring in anything she wore. Her deep brown eyes would draw anyone in and she had perfect bow-like lips that were begging to be drowned in a kiss.
"You dress up just for me?" he teased.
"Not at all. Nothing to dress up for considering this is not a date," she said, annoyance hinting at the edge of her tone.
"Well, I hope you're at least hungry. Because dinner's one me." At that, he tossed a helmet her way.
She caught it on reflex, her eyes widening in fear. "No way! I'm not getting on that thing! Besides, where's your helmet?" she asked indignantly.
"Don't need one – demon blood makes me durable. But you're getting on the bike. So, helmet up."
"Do you know the statistics of motorcycles and accidents? Hell no, I'm not getting on it!"
Inuyasha smirked. "You're a total goody two-shoes. You scared?"
Kagome's narrowed at the tease. She knew he was baiting her – in fact, he made it intentionally obvious. If only he knew the irony to that statement, she couldn't stop the thought from crossing her mind. Danger is something that was not knew to Kagome.
Taking the bait, Kagome stood up, jerked the helmet down onto her head, and clicked the strap together under her chin. "Fine," she said, stomping towards the bike.
Inuyasha shifted up to give her more room on the back. Her held the bike steady so that she wouldn't have any trouble getting on. He could tell that she was avoiding touching him as much as she possible could.
Inuyasha cleared his throat for dramatics. "You need to put your arms around me, you know. Can't have you falling off."
Kagome rolled her eyes, but sadly knew she was right. She had no way to safely hold her balance during the ride.
Reluctantly, she reached around his torso to link her hands together. She couldn't help but notice the apparent feel of his muscles under his black leather jacket. He was firm, but something about it was comforting. It took all of her self-control to not lean into his back more.
Luckily (or not, depending on how you looked at it) for Kagome, the destinating was only about fifteen minutes away. They came upon a little park square with food trucks and shop stands around it. Lights strung across the trees like fireflies. Families and couples a like surrounded the area. Kagome had to admit that it was an endearing scene.
Inuyasha parked the bike in a spot on the street right across from the park. He got off first so that he could help Kagome down. Surprisingly, she gave no argument to taking his hand to help her off. He thought it was partly because she was too distracted taking in the scene before her.
"Do you like it?" he asked, surprisingly a little nervous.
"It's so pretty here," Kagome sighed, being completely honest. She looked over at him in confusion. "You've been here before?"
"Yeah, it has one of my favorite food spots," Inuyasha stated, indicating with his head for her to follow him. "Come with me. I'll show you."
As he started walking, Kagome had to practically jog to keep up with his stride. They crossed the park to approach one of the food trucks. It was then that Kagome noticed the sign.
"'Myoga's Ramen House'?" she read the sign questioningly, looking up at Inuyasha.
Inuyasha nodded in affirmative. "Hey, old man!" the demon exclaimed, knocking on the sliding glass window on the truck.
Kagome gasped incredulously. "That's so rude! You can't just – "
"Inuyasha, my boy!" an elderly voice called out, sliding open the window enthusiastically. "Welcome back! What can I get for you? Your usual?"
Inuyasha looked down at Kagome with an 'I told you so' smirk. Kagome simply rolled her eyes in reply.
Inuyasha turned his eyes back to Myoga. "Two please. A large bowl for me."
"You got it!" Myoga replied, shutting the window once again and disappearing into the truck.
"You come here a lot, I take it," Kagome stated.
"As often as I can. It's the best," Inuyasha replied.
"Is this your usual go-to date spot for women?"
Inuyasha looked down at her, blinking. "I've never brought anyone else here."
Kagome snorted. "Sure you haven't."
"I'm serious. Though to be fair, I usually don't do any activities that involve eating. Well, unless you count – "
"Do not finish that sentence," Kagome hissed threateningly. "Or else I really won't be hungry for dinner."
Inuyasha chuckled. "I'm joking."
"Yeah, right," the young woman responded disbelievingly.
The window to the food truck opened again. "Two orders of tonkatsu! That'll be 2988.58 yen, please," Myoga said as he set the two bowls in front of them.
Inuyasha whipped out his card, giving it to Myoga immediately. The old flea demon processed the payment quickly and handed the card back to him.
"Thank you for coming! Hope to see you again soon, my boy!"
Inuyasha nodded. "Thanks, Myoga."
As the window closed again, Kagome whipped out some cash yen and held it out to Inuyasha.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "You're really not going to let me pay for your food?"
"Nope. This isn't a date, remember?"
"As you might have mentioned a couple times," Inuyasha stated, reluctantly taking the money from Kagome. He would find a way to give it back to her later. For now, he wanted to avoid the argument he knew she would put up. He then picked up the tray with their food and headed towards a table.
"Oh, so you know this isn't a date?" Kagome couldn't help but tease. She broke apart her chopsticks and began to dig into the ramen. She had to admit that she was starving. The ramen was absolutely delicious as the warm broth slid down her throat.
"It doesn't help that you're outfit practically screams that you detest me," Inuyasha replied, also beginning to slurp down the ramen.
"I . . . don't detest you. I just don't enjoy the notion that I am a foregone conclusion for one of the many notches on your bedpost."
"How'd you know?" Inuyasha teased. "You've got brains."
"Something you probably aren't used to in a woman," Kagome teased back. She couldn't believe she was engaging in banter like this with him.
Inuyasha laughed. "Fine, I give up, then. Can we at least be friends?"
"Friends . . . but with no benefits?" Kagome questioned cautiously.
"Please," Inuyasha scoffed. "I don't want to sleep with you." Lie. The thought crossed his head before he could stop it. "I won't even think about the benefits. Unless you want me to."
"Absolutely not," Kagome responded. "That can't happen or else we can't be friends."
"Fine, I won't even have the thought of a benefit," Inuyasha relented. "But friends do get to know each other. What's your major?"
"Nursing," Kagome said, enjoying the shift in conversation. It was mundane. Safe. "How about you?"
"Sports Sciences. What is a Nursing major doing taking Game Theory?"
Kagome almost choked on her noodles but recovered quickly. Luckily, she was impeccably good at keeping a poker face. "It's an elective. Just for fun. What's a Sports Sciences major doing taking Game Theory?" she retorted.
"It's an elective. Just for fun," he echoed with a smirk. "Are you really reading ahead in the textbook?"
Thank kami, an easy out. "Yeah, I'm trying to get ahead in all my classes since I'm a semester behind."
"You know, I have a thing for nerds," Inuyasha leaned forward, raising his eyebrows teasingly.
"Cut it out," Kagome giggled. Suddenly, a question came into her mind that she couldn't help but ask. "Why do you fight?"
Inuyasha was slurping as tangle of noodles as she asked the question. He cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"You know, the Fight Night thing. Why do you do it? I know you're a demon, but isn't it a bit risky?"
The silver-haired man shrugged. "Honestly, it's a good way to make money. And I'm not bad at it. I had to deal with my share of fighting in foster homes. So, I figured, why not?"
Kagome blinked. She didn't really know what answer to expect, to be fair. "Well, that's . . . surprisingly sensible."
"It's a good thing you're a nursing major. I know who I'm gonna call when I need medical attention," Inuyasha teased. He laid his chopsticks across his empty bowl.
Kagome rolled her eyes at that. "I'll charge you extra if I have to make a house visit." She looked down at her bowl and noticed she was finished, as well. "I'm completely full. How about you?"
Inuyasha nodded in agreement. "Let's walk around and check everything out," he suggested.
Kagome didn't voice objection. She was content with a little sight-seeing.
"So," Inuyasha voiced, "why did you start a semester late?"
Kagome paused, not really expecting the question. She debated telling a flat out lie, but something inside her told her that was not the way to go. Instead, she replied: "Family complications."
Inuyasha looked at her more seriously. "'Complications'?"
"I don't really want to talk about it," Kagome snapped, an edge to her voice. But she instantly felt bad – Inuyasha wasn't being malicious with his questions. He was showing an interest in her. And honestly, that was more flattering that anything else he had said since they met. He didn't deserve her ire.
Taking a deep breath in and out, she looked up him, trying to make her face look as friendly as possible to make up for her blunder. "How about you? What's your story?"
"I'm actually from the area," Inuyasha replied as if nothing had happened, "so I'm not too far from home. I've been going to Myoga's food truck for years."
"Aw, you couldn't be too far away from Mommy, huh?" Kagome teased, making her voice extra whiny for effect.
"Not quite. My mom's dead."
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks, eyes going wide and her heart sinking. Inuyasha took a couple steps ahead of her but stopped to face her. He was looking at her with an expectant look.
Kagome put her hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry! I'm such an asshole. I didn't mean-"
"It's okay," Inuyasha said calmly. "It happened a long time ago."
She didn't know what compelled her to say this, but she blurted out, "My dad's gone, too."
Inuyasha's eyes softened instantly. Kagome's eyes not only held a soft look, but a look of empathy. Usually, he hated when people looked at him like that – with that look of pity for the boy who had lost his mother – but Kagome's eyes held a look of understanding. There wasn't pity held there. She had gone through that shit, too.
"So," Kagome said awkwardly, breaking their eye contact but continuing to walk again, "who raised you? I mean, what about your dad?"
"Dad's gone, too. But he died when I was born. But Miroku's family took me in. His uncle, Mushin, was a foster parent. I didn't land at their house until I was already a teenager, but they let me stay with them ever since. At first, I was a total shit to them – Mushin and Miroku both. I had been passed around from foster home to foster home."
"Why is that?"
Inuyasha took a deep breath. He figured it was best to be open and honest about it – after all, someone was bound to tell her, anyway. She may as well hear it from him.
"Because no one wants a half-demon."
Inuyasha could not believe how forthcoming he was being. He had never told another living soul this much about his personal life. It was Kagome had cast a spell on him, making his words tumble off of his tongue before he could even think to stop them. But now the air was so thick between them. He felt Kagome's gaze on him, but he didn't dare make eye contact. He was afraid of what he would see – the fear, the disgust -
Kagome nodded in understanding. "I see. I'm sure that must've been very difficult for you."
That was it? She had nothing else to say about it?
"Kagome," Inuyasha eventually said, "have you been around many demons?"
Kagome shrugged. "No, not really. A few went to my school back home. But I never had any problem with them. Why?"
Inuyasha simply shook his head. He had never met someone who learned he was a half-demon and taken it so calmly. He decided to move on from the topic.
"Sango's actually been to our house. She and Miroku are kind of in the will-they-won't-they stage." Inuyasha rolled his eyes to show his annoyance at that. "Miroku's been fucking obnoxious about it."
"You're telling me. I think I've walked in on them about kiss three times already. Sango never really was good at accepting romantic interest."
"Sounds like someone else I know," Inuyasha teased, bumper his shoulder against hers.
Kagome was going to argue – especially against the romantic interest part – but she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw the notification she had been waiting for.
They were nearing the edge of the park where the sidewalk met the street. There, a silver sedan was idling on the road. The word "Rideshare" went down the side of the car in red text. Kagome started jogging towards the car.
"Wait, are you seriously leaving?" Inuyasha called after.
"Dinner's over!" Kagome called back as she kept moving towards the car.
"But we just got started!" Inuyasha protested.
Kagome had approached the car. She stopped with her hand on the door handle, and she turned to give Inuyasha a smile. It absolutely made him weak to see the genuine look beaming on her face. Perhaps the whole night had been worth it just for her to look at him like that.
"Goodnight, Inuyasha," she called out one last time before she disappeared into the car.
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