Chapter Nine
"Turns Out You Go To Jail For Murder"
He stepped into his apartment, leaning back against the door.
That had been a rush.
He took a breath, smelling the lingering aroma of Kagome around his home.
It felt right, and seeing where she lived, he wanted her here as much as possible. She was safe here. He would make sure that she was safe wherever he was.
He could smell men all around her apartment, close to her doorway, and it bothered him.
He couldn't really place why it bothered him so much, but it—it just did.
But that was her choice.
And he really shouldn't pry. It wasn't like he even knew her that well. He didn't know her favorite color or her favorite food.
Kagome was a big girl. She knew what she was doing.
She didn't need him barging into her life and insisting on things before they'd even known each other for a month.
But that neighbor of hers threw him for a loop.
She was so forward—and she reeked of perfume that it made his head swim just a bit. He hadn't experienced something like that in a long, long time.
He'd been so surprised that his brain struggled to catch up with current events, and in doing so, he'd almost missed out on walking her up.
He knew what it looked like, and Kagome had looked so dejected. He hadn't known her for long, but he knew that she shouldn't look like that.
And he had a very firm suspicion that it had everything to do with that fucking wolf. He growled at the thought of him just ignoring Kagome, because who the fuck would want to ignore her?
If he had her—
He shook his head of the thought as he slid off his shoes, wandering into his kitchen. Kagome had hit the ground pretty hard. He was surprised that she hadn't cracked her head open. The sound she'd made—it literally made him sick to his stomach to hear it. Then she'd just laid there, and the panic that settled into his chest. Pretty sure he knew what it felt like to have a minor heart attack.
He was fairly certain that she'd hurt her leg when she fell, and she was lying about it for whatever reason.
He should've called the doctor even when she said no, but his head wasn't in the right place. He'd been worried and should've made her stay.
Well, hindsight and all that, he supposed.
She was home safe at least, and that made the unease settle a bit. He'd still rather someone was looking over her, but she hadn't even lost consciousness.
"She's fine," he told himself, but that didn't make any part of him quiet down at all.
He took a deep breath, smelling her everywhere in the room and relishing in it. It was quiet now, and he supposed that he could unpack a few more boxes, since he hadn't quite gotten through the same amount that she had.
In all fairness, he had been quite distracted. He'd watched her work for far longer than he should have, sneaking stares and glances whenever the moment presented itself.
He rubbed his face.
He really needed to tone it down.
He was getting ahead of himself.
He could tell that she wasn't ready, at least not for what he was—might be—considering seeking.
But he could be her friend for as long as she wanted him too.
That would be—fine.
Rubbing his hands over his face, he groaned.
No, it would probably kill him to just be friends with her, but—ugh—whatever.
A man could only do so much after all.
He took a deep breath—bad idea—and moved to his many piles of boxes.
"Okay," he mumbled. "Time to focus."
He went to his living room to continue sorting through boxes.
But there was that nagging feeling in the back of his head.
He took his phone out of his pocket, sending a quick message. Maybe that would make whatever was nagging him finally stop.
9:58pm
Inuyasha: You doing okay?
It only took a beat for her to answer.
Kagome: I'm fine, Inuyasha.
He smiled at the response, and then turned back to his many—too many—boxes.
Kagome quickly showered, rinsing off in the cold water before tucking herself painfully into bed.
Easing herself down onto her bed, she grimaced as she put pressure on her hip, which was already starting to throb, but she didn't have an ice pack or ice currently, since her freezer had decided to thaw itself out earlier.
Good news is that she didn't have anything really important or expensive in the freezer, but she really wanted something cold on her leg, but she settled for eating a melted ice cream milkshake instead.
Her life was in shambles, or at least it felt like at the moment, and that inkling of shame began to rear its head when she compared her tiny one bedroom apartment to Inuyasha's—well, it felt like a mansion.
She probably couldn't even afford to rent that place for five minutes.
Groaning, she ate another spoonful of her ice cream soup as she clicked through the various options of shows and movies on her TV.
Her phone dinged.
Handsome Asshole: You doing okay?
She smiled at the question before responding quickly and succinctly.
Kagome: I'm fine, Inuyasha.
Was she really? No. But she also wasn't about to admit that to Inuyasha, who she felt would be more prone to inserting himself into her problems. And while she didn't mind help, she really wanted to stand on her own two feet.
Especially after all that time with Kouga. She wanted to feel like an adult and like she was capable of existing on her own without someone coming to bail her out.
She was stubborn. She knew this. It was one of her fatal flaws.
And maybe she should ask for help, especially since she was currently without hot water, and a working fridge and neither seemed to be on the horizon of being fixed.
Settling on a true crime documentary—because death and dismemberment might get her out of her self-loathing funk—she shifted slightly against her pillows.
When the banging started in the other room, she merely turned the television up a couple notches until she couldn't hear it anymore.
Kagome had faith that everything would work out. She just had to get through the rough parts.
Inuyasha blinked his eyes as he came to.
He was sleeping on his terrible sofa.
And for the life of him, he couldn't exactly fathom why.
He'd made his bed up for the precise reason of actually sleeping in it.
So why—
Oh.
It was still there.
His nose worked overtime trying to absorb what remained of her scent, which was fading off into nothingness and supremely stale.
He'd told her to stay home, but maybe he could convince her to come back here and—he winced—no, no, he was not going to call her over so he could sniff her.
She had to work on Monday anyway, so she deserved to rest for a day, especially if she'd hurt herself when she fell like he'd suspected.
He really needed to get a grip on whatever this was before it became something he really couldn't ignore.
Pushing himself up from the couch, he stretched his arms over his head and shuffled into the kitchen to make something hot.
He saw the machine on the counter with a mug placed underneath the spout. She'd even set up his box of tea next to it. He rarely ever drank coffee, and he usually had it in his home on the off chance that he had visitors. Sango, for instance, is terrifying—capital T—when she's decaffeinated in the morning. In fact, he primarily used the coffee maker to heat hot water.
Inuyasha waited for his tea to steep, looking through his cabinets to see what she'd done, since he hadn't paid attention when she was explaining yesterday. But it kinda all made sense. Everything had a place, and she'd obviously put some thought into where things went.
He looked at his other boxes.
He'd totally pay her to just do the rest of his house, because—
Or—
He grinned.
He could just ignore the boxes and then she would have a reason to come over Monday. She'd already said that she'd come over and help.
So he'd leave the easy boxes, and he'd do the ones that he didn't want her to go through. He'd finish his bedroom, but the rest—the rest he would leave for the two of them to work through.
You know, together.
He'd made the mistake of letting her work alone, and while that worked out in his favor to an extent, he didn't get to spend as much time as he wanted with her. But if he made it so they would have to work together, then he'd get to spend a few hours with her.
And having something to work on would help with the awkward silences that he always seemed to run into.
Right, it was a plan.
He took a sip of his tea, grinning at his own genius.
And Sesshomaru said he wasn't good at strategizing.
What did he know anyway?
Kagome rolled onto her side under all the blankets, and immediately regretted the action as her hip throbbed painfully.
Rolling onto her back, she dragged in a deep breath, shifting her leg and wincing at the dull throb that echoed from where she'd hit the floor.
Embarrassment ran through her again, and covering her face with her hands, she let out a low groan. Seriously, how could she fall flat on her face like that?
She really needed to get a better grip on herself.
She grimaced again, before kicking the covers off with her good leg and pushing herself up.
She limped a step away from her bed.
Yeah, she was going to be sore for a couple days. She could only hope that a couple of ibuprofen would fix her enough to survive a Monday at work.
Mondays were gambles. She never quite knew what happened that would put her boss into one of his moods. God forbid he had a bad date or something, and suddenly, everything that ever happened was Kagome's fault, good or bad, but usually bad—well, mostly bad.
Kagome headed for the bathroom and dragged herself through a shortened version of her morning routine.
She looked at her phone, which had no notifications, before gimping into the kitchen to make something for breakfast. She'd call her mother in a bit to check in. She always called her mother on Sunday just to chat.
She enjoyed talking to her mother, even though she lived almost two hours away via train. And it was only a little faster if she drove, and if traffic was cooperative. They lived on opposite sides of town from each other, and in order to avoid the traffic jam that was downtown, she had to go all the way around the outskirts.
It had been a while since she visited. She really should go sometime soon.
She pulled her laptop open, calling her mother for their weekly video chat.
"Kagome!" Her mother cheered.
"Hey Mama," she said, and her mother grinned.
"It feels like it's been forever since I've seen you!"
"We just missed one week, Mama, but yeah, it feels that way, doesn't it?"
"So how's everything?"
Kagome launched into a very abridged version of her life. She'd enjoyed the wedding. Nothing exciting happened at all. She met Miroku's friend. He was nice. She got home, and then went back to work and didn't stay late or do anything strange or unusual.
Her mother didn't need to know about the break in or the robbery at the gas station. These things in the grand scheme of things would only make her worry, and her mother had enough to worry about with her grandfather, Souta, and the shrine. She won't even start to talk about Buyo, who was probably the least problematic person in that house currently.
Her mother knew about the breakup with Kouga, but she didn't know about after the breakup.
Kouga had always been super kind to her mother and her family, and Kagome didn't have the heart to tell them that he'd left her to pick up the pieces of her life when he left. She didn't know that Kagome had almost been homeless, just that she'd opted to move in with Sango because the apartment was too big now, and Kagome didn't really need all that space. And no, she didn't break her lease, because that would put a smudge on her renting record.
She'd lied and said that she and Kouga had ended things amiably, and it was mutual. They were friends. That's all.
She'd been disappointed, but she hadn't really pressed her about it afterwards.
Kagome had a lot of secrets from her mother because she didn't want her to worry.
Her mother had enough to worry about.
That was the mantra that Kagome told herself, and she never deviated from it.
"Did I tell you about your grandfather's latest exorcism?"
"Was it an actual exorcism or just some poor cat stuck in the well house again?"
There was a low groan—definitely male—from the other side of the wall, and Kagome muted her microphone so her mother wouldn't overhear and ask questions.
"Can you believe it?" Her mother asked and Kagome quickly pressed the space bar to unmute her.
"Only because it's Gramps," Kagome laughed. "How's Souta doing?"
"He's doing great! He spent the night at a friend's last night, but I am suspecting that he's got a bit of a crush on someone at school."
"Really?" Kagome leaned forward at the sound of that. Souta was in high school, and he'd made the varsity team for soccer this year. She tried to make his games on the weekends that they played somewhere nearby, but there hadn't been any games at all for her to go see.
She probably should go visit the shrine sometime soon though. Make a day of it. It would be nice to see her mother, eat a homemade meal.
After the past couple of weeks, she could definitely use a hug.
Another low groan, this time definitely not male. Kagome schooled her face a bit as her mother talked about his classes and how well he was doing.
"So what are your plans for today?" Her mother asked as a slow—albeit somewhat quiet—thumping started.
"Oh, nothing much. Probably just cleaning a bit and lounging. Make it a lazy Sunday, you know?" She flashed a smile. "What about you?"
"Oh, I've got a handful of chores to finish, and I think that I might do the same. There's a new movie on one of those streaming channels that Souta has been dying to watch, so we might do that later."
"That sounds like fun."
"When are Sango and Miroku due back?"
"Not for a couple weeks, but they'd talked about going to see Mushin for a bit before the holidays too."
"Quite the holiday," her mother mused taking a sip of her tea.
"Yeah, they both have been accruing their time off for a couple of years so they could do this."
"Smart," her mother mused. "And how much time do you have accrued?"
"I don't know. I'd have to check. Not that much."
A loud thump against the wall rattled some glasses in her cabinet.
"But I was just thinking that maybe trying to schedule a weekend or at least a Saturday visit might be nice."
"Oh! That would be wonderful! Tell me when and I'll make sure we clear the calendar!"
"I'll check at work and make sure there's no plans, and then we can figure it out."
A steady thumping started and a high pitched squeal echoed from the other side of the wall.
"Is that your washer?"
"Yeah, it's still making that weird noise every once in a while."
At least the thumping was consistent enough.
"It usually goes away after the first few minutes, so I just have to make due with it until then. It's not so bad really."
"Just make sure that it doesn't start leaking."
"Will do, Mama. Enjoy your day."
"You too dear. I'll talk to you soon. And let me know if you're free for a weekend visit. Even just a Saturday."
"Of course. Bye Mama. I love you."
"I love you too, Kagome."
She waved and signed off. The connection clicked right as a particularly loud wail sounded.
Yura was putting on a show today.
Kagome sighed, rising slowly to her feet.
It was all probably just to get back at her for yesterday and deigning to interrupt her attempt to woo Inuyasha into her bedroom.
Kagome stared at the thumping and moaning wall.
Her hip twinged as she slid off the bar stood, but she she'd been neglecting some of her work around the apartment.
So to work it was, sore body and all.
Inuyasha pulled into the driveway and parked, shutting the engine off. He took a long deep breath as he prepared himself for the onslaught that was about to happen the moment he stepped through the doorway of his parent's home.
Taking a deep breath, he held it for a second before letting it go, looking over at the small bouquet of flowers sitting in his passenger seat. He'd stopped on the way in and bought a small collection of alstroemerias. Pink and white. His mother's favorites.
He'd asked her once why she didn't like more expensive flowers, like orchids or roses.
She'd said that they were pretty flowers, but they wilted too quickly. She liked staring at the flowers that he got her for as long as possible.
His eyes drifted up to the looming double front door just waiting for him to enter through.
It had been literal years since he'd been able to attend a Sunday dinner with everyone in attendance.
There was a part of him that was excited to be able to be part of it again, and another that felt strangely like an outsider. Like he didn't really belong here either.
And if his mother even thought that he felt that way, she'd cry.
His ears flattened back just thinking about it.
Fuck, he was as bad as his father.
And that man had literally bought Rin a pony when she'd skinned her knee and cried about it.
Rubbing his eyes, he took another deep breath and grabbed the bouquet before throwing his door open and stepping outside.
It was definitely fall, and the wind clipped through the grounds at a brisk pace. He'd thrown on a flannel over his long sleeve shirt—mostly for his mother, who liked to fret over him even though he'd never been sick a day in his life.
He stood on the porch for a beat, raising his hand to rap his knuckles against the dark wood of the door—that opened for him instead.
A grin spread over his father's face, and Inuyasha barely had time to prepare himself before he was gathered up into a massive bear hug that had his ribs creaking.
"Your mother will be thrilled to see you," he said, and Inuyasha could only grunt in response as his father let him go with a firm slap on the back.
He stepped into the house as his father closed the door behind him.
"What took you so long to come in, pup?" He asked, guiding him out of the foyer and towards the living room.
"Oh, nothing. Just answering a couple messages."
"From a girlfriend perhaps?" He father asked, waggling his eyebrows.
"From a friend," Inuyasha clarified, and his father sighed.
"Fine. Keep secrets from your father."
Inuyasha squelched his own groan, remembering his mother saying those exact same words to him a week ago.
Honestly, these two have been together way too long.
His mother laughed and he couldn't help the twitch his ears made, and he knew that if he had a tail, it would be wagging.
He hadn't seen his mother in several months, and he was probably going to be just as excited to see her as she would be to see him.
Except he probably wouldn't cry about it.
His father walked through the doorway first.
"Who was at the door, love?" His mother asked.
He stepped aside, revealing Inuyasha fully and completely.
His mother froze, wide-eyed, and still as a statue.
"Uncle Inu!" Rin shouted, and Inuyasha caught Sesshomaru's fingers grabbing her collar as Rin tried to leap off his lap.
"Hey, Mom," he said with a small wave, and then his mother was in motion. Inuyasha opened his arms as his mother crashed into him with considerable force that he happily absorbed. She squeezed him tightly—well as tightly as her piddly little human arms could manage—and he squeezed her back.
He dipped his head down so that his cheek rested next to hers.
His nose crinkled at the smell of tears right as his mother gave out a small sob.
"My baby's home!" She cried, and Inuyasha whined softly, ears laying back into his hair.
He was wrong.
It felt so good to be home.
His mother leaned back slightly to look at his father, but he didn't let go just yet.
"Did you do this?" She asked, and he looked up just enough to see his father smile and nod as his mother extended an arm towards him. "Where's Sesshomaru?"
"I will pass," Sesshomaru answered from where he sat on the couch, still holding onto Rin.
That was fine. Inuyasha didn't want to share any of this.
"All my boys are finally together!" His mother cried, looping one arm around his father's neck, who let her move him to her desire. "I'm so happy!" She cried, and there was a hard pat on his shoulder from his father.
"Can I have a hug too?" Rin asked, and his mother sniffled, letting go of his father, and turning slightly towards Rin, wiping her eyes with her finger.
His father drew her into a hug as Sesshomaru let go of Rin, and she bolted towards him as he kneeled down to meet her mid-leap, swinging her up as she giggled and wrapped her little T-Rex arms around his neck.
"Hey, runt," he said as she rubbed her cheek against his face.
"Are you staying for dinner?"
"'Course I'm staying for dinner."
It was only now that he realized that he was still holding onto the flowers that he brought specifically for his mother.
"Oh," he said softly, turning towards her, "I brought these for you." He held the bouquet out towards her, and she took them with a small watery laugh.
"You always get me my favorites." She looked up at his old man. "I'll go put these in a vase." She disappeared out the doorway, flowers in hand.
Inuyasha turned back towards Rin.
"Is Grandma upset?"
"No," his father said, resting a hand on her head. "She's just surprised to see your Uncle Inu come to dinner. She's very happy right now, I promise. Maybe you should go check and see if she needs help picking out a vase?"
"Okay!" Rin shouted, and Inuyasha quickly put her down watching her scamper off after his mother.
He looked up to see Sesshomaru and Kagura sitting next to each other on the couch. Sesshomaru sat still and stoic as always, like showing emotion would turn him to dust.
Inuyasha watched as a sadistic smile spread across Kagura's face as she tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear.
The hair on the back of his neck went on end.
Every alarm bell in his head was going off.
"How was the move? Have you talked to Kagome any?"
Ah, fuck!
Fuck!
He glanced at his father, who slowly turned to face him.
"Who's Kagome?"
Sesshomaru looked like a puppy who'd just been given an entire box of treats.
"A pleasant young woman Inuyasha met at the wedding," he added, dragging his claws over Kagura's shoulder.
Fucking whipped bastard.
He felt 95% sure that Kagura wouldn't mind being a widow.
Because he was going to fucking skin his brother and keep his pelt on the floor of his apartment.
"Oh ho!" His father grinned, turning towards Inuyasha. "A pleasant young woman you met at Miroku's wedding and you didn't say anything?"
"It's not a big deal," he grumbled, breaking eye contact to glare at his half-brother.
"Well, we all know that Sesshomaru doesn't use adjectives on just anyone. So this 'pleasant' woman must have made quite the impression." His father crossed his arms in front of his chest, grinning. "So tell me about her or do I have to get your mother?"
"She's just a friend!" He snapped, ears flattening back to his head, because he knew—he knew that he'd fucked up.
He'd fucked up so bad.
Because his father grinned, fangs showing, and Inuyasha attempted to swallow the lump in his throat, and he definitely did not want to show any fear on the matter. His father would smell blood like a shark in the water.
If he knew—Inuyasha would be so fucked—so, so much more fucked than he already was.
"You're awfully defensive for just a friend," Kagura pointed out, and his eyes darted over to her quickly enough to see Sesshomaru's smirk.
"Maybe I don't like your attitude!" He snapped out.
"I agree, Kagura. He is defensive." His father crossed his arms in front of his chest.
Oh fuck.
He'd walked right into her fucking trap.
He's smack himself in the face if it wouldn't make him look more guilty.
"So tell me about this 'Kagome'?" His father pressed. "Or are you going to make me fetch your mother?"
Ah, fuck. His father knew there was something else there.
He really didn't want to have them prying into his lack of a love life any more than they already did.
"Not much to tell," he answered with a shrug, turning his glare towards Sesshomaru and Kagura, both of whom were completely unimpressed by him.
Because of course.
"Papa!" Rin shouted as she came barreling through the doorway at a dead run. Touga grabbed Rin as she made to leap over the couch.
"Whoa, pup, what have we said about jumping on the furniture?"
"You mean, what has Grandma said?"
"Rin," Sesshomaru warned, and Rin smiled.
"Grandma's rules still apply, little one," his father said and Rin squirmed in his hold. Inuyasha could see the energy bounding through her.
Kid needed to go run.
And Inuyasha needed an out for the awkward conversation that was building.
He was not ready to talk about Kagome with his parents or his family in general.
"Come on, kiddo," Inuyasha said, picking her up into his arm and walking out towards the back door. "Let's go outside, and let the boring adults talk."
"They are boring, aren't they?"
Inuyasha could hear his father sputtering at the notion.
Inuyasha set Rin on the ground, holding out her sweater for her to slip on.
"You don't wear a sweater," she pouted, slipping her tiny hands into the sleeves as he buttoned it up.
"I'm only half-human, remember," he said. "Besides, boys don't get cold like girls do."
"That's not true!" Rin said, already jogging down the steps into the yard, but she paused after a step and looked back at him. "Right?"
"Totally true," he said, following her as she moved throughout the yard. "Boys just don't get cold."
"Why?"
"We're made of tough stuff."
"I'm tough!" Rin turned on her heel to face him, throwing a punch right into his thigh.
"Ow! Inuyasha shouted, shifting his leg at the last minute to be sure that his niece didn't sucker punch him right in the dick. She did not need to learn that little tidbit at her age, because she would blurt it out to everyone at the table over dinner. Rin, unfortunately, had no filter. "Who taught you how to punch?"
At this, Rin went bright red, and Inuyasha laughed.
"Was it a boy?"
"He's just a friend!" Rin shouted at him. "His name's Shippo!"
"Does your dad know about Shippo?" He asked, kneeling down in front of her.
Rin shook her head.
"Just Grandma," Rin whispered, playing with the button on her sweater. "He's really nice, and he doesn't make fun of me not having human parents."
Inuyasha frowned a little at that.
"Kids still making fun of you for that?"
He knew what it was like to be made fun of for something that you couldn't control or help.
"Not really. Just some of them. They always ask what happened to them, and why Papa had me."
"Hey," Inuyasha said, keeping his voice as gentle as he could make it. "You know, your dad loves you."
"I know," she said, looking off to the side. "But they always ask weird questions."
"Like what?"
Rin leaned down and picked a blade of grass from the ground before digging her little fingernails into it and starting to shred it into pieces.
She shrugged, staring at the little piece of grass between her fingers.
"Nuh uh, kiddo," he said, reaching out to rest his hands on her sides. "What sorta questions are they asking you?"
Rin stayed quiet for another moment, and Inuyasha waited for her to figure out what she wanted to say. It had taken months for her to open up about anything after Sesshomaru had officially adopted her, but they'd all learned that she talked eventually if everyone just shut up about it.
"They ask why he picked me," she said softly, and Inuyasha frowned. "Or if I'm like a pet."
"Rin," Inuyasha sighed, trying to figure out how to address this particular brand of mess. He wasn't the one who should be handling the emotionally delicate little girl. He—in fact—should not be handling anything that could be determined to be emotionally delicate.
"Why do they ask that?"
"Because they're dicks," Inuyasha said with a shrug, and Rin giggled.
"You're not supposed to say that!" She laughed.
"Says who?"
"Mama and Papa!"
"Really? Your dad said I couldn't say 'dicks'?"
She laughed again, and Inuyasha smiled.
"It was Mama," Rin agreed with a small nod.
"Of course, it was," he muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Your mom is no fun."
"She is too!"
"Sure," he muttered, giving her a side-eyed look. "Always telling me what to do. Definitely no fun. That's why Uncle Inu is your favorite, right?"
Rin let out a peal of laughter as Inuyasha scooped her off the ground, swinging her for just a second before letting her perch on his arm as she grabbed onto his shirt. Rin was an easy child to make giggle, and he liked being the one to make her laugh.
"Uncle Inu is my favorite uncle!" She shouted, raising her hands above her head.
"Hey! I'm your only uncle! That doesn't count, you little monster!" Rin squealed as he mussed her hair—but only a little. She reached up, smoothing and fixing her hair with very firmly placed little hands, giving him a mild glare all the while. "What? You don't like me messing up your hair?" He reached his hand up like he was going to do it again, and Rin valiantly tried to stop him. Her little hands reaching up to push his larger one away as she laughed and squealed loudly.
"Inuyasha! Rin! Dinner!" His mother called, and he looked over his shoulder as she waved to him, as if he couldn't hear her at the very ends of the house.
"You know, your grandma still yells like I can't hear her from all the way out here. Do you know how long she's lived with demons?" He asked Rin as he turned around and headed back inside.
"A while?" She answered, and he nodded.
"A very long time," he agreed. "So should I bring up Shippo or—?" He let the end of the sentence dangle, and Rin went wide-eyed at it.
"No!" She shouted, slapping her hands over his mouth.
He laughed at her antics as he walked back inside.
"Is it a secret between us only?"
"Yes!" She hissed, looking around, like her father was listening in on the conversation.
Inuyasha walked inside, shutting the door behind him as he helped Rin remove her sweater. He carried her over to the sink to let her wash her hands, holding her up at the waist to let her access the water and the soap.
"One push of soap, kiddo," he warned, and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"I know!" She insisted, but he also remembered a couple years ago when Kagura hadn't been paying attention and Rin had two handfuls of soap and was actively scrubbing her hands together. It took several minutes to get all the soap off, and when they'd run the disposal after dinner, foam had come up from the drain.
He set her down, holding a towel out for her, and but she quickly rubbed the dampness off on his pant leg.
"Hey!" He shouted as she darted off out of the kitchen, laughing loudly. "Little punk!"
Sesshomaru appeared a second later, holding Rin on his arm.
"Runt," Inuyasha said, sticking his tongue out.
"I am not!" Rin shouted back, pointing a finger at him.
"Why are you antagonizing my daughter?" His voice was flat, stoic. "We have set the table if you would be so kind to join us."
Inuyasha growled at Sesshomaru's—well, the fact that Sesshomaru continued to exist really.
Striding into the dining room, he glanced at his mother, who eagerly looked at him as she set his plate in the seat next to her, across from Rin.
"I'm so excited to have all my boys home!" His mother said, patting his leg. "Do you need any help setting up your apartment? Unpacking any boxes?"
"Uh, I think I got it."
The last thing he wanted was his mother dropping in uninvited—especially if Kagome was there.
"I don't mind helping!" His mother offered, and he tried to keep himself from wincing as he tried to figure out how to gently convince her that he didn't need help or that he didn't want to impede any reason he could get to have Kagome over at his home.
"Give the pup some time to settle into his place, my dear," his father said, patting her hand and drawing her attention away from Inuyasha. "He's only been here a day."
"You'll say if you need something though?" She asked, turning back towards him.
"Yeah, of course."
His mother smiled, picking up her silverware and starting to eat.
He picked up his own silverware and followed suit.
There was something about eating his mother's cooking that made him finally feel like he was at home.
It was just chicken and vegetables, but it was so good. It felt like he hadn't had a home cooked meal in years, and he was finally home.
"How do you like the apartment?" His mother asked.
"It's—big," he said after a moment.
"Well, compared to your previous one, I would imagine so!" She smiled.
"Dad said that you picked out some of the stuff."
"I did! I tried to pick out things that I thought you'd like," she said, cutting her chicken breast into bite sized pieces. "We weren't sure what you were bringing so we didn't buy any extra furniture."
"That's fine, Mom. I can get what I need."
"Inuyasha has been on his own for years, Izayoi." His father pointed out. "Let the boy pick out what he wants."
"Are you sure you're okay living there by yourself?" His mother asked. "Because you can—"
"Izayoi," his father interrupted. "We talked about this."
"But he's my baby!" His mother turned to him with wide, sad eyes, and he panicked, trying to come up with some sort of solution that would not end in watery tears.
"You can come over next Saturday and see what I've done," he offered quickly, and his mother grinned.
"I can bring breakfast!"
His eyes darted between his father and Sesshomaru, both of whom only seemed amused by the situation.
His mother beamed at him, and he figured that it was a week. He should be able to get through the boxes—with Kagome—by then.
Conversation ensued, mostly by everyone except for Sesshomaru, who remained his stoic-ass self at the end of the table by his father.
"Do you have any special news this week, Rin?" His mother asked, looking over at the little girl.
They'd always talked about 'special news' they had when they ate dinner or talked about their days when he lived at home. It was a tradition that he didn't realize he missed.
He could practically see the 'gremlin mode' activating in Rin.
"I'm going to be a big sister," Rin announced proudly, sending a flurry of events into motion.
His mother dropped her fork into the plate, staring wide-eyed at Kagura at the end of the table.
Kagura shouted, "What the fuck, Rin?"
Sesshomaru choked mid-sip on his own glass of wine.
Inuyasha glanced at his father, who merely raised an eyebrow at the statement, looking at the two demons beside him.
"Mama said a bad word!" Rin pointed out way too cheerfully in the face of the fact that her father seemed to be choking to death.
"And?" Inuyasha asked.
"New house rules. If anyone says a bad word in front of Rin, she gets to say the bad word too."
"Who thought that was a good idea?"
"It's so cursing doesn't seem so tempting to some of us who have terrible vocabulary," his mother darted a glance at his father, who was adamantly not looking in her direction.
"Go ahead and say it," Kagura mumbled, waving her hand at the girl, who only smiled innocently.
"I'm going to save it," Rin said after a long moment, taking a small bite of her chicken.
"Those are not the rules, Rin," Sesshomaru stated, looking at his daughter.
"The rules don't say when I have to say it though."
"Well, Mr. Smarter-than-Me, she's got you there," Kagura said, pointing her fork at her husband.
Sesshomaru glared at his wife.
"Don't look at me. You picked her."
There was a long, dare he say—pregnant?—pause that followed.
"Very well. Eat your vegetables."
Rin grinned—almost maliciously—across the table at Inuyasha, who for the first time in his life was thoroughly enjoying Sunday dinner.
A knock on her door made her jump a little, and Kagome rose from where she was on her couch, letting her laptop on the end table and limping her way towards the front door.
She peeked through the peep hole, but she could only just see the very top of his head.
Opening the door, she looked down at her—uh—height-impaired super. He gave her a look.
"'Bout time," he muttered, pushing past her and walking into her apartment. "Honestly, you tell me that you can't figure out how to turn on the hot water, and you're surprised to see me?"
Deep breaths, Kagome.
"I know how to turn on the hot water, but there's no hot water."
"I'll take a look at the heater again."
Kagome limped into the short hallway to block him from reaching the small closet holding her water heater and the HVAC system.
"No, check the faucet first. Prove me wrong."
The little man grumbled at her, glaring, but she glared right back at him.
"Fine!" He shouted, dropping his bag the middle of her living room and marching over to the water. He cranked the faucet on high and to the left, waiting. After a few seconds, he wiggled his fingers underneath, and then he continued to wait.
Kagome knew that there would be no hot water, no matter how long he waited, but the waiting was making her second guess herself just a bit. Because of course, it would start to work now while he was here.
But after a few minutes rolled by, there was no hot water, and the man huffed before turning the tap off.
"Let me take a look at it," he said, marching over to his bag as Kagome stepped out of his way. He waddled over to the closet, shoving the door open and dropping his bag back on the ground.
He started digging around, casually glancing over his shoulder at Kagome as she flopped back down on her sofa. Taking a deep breath, picked her laptop back up and continued her window shopping as she tried to reconcile her dwindling bank account balances.
Payday wasn't until this Friday, so she'd have to figure out how to make her balance of—wow, she didn't realize just how depressing a single zero could be—last until the end of this week.
Miracles happened every day, right?
The lottery was starting to sound more and more of her only hope to get out of her self-made rut at the moment. It wasn't like Prince Charming was going to come in and sweep her off her feet any time soon.
Inuyasha lounged on the couch in the sitting room with the rest of his family as Rin brought him various things to hold as they all talked about whatever was happening in their lives.
"You never did say how unpacking was going," his mother said, sipping a cup of coffee as she sat next to his father.
Inuyasha took a sip of his scotch; it was probably something ridiculously expensive knowing his father, and the fact that he'd been poured such a generous amount meant that his father was hoping that he'd slip up about someone in the process.
Well, he wasn't going to.
"It's going well enough. I've still got some boxes, but it is only day two for me."
"All that I'm going to say is that someone is more than willing to come help you unpack."
"It's not me, in case you're wondering," Kagura added in quickly.
Rin appeared in front of him, placing a doll in his hand and tweaking his fingers so that he was holding it more firmly.
"Hold it like this," she ordered, and he kept a firm grip as she disappeared behind the couch and digging through something—a bag probably. Kid had more bags and shit to go in them than anyone he'd known. Though most of that was his father's fault.
"Don't want you digging through my sh—tuff anyway."
He shot a glance at his mother, who gave him a small nod as she sipped from her cup.
So he'd almost slipped up, but that didn't mean anything because he wasn't the one who'd shouted 'fuck' at dinner.
The best part was that it was Kagura who'd done it. Now she couldn't say shit to him about his mouth.
"So Inuyasha, what are your plans for your time off?" Her mother asked.
"FUCKING HELL!" Rin yelled so loudly, that Inuyasha—and everyone else—jumped, nearly spilling the amber liquid out of his highball.
"Rin!" Kagura shouted back at her.
"I'm allowed to say it!" Rin shouted from behind the couch. Inuyasha leaned back a little to peer over the edge of the couch to see what had upset the little girl so much.
"That's not the point!"
"Rin," Sesshomaru said in a completely stoic tone, and Rin's head popped up beside Inuyasha's. The little girl wilted under his stare, chin quivering as Inuyasha could tell that a meltdown was about to happen.
He wasn't quite sure how the little nugget was so keen on what Sesshomaru was telepathically conveying to her, but he'd clearly made his point based on the wail that erupted from her.
Sesshomaru sighed, motioning for her to come close, and Rin ran across the room, leaping into his lap, sobbing the whole way.
"We really need to fix that rule," Kagura mentioned quietly as Rin sobbed into her father's shirt.
For once, Inuyasha was no longer in the spot light of his family, and while he was glad that the focus had shifted onto something else entirely, he wasn't thrilled that it was Rin.
Kagome found herself resisting the urge to attempt to find another apartment. The super was currently here—on a Sunday evening—rumbling and mumbling to her water heater about 'women.'
She resisted the urge to snort her derision at some of the mumbled comments he was making just loud enough for her to hear.
Because she really just wanted to take a hot shower for the first time in a week. Well, maybe longer. It had definitely been too long since she'd had one that was for sure.
And a bath that didn't involve boiling water on the decrepit stove in the process.
Her resistance mostly came from the fact that she didn't want another broken lease on her renting record, and she didn't exactly have the money to pay first and last month's lease on top of that.
She might be able to scrounge around for a month's but that's at best, and if she could just have hot water, she'd be happy.
Well, happy enough.
Life would definitely be better, that's for sure.
There were several things that could change that would also help, but hot water was a start.
A rumble sounded in the closet where the super was working, and he straightened himself up, waddling over to the sink and cranking the faucet all the way on.
After a minute or so, Kagome saw steam rise from the sink, and the sheer glee that escaped her was audible to say the least.
"There," he muttered. "You have hot water." He shut it off, shoved all his tools back into his bag, and then wandered over to the front door. "I expect no calls from you now."
"Not unless it breaks again."
"I fixed it!" He grumbled under his breath, and Kagome rolled her eyes at his statement.
"Have a good day," she called as he walked out her front door, slamming it shut behind him with a soft muttering whisper about something that probably had to do with her and her gender.
She rose to her feet, locking the front door behind her, and then heading into her bathroom to shower and scrub herself as clean as she could get under the flowing hot water.
A/N: Hey guys.
Sorry it's taking me so long to update these stories. I'm working on them, I swear. There's just been struggles, both physical and not, and I'm sorry that they are getting in the way. I do love this version of InuKag so much, and I'm sorry that I'm denying you that.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Have a wonderful holiday season, and a very merry New Year.