Lead Me Down the Garden Path
Eavesdropper
The water lapped around Kagome's shoulders as Inuyasha emerged from the tub behind her. Her body was initially paralyzed by the shock, disbelief, and alarm of Souta's sudden appearance; however, the tumultuous warm breaks of water against her shoulders slowly snapped her out of it. Kagome's cheeks inflamed at the idea of a naked Inuyasha standing behind her and she shut her eyes, listening to his heavy footfalls on the ceramic tile.
"Uh—you still there, Inuyasha?"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," he grumbled in response to Souta's hesitant question.
Kagome's face grew hotter at the sound of his belt buckle scraping against the hard floor, jingling as it flew into the air. After a few seconds of silence, Kagome's eyes grew wide with panic. The sudden quiet feeling loud in her ears, she licked her lips in alarm: silence meant the Jacuzzi's jets had been turned off.
Kagome's eyes quivered with anxiety.
The jets were off.
Inuyasha turned off the jets.
No jets meant…
Kagome inaudibly gasped and quickly drew her knees to her chest, bringing her forearms in front of her breasts and clasping her hands into a large fist in front of her neck. Despite the fact that Inuyasha had been having his way with her nipples not even five minutes ago, the sensuality of the moment had abruptly been shattered, and for him to see her naked now just felt…wrong.
Kagome turned her reddened face towards the water, listening to Inuyasha's frustrated grunts as he tried to dress himself quickly. Even the sounds of his dressing were erotic to Kagome's roused ears. Her entire head felt hot under the intensity of the flush on her face.
Hearing the zip of his pants' zipper, Kagome opened her eyes and turned to look in his direction, assessing the situation safe enough. He was shirtless with a white towel drooped around his shoulders and Kagome felt her belly somersault. The tips of his wet hair stuck to his biceps and shoulders and fawned around him as he bent over to pick up his shirt from the floor. When he stood fully erect, his chest still slightly beaded with water, his firm muscles wriggling underneath his skin with his movements, Kagome gulped. She couldn't believe she had had that behind her, pressed up against her. The mere sight of Inuyasha's naked upper torso sent her spiraling into her arousal again. She almost couldn't fathom how one being could possibly be that handsome.
"Did you check her room?" Inuyasha shot out with an irritated tone, maddeningly running the towel through his wet locks.
Kagome turned embarrassed eyes down to stare at her kneecaps—visible through the stilling water—at Inuyasha's blatant lie to her sibling. She appreciated that Inuyasha was covering for her but the guilt was knotted in the base of her throat.
"Yeah," Souta called back hesitantly through the closed door. "She's been gone for a while. I'm kinda worried about her, Inuyasha. It's not like her just to take off like that. She said she'd just be a sec."
Kagome's shoulders felt heavy with shame and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes turned to Inuyasha and their gazes locked for a moment. Inuyasha raised unamused eyebrows at her before pulling his shirt over his head and climbing into it with both arms.
"It's Kagome," Inuyasha responded in an almost-chiding tone, "you're overreacting, kid."
"She's—uh—" The sudden silence behind the door caused Kagome's eyebrows to meet above her nose with curiosity. "Uh," Souta bumbled again, "not in there with you—uh—is she?"
Kagome clamped a fierce hand over her mouth to stop a horrified squeak from slipping out. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly she felt mortified. The silence that hung after Souta's question made Kagome want to slip under the bath water and never come out again.
Thankfully, Inuyasha didn't let the silence linger too longer and he responded to Souta's question with an over-the-top laugh.
"Yeah, right! Good one!" he shot out, suddenly tossing a thick black housecoat in Kagome's direction. It landed in a heap on the floor within her arm's reach and her blushing cheeks met his gaze. "When we find Kagome, how about we tell her that you thought she followed me into the can while I took a dump? I'd love to see her reaction to that!"
Kagome covered her face with both hands, her mortification only growing. She wanted Inuyasha to leave so she could get out of the tub. She was desperate for this uncomfortable situation to end. Sure, Inuyasha's excuse was a viable one to make Souta instantly apologize for the accusation, but it was something Kagome wished she hadn't heard. First Souta's unexpected—was unwanted too harsh of a word to use?—appearance, and now bathroom talk from Inuyasha? Kagome had fallen so heavily out of her arousal she felt lightheaded.
She could hear Souta awkwardly laughing behind the door in response to Inuyasha's obscene comment. She didn't know whether to be grateful or humiliated for Inuyasha's fabrication. Kagome covered her heated cheeks with her water-logged palms. The awkwardness she could overhear in Souta's voice certainly was a Higurashi family trait.
Inuyasha turned to face Kagome with his hand on the doorknob, a smirk teasingly present behind his eyes. Nodding at her once their eyes met, Inuyasha unlocked the door and quickly skirted his body through the slight opening.
The door closed behind him and Kagome heard the boisterous male voices disappearing into nothingness as she presumed they left Inuyasha's room. This left her in the stinging silence of Inuyasha's ensuite bathroom.
Kagome was quick to emerge from the water, pull the drain-stop, and step out of the tub while the drain greedily sucked the water down its pipe. Seeing that Inuyasha had left a towel out on the countertop for her, she tiptoed across the cool tile and gripped the material in her hands, burying her face into the luxurious fabric. Raising her face to gaze at her appearance in the mirror, Kagome frowned fiercely.
A merlot-coloured hickey was on the side of her neck, right in the wedge of where her neck met her shoulders. Dropping the towel to her waist, Kagome leaned forward, closer to the mirror, to gingerly finger the mark, only to cast her eyes downwards to her breasts to realize how swollen and erect her one nipple was. The flesh was dark, unnaturally red, and taut from Inuyasha's abuse. Resting her hand around her breast, Kagome grimaced at the sensation of touching the abused areola. His fondling had made the flesh incredibly oversensitive.
How was she supposed to comfortably wear a bra now? Or leave here wearing her tank top because of that monstrous hickey thanks to Inuyasha?
Kagome's face reddened from anger; she could have killed him. How dare he mark her like that! Running her fingers across the slightly inflamed skin, she pouted. It was quite obviously not there before. She searched her brain for an excuse she could use—'I burned myself with my hair straightener,' 'I hit myself with my hairbrush'—however, the more she looked, the more she couldn't deny that it was quite obviously a hickey.
Groaning to herself while she finished drying off, Kagome turned to eye up the puddles of clothing that sat on the floor before her. She had the option of her dirty workout clothes or Inuyasha's housecoat, which he had tossed in her direction. It was clear that he had encouraged her to wear the housecoat; however, Kagome didn't know how to stomach that. Biting her bottom lip—swollen from the assault of Inuyasha's own lips and tongue—Kagome's eyes windshield-wipered from one pile of clothes to the next.
Breezing through a mental pro and con list, Kagome finally reached for the housecoat and swung it around her shoulders, pulling the collar close to her neck and tying the sash tightly around her waist. Appraising her image in the mirror, she determined she looked ridiculous; however, the material was insanely comfortable, wasn't that chafing against her aggravated nipple, and the hickey wasn't visible.
So, she sighed, it certainly seemed to be the lesser of multiple evils.
Picking up her belongings and tucking them into the crook of her arm, Kagome leaned her ear into the bathroom door. She was eager to hear if anyone was around. Hearing nothing, she took a deep breath and quickly opened the door.
Standing alone in Inuyasha's bedroom felt a little surreal.
For someone with such a large personality, Kagome was shocked to see that his room was a little mundane. His furniture was a medium gray, grainy wood; his comforter and pillows were all various shades of grey although he only had four pillows—two king-sized cases and the two shams. There was a large, at least nine-foot-wide window covered with only one pull-down shade—also gray, Kagome noted. There were no pictures, no art decals, nothing fanciful. It was really quite plain. Kagome wouldn't have expected that from Inuyasha.
The other thing that seemed odd? The entire house had mementos, grandiose-framed relics of Inuyasha's celebrity and life achievements, particularly those with the band. His room held none of that. Knowing Inuyasha, Kagome felt positive it couldn't be due to any type of modesty. Other than the size of the room, Kagome would never have guessed that a world-famous, rich, bachelor lived here. It felt cold, simple, and empty.
"Oh, Kagome! There you are!"
The sudden call of Miroku's voice caused Kagome to jump and she turned to face Inuyasha's bedroom door with nostrils flared in fear. How on earth was she going to talk herself out of this one? The circumstances were incredibly incriminating. Her hairline began to sweat. Kagome could feel her heart pounding throughout her ribcage and up her throat.
"Miroku, listen, I—uh—this—uh—isn't what—"
"Sango said you two girls were talking by the pool when you fell in. I hope you weren't injured, but I'm glad to see you've changed into dry clothes."
Sango? What? What is he talking about?
In her dazed state, Kagome let herself be led by Miroku out of Inuyasha's room. She stood in silent confusion as Miroku gently closed the door behind them. He turned to face Kagome with a closed-eye smile.
"Sango sent me to come find you. She said you ran up here to change. I'm glad you took Sango's suggestion to change into something more comfortable."
"Sango?" Kagome repeated, walking adjacently to Miroku as he led her down the hallway, his palm attached to her elbow. "But, that wasn't my room, and uh—I thought Sango was—"
"Yes, it was Sango who told me where to find you."
Kagome's heart was pounding. "Sango did?"
"Yes," Miroku nodded, giving Kagome a knowing yet playful wink. "Sango suggested I come find you to let you know that she's no longer in the pool-house and that you're welcome to go change in your own room and meet everyone in the dining room once you're ready."
Kagome felt her stomach churn as she and Miroku walked down the stairs towards her bedroom. At first, she had been confused by what Miroku was saying to her, but his body language and tone gave it all away.
Sango was really Inuyasha. Miroku was covering for Kagome. He and Inuyasha had likely concocted for her this alibi while Inuyasha led Souta around on a fake where could Kagome be? goose chase, meanwhile allowing Kagome an escape from Inuyasha's room. They were buying her time for the sake of her modesty.
Kagome didn't know whether to feel horrified or grateful.
"Do you need me to tell Sango anything?"
Kagome blinked rapidly and gripped the doorframe to her bedroom tightly. "Uh—tell him—er—I mean her thank you for me. Is Souta—?"
"—With Inuyasha, yes."
Kagome nodded appreciatively. Her cheeks still pink while her brain revved with thoughts like, God only knows what Miroku thinks really happened.
"What about Sango—er—the real Sango? Does she know about—"
"—I'm going to see her now," Miroku smiled with narrowed, knowing eyes. "We'll see you shortly for dinner?"
Kagome nodded and slowly slipped into her bedroom, closing the door while Miroku nodded his head at her and then turned away.
Resting her back and her head against the closed door, Kagome shut her eyes.
What a whirlwind of an afternoon.
Dropping Inuyasha's housecoat to the floor, Kagome walked over the dresser, adorned one of the Babydoll bralets and matching panties that Yura had picked out for her and then faced herself in the walk-in closet's mirror.
Tightly grabbing hold of a cover-up stick from her makeup table, Kagome uncapped the tube and immediately became fixated on doing what she could to hide the hickey. Focusing on this one activity meant she could try to shut her brain off to her encounter with Miroku just now, shut her brain off to what had just occurred between her and Inuyasha.
If she really thought about it, she could still feel the throb of his manhood against her stomach.
Kagome shook her head violently. Narrowing her eyes at her own reflection, she touched the stick of makeup to her neck.
Pouting as she caked circular streaks of the cosmetic on her neck, Kagome grew convinced of one thing: Inuyasha was going to pay for this.
Dinner was a rambunctious event.
Sango seemed to have temporarily forgiven Miroku. Souta seemed to have bought Kagome's alibi, which thankfully no one else had brought up. Kagome was finally able to get her brother to focus on talking about their family. Kaede, once again, outdid herself with the meal.
However, the thing that stuck out the most to Kagome was the fact that Inuyasha hadn't taken his eyes off of her all night.
Kagome had never felt so self-conscious about how she took a sip of wine, how she put a piece of chicken in her mouth, how she chewed, how she swallowed.
All night his spotlight amber orbs were steered across the table in her direction. Even when he was wrapped up in a conversation with the others around the table, Kagome wasn't oblivious to the way his eyes constantly turned to rest on her. Throughout the meal, she squirmed in her seat under the intensity of his gaze. She tried to wash down with wine the flurrying feeling in her stomach. However, he was still there, his eyes still focused, and it caused her skin to feel hot under his gaze.
He can't possibly think he's being subtle, she questioned, finishing her glass of wine.
Looking over the rim of her glass, she saw one of Inuyasha's canine teeth sneak out of his mouth in an angled, cheeky grin. The smirk made her grow self-conscious that maybe she hadn't done that great a job of covering up the large burgundy love-bite on her neck. Thankfully, though, no one else's eyes seemed to dip down to notice, despite the fact that Kagome felt it was a beacon screaming for everyone's attention.
When she turned her face away to try and engage herself in the others' conversation, Kagome could feel her nipple pulsing achingly from Inuyasha's earlier ministrations. As if his gaze could make her body respond to him on demand...
It almost felt surreal that no one but her and Inuyasha—despite maybe Miroku to some degree—really knew what transpired between them that afternoon. The two of them had crossed a boundary leading God-only-knows-where. Kagome would have felt inclined to label it all as a dream; however, the hungry look of Inuyasha's eyes on her certainly squashed that thought. She couldn't recall ever having seen him look at her this way before. Or maybe she just hadn't paid close enough attention.
How was it she could feel her insides quaking with need just at the secretly public glances he cast her?
A couple of times throughout the dinner Kagome met his scrutiny, but her own returning gaze wouldn't last long and she would dash her eyes away, flustered. The three times this happened, Inuyasha coyly smirked in her direction, seemingly enjoying the audacity of her lingering stare. Unfortunately, for her, she didn't have the guts to maintain that eye contact for long. Especially since she didn't want the others around the table to be privy to that fact that something had happened between her and Inuyasha. It felt like she needed to protect that moment of intimacy the two of them shared, like it was so fragile that just acknowledging it would make it disappear. Trying to keep up with the conversation around the table, Kagome tried to keep her brain off the haunting question of what was now in store for their relationship. She also tried to stop being blaringly aware of Inuyasha's gaze in her peripheral vision.
Ripping a piece of chicken apart with her fingers, Kagome tuned into the conversation Souta was having with Sango and Kagome smiled as she momentarily lost herself into that world. Kagome remembered when conversations between the three of them were common occurrences at the Shrine when Kagome and Sango were still in high school. The nostalgia was breathtaking.
However, when Kagome's fingers were sliding in and out of her mouth as she placed the chicken on her tongue, sucking the juices from her fingertips, her eyes, like sentient beings, turned back to Inuyasha while her tongue lapped at her fingertip. Maybe she wanted to get under his skin, to make him feel as flustered as he made her feel, to take her passive revenge for the hickey. However, when she finally slid her finger between her lips and out of her mouth with an audible smack, Inuyasha's cheeks coloured slightly and he broke eye contact, his eyes burning holes in his plate.
Watching him bite his lip subtly before bringing his wine glass to his lips, Kagome smiled triumphantly.
It was obvious what was on his mind.
"Would you have any interest in that, Kagome?"
"Hmm?" she responded, turning her alert eyes to her brother. "Interest in what?"
"In coming home with me to the shrine tonight."
"Oh," she replied, prodding around some of the food that remained on her plate. She could still feel Inuyasha's piercing gaze on her. She wasn't hungry anymore so she really needed to stop eating before she felt bloated. "I don't know about that, Souta," Kagome sighed eventually. "I mean, I haven't spoken to Mama in…in probably too long. I don't think I'm up for that. At least not tonight anyway," she concluded with a mumble.
Souta sighed and leaned forward onto the table, crossing his arms and leaning into them. "You can't stay here forever, Kagome. I mean, unless you are legit moving in with Inuyasha?"
Kagome's cheeks flushed and she shook her head. "Oh gosh no, this arrangement is not permanent," she blurted, feeling Inuyasha's eyes narrow at her in response.
"Then why not come home with me?" Souta pressed. You know Mom will be beside herself to have you home."
"Another time, Souta," Kagome answered with a tired tone after a lingering silence wafted around the table. "I mean," she piped up, her tone brightening, "why don't you stay here tonight, instead? We've been drinking, it's getting late. You don't have school tomorrow. It would be fun," she concluded with a toothy grin. "You'd be okay with that, wouldn't you, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha shrugged lazily in response then finished the remnants of his wine glass.
"Seriously, Sis? You mean it?" Souta's smile was all teeth.
"Well," she laughed, "it seems like Inuyasha has given you his blessing, sort of, so yeah! It'll be like first year university when you came to visit me at residence and we'd have movie nights."
Souta smiled. "Good times for sure. But, listen, Kagome. You're not just counter offering this to distract me from your refusal to go home, is it?"
Kagome laughed uncomfortably and waved her brother's comment away. "Of course not, Souta. Of course not. I just thought it would be fun to have a little slumber party of sorts.
"You're staying tonight too, Sango, right?"
Kagome turned her head to address her female friend. Upon turning her attention to her friend, Kagome became aware that something must have happened between Sango and Miroku that Kagome just missed. Sango abruptly plopped her elbows on the table and dramatically turned in her chair so she was facing away from Miroku, her cheeks bright pink.
"Yes, I'll be staying in a guest room tonight. In the morning, we have to review the—"
"—Guest room?" Miroku grumbled, slouching in his chair.
"—new home insurance policy following the break-in," Sango finished tersely, her eyes turned away from Miroku and focused intently on Kagome. Miroku's comment clearly affected her mid-comment and Kagome smiled knowingly.
"I say we have a movie night," Kagome beamed, making eyes at everyone around the table.
"I'd be okay with that," Sango nodded, a smile appearing from the corner of her lips.
"I agree, Kagome," Miroku smiled, "I think that's a fantastic idea. I suggest we take our desserts and drinks down to the leisure room to decide what we shall watch."
Perfectly in cue, Kaede was prompt in suddenly appearing to begin clearing the plates away. Kaede playfully slapped at Kagome's hands while Kagome tried to assist Kaede with cleaning up but Kagome just laughed and argued that 'one of these days Kaede would get used to the fact that Kagome was helping.' Sango and Souta followed in step with Kagome and they worked quickly to clear the table.
It was obvious the energy in the room had changed for the better with Kagome's suggestion. However, despite the bustle of the Kagome's best friend and little brother, it wasn't lost on Kagome that Miroku and Inuyasha shared a tense glance and then sat at the table in silence.
Leaving the room behind her brother and Sango, Kagome peered over her shoulder to notice the visible strain between Miroku and Inuyasha. Raising her eyebrows, Kagome stepped into the kitchen, almost tempted to whistle to herself in gratitude for missing the storm that was brewing back there.
Had something happened between Inuyasha and Miroku that she completely missed? She had thought everyone seemed okay tonight; laughing, drinking, sharing stories.
But, come to think of it, Kagome thought with furrowed eyebrows, she couldn't recall Miroku or Inuyasha speaking to each other at the table over dinner.
Listening to Sango and Kaede chatting amicably, Kagome rested a handful of dishes on the counter and turned to go back into the dining room. She was partially eager to clear away the remaining napkins and plates to get their movie night started. The other part of her wanted to know what had just happened between Miroku and Inuyasha that had clearly gone over her head.
After all, this certainly wasn't the first time Kagome had been obtuse about something.
However, when she entered the space just before the open doorway, she overheard the curt, almost borderline rude, hissed whispers suggesting a strained conversation between Inuyasha and Miroku, and it caused her to stop in her tracks. Standing beside the doorframe to the dining room, Kagome licked her lips and kept her eyes glued to the floor in front of her to try to gauge what Miroku was saying. It didn't help that she had tuned into the conversation mid-sentence.
"—don't think it should be taken so lightly, Inuyasha. We should keep an eye on it."
"It doesn't have wheels, Miroku; I told you before dinner, it's nothing to get worked up over."
"But, I assure you, Inuyasha. It wasn't there when I drove you to the airport those two days ago; it's suspicious to say the least. With the recent news, surely you should be taking this more seriously. It might—"
"—I don't want to talk about it," Inuyasha barked in a terse whisper. "I didn't want to have this conversation earlier and we're not having it now."
What the hell? Kagome thought as she furrowed her eyebrows.
Miroku sighed tensely. "You told me yourself, Inuyasha, that the Director said we need to keep an eye out for—"
"—What happened to you saying you didn't want to be involved this time around, Miroku? All that action last time was too much to handle?"
"This isn't a game, Inuyasha," Miroku replied bluntly, his voice low.
"Of course it's not a fucking game. It was my life, remember? You only got involved because that asshole Director thought I needed a babysitter."
"And for good reason," Miroku retorted. "Thanks to me—"
"—Thanks to you," Inuyasha interrupted hotly, "Naraku went underground, threw Bankotsu under the bus, and now he's fucking emerged from God-knows-where to try to kill me for good."
Naraku? Someone wants to kill Inuyasha? Kagome's throat began to constrict as she inhaled and exhaled heavy breaths through her mouth.
"For the thousandth time, Inuyasha," Miroku grieved, "it wasn't my fault the mission was compromised. You need to move past that!"
"What? So, you're blaming me? You ignorant fuck. If you hadn't shown up and exposed me to Bankotsu, we could have gotten Naraku and you wouldn't have crippled your stupid hand."
"Keep your voice down, Inuyasha!" Miroku spat in a hoarse whisper. "This is completely reckless having this conversation here."
"Feh—you started it."
Miroku sighed and Kagome felt her mouth dry from the silence that lingered between the two of them. She couldn't comprehend what she was hearing.
"All I'm saying, Inuyasha, is that we can't disregard anything. There's no harm in reporting to the Director the appearance of this truck."
"So, what? You want to call that asshole, bring him and his whole team down here, and for what? Because you think it's important that some old ass abandoned truck suddenly appeared near the property? I won't bring this investigation shit close to home again, Miroku. I told you earlier, I want to keep her completely out of the mix. I especially refuse to get Kagome involved over some stupid fucking broke-down truck. They're not coming after her to get to me, alright? I don't care what that stupid fucker at Naichō thinks. How many fucking times do I have to say this?"
Kagome's face paled at the mention of her name.
"I understand where you're coming from, Inuyasha. I couldn't imagine putting Sango in danger. But you need to think about Kagome. It's not safe for her—"
"—I can protect her!" Inuyasha interjected. "I don't need their help. I was able to lose the Family before I can do it again."
"It wasn't as black and white like you seem to think it was last time, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha hmph'd, "Say what you want, Miroku. But she doesn't know what's going on and I'm going to keep it that way for as long as possible."
Miroku sighed. "I am still of the opinion that Kagome deserves to know about them, about your history, Inuyasha. Despite your intentions, she's involved."
"Yeah, well, I'm still of the opinion that you're an ex-Naichō asshole who doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about."
An anxiety-evoking moment of silence lingered while Kagome cupped a fist to her sternum.
"So," Miroku's chiding tone droned, "you would negligently put Kagome's in harm way because of your pride?"
Kagome had edged too closely to the doorframe that the floor squeaked under her foot. Trying to play it cool and not make it look like she had been eavesdropping, she walked into the room humming and immediately began clearing away the remaining dishes, smiling at both the men. The room felt muggy and the air felt uncomfortable and strained. Miroku's cheeks were slightly flushed from his argument with Inuyasha.
"Are you feeling okay, Miroku?" Kagome tried to cheerfully inquire, hopeful the question would make her seem oblivious. "Your cheeks are all red."
"Perhaps I've let myself go with the wine," he smiled in response. However, she could tell he didn't mean the smile. His eyes looked...tired.
Kagome returned the grin and directed her eyes to Inuyasha, who refused to acknowledge her. His eyes were downturned towards his lap. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.
Racing from the room with full hands, Kagome felt winded. The questions were swimming around Kagome's mind.
Where have I heard that name Naichō before? She pondered, helping Souta dry some of the hand-washed dishes that Kaede had started.
First Musō and now Naraku and Bankotsu. Who are all these names slowly appearing from Inuyasha's past? Why does Naraku want to kill Inuyasha? This can't be real; someone can't actually want to kill Inuyasha! This is crazy! And what the hell is happening that they don't want me involved in? Does this have anything to do with the car chase? My apartment? The break-in?
Stifling back a wave of anxious tears, Kagome gulped heavily and turned her back to the three who were chatting lively behind her. Kagome wanted to get herself in check; she didn't want to appear upset.
What am I involved in? Why were Inuyasha and Miroku fighting? Why did I get dragged into the middle of this...whatever this bullshit is? Am I really in danger?
"Everything okay, Kagome?"
Kagome's eyes blinked rapidly as she snapped out of her introspection to face Sango. Her friend smiled warmly and placed a hand on Kagome's forearm.
"You've been quiet since dinner ended. You okay?"
"Of course, Sango," Kagome tried to lie, flashing her friend the best fake smile Kagome could mustre. "I just feel sleepy is all."
Sango nodded and went back to finish helping Kaede with the rest of the dishes. Kagome couldn't tell if Sango actually bought Kagome's pretending; however, she was too distracted to care. Turning her eyes towards where the dining room would be located through the kitchen wall, Kagome bit her bottom lip and tried to silence the nagging questions that swarmed her frontal lobe.
Maybe there being this developing closeness—or whatever the hell she could call it—with Inuyasha meant she could ask him about it.
Oh, sure, and then face of the wrath of Inuyasha for eavesdropping in the first place.
Kagome internally sighed and decided that it was likely in her best interest to leave it alone for now. Maybe, with some courage, she would be able to ask Miroku at a later time.
Once the dining room table revealed no trace of dinner other than the lingering scent of a homemade meal, everyone refreshed their drinks and followed Miroku's lead to the leisure room.
Unbeknownst to Kagome, however, was that she had a very, very long night ahead of her.
Author's Note
Ta-dah! Inuyasha's past continues to unravel before our very eyes! Do you think there will be any repercussions to Kagome's eavesdropping? Let me know what you think! :D