InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Grudging Loss ❯ Yamashiro ( Chapter 16 )

Ch 16: Yamashiro

 

Inuyasha griped the ticket in his hand. It read, `USC Choral Concert' November 30th, 6PM, Bovard Auditorium'. He tried to stand to the side of the hallway away from the stream of people leaving the theatre. He was hoping that the other students at USC wouldn't notice that there was a half-demon among them. He was wearing black sunglasses, had a black baseball hat on and tucked his long silver pony-tail into his leather jacket. Even his clawed hands were covered in leather gloves. He knew that he was pushing his luck when he came to the USC campus in his half-demon form. He could have put on his ring and showed up as a human. But that would prevent him from taking advantage of this opportunity to be near Kagome, as he really was. He just hoped that Kagome wouldn't be too mad because `Ash' was going to stand her up tonight and that `Inuyasha' was going to take his place.

 

Tonight had been Kagome's choral concert that she had invited `Ash' to when they had first met. Inuyasha rested his head against the cool tiles of the hallway as he thought about the concert. Kagome had looked lovely as she sang her solo piece. Her voice was what had amazed him the most. Sure, he had heard her sing before. But he had never heard her hit such high notes or imagined that she could draw out a note that lingered in the air like a delicate bird wafting on the air currents. He had always known that she was professionally trained. Her voice and pitch were too perfect to be otherwise. However, tonight she was otherworldly.

 

It was at that moment that he picked up her scent. The clear fragrance of cherry blossoms and jasmine filtered across his senses and he was so glad that he could fully appreciate the bouquet that was Kagome. Tonight there was no need to try to hide who he was in front of her. He turned to notice Kagome standing in the hallway with a confused expression on her face. She was still wearing her long black dress that had a long slit up one side and spaghetti straps holding up the ensemble. Her ebony hair was held in a messy bun and wisps of her wavy black hair crested over each ear.

 

“Oi! Kagome!” he shouted around the crowd who were packing the hallway.

 

Kagome turned around to face him with a happy expression on her face that once again turned into confusion as she approached him.

 

“Ash?” she asked questioningly as she looked at his face. Then he tipped his sunglasses down to reveal golden eyes that were smirking at her.

 

“Inuyasha?!” she asked in surprise. “What are you doing here and where is Ash?”

 

Inuyasha moved his sunglasses back into place and prepared himself for something that he knew might not be pleasant. “Haven't you checked your cell phone for messages?” he questioned. “Ash asked me to pick you up and take you out tonight. He got called away last minute to play with his band in Santa Barbara tonight.”

 

“No! He wouldn't!” exclaimed Kagome as she looked at him in disbelief.

 

Inuyasha shrugged. “Feh. Suit yourself, check your messages though.” He was trying very hard to not wince at her reaction. He didn't want to know how she would react when she actually listened to the message.

 

Kagome brought out a small black purse and fished for her pink cell phone. Once she found it she quickly dialed some numbers and listened to her messages. Inuyasha knew exactly what she was about to hear. In fact, soon he heard his own voice start to play over her cell phone. His ears twitched under the baseball cap as they picked up on the faint message. “Kagome. It's Ash. I'm sorry babe. My band needs me to play in a last minute gig in Santa Barbara tonight. I won't be back until tomorrow. I've asked my cousin, Inuyasha to pick you up and take you out tonight. I'll make this up to you. See ya babe.”

 

“Ohhhh!!!” exclaimed Kagome as she slammed her cell phone right back into her purse. “I dressed up just for him. I got a front row seat just for him. And what does that lousy man do? He stood me up!”

 

Inuyasha looked at her warily. He had never seen her so angry before. Her cheeks were red in anger and he could imagine steam rising from her ears. He secretly decided that not only was he glad that he wasn't `Ash' at this moment, but that maybe `Ash' should stay away for more than a day if this was what awaited him.

 

“Oi. Kagome,” said Inuyasha as she fumed and mentioned how men were unreliable jerks. She didn't even seem to notice that Inuyasha was there with her. “Kagome?” he asked again.

 

“What?!” she yelled at him—her face livid with anger.

 

Now that was not the kind of reaction he thought she would have. Maybe a little upset, but full blown anger? This woman was fire and if he didn't handle her gingerly he was quite sure that he would get burned.

 

“Don't be too angry at him. It was last minute,” he added softly. He was soon horrified to see that her anger had quickly morphed into tears. Tiny dabs of water started to pool at the corners of her eyes.

 

“Oi wench! Don't do that!” he cried out as he tried to wipe her tears away with his thumbs, which were unfortunately still enclosed in leather gloves. If there was one thing that drove him crazy it was a woman crying. He couldn't stomach it. After his mother had died, screaming and crying for mercy—he had developed an unnatural fear of a woman's tears. It reminded him of when she had died. It reminded him of how helpless he was when she had needed someone to protect her. Tears always made him feel pathetic. “Crying's not going to help make this evening better. Just forget about `Ash' for tonight and let me take you out.”

 

Kagome was startled when she heard his voice. “Go out with you? Uh, I don't know Inuyasha.” She stopped to finish dabbing her eyes with a tissue she had found. She wiped under her eyelids in an attempt to clear away any makeup that might have been smeared.

 

“Here, let me do that,” commanded Inuyasha as he took off one glove which unfortunately showed off one clawed hand. He used the pads of his fingers to wipe away any excess moisture or makeup. “There good as new,” he added while looking up at her puffy eyes.

 

“Just take me home, Inuyasha,” said Kagome as she stood in front of him and clutched her purse to her side. “I really don't feel like going out tonight.”

 

All of the sudden Inuyasha was flustered. His plans were starting to fall apart. “But, but Ash wanted me to take you out. He feels bad. Let me fill his shoes for one night.”

 

Kagome looked straight at him with a sad smile. “That's very nice of you Inuyasha. But it's just not right. I'm dating `Ash'.”

 

Inuyasha breathed in deeply. This was getting difficult. He was going to have to use his secret weapon. “He asked me to take care of you tonight and that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to break my promise to my cousin. Besides,” he said pausing, “I remember Kagome. I remember when we were kids.”

 

The dumbfounded expression on Kagome's face was priceless. One minute she was clutching her purse and had tears in her eyes. The next moment her startled expression quickly changed to surprise and then to amazement.

 

“You remember? You remember us when we were kids?”

 

“Yeah, I seem to recall a little freckle faced girl at the Sunset Shrine,” added Inuyasha playfully as he gently flicked at her nose.

 

“What all do you remember?” asked Kagome in astonishment. “I thought that you forgot everything.”

 

“Well, I'll tell you if you go out with me tonight,” added Inuyasha. “Come on. Ash wanted me to take you out.”

 

Kagome looked up at him in wide-eyed wonder and then cocked her head to the side as if in thought. She spoke very slowly. “I guess if it is OK with Ash, then we could just go to dinner. Not as a date or anything. Just a dinner between old acquaintances.”

 

“A dinner between childhood friends,” added Inuyasha.

 

She looked back up at him quizzically. “Sure, old childhood friends,” she amended as they walked out the door together.

 

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Inuyasha smiled as he helped Kagome get out of his father's red Mustang convertible. She looked absolutely amazing as one long creamy leg peeked out from the slit in her long black dress. He threw his baseball cap, leather jacket and gloves in the car before he tossed his car keys to the valet and then took her hand. Kagome was surprised to see what he was wearing formal clothing under his `disguise'. He was wearing navy slacks, a black leather belt with silver buckles, and a crisp white dress shirt. His fuzzy white ears twitched in annoyance after being hidden for so long under a confining baseball hat. He paused briefly to grab a fitted navy jacket out of the back seat that had silver trim at the cuffs. Inuyasha shrugged into the jacket and quickly brushed back his silver hair with his fingers.

 

He breathed in deeply to let Kagome's aroma waft over him, blanketing his senses. This was what he had been wanting; this was what he had been waiting for. Unlike the times he was with her as `Ash'--now he could fully appreciate her. She was like a fine wine and only now did he have the senses to truly enjoy her fully. He could only grin. Now if only he could touch her as well. He wanted to experience Kagome with all of his demonic senses.

 

“What is this place?” she asked as she looked over the ornate Japanese building behind her and the sweeping view of Hollywood at night below them. “This place looks like a Japanese Palace.”

 

Inuyasha grinned as he brought her up beside him and led her to the front entrance. “This is the Yamashiro restaurant. It was originally built in 1914 as an exact replica of a Japanese palace in Kyoto. My mom and dad used to take me here all the time when I was a kid. I loved this place.” He moved his hand to the small of her back and for a brief moment his hand rested against her bare back. Her skin was so warm and silky to the touch. He couldn't help but to pause and breathe in her scent again as his nose lingered near her hair. His hands itched to touch more of her body. `Damn, it's going to be hard to keep from touching her,' he thought.

 

Kagome turned to look at him with a curious expression as he smirked back at her. “This way,” he gestured to the Japanese mansion ahead of them with a curving roof of blue tile and black lacquer wood. Kagome patted a concrete Asian dog affectionately on the head before they entered, which only made Inuyasha smile more broadly.

 

Inuyasha greeted the elderly maître de. “Reservations for Tashio, Inuyasha,” he said.

 

The Japanese man in black and white dress at the small podium nodded in acknowledgement. “It has been a while. How is your father?” asked the older man.

 

“As well as to be expected I suppose,” added Inuyasha as he followed the elderly gentleman into the building with Kagome on his arm. Kagome looked all around her as they were led to an open-sky inner courtyard with a koi pond and a Japanese garden. An elderly woman dressed in a formal white, yellow and black patterned kimono sat in the center of a balcony playing a shamisen (Japanese three stringed guitar). The subtle plucking of the Asian guitar music wavered in the room with its' simple melody.

 

The maître de stopped at a table with white tablecloth, bamboo chairs and a small Japanese lantern. “You brought a lovely woman, Inuyasha,” said the man as he handed them each a menu.

 

“Yes, she is,” murmured Inuyasha as topaz orbs met chocolate pools. She blushed a beautiful shade of pink as she took the menu and started to look over it. Kagome brushed a stray wisp of ebony hair behind her ear as Inuyasha studied her silently. He couldn't help but to think of nibbling that same ear and planting kisses down her long throat.

 

“Your waiter will be with you shortly,” added the maître de before giving Inuyasha a knowing smile and returning to the front podium. The words brought Inuyasha out of his daze as he looked away from Kagome.

 

“I guess you come here fairly often,” mentioned Kagome as she peered at the menu and avoided looking at him as she spoke.

 

Inuyasha swept a hand through his silver hair. “Yeah, but not nearly as much as I did as a kid. It was my mom's favorite restaurant to visit.”

 

“And why did you stop coming here as much?”

 

He stopped momentarily and then continued. “After she died, my dad stopped taking us here. It's too bad. She loved this place and so did I.” Inuyasha turned to point to the inner courtyard. “You see that koi pond there?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” murmured Kagome as she nodded.

 

“I loved running around the koi pond when I was a kid. Kenji, that's the host you just met…I drove him crazy. I'd jump in the koi pond and I even managed to capture a fish once or twice,” Inuyasha chuckled to himself.

 

“So were you always a mischievous little boy?”

 

“Still am,” he replied.

 

“I don't think that's a good thing,” added Kagome as she peered at her menu again.

 

“Well, I think it is,” he added while smirking at her.

 

Kagome sighed. “What do you recommend that I get?”

 

“Hummm,” Inuyasha paused. “The `Darth Vader roll' is pretty good.”

 

“You're kidding me? A Darth Vader roll?” she asked.

 

“Yeah. It's a traditional sushi roll, but it just has black rice instead of white rice. There's also the Kobe beef steak.”

 

“They have Kobe beef here? That stuff is legendary. I hear they actually massage the cows their entire lives and feed them nothing but the choicest grains and sake.”

 

“Yeah, good stuff,” murmured Inuyasha. “It actually melts in your mouth. I think that's what I'll be getting.”

 

“OK, then I'll have the `Darth Vader' roll just to spite you,” giggled Kagome.

 

Inuyasha waved to a waiter, who arrived at the table. “I'll have the Kobe beef steak, medium-rare and she'll be having the `Darth Vader roll'.”

 

“Anything to drink?” asked the waiter.

 

“Asahi beer for us both,” added Inuyasha as the waiter only nodded and took their menus away.

 

“What do you think you're doing ordering beer for us? I know that we're both underage,” hissed Kagome under her breath.

 

Inuyasha looked at her with his amber eyes and smiled nonchalantly. “Oh, they know me here. If I got out of hand they'd call my dad. Don't worry about it. One little beer isn't going to effect you too much is it, Kagome?” he asked.

 

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Three beers later and Kagome was pleasantly buzzed. Inuyasha was glad for the beer. Before she had started to drink she was on the edge and seemed troubled. But a little alcohol made her smile more, relaxed her and seemed to squelch her inhibitions. Alcohol had very little effect on him, so he paused after taking another draught of beer to look at Kagome again. Her pretty little face was flushed pink and he was happy to note that the flush extended down to the black fabric that was covering her breasts. Fantastic images of what it would be like to suckle on her breasts filtered through his mind before he averted his eyes.

 

“So Inuyasha,” she drawled. “You said you'd tell me.”

 

“Tell you what?” asked Inuyasha oblivious to what her question meant.

 

“All that you remember,” added Kagome as if that should be completely obvious.

 

He smirked at her and took her hand. She was so relaxed that she didn't seem to notice. She was just peering deeply into his golden eyes. “I remember a little freckle faced girl in overalls who used to meet me at the Goshinboku tree.”

 

Kagome toyed with her beer glass, using her finger to trace the sides of the glass. “You used to show up every weekend with your mom. You promised to keep on showing up. Then all of the sudden you never came by again. What happened?”

 

Inuyasha swallowed and took a large gulp of his own beer before he answered her. “My mom died Kagome. She was the one who took me there every week.”

 

Kagome was momentarily taken aback. “Oh god Inuyasha. I'm so sorry. I didn't know. I just thought you didn't want to see me anymore.”

 

“I just couldn't go back there anymore Kagome. Your shrine reminded me of her and I didn't want to be reminded that my mom was no longer with me.”

 

Kagome put her hand on top of Inuyasha's hand that was fisted on the table.

 

“I understand. After my dad died in a plane crash--I couldn't even stand to see a model airplane. Everything seemed to remind me of my dad. I guess I can understand why you didn't want to come around to see me anymore.” Kagome turned her eyes away from Inuyasha and drew her hand back.

 

Inuyasha looked back up at the girl across from him that was staring pensively at her beer glass and the froth it contained.

 

“You know what my best memory was of the shrine?” asked Inuyasha as he peeked his eyes back at her.

 

“No what?” she asked with genuine curiosity—her eyes looking at him again.

 

“That a certain little girl with black hair kissed me right here,” said Inuyasha as he pointed to his cheek.

 

Kagome blushed as she looked away from him. “But, you didn't seem to want me to kiss you.”

 

“Yes, I know,” added Inuyasha. “Come on Kagome. I was a little kid. Girls had cooties back then! It's still one of my favorite memories. The thing was,” added Inuyasha, “is I never found out that little girl's name and I lost track of her. You can imagine my surprise when Ash told me that you lived at the Sunset Shrine in `Little Tokyo'.”

 

“So that is how you remembered,” said Kagome in realization.

 

“Yes, it took my cousin and him visiting your shrine for me to realize who you were. Can we still be friends, Kagome?” `And maybe something more?' he thought to himself.

 

Kagome turned her warm eyes to look at him again. “Friends,” she murmured and then she put out her hand to shake his.

 

Inuyasha's warm golden eyes were sparkling with mischief. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek instead.

 

Suddenly Kagome blanched and put her hand on her cheek where he had just kissed her. “What was that for?” she asked.

 

“Feh. I felt like it,” he said with a big grin.

 

Kagome leaned back in her chair and stammered, “You can't just do that Inuyasha.”

 

He just grinned at her again. “So you can do it to me, but I can't kiss you back?” he asked with feigned innocence.

 

“I was a little girl. We're older. It's different now,” she added.

 

Inuyasha moved his hand to cup her face his golden eyes staring directly into her warm umber ones. “No. There's no difference.”

 

Kagome looked up at him with troubled eyes. “You just don't see do you?” she asked. “Everything has changed. If you had talked to me even a few months back…,” she said as her voice trailed off.

 

“What do you mean?” asked Inuyasha.

 

Kagome hiccupped and then turned her cool eyes to look away from him. She started to stare at her empty beer glass again--her fingers running across the rim of the glass. Her eyes were unfocused, but had a dreamy look to them. He had seen that look before. Sometimes when he was Ash and they were sitting together he would see her looking up at him dreamily, as if she was in another world. “I…I fell in love, with your cousin,” she replied.

 

Inuyasha almost stuttered. She had never told him that. Love had never even been mentioned. What was that fool miko talking about? “You can't mean it Kagome. He never said that you…”

 

Kagome looked back at him, her misty-eyed look quickly changing into annoyance. “No, I haven't told him. But, that's how I feel.” She breathed in deeply and sighed. “I can't change my feelings. It's like asking a river to reverse its' direction. I'm in love with him, Inuyasha. He can be a jerk sometimes…” she paused. “Like standing me up this evening. But I love him nonetheless.” She sighed again and slouched into her chair. The alcohol seemed to relax her to the point where she was almost falling asleep.

 

She wasn't looking at him for once and Inuyasha was glad. She had just told him that she loved him and she had no idea that the man she loved was right in front of her. His jaw hung loosely and he attempted to close his mouth.

 

“You, you really love him?” he asked in surprise.

 

“Umm..hummm,” she answered lazily drawing a pattern on her glass with her finger.

 

He gazed at her in wonder and thought about her words. She was a little drunk, but sincere. Perhaps even more sincere than if she had been sober. All the girls that had wanted him had wanted the star player for the UCLA demonic team. They had never cared for him before he had become famous. And now the girl in front of him wanted `Ash', the man with no name, the man who wasn't even famous, the man who wasn't a nationally recognized star college sports player. Somewhere deep inside he felt a twinge of jealously of all things against himself. Then he shrugged off the feelings. The love she felt, it was for him, wasn't it? He just needed to show her that `Ash' and `Inuyasha' were the same person. She would eventually come around. Wouldn't she?

 

“I'll drive you home Kagome,” answered Inuyasha as he stood up and then went to her chair. He pulled her chair back and helped her to her feet.

 

“Oohhh,” she murmured before her form started to stumble and Inuyasha slid up beside her to help her walk out of the restaurant.

 

“She loves me,” was all he could think. “Kagome loves me…”

 

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As always, thank you Theleb K'aarna for being my beta for this chapter!

 

Please read and review. It helps inspire me to write more chapters!

 

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Author's Notes:

#1: `Yamashiro' (Mountain Palace) is a real Japanese restaurant that is situated in the Hollywood hills. You can do a Google search for “Yamashiro Hollywood” to see what the restaurant looks like. Oh and you can really order a `Darth Vader roll' there.

#2: My Mom's first car was a 1968 blue Mustang and I always loved that car. What was my first car you ask? A Ford Pinto! Gah! There's no justice in this world! I'm telling ya'.

#3: I listened to classical Spanish guitar music while writing this chapter.

#4: I actually had a Kobe beef steak while I was in Kobe, Japan. They massage the cow for its entire life, feed it sake and the best grains. I had a steak the size of a deck of cards that was 100 USD. The meat actually melted in my mouth. It was so good and I don't even like steak.