InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Aftermath's Destruction ❯ A Gift ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: My aunt is visiting tomorrow which is why I'm posting this tonight. I wanted some time to spend with her, so now I only have to worry about writing the chapter for my other story.

Thanks for all the reviews! I love them! Thanks to those who wished me a happy birthday. Why do I hate them? Because bad karma seems to come around to me on that day...every year...

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha

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Aftermath's Destruction

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"Good," Kagura sneaked a peak around. "Hey, I need to get off. Electronics aren't aloud to be on here."

"On where?" Kagome asked.

"Don't worry about it. Talk to you soon, bye," Kagura snapped her cell phone shut and settled into her seat, pulling the

seatbelt on.

And all Kagome heard was a dial tone.

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Chapter Seven: A Gift

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"I agree with Inuyasha, honey."

"What is everyone trying to do? Gang up on me?" Kagome raged as the tips of her ears reddened with well-kept anger.

"Kagome..." Inuyasha said slowly, a warning tone underlying his passive voice.

"No," she snapped at him. "You can't do this! I need this!"

"Dear, I think your friend is right. You need a break." Kagome's mother continued.

Kagome could not, no mater how pissed she was, snap at her mother. "..."

Inuyasha crossed his arms gruffly over his chest, easily taking her silence as surrender. "Come on, we have to get going. I have to get to work today, even if you don't."

Kagome's blue eyes narrowed, "Yes, Inuyasha."

He smirked, feeling as if he'd won the argument. "Move it, wench. `Bye Mrs. Higurashi!" He yelled over his shoulder as he pushed the woman's daughter out the front door, towards his car.

"Bye, Dears!" Mrs. H chirped happily, an easygoing smile firmly in place. "Have a good time in Tokyo, I'll see you

soon! Don't forget to call!"

"Bye, Mama!" Kagome squirmed under Inu's firm grip on her shoulders to turn and wave to her mother. "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too!" Mrs. Higurashi grinned as Inuyasha, not seeming to know he was doing a moral thing, helped her daughter into the passenger seat. After opening her door, he'd secured her seatbelt. `He can be so sweet sometimes,' the elder woman sighed.

"WENCH!" Inu ranted, "Stop fumbling with the seatbelt. You are not riding in a car without your seatbelt so you go through my window. If you shatter it in an accident you're paying!"

`If only he could be sweet in a gentle sort of way...' Mrs. Higurashi corrected.

"What if I'm dead? How will I pay then? You seem like the kind of guy to bother my mother while she's grieving just to get the money! You ass!" Kagome ranted back, although her hands had stopped twisting the safety belt.

"And if only my daughter would accept his affections more easily," Kagome's mother muttered under her breath before going back into the house. She needed to make some tea before Jiisan came back.

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Inuyasha sighed heavily as soon as they reached the highway. Sure, Kagome was steamed about the seatbelt thing, but at least now she wasn't still thinking about the earlier argument.

Or at least he thought...

Kagome rounded on him as soon as the car picked up speed on its way home. Her ocean eyes had darkened and she was, to put it bluntly, livid to the extent of ripping his head off and throwing it under the wheels of the truck in front of them.

"Inuyasha Youkai," she hissed.

Said man shifted, but kept his eyes in front of him. Was it him, or was it starting to get really hot in here? Inu yanked lightly at his collar. "Yeah," he bit out gruffly, trying for the I-Don't-Know-What-You're-So- Pissed-About-But-Whatever-It-Was-I'm-Right approach.

Not a good idea.

"You self-centered, egotistical, conceited ass!"

"You already called me an ass, remember?"

"I don't care," her soft voice went lower. "How could you say that? Suggest it in front of my MOTHER? She's going to think her daughter is some kind of weak, pathetic little girl!"

"You are weak!" He protested, thinking that wasn't all that bad to say.

"Say that again and I'll rip out your heart and force feed it to you." Kagome's eyes narrowed even more, a mental image of her doing what she'd just said playing in her mind. A sly, and very evil, smirk flickered for a second.

"Aren't we violent today...Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Inu smothered his smirk, not fancying having her try to strangle him again.

"I couldn't," She huffed, "You kicked me out of my bed and made me sleep on the floor!"

"Hey, you offered it!" he defended himself.

"You know I can't stand the puppy dog eyes," she accused. "Bastard!"

Inuyasha sighed. "Why are you so angry with me?"

Kagome blinked. "You mean the me sleeping on the floor thing?"

Inu blinked just as stupidly. "No, bitch, I meant the me not letting you work at Inutaisho Company anymore."

"You make it sound like you fired me," Kag growled. "I don't see why you don't want me there."

"You're going through some bad ass shit right now and-,"

"`Bad ass shit'," Kagome repeated. "Wow, you have a way with words."

"-I think it'll be best if you don't come to work," Inu plowed on. "You're gonna be all distracted and weepy. It'll cost me money!"

"Uh huh." She gave him a deadpan look.

"Shut it."

"No. Anyway, I need to go to work-,"

"It'll be like a paid vacation. You'll still get money, but you won't have to work," Inu butted in.

"I don't care about money!" Kagome growled when he gave her one of the most awestruck looks in history at her comment. "I don't, well, not really. But I need work to keep my mind off things."

"Shouldn't you keep your mind on things? That way you can help find the kids faster." Inuyasha pointed out, desperately trying to get her to take a break without having to just plain come out saying `I'm worried about you'.

Not promising in his opinion.

Kagome took a deep breath and leaned back into the leather interior. "Do I have too?"

"As your boss, I insist that you don't come in till the boys are found," Inu focused back on driving.

"Fine."

"Good," it felt good to win he decided.

"But you didn't win this."

`Damn!' Could she read his mind?

"We'll talk this over again in a few days," Kagome pressed. She needed work as a distraction. Why couldn't that idiot understand?

"Keh." At least it wasn't a yes or no.

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"Gods...You'd think a girl could come and visit her best friend from her lonely childhood and have lunch with him. But no, the brainless wonder just has to be pacing like a fool and can't pay attention to the girl," Sango muttered, her lips pursed as she glowered up at Inuyasha as she sat slumped in her chair. "So what's bothering you?"

"Huh?"

Sango frowned, "Why are you upset?"

"What?" Inuyasha starred at her in confusion.

"Let me put this into words that you'll understand. What the hell crawled up your ass and died?" Sango said slowly.

"Oh! Why didn't you just say that? I don't trust Kagura," Inuyasha grumbled back as though it explained his actions completely.

`Men. Are. Complete. Idiots,' Sango thought dryly. "You're a moron, Inuyasha," she stated dryly.

"Kouga," Inuyasha corrected, starting to pace again.

"Huh?" It was Sango's turn to use the highly intelligent word.

"I'm not the moron, Kouga is," he explained.

"Okay, going back to why you're pissed: why don't you just go home and watch over her? You know, play hooky." Sango suggested.

Inuyasha stopped walking back and forth to stare at her. He blinked stupidly before wagging a finger at her, "You know what? That might work."

Sango starred at him owlishly. "I was joking. You are the head of a multimillion-,"

"Billion," Inu slipped in with subtlety.

"-Company and you can't just walk out on it!" Sango hissed.

"But you suggested it!" Inu protest, growling at the brunette.

`Back to being the moron thing,' Sango mentally pictured a mini version of herself running the man through with a sword. "How does Kagome-chan do it?"

"Do what?"

"Live with you," Sango growled, pulling herself from her chair and starting toward the door. "I'll leave you with your thoughts. Maybe I can convince the teachers that Kohaku has an appointment with a doctor and can pull him out for

lunch..."

"You do that," Inu waved her off. "See ya Sango."

"Uh huh, bye," Sango good-naturedly left the office. She could just use the money from Miroku that had `dropped' from his wallet innocently into her purse to pay for the food...

Inuyasha watched his old friend leave with a dazed look. "I can't leave Kagome to wait for something from that woman..." he decided aloud before locating his coat and stalking from the room.

`Screw the company...Fluffy'll take care of it.'

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"I wonder what Kagura will get me..." Kagome wondered aloud as she flipped idly through the channels. `I hope its something good...and big...and expensive...'

The black haired beauty sighed in bliss. She loved gifts.

-Ring- -Ring- -Ring-

Kagome shivered; the sound of the kitchen phone ringing wasn't really her favorite sound anymore. "I'll get it," she announced before realizing that there was no one else there to get it.

"Being alone sucks..." she muttered, lifting the receiver to her ear. "Youkai residence, their underpaid, used maid speaking," Kagome chirped happily.

"If you're underpaid, I'd hate to see what a regular salary would cost me," A cold calculating voice drawled dryly.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Kagome blushed slightly from talking to her boss in a way that would make her seem ungrateful for her (cough) generous (cough) salary.

"Good late morning, Kagome-san," Sesshoumaru addressed her politely, "I have a...request to ask of you."

`You'd think the guy has a problem with saying the word `favor'.' Kagome grinned, "Shoot."

"Rin's private tutor and nanny has requested the day off," Sesshoumaru explained.

"And you need me to watch her?"

"That was the idea."

"No problem Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome smiled, "I'd love it. It's too quiet here. Do I have to go pick her up? My truck is still in a snow drift and I think Inuyasha has a problem with lending me the keys to his car collection."

"My brother has the maturity level of a five year old."

"I've noticed," Kag remarked dryly, her blue eye glazing over as she thought of the way she'd watch him go insane over losing his rubber ducky. He refused to take a bath without it...

"And no, the woman will drop Rin off. Thank you, Kagome-san," Sesshoumaru gave a silent sigh as Jaken walked into his office carrying some forms, "I've got to let you go."

"Bye!" Kagome tucked the phone back to the wall and started towards the couch. `Maybe I can get some TV bonding time in before Rin gets here...'

Kagome curled up against one arm of the seat and switched the channel to a daytime soap. The only other thing on was news and she knew what the subject would be.

"MIKO!" She bellowed when her bare feet started to get chilly. Said Akita bounded into the room with such a force she could've plowed an elephant over. Kagome clucked and patted the spot next to her and the massive dog leaped up and curled over Kagome's exposed feet.

The snow-white canine yawned before settling into a late morning nap.

"That's a good girl," Kag murmured, scratching behind a triangle of fur while absorbing herself into the show.

Thirty minutes later, Kagome was sniffling into a tissue.

"Ralf! You moron! How couldn't you see that it was your fiancé's evil twin that you were getting married to? Maria has GREEN eyes and that witch you call a wife had BROWN!"

Gods, men were dipshits, she realized. Couldn't use their eyes when they needed to. Take Inuyasha for example: put a dish of food in front of him and the apocalypse could come about and he wouldn't even notice.

A nostalgic twinge in her heart made Kagome nod stiffly. Not Shippou or Souta, they'd grow up to be the perfect gentlemen. Now all she had to do was get them back and then hide them from people like Inuyasha Youkai...

-BUZZZZZ-

"Too late, they're probably already scarred for life from that Hentai and the Jackass," she muttered, pulling her feet out from under the massive weight that was Miko. "I'm coming," she hollered as the doorbell sounded again.

Clambering to the door, Kagome absently yanked a blanket from a nearby chair to wrap around her shoulders. No reason to get cold.

"Hey, Rin! How are you sweetie, I haven't seen you since-," Kagome started as she pulled the door open...only to find that the little girl was nowhere in sight. "Oh...my..."

"Hello, Kagome."

"Kagura?!"

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Inuyasha pulled into the driveway at the same time as a second car arrived. He recognized the overpaid nanny stepping out and then pulling his adorable niece from the car as well.

"Come along Rin," the woman commanded before looking up to see her employer's brother. "Mr. Youkai? I was told I'd be meeting your brother's secretary here, but I guess this works too."

"Right. So the brat's staying?" Inu strode over to the nanny so Rin would have a shorter way to travel to attach herself to her uncle's leg.

"Mr. Youkai! Rin is such a dear, I can't see why you'd call her such..." The woman trailed off when it was obvious the black haired man wasn't listened. He waddled to the door while Rin sat on top of his foot, her arms and legs wrapped around to keep from falling off.

Inuyasha gave a wave over his shoulder as he shoved a key into the door, "See you later! I'll call my brother to tell him Rin's here. Thanks!" and the door was slammed behind him.

"My word," the woman grumbled before climbing back into her car and driving off in a huff regarding his rude behavior.

Inuyasha toddled into the living room. The TV was on and he could easily figure out that it was that Ralf guy from some soap. Not that he watched or anything...

"Hey Kagome? I found this out on the sidewalk and thought you'd want to keep it," Inu pointed down to the glomping Rin without looking up.

"She clings to you like a leach," a very non-Kagome sounding voice drawled.

Inuyasha looked startling upward and his lavender gaze met a very crimson one. He really didn't like this woman. "Call my niece a leach again and I will-,"

"INUYASHA!" An outraged voice interrupted. The man turned to find a scowling Kagome looking at him with a look that promised nothing short of torture if he finished his thought. "Kagura is my guest and walls have ears."

"Huh?"

"Walls. Have. Ears," Kagome punctuated each word with a nod to his ankle.

"Huh?" he repeated his earlier comment.

"Kagome means that you have a little girl attached to your leg and if you let said little girl learn any bad words or ideas, Kagome will personally hang you by your balls and clip off various parts of you with manicure scissors," Kagura explained.

"Not fair!" Inu scowled, "Why do you get to say stuff like that and I can't?"

"Because," Kagome explained, settling down across from her ex-boss' ex- coworker. "Kagura says it in such a voice that Rin would never guess it was anything bad...hence she'd never try to learn it."

"That makes no sense," he grumbled as he pried the child off of him and set her down on a chair.

"Actually, it makes perfect sense," Kagura gave him a dry look. Now she remembered why she'd wanted to kill him...

"Ladies, can we stop fighting?" Kagome asked while quirking an eyebrow in both of their directions.

"That was just mean," Inu huffed before examining his nails.

Kagome stared, `It's amazing just how much he could fit the role.'

Inuyasha, seemingly sensing her non-masculine thoughts toward him, keh'd and then slouched in his chair, his arms across his chest.

`That's better,' Kagome mentally sighed.

"As I was saying before Inu no Baka here interrupted," Kagura purred while Inu glowered at her in a very dangerous way, "Is that I'm staying at a hotel with Kanna. You can sell that flat in Paris now that we're done with it."

"Aren't the authorities still searching for you?" Kagome leaned forward in worry for her helper.

"It's been three months. Plus with this sudden," Kagura stopped as her mind flickered for the correct term for Kagome's sorry situation, "Commotion, they'll be too busy to try and locate me."

Kagome sighed and then fell backwards into the chair. "That's good. How was Paris?"

Kagura sighed, "I much rather would have stayed in Mexico. They have the most elegant fans there, but Paris was nice. Beautiful...but it was still too...bright. I need the dark," she finished.

"The city of lights...Must have been hard for you Kagura. Don't you melt in the sunlight?" Inuyasha sneered, oblivious to Kagome's malice at her left elbow.

"No...I melt in the rain." Kagura hissed, "You're thinking of vampires."

Inuyasha's purple orbs narrowed, "Why don't you go crawl back into the shade under a rock?"

Kagome's eyes went back and forth between the two like she was at a tennis match. "That's it!" she held up a hand and glared at the both, "No more! If you can't behave around each other, one of you will have to go."

Inuyasha's conceited smirk lifted the corners of his lips, "Bye Kagura."

"What makes you think you're the one that'll be kicked out?" she retorted dryly, her scarlet eyes glinting.

"It's my house," he growled.

"Too bad! You did say `my house is your house' right Inuyasha?" Kagome asked. "So that means that Kagura is my guest and you have no right to throw her out on her ear."

"I wouldn't throw her out on her ear...I'd throw her out on her ass."

"Inuyasha Tsume Youkai!" Kagome's look darkened and Inu winced. "I never want to hear anything like that with Rin in the room ever again!"

"Did you notice Kagome," Kagura pointed out under her breath, "Rin left awhile ago."

"Oh." Kagome frowned at Inu's triumphant smirk. "Wipe that look off your face or I'll have to do it for you."

"What is this? Insult Inuyasha Day?" He sulked, absently sliding a few feet away from Kagome.

"No, that's everyday," the blue eyed woman explained to the amusement of her guest, "Today is Belittle Inuyasha Day. Also known as `Ruin Inuyasha Day' and `Destroy Inuyasha Day'."

"Now you're just making stuff up," he sighed in boredom.

"Wanna bet?"

Before Inuyasha could say `I want ramen' Kagome had lunged at and began to attack him.

Kagura sat back and began to nurse her gin and tonic that had been settled on the coffee table. "Now this is entertainment," she sighed in bliss as a evil grin played at her lips.

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A/N: I, er, told my brother to punch out one of his drill sergeants because the guys were being (and I quote) `dicks' to him. Of course if he does...he might not graduate. Of course no one told me that until AFTER I told him to do it. Heh...heh...oops?

I know it's short, and I'm sorry about that. I have this killer headache and it might have something to do with the large bump on my temple. Now if I could only figure out how that got there...

Review please!

Ja ne!