InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All of Me ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

 

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Chapter 3

 

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Inuyasha glared furiously at the girl standing in front of him. She had scared him shitless when she stepped in front of that speeding maniac. How was the little twit supposed to break the curse if she got herself killed? Relief that she was unharmed caused him to snap at her more harshly than he intended. She gaped at him in shock, but quickly recovered. Her eyes hardened with anger and she tilted her head in a way that was strangely familiar.

 

Kikyo? He mentally shook himself. Kikyo was dead. He had held her lifeless body in his arms nearly fifty years ago. Though sometimes, in his dreams, he could still feel the sticky warmth of her blood. She was dead and nothing would change that. He narrowed his eyes, trying to erase the disturbing images of his dead girlfriend. This was the first time that he had looked at Kagome up close while in his human form. Things were seen differently through dog eyes. Colors were grayed out, shapes and angles strangely distorted.

 

"What did you call me?" Kagome's angry voice jerked him back to the present and the girl who seemed intent on favoring him with the sharp side of her tongue. Her brown eyes sparked with twin flames of fury.

 

Her eyes are warmer than Kikyo's. Even in the depths of anger, Kikyo never completely lost control. It made her seem cold to those who didn't know her. Inuyasha continued making mental comparisons between the living girl and the dead one until he realized what he was doing. He clenched his teeth in frustration. What is wrong with me? I haven't compared a girl to Kikyo in years.

 

"--didn't ask for your help! If my clothes are so much as snagged, you will owe me a replacement! Are you listening to me, you jerk?" Kagome finally shut up, probably to catch her breath. Or maybe she just ran out of insults. With hands on hips, impatiently tapping her right foot on the pavement, she waited for a response.

 

"This is the thanks I get! I saved your life, bitch!" Inuyasha mentally kicked himself. Smart move, Inu. Engage brain first. Then open mouth. If looks could kill, Inuyasha would be six feet under. Kagome drew breath for a furious retort.

 

"Did you want to get run over? What are you doing out here anyway?" Inuyasha cut off whatever Kagome was going to say. He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. That should divert her from inquiring as to why he also happened to be in this neighborhood.

 

"I was looking for my dog," Kagome snapped automatically. "Actually, the little mongrel belongs to my brother. Stupid fleabag." She muttered the last part under her breath. Inuyasha heard her anyway. Living as a dog for the past fifty years had some unexpected side effects. His hearing and sense of smell had increased greatly, an ability he retained even in his human form.

 

"You're out here at this time of night, in this neighborhood, to look for a dog." Inuyasha regarded her with a faintly incredulous and disapproving expression. "Wearing that?" He indicated the skirt and short-sleeved blouse she was wearing.

 

Kagome looked down at herself. "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

 

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Girls were so dense. "It's almost winter," he explained with exaggerated care. "I wouldn't be surprised if we get snow in another couple of weeks. Besides,” he raised his face slightly into the gathering wind, “there's a storm on the way."

 

"What storm?" Kagome demanded. "The weatherman promised clear skies tonight and tomorrow." Why couldn't the stupid girl just accept his word? He couldn't very well tell her that he could smell rain on the wind. She would definitely think that he was nuts.

 

"Call it a sixth sense," he growled. "Listen, are we going to stand here discussing the weather all night? Why don't you run home before you freeze off your cute little ass?"

 

Kagome blinked. Half a breath later, Inuyasha's words finally made it to his brain. Oh, shit! Did I just call her cute? To be totally honest she was kind of nice looking. It probably wouldn't be too bad to kiss her and break the curse. Of course, there was all that love crap. But what did Kaede know; she probably made up the whole thing to make him look stupid.

 

While they were staring at each other, the wind began to pick up a little more. Kagome shivered as the icy breeze knifed through her thin blouse. With a grumble and a scowl, Inuyasha grabbed her by the wrist and began to pull her down the street.

 

"What are you doing?" Kagome dug in her heels. She tried to jerk her wrist free, but his grip was too strong.

 

"What does it look like, bitch?" Inuyasha rounded on her without releasing his hold. "I'm taking you home before you catch pneumonia!"

 

"How are you going to do that?" Kagome shot back. "You don't know where I live!"

 

Inuyasha opened his mouth to refute her statement and paused. He couldn't tell her that he knew very well where she lived, and had even been inside her house several times. At best she would think he was a pervert, and at worst, a burglar.

 

"I figured you would tell me before we got too hopelessly lost, Einstein." He mentally applauded himself for his quick thinking. "Come on!" Starting to walk again, he was brought up short when she didn't follow.

 

"Wait a minute!" Kagome turned away from him to scan the dark streets. "I can't go without finding Demon! Souta would kill me!"

 

Inuyasha ground his teeth, barely restraining himself from growling in frustration. How could he explain that she had no hope of finding the dog, at least until morning, without sounding crazy? She had already made it abundantly clear that she had no liking for said dog. And what kind of name was Demon anyway? He forcibly brought his mind back to the current problem.

 

"The dog's smart. He'll find his way home when he's ready. Quit getting so worked up over it. I thought you didn't even like him."

 

"What do you know?" Kagome challenged. She twisted her wrist out of his hold, but didn't run away. Glancing at her watch, she made a face. "It's getting late and I barely even started my homework! If I fail tomorrow's English test, I am going to skin that worthless mutt and use his hide for a throw rug."

 

Inuyasha involuntarily winced at the vivid threat. He looked up as a single drop of rain hit him on the nose. Dark clouds had covered the sky while they argued. The promised rain began to fall, leaving spots of moisture wherever they hit. Turning around to gloat about being right, he realized that the girl was no longer standing next to him. There she was, halfway down the street.

 

"What are you waiting for?" she shouted over her shoulder. "A written invitation?" Inuyasha muttered some unflattering things under his breath and followed her in the direction of the shrine that he had already come to know so well.

 

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By the time they reached the shrine, the rain had begun to fall in earnest. Inuyasha watched Kagome shiver. She really wasn't dressed for the weather -- didn't even have a jacket. He couldn't help but notice how the thin fabric of her blouse plastered itself to her form. Over the decades, Inuyasha had seen a lot of girls. Some had been very well endowed; some were so flat that they could have passed for boys. He had seen tall girls and short girls and everything in between. Kagome looked kind of nice, not at one extreme or the other. And she was only a little bit shorter than him. Maybe it was a dominance thing, but he liked being taller than a girl without having such a difference in height that he had to get down on his knees to look her in the eye.

 

"Are you listening to me?" Inuyasha blinked, coming out of his thoughts to find that he had followed Kagome all the way to her front door. And obviously she had just said something to him. He wracked his brain, but came up blank.

 

"What?" he barked. When in doubt, sound obnoxious. People react to the tone and forget to wonder why you weren't paying attention.

 

"I said," Kagome enunciated clearly with an edge to her voice, "do you want to come in and dry off? You're soaked."

 

He thought about refusing, but the rain was still coming down in a solid sheet. And it was cold. And he should spend time with Kagome in his human form if he ever hoped to convince her to kiss him. Shrugging noncommittally, he crossed his arms over his chest. She sighed with exasperation, but indicated with a jerk of her head that he should follow. He watched her walk into the house. Yes, Kagome was very nice to look at. It was a good thing that she wasn't looking at him. The last thing he wanted was to be mistaken for a pervert like Miroku.

 

"Mama, I'm back!" Kagome slipped out of her shoes and reached down to pull her wet socks off. Inuyasha stopped just inside the door. He didn't take off his shoes and kept his arms crossed to prevent the urge to shake himself dry like a dog.

 

Mrs. Higurashi descended the stairs. "I was starting to get worried, dear." Owing to some motherly radar, she had a couple of fluffy towels in her arms. "I just got Souta to bed. Were you able to find Demon?" She stopped at the foot of the stairs, noticing Inuyasha for the first time.

 

"Who's your friend?" She smiled at Inuyasha. "Hello there, young man. You're positively drenched." She went to him and draped one of the towels around his shoulders before he could react. "Take off your shoes and come into the kitchen. I'll make us all a nice pot of tea. Do you need to let someone know where you are?"

 

Chatting amiably, Mrs. Higurashi guided Inuyasha into the kitchen and pushed him onto a chair at the table. He let her, still bemused that she would be so welcoming and trusting to a stranger brought home by her daughter. Speaking of Kagome, Inuyasha noticed that she was no longer around. A moment later, the girl in question walked into the kitchen wearing pajamas and toweling her hair dry.

 

"I couldn't find Demon, Mama." Kagome's voice sounded muffled with the towel draped over her head. She pulled it off and tossed it over the back of a chair. At her mom's disapproving look, she sighed but picked up the towel and trotted down the hall. Within moments she was back and continued her narration of the night's events. "The stupid dog is probably holed up in a nice warm den somewhere. He'll come home when he's ready."

 

"That's too bad, dear. But I'm sure you're right. I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up looking for breakfast in the morning. You still haven't told me who your friend is." Inuyasha jumped slightly, to find that Mrs. Higurashi was now looking at him. He had only been half listening, not really concerned with their conversation.

 

"The name's Inuyasha," he said, quite suddenly remembering that he had never gotten around to exchanging introductions with Kagome.

 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Inuyasha." Mrs. Higurashi smiled pleasantly at him. "Have you and Kagome known each other long?"

 

"We just met tonight when I--."

 

Kagome developed a sudden coughing fit. It occurred to Inuyasha that she probably didn't want her mother to know that she was almost run over. Well, he didn't really want to deal with an overly hysterical mother. "I offered to help her look for her dog. We gave up when it started to rain." Kagome threw him a grateful look.

 

"Oh, the water's boiling." Mrs. Higurashi reacted to the whistling from the teapot on the stove. She returned to the table with the hot water and three mugs on a little tray. "Would you like a cup, dear?" she said to Inuyasha. Without waiting for his nod, she poured some water into each mug. Kagome rifled through the box of tea packets and selected one before pushing the box towards Inuyasha. Soon, all three were nursing steaming mugs of tea.

 

"Why don't you tell me something about yourself? Do you live around here?" Mrs. Higurashi sounded genuinely interested.

 

Inuyasha shifted on the hard wooden chair. His clothes still clung damply to his skin; the towel he had been handed lying looped over his shoulders. Tendrils of black hair clung to his face and neck as the ends began to dry in the heat of the kitchen. "Yeah, I've lived in Tokyo my entire life."

 

"Do you have family here?"

 

"No surviving family."

 

"You poor dear. What do you do? Are you still in school?"

 

Inuyasha didn't roll his eyes, no matter how much he wanted too. God, what was with all the questions? You'd think he was being interviewed for a lifelong position as a member of the household. "I live with a friend. She owns an herb shop."

 

"How wonderful." Mrs. Higurashi sipped her tea. "Maybe I could have you pick up some herbal medication for Grandpa. His joints are bothering him again."

 

"Sure. Whatever." Inuyasha pushed his mostly untouched mug of tea away from him and stood up. "Look, I gotta go. Thanks for the tea." He walked towards the front door, barely acknowledging Mrs. Higurashi's cheerful goodbye.

 

"That was rude," said a voice that was beginning to irritate him every time he heard it. He turned to see that Kagome had followed and was standing right behind him. "You really want to go out in this rain? Maybe you'll drown this time."

 

Inuyasha did roll his eyes this time, letting out an exasperated snort. "Listen, bitch, if you would just use those two flaps of skin that you call ears, you would notice that the rain has stopped." She glared at him, her very silence telling him that he was right. The steady pounding of rain on the roof had faded into an infrequent dripping.

 

Opening the door, Inuyasha took a deep breath of rain-washed air. The skies smelled clear. He should be able to get home without getting soaked, no problem. Taking the towel from around his neck, he tossed it in the general direction of Kagome. "See you around. Try not to run in front of any more trucks."

 

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Inuyasha didn't go far after he heard the door slam shut behind him. He wandered until he found himself standing in front of a large tree. A small plaque proclaimed it as the sacred Goshinboku tree, a very old tree that had been around for hundreds of years. Sighing, he rested his hand on the rough bark and closed his eyes for a moment. Things always came down to this. What should I do now?

 

What a life! Inuyasha snorted and turned away from the tree. Fifty years of this pathetic existence. Dog by day, human by night. It sounded like the plot for a bad movie. And it looked like the most annoying girl in the city was his best chance of breaking the curse.

 

Looking up, Inuyasha was surprised to see that his aimless walking had brought him within sight of Kagome's window. He stared at the bright rectangle of light, letting the hypnotic glare soothe him. Movement in the room brought him out of his musing just in time to see Kagome pass in front of the window.

 

"Enjoying the show, Inuyasha?" He whirled to see Miroku standing just behind him. Inuyasha cursed silently. How did the monk manage to sneak up on him?

 

He grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Shut up, Miroku." Miroku shoved a small pair of binoculars into his pocket. "You are such a pervert, spying on girls through their bedroom windows. What are you doing here anyway?" The square of light on the grass winked out, testifying that Kagome had gone to bed.

 

Miroku wasn't offended by Inuyasha's bluntness, but then he had known Inuyasha too long to take offense at everything he did. "Looking for you, actually. You move fast. How did you get her to invite you over to her house already? Or did you just show up on her doorstep like a lost little puppy?"

 

Inuyasha growled and showed his blunt human teeth. Intimidation tactics like that worked best when he was in his dog form. Miroku didn't even give him the satisfaction of flinching. "Watch those puppy remarks, monk! I swear that you are enjoying this way too much."

 

"So? What happened?" Miroku did look interested.

 

Inuyasha let his eyes stray back to the now dark window. "The stupid girl almost got run over by a truck. And she had the nerve to call me a jerk for saving her life! And then it started to rain! I had to walk the bitch home or she would have gotten herself mugged or something."

 

"If I didn't know better," Miroku teased, "I'd swear that you were concerned."

 

Before Miroku could react, Inuyasha bopped him on the head with his fist. "Of course I'm concerned, you idiot. Do you know how hard it is to find a female with spiritual powers in this city? This girl could very well be my last hope!"

 

Shooting Inuyasha a sour glance, Miroku rubbed his newest bump. "With an attitude like that, I'm sure she'll be begging to kiss you in no time," he muttered under his breath.

 

"I heard that," Inuyasha growled. Miroku tried to look innocent. "Shouldn't you be somewhere practicing your lame pickup lines on any female with a pulse?” He irritably waved Miroku silent when the monk opened his mouth to speak. "Never mind. You said that you were looking for me. Just tell me that it's good news." Inuyasha shoved his hands into his pockets -- grumbling a little when his fingers came in contact with the cold, wet material -- and started walking in the direction of Kaede's shop.

 

"I went to see Myouga today," Miroku said, the rings on his staff jingling faintly as he fell into step beside Inuyasha. "Do you recall the name Onigumo?"

 

Inuyasha frowned in thought. "Sounds familiar. Why?"

 

"It seems that this Onigumo ran the biggest black market syndicate in Tokyo fifty years ago. He dabbled in a little bit of everything, from babies to black magic."

 

"What does this have to do with anything?" Inuyasha asked impatiently. "Why should I care about an ancient crime boss?"

 

"Patience is a virtue, Inuyasha." Inuyasha scowled, but indicated that Miroku should continue. "Myouga had somehow gotten a hold of documents that prove that Kikyo and Onigumo had a few dealings together."

 

Inuyasha stopped abruptly. Miroku had to retrace his steps when he realized that he had lost his companion. "You'd better be lying, monk." His voice was low and dangerous. "Why would Kikyo have anything to do with scum like that?"

 

Not wanting to be seen having such a serious discussion in the middle of the street, Miroku urged his friend to keep moving. "I don't know what her reasons were, but the documents indicate that Onigumo was in dire financial straits. And it seems that the two of them had made some kind of deal regarding the Shikon no Tama."

 

Inuyasha's hand automatically went to his throat to close about the smooth jewel that he was never without. "What could he want with it? I thought that miko were the only ones who could do anything with it."

 

Miroku shrugged. "I don't know. We do know that he never gained possession of it. Maybe somebody else killed Kikyo before she could give it to him. Or maybe she backed out of the deal at the last minute. I guess that the only ones who know what happened would be Kikyo or Onigumo."

 

"Let's track this Onigumo bastard down." Inuyasha punched his fist into the palm of his other hand. "I don't care if he's ancient by now, I'll beat the truth out of him."

 

"I'd love to oblige you, Inuyasha," Miroku said sympathetically. "But I'm afraid that Onigumo has been dead for years. Fell down a flight of stairs and broke his neck. Or he might have been pushed. My source wasn't real clear on that."

 

"Shit!" Inuyasha swore. "Don't tell me that this is another fucking dead end!"

 

"I did get one other piece of information that should bring the bloodlust back to your eyes." Miroku paused to let the tension build.

 

"Out with it," Inuyasha growled. "Before I violate the oath I swore to Mushin and strangle you with my bare hands."

 

"Onigumo has one surviving blood relative." Miroku paused, but probably decided that his continued health was more important than increasing the drama, judging by the look on his friend's face. He continued after only a brief hesitation. "This is someone you know well, since he has been a regular pain in the ass for years. He is the current kingpin of the seedy underbelly of Tokyo… a trafficker in dark magic… kicker of dogs and drowner of kittens. He is the one and only Naraku, Onigumo's grandson."

 

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Food for thought: Why are they called stairs inside but steps outside?