InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ All of Me ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

 

Chapter 6

 

Kagome woke much earlier than she had planned, having forgotten to close the curtains when she went to bed. She groaned and pulled a pillow over her face to block out the annoyingly cheerful early morning sunlight. But something kept her from falling back asleep. In exasperation, she pushed the pillow away. It fell off the bed to hit the floor with a soft thump. Rolling over to retrieve the pillow, she came face to face with a pair of large golden eyes.

 

She yelped and jerked her body away from the dog. Already being in an awkward stretch as she fumbled for the pillow, she overbalanced to land in a heap on the floor. Most of the blankets came with her.

 

“Demon!” Kagome yelled. “What are you doing in here?” Demon continued to stare at her with that unnervingly direct yellow stare. She made shooing motions at him. “Why don't you go play with Souta?”

 

Demon twitched one ear, the only sign that he heard her. Kagome glared at him. Dog and girl held a brief staring contest until, irritated, Kagome untangled the covers and climbed to her feet. She looked over to see Demon watching her with his mouth open in a silly canine grin.

 

“Stop laughing at me!” Kagome stomped her foot, too annoyed and half-asleep to wonder why she was yelling at a dumb animal. Demon yawned and lay down, head up, gold eyes watching her intently.

 

“Stupid mutt,” she muttered under her breath and flounced out of the room in the direction of the bathroom.

 

She pondered the weird behavior of the dog as she began her morning routine. There was just something creepy about the way he was always watching her. It was unnatural.

 

Firmly shoving Demon out of her thoughts, Kagome slipped into the large tub full of hot water. Letting her mind drift in a state of pleasant non-thinking, she found herself remembering her “date” and the rude, annoying jerk she was forced to spend the better part of the evening with. Her shoulders tensed just thinking about him. He didn't have one nice thing to say all night! Then he had to go and kiss her, just like he had the right to!

 

Kagome deliberately uncurled the hands she had clenched into fists and forced her shoulders to relax. She sighed. The least he could have done was ask. He was kind of cute, with that long black hair and unusual golden eyes. That almost made up for his complete lack of manners.

 

Kagome frowned in frustration. Why couldn't she get him out of her head? He insulted her and violated her personal space. There had to be some way to teach Inuyasha that Kagome Higurashi was not the type of girl to roll over and play dead for the first cute boy to kiss her.

 

The water was cooling off. Her body was clean even if her thoughts were still going around in circles. Climbing out of the tub, she rinsed and discovered another minor point of annoyance. All of her clean clothes were still in her room.

 

She wrapped a fluffy towel around herself and stuck her head into the hallway. The coast was clear. Not that she normally minded her family seeing her clad in only a towel, but she vaguely remembered her mother mentioning something about Souta having a friend over. It had been late enough the night before that her mother had already sent both of them to Souta's room, so she hadn't seen either of them. Faint sounds drifted up the stairs, proof that the rest of the family was elsewhere. Dashing the short distance to her room, she slipped inside and shut the door.

 

Kagome ran the fingers of one hand through her wet tresses, using the other one to hold the towel up. A strangled sound reached her ears. She glanced around to find Demon sitting in the middle of the room where she had left him. While she watched, a look of panic crept into the dog's eyes.

 

“What is your problem, stupid mutt?” she said and dropped her towel.

 

Demon's eyes got impossibly wide. He jerked his head around and dove for the closest hiding place. His head and shoulders disappeared from view, his back paws scrabbling against the floor as he tried to force himself under the bed. Muffled whimpers and growls drifted back to her, sounding suspiciously like canine curses.

 

Kagome stared. “Demon?” The dog's body jerked convulsively and he managed to cram more of his bulk under the small bed. Would rabies make an animal behave like that?

 

Giving the bed and the quivering animal a wide berth, she selected clean clothing and got dressed. She sat at her desk and began to pull a hairbrush through her hair. Hair brushing can be hypnotic. By the time she set the brush down, she was feeling much calmer and Demon was no longer cowering under the bed. Instead, he was watching her with a wary expression in his eyes; as if he was wondering what she was going to do next.

 

Kagome looked at the textbooks lined up on her desk, made a face, and selected one. At least she had an apple and a bag of cheetos hidden in the back of her desk. She wouldn't have to go downstairs for food and have to deal with Souta and whatever little friend he brought home this time. Opening the math book, she pulled out a clean sheet of paper and resigned herself to a day of homework.

 

Minutes ticked by. She forgot about the dog in her room. All that existed was the book filled with barely comprehensible problems. She hardly even acknowledged her mother when she brought her something to eat around noon. Kagome nibbled the end of her pencil, staring at the lines of letters and numbers. She wrote something quickly with short neat strokes. Stopping to re-read her work, she muttered under her breath, and erased what she had just written.

 

“Wrong, wrong, wrong!” she complained out loud. “I hate math!”

 

A small sound caused her to look up. Demon had moved closer while she was preoccupied and was now almost near enough to touch. Kagome smiled nervously, eyeing the muzzle full of sharp teeth and remembering why she didn't like dogs. The dog didn't do anything and finally she turned her attention back to her math.

 

A cold, wet nose on the underside of her arm caused Kagome to drop her pencil. She squeaked and nearly fell off her chair. Placing one hand over her rapidly beating heart, she spun around to face the dog.

 

Demon stared at her, so close that she could feel the heat of each panting breath he took. Now that he had her full attention, he inched forward and touched his nose to her knee.

 

“What are you doing?” Kagome's voice came out in a breathy squeak as she waited for the animal to bite her kneecaps off. Demon glanced at her face before directing his gaze to the floor. He did this several times before sighing heavily, scooting forward, and placing his heavy head in her lap.

 

“Demon?”

 

Demon flicked his ears as if to say `Well, do something!' Neither one moved for the longest time. The only sound in the room was the incessant ticking of the clock.

 

Hesitantly, Kagome reached out to touch one furry ear. It twitched away from her fingers. Striking her as funny for some reason, she giggled. This caused the dog to flatten both ears, a little growl rising in his throat.

 

“What's the matter, poor baby?” Kagome cooed. “Don't like being laughed at?” Because that was exactly what his growl sounded like, someone with little sense of humor when it came to involuntary responses.

 

Growing bolder, she applied both hands to scratching behind Demon's ears. The fur felt wonderfully soft under her fingers. She was fascinated by how the ear quivered when she ran a finger lightly around the edge. So absorbed was she in her task, that it took her awhile to notice the strange sound coming from the dog.

 

A rumbling growl vibrated in the throat pressed against her knee. It started soft, steadily growing louder as Kagome gained confidence and applied herself more vigorously to the ear scratching. Looking at Demon's face, she saw that his eyes had closed to mere slits and the pink tip of his tongue poked between his teeth.

 

“What a cool sound. Are you a happy puppy?” Demon's eyes snapped open and he twisted his head away from the scratching fingers.

 

Kagome laughed. “Don't be mad. I think it's cute.” Demon turned his head away. Who would have thought a dog could be this sensitive? “Oh, is the puppy mad?”

Demon turned his head back far enough to look at the girl out of one golden eye. Kagome fought the urge to laugh again.

 

“You sure are in a funny mood today,” she told him conversationally. “Usually you just sit and stare. What made you decide that you needed your ears scratched?” Demon ignored her, reaching up with one hind foot to scratch said ears.

 

“I've never seen a dog that gets offended as easily as you do.” Demon yawned, pointedly ignoring her. “But then I never thought I would willingly get as close to a dog as I am now.”

 

Kagome leaned back in her chair, stretching her legs out in front of her. “I had an interesting conversation with an egotistical jerk last night.” That snagged Demon's attention. He narrowed his eyes, but she had tilted her head back to stare absently at the ceiling and didn't notice her rapt audience. “He sure seemed interested in how I was treating you. Wanted to know what I had against dogs. So I told him about the time I was bitten by a dog when I was little.

 

“Weird guy.” Kagome sat up straight before leaning forward to rest her forearms on her bent knees. She regarded the dog in front of her steadily for a long moment. Demon kept his ears pricked and his eyes trained on her face. “I really thought he was going to start growling when he was facing off with those punks in the park. I swear that guy acts more like a dog than you do.”

 

She sighed and turned to stare out the window. From her vantage point, she could just see the door into the old well house. “He spends the first part of the evening insulting me, and then he saves my life. But the worst part is what happened after.” She balled her hands into fists. “That creep had the nerve to kiss me! And without even asking first! If he had asked, I might have let him. He is kind of cute.”

 

She grinned at a sudden thought. “Maybe I'll just have you bite him the next time he shows up. What do you think?”

 

Demon froze in the act of scratching his ears again. An unnamed emotion darkened the gold of his eyes. Kagome paid very little attention to her fascinated audience. She picked up her pencil, twirling it between her fingers.

 

“But if he ever does anything like that again,” she tightened her fingers until the pencil snapped in two with a dull crack, “I will make sure that he becomes a permanent soprano.” Demon winced and hunkered down, curling his tail between his legs. “I'll pour honey on that long hair of his and throw him inside a bear cave! I'll tie him to a chair and make him watch Barney videos all night. I'll--I'll--I don't know what I'll do, but I'll think of something!”

 

She felt a slight pain in her hand and looked down; noticing that her pencil had been broken, and the dog was crouching on the floor with a slightly panicked look in his eyes. One of the splinters had scratched her finger and it stung a little. Getting up to drop the ruined pencil in the trash, she caught sight of the clock on her bedside table.

 

“When did it get to be two o'clock!” she exclaimed. “I'm supposed to be meeting the girls right now so we can go window shopping!”

 

Kagome shoved her math book into place with the rest of her school books, grabbed a jacket, and ran out of the room.

 

“Hi, Mama! Bye, Mama!” she shouted on her way past the kitchen where Mama was enjoying an afternoon cup of tea.

 

“Wait a minute, dear.”

 

Kagome froze with her hand on the doorknob. “Yes, Mama?” Demon, unnoticed as he followed the girl, paused at the bottom of the stairs.

 

Mama got up from the table and walked over to Kagome, patting Demon on the head as she passed. “We haven't seen you all morning. Where are you off to?”

 

“Shopping, Mama.” Kagome hoped that Mama would just accept that and not ask any more questions.

 

“Is your homework done?”

 

Kagome forced herself to meet Mama's eyes with what she hoped was a sincere expression. “Yes, Mama.”

 

“Kagome.” Kagome winced at the warning tone in Mama's voice.

 

“Well, I'm almost done.” Her fingers tightened fractionally on the doorknob. “Please, Mama. I'll finish it tonight. I promise.”

 

Mama sighed, but reluctantly nodded. “All right. But I want you home before dark.”

 

Kagome released the doorknob to throw her arms around her mother in an exuberant hug. “Thanks, Mama! You're the best! I promise that I won't be late!”

 

Before she could change her mind or add another restriction, Kagome slipped out the door and clattered down the Shrine steps. Unnoticed, a white-furred shadow squeezed out after her and followed some distance behind.

 

Kagome ran as fast as she could down the crowded sidewalk.

 

“I am so late,” she muttered to herself, dodging a harried-looking woman with three screaming children hanging onto her. “Why did I let them talk me into this? I should really be home studying.”

 

“Kagome! Over here!”

 

Kagome looked around and finally spotted Eri waving to her from the other side of the street. With a quick glance to either side, she found the way momentarily clear and dashed across the road. Angry honking informed her that several irate motorists were less than thrilled with her flagrant disregard for crosswalks.

 

“It's about time you got here,” Yuka complained without even a hello. “We've been waiting for twenty minutes.”

 

“Hello to you, too, Yuka,” Kagome responded. “I'm sorry I'm late. I lost track of time.”

 

“Thinking about a certain boy,” Eri asked slyly.

 

“Oh, that's right,” Ayumi broke in. “How was your date?”

 

Kagome's face twisted into a scowl. “Inuyasha is the rudest, most egotistical, foul-mouthed guy I have ever met. He spent most of the evening insulting me.”

 

“But is he cute?” Yuka wanted to know. Eri and Ayumi leaned closer, interested in learning more about the mystery man.

 

Pausing before answering, Kagome thought back on the few times she had seen Inuyasha. Long black hair that would make any girl turn green with envy (it looked sooo good on him), intense golden eyes, and a lean, muscular body. She swallowed as she remembered the feel of his skin under her fingertips when she was checking him over for injuries after the gang fight. Inuyasha was most definitely not cute. He was HOT! At least until he opened his mouth, then he was just annoying.

 

Kagome became aware of the three pairs of eyes staring at her, waiting for a response. She giggled to cover her confused thoughts when it came to Inuyasha. “Yeah, he's cute.”

 

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi smiled, their eyes getting dreamy at the thought of romance. Of course they wanted to know all the details. Kagome tried to satisfy their curiosity without mentioning either the fight or the kiss. A familiar figure up ahead caught her attention.

 

“Hey, Sango! Wait up!” The dark-haired girl turned around when she heard her name called. She smiled when she saw Kagome and waved.

 

“Oh, no,” Yuka moaned under her breath. “Not the Fighting Freak! Do we really have to spend our day with her?”

 

“She doesn't seem that bad,” Eri offered.

 

“Get a clue, Eri.” Yuka looked with distaste in the direction of Sango. “She's a freak! Didn't you see how she almost broke Yura's arm during our self-defense class?”

 

Kagome heard the whispered comments and stiffened, but didn't say anything. These three were her friends; they had always done everything together. Sango was still the new girl and it would probably take a little time before she was fully accepted.

 

“Hi, Kagome.” Sango pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “How are you this morning?” She spared a brief nod for the other girls, but didn't greet them. Yuka muttered something and, to judge from the look on her face, it wasn't very flattering. But whatever she said was lost in the roar of a large truck speeding past them.

 

“Are you doing anything today?” Kagome felt a liking for the quiet girl, and was determined to include her. “We're going window shopping. Do you want to join us?”

 

Sango's gaze slid to the closed expressions on the other girls' faces behind Kagome's welcoming look. She shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

 

“Great!” Kagome grabbed Sango with one hand and Yuka with the other. “I know this wonderful little gift shop that just opened. Come on!” She began to retrace their steps in the opposite direction, dragging her friends behind her.

 

Turning the corner at the end of the block a little too fast, she crashed into someone going the other way. Embarrassed, she looked up with an apology on her lips, but the words died before they were spoken.

 

“You!” Her fingers loosened their hold, allowing Sango and Yuka to pull free. “What are you doing here?”

 

“It's always a pleasure to run into you, Lady Kagome,” Miroku responded with a slight bow. “And I do mean that literally.”

 

“Who's this, Kagome?” Ayumi asked. “Is this the guy you had the date with? He's cute!”

 

“No way!” Kagome protested vehemently. “This is just the perverted friend of Inuyasha.”

 

Miroku's eyes lit up when he saw Kagome's three friends, not to mention the lovely Sango. He straightened dramatically, planting the butt of his staff firmly on the sidewalk. Kagome briefly wondered if that staff was permanently grafted onto his hand, since she had never yet seen him without it. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Miroku, the monk. And what would your names be? I have already met Lady Sango and Lady Kagome.”

 

“I'm Eri. Are monks allowed to date?”

 

“My name is Yuka. I bet you have some fascinating stories about life as a monk.”

 

“I'm Ayumi.”

 

“Three beautiful names for three beautiful girls. Would you mind answering a question for me?” All three shook their heads slightly.

 

Miroku stepped forward and took Yuka's hands in his, but smiled charmingly at all of them. “My duties are a little different from those of the average monk. Maybe you could help me with them. Would one of you lovely ladies consent to bear my child?”

 

Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi gaped at Miroku with identical expressions of shock. Sango moved before Kagome could and whacked the monk on the top of the head with her fist. Miroku let go of Yuka to clutch his poor abused head, looking at Sango reproachfully. Yuka looked like she was ready to bolt, with Eri and Ayumi right behind her.

 

“Don't worry about him,” Sango said with an annoyed glare at Miroku. “He's a harmless pervert.”

 

Kagome suddenly remembered that Miroku had said the same thing to Sango when they first met. He had been quite eager to date her and had even seemed to be on his best behavior for most of the night. She sighed. And here she thought the lech might actually have feelings for her friend.

 

“What are you doing here, Miroku?” she demanded. “You seem to be everywhere that I am. If I didn't know better, I would swear that you were following me.”

 

“Following you?” Miroku gulped and went a shade paler. “Of course I'm not following you! It's just coincidence! Why would I be following you?”

 

Kagome frowned. Something didn't feel right. She opened her mouth when a flash of white disappearing into an alley half a block away caught her attention.

 

“Are you all right, Kagome?” Sango asked, concern evident in her voice. Kagome tore her gaze away from the dark blur of the distant alley.

 

“Yeah, I'm fine.” She shot a look at Miroku who had regained his usual calm façade. “I thought I saw something.” That had almost looked like Demon! But didn't he stay home today? Kagome wracked her brains, but she couldn't remember forbidding the dog from following her downtown. She had only told him not to follow her to school. Not that she knew why the dumb animal wanted to be with her, though he was acting strange that morning.

 

Kagome shook her head to rid it of the thoughts running around in circles. It was a nice day. She was out with her friends. No stupid white dog or perverted stalker was going to prevent her from enjoying it.

 

“Come on, guys! Let's go shopping!” She looked over at Miroku who was eyeing Eri with an appreciative gleam in his eye. He would probably just follow if they left him behind, and she would rather keep him where she could see him. Especially his hands. “Why don't you come with us, Miroku?”

 

He pretended to think about it for a minute or two. “I would be delighted. Five beautiful lades such as yourselves shouldn't be allowed to wander around unescorted.”

 

Sango snorted. “Just remember to keep your hands to yourself.”

 

“Of course.”

 

The group wandered away, talking animatedly. A white form emerged from the alley that he had hidden in. He sat in the middle of the sidewalk, debating with himself about what to do. That monk was too easily distracted, it would be impossible for him to keep his attention on one girl when he was surrounded by five. With a sigh, Demon rose to his paws and followed after Kagome and her friends.

 

^**^

Inuyasha stayed doubled over on the floor of the old well house for several minutes after the transformation was over. The fucking spell hurt just as much as it had the first time he changed. It felt like his guts were being ripped out and then shoved back in the wrong order, and he always felt slightly disoriented. His hand curled into a fist (briefly he was surprised to not see a furry paw) where it rested on the pounded dirt floor, and he moaned.

 

Unsteadily, he pushed himself to his feet. His head spun, being so far from the ground, before it steadied. Taking deep breaths of the cool night air, he concentrated on being human again. One hand grasped the Shikon no Tama around his neck, drawing comfort from the smooth hardness.

 

A faint scent reached his nose and he instinctively turned towards the source. Kagome. She must be studying with the window open again. Inuyasha grinned. Her mother insisted that she was going to catch a chill, but the girl never listened.

 

He sniffed the air again, unconsciously relaxing at the familiar scent. Long ago he had ceased to be amazed about how much stronger scents and sounds were; it was probably just a side effect of the curse. He spent half his time as a dog. It seemed only natural that his senses would become sharper.

 

Once out of the well house, he glanced up at Kagome's window to make sure she wasn't in a position to look out and see him. He couldn't see her and decided to take his chances and dash across the open expanse of lawn. It would really make his nightmare of a life complete if she were to see him and assume that he was stalking her. Actually he was, but she didn't need to know that.

 

Miroku was waiting for him in the shadowy alley not far from the Higurashi Shrine. He was humming something. Inuyasha, with his enhanced hearing, could hear it clearly. The tune wasn't familiar, though it was catchy.

 

Miroku looked up at his friend's footsteps. “Ah, Inuyasha, what a wonderful night to be alive.” He smiled. “We are truly blessed.”

 

Inuyasha snorted. “You spent the afternoon surrounded by five beautiful girls. You were supposed to be keeping an eye on Kagome, not freaking out innocent girls with your perverted ways.”

 

Miroku drew himself up indignantly. “I did not freak anyone out. Can I help it if the ladies object to me showing appreciation for their bodies? And I will have you know that I never once touched Kagome.”

 

“That's because you know that I would rip off your arm and feed it to you if you even tried.”

 

Miroku exited the alley with Inuyasha, turning onto a street still busy with evening traffic. “There is that. But also the lovely Sango was watching me like a hawk. She kept herself between me and Lady Kagome the whole time. She seems to not trust me very much.”

 

“It's your hands she doesn't trust.” Inuyasha shot his friend an amused look. “Let me guess, she slapped you.”

 

“Twice.” Miroku reached up to rub his cheek. “Very hard, too. I don't think I've ever met a girl who hits as hard as she does.”

 

“I'd watch my step with that girl if I were you, Miroku,” Inuyasha advised. “She's unusual and she's liable to do something permanent when she gets tired of your wandering hands.”

 

“The girls love me,” he replied, throwing his arms wide in an expansive gesture and nearly hitting Inuyasha in the chest. “I've broken more hearts than you and I haven't been around for nearly as long.”

 

“I haven't found the right girl yet.” Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, his expression turning sullen.

 

Miroku sobered. “Well you'd better hurry, my friend. You don't have that much longer.” He fell silent, but kept shooting little glances at Inuyasha and chewing absently on his lower lip as if debating something. “So, did you take my advice? Did you get anywhere with Lady Kagome?”

 

Inuyasha stumbled on the perfectly even sidewalk. “That's none of your business, pervert,” he spluttered. They walked in silence for a few beats before he spoke again, slowly and reluctantly. “I kissed her.”

 

Miroku's face broke into a wide grin. “I knew you could do it! I didn't hear the crack of her hand against your cheek, so I'm assuming she didn't object.”

 

“I didn't wait around long enough for her to do anything,” Inuyasha commented sourly. “But today in her room, she had plenty to say about it and what she would do to me. None of it good.”

 

“You were in her room?” Miroku sighed, obviously thinking perverted thoughts.

 

“Get your mind out of the gutter!” Inuyasha thanked the gods for small favors that it was too dark for Miroku to see the blush that stained his face. “Kagome sees me as her dog! I wouldn't-- We never--. It was an accident!”

 

Miroku almost visibly perked his ears up. “What happened? Come on, Inuyasha, you can tell your best friend.”

 

“Nothing happened,” Inuyasha growled. “Just drop it.”

 

Miroku tried wheedling, which only earned him a large bump on the head. He decided to talk about something less painful.

 

“I never got the chance to tell you, but Sango mentioned something interesting to me last night.”

 

“I thought she was too busy hitting you to talk to you,” Inuyasha retorted, half his mind still on Kagome and her threats.

 

“For your information-- Never mind, what's important is that Sango knows about the Shikon no Tama.”

 

Inuyasha brought his hand up to close convulsively around the jewel. “How could she know about it? I've had it for the last fifty years and, before that, it belonged to Kikyo.”

 

Miroku shook his head. “I don't know. All she said is that the jewel used to be in her family's keeping and that she's spent her whole life studying everything that is known about it.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “You know, this might be to our advantage. Neither one of us really knows what the Shikon no Tama is really capable of. Kaede doesn't even know very much and it used to belong to her sister. Maybe Sango knows something that we do not and would be willing to share some information about the jewel.”

 

Inuyasha tightened his grip on the jewel. “No!” He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax, dropping his hand back to his side. “No,” he repeated in a calmer voice. “I don't want to get anyone else involved. If we ask her what she knows, then she will want to know why, and we'll have to tell her about the curse. She would probably tell Kagome and there would go my chances of getting the girl to trust me enough that she would consider helping me out. And Naraku is still out there. He might know about Sango, but so far he is leaving her alone. We don't need to draw his attention to her by meeting more often. If he got a hold of Sango and forced her to tell him what she knows, then he could use that information against us. I've seen what Naraku is capable of and I wouldn't wish his methods of persuasion on anyone.”

 

“If you say so,” Miroku said dubiously. “But if you keep closing yourself off to people who could help you, the curse will never be broken.”

 

Inuyasha grunted. “That's my problem.” They reached the herb shop and started up the stairs leading to Kaede's apartment. “Let's talk to Kaede and see if she's found out anything useful.”

 

 

A/N: This chapter didn't exactly go in the direction I had planned, but it seemed to work. Inuyasha is starting to help Kagome overcome her fear of dogs. Now, if only he could get her to like his human form. He may have just ruined everything with that unasked for kiss (Though that was Miroku's suggestion and we know the kind of luck he has with the ladies). Until next chapter!

 

Food for thought: To err is human; to really foul things up requires a computer