InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Influences ❯ Bad influence # Three: Teasing ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
Bad Influence # 3: Teasing
The moment Inuyasha got to his apartment, he collapsed on the bed from exhaustion. Going to school and then going straight to work for four hours had put him a foul mood. No wonder Miroku had to help recruit a receptionist for his friend: they guy worked him like an ox! He did more work than his private secretaries. There was hardly a moment where he had to sit down. The man was either senile or incredibly lazy. He had Inuyasha running about to reschedule meetings that he already had weeks before. He was even lazy enough to ask Inuyasha to type up his weekly business report. “Note to self: When you are running your own fucking business, make sure that you don't work your receptionists to death.” Inuyasha remembered himself mumbling while typing up client consultation cards.
He stared at the ceiling of his apartment. It was only six o'clock and he was too beat to even shower. Instead of sitting and scheduling appointments, Inuyasha was making sure that everything his boss had was in place. Mushin, his boss, owned a medical spa, most likely so he could ogle at his female clients. The guy was just as lecherous as Miroku. It was no surprised that they were good friends. If Inuyasha hadn't needed the good paycheck, he would've quit after the first day.
“Fucking bastard, I'm coming! God damn it!” He snarled as he rolled off of the bed to answer the phone.
“This had better be good!” He yelled into the receiver after answering.
“Where are you?” The voice called.
“At home. How'd you get this number anyway?”
“You think the girls at school only follow you around without spying on you? You are coming to school tomorrow right?”
“ Fuck, Kagome. I've already been in school for two days. So I'm not there three days in a row. I'm fucking tired! I'll come on Friday!”
He huffed before hanging up the cell phone and lying back down into bed. He didn't mean to yell at her and he could visualize her angry face on the other side of the phone. It was just that he was so irritable and tired that he didn't want to talk to anyone then.
“Fuck! Now I feel like shit for yelling at her.” He was just about to grab his cell phone to call her back when he realized that he didn't have her number.
“Damn it!” He made a mental note to ask for her number the next day and rolled off the bed to take a shower.
()()()()()()()
“Do you remember the last time we were out like this together?” The older girl said as she pulled a blue polyester top over her head. “You know, Kagome, a vacation and three weeks into the new school year is far too long to go without going out with your best friends at least once.” Sango called to the girl in the next changing room.
“Okay, okay, I get it! I'm sorry. I finally find time away from my daily laps, my schoolwork, and my vice presidential duties. I know it took a while, but I did go for three all-nighters to get this open weekend for us.” An annoyed and slightly apologetic voice called from the next room.
“I know. I'm just giving you a hard time.”
“You know, if you agreed to join the track team, we would have a lot more time together.”
“No way. I may be fast, but you are a typhoon compared to the rest of us. Besides, if I did join, we would be running instead of being together. Plus, I don't think I was made for running for prolonged periods of time.”
“It's track, not cross country.” Kagome stated.
“Yeah, but you still have to do daily laps to stay in shape. I'm more a puncher, not a runner.” Sango heard a sigh and then a giggle before a small squeak as the door next to her changing room opened.
“I can't find ANY pants that are long enough!” She heard the more petite girl sigh. “Let's get out of this shop and find some real clothes.”
“That's the problem with you, Kagome, you're legs are FAR too long. It's hard to imagine how you have such legs when you are just normal height.” Sango stated teasingly as she came out from her dressing room.
“ My legs aren't that long, are they?”
“If you are rarely able to find pants and skirts that are long enough and fit for you perfectly, then I'd say that's a yes.”
Kagome laughed. True, being the athlete that she was, it was hard to find clothes that suited her. Pants were rarely a perfect fit, and skirts were worse. She hated shopping because of it. If she was to go in, try something, buy it and get out, she'd be happy. She hated searching from store to store to find a decent pair of jeans. Shirts were another story. True, she didn't find it hard to locate something that wasn't too long, but rarely did she find a material that didn't cling to her every time she ran, which was a lot.
“I've had enough of clothes.” Kagome said lazily. “Let's go get something to eat.”
“You read my mind.” Sango smiled as they exited the store.
As they walked down the streets of Tokyo in the early Saturday morning, smiling and laughing about how ridiculously competitive the other members of the student council were, Kagome began wondering what it would have been like if she hadn't stayed up all night doing homework to meet with Sango. It had been tough, being home alone for two weeks and staying up all night for three nights to finish extra schoolwork, but it all paid off.
“I can't stand that Tatsuya!” Kagome complained while taking a bite out of a rice-ball.
“What did he do this time?” Sango asked as she walked next to her friend, taking a bite out of her rice-ball as well.
“First, he starts blaming me for Inuyasha's bad attendance, then he takes every chance to turn the other members of the student council against me! `What were you doing running into school with the delinquent? Why are you taking so long to get to the meetings? You were usually here fifteen minutes before the meetings started.' I hate him!”
“What happened that he has such a bad vendetta against you? Did you refuse to date him again?”
“When will he, and half the school boys for that matter, learn that I'm not interested? I don't have time for a relationship right now! I have to pre-apply for Tokyo University before the graduation and make sure my track team doesn't lose their pace AND do all that work for school.”
“ Graduation is still a ways off. I'm treasurer of the student council, you don't think I not as busy as you? Besides, you didn't answer my question. Why does Tatsuya have that big of a grudge against you?”
Kagome blushed. “Remember the day that Inuyasha first joined our class?” Sango nodded. “Well, when I was showing him around the school, Tatsuya decided to hit on me again. I told him I wasn't interested, but he wouldn't let go of me. Then Inuyasha stepped in and got him to back off. He said, `What would the teachers think if they saw their student council president like this?'”
“Maybe Tatsuya thinks of Inuyasha as competition.” Sango concluded, taking another bite of her rice-ball.
Kagome almost chocked. Swallowing down the rice, she said, “Why would he think that!? There nothing between Inuyasha and me!”
“Except that deal you made with him.” Sango teased. She spoke before Kagome could reply. “I'm just kidding, Kagome. I've never seen you so interested in a guy before. Your ambitions get in the way of you fun time. Like I said before, you need a boyfriend.”
“Speaking of boyfriends, how's your doing?”
“He's fine, as long as he keeps his hands to himself. Don't change the subject!”
“When am I going to meet this guy anyway?”
“When you stop changing the subject!”
“Sango, am I really avoiding anything?” Kagome pouted, giving her best friend the most innocent look she could muster.
“Yes, you do.” They laughed together before heading off to do more shopping. “You know, I'm surprised that he kept his promise and came to school.” Sango said as they entered another store.
“I was too, but he did stay true to his word.” She remembered the day she called him to make sure he would come to school for the next day. She had been so angry that he yelled at her, she didn't even pay attention at class, throwing angry glances his way. He did apologize before asking for her phone number. He was there more often. He was even there for one week, though he seemed so tired. All he did in class was sleep, but he could still answer whatever questions the teachers sent his way. How did he do that, handing in all his papers and acing every test?
“How long are you home alone for anyway?” Sango broke Kagome from her musings.
“One more week, and my family will come home.”
“ Your sure you don't want me to come and stay a little while longer?” Sango had spent most of her nights with Kagome. The past two weeks, they were together most of the time. They were cooking, working on student council tasks, or studying. It was fun though for the two of them, even if they were concentrating of school tasks. At least, Kagome wasn't alone.
“No, I think I'll be fine.” Kagome answered while looking at more clothes.
()()()()()()()()
“I'll see you Monday.” Inuyasha called to his boss before exiting the spa. Luckily, he only had to work two hours on Saturdays. Putting his hands in his pockets, he growled at his rotten luck. “One week in this job and already my first paycheck goes to the rent and the phone!” He snarled.
“I am so FUCKING hungry!” He yelled into the sky. He hated walking down the street with an empty wallet, especially when there were so many restaurants eyeing him in the face. His stomach growled. It had been almost a week before his first paycheck and he had spent most of the money on his rent and only a quarter on food.
He lit a cigarette and placed the lighter back into his pockets, where he decided it was best to keep his hands as he walked down the street. The smoke puffed into his lungs, but it didn't help his abysmal apatite. Truth be told, he had an appetite for something that had occupied his thoughts since his “accident” on the first day at school.
He shook his head, angry with himself for such a base weakness. “I feel like a fucking school boy!” He couldn't deny himself though. After he had yelled at her over the phone then nonchalantly asked her for her number after apologizing, the girl had occupied his thoughts! God, how he hated it! She was the most short-tempered woman he had ever meet. But, he had to admit she did draw his attention. She broke all stereotypes. She was a goody-goody schoolgirl with an attitude and drop-dead gorgeous legs. The image of her running before him in the race he had challenged her plagued his mind continuously. The day he had almost run her over, he had found her fascinating. She had the deepest hazel colored eyes he had ever seen and they were looking at him fiercely. She was the reason he had come to school more often. It wasn't because of their deal; he had stayed at school for the entire week just to see her. He would sit on the bleachers of the field just to watch her run.
“Damn it!” He said as the cigarette jumped up and down in his mouth, his stomach growling angrily at him.
He yelled so loudly that the people on the streets stared at him amazedly. Ignoring them, he pulled his car keys from his pocket and, as he neared the vehicle, unlocked the doors, clicked his seat belt, and drove off in the direction he was all too familiar with.
()()()()()()()()
“I'm coming!” Kagome yelled as she ran down the stairs to answer the door. The phone in her hand went unnoticed as she whizzed her way down the stairs, clicking the off button as she ran and ignoring the voice of Sango as it faded into the receiver. Panting from the rush, her heart banging against her bones, Kagome placed the phone on the counter before tying to straighten her hair as best as she could before sliding the front door open.
“How may I help-huh? Inuyasha?” She looked at him astonished that he was there, standing in a normal white t-shirt and torn, blue jeans.
“Hey there.” He greeted nonchalantly, smirking at her when she blinked her eyes at him.
“What are you doing here?” She muttered. A growl from his abdomen was her answer.
“I got hungry.” He said.
“Don't you have a job now?” She asked.
“The deal was that if I came to school more often, you would feed me whenever I didn't have money. I was in school for three days each week and even the full week last time. Since I have used all the money from my paycheck to pay the bills and I haven't eaten in more than a week, I think I deserve to honor our deal.”
Kagome sighed. “I see someone has a good memory.” To be honest with herself, she didn't want to be alone in the house since Sango had to go see the “Boyfriend” that she was so keen on keeping a secret. They were in the mist of shopping and talking when Sango's phone went off. She apologized and said that her “lecher” wanted time with her. So Kagome had to walk home alone in the early afternoon. She had worked so hard to get this weekend open for them too.
“ Why don't you come in?” Kagome stepped out the way as Inuyasha padded into the house, removing his shoes and ignoring where they landed.
“I see you're still a slob.” Kagome mused in an annoyed manner, raising an eyebrow.
“Keh.” Was Inuyasha's answer as he grumbled and placed his shoes together.
“Happy now?” He asked, turning his head to see her shaking her head at him.
“I am feeding you, you know. You could at least be polite to your host. Who taught you your manners, dogs? From the way your name is spelled, I'd say that you were raised by them.”
“Ouch, that hurt, Kagome.” He wasn't being sarcastic.
“Sorry. But you could at least be a little nicer.”
“All I did was fling my shoes and asked if you were satisfied. You're kind of blowing it out of proportion, don't you think?” He said, leaning into her face to stare into those hazel eyes, which softened slightly from his closeness. He leaned away from her pink face, smirking to himself at how easily she could get so flushed.
“Okay, I'm sorry.” She said as she turned her head away from him. “Unfortunately, I can't give you anything to eat right now.”
“What!”
“I don't have time to cook anything. I was living off takeout for the past week. And I have to clean. I haven't cleaned the house in a week and my parents will be coming home soon.”
“You're folks are still out?” Inuyasha said as he looked around the living room and walked to look into the kitchen. “It doesn't look that messy to me.” He muttered more to himself than to her.
“Well, it is! I have to do my laundry, wash my dishes, dust, make sure all the bathrooms are clean AND I have to cook for you.” Kagome whined.
“Well then, where do we start?” Inuyasha asked as he turned to look at her surprised face.
“ Uh, `we.' Inuyasha?”
“Well, if I'm ever going to eat, I have to make sure you get your things done first. So where do we start.”
“ What can you do?”
“ Tell me what to do, and I'll do it, but no way in fucking hell am I going to scrub a toilet!”
She had to bite her tongue from giggling at his last statement. Her eyes scanned the rooms before coming to rest on him again. “ Okay, you start the dusting.”
“How?”
She disappeared for a moment, running into t he hallway only to come out later with a bandanna, a cloth, and a spray. He stared at her in a shock as she tied the bandana around his head, handed him cloth and the spray, and began sprinting into the kitchen while yelling, “Just spray and wipe every shiny object and countertop!”
He shrugged before looking into the kitchen to see that she had begun washing the dishes. Turning to the living room, he began dusting off the television, table, bookshelf and any “shiny” object he could find. Working his way across the halls and into the other rooms, he wiped anything with dust on it before calling back to Kagome.
“ Everything on this floor is clean, I think. You want me to dust the top floors too?”
“No, thank you! I can do the upper rooms.” She called from the kitchen. “Can you dry dishes without braking anything?” He heard her call.
“Yeah, I guess.” He walked into the kitchen to literally see the floors sparkle from the fresh mopping she had done. “You dry, I'll put everything away.” She said, pointing to a dry towel and into the sink, where the newly cleaned dished waited for him. Shrugging again, he lifted the towel and dried one by one, watching her out the corner of his eye as she placed a few dishes away before running out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He still cleaned off the plates and cups one by one before he saw her run out of the house and into the back yard with a bundle of clothing in her arms. He finished drying the moment she ran back into the kitchen and began putting everything back into its place.
`It's not just her legs that are fast.' He thought to himself as she ran out of the kitchen once finished with putting the dishes away. She came back, holding bags in her hands and placing them in front of him. “What are those?” He asked, holing his nose.
“Trash, take them outside and throw them away!” Came her voice from the stairs as he saw her run up with the cloth and spray in hand. Sighing, he picked up the garbage and walked outside to throw them in the dumpster.
“ Now what!” Inuyasha called as he saw head toward him from the house.
“I've…taken…care…of the bathrooms…all that's…left…is to hang…my laundry.” She panted.
“God, Kagome, do you do everything in a rush?” She panted a few more times.
“So do we hang the laundry?” He asked. She nodded. “I think it's best to do it before the sun goes down. It is the middle of the afternoon.” She breathed.
()()()()()()()
“Don't you have a dryer?” Inuyasha asked, annoyed that he had to hang the clothes on a thin rope in the backyard.
“My grandfather always said that it's more rewarding to do things manually. He says hard labor is more fulfilling.”
When she didn't hear a snide reply like she had expected, she turned after hanging up a shirt to have her eyes widen in horror.
“Nice panties, Kagome!” Inuyasha stated as he raised the undergarments into the air, stretching it between his hands.
“AH! Inuyasha, give me those!” She yelled, her face blood red, as she lunged at him, but he jumped from her way before she could grab her underpants from him.
“No way. Their red, my favorite color. I think I'll keep it as a souvenir!” He laughed as he ran around the back yard with the red clothing in his hand.
“NO! Don't wave them around like that! Give me those!” Kagome yelled, chasing him as he grinned at her. “Try and take them from me!” He smirked when he saw her blush and begin chasing him.
“YOU stupid MUTT!! When I get my hands on you-” She ran after him, running in circles in the back yard. Her face grew hot as he laughed and taunted her by stretching the clothing between his fingers. With one powerful sprint, she had jumped in front of him and swiped the underwear from his hands.
“You can't out run me! I'm still faster than you!” She said that all in one breath. Her legs lost their strength as she paled and threatened to fall to the floor.
“Kagome!” He was quick to grab her before her rump could collide with the ground.
“Are you okay?” He asked as she swallowed a few more urgent gulps of air. She sighed and leaned into him, her legs still weak. Her anger was forgotten as she leaned against him for his support while her legs were too weak to help her stand.
“I'm fine, Inuyasha. I just didn't breath and I huffed out that last sentence so fast that my legs gave out.”
“Hey.” She looked up at him in question. “Are we done now?”
She turned to see that all her clothes were hung save for the underwear in her hands. “Yeah, I think that's all.” It was then she realized that he was still holding her around the waist. Feeling the blood run to her legs (and her face) she wretched out of his hold.
“Can we eat now?” He asked tiredly.
“Not yet.”
“WHAT! I did all that work for you and we're still not done!!!”
“Calm down. I still have to buy the food and cook it!”
He crossed his arms and huffed. “Fine, I'm driving.”
“I'm not going anywhere with you!”
“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“The way you drive, I'd rather jump onto a speeding train then sit in the same car as you!”
“Hey! So what do you plan to do, run?”
“Yes, actually.”
He followed her back into the house as she got her keys and locked the doors before telling him to meet her outside. When he saw her emerge from the house with a purse on her shoulder, he waved. She didn't seem to acknowledge him as she kneeled into the ground, before sprinting across the street and into the nearest store.
“Crazy woman.” Inuyasha muttered as the image of her backside when she had kneeled in the ground sprayed into his mind. Shaking his head, he followed her into the store.
()()()()()()()()
“Inuyasha! Dinner's ready!” Kagome called from the kitchen as she finished cooking vegetable stew, rice and a few cups of noodles. She had sprinted into the store so fast that the cashier looked at her shocked. A moment later, Inuyasha arrived to help her carry her bags. Not wanting to make him wait any longer, she had only steamed some rice and made a small strew. She had also noted how he loved noodles so much that she had made seven different cups.
“OH, FINALLY!” Came a voice from the living room and she could imagine him jumping from the couch to dash into the kitchen.
She watched him, her jaw dropping as he attacked the food in lightening speed. “Whoa!” She blinked. No sooner had he filled his plate with rice and soy sauce, had he begun wolfing down the food like the starving guy he was. Kagome herself was a fast eater, but she was nowhere near a match for Inuyasha as he finished his strew and three cups of noodles within five minutes. Her eyes were wide as she watched him pick the pieces of the vegetables in his soup before hurriedly slurping down the warm water.
“Phew! That was GOOD!” Inuyasha said as she stretched and leaned back into his chair. He saw her look at him incredulously. “That was better than last time!”
“That's because you worked hard for this meal.” Kagome remarked. She had barley finished one small bowl of vegetable stew and Inuyasha had eaten half the steamed rice she made, two bowls of soup and the seven bowls of ramen that she made.
“Well, I might as well get going.” Inuyasha stated as he began to walk toward the door and put on his shoes.
“Wait, Inuyasha?” He turned his head to look at her calmly. “Thank you so much for helping me today.”
“Sure thing. Next time though, don't rush and torture yourself for my sake.” She jumped.
“You knew?”
“You're really workaholic.”
“You'd better come to school on Monday! I'm getting blamed for your attendance!” She threatened.
“Relax. After that dinner, you think I'm going to break our deal? IF you promise to get a good rest over the weekend and not busy yourself, I promise to come the whole fucking week.”
“I'll hold you to it.” She eyed him suspiciously as he turned to the door and left. `Weird guy.'
()()()()()()()
“He came over huh? So what happened?” Sango asked, seeing the dazed look on her friend's face that Monday. “Hello, Kagome!” She said waving her hand in front of her face.
“Higurashi! Snap out of it! WE have a student council meeting and I can't have you staring off into space!” Tatsuya yelled from across the room.
“What?” Kagome replied sheepishly.
“Our first school outing is coming up and you're busy staring into space! Snap out of it and get to work!” Kagome blushed as the other members of the council raised their eyebrows at her.
For the rest of the day, she ran across school, tuning out all outlets to fun and finishing her work for another week. She had to start planning the first school event with the council as well as begin running drills with her fellow track members for their first track meet in two weeks. Not only that, she had a mountain of things to ask her family when they came back from their little “vacation.”
“Uh! This is driving me CRAZY!” Kagome groaned when the teacher had given them free study time in her English class. She saw Inuyasha next to his seat near the window, with his head on the table, sleeping. Every time she would see him her mind would wander back to the time she had spent with him on Saturday and she remembered how she had chased him around as he waved her panties in the air.
“What's up Kagome?” Three of the girls looked at her questionably.
“I can't get it out of my head!” She yelled with such enthusiasm that the classmates looked at her with widened eyes. She blushed and sunk lower in her chair before noticing Inuyasha was awake and looking at her with a worried expression.
“UH! I hate running drills!” A girl whined after Kagome had explained about their new sprints. The school day had gone on regularly. Kagome took notes and scurried to finish her work for that week as Inuyasha slept through class and the girls swooned to take pictures of him in his sleep with their cell-phones.
“We have our first meet in two weeks. We have to start the drills sooner or later.” Kagome called to her team members.
“But the meet is only between our team! You always win!” Came the voices of most of girls.
“It doesn't matter whether you win or lose. For the team, you have to practice running everyday.” A new voice came into the conversation.
“Hataru-sensei.” Kagome bowed her head respectfully.
“Please, Higurashi-san, try and slow down a little this next week. I don't want to discourage our other team players. I know you like the feel of running as fast as you are able, but for the sake of the team…”
“Okay. I promise to slow down Hatari-sensei.” Kagome answered.
Practice went fast, almost as fast as Kagome's feet. The girls were defiantly a lot more cheerful that Kagome slowed somewhat and they were able to run the one hundred yard dash with glee.
“Oh, Hatari-sensei?” Kagome called to her coach at the end of practice.
“Yes?”
“ I wanted to talk to you about our team uniform.”
“Is there something wrong?”
“Well, some of the girls on the team have found the material very uncomfortable. The cotton is quick to catch sweat and it gets itchy. I was wondering if there is enough in the budget to change the fabric to polyester and maybe change the color? I don't like pink. I think it's a free-walker color.”
“I'll talk to Tanaka-sama about it, Kagome-san.” The coach said calmly.
“Thank you!” Kagome bowed before rushing into the locker room. She quickly changed and ran home to prepare for her family returning next week.
She ran into the house, huffing as the door closed behind her.
()()()()()()()
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