InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bishies Without Shirts ❯ Another Bare Chest, Another Stupid Shirt ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Another Bare Chest, Another Stupid Shirt

"Well, Higurashi," Houjo said nervously. "You're looking very well for someone with chicken pox."

"Oh! Houjo-kun," Kagome said, blushing. "I don't have chicken pox! It's for…my cousin Jun, from Yokohama!"

"I thought he had Parvo?" Houjo said, confused.

"Boy, news sure travels fast around here!" Kagome muttered. "Yes, he has Parvo, but he's also has hives. Mom didn't know that he had a nasty allergy to strawberries, and she made him some strawberry pancakes this morning so…uh, would you like a cup of tea?" she said quickly, changing the subject.

"I'm sorry, I can't stay. I just came to deliver the lotion. I have to get back to work, or Yurimoto-sama will be angry." Houjo said, looking sadly at Kagome. Kagome, however, flashed him a huge, toothy grin.

"Oh well, too bad! I guess if you have to go, then you have to go! Well, see you later Houjo-kun!" she said, practically pushing him out the door. "You'd better hurry back, you don't want your boss to get angry! Nice seeing you! Goodbye!" She was about to slam the door in his face when he blocked it with his foot.

"Wait a second, Higurashi." he said, taking her hand in his. "How can I be so rude? I hardly ever see you in school anymore, and when you are kind enough to offer me hospitality in your own home, I callously refuse! I can be a few minutes late. I'll just take the time out of my break. I would love a cup of tea." he said, smiling at her happily.

"Oh, of course." Kagome said, a pained look in her eyes that he mistook for timid joy. "W-won't you come inside, Houjo-kun?"

"I am honored, Higurashi." he said, bowing his head slightly, then entering the house. Once he had passed by and his back was to her, she slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. 'Baka!' she scolded herself. Oh well, it was too late now. She'd just have to make him the quickest cup of tea ever made in the history of Japan.

"So, Houjo-kun, what's new at school?" she said, making small talk while she put the kettle on.

"Well, there is a dance coming up next Friday…" he said timidly.

"That's nice, now where did I put those teabags?" she said, cutting him off. She could already see the direction this conversation was going in, and she wanted no part of it.

"Higurashi, I'd be very happy if you would-" Houjo began, but he was interrupted by a loud crash from overhead. "What's going on up there?" he asked, momentarily distracted.

"Uh, Sota and cousin Jun are washing the uh, cat." she said lamely.

"It sounds like they're washing a heard of elephants!" Houjo said, laughing. Kagome laughed, too, but nervously.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Higurashi-san was having her own problems. She had managed to put an end to their brawling by promising Sesshoumaru another bath, this time alone and undisturbed, and by swearing to Inuyasha that she would not allow her daughter to go off gallivanting with 'that guy downstairs.' She had successfully gotten Sesshoumaru into the bath, having shown him how to operate it by himself, and after a quick discussion about what shampoo and conditioner were used for, she had essentially washed one demon out of her hair. His little brother, however, was proving to be more of a handful.

Try as she might, she couldn't keep him off the staircase.

"Inuyasha, dear." she said, appealing to him for the umpteenth time. "The young man just stopped by to drop off some more calamine lotion. He is not going to run off with Kagome, no matter what your brother said. He was only teasing you. Now please come back up here before you're seen."

"I don't care if he sees me!" Inuyasha growled. "Let him! I'm going to be the last thing he ever sees!"

"You will not kill the delivery boy!" Higurashi-san said sensibly. "Especially in this shrine. I would consider it a great personal insult, and I would see to it that you were never allowed to come here or see my daughter again. Do I make myself perfectly clear, young man?" Inuyasha stared the lady of the house right back in the eye, testing her will against his own, seeing if she was bluffing. He was horrified when her hand shot out and grabbed him by one of his sensitive ears.

"Don't you give me that look!" Higurashi-san cried, tugging roughly at the ear. "Get off these stairs immediately and help me clean up this mess!"

"OW! Alright! Alright! Let go!" he yelped. She did as he asked, but kept a close eye on him, in case he tried to run.

"What do you want me to do?" Inuyasha asked hurriedly, rubbing his sore ear.

"Well, you can start by propping up Kagome's door against that wall, then you can pick up everything you two knocked over in Kagome's room and mine. I'll get some rags and begin cleaning up this pink nightmare." Without another word of coaxing, Inuyasha quickly propped up the door, then hurried off to Kagome's bedroom.

"That's my future son-in-law." Higurashi-san sighed, a faint smile touching her lips as she took a moment to catch her breath. She didn't rest long, however, because at that moment, Kagome came running up the stairs. She ran past her mother, down the hallway, and into her brother's bedroom, where she started rummaging through drawers.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" her mother asked, following her into Sota's room.

"Houjo-kun started to ask me if I wanted to go with him to a dance next Friday, and I got nervous and spilled an entire pot of tea on him!" Kagome explained as she flung a pair of jeans over her shoulder.

"Oh my goodness!" Higurashi-san exclaimed. "Is he alright?"

"He's fine. I was so distracted by all the noise coming from up here that I never turned the stove on, so the water was still cold. But his shirt is soaking wet now, so I told him I'd bring him down one of Sota's." she finished, pulling a likely candidate from the dresser. "Is everything Ok up here?"

"Why yes, Kagome, everything's fine." her mother said innocently. Kagome gave her mother a funny look, then shook her head and ran back downstairs.

Houjo was waiting for her in the kitchen, his wet shirt still resting on his shoulders, but completely unbuttoned, revealing a surprisingly tight, tan chest. Kagome averted her eyes, however, and handed him the neon-yellow shirt that she had pulled from Sota's dresser.

"H-here Houjo-kun," she said bashfully, her cheeks turning pink. "I hope it fits." Houjo removed his wet shirt, draping over the back of a chair, and revealing the rest of his tight, tan torso. Much to Kagome's chagrin, rather than putting the new shirt directly on, he held it out to read first.

"Ah, 'Yu-gi-oh!' Uh, thanks Higurashi." he said politely, before finally and mercifully pulling the t-shirt over his head. The situation did not improve much for Kagome, however; the shirt was very tight, and seemed to accentuate the lines of his body even more.

"Houjo-kun…" Kagome said tiredly.

"I think I'd better get back to work." Houjo interrupted, anxiously.

"Of course!" she said eagerly as she showed him out. "I'm so sorry, again."

"That's alright." he said happily. "No harm done. I'll give you back the shirt when I see you in school tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

"You bet!" she said, smiling at him. "Thank you for bringing the calamine lotion!" .

"No problem!" he said as he mounted his bicycle. "Just doing my job. Tell your cousin that I hope he feels better!"

"I will! Arigato!" she called after him as he rode away. Then she stepped back inside and closed the door with an exhausted sigh.

"This day is never going to end…" she said wearily as she trudged up the stairs. When she reached the top, however, she was greeted by a pleasant surprise. Apart from the fact that her door was now resting against the wall, instead of on it's hinges in the doorframe, everything appeared to be back to normal. All traces of pink footprints had been wiped away. The only thing that troubled her now was that she didn't see her mother anywhere. Deciding to investigate, she quietly entered her room. Inside, she found her mother sitting on the bed, Inuyasha's head in her lap as the hanyou slept soundly.

"Mama?" Kagome called softly. Her mother looked up, bringing a finger to her lips. Kagome nodded, tip-toeing into the room.

"He was so tired." her mother whispered, stroking Inuyasha's hair.

"He hasn't rested since this whole thing started." Kagome said sadly, shaking her head. "and my guess is that he's going to get a whole lot worse than Sesshoumaru did, being half human and all."

"Mmmm. Chicken pox can be very serious for a boy his age." Higurashi-san whispered, her voice filled with concern.

"Well, we can only hope that his demon blood will offer some protection." Kagome whispered gravely. "Speaking of which, where's Sesshoumaru?" Her mother stifled a giggle, but her eyes twinkled with merriment.

"He's been in the tub for last hour! I think he might have used an entire bottle of shampoo on that tail?" Higurashi-san looked at her daughter uncertainly. Kagome nodded. "that tail of his." her mother finished.

"Good." Kagome said. "He was looking pretty desperate the last time I saw him. Why did you buy them those ridiculous shirts, Mama?"

"Now now!" her mother scolded good-naturedly. "Sota likes shirts like those, and I've never shopped for boys their age! Besides," she added quickly, "they were on sale."

"I guess it doesn't matter." Kagome said quietly. "Their clothes should be dry soon, anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't count on that." her mother said, shaking her head. "It's not like I could put them in the dryer, they're made from silks and fur, for heaven's sake!"

"Great." Kagome muttered. "What are we going to do in the meantime?"

"Well, I guess I'll have to call my girlfriends and cancel that 'girl's night out.' I can't very well go traipsing about all over town and leave you here alone with two sick boys on your hands."

"Oh, Mama." Kagome sighed. "You've been waiting weeks to go out with your friends! I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."