InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bishies Without Shirts ❯ The Stage is Set ( Chapter 25 )

Chapter 25: The stage is set

"Well Koishii…if you say so, then I guess I can handle the pain…" Inuyasha teased as he tried to nibble again on Kagome's ear. "And speaking of pains…just how are we going to get my stupid brother to cooperate with us? He's pissed as hell at us…you know I bet if I walked up to him and used the words 'baka hentai' in a sentence he's rip my head off before I got the 'baka' part out. You know how he hates it when he can't get his own way…" He paused to get in a few quick little kisses in the soft hollow below her ear and she shivered with delight. "Besides the bastard's never gonna agree to helping us and he'll probably want something in return for being 'nice' and keeping Sota occupied." Inuyasha chuckled as he thought of something funny.

"What's so funny Saiai?" She said as she reached up to kiss him again. Twining her fingers in his hair she pulled his face close to hers and kissed him just as deeply as he had just kissed her minutes before. Taking a minute to catch his breath he murmured something silly about bribing his brother with his own set of Pikachu sheets. Soon they stood there; heads together giggling like the very morons Sesshomaru thought they were.

"Eh-hem", Higarashi-san coughed as she walked into the living room to see where her daughter and her koibito disappeared to. "You know I think Sessho-kun was trying very hard to tell me today to get a chaperone for you two…." She watched amused as they pushed each other out of their embrace. "Remember what I just told you two about puppy-eared grandchildren?" she sighed. "Well is your friend coming over or not? I'm just asking as we need to go out and get something for Inuyasha to wear…And possibly Sessho-kun too. And you know what Kagome, since you seem to know Inuyasha's tastes so well maybe you should come with me this time."

"Mama? What if they….you know…" She looked at Inuyasha as she went on, "can't 'play nicely together' while we're gone? Think of what could happen to Sota…." He smiled at her as if to reassure her he would behave himself.

"I've already thought of that Dear. In fact I'm on my way to speak to Sessho-kun about it. You know I'm sure he can be trusted to help Sota get his homework done, while Inuyasha sits here quietly and watches TV. And doesn't move an inch off the sofa…." He nodded vigorously in agreement with her as he heard the implied threat, and didn't want to do anything that would prevent him from being with Kagome when she got back.

Higarashi-san motioned for Kagome to come with her as they said their good-byes to Inuyasha and left him parked in front of the TV watching Rurouni Kenshin. Inuyasha pouted as soon as they left the room as he knew he was going to have to be the one who was going to have to deal with Sesshomaru and get him to promise to behave himself later. He closed his eyes as he followed the sounds of their footsteps up the stairs towards Sota's room in his mind. He calmed and centered himself as he wished he could hear just as well as his brother, which brought with it some welcome memories of his afternoon spent making out with his precious Kagome. So wrapped up was he in that one particularly juicy memory that he nearly missed what was going on upstairs. He did hear enough to know that Sesshomaru promised to behave himself as long as he was left alone. Then he laughed when heard his brother say that he would be more than happy to play with Sota. As quickly as that statement made him laugh, it also made him feel sad as Sesshomaru very rarely played with him when he was young. "I wonder what they're playing with. Sota always wanted me to play with his action figures….and what did I do but pull a 'Sesshomaru' and told him no….maybe they're playing with those? Or maybe his Gundams, or those stupid car things… the Transformers?" he thought as he tried to concentrate on the TV. "Maybe I can go up when they leave and find out…yup! That's what I'll do." He sat there quietly as Higarashi-san and Kagome left after telling them good-bye as well as hurry back, which made Kagome giggle nervously as if she suspected trouble. He could tell she was torn between her desire to help buy him a gift of sorts as well as the desire to stick around in case he needed her help. So he waved them away and sat back and waited until he was sure they were gone. Then he climbed the stairs and headed towards Sota's room.

"I, Vegeta, will kick your ass Kakarot! It will do you well to remember that I, Vegeta, am a prince among Saiyens!"

"Hey Vegeta! Chill! As much as I would love to fight you right now, we have to work together to battle the evil Majin Buu!"

Inuyasha heard laughter followed by Sesshomaru asking Sota, "Which one is Majin Buu again?" More laughter this time all Sota's as he told him, "this one!" Then Sesshomaru replying, "But he is so small and weak looking. Are your sure he is that powerful?" Inuyasha picked that moment to come in and was rewarded for his trouble by his brother telling him to go away.

"We need to talk, Sesshomaru."

"Why should I talk to you? Wouldn't you rather just sit there and gloat? You must be very proud of yourself this time…"

"Sesshomaru…please…" Inuyasha sighed. Sesshomaru was making a point of looking everywhere else but at him and Inuyasha was reminded of last night when they strolled in the garden. Then too his brother wouldn't look at him, let alone talk to him, as he followed along and poured out his heart to him. It also hurt the way Sesshomaru made a point of being very much the older brother to Sota as they sat there on the floor playing with the things that Inuyasha thought were so stupid. Then he realized that whenever Sesshomaru did do him the favor of playing with him, he always wanted to play with the little toy samurai, that he gave Inuyasha as a present. "Sesshomaru…we really need to talk and you sitting there sulking and ignoring me isn't going to help any…. Maru-chan??"

"Say your peace and then go Inuyasha. I promised Higarashi-sama I would entertain Sota-kun, while I believe you promised you would stay downstairs and watch the box." He picked up the action figure and looked at it as if he were imploring it to make the 'annoyance' go away.

"Uh..Sessho-kun, do you want something to drink? I'm not old enough to use the stove by myself, so I can't make you tea, but I can pour us some juice. Want some too, Inuyasha?"

"Sure Sota… Sesshomaru and I would love some, right Sesshomaru?" He could feel his anger rising as Sesshomaru looked at Sota and smiled as he nodded in affirmation. Sota looked from one to the other checking to see if it was ok for him to leave. When Inuyasha nodded he did and they could hear his soft footsteps head down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"Cut the crap now Sesshomaru! Five minutes ago you were having the time of your life in here and the minute I walk in you're sulking up a storm again. What the hell is your problem this time??? Damn it! Look at me when I speak to you!"

"Are you finished ranting? What is it you wish to talk about Inuyasha?" He raised an eyebrow as he finally turned to look at his brother. "Oh I know…do you wish to talk about how you made a fool out of me earlier? Is that what this is? Why don't we skip all that and get to the part where you start gloating about how you somehow managed to do what you wanted to do all along and bed the wench and when it looks like you were about to be discovered everyone sees you sitting there playing games. I mean with a mind as devious as that, I would have thought you would have destroyed that upstart hanyou Naraku by now. Look at how easily you outsmarted a full blooded Youkai! You should be very proud of yourself."

"Shut up Sesshomaru! You don't wear 'self pity' any better than I do. So I pulled one over on you. Big deal!

If you hadn't been so sure that I was going to bed Kagome that you went out of your way to call attention to it, then you might have very well caught us! But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about…." He sighed and clenched and unclenched his fists as he looked Sesshomaru in the eye. "You know it won't kill you to actually pay attention to me for a change instead of acting like I'm some huge annoyance that you can't wait to be rid of." He made a pained face and went on. "Look Kagome is having a friend come over cuz she wants me to meet her and I want you to stay away! As in stay as far away as you possibly can be and still be in this house. You hear me? And gods help you if you cause any trouble for Kagome when her friend is here! I swear I'll kill then I'll try to see if I can use your sword to revive so I can have the pleasure of doing it all over again!"

"Are you through, Oto-chan? I believe Sota is coming with our drinks. Don't worry I won't interfere with your little plans…all I ask is you do me a favor as well… I wish to go home. As much fun as it's been here, I really wish to be home again…that's all. I have things that need me there and I have been away far too long."

"What kind of things? Afraid Jaken's found someone else's ass to kiss? Worried someone forgot to feed your dragon? Shit! You've only been gone two days and a night. It's not like anything terrible's gonna happen if you don't get home yesterday!"

"Rin."

"Rin? Since when did you start giving two shits about the ningen brat?"

"Since I met her… she is…special…like Higarashi-sama. Arigatou Sota-kun." He said as Sota returned with their drinks. Taking one off the tray Sota held he drank it down before continuing his talk with Inuyasha and changing the subject away from Rin. "Anyway, that is not your concern. But if you swear to leave me in peace the rest of the time I am here, I will stay out of your way. When are you going to meet this ningen? I believe Sota wanted to watch Dragonball Z after dinner and I agreed to sit and watch with him." He picked up one of the action figures and held it up to show Inuyasha. "Tonight's episode is all about how this one is defeated. As small and weak as he is…he has turned out to be a most formidable foe. This one too is very powerful but he doesn't know it. Out of all of them he seems the weakest, yet he has saved the world when no one else could." He laughed and went on. "It also seems he fell in love with a ningen girl and they go on to have a child who is also powerful. His mate started out helping him at first…oh yes I nearly forgot…this one is his annoying little brother who won't leave him alone." He gave Inuyasha a look as he pointed to a small child-like figurine.

"What's that supposed to mean, Sesshomaru? Look if you give me your word you won't interfere with Kagome and her friend and the rest of tonight's nonsense. And you two had better not breathe a word to Kagome that I said that or else! Anyway I promise to leave you in peace Sesshomaru as well as see about getting you back home. However I can't promise you when that'll be..." He shrugged.

"Fine I agree. Now get lost." Having dismissed his younger brother Sesshomaru resumed the game he was playing with Sota who looked a bit troubled at what he heard. Inuyasha stood there silently fuming for a few minutes before he left. He had just made his way downstairs in time to meet the two Higarashi women at the door. Kagome was bursting with desire to show him the stuff she picked out for him and it did a lot to ease his bitterness over his brother.

"Look Inuyasha! We went to this shop that caries a lot of imported stuff, you know like from America and Europe and well I thought you'd look nice in this!" She riffled through the shopping bag she brought into the living room and set at her feet as she sat down on the sofa. Within minutes she pulled out a soft red rugby style shirt with a broad white stripe around the middle and a white collar and cuffs as well as a pair of pre-washed baggy cut jeans and handed it to him. Then she found inside the other thing she had got him. "I know how much you hate wearing them and all but this one's really special! It's a Yankee's hat! One of our best players now lives in America and players for them. His name's Hideki Matsui. I don't think Ayume will ask you anything about it, cause she really doesn't like baseball."

"It's ummm…fine, Kagome." When he saw the sad look on her face he quickly added, "I'll wear the hat if you really want me to, ok?" That's when he knew it was ok as she kissed the tip of his nose.

Meanwhile Higarashi-san had gone upstairs to Sota's room. There she found her son and her future son-in-law's brother playing on the floor with his action figures. It looked like they were recreating some huge battle and she thought how lucky Rin was to have someone like Sessho-kun look after her. It still puzzled her that there seemed to be some bad blood between Inuyasha and his brother for he seemed to get on so well with Sota…and yet there was something there that she couldn't put her finger on. Shrugging away her thoughts on the matter, Higarashi-san made her presence known.

"Hi Mama! Whatcha got there?" was barely discernable from "Okaerinsai Higarashi-sama." As two heads looked up from what they were doing on the floor.

"We're back from the store and Kagome is showing Inuyasha the stuff we got him. Sessho-kun, I bought you something as well. I hope you like it." She said as she sat down on Sota's bed and pulled out the outfit for Sesshomaru from the shopping bag she carried. The two boys had by now gotten up and sat on the floor at her feet. They watched as she held out a pair of black jeans, then a white muscle shirt followed by a black bowling type shirt with twin dragons in shades of gray on the lower front and back.

"Doumoarigatou Higarashi-sama! It is a wonderful gift. I do not know what to say…after all the trouble I have caused you and all…and then to find you here bringing me another gift." He bowed low before her as he was touched and some what flustered by the gift, not to mention a bit embarrassed by his previous behavior and he wished to cover up that fact.

"Come on Sessho-kun try it on! I bet you'll look cool in it!" Sota cried.

"Here Sota Dear, I've bought you something too." Higarashi-san said as she handed him a pair of jeans. She smiled back at his happy expression, then excusing herself she left to go back downstairs again. Sota and Sesshomaru changed into their new clothes and were just finishing as Kagome knocked softly on the door.

"Are you two decent yet? I need to come in for a minute and Inuyasha needs to come in too so he can change when I'm gone."

"Yeah we're ready Neesan! Wait 'til you see us! We look great don't we Sessho-kun?"

"Hai! That we do."

"WOW!" Kagome thought as she caught sight of Sesshomaru. "Maybe I should have picked out something like that for Inuyasha?" She shook her head and smiled weakly at Sesshomaru's raised eyebrow. "Ummm….Sesshomaru, would it be alright if I braided your hair for you? It's kind of long and….well your ears are rather elfish…"

"Wegome…I have promised my brother I wouldn't disturb you when your guest is here… so I fail to see the need for you to touch my hair…" He looked at her uncertainly.

"Thanks…I think, but you know in case you and Sota decide to go down and watch TV and all…well and your hair's longer than most guys wear theirs here and all…and….uuummmm…."

He sighed. "Very well, I will agree to it as long as you agree that I do not have to be confined up here. And don't worry; I know how to be polite….."

"Heehhh…ok let's go to my room then and get started." It was a bit tense as they passed Inuyasha on the way, but Sesshomaru surprised them both by asking Inuyasha to come back when he was done so that he could see what the Wegome bought him. Once inside her room Kagome told him to sit in her desk chair while she brushed his hair. She was amazed at the silkiness of it for it felt different than Inuyasha's whose hair felt more like her own. Then she carefully arranged it so that it covered the pointed tips of his ears and braided and braided until she was sure her fingers would fall off. That's when Inuyasha came in and she sighed. "He looks absolutely perfect! I knew that shirt would look good on him! And those pants… Sesshomaru's may be tighter and show more…I can't believe I was checking him out! But somehow those baggy jeans look just right on my Little Puppy-chan! He just looks soooo comfortable and huggable and yummy!!!" She thought as a slight blush spread across her cheeks.

"You look … good Oto-chan." He said as he got up to leave. "I'm going to watch the box with Sota. I believe he's waiting downstairs for me and we're going to watch DBZ and Pikachu. I forget if they are on the same show, but I'm sure Sota knows what's going on so I can ask him…." He nodded and left them. They could hear him walk down the stairs followed by Sota's voice saying something about hurrying.

"You look Yummy Inuyasha…" Kagome said as she hugged Inuyasha close.

"I was thinking the same thing…Koishii….can't you call your friend up and tell her to come another time?" that's when the doorbell rang and Kagome's heart skipped a beat as she heard Sesshomaru get up to answer it.

"Nooooo!!! Please let it be Sota who got the door!"

"Hunh? Who cares if Sesshomaru…..Oh shit!"

They ran from the room as quickly as they could without actually running and were just in time to see Sesshomaru open the door followed by not one but three girls around Kagome's age come in. Wide eyed the three of them looked at each and squealed, "Kawaii!!!!" followed by Yuka crying, "No wonder Kagome-chan keeps him hidden away from us!!!!" and "I'm so glad you invited us along Ayumi!"