InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Count the Pretty Spiders ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

Title: Count the Pretty Spiders

 

Author: Anonymous Fangirl

 

Summary: After the death of Kagome's grandfather, she had two options: quite school to help with the shrine, or hire a new priest who will work for room and board. But. . . what's Naraku doing there? (Naraku x Kagome)

 

Rating: Mature.

 

Pairings: Naraku - Kagome

 

Genre: Romance, Angst (Of a sort.)

 

Dedicated: To Walis. The best reviewer in the history of reviewers. She totally inspired this chapter.

 

Author's Note - I have decided the theme song to this story is You Were Meant For Me by Jewel. You should probably play it really low in the background throughout. . . like, the whole story. I'm listening to it while I'm writing it, and it sort of adds to the feel.

 

But you don't have to. You just ought to.

 

 

Chapter Five

 

“Maybe,” Kagome offered tenatively hours later when Kogajiin was still playing video games - they had switched to Grand Theft Auto hours ago and were currently cutting down on Vice City's Hooker Population - “Kogajiin should be getting back to his dorm?”

 

Kogajiin turned from his awkward position by the television and gave Kagome a flat look, which, when aided by the flashing blue light emitted from the television, gave the whole look a rather eeiry effect. “And let your little brother beat me?”

 

Souta stuck out his tongue, obviously in agreement with Kogajiin. “We're having fun!”

 

Kagome sighed, and was about to make the point that Kogajiin (probaby) had school in the morning, and that if he didn't get back to his dorm, his room mates would worry about him. . . but then her mother stepped in and sided with the two boys.

“I think that Kogajiin should call his dorm and tell them that he is spending the night.” Kon said with a smile.

 

Kogajiin directed his attention from the television to her. “Thanks, Kon. But Kagome's probably right. I should get going.”

 

Souta sniffed. “But. . . it's raining!” He said, pointing to the ceiling.

 

Kagome looked out the window. It really was raining. . . and hard. That's odd. . . Kagome thought with a frown on her lips and her brow. The weather report yesterday morning said that it would be sunny all week long. Partly the reason why Kagome had decided to stay all week.

 

“How odd.” Her mother voiced behind her, obviously noting the same fact that Kagome had. “Well,” Her mother began, a thread of determenation in her voice, “we can't have you walking out in that rain. You'll catch a cold.”

 

Kogajiin paused the game and stood, looking skeptically out the window and in to the pouring rain. “I don't know. . .” He gave Kon and Kagome a slanted look. “I wouldn't want to impose or anything.”

 

Kagome was about to agree with him. . . offer him an umbrella or to buy his taxi fare back to the dorm. . . but Kon simply smiled and waved his objection aside. “Oh, don't you worry about it. We have Grandfather's room, and you were planning on moving in after all. I don't see the harm in letting you spend the night.”

 

And Kagome couldn't either. Her mom was right - there was no reason why Kogajiin couldn't spend the night. They had already agreed that he was in fact the man they were looking for over dinner. Neither Kon nor Souta could believe their good luck for finding him so soon. Kagome, on the other hand, was trying to identify what the nagging feeling that just wouldn't leave her alone signafied.

 

“Kagome? Did you hear me?” Her mother asked her, ducking her head in to her daughter's line of vision.

 

Kagome shook her head. “No, I'm sorry. I must have been spacing out.”

 

Souta sniggered. “She does that so often she should be surprised when she isn't spacing out.”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. “You were saying?”

 

“Oh, would you be so kind as to show Kogajiin to his room?” Kon asked. “I have to do the laundry, and then straighten up. I'm sure you can handle him.”

 

Kagome sighed. That made one of them. Sighing, she turned her attention to the boys. “Are you ready, or are you going to stay out here and play some more video games?”

 

Kogajiin gave an exagerated yawn for Souta's sake and stretched his arms high above his head. Kagome pretended that she didn't notice the way his muscles made his University Uniform move in all sorts of interesting ways. Aren't those clothes designed to discourage female attention? Kagome wondered. Because if that was the designers goal, they failed miserably!

 

“I think I'm ready to turn in now.” Kogajiin informed her, drawing her attention from his arms to his face. “If that's alright with you, of course?” His voice sounded slightly patronizing, but Kagome chose to ignore it.

 

Kagome nodded, but frowned when she caught a glance of the clock. It was barely nine thirty! “Sure. . . but it isn't really that late. Do you really want to go to bed at nine thirty?”

 

Kogajiin winced. “Nine thirty? I'm normally in bed by nine.” He told her, and crossed the room to the door.

 

Her interest was piked. “Why?” She asked, in a voice that sounded much younger than she.

 

Kogajiin shrugged. “I sleep really deeply, so if I don't go to bed early, I won't wake up to my alarm clock.”

 

“Oh.” Kagome said dumbly, fumbling with the sudden silence. She lead him up the stairs, and tried to think of something to say. Throwing a glance over to where his hand rested on the siding, she found herself questioning once again where he had gotten so many scars.

 

Kogajiin must have caught her glancing at his hand, for he withdrawed it and put it in to his pocket. Kagome looked up, and saw that Kogajiin was staring at her hard enough to burn holes in her skull. “You want to know where I got the scars, huh?” He asked, and turned to face her when thy got to the landing of the stairs.

 

Kagome shrugged, feigning disinterest. “Not particularly.” She lied.

 

Kogajiin smiled. “Good.” He said, and pointed at a door. “Is that the bathroom?”

 

Kagome nodded. “Umm. . . if you want to take a shower, I can go and get you a towel.” She offered

 

Kogajiin shook his head. “No, but I think I'll take you up on your offer in the morning.”

 

When Kagome tried to lead him past the bathroom, he slowed. “Do you. . . maybe have an extra toothbrush?” He asked a bit sheepishly.

 

Kagome frowned. Do we? She doubted it. “I dunno. Let me check.” She walked in to the bathroom and saw that there were only three toothbrushes, and upon checking he cabniets she found no more.

 

Kagome frowned and looked at her own toothbrush. Well, she thought, picking it up, I can always just ask mom to pick me up a new one at the store tomorrow.

 

“Here.” Kagome said, offering her own toothbrush to him.

 

Kogajiin smiled. “Bunnies?” He asked, looking at the blue and pink designs on the grip.

 

Kagome frowned and bit the inside of her lip. “I thought it was cute. . .” She said with a pout. Her brother was always teasing her about little things like that too.

 

“This is your toothbrush?” Kogajiin asked, shock clearly written on his face.

 

Kagome frowned. “Well, if it's not good enough for you, you can just go to bed without brushing your teeth. Doesn' really bother me.”

 

“It doesn't bother you that I'm going to be using your toothbrush?” Kogajiin asked, arching one high eyebrow.

 

“Why should it?” She asked, putting false humor in to her voice.

 

“Because. . .” Kogajiin began, clearly trying to decide how to word his next sentence. “It's like. . . an indirect kiss.”

 

She blushed hard then. “It is not!” She insisted, even though she was beginning to realize that it kind of was.

 

Kogajiin nodded. “Well, it's touched your mouth - the inside of your mouth, too - and then it would touch my mouth.” He put his hands together, trapping the toothbrush between them. “Indirect kiss.”

 

Kagome averted her gaze from his. “Well, I don't mind if you don't.” She said, trying to sound tougher than she felt.

 

Kogajiin shrugged and put some toothpaste on the rather feminine brush. “Whatever.” He said before putting it in his mouth.

 

Though she tried to keep her head pointed away, her gaze had been drawn to him brushing his teeth anyway. He's just cleaning his teeth. She kept insisting to herself. No different than any of the other billion people who are doing the same exact thing. But that didn't explain why she felt like a voyeur, watching something horribly explicit.

 

Indirect kiss. Indirect kiss. Indirect kiss.

 

Kagome shook her head, breaking out of her trance when she saw him spit out the paste and rinse off her brush.

 

Kogajiin dried his face on the soft purple hand towel that was lying near to sink and shook Kagome's toothbrush dry. . . just before he offered it to her.

 

Kagome stared at it blankly, as if she had no idea what to do with it.

 

“Here you go. Your turn.” Kogajiin said, a challenge in his eyes.

 

Kagome blushed and held up her hands. “Oh no.” She said, backing out of the bathroom. “I should probably be getting you to your room. You know, school in the morning and all that.”

 

Kogajiin shook his head. “I wouldn't dream of denying your personal hygiene just for a few extra minutes of sleep.” He said, offering her the toothbrush again. “Unless, of course, you really are bothered by the thought of sharing a toothbrush with me.” He lay the toothbrush down on the counter with a light tap and withdrew his hand.

 

Indirect kiss! Kagome frowned, but picked up the utensil anyway. Indirect kiss! Her mind insisted once again. Kagome turned on the tap, and pushed Kogajiin aside. “Whatever.” She said, using the word he used earlier.

 

Applying the toothpaste, she wished that the little voice in her head that kept whispering indirect kiss indirect kiss indirect kiss would just be shanked. She stared at the toothbrush for only a second before taking a deep breath - much like one does before they are dropped from a really high roller coaster - and she put it in her mouth.

 

She began to relax after that. It wasn't so bad. No different than it was this morning -

 

(except it had been in his mouth)

 

and it was just the same and it didn't taste any different -

 

(except that it smelled like him. . . was that cologne?)

 

and it was nothing at all like an indirect kiss -

 

(except for the fact that it was)

 

at all.

 

“Finished yet?” Kogajiin asked a bit impatiently, leaning in over her shoulder to reach for the floss.

 

Kagome groaned and shoved at him with her shoulder. “Quite crowding me!” She commanded through a mouth full of foam.

 

Kogajiin removed some of the floss and trapped Kagome between his body and the wall. “You should spit before you talk.” He chastised lightly before slipping the floss in to his mouth.

 

Kagome spit and glared at him. “Can you mouth please? I need to rinse.”

 

Kogajiin tilted his hips a fraction away from her - techinically moving, but not really.

 

Kagome sighed in defeat and leaned down, trying to ignore that fact that if she were to move just that much she would be touching his -

 

“I think you're all rinsed now.” Kogajiin said, tossing her the floss.

 

Kagome nearly bumped her head on his elbow, but she caught the floss none the less. Pulling out a piece, she walked towards the door, opting to floss in her room. “This way to your bedroom.”

 

In a matter of minutes, Kogajiin was settled in his new room. “Nice room.” He said, sitting in the four poster bed that had previously belonged to her grandfather. “Much nicer than that tiny bathroom. How can the three of you share it?”

 

It normally doesn't seem that small. . . Kagome nearly said, but shrugged a shoulder instead. “We make due.” She answered simply. “Good night, Kogajiin.” She said, turning towards the door.

 

“Kagome?” He said in a quiet voice that sent shivers running up and down her spine.

 

“Yes, Nara - I mean, Kogajiin?” She asked, barely surpressing the need to shiver.

 

Kogajiin frowned, obviously catching the name she had nearly called him by. “Could you do me a favor?”

 

Kagome nodded. “What?”

 

“Could you turn out the lights?” He asked, a sheepish smile on his face.

 

Kagome smiled. “Sure.” She said. Turning out the lights and turning back to him, she felt the need to flee. In the dark, his eyes - an already eeiry shade of mahgaony - glowed red, and the sheepish smile that she had thought so innocent in the light became that of a wolf.

 

It's him! Her subconcious yelled at her, demanding she attack. But logic prevailed - it seemed to be that way more often than not these days - and Kagome ignored the feeling of evil.

 

“Can you do me another favor?” He asked, his voice seeming to take on all sorts of new layers in the dark.

 

Kagome nodded, and then realized he probably couldn't see it in the dark. “Sure.” She answered, and tried to not worry about the consequences of agreeing with him.

 

He was quiet for a second, and she knew from the fact that she couldn't see his teeth that he was frowning.

 

“Kogajiin?” She asked quietly.

 

“Just. . .” Kogajiin made an almost choked sound. “Just sleep well, alright?”

 

Kagome smiled. “Alright then.”

 

“No nightmares?” Kogajiin insisted.

 

“No nightmares.” She assured him, and walked out of the dark room in to the darker hallway. “Sleep well, Kogajiin.”

 

And as she lay down to sleep, she couldn't shake the feeling of Déjà vu.

 

 

It was a mocking bird that woke her up in the morning. A moking bird who only knew how to sing in on off beat tone. And it only knew how to mock a car alarm.

 

Stupid bird.

 

Kagome walked over to the window and opened it, taking a deep breath of the morning and trying her hardest to ignore the fact that she hated the air that invaded her lungs. It was polluted, and unclean, and though the air of Sengoku Jidai reeked of death and body odor, it still tasted cleaner than the poison she was filling her lungs with.

 

When I am done in the past, Kagome thought with a wry smile I think I'll take up smoking. At least then she wouldn't think the air was so distasteful. And maybe, eventually, she would get used to it one again.

 

Maybe.

 

A flash of blue light on her left caught her eyes, and she actually felt her heart stop when she saw the rolling door to the well house slide open slowly.

 

Inuyasha!

 

Immediately, Kagome wanted to get Kogajiin out of the house. He resembled Naraku in form, and maybe he smelt like him too. Inuyasha wasn't exactly the densiest guy that she knew, but if he were to see and smell Naraku (even if it wasn't Naraku) Inuyasha would go balastic and Kagome had to consider the safety of her family.

 

Don't worry about Kogajiin, a quiet voice told her. It sounded remarkably like her mother. He'll be fine. Just worry about getting Inuyasha out of here before he causes a sene.

 

There was a loud crash downstairs, and Kagome wished that she had thought of the advice sooner. She ran out in to the hallway and rushed down the stairs just in time to see Inuyasha playing Spanish Inquisition with her little brother.

 

“-but I'm telling you that I can smell Naraku all over this place!” Inuyasha screamed at the little boy, not looking up when Kagome came in to the room.

 

“And I'm telling you that the only people that are here are Kagome and my mom!” Souta insisted right back, in a less than pleased voice. Apparently, hero worship only went so far before annoyance set in.

 

Surprisingly enough, it was her mother - who had been cooking quietly in the kitchen - who acknowledged her prescence first. “Good morning dear. Kogajiin apologised for leaving with out saying good bye to you, but e had to get to school.”

 

Kagome nodded, grateful for the first time that she could remember that school was so demanding of it's students. “Good morning, Inuyasha.” She said after giving her mother a nod of acknowledgement.

 

Inuyasha growled. “No. Not good.”

 

Kagome cocked her head to one side. “Not good?” She asked, feigning confusion. “What isn't good?”

 

“I can smell Naraku everywhere. You and your family aren't safe here.” Inuyasha insisted, grabbing Kagome by her arm. “Maybe he was even responsible for your grandfather's death!”

 

“My grandfather,” Kagome began quietly, “died of old age. He died in his sleep.” She gave Inuyasha a level look. “Unless Naraku suddenly has the ability to stop hearts, I'm pretty sure my grandfather was just really old.”

 

Inuyasha frowned. “But. . . I can smell him!”

 

Kagome sighed. “And what, pray tell, does Naraku smell like?”

 

“Like. . . smoke and meat and that bottled stuff you tried to give Miroku that one day.” Inuyasha explained.

 

Kagome remembered back to when Miroku had said that it was his birthday nearly four months earlier. She had brought him back a bottle of Anchor Blue as a present, and Inuyasha had demanded that they get rid of it because it smelled bad.

 

“Isn't Naraku that terrible man who is out to get Inuyasha?” Kon asked, flipping the frying pan.

 

Kagome nodded.

 

“Naraku smells like cheap cologne?” Souta asked, obviously remembering that Kagome had demanded that Souta give her the bottle.

 

Kagome frowned, ignoring her brother's question. “Listen, Inuyasha. A lot of people wear cologne, and I am sure there is a logical explanation for the smoke and meat smell.”

 

“Bacon?” Kon asked with a smile.

 

Kagome nodded. “Yeah, bacon puts off the smell of smoke and meat, I suppose.” She answered, shaking her head.

 

“No,” Kon said with a smile. “Would you like to have some bacon?”

 

“Oh.” Kagome said. She grabbed a piece of it and held it out to Inuyasha. “Is this what you smell?”

 

Inuyashs sniffed, and frowned. “It might be.” He said.

 

Kagome ripped a bit of it off before she crossed her arms. “Don't jump to conclusions like that. I thought I had almost had a heartattack when you came in here and started saying Naraku was here.”

 

Inuyasha looked down, like a chastised child. But just as quickly, he was back on defense. “Look! It was an honest mistake that I'm sure you would have made if you weren't so. . . so. . .”

 

“Human?” Kagome finished for him, before heading back up the stairs.

“Where are you going?!” Inuyasha demanded. “We aren't through here!”

 

Kagome shrugged. “I just figured I should get my backpack now, seeing as I am sure that you are going to try to bring me back to the past.”

 

Inuyasha had no retort for that one. “You mean. . . you're just going to come back? Like that?” Inuyasha asked.

 

Kagome nodded, and Inuyasha faultered. “Oh.” He said simply. “Okay then. I'll wait down here.”

 

Kagome tossed her mom a look that clearly said don't mention Kogajiin and went upstairs to pack for her other life. When she got to her room, she sighed and collasped on her bed.

 

Batman had nothing on her.