InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ De Nouveau ❯ Ancora una volta ( Chapter 5 )

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De Nouveau

 

By SaiyanBlack

 

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Chapter Five

 

A knock on the front door had her going down the stairs two at a time to answer it. “I'll get it!” she cried, her heavy footsteps thundering on the carpeted steps. She pulled the door open and smiled at the light-haired man on the other side, who looked very amused.

 

“I could hear you coming down the stairs from all the way out here. I didn't realize you were so exited to see me,” he told her, a cocky grin crossing his face. She blushed and invited him in, avoiding his gaze as he stepped in the entryway and pushed the door closed behind him.

 

Instead, she found herself admiring what he was wearing. Inuyasha was one of those men that looked really good in jeans and leather, and she had to admit, he was very sexy - especially with that smirk. She felt her face heat up, growing even hotter as he laughed, leaning down to place a chaste kiss at the corner of her mouth.

 

“I don't know how you fit anything else in that head with your ego taking up all the space,” she told him and his laugh escalated in volume. It was a wonderful sound and she soon found herself grinning up at him and giggling. When he stopped she gazed up at him wonderingly, “I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh like that. Full-out.”

 

He leaned down to touch his forehead to hers, “I swear it's all your fault. I was never like this until I met you, kitten.” He didn't give her the chance to comment on the new nickname, but pulled back with that smirk on his face again. “And why shouldn't I have an ego? I'm fluent in three languages, I can kick anyone's ass except my father's, and admit it Kagome, I'm sexy as hell.”

 

Her jaw dropped and she choked on her breath, not willing to tell him that she had just been thinking the same thing only moments ago. The sound of someone coming down the stairs saved her from having to make an attempt to answer him and they both turned to see her mother coming into the living room. The older woman spotted them at the entry and smiled.

 

“Hello, Mr. Tashio. How are you today?”

 

Inuyasha smiled and nodded in greeting, “I'm fine. How are you?”

 

“Busy,” she said with a sigh, pulling on her coat and shoes. “You two have fun today down at the art center. At least it will be warm indoors. The way this weather is going, we'll have snow until March.”

 

The two young adults moved out of her way as she opened the front door, stopping to give Kagome a kiss on the cheek. “I'll talk to you both later. Bye!”

 

And she was gone, the door closing behind her. A moment later, they could hear her car start up and back out of the driveway. Kagome look up at Inuyasha as she suddenly realized that she was alone in the house with a college boy nearly four years her senior. He seemed to come across the same conclusion and the smirk that had disappeared in her mother's presence returned as he pinned her with his golden eyes.

 

“Um… I'm going to grab my stuff,” she told him, heading for the stairs again, “I'll be down in a minute. Just… have a seat.”

 

She could feel his eyes on her as she went up and the feeling of his presence didn't leave even once she was out of his sight. Not for the first time, she thought about how unnerving it was to have that weird connection with the silver-haired, golden-eyed man, and yet how completely comfortable she felt around him. About the butterflies that she got when he smiled at her or the way that her body seemed to melt at the sound of his laughter. The lit to his voice, deep and gruff with that hint of a New York accent, made her knees wobbly. She had always been one of those girls that liked guys with accents.

 

He was such an enigma; so intelligent and aggravatingly arrogant, but with a gruff gentleness about his actions and words. They had only known each other for less than three weeks and had only seen each other every once in a while since that day in the park. When they talked, she was often caught between strangling him for being so damn cocky and oozing to the floor in a pile of mush because of the attention that he often gave her. He was constantly touching her; holding her hand or kissing her face in some way - short little brushes that gave her the shivers and made her heart flutter.

 

And that new nickname… kitten?

 

She came back down the stairs, her bag in hand and her clothes and hair smoothed of non-existent wrinkles, finding that Inuyasha had taken her invitation to sit and had made himself comfortable on the couch, knees spread and arms across the back. His eyes were closed and his face was more peaceful than she had ever seen it. When she stopped behind the couch, his eyes opened and he gave her a small smile. She returned it and, feeling suddenly very brave, reached out and smoothed his bangs away from his face. He seemed surprised at first, gazing up at her with lidded amber eyes, before his smile grew and allowed himself to relax.

 

After several moments, they were still there and she could have sworn that he dropped off to sleep under her hands. She was proven wrong however, when the small grandfather clock in the hallway gently chimed the first hour and his eyes popped open.

 

“We should get going,” he told her, moving from under her fingers and standing. She grabbed her boots and tugged them on, sitting in the seat he had vacated to tie the laces. To her surprise, he knelt down before her, lacing up one as she did the other herself.

 

“Thanks,” she said, even as he pulled the bottom of her jeans over the top of her boot. He smiled at her and offered his hand to help her up, but he didn't let go as he picked up her jacket and handed it to her. When she had slipped it on, he was holding the door open for her and they stepped out into the chilly afternoon. He allowed her to lock the door behind them before taking her hand again and leading her down the walkway to the driveway, where his big red truck sat.

 

Inuyasha opened the passenger side door for her and left her to get in himself. She didn't realize how big the truck actually was. How was she supposed to get up there? She put her hand on the seat and attempted to get herself up into the high cab, but she had a serious lack of upper body strength and wasn't able to shift her weight from the ground to the foot that was in the truck. Inuyasha's laughter made her stop and she looked up at him, already seated behind the wheel.

 

“I'm glad you find this so funny,” she grumbled, a blush across her cheeks. He didn't say a word, but he opened his door and dropped out of the cab. She watched him as he came around behind her and placed his hands at her waist.

 

“Ready?” he asked and she nodded. “Okay, jump.”

 

She pushed off the ground and he lifted her up at the same time, pushing her up into the truck. When she was seated he closed the door and walked back around to the driver's side. He pulled himself into the cab with ease and started the engine with a smirk in her direction, pulling out of the driveway and down the street. They were silent for a very long time, the only sounds from the rumbling truck and the radio that was turned down.

 

Kagome looked over at him, but once they had gotten out of her driveway, he had not once turned his gaze away from the road. He was a very conscientious driver, a fact that she had first noticed the second time they had met, when he drove her from the park to the café. Even when he spoke to her, he didn't take the risk of looking at her. It was just one of his many quirks that made him… well, him.

 

“How'd you hear about the exhibit?” she asked, watching his profile.

 

“My Japanese Professor made it a requirement to attend if anyone wanted to pass the class,” he told her. “So there's a chance that we might run into some of my classmates. I hope that doesn't bother you.”

 

She frowned, but he couldn't see it. “No, why would that bother me?”

 

“Well,” he started and seemed to hesitate before he continued, “technically you're a minor and I could get into serious trouble if anyone told the police we were going out. My classmates would be in the perfect position to tattle. They know me and they've probably seen you around before.”

 

She was shocked, “Then why are we even doing this? You're the one going to get in trouble!”

 

He was silent as he pulled the truck into the parking garage at the end of the city block and reached out his window get the parking tag from the machine. She waited for him to answer, but even when he parked the truck on the second level and turned the engine off, he neither looked at her nor said a word. What was going through his mind? She wondered if their conversation had sparked some doubts in him.

 

“Inuyasha?” she asked, her voice quieter than she had intended. He turned his head to look at her, his golden eyes almost sad, before he reached for her and unhooked her seat belt, pulling her closer to him and draping her knees over his thighs. His arms were around her instantly, pulling her upper torso against him and leaning his forehead against hers, reminiscent of what he had done in the entry way of her home. But there was something urgent about the way that he tucked her against him that hadn't been present before.

 

“I don't care if I get in trouble,” he told her, taking her hand and draping her arm over his shoulder, where she sunk her fingers into the base of his thick ponytail. “'Cause, this,” he continued, pressing her closer to him, “this is right. And I'm being a good boy. I'll wait as long as you want me to, but I couldn't let you go if I tried.”

 

“Okay,” she whispered, feeling hushed after his confession. He didn't release her, but had closed his eyes and let his head rest against hers as the comfortable silence stretched in the trunk's cab. It was something she had come to expect when they were together, those peaceful silent moments where she was able to simply bask in his company. In the three weeks since that day he had walked into the café, she had come to know him as if they had been speaking for years.

 

He wasn't one for casual conversation, preferring to observe his surroundings or listen to music than to talk about nothing. He meditated every morning before he went to class and played the piano when he was sad. If he was angry, he spent hours beating up inanimate training devices in his apartment. He only laughed at things that honestly struck him as funny and smirked more than he gave genuine smiles.

 

Some things he had told her, like that his father and brother ran a firm in New York City and that his mother, a pianist in her own right, died when he was ten. Other things, like how he loved to eat Ramen noodles, she had picked up on her own after spending some time with him. And then there was the sixth-sense she had when it came to him, like she could feel him in the back of her mind, a comforting presence, but one she had never felt before. It was what allowed her to be so open and uninhibited with him, it was like her soul trusted him once she first laid eyes on him - but it was her brain that was having a hard time keeping up and doubting her actions around him when she was alone, making her wonder if this entire thing was a big mistake. But then she was with him again and it was just like he said, it was right.

 

“Inuyasha?” she asked and he answered with a questioning grunt that she could feel through his chest. “You feel this too, right? This weird connection between us?”

 

She felt his arms tighten around her back and when he spoke, his voice was low and gruff, “Yeah, I do.” Then he sighed and pulled away slightly to place his lips against her forehead before pulling away entirely and opening his door.

 

“Come on,” he took her hand and pulled her across the bench seat, “Let's go.” He helped her down and once he had locked the truck, he took her hand again and led her out of the parking garage. Very few people were walking around because of the chilly weather, but a class of elementary school kids were filing out of the Children's Art Center as they passed by on their way to the exhibit. Kagome waved at a few of the children who waved back as enthusiastically as only a child could. She looked up at Inuyasha's face and found his smiling golden gaze on her, making her blush and look away.

 

When they got to the door, Inuyasha paid for both of their tickets inside the museum, to her exasperation and wouldn't take any payment back. She tried to slip a ten dollar bill into his jacket pocket, but when he held the door open for her and she passed him, she felt his fingers slide into her back jean pocket before he hooked his thumb into her belt-loop. He leaned over her shoulder, his breath hot against her ear.

 

“Can't trick me, kitten. Let me spoil you.”

 

“Fine,” she conceded, “but not all the time.”

 

He laughed, “We'll see.”

 

~*~

 

“Kagome, come look at this one.”

 

Inuyasha dragged her around the exhibit quite literally, his thumb still hooked into her jeans. They had gone through the sections about kabuki, geishas, and traditional farming in about a half hour, but the weapon collection, as well as the samurai armor on display, had caught his attention for more than an hour and he pulled Kagome along with him as he explained each weapon's importance and the type of warrior that wielded it.

 

The one that had currently caught his attention was an old rusted blade, its sheath and hilt in no better condition. It didn't seem to be special or even in good enough condition to be a part of a museum collection.

 

“What's so special about this one,” she asked and felt him lean over her shoulder so his face was right beside hers.

 

“This, kitten, is a demon blade,” he told her and she snorted.

 

“There's no such thing as demons.”

 

“Is this coming from the girl that can see ghosts?” he asked, his voice full of fake shock, “How do you know there aren't demons, eh?”

 

“Well, I've never seen demons,” she said looking at the glass casing around the weapon. She could see her figure reflected back at her, slightly pale and inconsistent in the lit glass. Behind her reflection, Inuyasha's silver hair seemed to glow and his golden eyes were looking elsewhere as his red shirt was pressed up against her back. At her hips, two of his long fingers had found their way under her shirt where it met her jeans. Looking back up at the reflection of his face, she found that he was watching her as well, amber eyes amused, before he turned his head and pressed his lips against her temple.

 

“Come on,” he said, guiding her away from the sword, “there's still lots to see.”

 

“Like what?” she asked as they finally left the weapon exhibit.

 

“Food!” he exclaimed and she laughed. She should have guessed; the only thing that would be able to pull him out of a room with swords was food.

 

They passed a dark haired man on their way past an armor display with a sickle, she felt the hair at the back of her neck stand on end and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. To her surprise, he was staring at them with haunting brown eyes and she shivered from the look he cast her. Inuyasha tightened his arm around her back, tucking her closer to his side.

 

“Are you cold?” he asked, a concerned expression in his warm eyes as he looked down on her head.

 

She smiled up at him, “No. I'm fine.”

 

They stopped, or Inuyasha stopped, at a table with sushi tasters and the attendant handed them a small square dish with a rice roll and a set of chopsticks, bowing low. The pale haired man reluctantly released his hold on Kagome's pants bowed in return taking the plate and split the roll in two, showing off his great skill with the utensils, as he picked up one half and popped it into his mouth.

 

“I love Japanese food,” he told her around the roll and offered the second half to her with the chopsticks. She opened her mouth to take the offering, trying to ignore the smirk on his face that caused her cheeks to heat up as he fed her. He was so sickeningly sweet sometimes, like some hero in a romance novel, but that arrogant grin often made her feel like he was trying to seduce her.

 

“It's good,” she said in reply to his questioning look. He nodded and handed the plate back to the attendant with a short bow, but he kept the chopsticks in one hand, taking hers in the other.

 

They spent another hour in the museum before Inuyasha had established that they had seen and tasted everything of interest. She questioned him on how he knew, but the only answer she received was a careless shrug of one shoulder as he led her down the side walk to the parking garage. At the truck, he led her around to the driver's side.

 

“Inuyasha,” she urged, tugging on their joined hands, “you need to let me go so I can get in.”

 

He shook his head and opened the door, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up behind the wheel, “It's easier if you get in this way. Now scoot over.”

 

She did as she was told and he climbed up beside her, buckling his seatbelt and making sure she had done the same before he started the engine and backed out of the parking space. At the exit gate, as Inuyasha was leaning out of the window to give the machine the ticket, she saw the same dark haired man she had seen in the museum on the sidewalk beside the entrance. He was looking at her with that same dark gaze as before and she quickly turned away from his figure, focusing on Inuyasha as he pulled out into the street and drove toward her house.

 

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