InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fade and Flare ❯ Chapter 3

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Hi again! With the new chapter I've done a little drawing of Kagome in her rehearsal clothes this time around. You can see it in my MediaMiner art-gallery-thing or just directly here:

Www (dot) mediaminer (dot) org (slash) fanart (slash) view (dot) php (slash) 173055

On with the story.

---

The doorknob clicked. It turned slowly before a door opened, and a slight rush of cool air spread into her room. Slippers flapped against a wall in the hallway, kicked off, and Inuyasha's footsteps traveled softly across white plush carpet, halting at the edge of Kagome's bed. Milky white textured wallpaper warmed the gentle hues of the room. Though shadows from the blinds were stretched across the room and cast over Kagome's face in lines that curved over her cheeks, the room was not dim. She slept as if under a blanket of diffused light, only accented by her cloud of dark hair, a couple of small mahogany picture frames on the wall, and the dark green stems of lilies that rest in a nearby crystal vase. Inuyasha's breath quickened as he beheld the sight.

To all of these things Kagome was completely oblivious. The young woman rolled onto her side, tangled in the bliss of dreamless sleep and warm white flannel sheets. Her white down comforter had slid almost completely off of the foot of her bed, barely hanging on a corner as its majority lay in a pile on the floor.

He stood over her a moment, peering over her shoulder. When her face was tranquil like this, he felt calm inside; it had been such a rarity lately. His lips parted slightly as he stood mesmerized with her breathing, her ribs gently expanding and contracting, slow sighs escaping from her pink lips. His mouth ran dry as his eyes wandered, appreciating her delicate collarbone, the rich hue of her skin, the devastating curves of her hips... Kagome's nightie was bunched up a bit around her waist, the edge of pink panties just barely peeking out from beneath the sheer fabric and clinging to her butt, legs spilled out of the nightie and entwined with sheets. Inuyasha gulped, swallowing with substantial difficulty. This is the reason I get paid the big bucks, he joked to himself.

He felt guilty for what he was about to do but knew it was impossible to avoid. A hand raised and his claws gingerly ran over the edge of Kagome's nightie. For a minute he saw himself as a youkai in Feudal Japan, pillaging a castle that Kagome would have lived in, kidnapping her for his bride. No candy-ass human could have done a damned thing about it, five hundred years ago. Stupid modern society. Stupid consideration for others!

Quit the fucking daydreaming! he admonished mentally. He tugged at Kagome's nightie with just a little force, making sure it covered as much of her rear as possible. With a final, steady exhale he moved his hand to Kagome's shoulder and took a seat on her bed near her head. His hand gently roused her, loosely cupped against her skin and rubbing her shoulder in slow circles.

"Hey. Kagome, time to get up."

She stirred a little, whining sweetly in protest. Inuyasha's ministrations sped up. He watched her face guiltily as her eyelids fluttered, still too heavy to withstand the weight of daylight. Her lips wilted into a pout as she slowly awakened.

Kagome stared up at Inuyasha, slightly disoriented. Still not fully awake, her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his wild mane of white hair, messy from sleep, cascading across his bare chest. The edges of his locks brushed his lap as they hung down, highlighted against the red fleece fabric of his pajama pants. The waistband rested low on his waist. Kagome bit her lip a little as she stared at his chiseled stomach, still slightly dazed and also amused at how the shape of his navel flattened as he sat. Was he shirtless last night? No, he wore a wifebeater, she remembered. A sudden urge came over her as she moved to sit up, messily resting on her elbow as she turned to face him. She shoved her index finger slightly into Inuyasha's distorted belly button, sticking her tongue out at him.

"G'morning," she mumbled, amused when Inuyasha jumped and uttered a surprised shriek. Kagome grinned a little. "You never told me you were ticklish there." With a satisfied yawn she sat up fully.

"Why would I tell you something like that? You obviously can't be trusted with that information." Helping her to stand, Inuyasha held both of her arms for support. Kagome leaned heavily into Inuyasha, regretting how late she stayed up last night with him playing poker. How many hours of sleep did she finally manage? Five? Hopefully six? Not enough, either way.

"What time is it?"

"Mnn.. seven A.M. or so."

Kagome groaned. A little over two hours of sleep. She sank back down onto the side of her bed, slumping a little. "You stupid youkai and your... your lack of need for much sleep!"

"I'm only a hanyou, remember. Half."

"Yeah, great, you're half, which means you still probably got twice as much sleep as I did. Ugh." Kagome would have sunk back down to the bed if Inuyasha wasn't holding her torso in an upright position.

"Oh no you don't. Get your sorry ass up and get ready, the others are already waiting to start rehearsals."

"Wait, we're not checking into the hotel yet?"

"That's going to be taken care of while you guys work, we're a little short on time today. So wake up!"

Kagome nodded in acknowledgement. "Argh, why didn't I choose a career where I could call in sick?" she half-joked.

"You're kinda grumpy this morning, aren't you?" Inuyasha laughed. "Keh." He stood, leaving the room for a moment. When he returned he was annoyed to see that Kagome had laid back down. The hanyou rolled his eyes and took a seat at the head of her bed. With strong, succinct movements he pulled her towards him, sitting her up again with her back facing him. Kagome slumped, small sounds of protest stumbling out of her lips until he growled at her.

With that, she stiffened considerably. Inuyasha meant business. Inuyasha placed one hand on Kagome's shoulder and reached for the brush that he retrieved from another room. Kagome sighed happily when he ran the bristles through her wild black hair, carefully and gently untangling the knots. The sun, continuing to filter in through the blinds, warmed a bit as the two sat there in peace; Kagome smiling slightly as Inuyasha brushed quietly. She frowned a little when he stopped, but she was now awake... enough, at least.

Inuyasha stood, walking out of the room. "Unless you expect me to dress you I suggest you get up and move around a bit. I'm getting dressed and getting some breakfast."

"Yeah, yeah," Kagome sighed as she watched Inuyasha close the door behind him.

---

Anyone who was one of Kagome's seasoned road crew members knew to fear the fact that she practically rolled out of the tour bus. As a way of stubbornly fighting fatigue she wore clothes that made her feel good: her favorite low-rise jeans with lace accents and a slightly fitted white tank top with screen-printed dark text that asserted, JOIN the ROCK ROLL ARMY. Sango and Inuyasha sat in folding chairs next to a small white plastic circular table, sipping coffee and nibbling off of a tray of various breads. They looked at each other and laughed as the crew collectively winced upon Kagome's arrival. Kagome pretended not to notice the crew's reaction.

To anyone who wasn't familiar with Kagome's work habits, it only seemed as if she were incredibly dedicated to her work. Those who had suffered her brand of pain before, however, understood that Kagome was the worst, the absolute worst taskmaster when she was dead tired. It was as if depriving her of sleep made her stronger; she was likened to a demon or a lioness.

She became the ultimate perfectionist, intent on repeating and repeating everything, until it was flawless. Every note, every dance step, and every cue would be rehearsed until it became a reflex for all involved. She would not allow mistakes and in turn, no last-minute surprises. When Kagome was dead tired, she made sure that everyone else would be dead tired at the end of the day. In truth, it was only because she wanted her sleep to be completely uninterrupted before the concerts.

Most knew they had precious minutes before Kagome would start to work them into the ground. Their boss in question was heading towards Inuyasha and Sango, her mouth watering at the bread.

"Morning, Kagome-chan," chirped Sango. Inuyasha raised a hand in salutation.

Kagome nodded her head in greeting to Sango but went straight to the business at hand as she stole a sip of Inuyasha's coffee. Her nose wrinkled as the bitter taste clashed with the flavor of her toothpaste. "Ichigo-pan, ichigo-pan, which one is the ichigo-pan?" Inuyasha smirked. Reaching into a small, mint-colored checkered bag on the edge of the table he held out the strawberry flavored bread to Kagome, who wasted no time attacking it in cute, ravenous nibbles. "Sango-chan," Kagome mumbled in between bites, "I didn't know you were coming to Osaka with us!"

Sango raised an eyebrow. "Kagome-chan, please. Miss Kansai no Miko loves everything about this city, and naturally," she batted Inuyasha's hand out of the way to grab the last slice of melon-pan, much to his annoyance. "Naturally, she is going to want to shop, am I right?" Sango bit into it, ignoring Inuyasha's annoyed growling. She twirled the hand holding her bread in circular motions, accenting her words with each turn of the wrist. "So naturally, you're going to have to go to some stores for that, but if I know you like I do, you're going to feel too guilty to ask them to close for you even though you'll be swamped with fans as usual, and this is where your stylist comes in." Sango yanked the melon bread to her mouth, only moments before Inuyasha could snatch it away from her. "I have no qualms with calling up Hysteric Glamour or Betty's Blue and abusing your closing power."

Inuyasha grudgingly settled for the last piece of curry-pan. Not that he hated curry-pan. Kagome leaned in towards him, smiling as she stole a small bite. "Does Osaka even have a Betty's Blue boutique?"

"We'll find out eventually, won't we?" Sango laughed.

"Keh!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Even if Kagome weren't paying you to be here, you'd come in a heartbeat to shop with her, wouldn't you?"

Kagome blinked. Sango joined her. "I'm not getting paid for coming here, Inuyasha. Obviously, Kagome-chan was surprised to see me so obviously I wasn't needed. We've got outfits picked out for the entire tour already, so my work is done in that department. And you know as well as I do that Kagome-chan isn't one of those self-centered types who needs a stylist to pick out her damned socks," Sango squeezed Kagome's arm and smiled.

With one hand behind his head Inuyasha bowed his head, apologizing. "Uh. Then you see my point..."

Kagome laughed, giving Sango's arm a small squeeze back. "I'm terrible without Sango-chan's sense of style to properly guide me!"

Sango laughed, leaning her head on Kagome's shoulder. "Hah, I don't know what you're talking about, Kagome-chan. The day you learn to sew is going the be the day I'm out of a job."

"As long as Kagome has a career, we're family," Inuyasha laughed. "She'll be too busy to learn how to sew."

"I'd like to hope that we'd all be one big family, even after my career is over," said Kagome a little softly. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys, and I'm not talking about work-wise..."

The three sat together in silence then, a soft smile across each of their faces. Sango finally spoke.

"Leave it to Kagome-chan to make me a little misty-eyed this early in the morning." Sango touched Kagome's arm as she spoke. "Anyway, I think if you sit here with us any longer the dancers are going to think they're off the hook for the day.

"Oh! Almost forgot about them," Kagome blurted out, quickly finishing Inuyasha's coffee.

"Hey!" He was getting a little sick of beautiful women stealing his food today.

"Ah, sorry!" Kagome paused briefly, pointedly taking a second to smile at Inuyasha. "Thank you for remembering my ichigo-pan."

"'And thanks for getting me awake on time this morning, Inuyasha-sama! Oh, and thanks for brushing my hair because I was still too retarded to move...'" Inuyasha spoke in a falsetto voice, mimicking Kagome.

Kagome's eyes bugged out of her head. She hoped the crew wasn't listening. They were.

"Damn, Inuyasha!" Sango exclaimed, reaching for more coffee. "You'll make a wonderful wife someday. Wanna be mine?"

"Screw you," Inuyasha retorted, "I've got my hands full with Kagome and we haven't even consummated the 'marriage.' Are all of you damned women this high-maintenance?"

Kagome laughed, her cheeks slightly reddening. "Who knows, but how many can pay you as much as I can?"

"Kagome-chan, are you implying that Inuyasha's a whore?!" Inuyasha nearly choked on his bread when he heard Sango, and in turn Sango spit out her coffee as she laughed. The blush on Kagome's face deepened, and soon all three were in stitches, laughing hysterically.

---

"Yuri-chan, if we can do this in three tries, I'll..."

"She'll not fire you," Inuyasha interrupted, glaring at the dancer standing apologetically in front of Kagome.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed. "Yuri-chan, don't listen to him. You're a great dancer and that's why you're with us."

A slim eighteen-year-old with bleached shoulder length hair and darkly tanned skin folded her hands as she stared at the ground, flattered yet ashamed to be berated by Inuyasha. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha-san. Higurashi-san, you don't need to be so kind to me..."

"Keh." Inuyasha was shoved away by an annoyed Kagome.

"Inuyasha, you go take a seat and shut up. Know your place!"

"Know my place?! Listen up, Bitch, you--" Half of the dancers gasped until Kagome raised her hands to calm them down.

"He's an inu youkai--"

"I'm only half, I'm a hanyou--"

"Inuyasha sit!" Kagome commanded, pointing to him and then to a folding chair. Too tired for his attitude she turned back to the dancers, trying her best to muster a placating tone. "For those of you who don't seem to remember, Inuyasha, the operative part of his name being Inu, is a dog youkai. 'Bitch' is only a natural part of his vocabulary--"

"Hanyou!!" Inuyasha folded his arms, glaring at nobody in particular.

The singer's eyes grew large as she swallowed a scream. Forget explanations, those who didn't know would learn eventually. "This is irrelevant, never mind. Yuri-chan, don't be so humble. Let's focus a little bit and we'll call it a day. Dai-kun, Takeo-kun, and Michi-chan, do this part with me because I want Eriko-chan to recognize the cue." Kagome began to demonstrate footwork that the pair had been practicing, the other three dancers taking their places on either side of her as they caught up. "Now here, on the fourth beat if you shift your weight to the left hip, this will come a lot easier."

The younger, shorter woman had a thoughtful expression on her face. She repeated Kagome's steps a little slower for clarification, following her advice. Her face brightened along with Kagome's when finally she made no mistakes. "Thank you, Higurashi-san, that's just what I needed!"

"I want it perfect by Showtime. And with that... I think we're done, folks!" Kagome wiped a little bit of sweat off of her forehead as all of the other dancers clapped and bowed.

"Great work today!" The dancers looked completely drained as they directed their applause to Kagome.

"Great work," Kagome repeated back, bowing. She walked through the crowd of dispersing people towards Inuyasha, slumping down into the folding chair next to his.

Inuyasha placed a hand on Kagome's lower back to push her up again. "Good job today. Let's get to the hotel already."

---

Inuyasha's lanky fingers gripped Kagome's shoulder lightly but firmly. The slight bit of support was all that Kagome needed to stay upright, as she was led down a dimly lit hallway.

"Kagome, I'm sorry about today."

Kagome's eyes were droopy as she slowly registered the fact that Inuyasha was speaking to her. "Hmm, what for?"

They stopped in front of her hotel room as Inuyasha pulled her key card out of his pocket and unlocked her door. "I guess I shouldn't have let you stay up so late last night. Part of me was being a little selfish and, uh, maybe even lonesome..."

Kagome smiled, leaning into his shoulder a bit. "I'm the one who forced you into a miniature poker tournament. You don't need to act like my father, Inu-chan."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at the nickname. She knew he hated being called a cutesy name like that, but loved his reactions.

"Keh." He answered. "Well I'm, uh, sorry for being kinda rude today, too. I know you care about your dancers a lot..." Kagome opened the door to her room, and a familiar scent slightly startled Inuyasha. His eyes closed. He sighed and drooped his shoulders.

Kagome watched the sudden change in emotions cross his face. With her gray eyes shining curiously she looked at him and then turned her head around to look into her room. Inuyasha ignored her questioning stare and steered her a little bit in through the door. He gazed back into her room again, eyes growing distant as he pushed her in further.

"Kagome... get some rest. Make sure of it, please." The change in Inuyasha's tone only served to confuse her, but her eyes were now burning. She needed to close them.

"O-of course, Inuyasha. Um." With a swift step onto the ball of her foot, she raised on her toe to kiss him on the cheek. "Thanks for today."

"Keh, I didn't do anything special." Inuyasha stared into her room again, giving her a final push before he headed down the hallway towards his room. "We're leaving for the concert hall in three hours."

Kagome stared after him as she entered her room. She closed the door behind her, locked the deadbolt, and bent to release the Velcro on her leather sneakers. Her eyes caught onto small rose petals in pink and white, scattered across her floor. Removing her shoes, Kagome looked back out in the direction of the hallway as if Inuyasha were still standing there. Her eyes darted back to the floor again, realizing that the petals formed a loose trail, towards the other room in her suite. She shrugged and followed it, momentarily forgetting her fatigue, careful not to step on the petals.

Her steps stopped at the entrance to the next room, the bedroom. Where she stopped walking her eyes continued along the petals as they ended at the bed. A smile stretched across Kagome's face. She couldn't believe the sight. In the center of a king-sized bed with a cream-colored comforter and piles of pillows sat Hojo, grinning at her. In one hand he held a single pink rose, which he raised, extending it towards her direction.

"Oh my God," Kagome gasped. She rushed over to him, practically tackling him into the mattress and taking the rose in one smooth movement.

His arms snaked around her waist, and he pecked her quickly on the mouth. "I've got quite a bit to make up for, haven't I?"

Kagome could find no words then, nosing into his chest as a small sob escaped her smiling lips. She nodded profusely.

---

Notes:

To everyone who has left a review, thank you very much! I writ this fic for me, but I'm glad that others enjoy it.

A little word to the "HOJO SUCKS GET RID OF HIM NOW ARGRRAAAHHH" camp: I'm glad you're so enthusiastic about the Inuyasha-and-Kagome aspect of this story. Believe me, I am too, I absolutely love them as a pairing! Give Inuyasha and Kagome time to actually fall in love, though! The act of hunting prey should be just as fun as the act of finally capturing that prey... get my drift?

Hopefully the eventual lemon scene(s?) will be gratifying (but only if you're of appropriate age, of course! Minors shouldn't read it :P).

Until next time!