InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Falling For the Baby Sitter ❯ The Answer to Their Prayers ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter Two: The Answer to Their Prayers

By Shikon Priestess

A/N: I don't own Inu Yasha. Duh.

 

 

Kagome rummaged through the towers of boxes upstairs, in her supposed `room.' Well, it was where she kept all of her crap last night anyway. She flung various articles of unacceptable clothing to the floor. Ripped pairs of jeans, wife beaters, sweatpants, club shirts, club dresses, club skirts; nothing was safe as she ripped through one box at a time coming up empty.

"Damn, I don't own anything to go to a damn interview in..."

She grumbled darkly and another gathering tactile storm rained clothes around the room, as she wrestled with herself, trying to figure out what would make a good impression. Over the phone, the guy had sounded kind of young, but that didn't mean he wasn't wary of the type of person he was going to trust his children with, let alone live with. She had to make sure she made the perfect first impression; especially if she wanted this golden ticket to getting out of the house and a job all at once.

She pulled out a dressier plain black tank top and a pair of baggy olive green cargo pants.

"Perfect," she mumbled sarcastically and tugged the pants on, along with her black boots, pausing to toss her unruly raven locks up into a quick ponytail.

A quick glance in the mirror told her all she needed to know.

A bead of sweat gathered at her temple and she picked up the makeup case off of the floor in another attempt to make herself look a little more civilized and a little more feminine.

"Man… I need to work on my fashion sense…"

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The finished painting for the restaurant lay against the wall in the kitchen; it was a mundane snowy landscape looking out over a koi pond, but mundane and finished none the less. Inu Yasha's shadow fell across it as he dashed between the rooms of the house trying to tame the disaster that was the evidence of the presence of two small children within the dwelling. He paused in his cleaning fury to catch his breath and glance at the clock. He still had about an hour or two left.

"I don't know about this....a stranger living in the house with me and being around the kids."

He threw some toys into a toy chest and shut it, the anticipation making him cranky. It probably didn't help that he'd been up all night finishing a painting he didn't feel 100% satisfied with. It didn't matter. It wasn't the first work he felt he hadn't given his all on, and it was only to put some extra money in his pocket for the boy's schooling. He stood up straight and ran a hand through his bangs, studying the cold and lonely painting. He still smelled like the romp he and Kouga had just taken in the bedroom, and he wrinkled his nose as he got a whiff of himself. A shower was definitely in order if he had to meet this crazy broad today. She was the cheapest offer he'd gotten yet, and he didn't want to scare her away with his lovely after sex smell. That same cheap offer was what was making him nervous though. What was the catch? $200 a week? That was less than what people making minimum wage part time made. There was something that this girl wasn't mentioning, and he intended to find out exactly what that was today.

Kouga looked up from wiping down the counters in the kitchen and just smiled back at him.

"There you go, worrying again. I'm sure she will be perfectly normal, and will get on fine with the kids. Just wait and see."

Inu Yasha rolled his brown eyes and turned to look out the living room window and down the driveway. Today was the anniversary of her death too…

His eyes drifted to a portrait of a smiling girl hidden deep in the book case beside the couch. It had escaped his rampage immediately after the incident when he'd gone around and gathered up everything that had reminded him of her and locked it all up in storage. His sister had found it while watching the kids one day and had put it on the shelf. It had been four years now, when she'd brought it out, and he'd decided it was time he had something out to remember her by. Not that he needed the reminder, which was part of the reason for its inconspicuous placement.

Heavy but nearly silent footsteps made their way towards him and he sighed as he felt Kouga's arms snaking around his bare chest. His fingers danced over his skin distractingly, giving him exactly what he needed to keep him from falling into that dark pit. His hot skin flushed with sudden need and he turned around, advancing on his lover. Shower and Nanny be damned. One more minor distraction couldn't hurt.

A roguish grin lit the man's features as he turned and pinned the man's arms over his head. "Yeah ....sure, whatever you say, Kouga...."

 

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Dog barking and snarling could be heard up the hill by the house that was standing alone on a few acres of land. The house kind of looked a bit run down, but it seemed to have been a charming single story ranch once upon a time. Kagome peered up the driveway at the dog pen, trying to judge its strength from where she stood. Killing her potential employer's pet seemed like a bad way to start out the interview; self defense or no.

She finally decided if the fence had held out with them thrashing against it thus far, she should be safe. Her hands stuffed into the pockets of her black leather bomber jacket, she started up the driveway. The wind tossed her long black ponytail about the gusts, tossing single strands forward to brush her pale satiny skin. The girl raised her hoary eyes up to the house and took her next breath sharply, as a large Dalmatian threw the bulk of its body against the fence, rattling the chain lengths.

She focused on the sound of her boots thudding on the front porch, and gratefully reached out to knock on the door. She lifted a hand and rapped lightly, then took a step back, not wanting to be knocked off of the deck when they answered the door.

"Looks like she's here," Kouga sighed in mild disappointment, but turned a smirk to Inu Yasha. The younger man groaned and looked down with a longing look at his lover's sweet mouth, but stood up and zipped his pants. He reached out a hand and brushed his thumb against Kouga's bottom lip, giving him a final look that clearly said, `We'll finish this later.'

He lit a cigarette and watched as Kouga walked over towards the door, wiping his mouth carefully. Kouga chuckled at Inu Yasha when he tried straightening his shirt, in an attempt to make himself a bit more presentable. The younger man scowled up at him and stuck his tongue out.

Kouga rolled his eyes and swung open the door. He turned to send a beaming, irresitable smile to the girl on the porch her when his eyes widened. His reaction had been caused by the girl's appearance, a strange look of faint recognition flickering behind his serious blue orbs. He found his voice and replaced his look of shock with a shaky smile.

"Are you Kagome?" he asked with a smile, examining her head to do. The resemblance was remarkable.

Kagome, startled by the man swinging the door open, took another step back, and almost tumbled from the deck. She managed to catch herself on the post, looking at the man who'd answered the door. He wasn't exactly, what she'd expected. He seemed some what a bit more pleasant, a little more straight laced and a bit more promiscuous with his half buttoned shirt and his hooded eyes than what she'd been expecting. His voice was all wrong too. It was more insistent, more demanding of her attention. The man on the phone had a sort of could-give-a-shit-less attitude in his timbre, and this unexpected specimen before her definitely couldn't pull that off half as successfully with his slightly higher pitched voice.

She blinked slowly, and then slapped a smile on her face. It wasn't phony, it just seemed a little strained, but got her point across none the less. It showed just how pleasant a little girl she could look like. She tilted her head to the side slightly and nodded, reaching out a hand to the blue eyed man.

"Yes, I am Kagome Higurashi."

Inu Yasha growled and rolled his eyes at the escapades going on in his doorway, pushing himself to his feet.

“I sure as hell hope this isn't another kiss ass,” he muttered under his breath and walked up behind Kouga, nudging him with a finger.

"How about moving your ass and letting her in? I don't have all day to do this, Kouga."

Kouga sighed at his boyfriend's potty mouth but moved over to let the girl in, revealing them to each other.

Kagome stopped dead when she saw Inu Yasha. Now THIS was the man she had talked to on the phone

. 'Damn...' she thought to herself wistfully. 'I don't think I'd mind shacking up with him too badly... Hot body, sexy husky voice…and that attitude…' A smirk tugged at her lips and she shook her head. At least it seemed like this guy wasn't going to be put off by some of her pettier faults. She relaxed and decided to try just being herself a bit around him. She felt a little surprised at how easy it seemed to come, especially after having been putting various fronts up for various people for so long.

Inu Yasha's progress came to a screeching halt as well when his eyes landed on the girl's face. His mind went blank and his knees almost buckled from shock, feeling as if he were staring a ghost right in the face. He caught himself on Kouga discreetly, trying to regain his composure. This girl looked just like Kikyou. His eyes darted to the picture on the book case. He shook the thought from his head. No, damn it, of course it wasn't her. Of course. That was impossible…

Finally getting a grip back on himself, Inu Yasha motioned for her to come in and reached out to shake her hand with a trembling one of his own.

"Come on in and let's get this over with," he croaked out and turned abruptly shoving the cigarette back between his lips. He strode towards the recliner, expecting them both to follow, which they did. His long black hair that was braided tightly, and it swung as he walked, entrancing Kagome.

She tried not to be hypnotized by the long black hair. Why did it have to be long hair? Long BLACK hair at that. She was snapped out of her daze when Kouga spoke, drawing her reluctant eyes from the younger man's long plait and its backdrop.

"Inu Yasha, I'm gonna go home for a bit. I will be back later tonight." Kouga eyed Kagome suspiciously for a moment, his eyes attempting to bore through her as if searching for some from of malicious intent. When he was satisfied he'd found none, he then waved and then he turn to walk out the door, down the stairs, and towards his bike.

His lover nodded, shooting a rather forlorn look at his lovers retreating back. The door closed and he turned to look the girl over cautiously, smoke curly out of his mouth and over his lips. He stared at the girl who was a perfect vision of his beloved Kikyou and tried not to be distracted by her appearance.

"You ever work with kids? I mean, you look awfully young." Dark chocolate eyes focused on Kagome's fair face.

She straightened, bristling slightly at the 'young' comment, but tried to understand his concerns, and found she respected his worry about his kids. She shot him a shy smile, not having missed the two's exchange before the blue eyed man had left. Kouga? She thought that's what she'd heard the other man mention his name as.

"Yea, I come from a family where I basically raised my baby brother and sister, plus my nieces and nephew." She shrugged, looking at him and trying to read the rather complex look he was giving her. "And if you're worried about my offer for $200 a week, it's because I really don't expect to become a millionaire by working jobs that someone of my stature can get in this economy. So, just throw a price out on the table, and I can flex."

Her gentle voice, softer and somehow more energetic simultaneously than Kikyou's had been seemed to break the spell her appearance had briefly cast over him. This girl was definitely not Kikyou.

"Well, I have two kids that stay with me. Shippou is 2 and Souta is 4. They are my nephews, but due to reasons I don't really feel like explaining right now, they are under my custody.”

A guarded look flashed through the girls silver eyes as she flinched from the bite in his tone. Silver eyes. Kikyou's had been brown. Feeling a bit more comfortable when recognizing the differences between the two women, he smirked and stood, putting out his cigarette.

“I should probably warn you that they like to wrestle,” he said motioning with an arm to the various battered pieces of furniture that hadn't escaped the boys' warpath. He turned, walking to the kitchen to get a glass of soda and to force himself not to stare. He opened a new bottle off of the counter and pulled his glass from the freezer and poured himself a drink. He tipped the bottle towards her, offering her some but she shook her head and just sat, expecting he had more to say.

"If I hire you, I will expect the house to be at least half way clean when I get home. I don't expect perfection; just clean. I don't want to walk in to the after effects of a tornado every night. Please, believe me when I say that I don't exaggerate."

"Well, that shouldn't be too hard, even with three boys in the house.” she said taking a mental note of everything that he was mentioning. Attempting to stifle a giggle, Kagome nodded and followed him towards the kitchen. Her eyes roamed about the house, lighting up at the large collection of Manga and Anime, seeing some of her favorite titles on the shelves. Her silver orbs fell on the snowy koi pond painting. A gasp fell from her lips as she soaked in its beauty.

“Beautiful,” she murmured, stretching her fingers towards the canvas.

A blush stained his cheeks at her praise, and decided to ignore it, and he turned to hide his reaction. “You'd be surprised,” he laughed nonchalantly, waving a hand in the air. He ran that same hand through his hair as he tried his damndest to not look at her. His thoughts stumbled over one another as he tried to return to his train of thought. Oh, right. Nanny Guidelines and Expectations.

"Don't let Shippou have crayons unsupervised, `cause he likes to draw on the walls, and make sure they are both in bed by 9. Oh, and one other thing; they are not to be in my room at anytime."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes, lighting up again, not noticing the twitch in the girls face at the smell of freshly lit nicotine.

Kagome nodded again, to show she'd heard and understood everything he'd said. Her black hair tumbled over her face and shoulders as she dug through her purse for her credentials. Her fingers found purchase on the flimsy cardboard of the folder and she tugged it free of its confines. She ran her damp palms over her pants and held the folder out to him.

"You said over the phone that you were planning on home schooling the older one, right? Are there any qualifications I'll need to help with that? Or is that something you take care of yourself?" The smell of his cigarette was getting to her. It been four long years since she'd had one… She shook herself violently and mentally slapped herself back to her senses trying to ignore his tempting habit. That could definitely become a problem

He smirked at her obvious discomfort, recognizing the signs of a recovering Nicotine addict. How many times had he stood right where she had and tried not to snatch one of Kouga's. He took some pity on her and blew the smoke over his shoulder as he attempted to answer her query.

"Well, he is just starting kindergarten, so if you could just help with his letters and numbers during the day, I can help him with his tests after I get home from work in the evening." His smirk made his brown eyes dance mirthfully. “I don't think you'll need a teaching degree for that.” He finished off the cigarette quickly and put it out in a nearby ash tray, smudging it carefully to keep a minimal amount of smoke from escaping as possible.

"Sometimes I have pretty intense deadlines with my side jobs, so you will have to watch them alone for a bit later on those nights, as I will probably be too far gone to tell my ass for a hole in the ground, let alone keep track of two small children. You won't have to worry about food or bills, though. I will cover them. $200 is less than what even par timers on minimum wage work for though, so how does $300 a week sound to you? I don't want to get hunted down by some Worker's Rights Union."

Kagome eyes glistened as the sound of money jingling in her pocket seemed to ring in her ears. “Sounds perfect! You mentioned it being a live in job. Is there a certain place I am supposed to stay?"

He nodded and turned back to her, pointing down the hall. "Yeah, there's an extra room down the hall near mine. You can have it."

Kagome's eyes followed his finger down the wood paneling of the hallway to the closed door he spoke of. Oh the possibilities… Inu Yasha sighed and leaned against the counter, draining his second glass of soda, and eyeballing the depraved look on the girl's face.

"It's not too big, and I don't have much to pay you, but you have free reign of anything her. I have one computer that I use in my room and the one here in the living room." As he spoke, he pointed to his desk that looked something akin to a paper waterfall. "You can use the one in here. I don't care."

The giddiness and excitement was welling up quickly inside of her and she could barely contain it much longer. This place held all of her dreams and this job was they key to making them all come true. "When would you like me to start?"

Inu Yasha looked at her, his eyes dancing in faint amusement. Pushy, isn't she?

"I didn't even say I was gonna hire you yet, did I?"

He smirked as he watched her face fall, and a bright red blush tinge her pale cheeks. She was pretty cute, manly clothes aside.

"…but I like you, and you can move in right away. I don't really care when, just do it as soon as possible."

Kagome cursed her stupid eagerness that had caused her to get ahead of herself, but only until she'd heard the words `move in right away. She beamed up at him and tilted her head to the side, her hair falling over her shoulder in cascading waves. Her eyes glittered with unrestrained excitement. The uncontained joy in her eyes took Inu Yasha slightly aback and he drew in a sharp breath as his heart twisted slightly in his chest.

"Ok, I can probably be back later tonight,” Kagome babbled, bouncing up onto her toes excitedly. “We just moved here, you see, and I still haven't unpacked my stuff. I don't have much, so it will only take me a few minutes."

Inu Yasha shrugged, turning his face away from where he'd been enraptured with her smile. He walked over to turn on his computer, and took a seat. He tried to ignore the fact that despite their differences, they seemed almost identical to Kikyou.

"Just be back whenever you can.” A ruckus outside seemed to remind him of something. “Oh. Ignore the dogs outside, they will get use to you. They don't like strange men, though. They will bite, so no boyfriends over. I don't need a lawsuit."

Kagome looked down at the door way, the word boyfriend in reference to her still made her slightly ill. `No worries, there,' she thought sardonically to herself.

"Will you be here when I get back or should I be watching for a relative or something?"

He shrugged again, still not turning from the computer, to get a control on his misty, distant eyes. "I guess I will be here, since Kouga said he would be back later.” What she'd said finally clicked completely with him. “Oh, and some of my relatives aren't so nice, so watch out for them."

Kagome smiled warily, knowing how that was, and shook her head, tossing her tresses back and forth with the action. "Ok, I will be back as soon as I can be."

Inu Yasha waved a hand lazily in her direction as he lit another cigarette.

"Yeah, yeah."

He set out to work on his computer, researching landscapes for ideas for the damn calendar he still had to finish. `January, January…' he thought trying to distract himself.

Kagome chose to ignore his rude manners, and turned, taking off out of the trailer and back down the road to where she had left her piece of shit car.

This was it.

The answer to her prayers.

A way to get away from her past.