InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Father Figure ❯ I'm Listening ( Chapter 6 )

AN: Been a while since I updated, sorry about that. Anyway, Soul Exchange's sequel is now up, entitled 'life exchange' - which was actually quite difficult to name! Surprisingly! Anyway, Denji isn't in this chapter, mainly because I'm building up to something later. Which will probably all kill you later with frustration…

Father Figure

I'm Listening…

Inuyasha dropped down from Kagome's window sill into her room and looked around with a frown. The room was tidy for once and the bed was made… she obvious hadn't been in here for at least six hours, otherwise the place would have been an organised tip. Her mother had obviously cleaned up. "Kagome?"

He checked to make sure she wasn't hiding under the bed or anything (you never know) before cautiously opening her bedroom door and peeking out onto the landing. He didn't fancy poking around the house, not since that fake dad bloke was hanging around today. But he still wanted to know where Kagome was.

He leaned over the banister and tried to listen intently to see if Kagome was around downstairs… he almost tipped over the railing when something wet started lapping at his bare foot.

"What the…" he gave a start and quickly backed away. Looking down, he saw a scruffy little black and brown dog try and follow his feet. "… hell is that thing?!"

"He's our new dog!" Souta bounced out of his room to sweep the small dog up. "You like him?"

"That's not a dog - that's an extremely hairy rat." Inuyasha rubbed his foot. "Ew… sloppy dog germs…"

"Do you see the irony in what you just said?" Souta star at him suspiciously.

"Yes, I see the ironing." Inuyasha responded with a sigh. "Anyway, where's Kagome. I thought she'd be home now."

"Oh she's off with Dad."

"Which one?"

"The real one." Souta rubbed the small dog behind the ears, causing it to flop onto its back and allow Souta to scratch his belly. "She's off getting therapy."

"Therapy?" She'd talked about that before… what was it… pampering wasn't it?

"You know, bark like a chicken, walk like a dog, stuff?" Souta nodded knowledgeably. "It's 'coz she's crazy."

"Really? I never noticed."

"She won't be back for a while. You could always hang around the house if you want." Souta suddenly brightened. "You should meet Denji! He's so cool - you'll really like him!"

"Uh… perhaps another time." Inuyasha excused himself. "Where's this therapy thing taking place?"

"About ten minutes at Dad's apartment." Souta told him. "If you go down the main road and turn left at the lights and go down there - it'll be the block of white brick flats. It's hard to miss."

Inuyasha reckoned he had just better follow his nose…

^_^

"What do you see when you look at this picture?" Mr Higurashi asked, holding up a card with a few coloured blobs on it.

Kagome smiled. "A butterfly."

"Good girl." He held up another. "And this?"

"Two people shaking hands."

"And this?"

"Um… two birds taking flight."

"Very nice… and this last one?" her father held up the last card with red splurges of paint.

"A flower - a poppy, with its petals lying around it."

"Very good." He set down the cards and smiled at his perfectly sane daughter. She was obviously just as nice and innocent as he'd thought, proved by that little exercise. "Ok, now I'm going to say some words and I want you to say the first thing that comes into your head, ok?"

"Ok."

"Right." He got his pen ready. "Tree."

Kagome's smile slipped. "Arrow."

He blinked at her. "Ok… insect."

"Demon centipede."

He stopped and stared at her. "Right…" he cleared his throat. "Love."

"Triangle."

"Courage?"

"The cowardly dog - I love that show!"

"That's not really what you're supposed to say." Her father pointed out.

"But it's the first thing that entered my mind." She protested, slumping further down on the coach. "Next word, please?"

He sighed. "Mother."

"Fool…" Kagome lowered her lashes.

"Father?"

"Fake."

"Brother."

"Annoying."

"Coward."

"Yellow."

"Christmas."

"Snow."

"Rivals."

"Mikos…"

"Birthday?"

"Presents."

"Valentine's day?"

"Lonely…" Kagome stared at the ceiling dully.

"Ok… I think that's enough of those for now." Her father said quietly, noting how… unusual… her answers had been. "So tell me why your mother sent you here, exactly?"

"Because…" Kagome twiddled her fingers. "She thinks I'm insane… or delirious."

"You don't seem insane or delirious, to me." He said fairly, clicking his pen as he listened to her. "Why does she think this?"

"Because… she thinks I'm making up stuff about… what I do." Kagome talked to the ceiling still.

"She thinks you make stuff up?" he cocked his head at her. "Is she wrong?"

"Yes. Very wrong." Kagome played with the hem of her jersey, nervously. "But… I don't think that was the only reason she made me talk to you…"

"What else is there?" her father asked gently.

"I…" She struggled for words. "I don't have… a very normal life… quite a few problems actually."

"Boy trouble?" he smiled knowingly.

"No." Kagome huffed indignantly, before thinking about it. "Actually… yes, I suppose that is one of the problems…"

"Let's talk about it." He sat forward. "What's his name?"

"Inuyasha…" she forced a laugh and tried to change the subject. "But I really don't think we need to talk about this trivial-"

"Kagome." Her father said so sharply she jumped. "Don't elude the topic. Tell me the trouble with the boy?"

"Well… he's…" she sighed and caved in, about to spill her heart when there was a knock at the door.

^_^

Inuyasha followed Kagome's trail all the way to the block of white brick apartments like Souta had said. It was a ten minute walk, but when you could jump tall buildings in seconds it only took about three minutes overall. No sooner had he walked into the foyer, but a woman looked up from the front desk and quickly set down her magazine. "Oh - you must be Mr Fujita's son, he rang ahead and told us you were coming."

"You what?" Inuyasha stared at the woman in mild confusion.

"He said you were an urgent case… that much was obvious." She gave him a quick once over, taking in his hair, clothes and ears. "Come right this way, Mr Higurashi said he would see you at once."

"Higurashi…?" Inuyasha echoed. Kagome's father.

"Come on, this way." The woman started up the stairs. Inuyasha didn't really have much other choice but to follow her. He was led along a route that Kagome seemed to have taken only a short while ago, and stopped at a doorway where her scent disappeared.

The woman knocked on the door formally.

"Come in." a man's voice called from within.

The woman opened the door and stepped inside. "Mr Higurashi - Mr Fujita's son is here for his session."

"Good, good, let him in."

The woman stood back for Inuyasha… though it took him a few moments to take the initiative and go inside. At once he spotted Kagome staring at him with a rather pale complexion, and a mild looking man in a suit turning to smile at him. "Hello Yoko, your father told me all about your special circumstances." His eyes flicked over Inuyasha's ears and hair before smiling again and standing up. "Excuse me, I'll just go talk to my agent - you can get acquainted with my daughter, Kagome."

Mr Higurashi walked out to talk to his agent - the woman who had brought Inuyasha in, leaving Inuyasha alone in the apartment with Kagome. For some reason she looked like she was growing angrier by the moment. "Yoko?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Hi - you must be Kagome." He stalked over to the couch she was perched on and gave her a sceptical look. "What the heck are we doing here?"

"We? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Following you?"

"What's with Yoko then?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I dunno. The woman mistook me for someone else I guess."

"Well… don't tell Dad you're Inuyasha." She said quickly, making him shoot her a quizzical look. "Don't ask - let's just say I haven't made you out to be a saint right now."

Inuyasha scowled and was about to demand what the hell she'd told her father, when Mr Higurashi came back in and smiled at them both. He closed his mouth… maybe he'd ask her afterwards.

"Take a seat." Mr Higurashi pointed to the coach Kagome was perched on. "I hope you got to know each other?"

"Yeah." Kagome said shyly, not really having to fake the nervous edge to her voice.

Inuyasha contained his smirk as he sat down next to her, a little too close and making her shuffle away from him.

"I believe you two might have a problem similar to one another." Mr Higurashi continued, oblivious to the exchange of glances they gave each other. "I think a joint session would really help you both out."

"Ok…" Kagome glanced again at Inuyasha who was still a little stumped as to what was going on.

"Ok, Yoko, I'm going to show you pictures, and I want you to tell me what you see." Mr Higurashi picked up the same cards he'd shown Kagome earlier. "Ok… first one, tell me what you see?"

Inuyasha stared at the picture before looking at Kagome's father. "I see the carcass of a pig, cut in half and its guts spread out everywhere."

Kagome cocked her head. "Oh yeah…" she hadn't seen that observation. She'd thought it was a butterfly.

"Right… ok…" Mr Higurashi set down the card slowly and lifted another. The one Kagome had said was two people shaking hands. "What do you see?"

Inuyasha cocked his head thoughtfully. "Two people connecting hands."

Mr Higurashi sighed with relief. Good, that was a normal observation.

"And the left guy is ripping the right guy's hand off. And that green stuff is blood dripping down."

Kagome was shaking her head. "That's just grasping at straws." She told Inuyasha.

"I'm just saying what I see." He replied with a casual shrug.

"Ok, next one." The two birds taking flight was next. "And this one?"

"Two heads being kicked into the air." Inuyasha observed,

"No, they're birds." Kagome argued.

"No - they're heads." He short back. "See the noses?"

"They're beaks!"

"Kagome, don't correct Yoko. What he sees isn't wrong." Her father scolded her.

"Yeah, that means what you see is wrong." Inuyasha smirked at her.

"She isn't wrong either, Yoko." Mr Higurashi admonished him as well.

Inuyasha grumbled and folded his arms. "That's just favouritism…"

"Ok, this is the last one. What do you see?" Mr Higurashi held up the last card,

"Um… a heart on a floor… and those are little splurges of blood around it." Inuyasha nodded. "Thought it could be a poppy… nah… that's too wussy."

"Ok." Mr Higurashi set down the cards a little hurriedly. "Now we're going to play the word game. You tell me the first thing that comes into your head when I say these words, ok?"

"Ok."

"Tree."

"Arrow."

Mr Higurashi darted a glance between him and Kagome, who was looking away with great interest at a lamp.

"Ok… Insect."

"Evil wasps."

"Love."

"Ramen?"

"Courage."

"Bags of it."

Kagome nearly elbowed him in the ribs for that. He just grinned as Mr Higurashi write it down thoughtfully. "Interesting… Mother?"

"What about her?" Inuyasha asked guardedly.

"No, just tell me what you think when I say 'mother'?"

"Plum blossoms…"

"Father."

"Dead."

"Brother."

"Soon to be dead."

"Coward."

"Deserves to be dead."

"Christmas."

"Pudding." He remembered when Kagome had brought the stuff through the well as a treat. Tasted disgusting actually…

"Rivals."

"Wimpy Wolf…"

"Birthday."

"Um… anniversary?"

"Valentines Day?"

"Uh…" Inuyasha looked to Kagome for help, but she wasn't looking his way. "Futuristic?"

"Ok…" Mr Higurashi said slowly and finished his scribbled notes. Now here was the case of one very disturbed boy. He decided to set this one of the shelf while he dealt with Kagome first. "Now, just hold on a minute, Yoko, but I want you to listen to what Kagome says, this is important to help you as well."

Inuyasha sat back with folded arms and turned to watch Kagome expectantly, waiting for her 'words of wisdom'.

"Now, Kagome, you were telling me about your boyfriend Inuyasha?" Her father looked at her.

Kagome froze and stared in horror at her father.

"So tell me about it." He prompted.

Kagome darted a glance at Inuyasha who was looking at her curiously. He probably didn't understand the implications of 'boyfriend' anyway…

"Um… he's… a great guy." Kagome managed to sum up lamely.

"Yes, but you said you were having a problem with him."

She felt Inuyasha snap a glare on her and she blanched. "I really didn't mean that…"

"It's ok - I think Yoko can relate." Her father nodded at Inuyasha. "He has relationship troubles too."

"I do?" Inuyasha blinked.

"Girlfriend giving you bother?" Kagome asked dryly.

Her father shook his head. "Boyfriend actually."

The silence settled over the three. Kagome was trying very hard no to burst out laughing, whilst Inuyasha gaped openly at Mr Higurashi. The older man carried on regardless. "If you share your concerns over your boyfriend, Kagome, I'm sure Yoko will benefit as well."

That wiped the grin off her face like nothing else could. "My concerns… over Inuyasha…?" Her father nodded, and she glanced sideways at Inuyasha again. "Well… he's… atwotiminggitwhodoesn'tappreciatethetimeidevotetohimanddoesn'tevenonceconsi dermyfeelingswhenwespendtimetogetherandeverytimeheseeshisex-girlfriendhe'll alwaysleavemeinthelurchtogoseeifsheneedshelp."

She inhaled deeply when she was finished, dragging in that well needed oxygen. Beside her, Inuyasha's hand dropped limply to the couch and she rushed on. "But enough about that - let's talk about my other much larger problems."

"By all means - but our session just ran out." He sighed and looked at his watch. "You'll have to save them till next time."

Kagome sighed with deflation. If Inuyasha hadn't come along maybe she would have been able to tell her father about Denji… and she'd been working up the courage especially for it.

Her father stood up and all but ushered them towards the door. "Now I just have to go tell the parents of two twins some good news and bad news."

"Let me guess, good news; they're cured, bad news: the cost?" Kagome asked dryly as she followed Inuyasha out the door.

"Nope. Good news: they're sexually active." Her father corrected.

"Then what's the bad news?"

"With each other."

"Ew." Inuyasha and Kagome grimaced as the door closed behind them. Life was really like a soap opera with her father…

She turned to tell Inuyasha so when she caught the heated glare he was shooting her. Her voice died in her throat at once. He raised a finger, opening his mouth to berate her when he shot a glance to her father's door and shut it again. Obviously her father was still within ear shot. Instead he forced himself to lower his finger. "You. Me. Sengoku Jidai. Now!"

She winced and followed him obediently as he stormed his way over to the window at the end of the hall and waited, still angry, for her to grab on so they could leave in the unconventional way. She didn't look forward to what lay ahead…

AN: And we'll be back with Denji next chapter ^_^