InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Feel Like Makin' Love ❯ An Invitation to Dinner ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 13

 

An Invitation to Dinner

 

InuYasha and Emiko took the elevator down to the underground garage. The doors slid open, and InuYasha followed her to a corner where spots were reserved for the employees. She walked up to a silver Nissan 280 Z and reached in her purse for her keys. The sound the car made when she hit the clicker to open the doors made InuYasha wince a little, but she motioned to him with a smile to get in the passenger side of the two seater car. She pulled smoothly out of the parking space, and they were off.

 

“I'll take you to a shop owned by some of my fellow kitsunes,” Emiko said. “Dad shops there all the time.”

 

InuYasha snorted and shook his head at the idea. What these kitsunes were doing in Kagome's time made him smirk. Memories of the kitsune Inn and kitsune training in his time came to mind.

 

“Don't you need to pay for clothes in this time?” InuYasha said. “I don't have any money.”

 

They headed into downtown traffic, and Emiko turned the radio to a local J-Pop station as she replied to him.

 

“Don't worry, Dad has an account there,” Emiko said. “We will charge our purchase to him. And you won't have to worry about money, he saw to that too.”

 

It seemed there was nothing Shippo had not prepared for when InuYasha woke. He watched the city go by, the lights of evening Tokyo reflecting in his eyes. The realization that he was really here and that his time was part of this worlds dim past was finally sinking in, and he slunk down in his seat. Emiko glanced over at him when she heard him make an explosive sigh.

 

“Do you want to know how Dad made sure you would be financially secure?” Emiko said with a cute, sly smile.

 

InuYasha shrugged, a faint smirk on his lips. “Yeah, why not.”

 

“Well, he pressured your brother, using your family honor, to give him the starter funds,” Emiko said. “He told Lord Sesshomaru that it would reflect well on his family if one of Inu no Tashio's sons was a pauper.”

 

“Well, I knew he would have a son once I was no longer his heir,” InuYasha said. “But I always thought I would have a place at his fortress.”

 

“As was your right too,” Emiko replied, nodding. “But I think he was really relieved when you were gone, and acquiesced so you wouldn't come back and disturb his court!”

 

That made InuYasha chuckle, thinking about how he got under his brothers skin all the time. He could just see him shove his inheritance at Shippo and quickly having him shown to the door. Anything to keep his brother from coming back and disrupting everything with his obsession!

 

They reached their destination, the Omotesando shopping district. She pulled into the huge, glass-fronted Omotesando Hills complex, a mall that also had apartments. They parked the car and took an escalator up into the shopping area. InuYasha tried not to show any clumsiness when getting on this moving stairs for the first time, but almost was dumped off when it stopped. Emiko tried not to laugh as he stumbled a bit, arms flailing.

 

The many mall shoppers gave them side long glances, since InuYasha was wearing clothes that they had mostly seen in ancient drawings. But they ignored them, and Emiko took InuYasha to a large men's clothing store that ran the gamut from suits for sararimen to leisure clothes. As soon as she entered a young man behind the counter visibly brightened, and with a sigh came over and gave them a formal bow. Emiko and InuYasha bowed their heads politely back.

 

“Good to see you Miss Emiko-chan,” the young man said. “What brings to grace us with your presence today?”

 

“I brought a friend who needs some new clothes,” Emiko replied.

 

The young man looked shrewdly at InuYasha a moment. InuYasha frowned impatiently, bristling. Crossing his arms he fought the urge to glare back and looked away.

 

“Ah sir, I see you are one of us,” the salesman said mildly.

 

“Actually, Lord InuYasha is an Inu Youkai of powerful lineage,” Emiko said. “His brother is Lord Sesshomaru.”

 

That made the salesman bow even more deferentially to InuYasha, which made his eyebrows shoot up and a smirk play on his lips. He remembered how it irked some of Sesshomaru's court when they were forced to act thus. But it helped mollify InuYasha some.

 

“I think we should look at suits first,” Emiko said. “We want you to make a good impression when you go to dinner at Kagome's house.”

 

“Yes,” the salesman replied. “Let me get one thing.”

 

“Keh,” InuYasha replied dismissively. “They are used to my fire rat.”

 

“Yes, but things are different now,” Emiko said. “Aren't you planning on courting Kagome? And in her time? Dad will act as your go between.”

 

Damn, Emiko had her there! This girl was sharp, no doubt about it. InuYasha nodded with respect, wondering who was truly the elder here. She looked like a young woman in her twenties, but had to be centuries old. Just then the salesman came back with a measuring tape, but stopped and regarded InuYashas voluminous clothes speculatively.

 

“Sir, may I ask you to come to the dressing room and remove your suikan and hakama?” the salesman said. “I'm afraid I can't take measurements with clothing this bulky.”

 

“Do I have to?” InuYasha replied, his face aghast at such an unforeseen request.

 

Both Emiko and the salesman nodded at InuYasha's obvious discomfort, smiling, their green eyes twinkling.

 

`Kitsunes!' InuYasha thought with a snort and stalked off after the salesman towards the dressing rooms while Emiko looked at the suits.

~*~

 

On the ride back to her home, Kagome's mind spun from the events of the day. One arm clutched her middle while the other rubbed her eyes, a headache imminent. This morning she had left InuYasha in the Feudal Era, thinking she would return in a few days. Now she was confronted with a whole new set of circumstances. Biting her lower lip, she was faced with a realization that her InuYasha was not a boy anymore - he was a man. He had grown taller and broader of chest and shoulders. His face contained no trace of the roundness of his youth. And his eyes looked at her with an intensity that was almost…frightening.

 

“How are you doing Kagome?” Shippo said quietly.

 

“I-I'm okay,” Kagome said with a tremulous smile. “Shippo, can you tell me what happened to InuYasha during the years before he was sealed again?”

 

“I don't know how much I should tell you,” Shippo said slowly, his eyes on the traffic before him. “But I can tell you what I saw, and what I think he went through.”

 

Both arms now hugging her middle, Kagome slouched forward in her seat and regarded Shippo with a grateful smile. So strange that this adult next to her was her little Shippo! She was quite proud of how obviously mature and successful he had become.

 

“Sesshomaru took him in, and I stayed on and off with Miroku and Sango and their kids at Kaede's village,” Shippo said. “But sometimes I used to catch InuYasha back at the well, arms folded on the edge as sadly peered inside. I'm pretty sure he knew I was there, but he never acknowledged me and I never intruded.”

 

Mesmerized by his words, Kagome whispered, “And then what happened?”

 

“He stopped coming to the well after about three years,” Shippo continued. “But word about the disruptions he was causing at his brothers court was spreading. It was considered scandalous for InuYasha to so flagrantly turn his nose up on the type of behavior expected of him as Sesshomaru's heir.”

 

There was silence, as Kagome looked at Shippos profile and tried to digest all he had told her. Then she hung her head, her hair falling around her face like black rain and heaved a weary sigh. She hoped she had time for a quick nap before dinner. That's right - she had invited InuYasha to dinner! Kagome's head popped up and she looked at Shippo again.

 

“Can I get your cell phone number so you can let InuYasha know what time to come to dinner?” Kagome said quickly.

 

“Sure, I'll give you my card,” Shippo said with a warm smile. “I'll call Emiko, I left her in charge of InuYasha while I took you home.”

 

They pulled up to the shrine. Kagome reached in back for her back pack, and got out of the car. When Shippo didn't move to follow her, she hesitated, biting her lip.

 

“Would you like to come in and meet my family?” Kagome asked.

 

Turning to her, Shippo smiled and nodded. “Thank you for your gracious offer,” he replied. “But maybe now is not the right time. I will be sure to take you up on it in the future, though.”

 

“You better!” Kagome replied with a giggle and a smile, and closed the door.

 

With a sigh, her back pack hanging from her hands in front of her, Kagome watched Shippo leave. He waived, and she waived back, and then he was gone moving smoothly into the evening traffic. Oh my, she needed time to grab a bath and change before dinner! Dashing off, she thought about how happy her family would be to see her - and how surprised and pleased they would be to hear that InuYasha would be joining them.

 

~*~

 

Later on, Kagome and Souta sat in front of the TV watching a show while Mrs. Higurashi put the finishing touches on the dinner table. Jii-chan sat on the couch with the paper held prominently in front of him.

 

A knock came at the door. Mrs. Higurashi heard it first.

 

“I'll get it,” Mrs. Higurashi said, but seeing her head for the door, Kagome leaped up to follow.

 

“It's InuYasha,” Kagome said excitedly.

 

Opening the door a crack, Mrs. Higurashi blinked at the man in the grey pinstripe suit standing there looking uncomfortable with a bouquet of flowers. The person there was certainly not who she expected. She regarded him with a quizzical expression as Kagome bumped up behind her in a tizzy.

 

“May I help you, young sir?” Mrs. Higurashi said formally.

 

InuYasha gaped, and then blushed as Kagome impatiently pulled the door all the way open. She looked at him, crestfallen and confused, her brows drawn down and a slight frown on her lips. Damn, he had forgotten to turn off the youkai cloaking device…..