InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Feel Like Makin' Love ❯ An Uneasy Dinner ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13

 

Darling, don't wanna live without you,

And your love.

If I had, those golden dreams, of my yesterdays

I would wrap you in the heaven

They lay dying, all the way

Feel like makin'….

 

An Uneasy Meal

 

Sheepishly InuYasha fumbled with the device on his wrist while muttering curses at himself under his breath. How could he be so stupid at a time like this? And why didn't Emiko remind him to turn it off? With a click his image flickered and Mrs. Higurashi gasped in surprise. Kagome grinned at him in relief.

 

“InuYasha, you had me worried!” Kagome said. “I didn't realize you had some sort of device to disguise yourself!”

 

“Oh my,” Mrs. Higurashi said. “You look like InuYasha now…but at the same time, you are still changed. Well, come inside dear.”

 

The corner of InuYasha's mouth turned down and he shot Kagome a look as he stepped inside. It seemed she had neglected to tell her family he was full youkai now. But Kagome just looked back at him and rolled her eyes.

 

“If you noticed a change in me, it's because I am now full youkai,” InuYasha said.

 

“Um, can we not talk about that right now?” Kagome quipped, irritated at the reminder of what had set off this whole chain of events.

 

Kagome's petulance caught InuYasha off guard. He watched her stalk away, staring at her hunched shoulders and clenched fists. Damn the wench for being so sensitive! He went to give a retort, but was luckily interrupted.

 

“Dinner is ready to be served,” Mrs. Higurashi said, distracting InuYasha.

 

Mrs. Higurashi led him into the dining room and disappeared with the flowers into the kitchen. InuYasha and Kagome seated themselves at the table, but Kagome would not look at him. InuYasha clenched and unclenched his fists, doing his best to reign in his temper. The rest of the family soon joined them. Souta bounced over and sat on the other side of InuYasha, grinning. The youkai raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

 

“I think you look cool!” Souta said. “But where is your fire rat? I liked those clothes better.”

 

Jii-chan looked InuYasha up and down disapprovingly and tsked, taking in his modern attire but seemingly not fooled one bit. He muttered under his breath, and InuYasha gave a bark of laughter. That old man would never stop wanting to slap one of his lame ofudas on him! Jii-chan sniffed and looked at InuYasha down his crooked nose.

 

“Clothes are not enough to make you respectable, young youkai,” Jii-Chan intoned in his most haughty manner.

 

“I think InuYasha looks quite a gentleman,” Mrs. Higurashi replied, returning with a big bowl of salad. “Please help yourself while I get the rest of the dinner.”

 

A moment later, Mrs. Higurashi appeared with a large pot of steaming udon, meat and vegetables and placed it on the table. Kagome took a whiff of it in pleasure and sighed. Her stomach gurgled in response and she blushed at the loud noise it made. Her mother served InuYasha first, and then her daughter. The youkai dove in with gusto, scooping up as much as possible with his chopsticks.

 

“So, may I ask where you came by such fine clothes?” Mrs. Higurashi said.

 

“Shippo paid for them, but his daughter Emiko picked them out,” InuYasha said around a mouthful of food. “Now that what used to be the future for me is my present, they said I have to wear modern clothes and try and fit in.”

 

The family's reaction to InuYasha's explanation was total shock, and not what he had expected. Mrs. Higurashi put down her chopsticks slowly, staring at him in wonder. Souta's mouth dropped open, and then he grinned happily. As for Jii-chan…he had had a mouth full of food, which he promptly sprayed all over Kagome, his eyes popping out in apoplexy.

 

“Oh, we had no idea you were here to stay!” Mrs. Higurashi said. “What an unexpected but wonderful surprise!”

 

“Yes,” chimed in Souta happily. “Could you be my big brother? I always wanted one!”

The chopsticks in InuYashas hands hit the dish with a clatter. One eyebrow shot up and the corner of his mouth turned down. He did not believe it at first, but by the family's expressions he could see they were sincere. No one knew anything about him being here except…

 

“Didn't you explain anything to them?” InuYasha said, turning to Kagome, annoyed.

 

“No,” Kagome snipped as she wiped at the noodles on her hands with a napkin in distaste.

 

“How could you leave them in the dark like this - so they can be all shocked during dinner?” InuYasha replied. “Just what did you tell them?”

 

“I told them you were coming to dinner,” Kagome said. “I did not want to launch into a lengthy explanation of all that happened - I wanted to have a pleasant meal! After all, there is still so much I don't know yet!”

 

Flushed with anger, Kagome threw down her napkin and stormed away from the table. InuYasha was even more baffled by her behavior - it was so familiar but even more annoying now then he remembered it to be. This dinner was going nothing like he had hoped or planned! He made a low growl of frustration, wondering what to do.

 

“Go after her,” Mrs. Higurashi said, a sympathetic look on her face. “She is young still, as were you before your life-altering changes. But she does not mean to act this way.”

 

InuYasha cocked his head, and looked at Mrs. Higurashi in mild surprise. She smiled back at him and nodded. He nodded in return and took some deep breaths, using this calming technique he had picked up in order to deal with the resentment of the denizens of his brother's court. After a few moments his head cleared and he pushed away from the table. InuYasha went into the living room where Kagome sat on the couch, her arms crossed on her chest and her pale face pinched with sadness and anger. They sat in an uncomfortable silence a moment, not looking at each other. Kagome sighed.

 

“I'm sorry I exploded like that,” Kagome said softly. “It is just still so hard for me to accept…that everything has changed.”

 

Nodding his head, he leaned his elbows on his knees and stared at the floor beneath his feet. He was keenly aware of the anxiety and stress that Kagome radiated. Inwardly he was kicking himself for being so short tempered with her. In his eagerness to be with her, he realized he had not taken into account that she had just left him and all their friends that morning, not expecting never to be able to go back. They were completely out of sync in their timelines…

 

Wondering what to say that would not sound stupid, InuYasha stole a glance at Kagomes mournful profile. For the first time, he was struck by how…young she looked. How could he have forgotten, she was barely sixteen. Somehow, in his memory she had become different. Yet, he knew this was the real girl - his Kagome. The knees of his fine new suit pants rumpled and nearly shredded as his fingers clenched in frustration. This reunion was nothing like he pictured it would be!

 

“Careful InuYasha, you will tear your new suit,” Kagome said.

 

“Keh, yeah, sorry,” InuYasha mumbled, then looked up at her, licking his lips as he searched for something less stupid to say.

 

“Let's get back to dinner,” Kagome said, wiping the tears from her eyes and standing up.

 

A tentative smile played on her lips, as Kagome held out her hand to InuYasha. He nodded and took it. It felt so good to have her small hand in his once again, he was almost reluctant to let it go as they entered the kitchen.

 

“Everything okay?” Mrs. Higurashi said.

 

“Yes, Mama-san,” Kagome said as she sat down. “Sorry I disturbed everyone's meal.”

 

“Don't worry sis, that just leaves more for me to eat,” Souta joked.

 

“Baka!” Kagome said, swiping at her brother with her chopsticks. “You better have left some Udon for me!”

 

Souta laughed, ducking out of the way of the snapping chopsticks.

 

“Now, mind your manners children,” Mrs. Higurashi said. “We have company after all.”

 

“Company?” Souta laughed. “It's just InuYasha, Mom. He's not company!”

 

“Mind your mother young man,” Jii-chan chimed in. “In my day, no one ever dared talk to their elders that way. Must be all that damned Western influence…”

 

Jii-chan clucked, shaking his head, and took another noisy bite of food.

 

A subdued InuYasha watched the family he thought he had known so well, and for the first time he truly felt like an outsider. All of them, except Jii-chan of course, had always made him feel at home here. It was so familiar, but he felt like he was looking in at his past, not out at his future. If you asked him, InuYasha probably could not have put these feelings into words. But looking at his face, gone suddenly distant and sad, one might surmise what was going on. When Kagome looked his way, she knew he was feeling uncomfortable, and her smile faltered.

 

`All my fault,' Kagome thought. `He looks like a lost puppy…'

 

Putting down her chopsticks, Kagome wiped her mouth with her napkin and stood up. InuYasha watched her, and quickly swallowed the last of his dinner.

 

“Mom, may we be excused?” Kagome said. “I'd really like to go for a walk in the shrine, you will come with me won't you InuYasha?”

 

“Yeah, sure,” InuYasha said. He stood up and followed her out the kitchen door.

 

The night air was cool and damp as it hit their faces. Noises of the cars whizzing by on the nearby street filled the air. InuYasha quickly caught up to Kagome, and took her hand again, hoping she would not reject him. He was gratified that she folded her hand in his as they walked, and relaxed a little.

 

“So, I guess its back to school for me,” Kagome said, trying to sound casual. “What will you do now that you're stuck here, InuYasha?”

 

“Keh, stuck here,” InuYasha snorted. “This time, there was no well that brought me to your time. I chose being put to sleep for hundreds of years in order to get to you without going completely out of my mind.”

 

Their footsteps echoed as they walked, the only sound between them as they each drew back into their own thoughts. InuYasha realized that she was leading them towards Goshinboku, the place where it all began. She let go of his hand and sat down, and he sat next to her. Her eyes caught the lights from the passing cars as she leaned her head back against the trunk of the tree.

 

“Do you still think you made the right choice, InuYasha?” Kagome said quietly.

 

“What does that matter now, what is done is done,” InuYasha said. “I have had years to get used to being full youkai - I have no way to undo this.”

 

“Well, I have not had years to get used to the new you!” Kagome said hotly.

 

InuYasha growled low in his throat in frustration. Kagome would not look at him, and he thought he saw tears glimmering in her dark eyes as she bit her lip. In desperation, he took her hand again and looked at her beseechingly. Only Kagome could not see his expression, because she would not look at him.

 

“Look, what I am trying to say is this,” InuYasha said. “I could not live one more day past seven years without you. I am here now because I only want to be with you…I can't live without you.”

 

“Seven years,” Kagome said softly. “You have grown up InuYasha, you aren't the hanyou boy I fell in love with anymore.”

 

“Let me prove to you - I am still me, Kagome,” InuYasha pleaded.

 

Kagome nodded, and her hair fell in a soft curtain obscuring her face. How InuYasha longed to brush it all aside and take her chin in his hands to make her look at him! He would make her see, he would kiss all her fears and denials away! It was all he could do to have enough self-control to prevent this impulsive action. Something else he had to thank his cold, ever under control brother for teaching him…

 

“Just give me some time, okay?” Kagome said quietly.

 

“Okay…”