InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ First Class Dog ❯ Shopping and Chaos ( Chapter 5 )

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Yeah, okay I know it's been a long, long, long, time but I think I owe it to fans to finish off this fan-fic. I know I shouldn't make excuses but I had a pretty tumultuous college life and I've only just managed to get back on my feet again. Free time has been extremely hard to find. Sorry to everyone who has been waiting so long! Thank you for those of you who have kept up anyway! Oh yeah, and I don't own Inu Yasha stuff… yada yada.

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At the station a man in a suit called over the guests, Shiro and Ikume were standing with him. Kagome and Inu Yasha hung out at the back of the crowd, praying that the two would not see them. The man cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Welcome, guests! The Baines family invites you all to a day of shopping and merriment. As you exit the station you will see three limousines waiting to take you to the shopping district, have lunch, be merry and then at six you will be picked up at the same location you were dropped off for dinner at eight at the hotel. Again, we thank you all for joining us. Please exit on the left, your chauffeurs will let you know which limo is yours.”

Everyone quickly headed for the exits and the dog-demon and his miko moved to towards the center of the crowd to avoid having to talk to the siblings. They, however, had already vanished. The couples, all young people in their late teens and twenties, were ushered into their respective vehicles, eight to a limo. Kagome had to have yet another terse argument with Inu Yasha about how the evil black growling demon was not—in fact—a demon but rather another transportation device to get them to their next destination. Threats of “sit” finally got him to enter the vehicle. The stretch limos could fit the eight couples but they were forced to sit very close to one another. Inu Yasha was not terribly thrilled to discover that a few of the chattering women were wearing a substantial amount of perfume. It made his head spin a little and the sickly feeling it gave him caused him to completely ignore how close Kagome had to sit next to him. Finally, the chauffeur closed the door and moments later the car began to move.

The sudden movement caused Kagome's shoulder to bump the grumpy half-demon's arm and suddenly he was aware of how close he was to her. He tensed, assuming that she would get angry and sit him but she remained there. Her close proximity cause him to pick up her scent and he relaxed a little, focusing on it to take his attention away from the gods-awful perfume smells. He turned his face towards her hair instinctively to draw in more of her scent and gradually, carefully, his golden orbs followed her hair down to her face. To his surprise she was staring intently at her hands, curled into her sundress and her cheeks were the faintest shade of pink. One of the girls sitting across from her saw Kagome's nervousness and laughed.

“Oh don't be shy. Put your arm around her. We're all couples here!”

Inu Yasha was stunned, looking from the girl to Kagome, then back to the girl, then to Kagome again. He began to stutter.

“N-now wait—“

The miko cut him off, suddenly she was smiling at the girl and making some sort of excuse, albeit nervously. She leaned her head back against his shoulder, turning her head towards his neck. His heart thumped in his chest. He could feel her breath near his ear, realizing then that she was speaking to him very quietly.

“Just put your arm around me, they'll ignore you if you do. Trust me.”

The dog demon flushed and did as instructed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt that he would get sat if he didn't and he was too stunned to really think much about it. Quickly, his arm snaked around her shoulders, his heart still hammering. The annoying girl talked again.

“Aw! So cute! That's better!”

He wondered if this meant that he could move his arm away, he shifted to take it back but felt cool fingers on his claws. Kagome spoke into his neck again, sending a shiver up his spine.

“Just keep it there until we get to our stop. Do you want them to ask you more questions? I'm going to pretend to sleep, that way they won't talk.”

He didn't reply but relaxed his arm. Though he hated to admit it, she was right, he did not want to talk to talk to any of those idiots and, much as he hated to admit it, he did not mind his position all that much. In fact, it sounded like a good idea to feign sleep, too. He closed his eyes but kept his ears perked for trouble underneath his baseball cap.

 

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Fifteen minutes later the limo came to a stop. Kagome stirred and stretched, feigning a yawn.

“Oh, that was a nice nap!”

The dog-demon jumped and brought his arm back to his lap. Everyone piled out of the limo and out into the shopping district. Inu Yasha was not prepared for the sight. People were everywhere talking loudly to one another; he could smell thousands of different scents. He gaped at the buildings stretching out into the sky. He was convinced they would topple over from their sheer weight. The materials of the buildings were things he had never seen before. There were no paper walls or doors to be seen anywhere and the noise was deafening! He was suddenly grateful for the cap; the sound dampened some of the noise, though it only provided the slightest relief.

Kagome stared at the dog-demon. She had never seen him so dumb-struck. It didn't take much thought to realize that it had everything to do with what he was being exposed to. She quickly grabbed his hand and dragged him towards a men's clothing store.

“Come on now. It's time to get you some clothes.”

“Kagome, what is that, and that, and that!?”

He pointed towards several contraptions, cars, a gumball machine, a vending machine, a mailbox. Kagome just shook her head and tugged on his hand.

“Come on! I'll explain it all to you later. You have got to get some clothes first. You've been wearing those for far too long.”

“What? It's only been a day.”

He lifted the collar of his shirt and sniffed it. It smelled fine to him. Kagome huffed and tugged harder.

“We've got to go now, Inu Yasha! Things work differently here.”

She tried desperately to think of a good reason to convince the half-demon to move, finally, it dawned on her.

“People will ask questions. If you get sent back then-then… uh… Shiro will have to be my date. That's how things work here.”

That got him moving. There was no way in hell that he would let some idiot do—whatever it is that a stupid human like him would do to HIS Kagome! If he did…well… he'd give Shiro a sound bearing, that's for damn sure. It occurred to him that it would be easier to beat the man (if he did do something foolish) if he didn't get kicked out.

“All right, all right, damn it! Just do whatever it is you have to do.”

The miko dragged the hanyou into the store. He was immediately relieved to learn that the overwhelming sounds outside did not extend inside the store. An obnoxious man who reeked of female perfume, Kagome later told him it was a substance called `cologne', whatever it was, it made him sick and dizzy all over again. Kagome sensed he was in trouble and stepped between the clerk and the dog-demon.

“Ah! Yes. My… friend… here is from out of town and the airport lost his luggage! He needs clothes for the next three weeks and he can't remember his size.”

The clerk assessed him for a moment then rushed off, gathering clothes from all over the store over the span of several minutes. The clerk then hustled the confused and still dizzy dog-demon into a changing room. Kagome had explained the purpose of this room and Inu Yasha had little trouble getting into a new pair of jeans… however he was not prepared for the white button-down shirt. He attempted to wrap the shirt around him but there were no ties or any obi to keep the thing closed. He tried to stuff the shirt into his pants but that didn't feel right either, finally he un-tucked the shirt and stomped out of the changing room towards Kagome. Her mouth fell open at the sight of the dog-demon in jeans and an open shirt, his lean but built chest exposed, storming towards her.

“Tell me how this works, woman!”

She gawked, blinked, coughed and then got grumpy. The miko grabbed his shirt and began to button it up for him, fussing at him about how his anger was making her look like an idiot to the clerk. Inu Yasha wanted to get angry right back but he needed her to teach him how to, as she put it, `button' his shirt. She kept her eyes trained on each button, her cheeks a bright shade of pink. He grumbled and looked down at her work, memorizing how she fed the button through each hole, leaving the last two at the top undone. When she finished she glared up at him.

“You get it now?”

The powerful demon hesitated for a moment. She was inches from his face. How had she gotten so close? Confused and frustrated at the rush of emotions in his mind he turned away from her and crossed his arms across his chest petulantly. Kagome, irritated by his temper, peeked around the dog-demon and smiled sheepishly at the clerk.

“This is great. We'll take it all.”

The man hurried out with all the clothes in his hands, Kagome stepped to the register. Inu Yasha stayed where he was, arguing with himself mentally about what he was feeling for the girl. She was relieved. If he saw the scanner and the register he might have flipped out. The clerk quickly finished the order and she handed off the credit card. He swiped it and then handed her two large bags of clothing. She turned back to the demon.

“All right, let's go.”

Inu Yasha harrumphed and stalked back over to her, grabbing the shopping bags from her hands.

“Well? Where to? I'm hungry.”

Kagome huffed but she had already released the bags to his grasp so she led him out the door and back onto the street. Immediately, the girl was aware that Inu Yasha was not thrilled with the sounds and smells assaulting his senses. He scowled worse than ever. The miko decided then to head towards a nearby park she knew of in the district. At least he'd be a little more comfortable. They could always get food from a vendor nearby but first she told the half-demon to wait outside while she ducked into a convenience store, purchased an item, paid for it, and zipped back out. She then led him to the park. As they walked through the park she could see Inu Yasha visibly relax. The scowl faded to his normal daily frown. His nose twitched and his head tilted up to sniff the air. Something smelled good and Kagome was leading him in that direction. He watched her pay the vendor in those strange coins he'd seen her carry around before. He took something out of his cart which smelled delicious, wrapped it in a metallic substance he now knew as `tin foil', and handed two to Kagome.

The dog demon was salivating. She led him to sit down under a tree that was isolated from most of the people wandering around and handed him the foil-wrapped thing.

“It's a hot d—er…frankfurter.”

He looked at her quizzically for a second then devoured the hot dog, tossing the tin foil aside. Humans had such odd names for their food. He quickly jumped up into the branches of the tree so he could have his food in peace. The `hot-der-frankfurter' was a treat and Kagome was forced to buy several more before he was satisfied. The miko tilted her head back and leaned back on her hands, palms pressing against the grass, flat, watching him. She made a face.

“Are you done yet?”

He nodded and jumped back down to the ground, the jeans were a little tight and didn't allow him as much freedom of movement as he would have liked… but he didn't want to get sat or get kicked out for wearing the fire rat robe. Kagome was watching him again, the look caused him to hesitate. Was she… staring? Her stormy blue eyes were wide, pink lips parted slightly. To his chagrin he found himself captivated by it. Kagome had similar feelings. Seeing the dog-demon crouched over in his usual pose in modern clothing had turned out to be a better experience than she realized. She was reminded of the moment he stalked towards her from the changing room and she had to admit, though she'd seen his chest before when she had tried to take care of his injuries during one of their first meeting, it still took her breath away. Inu Yasha was the first to break the awkward silence.

“Feh.”

He let his legs slip out from under him, falling back on his behind onto the soft grass. Kagome blanched, forced to break from her trance as she watched his eyes scan the area with suspicion.

“So when do we have to go back to the beast?”

She blinked and looked around momentarily, then checked her watch.

“Ah! We should be heading back now.”

He nodded and grabbed for his Tetsusaiga; laying on the grass by his hip. All that time he had carried the sheathed blade around with him, unable to place it anywhere without an obi to hold it. Kagome, however, had already come to a solution and now she was reminded of it.

“Here,” She said, shuffling through one of the shopping bags until she yanked out a black leather belt. “See those loops around your pants? That's what this is for. You can carry the Tetsusaiga with it.”

He snatched the belt from her and fumbled to put it on, muttering something about her taking her damn time to let him know he wouldn't have to carry his blade sword around like a damned idiot. She snapped back that his insistent hunger made her forget. They argued about this for a moment, he used these moments to watch her eyes. They sparkled in anger, something Kikyo rarely ever did--in fact her eyes had always seemed rather dead, even when she was alive. Kagome's eyes were always flashing with her ever-changing emotions. The little tiffs they had gave him a chance to examine those little expressions, using his crude language to egg her on. After some fussing he finally secured the belt and slipped his sword through the band at the back of his pants. He was relieved to know that the humans at least were not so helpless they did not have anything to carry their blades around. Kagome was glad he didn't notice that no one except him carried a sword.

The two got up and made their way to the area where they had been dropped off. Kagome picked up her pace to a quick trot as she realized most of the couples had already gathered and the limo was waiting. Before they got too close the miko turned to him suddenly, Inu Yasha had been following her so close he had to stop abruptly to keep from slamming into her.

“What is it now, wench?” He said with a grumble.

Kagome made a face and responded, “Look, when we get in the car…” She hesitated, her heart fighting to keep her from saying what she needed to say, “When we get in the car” She repeated, “I want you to-to… urgh. Just hold my hand or something. You've got to pretend like we're a… couple if you don't want to get kicked out. You understand?”

The half-demon stopped, opening and shutting his mouth for a few seconds. Shocked and suddenly reminded of his uncomfortable, yet pleasant situation before. He did not like this one bit. Touching her made him… soft. He tended to make mistakes and mistakes got her hurt. He wasn't about to leave her to that Shiro guy, though and finally, with a grunt and a shout he exclaimed,

“All right! Fine!”

Suddenly he reached out and grabbed her hand. The hanyou he took the lead now, heading towards the car, growling under his breath. Kagome followed; stunned that he would be so brazen. At the limo, to their relief, no one made any comments to them. They all carried various packages and were too busy talking to their respective partners.

 

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The limo rolled up to the towering hotel and everyone piled out. Again, Inu Yasha was agape staring at the tower that was even taller than the building he had seen at the shopping district. He still grasped Kagome's hand, hers had been cool most of the trip but over the time his heat had warmed it ever so slightly. He wasn't sure if he ought to let it go, suddenly aware of it again. He slipped a glance Kagome's way but she seemed lost in thought about something else. There were too many people there to explain to him about elevators and she was justifiably concerned about his reaction to a new machine.

There was no time to talk, though. Some bellhops had come forward with all the guests' luggage and once they had confirmed which bags belonged to which couple they proceeded to take their shopping bags and lead them to one of six elevators in the lobby. Inu Yasha, of course, would not let them take their shopping bags without a short argument between himself and his companion. Finally, they were led to an elevator. There was a chime and the doors opened to a tiny room with no openings except the one that had just opened. He tensed. Every bone in his body screamed that this was a trap. Demons would descend from the ceiling at any moment and jump on them. He raised his head and sniffed the air cautiously but sensed no demons. Still, his free hand moved towards the Tetsusaiga on his belt, changing up his stance so his legs could be further apart, ready to leap into action. Kagome could feel his tension rise.

Two other couples had entered the elevator along with a bellhop. He carried their names on a clip board and their room assignments. He took a keycard from a lanyard around his neck and swiped it through a reader, then dialed in the floor number—the miko could guess that they were given premium suites; that could only be the reason the man had to use a special key to bring the elevator to their floor. The doors chimed and slid closed. Kagome looked up to check on him. She could see a fang slip past Inu Yasha's lips. He was not happy. The elevator then began to move, Inu Yasha sucked in his breath, surprised when his stomach did a summersault. They were moving up by some invisible force. His free hand now touched the hilt of his blade; then froze. An arm snaked around his arm that held Kagome's hand. He felt something soft and warm brush his elbow. To his shock he realized Kagome was hugging his arm and the soft thing he felt was her chest brushing him through his long-sleeved shirt. His mind reeled. She was touching him!

He stood rooted to the spot. All of his rage and paranoia evaporated under the sheer confusion and convoluted emotions overtaking his thoughts. Why would she be that close? What was she doing? Did that mean that they were safe? More questions ran through his head, all of them lacking answers. He chanced a glance down at Kagome but her eyes were hidden behind her bangs; he was sure she was looking intently at his hand. With his mind still spinning, the elevator doors chimed. The doors opened but they no longer appeared to be in the lobby by magic they were in a different area.

The bellhop led the three couples down a long hallway, carpeted in a red, white and gold pattern that was both stylish and intricate. The bellhop led one couple to a door, handed two keys and bowed out, explaining that they should be ready to have dinner at eight. Inu Yasha and Kagome were led to their room next, given keys, the same instructions and the location of the dining hall.

By that point Kagome had released his arm and was instructing him in how to use the keycards. It didn't take him long to figure out how to swipe the card, then turn the knob. The off-white door with gold trim swung open to a huge living area. The carpet was red with small lotus flowers. Two modern, angular couches with black wooden lacquered arms and tan cushions surrounded a glass coffee table with matching lacquered table legs. Behind the couches Kagome's luggage and Inu Yasha's shopping bags sat in their cart, having been brought by the bellhops some time ago.

Kagome stood dumbstruck in the living area. The opulence was astounding! Oblivious, the dog-demon stalked around the living room, snorting and sniffing. He tossed his baseball cap onto the couch as he passed by, happy to free his ears. From the living area he stopped in front of two sliding pocket doors on the left and yanked them open. He had to check for vulnerabilities. There, he found a bedroom with a huge, king-sized bed. It had a black lacquered head board, pristine white sheets, a black blanket folded neatly at the foot of the bed, and a few black and tan decorative pillows. There were several beautiful furniture pieces and on the far wall was a large window overlooking the city. On the other side of the bedroom was a bathroom, he recognized the various apparatuses within it as a `shower', `sink', and `toilet', though these looked far more complicated than the one that he had seen at Kagome's house. From the living room he heard Kagome gasp and ran back, his hand on the hilt of the Tetsusaiga.

“Oh!”

Kagome was standing behind the couches; she had pulled back the curtains against the far wall to reveal a huge line of windows, also over-looking the city. Inu Yasha joined her. The lights were dazzling. It was like thousands of multicolored paper lanterns were littering the city; it was only barely dusk but the lights were far brighter than he had ever seen. He looked down and realized they were far higher than any tree he had ever relaxed in—he liked it. The higher up they were the safer they had to be.

As Kagome watched the skyline a claw clamped down on her shoulder, whirling her around to face amber eyes, startled at the sudden motion. His eyes were hard, searching her face, his hands heavy on her shoulders. He spoke,

“Kagome? Why did you…” He paused, his eyes left her face for a moment as he thought long and hard about what he was going to say, finally, he continued “…why did you hang on to me like that?”

The miko huffed, uncomfortable at their sudden closeness.

“Well I had to! I couldn't have you hacking up the elevator!”

His hands lifted from her shoulders. Ah. That was it. She had distracted him to keep him from making a ruckus. It wasn't anything more than that. Kagome saw a frown flit across his face that wasn't his usual scowl… was it, disappointment? Yeah, right. Since when had it bothered him what she was doing? The dog-demon seemed to realize she was getting irritated and turned his back to her, arms crossed. He heard the miko wander off and shuffle through one of his shopping bags, his ears pricked up and turned them in her direction without turning his body. Then, she stormed off to the bathroom; she was muttering something under her breath about why she bothered about something. The water was running in the bathroom; then there was the sound of Kagome calling his name. He hesitated for a moment. She wasn't—naked—was she? He'd seen her before, once, it wasn't a bad sight. But, then, did that mean holding his arm had meant more after all? Curiosity got the better of him and he headed into the bedroom and to the bathroom.

What he found was Kagome holding a small bowl with some dark goo inside it and a strange-looking paintbrush. She set the bowl down on the sink and eyed him, one hand on her hip. The next sentence out of her lips took his breath away.

“Take off your shirt.”

“Whoo-whah?” He stammered, taking a step backwards out of the bathroom.

“Take off your shirt!” The miko demanded, taking a step forward. The dog-demon panicked, taking another step backwards, then growled. “Why should I? What do you want, woman?”

Wrong answer.

“Sit!”

*Blam!*

Inu Yasha went crashing to the floor. In a heartbeat Kagome was straddling him, flipping him over and making quick work of the buttons. She knew he'd be trapped there for a good couple of seconds under the influence of the beads before he could struggle again. She deftly unbuttoned his shirt, trying not to think about his bare chest. Inu Yasha was so stunned, now recovered from his initial fall, that he said nothing, his amber eyes watching her fingers, his claws twitched against one of her knees. She wanted this? He wondered. The shirt fell open and Kagome stood up and extended a hand down to the dumbstruck demon. Her cheeks were flushed with color and she knew she had to be quick if she wanted to get him to do what it is she was about to put him through. He took her hand and allowed her to pull himself up, stepping in close, so close in fact that she could feel his breath on her forehead. She was pushing off his shirt and he watched it fall away, still too shocked to know what to do, his heart beating so hard he felt it would crack his chest open. Something soft draped over his shoulders. She was leading him into the bathroom.

“Put your butt here…with your back to me.” She said. She wouldn't sit him this time. He did as he was told, she found it eerie how cooperative he was being but took it as a stroke of good luck. Kagome grabbed up the bowl again and dipped the brush into the goo, her free hand grabbed up a lock of his silver hair, surprised at how soft and smooth it was; she'd expected it to be a tangled mess. With a sigh, she brought the brush to his hair and began to coat it with the goo. Inu Yasha started to object; bringing his hand to his hair having it slapped back.

“I have to dye your hair. Do you know what happens in two days?”

The hanyou opened his mouth to argue but then shut it quickly. A new moon. He'd be human, vulnerable, in a few days. Kagome continued,

“People will ask questions if your hair suddenly goes from white to black, so we'll have to dye your hair black for the rest of the time we're here.” She paused and leaned around to look at him. “…Unless you'd like me to be coupled with a Shiro?”

He growled and shook his head, sending some of the gooey dye flying. As Kagome worked through his hair she marveled at how much he had. After almost thirty minutes she had gotten all the dye in. She stood up from her seat behind him and readjusted the towel so that his long hair wouldn't touch his skin. The miko squatted in front of her companion and looked into his eyes, stormy pools narrowed slightly.

“Don't touch your hair for forty-five minutes. After that I'll tell you what to do next.” He grumbled and put his hands into his lap. Kagome stepped behind him and washed off her hands.

To distract the half-demon Kagome turned on the television in the bedroom and angled it into the bathroom. He'd seen Sota watch these moving pictures before and was instantly mesmerized. The forty-five minutes went by quickly.

The miko returned to him and ordered him to lean his head over the bath tub. She was relieved that this shower had the traditional Japanese shower head that detached from the wall and she could easily spray off the goop from his hair. She added the conditioner from the kit quickly, thankful that she had found a scent-free formula. Inu Yasha complained every minute or so about how uncomfortable his neck was—until he felt Kagome leaning against his back. He realized he could feel her chest on the back of his neck, her scent everywhere, intoxicating. Her fingers wove through his hair, making sure to work in the conditioner and then spray it back out again. Her hands felt good on his scalp and Inu Yasha was thankful that water's spray drowned out the sound of his purring. However, what he didn't know was that Kagome was aware of the dog-demons purring anyway. The vibrations emanating through his chest she could feel in his back where her body touched him. She blushed and finished washing out his hair, turned off the water, and then dumped the towel back onto his head.

“Okay, you're done.”

The dog-demon stood and rubbed the towel over his hair; he glanced at his reflection in the mirror and scowled. He looked almost exactly as he did during the new moon! That version of himself was… weak. It reminded him of the version of him that could not protect Kagome. Useless. At least his eyes were the same. He grunted and skulked out of the bathroom, desperately trying to get water out of his ears. He would only do something this humiliating for her.

Kagome was not in the bedroom and he stepped out into the living area to look for her. The miko was sitting on the sofa, hunched over a small clamshell case, applying make-up to her face. She was also wearing a white sweater mini-jacket over her sundress. He scoffed.

“You don't need to waste your time on that crap.”

She looked up at him, scowling, “Why not?”

Without thinking he replied, “You look good with it off--…” His voice trailed away, he had to admit; she did look beautiful made up like that. He stared. Kagome became uncomfortable and muttered,

“Whatever, go put a shirt on.”

A smirk crossed his lips, she was watching his body. He could see the pink in her cheeks and ears, even under her make up he could see it creeping through. He had to admit, he was hot stuff. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and the familiar voice of the bellhop sounded from the door.

“Excuse me, I'm here to inform you that dinner is served.”