InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart's Landfill ❯ Letting Go Graciously ( Chapter 23 )

A/N: As always all characters will be walking that fine line called OOCness. Thank you all for being patient with me. I still haven't gotten a new laptop. Santa's fat ass has always been a big disappointment to me!! This year I think I'm going to take a page from Riley's book and pop a cap in his ass! (If you watch Boondocks, you know what I'm talking about) Anyway, I just couldn't let another month go by without an update. I hope you all had a safe and happy holiday and I wish you all a prosperous New Year!! This chapter has only been through the first stage of editing, so bare with me. I would also like to thank Neko and the kitchen elf for all of their help!!

 

Disclaimer: I do not claim ownership to anyone with the exception of Nya, Dr. Aikio, and Malcolm. The rest belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi and whoever else.

 

Chapter 23:

 

Letting Go Graciously

 

`What the hell am I doing?'

 

He blinked, bit down on his bottom lip, but didn't move from the position he'd been holding for the past 2 hours since he'd left his office. He knew he was probably going to get read the riot act from his brother because he'd walked out on a meeting, but he couldn't focus on anything if it didn't begin with Kagome and end with Higurashi.

 

It was like she was invading every orifice of his mind--his life. She was the last thing he thought about at night and the first thing he thought about in the morning. Whenever he felt backed into a corner or his dark thoughts of Kikyo surfaced, he unknowingly sought refuge in the few memories he had with her, Kagome, his enigma.

 

The hanyou sighed heavily, and kicked up his feet, so that they were lying over the opposite end of the couch. Staring up at the ceiling, he blinked and silently prayed for the millionth time that it would cave in on him and end his misery.

 

`Why the hell can't I stop thinking about her? Why can't I stop wanting to see her? Shit!!'

 

He was laying on his couch, his button down light blue shirt un-tucked, his dark blue pinstriped slacks, unfastened, and one light brown Italian shoe dangling from his foot.

 

`Two weeks… So, I don't owe her anything! We're not in a relationship! If she wanted to talk to me, she could've easily gotten my number from Rin or Sesshomaru!'

 

That's how long it had been since they'd come back from Hawaii, since he'd walked her to her door and told her that he'd talk to her later. That's how long it had been since she'd smiled hesitantly at him, her eyes telling him that she didn't believe he'd call or do anything of the sort. That's how long he'd been kicking himself for not picking up the phone and calling her the next day to invite her to lunch or dinner or for a boring ass walk!

 

`What the hell would I say to her now? She'd probably just hang the phone up in my ear!'

 

Inuyasha had never been the scary type, but something about Kagome got to him. It gave him butterflies, made his heart flutter, and made him nervous. Quite honestly, it made him feel like he was a 6 year old, who was having his first schoolyard crush. He just wanted to run up to her and shove her down to let her know that he liked her.

 

Inuyasha sat up abruptly, shook his head and stared ahead at the dark 70' inch flat screen television that sat on the wall before him. `I don't like her like that. I…I…just want to talk to her, to make sure she isn't making an ass of herself,' he lied.

 

Staring down at the peach colored piece of paper with ten digits scribbled elegantly across it, he smiled softly. He'd gotten her number from her by lying and telling her that he needed it for the file at the office. Of course, she should have known that they, well at least Sesshomaru and Rin, already had it, but she gave it to him without question or hesitation.

 

Picking up the paper gently so that it was pinched carefully between his forefinger and thumb, he thought, `So what if she hangs the phone up. At least I can say that I called, right? Besides, wasn't she the one that said she wanted to see me again? If I call, I'll be doing her a favor, right?'

 

Pulling his cell out of his pocket, he flipped it open and stared down at the peach colored piece of paper as if at any moment it was going to tell him he was doing the right thing or either the most idiotic thing any one person had done in their life time.

 

It said nothing, so he began to slowly dial her number.

 

0

 

`I can do this. It's just a fucking phone call, that's all!'

 

4

 

`She'll probably be happy to hear from me. Who the fuck am I kidding; the bitch is probably happy I haven't called her!'

 

9

 

`Why in the fuck does she have to have so many numbers?'

 

9

 

`You're half way there. You can do this; Pop didn't raise no fucking cowards.'

 

2

 

`With my luck, the bitch probably won't even answer her fucking phone. Or she'll act like she doesn't know who the hell I am.'

 

6

 

If she doesn't answer that's good because then I can leave a message and she'll have to call me back.'

 

8 - 5

 

`Two more to go.'

 

8

 

`Don't answer the phone, don't answer the phone, don't answer the phone,' he chanted as he quickly punched in the final number.

 

5

 

His heart was racing, his palms sweaty, he swore he could taste the bitter disgusting bile from his stomach as it rose up into the back of his mouth, and his head was spinning, causing him to see double.

 

Standing to his feet swiftly, Inuyasha stared down at the phone clutched tightly with in his grasp. He wasn't sure if the call was connected or in the process of being connected, but in that moment-that one half of a split second, his body went numb…completely numb, his mind stopped spinning, thinking-it went completely blank. Flipping the phone closed quickly, he tossed it across the room as if it had burned him somehow.

 

Sitting down, the hanyou exhaled a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. Staring down at his sweaty palms, he mumbled in disbelief, “She turning me into a pathetic moron. Look at me; I'm sweating like a pig right before he's taken to the fucking slaughter house.”

 

The trill of his cell that now lay on the floor on the opposite side of the room broke his melodramatic thoughts. `She's calling back! Shit, she's calling back!'

 

Standing quickly to his feet again, Inuyasha practically jumped the short distance between him and the electronic device.

 

`Did I hang up in her face? If I did, how in the hell am I going to explain that one?' Picking up the phone that was laying face down, his thoughts continued, `I'll tell her I dialed her number by accident! Yeah, that's what I'll tell her!'

 

The insistent trill continued, causing his blood pressure to rise higher as he inhaled, trying desperately to calm himself so that he wouldn't let on that he was frazzled in anyway.

 

His eyes closed as if he wanted to savor this moment. Shoving one hand in his pocket as he flipped the device open with the other, he then placed it to his ear without looking at the caller id.

 

“Takahashi here,” he avowed, his voice dropping more than a few octaves.

 

The other end of the phone was quiet.

 

Inuyasha waited another moment, thinking that maybe she was just nervous. “Speak now or forever hold your peace,” he stated his tone light and welcoming.

 

“Sorry about that,” a soft feminine voice stated quietly into the phone. “May I speak with Takahashi-san?”

 

Not recognizing the voice at all, Inuyasha blurted rudely, “Who in the hell is this and how did you get my number?”

 

“Is this Takahashi-san?”

 

“Not if you're trying to sell me something! Now, who in the hell is this?” he snapped again, totally irritated that it wasn't the one person he desperately wanted to speak to.

 

The woman was quiet for a moment, and then she giggled softly, sensually. “Your reputation precedes you, Takahashi-san.”

 

“What?” Taking the phone from his ear, he stared down at it as if it would allow him to see straight through to the other side.

 

“Your reputation precedes you. She told me that you were rude and downright abrasive, but I didn't believe her.”

 

“She? She who?” he queried not really caring, because it damn sure couldn't be Kagome; she would never stoop to such childish tactics to get his attention.

 

Ignoring his question, she continued, “However, she forgot to mention how sexy you sound.”

 

Inuyasha was thankful that he was in the confines of his own home and alone because the blush that crept over his face was the color of brazen red in its rarest form. After taking a moment to regain his composure, he lowered his voice again and spoke slowly into the phone, “Look, I'm not going to ask you again. State your business or I'm hanging up.”

 

He heard the woman muffle the phone or either she was fighting with someone else for it, but it was apparent that she won because she came back sounding just as x-rated as she did before.

 

“Takahashi-san, I have a proposition for you.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha replied rudely, “Yeah, well I got one for you to, but it involves your mouth and my dick.” He was hoping that that would make her hang up on him, it didn't.

 

He heard her gasp, but she quickly recovered with a soft purr. “If I wasn't already in love, I might have taken you up on that proposition, if only to teach you lesson, Mr. Potty Mouth.”

 

Inuyasha scowled down at the phone, but didn't reply.

 

“If you're done being an ass, I'll state my reason for calling you now.”

Since he didn't respond, the woman continued speaking, “My boss, Higurashi Kagome, is requesting that you meet her for drinks tonight.”

 

`Fuck, Kagome? Fuck, it is her,' he thought forgetting that he'd just offered her secretary a chance to suck his dick. “Higurashi?”

 

“Yes, she said to meet her at the place where she almost killed you-whatever that means-at 5:30.”

 

“Let me speak to her.”

 

“She's not available,” Sango stated quietly. “Should I tell her to expect you, or will you be too busy insulting another unsuspecting woman?”

 

Inuyasha was quiet for a moment. `The spot where she almost killed me? I don't know where that is.' All he remembered was the street, but which establishment?

 

“Uhm, yeah…tell her okay. I'll be there.” Swallowing hard, since he knew it would probably be best if he apologized for his slight of tongue, Inuyasha asked, “What's your name?”

 

Clearing her throat, she replied coldly, “Sango, why? You want to give me a chance to suck something else?”

 

Inuyasha laughed uncomfortably. “No, not at all. I'm…I'm sorry about that. I thought you were someone playing on my phone.”

 

“Yeah, whatever, I'll let Higurashi-chan know that you'll be there,” she finished quickly as the phone went dead in Inuyasha's ear.

 

Closing the cell phone, Inuyasha stared down at his watch that read 4:30 and grimaced. “Shit, I don't have a fucking clue as to where I'm supposed to meet her. Does she expect me to just drive up and down the fucking street?”

 

After shoving his shirt back into to his pants, he fastened his belt, slipped back into his shoes, and only spared a quick moment to tie them. Grabbing the keys off the counter, he flipped open his cell with his free hand and dialed his office as he opened and closed the door behind him.

 

“Nya, could you look up the work address for Higurashi Kagome? When you have it, call me back so that I can program it into my navigation, okay?”

 

Punching the button for the elevator, he paid no attention to the wide grin that was plastered on his face or to the way that his body relaxed at just the thought of seeing her again.

 

Simonkal of Inuy

 

“You did what?” Kagome exclaimed from behind her desk where she'd been going over some documents.

 

“I called him,” Sango replied coolly.

 

“No the hell you didn't! Where did you get his number? What did you say to him?”

 

Stepping up to her overreacting boss's desk, Sango propped herself up on the edge of the pristine top and stated, “Well you told me to call him. You said to tell him to meet you at the place where you almost killed him, so I called his office and got his number from his secretary. I told her it had something to do with the file you just closed for him.”

 

“Gods fuck, Sango! I was being facetious! Do you think I would've really said that if I knew you had his number?” Kagome shouted, her face now red as a tomato.

 

Sure she'd said it, and a part of her wanted her to really do it, but now that it was done… Well, this was just not good.

 

Rolling her eyes, Sango shook her head slowly in a negative fashion. “Up until a week ago you've been walking around here on cloud nine. Hell, the day after you came back, I caught you humming some crappy love song.” Glancing over her shoulder at Kagome with a look that told her not to interrupt, she continued, “In all the time that I've worked for you, I've never ever heard you hum a damn thing. So you go away with Takahashi-san and come back humming… Well, boss lady, I'd have to say that that means something.”

 

Standing up, Kagome stomped around her desk, her hands on her hips. “It doesn't mean a fucking thing, Sango! You had no right to call him! Now he thinks I want to see him! He had my number, damn it; if he wanted to see me, he would have called me!”

 

Swinging her legs in a totally childish manner, Sango interjected, “I suppose your right, but this is 2008. If you want something, you have to go after it.”

 

Kagome growled. “I…don't…want…him,” she hissed slowly.

 

“So then why are you getting so upset? Think of it as one of the two dates you still owe me.” Jumping down from her perch, she finished, “Just ruin this one just like you did all the rest. After all it is your specialty, isn't it?”

 

“You bitch!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I'm a bitch, I'm slut, and I'm a liar. I've heard it all before.”

 

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her friend and employee. At this moment, if she knew she could've gotten away with murder, she would have quickly decapitated Sango, chopped her body into tiny little pieces, and fed her to the fishes in Himano Bay.

 

Turning away from her friend that was staring her down unflinchingly, Kagome had to admit that since they had gotten back, there was little she could do that didn't lead her in the direction of Inuyasha. When she took a shower, when she cooked, when she washed her clothes or picked up her laundry; everything, no matter how mundane, led back to him.

 

She found herself lying awake at night imagining that he was lying besides her, holding her. She found herself, on numerous occasions, fantasizing about what it would feel like to be with him sexually. She found herself wondering…dreaming about taking long walks with him, and just…just sharing in his everyday humdrum activities.

 

No, she shouldn't be mad at Sango because she did say, even though it was rhetorical, to call him, but didn't this make her appear weak? Didn't this make her seem desperate and wanton?

 

“We're done for the day, aren't we?”

 

“Yeah, I guess so, why?”

 

“Because you're meeting him at 5:30.”

 

Kagome visibly blanched at the thought. “Are you serious? Did he really say yes to that?”

 

“He sure did and without any hesitation I must add.”

 

Kagome stared at her friend. “Really?”

 

“Yes, damn it! Now get your purse, you don't want to be late for your date.”

 

Kagome hesitated. `I shouldn't go, but if I don't… He said yes… Does that mean that he wanted to see me too?'

 

Noticing that her boss wasn't moving, Sango walked around the desk, pulled Kagome's purse out of the bottom draw where she kept it, scooped up her briefcase, and walked towards her. “Here take these; you can touch up your make-up on the way there.”

 

“Where?” Kagome asked, her tone that of a person seriously befuddled.

 

Pushing her towards the door with one hand, Sango flipped off the light switch with the other one and pulled the door close behind her.

 

“I can't go. I have work to do. You're just going to have to call him back and reschedule,” Kagome stated weakly, stepping away from her friend.

 

“That's just not going to happen,” Sango offered as she pulled her own purse from her bottom draw. Positioning it over her left shoulder, she walked towards the end of the hallway and the lobby doors.

 

Noticing that Kagome wasn't following her, she turned and asked, “Are you destined to be a coward all your life? For Christ's sake, Kagome, do something other than turning tail and running, which is what you normally do. You know you like him, I could tell by the dumb smirk that was on your face the entire time you were telling me about your trip. You don't think I noticed how when your phone rings you would run for it, but when you noticed it wasn't him, your face would fall?” Pushing the door open and holding it there, Sango finished, “Stop lying to yourself. You two may not have had sex in Hawaii, but something definitely happened, at least for you it did. I think you owe it to yourself to find out what it was.”

 

Kagome swallowed and stared at her. Sometimes she hated her for being so wise and other times she loved her for it. This was not one of those times.

 

Stepping slowly towards the door, she admitted softly, her heart racing in her chest, “He's not like the others, Sango. He…he intrigues me. He scares me… It scares me because…” She stepped back, shook her head and swallowed the saliva that was building up in the back of her throat.

 

Placing her arm around her friend's shoulder, Sango replied, “I know and that's exactly why he's the one that you need to make that extra effort with. Maybe you guys will never become lovers, but at least you'll have one powerful friend, in every sense of the word, Kagome.

 

“But he didn't call. If he wanted to see me, wouldn't he have called me?”

 

Pushing the button for the elevator, Sango replied, “Men are stupid and just as shy and nervous as we are. He probably tried to call a million times but hung up. You never know, maybe I did you and him a favor by making that call.”

 

Stepping onto the elevator, Kagome stared at her friend and wished, for the millionth time since she met her, that she had just one ounce of the strength and confidence she had.

 

“Do you remember where you almost killed him at?”

 

“Yeah, it was the place you sent me for my first blind date.”

 

“Wow, so you to have known of each other for a little while now, huh?” Sango queried, trying to get her friend to relax. “Oh and you have to tell me how you almost killed him. I know that's going to be an interesting story.”

 

“You could say that. So this is going to count as one of the dates, right? After this, I only have one more, right?”

 

“Yes ma'am, we're almost done with our little bet,” Sango replied happily.

 

The elevator dinged and opened to the 3rd floor of the garage. Stepping off slowly as she dug through her purse for her keys, Kagome mumbled, “If this blows up in my face Sango, I'm going to fire your ass so fast you won't know what hit you. Then I'm going to rehire you only to humiliate you and fire your ass again.”

 

“Wow,” Sango mumbled ignoring Kagome's remarks. “What the hell is wrong with you, boss lady? If that's him, then there is no possible way he could ever do wrong in my eyes.”

 

Glancing up and in the direction that her friend was looking, Kagome stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at the hanyou leaning lethargically against the hood of her Benz. He wasn't looking at them, so she took him in quickly while trying desperately not to drool.

 

She'd seen him in jeans, leather, linen, cotton, silk, and satin, but there was something about the way the colors he wore today made him appear even more mysterious, more unattainable, more debonair than ever before. There was something about the way the late afternoon sun reflected off his eyes as he stared at her, as he…

 

`Shit, he's looking at me! He's looking at me,' she thought hysterically.

 

Stepping up to the two women that were staring unabashedly at him, Inuyasha reached over with a smirk, placing his hand beneath Kagome's chin and lifting slightly, he stated softly, “What did I tell you about catching flies?”

 

Kagome shook her head and stepped back and away from his touch as she stared at an openly laughing Sango. Turning her attention back to Inuyasha, she hissed, “Still trying to be an ass, I see.”

 

He smiled genuinely back at her, “Only to you.”

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and blushed as she walked around him and towards her car. “What are you doing here anyway?”

 

Glancing at Sango, he replied, “Well, you said to meet you at the place where you almost killed me, but I couldn't really remember exactly where that was. You know, that is a pretty long street.”

 

Passing him, she replied, “So you come here instead? How did you know where to find me? Were you stalking me?”

 

“Only in your dreams,” he replied while grabbing her hand in an attempt to see if he could still fluster her. At least, that was the excuse he gave himself. “Do you want me to stalk you?”

 

The truth was he just wanted to touch her. He wanted to be so close to her that her scent would bury itself with in his cloths, his hair, and in his senses.

 

Pulling her, so that her back was pressed up against his chest, he whispered huskily, “We're supposed to be friends, right? So how is it that I don't even get a hug hello after two weeks of not seeing or hearing from you?”

 

Kagome shivered and clutched her bag to her chest. “You…you could have called me, but you didn't. And why…why are you holding…me like…this?” she queried softly, though she didn't move or even try to.

 

Letting his hands fall to her hips, Inuyasha didn't step back. Instead, he waited for her to step forward, which didn't happen. “Did you miss me? Is that why you called me or rather had you secretary call me?” he teased softly.

 

Kagome inhaled his subtly cologne, allowed it to wash over her as she listened intently to every inflection of his voice.

 

`Yes, God, I missed you! I thought about you every minute of the day!' she thought, thankful that he was not a mind reader.

 

Staring at the two that seemed to have forgotten that she was even there, Sango smiled as she turned to walk away. `Wow, and she says she doesn't want him.'

 

Stepping around her, Inuyasha grabbed her hand and pulled her away from her car and towards his black BMW.

 

“What are you doing?” she asked, following hesitantly behind him. `Why do I become a sap around him? Why?'

 

“Well, since you were gracious enough to make the first move by calling me, let me be gracious enough to pick a spot for us to go,” he replied while pulling open the passenger door for her to climb in. “Besides, that place where you almost killed me has one too many bad memories. It's time for a fresh start.”

 

“But my car… My brief case…”

 

“I'll bring you back when we're done, I promise,” he assured her with a smirk as she slowly climbed in, her eyes trained on his golden ones. After taking her briefcase from her, he quickly made his way around to the driver side. Setting her briefcase down on the back seat, he then climbed in, buckled his seat belt, and waited for her to finish fastening hers.

 

Kagome felt like the whole world was moving in slow motion. Was she really in his car? Had he really just hugged her from behind? Was he seriously being a gentleman?

 

This had to be a dream, a wonderful dream, and at any moment she was going to wake up and he wouldn't be here; she wouldn't be in his car. She would be sitting behind her desk drooling like a fool. No, this wasn't real, this wasn't the Inuyasha she knew, but it was definitely one that she would love to know better.

 

“Where…where are we going? Where are you taking me?” she questioned softly.

 

“You'll see; just sit back and enjoy the ride,” he replied as he threw the car into drive and pulled slowly out of the parking space.

 

Kagome couldn't help but to smile as she watched him. He really seemed happy; there was no pretense, no underlying desire. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn that this was the real Inuyasha, the one that he kept hidden from her and everyone else.

 

Glancing over at her as he turned out of the garage and onto the street, the hanyou stated seriously and very uncharacteristically, “I'm glad you called.”

 

Looking away from him, her hands clutched in her lap, Kagome smiled at the strangers standing along the sidewalk as she replied silently to him, `I'm glad Sango did too.'

 

Until Next Time…(Your .02 cents are greatly appreciated.)

 

Next Chapter: The Not a Date, Date

 

Acknowledgements:

 

Mic_check1212 ~ Ro0tin4Kagome ~ Av ~ Inuyasha Baby Bre ~ Inuyashalover913 ~ Shutup…please ~ lostgirl1 ~ loulou4729 ~ Mynera ~ Silverwolf Halfbeast ~ Serenity101 ~ Musicmuse18 ~