InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Ain't Forgotten Easily ❯ Duster Mambo ( Chapter 13 )

No, I don't own "Mambo Mambo" by Lou Bega.

Chapter 13

“What do you mean by `he lost his memory?!'” Inu-Yasha roared.

“Most of it, Inu-Yasha. He still remembers some things, and luckily for you he still recalls most of the stuff about the Shikon no Tama,” Sango replied. “I'm taking him to see Dr. Kaede in half an hour, though, to make sure there's nothing more serious. Later.”

She hung up, leaving a dumbfounded hanyou to slam down the receiver. “Damn it!”

“What is it now?” Sesshoumaru appeared out of the wall.

“Miroku lost his memory. Luckily, he still remembers the Shikon.”

“Was he attacked by a youkai?”

“No, it was his own damn fault. Sango thinks he fell off the bed and hit his head.”

“Hm.” Sesshoumaru disappeared back into the wall.

“I suppose I'd better find Kagome and tell her.” He set off down the hall, where he could hear Kagome's stereo.

***

Kagome loved dusting; it helped her think, especially if she had music so loud it covered all other sounds.

As of now, she was dancing around with the feather duster to “Mambo Mambo” by Lou Bega. Thusly she didn't see Inu-Yasha leaning against the doorway of her bedroom until the song ended.

She froze, eyes wide and trained on the amused hanyou as he applauded.

“Bravo.” He stepped into the room, a smirk plastered on his face. “No, really. Duster Mambo could be the next big thing.”

Kagome hit the Pause button with her toe. “Shut up, Inu-Yasha. What do you want?”

“Sango called. Miroku seems to have hit his head and given himself amnesia.”

“He doesn't remember anything?” she replied, alarmed.

Inu-Yasha pulled on his bandanna. “He recalls a fair amount of the shit about the Shikon, though there may be some parts missing. Sango took him to the doctor.”

“Who went to the doctor?” Kagome's mother appeared behind Inu-Yasha.

“Uh, Miroku. He hit his head.” Kagome saw something in her mother's hands. “Hey, what's that?”

“Oh. You start school in a week, Kagome.” Komiko handed the envelope over. “Is he going to be all right?”

“Yeah, he just lost some of his memory.” Kagome smiled, and her mother left again. The moment the woman was out of sight, Kagome sighed and ran a hand through her bangs. “We're screwed.”

“How's that?” Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow.

“School, dog-boy. I can't be looking for jewel shards if I have school, and I doubt many kids will have them. And there's no way we'll find them all in a week.”

“Skip it.”

“No! I need to get good grades, baka!”

“Just try again next year.”

“Inu-Yasha! I don't want to have to do that!”

“Wench, your options are either go to school or save the world. Which is it?”

Kagome was silent, and it took Inu-Yasha a moment to realize she was thinking it over. He growled in annoyance.

“It should be a given, Kagome.”

“I'm sorry, but school is very important to me!” She glared at him.

“Yes, but we're talking about saving humanity from Naraku here. I don't think school will be very important if the world is cloaked in darkness.”

“How about a compromise then?”

He rolled his eyes. “What?”

“I go to school one week, shard hunt the next, and just trade off?”

“How are you going to explain that one to your parents?” Inu-Yasha pulled off the bandanna again, letting his poor ears free.

“Maybe I'll just have to tell them the truth. It means they'll have to find out about you, though, and probably Shippo.”

“Leave Shippo out of it. If your family chooses to hate youkai, I can leave, but Shippo needs a place to stay.”

Kagome looked ready to say something, but shook it off. “Yeah. Come on, now's as good a time as any.”

“You're just going to go up to them and say, `Hey, I need to miss every other week of school so that I can assemble some broken supernatural jewel, oh, and by the way the guy who's been living in our house is actually a hanyou who was a ghost who lived here for five hundred years and…' Wait. What about Sesshoumaru?”

“I'll tell them, but I don't think they can see him.” Kagome walked up to Inu-Yasha. “And you'll need to keep the ears covered until they know what you are.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He tied the bandanna back on reluctantly. “At least if they know I can quit crushing my ears under this damn thing.”

“Poor baby.” She reached up and pinched his cheek, earning a warning growl in response. “Sorry. I mean poor puppy.”

“Ha ha, Kagome.” His eyes narrowed. “Sorry. I mean wench.”

She flicked him on the nose. “Bad dog.”

“I'm not a dog.” He bared his fangs at her.

“Sure you aren't. Now, put those teeth of yours away before I call the dogcatcher and have him pick you up.”

Growling in annoyance, Inu-Yasha took a swipe at her head with his claws. She ducked them, and straightened.

“All right, you wanna fight? Come on!” She put up her fists. “Nobody tries to kill me and gets away with it!”

What, did the sugar from the ice cream finally hit? he wondered.

“Come on, Inu-Yasha! I'm ready for you now!” She tried taking a jab at him.

He dodged it, caught both of her wrists, and forced her to back across her room until she tripped over the bed and fell. He came down on top of her, pinning her wrists above her head.

“See what happens when you challenge me to a fight, wench?”

“I can still hurt you,” she pointed out, bringing her knee up.

“But would you actually do it?” His hair was beginning to form a sort of silvery curtain around them.

“Depends on if you let me up or not.” To tell the truth, that tiny jolt of sugar she'd gotten a few moments ago had ebbed, and she now felt rather…awkward.

Abruptly a memory of a similar situation came to mind, and her cheeks flushed a bright red. She desperately wanted him off.

And yet there was that little voice in her head that said she really didn't mind, which she tried to squash in a hurry.

Nononono! I don't like it here; I want him off. I don't like Inu-Yasha as anything besides a friend, got it?

Unfortunately, the little voice couldn't die or be squished. Kagome, Queen of Denial.

Shut up! During her little inner conversation Kagome had inadvertently stopped thrashing about. Inu-Yasha wondered if she was all right; she kept grimacing and it looked as if she was arguing with herself over something.

He leaned down a little farther, and the slight movement was enough to make Kagome's gaze snap back up to him.

“You okay?” he asked, his face barely two or three inches from hers.

She gulped. “I will be once you get off.” Her voice squeaked, and he raised an eyebrow at her. Her eyes widened.

Eep. She saw the smirk begin to form itself at the corner of his mouth. “Inu-Yasha, please. I'm starting to feel a little claustrophobic.”

“Is that it?” he asked. She attempted to free her hands, but his grasp was too strong. “Something tells me you're lying, Kagome.”

“N-no, I'm not.”

Trying not to laugh at her, Inu-Yasha pushed himself up and tugged her to her feet. She glared and yanked her wrist away from him.

And, quite unexpectedly, the sugar high was back. She smacked him on the arm.

“Tag, you're it!” She took off, giggling like crazy.

Wondering just what the hell she was on, Inu-Yasha ran after her.

***

It seemed Kagome was good at this game; it took him almost five minutes to catch up to her, and another two to actually get her.

“Gotcha!” He tackled her, sending both sprawling. She burst into laughter.

“No, I got you!” She nudged him in the shoulder.

“That's what you think!” He got her back.

They were in the middle of a poking contest when Kagome's parents rounded the corner. All four froze.

Now, what would you think if you found your teenage daughter lying in the middle of the hall with some boy you only met yesterday morning on top of her?

Or if that boy's bandanna had shifted and was revealing a twitching dog ear?

“Uh, Mom, Dad, I can explain…” Kagome slid out from underneath Inu-Yasha and climbed to her feet.

“In a moment, dear.” Komiko swept past her and up to the hanyou. She moved the fabric away from his ears and squealed in delight. “Oh, what adorable little doggy ears! Why would you keep these covered up?”

“Why didn't you tell us he was a hanyou?” her father asked.

“You mean…you don't care?” Kagome asked, thunderstruck.

“No, honey, why would we?” Komiko made a grab for Inu-Yasha's ears, but he swung back. “Youkai aren't that open and hanyou even less so, but we don't mind.”

“Um, then maybe I ought to tell you that Shippo's a kitsune.”

“Shippo?” Hiroshi looked mildly surprised. “He's very good at concealing.”

“…Yeah…uh, Mom? Dad? I need to ask you a really big favor.”

***

“That was easier than I would have ever expected,” Kagome said, still stunned an hour after getting permission to skip school and shard-hunt. “Who knew I had such understanding—or insane—parents?”

“I still wonder why your father never approached me if he could see me. Though it does explain why he wasn't fazed that day I made the pancakes fly around his head.”

“Yeah.” Kagome climbed the stairs that led to the roof, Inu-Yasha following. She had made a habit out of going to watch the stars at least one night a week, and tonight there was supposed to be a big meteor shower. Sota and Shippo were going to join them after gathering some snacks and their jackets.

Kagome had brought a giant blanket to lie on, and she was glad she had; the air was chilly, the sun having fallen an hour ago.

She settled at one end, wondering how Inu-Yasha could stand the cold, and then realized he'd put on his old haori. He stretched out at the opposite end, pillowing his head on his arms.

The two youngsters joined them a few minutes later and took the space in between the teenagers. They gibbered excitedly until Kagome suggested they have a contest: whoever saw the most meteors by eight o' clock—an hour from now—won. She didn't know what the prize would be, but the two kids quieted down.

***

About forty-five minutes later, the biggest meteor any of them had ever seen traveled across the sky. It was there five or six seconds, compared to the normal one to three.

The trail that followed was green, and a smoky haze was left even after it disappeared. The meteor itself could be seen as a molten rock, and if one looked closely enough the fires leaping off of it were visible.

“Whoa!” Sota and Shippo shouted in unison. “Did you see that?”

“It was kinda hard to miss,” Inu-Yasha muttered.

Fifteen minutes afterward, Kagome called for the tallies.

“I have twenty. Sota?”

“I saw twenty-three.”

“What about you, Shippo?”

“I only saw eighteen. Hey, Inu-Yasha, how many did you see?”

The hanyou shrugged. “Only about thirty or so. I lost track after that.”

“Ah, man! I almost won!” Sota snapped his fingers. “Anyway, Kagome, I'm getting kinda cold. I'm going to go inside.”

“Me too.” Shippo helped Sota to gather up the snack trash, and both walked over to the trapdoor leading back to the warm inside of the house. “Good night, Kagome! Good night, Inu-Yasha!”

“Good night!” Kagome returned, but Inu-Yasha only waved.

The instant the light cut off, she turned to him. “So how many did you actually see?”

“Fifty-four. Figured I'd save him the embarrassment by saying thirty.”

“That was nice of you.” She shivered, and burrowed into her jacket more. “Maybe I ought to head in too; it's getting chilly out here.”

“Feh. Weak wench.” Seconds later something warm and red landed on her. She glanced down and saw his haori.

“Won't you be cold?” she asked, sitting up.

“I've slept outside in worse temperatures than this. I'll be fine.”

“Oh.” She slipped it on. “Well, thank you.”

“Feh.” It was only half-hearted; she could tell.

***(A/n: Kagome and Inu-Yasha alone on the roof…ah, the possibilities.)

It was about nine when the breeze started up. Kagome shuddered, and drew the corner of the blanket over her legs. She had forgotten to change into longer pants before coming out here, and now she was stuck with shorts.

Coldcoldcoldcold, she thought. But I'll not retreat! Inu-Yasha would never let me hear the end of it! Weak wench, baka wench, blah blah—

Eep. While she had been talking to herself, the hanyou had moved closer. And, as much as she was loath to admit it, she didn't mind. His body was giving off plenty of warmth, and she subtly wriggled closer—

Only to squeak in surprise as his arm wrapped around her waist and drew her up against him. She became stock-still.

“If you were cold, you could've said something instead of just lying there shivering.”

“Cold?” She laughed nervously. “Who said I was cold?” I'm anything but now.

“Let's see.” He placed a clawed finger on her cheek. “Your skin is freezing, and you're trembling; I can feel it.”

It's not from the cold anymore. “Didn't mean you had to come over here, Mr. Cheeky.”

“Cheeky?” he repeated, looking down at the top of her head. She nodded, then turned her head up to stare at him.

“That's right, you prefer arrogant, huh?” She couldn't help but notice how close they were—or how little she really cared about what name he liked better and whether or not he was going to be bold and try to kiss her again.

In fact, she was kinda hoping he would…

***

It was getting late; Inu-Yasha really had lost count after meteor one-fifty. Kagome was dozing on his chest after pulling the blanket over them. He figured it must be nearing eleven by now, but he wasn't sure.

So, he shook Kagome awake to ask her. She yawned, and then glared up at him.

“What?” she asked crossly.

“What time is it, wench?”

“Huh? Oh.” She brought up her wrist. “Wow. It's already a quarter after eleven.”

“Figured as much.” Inu-Yasha sat up, disturbing Kagome's comfortable position. She grumbled quietly, catching his attention. “What was that?”

“Nothing.” She looked over at him. “Ready to head inside?”

“Probably a good idea.” He made to stand up.

“Wait a second, Inu-Yasha.”

“What is it n—” His question was cut short as Kagome grabbed the front of his shirt and kissed him—hard.

On impulse, his arms circled around her back and crushed her to him. A few moments later, and he asked her to deepen it by running his tongue across her bottom lip. She did so willingly, and he felt her release his shirt and reach up for one of his ears. He growled in pleasure, letting her know it was all right.

The fingers of her other hand were twisted in his hair, but they slowly untangled themselves and went for his other ear.

Still liplocked, Inu-Yasha was about to push her down onto the blanket when the trapdoor banged open and Mrs. Higurashi's voice called, “Kagome! Inu-Yasha! You two need to come inside!”

They broke apart as if burned, Kagome rushing to pick up the blanket while Inu-Yasha distanced himself. He waited for her to be almost to the door before following.

He nodded to Komiko after descending the ladder; luckily, she hadn't seen a thing.

***

Inu-Yasha had just rounded the corner and disappeared from Mrs. Higurashi's sight when Kagome emerged from behind one of the columns at the sides of the hall. Dropping the blanket, she reached up and pulled Inu-Yasha's face down to hers for another bruising kiss.

Breaking away, she stared him straight in the eye. “We will finish this at some point, dog-boy. Got that?”

He nodded dumbly, and she smiled. With a final goodnight kiss, she swept up the blanket and walked away.

Holy shit.

***

A/n: That made…NO sense. But oh well, y'all are gonna have to deal with it! XD Bwahahaha!