InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Movie House Hanyou ❯ Utterly Snarled ( Chapter 25 )

A hand shoved the sleeve up her arm to expose the watch on Sango's wrist. Ten in the morning. With another sigh she pursed her lips, then brought her fist upon the door yet again. As she knocked loudly, barely audible footsteps approached. The door opened inward, putting her face to face with a groggy, somewhat spaced out Inuyasha.

An Inuyasha who simply stared at her with dilated pupils and a blanching pallor.

An Inuyasha whose twitching white ears were plainly visible to anyone who might pass by.

Sango immediately freaked. "Get inside, you idiot! Why aren't you wearing a head covering?!" she yelled as she forcefully shoved him back into the house, letting herself inside in the process. The hanyou stumbled back but remained silent. He continued staring at her back. "Someone could have seen you!"

The door slammed shut, and then a very paranoid Sango turned around. A thorough glance up and down the stunned hanyou was all she needed to remind her that he was still under the influence. "You look like shit, you know that?" He didn't answer. Hands on her hips, she went on, "I tried calling last night, but your cell was off. You usually--"

"Kagome, I'm sorry." Broken and forced sounding, Inuyasha's voice was unlike what she'd ever heard spout from him before.

Sango narrowed her eyes. "Did you just call me Kagome?" She pointed a finger at her chest. "Do I even look--" Something clicked, and her eyes widened with a sharp intake of breath. "Inuyasha, what did you do to her?!" she nearly snarled.

"Wait, Sango?" Inuyasha blinked a few times and studiously scrutinized the female before him, and then a look of recognition finally settled upon his face before it was soon replaced by one of dread. "Uh, oh shit."

"Oh shit is right," Sango warned as she slowly advanced on him, readying her fist. Lucky Sango. Apparently his superhuman reflexes were of no use to him while he was tripped out. Who knew what her speeding fist may have looked like to him?

Five minutes later, the two were sitting at the kitchen table. Inuyasha sported a lovely bruise along the lower half of his left cheekbone, and he glared with flattened ears at Sango from across the table. Sango, on the other hand, was happily downing a can of Cherry Coke, chug style.

"Seriously, I'm sorry I had to hit you," she apologized after crushing the empty can beneath the heel of her boot, "but you kinda deserved it."

"For what?" came his mutter.

"Whatever you did to her," she replied. Inuyasha averted his gaze with a grunt, his bruise now out of sight. "Come on. I only hit you cuz I knew you wouldn't hit me back."

"Keh."

"Are you pouting?" Sango raised a brow, barely holding back her grin.

His response, rather than something verbal, was a set of four gashes in the wooden tabletop, immediately startling Sango just as she'd raised a second can of Cherry Coke to her lips, making it nearly slip from her firm grip. Then he leveled his gaze at hers in a fiery staredown and continued lightly scratching thin grooves into the wood around his right hand. It was enough to unsettle her. He was taking things way too seriously for what she had supposed was a light matter. That, and his reaction to who he'd thought was Kagome still worried her.

It took her a while to find the right way to begin, and his intense display of agitation was not helping. However, he interrupted her just as she was about to begin. "Why are you here?"

"I, I'd tried calling you a bunch of times since around eleven last night. You know I always call by then when you're on acid," she answered, finding it incredulous that he would have forgotten, "but I could never get through. If you didn't want me to babysit you, all you had to do was tell me on the phone."

"I could have used one," he eyed her warily as he said this, "but I'd shut my phone off. Bad trip."

She slammed her can onto the table, ignoring the small amount of pop that spilled onto her hand. "That is it. From now on, I don't care what you say. I WILL babysit you--"

"I'm never doing acid again," he answered, then dragged a claw along the tabletop, creating a long furrow all the way across.

She stared at him. Ever since she'd met him years ago, he'd never been one to give up any of his habits. Whatever beliefs he had, nothing had ever been able to shake them, and she had long given up trying to steer him away from anything even halfway destructive. Being his babysitter was her only self consolation. "And one bad trip did this to you?"

"More than that," he muttered, staring at the many gouges he'd now left in his tabletop. "I really, really fucked up big this time, and my trip last night only made things worse."

Sango's nervousness melded dangerously with anger as she recalled his mistaken apology. "Kagome... what happened with her?" It was difficult for Sango to keep her voice stable. If whatever had transpired was Inuyasha's fault, she'd have no choice but to bless him with another bruise.

However, nothing could have prepared her for the news regarding the teenage girl's legal status regarding consent. As Inuyasha retold the event of Kagome's unveiling, his own insecurities, his conscious choice and his reasoning behind it, and then all the occurrences during his trip that he could recall, Sango listened with intense emotions burbling beneath her calm expression. By the time he finished, Sango brimmed with confliction. She wanted to beat him senseless for the seeming heartlessness of his actions themselves, yet at the same time she understood the reasoning behind his actions. Inuyasha honestly and truly needed help, and badly.

Unknowingly pulling her out of her deep thought, Inuyasha waved his hand back and forth before his eyes, then cried out, "No more motion trails! The acid's finally worn off!" He then sent her an almost relieved smile, effectively unnerving Sango to the fullest.

She stood up, can of Cherry Coke in hand, and came over to his side. "Inuyasha?"

He looked up at her curiously. "Yes?"

"You're one hell of a dumbass."

He cringed. "You think I don't realize that?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Do you have any idea what kind of mixed signals you've sent her?"

"Make that a yes." In response, Sango threw her arms up in the air in frustration, then mimed choking someone with glee. "You think I'm making light of this shit?" The hanyou snorted. "I know what I got myself into, and I'm trying my best--"

"No, you are not!"

"Then fucking help me!"

"I will!"

"Without telling Kagome."

"What?!" she yelled, infuriated, not caring when her hanyou friend flattened his ears against his hair due to the decibel.

What sort of idiot did Inuyasha think he was, asking her to help him while keeping everything from... well, actually, now that she thought about it, it didn't matter. Sango had momentarily forgotten that she didn't even really know Kagome. She'd only met the girl twice. Without forcing Inuyasha to relinquish any of Kagome's contact info, she really had no way of contacting the girl other than through her little brother. Using Kohaku to get to Kagome just didn't sound right to her - why involve another person, especially her younger brother? So, as it was, she really was stuck with meeting Inuyasha's request to keep mum.

With a sigh, Sango gave in. "Fine. But I really would like to stay out of this as much as I can."

He replied, "I don't want to involve anyone, really. But of all my friends, Sango, you'd be the most helpful to me." When she asked why, his answer was sickeningly simple. "You understand females, and you're in a relationship with one. You'd be best able to see it from both sides."

"Just the mere fact that you're seeking advice from others on this situation is enough for me to see that you really mean it, so yes," she replied. "Now, let's sit down--"

"You're the one standing," he said offhandedly, quirking a brow and tenderly feeling the bruise on his cheek. Sango was not amused.

However, the two were deep in discussion for the next hour. While they talked, Sango mulled over his comment about Kagome having seen his human form. Apparently, Inuyasha still hadn't revealed that secret to her. What really started plaguing her mind, though, was a certain occurrence from months earlier that was only half-related to the original thought.

"Did you ever get the film in your camera developed?" she asked randomly during a lull.

"Um, why?" Inuyasha looked confused.

"Oh, no reason," she innocently gave as a pitiful answer that she knew he only half believed. Strangely, he didn't press the subject further. Instead, Inuyasha looked askance and went for his cell phone to check the time. With moments of his phone being on again, he was already making a call.

"I don't think I'm sane enough to go to work today," he told Sango after he'd ended his call to one of the managers at work. It was eleven already, and just as he'd assumed, Kagura was already there, ready to open the gates for the opening staff. A little coughing and an almost phlegmy sounding voice had been enough to convince the First Assistant that he was indeed sick enough to need the day off.

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with the fact that maybe Kagome works today?" Sango asked, her gaze guarded.

"Well, she does," he admitted, "but--"

"She might think you're avoiding her, then," she interrupted heatedly.

Inuyasha made to protest but stopped before actually speaking, his words hanging in the air unuttered. She had a point, and he knew he was somewhat avoiding Kagome by calling in. However, he couldn't just call the theater back and say, "Yeah, I'm feeling much better. No need to get someone to cover for me." Besides, it really was plausible to anyone, except those who knew he was a hanyou, that he could honestly be violently sick enough to need a day off. Hopefully Kagome would understand... when he felt gutsy enough to talk to her again.

It was almost noon when Inuyasha, still entertaining Sango as a guest and extracting valuable female-exclusive advice and tidbits from her, heard a motorcycle pull up to the front of his house. Within moments, Kouga had let himself in. After Sango had slammed the front door shut, he'd never bothered to set the bolt lock.

The two watched him enter the kitchen, a DVD in hand, which Kouga promptly tossed less than delicately upon the tabletop with a smile on his face. "Just returning your... uh...." Kouga stared at the mess that currently was the surface of the kitchen table, his smile quickly dropping. "What happened?" The masses of claw marks upon the wood were undoubtedly deliberate.

With a nervous chuckle, Sango smiled sheepishly and pointed accusingly at Inuyasha.

"Who else could it be, Sango?" the hanyou in question simpered, leveling her with an annoyed glare.

"Agreed, Inuyasha," Kouga broke in, "but why the fuck did you do that--"

"Kagome found out she was legal for sex, told him the other night after work, and basically asked him to take her home with him and take her virg--"

"Sango! Shut the fuck up!" Kouga's jaw dropped as he stared at Inuyasha, who was currently growling at their female friend.

"You would have told him anyway," Sango told him off before concentrating on Kouga again. "Anyway, the moron was less than tactful when he told Kagome he wasn't going to--"

"Wait," Kouga interrupted, not sure he believed what he heard. "Inuyasha, first of all, how is Kagome legal?"

The hanyou's ears drooped as he desperately tried to keep from looking embarrassed but failed miserably. "State law says you can consent at age 16," he mumbled, his eyes slits. "After I found out, I checked with a bunch of places like the city police and the Minnesota Center Against Violence and Abuse. Nothing negated it."

"Okay," Kouga drawled questioningly to himself, and then a scowl marred his face. "Wait, you told Kagome what?"

Immediately answering before Sango could answer for him, Inuyasha spat out, "I told her I would not take her home with me."

"You gotta be shittin' me."

"I'm not." Inuyasha crossed his arms and glared, ignoring when Sango elbowed him in the upper arm. "My problem stems from Kagome not understanding why I won't sleep with her." She elbowed him again, and his glare was no longer centered on Kouga but on Sango. "Will you quit that?"

"Would you rather I punch you on the other side of your face?" she spat back at him.

"What the fuck made you do such a one eighty?" Inuyasha complained bitterly as Kouga stared on dumbly. "Just ten minutes ago--"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I'm any less mad at you for being an asshole to Kagome," she retorted.

"Inuyasha, let me get this fucking straight," Kouga interrupted, clearly pissed off. Both Sango and Inuyasha shut up. Kouga leaned over the kitchen table, his hands splayed out, and centered his annoyance upon the hanyou in question. "You're protective enough of Kagome to fend ME off, even though you know I never go beyond flirting--"

Kouga was instantly blessed with a lovely, fresh growl. Golden eyes narrowed as nostrils flared. He'd really pissed off Dog Boy this time, but he didn't care. He continued. "As I was saying, you were protective enough to consider me a threat, yet as soon as you find out she is legal, you told her no? Are you brain dead?"

All the while Kouga had been going on enragedly, Sango had noticed Inuyasha slowly claw at the table surface, marring it with even more irreparable scars, until he soon had the claws of his right hand snugly dug deep into the wood. As Kouga finished, Inuyasha stood up, shaking almost unnoticeably, and tugged roughly at the set of claws that were only half visible. He sent the table skidding and crashing across the kitchen linoleum, shocking both of his lecturers-disguised-as-guests.

It whammed into the wall and bounced back a few inches. Amazingly, the DVD had not slipped off and fallen to the floor. Sango and Kouga had tracked its path of collision intently before bringing both their gazes back to the hanyou who, in their collective opinion, was behaving rather childishly. Scooting her chair back and standing up, Sango attempted several times to begin some random comeback, but nothing vocalized.

"I think someone's a little immature," Kouga offered with a quirked brow. Sango silently nodded in agreement.

"It is not up to you," Inuyasha muttered as he removed his gaze from the currently banged up and scratched up table and centering it once again upon Kouga, "whether or not I am immature. Yes, I refused Kagome. But you know, after some of the comments I've gotten from you over the years concerning the number of people I have slept with, I would think you'd be the first to praise me for not giving in."

Inuyasha's words hit Kouga harder than he would have guessed. "I... but really... when you're not dating someone, you really do sleep around--"

"Let me remind you," Inuyasha interrupted, "that I haven't fucked anyone since you brought Dawn's little relapse problem to my attention, and I thanked you for that, now, didn't I? Saying that seven months of no sex means I'm sleeping around," fury flashed in his eyes, "is like saying furries like fucking animals!" Kouga winced. "And you know neither is true," the hanyou added.

It took all of Kouga's self-restraint not to lash back. "Okay, fine," he muttered, then shut his eyes for a moment of deep thought. "I admit I probably called you a slut more times than anyone else. However, with Kagome..." he trailed off.

"What about her? You barely know her. You've met her twice," Inuyasha challenged, his hackles clearly raised. He looked ready to throttle Kouga if the man said the wrong thing, especially anything related to Kagome.

Kouga steeled himself. Taking a few steps, he planted himself about a foot away from his currently volatile friend, then gritted his teeth and poked him in the chest. "You told me yourself that Kagome was your little girl--"

Sango stared questioningly at Inuyasha. He'd said that? He hadn't told her that earlier. When did he tell Kouga that?

"--and that when she is legal, she will be your woman. If that," he sneered, "is true, then why did you refuse her?" Gold eyes stared into blue, but neither looked away, treating Sango as if she didn't exist.

"Because," Inuyasha began.

"Because you don't want her after all?" Kouga asked.

"No."

"Then why?"

"Because up until now, I only fucked people because I thought it would make up for what was missing in my life!" Inuyasha snapped. "I slept around because I thought it would make things better. I thought having someone in my bed would keep me from being lonely. But I've been doing that for four centuries, and it's only made things worse. Fucking others meant nothing beyond the physical stuff!" He flexed his claws over and over again. Being so open about things, especially to a guy, was difficult for his ego.

After a huff he continued on angrily, "I refuse to sleep with Kagome unless... I... I-I couldn't do that to her. I won't- I can't." Kouga stared in wonder as Inuyasha's eyes almost softened - the hanyou looked truly distraught. "If I- no, I can't," he swallowed, "I'd feel like I was just using her for sex."

"But you've told me yourself you've already been physical with her," Kouga argued in disbelief.

"We've kissed. A lot. But that is it," he replied defensively. "I have never even cupped her breasts. I spanked her on the ass once--"

Both Kouga and Sango eyed him warily.

Inuyasha somewhat backtracked. "Er, okay, so it was five times in a row--"

"You what?!" Sango finally butted into the conversation.

"You heard me." Inuyasha snapped his head to face her during his response. "And I'm serious. That was it. That's all I've done with Kagome. Just lots and lots of kissing."

Sango just about started growling. "You spanked her?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "She liked it." She covered her face with a hand and groaned. He was surprised she didn't start blinking one eye in a nervous twitch.

Completely fed up, Kouga jumped in before a very frustrated Sango could reply. "Inuyasha, I will say one final thing." The hanyou instantly began paying attention. "Think long and hard over this. If you care about her, you will realize why you consider her your little girl. And now, I'm going home."

As soon as they heard him revving up his bike out front, Sango shook her head and muttered to herself, "I can't believe it."

"What?"

"You spanked her."

"Sango," Inuyasha snorted with amusement, "I thought you knew I was a wild one."

"Yeah, but--"

"And?" He waggled his eyebrows. "Why does this come as a surprise to you?"

"Actually, it doesn't," she admitted. "Not after what you told me about your trip last night."

"Uh...."

"Honestly, the mental image of you being dominated by yourself is the funniest thing I could ever dream up." Sango smirked.

All humor left his face, as well as color. He groaned. Sango would never let him live that down. Ever. "Uh, Sango?"

"Really," she went on, ignoring him. "By the way," she tapped her chin with a finger while glancing off in some random direction, a pondering look on her face, "first the riding crop stuff, then you spanking her, and then what you did to her on Kouga's bed with those restraints--"

"I'm not listening! La la la la la la la la!"

"--next thing you know, she'll have you tied to a chair!" she finished smugly. Annoying Inuyasha was horrifyingly difficult, and any successful attempt she always savored.

Inuyasha cursed his hanyou biological makeup for giving him such exceptional hearing. "That was you who did that!" he grumbled with flattened ears. Sango covered her face and started laughing, not noticing his newly administered glare.

---

Void. Void void void void void.

Kagome straightened her back again and scooted her chair closer to Naraku's desk. An intimidatingly sizable pile of gift certificates was off to her left, and its shrinkage rate would be painfully slow. She still didn't understand how so many gift certificate packets had been sold in the five hours since they'd been open that day - or more precisely, that so many had been redeemed at cash registers. Kagome cringed as she thought of her task for the next couple hours, or longer: to void each and every single little one dollar or two dollar flap of paper.

She found it easier on her back - as well as her wrists - to rip the certificates out of the packet covers first, then jam the self-inking VOID stamp upon some random part of each one.

Fifteen voids in a row. Peel back the cover, gut the packet, and void times fifteen. Or ten, if it was for a $10 pack rather than a $30 pack. Trash the packet carcass. Then repeat.

Kagome sent herself into a mental 'zone' and worked up a steady and rhythmic pace, delving into the pile packet by packet.

"You forgot to pick up your paycheck yesterday," a voice from behind her almost questioned, immediately startling Kagome out of her self-induced mindless work haze. She snapped around to Allen Sashka smirking down at her. He'd been in the cash room earlier with the door locked; she hadn't noticed him until just now. He tapped the edge of her paycheck envelope on the top of her head, taking intense amusement at the surprised look on her face. "Sign for it now."

Uh, yeah," she managed to get out without stuttering. Sashka still unnerved her on occasion. This was one of them.

Task forgotten for the moment, she signed the payroll sheet, then almost frantically opened the envelope. Then, she grumbled to herself as soon as she saw the top portion of the page. Sashka was almost out the door to the hallway when she called out for him to wait. Pivoting in her seat, she pointed to the paycheck statement and questioned, "What happened to my pay raise? I was supposed to be making $8.50 as soon as possible after my promotion."

Sashka leaned from his spot in the doorway to squint. "Ah, I dunno about that stuff. Sometimes paperwork takes a while to go through. Talk to Naraku about that, though. Payroll is his duty." Kagome huffed but said nothing, and he left, leaving her to return to her dull task.

It was minutes later when she was interrupted again. She heard arguing going on outside the door to the hallway, loud enough to remove her from her barely re-accomplished space out.

"--never calls in sick! I can't believe it. I get stuck staying till CLOSE? Grah!" The door handle turned, obviously being operated from the hallway side.

"Shut up, Zara. Be happy you don't have to work floor tonight."

"You know I hate concessions."

"Which is why I stuck you there."

Kagome turned around and instantly began paying attention. Naraku and her co-supervisor had just entered the door. "Kagome, out. Take that shit over to the concierge desk and finish your task there," the General Manager ordered, "and Zara, you and I need to talk. Again." He narrowed his eyes.

Kagome silently nodded, numbly pretending to ignore the argument that continued to grow between the two. She jammed her folded up paycheck into her pocket. If she was to get all those gift certificates there herself, she'd have to carry them there using the front of her shirt, and it would be cumbersome even then.

Most of the back and forth shots went in one ear and out the other as she untucked her work shirt and scooped bits of the pile into it. However, a few choice phrases stuck with her, particularly once Zara started talking about an ex coworker of theirs.

"Give me her address!"

"You know I can't do that." A snicker.

"I have the damn police report case number, like you asked."

"And no copy of the report itself?"

Zara's growl strangely reminded her of Inuyasha, shocking Kagome into dropping half the pile of gift certificates. "I'm telling you, Tamisha did it. She fucking--"

"Language." Naraku practically laughed the word at her, no doubt not giving a flying fuck over Zara's situation. Kagome listened intently as she picked everything up, quite glad that neither had paid attention to her blunder but careful not to be noticed listening. This argument was no doubt the reason she had been ordered to leave.

"Fuck you. You didn't say I needed the report."

"I said I could give out employee and ex employee information with a police report only."

"And I filed the report. That bitch has--"

Kagome, in her crouching position, froze at the sound of a loud smack. She quietly let out her breath when she realized it was of flesh upon wood, not flesh against flesh.

"I don't give a fuck what Miss Botts did. She no longer works here."

Kagome stopped paying attention, quickly gathered all of her load, stood up, took unsure baby steps toward the door, then gingerly let herself out.

Trembling almost unnoticeably, Kagome desperately wished Inuyasha had shown up to work, despite what had happened the night before.

She'd gotten most of the way through her pile at the concierge desk before she noticed something. The serial numbers on the gift certificates were nearly all consecutive from packet to packet. That, and they were very recent. The numbers were far above what she recalled having sold during her last shift at the box office.

Immediately, Inuyasha's plans for writing down anything suspicious sounded in her head. She'd occasionally touched her notebook, but most of its contents were notes from him.

Inuyasha.

Just thinking about him turned her white. The night before, he'd told her to wait for him, that he'd come to her. She'd gone home. She'd waited. But he hadn't specified when he would come. Hadn't, except for 'when he was ready.' How long would that be? Her hands started shaking as she void stamped gift certificate after gift certificate.

He hadn't come to work today. Zara was being forced to take his shift as well as her own. Zara had said he'd called in sick.

Inuyasha had told her being a hanyou, he couldn't get sick.

Kagome suppressed many things, from the urge to whimper and cry to the desire to be at home in bed with the lights off and some CD on repeat so her mother couldn't overhear her sobs. She wanted to just be alone.

"Hey, Kagome! I didn't know you were working tonight," sounded a familiar voice. Kagome jumped and accidentally voided out a small section of the red counter. She looked up after recovering. Her eyes met with those of Kohaku, who stood next to Rin.

"Uh, yeah," she forced a smile and swallowed, "um--"

"We didn't see you downstairs," Rin explained, "so we were surprised to see you up here."

Kohaku nodded, though he clearly looked more than a tad uncomfortable. Kagome wondered if it was his anxiety acting up, or the fact that he might not be over her rejection from two days earlier.

"Oh, I don't always work in the box office," she replied, continuing with her forced smile. And it was true, if one went by the word "always." She rarely did anything unrelated to the box office now.

Rin frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Kagome chuckled nervously. Am I that easy to see through? A weak tremor started in her stamping hand and spread upward. She missed another gift certificate, easy target as it was, and ended up marking the counter again. Only the bottom third of the blue ink VOID made it to the smooth paper. Her hand practically smashed the stamper forward onto its side as she stared at her mistake distractedly.

"I guess not," Rin replied with concern, answering her own question.

"No, really--" Kagome tried to say, but Kohaku gave his movie date a strange glance before looking at Kagome again. "It's nothing you need to worry about." She tried to smile, her previously enforced grin long gone. Rin and Kohaku did not look convinced. Their concerned faces said so. The tremor in her hand was still hard at work. "Um...."

Rin removed a pen and a scrap of paper from her jacket pocket. "Really, Kagome, you look bothered. Kohaku and I have to go. Our movie starts in five minutes. But may I give you my number?" she pleaded. "In case you decide you want to talk about whatever it is?"

A nearly desperate Kagome was about to answer when Kohaku broke in. "And my number. I mean, even if you don't want to talk to me," he meandered with a fragile smile, "there's always my sister. She's my guardian. Has been, ever since our parents were in an accident about four years ago."

She caved in. They didn't even know why she was upset. But, they could tell she was, though she was barely showing any signs, and they were offering their ears like friends do. Kagome nodded her head, not trusting her voice at the moment. Their notice had sparked just the slightest bit of sadness in her. Her chest felt heavy.

Rid nodded and smiled, like it was an everyday thing to give out her number. And maybe it was, Kagome mused to herself. But to Kagome, it was only the second time anyone here had given her his or her phone number. Inuyasha had been the first. Now, she truly felt connected, felt on her way to gaining another tie to the city.

"I, um, Kohaku," she said when she trusted her voice again. The friend in question trained his eyes directly onto her. "You shouldn't put yourself down like that." She smiled at his surprised expression. "There's no reason I wouldn't want to talk to you. Heck, I know you better than Rin." Turning, she directed her gaze back to Rin. "And thanks. I, I didn't know it was so obvious."

"I noticed yesterday and today in school," Rin stated as she handed the numbers to Kagome. "Just didn't get a chance to say anything until now. And no need to thank me." She sent her a goofy grin before turning to Kohaku and threading her fingers into his, immediately making the boy blush.

"What are you two seeing?" Kagome asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Duplex," Rin replied. "Kohaku wanted to see The Rundown, but I really don't like--"

"The Rock," Kohaku butted in. "I don't like him either, but--"

"Guys," Kagome interrupted them, "your movie is halfway through previews!"

"It is?!" both of them exclaimed at the same time. She nodded, and they silently waved good bye and scuttled off.

Once they were gone, Kagome groaned and sighed, leaning tiredly over the counter. When she leaned back up, she stared at the pile of loose gift certificates and the remaining packets for voiding, sizing things up. They were mostly the $30 packets, with a few of the $10 ones in there. She could tell by the color. Tens were eggshell blue. Thirties were egg yolk yellow. The loose ones racked up a lot. The amount concerned her.

Then her eyes slid over to the computer off to her right, atop the counter. I'm a supervisor. I have access to some sections in the TIMSBOOT database now. Her eyes immediately scanned the main lobby, tracking customers' paths from the stairs to the concession stand or down the hallways. No managers were in sight walking around at random. Merle was orchestrating things behind the concession stand, as well as Zara.

Within moments, Kagome was in the 'zone' again, finishing up the gift certificates as quickly as she could. She had no doubt she would find the sales for gift certificates somewhere in the system. She'd only used it a few times but was certain she wouldn't get too lost looking for the right sections.

---

Saturday came. Kagome did not work, nor did Inuyasha. Fear kept her from calling him. She stayed inside. She stayed mostly in her room. Bathroom facilities were all that drew her out. Her sudden reclusion had taken over. It was well past sundown when her mother came downstairs and knocked on her door, calling her to dinner.

"Are you feeling okay, Kagome?" she asked with concern, poking her head into her daughter's room and leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms. "You're not sick, are you?"

Seated at her desk, Kagome met her gaze and responded with a shake of her head. "Not sick. I just felt like staying in my room and reading, is all." She held up a book and desperately hoped her mom would buy her excuse.

"All right, but you haven't left your room all day. Aren't you hungry?" Chiho Higurashi quirked her brow. Her daughter rarely cooped herself up in her room like this. It gave her worries. Was something bothering Kagome? She'd seen Inuyasha's car drive by the townhouse more than once already that day. Maybe it was related to him. Perhaps Kagome had forgotten about having a driving lesson today? That could explain his presence. Their schedule was fairly sporadic. She hoped it was something that minor.

Kagome felt it best not to raise her mother's suspicions. "Yeah, I am, actually. I guess I was so engrossed in my copy of," she turned the book around to read the cover, "uh...."

"Can't even remember the name of the book you're reading?" her mother commented, amused.

"Uh, The Handmaid's Tale!" Kagome recovered quickly. "Um, I just picked it up and didn't look at the cover."

"Upstairs, young lady." Her mother's voice was firm but stern now. When Kagome made to respond, her mother simply shook her head with a sigh and said, "We can talk about whatever's bothering you over dinner. Mach schnell!"

Kagome dropped her book upon the desk. It had been a long time since her mother had used any German in the house. She only used it when she really meant it, and if Mom was commanding her to 'march to it,' she was serious. Kagome paled with dread. At this point, she couldn't avoid revealing the situation with Inuyasha, no matter how much she'd wanted to hide it. She dejectedly told herself to print out another copy of that website. She'd need the proof of her legality.

"I'll be up in just a bit. Gimme a few minutes," Kagome managed to say without her voice squeaking. Her mother nodded her head and disappeared.

Upstairs, their dinner started out nearly silent. Kagome, who hid the printouts by sitting on them, had eaten most of her pot roast and had started digging into the apple slices before her mother finally cut to the chase and asked what was bothering her. Kagome, however, couldn't find the words. Everything she thought up was either too direct or too vague. During the long, awkward silence of the meal she'd done nothing but unproductively mull over the subject.

How does one tell one's mother, "Yeah, Mom, I'm troubled because I asked my boyfriend to sleep with me, the same boyfriend you so obviously approve of, and he said no and isn't talking to me right now"? Not very easily, Kagome knew. She most certainly was not going to say it exactly how she had just mentally worded it. "I offered my virginity to Inuyasha on a silver platter and he pushed me away" didn't sound any better. She was completely lost.

Her mother, no doubt losing patience after several minutes, decided to pick the beginning topic for her. "Is there something going on between you and Inuyasha?"

It was far too direct, too spot on, for Kagome to remain composed. Almost immediately, her hands began shaking. She swallowed a fresh lump in her throat and set down her half eaten apple slice on her plate. Then, she looked down. A quick nod of her head as she stared at her plate was her only true acknowledgement yea or nay.

"Kagome?" Kagome did not answer, and her mother's repeated calling of her name went nigh unheard. Kagome's thoughts were dragging her down like weights. "KAGOME!"

Her shoulders shook, and when she finally raised her head to face her mother, tear streaks had already reached her jawbone. Her mother's eyes widened guiltily as soon as she looked at her straight in the eyes.

Blinking away the moisture, Kagome finally spoke. "He's avoiding me, and it's my fault," she stated, her voice of questionable stability. She bit her lip and stared downward again, this time at her mother's plate.

"What are you--"

Kagome traced the rim of her plate with a finger as she interrupted her mother. "We were going to wait until my birthday, just to be safe." Mental flinching soon overtook her as she cursed her wording and dreaded all possible replies her mother could make. Strangely, her mother's only reaction seemed to be a barely audible gasp. Or, maybe not so strangely. Maybe her mother was simply too shocked and upset to speak, and the evidence would be there as soon as she looked up. She continued to apprehensively stare at her plate. "I-I don't mean we did anything, Mom, cuz we didn't!"

Back straightened and head up, Kagome stared at her mother and quickly searched for any signs of, well, any sort of reaction. Frozen in place and fiercely gripping a fork, Mrs. Higurashi stared forward and looked nothing short of shocked, with a side serving of confusion. Shiiiiiiiiiit.

"Um, what happened was, I-I found this website that," her voice trembled, "that says you only have to be 16 in Minnesota to consent, and Inuyasha and I had never- because, because he was afraid he would get--" New tears started streaming down her cheeks, blurring her vision.

The printouts now in her mother's hands, Kagome, tears and sob-sounding voice and all, began blurting everything out, rewording things as necessary. Everything from finding the sites by chance, all the thoughts running through her head, every feeling she'd experienced, and then Inuyasha's unexpected reaction after she'd practically thrown herself at him. The fear of Mom suddenly disapproving of her and Inuyasha had already been high, but now it skyrocketed. Her mother simply scanned the website print out with scrutinizing eyes and a scrunched up, unreadable face, occasionally flitting her gaze to Kagome's tear dampened cheeks.

"He and I kiss all the time, and he's never pressed me for more, but I thought he would be happy to find out," she sobbed, then continued to talk, this time of two nights before.

Slowly placing the papers upon an empty spot of the table, her mother took a deep breath, stiffly stood up and silently retrieved a box of Kleenex from its spot by the microwave, all the while a stunned and confused look on her face. She looked like she couldn't breathe. She wordlessly set the box down in front of Kagome and cleared the dishes, Kagome following her silent movements as she wondered what was going through her mother's head. Almost floundering as she spoke, Mrs. Higurashi told her daughter to simply cry, wipe her face off, and then meet her by the couch in the family room as soon as she felt calmer. Kagome took her time and used up quite a few tissues. Her face wouldn't stay dry, and her nose had become clogged up and needy of blows.

When she finally sat upon the couch with her mother, Kagome honestly could not figure out what was going through her mother's mind at her news. Worry attacked her normally functioning common sense as she wondered what her mother now thought of her, especially now that her mom knew what she'd wanted to do with Inuyasha. Feeling her mother's arms wrapping around her but hearing nothing said really did a number on her. Why couldn't her mother just say something? Approving or disapproving, it didn't matter. If only her mother would express some sort of emotion at her distress.

It was only when her mother held her on her lap like a little girl that Kagome finally heard her mother begin to shush and coo softly, almost rocking her back and forth. Say something, Mom, please. Just, say something, anything. Tell me I'm not dirty. Tell me it's okay. "Mom?" Kagome's voice cracked.

"What is it?" Kagome could hear it spoken directly into her ear.

"What did I do wrong?"

"I... don't know, Kagome. I only know what you told me," she replied, slowly and honestly. "I wish I could tell you, but I don't know." Kagome sighed and whimpered, shaking. "Kagome?"

"What, Mom?" She squeezed her eyes shut.

Her mother sighed. "Are you... sure about him?"

"What do you mean?" Kagome cringed, dreading her mother's disapproval of Inuyasha henceforth.

"Are you sure he's worth all this trouble, and all this pain?"

Kagome stiffened. "I want to be with him. It's not a question of if he's worth it. He is. I just... I don't know how else to say this but, he means the world to me, Mom. Now there's this, um, uncertainty. I don't know if he was just saying things, or if he really does have problems he needs to deal with first, or what kind of problems he could have in the first place," she mumbled. "And I feel like, like," she stumbled on her words as she stared off into random space with unfocused vision, "like I'm the reason he has these problems. If I hadn't approached him like I had, this never would have happened."

Another sob shook her frame, and she shut her eyes. Another tear dripped downward. "I can't stop thinking about him, Mom," she confessed, "and I dream about him. Being with him makes me feel whole. Mom?"

"Yes?" she heard her mother ask, the woman's tone nonjudgmental.

"Are-are you okay that I want to s-sleep with him?" Kagome felt her stomach drop to the floor with nervousness. The what ifs kept piling up. What if this was a bad idea, telling her mother all this? What if she had slightly abridged or altered - or completely omitted - things more than she already did?

Her mother was quiet for a while, and Kagome felt extremely awkward and embarrassed, like she had just jeopardized her entire relationship with Inuyasha by confessing. But, she'd had to ask. What if her mother were to have found out after it was too late, only to look down upon her for her choice?

"Mom?"

"Kagome, you're old enough to make informed choices of your own," she answered cryptically. Kagome bit her lip. "I like Inuyasha very much. I think he's great for you, and I was so happy to see you find someone who means so much to you. I won't say the thought of you two being, er," she warily stumbled for a euphemism, "...exceptionally intimate... is something I was really expecting anytime soon, but I trust you to be responsible."

Kagome held her breath, not sure what to make of her mother's words. "S-so if he and I were to, to... you'd be okay with it? I just... I--"

"Kagome."

"Yes, Mom?"

"If it's what you and he really want," Kagome's mother hugged her tighter, "then why should I intrude? But right now, this isn't what you should worry over. Before you think about things like this, you and Inuyasha need to make sure you two are still right for each other- and he needs to feel that as much as you do," she went on before Kagome could butt in. "I can't tell you why Inuyasha reacted how he did, or why he is avoiding you. But he.... cares about you. I saw it when he came here and... you said he told you to wait for him, right? He wouldn't have said that if he didn't want to continue seeing you."

Kagome said nothing, breathing deeply and emitting a whimper. She shut her eyes again at the feel of her mother's hand smoothing her bangs over her forehead. She shifted in her mother's arms and pulled her feet up onto the cushion better.

"Unless," Kagome bit her lip painfully, "unless... he was just leading me on...."

"You believe that of Inuyasha?" Kagome's eyes shot open at hearing the concerned frown in her voice.

"No- I-" Kagome stopped, took in a shuddering breath and stopped tears from coming again. "I don't know anymore, Mom. I'm so confused, I--"

Chiho hugged her even tighter and tucked her head under her chin. "Kagome, I can't tell you what Inuyasha's thinking, but... give him time, ok? Maybe he's confused, just like you. Did you think about that? Or maybe scared."

Kagome snorted disdainfully. "Right. Inuyasha, scared? The day he's scared--" of something other than being captured and experimented on, of course, she told herself woundedly, "-- is the day Death wears a miniskirt."

"And who are you," her mother quipped with a lighthearted chuckle, "Death's fashion designer?" Kagome made a scoffing noise, to which her mother wryly advised, "Don't underestimate men, Kagome. You said he told you to wait for him, so perhaps that's the best thing you can do right now."

Kagome said nothing in response. She lay silently in her mother's arms for the rest of the evening. When her mother got up to go to bed, Kagome stayed on the couch, lying down upon the warm spot they'd created. There, she fell asleep.

She dreamed, and she hoped, and she cried, all very softly. She dreamt that Inuyasha was hers again, and she hoped it would come true, and she cried because it hurt not knowing what she'd done or when he would be back.

Kagome pretended it was mid July, that Inuyasha was right behind her, caging her to his bed so she couldn't escape, pinning her to his mattress like she belonged there. Did she belong there? She dreamt she did. She hoped she did. She cried because she didn't know. But she wanted to. She wanted to belong there. And so she continued to dream and hope.

---

She knew it really wasn't her business, but until she gave in to that nagging, relentless feeling, she wouldn't feel at ease.

Chiho dug around in her purse, then pulled out a scrap of paper. On it was scribbled a phone number she'd taken off the Caller ID at home. A number that had shown up several times in the last couple days. Narrowed eyes grimly stared at the number as she dialed.

He picked up on the second ring. "Yeah, who is this?"

"Inuyasha, this is Kagome's mother," she replied cautiously. As she waited for his response, she glanced around her cubicle, cradled the phone receiver in the crook of her neck with her shoulder, and set her purse onto the floor by her feet.

"H-Higurashi-sama, ah, this number--"

"It's my work number," she explained. He sounded a bit shaky and surprised as he acknowledged her response. "I didn't catch you at a bad time, did I?"

He sighed and muttered something unintelligible. Knowing Inuyasha as little as she did, she figured he was cursing to himself. "It's not that."

She frowned. "Then--"

"You're calling about Kagome, aren't you?" Inuyasha's irritated, yet almost frightened tone unnerved her. So, she'd been right.

"Well, yes, it's about Kagome," Chiho confirmed. "She... she told me what happened between you two on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, and, well, I hadn't planned to intervene, but I'd seen your car outside our home several times, and your number showed up on our Caller ID--"

"I'm kinda going through a rough spot in my life right now," Inuyasha interrupted, "and while I did stop by and call to talk to her, I wussed out, okay? I mean, I know what I said, what I did... but.... oh fuck," he groaned, "she probably hates me by now."

"She doesn't hate you, Inuyasha," she stated. "She's just confused and sad and upset, and as her mother, I worry about her."

"Did she ask you to call?" The irritation in his voice began to surface again, though just slightly.

"No, and she doesn't know I've called you. I was," she faltered for a moment, "I was concerned because she is extremely depressed and feels you're avoiding her, and--"

"Kagome means more to me than anyone else," he sputtered, effectively twisting her heart and confirming her suspicions more than she had anticipated. She just knew Kagome would have loved to have heard him say that. "But...."

"But?" she questioned, unsure if she wanted to hear his response. She felt guilty getting involved with what were her daughter's problems. Talking things out with her was where she should have drawn the line. Discussing Kagome's relationship with her boyfriend with said boyfriend was not exactly staying within the boundary. She'd have to be careful.

"Forgive my crude and extremely blunt wording, especially since this is your daughter I'm talking about," Inuyasha's voice was shrewd but solemn, "but she means enough to me as it is that I'd kill myself if I slept with her only for her to be just another lay and to realize that I'd completely fucked things up, again, like I have with all my past girlfriends. I have a really shitty track record, and she's the first person I've ever really cared about in a really long time, and I need time away from her to think about stuff."

She worriedly drummed her fingers upon the desktop, then sent a glance to the picture of a smiling 16 year old Kagome pinned to her cubicle wall. "I-I understand where you're coming from, but don't you think she'd want to hear that?"

He sighed in obvious frustration, the microphone in his phone magnifying and distorting the sound. "Yes, but I don't have the fucking guts to tell her that. I'm surprised I can even tell you this. Probably because I hope you won't tell her."

"What's said between us stays between us," she promised. "But, that was your only reason, right?" Another sigh came through from his side, and she started rambling, "You two seemed like such a perfect pair that I couldn't even imagine--"

"Yes, it's the only reason. Or am I not allowed time to think, to reexamine my life, because I'm male?"

"Uh, pardon?" Chiho's eyes widened at his sudden defensiveness.

"You know," he snorted, "how males are supposed to be insensitive pricks with only one thing on their mind, so the notion that I'm actually thinking is inconceivable? I'm sorry for being so bitter, but I really hate being typecast."

"I swear, that's not what I meant at all!"

"If you say so. I know you're not one to lie," he offered almost retractively. "Kagome is..." he sounded sad now, and Chiho tensed, "she's my little girl, and I just need some time to figure out on my own if furthering my- my relationship with her will bring us together or tears us apart. I- I...." he took a deep breath, "I love her, or at least, I hope that's what I feel for her. If it's not, then I couldn't bear to ruin someone like Kagome."

Breath caught in her throat, she numbly mumbled goodbye, but Inuyasha hung up first. The dial tone sounded, and she pulled the receiver away from her ear and stared at it before setting it back onto its cradle. She swallowed and attempted to gather her thoughts, then finally set about working on her spreadsheets. She did, after all, have a job to do. She'd done enough intervening in her daughter's business to warrant backing off for the next few years, and it was about time she got to work on her own tasks. No more meddling in her daughter's affairs unless asked, period.

She only wished she hadn't given him that promise. She wished she could tell her that he called Kagome his little girl and said that he loved her. As harsh and troubled as he'd been, he'd let those and other innocent little assertions slip through his defenses. It was strange, how she'd felt touched, with a twisting heart, by things he'd said about Kagome.

It wasn't an act, that much she knew. At least she could rest assured that Inuyasha's intentions with her daughter were honorable. Though of course, she thought to herself with pursed lips, Kagome could really benefit emotionally if he didn't take his sweet time.

In his home, Inuyasha stared at his cell phone, paranoid her mother would call back, absolutely paranoid out his ass that she'd call back and chew him out- almost frightful over what she thought of him now. Only now that he was off the phone and no longer cornered like a puppy scared shitless by a big, towering menace - dear kami, he thought with a shudder, did he really envision Mrs. Higurashi as a menace? - did he realize just how badly he may have jeopardized the way she looked at him.

But, she didn't call, and after what was likely minutes but seemed to drag on forever, Inuyasha let out a relieved sigh. The sudden, out of the blue confrontation may have bristled him more than he would have liked - that was her MOTHER, you idiot! what the fuck were you thinking?! - but he felt almost proud of himself for his ability to be honest to himself as well as to another person.

That, and he'd surprised himself - he'd actually been able to say aloud, to someone other than himself, that he loved Kagome, or at least hoped to... even if that other person was just Kagome's mother. Especially since it was Kagome's mother.

Inuyasha threaded his clawed fingers through his hair and sighed in frustration. Now, if only he could be certain it was how he felt, and if he could say it to Kagome herself.

---

A/N: No more asking when the lemons will be - it's getting a wee bit annoying. If you do not already know, then no amount of pestering me will have any effect on their status. They will appear where they will appear. I have already decided when, where, and how many. Also, threatening to kill me Lizzie Borden style if the next chapter doesn't contain a lemon is not amusing in the slightest. It will only serve to piss me off and make me less interested in including a lemon anytime soon, so essentially it's counterproductive. By the way, Happy Holidays.