InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Phony Digits ❯ I'm All Ears ( Chapter 8 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: InuYasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I have nothing.

Chapter Eight: I'm All Ears

Kagome strapped on her goggles and slid her hearing protection headset over her ears. She wasn't exactly sure why, but this was her favorite part of the job.

With a gloved hand, she slipped the small black pistol from the plastic evidence bag. Turning off the safety switch with her thumb, she carefully placed the muzzle into the small, round opening at the end of a long, lead water tank. She fired off several rounds into the water in quick succession, all the while completely unaware that she was being watched through the glass windows behind her.

Forgetting that Kagome's hearing and peripheral vision would be impaired by her protective gear; Kouga sauntered into the lab, plopping a hand down heavily upon her shoulder.

"EEEEEEEEEK!!!!" she shrieked loudly, inadvertently squeezing the trigger on the high caliber pistol, which had thankfully been spent of ammunition. "Goddammit, Renji! What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled.

Kouga threw his hands up in surrender, knowing full well the mistake he had made. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" he apologized frantically, having the good sense to take a few steps back.

"Sorry won't be good enough if you make me shoot a hole in the wall, or worse!" she scolded as she removed her earmuffs and placed them, along with the gun, on a small side table. "Are you trying to get me fired?!" she said, stepping toward him and shoving his chest with both hands.

"I'm so sorry, Kagome! You just looked so cute, I wasn't thinking." he quickly defended.

"Don't try to flatter your way out of this, Kouga! UGH!!! How did you even become a cop?!" she continued to rant, ripping her goggles off and throwing them in his face.

He fliched as the plastic goggles bounced off his forehead and landed on the floor. He had never seen her get angry enough to curse, much less become violent. Kouga grabbed her shoulders and leaned down to look her square in the eyes. "Kagome," he said calmly as she struggled to push him away. "I'm sorry. Please calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Kouga! I could have killed someone just now! I have half a mind to report you for this!"

"You won't though, will you?" he asked nervously as he released her shoulders. He was already on thin ice with the Captain for his absentmindedness...

Kagome let out a loud sigh as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "No. I won't report you…this time. But could you at least try to be a little more conscientious?" she asked.

"I will never do anything like this again, Kagome, you have my word." he said, placing his hand over his heart.

Kagome rolled her eyes, knowing he would probably be doing some other dumb thing within the hour. "What are you doing in here anyway?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed.

"I was just stopping in to see if maybe you'd like to have dinner with me tonight...but I have a feeling I may have blown my chances…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

As much of a people-pleaser as Kagome was, Kouga was the one person whom she had no qualms turning down. This was likely due to the fact that she had much practice doing it. In the last ten months she had been at the precinct, he had asked her out no less than twenty times.

"There weren't any chances to blow, Kouga. I've told you before, I don't want to get involved with anyone from work." she said flatly, sounding well rehearsed.

"I'm just gonna keep askin'." Kouga said cheekily as he turned to leave.

"And I'm just gonna keep turning you down." she shot back.

Kouga turned back to her with a smirk. "See you Monday, Higurashi." he said, before slipping out the door.

The fact that he was a co-worker wasn't the only reason she wasn't interested in Kouga. His cocky attitude had a whole lot more to do with her rejection. One thing she had discovered during her dating escapades was that the vast majority of youkai had that particular personality affliction.

Then she remembered something else…

Sango seemed to think that Phony Digits was likely a youkai. How had she forgotten that?

It was no matter. She wasn't the least bit racist, and she wouldn't assume anything about his character based on a stereotype. Afterall, Shippo was a youkai, and he was one of her closest friends…

But now she was more curious than ever…

Those thoughts continued to swirl in her mind as she carefully gathered up the bullets and shell casings and headed back up to her lab.

<<>>

On her walk home, Kagome took out her phone and texted Phony Digits with the question that had been plaguing her mind all afternoon.

'Can I ask you a personal question?' she texted him.

'Shoot.' he quickly responded.

'Are you a human?'

After a couple minutes passed with no response, Kagome began to worry she had crossed a line.

'Not entirely.' he finally responded.

'So you must be a hanyou then.'

'Yes. Does that bother you?'

'No not at all. Just satisfying my curiosity.'

Now Kagome really couldn't help but wonder what he looked like. Hanyou weren't all that common, but she had seen her fair share. Some of them looked very human, and some of them looked very...not human. She wasn't really a shallow person, but if he turned out to be nine feet tall or had a pig snout or something… Oh stop it, Kagome! Don't think like that! She shook her head of the thought.

'I look mostly human.'

She was beginning to think this guy was a mind reader...

'I wasn't worried about that!' she wrote back.

'Yeah you were. It's ok. I would be too.'

If she knew what kind of hanyou he was, she could probably figure out what characteristic he was referring to when he said 'mostly'. Oh well, I guess it never hurts to ask...

'What kind of hanyou are you if you don't mind me asking.'

'My dad is a dog youkai and my mom is human.'

So it's probably either a tail or dog ears… she thought. I could live with that...wait...live with that? What am I saying? It's not like I'm going to meet him. What does it matter?

'Ah, so you're a proper hanyou then.' she wrote back, accompanied by a winking emoji.

'If ever there was one.' he responded.

A few seconds later he sent another message.

'If you met me in person, then you'd know exactly what I look like.'

Kagome let out a tiny gasp, and smiled despite the butterflies in her stomach. Finally he was asking to meet her. She had given up hope that he ever would.

And now that it was happening she couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

'Or maybe you're scared.' he added.

'Are you trying to manipulate me, Phony Digits?' she responded.

'No. I just thought you might be scared of the big bad hanyou.'

'Give me some time to think about it.'

InuYasha's heart leapt at her response. He had halfway expected a firm 'no' after revealing his heritage to her. He wasn't sure what possessed him to finally ask her to meet him in person, and strangely enough, he wasn't sure why he hadn't done it before now either.

'It's InuYasha, by the way.' he typed and sent.

He was feeling very bold today indeed.

'What?'

'My name. It's InuYasha.'

'Kagome.' Was her simple response.

He smiled. A Japanese name? 'Are you Japanese?'

It dawned on Kagome, upon reading the message, that he must be Japanese too. A dog hanyou with the name InuYasha would almost have to be. Huh...small world...

'Yep. You too?' she responded.

'Japanese parents. I was born here though.'

Kagome couldn't help but smile. She could care less whether or not he was Japanese, but her mother would like it. She was old school like that…

Kagome shook her head. There I go again...thinking like I'm going to marry this guy or something…

'So, have you had time to think about it yet?'

'About what?'

'Meeting me.'

'Still thinking.' she typed as she stood waiting for the light to change at the crosswalk.

'I'll be waiting.' InuYasha typed and hit send just as his phone began to vibrate in his hand.

It was his mother calling.

He sighed and stared at the screen, contemplating whether or not to answer. It's wasn't that he didn't want to talk to his mom, it was just that he hadn't yet told her about his breakup with Kikyo. It was only a matter of time before she asked about her and he'd be forced to break the news. He was dreading that conversation. It seemed that the only thing he hadn't managed to screw up in his life thus far was landing himself in a relationship with someone that his parents deemed worthy of a member of the Taisho family. It was the one part of his life in which he didn't feel like a dismal failure.

He tapped the green circle and lifted the phone to the side of his face. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hi. What are you up to?" she asked.

"Nothing much, just getting ready to head home from work." he said as he stood from his desk chair and shrugged on his jacket.

"Oh, well I'll only keep you a minute, I was just wondering what you were doing on Easter."

"Easter?" he responded. "Isn't that like two months away?"

"Well, yes, but I know my son... I figured I'd better get to you before you made up an excuse."

"An excuse for what?"

"I was hoping that the whole family could get together this year. Do you think you and Kikyo would be able to make it?"

InuYasha hesitated, trying to think of a convenient and believable lie, but none was forthcoming. "Mom…" he sighed. He might as well bite the bullet and get it over with. "Me and Kikyo broke up."

"What?!" she gasped. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry! What happened?"

"We just...it just wasn't working out. Hadn't been for a long time."

"Oh…and I was just sure she was the one...I'm never going to have any more grandchildren..." she pouted. "You won't settle down...and Rin's all grown up now...and Lord knows your brother will never get married and have children."

"Mom." InuYasha interrupted her. "Please stop. I really don't feel like talking about this right now."

"Sorry, sweetie." she apologized. "So, do you think you'll be able to make it?" she said, getting back to the original subject.

"I should be able to."

"And you will come to Easter Vigil with me?" she asked hopefully.

"No." he said firmly.

"Oh please, InuYasha." she pleaded. "Rin is going with me, and Miroku always comes. You don't have to receive the Eucharist if you don't want to. I know you don't like to eat anything out of a stranger's hand..."

"I don't care. I'm not going...and Miroku only goes to try and pick up girls."

"No, Miroku goes because he loves his mother...unlike some people." she said pointedly.

"Give it a rest, Mom." he said sternly. He wasn't about to give in. He had sat through enough long, boring church services as a kid to last a lifetime...that and all the strangers trying to give him hugs and touch his hair… He shuttered at the thought.

Izayoi sighed. "Fine, I'll just tell the ladies from my canasta group that Roku is my son."

"Keh!" InuYasha scoffed. "Yeah, 'cause I'm real fucking concerned about what those hags think about me." he said dryly.

"InuYasha Taisho!" she scolded him. "You watch your filthy mouth, young man! I raised you better than that! Don't make me drive into the city right now to wash your mouth out with soap!"

"Sorry." InuYasha apologized sheepishly.

"You see, this is why you need to come to church with me!"

InuYasha refused to engage her anymore on the subject, and his silence ultimately won out.

Izayoi let out a sigh. "Just as stubborn as your father...alright, I won't ask again." she conceded.

"I gotta go, Mom. Do me a favor, and don't tell Dad about Kikyo yet."

"Okay, but may I ask why?"

"I'm just not in the mood to get raked over the coals right now." he answered.

She wanted to refute it, but she knew it was the truth. "Okay, I won't say anything yet... Love you."

"Love you, too." InuYasha returned before ending the call and continuing his journey home.