InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Revelations ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

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

It had been a very long day.
Kagome started out the morning by being jumped by her three friends, Yuka, Eri and Ayumi, at the entrance to the school grounds.
“Kagome, you’re back! How do you feel?”
“How’s that two timing boyfriend of yours?”
“You were out so long this time. How did you manage to get an infection…there?”
‘UHHHHHHHHHHH! Just WHAT in the hell did Gramps say I caught this time?’ Kagome hid her recoil of disgust behind a fake smile plastered on her face.
“Hey, guys! The doctor says I’m fine now…I guess” Kagome was still inwardly gagging over the infection comment. ‘Kami, pleassssssse don’t let Hojou bring me any home remedies for it!’
A change in subject was in order. “So, are you guys going to be in the talent show this Friday, too?”
Yuka rolled her eyes. “Yeah, mom is making me do it. She says she’ll be damned if she’s gonna let all the money she paid for my guitar lessons go to waste. So, since I refuse to do it alone,” she pointedly glared at her two more submissive friends, “we three decided to try the girl band thing again.”
Kagome giggled, a warm feeling of nostalgia spreading over her as she remembered the quartet’s last attempt at the ‘girl band thing’. Kagome had just turned fourteen, and she and her friends were going through a short lived “Puffy AmiYumi” phase of their lives.
Hey, I’ve got an idea! You want to sing for us? Ayumi there is okay, but you’re the one with the real set of pipes.”
Ayumi harrumphed at Yuka’s remark. She was right, though; Kagome did put her to shame, and besides, she was hoping that Kagome would show up, anyway. Being shy by nature, Ayumi was not a fan of public performances.
She flashed her friend a genuine smile. “Yeah, how ‘bout, Kagome? I’ll sing backup for you and I’ll even take over on the keyboard so at least you won’t have to practice too much for this thing.”
Kagome smiled, enticed by the idea of spending more time at home relaxing instead of practicing. ‘No repeats of yesterday for me, no sir, I WILL get my bath.’   Not wanting to appear too eager, though, she shrugged noncommittally and said “We’ll talk about it this afternoon at rehearsal. Let’s get to class before Hojou manages to sniff me out.”
Eri beamed. “Oh, don’t worry, we’d already told him you were here when we saw you at the gate. He’ll be looking for you any time now!”
Kagome groaned. “Greaaaaaaaaaaatttt, just great… Why can’t those three just butt out of my love life…or lack thereof…”  She slouched along to beside her friends and sighed as they headed toward the door.
Her morning classes crept by slowly, leaving her restless. At one point, Kagome even caught herself wishing that Inuyasha would suddenly barge in just so that she could pick a fight with him.
‘Hah! I can just hear the baka now’, her thoughts mocked Inuyasha’s surly tone ‘“Come ON, Ka-go-me, you’ve fucked around enough already!” ‘ A  shiver passed down her spine and her eyes darted around in search of her moody hanyou. Why was she overcome with a sudden urge to “Sit” him? She shook the feeling off and returned to her thoughts.
Well, if he wasn’t just going to show up out of the blue, then she guessed the only other option open to her was to daydream about him instead.
Kagome’s eyes took on a dreamy quality as she leaned on her hand and stared off into space, visions of a bare chested Inuyasha in sinfully tight jeans dancing inside her head…well, maybe not dancing because let’s face it, Inuyasha WOULD NOT dance… he’d probably be bitching at her instead. If only he knew that she’d happily let him bitch at her to his heart’s content if he would just agree not to wear a shirt while he was doing it.
‘And the jeans! Let’s not forget the jeans!’ In all honesty, Kagome didn’t care one single bit about Inuyasha attracting attention with his fire rat robes in public; she just wanted the excuse to make him wear clothing that would show off just how sexy he really was. Those fire rat robes left way TOO much to the imagination, in her humble opinion.
Kagome amused herself for the rest of the class period conjuring up fantasies involving her silver haired, hunky hanyou that would have made Miroku proud.
The rest of the day passed by just as uneventfully as the morning had. Kagome successfully managed to dodge Hojou each time she spotted him in the hallway, and for that, Kagome was thankful. Although he was probably considered the sweetest and most good looking guy in school by her classmates, there was just something about his “sincere” attentions toward her that made Kagome slightly nervous. He never seemed to take the hint that she just wasn’t interested in him.
‘Of course, I haven’t been that firm with him either. I just don’t want to hurt his feelings...and …maybe it is kinda nice to have someone care about me, even if it isn’t the one I love.’
Kagome mentally cursed herself for being so pathetic as she trudged along to the auditorium for rehearsal.
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‘Why am I doing this again?’ Kagome wandered for the thousandth time since she sat down to watch the other acts in the show.  A girl named Seika, who was a year younger than her, had just played the violin with such soulful grace that her performance almost brought tears to Kagome’s eyes.
Kagome was glad that she’d decided to take the lazy approach to getting her extra credit grade and sing for her friends’ “girl band”. At least this way she wouldn’t have to practice anything at home; she could just show up and sing. ‘I only have to BE in the talent show, no one said I had to be GOOD.’  She briefly wondered whether or not she should feel bad for exploiting her friends for the chance to have a bubble bath.  ‘Ah, forget it. If they had to run around saving the world in an era without plumbing, they’d sell me out, too.’
“Kagome, Come on! We’re up next to practice.” Kagome had just stepped to the back of the auditorium to pull out her cell phone and make the call home.  Yuka waved at her from the stage as she adjusted the strap of her guitar. Eri was seated at a drum set toward the rear of the stage and Ayumi was setting up a Yamaha keyboard at Yuka’s side.  
Kagome approached the trio with her arms folded across her chest. “You know, you guys haven’t even told me which song you’ve picked” she griped.
Yuka smirked. “Oh, don’t worry; I think you’ll be able to relate to it.” She looked around conspiratorially and leaned in to whisper the name of the song to Kagome.
Kagome stepped back and eyed Yuka warily. Was this some kind of twisted joke? Kagome let out a humorless chuckle.”Yeah, I guess I can. “She sighed. “Let’s do this.”
Kagome stepped up to the microphone, trying hard to tune out the other students milling about the stage in front of her. The teacher nodded from his place in the audience for them to begin, and Yuka struck the first chords of the song.
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‘Where the hell is she?’
Kagome was not waiting in front of the school as Inuyasha had expected. Ever impatient, he decided to follow her scent into the school rather than sit around waiting for her to grace him with her presence. The faint trail led to a large set of double doors near the end of the main corridor. Inuyasha eased one open a crack and peered inside. Across a darkened sea of tiered seats in the cavernous room, he could see Kagome sitting with her friends at the edge of the stage, long legs swinging carelessly over the side as she leaned back on her hands and turned her head to face the girls next to her.  She chattered happily, appearing oblivious to the bustle of activity around her as classmates put away equipment and packed up to go home.
Inuyasha smirked mischievously. Since she obviously was too caught up in her friends to remember that he was coming to meet her, he decided to teach her a lesson. Just what the lesson he had in mind was supposed to teach her he did not know, but she should have known by now that he was not one to be ignored without repercussions.
Inuyasha slid through the darkened auditorium like a specter and jumped onto the stage without making a sound. He slipped behind the curtain and hid amongst its folds in the stage wings, waiting for his prey to draw near.
“Higurashi, Hi! I’ve been trying to find you all day!”
Inuyasha nearly gave away his position when he let out a fierce growl at the boy that dared to address HIS Kagome.
“Oh, Hojou, uh…hi. It’s nice to see you.”
If Inuyasha wasn’t so caught up in his jealousy, he may have been able to pick up on her forced friendliness.
Kagome jumped up and started to back across the stage away from the boy that was cheerfully bumbling toward her with a telltale package in his arms. Kagome started to plan a hasty exit stage right, pondering the best way to ditch Hojou as quickly as possible.
Wait, was that growling she just heard?
“Where are you going, Higurashi? I have this lotion for you that should help with the itch of your infectio-” Ayumi jumped up and placed herself in Hojou’s path. She’d noticed Kagome’s inflamed face and decided to come to her rescue before Hojou could finish his statement.
“Hey, Hojou, you missed rehearsal today. Come tell me about what you were up to instead of being here.” Ayumi made eye contact with Kagome and jerked her head slightly toward the curtain. She reached out and hooked arms with Hojou, effectively blocking his advance on the girl. A dark scowl ghosted over Hojou’s features before he slid back into a seemingly innocent grin.
Freedom was at hand. Kagome’s back came into contact with the thick velvet behind her, and suddenly, she was snatched off her feet.
“Eep!” her squeal was stifled from behind by a clawed hand clamped over her mouth.  Kagome furiously struggled with the curtain as she whirled around to confront her attacker.
“Inuyasha, just what do you think you’re doing?” she hissed at him. “You scared the crap out of me, you baka!”
His scowl nearly scared the life out of her instead.
“Just what the fuck are you doing talking to that dipshit?”
Clearly she did not understand the severity of the situation, since rather than submitting like a good bitch, Kagome chose to match his scowl with one that would have sent Sesshoumaru running for cover.
“Don’t you DARE start this jealous caveman crap with me again!” Kagome lowered her voice to try and match his baritone as she jabbed a finger into his chest. “Me inu, you bitch” she mocked,” You do what inu say.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right, bitch” he snarled back. He was dangerously close to throttling the insolent girl, but decided to settle for snatching her back up instead.
Yuka and Eri heard the commotion coming from behind the curtain and turned to each other with questioning looks.
“Is Kagome arguing with the curtain?”
“Yeah, and it sounds like it’s winning, too.”
 Kagome emerged on stage again, tightly gripped against the chest of a very irate Inuyasha. She tittered nervously and said “Hey guys, look who just showed up. “
“Higurashi, is everything alright?” Hojou eyed the girl with concern.
Inuyasha’s menacing growl reverberated throughout the auditorium, causing all of teens present to jump in alarm. Kagome knew she needed to act fast before Inuyasha did something stupid. She spun around in his grasp, threw her arms around his neck and leaned into him with a wide smile.
“Yeah, everything’s GREAT!” She called over her shoulder while shooting a side long glare at Inuyasha. Kagome turned back to him and asked through gritted teeth “Isn’t it, Koinu?”
Inuyasha’s eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline. “Koinu? When the fuck did you start calling me KOINU?”
Kagome kicked him in the shin for being so dense, and then silenced his outrage with a quick kiss on the cheek. With her lips still brushing against his face, she whispered low enough so that only he would hear her “Just go with it, damnit!”  
‘Why does the wench have to be so confusing?’ Inuyasha supposed he would have to save his questions for later, since, at least, that Hoho boy seemed to be backing down. Inuyasha surprised Kagome by hauling her tighter into him and possessively nuzzling the side of her neck.  Ignoring her deep blush, he gazed arrogantly over the top of her head as if to challenge the weak human boy in front of him.
Hojou frowned and took a step in their direction, and immediately, Inuyasha’s growling become louder than ever before.
‘Shit!’ Kagome knew she needed to head off the male posturing before things got ugly and Hojou ended up dead. Kagome yanked on the rosary to remind Inuyasha of her longstanding threat.
Kagome smiled at her friends, and little louder than she meant to, called out, “Aw, jeez, look at the time! We had better get home or Mama will be mad!” Kagome gave Inuyasha a flat glare and shoved him toward the stage exit. “Let’s go, Koinu.”
::::
Kagome yanked Inuyasha by the rosary into the nearest alleyway outside of school grounds. Ensuring that the coast was clear, she faced him with her arms tightly folded across her chest, hoping that she looked more intimidating than she felt.
“And just what in the hell was all that about?” Her look warned him to tread lightly lest he wished to end up forming a new Inuyasha shaped landmark in the pavement.
Inuyasha never was one to take a hint. He towered over her and shouted “What do you mean, what was that all about? Why the fuck do you keep letting that damn wimpy boy come near you? Every single time I come to get you at that ‘skool’, that little fucker is panting after you just like that mangy wolf. You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you like that bastard fawning all over you. ”
Kagome seethed over his implications, losing whatever tenuous hold over her composure she might have had. ” You were there, Baka, and if I remember correctly, I was hanging all over YOU. What is with all this jealousy anyway? We were just talking Inuyasha!  You know, like you supposedly do with Kikyou every time you go running off to her. “She clapped her hand to her mouth in shock, almost immediately regretting her words as soon as they left it. Her eyes widened in apprehension as she awaited his reaction.
Kagome had ignited a fury that he could scarcely control. Not only was the bitch challenging his right to reprimand her, she was also overstepping her bounds regarding Kikyou.
  ‘Who the hell is she to question what I do with Kikyou? She knows I have to keep my promise to protect her!’  
Inuyasha advanced on Kagome slowly, his eyes taking on a slightly red tinge as he snarled” That is a completely different situation, one that I don’t feel I should have to discuss with you.”
Kagome recoiled as though he’d just struck her. Her body went rigid and her fists became clenched so tightly at her sides that her nails were digging into the palms of her hands. She lowered her head to hide behind the curtain of her bangs, hoping beyond hope that the overwhelming smells from the city around them would mask the scent of the tears that were threatening to fall. The moment dragged on in agonizing silence before she trusted her voice enough to speak.
“Oh, yes, of course it is, how stupid of me. I forget my place. After all, I am just the Shard Detector.” she uttered bitterly as she turned her back to him, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing her heartbreak.
He stood there, staring stupidly at the girl before him. All of Inuyasha’s anger drained from him, leaving a sense of remorse so powerful that it threatened to double him over. The mutinous voice in his mind raged against him.
‘SAY SOMETHING, ASSHOLE! Make it better. She’s not just your Shard Detector and you fucking know it! I swear, if we lose her…’
“Kagome.”
She made no move to acknowledge that he’d spoken to her.  She continued to stand there facing away from him, head down and body held as still as a statue.
‘Really, that’s it, dumbass? “Kagome?” That’s the fucking best you could come up with? You really are pathetic!’
Inuyasha knew the voice was right, but could not bring himself to say anything further. He let his hands fall helplessly to his sides and as he continued to stare at the girl’s back with a painful longing to close the distance between them and take her into his arms.
Kagome raised her head and stared blindly at the street beyond the alley. Her voice cracked as she broke the silence. “Sit”.
Inuyasha crashed to the ground with a resounding thud. He didn’t even try to voice one word of protest at her command or fight the spell that held him embedded so firmly into the pavement. He was fully aware that he completely deserved whatever punishment that was dealt out to him for his actions.
Kagome raced from the alleyway toward the shrine, not daring to look back. Her tears flowed freely now, but she managed to contain the sobs that threatened to escape her throat, not wanting to attract more attention than she already had from passersby.
Once the rosary’s spell lifted, Inuyasha took to the rooftops to follow her at a safe distance.
‘How the fuck am I going to fix this one?’
 The voice snorted disdainfully inside his head. ‘Good question, asshole. Maybe you can just charm her with your sparkling personality again.’
Inuyasha wasn’t about to take any more shit from his inner psyche.  ‘You know what, if you can’t find anything to say that would be of any help to me, then go to hell.’
‘Well, a life without Kagome may just put you there instead if you don’t fix this. I don’t know why you keep hurting her! You have feelings for her, so stop trying to deny it!’
Inuyasha halted in his run and fell to his knees upon the rooftop he’d been crossing.  He reached up to grasp his head in his hands, grimacing from his pain. ‘I KNOW damnit! I’m just so confused right now! I’m supposed to be loyal to Kikyou, right?’
‘Why? She was never loyal to you. She wanted to change you, remember Baka? Kikyou was only loyal to the human in you, the rest was tainted to her. Kagome has always been there, has always accepted you no matter what form you’re in: hanyou, human, demon, it’s all the fucking same to her.  She’s never left your side no matter how much pain you put her through. SHE deserves your loyalty, not the walking dead.’
Inuyasha bristled at the voice referring to Kikyou as the walking dead. ‘Don’t talk about Kikyou that way! She died for me, damnit; I can never atone for that! And besides, I told you before, Kagome deserves better than me! She’s everything that is good and pure and right in this kami forsaken world! What right have I got to have any feelings toward her? I’m a filthy fucking half-breed! She’s never going to love me or accept me as her mate.  At best, she sees me as her protector and friend, and even then, I make a shitty one at that.’
‘How do you know what she’ll do? You spend so much time pushing her away, how do you really know what she feels? You know damn well that the lecher, taijiya and the runt tell you about her feelings toward you all the time, but do you really listen?  Do you honestly think that a friend would ask you to let her stay by your side even though you call her names, put her down and run off to Kikyou every fucking chance you get?’
Inuyasha felt himself wither in defeat. ‘Who are you, anyway?’
‘Let’s just say I am a part of you, one that you have yet to allow to fully awaken.’
Inuyasha shook his head in confusion at the voice’s cryptic answer. ‘What the hell do you mean, I have “yet to allow you to fully awaken?”  ‘
Silence was his answer.
Not wanting to think anymore, Inuyasha wearily pulled himself to his feet and resumed his journey back to the shrine. Leaping into the branches of the Goshinboku, he cast his gaze to Kagome’s window, having smelled her presence there.
Inuyasha’s heart lurched painfully in his chest at the sight of her lying face down on her bed, clutching her pillow to her as she sobbed quietly. The salty smell of her tears seemed to drift out across the courtyard and permeate the very air that hung between them.
Inuyasha sat up straighter on his perch and squared his shoulders in determination. He’d really hurt her this time; he allowed something as insignificant as his petty insecurities to cause him to lash out at the one being that mattered to him the most.  He was going to set things right, he just had to figure out how.
‘Think, Inuyasha, THINK. How have I gotten her to forgive me in the past?’
Inuyasha was struck with an epiphany.
That journal of hers could prove very handy right about now.


A/N: koinu= puppy, baka=idiot, e=mc2, yada, yada, yada