InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shingetsu Incorporated ❯ Good Days, Bad Days ( Chapter 2 )

Okay, after posting the first chapter, I realize that I kinda jumped into it a bit to quickly (sorry to anyone who was confused). Let’s see if I can explain a little bit better.

Inukigo is an original character from my first fics, Long Awaited Reunion and its sequel, All Things Come Full Circle. In these fics she is Inuyasha’s twin sister, but in Shigetsu Incorporated, I made her five years older because it fits better with the story. I needed someone to pair her with, so I paired her up with Kouga instead of making another original character just for her (and I felt bad about leaving Kouga all alone. I don’t really like Ayame, so it was a good opportunity).

Tenshi was something I came up with at the last minute. She is Inuyasha and Inukigo’s dog, an Akita to be exact. They’re a breed native to Japan, and if you like you can look it up on the internet. The name means ‘Angel’, the only reason I can think of that made me pick that was in honour of my cat (her name was Angel).

I think that might clear everything up, if it doesn’t then let me know. I only got 2 reviews, but that’s okay since it’s a new story. Thanks to the people that did, I always appreciate it.

******************************************************************** ****

Chapter 2: Good Days, Bad Days

Inuyasha sighed happily as he walked through the front door of his house. Today had been the best day he had had in a while. Kagome was a great person to be around and talk to, and it seemed that her presence had kept Kikyou, as well as a few of the other girls that refused to leave him alone, at a distance.

He smiled as he kicked off his sneakers and made his way upstairs to change out of his uniform. He had been surprised when she asked him at lunch why he wasn’t sitting with his girlfriend, who she had seen attached to him in the morning. After an understandable fit of laughter, he had corrected her, and he hoped that he hadn’t imagined the look of interest that had crossed her face afterwards.

His thoughts were still on the new girl as he took off his school uniform and pulled on a loose t-shirt and baggy jeans. He left his bag in his room as he went back downstairs, since he had luckily been able to finish all of his work in class today so he didn’t have any homework. He was joined by Tenshi when he reached the bottom of the stairs, then walked to the living room, and wasn’t surprised to see the flashing red light on the answering machine displaying that there was a new message. He played the message, and frowned when he heard the time of recording.

‘She must have been pretty busy if she knew by her lunch hour that she would be working late.’

‘Hey, Inuyasha. Looks like I’m gonna be late for sure today. Things are crazy here, I’m calling now because I don’t think I’ll get a chance later. Anyway, the earliest I’ll be home will be around six, so go ahead and make dinner, okay? There’s some chicken in the fridge, it should have thawed by now, so why don’t you make some stir-fry or something? I gotta go, I’ll see you later, otouto.’

(A/N: Yes, Inuyasha can cook, lol. I know it’s really ooc, but I think it’s pretty neat (who doesn’t want a guy that can cook? lol). It’ll be explained later)

Inuyasha sighed and looked at the clock in the kitchen. Only 3:45, that meant he had plenty of time to laze around before he had to start on dinner. Plopping down on the couch in the living room with Tenshi taking a seat beside him, he turned on the TV and sat back to watch for awhile. Around 4:30, the phone rang. Inuyasha got up to answer it, checking the caller ID before picking up the phone. Recognizing the number, he spoke into the receiver.

“Hey, Kouga.”

“Hey, Yash. What’s up, inukuro?”

“Don’t call me that,” Inuyasha grumbled into the phone, followed by something that sounded like ‘baka ookami’.

Kouga laughed at him and asked how he was doing. After a few minutes of chatting, Kouga got to his reason for calling.

“So, is your sister there?”

“Nope. Sorry, Kouga, she’s working late again.”

“Again?” Kouga said, then realization struck him, “Oh wait, she had that big proposal today didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Inuyasha replied, “She was nervous about it this morning before I left. I’m wondering how she did.”

“She’s been really worked up over it for a few weeks now,” Kouga said, “Well, I gotta go Inuyasha. Tell her to give me a call when she comes home?”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Thanks. See ya later!”

“Ja ne.”

After hanging up, Inuyasha went back to watching TV for an half hour, then decided to get up and get things together for dinner. He started at 5:30, quickly cutting the chicken into small pieces, slipping Tenshi an occasional piece, then threw them into a pan to fry. He seasoned it the way he knew that Inukigo liked, then added fresh vegetables and left it to simmer on the stove. He then pulled out a pot, measured out water, and set it on the stove to boil. When it was ready, he added white rice and left that to cook as well.

By 6:15 the meal was ready, but Inukigo hadn’t come home yet. Inuyasha decided to wait for her for a little while, but when 6:30 came around and she still wasn’t home he began eating by himself. He finished his meal and gave Tenshi hers, then cleared away his dishes, but Inukigo still hadn’t appeared. It was nearly seven when he heard Inukigo’s car roll up the driveway and park in front of the house. Walking towards the front hallway to greet her, he heard her open the door, then kick off her shoes rather roughly. That should have been his first clue that something was wrong.

“Hey, Inukigo. How did your…presentation…go…?” he asked slowly when he finally saw her.

If looks could kill, he would probably have been dead ten times over.

“Nee-chan?” he asked, slightly worried.

She walked towards him, stopping when she was standing at his side. Inuyasha watched her carefully.

“We didn’t get it,” she said quietly. Inuyasha could see her gripping the handle of her briefcase hard enough to turn her knuckles white.

“What?”

“The potential client, didn’t take the proposal.”

Inuyasha could see that she was very upset, and quickly led her to the living room and sat her down in a chair before she started breaking things. Inukigo sighed and Inuyasha knelt down in front of her, waiting for her to explain. Tenshi appeared at Inukigo’s side and rested her head on the arm of the chair.

“We spent almost the whole day going over the presentation, making sure that there wouldn’t be any possible room for mistakes. We had everything set up for when the company reps were supposed to show up at four. They were late. I presented the proposal to them, answered all their questions. It went off without a hitch.”

“Then what went wrong?” Inuyasha asked.

“When we were finished, they got up and said they were sorry, but they had chosen a different company to do the job for them,” she leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and her head rested in her hands, “Damn it, I’m so frustrated.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Inuyasha said, reaching up to rub her back, “There will be plenty of other buyers. Losing one is no big deal.”

Inukigo shook her head, digging the heels of her palms against her eyes.

“But this was my job. My first big job and I messed it up. The company has never lost a job this big before. I’m such a screw up.”

“Hey, no you’re not,” Inuyasha said, pulling her hands away from her eyes so he could look at her, “They had probably made up their minds and signed a deal before they even came to the meeting today. There was nothing you could do about it.”

“If they had already signed a contract, then why did they listen to my proposal? They could have just said that they weren’t going to consider us when they walked in,” Inukigo accused.

‘Crap…good point.’

“Who knows. Maybe they just wanted to see what they would be missing out on. There was nothing you could do about it, Inukigo.”

“I could have done something different, made them reconsider it…”

“Inukigo, if they had made up their minds, there was nothing to be done about it. Nothing would have changed that.”

Inukigo didn’t speak anymore after that, and Inuyasha looked up at her sadly. He could tell from her eyes that she was nearly crying from her frustration. Leaning forward, he rested his forearms across her legs and looked up at her.

“You look like you could really beat the shit out of something. That or spend the rest of the night relaxing. Or do you want to eat first? The stir-fry was good.”

Inukigo smiled at her younger brother’s attempts to cheer her up.

“I’m not really hungry right now, I’ll have some a little later though. Beating the shit out of something sounds really good right now, but I’m too tired.”

“Relaxing it is then,” Inuyasha deduced, “You stay here and I’ll go up and run a hot bath for you. Don’t move,” he said, standing up.

Remembering Kouga’s call, he walked over and retrieved the cordless phone from its cradle, then came back and held it out in front of Inukigo’s face. She looked up at him with confusion.

“Kouga called earlier,” he explained, “He wanted you to call him back when you got home. You talk to him while I get your bath ready.”

Inukigo nodded and took the phone from him, then punched in her boyfriend’s phone number as Inuyasha walked away. It rang twice before Kouga’s voice came across the line.

“Hey, Inukigo,” he said as soon as he picked up, and Inukigo could hear the smile in his voice.

“Hi Kouga,” she replied, a little cheered up by his voice, but not enough for Kouga not to notice.

“So…did the proposal go well?” he asked curiously, though the tone in her voice was giving her away.

“No, it didn’t go so great.”

“What? What happened?”

“We didn’t get it,” she sighed dejectedly.

“Are you okay?” Kouga asked, the concern clear in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Inukigo replied, but for some reason she sensed a battle coming on.

“Are you sure?”

Ah…so she was right.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she sighed while rolling her eyes. She knew where this was going.

“I’m going to come over,” Kouga declared.

“No, you don’t…” Inukigo started to say, but was cut off.

“I’m on my way out the door now.”

“Kouga,” Inukigo said sternly, “You don’t have to come over.”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Kouga said, and Inukigo could picture him pouting.

“I said I was fine.”

“I know, but-”

“I’m just going to go take a bath and get something to eat before I go to bed, you don’t have to come over.”

“But I want to.”

Inukigo sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Kouga, please don’t argue with me right now.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Inukigo knew that she had won.

“Are you really sure that you’re okay?”

Inukigo smiled. His concern was so endearing.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Okay. But call me if you need me, alright?”

“Alright,” Inukigo agreed, “Aishiteru.”

“I love you too. Ja ne.”

“Bye.”

“Is he coming over?”

Inukigo turned to look over the back of the chair and saw Inuyasha standing in the doorway of the living room.

“No. He wanted to, but I convinced him not to.”

“Okay then. Go on, I’ve got your bath ready for you.”

Inukigo stood up and stretched before walking towards Inuyasha. She smiled at him as she walked by.

“Thanks, Inuyasha,” she said, then tugged on the hem of her skirt as she walked, “Damn, I hate these things.”

Inuyasha laughed at her.

“Then why don’t you wear a pants suit?”

“Kouga said my legs look hot in a skirt,” Inukigo explained as she went to walk up the stairs.

“Okay, too much information!” Inuyasha shouted behind her.

Inukigo laughed as she ascended the stairs, then went to her room first to pick out clothes to wear after her bath, and decided to grab a tank top and a pair of jogging pants. She then walked back to the bathroom and as soon as she opened the door she was assaulted by the smell of strawberries. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, then went to the second door in the bathroom, which led to the tub and shower. Looking down at the bubble filled tub, Inukigo smiled.

‘He even got out my favourite bubble bath for me.’

Stripping off her dreaded business suit and underclothes and tossing them on the floor of the main bathroom before closing the second door, Inukigo slid down slowly into the hot water. She hissed in pleasure as her body adjusted to the temperature of the water and moaned when it soothed away the aching in her muscles. Sighing and leaning against the back of the tub, Inukigo settled down for a nice, long soak.

Downstairs, Inuyasha was sitting on the couch in the living room watching TV, but it seemed as though he was waiting for something. Ten minutes later that something came walking in the door.

“Hey, Kouga,” he called when the wolf youkai came into sight.

Kouga waved and came to join Inuyasha in the living room.

“Inukigo said that you weren’t coming, but I figured that you would be anyway.”

“Yeah,” Kouga admitted, sitting down on the couch with Inuyasha, “I told her that I wasn’t going to come over so she’d stop arguing with me. I wanted to see for myself that she was okay. That presentation was really important to her. So, where is she?”

“She’s up taking a bath right now,” Inuyasha replied, “She was pretty upset. It wouldn’t have affected her so much if the clients had come in and said that they weren’t going to go with Shingetsu from the beginning. But they let her go on with her presentation as if they were going to consider it. Those bastards made her feel like it was her fault the job fell through.”

“Who was it that ended up getting the deal?” Kouga asked.

“I don’t know. Inukigo never said who it was, and I wasn’t about to ask her. When she walked through the door she looked like she was ready to put a hole in the wall. I don’t even want to think about what the training room downstairs would look like if I had let her loose down there instead of trying to calm her down.”

“That bad?” Kouga asked.

“Yeah, she gets pretty scary when she’s mad. You had better watch it, she might not be too happy that you’re here when she told you not to come.”

Kouga gulped and ran a hand through his hair. He hoped that his girlfriend wouldn’t be too pissed off at him for lying to her. After about twenty minutes of chatting, Kouga decided that he would go upstairs and wait for Inukigo, since she would most likely go back to her room before coming downstairs.

“You’re pushing your luck,” Inuyasha warned, “She might not appreciate you surprising her like that.”

“I can handle her,” Kouga replied, though he silently added an ‘I hope so’.

He carefully made his way up the stairs, then down the hall past the bathroom door and towards Inukigo’s room. Going through the open doorway, he walked across the room and sat down on the golden yellow comforter of Inukigo’s bed. He sighed and stretched out, his head on the pillow and his arms resting over his stomach. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him. The first thing he heard made him smile. The bathroom was next to Inukigo’s, and he could hear her humming happily in her bath. He had always thought she had a wonderful voice, and had told her so, but she didn’t believe him. As a result he had never heard her sing, just caught bits and pieces of her humming some tune that he had never heard before. He relaxed back into her pillow and contented himself with listening to her soft voice through the wall.

Kouga was about to drift off when she stopped and he heard her getting out of the tub and letting out the water. He guessed that he had ten minutes to prepare himself before she entered the room. He sat up on the bed and took a deep breath, hoping that she wouldn’t be too angry with him. He opened his eyes at the startled gasp that came from the doorway. Inukigo was standing there with one hand on the door frame and the other over her heart. Kouga’s breath hitched in his throat. The jogging pants she was wearing were slung very low on her hips, showing a lot of her flat, toned stomach. Not only that, but her tank top was very tight and she-wasn’t-wearing-a-bra. He almost drooled and had to fight to keep his mouth from dropping open.

“Kouga, why are you here? I told you that you didn’t need to come over,” she said, sitting on the stool in front of her vanity and pulling her hair down from the bun that had been neatly confining it for the whole day.

Kouga watched as it tumbled down her back and stopped just short of the floor. He idly wondered how she had managed to get all that hair up into a bun as he stood up and walked over to stand behind her. She was reaching for her hairbrush, but Kouga got to it first and began gliding the brush through her hair, being careful of the sensitive dog ears on top of her head. Inukigo was about to protest, but after a few strokes of the brush she was content to let him continue for as long as he wanted.

“I was worried about you,” he said softly, “I wanted to come over and make sure you were okay. You’re glad that I came, right?”

Inukigo closed her eyes and nodded her head.

“I’m alright. Just…disappointed…I guess.”

Kouga nodded and kept brushing her hair as she talked.

“It’s just…we all worked so hard on that proposal, and for them to throw it back at us like that…”

“Then it’s there loss,” Kouga interjected, “If they’re getting some other company to do the work for them, then that’s their mistake. Who was it that got the deal anyway?”

He felt Inukigo stiffen on the stool and instantly regretted asking.

“Dokugai,” she hissed out, “He’s been doing it more and more lately. At first it was just a few smaller jobs that weren’t really of any significance, but he’s been moving up. This was the biggest one yet.”

Kouga felt her tense up and moved quickly to keep her from growing angry. Shifting her hair over her shoulder and out of the way, he moved closer to her and rested his hands on her shoulders and began kneading them gently. Inukigo immediately slumped towards him and moaned. Kouga smirked.

“Don’t think about that right now, okay?”

Inukigo’s mind shut off when Kouga’s hands started rubbing her shoulder blades and she was all too happy to agree with him. His hands travelled lower to the bare skin of her back and waist as he moved forward to kiss and sniff her neck. Inukigo moaned softly at the feeling of his mouth on her.

“Mmmm…you smell good, baby.”

Inukigo shivered from his breath on her neck.

“Kouga…”

Her voice cut off when he nipped at her neck, then lapped over the tiny bite with his tongue.

“Tastes good too.”

Inukigo tilted her head to the side to give him more access, and she opened her eyes for a moment, then forced herself to keep them open as she watched Kouga lavishing attention upon her neck in the mirror. Kouga glanced up at the mirror as well, and his eyes stayed locked on hers as he continued kiss and nip at her neck and shoulder. He kept his eyes trained to hers and slowly began to slide his hands around and up her stomach. He then slid them back down again, grazing her lightly with his claws. Inukigo shivered violently, and before Kouga knew what happened, she had turned and pounced on him, knocking him to the floor.

Downstairs in the living room, which happened to be directly under Inukigo’s bedroom, Inuyasha heard the loud thump on the floor above him. Looking up at the ceiling curiously, Inuyasha wondered what had happened.

‘She didn’t knock him out, or kill him or something, did she?’

Deciding that he should go check, and save Kouga if necessary, Inuyasha walked towards the stairs. As soon as he entered the upstairs hallway he snorted and almost sneezed.

‘I think I used too much bubble bath. Can’t smell anything but strawberries up here.’

Rounding the corner, he approached Inukigo’s open doorway.

“Hey, Inukigo? What’s going on up here? I heard a- WHOA!”

Inuyasha whipped back around as fast as he could, covering his eyes as though the action would erase the scene he had just witnessed from his memory.

Inukigo and Kouga just laid there, staring at his back. At the exact moment Inuyasha had walked into the room, Inukigo had been sitting on Kouga’s stomach with her hands on his chest, and one of Kouga’s hands was up the front of Inukigo’s tank top while the other rested on the curve of her backside. And seeing as how they seemed to be frozen in shock, they were still in that position.

“For the love of all things sacred, get a room will you!”

Breaking out of his stupor, Kouga removed his hands and sat up with Inukigo still on top of him.

“We are in a room, moron!”

“Well then close the damn door! Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go gouge out my eyes!”

“C’mon Inuyasha, it wasn’t that bad,” Inukigo said, standing up.

“They burn!”

Inukigo sighed and looked down at her boyfriend.

“Now look what we did. We traumatized him. This is all your fault,” she said, pointing her finger at him.

Kouga sputtered.

“My fault?! You were the one that pounced on me, woman!”

“Yeah, but you were the one that started it!”

“I didn’t hear you complaining about it!”

“Will the two of you shut the fuck up! I would rather forget that this ever happened!”

Inukigo walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“I’m so sorry, Inuyasha,” she said dramatically, in a fake upset voice, “I’m such a horrible sister. Can you ever forgive me?”

She was looking at him with her perfected puppy dog face, made all the more effective when her ears drooped. Inuyasha sighed. That look was unbeatable, and he knew it. She had taught it to him, after all.

“Yeah, whatever,” he replied nonchalantly, crossing his arms.

“Good,” Inukigo chirped, “C’mon, I’m hungry and want some of that stir-fry now,” she said, dragging him off.

Kouga sat there on the floor for a moment, then shook his head. His girlfriend could be so weird sometimes. Shrugging his shoulders, he hopped up and went to follow the hanyou siblings downstairs.

After Inukigo was sitting on the couch, a plate with stir-fry on white rice in her hand, the three companions began chatting idly.

“Mmm…this is so good…I have taught you well my brother. You’re going to make a girl very happy someday,” Inukigo said in between mouthfuls. She ignored the blush that spread across Inuyasha’s face from her praise, “So, how was your day, Inuyasha? I didn’t get to ask earlier.”

Inuyasha smiled remembering his day, or more specifically the girl that he had met that day.

“Actually, my day was pretty good. I thought it was gonna suck at first,” he nose scrunched up at the memory, “Kikyou jumped me as soon as I stepped foot in the school.”

“That girl is still bothering you?” Kouga asked, his arms stretched across the back of the couch, “Didn’t you break up with her a month ago?”

“Yeah, but she still won’t leave me alone,” Inuyasha replied with a sigh.

Inukigo frowned.

“I’m seriously considering getting a restraining order against that girl. I don’t like that she’s hanging around you like some stalker.”

“Nah, it’s okay. I can handle her, it’s just really annoying.”

“If you say so,” Inukigo replied, taking another bite of her meal, “So, what made today a good day then, hm?”

“Well,” Inuyasha replied smiling up at the ceiling, “There’s this new girl at school…”

Inukigo’s ears instantly perked up.

“A girl?” she asked, leaning over to place her empty plate on the coffee table, “And you seem happy. This is different. Usually you complain that girls at school are bothering you.”

“She’s different,” he said, looking at his sister.

“Well, you sound interested,” Kouga said, leaning in as well, “So, what’s this girl’s name?”

“Higurashi, Kagome.”

“Higurashi…” Inukigo pondered out loud, “Isn’t there a Higurashi shrine a few blocks from here? I wonder if there’s a connection.”

Inuyasha nodded.

“She said that she moved there with her mother and little brother a week ago. Her grandfather can’t run the shrine on his own anymore so they moved in to help take it over.”

“You’ve only known her for a day, and you already know where she lives, bravo,” Kouga complimented, “So, what else did you find out about her?”

“Umm…Her birthday is November 30th, her favourite food is oden, and her favourite colour it green. Oh, and she has a cat named Buyo.”

“Wow, you work fast. It took me about a month to figure out those things about Inukigo,” Kouga said offhandedly, earning him a punch in the side from his girlfriend.

“Hey! That hurt!” he pouted, holding his side. Having a girlfriend almost as strong as you seemed to have it’s disadvantages.

“Oh, shut up, you big baby,” she said, then turned to her brother, “This Kagome girl, is she nice?”

“Yeah,” Inuyasha replied with a nod and a far off look on his face.

Inukigo smirked.

“Is she pretty?”

“Yea-Hey!” Inuyasha cried, glaring at his sister and her boyfriend, who were now both laughing at him. An embarrassed blush spread across his face and he turned away with a ‘humph’.

“Now, Inuyasha, there’s nothing wrong with admitting a girl is pretty,” Inukigo chided, though she was still smiling in amusement. When he didn’t turn back around she had to bite the inside of her cheek from laughing, and elbowed Kouga in the side to keep him from doing the same.

“So, you gonna ask her out?” Kouga teased, knowing what Inuyasha’s reaction would be.

As predicted, the hanyou teen turned around, his face very close to matching his red t-shirt.

“N-no! I’ve only known her for a day, you idiot!”

“But you seem to have gotten to know her pretty well in such a short time,” Inukigo commented, playing along with her boyfriend, “Why not ask her out?”

“The only reason I found out that stuff was because I hung out with her for the whole day,” Inuyasha grumbled.

“Oh?” Inukigo said. This was getting more interesting all the time.

“I offered to show her around for the week, because we have the same schedule,” Inuyasha said, turning away.

“You offered? Really?” Inukigo asked, genuinely interested.

“You sound like you’re surprised,” Inuyasha mumbled, crossing his arms.

“Well, I am, to tell you the truth,” she said, leaning back against the loveseat, “It’s not like you to offer to do something for a total stranger. This girl must really be something,”

Inuyasha didn’t answer.

“So, when do I get to meet her,” Inukigo asked, causing Inuyasha to look at her again.

“I’ve only known her for a day, and you expect me to invite her over? What am I supposed to say? ‘Hey, Kagome, want to come over? My sister wants to meet you.’ That sounds really great,” he said sarcastically.

Inukigo sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I didn’t mean right away Inuyasha,” she said in a tolerant tone, “You have all the same classes right? Invite her over to do homework, or partner up with her for projects so you can come here to work on them. You need to have a reasonable excuse you know.”

Inuyasha just stared at his sister for a few seconds before answering.

“You’re evil, you know that?”

Inukigo smirked and Kouga nodded in agreement.

“I’ve known it ever since I started dating her.”

This earned him a smack across the back of his head.

Inuyasha sighed and shook his head.

“Dumbass.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Kagome, you never told me how your first day went.”

Kagome looked over at her mother, then back down at the dish she was drying and smiled.

“It actually went really well. A lot better than I expected when I got there this morning.”

“Oh? What was it this morning that convinced you that you would have a bad day?” Mrs. Higurashi asked, handing her daughter the last dish and letting the water out of the sink.

“Well, when I picked up my schedule this morning, I couldn’t find my homeroom. I was completely lost, and I was sure that I was going to be late. But then this really nice boy came up to me and offered to take me to homeroom. He offered to show me around the school for a week too, because he has the same schedule as me.”

“Well, you’re right, he certainly does sound nice. What is his name.”

Kagome was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“You won’t believe this Mama! His name is Taisho, Inuyasha,” she exclaimed with a giggle.

“Taisho? The same Taisho’s that own Shingetsu Incorporated?” at Kagome’s excited nod Mrs. Higurashi let out a breath, “Well, that certainly is a surprise. I would never have thought that someone of that family would be attending a public school.”

Kagome nodded.

“Yeah, I know. I asked him about it, he said that he went to a private school when he was younger, but he hated it so his parents put him in public school. I really can’t believe it Mama. He can be a little blunt and rude, but he is really nice. And he has the most adorable dog ears…”

“Dog ears?” Mama questioned, “Oh yes, the two younger Taisho siblings are half demons,” she then smiled slyly, “You sound as though you’re very taken with him Kagome,” she commented, “Does he have a girlfriend?”

Kagome blushed at her mother’s observations.

“No he doesn’t,” she answered, “I thought that he did when I first saw him this morning. There was this girl attached to his arm like a leech. I mentioned it to him, and he said that she was his ex-girlfriend and that she wouldn’t leave him alone. I feel sorry for the poor guy.”

“The poor dear,” Mrs. Higurashi said, “You should invite him over sometime.”

Kagome stopped what she was doing and sputtered.

“M-Mama! I’ve barely known him for a day and you already want me bringing him over? I can’t just tell him that my mother wants to meet him, he’ll think I’m crazy!”

Mrs. Higurashi laughed at her daughter’s outburst.

“Now, now dear. Calm down. I didn’t mean right away. Invite him over to do homework or work on projects. You can work your way up to asking him over for dinner later,” she said with a wink.

Kagome just stared at her mother with a deep red blush on her face.

“When did you get so conniving?”

Mrs. Higurashi laughed.

“Oh, dear, I used to do that all the time to get your father over before we started dating.”

Kagome looked at her mother in shock.

“R-really?”

Mrs. Higurashi nodded with a smile on her face.

“I never expected something like that from you Mama.”

“Well, I’m full of surprises,” she said as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

“I’ll say,” Kagome said to herself, “Well, I’m going to take a bath. Luckily I don’t have any homework tonight. Inuyasha helped me finish everything at school.”

At the thought of the dog-eared boy, Kagome giggled and began walking for the stairs. She couldn’t wait to see him again, and hoped that tomorrow would turn out to be just as great as today.