InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shingetsu Incorporated ❯ Back Off ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Back Off

The week went by quickly, and soon it was Friday. Inuyasha was very happy on this day. He and Kagome had become very good friends in such a short time, and now he had an excuse to ask her over to his house.

Tonight, his two best friends, Miroku and Sango, were coming over for a movie night with himself, Inukigo, and Kouga. Sango had graduated last year, and Miroku the year before that, so with school going on, Inuyasha didn’t get to spend to much time with them. He spoke to them often though, and both were very eager to meet Kagome.

Inuyasha was determined to invite her over tonight. He wasn’t sure what it was about Kagome, but whenever he thought about asking her anything that sounded like he was interested in her, he got all nervous. This confused him. Although he had to admit, Kagome was different from other girls that he had met. She didn’t throw herself at him, so without the reason to push her off, he wasn’t really sure what to do.

‘I thought Kikyou was different too. She never threw herself on me like that, not at first anyway.’

At the thought of his ex-girlfriend, the teen frowned. When he had first started going out with Kikyou, she hadn’t seemed to care about who he was. When they were alone together, she acted like he was just an average guy. But they had never really acted like a couple in private. They had kissed at times, but Kikyou was content to just sit there next to him, and only speak when he spoke to her. He had ignored it, thinking that Kikyou just wasn’t the kind of person who liked being all touchy-feely. But when they were in public together, she did a complete turn-around. She would always be hanging off his arm, smiling and talking to him and whoever happened to be around at the time. It had taken him a very long time to realize what she was doing, and he hadn’t been happy when he learned the truth.

She had never really felt anything for him, then had fun showing off whenever they went out. Inuyasha had felt very stupid for not figuring it out sooner. It had finally come out in late August. About a month earlier, Inuyasha had commented on how he had to save up his allowance so he could buy something that he wanted. Kikyou had curiously asked why he needed to save up his money when he had all that his parents had left him when they died.

-----

“I don’t just have all that money at my fingertips. I have to be eighteen before I can even access it. The only reason I have money is because Inukigo gives me an allowance once a week for doing chores around the house.”

-----

He remembered the look that had crossed her face after that. She had looked totally shocked for a spilt second but covered it up quickly and changed the subject. He hadn’t thought anything of it. Not until a month later when he had been walking down the sidewalk, and just happened to come upon Kikyou and one of her friends, waiting at the corner for a bus. He was about to walk up to them, when he heard the topic of their conversation.

-----

“So, you’re meeting Naraku once we get to the mall Kikyou?”

“Yeah,” Kikyou replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder, “He said that he wanted to buy something nice for me. No way am I passing it up.”

The girl giggled.

“So…what’s it like having two rich guys at your fingertips? Huh?”

Kikyou sighed.

“It’s more like one rich guy. Would you believe it?! Inuyasha doesn’t have access to any of the money his parents left him until he turns eighteen! I was totally shocked.”

“Really? Aw, that really sucks. Guess that’s why you started going out with Naraku a few weeks ago huh?”

“Of course,” Kikyou replied, then she smirked, “It’s not just his money either. He’s much more…fun…than Inuyasha, if you catch my drift.”

Both girls started laughing at that.

“Seriously though, I don’t know how I tolerate him sometimes. But it will be worth it when he turns eighteen and his trust fund opens up.”

-----

“Yo! Earth to Inuyasha…!”

Inuyasha’s head snapped up at his name being called, and saw an amused Kagome waving her hand in front of his face. He had totally spaced out and hadn’t even noticed her standing there.

“Oh, sorry. I was just thinking, I didn’t realize you were there.”

Kagome dropped her hand and looked up at him curiously.

“You okay?” the concern for him evident in her voice.

Inuyasha smiled. Kikyou had never been concerned for him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied then looked up at the clock on the wall, “C’mon, or we’ll be late for homeroom.”

Kagome smiled and nodded, then followed him to their class.

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

A few hours later it was lunch hour, and Inuyasha and Kagome were talking as they made their way to their usual seat in the cafeteria, Inuyasha carrying a tray while Kagome had brought her own lunch. They were about to sit down when Inuyasha realized that he was missing something.

“I’ll be right back, I forgot to get a drink.”

Kagome nodded and sat down while Inuyasha went back to the line up. She was about to pull the bento box out of the paper bag she had been carrying, when she felt someone with a very pissed off aura coming towards her. She froze and remained facing forward, not looking back to see who was approaching. A moment later, two hands dropped roughly onto the table to her side, and the person who they belonged to leaned down level with Kagome.

“Higurashi…”

“Can I help you,” Kagome asked, recognizing the girl before her, “Kikyou?”

The girl glared down at Kagome, her anger very apparent.

“Listen, Higurashi. I don’t know who you think you are, after being here for only a week. Inuyasha is mine. I’m warning you to stay away from him.”

Kagome glared back at the girl, but kept her anger and annoyance in check.

“You’re warning me? As I understand it, you have no claim to Inuyasha, he broke up with you a month ago. You have no right to talk to me as though you have a say in my actions. I consider Inuyasha my friend, and no idle threat from a jealous, obsessive ex is going to change that, so you can just back off.”

Kagome watched as the expression on Kikyou’s face turned to pure rage.

“I assure you, this is no idle threat,” Kikyou seethed, “I own this school. I have a say in everything. Stay away from Inuyasha, or I’ll have you shunned by the entire student body so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

Kagome just looked at her indifferently.

“Are you finished? I said that you have no say in my actions. I will be Inuyasha’s friend for as long as he wants me to be. Nothing you say will change that, because I don’t really care what the people in this school think of me. Now, if you have nothing else to say, would you please leave, I was about to start my lunch.”

They had attracted quite a bit of attention in the last few moments, and now everyone who had been listening grew very quiet. No one had ever dismissed Kikyou like that. Kikyou seemed to have the same opinion, and in anger she lifted her hand in preparation to strike Kagome. She was about to bring her hand down, when a larger, clawed hand grabbed her wrist. Turning around to see who held her arm captive, Kikyou was met by the smouldering gaze of Inuyasha.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asked calmly, though his anger could easily be heard in his voice.

Kikyou shook her head.

“Alright then. Get out of my sight Kikyou.”

Inuyasha released her wrist, and with one last glare at Kagome and a huff, Kikyou stomped back off to her table across the room. Inuyasha looked around, shooting a glare at those who were still staring, silently saying ‘what the hell are you looking at,’ and all immediately went back to what they had been doing beforehand. Heaving a sigh Inuyasha took his seat and looked at the girl across from him, who was pulling her lunch out of her bag.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Do what?” Inuyasha asked curiously.

“Stop Kikyou from hitting me. You didn’t have to, but thank you.”

A very light, barely noticeable blush spread across Inuyasha’s face.

“Well, I couldn’t just let her hit you. That wouldn’t have made me a very good friend, now would it?”

Kagome giggled.

“No, I suppose it wouldn’t,” she paused and a smirk crossed her face, “But she wouldn’t have hit me anyway.”

Interested, Inuyasha leaned across the table to get closer to her.

“Oh?”

Kagome looked up at him through her eyelashes, the smirk still in place, but now there was a slightly embarrassed flush on her face as well.

“I’ve been into marital arts since I was a little girl. She wouldn’t have laid a hand on me.”

“Really?” Inuyasha asked, genuinely surprised, “Since when?”

“Since I was seven. My…dad enrolled me. He said that he wanted me to be able to take care of myself.”

Inuyasha nodded. He had never asked Kagome about her father. When she hadn’t included her father in the family members that had moved into the shrine, he had assumed it was for one of two reasons. Either her parents were divorced, or her father had died. Afterwards, he had realized that the shrine was ‘Higurashi’, meaning that it was her grandfather on her father’s side she was moving in with, and had deduced that the second reason was unfortunately the correct one. Judging from the sadness that had crept into her scent, he was right.

“That’s about how old I was when I started. It surprises me though. I never took you as the type to be interested in martial arts.”

‘Though I should have guessed it,’ he said to himself, ‘She’s more toned, and not as fragile looking as most girls. The way she carries herself speaks of it as well, now that I think about it.’

“What? Did you think that I was a weak little girl that needed someone to stick up for her?” Kagome said, frowning at him, but with mock annoyance.

Inuyasha sputtered, trying to save himself.

“N-no! I know that you’re not a little girl…I mean-I just-”

He was cut off by Kagome’s laughter.

“It’s fine, Inuyasha. I was joking. I know that isn’t what you were thinking when you stopped Kikyou.”

At the mention of Kikyou, Inuyasha remembered what had gone on between the two girls.

“Kagome, I heard what Kikyou said to you.”

Kagome stopped laughing and looked up at him.

“What about it?” she asked, tilting her head to one side.

He hated to say this, but he had to do it.

“Kikyou wasn’t kidding. She will ruin you at this school if she doesn’t get her way. What I’m trying to say is…well…you don’t have to hang out with me, if it means that the whole school will be against you.”

Kagome’s eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled.

“Inuyasha, if you heard what Kikyou said, then you heard what I said too, right?”

Inuyasha nodded.

“I meant what I said. I’ll be your friend for as long as you want me to be. If people start hating me because Kikyou doesn’t like that, I can deal with it. It doesn’t bother me, okay?”

Inuyasha nodded, but still wasn’t so sure. He knew that Kikyou would be able to sway most of the students in the school to turn against Kagome before they even knew her. He hoped that she was prepared for that. Kagome didn’t seem to be worried at all, and happily went about eating her lunch. Inuyasha shook off the bad feelings that he was having and followed her example, occasionally stealing bits of her food just to tick her off.

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

The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon Inuyasha and Kagome were walking home. Neither lived far from the school, or each other, and their paths crossed about halfway, which they had learned on Kagome’s first day. They now met up with each other in the morning and walked part way together in the afternoon.

They were nearing the split up point, and Inuyasha had yet to ask Kagome to come over. Mentally he was screaming at himself.

‘Why the hell is this so hard?! It’s not like I’m asking her out or anything. I’m just inviting her to come watch movies with us tonight, we won’t even be alone together. What is wrong with me, that I just can’t ask her?’

“Inuyasha?”

For the second time that day, Inuyasha was brought out of his daydreaming to see Kagome staring up at him.

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just spacing out.”

Not wanting to pry, Kagome nodded and smiled.

“Well, we’re here. I guess that I’ll see you on Monday Inuyasha,” she said, getting ready to turn away.

“Ano, chotto matte, Kagome!” he called after her, not wanting to lose his chance.

Kagome stopped and turned to face him again.

“Hai?”

“Um…I was wondering…” he started, his eyes shifting around.

Kagome watched him curiously.

‘Is he nervous about something? What could he possibly be nervous about?’

“I was wondering…if you would like to come over later, to watch movies with me and a few friends.”

Kagome beamed.

“Sure! What time?”

Before Inuyasha could stop himself, the words came pouring out of his mouth.

“Actually, do you want to come over early, for dinner?” he asked with a slight blush on his face.

Kagome was blushing as well and smiled sheepishly.

“Sure. But is it okay if I go home first and change out my uniform?”

Inuyasha silently heaved a sigh of relief and nodded.

“I’ll walk with you, then we can both go to my house from there.”

Kagome nodded, and they both walked off in the direction of her house instead of splitting up.

“So, I’m guessing these friends don’t go to our school, am I right?” Kagome asked.

Inuyasha nodded.

“Yeah. Their names are Miroku and Sango. They used to go to our school, but both of them graduated, Sango last year, and Miroku the year before that. Movie nights are usually the only times that all three of us can spend together,” he then smiled and turned his head to look at her, “I’m really glad you moved here Kagome. It was starting to get boring at school, all by myself.”

Kagome looked at him curiously.

“You don’t have any other friends at school, Inuyasha?”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“No, not really. There are people that I might sometimes hang out with or talk to, but I wouldn’t call them my friends.”

“Oh,” Kagome replied, then smiled brightly, “Then I’m glad I moved here too. I miss my old friends a little, but I have you as my friend now, so that’s okay,” she paused for a moment in thought, “Now that I think about it, I never really fit in with them anyway. They were so girly, and always trying to set me up with this guy named Hojou, who had a crush on me. Said that I needed to get a boyfriend. But the guy was always so…timid…I could have beaten the crap out of him without even trying.”

Inuyasha laughed, and they continued talking until they reached the stairs that led to the Higurashi shrine. Inuyasha looked up at the seemingly endless staircase and whistled in amazement.

“Wow. I knew of this shrine, but I’ve never been here before. That looks like one hell of a workout.”

“Tell me about it,” Kagome sighed, but then she smiled, “On the bright side though, I used to go for a run every other day. Now thanks to the steps I don’t have to,” she said with a laugh and she turned and began to walk up the mountain of endless stairs.

Inuyasha laughed as well, watching her hips and legs for a moment before following her. After reaching the top, Inuyasha had to admit that even with his demon blood, the stairs had been a little strenuous for him. Not enough to wind him, but still enough to have an effect. So he was surprised when he glanced at Kagome, and she didn’t seem to be the least bit tired either.

“C’mon, the main house is this way,” she said, waving to him.

Inuyasha followed along behind Kagome as she pointed out the different mini shrines that covered the grounds and what their purposes were. Within a few moments they had crossed the courtyard and were at the front door of the house. Kagome pulled open the shoji and called out to the house’s occupants. They received a reply from somewhere in the house, and Kagome toed off her shoes, Inuyasha following right behind her. They walked down the hallway until they came across the kitchen, where Kagome’s mother was putting away groceries.

“Hi Mama,” she greeted, then stepped aside and motioned to the boy standing behind her, “This is Inuyasha,” she then turned to face him, “I’ll be right back,” then she dashed away.

Inuyasha turned back to the woman who was smiling at him warmly and waved shyly.

“Um, konnichiwa Higurashi-san.”

“Hello, Inuyasha,” Mama greeted, then continued to put away her groceries.

“Is there anything I can help you with, Higurashi-san?” Inuyasha asked, walking further into the kitchen.

Mama turned around to look at him, a little surprised, but smiled nonetheless.

“Of course Inuyasha. Thank you, that’s very nice of you.”

Inuyasha chuckled as he went to the table and began taking items out of a grocery bag.

“I guess you could say that my sister has me well trained.”

Mama was confused by his choice of words, but said nothing and continued putting her groceries away in the cabinets.

A few minutes later, Kagome entered the kitchen wearing a pair of form fitting light blue jogging pants with a white stripe down the side, and a white baby doll t-shirt with the same light blue on the sleeves and collar. Inuyasha was hard pressed not to stare.

‘Her mother is right there! Stop gawking baka!’

“Mama,” he heard Kagome say, “Inuyasha invited me over tonight for a movie night with him and his friends. And he asked if I wanted to go over early for dinner. Is that okay?”

Mrs. Higurashi looked thoughtful for a moment.

“I have no problems with you going over for dinner, however, I am curious about this movie night,” she looked at Inuyasha, “Who else will be there?”

“Just my friends, Miroku and Sango, and my sister and her boyfriend,” he replied calmly.

Her brow furrowed, and Inuyasha wasn’t sure he liked that look.

“Your parents won’t be there? There won’t be any chaperones?”

Inuyasha’s eyebrows shot up, then a sad smile crossed his face and he tilted his head to look at the floor.

“No…my parents passed away seven years ago. I live with my sister, she’s my legal guardian.”

Mama’s eyes widened in recognition.

“Oh dear, I’m so sorry! I should have remembered that. It seems that for a moment, I forgot who you were. I’m very sorry Inuyasha.”

“It’s alright,” he replied softly.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha sadly. Truthfully, she hadn’t known either that his parents were dead. It had never come up in their conversations in the past week. She was secretly glad that her mother had brought it up, or she may have made a fool of herself at his home.

Mrs. Higurashi regained her composure, and continued asking her questions.

“Well, that’s fine then, Kagome you can go. How late will this be going on?” she directed at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s up to you and Kagome,” he explained, “Miroku and Sango are spending the night.”

Mrs. Higurashi looked like she was thinking something over again before speaking.

“What are the sleeping arrangements?”

Inuyasha’s ears perked up. Was she considering letting Kagome spend the night?

“Um…Miroku takes the guest bedroom, and Sango stays in Inukigo’s room with her.”

“If Kagome wants, and it’s alright with you and your sister, she may spend the night. I do wish to speak with your sister though,” she said.

Breaking out of his shock he lifted his wrist to his face and glanced at his watch.

“Uh…she’s not home from work yet, but I can tell her to call you. I’m sure she won’t mind though.”

Mrs. Higurashi nodded in approval and turned to her daughter.

“Well, Kagome, what do you want to do?”

Kagome was just standing there dumbstruck. Her mother was going to let her stay at Inuyasha’s house overnight! Gaining control of her body again, Kagome nodded enthusiastically.

“Thank you Mama!” she said, giving her mother a hug. She then blushed when she remembered Inuyasha was watching, and released her mother and began backing out of the kitchen, “Umm…I’ll be right back,” then she dashed back towards the stairs to gather the things she would need.

Inuyasha laughed to himself at the look on her face. He looked at her mother, to see that she was smiling at him again. This woman really confused him.

“Ano…Higurashi-san, I was wondering…why did you agree to let Kagome spend the night? I mean…you just met me, and you don’t know me very well…”

He was surprised to hear Kagome’s mother laugh.

“Well, I suppose that you are right about that Inuyasha. But, I trust my daughter. You are a very nice boy, and Kagome speaks highly of you, so I trust you as well.”

Inuyasha blushed.

“A-arigatou.”

Mrs. Higurashi laughed and reached up to ruffle his hair as she walked by to collect the bags that had been carrying the groceries. A few minutes later, Kagome reappeared, this time with a small duffle bag slung over one shoulder.

“Do you need me to bring anything for watching movies later?” she asked.

Inuyasha shook his head.

“No that’s okay. Inukigo’s gonna take us out to get stuff after dinner.”

“Okay. Mama, we’re going now. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Mrs. Higurashi waved back.

“Have a good time dear. Remember to have your sister call me Inuyasha.”

“Okay,” he replied.

Both teens walked towards the front door, slipped on their sneakers, then out the door and across the shrine grounds. They were at the top of the steps before Kagome spoke again.

“I can’t believe she agreed to let me spend the night. I didn’t even have to ask her. She really surprised me.”

Inuyasha nodded.

“I actually kinda lied a little back there,” he admitted.

Kagome looked at him curiously, and Inuyasha explained.

“Well, about the sleeping arrangements…it’s actually Sango that takes the spare room, Miroku sleeps on the floor in my room. You see, Inukigo’s boyfriend, Kouga, he stays in her room when he spends the night. Is that okay?”

Kagome thought on it for a moment, a heated blush rushing across her face.

“Um…yeah. But, do they…I mean…they don’t…”

Inuyasha’s face turned a deep crimson as well when he realized what she was trying to ask and quickly moved to answer.

“No! No they don’t. Not while there are other people in the house,” he explained, glad when he saw her features relax. He ran a hand through his hair, “You see, they both work a lot, and don’t get much time alone together, so they’re happy when they can just be close to one another. I didn’t tell your mother that because I wasn’t sure what she would think of them sharing a bed when they aren’t married.”

Kagome nodded in understanding.

“Sorry for asking that…but it would be kind of embarrassing.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Inuyasha replied, “I know what you mean. I’ve walked in on them making out more than once.”

Kagome caught the almost mortified expression that crossed his face and burst out laughing. Inuyasha’s attention was immediately drawn to her and he frowned.

“It’s not that funny,” he grumbled.

“Yes it is,” she managed to get out through her laughter, “You should have seen the look on your face when you said that! It was priceless!”

“Keh,” he mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and looking away.

Kagome got herself under control after a few moments, but Inuyasha still wasn’t looking at her.

“Aw, c’mon Yash. It’s funny. If you had seen the face you were making you’d agree with me.”

“It’s not funny. I wasn’t laughing when it happened.”

The look came to his face again and Kagome burst into a fit of laughter a second time. Inuyasha pouted and didn’t make conversation for the rest of the walk, though Kagome guessed he was just being childish and wasn’t really mad with her.

Kagome didn’t really pay much attention to where they were walking, that is until they stopped at the end of the driveway of a modestly sized white house. It looked to be about the same size as her house, maybe just a little bigger. Kagome stood there for a moment, aware that she was staring rather rudely. This was not what she had been expecting. Inuyasha saw her reaction and laughed out loud.

“Not what you were expecting?” he chuckled, reading her mind.

Kagome looked at him, slightly embarrassed.

“To tell you the truth…no…not really.”

Inuyasha nodded, still highly amused.

“You thought we lived in a big mansion, didn’t you?”

Kagome blushed and nodded sheepishly.

“Heh, pretty much everyone thinks that. There is a family mansion on the other side of the city, but Inukigo and I haven’t lived there in four years,” Inuyasha explained, fishing his keys out of his pocket as they walked up the driveway.

“Really? How come?” Kagome asked as she was let in through the door.

Inuyasha shrugged as the both took off their sneakers.

“We didn’t really like living there…after Mom and Dad died. Plus, neither of us like sitting around on our asses and have other people do stuff for us,” he led Kagome to the staircase, “I’m going to change, and we’ll leave your stuff in the guest room, then I’ll show you around,” he said with a smile.

Kagome beamed back at him.

“Okay.”

They walked up the stairs and through the hallway. Inuyasha stopped at his door then pointed further down the hall.

“The guest room is the door on the left. I’ll only be a minute.”

Kagome nodded and continued down the hall while Inuyasha went into his room and closed the door. Kagome opened the doorway to the room and peeked inside. The room wasn’t all that big - the furniture took up most of the room - but it looked very cozy. There was a medium sized dresser with a mirror against the wall near the end of the bed, and there was a small closet to her right. The bed itself looked extremely comfortable; queen sized with a high mattress, a thick white comforter, and fluffy white pillows. Curiosity getting the better of her, Kagome laid her bag down on the bed, sat down then stretched out on her back. She sighed as she sank down into the lush softness of the snowy white blanket.

‘I could go to sleep right now…’

“Comfortable?”

Kagome jumped at the sound of Inuyasha’s voice in the doorway, and the boy laughed.

“You may have to fight Sango for that bed. She loves it too.”

Kagome smiled sheepishly and jumped off the bed. When she was standing beside Inuyasha at the door he smiled.

“Ready for the grand tour?”

Kagome nodded and Inuyasha led her across the hall first, pointing first at a door at the very end of the hall.

“That’s the linen closet. The towels are in there if you want to take a shower tomorrow.”

He then showed her the small office on the opposite side of the hallway, which housed the computer, then Inukigo’s room further up the hall on the same side as the office.

Kagome peered through the door, assessing Inuyasha’s sister’s room. It was bigger than the guestroom had been, but it too had white walls. The bed was similar, but a little bigger, with a golden yellow comforter instead of a white one. There was a decent sized dresser on the wall to her right, and a vanity against the wall at the foot of the bed. She decided that this room too looked very cozy.

Next came Inuyasha’s room across the hall from Inukigo’s. It was smaller than his sister’s room, but still bigger than the guestroom. The bed was the same size, but the dresser was bigger, and there was more furniture; a desk, a night table, and two other stands that housed a stereo and a TV. The walls were a deep crimson and covered with posters from his favourite bands, movies, and television shows. The comforter on the bed was the same red with black trimming the edges, and topped off with black pillows. Kagome had been a little surprised when the door was opened. His room was much neater than she expected a boy’s room to be - though she only had what Souta’s room looked like to go on.

“Something wrong?” he asked when he noticed how intently she was staring at his room.

“No,” Kagome answered, shaking her head and turning to face him, “I was just thinking that my little brother could take tips from you on cleaning his room.”

Inuyasha blushed from the underlying compliment in her comment.

“I said this to your mother back at your place - my sister has me well trained.”

Kagome laughed at his announcement.

“I see. Well, your room is very nice. So, what’s next?”

Inuyasha continued leading her back up the hallway, pointing out the bathroom on the way back downstairs. Once they were on the main level of the house, he showed her around the dining room and kitchen, then the living room. After admiring the set up of the room, Kagome found herself drawn to the pictures that lined the shelves on either side of the TV.

“Is this your sister and her boyfriend?” Kagome asked, taking up a picture.

Inuyasha glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the picture of Inukigo being hugged from behind by Kouga, both of them sporting happy grins.

“Yeah, that was on their second year anniversary,” he commented.

“Really? How long have they been dating?” Kagome asked.

“Three years on May 18th,” he replied without hesitation.

Kagome looked up at him with surprise.

“Well, that’s accurate. You must care about your sister very much to remember her anniversary.”

Inuyasha shrugged.

“Yeah, but it’s easy to remember. It’s the same day as Kouga’s birthday. They had gone out a few times, and he asked her to be his girlfriend at his birthday party,” then a mischievous smile crossed his face, “He’s the first one to ever get that far with her.”

Kagome was confused by his statement.

“Huh?”

Inuyasha continued smiling.

“Kouga is Inukigo’s first steady boyfriend. She went out with two other guys before him, but they never got as far as asking her to be their girlfriend. I made sure of that,” he said with a chuckle.

Kagome put the picture back and turned to face him with her hands on her hips.

“Inuyasha, what did you do to your sister’s dates?” she asked, though she was smiling with amusement.

“Well…I may have said and done a few things to make them reconsider their desire to be involved with my sister…” he said offhandedly.

“What did you do?” Kagome said, truly curious now.

“Sesshoumaru doesn’t live with us, so I had to look out for her,” he replied with complete seriousness.

“Sesshoumaru? That’s your older brother, right?”

“Half-brother,” he corrected with a nod, “He’s pretty protective of the both of us, but he’s always busy and can’t be around much, so it’s my job to take care of my sister,” he explained.

“Aww…that’s so sweet,” Kagome commented, making Inuyasha blush, “So really, what did you do to her dates? And how did Kouga end up being her boyfriend?” she asked.

“Basically I was just a real bastard whenever Inukigo wasn’t around. It didn’t take long for them to take off. If they weren’t willing to deal with my shitty attitude and get to know me, then they weren’t really all that interested in Inukigo or our family, just the money that she’ll inherit. Kouga was different though,” he said, smiling as though he were recalling a fond memory, “He came in with Inukigo one night, and while she was upstairs he came in here and sat down with me. They had been dating for about two weeks, which was longer then the others had lasted. I had my, ‘don’t talk to me or I’ll bite your fucking head off’ look on, and he just turned to me and right out of the blue asked if I had a problem with him dating my sister. He said that he really liked Inukigo, and wanted to know if his dating her was upsetting me. I shocked the hell out of him when I told him I had been waiting to hear that. He cared enough about Inukigo to stay with her, even though I was being an ass, and then to come to me and ask if I had a problem with him. He was the first guy to ever do that.”

Kagome was smiling at him when he finished.

“You do very well at playing matchmaker,” she commented, looking at the picture then back to face him again, “They look like they love each other very much.”

Inuyasha nodded.

“They do,” he replied, then decided to share something with her, “Don’t repeat this to a soul, Kouga would probably kill me if he found out that I told. He’s planning on asking Inukigo to marry him, but he’s not sure when yet. He said maybe on her birthday, in July. He had to come to me and Sesshoumaru first about his intentions, so we’re the only ones who know.”

“Why did he have to go to you and Sesshoumaru first?” Kagome asked.

Inuyasha didn’t seem to mind explaining things to her.

“Traditionally, the demon male will ask permission from the female’s parents to take her as his mate, his wife. Since Mom and Dad are both passed away, Kouga had to come to us because we are her closest family.”

Kagome nodded in understanding, though she was curious to know more about the demon customs. Inuyasha seemed to read her mind.

“I’ll explain more to you later, if you want.”

Kagome smiled up at him.

“I’d like that.”

She went back to glancing over the pictures, then came across one of Inukigo with her arm draped over Inuyasha’s shoulder.

“That was my birthday last year,” Inuyasha commented when he saw what one she was looking at.

Kagome nodded to show that she heard him, still looking at the picture.

“The two of you look a lot alike,” she said.

Inuyasha smiled as he leaned against the wall.

“Mom always used to say that we were twins born five years apart.”

Kagome continued looking at the pictures, until she stopped at one that appeared to be a family portrait.

“Wow,” she exclaimed, studying it closely, “Is this your Mom, Inuyasha?” she asked, “She’s beautiful.”

Inuyasha looked over her shoulder at the picture and nodded.

“Yup, that’s her. That’s Dad,” he said, pointing to the tall, strong looking man that had his arm around the woman’s waist, “And that’s Sesshoumaru,” he pointed to a young man off to the previous man’s left.

Inuyasha and Inukigo were in the picture as well. Inukigo was standing in the front between her father and Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha was at her side closest to their mother. Inukigo looked to be about fifteen, while Inuyasha looked about nine or ten. Kagome studied them all closely, comparing the children in the picture to their parents.

Sesshoumaru looked almost exactly like his father. The structure of their faces was almost identical, the only difference being that Sesshoumaru looked slightly more refined then his father. Kagome guessed that had come from his mother.

Inuyasha didn’t show as much of his father as Sesshoumaru did, but it was definitely there. He had the same untamed look about him, as well as the nose, mouth, and fiery golden eyes. The structure of his face was that of his mother though, as was the shape of his eyes.

Inukigo looked even more like her mother. The only things that she showed of her father were the burning golden eyes and the silver hair that was shared by all of the siblings.

All in all, they looked like a very close, happy family.

“That was the last picture we had taken of us all together before they died,” Inuyasha commented.

Kagome looked over at him, to see that he was smiling sadly as he gazed at the picture.

“You miss them a lot, don’t you?”

Inuyasha nodded.

“Yeah,” he worked his thoughts out carefully before continuing, “Kagome, your dad, when did he…?”

“Dad died when I was eight,” she replied quietly, knowing what he was asking, “He had cancer, for a really long time, so we always knew it was a possibility that he would die. He was in remission for a few years, but I think that he somehow knew that it was going to come back, and that it was going to take him. He had been into martial arts a lot when he was younger, he was really good, and when I turned seven, he enrolled me, because he wanted me to be able to take care of myself. About six months later, the cancer came back, really bad. He was too sick to come with me to practice anymore, but he kept encouraging me to go, to never give up on it. Heh, Mama always used to come and tape my classes and tests so he would never miss anything.”

She paused for a moment, and her hands came up to grasp her arms.

“It wasn’t long after I turned eight that he died,” she finished in almost a whisper.

Inuyasha was kicking himself for ever bringing it up in the first place. She looked so upset talking about her father. She must have been very close to him for her to have such a reaction after almost nine years. Cursing his stupid curiosity, he took Kagome by the shoulders and led her across the room, around the coffee table, and sat her down on the couch before taking a seat next to her. He watched her with concern, his ears drooping slightly, as she sat there silently.

“Kagome, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“No, it’s okay,” she said, cutting him off. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees as she looked at him, “It’s not your fault. It’s just hard remembering him sometimes. It usually doesn’t bother me so much to think about it, I guess talking about it out loud is what does it. I’m sorry, I’m acting like a baby.”

“Nah,” Inuyasha said, then he surprised her by shifting closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders while resting his chin on her head, “Don’t worry about it. I understand.”

Kagome blushed from him being so close to her, but for some reason it felt very right for him to be holding her, so she wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable with it. She relaxed into him, and couldn’t help but think about how strong he felt, or how comforting his scent was.

Inuyasha was feeling quite the same way. He wasn’t sure what had compelled him to comfort her in such a way, but he wasn’t regretting it in the slightest. With his face so close to her hair, he could easily pick out the scent of the shampoo that she had used that morning, and beneath that was her own personal scent that he had felt himself drawn to ever since he had first picked it up just a few days ago. He closed his eyes and let himself bask in her presence.

Everything was blissfully peaceful, well it was, until Inuyasha opened his eyes. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Inukigo looking directly at him through the large bay window of the living room. He had been so distracted that he hadn’t heard the car pull up, or her opening and closing the door as she got out. Now his sister was staring at him intently, her head tilted to one side and her ears flicking in confusion, about a foot away from the window. He blushed a deep scarlet, pulling his arm off Kagome like she was on fire and growling lightly when he saw Inukigo laughing at him. Kagome looked up at him questioningly, then turned to follow his gaze, and blushed as well when she saw the laughing hanyou woman standing just outside the window.

Inukigo decided to spare them more embarrassment, and walked away from the window to the front door. She came into the house and kicked off her shoes, then walked through the dining room and peered around the wall into the living room. Inuyasha was glaring at her, though he was still blushing, and the girl sitting beside him was sheepishly hiding the lower half of her face behind her legs. Inukigo grinned and waved.

“Hi! I’m Inuyasha’s sister, Inukigo. I’m guessing that you’re Kagome. The two of you look busy, so I’ll just leave you alone,” she said, stressing the word alone as though she was implying something, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

As she hurried off up the stairs Inuyasha grumbled to himself about how evil his sister was, then turned to Kagome to see that only her eyes were now above her knees.

“It’s best you get used to that,” he sighed.

“Why?” Kagome asked lifting her head slightly, “Is she always insinuating stuff like that?”

Inuyasha shook his head.

“No, but she won’t hesitate if the opportunity presents itself. I said that, well, because you haven’t even met Miroku yet.”

Kagome gulped. What was she getting herself into?

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

Yea, new chapter! Sorry that I made everyone wait so long for it. I’m not going to reply to the reviews this time around, because I’m not on the internet at the moment that I’m writing this, and I don’t want to go looking them up so I can get this done and posted. Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, I’ll answer questions next time.