InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Gods' Opinion ❯ The Invite ( Chapter 6 )

The Gods' Opinion

 

Disclaimer: Almost all characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko.

 

Warning: This is a mature story and I mean that in more than this story only containing sexual situations and bad language. It contains adult themes.

 

Summary: Kagome is trying hard to have a baby. But when things don't work out, she visits the best fertility doctor in the world. She finds her feelings and beliefs challenged as she struggles to hold onto her dreams.

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

Chapter Six The Invite

 

Kagome sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night. It was nearing eleven o'clock on a peaceful Saturday night. She was lying in their queen size bed next to Hojo. Glancing over at him, he sat there quietly, content, reading the latest issue of Scientific American with great interest. Her eyes drifted away from his magazine to take in his appearance. Chestnut hair with eyes a shade darker to match, a light gray t-shirt and though she couldn't see them, most likely, dark blue flannel pajama bottoms. What she didn't know was whether or not he had switched to boxers.

 

In her hands, she held a book that Eri had given to her as a gift. All of the girls received a book from Eri a few months ago. It wasn't until now that Kagome had a nagging feeling that Eri might now something about her relationship with Hojo that she didn't even talk about. This book wasn't just for Kagome. It was more like Eri had given it to Kagome to pass along to Hojo.

 

Kagome had read the book. Several times in fact. It was a source for her bathtub fantasies. Well, one of the sources. The book described in details the acts she'd never experienced before. Written out in explicit details were pleasures that she ached to experience herself.

 

But how to bring it up to Hojo?

 

“Kagome, is something wrong?”

 

“Uh, why do you ask?”

 

He smiled at her. “You're been staring at me for a while now.”

 

“Oh well . . . “she nervously chuckled out. Busted. “I . . . I - I wanted to show you the book Eri gave to me.”

 

Hojo closed his magazine, properly marking the page he was on, and placed it on his nightstand. “Was it this last Thursday?”

 

Kagome looked down at the glossy cover of the book. “No. Actually, it was a month ago, but . . . I just remembered it.”

 

“What does she have you reading this time? It's not like that other one, is it?”

 

Kagome giggled at the look of disgust Hojo made. Eri's tastes in books were unique. Hojo couldn't finish the last book Eri had given to her. It was a story of a lesbian who lived as a man to explore the male culture. “No, it's . . . it's not like that at all,” Kagome replied quietly as she now cradled the book against her chest. Timidly, she pulled it away and held it out for Hojo to take.

 

He did. Kagome watched him as his eyes bulged out at the sight of the title. He looked over at Kagome for a moment to get confirmation that this was a real title to a real book. Kagome nodded and was glad when he turned back to the book and opened it up. It was a step in the right direction, at least she thought it was.

 

He sat there, silently, reading the title page, then followed by the page with the tiny writing about the copyrights, dates, and publishing cities. Next he read over the chapter of contents page only to shift his position on the bed.

 

Silence continued to dominate as the only sound come from the crinkle of pages turning and the breathing of the bodies, Hojo's now quicker than Kagome's. His eyes skimmed the crude, blunt words the authoress had typed out. The next page introduced something unexpected.

 

Hojo jerked forward, a deep blush flooding through his exposed skin and the tiniest beads of sweat crowned his forehead. He tossed the book away from him like it had scorched his hands. “Oh gods . . . “

 

“Hojo?” Kagome called out as he bolted out of the bed to find refuge in the bathroom. Kagome tore away the covers of the bed and hurried after him. “Hojo, are you okay?” she called out from the other side of the locked bathroom door. Wrapping her arms around her, Kagome leaned up against the door, placing her ear against the sleek wood, straining to hear something, anything. “Hojo.”

 

“I'm fine,” he called out weakly.

 

“What's wrong? Was it . . . dinner? It was a bit spicy. There's some antacid in the medicine cabinet.” She was met with more silence while waiting to hear something.

 

“I . . . I'm going to take a shower. You can go ahead and go to sleep. No need to wait for me, okay?”

 

“Are you sure you're okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine.”

 

“Okay, yeah. Well, goodnight then.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

Kagome dragged herself back into the bedroom, slowly crawling into the bed. Grabbing the book, she took another hard glance at it, sighing disappointedly at it. It held so much promise. But now . . . it was gone. Tonight, sex was most definitely out of the question. And so was the chance to try something new, something that the book could give to the both of them. All gone.

 

She opened the drawer to her nightstand where the brother to her book was stored. Two books, written by the same authoress, designed to open up, explain and explore another part of the sexual experience, orally.

 

Kagome saw it as the opportunity to bring the two of them intimately closer. The book talked about the love and trust that couples instilled in oral sex. Not to mention that all of her friends believed that oral sex should be a relationship standard, unless both partners were against it.

 

In the dark, Kagome wondered about that. If her relationship with Hojo lacked oral sex, her inability to orgasm by him or that she no longer fantasized about him during those private, precious moments alone in the bathroom . . . what did that really say about their relationship? What did it say about him? About her . . . ?

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

Inuyasha's golden eyes watched as Sango walked into the café after pushing back their usual Saturday lunch to late Sunday afternoon. That wasn't what bothered him about this. He didn't care when the lunches happened. What did bother him was that these lunches were private, and at a casual place and time for them to openly talk about work. But it's no longer private when Sango brought a friend.

 

“Hey,” Sango said sitting down, her friend helping her into her chair before sitting down next to her.

 

Inuyasha glared at Sango's uninvited guest, almost growling. “What the hell Sango.”

 

Sango blushed while she nervously giggled at the enraged hanyou. “Sorry,” she gushed. “It couldn't be avoided. Besides,” she glanced over at her friend, “he's . . . “

 

“A fuckin' prevent,” Inuyasha finished correctly for her.

 

“Inuyasha, I must protest to your slander,” Miroku spoke lightly with a coy smile on his face.

 

“Shut it Miroku. Sango, we can't work with him here.”

 

“Why not? He's bound by the same privacy laws of his profession as well as the clinic. And sadly, with his assumed expertise, he might help on a particular matter.”

 

“Him? Help? Keh! I fuckin' doubt that. We both know him.”

 

“Sadly, all too well,” Sango retorted to illicit a rather cute pout from Miroku. “Another reason why I brought him.”

 

Inuyasha just shook his head. “Whatever.” He pulled out the files that they were to work on this week, but Sango stopped him, shaking her head. “What?”

 

Sango pulled out the backslashed file. “Everything else is fine; it's this one that I'm struggling with.”

 

“And you called Miroku to help you, us?”

 

“Well, no. It's not exactly like that,” Sango quickly replied. Inuyasha just shrugged. He knew about their relationship. What Sango wouldn't say was that after Kagome brought up the topic of female orgasms, Sango felt the need to get some from the only man that she knew who was very accomplished in that field.

 

Inuyasha shook his head. Sango and Miroku were open, but exclusive at the same time. They were both afraid that a real relationship would hurt them at work. What they wouldn't, or perhaps, couldn't confess to each other was that they were the only ones in their lives, at least sexually. While he, on the other hand, mostly his right hand, was alone.

 

The waitress stopped by to take their orders before they got started with the matter at hand. Inuyasha had noticed that Sango only brought the one file with her, no laptop, no ipod, nothing. It was strange for her to be so unprepared, unless she was too distracted by Miroku.

 

“So, Sango dear, to what matter must you employ my expertise?”

 

Both Inuyasha and Sango rolled their eyes at his normal, yet over-usage of the polite language. It wooed women, impressed men enough to make them jealous, but to those that knew him, it was just silly, and at the same time, it was just Miroku being Miroku.

 

“It's Kagome and Hojo. I . . . I'm at a loss of words for what to tell those two.” Sango opened the file, pulling out the transcripts to their latest sessions.

 

“What is the problem?” Miroku asked as he didn't really know the whole story other than that Kagome was the fuckable girl with the great legs that was a patient of Inuyasha's, a patient that affected his hanyou friend like no other.

 

“Well, they are a wholly committed, in love, unmarried couple trying to have a child. Both are healthy, leading me to believe that the problem is psychological and not physiological.”

 

Miroku took a hold of Sango's hand, his thumb feathering her knuckles. “I love hearing you say tongue-twisting words.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, hoping she got the suggestive tone of his voice, and the true intent of his words.

 

“Miroku.” She shot him a glare that forced him to gulp, nod his head and pull his hand away quickly in fear that he might lose it. “Serious here.”

 

“So, what's the problem?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“I think this is just me and not the professional part, but I think that there's something wrong with Hojo.”

 

“Hojo? Straight-laced, good guy, fuckin' prince asshole charming Hojo?” Inuyasha found Hojo to be ordinary and quite frankly, boring. He was a cavity.

 

“Yeah, He's a gentleman's gentleman that is the opposite kind of gentlemen's gentleman that Miroku is.” When she saw only blank faces staring at her, she knew she had to elaborate for the slower thinkers. “Miroku is a gentleman to seduce women for the sole purpose of flirting and hopefully sex.”

 

Both Miroku and Inuyasha nodded in agreement to her analysis. Sango continued. “Hojo is the sweet, polite, well-trained man with manners that I thought had died out years ago. He's a fairy tale myth.”

 

“Wait,” Miroku interjected. “This might be the same guy who thanked the nurse for stimulating his prostate for a semen sample.” He paused when he was met with odd looks. “What? It's a rumor I heard.”

 

“Something like that,” Sango commented with a slight look of disgust on her face. The waitress returned with their orders, giving the group enough time to shove Miroku's tiny tale into the recycle bin of their mind so they could eat their meal without being disgusted.

 

“So, what the fuck is the problem? Kagome's found a rare specimen. From what I understand, women would kill to have that sort of stud on their arms,” Inuyasha blasted through pieces of the steak he chewed on.

 

“Kagome loves him, deeply, but I think he's . . . she's not happy.” Sango stared at her food, but put the morsel of food on her fork back down on her plate. “Let me try and explain it from how I see it and then you two may put in your two-cents.”

 

“So, sessions with Hojo are polite, straight and boring. He doesn't struggle with any of the questions, which he has tidy answers to. But his answers are shallow, short and in descript.” Sango pushed Hojo's transcript out for Miroku to glance over.

 

`How is your sex life with Kagome?'

 

`Good.'

 

`Is she satisfied?'

 

`Yes.'

 

`Have you ever tried other positions?'

 

`No.'

 

`Why not?'

 

`Because the way we engage in intercourse is satisfactory and loving for the both of us.'

 

`Are you sure about that?'

 

`Yes.'

 

“What the . . . Sango . . . dear . . . this has to be made up,” Miroku contested, crunching his soft features into tiny wrinkles of mostly disgust.

 

“Nope. I asked him that because Inuyasha told me that he was going to tell them to try other positions. And oddly, Kagome asked me about female orgasms.” Sango hid Kagome's transcript in the safety of the file that Sango clutched onto. She was reluctant to let anyone, especially Inuyasha, read it.

 

Miroku handed Hojo's transcript back to Sango. “Sango-dear, the problem is obvious. Hojo's a prude. He's a traditional fundamentalist that believes sex is a one position, mono-purposed act - baby-making. I'm no urologist, but I've heard from them that the norm for human males to climax is somewhere around the three minute mark. Now, Sango-dear, how long does it take a human female to climax? Hence, Kagome's need to learn about something she has never received from this poor excuse of a male. Lucky for most women, I am not normal.”

 

Miroku continued with his little ramble. “Sex, good, toe-curling sex, can exist without commitment, without love. Love only makes it better, the roll the eyes into the back of the head and toe-curling, operatic screaming, body-numbing, drenching in sweet sweat kind. This couple needs sex therapy as well. If not, this Hojo character needs a good smack across the back of the head for depriving a luscious creature like Kagome of a coma-inducing orgasm. Aren't I right, Inuyasha?”

 

Inuyasha choked on his bite of food as he felt both Miroku and Sango looking at him, as if they were waiting for him to actively respond. He did tell Kagome that a female orgasm was important for conception, but steered clear from how it was essential to relationships. That was Sango's job. He might have forgotten to explain that it doesn't matter how a woman achieves an orgasm after the semen as been ejaculated into her body. Still, that wasn't the point here.

 

“Keh,” was his only response. It was the safe way out for him. Inuyasha had to tread carefully around any mention of Kagome. That incident in his office still weighed heavily on his mind, and caused him a sore wrist. What actually happened? What did it mean? It was best just to drop it and forget about it completely.

 

“So, Kagome is deprived because of Hojo's single-mindedness and I need to get them into a joint session to work on sex. Gee, great. That sounds fun,” Sango sighed as she stuffed the transcript into his file. “However, that's not what I'm supposed to do. I help couples deal with issues of infertility, not a lackluster love life, but . . . it could very well be the hang-up that's preventing them from getting pregnant.”

 

Sango picked up a fry and thoughtfully munched on it. “It's frustrating. I don't know . . . the best way to help them”

 

“Sango, Hojo cannot be helped.” Inuyasha and Sango both needed an explanation, so Miroku continued. “He's like some of the women who visit me. They see sex as something dirty, unfortunate and even, Buddha forbid, a chore. I've heard numerous complaints, women asking me, begging me to create some medical excuse that allows them to avoid sex. No matter what I say, short of agreeing with them, will change their minds. It's a moot point. All you can do is recommend advice to them.”

 

“And what if Kagome were to confront him on the matter?”

 

“Oh, sure, he'll promise her that they'll work on it, but by then, she'll be pregnant and then sex will be out of the question for the next eighteen years.”

 

“That fuckin' sucks,” Inuyasha muttered to himself.

 

“You're one to talk, Dr. Takahashi.”

 

Inuyasha growled at Miroku, but kept his mouth shut. They weren't going to sit here and drag him into that conversation again.

 

“So, my options are to get Hojo to open up to other possibilities of sex to please Kagome, which you say is impossible, or do the one that I haven't suggested since my post-doc.”

 

“Which is?” Inuyasha asked. They didn't all start out at the same clinic. Sango worked for another clinic, a straight psychological one, giving advice to others about relationships and sex.

 

“Hojo maybe, and I say maybe because it's just my hunch, uh, woman's intuition, but he's cheating Kagome out of a fulfilling relationship. Granted, I'm not saying that all relationships need to be crazy with sex, but the want or un-want of it needs to be equal. I feel from Kagome that she sees her friends having sex lives that she doesn't have, but wants to have, and that the only way for her to get that satisfaction is from someone else.”

 

Inuyasha turned away from his friends. Miroku had that dumb smirk on his face which was a clear signal that Sango should recommend him for that position, and any other position Kagome wants to try. But Sango put him in a dangerous situation. He was attracted to Kagome and because of that, he was more than willing to help her out. However, he was her doctor. She didn't seem the type to have no-strings attached sex to get some jollies. And if he were to start anything with Kagome, he was afraid he would never be able to stop.

 

Thinking about someone like her with Hojo was enough, but to have Sango suggest a stranger was enough to set him off. He's also like to smack Miroku for that suggestive grin.

 

“You're buying lunch asshole,” he blurted out, pointing a clawed finger at his friend.

 

“Inuyasha, come on. That's . . . “

 

“Fair,” Sango finished the sentence correctly for him.

 

“But you invited me,” Miroku protested to the woman knowing the argument with Inuyasha was already finished. She glared hard at him. He should've known that it was finished with Sango as well. “Fine. Fine.”

 

“So . . . are you not the right people to ask about this?” Sango asked. It seemed strange for a trained psychologist to seek advice from others. But she didn't have all of the answers. That was impossible. She was only seeking advice, not the right answer. As if there could be one.

 

Miroku slid his empty plate away form him. “I've shared everything I can on the matter mostly because I came into this from a different point of view. If Kagome loves this Hojo enough, then she may accept her horrible plight in life - to have three minute sex once, maybe twice a month only a couple of months for a few years. And with him being a fundamental prude, he accepts this as the natural way, wholeheartedly. He is and will always be resistant to change.”

 

Sango turned to Inuyasha. He hadn't weight much into the matter and as the RE, he needed to have some say in this. Inuyasha didn't know what to say though. He had no advice, no expertise to share. Damn, he should've made some `married couples only' rule. Or at least the board should have. But even that might not have solved their problem.

 

“The problem is psychological, right?” Inuyasha asked after getting lost in Miroku's lengthy spewing. Sango nodded. “And she ain't going to get pregnant or is going to have major difficulties until she fixes her problem. That's what you're saying?” Another nod from Sango.

 

“She loves him? Is committed? Wants to bear his child?” Nods to all of questions. Inuyasha just shrugged his shoulders, leaning back somewhat comfortably into the chair. “Then what can I say? It's your job to work their brains. I work the other parts. And fuck, I told you to talk marriage. The board is going to turn them down soon if marriage is something they don't consider. Maybe marriage will solve this shitty mess.”

 

“You want her married so she's completely off limits, don't you?” Miroku inquired. Miroku knew of some of Inuyasha's better looking clients and they were all married, warding off horny, needy demons and humans as well. For demons, as well as hanyous, an unbonded woman could be challenged.

 

Inuyasha could challenge Hojo for Kagome and it would be legal in the forum of demon law. The board of directors wouldn't like it, Hojo and/or Kagome might not like it and the public backlash could close the clinic down, despite its reputation, despite the thousands of couples who've benefited from its work. It was a huge risk, one that Inuyasha was wrangling with.

 

Miroku raised his hand up. “Don't answer. It wasn't my place to ask. But I am curious as to why you would continue to torture yourself over a woman you can't have when there are plenty of others that are highly available?”

 

Inuyasha hated Miroku's dead on conclusions and his Buddha-given ability to ask the questions he was trying really, really hard to avoid. Sango would only tell him that what he was doing was not only hurting himself, but he might end up hurting Kagome, something that he didn't want to do, ever.

 

Sango leaned back in her chair. This was now no long an issue between just Hojo and Kagome, but Inuyasha was somehow involved, as well as the board of directors. And even Miroku if she so inclined. Miroku's question about Kagome's marital status was more necessary than the two males may have realized. But something was keeping Kagome from marriage and she was no closer to figuring it out.

 

“I give up. I've got a week to look into this some more. Any appointments with them this week Inuyasha?” He shook his head no. “Well, then, that's good. Let's hope they'll try enhanced natural conception at least once before Friday?”

 

Inuyasha took this as his cue to leave. It was uncomfortable for him to sit there and think up of ways to help Kagome's relationship when he just didn't want to. He hadn't had much contact with the female and that was still enough to leave him in a bewildering trance. She tried to argue with him, first patient ever. That counted for something.

 

“Make sure he pays,” Inuyasha half-heartedly barked at the trying to always-look-pure-and-innocent Miroku. Sango nodded, elbowing the man to pull out his wallet. Inuyasha left Miroku using all of his tactics to get back into her good graces. This weekend still had a few hours left in it.

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

Kagome dragged herself into the apartment she shared with Hojo after a long day of hors d'oeuvres, sashimi and matching drinks to meals; she was looking forward to a hot meal and a hot bath. At this point, the order didn't matter.

 

Kicking off her shoes, Kagome dropped her coat, keys and yellow backpack on the floor in the entrance way. “Hojo, I'm home,” she called out her own faint echoed was her reply. “Hojo?”

 

She walked into the kitchen to find it dark, cold and clean; easy signs that pointed to the fact that Hojo wasn't here. Her shoulders slumped at the thought of being alone tonight. A piece of paper with Hojo's neat writing caught her attention.

 

Kagome,

All I can say is that something requires

my attention tonight. We had a

technical problem and I'm unable

to return to you until it is corrected.

 

Hojo

 

Kagome pulled the note away from the magnet that held it up. Crumbling the paper up, she tossed it into the garbage. How . . . how were they going to work on having a child if he wasn't here? She couldn't do it alone. She knew for sure she wasn't a hermaphrodite.

 

Frustrated, she left to the one place that offered her some solace, and the promise of comfort. Lucky for her, such a place was open twenty-four hours a day.

 

xxxxx-----xxx-----xxxxx

 

 

The doors slid open with a very pronounced whoosh, noisily welcoming the raven-haired woman with all that it had. It was fresh, clean and all readily available. She only had to pick and then choose what her heart desired. There was no one here to stop her, to tell her no, to keep her away from what she wanted and needed. This was the perfect place for her.

 

Pulling out the much needed metal contraption, she stood still, as she decided where to begin: left or right. No, it was an easy choice. Always left. Always. Something she always thought about every time she entered the building, but she could never change her answer.

 

Left was always a good choice. Here, she was greeted by the fruit of the earth. They came in all colors, flavors and shapes. Hover, since Kagome didn't have a car, she could only pick what she needed or wanted at that very moment.

 

She picked up the oblong shaped fruit. Watermelon. First pick of the season by the looks of it. It was small. But that was good. It was enough for her and Hojo to enjoy on one of these warm spring nights. She placed it in the cart, deciding that is was the only fruit to buy tonight.

 

Kagome made it through the produce and vegetable section before going down each aisle. She had all night as Tuesdays were her day off to grade papers and work on her capstone portfolio. Going to the grocery store was a part of her research, buying food to create edible masterpieces that might one day be shared with others. That was a long time away, more of a foggy dream then anything set in cement.

 

Kagome knew that a child would put her plans on the back burner. It was obvious that she had a very old-fashioned relationship with Hojo. He respected her decision to get the education she wanted, but once a child was born to them, it was stay-at-home mom for her. Hojo made enough for him to be the sole breadwinner.

 

On one level, she was okay with that. The idea of having someone take care of all of her needs was comforting. But, what would happen once the child went to school? What would she do with her free time? Another child? Perhaps a chance at what she would like to really do with her life.

 

Walking down the canned goods aisle, Kagome surveyed the varied and many options. Living in a world where demons, humans and everything in between cohabitated with each other, food choices were almost unlimited. That for her meant more to work with. While she thought that a majority of the demon cuisine was disgusting, some of it wasn't so bad.

 

That which wasn't so bad was in a canned form, in this aisle, far above her reach. She stretched as much as she could, but it was of no use. Not all demons were this tall, were they, she thought. It just didn't seem fair.

 

Her eyes then caught a hand reaching to grab at the can she was aiming for.

 

Beaming, she softly spoke, “Oh thank you . . . “her voice drowned out as the can was not offered to her. She couldn't believe how rude this demon was. It had to have known that she was making a fool of herself trying to get herself a can.

 

“Excuse me,” she grilled out loudly.

 

The demon turned to look at her as it snapped back at her. “What?”

 

“Dr. Takahashi . . . “she whispered his name even in her new found state of shock. Oh, this was no time to see this guy.

 

“What?” Inuyasha asked gain, redirecting her back to her snooty little `excuse me'.

 

“I . . . I . . . “she stuttered as she felt his golden orbs burrowing into her. Shaking her head, she turned back to the matter at hand. Taking in a deep breath, she crouched down before springing up, her arms shot straight out and her fingers flexed around one of the cans. Upon landing, she tossed the can into her cart, turned and pushed it in the direction that was away from him.

 

“Oi,” he called after her. She was ignoring him and trying her damnedest to get away from him as well. “Oi, I'm talking to you.”

 

Kagome took a deep breath, considering for a moment to stop. But she couldn't. Sango had warned her. Kagome was fully aware of it, of what could happen. Seeing him like this, so casually, it wouldn't help her to replace him with Hojo in her fantasies.

 

Yet, it already was. Damn him for . . . for . . . for being dressed like. . . that. His silver hair, normally braided back was loose and wild, flowing freely. Those adorable ears were perky and attentive. And his clothing, something that should've been made illegal on him. His larger muscles rippled underneath a worn black t-shirt and loose fitting jeans hung off his hips.

 

She would have to end the trip to her sanctuary for she was no longer safe here. Just seeing him here, now, like that, was enough to ruin her resolve. She loved Hojo. That was the mantra she put on loop in her head as she did her best to leave the doctor behind.

 

Inuyasha forgot about shopping for food and easily focused on Kagome. She had no right to be rude to him and then go about ignoring him. “Hey!” he called out. Kagome continued to ignore him, whipping her cart around, and doing her best to lose herself in the candy aisle. “Oi, wench, look at me.”

 

Kagome's eyes went wide at the term he used to get her attention. Inuyasha smirked in satisfaction at finally being able to get her attention. It had work. Now, he had to deal with the aftermath of her wrath. At least she might talk to him now.

 

“What did you say?” Her body was tense from the anger that was boiling in her blood. No one had ever called her such an undignified term. And this was her doctor of all people.

 

He walked up, standing close to her, that same distance as in his office, letting his height alone show her his dominance. But she wouldn't back down.

 

“How dare you!” she cried out, poking him in his hard chest. “How . . . “she lost the words she wished to speak as her frustrations completely overloaded her mind. It was better to just walk away. Leaving her cart in the aisle, she pushed Inuyasha away from her to make her hasty escape.

 

“No,” he said, his voice low. He held onto one of her wrists and his eyes locked with hers. He watched as her eyes stormed with the turbulence of her emotions, her pupils shrinking and enlarging with the changes; shocked at what he had done, the anger from earlier and something he couldn't quite pin down.

 

“Let me go,” she commanded through her clenched teeth.

 

“Not until you act civilly around me.”

 

“Me?” she questioned in disbelief. “What about you?”

 

“This is about a can of . . . “Inuyasha looked back into his basket, reaching for the can he had grabbed earlier and twisting it around until he could read the paper label. “. . . youkai mushrooms.” He glanced up at her. “You actually eat these?”

 

Kagome pulled her wrist out of his grasp. “I happen to like them. They have a distinct exotic flavor and are priced decently,” she spoke sharply. Turning back to her cart, Kagome settled for quickly finishing her shopping. There was no need to take her time and read labels, this night was already ruined.

 

Inuyasha was ready to just let her go when the smell of defeat and . . . ah shit. He groaned. Of all of the things she could've done, it had to be that. Not only that, but because of the attraction he had to her, it affected him just a bit deeper.

 

He ran up to her, but stopped afraid of her lashing out of him. “Hey, I'm . . . I didn't mean to. I'll uh, I'll make it up to you. Yeah, I can do that. So please, just . . . just don't cry.”

 

He watched as Kagome brought her sleeved arm up to her face to wipe at her eyes. She turned towards him, but kept her face hidden from him. She'd gone and almost lost it in a grocery store.

 

“Are you going to add those mushrooms to that ramen?”

 

“Huh?” He looked down in his basket. Several packages of instant ramen, the can of youkai mushrooms and a package of nori were what he had found so far. “Oh yeah. Dinner.”

 

Kagome quickly snatched the basket from his hands and set it in her cart. This just wouldn't do. She looked over at him, smiling. “Come on. Let's get you something good to eat.”

 

He kept quiet, opting to nod and follow her instead. Kagome headed to the meat section. After searching through what was left from the day, she found a package of thinly sliced pork. She continued to scan the meat section for something for herself. After finding selections she was satisfied with, Kagome dragged a dazed hanyou back to the produce section.

 

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a piece of blank paper and a pen. She scribbled out some simple instructions for him to follow and handed the paper to him, along with his basket. “So, follow these.”

 

He took the slip of paper and looked at it. It was simple enough for him to follow. “Uh, thanks.”

 

“I'd invite you over, but it's late . . . “Kagome stopped herself from saying too much. However, her face brightened when she was zapped with the oddest idea. “How would you like to come over for dinner Friday night?”

 

“Wha . . . “

 

“Oh, unless you have other plans.”

 

“No, no . . . it's not that.”

 

“Please, think about it. I'd like to invite Sango as well. It'd be a chance for me to thank you and . . . well, I like to cook for others.”

 

Inuyasha nodded his head. “Let me, uh, check my schedule.”

 

It hit her hard. He could be married, or at least had a girlfriend. Just chalk that up in the `another awkward moment' section of her life. Here stood an attractive and successful doctor. Who wouldn't want to be attached to that?

 

“Oh sorry for intruding,” she quickly added.

 

Inuyasha just shrugged his shoulders. “Nah, I just have to make sure there isn't a conference or something I'm supposed to attend.”

 

So, he wasn't in a relationship? Kagome groaned inwardly. A woman in a relationship asking a man not in one over to her house for dinner was strange. She thanked the gods that he was her doctor.

 

“Okay then.” Kagome picked up her bags of groceries. “I'll call your office Thursday to confirm.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“Goodnight then Dr. Takahashi.”

 

“Night Kagome.” He watched her walk out, alone. Instincts roared to life, ordering him to follow her, to protect her as she went out into the night alone. Without a ring, a mark, a mixed scent, anything . . . she was open to any predator.

 

He took several deep breaths to quell his youkai. Kagome was in a relationship, supposedly spiritually bound to another. He had to recognize it and his human half partially honored it. If he didn't, he would be the one she would have to fear at night.

 

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