InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Herbal Shop ❯ A New Face ( Chapter 5 )

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He slumped down onto his plush couch and Ginta plopped down next to him. Kouga raised the red flesh to his lips and tore a little sliver off, letting the taste of blood explode on his tongue. His smiled a little, but quickly went back to his sour mood.

”Next week I was thinking we could pick up some Elk or Buffalo. The deer is great and all, but I could go for something a little more robust.” Ginta said, trying to lighten his companion's mood.

 

Kouga shrugged and tore another sliver, chewing it thoughtfully. He ran a hand through his long black ponytail and stared straight ahead.

 

“How did your date go?” Ginta suddenly ventured, looking away, trying not to look as interested as he was. He had never really seen a girl affect his friend in such a way before.

 

“Bad. We got into an argument, I guess.” He shrugged and took a large bite, letting the taste overpower him a moment. He missed raw meat on a regular basis, but adjusting to normal human food had somewhat lowered his bodies tolerance to it and so he could only enjoy it a couple times a week.

 

“Already arguing with her? I thought you said last time that things were great and you really liked her?” Ginta incredulously as he took a bite of his own meat and chewed noisily, a little blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

 

“She said she wanted a relationship.”

 

“Isn't that why a person dates?” Ginta asked in that stupidly curious tone he used when he was picking on Kouga “Isn't that also why you were looking anyways?”

 

Kouga rolled his eyes, “I wasn't looking, she just fell into my lap so to speak. I don't want to get tied down, right now, you know that.” He tore a piece of flesh off with his fingers and studied it a moment, before slipping it into his mouth and rolling it around on his tongue. He missed the hunt and the thrill of the chase, the preys fear thick in his nostrils.

 

“You said that to her?” he asked, shocked.

 

“Listen, we can't all be hung up and dating little miss perfect right now, alright?” he stood and put what was left of the meat in the disposal and churned it into oblivion.

 

“Well, you could be if you hadn't just told her you weren't interested!” Ginta stood and yelled at Kouga.

 

Kouga looked with wide eyes at his friend and slumped his shoulders in defeat. Ginta was rational when it came to relationships, but he always wanted to be in them. Kouga wasn't always sure if he wanted to commit and devote so much time to a person. Ginta often told him he equated dated to buying a new puppy; if he didn't have the time to train and housebreak and give it attention, he wasn't going to buy it. Kouga had scoffed at him at the time, but now he knew Ginta had a point.

 

“I'm going to bed.” He said quietly as he went to his room and shut the door.

 

Ginta simply shook his head and tore into his meat.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Ella was stocking the shelves of lotion when he came in. She didn't even notice, she was so deep in thought about the wolf she had grown so attached to, so when the young man placed a strong hand on her shoulder she gave a little shriek and threw up the bottles of lotion she had in her hand.

 

“I'm so sorry!” he quickly apologized, his voice somewhat gravelly, but not in an old-man-with-emphysema way. He bent down and began helping her pick up the bottles.

 

“No, no, I should have been paying attention.” She stood and held her apron out for him to put the bottles in like a basket and smiled with closed eyes.

 

“My name's Bankotsu.” He quickly said, placing the assorted bottles into her apron-basket.

 

“Ah, Ella. Can I help you find anything?” she had opened her eyes and quickly become flustered. He was attractive. Devastatingly attractive, his hair was a long, thick black and his bangs were unruly in front of his face. He was tall and carried himself in a dominant posture; his eyes were blue as the ocean; striking and captivating.

 

“Actually, I was looking for something for a friend of mine. Uh, eclectic, totally girly and loves flowery fragrances.” He said, scratching his chin and looking around.

 

“Just a lotion or soaps, shampoo, a whole kit?” a blush crept over cheeks and her nose and she turned to straighten the bottles of lotion out that she had previously been working on.

 

“Just a body soap and lotion.” He put his fists on his hips with his elbows out at his sides.

 

“Is it a girlfriend or a relative?” she had walked over to the body section and was already looking.

 

“Neither. He's like a brother to me, but you know, he has some… effeminate tastes.” He stood behind her and slightly off to the side, watching as she bent over to pick up a bottle on the lower shelf. His eyes traveled up her body as she stood and lingered on her round hips as she dusted off her skirt with one hand, a small bottle in the other. He then trailed up her waist and stopped to appreciate her ample cleavage before moving up her pale neck and her blushing cheeks to meet her eyes with a hungry look in his own.

 

“Uh, um…” she coughed a little at the look he had just given her and tried again, “this one is nice, it's one of our best lilac fragrances. It's a body scrub, with lilac petals in it, so it looks very nice on your counter as well and it's incredibly exfoliating and soothing. The scent is soft, not overpowering at all and very natural; it's practically hypoallergenic as well.” She held the bottle out to him and he took it, brushing both his hands on hers.

 

“Do you have a tester?” he asked confidently as he turned the bottle over and looked over the ingredients, all 100% natural, of course.

 

“Yes, and the lotion as well.” She grabbed both and opened the tester bottle for him, he sniffed it gently and exhaled slowly. She set it down and then opened the lotion and held it up for him to sniff.

 

“Could you put it on? So I can see how it smells on the skin?” he asked, arching one eyebrow at her, suggestively.

 

She complied and rubbed it into her wrists and hands and he gently took them and sniffed at the backs of her hands softly, turning them over and sniffing down her wrists.

 

“Alright, I'll take them both, will you ring me up as well?” he asked before turning to walk away.

 

“Sure.” She quickly went up to the cash register and began ringing him up when she heard a cell phone go off, “Oh! I'm sorry, I thought I turned it off.” She reached under the counter and turned the ringer off.

 

“It's ok. Was that, uh, what's it called?” he tapped his chin with his forefinger and Ella took a good long look at his full lower lip.

 

“It's Avenged Sevenfold.” Came a deep, rough voice from behind Bankotsu.

 

Ella blanched, it was Kouga and he stepped around the young man to look at her sternly. He tapped his cell phone and she nodded and finished ringing Bankotsu up.

 

“Here, call me sometime, alright?” he winked at her and handed her a business card. She shyly took it and nodded as he left with his purchases. Ella then steeped into the back quickly and hollered for a co-worker to take over the floor for a moment before stepping around the counter and going outside, to the rear alley of the store. Kouga followed right behind her.

 

“Who the hell was that?” he quickly asked when the door shut and they were alone behind the little shop.

 

“Just a customer I guess.” She shrugged, “I've never seen him before.”

 

“Well, I didn't like how he had his hands all over you.” He took her shoulder and looked at her. Her eyes were bright green in the sunlight and her cheeks were rosy tinted. It hurt somewhat that those cheeks were rosy from someone else's attention on her.

 

“What on earth do you care for Kouga?” she narrowed her eyes at him and shook off his hand, before leaning against the wall of the building.

 

“Ella, I…” he had hoped she would have forgotten about that little spat, but obviously she wasn't nearly as stupid as some of the other girls he knew.

 

“Whatever, Kouga, I need to get back in.” She took off her deep red bandanna for moment to scratch her stuffed up ears, but before her hand was on the furry appendages, Kouga was already leaning in and scratching for her. He started at their base, on Ella scalp and she sighed, he then moved steadily upwards, rubbing and scratching and she began to lean her head forward. She forgot for a moment that she was angry with him and his ministrations on her abused little appendages did much to soothe her mood.

 

“I'm sorry, Ella. It's not my business, especially after what I said yesterday.” He continued rubbing, with his thumbs on the insides and three fingers on the outsides; up and down in a steady rhythm.

 

“Hmm.” Was her only response for a second and he thought, hoped, he was out of the doghouse. Then she came to her senses and removed his strong hands from her ears and quickly replaced the bandanna on her head.

 

“Please, Ella, let me make it up to you. Let's go out tonight.” He grabbed her wrist as she turned to go and she looked up at him, her eyes hopeful but her posture weary.

 

“Alright, Kouga. Pick me up after work? I get off at 5.” She smiled at him and put a hand over his on her wrist and his mood picked right up.

 

“Definitely!” he smiled at her and opened the door to her, before saying bye and leaving her in the doorway.

 

She felt stupid for agreeing, she wanted something from him he didn't want to give and she sighed. Maybe she would call Bankotsu tomorrow, since it was her day off. Ella slowly walked to the shelf she had been stocking and set about her tasks of stocking, pricing and setting up testers. She then went to the herb section of the shop and sighed at its disarray.