InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Syndrome ❯ Jumping to Conclusions ( Chapter 38 )

 

I do not own Inuyasha and Company, no matter how happy it would make me. Rumiko Takahashi does. I make no money from these fics.

 

 

@@ About 2 and a half Years Ago/Kagome's Sophomore Year of High School @@

 

 

Chapter 38 - Jumping to Conclusions

 

 

He was beginning to get more than just jealous and it was starting to get to him. Ever since they'd gone to the mall together, Kagome had been coming to visit, not him, but his brother! Not only that, but they spent all their time in Jakotsu's room with the door closed and their voices hushed. Sure, he'd learned how to share her time, but this was different. She hadn't paid any attention to him, Miroku, or Inuyasha for days! What was so interesting about Jakotsu all of a sudden?

 

Bankotsu hated the suspicions floating around in his mind; hated that he didn't trust his brother as much as he'd thought he did. Still, something was going on and he wanted to know what! To top it all off, Inuyasha had been hinting, none too subtly, that he'd witnessed something that would put Jakotsu's intentions in question. Could Jak have lied? Did his brother have feelings for Kagome after all? Bank figured it was possible that a crush was developing because of all the time they were spending together, but refused to believe that Jakotsu had initially asked her to the prom intending something less than innocent. It wasn't possible.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

Inuyasha was going insane trying to keep his anger and indignation inside. He couldn't just come out and tell Bank and Miroku because then Kagome would find out that he'd followed her. No, he needed to get them alone because once they saw the picture on his phone there was sure to be some serious yelling. The fact that Kagome had been spending more and more time with Jak made it all the more difficult to keep his mouth shut and not call the Kagome-groping, ill-intentioned asshole out on his actions.

 

Finally he'd managed to get both guys to agree to meet him at his house after school, since Kagome once again had plans with her prom date - or the intended victim as Inuyasha liked to think of him. He was going to kill the prick soon. He was just biding his time until then.

 

The hanyou opened the front door and let in his two friends, leading them silently up to his room and closing the door.

 

“Alright, what's so devastatingly important?” Miroku asked. “I have a research paper I need to be working on.”

 

Inuyasha shot a dark look at Bankotsu. “You still so sure your brother isn't a threat to Kagome? That he'd never put the moves on her?”

 

“Why? He's my brother, Inuyasha. I know that doesn't mean much to you, but I trust him,” Bank answered with forced confidence.

 

“Trust? If you ask me you shouldn't trust the bastard as far as you can throw him.”

 

Miroku put a hand on Bankotsu's shoulder to keep him calm. “If you have something to share with us, get on with it.”

 

“Fine then,” Inuyasha snarled. “When your brother took Kagome to the mall… he acted a little more than friendly. They took her dress to be adjusted and while she had it on he fucking groped her!”

 

Bankotsu snorted out a laugh in disbelief. “He groped her? Like how? This is what you've been hinting about all this time?”

 

“He grabbed her fucking tits! He grabbed her and she didn't even try to stop him! Hell, she seemed to think it was funny. That doesn't seem innocent at all, does it?”

 

Bank glared at Inuyasha. “You're full of shit. Jak would never, ever do that! She's like his sister. Besides, if he'd tried something like that Kagome would have kicked his ass. I know you don't like the idea of him taking her, but this? To invent something to try and get us on your side? It's pathetic, Inuyasha, fucking pathetic!”

 

“Now let's stay calm,” Miroku interjected. “Are you sure that you were not simply mistaken? You were watching from a distance, were you not? Perhaps it only looked like he groped her. If he'd done something like that surely she would have told us, and she definitely wouldn't still be spending time with him in preparation for the prom.”

 

“Ha! He didn't make a mistake,” Bank shouted. “He made it up entirely! It's not possible and you know it!”

 

“I thought you'd be that way about it. That's why I got a picture.” The hanyou flipped open his cell phone and pushed a few buttons before handing it to Miroku.

 

The monk's eyes widened and his expression darkened as he stared at the image on the small screen. “I don't believe it,” he muttered before handing the evidence to Bankotsu. “I can't believe he… he… Damn it!”

 

Bank's face was void of expression as he viewed a tiny picture of a huge betrayal. How could Jakotsu do it? How could he touch her like that and then act like nothing happened; like everything was perfectly normal. “I'll kill him,” he said slowly. “I'll fucking kill him. I'll strangle him so I can watch his face while he suffocates.”

 

Miroku turned surprised eyes to his friend. “I think you might be overreacting just a tad, Bank.”

 

“Overreacting?” Bankotsu was yelling now, unable to reign in his anger. “No, I'm not overreacting. He's my brother, my fucking brother, and I trusted him! I trusted him with her safety and he took advantage of it, of me, of her! He had the nerve to grope her?! Well it's over. There is no way in hell I'm letting him go anywhere alone with her, not after this!”

 

“Kagome will not be pleased if you try to tell her she cannot accompany him to the prom,” Miroku interjected.

 

“She'll get over it eventually. This… this is unforgivable. I don't understand why she didn't tell me!”

 

“She didn't tell you because you didn't need to know,” Kagome said in a dangerously angry tone from where she stood in the doorway.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

Sesshoumaru was relieved when he sensed that the two males had finally come so that his half-brother could break the news. He'd been waiting for days, praying that the revelation of Jakotsu's true intentions would bring the planned `date' to a screeching halt. Then, not only would he not have to worry about Kagome having a possible boyfriend, but he would have no reason to go to the prom either! Two birds, one stone. Maybe then the pain in his chest would ease somewhat. He still hadn't recovered from seeing her touched so intimately by another, and to tell the truth he didn't know if he ever would. Or if he even could.

 

His mind was elsewhere as he walked to answer the front door. He didn't usually lower himself to such menial tasks, but at the moment he didn't want Inuyasha and his friends interrupted if it could be avoided. He had too much riding on their discussion. He froze in place at the sight of her standing there with a beautiful smile on her face. Whoever he'd been expecting to be on the other side of the door, it definitely wasn't her.

 

“The guys here?” she asked softly.

 

He nodded. “In the half-breed's room,” Sesshoumaru replied before mentally kicking himself for calling Inuyasha that in front of her. He knew how she felt about that term. He stepped out of the doorway and motioned for her to enter, again surprised when she reached to the side to take someone's hand. When he saw who stood beside her, he knew that what was coming next would be bad. The taiyoukai watched in silence as the two headed up the stairs towards the hanyou's door and impending doom.

 

He was almost tempted to warn them of her impending arrival, but then how would he explain that? `Kagome's coming. She's going to overhear you fighting about what Inuyasha saw Jakotsu do while he was following her at the mall!' Yeah, that would go over well. No, it was better to just stay out of it. That's not to say he wouldn't be listening intently to every single word. He had a serious interest in the outcome of the confrontation to come.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

 

“Ka… Kagome, what are you doing here?” Miroku stuttered nervously. They were in trouble now.

 

The miko laughed darkly. “Hmm, that is not important at the moment. What I'd like to know is how in the hell you think you know anything about what happened between Jakotsu and I at the mall!” She pointed angrily at Bankotsu, who still stood clutching the damning piece of evidence against his brother. “He didn't grope me! He would never do that and you know it!”

 

“Didn't grope you? You're saying Jakotsu didn't grope you during your dress fitting? You're lying! I can't believe you're actually lying for him!”

 

“Have you lost your mind, Bank? What the hell?”

 

He quickly crossed the few feet between them and held the phone in her face, much closer than necessary, to ensure that she would look at it whether she wanted to or not. “I think I'm the one who should be asking what the hell, Kagome! It certainly looks like he's groping you to me!”

 

Kagome grabbed the phone out of his hand and studied the picture for a moment before examining the phone itself, recognizing it immediately. “Inuyasha,” she hissed dangerously. “Where were you when you took this picture? Were you spying on me? I can't believe you!”

 

Inuyasha's ears plastered to his head. Whether he would admit it or not, he was still terrified of her anger, afraid that someday she would change her mind about him and his life would go back to the way it was before the angel that was Kagome saved him. “I… I was just worried about you,” he mumbled.

 

“It's a damn good thing he was! Were you ever going to tell me that my brother put the moves on you? Did you want him to? Is that why you didn't say anything?”

 

Her voice was low and dangerous as she spoke, her yelling a thing of the past. Though their ears appreciated it, all three males knew that her tone and volume change meant that she'd reached a whole new level of angry. “Bankotsu, he is your brother. I have known him for just as long as I have known you and he would never do something like you are accusing him of. I can't believe you right now.”

 

When he started to open his mouth, she lifted a finger to stop him. “No, don't you dare. You automatically assume the worst? You think you can make decisions about my life without consulting me first? Without even asking me what happened? It doesn't work that way. I'm going to the prom with Jakotsu whether you like it or not and I wouldn't blame him if he never forgave you for this… this… bullshit! I know I'm going to have a hard time seeing past this and it'll be a hundred times worse for him.”

 

She turned to storm away and Bank grabbed her arm to stop her. “No, wait, Kagome. Okay, maybe I overreacted a little but what do you expect? How am I supposed to feel when I see a picture of you with my brother's hands on your breasts?”

 

“Let me go right now,” she snarled through gritted teeth. “It was nothing. It was a joke and it was nobody's business but mine and his.”

 

“How can you expect me to believe that?” Bankotsu asked in honest question. The way the two had been acting lately, his own jealousy and insecurities, Inuyasha's comments… it had all grown out of control in his mind and he just couldn't take her word for it.

 

“Because I'm gay, that's why, brother,” Jakotsu almost yelled from where he stood just inside the doorway, no one having noticed his presence where he'd been waiting in the hall. “We were playing around, screwing with the seamstress. I didn't mean anything by it and she knew that. I'm gay. I'm not after Kagome's precious virginity. Does that make it all better, Bankotsu? Does that make it alright? Will that make you fucking trust me again?”

 

Jak turned on his heel and walked quickly away. Kagome pulled out of Bank's grasp and followed behind him. No one moved as they heard the front door slam, followed a minute later by the sound of squealing tires heading down the driveway.

 

“Well, fuck,” Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

 

“You can say that again,” Miroku agreed.

 

Bankotsu could only stare at the empty doorway in shock. He'd had no idea his brother was even there. If he had, he'd never have said the things he did. Now what was he supposed to do?

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

Sesshoumaru let out a sigh as the pain and tightness in his chest lessened. Jakotsu was gay? What a relief! Of course the fact that the miko was royally pissed at all three of her friends was a double edged sword. It pleased him on many levels that someone else would suffer missing her presence, but at the same time, if she didn't visit Inuyasha, she didn't visit at all. He could only hope things would be set right again as quickly as possible, even if that put Kagome right back in the hanyou's arms.

 

On top of that, it looked like he was still going to the prom after all. He just couldn't win.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

Since his confession to her, Kagome had been helping Jakotsu try to figure out how to come out to his brother, and the way it had happened, well, it certainly wasn't according to plans. The brothers hadn't spoken to each other since the fight at Inuyasha's over a week ago and all the anger and hurt feelings were really putting a dampener on Jak's carefully planned perfect prom night. He was trying to make the best of it and not think about all that had happened because of him, but he couldn't help blaming himself for the problems between Kagome and her friends. He'd never meant to cause trouble for her and his conscience kept whispering to him that it was all his fault, that he should never have asked her in the first place, that he should have just gone alone or not gone at all.

 

Miroku seemed to be the only one of the three Kagome didn't refuse to even look at, and being at the bottom of the shit list instead of the top meant that he was allowed to assist her in her prom night preparations while her other two friends were still considered exiled to Siberia, or simply out in the cold. She wasn't happy with him either, mind you, but Inuyasha had practically stalked her because of his distrustful nature and Bank… Bankotsu had broken her heart with his thoughtless and unfounded accusations against his brother. He had some serious groveling to do before she even thought about forgiving him.

 

So Miroku found himself straightening the straps across her back, finding misplaced shoes, clasping her bracelet and her necklace, all the tasks usually assigned to one's best girl friend. Jak would have been happy to attend to her needs, but he was busy in the other room with Kagome's mother and grandfather, wrestling with the complicated creature that was a tuxedo.

 

Finally they were dressed and everyone went downstairs to await the official reveal. Usually the boy would have been the one at the bottom of the staircase waiting to see his beautiful date, but nothing about this night was usual, and the pair had decided to descend the stairs together. That way Kagome's mother could have her mini photo shoot they were both dreading.

 

Jak and Kagome stood alone in her room side by side looking in the mirror. “We clean up pretty nice, don't we?” Jakotsu asked playfully, making Kagome laugh.

 

“Yeah, I guess you could say that. Jak… I… I'm so sorry about everything that happened, how Inuyasha followed us, about the way Bank acted. It's ridiculous that I can't even go on a friendly date with someone I've known since Kindergarten without everyone freaking out and losing their minds.”

 

Jak chuckled. “You know what's funny? I was just going to apologize to you for the same thing. This… it wasn't supposed to end with you fighting with them. It was supposed to be fun for both of us, not a big stressful mess. I'm surprised you still want to go through with it at all.”

 

“What, and have that whole day of torturous mall shopping be for nothing? Never!” Kagome joked. “Of course I'm still going and I don't care what they think. We're going to have fun.”

 

“I knew he was following us, Inuyasha I mean.” When Kagome shot him a look he hurried to continue. “I didn't want to tell you because I knew you'd be angry with him and it would ruin the whole day. I tried to ignore it and I guess I forgot all about him by the time it happened. I never should have done that. I was just playing, screwing around to make you laugh since you didn't seem to want to get the dress altered, to take your mind off it, ya know?”

 

“You don't need to apologize. If I had a problem with what you did I would have let you know it. They just… they totally blew it out of proportion. That Bank automatically assume the worst, well that just hurts.”

 

“I know what you mean,” Jak replied with a small smile. “We might as well go down and get the pictures over with. We're lucky my mom isn't here too.”

 

“But I know for a fact she's already asked my mom for double prints,” she said while rolling her eyes. “Alright, onward to torture then.”

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

“You know she's going to be pissed that you guys are here,” Miroku said quietly to the two standing on the other side of the front door.

 

“I know, but we have to fix this before they leave or neither of them will have any fun,” Bank replied.

 

“Alright then, but if she blames me for letting you in…”

 

“Just get out of the way already, Monk,” Inuyasha growled. Miroku moved and the two stepped inside, both ready to do whatever it took to gain Kagome's forgiveness. Bank also had another task, to somehow apologize to his brother while at the same time respond to Jak's abrupt announcement.

 

They didn't have much time to prepare before footsteps were heard upstairs. Kagome and Jak were ready to come down. It was time to face the music.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

They were almost to the bottom of the stairs when Kagome noticed them. She stopped mid-step, ready to turn around and go right back up, when Bank spoke and she paused to listen.

 

“Kagome, wait, please,” he pleaded, making his way up the last few steps to stand in front of the couple. “We can't let you go without apologizing first. I… I was jealous, alright? You were spending all your time with Jak, all that time alone in his room with the door closed, that my mind started going places I knew it shouldn't, but I couldn't help it. I should never have jumped to conclusions, even with the picture. I know how you play around. I should have guessed there was an innocent explanation for it. I never should have yelled at you or accused you of lying.”

 

Bank watched her expression closely as he spoke and noticed her eyes flicker to their hanyou friend, as if silently saying that his words didn't excuse Inuyasha's actions. “What Inu did, well, that's my fault too. I didn't even bother to introduce him to Jak. I just expected him to accept it. Of course he was concerned. You know how much you mean to all of us.” Kagome smiled softly and some of the tightness in Bankotsu's shoulders relaxed.

 

He turned to look his brother in the eye and smiled. “I have always trusted you. I'm sorry I had a stupid temporary lapse in judgment. It's just… I feel like I have to protect her from the world, you know, and I had a really hard time letting you take over, even for a little while. About what you said, Jak, it doesn't matter to me. You've always been and always will be my brother.” Bank cracked a grin. “Besides, I should have known. You've always been a little off,” he said with a laugh, Jak joining in.

 

Kagome and Jakotsu turned to look at each other, silently conversing through their eyes, before turning back to the waiting group. “Alright, little brother,” Jak started, “I guess we can forgive you.”

 

Kagome smirked. “Just don't let it happen again.”

 

Bank sighed in relief, and both Miroku and Inuyasha relaxed visibly as well. “Trust me, I will never, ever jump to conclusions when you're concerned again, Babe. Now, if you're not in a hurry, I'm going to do what I should have done weeks ago. Inuyasha, this is my brother Jakotsu,” he said while motion from one to the other. “And Jak, this is my newest friend Inuyasha.”

 

Inuyasha nodded, slightly uncomfortable while Jak appeared to size him up. “Kami, I love the ears,” he almost squealed. “They make me wanna cut them off and take them home with me!” Everyone laughed as Inuyasha's ears flattened to his head before being covered by his hands for good measure.

 

Apologies given and accepted, problems resolved, and friends reunited, it was decided that Jak and Kagome could finally make their way down the stairs where they were temporarily blinded by Kagome's mother's camera flash. The moment was more than adequately immortalized on film before the couple managed to talk their way out the front door. Finally it was time for the much anticipated prom.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

Finally it was time for the much dreaded prom. He looked incredible, if he did say so himself. And he did. Still, there was a price to be paid for his impeccable appearance and unparalleled attractiveness. He knew that this was going to be a very, very, very long night and by the end of it he would more likely than not wish he could blind each and every girl there, besides his Kagome of course.

 

There would be no point in blinding Kagome, even if he wasn't head over heels in love her. She didn't see him at all, like he wasn't even there or like he existed in a permanent blind-spot. If he didn't have to keep up appearances he wouldn't have bothered with the fancy tuxedo. If it didn't matter what the rest of the student body thought he would have simply worn an old sweat suit or something equally horrid and common. She wouldn't have noticed him either way. Still, he had to be there.

 

Sesshoumaru knew his father was suspicious, confused by his son's strange behavior, but he didn't care. He neither owed the old dog an explanation nor planned on providing one. He simply stalked out of the front door, prom ticket in hand, climbed into the limousine, and ordered the driver to be off, completely ignoring the two pairs of eyes watching through the front window. His father and his human could speculate all they wanted. They certainly would never correctly deduce his reasoning. They could never have known he was going to the prom simply to be close to the girl of his dreams, even if she didn't acknowledge his presence.

 

 

@@@@@The Syndrome@@@@@

 

 

 

As they walked away from the house, their small entourage watching from the front door, Kagome smirked and leaned closer to Jak. “So, did you remember to book the hotel room?”

 

He shot her a playful look before smiling. “Of course, my dear.”

 

“And you didn't forget the condoms?”

 

“That's not funny, Kagome!” Inuyasha bellowed from the front door.

 

“Yes it is!” she yelled back through her laughter before climbing into the waiting car. The night was about to truly begin.