InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ What Friends Are For ❯ Reunited ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer- I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters featured in this fic, no matter how much I would like to.
A/N– I’m so sorry I didn’t finish Divine Temptation, I’m still working on it but I had a hot idea for this. It’s in a different style, so please R&R, and be honest. Mucho thanks. As a side note, I should tell you that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru aren’t brothers, but they’re still youkai. Oh, I need a beta, if anyone’s interested.

~*~* What Friends Are For *~*~

Chapter 1- Reunited

A soft summer breeze gently caressed Kagome’s bikini-clad body. The muted sound of water lapping against the dock where she lay provided a rhythmic accompaniment to the periodic melodies of the birds who made their homes near the shores of Tawakoni Lake.

Kagome Higurashi had always enjoyed summer and the opportunity to do nothing more strenuous than work on her tan. Being indolent made a pleasant contrast to the hectic schedule she followed the rest of the year. She smiled to herself. In another week her usual summer routine would be changing permanently. The tempo of her life would be increased to the point where days like today would be very rare.

“That’s a very secretive smile you’re wearing these days, Runt,” a deep male voice said from somewhere close by. “I find it quite provocative.”

Kagome’s eyes flew open in shock, not only because she thought she was alone but also because that voice from her past should have been two thousand miles away.

“Inuyasha!”

She was suddenly conscious of what a small portion of her body her bathing suit covered. Kagome grabbed her matching sarong, and with strangely uncoordinated movements for someone normally graceful, she pulled it on jerkily.

“What are you doing here?” After her first glimpse at the man towering above her, she refused to look up again. Kagome knew very well what Inuyasha Sano looked like. In that quick glance, she’d seen that the only item of clothing that he was wearing was a pair of faded cutoffs that should have been discarded years ago. They hung perilously low on his hips.

“Is that any greeting for a friend and neighbor whom you haven’t seen in three years?” Inuyasha asked. Without making any obvious effort, Inuyasha leaned over and picked her up, placing her on her feet in front of him. Even with Kagome standing, Inuyasha continued to tower over her, the top of her head only coming to his collarbone. No one else had the ability to make her aware of her lack of inches as Inuyasha Sano.

He slid his hand under her chin and lifted her face until he looked directly into her eyes. “You look even more beautiful than I remember,” he said, the warmth in his amber gaze adding heat to her already sun kissed body, “and I don’t think I had forgotten anything about you.” He paused, as though relearning every feature on her face. “I’ve really looked forward to seeing you again.”

Kagome’s mind seemed to lose all of its discipline as thoughts she’d assumed were buried years ago flew around in her head like fragments of a jigsaw puzzle- the scraps indecipherable, creating a confusing collage. She searched desperately through the disconnected thoughts for something to say in response. She could hardly parrot his last comment. She certainly was not looking forward to ever seeing Inuyasha again. “You surprised me,” she replied in a feeble attempt to sound natural. “When did you get home?”

He glanced back to the shoreline where the two homes had sat side by side for three generations overlooked the lake. “Not too long ago. I’ve been here long enough th find something to wear that is better for this Missouri weather,” he said with a grin that was as familiar to Kagome as her own. “I visited with Mom for a few minutes, but she knew I was eager to come find you. So she sent me off.”

Kagome fought to ignore the implication in the remark. Pretending that she no longer wished to sunbathe, she gathered up her towel and her tanning lotion and started towards her home. Inuyasha kept pace with her. “Why are you here?” she asked dreading his answer.

He confirmed her fear by answering, “I received an invitation to your wedding. I decided to come home to meet the knight who stole my princess while I was busy slaying demons.”

Kagome fully intended to discuss Inuyasha’s invitation with her mother at the very first opportunity. Inuyasha Sano had definitely not been on the guest list she had prepared. Keeping her eyes on the path in front of her, she grumbled, “I don’t know why you always have to make everything sound so dramatic.”

“Don’t you Kagome? That surprises me. Seems to me like drama comes easily for both of us.”

That was true but she resented being reminded. Why now, of all times? One week, that was all she’d needed. Then her life would be safe and serene, just as she’d planned. Not that Inuyasha could possibly make any difference to those plans but he did have an annoying habit of creating confusion and uncertainty in her life.

When she didn’t answer him, Inuyasha continued talking, sounding relaxed and companionable. “So tell me about him. The name was unfamiliar. Obviously, he’s not from around here.”

Kagome felt a measure of safety as they drew closer to her home. She had no desire to carry on an intimate conversation with Inuyasha. Once they reached the house, she could depend on her mother to bridge any uncomfortable silences. “Actually, Sesshomaru moved to Payton from St. Louis a couple of years ago.”

“What does he do?”
“He’s an attorney.”

“Oh,” Inuyasha responded, as if some mystery had been solved for him. “An attorney,” he repeated with satisfaction, “a nice, safe, unexciting profession.”

She glanced at him with annoyance. “Not all of us crave excitement, baka,” she muttered darkly.

“There was a time when you enjoyed all the excitement you could get, as I recall.”

“I was only a child. ‘When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child and reason as a child. When I became a woman, I did away with childish things.’”

“Good job! Reverent Wilder would be oh so proud of you, remembering your bible verses that way,” Inuyasha gushed sarcastically. “Let’s see, that’s from the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians.”

“Your early training still shows too, otherwise you wouldn’t have recognized it,” Kagome replied in an even tone. She pushed open the screen door to the enclosed porch with relief. “Mom? You’ll never guess who’s here,” she called in a false bright and perky voice. Inuyasha merely smirked behind her.

“Oh yes, I would,” Hitomi Higurashi said. Her face shone with welcome as she stepped out of the kitchen carrying a tray of cookies and a frosted pitcher of lemonade. “Inuyasha checked with me to find out where you were.” She set down the tray and hugged him tightly. “Oh, it’s so good to have you home again after all this time. What a marvelous surprise to everyone, having you show up so unexpectedly.”

Inuyasha returned the hug with earnest, his smile lighting up his face, allowing a bit of his left fang to show. “I’m glad to see that someone is happy to see me,” he complained to Hitomi, glancing pointedly at Kagome out of the corner of his eye. “For a moment, I swore Kagome was going to shove me off the dock when she first me.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I wouldn’t use all of that energy on you. You just startled me, that’s all.” Forcing herself to sound casual, she said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to run upstairs and change.”

“Not on my account, I hope,” Inuyasha offered with an innocently sensual grin. “I’m enjoying the view,” he said wolfishly.

Hitomi laughed. ‘She would’, Kagome thought crossly. Her mother had always found Inuyasha amusing. As far as her parent were concerned, Inuyasha could do no wrong. He was the son that they had never had.

A small voice inside her head told her that, to be fair, she needed to remember that she had been the daughter Inuyasha’s parents had never had as well. Kagome wasn’t in the mood for fairness at the moment. “Excuse me, please,” she said politely and left the room.

Hitomi poured lemonade in two of the glasses and said, “Sit down, Inuyasha. She probably won’t be long. Why don’t you tell me how things are going for you. I really want to hear about New York and your life there. Everyone here in Payton is so proud of you- the small town boy who made good.”

Inuyasha continued to stare at the door where Kagome had disappeared. “She’s changed,” he said in a flat voice, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

Hitomi sighed. “Yes, she has,” she admitted, “and in my opinion, the change hasn’t been for the better at all.”

Inuyasha glanced at her in surprise.

Hitomi hastened to explain. “She seems to have lost some inner spark, that enthusiasm, that enjoyment of life that always used to make her sparkle.”

“I remember,” Inuyasha said with a smile.

“It could have been getting that teaching job as soon as she finished college. She wasn’t that much older than her high school students, which probably explains why she began to dress and act so much older than she really is.”

“Does she like teaching sniveling and whiny teenage humans and youkai all day long?”

“Seems to,” Hitomi laughed. “Of course, what she really enjoys is working with the drama club, directing their plays- she loves anything that has to do with acting.”

“That doesn’t seem too surprising, since that’s what she majored in at school. She was one of the most talented students in our class. It’s a shame she isn’t using that talent now.”

“I know. I suppose that’s what bothers me about her. She seems to be setting for so much less than she’s capable of.”

“Such as Sesshomaru Kenshin?” Inuyasha cleverly insinuated.

“Oh, Kami, no! Sesshomaru is a brilliant man. Absolutely brilliant. He made quite a name for himself in the St. Louis area, from what I understand. Payton is extremely fortunate that a man like Sesshomaru chose to move here and open a practice.” Hitomi offered Inuyasha the plate of cookies, pleased when he took a few. “Of course, he’s extremely busy. He still has a considerable caseload in St. Louis so he’s been dividing his time between here and there. Kagome’s hoping his schedule will let up some once they’re married.”

Inuyasha took a bite of one of the cookies an moaned his pleasure. Hitomi blushed. “Sitting here eating your homemade oatmeal cookies takes me back, Hitomi.” After swallowing some lemonade, Inuyasha returned to the subject pf their conversation. “If Kenshin is so well-known and established, he must be much older than Kagome.”

Hitomi nodded. “Yes, he is. He’s thirty nine, fourteen years older then she is.”

Inuyasha choked on the lemonade he was drinking. “What the fuck!?”

Hitomi patted him on the back with excessive force to show her disapproval for his language. “Watch your mouth in my house, Inuyasha.”

His cheeks reddened slightly as he hung his head down in mock shame. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect that. So they’re fourteen years apart and she doesn’t mind?”

“Doesn’t seem to bother her in the least. Like I said, she acts so much older. Seems so settled and all. You’d think they were much closer in age than they really are.” Hitomi reached over and took a cookie. “She seems to have whole life planned out now. Kagome intends to continue teaching for a couple of years, then start a family. Sesshomaru does a whole lot of entertaining at home. Just playing hostess for him will be a full time job. She seems to be content with everything.”

Inuyasha gazed out through the screen that enclosed the large porch and with a sly look in his eyes, murmured, “I wonder.”

As soon as Kagome returned downstairs, she could hear the animation in her mother’s voice. Inuyasha had that effect on people. He seemed to generate excitement wherever he went.

“Everyone in town watches your show,” she heard Hitomi say, “wanting to see what outrageous stunt Miroku Hentai is going to pull next. He’s a real spectacle, isn’t he?”

Inuyasha laughed. “Perverts always are.”

“Of course, I know you’re nothing like him, but you make him out to be a real ladies’ man.”

Kagome could hear the amusement in Inuyasha’s voice at her mother’s careful phrasing when he replied, “Yeah, he’s a real threat to the virtue of every woman he meets, isn’t he?”

They laughed companionably. Kagome decided it was time to join them and change the subject when she heard her mother say, “I think you’re just fantastic in the role and very believable. If I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near my daughter, that’s for sure. Speaking of Kagome, I taped your program on the VCR everyday during the school term so she could watch it when she got home. She-”

“Is there any lemonade left?” Kagome asked, stepping out on the porch as though unaware she’d interrupted her mother. She could tell by the expression on his face that Inuyasha had not been fooled.
“Of course there it,” Hitomi answered. “You know I always keep plenty on hand in the summertime. It is our staple drink around here during these warm months.”

“So you watch Hope For Today?” Inuyasha asked Kagome, a half smile on his face. He looked very much at home. His head rested on the back of the well padded patio chair, his legs stretched in front of him, crossed at the ankles. He had his glass balanced on his lean, muscled stomach.

Kagome stepped over his legs and sank down on the chair on the other side. “When I have the time,” she drawled casually. “Which reminds me, how did you manage to get the time off to come home? If you’re really here for the wedding, that must mean you plan to stay here at least a week.”

“What do you mean, if I’m really here for the wedding? Don’t you believe me?” Inuyasha asked innocently.

Kagome shrugged. “I believe you. I just find it unusual that you’d bother.”

“Oh, I don’t,” Hitomi said. “After all, Inuyasha is the closest thing to a brother you’ve ever had. It’s only natural he’d want to be here.”

“That’s true. So I asked the powers that be in our production for the time and eventually they decided that Miroku really did need some R and R from all of his bedroom activities.” He watched Kagome’s profile while he talked because she refused to look at him. Glancing at Hitomi, he continues, “So they’ve put poor Miroku in a come for a few days. It’s the industry’s favorite solution for a missing actor.”

“Oh really?” Hitomi said, laughing. “What caused it?”

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. “Who knows? Too much sex, probably.”

“Inuyasha,” Hitomi said, laughing. “That’s awful.”

“Sorry,” he said in a teasing tone that said he wasn’t sorry at all.

How many times over the years had Kagome heard the exact inflection in his voice? Somehow it had always managed to get him off the hook. Perhaps because when he was in that mood, he was virtually irresistible.

“Besides,” he went on, “I felt I had to meet the man who took Kagome away from me.”

Kagome stiffened at his words, but before she could come up with a caustic reply, she heard her mother say, “Well then you should come to dinner today. Sesshomaru is going to be here. It will give the two of you a chance to get acquainted and all before the wedding.”

‘OH MY FUCKING GOD,’ Kagome silently screamed. No two men could be more unlike than Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. The evening would be a total disaster. What in Kami’s name would they find to talk about?

“Why, Hitomi, thank you,” Kagome heard him say and a sinking sensation developed in her stomach. “That would be great.” He glanced at his watch. “In that case, I’d better get home so I can visit with Dad when he arrives. I’m sure they’ll understand why I’m over here my first night home.”

Damn him. Damn him to the 7 hells. Why did he keep making those little remarks, implying a great deal more than he had reason to? When Hitomi accepted his comment with a smile, Kagome could have strangled him. Which was exactly why she didn’t want Inuyasha Sano anywhere around her.

Kagome considered herself to be a calm, even tempered person. Everyone at school commented on how well she handled her students. She did not get upset or lose her temper. She was in control at all times. Inuyasha was the only person who had the ability to upset her and she hated it. She absolutely detested it.

The past three years had been very uneventful, yet wonderfully serene, and she looking forward to a life of similar peace and serenity. In other words, she intended to spend her life anywhere Inuyasha Sano wasn’t. She waited while Inuyasha and Hitomi made arrangements for his return that evening, smiled politely when Inuyasha said goodbye and watched as he left her home and sauntered across the immense lawn that separated them. Then she turned to Hitomi. “Do you know how Inuyasha got an invitation, Mother?”

Hitomi had just picked up the tray to return to the kitchen. She looked puzzled by her question. “I sent him one. Why do you ask.?”

“Because his name wasn’t on the list.”

Hitomi went into the kitchen. Kagome followed. “I know it was an oversight.”

“It was no oversight.”

Hitomi set the tray on the kitchen counter and turned around. “Kagome! Are you saying that you didn’t intend to invite Inuyasha to your wedding?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

An expression of pain crossed Hitomi’s face. “Oh, Kagome. That’s ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous about it? It’s my wedding. I should be able to invite or not invite anyone I please.”

“But to leave Inuyasha out, after all you’ve meant to each other during these years.”
“Oh, Mom. Don’t exaggerate. Inuyasha and I grew up together because we lived next door to each other. Since we’re almost five miles out of town, we didn’t have too many choices as to whom we played with. And if you remember everything, then you should remember that we spent most of our time fighting!”

Hitomi leaned against the counter, staring at her daughter as though she no longer knew her. “Kagome, that isn’t true and you know it! Of course you squabbled at times- kids love to bicker. Besides, you’re both extremely strong willed and determined to get your way. No one would expect that you’d always agree on everything. But you two were friends. Close friends. I don’t understand your attitude towards him now.”

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter now. He’s here and he’ll be here for dinner. I’m going upstairs to take a bath. I want to look calm and relaxed when Sesshomaru gets here.”

Hitomi watched Kagome leave. There were times when she didn’t understand her daughter at all.


Well that’s it. Please r&r if you want me to continue it.

~TaShIe~