InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ When We Awaken ❯ Chapter 3: Tokyo ( Chapter 3 )

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

Chapter Three: Tokyo

Inuyasha tried not to cuss as he made his way to the door of his apartment on the third story landing. In his arms was a pale and beautiful miko, garbed in red and white garments and with long ebony hair. She was the girl he had awoken two days prior, and who was spouting nonsense about sleeping for 500 years.

He shook his head. There was no way that could be possible. He looked down at the girl he was holding bridal style in his arms. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be in a trance. She certainly didn’t look a day older than eighteen.

Inuyasha no longer had keys to his apartment; those had been left at camp. However, he was lucky that his apartment manager had been home. The old man had raised an eyebrow at the girl in his arms, but the man also had keys to all of the doors and was currently opening the door to his apartment.

“If your girlfriend is staying for more than a night, you’re going to have to add her to the lease,” smirked the older man.

Inuyasha gave the man a stony stare as he walked within his apartment and turned to face the manager. “She is not my girlfriend,” he retorted.

The small, elderly man grinned at the comment. “Not your girlfriend?” A wide, lecherous grin erupted and he commented with a mocking tone. “Then why are you bringing her into your apartment?”

“None of your business, old man,” answered Inuyasha as he managed to close the front door with his foot, slamming the door shut in the smirking apartment manager’s face.

Inuyasha stormed inside his apartment. He was seething inside and he didn’t know why. He took a second to breathe in deeply. The miko’s scent quickly filled his senses and he found himself calming almost immediately.

His violet eyes refocused and he then found that he had the strange task of finding a place for the girl to continue her slumber.

Without any conscious thought, he strode into his bedroom and placed the miko onto his disheveled futon. He was never one to tidy up. His apartment was a mess. He sighed as he knelt to take off her geta and then managed to pull the thick, maroon comforter up to the girl’s chin. He paused for a moment, looking at the girl.

There was no doubt about it. The woman was either crazy or confused, but she was beautiful and had managed to save him when he had been attacked. Why did she know his name? Why did she not even care that he was a hanyou?

His dark brows gathered together in confusion and he peered down at her lips once more. The last time she had slept, it had taken a kiss to awaken her. The thought lingered in his mind for far longer than he should have let it. He shook his head. When it came down to it, even though she had managed to save his life, he still did not know the girl. She could be certifiably insane for all he knew.

He knelt beside her as she slept in his room. Her long raven hair was splayed out around her, like a dark halo. Her lips were a lovely shade of pink against her porcelain skin. His finger reached out to trace her lips with his finger.

He was almost touching her lips when the phone rang, shattering the calm of his apartment.

“Fuck!” Inuyasha jumped up and ran his fingers through his blackened hair. He walked with an air of anger toward the telephone.

“What is it?” he yelled into the phone.

“Well, hello to you as well, Ash,” replied an even voice.

“What do you want, Miroku?” responded Inuyasha with a petulant voice.

The monk on the receiving end of the line sighed. “Well, I have been calling your home phone for the past two days wondering where you are. Oh and your Mom is worried sick about you, too.”

All the anger quickly left his frame and he slumped onto a stool next to the phone. “My Mom?” he asked plaintively.

“Ash, you disappeared in the middle of the night. Didn’t tell us anything and we never saw you again. Your Mom is about to send out a search party.” Then the man’s voice took on a secretive tone. “Did leave the camp and finally take Eri up on her offer?”

“What? No!” yelled Inuyasha into the receiver.

“Pfft! Then where in the seven hells were you, Ash?” asked his longtime friend. “You’ve been missing for two days and haven’t called anyone.

Inuaysha looked down guiltily at the red flashing light near his phone. Apparently, there were numerous calls waiting for him. He was quite sure the majority of them would be from his mother.

He paused since he didn’t quite know how to phrase his response. He was never good at lying, so he decided to stick with the truth as much as possible. Once he was talking with Mirkou face to face, he might tell him the more of the improbable parts of his tale.

“Well, I found this girl,” added Inuyasha as he took a deep breath.

“Oh, now you’re talking…and…,” prompted Miroku.

“Umm…I kissed her and…,” added Inuyasha.

“And…,” stated Miroku with a satisfied tone to his voice.

“Um, she’s sleeping in my bed now and I need your help,”

Inuyasha could swear he heard the breath whoosh out of his lecherous friend. Then he heard the man whopping with glee. “Yes! You have finally banged a girl!”

“No, fuck it…Miroku, I meant she’s in my bed, I didn’t…you know…have sex with her…”

“And why not…?”

Inuyasha turned beet red. He was never quite as suave or as comfortable around women as his erstwhile friend. “It’s not…it’s not like that. She passed out on me, OK? And I need your help. No, I need Sango’s help. She has no clothes and…”

A perplexed voice followed. “She has no clothes…?”

“Yes, and…”

“You have a naked chick on your bed and…”

“Don’t go there Miroku…she’s passed out. She was shocked and just passed out…”

“And is now on your bed with no clothes…?”

Inuyasha quickly spewed the next words out of his mouth. “No. Fuck, she has clothes on, but they’re ripped and it’s because of me that they’re ripped and she needs new clothes.” Inuyasha paused to try to take a breath. “Will you please get Sango on the line?”

The man on the other end paused and he whispered, “This isn’t the end of this conversation. We still need to talk about this half-naked girl with ripped clothing on your bed,” added Miroku lecherously. Then his voice changed to a sweet tone that was very smooth. “Sango, my love, Inuyasha needs your help.”

The conversation Inuyasha had with Sango was not nearly as mortifying, though he had difficulty explaining to her why he needed some new clothes for a girl that was now sleeping in his apartment. It was even harder to explain why a girl he had brought home would need some clothing, what the miko’s clothing size was, and why she was unconscious and unable to respond to Sango’s myriad of questions.

Both Sango and Mirkou ended the call promising to come over and there was also a veiled threat from both of them stating that they were going to wring the entire story out of him.

Inuyasha wearily ran his fingers through his hair before he picked up the phone, readying himself to call his mom. He dialed her number warily and put the phone up against his ear.

The line picked up almost instantaneously. He heard his mom on the other end; her tone was listless as she said the typical greeting of, “Moshi, moshi…”

“Mom…”

The voice on the receiver screeched and he had to move the phone away from his abused ear. “Where have you been young man? Do you know how worried I was? Hojo said that you disappeared without a trace. Mirkou just said that it was probably some girl and you NEVER called me!”

Inuyasha winced even though he was kilometers away from his mother. “Um, Mom…Miroku was right it was…”

His mother continued on unabated. “To think that I had raised you better than this…I was about to send your Dad, your brothers and sisters and the Taijiya out to search for you…” It seemed like Inuyasha’s words had finally registered. “What did you say…Miroku was right…?”

“Yes, I met a…”

His explanation was met with a scream of delight. “A girl! What is she like? How did you meet?”

Inuyasha let his head hang. There was no getting out of this. His mother seemed to be planning his wedding the moment he set eyes on a new girl—any girl with a pulse. He paused and took a breath.

“We met at the park, nearby where we were camping. When I met her…” He paused again. His mother always knew when he was lying. He had to tell her the truth without worrying her with some of the crazier details of the past two days. “…she was passed out cold. I thought she needed CPR. But she uh...she didn’t…”

His mother caught on quicker than Inuyasha would have liked. “So you thought she needed CPR. Did anything happen after that?” his mother queried.

“Well, sorta…” Inuyasha scratched the back of his head as he tried to come up with the words that would avoid the next day and a half. “Then she was lost and I had to get her back to the shrine she worked at. I didn’t have my cell phone with me. I’m sorry. I left it back at the camp and I lost track of time. So anyway, I am fine. Everyone is fine.”

Inuyasha swore that he could hear a smile in her voice. “Everyone is fine? So when do I meet her and what is her family name anyway? She works at a shrine? Is she someone I know?”

He blew out a breath of frustration. “I don’t think she is someone anyone knows. She’s a miko and it’s not like we’re dating or anything. I just met her and…”

“You like her,” she finished.

“What? I never said…”

He heard a chuckle on the other end of the line. “I know my son better than you think I do,” said his mother with a hint of smugness. “Tell me Inuyasha, what does your demon-side think of her?”

Inuyasha paused, his mouth gaping open in confusion. He tried to think back. Every time he had been with a girl, his demon side inevitably rebelled. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t kissed a girl before, but he hadn’t gotten much farther than that. He was a hanyou and he didn’t want to get involved with someone without letting the girl know who he really was. But whom could he trust? And every time he tried to get close to a girl, something inside of him pushed away in revulsion.

His best friend, Miroku, had almost given up on getting him to go out with a girl. But it was his father that had given him the advice that had resonated within him. He had been told to not fight his demonic instincts and when he found the right one, he would know.

He tried to ascertain his own emotions and found himself trying to remember a glimpse of a dream—a dream where someone asked him if he had someone to protect. However, the last thing he wanted to do was to go over his dreams with his mother.

“I don’t know, Mom. I’m going to have to think about it…”

He heard a frustrated sigh on the other end of the line. “Alright, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get out of introducing us. How about next weekend…?”

Inuyasha groaned. “Mom, we’re not even dating. I’ll let you know if it gets serious…”

“Inuyasha…”

̶ 0;Goodbye, mother…”

He hung up the phone and crossed his arms as he looked at the phone as if it could grow horns or walk away on its own. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he almost didn’t notice the girl in his room.

A soft moan emanated from his room. He quickly got back up to see what was going on and if the miko needed any help.

The sun was setting, casting a red-orange glow into the room. In the middle of his futon was a miko who was looking around in confusion.

He stood at the doorframe. Part of him was drawn to the girl on his bed, but the other part of him wanted to keep his distance.

He tried to get a read on her as he looked on. Almost magnetically her eyes found his.

“Inuyasha,” she stated as she looked at him, bewilderment suffusing her features. She took in his long ebony hair, red robes and the look of diffidence on his face as he looked down at her. Then she turned to look around at his room. She took in his glowing alarm clock, the stereo he had in the corner and his shiny plastic laptop. He heard her take in a sharp intake of breath.

Kagome looked at him miserably. She rubbed her bare shoulders. Her eyes drifted past him and looked away. “You’re not my Inuyasha…”

“What?”

The girl only shook her head, as if in grief. When she spoke, her words were hollow. “I will not bother you anymore. I am sorry to have troubled you.”

She slowly got up and put on her ‘geta’ with shaky hands. Once she noticed her bow and quiver near the bed, she quickly shouldered them as well. The girl’s raven hair was unkempt and she tried to smooth it with her fingers. Her white robe was ripped at the sleeves; even her red hakama pants were dirty. But somehow she seemed regal, despite her mussed appearance.

The miko paused in front of him, her head bowed low. She wrenched her hands. “Please show me the way out…”

“What?” Inuyasha didn’t know what was going on as she brushed past him, trying to find the door to his place. He shook his head in confusion as the girl tried to pull on his front door handle. It took her a few tries before she twisted the nob and had the front door open. Tears seemed to be creeping into the corners of her eyes.

“Wait, Kagome. Stop!” he yelled at the errant miko who had just flung his front door open. He might have been afraid that she would run away. But now it seemed that the view from outside his apartment was stopping her in her tracks.

The miko seemed frozen as she looked for the first time on the suburbs of Tokyo. Everywhere you looked you could only see high-rise buildings. Some were shiny buildings of glass and aluminum, and some were apartment buildings, covered in walkways and railings, sometimes with laundry flapping outside like a set of multi-colored flags. On the ground was a labyrinth of small streets that zigzagged in random fashion, carrying with them motorcyclists, smaller cars and even a few people who were walking or biking.

The miko drew her bow closer to her side. Her head was shaking back and forth. “What is this place? Where have you taken me to?”

“Kagome.” He was right at her side, looking down at the pensive girl. He put a hand on her shoulder and she flinched away. He growled at her reaction.

Anger started to bubble up inside of him. “What in the hell is wrong, wench? First, you kiss me. Then you come up with this crazy story and now…” He paused in his tirade before he continued. “What…are you freaked out because I’m a hanyou?”

The girl’s eyes widened in confusion, for the first time since her strange behavior started, she looked up at him with wide, stormy eyes. “Why would I care if you were a hanyou?”

“Well, fuck!” Now he was ready to let it all out. He thought that she might have been different. She even knew his secret. But he must have been wrong about her. “Most people would piss in their pants if they knew a hanyou, a half demon was next to them…”

Kagome’s head cocked to the side, before she took his hands in hers. She caressed the tips of his fingers. Even though the glamor spell he wore made his fingers look like he had blunt nails, she could still feel his sharp claws. She looked at him longingly. “I’ve never cared that you were a hanyou, Inuyasha. Why would I care now?”

Then she let go of his hands and stepped back.

The effect had Inuyasha pulling back in confusion. “I thought…then why are you leaving?”

The girl turned to him and bowed formally. Inuyasha’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance. The last thing he wanted out of this girl was formalities.

This time she looked him in the eyes. Her grey-blue eyes stared at him with sadness. “I mistook you for my Inuyasha.” She then looked away as if seeing him burned her.

“But I am…”

“He looked like you, he talked like you, he had your name…” She started to shake and he could see the tears start to stream down her face. “But he died. I thought it was just a nightmare, but he died right in front of me!”

She turned to look up at him again. “I mistook you for him and I kissed you. I was so happy that I had just been dreaming.” She turned around and looked at the cacophonous city around them with wide, unbelieving eyes. “But then I found out that I had been sleeping for 500 years…and that his death had not been a dream. That he had been murdered…”

Kagome sobbed, her hand covering her mouth in an attempt to quiet her pain.

Inuyasha never felt as helpless as he did when he saw a woman crying. But for it to be this girl, the one who seemed so lost, somehow made it much worse. He instinctively moved forward to comfort her, his hand hovering over her shoulder.

Something deep inside of him wanted to remove her sorrows, but how? And what was this about seeing a man die…? A man that looked like him…? A man that had his name…?

“Fuck, Kagome.” His hand wavered. He fought with himself as a baser instinct wanted to hold her cradled within his arms. But he didn’t even know her; he shouldn’t be touching her.

The girl was the one to close to gap, she fisted her hands into his haori, twisting the fabric, and pulling him closer to her. Her head fell against his chest and then he felt the wetness of her tears. Inuyasha awkwardly patted her back. Her form was rigid for only an instant before she melted into his embrace. “Shit, Kagome,” he murmured. Slowly, his arms encircled her in a protective hold.

He would have thought that her sorrow would have lessened when she was being held, but for some reason his attempts seemed to backfire and her sobbing intensified.

At first she only let him hold her as her body rocked with sadness. Then, timidly, her small hands let go of his haori. She left a tear stained kimono in her wake.

He could hear her shuddered breaths. Gradually, her sobs and hiccups grew farther and farther apart.

As her body started to still, she pulled away just enough to look up at him. Her face bore both tears and confusion. “You, you even smell like him,” she stated with astonishment.

“What?”

Misery pervaded her features as she confessed. “How can I mourn him when you are exactly like the man I have lost?”

He shook his head and then found that he was the one who had to step away and put distance between the two of them. He crossed his hands in front of himself, pushing his arms further into his billowing haori sleeves.

“What the fuck is this ‘other’ Inuyasha you keep on talking about? There is no way that there are two of me walking around Japan! You’re mistaken, wench!”

The miko only looked around the terrace outside of his apartment with a look of wretchedness. She looked at her feet as she spoke. “There is no way that there are two of you existing at the same moment in time.”

Inuyasha huffed. “Exactly…”

She then turned her stormy grey-blue eyes to look directly into his golden ones. “But there is such a thing as reincarnation.”

“What?” Inuyasha was indignant. According to Buddhism, a person went through many lifetimes on this earth until they finally reached enlightenment and left their mortal life behind. Just because he had heard the teachings many times during his life didn’t mean that he ever thought that they would apply to him. The last thing he wanted to think about was that he had once been a turtle or a rabbit in his past life. But she wasn’t talking about him being an animal in his past life she was talking about… “You mean…you think that I’m your reincarnated…what…boyfriend? Are you insane?”

The miko sighed as she looked away from him. Her eyes were looking at the myriad of buildings around them. “I suppose, if I were you, I would think it was crazy as well.” She pulled her quiver to her side and faced him once more.

She smiled sadly at him. “I have overstayed my welcome. But please…” Her eyes looked at him beseechingly. “Tell me where you have taken me and where I can find a shrine that I can work at.”

If he had been prepared for anything that was not what he had been expecting. But then he had to concede that nothing she had ever done was within the realm of what he would term ‘normal.’

“What?” he replied.

“A shrine,” she stated again. “Perhaps the one we had visited before, the Musashi-Mitake shrine. I am sure that I can find some work there.”

He shook his head. Something was warring inside of him, something akin to panic--something he was not about to acknowledge. “Why do you need to work at a shrine? Just stay here for a while until you get your bearings…”

Her eyes looked confused as she addressed him. “Why would you want me to stay?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. I just…” He looked out over the landing, where he could see the myriad of passageways that made up the suburbs of Tokyo. He motioned to the city beyond. “You’re in Tokyo, Kagome, and it’s a big place.”

She mouthed the word, “Toe-kee-yo.” She seemed to agree with him as she looked in wonderment and bafflement at the city streets below them.

“And it’s not right for you to be alone. Please, just stay here until you get a handle on everything, OK?” Inuyasha was confused about his own words. If he had wanted to get rid of her, she had created the perfect opportunity. But now that he thought about it, having her leave was the last thing he wanted.

Kagome stared at him in confusion. She seemed to be trying to make up her mind.

“Ash!”

Inuyasha turned around to see Sango and Miroku making their way up the steps to his apartment. Miroku had a mischievous smile on his face while his partner in crime was fuming.

Sango got right into Inuyasha’s face and started to yell at him. “What in the hell are you doing to this girl, Ash?” The demon slayer started to poke his chest repeatedly as she continued her tirade. “Miroku tells me that you ripped this girls clothes off, that she passed out on your bed and now…” Sango was quivering with rage. Her eyes were narrowed in disgust and he could feel the fury radiating from her. “Now she’s crying! What in the hell did you do?”

Inuyasha tried to protest while Miroku’s girlfriend prepared to deck him. He was just as surprised as Sango when Kagome stepped between them.

The miko pushed against Sango’s arm, disentangling her from Inuyasha. “Stop it!” Kagome ordered. Her brow was furrowed in anger. “He doesn’t deserve that! I’m the one who ripped my own sleeves and I passed out because…” Kagome paused and took a shuddering breath in an attempt to reclaim her equilibrium. “I passed out because I just lost someone dear to me.” Kagome took a moment to wipe her face with the back of her hand. Though you could still tell that she had been crying, there were no longer tracks of tears across her cheeks.

Sango blinked for a moment or two as she tried to process the information this girl had just imparted.

Miroku was the one who stepped in to get the facts. He had his hands on Sango’s shoulders and was attempting to rub them in a soothing fashion. “I think that my dearest Sango only had your best interests at heart, miko-san.” He bowed smoothly to Kagome with a devilish smirk gracing his features. “She’s always worried about women who might have been taken advantage of…” He smiled to his girlfriend who only crossed her arms and huffed.

Kagome looked confused. “I was not taken advantage of…”

The monk-in-training deftly cut in, “Yes, we know that now. But can you please explain why you were ripping off your own clothes? Unless…” Miroku’s smirk was now directed at Inuyasha.

The dog demon’s eyes widened and panic briefly flickered in his eyes.

“Were you so hot for Ash, that you had to rip your own clothes off?”

Inuyasha only sputtered. Kagome’s eyes widened.

“Hot?” asked Kagome demurely. She shook her head in confusion and then tried to explain. “Inuyasha was wounded. I was only tending to him. I had no bandages; I made do by ripping off my sleeves.”

Inuyasha only snorted in agreement. Sango’s frown morphed into a look of contrition.

A look of worry passed Miroku’s features. “What do you mean, miko-san? Why was Ash injured enough to need bandages?”

Suddenly, apprehension was etched across Sango’s face as well. She placed a hand on Miroku’s arm. “Anything that can harm Ash is something we have to look into.”

Inuyasha was having none of their concern. “It’s done and over with, right Kagome?” He was still standing with his feet apart and his arms crossed, wearing ceremonial red robes and a sword at his side.

Kagome’s lips parted as if she were about to speak and then she closed her mouth. She looked at Inuyasha with a questioning look on her face, but only nodded in reply.

Miroku’s eyes narrowed. “Ash, if you were injured and it would take something very powerful to hurt a hanyou, then the Taijiya needs to investigate.”

Inuyasha pursed his lips together. Irritation clouded his voice as he spoke. “Once the Taijiya hears about it, then my parents will and I really don’t need them to be watching my every move. And like I said, it’s over and done with.”

“Ash! There you are!” Another voice was added to the mix. This time it was Inuyasha’s friend, Hojo who seemed to think that he needed to visit him as well. “You weren’t answering your phone…”

Inuyasha could only try to stifle the groan that emanated from him. Kagome looked at Inuyasha in confusion as she noted the eager boy who was making their way to their party.

“Oh,” muttered Miroku. Hojo’s comments seemed to remind the monk of something, because he quickly tossed a cell phone and a set of keys toward the dark haired Inuyasha. “I forgot to give these to you earlier. I’m sure that you have a lot of missed calls.”

“Thanks,” murmured Inuyasha as he pocketed the items. Then with tired eyes, he turned to face his long-time friend, Hojo.

Akitoki Hojo had been someone Inuyasha had been friends with because of a shared past and heritage. Hojo was one of the few people he knew of that was also a hanyou. Their friendship had formed back in grade school, when they had discovered each other’s shared secret. Inuyasha had been much younger then, so that even though he was told never to reveal his hanyou identity or his time of weakness, he somehow felt secure in revealing his secrets to another boy who had been in the same predicament.

However, despite their shared identity as hanyous, Inuyasha had slowly been losing interest in his friendship with the boy. He only maintained it out of a sense of duty to a fellow hanyou. Try as he might, he felt that he could never abandon Hojo after all of the years that he had known him, despite the boy’s annoying tendencies.

When Inuyasha finally looked at Hojo he was concerned to see that his oldest friend was not looking at him, but at Kagome. And what was most disturbing is that there was a gleam to Hojo’s eyes that had never been there before.

He took in Hojo’s shining eyes, blushing cheeks and the way that he was scratching the back of his neck. The boy even stammered when he attempted to speak. “Miko-san!” he said while bowing. “I am Hojo. It is so wonderful to meet a fellow spiritualist.”

Inuyasha tried not to groan. Hojo had never really shown any preference for anyone, boy or girl. Now he was blatantly staring at Kagome as if she was his long awaited destiny.

Inuyasha felt something bubble inside of him, something hard and sharp. But he tried to quell the feelings. He crossed him arms in front of himself again and tried to appear intimidating.

Kagome had a look of bewilderment suffusing her features. “Are you a priest?” asked Kagome.

The boy only nodded, his face bobbing with delight, until his face morphed into a look of horror when he noticed her ripped and dirty clothing. “Oh and Miko-san, what happened to your clothes?”

Kagome only glanced at her ripped sleeves before Hojo cut in again.

“I can get you some new miko’s robes, miko-san,” added Hojo blithely, his blue eyes looking at her with sincere concern. “I’ll bring them as quickly as I can.” The boy’s face was alive with delight at his newfound idea. “Goodbye, miko-san!” The boy quickly turned away, just like he had arrived. Hojo waved wildly at Kagome and nearly tripped over some steps before actually facing the direction that he was going.

Kagome only managed a small wave before she caught Inuyasha giving her a look of intense displeasure.

“What?” she asked.

“Keh,” was his only reply as he looked at Sango and avoided the miko’s gaze. “Sango, could you help Kagome with those clothes you brought?”

Sango only turned to Miroku and gave him a meaningful look before she turned to the disheveled miko. “Perhaps we can start again?” Sango bowed formally to the miko. “My name is Sango.”

The bow was gracefully returned. “My name is Kagome.”

“Ash asked me to bring you some clothes.” Sango paused to pull some yoga pants and a few shirts out of a bag. “Let’s get you cleaned up and into some new clothes, OK?” The smile on Sango’s face was genuine.

Kagome only returned the smile with a look of confusion. She then gazed at Inuyasha with a look of desperation, as if he was her only refuge. He answered with a calming smile and gestured for Kagome to follow Sango, who was already walking into Inuyasha’s apartment.

“I believe his bathroom is this way. Kagome-san,” called out Sango as she made her way forward.

One more moment of indecision played on Kagome’s face before she spied Inuyasha’s smirk. Then the miko only sighed, squared her shoulders and followed the demon slayer into the bathroom.

Inuyasha only gazed after Kagome as she walked away, his eyes thoughtful and his body calm.

“What the hell was that?” asked Miroku as he looked back and forth at the retreating form of Kagome and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha immediately changed his posture. He went from looking playful, to annoyed. He crossed his arms again and looked pointedly at his friend. “What the hell was what?”

Miroku pointed in the direction of where the miko had just been and then Inuyasha. “The two of you were acting like…”

“Like what…?” huffed out Inuyasha in agitation.

Miroku only stared at his friend for a moment more before he sighed and shook his head. “Alright then, you will need to tell me why you needed to be bandaged up with that miko’s clothes.”

Inuyasha didn’t want to give Miroku all of the details. Telling him what happened would open up the can of worms known as the ‘Taijiya,’ which also meant that his parents might get involved. Most of the modern world didn’t believe in superstitious nonsense like demons or ghosts. However, disbelief didn’t mean they did not exist. The Taijiya were mankind’s only defense against the darker elements that occasional sprung up attacking the human population. The group worked behind the scenes and often had to cover up demonic attacks, pretending that it was a natural disaster or a freak accident.

It was a secret society formed with human, demonic and spiritual volunteers. Miroku and Sango were heavily invested in the team; his father had even helped on occasion. They had tried to recruit Inuyasha when he was younger, but he had never wanted to fight with the Taijiya. He was too much of a loner to be part of such a large group. Now he was starting to wonder if he would have a choice.

With a groan, Inuyasha decided to come clean with Miroku, but not before he extracted an oath from the monk. He wanted his parents in the dark for as long as possible. The last thing he wanted was for his parents to coddle him like a baby, his mother was bad enough as it was.

He soon told his entire convoluted story from the moment he found Kagome not breathing, to the kiss that woke her up and to the unexpected demonic attack that followed. He avoided any mention of Kagome’s insistence that she had been sleeping for five centuries. The last thing he wanted was for Miroku to think that the miko was deranged, even if he had already come to that same conclusion.

Sango abruptly joined the two compatriots with a smug smile. “That girl acted like she had never seen a shower or faucet before. Anyway, she should be clean and dressed soon.” The demon slayer seemed pleased with herself. Confusion etched her features when she noted both Miroku and Inuyasha’s apparent agitation. “What is going on?”

Miroku only stared at Inuyasha, then shook his head. “Apparently, Ash ran into a vengeful demon while camping. I hope it is only an isolated incident. Since we haven’t heard of any unexplained events at Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park recently, I think we can let this one slide. But…

As Miroku paused, Inuyasha only glared at his friend.

The monk continued. “If this turns out to be part of a series of attacks, I will be contacting the Taijiya and they will be doing a thorough investigation.”

Inuyasha crossed his arms again. “It’s over. The demon is dead. They don’t need to get involved.”

Sango stared at Inuyasha as if she were trying to figure out a puzzle. “We all believe that you can handle yourself, Ash. But you were injured. This was something more than an everyday demonic attack. Perhaps you should join us in training?”

Miroku only gave Sango a pleased smile and then turned to Inuyasha. “Think about it, Ash. Perhaps you were only injured because you haven’t been properly trained. With some formal schooling you would be a force to be reckoned with.”

Inuyasha only raised an eyebrow at his friend and spoke in a monotone voice. “I’ll think about it.”

Miroku only sighed.

After Kagome had gotten dressed, Sango had decreed that the entire group needed to go to the mall. Kagome was in need of proper clothes and apparently Inuyasha was to foot the bill.

Inuyasha actually surprised himself by not even putting up too much of a protest. As much as he hated shopping, he knew that the girl had almost nothing and he had a large inheritance to spend.

Once they were at the mall they split up. The girls went shopping while the boys stopped to at video game stores and then got a bite to eat.

Inuyasha normally had a fierce appetite, but the ‘WacDonald’s’ fries and hamburger seemed bland today. He nibbled on an errant fry before a frown took over his face. Nothing tasted appetizing right now and his stomach felt both queasy and insubstantial.

“Are you going to talk about it?” asked the monk who was staring at Inuyasha with a look of patient concern.

“Talk about what?” asked Inuyasha as he smashed the fry against the table. Somehow seeing the pulp of the potato squished into a blob made him feel a little better.

“About Kagome…” continued Miroku as he raised an eyebrow and calmly looked at his fidgeting friend.

Inuyasha had looked so lost and confused, but for the briefest of seconds, when Kagome’s name was mentioned, he seemed to snap to attention. Then a frown marked his features, his hands crossed against his chest.

“What about her?” he growled.

“Mirkou, Ash…there you are!” Sango’s voice rang clean and true against the background noise of the mall.

Inuyasha ignored his friend’s question and chose to look at the girls instead. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Kagome, since he really didn’t know what to make of her himself. There was just no way that he could tell anyone the full truth about Kagome. He knew that if Mirkou knew the entire story, he would say the miko was insane and the last thing he wanted was for the monk to tell him to get rid of the girl. More than anything he sensed that she needed a guide, a protector. She might be insane, but she had saved his life. Somehow he felt it was his duty to return the favor. He couldn’t understand why he felt this need, but it was there none-the-less. What seemed even stranger to him was that her apparent ‘insanity’ did not bother him very much. It was as if he viewed it as a quirk, rather than a gaping character flaw.

‘What the fuck am I doing? Am I just as insane as Kagome?’ he asked himself yet again as he watched the girls approach.

Inuyasha didn’t notice, but his friend was watching the hanyou with fascination.

Inuyasha’s eyes were fixated on the girl. His mouth was partially open; a look of both awe and confusion drew itself across his face.

Kagome was no longer wearing her miko robes. Instead, Sango had managed to get the girl into modern clothes. The miko was wearing thigh-high white socks, revealing a small swath of creamy skin before her legs were hidden under a very short, green mini-skirt. The hanyou’s eyes crept even higher to see a white blouse, waves of long black hair and a blushing face.

The girl seemed to be struggling with her clothes. She kept on tugging on her mini-skirt and trying to pull it further down. Sango whispered to the girl and drew her hands away from her skirt. It made the redness of Kagome’s cheeks grow more intense.

At that moment the girl’s stormy grey-blue eyes found Inuyasha’s. A soft, subtle smile found their way to her lips and the hanyou found that he mimicked her smile. He felt the tension in his shoulders start to lessen.

Miroku watched the whole exchange with a look of calm interest.

Sango was the first to plop herself down on the chair next to Miroku, piles of bags unceremoniously dumped next to her seat.

Kagome timidly sat down on the plastic chair next to Inuyasha, while she studiously smoothed out wrinkles and tried to pull the small skirt down as far as it would go.

“I think that was a success,” laughed Sango as she made a grab for Miroku’s soda. She slurped loudly and sighed as she leaned back in her seat. Her belly shirt rode up and Miroku seemed to have abandoned his interrogation of Inuyasha. He had better things to catch his attention.

His hand seemed to have a mind of its own and started to move toward her exposed belly.

“Whap.”

Sango’s hand batted away Miroku’s like a fly swatter to a bug.

“Ouch…” whimpered Miroku.

“Watch what you touch in public, monk!”

“But honeybunch,” the man protested. “It isn’t anything that I haven’t touched when we were alone together…”

Sango gave her boyfriend the evil eye. “Yes, when we’re alone and not in a crowded mall.”

“Miko-san!” A lone voice called out above the crowd.

Inuyasha tried to stifle a groan when he saw Hojo rushing toward their group, with a small package under his arm. He muttered, “Who the hell invited him?”

Sango looked at the hanyou lazily. “He called me while we were shopping. He said that he had some clothes for Kagome to wear and seeing that she only has the clothes on her back, I thought it would be good that she received them as soon as possible.”

Inuyasha only grunted in acknowledgement. He moved to sit up straighter and crossed his arms in front of his chest again. He watched as Hojo approached, the boy’s eyes widening when he noticed Kagome’s change in attire. Hojo’s eyes lingered far too long on Kagome’s legs for Inuyasha’s tastes. Even if the hanyou had done the exact same thing only moments before.

The boy stopped in front of the table, his red cheeks glowing as he gazed at the miko. He bowed hurriedly and then thrust a package into Kagome’s lap. It was a perfectly wrapped gift, adorned with white tissue paper and a paper origami butterfly. “For you Miko-san!” the boy stated proudly.

Kagome blushed as she took the proffered gift. The queasy feeling in Inuyasha’s gut started to percolate again.

Gingerly she tore at the wrapping until some lovely miko’s robes were revealed. There was even a spare set of geta and tabi socks inside the box.

Kagome looked up, her eyes alight with tenderness. “Thank you for giving me a new set of robes. I hope to work at a shrine again soon and I would have needed proper clothes to work.”

The boy only nodded while scratching the back of his head. His blush deepened as he spoke again. “Actually, that was the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. There is an opening at the shrine I work at. I can bring you in tomorrow for an interview. They are in need of a miko and when I told them that you might be looking for a job.”

Things were spinning far too fast for Inuyasha to keep up.

Kagome beamed a winsome smile. “Really? That would be wonderful. How can I get there?”

Inuyasha shoved his chair closer to Kagome’s and put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll meet you together at that shrine you work at.”

“I can pick her up and take her there,” answered Hojo calmly. The boy looked at Inuyasha’s arm on Kagome’s shoulder with a look of perplexity.

“She’s too new to the city. I’m escorting her everywhere until she gets her bearings,” replied Inuyasha tersely.

A calm smile suffused Kagome’s features. She turned to smile at the hanyou. “Thank you, Inu…”

Inuyasha made a quick shushing sound before he muttered. “Don’t use that name in public, only call me Ash.”

“Oh,” replied the miko as she drew her brows together in perplexity. “Well, then thank you for offering to take me to the shrine Hojo works at...Ash.” She then turned to Hojo. “And thank you for helping me to get started at a new shrine. I don’t want to be a burden to anyone and I need to earn my own living.”

Inuyasha quickly cut in, looking the miko squarely in the face. “You’re not a burden…”

Kagome only returned his look with a sad smile.

It took far too long, as far as Inuyasha was concerned, for Kagome to get back into his apartment. He had even adamantly refused first Sango’s and then Hojo’s offer to let Kagome stay with them.

‘As if she should be staying with anyone else…’ he grumbled.

Once they were through the front door, Kagome wavered in the genkan next to the front door. She had taken off her geta sandals and had put on a pair of guest slippers. But she seemed to stand there, immobile, wondering where her feet should take her next.

“Make yourself at home,” he yelled behind himself as he made his way to his small fridge to grab a rice cake.

However, the miko still stood there, indecisive. “I don’t know if this is a good idea,” she spoke, seemingly to the air.

“Wha…umph?” asked Inuyasha as he spun around, a rice cake halfway out of his mouth. He managed to spew a few rice grains onto his floor.

A look of shock overcame Kagome’s features before she started to sputter with laughter. She shook her head and then looked Inuyasha squarely in the face again.

“I just said I don’t know if this is a good idea. Perhaps I should have stayed with Sango,” she said with a sigh as she rubbed her shoulder.

Inuyasha took in her appearance. She had looked lovely when she was in her miko’s robes, but now that she was wearing thigh-highs and a short mini-skirt… Well, she looked hot. He was just happy Hojo was no longer looking at her. He shoved the rest of the rice cake into his mouth. After chewing he spoke again.

“Trust me, it wouldn’t have gone over well. If any one of them get wind of your story, they’ll write you off as being certifiably insane.”

Surprise flittered across her face before dejection set in. “I suppose you are right. No one in their right mind would believe my story.”

Inuyasha only snorted in response. Then he gestured to his bedroom.

Kagome only stood stiffly, not making any move to follow him as her cheeks became shockingly red. “I cannot go in there,” she muttered.

“What? Why? You slept in there last night,” queried Inuyasha in confusion.

“I…I cannot sleep with you…in the same bed,” answered Kagome as she rubbed her arms and seemed to be looking anywhere but at the hanyou in front of her.

Inuyasha’s violet eyes widened to comical proportions. “Oh shit. No, I didn’t mean that…I meant…Shit!” He paused for a brief moment, gathering another calming breath before continuing. “You can stay in my room. I have another futon in the living room that I’ll use tonight. It’s normally for guests, but I thought…Shit. I’ll take the guest futon tonight. Alright?”

The blush on her cheeks faded; she smiled and bowed demurely. Tentatively she walked into Inuyasha’s room and put some of her new bags in the corner.

“Oh and that,” Inuyasha quickly realized that she had a lot of clothes that needed storing. “Put them in here…”

Inuyasha quickly made his way over to a large closet, and pulled some blankets and pillows out of an alcove, leaving a small space for Kagome to put her stuff. “I’ll just…” Inuyasha motioned to the other room.

Kagome only smiled as he backed out of his own room and nearly stumbled into the hallway.

Inuyasha heard the door of his room close behind him as he made his way to the living room. He pulled his futon down and put the extra blankets and pillow on it.

By the time he had settled on his futon, he knew it would be a long night and sleep would easily evade him. Just the thought of Kagome sleeping in his own bed, down the hall, did something to his gut. Unfortunately, it also did something to other parts of his body that seemed to be thrilled that she was sleeping in his bed.

He tried his best to dismiss the torrid thoughts that were percolating in his brain about Kagome. He tried to ignore his own body. And most of all, he tried to ignore that bizarre, queasy feeling in his stomach. He did his best to dismiss the odd sensation as he tossed and turned in his futon for most of the night.

The Next Chapter: Memories
Author's Notes:
#1: 500 years ago, Tokyo was called ‘Edo.’ Kagome would have never heard of Tokyo. Too bad that Inuyasha doesn’t know enough about history to explain it to Kagome. ;-)
#2: ‘Moshi, moshi’ is the standard greeting in Japan when you answer a phone.
#3: ‘WacDonalds’ is Rumiko Takahashi’s version of MacDonalds in her Inuyasha series.
#4: A ‘genkan’ (similar to a foyer) is a small alcove next to the front door of any Japanese home where you take off your ‘outdoor’ shoes and put on slippers or ‘indoor’ shoes. (It certainly saves a lot of wear and tear on the tatami mats and makes for less cleaning.)
#5: I am actually styling Inuyasha’s apartment after my brother’s Japanese apartment. If I surprise you by any descriptions, keep in mind that I am describing the real thing. ;-)