Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Feelings for a Fox ❯ Chapter 11

…Yeah so anyways thanks for reviews goes to: Kurama no Miko2003, ady anhee 999, ScottishFae, Karama, Sundragon, Skittles2xtreme, Egyptian_lover, Nagasaki, AnimeALLday, ColdFang, Ivan's Kitsune, Keala-Chick, lady-anheleta-of-darkness, Serena SilverMoon, Artemis the Goddess, Houndingwolf, bloodbunny, CrimsonBlades16, DemonLady1, Ichigo, BlackWolfFenrir, Marieka, Star Silver fox, and LLJade.

{/…/= Youko's "talking"}

{*…*= Kurama's "talking"}

Kurama's POV

~~~Chapter 11~~~

I couldn't help but notice that something was wrong as soon as the words left Youko's mouth. Kagome stilled and the temperature around her dropped to below freezing. She gazed at me with a pained and betrayed expression before her face hardened. I didn't understand what the sudden problem was.

"I can leave because I'm hungry and I'm going to get some food! You can come if you want but you'd better put Red back in charge because I don't think they allow pets where I'm going!" she spat at me before shoving me away and stalking past. I stood there unmoving. I hadn't expected such a viscous attack from her.

/She certainly hadn't been complaining while the kiss was happening./ Youko whispered bitterly in the back of my mind. He retreated.

*Gone to lick your wounds?* I asked, although sympathetically rather snidely. After all she had just slammed me too with that. My words were met with injured silence. I waited for it.

/Why?!/

*I don't know.* I admitted. *She seemed fine when we were kissing her. Perhaps what you said made her recall something else and she struck out at us because of it?*

/What thought could possibly have made her suddenly hate us?/

*Maybe she thought of her son's father. Maybe she felt disloyal to him by allowing us to kiss her.* I bit my lip as I thought of that. I hadn't even asked her if he was still around, and Youko was too busy overwhelming her to consider that.

/We never did find out what happened to him./ Youko agreed thoughtfully. /It may not have had anything to do with us. Well you're the sensitive one. Find out what's wrong with her. She's broken. Fix her so we can keep playing!/ I shook my head disparagingly at his arrogant command before I trailed after her, trying to ask her what was wrong.

Youko sure is quick to recover.

/Wait! What if she was just toying with us?/ Youko demanded, suddenly sparking back to life in the back of my mind with anger at even the thought. /We will have to correct that, make sure she knows who is in charge!/

*I told you. We won't know what is wrong with her until she's calmed down.* With that reminder I tuned out Youko. I held my silence and watched her aura flair dangerously around her. Definitely waiting until she's in a better mood.

Note to self: when she's not contemplating killing me ask her just how she does the portal thing. That could definitely come in handy if I can learn it.

I looked around the restaurant she had led us to. It was a nice one that just shouted 'Quietly Affluent'. The host didn't seem especially surprised to see her but he did seem to catch the undercurrent of her mood. Without speaking he lead us to a dimly lit corner away from the rest of the customers and left us with a couple of leather bound menus. Kagome still hadn't said a word to us. The silent treatment. Fun as it is to use on people I can't stand being on the receiving end.

Kagome softened a bit at the sight of our waiter who introduced himself as Ricardo. I had to keep myself from snarling at the inoffensive man who spoke our language with a smooth rolling accent, that made everything he say seem almost sensual. I eyed him critically, I suppose most females would consider him handsome. I didn't even know the guy and I already hated him. Him and his raven locks tumbling around his warm tan face and his dark eyes that lingered far too long on Kagome.

She actually smiled at him!

He didn't even do anything to deserve to be smiled at. And he smiled back! How dare he smile at her like that?! He turned to get my order and he gave me a knowing look when he saw the expression on my face. I felt a growl building in the back of my throat, and when my order came out it was in a deeper voice than Shuichi was ever known for. I know my eyes stared to glow gold when Ricardo took a quick step back. He hurried away with our request.

That'll show him for going around flashing his disgustingly white teeth at my mate!

Whoa! Hold up there! Where the hell did that come from? I mean yeah she's pretty, and very powerful, and yes she'd defend any cubs we have with everything at her disposal, but do I really mean mate? I've only officially known her for a couple of days. And what about her kid, and his dad? I don't even know the whole situation, how can I even consider- I mean- We just met!

*We are in trouble.*

/Tell me about it. I would have killed another person for daring to speak to me as she did, and yet I spared her. And oddly, I still want her. Perhaps more than before./

Then to add to an already touchy situation one of those girls who is always flocking around me shows up at our table. This one is named Yari, and she one of my most persistent stalkers, er admirers.

"Shuuichi-san!"

Oh this is so not happening to me!

"I'm so glad to see you! I didn't expect you to be here!" I almost gag at the syrupy sweet smile that she levels at me. She is still smiling when she turns her attention to Kagome, but her eyes take on a more devious edge as they appraise my dinner companion. You know demons speak of Youko Kurama's coldly calculating nature with hushed voices. But I'm convinced that they are in awe of his personality only because they've never encountered a scheming ningen female before in their life, let alone been surrounded by them constantly. If I ever return to the Makai I can take coldly calculating to a whole new level.

"Oh who is this? Is she your sister?"

I gather myself to politely point out that she's completely aware that I have no other siblings. In fact she probably knows my full name, address, birth date, social security number, and what kind of underwear I'm wearing at this instant.

Yes I know what you're thinking.

It's entirely probable that I seem overly paranoid when dealing with fan girls, but I'm really not. It is incredible what you think no one could possibly know that one of 'them' somehow find out about. I've found it's safer to enter any conversation with a female with the assumption that they know everything, and that they are just trying to trap you into admitting what they already know- which just happens to be everything.

I'm about to open my mouth when Kagome cuts in with a chilling smile.

"No she's not. And before you ask, no she's not his girlfriend and no this isn't a date. She has no prior claim on him so if he decides to take you on the table the only thing she would be able to do is suggest you get a room, or barring that, to skooch over a bit so she can have room to eat when her food arrives. And speaking of food, you're blocking our waiter."

I can feel the stunned expression stealing over my face as she calmly starts eating her food.

Yari is just standing there looking like she's about to faint. Ricardo is in the background quietly laughing at the entire scene.

Could someone just shoot me now?

Damn it! Now he knows that she's not officially claimed and he's going to try to get her, I know it! I glare warningly at him when he places my plate in front of me. I give a helpless smile to the red faced girl who doesn't seem to know how to respond. Having done all I cared to do to diffuse the situation I turn my attention to my own plate and start mechanically eating as I replay the entire fucked up day starting with the kiss through my mind.

Now that I think about it, everything has been pretty fucked up ever since Kagome entered the whole picture.

And why can't I bring myself to hate her for it?

~~~~

She left me!

I feel myself beginning to fume.

I can't believe Kagome finished eating and then left me there alone to deal with that obnoxious slut! The sheer audacity! I mean first I had to de-latch Yari from my arm, and convince her that I couldn't go to a movie because I had to get back to work. The bitch even had the nerve to imply that if I stayed with her that I would get more than a movie. She was hitting on me while the guy who had brought her was sitting at their table all alone.

I took her poor date aside when he went to pay their bill and told him to keep her. I wanted to smack him when he went all googly eyed and said, "I know!" in a voice of puppy worship.

"No. I mean I want you to keep her away from me."

I found out that Kagome had already paid for us and I made my escape while boy genius was trying to figure out what I meant. Then I had to get a ride clear across town and walk the rest of the way out to the house in the middle of freaking nowhere!

And to top it all off, I still don't know what it is I did wrong besides kiss her without permission!

She is gonna hear about this! I'm sick of trying to figure out just what the hell is going on in that pretty head of hers! I mean how on earth am I supposed to apologize when I don't even know what I'd be apologizing for? And why should I apologize for that? I enjoyed it, she enjoyed and if there was something morally wrong about it I was unaware of it! So she can't blame me!

But she is! I don't get it!

That thought made my temper flare again. It just wasn't fair!

I walked up to the house searching for her ki as I stalked in the front door. She was up stairs. I made my way to where I felt her energy and I flung open the door.

"Just what the hell is wrong with y-ugngghah…"

I'm sure I looked quite stupid standing there gawking at her.

Kagome calmly gazed at me before tossing down the towel she had been drying her hair with. She then pulled her robe on, hiding her exposed body from my sight. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your take of the situation, that glimpse of her bared skin was forever engraved on my memory. Was that a black dragon mark on her left hip and thigh? I wonder if she'd purify me if I asked for a closer look at it.

She didn't say a word to me. She opened a drawer and tossed what appeared to be a satin nightgown inside and pulled out something else I didn't quite get a good glimpse of. Then she silently walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I was still rooted in my spot when she walked back into the bedroom.

I felt my lips twitch when I saw what she had changed into. It wasn't enough to make me forget what I had just seen, but I give her full credit for almost succeeding in finding something that could.

Kagome was wearing what had to be the ugliest pair of oversized tartan flannel pajamas that were a rather unhealthy mixture of pink and chartreuse. The buttons of the top came all the way up to her neck and every last one of them was buttoned. Her sleeves were rolled up to what would have been the elbows on someone the right size for the pajamas and they slipped down over her hands. The bottoms too were rolled up and even with that her toes barely peeked from beneath the edges.

I had to choke back a laugh as I stared at her standing there engulfed in her shapeless nightclothes. Her arms were crossed defensively under her well shaped breasts. Her hair fell down her back except for a few stray strands that curled damply around her lightly flushed face. Her chin was angled in challenge and her eyes glinted, dared me to say even one word. I'm sure when she chose this outfit that she had been trying to discourage me, but what she didn't seem to realize is despite the monstrosity that she was wearing she just looked so adorable.

At that instant I wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and cuddle her.

And then unbutton that horrible shirt and carefully slide it off her shoulders, tossing it away so that I could gaze at her unhindered. Then I would leisurely peel of her pants, allowing my fingers to trail along her silky legs as I did so. I would place soft feathery kisses all over her face, and then trace a path along her neck and collar bone. Going lower and lower, with agonizing slowness. I would allow my hands to wander along her body, discovering all the places that would cause her to quiver and make pitiful sounds of pleasure. I would explore each and every curve, and before I finished she would be begging me to-

*Hey! Down boy! We're supposed to be angry at her remember?*

/Oh yeah… Heh, my bad. Well, hurry up already!/

I was too caught up in my internal dialogue to notice that the miko had moved over to her bed and was sitting with her blanket pulled up over her legs and her back propped against a pillow. Her head was leaning back against the headboard and she was staring at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well?" she asked me.

"Well what?" I asked snapped out of my daze by her question.

"I asked you if you wanted to sit down since you're so all fired determined to talk with me before I go to bed."

"Oh," I said intelligently and moved to sit on the edge of her bed. She drew her legs up closer to her body and pulled a pillow into her lap when I sat down. She was glancing at me warily, as if she were afraid I might bite.

/We may yet!/

*Shut up! Haven't you gotten us into enough trouble today?* I demanded. He grumbled in the background. I ignored him.

"Could I just ask you one thing?" I turned more toward her.

Kagome cautiously nodded her agreement.

"Why? Why are you so angry at me?" I allowed a pleading note to slip into my voice. I hated myself for that but I desperately needed to know what I did wrong. She seemed upset by my question and she had that 'You act as if you don't know expression' women get on their faces when you've done something incredibly stupid and they expect you to realize why without them even saying a word. And it's going to be something really obscure and completely random that I, as a male, will never have even considered.

I hate dealing with females.

"As if you don't know!" she glared at me from behind her impenetrable shield of cotton encased feathers.

"I don't know!" I exclaimed in exasperation. "One minute we were kissing and the next you biting off my head!"

I drag my fingers through my hair in annoyance and am crazily tempted to start tugging at it in frustration. I would have too if I didn't spend so much effort keeping it looking the way it does.

"Honestly how I am supposed to try to have a relationship with someone who's going to randomly blow up for no reason is beyond me. Has anyone ever told you, you have ungodly mood swings? Or were you just wanting to test drive a youkai, and figured one in a human skin was a better deal?" I allowed a note of bitterness to color the last of my response. It was her turn to gawk at me.

Praise Kami! For once I'm not the one off balance tonight!

"You- you jerk!" she sputtered at me in outrage. "How dare you try to turn his around and accuse me off being in the wrong?! Considering that you were the on coming on to ME, I'm not even going to bother pointing out just how stupid it was to even say that I was the one just wanted a fling with you because of your youkai half! And to be quite honest if all I wanted was to get jiggy with a demon I could have any time I wanted before you entered the picture pal! Furthermore- hey! What exactly did you just say?" Her voice suddenly softened and her eyes filled with confusion.

"Er, you have ungodly mood swings?" I repeated helpfully.

"No, not that," her glower promised that she'd address that statement later. I wince, wishing I had thought of something else to repeat. "Before that."

"Oh, I asked how I'm supposed to try to have a relationship with someone who's going to randomly blow up for no reason."

Her brow furrowed as she seemed to consider my words. "Can I ask you something?"

"You never answered me," I pointed out. I relented under her look of annoyance. I just wanted this whole deal over with. "Ask away." She plucked at her blanket and wouldn't look at me.

"Why'd you kiss me?" Her eyes flickered toward me but they didn't seek out mine. She grew still waiting for my response. There was a sudden feel of expectation and time seemed to freeze.

Why did we kiss her?

"Because you were attractive. And because I like you. And… it just seemed natural to do," I floundered as I tried to figure out how to explain to her the concept that as a thief Youko's instincts were to always take what he desired and that he desired her. Well without her taking it personally and trying to kill us.

"That's it? There was no other reason in your head at that instant?" she asked, and her eyes searched my face for something.

"Well, yes actually that's it." I brace myself, positive she was expecting more or something deeper than that. I feel a sense of dread settle in my stomach when she doesn't say anything else. That dread solidifies as I watch her eyes fill with tears. I immediately start apologizing, not sure exactly how to make it up to her.

Honestly there is no winning for a guy.

Needless to say I'm totally floored when she flings herself into my arms, weeping all over and starts apologizing to me.

*Qua?*

/I don't know what you did, but DAMN that was good./

"I'm sorry! I just thought that-"

"You thought what?" I murmur, running my hand in soothing circles over her back and wrack my brain to figure out how to make her feel better. I'd rather face a horde of angry youkai than comfort a crying woman. Especially when I still don't have a clue why she's crying.

/Shut up! We've seen her naked. She's in our lap and she's not angry at us anymore. Why can't you just be content with what we have?/

"Well I just thought that you realized I was going to try to help my son and that you were just doing that to distract me," she spoke to my chest as she answered me.

I flinch. Understanding flooded me.

She thought I was just using my skills to keep her from protecting her child. She must've thought that she was just a job and that I had no real interest in her as a woman. I can see how she came to that conclusion. After all I had been stupid enough to admit to her that Koenma had ordered me to keep her out of the way by whatever means necessary. And then when Youko cornered her, what he said just reinforced that belief.

I grimaced as I realized just how bad it had looked on my part.

"You know, Koenma did give me an order. But for some reason when I have a gorgeous woman in my arms, I can't quite bring myself to think of my child boss, let alone care what his orders were." I softly smile at her when she looks up at me with a watery grin.

"He'll be heartbroken to hear that," she teased back, swiping at her tears with the back of her hand. I help her out, brushing my thumb along her cheek.

"Somehow I feel as though I can live with that thought."

She grew more serious. "I'm sorry I've been so difficult. And that I was being such a bitch earlier."

"Hn." I can't really protest saying she hadn't been but then again I definitely do not want to be the one to agree with that last statement. She seems to understand what I'm thinking though because she gives me a mock glare before settling back against my chest with a soft sigh.

I stand up with her n my arms and place her down on the bed. And pull the covers up over her. I place a light, chaste kiss on her forehead and then straighten up. She grabs my hand as I turn to leave. I glance down at her in question.

"Could you stay in here tonight? I don't want to be alone…" I understand what she's asking. She wants to be reassured that everything is all right between us. I incline my head and pull of my shoes and socks. I pull back the covers and start to slide in place.

"Un uh! This is my side! You can have the other side of the bed."

"Fine," I grumble as I make my way to the other side of the bed. I settle in beside her and I scoot over to wrap my arms around her. Just so that I don't fall off the side.

/That's a queen sized bed you loser! Admit it! You just want your hands on her!/

*Shut up! No one asked you ok?*

/Hey, I'm not complaining./

She reached over and shut off the lamp, and cuddled back against me. I really wish she wouldn't wiggle around like that. Good she stopped.

"Night K'rama" she yawned out and gave a final wiggle before she settled down completely.

"Good night K'gome." I suddenly think of something and I realize I'll be wide awake until my curiosity is satisfied.

"Kagome, can I ask you just one more question?"

"What?" her voice is drowsy as she responds. I don't know how she relaxed so much so quickly.

"Where on earth did you get such hideous pajamas?"