InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity ❯ Housewarming ( Chapter 30 )

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

InuYasha rolled his eyes and heaved a heavy sigh. "Do we have to do this?" he complained.

Kagome flashed him a grin as she brushed past him to go into the store. He made a face but followed, letting the door close slowly behind them. "If you get a few things you like for your house, you'll be more comfortable there," she stated. "It's a fact."

"I don't see why you couldn't just get some stuff you like," he grumbled. "You're there as much as I am."

Kagome started browsing through some art prints, and her answer was distracted. "But it isn't my house."

"Might as well be."

The only outward show that she'd heard him at all was the slight pause as she flipped through the prints. She smiled to herself. When InuYasha pouted, he reminded her so much of a child. She shot him a surreptitious glance. Leaning against the wall with his ankles and arms crossed and a bored expression on his face, she very nearly laughed at him.

A sudden flash of memory shot through her mind: InuYasha, wearing the red outfit he'd given her for her graduation, leaning against the doorway of the old well-house at the shrine. She gasped softly. What on earth?

"I-InuYasha . . .?"

His mulish expression cleared when he saw her face. He smoothed the bangs out of her face as he stared at her with a concerned frown. "What's wrong?"

She forced out a weak laugh and shook her head. Her imagination had to be running away with her. That was all. There wasn't any real reason to worry InuYasha, was there? "Nothing. I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," he remarked. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

She caught his hand as he started to head out of the store. "No, really! I'm fine! Come on. Let's look around a little more."

He didn't look as though he believed her. But he nodded curtly and let her lead him deeper into store.

She goaded him into selecting a few more cushions for the living room. He seemed to have a preoccupation with red. He chose a deep crimson banner to hang over the fireplace mantle, but only after she'd remarked that his antique sword would look beautiful on it. It seemed as though the few things that he owned took precedence in his mind, and if she lingered too long staring at something that she liked in particular, he wasted no time in buying it. She grinned. He seemed to care more for things she would like than he did with things of his own choosing.

Most of the items, though, were larger and would have to be delivered. Still, by the time they were finished looking around that department, InuYasha's arms were full and his scowl was back in place.

"I thought I smelled your stench, little brother."

InuYasha growled and narrowed his eyes as Sesshoumaru stepped in front of them. Holding Aiko in his arms and with Kagura and Toga beside him, Kagome couldn't help but stare between the brothers with a large dose of trepidation. They looked as though they couldn't stand one another. Well, InuYasha looked as though he hated Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, looked as though InuYasha was nothing more than a bit of lint on his immaculate suit.

"See, Kagome? I knew that this was a bad idea," InuYasha growled though loud enough for Sesshoumaru to hear him. "I thought you were hiding at your beach house, bastard. Or did you come back early just to give me hell?"

"Don't flatter yourself, InuYasha. Kagura had a few things she needed to take care of."

"Will you two stop it?" Kagura cut in. "You behave like common mongrels, I swear."

Aiko whined and shoved at Sesshoumaru with one hand while reaching out toward Kagome with her other. Sesshoumaru looked mildly disturbed at this but he let Kagome take the girl. She leaned to the side and looked down when the little hand tugged at her blouse. Toga smiled shyly, dancing from one foot to the other in an anxious sort of way. "Kagome, when can I come play with you and Yasha-oji-chan again?"

Before she could answer, InuYasha tweaked the boy's ear and spoke. "Any time you want, runt."

Kagome blinked in surprise at InuYasha's gruff show of affection for the boy. She wisely hid her amusement. Aiko played with Kagome's hair. The toddler's hair was so soft and fine it was like the down on a baby bird. The image of something white, something that looked incredibly soft . . . and Sesshoumaru? Dressed all in white except for his armor with a fluffy thing that wrapped over his arm and flowed behind him, Kagome knew it was him. But why was he dressed so archaically?

Sesshoumaru held up the huge sword, Tokijin, pointing it at InuYasha's chest. "A hanyou should act like one! On—your—knees!"  In a blinding flash of white light, InuYasha's body flew through the air and hit the ground as she screamed out his name.

With a startled gasp, Kagome's eyes flew to Sesshoumaru's arm . . . The one that she didn't think ought to be there. Why did she think that he shouldn't have that arm?

Her shock went unnoticed as InuYasha and Sesshoumaru continued to toss insults back and forth.

Kagura sighed and shook her head before taking Toga's hand and gesturing at Kagome to follow. "They'll be at it for hours. We might as well get some tea," she remarked, jerking her head at the men, who were still trading verbal barbs.

Kagome bought ice cream for the children as Kagura bought tea. They sat down at a small table and Kagome giggled as Aiko stubbornly tried to feed herself. "Your children are so cute," she remarked.

Toga snorted. "Cute is for girls," he replied.

Kagura tweaked Toga's nose but addressed her commentary to Kagome. "Sometimes he is so much like his father, it's frightening." She fell silent as she stared at Kagome with a thoughtful frown. "Are you all right? You look a bit pale? Do you need to go home?"

Kagome took he time sipping her tea and forced a smile. "No, I'm fine, really."

Why couldn't she tell anyone about these weird things she saw? `Because,' she thought with an inward grimace, `I'll sound crazy.'

"Careful, InuYasha, lest I feel the need to beat you down," Sesshoumaru said as the two approached the table.

"Keh! I'd like to see you try!"

"Any time, anywhere."

"Oh yeah? How about my house, right now."

Kagura stood and began wiping off Aiko's face with a towelette. Toga whined when she did the same to him. "Ka-a-a-a—sa-a-a-a-an!"

"See you both later," she said as Sesshoumaru lifted his daughter.

"You ready?" InuYasha asked, finally dragging his attention off his brother.

Kagome stood. "Sure."

They walked on in silence. Kagome tried not to think about those odd visions she'd had. What did it all mean? She sighed.

She paused at a window display of a baby store and sighed softly. InuYasha stopped beside her. "Kagome?"

"Can we go in here?"

"Keh. That stuff's all for babies. I don't need—"

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!"

"But I don't need anything from in there."

Kagome frowned at InuYasha's bored tone. "Just to look," she remarked then stopped to stare thoughtfully at him with a slight frown. "Don't you ever want a family?"

He shrugged. "Never really gave it much thought."

Kagome shrugged and sighed softly. He flinched at the flicker of sadness that crossed her features. Her tone was falsely bright with an equally fake smile when she said, "You're right. You don't need anything in here. Let's—"

With a muffled gasp, Kagome was amazed as InuYasha grabbed her hand and practically dragged her into the store. His expression was slightly annoyed but when he intercepted her gaze, he smiled. "We're not buying anything, right?" he asked pointedly.

Kagome spun a small wooden top on the display counter. The brightly colored sides seemed to blend into one constant blur. A look of confusion filtered over her face. InuYasha frowned as the look of uncertainty was replaced with one of near sadness.

"Kagome?" he said, gently touching her shoulder.

She shook herself out of her reverie and blinked quickly to clear her vision. When she finally met his gaze, she smiled weakly. "Sorry. I must have been daydreaming."

He didn't believe her. There was something too melancholy in her eyes, as though whatever it was that she had just thought or seen had caused her very real distress. "Would you tell me the truth if I asked you what it was you were thinking just now?"

Kagome carefully blanked her expression. "It was nothing, InuYasha." Her eyes fell to the side before she added, "Really."

She laughed and wandered over to a display of baby comforters. She didn't look back to see if InuYasha had followed, but she knew he had. He never let her get far from him. Her smile widened as she pulled down a cute pink comforter with fluffy bunnies dancing across it.

"Keh."

"Excuse me," a nearby young man said as he tried to bend over to retrieve his son's dropped rattle that rolled into Kagome's foot. The baby looked no more than a year old. Kagome hurriedly retrieved the toy and handed to the child. "Thank you."

"It's fine," Kagome said as she chattered to the baby. "He's so sweet!"

The man glanced from Kagome to InuYasha and smiled. "When are you two expecting?"

Kagome's flush was immediate and dark. InuYasha spoke first. His face was almost as red as Kagome's. "She's not . . . uh . . . We're not . . . No!" He saw the twinge of hurt in her expression and flinched inwardly as his ears twitched nervously. "I mean, n-n-not yet." His ears flattened against his head at the incredulous shock that replaced the momentary hurt in her expression.

A look of sudden understanding stretched over the man's features. "Oh, you're still trying? Good luck with that! It took my wife and me two years to conceive this little guy." He turned to go but stopped to nod at Kagome. "Thank you again."

She smiled self-consciously and dared a glance at InuYasha. He was staring at the floor with an inscrutable look on his face. In an effort to cheer him up, she tweaked his ear. "I guess we're finished, aren't we?"

He looked visibly relieved. She had a feeling that he would have taken off at a sprint if he could have. "Can we go now?" he asked pointedly.

Her grin turned mischievous as she cast him a sidelong glance. "Too much baby shopping, InuYasha? I bet your kids would be adorable, especially if they had your ears."

She missed the stunned, sad expression that crossed his features with her prediction. With a little giggle, Kagome took his hand and dragged him away from the store window.

InuYasha stared down at Kagome's hand in his and frowned. A family? Did he want one? He glanced over at Kagome. She was smiling dreamily. She giggled as two kids ran out in front them, causing them to stop suddenly. One of the kids ran into Kagome's legs, and she steadied the girl and knelt down to talk to the child. "Be careful."

"Sorry, nee-san."

Kagome's smile widened. "It's okay." She straightened up as the children dashed off again. InuYasha didn't miss the wistful look on her face as the kids disappeared into the toy store nearby. His mouth went dry. She really did want a family . . .

He thought back to his own lonely childhood, of being shunned by both humans as well as by youkai . . . by his own brother . . . InuYasha's frown darkened. After his mother's death, he'd been forced to live on the run, always on the outside, never quite belonging. The thought of passing that sort of existence on to any children scared him. Even with Kagome, did he want a family, too?

They stepped outside the shopping center. Kagome had to shield her eyes from the light of the setting sun. It shined right in her face. InuYasha pushed his bleak thoughts aside.

A familiar scent came to him, and InuYasha stopped in his tracks, a low growl issuing challenge before he could stop himself. Beside him, Kagome turned a questioning glance but saw the one who had likely drawn that reaction from InuYasha.

Houjou stood nearby, hands in his pockets. He glowered at InuYasha without blinking before he deliberately stalked toward them. He stopped before them, giving Kagome a quick once-over before dismissing InuYasha completely. "You're looking well, Kagome. How've you been?"

"Fine, thanks," she said in an overly bright tone. InuYasha's ears flickered at the falsetto. "Getting ready to go to the university?"

"Yeah. I had to pick up a few things. Eri-chan and Yuka-chan said you decided not to go? Why would you do that?" His tone implied that InuYasha was the reason behind Kagome's decision. The look he shot InuYasha confirmed it.

Kagome shifted, crossing her arms over her chest. It took everything in InuYasha not to shove her behind his back and shred the human to ribbons. "I'm going to take some courses," she remarked. She could feel the tension between them, and it was making her nervous.

"You're way too smart to waste your life with that barbarian," Houjou commented.

"You scrawny little—" InuYasha cut in with a low growl.

Kagome grabbed InuYasha's arm. "InuYasha, no," she hissed in his ear.

For her sake, he cut off his growl and, grabbing Kagome's arm, he started to walk away. Houjou's hand to his back stopped him. "Let her go," Houjou said simply, gesturing at the arm that InuYasha still held.

InuYasha didn't move his head as he pinned the younger man with a stare. "Back off, Houjou. She isn't your concern."

"Of course she is. Kagome's my woman. She'll realize that soon enough."

Kagome opened her mouth to refute that claim. InuYasha growled fiercely, cutting her off and making Houjou retreat a step. But he recovered quickly enough and tried to look past InuYasha at her.

"InuYasha!" she complained as he shoved her behind his back. She caught herself on his shirt before she stumbled.

"Stay back, Kagome. Don't interfere." InuYasha stepped forward slowly but stopped before he reached Houjou.

A curious crowd had started to gather around them. InuYasha ignored the fact that he was making a spectacle of himself and stood his ground. Houjou refused to back down, too. "You think you're man enough to keep me away from my Kagome?" Houjou scoffed.

"Stay away from her. I won't warn you again," InuYasha said quietly.

"Everyone's been talking,  Izayoi-sensei. Don't worry, Kagome. Everyone knows that this guy's brainwashed you," he sneered before turning a wicked glower on InuYasha. "Did you just wait for her to graduate before you got her into bed or did you force yourself on her?"

Kagome's shocked gasp echoed in his ears. Houjou couldn't have hurt her worse if he had physically struck her. Reacting to the upset radiating off of her, InuYasha didn't wait to hear more. In a blur of movement he had the human pinned against the building with his forearm against Houjou's throat. InuYasha drew his claws back to strike. Kagome grabbed his wrist. "Don't hurt him, InuYasha!" she implored. "Please!"

"He hurt you," InuYasha snarled, not taking his eyes off Houjou. "I promise you he won't do it again."

"You're going to hit me? In front of all of these witnesses?" Houjou goaded.

InuYasha shook off Kagome's hands. "Just watch me."

"InuYasha!"

"No, damn it!"

"Fine!"

Houjou choked out a laugh, which was the best he could do since InuYasha still had him pinned by the throat. "Go ahead. It'll be that much easier for me to claim my woman back if you're in jail for battery."

Heaving a frustrated sigh, InuYasha balled up his fist and slammed it into the wall beside Houjou's head, leaving behind a crater in the building where he had struck.

As much as he hated to admit it, the idiot human was right. If he had learned nothing else during his time on this side of the well, it was that he could not maim even those in dire need of maiming without serious repercussions. "Stay the hell away from her!" With a muttered curse, InuYasha shoved Houjou against the building once more before he let go and turned to find Kagome.

With a much louder curse, he realized she was gone.