InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Past ❯ Dog Pound ( Chapter 20 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Sayo124

Disclaimer: . . . Nope, still not feeling up to writing one . . . go back two chapters if you're really interested in reading about how I (sadly) don't own Inu `n' tachi.

A/N: Twee! Another new installment!

~reviewers~

I started off feeling a little sorry for Kikyou. Inuyasha was just HARSH in that flashback. But on the other hand, she had to have known how he'd react. She just kept picking at that particular scab, so from that perspective I have no sympathy for the pain, but he could have been less blunt. I can just see Kagome as being so anal that she wants to wipe all slang off the face of the Earth. I bet she was one of those kids in school who went around going "You can't start sentences with AND or BUT!" (even though you can) It makes me happy to think of her like that, gives her some quirks. And them fixing eachother. It sounds so... dirty. And sexy. But dirty. I seriously thought they were going to get it on from the chapter title. And more sessions with Sango? W00t as the hacker wannabes say today. So Sango doesn't like it and gets uncomfortable when people pry into her personal life. You'd think this would make her ask less uncomfortable questions, but no. She should be commited, just so she'd know what it's like. She actually asked if he was a Hanyou? Even if that was just an uncomfortable segue after realizing she was talking about the positives of Youkai exterminating to someone who's part Youkai, she just keeps showing a stunning lack of awareness of people around her. Is she so self-unaware that she doesn't realize she has this flaw that will keep her from ever helping anyone in the capacity that she wants to? And don't her bosses notice this? Do they not screen the volunteers that will be working with the crazy people? How did she get the ok? Does Kaede secretly hate the people under her care? Or is she just senile? And we get the real reason Inuyasha wouldn't touch Kikyou with a ten foot pole, and doesn't seem interested in pursuing anyone; it'd be forever. But I really don't think Kagome should be complaining about him being mean when she's threatening to starve him because she's nosy.

Yeah, he was harsh. . . and that will haunt him later in the story. . . ::Cough:: Kagome might as well paste a sign saying “Slang is for losers, get near me with it, and I'll yell at you.” It might help. . . LoL! That's what my friend thought when she read this, too. . . And the she told me what she thought should have happened with a title like that. . . Hentai friend. . . You may like the sessions, but all they're doing is torturing a certain hanyou. ::Roll eyes:: Yeah, it doesn't help her realize a thing about personal questions and prying. . . Let's just say she's dense enough to ask that to a hanyou. . . I'm surprised Inuyasha didn't jump on her. . . Then again, he has some self-control! Hey, one day she might just become a good shrink. . . one day! Her boss—Mr. Dai—is never there. . . he can't tell!—and Kaede's too unaware of what Sango says to do anything! They probably don't even know what the word “screening” means. . . How did she get the okay? The world may never know. . . LoL! She may not hate them. . . but she might despise them. . . Yeap. . . forever sucks. . . for dating, that is. . . LoL! Tell that to Kagome!

AGE:

Inuyasha: 19

Kagome: 18

Kouga: 19

Naraku: 19

Miroku: 19

Sango: 18

Kaede: 65

A Dark Past

Chapter Twenty: Dog Pound

`Fix each other?' Inuyasha mused, then sighed. `That's harder to do than you might think, Kagome. . .'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a long, exasperated sigh. “Again?”

“Please?”

“Kagome, this is getting out of hand. . .”

Kagome clasped her hands at her chin and let her lip slip out in a pretty pout. “Please? I'll be your friend forever?”

The other rolled their eyes. “This would be the third day.” For emphasis, she added, “And three is a big number. . . it isn't even supposed to happen once.”

“That's okay,” Kagome shrugged. “It's really affecting him. He really needs this, Ayumi.”

Ayumi let out a long moan. “Fine. One more time. After this, he's staying here in the afternoon.”

Kagome gave Ayumi a quick friendly hug. “Thank you s-o-o much! You don't know how much it means to me that you're covering for me!”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Kagome beamed before turning and leaving, ready to take Inuyasha out, again, for one of his `afternoons of fun'. . . after breakfast and lunch, that is.

`Where should I take him today?'

A smile crept up on her face. She knew the perfect place.

Kagome had barely pulled her card through the scanner before the door was opened.

“Now what?”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I always make sure to spend time with you in the afternoon.”

Inuyasha groaned. “Not another `afternoon of fun'. Those are going to kill me.”

Kagome's chin rose as she retorted, “Well, ex-cuse me for trying to get you to have fun in the afternoon instead of staying inside this room all day.”

“Keep preaching and I might put you in a temple. . .”

“Oh, be quiet.” Kagome slapped his arm but smiled. “Baka, why can't I get mad?”

“ `Cause. . . I'm adorable?”

Kagome rolled her eyes again. “Oh, yes. The absolute cutest.”

“The best,” Inuyasha agreed.

Kagome snorted and grumbled, “Too bad I can't take that back. . .”

“Oi! What are you saying? That I'm not cute?”

Kagome didn't answer, but turned and motioned for Inuyasha to follow - which he grudgingly did.

He wasn't very happy when his youkai snorted. `Sucker.'

For once, Inuyasha didn't argue.

“Wench. . .”

“Oh, come on! This is fun.”

“Keh!” Inuyasha huffed. “I have my idea of fun, and you have yours. There's nothing wrong with that. . . But this, unfortunately for you, is not my idea of fun, I have to admit. . .”

“Ah, come on; you're over exaggerating! This is fun, you're merely a grump.”

Inuyasha snorted. “Uh-huh, I'm sure. . .”

“No, you are! Who couldn't love this- - -?” Kagome abruptly stopped herself as she wiped her cheek. “Bad! No, you don't do that.”

The little dog wriggled out of her arms and thumped onto the ground by her legs.

“Whoosh a good puppy? Who? Who? That's right! You are!” Kagome squealed as the little bundle yapped in a playful position with its rear in the air.

“Come `ere.”

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose as he leaned against the wall. He watched as the dark puppy bounded over to the kneeling Kagome and gnawed on her hand like a chew toy - or tried to.

“Hey, that's not nice! If you want to chew on something then go chew on your chew rope. That's what it's there for.”

The hanyou rolled his eyes at her. “Like she's going to listen.”

Kagome shrugged as she continued to play with the dog. “She might, you never know.”

The puppy rolled onto her back, tongue lolling out, before licking her small snout - or what she could reach with her small tongue - and closed her eyes in a doze.

“You killed her. Are you happy?”

“Inuyasha!” Kagome giggled. “I didn't kill her! She's little. Bouts of play and energy like that exhaust babies like her.”

“Sure, sure, that's what you say now, but when she doesn't wake up, I will not be held responsible for your actions. . . now can we leave?”

Sighing, Kagome scratched the sleeping animal behind the ears before standing up and stretching her back. “Sure, it's getting late, anyway. . .”

They left the small room for `picking your pet' and made their way to the front desk.

A small woman who was working on some paperwork for the adoption of an animal looked up at them when they approached, her glasses slipping down her nose. “I see the puppy was not for you?”

Kagome smiled and Inuyasha rolled his eyes and grumbled inaudibly, “We were never gonna buy anything. . .”

“Yes, we were just window shopping, anyway.”

The woman nodded and gave them a tolerant, polite smile. “I see. . . well, have a nice day and be sure to come back here if you're ever interested in buying again.”

Kagome nodded and Inuyasha grumbled again. “We still weren't going to buy anything.”

Thrusting her eyes upward towards the ceiling, Kagome groaned and tugged Inuyasha out of the store. “You could have been nicer,” she chided.

“Keh!”

Kagome couldn't help but smile as they made their way back to the car.

`Keh, stupid wench. . . taking me to see dogs, of all things. . .'

`Did you have fun?'

Inuyasha mentally snorted in reply as he opened his door and slammed it shut when he was in. The car started and Kagome made her way to the exit before pulling out and heading back to the center. Inuyasha purposely ignored the question.

`Come on, you had to have learned something or. . . or something.'

`Yeah, right. `Course I do.'

`. . . So you are thinking `bout something.'

`. . . Am not.'

“. . . Just spit it out!”

Blinking, Inuyasha found himself surprised that the voice had suddenly come out of his head.

“Inuyasha? I know you heard me.” She sighed as she turned a corner. “Will you answer?”

“Huh?” he deadpanned.

“I said that I knew there was something bugging you and to just spit it out!”

“No.”

“Come on!”

“No,” he refused stubbornly.

Changing tactics, Kagome's eyes watered as she gave him a `puppy-dog-pout'. “Please?”

Cursing the part of him that couldn't resist such a thing, he mentally growled at himself before sighing. “It's just. . . being in there made me think of something.”

“What?” Kagome encouraged.

“That. . . that pup back there. . . it was a half breed.”

“How do you know?”

“Keh!” Inuyasha huffed. “I could smell it, that's how!”

“Oh. . . well, okay, then; continue.”

“Keh. . . well, I guess it was being in such a place like that. . . a pound- - -”

“I prefer shelter,” Kagome piped.

With a roll of his bright eyes, Inuyasha continued, “- - -and having the mutt around, looking for someone to come and adopt him, or save him, what the hell ever. . . it made me think that I was like him. . . stuck in a poun- - - I mean `shelter' and being a half breed; an. . . an `outcast'.”

Kagome's eyes widened as she gazed at him for a second. “And is this `half breed' looking for someone to come and. . . `save' him?”

He didn't answer, but his expression was enough.

Swallowing, Kagome tried to smile. “Would it make this. . . `half breed' happy if. . . I `saved' him?”

Inuyasha's eyes slowly wandered to Kagome, who had her head slightly turned in his direction, still watching traffic out of the corner of her eyes.

She didn't push him any further as he gazed at her, eyes showing what his body didn't and his mind denied - vulnerability.

He regained his composure, crossed his arms, and huffed. “Keh. . .! I guess it wouldn't be. . . too bad to be. . . you know. . . saved.” He furiously tried to fight down the raging pinkness that fought for his cheeks.

Kagome smiled slightly as her eyes went back to the road. “Okay.”

Inuyasha tried not to smile, as well.

He failed.

“Keh!”

Growling, Kagome mimicked the irritated hanyou, crossing her arms and doing her best to glare with a flame in her gaze. “Keh!”

Inuyasha couldn't contain the snort as he calmed down some. “What was that?”

“Nothing.”

He snorted again.

“Come on, please?”

“No,” he growled.

“Pretty please?”

“Ugly no.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“. . . Ugly no? What in the world is that?”

“Keh, the response to `pretty please'.”

Kagome sighed. “. . . You can be a baka sometimes, ya know?”

“ `Course I do. I get that from my brother al least three times a day.”

“Mm, smart brother.”

“Wha- - - Oi!”

Kagome rolled her eyes before returning to the earlier subject. “Why not?”

“ `Cause you don't have my dinner.”

“It's not time to eat.”

“Then why should you get a question?”

“. . . Because.”

“No, then.”

“Just one, please?” Once again, she pulled the puppy-dog-pout.

“Wha- - - oi! Fine, one.”

“Thank you!”

“Whatever.”

“Okay. . . now, you told me you had six friends, right? Do you still keep in contact with them?”

“Most of `em.”

“Which don't you?”

“The brat, the bastard, and Kikyou.”

“Okay, I need names, not `nick' names.”

“Fine, Shippou, MenouMaru, and Kikyou.”

“That's better; now why?”

“We just. . .” He shrugged, looking away. “I don't know, I guess we drifted apart.”

She could tell he wasn't telling the whole truth. “Why don't you hang out with Shippou anymore?”

“I just told you!” Inuyasha exclaimed.

“Fine, but I want details.”

Inuyasha growled in annoyance. “I didn't like that brat. . . he thought we could be brothers and I already had an older bastard-of-a-brother, I didn't want a little one.”

“Well, that was mean. Now what about MenouMaru?”

“. . . Nothing.”

“Really?”

“. . .Yeah. . . nuthin'.”

“Mm-hmm, for some reason I think you're lying.”

“Would I lie to you?”

“Maybe.”

“Fine, he did something unforgivable. Happy?” Inuyasha snapped.

Kagome knew she was treading on thin ice, but she slowly asked, as if talking to a three-year-old, “Can I ask what he did?”

Inuyasha didn't reply, but his expression was enough.

“Can I ask. . . if he's part of why you're here?” She used the same tone again.

His expression darkened. Kagome didn't know if it was from pain or anger.

“Okay. . .” She tried to smile suddenly as she said the first thing that she knew would calm him down. “I'm bringing in a coloring book tomorrow for you!”

He blinked as his head swung around so he could look at her. “What?”

“You heard me!”

“Keh! I ain't a little pup, wench!”

Kagome shrugged. “So?”

“That's stupid. . .” He growled before grumbling, “Can you believe this wench?”

“Hey- - - oh, sorry, I have to go! But I'll be back in just a little while after I get Ellen to Silent book to take you to Sango's!”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “Cheerful wench.”

Kagome beamed.

Inuyasha snorted.

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I wasn't going to end it there. . . I was going to write a little more with Kagome leaving. . . but, oh, well. R&R!

Ja ne!