InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Family Connections ❯ Sleeping Arrangements... ( Chapter 2 )

Standard Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all belong to Rumiko Takahashi….

*Chapter Two*

~Sleeping arrangements….~

"You always talked about her like she was just a little kid, dammit!" Inuyasha was still grumbling belligerently as he settled himself on one of the barstools at Miroku's counter. "Why the hell wouldn't you tell me she was the one coming?"

Miroku gave him a dry look as he searched the cabinets for teacups, "I saw how you looked at her Yasha. I think it should be obvious."

"That's a laugh coming from the master of the roaming hands," he snorted in disgust, lifting his hand to rub at the soreness in his jaw from Miroku's last punch.

"I catch yours roaming and I'll break more than your ugly face," he warned stiffly. "Kagome is my responsibility and I take that very seriously."

Inuyasha smirked, resting his chin in his upraised hand as he taunted, "So, Nii-chan, what if she's the one who does the roaming?"

"If you set out to seduce my cousin, you'll get an up close and personal tour of my antique collection a lot sooner than I promised," Miroku bristled angrily at the warm gleam in his friend's eyes. He and Inuyasha might go back a ways, but where Kagome was concerned… He just wouldn't have it and that was that.

Inuyasha's smirk turned into a slightly dreamy smile, his eyes narrowed slyly to catch the look on Miroku's face, "She's cute, it just might be worth it."

Miroku had turned around, his mouth open and one hand lifted to respond, but before Inuyasha had a chance to find out just what he had been about to bring down on his head, Kagome's voice chirped out, "Worth what?"

Inuyasha turned around to glance at the object of the argument, but nearly went tumbling from his haphazard perch on the stool when his mind actually registered the sight of her. He caught his balance before he managed to make a total fool of himself, and stared in blatant appreciation at the girl casually towel-drying her thick hair in the hallway down from the spare bedroom.

Kagome was apparently one of those rare girls who seemed to be completely oblivious to her apparel, or at least he hoped so... Otherwise, Inuyasha was certain that Miroku was going to be punching him in the face more often than normal in the days to come. She was in a worn white tank top and faded blue jeans, both pieces clinging to her body not just from the age of the fabric, but from the amount of water that had soaked from her long hair as well. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the audience), the moisture only made it that much more obvious that it was colder in the hallway than it had been in the bathroom.

Miroku looked decidedly ill when he inquired, "I take it you still have that bizarre aversion to buying yourself new clothes, Kagome?"

Kagome shrugged, perfectly unaware of her role as the cause for their mixed kinds of distress, "Why waste the money? I haven't gotten any taller since I was a mid-level-"

"Sophomore," Miroku corrected absently. "Public schools don't call class by level."

She shrugged, blowing that off carelessly. "Whatever. I haven't grown since then, so why bother?"

Miroku covered his eyes and smothered a groan, "Perhaps not `taller.' We have more than enough money to get you new clothes, Kagome, and you can't go running around like that."

"Why not?" she slung the towel around her neck and caught the ends, tilting her head as she regarded him. "Okaa-san didn't mind that I never got clothes," she patted her jeans and smirked at him.

"I'm not your mother," he gave her a pointed look that had Inuyasha coughing in his hand to cover his laughter. "I think I'll ask Sango to take you," he didn't take his eyes off her when he reached out and flicked Inuyasha's ear with his thumb and forefinger.

Kagome wrinkled her nose and pouted, "It's boring, Miroku."

Miroku picked up a spoon to whack Inuyasha over the head when he noticed the man's attention had returned appreciatively to his cousin's breasts, "My heart can't take the idea of you going out like that. Humor me this time, ne?"

Kagome rolled her eyes and waved absently in agreement as she retreated to the room across the hall, "Yeah, okay."

Miroku swore when the door clicked shut, shaking his head as he tossed the spoon back in a drawer, "Damn all girl private schooling."

Inuyasha arched one brow curiously, "I take that to mean your cousin doesn't consider herself to be overly attractive or appealing?"

He sighed in regret and nodded, "She won't listen when I try to explain why she's always getting stared at because I'm family."

Inuyasha flashed him a mischievous grin, "That leaves me."

"You can go home now, Inuyasha," Miroku snapped out of his slightly melancholy musing to scowl at his friend before pouring himself a cup of tea.

"Aww, c'mon, Miroku, have a heart!" Inuyasha blanched at the thought of what awaited him in his own apartment. "You have a spare futon and two couches. I can find something, dammit!"

"No."

"I can help you keep an eye on your cousin," he reasoned.

"That help I don't need."

"I cook!"

Miroku wrinkled his nose, "I can only eat so much ramen, Yasha, and before you say you'll clean, let me remind you that I prepared the room for Kagome."

Inuyasha quickly shut his mouth, grumbling as he tried to think of an argument that the stoic man wouldn't be able to deny. He sat wracking his brain madly, fighting the urge to bang his head on the counter when all of a sudden, his frustrated swearing stopped, replaced with a smug grin and eyes sparkling in delight.

"What about that vacation you've been planning with Sango? That's this weekend that you leave, isn't it?" he reminded with arrogant confidence. "Do you want Kagome here all by herself for a couple weeks? Going out alone dressed in clothes like that?"

When Miroku's expression lost its trademark blandness and filled with panic, it was all Inuyasha could do not to leap on arm the barstool and shout his triumph over his friend. As it was, he bit down hard on his lip to restrain his obvious delight in victory. `Maru isn't the only one in the family who could be sneaky and persuasive,' his eyes were fairly dancing with arrogant confidence and Miroku had to fight not to punch him again.

Miroku looked from the smirk on Inuyasha's face to Kagome's closed bedroom door and then back to Inuyasha. He was trapped and they both knew it if the widening smirk on Inuyasha's face was any indication.

"FUCK!"

~

"Yasha-kun, if you take one more of my shrimp, you're going to lose those fingers," Kagome warned darkly when the older boy snatched a fourth piece from her dinner bowl.

"Mine are gone," he replied matter-of-factly, munching contentedly on his stolen prize. "And Miroku told you to mind me while he's gone. If I were you, I'd be more obedient… unless I wanted to get put to bed without dessert."

She flashed him a dry look, "You're not THAT much older than me, Inuyasha."

He pointed arrogantly with his chopsticks and corrected, "Inuyasha-senpai."

Kagome gave him an impish grin and punched him in the shoulder, "The instructions I got and the ones you heard were totally different. My cousin quite clearly said, and I quote: `that arrogant little bastard just happens to be the lesser of two evils, but don't listen to anything he says unless he sounds like me.'" Her smile turned even more devilish, "Inuyasha-jiji."

Inuyasha's brows twitched, snorting to cover the warm fluttering that had spread in his stomach at the sight of her smile as he muttered, "Remind me to kick your idiot cousin in the head when he gets home, shoujo."

Kagome blushed at the way his voice softened warmly when he said the last, making it more an endearment than an insult the way she had done. Clearing her throat and trying to cool her cheeks, she set down her bowl and stood, "Go ahead and try, but if you know Miroku at all, you know what a great fighter he is. He might just beat some sense into that thick skull of yours. Want a drink?"

He blinked at the abrupt change of topic, nodding absently and tilting his head to get a better look at the way she innocently swiveled her hips just so when she walked, "I'm a MUCH better fighter than that lech, Kagome."

"Mmm, okay," she called from the kitchen, but her tone just as clearly said "keep telling yourself that."

Kagome was definitely loyal to the people she loved, he thought warmly as he set his bowl down and casually reached over to take hers to deftly pick out the "good" tempura.

Thoughtfully he sat back, munching almost absently on her last shrimp. It was the strangest thing, but in the rather uneventful two weeks since Miroku and Sango had left, he'd come to feel like he'd known Kagome his entire life. Ever since the first night when she'd sauntered into the front room while he was watching movies and without a word handed him a bowl of ramen and then kicked back on the other end of the couch to watch with him.

He'd eaten in a daze, surprised that she had made enough for him and even more surprised that she wasn't complaining about what he was watching. It had been equally shocking when he'd finished only to have Kagome scoop up their bowls and retreat to the kitchen. This time when she came back, she'd tossed him a pouch of chocolate pocky and winked, "Miroku's private stash."

She'd resettled on the couch, leaning over to snatch a few herself and Inuyasha had shamelessly shifted to "accidentally" brush his arm against her. Kagome smacked him upside the head, sitting back with a pocky sticking out of her mouth and another in her hand to lose herself in the movie again.

Inuyasha had barely watched the rest of the movie, instead sneaking glances at this girl who seemed to be an artless mix of innocence and mischief, although he was certain more than a little of her smart mouth came from exposure to Miroku's influence. Especially since it was obviously she very nearly idolized her favorite cousin.

Of course, that made him wonder how she would treat her boyfriend.

When she'd started yawning every other minute, he leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, lightly pulling her from her perch on the couch to sprawl half-asleep against his chest. Inuyasha had toyed with her soft hair, silently disagreeing with Miroku's censure of the length as he brushed the over-long bangs away from her eyes. She'd shifted against him, looking up and giving him a sleepy smile that had made his heart jump.

She'd sat up and stretched, unaware of how that simple action effected him, then leaned over and given him a harmless peck on the cheek before she murmured good-night and half stumbled off to bed.

Inuyasha had sat there, perfectly stunned, and his heart pounding in a way it hadn't done since his first clumsy days noticing girls. His hand lifted to his cheek and he had instantly decided two things.

First, Kagome was going to be his.

Second… he loved her smile.

And THAT thought brought a wide smile to his face as he continued to pick apart what was left of her dinner. He could clearly picture in his mind the way her eyes would light up when she was laughing, or shoot daggers when he'd done something that annoyed her. Hell, he felt like he was back in school, completely infatuated with a girl for the first time in his life.

It would have been an annoying had he not been enjoying it so thoroughly.

"Inuyasha!!"

Oh, how he was enjoying it…

"What?" Inuyasha tried for his best innocent look, but it turned abruptly to a shout of outraged surprise when he found himself on the receiving end of an upturned glass of ice water.

Kagome reached over the sputtering boy, snatching back her bowl with the expert skill only those with siblings can attain, scowling first at her nearly empty dish and then at his dripping face.

"Dammit, Kagome, that water's cold!" Inuyasha wiped a hand across his face and growled at her as she plopped back down and reached for her chopsticks to salvage what was left.

"If I'd brought soda, you would have been sticky too," she gave him a dry, sideways glare and stuck out her tongue. Pointing meaningfully at him with her chopsticks and gesturing with the bowl, she warned, "Keep whining, Yasha, and it'll be this instead."

"Don't think I won't remember this," he pulled his shirt up and off, ignoring the wet "fwap" the soaked bundle made when it hit the wood floor. "I'll get revenge."

It was oh so satisfying to look up and see Kagome's startled eyes jump from his face down to his bare chest, her eyes widening slowly and her mouth falling open. She was holding her breath as he watched a blush steadily creep up over her cheeks, her eyes taking on what was unmistakably an admiring gleam. His lips quirked faintly when he noticed how very tightly she was suddenly gripping her bowl and utensils, the knuckles turning stark white the longer she stared.

Inuyasha was suddenly feeling inclined to forgive her for soaking him.

He cleared his throat, delighting in the embarrassment that darkened her blush when her eyes shot back up to his own, "Something wrong, Kagome?"

"Nothing!" she squeaked, dropping her gaze as though she'd suddenly become perfectly captivated by the remains of her dinner.

Inuyasha smirked smugly, leaning back against the arm of the couch and folding his arms behind his head as he studied the way she stubbornly fought to keep her gaze from straying to him. She was trying to hide behind her hair again and he reached out to catch the offending lock and tuck it back behind her ear to give her a melting grin, `Definitely admiring. You like me, don't you, Kagome?'

His gaze warmed considerably and he started to shift his position, leaning down as he plotted the best way to kiss Miroku's cute cousin for their first time when the phone trilled brightly from the kitchen. The sound shattered the mesmerizing effect his heated eyes had been having on her, and Kagome shot to her feet. Barely caring what he thought, she hopped the back of the couch and rushed to answer the phone while Inuyasha slumped to the side with almost comical frustration.

"If that's Miroku, Kagome, tell him to fucking-!"

"A friend of Miroku? Hojo?" Kagome's surprised comment cut him off as she turned to glance his way, asking with her expression if he knew who was calling her.

Inuyasha blinked in confusion, shrugging and shaking his head even as his brows lowered in disapproval. He suddenly wished he'd paid more attention to Miroku's other friends, that way he would at least have known who was trying to sniff her out, `A boy. What the hell is a boy doing calling here? For Kagome?'

"Ano…tonight? I ate already," she glared at Inuyasha, her blush still faintly visible on her cheeks as she leaned against the doorway to the kitchen and looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Inuyasha smirked, folding his arms over his chest, `Good girl, Kagome. Get rid of that moron so we can get back to our routine.'

Raking her hand through her hair in an absent motion, she chewed on her lower lip and responded to the question from the cheerful voice on the other end, "Coffee? I don't know…"

She trailed off and glanced over at Inuyasha, catching the imperious frown and the negative shake of disapproval.

Kagome paused, looking at him in complete disbelief for a moment before her expression changed to annoyance and she turned her back on him, "Gomen, Hojo-kun… Coffee sounds great."

"O-oi!" Inuyasha leapt to his feet, fists clenching as she set the receiver back in its cradle. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! I never said you could go on a date, Kagome!"

She shot him a glare and stalked past him towards her room, "I don't need your permission, Inuyasha. Mou… you're just as bad as Miroku! I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself. Do you think I've never been on a date before?"

"Get back here, I'm not done lecturing you yet!" Inuyasha hopped the couch in the same way she had done a moment ago. "Miroku told you to listen to me if I started to sound like him, didn't he?"

Kagome gave him a hard frown, not pausing as she went to her room and slammed the door, calling through it, "It's just a date. I haven't been on one since I got here, and this guy sounds completely harmless. He's a friend of Miroku for crying out loud."

Inuyasha slid to a stop in front of her door and scowled fiercely at it, "I don't know this guy, Kagome, you can't go."

He heard a muttered curse, accompanied by the unmistakable slamming of drawers and rustle of clothing, "You aren't my cousin, what do you care if I go have coffee with one of his friends? Honestly," she huffed in exasperation.

Inuyasha clenched his jaw as he mentally went over her wardrobe, trying to picture what she was changing into for her date with this Hojo person. None of the images his mind was coming up with were acceptable, and he leaned against her door with his arms folded, "Oi, Kagome, I have to see what you're thinking of wearing before you go."

Inside the room, Kagome paused and arched one brow in irritation, `What in the world has gotten into him? Suddenly he really IS acting just like Miroku!' She scowled at the door, smoothing her hand over the plain black shirt and zipping up her jeans as she pondered the best way to get past her friend turned sudden guard-dog. Her eyes lit with an idea, brows lifting as she grinned when they fell on the wide window.

Inuyasha frowned when everything in her room went quiet, knocking on the door and demanding, "Kagome? You okay in there?"

Met with yet more silence, he tried the doorknob and threw the door wide, eyes narrowed as he searched the room. His eyes fell on the open window in a bit of surprise before he smacked himself in the head, "Son of a bitch!"