InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Father Figure ❯ Role Playing ( Chapter 8 )

AN: I know some people might think Kagome's being a bit weak willed through all this and in a way I have to agree, but I don't think that fighting demons in the past has toughened her up any for something like this. Being attacked physically by a demon is completely different from being attacked emotionally by someone close in the family. And being a miko's reincarnation isn't going to help either - because Kagome's isn't actually a miko - unless I've been missing something, Kagome has never received training which is probably why her powers are latent and not fully developed like Kikyo's.

And as for not telling anybody about Denji… it's hard to understand how difficult it is to be in that kind of situation unless you've been in it yourself.

Father Figure

Role Playing

She looked just like an angel. An angel with bags under her eyes, marks on her cheek from where she'd been lying face down on the crumpled pillow, and hair sticking every which way after walking through the cold breeze the night before. Still angelic though.

Inuyasha watched her for a moment before reaching out for her glass of water beside the bed, and tipped it over her face with gracious care. Slowly Kagome's nose wrinkled, but she only turned over, despite her wet hair and face, and proceeded to fall back to sleep. He sighed deeply and poked her in the ribs through her duvet. "Kagome. Kagome get up. I'm bored stiff. I wanna talk to you. Wake up already you lazy cow."

"In a minute…" she mumbled thickly.

"I'll give you three seconds."

"Ten minutes." She grouched, on her way to waking up properly anyway.

"Thirty seconds."

"Twenty minutes."

"You're not supposed to go higher. Ain't you ever haggled before?" he didn't wait for an answer. Instead he grabbed her wrists and started dragging her out of bed. Then he noticed something strange when she was halfway onto the floor. "Why're you wearing the same clothes as yesterday?"

"Huh?" she looked down at herself blearily. "Oh… didn't change…"

"That's not like you." He scowled, dropping her wrists so she flopped to the floor with a squeak. "You awake now?"

"Oh, just a bit." She sighed, righting herself and sitting on the floor to rub her eyes. For a moment she wondered why such a heavy feeling was weighing on her chest… until she remembered with miserable clarity the events of the night before. Oh yes… Denji…

Her silence seemed to annoy Inuyasha further. He folded his arms and glowered down at her. "Look… about what I said yesterday."

"What about it?" she struggled to remember anything other than Denji and her knee.

"When I said… you looked upset… I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to come out that harsh." He dropped his gaze to his folded arms. Kagome gave him a sour look. Yes, but you still meant it, though she kept that comment to herself. "I'm sorry, I hope you forgive me and that you'll come back and play with Shippu - I mean - Shippo."

Kagome eyed him suspicious before suddenly standing up and tearing his hand out so she could see it. "Miroku wrote your lines on your hand?!" she threw it back at him. "That's beyond pathetic. Can't you be sincere about anything?!"

"I apologised didn't I?" he snapped.

"No - you just insulted my intelligence again!" she shot back as she stormed out of her room, heading for the bathroom.

"What the hell crawled up her butt?" He grumbled to himself and sat on the bed, absently wiping off the ink on his hand. Well he'd tried hadn't he? She would usually commend him for that much… Obviously it was her problem - not his. Didn't she remember how useless he was with words. He needed to write down an apology before he said it.

Although… was it him… or did her already scrawny wrists seem a little scrawnier than usual? He stood for a while trying to mimic the way he'd grabbed her wrists, frowning in deep thought…

He must have been a slow thinker, because he was still thinking about it by the time Kagome came back into her room wearing a new set of clothes and a towel around her head. She shot him a tight-lipped look before moving to sit before her dresser to comb her hair. "You still here?"

"I think so." He discreetly tried to find what was different about her that morning. It wasn't just her mood… but her clothes. Normally she liked her skirts short and her blouses revealing… why the dark coloured trousers all of a sudden? And what was with the baggy shirt? All of a sudden, bouncy Kagome looked like drab Kagome… Strange…

"Oh yeah." Kagome suddenly looked at him through their reflections in the dressing table mirror. He didn't fail to notice how dark her eyes seemed… shadowed. "I have to go to another session with Dad. He wants Yoko to come too."

"Which one?"

"The real one." Kagome turned her attention back to her wet hair. "But I doubt Yoko has turned up to therapy otherwise Dad would have said something to my Mom and she would have figured it out. You should come along."

"Ugh…" he rolled his eyes at that idea. "And do what? Look at more stupid blobs of paint and play mind games? What is it supposed to achieve anyway?"

"Peace of mind." She said flatly. "It's supposed to work out your problems and relieve stress."

"Abstract." He snorted. "I'll stick to battering demons and Naraku as my form of stress relief. And I already know my problems - I don't need some smiley guy telling them to me."

"He doesn't tell them to you. He helps you deal with them. God knows you have more than me." She gave him a sharp look. "And my father is not 'smiley'."

"Of course he is. He takes after you. Or…" he thought about that. "You take after him."

She leaned over to set down her comb and pick up some mousse. It caused the baggy shirt to stretch over her form and Inuyasha watched like a hawk, frowning when he saw how prominently her back bone stood out with her ribs. She noticed his intense gaze and stopped. "What?"

"Nothing." He faked disinterest and turned away to inspect her digital alarm clock.

"Then don't stare." She said primly.

That cold tone made him freeze and he nearly laughed in disbelief. He turned to look at her and saw her messing around with her hair, avoiding his gaze. "What the hell is the matter with you? You're normally the only person in the world who is civil in the morning - what happened to make you turn like everyone else?!"

She flinched slightly and he saw anger and something like despair flash across her expression. "Nothing. I'm allowed to get pissed off sometimes, aren't I?"

"No - because you're Kagome."

"Meaning?!"

"Meaning - I have no idea what we're talking about anymore!" he snapped.

She sighed and dropped her hands from her hair. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go see Dad."

"What about your breakfast?" he asked sharply. "You always eat when you wake up."

"I'm not hungry." She shrugged indifferently.

"Since when?"

"Since every time I eat in this house I have to sit opposite Denji." She said with clenched fists. "I can't stand that guy."

"So eat elsewhere."

"I don't want to get into this. Let's just go." She said in that tone that announced the end of an argument, conversation or discussion. Inuyasha frowned, still completely stumped to her attitude.

She perked up slightly, the further they got away from the house, but he still didn't understand what the matter was. He was going to drag it out of her one way or another.

^_^

"Ok - firstly I want to start off by talking to you separately, Kagome." Her father crossed his legs and glanced across at Inuyasha. "Are you sure he can't hear us?"

"Nah." Kagome looked at Inuyasha beside her who was bobbing his foot to some tune in his head and looking off into space - the French hat he's stolen was firmly secured over his ears. "Hey Yoko - that's a wig on your head isn't it?" she called loudly.

After a few delayed moments he seemed to realise he was being spoken to. "What?!" he called back just as loudly.

"I said that's a wig on your head isn't it?!"

"Yeah - an hour before midday!"

He went back to staring off into space and Kagome turned back to her father with a wry smile. "See?"

"Very well." He shifted slightly in his seat, hands rested against the clipboard in his hand. "I wanted to ask you… how do you feel towards your mother for sending you to me?"

A straight question that required a complicated answer. Kagome wasn't sure she wanted to tell him… but she probably should. If not for him being her therapist - but he was also her father. She could confide things in him. "Betrayed I guess…" she started quietly. "I mean, you'd think she'd have more faith in me. After fifteen years of getting to know each other you'd think she'd know better than to cart me off to psycho therapy the minute she doubts me."

"Mm." He smiled in that fatherly way that was also a slightly detached smile of a doctor. "And what about Denji? Your mother tells me that you aren't entirely happy with him…"

"Because I'm not."

"Why's that then?"

"Because…" Kagome paused as she searched for the right answer, Inuyasha's bobbing foot was beginning to distract her. He could probably hear… but she didn't really care. "I don't know…" she said finally, before turning the psyche one on one on him. "Have you met him?"

"Yes. Nice guy." He laughed slightly. "Though I have to say he irritates me a bit."

"Really?" Kagome looked up at him hopefully.

"But I guess it's pathetic to say I don't like him because he's too good looking and well mannered." Her father shrugged. "Nah, he's a nice guy."

Kagome's sudden courage to tell her father failed her. If so many people could vouch for Denji's kindness and goodness… then she was outnumbered and bested. Who'd believe her?

"So why don't you like him?" her father asked again."

"Would you hate me if I said it was because he was better looking than you?" she gave a small embarrassed laugh… completely forced. "Lame reason. New dad isn't supposed to be cooler than the old one."

"I am cool."

"So says your Southpark tie."

He smiled, but was watching her seriously. "Is that it?"

She nodded with hesitation, hoping the doubt didn't show on her face. Why couldn't she tell him the truth? Why couldn't she tell anyone the truth? Her common sense and reason was telling her to pull herself together and do the sensible thing… but some other, larger part of her being was telling her to just leave it alone. Don't make a big deal and it won't get blown out of proportion…

"Ok. Yoko can come back now." Her father nodded and she reached over to whip the hat off Inuyasha's head. He started slightly and darted a look between the two of them.

"You done yapping now?" he asked.

"Yep. Kagome?" Mr Higurashi looked to his daughter again. "Would you mind getting some ice? If there isn't any in the machine outside, go to Soichi in reception and she'll get some for you."

Kagome started to protest. "But"

"Doctors orders." He pointed to his glass of water. "Drinks too warm - now go be a dear and take your time."

It was a pointed request if there was any. She shot a worried look to Inuyasha who had that 'oh dear, I'm in trouble' expression on his face. She got slowly to her feet and padded quietly to the door, fetching her shoes and sending one last daunting look back into the room before slipping out into the corridor.

Mr Higurashi had patiently waited until she was gone before speaking to 'Yoko'. "Don't look so worried. I'm not going to eat you."

"I wasn't worried about that…" Inuyasha shifted slightly, on edge all of a sudden. "More like… you chewing me out actually…"

"You know Kagome outside of these sessions don't you?" her father said so casually it took a few seconds for the impact to hit Inuyasha.

"What are you talking about?" he contrived to look surprised. "I don't know-"

"You arrived together." Mr Higurashi cut in. "It kinda gave you away,"

"Ah…"

"So how do you know each other?"

"Um… we… work together…" Inuyasha grappled for a reasonable excuse, cursing his lack of understanding of this age. "Regularly… doing this and that…"

"School work?"

"Yes!" Inuyasha agreed hastily, glad to be given an excuse.

"And tell me…" The older man leaned forward slightly. "Have you noticed anything strange about Kagome lately."

Inuyasha blinked at him. Should he say? Was it his place to say…? "Yes…"

"She seems… reclusive suddenly. She wasn't like that when she came to my apartment a few weeks ago." He frowned. "Do you know what the matter is?"

It was either Denji's fault… or his own fault. He didn't know which. "I don't know… but she seems moodier… and have you seen her clothes?"

"Very scruffy."

"That's what I thought." Inuyasha shrugged.

"A phase I hope…" Mr Higurashi concluded and Inuyasha prayed it was nothing more than that. "Ok. Back on topic - tell me more about this boyfriend of yours."

Inuyasha froze and cursed repeatedly in his head. Now what? "What… do you want to know?"

"You're father told me you were having relationship problems… that you were torn between him… and a rather good friend of yours - a girl." Mr Higurashi said. "A love triangle as it might be called."

"Ok…" Inuyasha nodded slowly.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you might not be gay?"

"Yes. Many times." He nodded with conviction. "Definitely. Yes."

"So… might you have feelings for your friend too?"

"Didn't say that."

"So you love your boyfriend."

"Didn't say that either."

"Well," Mr Higurashi blinked in surprise. "Tell me the name of the girl then."

Don't say Kagome…Sango, Kikyo, Kaede, Nazuna - anyone - but don't say Kagome! "Ka - I mean… I don't know…"

"You don't want to tell me?"

"Nazuna. Her name is Nazuna." Inuyasha said quickly."

"I see." Mr Higurashi noted something down on his clipboard. "And how long have you known her?"

"Not long… a few months… nearly a year… seems like forever though." He frowned down at a coffee stain on the low table between them.

"And how long have you known your boyfriend."

"Fifty years."

"Fifty?" he looked up in surprise.

"Fifteen! I said fifteen!" God, keeping up with therapy was hard…

"Right. So you've known your boyfriend for most of your life."

"Actually… in this case, it seems like I've known… him… the shortest time - but technically the longest."

"I don't understand."

"Me neither. That's ok." Inuyasha shrugged.

"And this girl, Nazuna…" Kagome's father tapped his pen. "You like her in a romantic way."

"No."

"So you don't have a love triangle."

"No we do…"

"So you do like this girl?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Then what are you trying to say?"

Inuyasha was getting more uncomfortable with each passing moment. What did the man want from him. A confession of sin or what? "Right now you probably know more about my feelings than I do. You take a guess."

"You're torn between two people… but you're officially with your boyfriend it seems. Does Nazuna return your feelings?"

"I don't have feelings for her to return!" Inuyasha was quick to avoid slipping into that word trap.

"Ok - does she pursue you?"

"Not quite pursue… more like waits…"

"So she likes you in the romantic way?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. Did Kagome like him that way… "Yeah… she doesn't really try to hide it very well…"

"So there is something between the two of you?" Mr Higurashi pressed. "A relationship."

Inuyasha looked glumly at the coffee stain again. "Sure… whatever… we have a 'relationship'. It's a sucky one, but it's there."

"And because of your relationship with your boyfriend you are tied down so it remains a sucky one." Mr Higurashi nodded. Inuyasha looked up at him in bewilderment. How come the guy had basically refined the relationships in a few simple sentences. It had to be a talent. "But if there was no relationship… would you be with Nazuna?"

Would he…? Probably…

But the answer to that question just stirred up more complications and difficulties that he didn't need. "What are you on about? I'm gay remember? I don't do girls." Nice save… he gave himself a pat on the back.

Kagome chose that moment to come back in with an ice bucket, glowering slightly at her father and looking like she'd just run around the building a few times… which, she probably had done. "Here's your ice, master." She said coldly as she dumped the bucket beside his chair and went to sit down beside Inuyasha again.

"Ah, thank you." He took one ice cube, one, and popped it in his drink. "Just what I needed."

Kagome had to restrain herself for getting up and dumping the bucket over his head.

Meanwhile Inuyasha had spotted a plate of cookies on the table before him, and while Mr Higurashi was distracted with his ice, he nudged it with his foot, over to where Kagome was sitting. She saw the movement and looked up at him in surprise. He just looked away with a muttered 'keh'. She smiled anyhow and reached down to select one of the larger biscuits, touched by his concern for her not eating.

Mr Higurashi began again, unaware of what had just transpired between the two. "Ok. Today I think we should try a little role playing."

Inuyasha scowled and Kagome choked on her biscuit. When she'd cleared her airways she looked up at her father in doubt. "Not like… he be the bartender and I be the blonde broad in the red dress looking for her future husband in the bar? Then I find it with the bartender?"

Inuyasha slanted her a queer look. "One of your fantasies?"

"Possibly. What's it to you?"

Mr Higurashi cleared his throat and shook his head. "No, not acting. I just want you two to play on each others problems. Yoko - I want you to pretend to be Kagome's boyfriend, Inuyasha."

He hissed in response and shook his head. "That'll be a hard one… how do I capture his charm… his elegance…"

"His humungeous head?" she slipped in with the same awe-struck tone.

"And Kagome - I want you to be Nazuna." Her father concluded.

"Who?" Kagome frowned and looked at Inuyasha who was once again, finding the stain on the table, that much more interesting. "What's Nazuna got to do with this? I thought you hated her."

Inuyasha coughed behind his hand and shifted. He said for her ears only, "Itsyou."

"Bless you." She responded and he rolled his eyes, only a fraction of a second later did she catch on. "Oh…"

"We ready?" Her father continued, still unaware of the little communications between them. They shifted and turned to each other, thoroughly dubious about what they were about to do. "Now… Kagome, I want you to tell Inuyasha how you feel."

She swallowed hard at Inuyasha's intense look. "Do I gave to?"

"It'll be good if you do. And perhaps you can work up the courage to tell the real Inuyasha the same."

"I feel stupid." She tried to back out, but she was cornered.

"Remember - it's Yoko, your friend, not Inuyasha. Yoko won't tell Inuyasha what you say, will you Yoko?" Mr Higurashi looked at Inuyasha who was smiling quietly and shaking his head. "See?"

"He could have a listening device…"

Her father sighed in warning. "Kagome…"

"Isn't our time nearly up?" she begged, starting to get up. "I should really be getting back home before."

"We have half an hour left. Sit!" her father barked and her legs folded. Inuyasha couldn't contain his snort of laughter at her obedience to the word command.

"I have a collar… what's your excuse?" he grinned at her. She flushed heatedly.

"Come on Kagome, we can't sit here all day. Or its valuable money down the drain." He raised an eyebrow. "This is Inuyasha… tell him how you feel."

She turned her gaze back to lock with Inuyasha's, before letting it fall to the fold of his haori. "Um… you're a really great guy." Perhaps that summed it up best. "I mean, you're really strong and protective - and you're almost always there for me."

"Almost?" Inuyasha echoed.

"Dad - tell Yoko not to jump in - I'm talking to Inuyasha, not him!" Kagome glowered at him.

"Yoko is only responding how Inuyasha might. That is the beauty of role playing. Let him jump in." Her father told her bluntly. "Now continue."

She sighed and went on. "You're not always there. I mean, it's physically impossible for you to be there for me twenty four hours a day seven days a week and all…" You're not there when I need you most. She wanted to say, Where were you when you were chasing a rumour of Kikyo while I was taken over by a talking demon baby? Where were you when Denji decided it would be ok to feel up his step-daughter? "And you're persevering to the extreme… you always aim high and get what you want… no matter how long it takes. You have ambition, which is more than what most guys your age have. Guys my age are usually into pot and cigs and booze - like this guy I know called Yoko."

"And what about Hobo boy."

"Hojo."

"What about him?"

"He's nice. Nicer than you." She said truthfully, watching his face begin to contort with anger. "But too nice… don't get me wrong, I prefer you." It was all coming out… getting easier to talk in a flow. "I know I could trust my life to you," As long as Kikyo isn't around to force you to choose between us. "But…"

"But?" Inuyasha didn't look like he liked the sound of that but.

"You can be slightly…" she winced. "… domineering. You have a problem controlling your temper and you get jealous for no reason sometimes. Sometimes I worry about your blood pressure, ya know."

"What?!"

"See - you're doing it right now!"

Inuyasha spluttered for a moment, before forcing himself to sit down and shut up. If he couldn't manage to say something nice, it was best to just concentrate on keeping those stupid flapping lips shut.

Kagome took a deep breath and carried on. "You're too irrational sometimes… and it can get you into trouble… you don't spend time to think back and look at a situation from another angle - you dive in there and get dirty. You don't seem to understand that I have a life and a family too, and that I can't commit full time to you. I used to say that you were violent, irresponsible and masochistic, but now I see those qualities are only minor."

"Only?!"

"They're quite endearing actually?" Kagome tried to soothe him.

Inuyasha had to press a hand to his mouth in fear of bursting out and calling her all sorts of things… but not in front of the father…

"Ok, I'm done." Kagome looked at Mr Higurashi. "You're right, I do feel better!"

"Ok, now Yoko - you pretend Kagome is Nazuna." Her father carried on scribbling notes on his clipboard.

Inuyasha took a deep breath and got his vengeance.

"You're annoying. When we're at work, you always slow down everything with your stupid hygienic habits and when you're not at work - which is too frequently if you ask me - work halts completely. Without you, everything falls to pieces - and don't take that as flattery. You always burst out crying at the slightest insult, or misunderstood line. You always make me feel bad whether you get hit and knocked out or cut your finger on a thorn or something. If it wasn't for you, my life would be one straight path, but because you came into it, that path is all over the place, but straight at the same time. Without you I would still know what I wanted, but because of you and your clumsy handling of the Shikon I have no idea what I want anymore. Do I want to stay the way or am, or do I want to change?"

"By all means." Kagome said coldly. "Take the sex change, you always wanted it."

He glowered, but would not be distracted. "Because of you I can no longer be complete when you walk away. Whenever you leave my life halts and it's so annoying to know that my universe revolves around you. Because of you I am terrified that one day, you might leave me and I'll just die inside. I want you to stay with me for the rest of my life, make sure I never feel lonely again. But when you have a family and you keep running away, I have this sense of doom that one day you'll just leave and I'll just wither."

Kagome stared at him. Only Inuyasha could turn the world's greatest insult into her most touching compliment.

"And don't take it as flattery." He folded his arms and looked down at the couch between them. "Because… aside from all those horrible traits you're a good person, I guess. You always smile, you always treat people kindly no matter who they are. You overlook… what I am… and made me realise that yes, it's ok to have friends. That, sure, it's not the end of the world to trust people. I know you look out for me… even when I can't always do that for you… and… you smell good…" he flustered slightly, dropping his hands to the couch seat again. "You can take all that crap as flattery if you want. I wouldn't though."

There was a moment of silence that stretched on for a while until he felt Kagome's small warm hand slide over his, clasping him firmly. He looked up to see she was smiling, pleasantly and thankfully for the first time in a while. He'd expected her to be angry… "It kinda sucks how your good qualities outweigh mine though."

"Does a bit. I don't care." She shrugged, still watching him with that quiet, knowing smile that made him, if possible, even more nervous.

"Right!" Kagome's father, clapped his hands, breaking the moment and causing them both to break their hands apart. "Now when you see the real Inuyasha, Kagome, and you see the real Nazuna, Yoko, you'll know just what to say and how you feel."

"I guess…" they both muttered in unison.

"That's all the time we have for today." He rose to his feet, making them rise as well. "Now if you excuse me, I have to tell a wife some bad news about her husband."

"Oh dear. What?" Kagome asked as she was shoved after Inuyasha.

"He no longer thinks he's a hamster."

"But that's good news!"

"No, because now he thinks he's a pterodactyl."

"Oh…" they both murdered as the door was shut in their face.

"I have a feeling he's going to make a habit out of those anecdotes." Kagome sighed and looked up at Inuyasha to see he was giving her another strange look, just like last time, but now it didn't look so angry. "What?"

"Did you mean what you said about me?"

"Did you?"

"Yes."

"Then… yes, I meant it." She watched his expression fall a bit.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" she couldn't help it, she had to show her compassion and her way was to take his hand again. Something he still wasn't used to.

"For being a pig." He looked down at where their fingers entwined.

"Don't think of changing." Kagome said sharply.

"What?"

"Don't change. I like you because you're you." She smiled, kindly. "I don't care about these faults. They're faults in other people, but when you throw them all together in you, they sorta balance out. I wouldn't want you to change for me or the world."

Kikyo would make me change though…

"Whatever." He said, somewhat in a deliberately harsh voice. "All this touchy feely stuff gets my nerves on edge. I think I'll go back home now and find some kappa sprite to kick into next week."

"Your stress relief?"

"My therapy." He nodded seriously.

Kagome fought the urge to embrace him before he went… that might just be pushing her luck.

"You should come back too." He said casually, "Shippu really does miss you."

"I'm sure he does. Tell him I said hi. But I have to go home." She said firmly.

He shrugged, eyeing her baggy clothes that concealed whether she was fat, thin, attractive, or lumpy. He'd have to find out just what she was trying to hide later. Or more importantly… why?

AN: I guess I'm adding humour because I don't want it to be a completely manic depressant fic. But it's still serious enough. Next chapter should be up soon, I hope ^_^