InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Inuyasha 24/7 ❯ Mystery Book ( Chapter 5 )

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

A/N: Yes! I'm on my sixth chapter!! Woohoo! I have never gotten this far in a fic before. A long time ago, I used to write only one-shots because I found myself incapable of expanding my creativity. Do I sound like a dork? Well, that's the truth. Welps, I'm just jabbering away. Here is the sixth installment!







Inuyasha 24/7




Mystery Book







Nothing could compare to the hostility Inuyasha showed towards Kagome after that incident. But of course, the entire situation had been embarrassing, let alone hurtful for him, so it was inevitable. Besides, he was a guy ; a guy with an ego the size of a warthog, but nonetheless, a guy with feelings!


That night, Kagome decided it would be best to avoid Inuyasha all together so she locked herself up in one of Great Aunt Maeko's multitudinous restrooms and knocked her head on its walls.


Yes...it didn't help the situation, but at the moment, Kagome believed it did.


Sit him!? Sit him!? That was my bright idea to solve all my problems? Kagome thought as she continued to connect her head to the wall.


"Some vacation," Kagome muttered half-heartedly to herself. She sat down on the toilet and sulked. What could she do now? Return to the close confinements of the room? What if Inuyasha was there? How could she ever look him in the eye again after what she did to him?


No , she thought. The best thing to do is sleep in this bathroom. Yes, the tub won't be all that bad. I could even learn to make it feel comfortable...or make my back twist in that position... Kagome pondered.


Knock, knock.


Kagome turned towards the door, her heart beating in a frenzy. Then a voice came that allowed her heart to beat normal once more.


"Kagome dear, are you in there?" her Great Aunt's voice came. Kagome sighed heavily with relief.


"Hai!"


"Will you come out? I have a dress for you to try on for tomorrow night."


"Tomorrow night?" Kagome asked through the door.


"You know, I'd like to talk about this with you some more, but the door's kind of in my way."


Kagome reached over to turn the door knob, but stopped. "Wait...I'm still mad at you! You're going to sell the shrine without telling Mama or me!"


There was a pause. Then a sigh.


"You should listen to my side of it before you go on accusing me," Great Aunt Maeko said softly. Kagome turned the knob and stood in front of her.


"Okay, I'm listening."


"I wasn't going to sell the house. Musou is just some business man who'd trying to convince me to sell the house, but so far he hasn't had any luck. You know, he's been trying for three years."


Kagome was speechless. "Great Aunt Maeko...I-I didn't know."


"No need to apologize my dear...and don't worry. If I ever think about selling the shrine, I would definitely tell you and your mother...just as long as that bastard of a grandfather stays away from me," she concluded.


"Great Aunt Maeko!"



****



The dress was beautiful. Back in Tokyo, they were so modern; there were rarely any celebrations where one could dress in these elaborate kimonos. They were all formal parties or informal gatherings where everyone wore what they sell in their modern-day stores. Here in Osaka, they seemed more traditional...or maybe it was for tourists...


Anyways, the dress-or rather kimono-was completely embroidered in dyed silk. The design was like jade water flowing down a river-down the waist-splashing against silvery stones at the base of the kimono. Around the kimono, there were sakura floating into the river in a soft pink. Attached to it would be a gold sash, or obi, tied around the waist to the back. The foot attire was a pair of lacquered zori.


Everyone stared at it. Everyone who was there...(a particular male figure happened to "not" be able to make it). There were constant "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing and the eyes never seemed to leave the kimono. (All, except Grandpa of course.) It was surprising-especially to Kagome-when Great Aunt Maeko handed it to her. (Surprising for everyone except Grandpa.)


"Wha - no...I can't!" Kagome said, pushing the kimono back.


"Why not? She's giving it to you Kagome," Souta said. "If I could, I'd definitely wear it." He paused and thought about what he said for a second. Everyone stared at him. "Wait...that came out wrong--!!"


"Please Kagome, just take the kimono. It's rude to give back a gift!" Great Aunt Maeko said, earnestly.


"And I think you'd look lovely in it!" Mrs. Higurashi exclaimed.


"Besides, we all have something to wear, what will you wear?"


"But it's worth like a billion yen..."


"The worth is not important here Kagome dear, the important thing is that you have something to wear tomorrow night or you simply cannot come!" Great Aunt Maeko said. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. (All except Grandpa.)


"Then I-" Kagome began.


"And no, you are not staying. You're coming, and you will wear this dress. Please do it for your great aunt!" Everyone gave Kagome puppy eyes. (All except Grandpa.) She sighed.


"Fine."


"What she means is, 'Thank you for the gift Great Aunt Maeko'," Kagome's mother said.



****



Inuyasha stood in front of the mirror. Why did they have to get him a new one? Kagome's great aunt told him it wouldn't matter if he wore his rat's fur because everyone was going to wear clothes like him that night, but then she changed her mind and bought a new one. Why were women so nitpicky? Hmm...Maybe because his rat's fur was kinda dirty...okay...more than kinda dirty...


Dirty.


An exact description of what Kagome had done to him in that library.


He shook his head. It's not like he planned that he was going to do that. He felt humiliated. He didn't mean to blame it on Kagome because it wasn't her fault if she didn't like him, or just thought of him as a friend, or hated him, or thought he smelled bad...


He looked up at the mirror and noticed that his dog ears had come back.


And they were drooping.


There was a knock on the door. His eyes widened. "Wait, dammit! I'm almost done!" Inuyasha called.


No, no, no!! Shit!! I can't have stupid drooping ears at a time like this!! They can't see me this way!! Inuyasha thought as he looked rapidly around the room in a panic. He looked under one of the beds and found a sewing kit.


As swiftly as he could, he paper-clipped his ears in a way that they'd stick up, then added masking tape.


The knocker seemed impatient and opened the door just as Inuyasha had finished his task. The knocker happened to be Souta. Inuyasha sighed. It was only him!


"What do you want, brat?" he asked, putting on his pseudo-malicious personality.


"Just getting my sweater, it's gonna get cold later, you should get a jacket or something," Souta said, unaware of Inuyasha's tone.


"Feh! I don't get cold!" he scoffed. Souta shrugged and walked outside. Then he looked back into the room at Inuyasha's ears. He shook his head in a disappointed way and continued out.


Phew, glad he didn't notice anything weird , Inuyasha thought, relieved.



****



When Inuyasha was finished, he walked outside. The new fabric he was using was quite uncomfortable so he constantly gave a twitch and a grumble. He knew they shouldn't be going to this stupid celebration. Something more important and deeper was inside the shrine. They had to find a way to completely block that Hakushin's power or else he was doomed.


He looked down at his feet. Did he really have to wear these ridiculous shoes? Why couldn't these infuriating humans just let him go barefoot? It was so much more comfortable. And what about this color change in his outfit? Black!? He never wore black, he preferred his rat's fur attire.


At least they let him keep Tetsusaiga. That was practically the only thing he was glad about. Great Aunt Maeko said that people wouldn't think much of it in the festival, so she let him keep it. Besides, if anyone tried to take it away from him, they would have had a scratch the size of China on their face.


For a couple more minutes, he sulked over his outfit, then looked up casually, just to see that he was going the right direction and stopped.


Everything seemed to stop at that moment.


"Kagome..."


Inuyasha felt as if he couldn't breathe for a second. Was this Kagome?


The two locked eyes. Inuyasha noticed that Kagome was shocked to see his new attire as well.


She was wearing a really nice kimono and her hair was up, which was also really nice, and in a way he had never seen it before but was still really nice. It was actually really nice and well...beautiful .


With his mind blubbering, he felt as if he couldn't rely on his brain for practical thinking anymore. If only there was a way to shut it off...


Look away! Kagome's gonna think you weird and sit you again , he told himself.


"I-Inuyasha I-" Kagome began.


"All right? Where are my two favorite teenagers?" came Kagome's great aunt from the living room. Inuyasha and Kagome turned to her, startled, as she approached them.


"Hi...Great Aunt Maeko..." Kagome said softly.


"We'll be late! Come on you two!"


Kagome looked back at Inuyasha with a sort of longing look, as if there was something she wanted to tell him, but she continued as Great Aunt Maeko tugged at her and talked excitedly about the festival they were going to that night.


Wordlessly, Inuyasha followed behind.



****



The festival was full. There were fireworks up in the air, women wearing kimonos, men wearing their traditional clothing. There were dances, elaborate kites, horoscope-readings, short plays, music, and all sorts of things going on.


Kagome decided to wander around. Great Aunt Maeko followed her. Kagome looked up at the sky, at the fireworks with a poignant look in her eyes. Great Aunt Maeko touched her shoulder.


"Is something bothering you Kagome?" she asked.


"Hmm?" Kagome asked, her mind seeming distant.


"Okay, something is definitely bothering you. Spill it," Maeko said.


Kagome gave a deep sigh. "What do you do if you humiliate someone you deeply care about?" Kagome asked.


"Hmm...why do you ask?"


"Umm!! Nothing!! I was just-wondering...that's all," Kagome replied, looking down at the pavement.


Great Aunt Maeko gave a small smile. "Well, I would start by apologizing, then try to explain why you did what you did."


"But what if you don't know why you did what you did? How would you tell him-I'm mean that person-why you did such a bad, horrible, disgusting thing?"


"Just tell that person how you feel, then they'd understand," Maeko said, carefully choosing her words.


Kagome seemed to be contemplating. "But what if telling that person...how you feel...would just ruin your friendship with that person?" she asked timidly.


"If it does, that person was never your friend to begin with if something like telling them your true feelings would jeopardize the friendship that you currently have," Maeko answered. Kagome's eyes were downcast. Maeko put her arm around the young girl reassuringly. "But I'm sure that this 'person' cares about you very much," she concluded, rubbing the girl's shoulder.


The younger Higurashi female looked up at her great aunt anxiously. "You think so?"


"Not only do I think so, I know so."


"Can I ask you a question Great Aunt Maeko?"


"Sure."


"Why don't you like Grandpa?"



****



"Inu onii-chan?"


"What?" Inuyasha snapped.


"You never tell me about you and Onee-chan anymore. Are you guys having a fight?" Souta asked, looking up at Inuyasha while Mrs. Higurashi and Grandpa were looking at a couple of tourist artifacts.


When did I ever talk to him about Kagome? Inuyasha wondered.


"No we're not having a fight. Butt out!" Inuyasha said coyly.


"How come Onee-chan didn't want to walk with us? Did you do something to her that made her mad?"


"Why are you blaming it on me? She was the one who--" he paused and stared at the little boy. For someone seemingly small and brainless, he looked suspicious...as if he was hiding some secret plot into making Inuyasha tell him what was going on in his mind. "Why do you care?" he asked, his eyes narrowed at the boy.


Souta simply shrugged. "I don't know. It's just that Hitomi-chan and I have never had a fight ever since we've been together."


"So?" Inuyasha asked irately, folding his arms.


"I'm just saying that if you guys have a fight, you should try talking it out with each other instead of keeping it all bottled up. One day she could leave you--"


Inuyasha couldn't believe this. He was getting relationship advice from a nine-year-old? This was unbelievable. He shot a look at the boy. "Feh! I don't need advice from you! I can deal with Kagome!"


"Okay...but if she leaves without saying anything, don't say I didn't warn you," Souta said, walking towards his mother and grandfather.


Leave me? Inuyasha thought. Well...what if she did when all the Shikon no kakera were found? What would he do? What should he do if something like that happens? He reluctantly turned back to Souta. Maybe the kid has something important to say...


"H-hey Souta! Wait!" Inuyasha called. As he walked to Souta, he bumped into the side of a bookshelf. Three books fell to the ground. Inuyasha sighed and muttered before he bent down to pick them up. Unconsciously, he turned to one of them and stared at the cover curiously.


On it was an engraved black sakura tree.


He ran his fingers over it before he flipped through it, seeing things about a great Hakushin priest, a black sakura tree, and captured youkai souls.


This is it! Kagome--Kagome has to see this!


Quickly, he placed the other books back into the shelf and grabbed some modern money from his pockets, paying for the book and running out to find Kagome.


As he ran absent-mindedly, he crashed into someone with an especially familiar scent.


"Ah, Inuyasha!" the man said.


"Musou."


Naraku could've been a bit more creative with the names , Inuyasha thought disgustedly.


"So, who are you with?" Musou asked.


"Look, I gotta find someone--wait...did you call me Inuyasha?"


"Yes. Why, is there a problem?" Musou questioned.


"Actually yes, I never told you my name," Inuyasha said with a glare. There was something weird about this Musou. Suddenly, there was a short scent of anxiety coming from him.


"Actually, Inuyasha, Maeko-san told me. I asked her if something was wrong because you looked angry at me. She told me, 'Inuyasha's just irritable because dinner hasn't been served yet'," Musou answered without the slightest hint of hesitation.


"Oh," Inuyasha said. "Well, I gotta go. Have a nice life," Inuyasha said, turning to find Kagome's scent.


"Hold on Inuyasha," Musou ordered, placing his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "I'm not quite finished with you."


Inuyasha looked at his hand, then looked back at Musou. "Well," he said, plucking Musou's hand off of his shoulder. "I'm finished with you ."


"But you see, little hanyou, Naraku isn't ," Musou growled. He looked straight into Inuyasha's gold eyes and smirked. He was enjoying the look on Inuyasha's face at the moment. Shock, horror, disbelief. Yes...they were exactly what he had been waiting for.


"What are you laughing at you asshole?" Inuyasha seethed.


"This," Musou answered, stabbing Inuyasha in the back of his black haori. Before Inuyasha could say anything, a powerful strain covered his body. The pain was unbearable and his body couldn't move to do anything about it.


"Naraku--bastard...you'll...pay," Inuyasha said gruffly between gritted teeth. He blacked out just as his hand reached for Tetsusaiga.


Kagome...









A/N: How was the cliffhanger? I'm sorry! I had to do it!! I swear it's not my fault!! ^_~