InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Latex Blues ❯ Chapter 1

Latex Blues

"What the hell is this?" Inuyasha mused, pulling the small blue box from underneath a pair of pink, silky panties in Kagome's underwear drawer. Kagome blinked and looked up from her chemistry homework. When she saw what Inuyasha was holding, she turned a mortified shade of crimson. Why the hell had she kept those?!

Two nights ago, she had gone to a slumber party at her friend Yuka's house. As with most slumber parties, the girls had ended up playing Truth or Dare. As the game progressed, and as the other girls repeatedly picked "Truth", Kagome had become nervous. If she picked "Truth", what sort of questions would they ask her? She looked around Yuka's bubblegum-pink bedroom at her so-called friends. She pictured Ayumi, her voice poisonously sweet, asking "So Kagome, tell us the Truth….Why have you missed so much school lately?" Then what would she do? She was a lousy liar, always stammering and blushing when she tried to keep things hidden from her friends. But she could never tell them the truth! For one thing, they would never believe her! They would think she had lost her mind! Or worse, what if they asked her why she wouldn't go out with Houjou? They already teased her about having a secret boyfriend. How would she explain Inuyasha to them? Even if she left out the part about him being a hanyou… Kagome abruptly ended that train of thought. She couldn't even admit her feelings for Inuyasha to herself, let alone a room full of gossipy teenage girls. Gods, what was she going to do?

It was Eri who had finally ended the suspense. "SOOOO…. Kagome-chan" she drawled out, barely stifling a giggle of anticipation, "Who's this mystery ma-"

"DARE!" Kagome cried, before Eri could finish the question.

"Rats." Eri muttered, disappointed.

"You sure have been secretive lately, Higurashi." complained Ayumi. "I wonder what you're hiding from your dearest friends…"

"Well, no matter!" chirped Eri. "Even though you know we're all DYING to hear about the guy who's so great that he keeps turning your head from Houjou," at this, she and the other girls let out a collective sigh, "Since you picked Dare, we're going to make this one a doozie!"

"Yeah, and maybe you'll think better of it next time!" laughed Yuka. Kagome's lovely gray eyes widened at this. She gulped, but said nothing.

Ten minutes later, the girls were standing outside of the drug store around the corner from Yuka's house.

"Alright Kagome-chan" Eri said, practically taunting, "Here we are. Remember, you have ten minutes to return with the, um… specific item…" At that, the other girls began to giggle madly.

"SHHH!"

"…gomen…" Once they had regained composure, Eri began again.

"If you chicken out, or take longer than ten minutes, then you forfeit the Dare and will have to answer a penalty question of our choosing." The three girls exchanged knowing smiles before turning to Kagome, who looked like she wanted to crawl under the nearest rock. Ayumi looked at her wrist watch for a moment, then cried "Ready? GO!"

Kagome stood unmoving, seemingly rooted to her spot on the sidewalk. Precious seconds ticked by as she gathered her resolve, then ran headlong into the drugstore.

"Remember, EXTRA LARGE!" Eri called after her. Mercifully, the door swung closed behind her, cutting off their insane laughter.

She was greeted by a blast of cold, heavily perfumed air conditioning in her face. After taking a moment to adjust her eyes to the fluorescent lighting, she scanned the banners at the top of each aisle. Straightening her shoulders and trying to look older in the process, she began to march pointedly toward the aisle marked "Personal Care." She attempted, poorly, to look nonchalant as she walked down the aisle, quickly scanning the shelves, searching for what she needed to evade her friends' eager curiosity. Hmmm…tampons…incontinence briefs…pregnancy tests….

Eep! There they were. She said a silent prayer of thanks to the Gods that at least they hadn't been back behind the counter, where she would've had to ask for them personally. As it was, she wasn't sure how she would muster up the nerve to actually bring them up to the register and pay for them, but first things first. Ok, let's see… regular, regular, extra sensitive…Bingo! Extra large. She had just reached out a shaky hand to grab the package, when a familiar voice calling her by name made her drop her hand and spin around.

"Houjou-kun!" she squeaked, turning crimson, "W-what…" she managed to eek out before she became too flustered to speak.

"Konbanwa, Higurashi! I work here on the weekends now," he said with a shy grin. "I see your friend Yuka and her family in here all the time. I'm kind of surprised she never told you. I tell her to say "Hi" to you all the time!" Realization suddenly hit Kagome right between the eyes. Yuka! She had known that Houjou was going to be there! Oh, that's it! She is going to get it! Kagome screamed in her head. Houjou watched this internal struggled with confused concern. Kagome is always so sick, he thought. Maybe she's having a seizure?

"C-can I help you find anything?" he asked, hesitantly, not wanting to disturb her if indeed she was having a blackout of some kind. Kagome stared at him blankly for a moment, then smiled nervously.

"Uh, n-no, I was just about to buy this…" her hand fumbled behind her, then brought up the first solid thing it landed on. It was a home pregnancy test. Houjou's eyes widened in surprise, but he politely said nothing.

"NO!" Kagome yelped, tossing the kit back onto the self as if it were a poisonous snake, "NOT THAT! Uhh…, this!" she cried triumphantly, holding a bottle of Senior-Care Multivitamins above her head.

"Um, I have a v-vitamin deficiency?"…she lied, blushing and stammering as usual.

Oh, maybe that explains the staring! Houjou thought to himself, but again he said nothing, just smiled. Kagome smiled back, thinking, How the Hell am I going to get rid of this guy? when suddenly she had a flash of inspiration.

"Hey, Houjou-kun," she said brightly, "Do you think that there might be a bigger bottle in the back of the store? You know, in the stockroom? I could really use a bigger bottle…" Houjou flashed a huge smile at her.

"Of course Higurashi! I'll go see if we have any!" He practically ran toward the doors at the back of the pharmacy that lead to the stockroom. Once he was out of sight, Kagome grabbed what she had come for and booked it to the register, no longer caring what the cashier thought about her purchase. The cashier was just handing them to her, hidden safely within a plastic bag, when Houjou came around the corner with the bottle of pills.

"Here you are!" he called happily "I found you the bigger size!"

"Um, thank you anyway, but I decided to go with the smaller size! Sayounara!" she called over her shoulder as she ran out the door. Houjou stood waving, confused again, then turned around to return the bottle to the back room. The heavy-set, middle aged woman at the register chuckled to herself incredulously. Gods! she thought, The Bigger size? I didn't know they came any bigger than extra large. I'd love to meet her boyfriend…

Breathless, Kagome ran out into the night air just as Ayumi was counting down "…three, two, one…"

"You just made it!" Eri laughed. "Well, let's see 'em."

"Here!" Kagome spat out, throwing the bag to Yuka. The three girls huddled together, then silently opened the bag. Their eyes widened when they saw the bag's contents, and they smiled at Kagome.

"WOW, Higurashi!"

"You have some serious guts, Kagome-chan!"

"Gods! I never would have been able to do that!"

"Ok, Kagome-chan, after that amazing display, I declare you the winner now and forever! Let's go home, have some ice cream and watch a Jackie Chan movie." They had begun to walk in the direction of Yuka's house, when Kagome sang out softly…

"Oooooh Yuka-chan, I just remembered! I saw Houjou-kun while I was in the pharmacy."

"Y-you did? What a surprise….heh heh…"

"Yes. He saw me at the counter and asked me what I needed those for." she said, inclining her head slightly towards the bag in Yuka's hand. The other three girls inhaled sharply and audibly.

"HE DID? What did you say!!"

"Oh, I told the truth! I said, 'My friend Yuka 's waiting outside. I need to get them to her in ten minutes. I guess she really needs them in a hurry!'" Kagome laughed aloud as she dodged the now infamous bag that was hurled at her head. She caught it gracefully, then ran all the way to Yuka's house, with her angry friend at her heels the entire way.

When she had returned home the next day, she had found the box in her backpack with a note taped to it. It read You bought and paid for these, so you should keep them. Maybe they'll fit your Mystery man. Be sure to let me know! Love, Eri

Kagome sighed, staring down at the box in her hand. She couldn't throw them away in the trash, lest her mother should discover them, so she buried them in her underwear drawer until such a time that she could conveniently dispose of them.

Which brought her back to the situation at hand. Or rather, the box of extra large condoms in Inuyasha's hand.

"Put those down!" she yelled, realizing an instant later that her outburst had been a mistake. Inuyasha's golden eyes widened, and smirk stretched across his already smug face. Now he would have to know what they were, if only to see her squirm a bit. Desperate, Kagome quickly changed tactics.

"What are you doing in my underwear drawer anyway, hentai?!" Now it was Inuyasha's turn to change color. Truthfully, he had only been attracted to the drawer because it had smelled strongly and provocatively of Kagome's scent. He hadn't meant to be a pervert or anything, but his instincts would not allow him to simply sit quietly on her bed watching TV without investigating the source of that alluring aroma. It had been driving him crazy, tantalizing him with curious thoughts of what it could be, so he had decided to see for himself. Of course, he would never dream of telling her that, so her question had caught him off guard and he didn't have an answer ready. Kagome continued to stare at him angrily, seemingly waiting for a response, though really waiting to see if the distraction tactic had worked. One of his hands shot up to the back of his head where it nervously began to scratch. The other hand, the one holding the box, dropped to his side as he turned his embarrassed gaze away from her. Kagome didn't waste a second. Her hand shot out and swiped the box from Inuyasha's hand before he had time to notice what she was doing and react.