InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ That's Show Business ❯ One Night At The Fish Monger ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu Yasha or any other characters mentioned below. Please respect copyrights!

chihiro-san: Okay, who all reading right now feels like they're about to die from food overload? Well, at least the Americans, anyway. Happy After Thanksgiving y'all! I feel sooooooo dead right now…I swear, it's a good thing my mum didn't wake me up early today or I would have had to push her out my door with nothing more than a `Sod off' and a swift kick! For those of you that actually care, turkey has a natural chemical in it called Triditerthelia that makes you incredibly sleepy after eating it. (I kinda made the name up, but there really is a chemical that does that. It does the trick though, doesn't it?) Well, in your hour of need (as in having to eat cold turkey sandwiches for the next two weeks) I'm going to be writing as much as I can, if I can. (Kudos for you) I love you all, honestly.

PS: A million thanks to angelbabe17. You're a gem! I would recommend you any day!

PPS: I'd also like to thank Absinthe Restaurant in San Francisco. I borrowed some of the meal ideas from their menu. Cheers!

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Inu Yasha locked up the hatch and stepped out onto the deck of the "ΜποÏείÏ" ε να δοκιμά 07;ƒÏ"ε πάλι", or the `music of the sea' in anyone else's language. He breathed in the salty night air and hopped down onto the creaking boards of the dock. He waited patiently as Kagome tried to hop down too, but her evening gown and high heels just wouldn't allow. She gave a small shriek and stumbled forward. Bracing herself, she fell off the side. When the rush of cold water that she had been expecting didn't come, she slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was staring straight into a pair of honey-colored orbs.

"You alright?" Inu Yasha asked. A note of concern played about his words. Kagome gaped at him and realized that he had caught her before she fell. She stood up on wary legs and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I think so…" He snorted and looked away.

"Good. And let's get things straight: when you're on my boat, I won't always be there to save your ass. So ship up, or ship out." He passed her an annoyed glance and motioned for her to follow him. Completely abashed, she did, but in silence. When they reached the top of the gangplank, she slapped him roughly on the shoulder, causing him to growl in agitation.

"What is it now?" He barked.

"What the hell was that back there?!" She snipped. He started and stared at her before recovering. The ever-present scowl plastered itself back onto his face.

"I meant what I said. If you're that clumsy on the dock, then I'm not sure if we're going out sailing tomorrow." She slapped his shoulder again. He gave her a look that suggested that he might bite her hand off if she did it again.

"I never asked for you to whisk me away to Never-never Land, you know. And why are we still here? I've already completely forgotten our fight at `Bach to Basics'." Inu Yasha scratched his raven colored head. `Why are we still here, anyway? I've forgotten the fight too, but for some weird reason, I….' His frown lifted as a questioning look fell on his face.

"You mean you don't want to be here?" The building anger in her eyes dropped down to a sarcastic glare.

"Of course I want to be here! What could be better than being in forced contact with the biggest ass in the universe?!" A low growling ululated from deep in the hanyou's throat. This girl was just too much.

"I was just about to ask myself the same thing!" he shot back. Her glare intensified with every syllable he uttered.

"WHY ARE WE EVEN HERE?!" She screamed. Several people stared at them from a few yards away, deciding that watching two pseudo adults go at it would be more entertaining than sleeping seals. The crowd murmured to one another, pointing and nodding. Soft words such as `Inu Yasha' and `impossible' floated to the surface occasionally.

Suddenly, the strangest thing happened. Inu Yasha laughed. Kagome pulled a face and glared at him with as much hatred as she could muster.

"What's so funny?" she hissed. He wiped a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye with a de-clawed finger. His laughter subsided to a lofty chuckle.

"W-we're here because you never asked to go home. You're here because you want to be here." Kagome was ready to snap something witty back at him, but her mouth didn't seem to work well when a foot was in it. She flushed a deep shade of crimson as embarrassment flooded through her insides like a sickly sweet poison.

"Yeah, well…We have been having fun so far…I guess…" He smiled at her and opened the wrought-iron gate. After he stepped though, he held the door open for her. After giving him a weak smile, she slipped gracefully through the small doorway. They walked along the pier quietly, staring at everything stare-able except for each other. They had almost made it out onto the street when Inu Yasha took Kagome's hand. She made a motion to yank it away, but he just used her attempt to his advantage and slid her closer to him.

"What in the name of everything holy are you doing?!" She spat. He smiled in a strained way and brought her ear to his lips.

"Check out our stalkers," he hissed. Kagome cautiously turned her head to find that about twenty-some odd girls were following them. She reluctantly brought her attention back to the hanyou in question.

"What does you grabbing my hand have to do with them?" she whispered quietly.

"Because if they think that I'm taken, they'll get a clue and sod off," he responded, just as quietly. It seemed that he was right, for in a matter of minutes the girls had disappeared into the different shops around them in a slightly huffy way. Kagome smiled and pried her hand out of his.

"You're amazing, Inu Yasha," she scoffed. He stuck out his arm to hail a taxi and glanced at her from over his shoulder.

"I know," he said as the traditional yellow cab pulled up. He opened the door and, yet again, held it for Kagome. She merely rolled her eyes and tried as hard as she could to hop into the cab. For those without experience, hopping into anything while wearing heels and an evening gown is no mean feat. She slid across the cheap vinyl as Inu Yasha followed her in. A rather large, curmudgeonly man was squeezed behind the wheel. His beady black eyes shifted to Inu Yasha.

"Where to?" he grunted in a surly voice.

"The Fish Monger," said the hanyou curtly. The driver nodded slowly and glanced over at Kagome. She drew in a deep breath as the man smiled wickedly at her.

"No problem," he said simply and turned around. When the man had his full attention on the road, Kagome relaxed. Her head fell against the cool glass of the window as she stared absently into the moonless sky. After a few minutes, something struck her as odd. Inu Yasha had his bike, so why didn't they just drive to the restaurant on their own. She almost asked him, but completely nixed the idea after she had seen what they were wearing. A white tux and a fancy dress weren't exactly Harley riding material. Her ears pricked when she heard Inu Yasha sigh. She crossed her arms and looked at him in a bored way.

"What now?" She asked in an even more bored tone. He glanced at her, and for one fleeting moment, Kagome saw pain in his honey-colored eyes. However, the moment was fleeting, and his gaze quickly morphed into cold, stony slits of agitation.

"Nothing," he spat. After living with her little brother, Sota, for fourteen years, she could pretty much tell that `nothing' in boy-language was either `help me, please', `go away; you're bugging the Hell out of me', or `nothing'. She chose her first assumption and leaned in closer to him.

"Are you sure?" She tried not to coo when she said these words, but sarcasm was just on the tip of her tongue. Those simple words were so easy to coo in sarcasm, but she knew that he was really hurting inside. Or, at least she thought that he was. In a split second he raised an eyebrow, curled his upper lip in a half-snarl, and shoved her back down in her seat. He glared at her and growled as much as humanly possible.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!" he barked. Kagome jumped and tried to figure him out. She obviously had chosen the wrong assumption. Maybe she was bugging him, but she couldn't think of how.

"Like what?" she snapped, getting equally cross.

"Like I'm a poor abandoned puppy that has a hurt leg and was shoved out into the rain! I don't need your sympathy, bitch." She would have critiqued him further, but that last comment had suddenly slapped her upside the head.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" she screamed. Inu Yasha shrank in fear against the decrepit wall of the cab.

"I-it-huh?" he was completely shocked. So shocked, in fact, that he didn't realize that his foul language had set off this resting A-bomb. His unfortunate habit of swearing had become just that, a habit.

"STOP THIS CAB RIGHT NOW!" she yelled at the driver. He merely glanced at her. A smirk played at the corners of the obese man's lips.

"Sorry, doll face. No stoppin' in the middle of the street."

"You wanna bet?!" She flung her arm out before anyone could stop her and yanked on the emergency brake. Inu Yasha, always forgetful when it came to seatbelts and the like, flew forward and slammed into the seat in front of him. The driver's head smacked into the horn of the car with a loud honk. He rounded on Kagome, snarling and sputtering.

"GET OUT OF MY CAB!" he bellowed, looking as red as an embarrased hippo.

"What do you think I've been trying to do?!" she shrieked, nearly tearing the cab door off in her hurry to escape. She scuttled out of the yellow torture chamber, glaring at Inu Yasha. In a slightly hopeless attempt to run after her, he managed to pull himself loose from the space between the front seat and the one he had been sitting in. His fruitless attempt, however, had allowed him to cling to the doorway that she had made available. He barred his teeth in a half-exasperated, half-annoyed way.

"Get back in here!" he snapped.

"I'd rather not." and with that, she slammed the door shut on his hand. A strange howl/yell erupted from inside the cab as he yanked his bruised hand out of the tiny space that it was in. Kagome didn't look back as she stepped onto the sidewalk.

Inu Yasha tossed some bills at the dazed driver and, after throwing the door open, dashed after her. Even with the heels on, she was pretty fast and was at least a few blocks away from the cab by the time he had caught up with her. He grabbed her by the arm and turned her around rather roughly.

"What was that all about?!" he shouted.

"Like you don't know…" she spat. He cocked his head in frustration.

"If I knew then I wouldn't have asked you! What are you so pissed about?!"

"How dare you swear at me like that!" she barked.

"What?! What are you talking about?" She waved a furious finger at the car as if it was a smutty little street show.

"That! How dare you!" Confusion flickered across his brow before he realized that she was mad about his swearing.

"Oh…that. I can't help my mouth sometimes." She obviously was not dissuade by his explanation.

"Well?" she said in a huffy voice.

"Well?" he repeated in a mocking way. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you going to apologize?" Disgust would almost be the word for the look he gave her.

"What?! No! Why should I?"

"Because that would be the right thing to do, and not just because it'd be nice. You always say you're sorry when you've hurt someone else's feelings." She crossed her arms and stared at him in a way that said `do it, or I'll kill you and feed you to the homeless'. He soon concluded that Kagome was scary like that.

"Excuse me, then, I'm sorry that you have such weak feelings," he snarled.

"Okay, say it right."

"I'm sorry that you're an over-emotional wench." A strangled yell built in the back of her throat as she tried to keep herself from slapping the stupid out of him.

"Will you say it right and stop being such an ass?!"

"I'm sorry." He didn't know why he had finally said it, he just did. After a split second's worth of pondering he decided that he had given the apology because he was afraid that she would rip his head off, and not because he felt bad.

"Thank you." Kagome smiled pleasantly and looked at their surroundings. "What was the name of that restaurant again?"

"The Fish Monger." She entered the building on her right.

"We're here," she called over her shoulder. A strangled sigh escaped his lips as Inu Yasha followed her into the posh dining establishment. Inside, the décor was like that of a fancy ballroom and a wharf. However strange this style might seem, the restaurant was very tasteful in its design. Out of all of the colors, the two most pronounced were a rich blue, much like the color Kagome was wearing, and gold. A proper, slightly sinister man was standing behind a podium. He was sporting a black tux, similar to the waiter's uniforms. Two menus were already tucked under his arm. His nose turned up a bit as they walked forward.

"Do you have a reservation?" he sneered.

"Yes, I do. I believe it's under `forgiving movie star'." Inu Yasha pointed to his name on the reservation's list. The seating host looked like he was about to eat his shirt with embarrassment when he saw the name that was written in gold. This famous star was not only welcome there, but he had his own private table.

"Right this way." The hanyou smiled at Kagome and gave her his arm. She took it and they followed the stricken host to their table. `You know,' she thought, `Inu Yasha's pretty charming for a selfish prat.' The man in question pulled out her chair for her. She slid onto the soft velvety fabric and he pushed her in gently. He glided over to his own seat and accepted the white silk menu from their host.

"A waiter will be right with you." As if fearing for his life, the man walked briskly away.

"You must come here often. I thought that that man was going to wet himself with nervousness."

"Ha ha. Just order something," he snapped. She picked up her menu and stared at the words blankly. It might have been in French, for all she knew. The words were all foreign to her. Things like Coq a Vin and red kuri squash purée barely registered in her mind. She only came out of the daze that she was in when a hand pushed her menu down. Inu Yasha sat smiling with her menu in his hand. His smile was slightly smug, but hansom all the same.

"You look a little lost." Something strange filled his words. Seeing as Kagome had never heard him say anything nice, it was no surprise that she didn't recognize the warmth in his tone. She returned his smile.

"Yeah, I kind of am," she almost murmured. His smile widened and some of the smugness dripped away.

"First time in a fancy place?" he asked. She nodded slowly, still grinning. "No problem. When the waiter comes, I'll order first, then you say `I'll have the same'."

"But what if I don't like it?" With one finger, he flicked open the menu without tearing his gaze from her.

"What do you like to eat? And don't get technical on details."

"Um…meat?" A bit of his sarcasm returned with that comment.

"More technical than that, hon. I can't help you with a lame request like that."

"Did they mention pork down here?" He glanced down at the gold lettering and snapped it shut. In no time a waiter appeared at Kagome's shoulder with a pad at the ready.

"May I please take your orders, or have you not decided?" Inu Yasha passed him his menu and smiled.

"I would like the roasted pork loin with pomegranate sauce, peppered pears, and broccoli rabe, please." The waiter nodded curtly as he jotted down the dinner request.

"And for you, miss?" Kagome faltered and stared at him.

"I'll have the same," she finally supplied.

"Of course," the waiter smiled at her as he took her menu. "And to drink?" Inu Yasha beckoned him over to his side of the table. The waiter bent low as the hanyou whispered something into his ear. He straitened up and adjusted his tux.

"Very well. The drinks will be out shortly." He turned on his heels and walked briskly away. When Kagome looked back at Inu Yasha's smiling face, she suddenly was filled with a very foreboding feeling.

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chihiro-san: So what do you think he asked for? Only those of you reading with any sense of rare wines will get this. Here's a hint: it's very cold. All right. I'd like to thank all of my reviewers once again. I really appreciate it when you review! I'd also like to say that I don't know if I'll be able to write for, like, a month (just kidding. two weeks at the most.) because this week I have a killer book report due and, silly (screwed) me, still have three hundred some pages to read. I also have FINALS in two weeks or so. That's a major pile of ($#-^*% to look forward to, now isn't it?! Ah well.