Author's Note: Hey y'all. I've been told that Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship here is "weird," so you all have been warned. This story and its sequel-prequel are wildly AU where humans and demons coexist openly. So, if you don't like the way the story is going, please employ that lovely Back button at the top of your browser instead of leaving me a nasty flame saying that the characters wouldn't ever act like that. This starts out AU and keeps going. Now that I've finished my requisite AU warning, I'd like to send out a huge thank you to akscully, whom I'm loving very much for the excellent beta job she did on this. She also got me over a small writer's block. So, to her this is dedicated. Reviews and constructive critisim are cheerfully accepted. Also, I have kept the placing of this fic purposely vauge. Imagine it where you will.
"Goddammit! Miroku, let me see your fucking phone." A small silver flip phone was tossed onto the table without a care as to its cost or maintenence.
The other three people sitting in the booth were used to both the crass language, as well as the request. Miroku, who was dressed in his favorite dark purple t-shirt (with a rather perverted slogan on it) and a pair of black carpenter jeans, merely sighed as he fished his purple phone out of his pocket. "Here you go."
A noncommital grunt was his only thanks, not that anyone who knew Inuyasha expected anything more.
Miroku shook his head. "Good thing I have a rollover plan," he muttered. His girlfriend, Sango, snorted in amusement. She was currently playing Snake on her mobile phone, which happened to be a dark pink/green/beige color combination that day.
"I heard that," Inuyasha grumbled as he furiously punched buttons. "If my phones weren't pieces of - Sesshomaru! What the hell do you want?" His gold eyes narrowed, then rolled heavenward. "Where else would I be? Give me a fucking break here." His mouth twitched as he listened to his elder half-brother, and the two dog ears that sat on top of his head, surrounded by waist-length pure white hair, twitched as well. "Are you going to get to the point anytime soon? I'm on Miroku's phone."
"Yeah, quit using up my minutes!"
Inuyasha flipped his best friend off, even as he listened. "Whatever. Are Mom and Dad gonna be there? Fine. Seven. Bye." Without waiting for an answer, he ended the call, then flipped the phone back to Miroku, who caught it with the ease of long practice.
"What did your brother want?" Kagome, the fourth member of their little group asked. She was about the closest thing Inuyasha had to a girlfriend, ever since his ex-girlfriend, Kikyo, had dumped him for another guy. It was impossible to call them best friends, since best friends didn't make out on occasion. Their first make-out session was the stuff of legend around their school. It had been almost two weeks after Kikyo had dumped Inuyasha, when a school dance was held. Inuyasha had taken Kagome, already his friend from childhood, and whom Kikyo couldn't stand. It had started out simply enough - Inuyasha and Kagome whispering things into the other's ear, little pecks on the cheek or forehead, but seemed to snowball from there. Those little pecks turned into lengthy tonsil-finding expeditions on the dance floor, and after they had gotten thrown out of the dance, they both turned up at school the next Monday sporting dark hickeys. 'Battle scars' they had called them.
"Eh, same old shit. Wants me to go to a business dinner. I would have told him to fuck off, but Mom and Dad are gonna be there, too."
Kagome shrugged easily. "Well, there goes my plans for asking you if you wanted to hang out tonight instead of doing homework in between text messages."
He slung his arm across her shoulders and pulled her against his body. "Dinner's at seven. Wanna spend the night?" He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Miroku looked at Sango. "How come he can get away with asking that? Every time I ask you, I get knocked upside the head."
"That's 'cause you're a pervert, Miroku. I know that the most they'll do is give each other a hickey," she answered, not looking up from her game.
"Movie marathon?" Kagome asked hopefully, ignoring Miroku.
"Sure."
"Excellent!" she chirped as she pulled out her phone, a bright green one, and tapped in her home numbers without even looking. "Hi Mama. It's me. I'm gonna spend the night at Inuyasha's. I'll be by in a little while to pick up clothes and stuff." Her smile grew wicked as she looked at Inuyasha and winked. "Yes, Mama, we're going to do our homework. Mrs. Senusi won't let us slack off. Okay? Bye! Love you!"
Sango's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. "More like you two will be begging for our homework so you can copy." Her phone chirped. "Ha! Five sixty! Beat that, Kagome!" She took a victory sip of her chocolate milkshake. "Now what is wrong with your phone, Inuyasha?"
He snorted as he watched Kagome scroll though her menu. "Battery's almost dead, what else?"
"I told you not to buy that phone," Kagome muttered as she started her game.
Inuyasha growled softly, knowing that she liked the sensation of being against his body when he growled. Besides, he was mildly annoyed that she had turned out to be right about the phone. It may have been top of the line, but it wasn't worth a shit for holding a charge.
Kagome's phone chirped, signaling the end of the game. Inuyasha laughed. Sango would have joined in, had she not seen the group of people who invaded their sanctuary. She nudged Miroku, whose face soured. "Don't look now, but the Ice Bitch cometh," she muttered.
Kagome rolled her eyes expressively and sighed, while Inuyasha's arm tightened around her shoulders. Kikyo and her clique of friends normally didn't bother coming into Francine's, but when they did, all hell normally broke loose. Francine had started her resteraunt-slash-dance hall as a new venue to host local bands, but quickly turned into a hangout where the jukebox played the latest releases from punk bands. Francine wasn't fond of Kikyo, but had no reason to keep her out.
"Hell, I'm not in the mood for a fucking fight right now."
"We could always go," Kagome suggested. "Mama's going to be expecting us at any time, and you know that you'll get free ramen."
"Yeah, let's just go," Miroku agreed. "Unlike you two, I'm actually going to finish my homework, and then spend the rest of the night texting Sango."
Kagome smirked down at her screen. "Does that mean we can copy off you in the morning?"
Sango kicked Kagome under the table.
"Ow!" she exclaimed as her finger hit the wrong button, and the phone chirped. Sighing, she locked the keypad, the slipped the phone back into her pocket. "I'll see you two in the morning."
"Have fun," Sango slyly said as Kagome slid out of the booth, followed by Inuyasha.
"We will," Inuyasha replied, just as smoothly. He nodded at Miroku, who nodded back. He flipped a bill onto the table, taking care of their bill and a tip, then wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist. They started to pass by the bar where Kikyo and her clique had gathered and would have passed by without commenting, if Kikyo hadn't spoken first.
"Well, well, if it isn't the dog and his little bitch."
Inuyasha stopped, his eyes shooting a gold fire, even as he moved a little in front of Kagome, protecting her. "What would you care Kikyo? You're the lying hag that dumped me for a real bastard."
Kagome stayed silent, not knowing what to say. She really wasn't all that good with confrontations, and when she was confronted, she had the tendency to just ignore the taunts and walk away.
"What the matter? Can't your bitch speak for herself?" Kikyo's friends tittered at the insult. "Or is she even your bitch at all? You two suck face often enough. Commitment shy, Inuyasha?" she finished in a sickly sweet voice.
Inuyasha was growling in anger by the time she finished speaking and he let a long moment pass where the only sound was his deep, menacing growls. He was about to speak again when Kagome shifted, coming even with him, pressing her lithe body fully against his, distracting him. Then she did something he wouldn't have expected. She raised herself up and set her lips against the sensitive skin of his neck.
"It's weird, isn't it?" she muttered against his skin. He was having a hard time keeping the annoyed growls coming, instead of turning into more sensual ones, since her breathy words against his skin was a thrill he'd never felt before. "We don't know what we are to each other." She planted another kiss on his neck, lightly sucking. "But wouldn't it be so much fun to find out?" With a slight nip that sent a shudder through him, she stepped back and took a step towards the door. "Coming?"
Inuyasha was floored. When had her voice taken on that inviting tone? He was clearly presented with two choices: stay and snap at Kikyo a bit more, or follow Kagome and hopefully get her back for that little love nip. He spun quickly on his heel and rewrapped his arm around her waist. "Abso-fucking-lutely."
"Aww, now isn't that sweet?"
"Kikyo, why don't you just go back to fucking the bastard? His scent's all over you," Inuyasha snapped. Kagome giggled against his side, knowing that he had just gotten Kikyo back, with interest. She was all the time going on about how pure she was, untainted by a man's hands. And Inuyasha had just said that loud enough so that half the patrons could hear. He had no doubt that all of the other demons at school would hear of his proclamation and be asked to verify it. And then the rumors would go around.
Life was good.
An annoying buzzing sound pierced the nearly silent air of a large bedroom. A frustrated female moan quickly followed it as Inuyasha leaned away from her to shut the alarm off.
"Just hit snooze?" Kagome asked hopefully, her breath coming as near pants.
"Sorry," he said as he kissed the tip of her nose. "We've gotta get cleaned up, otherwise we'll be late." They still had an hour and a half before the dinner was scheduled to started, but with as aroused as the both of them were, he suspected that they would need the extra time to calm themselves down. That way, they would be presentable to his family. No sense in embarrassing his father or his brother.
"Dibs," she muttered as she collapsed into his arms.
He laughed. "Just save me some hot water, woman."
"Do you have actual towels in there today?"
"Yes. Now go before I make us late."
She giggled as she rose off his bed and sauntered into his private bathroom after gathering her bag. He took a deep breath as he heard the shower kick on and tried not to imagine Kagome in there, completely naked, save for the water running over her smooth skin. He buried his head in his pillows, catching Kagome's scent all over them. Gods, he needed a cold shower. But he couldn't get Kagome's earlier behavior out of his mind. It was as if she were acting possessive of him, staking her claim over his body.
He certainly didn't have a problem with that. She could keep acting as though his body had her personal stamp on it for a long, long time. As long as she understood that as long as she was claiming him, he was claiming her. He didn't know if he wanted to choose her as his mate for life yet, and didn't know if she would want him for that long either. But as she had put it earlier, it would be very fun finding out. Content for more than one reason, he shut his eyes and allowed himself to slip into a light doze.
He woke when he heard the shower shut off and stretched. He pulled his red t-shirt over his head and stripped off his socks, tossing all three items of clothing towards the pile in the corner. From the bed he rose and pulled open his closet door. There were several nice shirts and pants he kept just for the occasions when Sesshomaru did drag him out to a family dinner. He pulled out a pair of khakis, telling himself that he would wait and see what Kagome was wearing before he chose a shirt. He wandered over to his dresser and blindly grabbed a pair of boxers. He leaned against the wall, waiting for the door to open. He was right in the middle of a huge yawn when the door did open and a wave of steam rolled out.
"All yours," she chirped. "And before you ask, yes, there is plenty of hot water left."
He smirked and dropped a kiss on her nose. He needed to get into the shower. The steam smelled a bit spicy and it was really playing havoc with his senses. He wasn't embarrassed about his body's natural reaction to her; he just didn't want her to feel pressured. As soon as the door was shut, he was surrounded by her scent. He nearly ripped his jeans off in his rush to get naked and into the cold water. Jumping into the stall, he leaned over to turn on the taps when her scent got a lot stronger, eliciting a much stronger reaction from him.
He took a deep breath, trying to sort out what was different about her scent. Squatting down, he took another deep breath, letting the spiciness of her scent settle in his nose. When he finally made the connection in his brain, he nearly fell over, both from shock and from lust. Standing back up, he turned the taps on, not caring if it was hot or cold anymore. She took care of herself, in his shower, knowing that he could smell it. And that drove him way past the point of no return.
Kagome was sitting on his bed, looking rather proud of herself when he finally stumbled out of the bathroom, his toweling his long hair dry. Hers was still wrapped up in a towel as well. "Enjoy your shower?"
He stalked straight up to her, pulled her off the bed and crushed his mouth to hers. Pulling back abruptly, he stared down at her. "We are going to find out exactly what we are to each other," he growled. "And while we're doing that, you only do that for me, no one else." He knew that he was being overly possessive, but the mere thought of another male smelling her aroused scent was enough to send him into a jealous rage.
"Same goes for you," she answered back, just as possessive.
"Agreed. Now let's get this dinner over with so we can have our movie marathon." He took a step back and finally looked at what she was wearing. Her form was gloriously shown off by a tight black dress that hugged all of her curves. The dress itself was a little unusual, falling all the way to her knees, but with a thigh-high slit over her right leg. A red dragon curled around her body, its fierce face stopping at her left shoulder. It had a mandarin collar, covering up the newest hickey he had given her that afternoon, but it also contained a diamond cutout over her breasts. There were no sleeves, showing off her athletically toned arms. A set of Shinto prayer beads circled her wrist, the black beads evenly spaced by white fangs, which added a personalized touch.
"Do I pass inspection?" she teased.
"Damn you look good."
"Thanks, but I hope that you aren't planning on going out in just your pants. I'd be forced to kill every female that we run across."
He smiled. He liked this possessive side of Kagome. "Actually, I wanted to wait and see what you were wearing first, then ask you what you think I should wear."
Kagome dragged him over to his closet and looked at the assortment of shirts there. Several were varying shades of red, while most of the rest were black. She finally reached in and grabbed a red button down shirt that matched her red dragon perfectly. Then she went over to his dresser and poked through it until she found a white t-shirt to go underneath. "There you go. I've got to go make myself look beautiful now."
He grumbled that she already was, but she was already plugging in his hair dryer. Shaking his head, he got dressed. As soon as she finished with his dryer, he took possession of it, brushing through his long hair. Kagome, as soon as she finished applying her eyeliner and lipstick, helped him brush through it, working the worst of the tangles out. When they were finished with his hair, she picked up one of the thin white ponytail holders and gathered his hair expertly.
He took one look at their reflections in the mirror and froze. They looked perfect standing there. Kagome seemed to notice as well, since she was wearing a soft, private smile.
A knock interrupted them. Inuyasha leaned out. "Yeah?"
His door opened and his mother stuck her head in. "Are you ready to go? We need to leave now if we're going to be there on time."
He smiled. "Yeah, Mom, we'll be right there."
She nodded and shut his door.
"Guess that's our cue to get our shoes on."
He turned to Kagome with burning eyes. "I'd kiss you right now, if you weren't wearing lipstick."
"I'll take a rain check," she offered.
"Done. Now let's go prove to Sesshomaru that I can be civilized."
Dinner had gone off without a hitch. Inuyasha had helped Kagome down the stairs, since she was wearing a pair of three inch strappy heels, and she greeted both of his parents with a hug and a kiss. They both complimented her on her dress, and even the ice-cold Sesshomaru seemed to approve. The dinner itself was a trifle boring, with the 'adults' concentrating mostly on business, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome to fend for themselves. When the dinner was over, Inuyasha offered to take Kagome back to the house, since the adults were going to continue their conversation at the bar.
Once back at the Senusi house, they both changed into more comfortable clothing and settled onto the small couch Inuyasha had in his bedroom, right in front of his flat screen tv. They had settled on kung-fu flicks as the recurring theme for the night, and then settled in.
Five minutes into the movie, it was already forgotten as they continued to explore the texture of each other's mouths. They stayed up through four more movies, then finally fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch. Their homework was still untouched.
The next day at school, the rumors were flying about what Inuyasha had said to Kikyo, who was noticeably absent. Miroku was waiting on the school steps, playing with a set of purple prayer beads around his wrist. Sango was once again absorbed in Snake, trying to beat her own record. Her leg occasionally brushed Miroku's arm, distracting her from her game.
"Sango!" Miroku hissed, becoming more alert. "They're here."
Sango looked up and waved at her friends. Inuyasha was walking up the walkway with Kagome tucked underneath his arm, and both were looking very pleased about something. Inuyasha collapsed next to Miroku while Kagome sat primly in front of Inuyasha, leaning back into his body. However, the prim look was spoiled by the presence of a very dark hickey on the side of her neck.
"Well, good morning, you two," Miroku started.
Inuyasha looked behind him for a split second. "Yeah, it is."
Miroku looked at his best friend and noticed that he seemed to be wearing a new piece of jewlery around his neck - Shinto prayer beads, evenly spaced by white fangs. He knew that those beads were Kagome's, as did over half the school population. Looking down, his dark eyes spotted a flash of silver around Kagome's neck - a necklace that belonged to Inuyasha.
He looked back at Sango, who had also noticed. They gave each other matching smirks.
"So I take it that you two are pretty official now."
Inuyasha shrugged and kissed Kagome's forehead. "I guess we are." He leaned back and gave Miroku a smirk that included a hint of his fangs. "By the way, Miroku?"
"Yeah?"
"Let me see your fucking homework."
-fini.