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somekndofnature · 2 years ago

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Summary:

We're back in the present fam! Inuyasha and Miroku have a heartfelt talk and he does his best to convince Kagome to be their manager again. Kagome gets a first taste of the new music.

Notes:

Hello all! It has been a helluva week. This story has been my only escape and comfort. So, I hope you all enjoy. Might post another chapter later if I'm feeling cute. 🤪

Soooo... the music. There's a lot for this chapter. First, 'Little Lion Man' by Mumford & Sons and disclaimer: just because I still like songs from this band does not mean I agree with any of their personally held beliefs. It honestly feels weird that I need to type that but... better safe. Anyway, next is a song by Tim Minchin called 'The Absence of You'. Please look this up on YouTube. You won't regret it. The music is stunning. The next one is 'Panic Station' by Muse.

And finally, we get to 'hear' the first song from Inuyasha in this chapter. It is a song that I feel really portrays how he has felt the last six years without Kagome. So, if you would like to listen to the song, this is the YouTube link.

I hope those links work. I'm not exactly savvy with these things, but I'm learning!

AO3

Chapter 6: Is Ever What It Seems

Present day…

Inuyasha shook away the invasive memory of the first time he made love to Kagome, wondering what possessed his mind to conjure it in the first place. Not that he didn’t think about it… often . He found an enormous amount of comfort in reliving that peaceful moment. This wasn’t the time, though, no matter how tempting. It wouldn’t do him any good to get his hopes up. He had a long way to go before she would trust him enough to be that vulnerable again. Not to mention, his pants were getting tight. The last thing he wanted was to greet her again with a full-blown erection—if Sango managed to convince her to stay.

“You look nervous,” Miroku said, interrupting his thoughts.

Inuyasha snorted. “Yeah. No shit, asshole.”

“Did you expect this to be easy?”

“No,” he snapped before crossing his arms over his chest with a dejected sigh. “I just didn’t realize how much I had hurt her. I mean, I’m not an idiot. I know it was a lot but—”

You broke me.

He shuddered.

Miroku took a deep breath. “Do you want my advice?”

“No,” he answered reflexively, before giving it more serious thought. Inuyasha sat forward and shrugged. “Uh… yeah.”

Miroku tossed his dark hair out of his eyes while fighting to suppress the smug smile curling at the corner of his mouth. Inuyasha’s stomach soured in an instant; maybe this was a mistake.

“Look, you arrogant prick, are you gonna be helpful or not?” he slumped back into his chair.

Miroku chuckled. “Take it slow. That’s my advice. It’ll take a while to rebuild things between you.”

“Keh, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Okay.” His friend sat a little straighter. “Kagome asks Sango about you all the time.”

Inuyasha’s head whipped towards him. “Really?”

“Yes,” Miroku said with a nod. “They spend quite a bit of time talking about you.”

“That’s a good sign, right?”

“I would think so,” he replied before reaching forward and grabbing his wrist. “Just… don’t get into something you’re not ready for.”

Inuyasha frowned. “I don’t—"

“Believe it or not, I understand your hesitation before,” Miroku explained. “Kagome is your mate. We’re talking about a lifetime commitment here.”

“So?” Inuyasha lifted one shoulder. “You’re doing that with Sango. You’re getting married.”

“Yes, but I’ve had other relationships before Sango,” he said. “How many women have you even been with?”

“What the fuck does that matter?” he sneered.

“Well, you always seemed very experienced from the outside,” Miroku replied. “But now I know that was all a lie.”

“Keh.” Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and tried to keep his irritation from boiling over.

He wasn’t really mad at Miroku; he was mad at himself, at how badly he had fucked things up. This building rage was going to need an outlet and the only target for his anger was the hanyou that looked back at him from the mirror each morning.

“Seriously?” Miroku prodded. “You didn’t sleep with any of those women? Even Kikyou?”

A low growl built up in his chest. “No, not even Kikyou.”

“Wow. Why did she stick around for so long?”

Inuyasha rested his head against the wall behind him, fingers playing at the edge of his jeans pocket. “Mutually beneficial? She didn’t mind that we weren’t intimate so long as I supplied the good drugs. And there were times that I thought she played for the other team, but even relationships like that have their limits, I guess. I haven’t seen or heard from her since the night I OD’d—not that I really want to.”

“So, how was it mutually beneficial?” Miroku asked with a frown.

He shrugged. “She kept other women away for the most part.”

“Including Kagome…”

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly while his shoulders bunched with tension.

“So, how long has it been?”

His brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Inuyasha,” Miroku said while rolling his eyes. “How long since you’ve been laid?”

“Christ, man!” He snapped, shoving his hand into his pocket and withdrawing the slim vape pen. “I’m sitting here baring my soul and that’s what you choose to focus on?”

Miroku gave him a moment to take a long pull and calm his already frayed nerves. “Level with me, how long?”

Inuyasha released a whispy cloud of vapor from his lips, rolling the herbaceous flavor around his tongue as his agitation lessened. “Almost six years, I think.”

His friend hissed in sympathy. “Ouch.”

“Got no one to blame but myself.” He snorted and took another hit. “Besides, that isn’t what I miss most about Kagome.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miroku smile. “What do you miss the most?”

He inhaled from his pen again while staring at the entrance to the restrooms, willing her to reappear. “I miss talking to her. She always made me feel lighter… like I was finally at peace. She quieted my mind and taught me how to just… be. Whatever I felt—happiness, sadness, anger—I could just exist with them, could even manage to see the beauty in them, without fighting against it all the time.” He sighed. “Now, nothing seems beautiful. It all just passes right through me and leaves no imprint.”

Miroku remained quiet long enough for Inuyasha to get self-conscious. He wasn’t normally one to spew out such sappy romanticisms. He used his music to communicate with the world. It was easier to try and put all those feelings to a melody than say them straight to someone’s face.

He took a cautious glance in Miroku’s direction and grimaced. He was moon-eyed and fluttering his lashes with a dreamy sigh.

“What?” Inuyasha sneered.

“Sometimes you manage to say the most wonderful things to exactly the wrong person.”

“Huh?”

Miroku rolled his eyes. “I’m not the one you should be telling this to, dickhead. Save the sweet talking for the girls,” he hissed, gesturing over Inuyasha’s shoulder.

He whipped around, mouth going dry as he watched Sango and Kagome approach the table again with puffy red eyes. Jumping to his feet, Inuyasha was struck dumb. All the words that he had just spoken to Miroku swirled around in his head like a letter goulash.

Kagome looked at him with her brows raised in expectation. “Inu?”

“B-beautiful!” he said, loud enough for every head to turn in their direction.

Inuyasha heard Miroku snickering from behind him while Sango stared as if he had just lost several IQ points.

“What?” Kagome asked in a soft tone.

He cleared his throat as his gaze found the white tips of his Chucks. “You-you’re beautiful.”

“T-thank you.”

“I’m sorry that I lost my temper,” he said, working up the nerve to look her in the eye.

Kagome’s baby blues stared back at him with timid vulnerability in their depths. “I appreciate that.”

“I’m sorry for hurting you,” he whispered, reaching out to grab her fidgeting hand. “But you’ve never been worthless, Kagome. Certainly not to me.”

Her eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she released a shaky breath.

“So, what’s the verdict?” Miroku asked, interrupting the intimate moment.

Every eye turned to him. Sango looked ready to throttle him, but Inuyasha was thankful for the distraction. There were so many things he needed to tell her; most of them too intimate for a public space like this.

Kagome cleared her throat but didn’t pull away from him. Inuyasha rubbed his thumb along the back of hers.

“The verdict is that I’ll listen to the music,” she answered before meeting his gaze. “Then I’ll decide.”

“Okay,” he said, leading her back towards her chair. “We can listen to it right now.”

“Ummm…”

“No can do, I’m afraid,” Sango interjected, coming to Kagome’s side and slinging an arm around her shoulders. “We have a previous engagement.”

“What?! What engagement?”

His friend’s eye narrowed. “Kagome came here to have a relaxing time with a friend—i.e. me. So, we are going to get pampered.”

“Wait,” he said. “When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Kagome replied. “I’ll call you once I get home.”

“But—”

“Inuyasha, stop smothering her,” Sango snapped.

“I’m not,” he snarled in return.

Kagome swallowed hard and worked herself out of both their holds. “I’m gonna grab a coffee before we go.”

Flabbergasted, Inuyasha watched her go without complaint before turning his livid glare on Sango. “What the fuck? How can I win her back if I don’t even get to be around her?”

“Right now, that’s not my problem.”

A low growl built in his chest. “I thought you were gonna help me.”

“Inuyasha, calm down,” Miroku said from across the table. “Don’t make a scene.”

“Shut up! I want to know what the fuck she thinks she’s doing.”

Sango pursed her lips. “I’m trying to make up with my friend, if you don’t mind. You weren’t the only one who let her down, you know?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“I chose you, Inuyasha,” she hissed. “Everything you put her through, and I knew about it all, but I chose you. I didn’t talk to her for over a year because I didn’t know how to apologize for that.”

Inuyasha’s jaw tightened as a new load of guilt landed heavy on his shoulders.

“Kagome’s right,” Sango continued. “She may have left, but we are the ones who abandoned her… after everything she did for us.” She looked between both the men at the table with their heads bowed in shame. “We have a lot of faith to rebuild between all of us.”

“Fine,” Inuyasha sneered, while reaching forward to unzip the front pocket of Kagome’s suitcase.

“What are you doing?’ Sango asked with lingering irritation in her tone.

He fished around and withdrew her airline information, thanking every kami in existence that she hadn’t changed her travel habits. The woman was anal, with hardcopy backups of all her information. Pulling out his phone, he took a quick picture of the flight number.

“Inuyasha?”

“I’m not letting her get away that easy,” he replied, before packing everything away again.

He looked up with a smirk as Sango rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t sound creepy, at all.”

He scowled.

“What doesn’t sound creepy?” Kagome interrupted, coming up behind her with a paper cup in hand.

Inuyasha straightened, worried that he had been caught.

“Nothing,” Sango dismissed with a wave. “Let’s get going. I’m suffocating on the amount of testosterone in here.”

She circled the table and snatched up her purse before leaning forward to give Miroku a quick kiss.

“Have fun,” he said with a smile.

Inuyasha stood when Kagome approached him and wrapped her arms around his middle. A lump lodged in his throat as he melted into the embrace. He squeezed her closer, memorizing the feel of her slender body and intoxicating scent.

Mine , his demon sighed in satisfaction.

She pulled away too soon and smiled up at him. “It was nice seeing you.”

“Yeah, you too. I’ve missed you, Kagome,” he said while nuzzling against her cheek.

He heard her sharp inhale before she admitted, “I miss you, too.”

Inuyasha almost sank to knees. “Then stay,” he whispered, cupping her face in his hand.

Kagome shook her head and took a step back. “I can’t, Sango and I have plans.”

“That’s right, bitch!” Sango interjected. “We are gonna tear shit up!”

Inuyasha tossed a glare in her direction.

“Just send me a link to the playlist,” Kagome said as she gathered her things.

“But,” he replied, feeling panicked at her inevitable departure.

Both women took a step towards the door before he leapt forward and grabbed Kagome’s free hand.

“Wait!”

“Inuyasha?” She turned to look at him with her brow raised.

“Just, really think about it,” he pleaded. “I need you with me, Kagome.”

She swallowed hard and nodded. “I will. I promise.”

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Thank you.”

“Alright Romeo,” Sango said from beside her. “Now let her go. We’ve got places to be.”

It was harder than he thought, letting go of her hand. He wanted to hold onto her forever, but eventually he found the strength. He peeled his fingers from around hers and released her, returning Kagome’s wave as they slipped out the door.

Inuyasha turned and walked back to the table before plopping into a chair and covering his face with his hands. “That went worse than I imagined.”

“Really?” Miroku said from across the table. “I thought it went well.”

“Keh, how d’ya figure?” he mumbled while dragging his fingers down his face.

His friend shrugged. “She didn’t refuse.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. “She was just too nice to do it twice in one sitting. You know how ‘Gome is; she’s too sweet for her own good.”

“Have a little more faith in her, Inuyasha,” Miroku chastised. “You asked her to think seriously about it and I’m sure she will.”

“Somehow that doesn’t make me feel any better,” he grumbled.

A heavy silence settled between them for several long moments. Inuyasha tried to muster any feelings of hope but only managed a mild dread. He slumped further in his chair with a sigh.

The shroud of despondency that was his constant companion had lifted in Kagome’s presence but was quickly retaking its rightful place. Her light and happiness had shined on him for only a moment, warming him from the inside out. Now, he was growing cold once more. A shiver stole through him.

The scraping sound of Miroku’s chair across the wood floor pinned his ears against his head with irritation.

He circled the table and stopped in front of Inuyasha. “What are you doing today, besides wallowing in self-pity?”

“I don’t wallow,” he sneered while crossing his arms over his chest.

“You do,” Miroku deadpanned. “And it’s unhealthy.”

“Fuck off.”

Instead, his friend stuck out his hand. “Come on.”

“Where?”

“I’m not gonna let you sit here and lick your wounds all alone,” Miroku said, grabbing his wrist. “The girls went out to have some fun and so should we.”

Inuyasha reluctantly let his friend pull him onto his feet. “Fun?”

“Yes, fun,” he replied while dragging him towards the door. “You know, what normal people do to cheer themselves up when they’re feeling down.”

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and grumbled under his breath but allowed his friend to lead him out of the coffee shop and onto the busy sidewalk. He cocked one ear towards Miroku’s yammering, just barely managing to grunt or nod at the right time. His attention was elsewhere.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and typed in a quick Google search; Inuyasha had a flight to book.

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Kagome pushed through her hotel room door with a grunt and flipped on the first switch she could find. Soft light filled the generic beige space, somehow managing to look both inviting and spartan at the same time. She was used to frequent travel and lonely hotel rooms, but tonight the emptiness settled in her gut like a cold ball of lead.

She let the door slam closed behind her and wrestled her small rolling bag down the short hallway, stopping by the bed. Kagome collapsed onto the mattress and fell back with an exhausted sigh. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much; she hadn’t realized just how much she missed her friend. It had been so fulfilling to spend time with Sango, but now that she was alone, all the emotions that she had suppressed throughout the day were coming back to haunt her.

The betrayal that she originally felt upon showing up in the coffee shop still lingered, despite Sango’s multiple apologies. Kagome couldn’t help it. Even when she was trying to make positive and healthy changes in her life, Inuyasha’s shadow haunted her. She was trying to move on, to put the past behind her, and yet all her efforts were futile. The past demanded reconciliation, no matter how hard she tried to run from it.

Kagome sat straight and squared her shoulders, reminding herself that she was the only one who governed the course of her life, nothing else. In the end, the decision that she was contemplating was hers alone to make. She had power; she had agency. Her future was completely in her control.

Feeling a little more settled, she turned to her suitcase and unzipped it, withdrawing her pajamas and toiletry bag. She kicked off her shoes and padded towards the bathroom, pausing next to her purse. Through the slightly gaped opening, she saw her phone screen shine back at her.

Inuyasha had sent her a link to his playlist while she and Sango were getting manicures. Kagome had managed to ignore the gnawing curiosity until now, but it was calling to her. She picked up the phone and opened the link, brow raising when she saw only four tracks in the queue.

She dug her ear buds out of her purse and popped them in before selecting one at random. The first notes began to play as she headed into the bathroom, their heaviness and deep tenor startling her. It was out of the norm for the punk singer.

Kagome dropped her items on the counter, brow furrowing as she listened. It was rough and she could tell that Inuyasha had played all the instruments. The bass wasn’t as smooth as when it was in Sango’s hands and the percussion lacked Miroku’s childlike thrill, but it was still impressive… and different.

Inuyasha’s raspy voice held a festering pain, instead of the usual irreverent sarcasm. As she listened to lyrics that seemed to be pulled straight from his soul, her heart twisted. She could feel the raw vulnerability in his words and ached along with him. The story he told was full of regret and the same struggle that every sentient being on the planet toiled through; the struggle to accept yourself.

Tears welled in her eyes, but Kagome forced herself into her normal bedtime routine, removing her makeup and washing the day away from her face while trying to convince herself that the moisture on her cheeks came only from the water. She dressed in her dark green sleep shorts and black tank top before crawling back into bed and flipping off the light just as the last track began to play. It started with the humming silence of white noise before being broken by Inuyasha’s deep voice.

“I haven’t showed this to others yet because…” He paused for a long moment. “Well, it’s rough… but so far, I think it tells you everything you need to know.”

He took a deep breath and Kagome heard the subtle stilted entry of a bass in the background for several seconds. She began to relax before his urgent voice whispered into her ear.

“ Paralyzed, going out of my mind, can’t seem to help myself …” he trailed off before returning with the same anxious tone. “ Hear your voice, see your face, call your name, stuck in a living hell .”

Her breath hitched as his tenor turned desperate, growling the last few words as if they pained him.

“ And I sleep just to leave this reality,” he crooned without giving her a reprieve. “Then I wake and it takes you away from me. I can't believe you and I are out of time; I never said goodbye. ”

There was a pause where it felt like something was missing, a beat of silence that yearned for a voice before the crash of a guitar blared.

“ You were the only thing worth living for! ” he half-sang and half-shouted. “ How could you go and leave me here; I’m all alone! ” Several heavy power cords sounded in rapid succession. “ So, I walk this earth half-alive, til the day I die. I’m killing time, killing time…for you.”

Kagome threw her headphones off before a sob burst from her lips. The absence of Inuyasha’s voice both soothed and tore at her. The emotion in his words matched hers; she had so many regrets, so much that she wanted to say to him. Her hand was reaching for her phone and dialing his number before she could think better of it. She heard it ring twice before being answered.

“’Ello,” Inuyasha rumbled from the other side of the line.

Her throat constricted; she didn’t know what to say. A breathy whimper burst from her lips.

She heard the rustling of fabric. “Kagome? What is it? What’s wrong?”

The blatant concern in his tone ripped a trembling breath from her chest.

“Kagome! Are you okay?” he asked, his worry palpable even over the phone. “Baby, you gotta answer me.”

“I-I’m fine,” she choked out, the frantic endearment making her heart ache.

“Doesn’t sound like it.”

“I just… had a nightmare,” she fibbed through tears.

He released a relieved breath. “And you called me?”

“I shouldn’t have,” Kagome blubbered. “S-sorry, I’ll let you get back to sleep.”

“No!” He bit out a quiet curse. “I don’t mind. What was your nightmare about?”

“I-I-I don’t even remember,” she fumbled. “I just woke up crying and needed to hear your voice.”

“Does that happen often?”

“What?” she replied with a watery laugh that held no trace of humor. “The waking up crying or needing to hear your voice?”

“Both.”

Her voice cracked as she answered, “Yeah, actually.”

“Dammit,” he hissed. “This is difficult.”

“What is?”

Inuyasha huffed in frustration; she could picture him running a hand through the shaggy bangs around his face. “Listening to you cry like this without being able to hug you.”

Her heart swelled. “Would you? If you were here?”

“Baby, say the word and I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” he replied in a low tone that sent shivers through her.

Kagome tensed. “No, we shouldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it won’t do anything except make me feel more confused than I already am,” she whined. “I shouldn’t have even called you.”

“You can call me anytime, day or night.”

“So could you,” she accused. “And yet you never have.”

“It’s not the same,” he explained.

“How?”

“Because I’m the one who fucked up,” Inuyasha replied in a heated tone. “I have no right to come strolling back, asking for a place in your life, especially if you’ve already moved on and are happy.”

“And yet you got Sango to lure me here for this surprise attack?”

He growled. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that.”

She ignored his flimsy excuses and scoffed. “Well, what if I am happy?” Kagome lied through her teeth. “What if I have moved on without you?”

Inuyasha went alarmingly quiet for several moments. “Is that true?”

Her grip on the phone tightened as she bit at the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t do it; she couldn’t lie to him again.

“’Is it?” he snapped, making her jump.

“What does it matter?” she cried. “Things are what they are. You made your choices, and I made mine. That’s the end of it.”

“We both know that’s bullshit,” he hissed. “It matters to me. I want you with me ‘Gome… and I want you happy.”

The heartfelt sentiment, so close to what she had heard moments before on that playlist, pulled another sob from her throat. “I don’t know if you can get both.”

“Gimme a fuckin’ chance, at least!”

She flinched and sucked in a sharp breath at the anger in his voice. “I should go.”

“No!” he shouted before tempering his tone. “I just—I just need you to give me a chance. You said you would really think about it, but it sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”

“I haven’t,” she assured him. “I’m keeping my promise.”

“Have you even listened to the music?” he asked, reminding her of their first meeting.

Kagome paused, thinking back over her emotional experience with it. “Umm.. not yet. I haven’t had the time.”

“Keh,” he scoffed. “If you’re not going to take this seriously then—”

“I am taking it seriously,” she interrupted. “If you recall, I was off the clock today, spending time with a friend. I’ll get back to work when, and if, I feel like it.’

“So, you’re basically telling me to go fuck myself,” he drawled.

“No, of course not. I’m saying it’s my life, Inuyasha,” she replied. “I’ll decide what type of toxic situation I step into.”

“I’m not fuckling toxic!” he shouted before his mouth audibly snapped shut.

Kagome sighed and rubbed at the headache forming behind her eyes. “This conversation is getting us nowhere. I should go.”

“Wait,” he pleaded. “Are you feeling any better?”

Her brow furrowed. “What?

“Your nightmare,” Inuyasha explained. “Do you think you’ll be able to get back to sleep?”

A reluctant smile found Kagome’s lips. “Yeah, I do. Thank you.”

“Keh, don’t thank me,” he dismissed. “I’ve probably only reminded you why you left in the first place.”

She hummed. “Quite the opposite actually.”

“What does that mean?”

“To be honest,” she murmured. “I haven’t felt this alive in six years.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

The silence stretched between them for several long moments before she released a pent breath. “Goodnight, Inuyasha.”

“I’ll be seeing you,” he replied cryptically. “Get some sleep, ‘Gome.”

She hummed in a non-committal tone. “I’ll do my best… bye.”

The phone beeped twice before going silent. She still felt lonely but a little warmer than before. Something about Inuyasha’s attitude caused an unbidden hope to bloom in her heart, no matter how hard she fought against it.

Kagome sighed and turned on her alarm before flipping off the light switch. She had a flight at eleven in the morning that she couldn’t miss. Then she could put all of this history behind her where it belonged and make a decision with a clear head.

She slumped against the mattress and tried to ignore the ghost of Inuyasha’s scent that her mind conjured from ephemera. He still smelled so good, inviting her to nuzzle and snuffle against him like some love-struck bitch. Kagome groaned at her own thoughts; she couldn’t be this far gone already, right?

She turned and punched the terrible hotel pillow into submission before settling on its lumpy corpse. Kagome tried to ignore the ominous darkness pressing in around her as she hunkered into the covers. She didn’t want to admit to herself how desperately she wanted Inuyasha’s arms to encircle her or how much safer she would feel within them.

#inuyashaxkagome #inukag #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha x kagome #modern au #inukag fic #rockband au #here with you #chapter 6

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somekndofnature · 2 years ago

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Summary:

A recollection of Inuyasha and Kagome's first time being intimate with each other.

Notes:

Okay folks! This is where the story earns its explicit rating. Once again, this is a flashback. So this is set eight years ago. I've gone over and over this chapter trying to smooth it out and every time I find something to change. I feel like I need to just let it lie. Let me know what you think.

Now, for the music. The songs that inspired this chapter were: 'Enemy' by Eve 6, 'Call Out My Name' by The Weekend, and 'Eyes Half Closed' by Crywolf. Spoiler, there is a lot of Eve 6 on this playlist, because I feel like that was The Strays OG vibe. Like, the lead singer sounds very much what I would envision Inu's style to sound like. So, this will not be the last time you see them here.

Oh, and I did use a few lines from the show. One of my favorite scenes; I just couldn't resist.

AO3

Chapter 5: You're Everything and Nothing Else

Eight years ago….

The LA sun beat down hard on the cement beneath her feet, sending a bead of sweat dripping between her shoulder blades. Kagome frowned and shifted uncomfortably, glaring at the peeling paint on the apartment door as she waited for its owner to answer her many summonses.

The impatient tap of her foot preceded an exasperated sigh. She shifted the few grocery bags into her one arm and dug her phone out of her purse, checking her messages for the hundredth time. Still, no word from Inuyasha. It had been a whole day with no response, which was rather out of the norm for him. They were always talking… or bickering, but still good-naturedly… most of the time.

Shoving her phone back into her bag, Kagome lifted her fist and slammed it against the door again. Normally, she wouldn’t be quite this rude but… desperate times.

“Inuyasha!” she hollered through the wooden surface. “I’m not going away. You might as well come answer the door.”

The lock flicked before it opened with a creak, revealing the disgruntled hanyou just beyond. Kagome’s mouth snapped shut as she tried not to drool. Even with a serious case of bedhead, never had a man looked so fine.

His disheveled silver hair cascaded around his face and shoulders, looking downy and brilliant in the sunlight. She had to tighten her grip on the bags in her hand to keep from reaching out and stroking the riotous mess. It would only make him angry.

The adorable little ears on top of his head twitched and swiveled as though just reacquainting themselves with the concept of sound. Her fingers itched to touch them, but once again, she checked the urge. He only ever let Sango pet his ears, and even then, it was amidst extreme grumblings.

The loose red sweats that clung to his hips were worn and faded. They looked soft, comfy, and she had the sudden devious desire to pilfer them once the tour started. Kagome’s eyes caught on the clawed hand that tightened the drawstring, brushing over the scant trail of silver hair on his abdomen as he released a loud yawn and stretched. Lean muscles tensed and shifted beneath flawless golden skin, making the large inu-youkai tattoo on his side appear as if it was prowling up his ribs.

“Damn, woman. Can you keep it down? I was tryin to sleep,” he muttered, while pushing a hand through his bangs.

Kagome shook herself out of her stupor and rolled her eyes. “It’s five o’clock in the afternoon.”

“Yeah, so?” he replied, with a scowl. “I just got comfortable.”

“So, why haven’t you returned any of my messages?”

His golden eyes flitted away as he shrugged. “Dunno, my phone’s somewhere around here. I got sidetracked.”

She hummed and raised up on tiptoe to press her palm against his forehead before cupping his cheek. “Well, you don’t feel warm, or well, any warmer than usual.”

“Keh, I don’t get sick.” He brushed off her touch. “I just can’t turn my brain off long enough to sleep.”

“Well, how long has it been?”

He lifted a shoulder. “A few days.”

“Days?! You haven’t slept in days!” she exclaimed, before cocking an indignant hip. “And how long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

He scratched at his bare chest. “Uuuuh, well…”

“That’s too long.”

“Keh, come on. You know me, not like I’m gonna skip meals.” His stomach growled in protest, belying his words.

“You were saying?” Kagome raised a brow and pushed past him into the apartment with an irritated huff.

“Come right in,” Inuyasha said in a dry tone as he closed the door behind her.

She toed off her sandals in the entryway and hung her purse on a hook while shaking her head. “You need to take better care of yourself, Inu.”

“I take care of myself,” he replied, following her into the kitchen.

She tossed him a dubious look before opening his refrigerator; it was as barren as the artic tundra in wintertime. “You call this taking care of yourself?”

A hint of color tinged his cheeks as he scratched at the back of his head. “I just haven’t had a chance to make it to the store, that’s all.”

“Well, then it’s a good thing I went,” she replied, while loading up the shelves with all her purchases.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said in a sullen tone. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

She smirked and reached into one canvas bag, pulling out a six pack of beer; she held out one bottle to him. “So then, I guess that means you don’t want this?”

“Ah, you’re a fuckin saint,” he replied, snatching it from her hand and popping the top against the counter with a hiss. He took several long swallows before tossing the metal bottlecap in a half-full mason jar on the counter and leaning back against it. “How long you been trying to get a’hold of me?”

She finished emptying the bags and grabbed a bottle for herself before closing the fridge door. “All day,” she answered as she began searching the hiding places in his small kitchen. “I was starting to get worried.”

“What are you looking for?” he asked as she dug through a drawer filled with mismatched silverware.

“A bottle opener.” She would never manage that counter trick.

“Give it here.” He grabbed the bottle from her hands and opened it the same manner before handing it back to her.

She shook her head and took a quick sip. “I’ll never get how you do that.”

“Practice,” he replied with a confident smirk that she wanted to kiss off his face. “But don’t you go tryin’ it. Clumsy as you are, you’re more liable to break the damn thing into pieces and slice your hand open. No trips to the ER, okay?”

“I’ll do my best,” she deadpanned

“So, what did you absolutely need to talk to me about?” he asked, taking another swig from his bottle.

She pursed her lips. “We need to go over the set list for the first tour show.”

“Oh, is that all?” He groaned and pushed off the counter, leaving her to trail behind him as he made his way into the living room. “Just stick with whatever Sango and Miroku chose.”

Late afternoon was giving way to early evening, lengthening the shadows cast on the wood floor by the long vertical blinds, shutting out the view from his balcony door. Inuyasha flopped down on the tattered couch, sending a cloud of dust motes into the air to twinkle and shimmer around him in the dying light. He looked ethereally beautiful, and Kagome had to stifle a sigh.

She noted the cluttered coffee table covered in wadded up pieces of paper and several empty cans of energy drinks. She picked one of them up, waving it back and forth. “Maybe this is the reason you can’t sleep?”

“Keh, gimme that,” he snapped, snatching it from her hand and tossing it to the floor. “Look, I don’t need you coming here, bringing me food, cleaning up after me, or criticizing my diet. I already have one overbearing mom; I don’t need another.”

“Why are you so annoyed?”

“I’m not annoyed,” he groused, his pointed ears wilting against his head. “Why would I be annoyed? Just because you only ever seem to come here when there’s something up with the band? I guess all that stuff about being friends was just bullshit.”

He must be feeling lonely. Kagome frowned and gently moved an acoustic guitar before sitting next to him on the cushion. “Well, I am your manager; it’s my job,” she rationalized.

He scoffed.

“But that’s not the only reason I came to see you.”

Inuyasha’s head snapped in her direction. “It’s not?”

“Of course not,” she assured him, refusing to meet his gaze as she picked at the label on her bottle. “You are my friend, and I haven’t seen you in a few days. I was worried and… I-I missed you.”

“Keh, and here I thought you couldn’t stand me.”

Though his words were flippant, there was a lingering hurt in his tone that she didn’t fully understand. He was the one always keeping her at arm’s length, picking fights about the smallest things just to watch her get angry, digging his heels in like a stubborn mule. It was like he was determined for them to be adversaries, to keep any softer emotions from blooming in her heart, and yet, it happened anyway.

“To be honest,” she replied. “Arguing with you has become one of my favorite parts of this job. I-I like you.”

He snorted. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted with a shrug.

“You don’t know why you like me? Just feel compelled to, or what?”

“Compelled?” Kagome furrowed her brow; that was an odd thing to say. It was true, in the beginning, she had felt an unexplainable draw to the hanyou, but after a year of getting to know him, she understood why. “No, that’s not what I meant. There’s a lot of things, it’s just difficult to list them when you put me on the spot like that.”

“Oh.”

She heard the disappointment in his voice. This was important to him, for whatever reason, and she hated letting him down. Kagome swallowed her embarrassment and forced her mouth into working order. “I like the way you fiddle with your piercings when you’re thinking. When you’re really deep in thought, you flick your lip ring against your teeth. It drives Miroku crazy, but I always get excited.”

“Why?” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him sit forward, resting his elbows on his knees and hanging on her every word.

She shrugged. “I know you’re about to say something suitably brilliant.”

“Keh.” Inuyasha smirked and shook his head. “People have used a lot of words to describe me over the years, but I don’t think ‘brilliant’ has ever been one of them.”

“Even your mother?” Kagome had only met the matriarch of the Taisho family a handful of times, but she had left an impression. The kind and adoring woman seemed to glow with pride for her son. “I can’t imagine her doing anything but lavishing you with praise.”

“Ha!” He smirked at her. “You’ve only ever seen her good side. Trust me, if you ever cross her, she gets scary.”

“I bet you kept her busy as a kid, getting into all kinds of mischief.”

His eyes darted away. “Keh, I was a freakin’ angel.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe it when I hear it from her mouth,” Kagome teased. “It’s probably why she started you off with music in the first place, trying to redirect some of that excess energy.”

“Maybe,” Inuyasha said with a shrug. “It wasn’t just music, though. I did sports too.”

“Oh, oh, let me guess,” she insisted before humming in thought. “Soccer and basketball.”

He raised a dark brow. “That all?”

She bit down on her lip and studied his face. “Track. You ran track, too.”

“That’s three for three, Higurashi,” he said. “Have we had this conversation before?”

Kagome looked back down at her bottle, shredding the label into pieces on her lap. “I’ve picked up tidbits here and there, from the stories Miroku and Sango tell.”

“Oh really?” Inuyasha replied with a sly smile. “What tidbits have you managed to gather?”

“Well, you grew up in Washington with your family. You have an older half-brother who stays with your parents from time to time, but the two of you don’t always see eye to eye.”

“Keh, that’s putting it mildly.” He took another long pull from his beer.

“Your mother adores and dotes on you,” she continued in a wistful tone. “Your father holds you to high standards but it’s only because he loves you. And they’re both so proud of you that they could spontaneously combust at any moment; Miroku’s words, not mine.”

Inuyasha flushed and avoided the soft look in her eyes. “I don’t know about all of that.”

“I do,” she replied. “Sango talks to them enough when you’re not around. She’s like your older sister, keeping them up to date on everything you’re doing because you suck at communication.”

“Sango talks too damn much,” he grumbled under his breath.

“Yeah, you can act tough all you want,” Kagome said with a wry grin. “We both know you would walk through fire for her.”

Inuyasha took a deep breath and released it. “She’s my oldest friend.”

“And yet you antagonize her like a little brother would.”

“Keh, I don’t antagonize.”

“You do and you know it,” she replied with a wry smile. “You two hassle each other all the time. She grumbles about what an asshole you are, and you call her a bitch under your breath just loud enough for her to hear, and yet you always have each other’s back.”

Kagome set her drink down and went quiet as she stared at her hands, feeling a sense of melancholy wash over her.

After several seconds, Inuyasha bumped her shoulder. “What is it? Why’d you get all sad?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “After a year, I just expected things to be different, I guess.”

He leaned forward. “How do you mean?”

“Well…” She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and pushed onto her feet, beginning to pace his living room.

“Spit it out, Kagome.”

She sucked in a breath through her teeth. “I just… I still feel like I’m on the outside looking in, that’s all. Not so much with Miroku and Sango, but definitely with you.” She shook her head. “I thought by now, I would feel like one of the group. I mean, we’re supposed to be a team, but you don’t even trust me.”

“Keh, I trust you.”

“Not like they trust me, or even how you trust them!” She went quiet for a few seconds before muttering, “You even let Sango touch your ears.”

He straightened with brows raised. “Is that what this is about?!”

“Not just that,” she replied with a blush rising in her cheeks. “But yes, that’s part of it. You always keep yourself distanced from me, like I disgust you.”

“You know what?” He toasted her with his beer and downed it before setting the empty bottle on the table with a clunk . “I’m settling this straight, right now. C’mere.”

“What? Why?” She shook her head. “No, you’re just gonna make me feel stupid.”

“I’m not,” he assured, motioning at the cushion next to him. “Just come here.”

She frowned but crept back towards him, eyeing him cautiously as she sat. “If you do something mean…”

“I’m not gonna—” He tossed his silver hair and rolled his eyes. “Just come a little closer, would ya?”

She scooted a few inches towards him.

A smirk tugged at his lips. “Closer.”

She slid over until their thighs were almost touching, clasping her hands in her lap.

“Relax,” he whispered, reaching forward to slip clawed fingers beneath her hair.

Her eyelids fell closed as she felt the ghost of his touch along her neck. Kagome shivered and shifted in her seat as he took her earlobe between his fingers, rubbing gently. She sucked in a breath as tingles erupted all over her skin. His touch was so soft, but the pads of his fingers were rough and calloused, dragging over the shell of her ear with the perfect amount of friction.

“Feel that?” he purred.

She could hear the smirk in his tone but couldn’t stop herself from answering with a breathy, “Yeah.”

“Would you let just anyone do this?”

Her lips turned down. “No, but is that all I am to you… just anyone?”

“No, you’re not.”

Something in his tone caused her eyes to flutter open, only to be immediately enraptured by the swirling gold of his irises.

“You’re not just anyone.” He continued stroking her skin, drawing her even closer. “You are different from everyone else.”

“Why?”

His face pinched, as if pained, as he brought his other hand up to cup her face. “Because you’re kryptonite. You’re beautiful, clever, and that smart mouth of yours never fails to leave me with an aching hard-on that’s frustrating as hell.”

“W-what? What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that you make me feel weak,” he breathed. “If I let you rub my ears, we’d never get anything done. I’d have you on your back at every opportunity… or on all fours.” A soft growl rumbled through his chest. “I dream about the way your ass would move when I’m slamming into you from behind.”

“You—what? Why?”

He seemed to understand what she was asking because he frowned. “We’re complicated, Kagome. You’re the best thing that has happened to The Strays since we found Miroku. I don’t wanna fuck it up, but I want…”

Her entire being seemed to be reaching for him. HIs hot breaths were fanning across her cheek, growing more labored as they drifted ever closer. His eyes dropped to her lips for a second before he brushed his thumb across the tender tissue. This was dangerous, flying in the face of every professional moral she possessed, but in that moment, it didn’t matter. Her body was on fire, overriding every other thought.

“Inuyasha,” she breath, arching into his touch. “Will you-"

“Fuck.” His brow furrowed, eyes darting all over her face. “I can’t stand it anymore; I gotta know how you taste.”

She nodded and reached for him just as he swooped down, slanting his mouth over hers and swallowing her needy mewl.

His lips were soft and insistent, hands falling to her hips and dragging her over to straddle his lap. Kagome moaned and threw her whole self into the kiss, burying her fingers into his soft hair. She nipped at his lips, begging for entrance that he granted with a guttural groan.

“This is a bad fuckin’ idea,” he rasped between kisses.

“Probably,” she answered before dipping back in for another quick taste. “Do you want to stop?”

“No,” he growled into her mouth, raising the fine hairs on her arms. “We ain’t stoppin’ until I’ve had my tongue on every single inch of you.”

She melted further into his embrace, sliding up his thighs until her core met his hardness through their layers of clothing. Her hips jerked forwards, seeking him out. They both released a whimper at the resulting friction.

“Inu—you have to,” she begged. “Please touch me.”

His hands circled her waist, slipping beneath the flirty pink top that she had worn just for him. The material bunched in his fingers as he inched it up her body, claws skating over her skin. They both broke away on a gasp as he, at last, pulled it over her head.

Inuyasha dropped it on the couch beside him, mouth slightly agape as he stared at her chest with pupils blown wide. A flush covered her neck and collarbone, shivering at the hunger in his eyes. Her shoulders hunched under his continued scrutiny, trying to obscure a beet red face beneath her tousled hair.

“Nuh-uh,” he chastised, reaching up to cup her cheek. “Don’t you dare try to hide your gorgeous self from me.”

She straightened and released a shuddering breath as he slid hands up her spine to grip both shoulders, arching her back until she was on full display. He buried his nose between her lace covered breasts, inhaling deeply before laving his tongue over each rounded mound.

“Fuck,” he bit out, nuzzling into her cleavage. “Do you have any idea how good you smell?”

“I-I thought,” she stuttered out, finding it difficult to form sentences. “I thought you hated my scent.”

“I was lying,” Inuyasha growled, one hand falling to her thigh and drawing her more firmly against the hard ridge of his erection. “Does that feel like I hate it, ‘Gome?” he asked, rubbing against her with a stilted grunt. “Do you see what you do to me, baby?”

“Inu.” She mewled and writhed as he peppered her skin with kisses and licks, grazing his fangs over her flesh.

When he drew her covered nipple into his mouth, she released a low moan, cupping his head against her breasts. Her hands drifted upwards, intent on the ears twitching atop his head. Kagome ran her fingertip over the soft fur and felt him snarl, spurring her on. She could feel the throbbing of his erection against her core, the tension in his every muscle, and it boosted her confidence.

She grasped those tender puppy ears between her hands, rubbing possessively over the sensitive flesh. He broke from her, releasing something that sounded suspiciously like a smothered howl of pleasure. His golden eyes rolled back in his head as she fondled him, thighs twitching beneath her as if fighting to keep from rutting against her.

“Bedroom?” she whispered into one fluffy ear.

His eyelids snapped open, gazing at her with a tinge of disbelief before a fangy smirk curled his mouth. “Fuck yes.”

Inuyasha hopped to his feet with her body still clinging to him, gripping her ass in his hands. She released a soft cry and wrapped her arms around his neck, diving in to drag her lips over his jaw. She felt him moving through the apartment but didn’t raise her eyes from his tanned skin.

Kagome became obsessed with the corded muscles in his neck, kissing and licking until he was groaning with each step. Every movement shifted their hips against each other in the perfect amount of friction. Her underwear was getting soaked, tingles sparking through her limbs and making her desperate. She nipped his shoulder and Inuyasha stumbled, slamming her back into a closed door.

“Fuck!” He pulled away enough to check her over. “Are you okay?”

She nodded and reached up to cup his face in her hands, drawing his lips down to hers. He moaned into her mouth, jerking his hips against her core. His mouth was hungry, tongue exploring her mouth with frantic determination. Kagome broke away and sucked in a much-needed breath, whimpering with need.

“ Puppy , please.”

A violent shudder passed through him as he wrenched away from her, dropping her trembling feet to the floor. Inuyasha loomed over her, lips pulled back from his fangs as his blazing eyes locked with hers.

“What did you call me?”

Kagome tried to shake the haze of arousal away, blushing when she thought back to her impulsive endearment—that up until this moment had only ever been said in her mind. Crap , had she managed to insult him? Great timing, Higurashi.

“I-I-I didn’t mean to; it just sort of slipped out.”

He stared at her long enough to make her squirm, eager to cover her exposed body. Inuyasha released her and pulled back, leaning against the opposite wall. Kagome straightened, draping an arm across her breasts. She took cautious note of his tense bunched muscles as he crossed his arms over his chest.

She scooted closer and reached out to skate her fingers across forearm. “Inuyasha, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I��m not a fucking animal,” he snapped, flinching away from her touch.

Kagome snatched her hand back and sucked in a shaky breath. “I know that.”

“I’m not a damn novelty either,” he grumbled. “If you’ve got a weird kink, take it somewhere else.”

Her brows furrowed in agitation. “What the hell are you trying to imply exactly?”

“Keh.” He looked away with a frown pulling at his lips but remained silent, looking sullen and disappointed.

Kagome tiptoed closer, anger draining from her at the hurt she could see in his averted eyes. “Dummy. Were you not listening earlier?”

Inuyasha’s confused gaze finally met hers.

“I like you,” she reiterated while reaching out to cup his face in her palm, no longer caring about her state of undress.

His eyes fell closed as she stroked his cheek.

“I like you a lot, and you’re half inu-youkai. So, of course I like your fangy smile and exotic eyes,” she whispered, brushing her thumb beneath his dark lashes.

They fluttered open and liquid gold greeted her.

Kagome smiled and let her hand fall to where his arms were clenched across his torso, encouraging the muscles to relax. She worked them loose, drawing his hand up and spreading her fingers wide until they were palm to palm. Inuyasha’s gaze burned into her as she exerted pressure against each of his fingers in turn, making them undulate in a wave. She bit her lip, staring at the sharp claws that rose above her nail, slightly blunted so as not to snap a guitar string, but still just sharp enough to feel the power behind them when he gripped her thighs.

“I like your claws and your soft white ears,” she continued, threading their fingers together before meeting his eyes. “I like your strength and the warmth of your yoki.”

He sucked in a sharp breath as his disbelieving gaze searched her face. “You can feel that?”

“Yes,” she confirmed with a nod. “It feels like a blanket. It’s safe and comforting. I’m not fetishizing you, Inuyasha,” she assured him. “I don’t like you because of these things. I like them because they’re yours. You’re my Puppy.”

His eyes went wide, shining with vulnerability for a few seconds before he crowded her against the door, brushing gentle fingers into her hair as he leaned down to ghost his lips over hers. “Say it again.”

“No, Inu,” she protested with a minute shake of her head. “If you don’t like it—”

“I like it,” he rumbled, nipping at her bottom lip.

“No,” she breathed with a shudder. “I don’t want to offend you.”

“Would you shut up and listen to me? I like it,” he purred, nuzzling against her neck and taking her earlobe between his teeth. “Say it, baby.”

Kagome shuddered as he tongued the tender skin behind her ear. “ Puppy , please take me.”

He growled into her hair, reaching behind her to turn the doorknob. It swung open with a quiet creak as a cool rush of air rushed over her heated flesh. Inuyasha walked her backwards, supporting her when she stumbled, and yet, never pulling his lips from her skin.

Her calves hit the edge of the bed, a startled gasp leaving her as she tumbled down onto the mussed pile of burgundy quilt and cool gray sheets. She scrambled onto her elbows, looking up at him with her lip caught between her teeth. Inuyasha stood at the foot of the bed, his intense stare pinning her in place.

“Pants off,” he demanded with a jerk of his chin.

Her eager hands fell to the waistband of her jeans, flicking the button open. Kagome worked the material over her hips, shimmying them down her legs. She shivered as he grabbed the cuff, yanking them off before tossing them away. Dark pupils devoured every inch of gold iris as he looked her over, rubbing a hand over his mouth.

“Fuck,” he hissed, palming the bulge in his sweats. “You’re so godsdamn gorgeous, ‘Gome.”

She trembled at the roughness in his tone. “T-thank you.”

He stooped down, resting a single clawed hand on the mattress as the other wrapped around her ankle and drew it to his lips. Kagome released a soft mewl as he licked up her calf, writhing when a heady groan escaped him. He crawled up the bed, running his hand up her knee and over her thigh.

“I’ve been dreaming about your damn legs for almost a year now.” He settled the crook of her knee on his shoulder, nipping at the joint.

Her breath hitched, anticipating his final destination and squirming at the thought. “Inu, please.”

“What did you say?” He tsked, flashing her a grin as he nuzzled against her thigh. “That’s not the right name, baby.”

She swallowed hard when he placed an open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive skin. “ Puppy .”

“Good girl.” He growled low, drawing the flat of his fang up her leg.

She shuddered and cried out as he tucked his nose against her lace covered core, inhaling deeply.

“Fuck,” he slurred, running his tongue over her panties. “You smell like heaven.”

“Gnuh.” A sharp bolt of pleasure zipped through her body, arching her off the bed.

“Careful, baby,” he chuckled, ghosting his claws over her hips. “You’re gonna hurt me.”

“Argh, yeah right,” she hissed, wiggling with impatience— a soft riiip tickled her ears. “Stop teasing.”

“Whatever you say.”

She only had a moment to suck in a breath before he leaned forward and ran his tongue along her wet, bare, folds. She gasped, wondering where her panties had gone until that thought was blown from her mind by his ragged snarl. Inuyasha delved deeper towards her entrance, licking and sucking at her most intimate area with pure abandon.

She gripped the sheet in her fists, rocking against his face to get him where she needed him most. He growled and flicked his tongue over her clit in a fleeting touch, pulling a sharp cry from her lips. He continued this in a maddening rhythm, teasing her nub for a quick second before dipping back down to lap at her core.

Kagome reached down, delving her fingers into his hair to hold him captive. He moaned when her nails scratched the base of his ears, emboldening her to take them between her fingers. She rubbed in time with the motions of his mouth, watching as he dug his hips into the mattress.

Inuyasha’s hands wrapped around the tops of her thighs, claws pricking at her skin as he settled his mouth over her clit. Blazing golden eyes slitted open, burning with desire as he circled her sensitive nub with his tongue. Any sense of teasing had abandoned him, focusing his efforts on her sole pleasure.

She released him and flopped back to the mattress, unsure that she could keep her touch gentle with the waves of pleasure rushing through her system. Her muscles jerked, head thrashing side to side as he bought her closer to the edge. She screamed, cried, and begged for release. The tension built within her, rising and rising, until she was sure she would levitate off the bed… and then, she broke.

“Inuyasha!”

She sucked in a breath as her climax crashed over her, clenching her thighs around his head. Later she would feel embarrassed by the way she rutted against his face, desperate to prolong her pleasure. Inuyasha didn’t complain, he was practically purring as his hands ran up and down her sides until she collapsed into a boneless heap.

She felt his ragged breath as he crawled up her body, settling between her spread thighs. It felt so good to have his weight on top of her, pushing her into the bed. She could do little more than arch into him and gasp as his lips teased the skin on her neck and collarbone.

“You’re so fucking beautiful when you cum,” he breathed, taking her earlobe between his teeth. “Show me again?”

Kagome nodded and wrapped a lock of silver hair around her fist, drawing him back to her lips. “I want you inside me.”

He kissed her once before pulling away with soft whine. “Do you know what you’re asking for, baby?”

She frowned, irritated that he was treating her like some kind of blushing virgin. Tunneling a single hand between them, Kagome slipped into his sweatpants and wanted to kiss him for not wearing underwear. When she wrapped her fingers around his hard length, Inuyasha went rigid above her, eyes rolling back in his head as a string of curses fell from his lips.

“I told you what I want,” she purred, stroking her hand up and down.

“Fuck woman.” He raised up on his knees and slipped his fingers beneath the waistband of his sweats, working them over his hips.

Kagome reached out just as his erection sprung free, brushing her fingers along his velvet skin. His entire body shuddered, head falling back as she stroked him. She leaned forward and licked the tip before she suddenly found herself on her back with hands pinned over her head. She blinked at the snarling face above her, marveling at the changes in him. His fangs seemed a little longer, with a faint purple bruising on each cheek, and his blazing golden eyes swirled with a new shade.

“I want to taste you too,” she whispered, teasing her lips over his jaw.

“Later,” Inuyasha growled, hoisting her knee up to his hip. “I need to be inside you, now.”

“Yes, Puppy ,” she mewled, arching into him. “ Please .”

He claimed her mouth as his hips slid forward. Kagome moaned, quivering at his slow intrusion. He was hot and thick, her body stretching pleasantly to accommodate his length. She tugged against his grip on her hands, dying to feel the contractions of muscles in his neck and shoulders. He resisted, holding her immobile.

“I’m barely holding it together, baby,” he said through gritted teeth, settling fully inside her. “If you touch me, I’ll lose it.”

“I want you to,” she argued, clenching her thighs around his hips. “I want everything you can give me.”

Inuyasha bucked into her and cursed. “Don’t wanna hurt you.”

She arched up, running her tongue along the corded muscles of his neck. “I’m not made of glass, Puppy . I trust you.”

She felt his whole body shivering with tension as the grip on her wrists fell slack. Her hands were drawn to his chest like a magnet, sliding over tanned skin. He moaned with a sharp thrust that had her seeing stars. Kagome squeaked, digging her nails into his shoulders as she arched and writhed.

“Again,” she begged while delving her fingers into his hair.

He gave another sharp jerk of his hips, as if testing the waters. “Fuck, you’re so godsdamn tight.”

She clutched at him as he withdrew and whined when plunged back into her waiting channel. Every roll of his pelvis was perfectly controlled, and it was wonderful, toe curling even, but she wanted more. She wanted him wild and unrestrained. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to hold back.

Kagome slipped her fingers up to his ears, scratching her nails through the soft white fur. The result was instantaneous, his perfect rhythm stuttered before returning with swifter strokes. Inuyasha snarled and buried his face against her neck.

“Not fair,” he husked before dragging his tongue along her collarbone.

“Harder,” she demanded with a gentle tweak.

He whined, slamming back into her with renewed vigor. His hand slipped down to palm her ass, clutching her body as close as possible as he rocked within her. The change in angle made Kagome’s eyes roll, a garbled shout of his name passing her lips. Her legs circled his hips and quivered as his cock moved within her. Every thrust hit the perfect spot, until her eyes slammed closed against the onslaught of pleasure.

“Inuyasha! I’m so—so close,” she gasped, hands falling to his shoulders as she held on for dear life.

His pace became brutal, hips withdrawing and snapping forward hard enough to make her teeth rattle. Kagome relished every second of it, the slight stretch as he filled her, the rasping of his breath in her ear, the prick of his claws digging into her ass. It was heaven, and when her nerve endings tingled from head to toe, her body went limp.

White stars burst behind her eyelids as her orgasm crashed over her, calling his name. Inuyasha groaned into the juncture of her neck and shoulder, resting his fangs against the tender skin. His pace stuttered, a guttural moan issuing from deep in his throat. He plunged into her once more, muscles jerking as his body went rigid.

Kagome cried out again, grinding her hips into his as her pleasure peaked for a second time. His throbbing length was seated so deep inside her, rubbing against a spot that had electricity sparking through her limbs.

“Fuck yes, baby,” he grunted into her ear, pressing his cock deep inside her. “Don’t stop. Fuck me til you’re satisfied.”

She rode out her climax, jerking her hips in an incoherent rhythm, fucking herself on his cock, just as he asked, until the last of her strength deserted her. Her body sank back to the bed, pulling Inuyasha down with her. His weight pinned her into the mattress, dousing her in gentle warmth.

He was like her very own heating blanket.

He nuzzled into her with a contented sigh, placing gentle kisses to her neck and collarbone as his arms wrapped around her. She cradled his head to her chest and allowed her eyes to fall closed, stroking his ears and hair. Kagome drifted in that glorious little bubble of post-coital bliss, until it was popped by a certain hanyou’s grumbling stomach.

She giggled. “Still hungry, huh?”

“Ignore it,” he said, surfacing from his place at her breast to brush tender lips over hers. “Let’s do that again.”

“What?” she mumbled between kisses. “Already? Inu, I’m just a little human. I need sustenance.” She pulled away as he trailed his lips down her neck. “Besides, I don’t know if you saw, but I got a couple bowls of premade ramen.”

His ears perked before he raised his head. “Did you say ramen?”

“Mm-hmm,” she murmured. “All I need to do is heat it up and put it together.”

He hummed. “I guess we could take a break.”

“A break?! There’s more?”

Inuyasha offered her an indulgent smile. “Oh my sweet summer child, the plans I have for you.”

She shivered at the dark chuckle that followed as he withdrew from her body. When her eyes fluttered open, he grinned and leaned forward to plant a kiss against her lips.

“C’mon.” He disentangled himself from her and leapt out of bed, uncaring of his nudity.

Kagome openly ogled, taking in the full beauty of him. His sex tousled hair fell down to his perfect ass, swishing against tight globes that tempted her tongue. His muscled legs were dusted in fine silver hair, thickening at his groin around a still erect cock that had her biting her lip.

Inuyasha cleared his throat. Her gaze whipped up, connecting with his heated golden eyes. "Keep lookin’ at me like that, baby, and we’ll never leave this room.”

He reached out a hand, grinning when she slipped her fingers into his. Kagome squeaked as he pulled her onto her feet, clutching the sheet to her chest. Inuyasha chuckled and gathered her close, sneaking his hand beneath her covering to give her ass a gentle slap.

“Let’s make this quick.” He nipped playfully at her nose. “I’ve never been very patient.”

#inuyashaxkagome #inukag #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag fic #modern au #rockband au #here with you #chapter 5 #nsfw

0 notes

somekndofnature · 2 years ago

Text

Summary:

Inuyasha reveals something important to Sango and Miroku that shocks both. Kagome and Sango get some things off their chest.

Notes:

Hello all! Time for another couple of chapters. These next two sort of go together so I wanted to release them together. This is where the story starts getting thicc. So, I hope you enjoy.

For this chapter, there were a few songs that really inspired this chapter. First, is 'Walls (You Changed)' by Sick Puppies. I feel like this song is really important from Sango and Kagome's perspective, towards Inuyasha. And for those who were wondering about the music Inu is working on, this is one of the songs he ends up 'writing' in the story as he grows a little more. Second is 'Goodbye Apathy' by One Republic which is obviously chosen for Inuyasha in this moment. And the last is 'Torn' by Natalie Imbrugila which is also probably obviously chosen for Kagome.

Anyway... that's my music rant for now. Let me know if you like it.

AO3

Chapter 4: That Left Me On the Floor

Inuyasha was stunned into silence and could only watch Kagome’s shoulders tremble as she retreated towards the restroom, wheezing from the hole she’d punched straight through his chest. Each tear that had fallen onto her cheeks lashed his heart like a whip, drawing an answering warmth from his eyes. He had struggled to stay in place, compelled to drop to his knees and grovel on all fours, begging forgiveness. He knew that he had hurt her but…

You broke me.

Inuyasha bit back the whine that crawled its way up his throat and let his head fall into his hand, rubbing the gathered moisture from his eyes. Fuck , he hated seeing her cry. That was why he had always walked away; he’d never been able to take the shame that could—rightly—be placed at his feet for hurting her.

“Smooth,” Sango said from beside him.

Inuyasha scowled in her direction but didn’t respond; he had nothing to say in his defense.

Miroku sighed and pushed a hand through his dark hair. “Well, I guess that’s out of the question. It sucks, but I think we’ll have to find someone else.”

“No!” he growled, making their eyes widen. “It has to be her, no one else.”

Sango shook her head. “Inuyasha, I know you feel guilty for everything that happened but—”

“This isn’t about that!”

She raised a dubious brow.

He winced. “It isn’t just about that. It’s—fuck, you wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” she insisted.

Inuyasha shook his head.

“If you want any more of my help with Kagome, you’ll have to tell me why this is so important. Why does it have to be her? Why are you suddenly so eager to have her in your life?”

His ears lowered against his head; he couldn’t tell them. When Sango and Miroku understood what Kagome meant to him, the resulting guilt might bury him alive.

“Inuyasha?” Sango prompted again.

He hung his head, allowing a curtain of silver hair to hide his face as he whispered, “She’s my mate.”

He heard them suck in a sharp breath. Both had no doubt heard the same stories in school growing up. Great demons searching for their fated mate, the first glimpse of romance that their little minds were afforded. Inuyasha had been bored out of his skull just listening to them.

In the past, when the world was smaller, there was a reasonable assumption that this goal was attainable, that this mysterious person who made up your other half could be found, but on a planet of over seven billion beings, those odds slimmed considerably. A mate was someone to be treasured, and he had treated Kagome like she was… worthless .

Argh! The sound of that word gasping from between her trembling lips wouldn’t leave his ears. It twisted his heart, pumping an icy poison of regret through his veins.

“Wh-what? When?” Sango went silent for several seconds before gritting out through her teeth, “How long have you known?”

“From the beginning,” he replied, voice low. “From the first day I met her.”

“I knew it. I knew you were hiding something from me.” He heard Sango move but didn’t even brace as her fist connected with his cheek. “You ass!”

Inuyasha’s head whipped to the side, and he embraced the sting. He deserved her wrath on behalf of their friend, on behalf of fate, on behalf of everything he had scoffed in the face of, like a complete idiot. If it made him worthy of Kagome, he’d let Sango beat the hell out of him with a godsdamn smile.

“Nine years?!” Sango screeched. “Nine years and you… you were fuckin around, stickin your dick in anything that moved—”

“I didn’t actually do that.”

“What?!”

He shrugged. “I know it looked like I was always with a woman, but I just wanted it to seem that way. I didn’t actually sleep with any of them; I couldn’t. After being with Kagome, touching another woman felt,” he shuddered in disgust, “wrong.”

“Why?” Miroku asked. “Inuyasha that just sounds—”

“Cruel,” Sango interjected. “Why the hell would you do that to her?”

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I was trying to push her away, to make her hate me.”

“Well, congratulations,” Miroku said with a hint of reproach in his tone. “I think you succeeded.”

Inuyasha’s head fell back, rubbing his hands between his spread legs while they jittered with tension. He was getting judgment from the pervert now?

“No doubt,” Sango agreed with a derisive snort. “You only made it worse by constantly falling into her bed, too.”

“I couldn’t help it!” He pushed a hand through his silver hair, scraping his claws against his scalp.

Her lip curled with disgust. “That’s pathetic.”

“You got me, Sango,” he snapped. “I’m a completely pathetic, sad sack, piece of shit. Happy now?”

“Don’t say any of that like it’s going to save you,” she said, placing an indignant hand on her hip. “You think just because you finally pulled your head out of your ass means you deserve a second chance?”

His shoulders slumped. “No.”

“You’re damn right! What you deserve is to watch her move on with her life…”

Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut as a hopeless anguish ripped through him, but Sango continued without mercy.

“You deserve to watch her find a man who treats her with compassion and devotion, like she’s precious.”

Mine! His demon howled from the back of his mind until his temples throbbed.

Still, she didn’t relent. “You deserve to watch her build a happy life and at its end to be surrounded by a family who loves and treasures her.”

Inuyasha folded in on himself, a keening whine breaking past his lips when he could no longer contain his misery. Did he deserve to watch Kagome leave him behind forever? Probably… Was it something he feared with every fiber of his being? Absolutely…

Miroku cleared his throat, saving him from any further torment. “Sango, sweetheart.”

“What?” she snapped.

“I’m not entirely sure if this shame-fest is having the desired effect.”

She went quiet for a long moment, but Inuyasha didn’t raise his gaze from the floor, which he was hoping would open and swallow him whole. “What was the point of doing all that?”

“I told you,” he said again. “To push her away.”

“Yes,” she hissed. “But why the hell would you want to do that? Any other demon in your position would be over the moon and that should go double for half-demons. Most people don’t even think you have mates. So, why?”

Inuyasha took a deep breath before answering. Eventually he’d have to face the same question from Kagome, he better get damn good at answering it now. “I was a dumbass! I was young and stupid and arrogant and…scared,” he admitted.

“Scared? Of what?” Miroku asked.

“I wasn’t ready for something like that,” he said, looking down at his clasped hands. “I’m not good with women in general. How was I supposed to win this person who was meant to be it for me? And let’s be honest, she’s way outta my league; it didn’t seem like we would ever actually fit together. It felt like I was being set up for failure.” He scratched at the back of his head. “I resented it, being forced into this relationship that I didn’t even want or think myself capable of growing. It wasn’t supposed to be like that, anyway. We were just starting out; it was supposed to be all parties and music and groupies.”

“Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll,” Miroku said in a wistful tone.

Inuyasha lifted his hand, gesturing at him over the table. “Exactly!”

“Don’t lump me in with you,” he grumbled. “You took that entire thing to an extreme.”

“Exactly!” Sango mocked with a similar wave of her hand.

Inuyasha scowled. “You don’t get it. These instincts are overwhelming. It felt like I wasn’t in control of myself.”

“And copious amounts of alcohol and amphetamines made that better?” Sango asked in a disbelieving tone.

“Not exactly,” he replied, rubbing at the back of his neck. “When I was around her, it made it damn near impossible to control my impulses, but away from her… I was able to forget about it, I didn’t feel this constant need gnawing at me.”

“Yeah, but that wasn’t just your instincts or fate,” she explained. “It was you being infatuated. The mating bond doesn’t force you to want someone, it reveals who you’re most likely to be compatible with.”

“I get that now,” Inuyasha replied, his mounting frustration clear in his tone. “But back then it was just easier to blame it all on my demon side and push it away.”

She clicked her tongue. “You almost died, Inu. Was it really worth it?”

“How many times you want me to admit that I’m a dumbass?”

His ears twitched as Sango cursed. “You’ve made such a mess of this.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t,” she replied. “Humans feel it too, you know? That connection, those bonds of fate. We may not be able to name it and maybe we don’t feel it with the same intensity, but it’s there. Imagine the pain, the betrayal she felt.”

“Please … stop,” he whispered, hiding his face in his hands. “I just want to fix it.”

“Sango,” Miroku interjected again.

She sighed. “Inuyasha, I don’t know if you can fix this. You threw a gift back in fate’s face; you’ll need a miracle.”

He finally worked up the courage to meet her eyes. “Then help me… please ,” he begged through clenched teeth. “I can’t do this by myself.”

She pursed her lips. “Fine, I’ll go talk to her, but you have to promise me that if I get her to come back out here, you’ll be on your best behavior.”

He nodded.

“And you swear that you’re taking this seriously?” she asked. “No more waffling back and forth, no more jumping into bed with her only to push her away?”

“Fuck no!” he snapped before deflating. “Look, I know what life is like without her and I don’t want to do it anymore. If Kagome’s really done with me, then I’ll accept that,” he admitted, “but if there’s even the smallest chance that I can win her back… I gotta take it, Sango.”

She took a deep breath and exhaled, her face softening just a fraction. “Fine, I’ll go talk to her, but I don’t think she’s any happier with me than she is with you.”

Miroku chose this moment to pipe up, “I could go if—”

“No,” Inuyasha and Sango cut him off at the same time.

“The last thing we need is your brand of charm,” she added before walking away, following Kagome’s path to the restrooms.

--------------------------------------------

Kagome avoided the curious gaze of the woman standing at the mirror as she stormed into the bathroom, feeling the warm burn of tears in her eyes. She slammed open the door of the nearest cubicle and immediately rested her back against it, sucking in a shuddering breath. What the hell?

It was difficult to even parse out how she was feeling. All of her emotions clambered on top of each other, fighting for dominance: betrayal, rejection, grief, compassion, and even still longing.

This was supposed to be a no pressure reconnection with a good friend. She had been excited to see Sango again, to heal her relationship with a woman who was once her sister in many ways. She had been prepared for it to be a little awkward and uncomfortable, but this had felt like an attack.

She had tried not to resent Sango when her partnership with The Strays had fallen out and her friend had gone silent for almost a year. Inuyasha was Sango’s oldest and best friend, they were more like family. It made sense that she stayed to help him recover, to help him find his way back to reality. It still felt like she was choosing Inuyasha over her, though. While Kagome logically understood, it didn’t negate the disappointment at being so easily forgotten.

When Sango had finally reached out, she had started by apologizing over and over again. It had been difficult to deny her. They had stayed in touch during the next five years by text and the frequent phone call, but this was the first time since severing her ties with the band that she was supposed to see Sango face to face. Just a quick little stop over on her way home from vacation.

Kagome had been eager; it had been ages since she had seen Sango’s smile and laugh or felt the strong reassurance of her embrace. She had missed it and, on her way here, she had allowed herself to feel the deep loss, that hole in her life that the absence of her friend had left. And yet, she couldn’t help but feel grateful that Inuyasha had her support during such a difficult time, even if Kagome felt guilty that she couldn’t provide it. He looked… good, and, if not content, more himself.

Seeing him after all this time was such a shock. Inuyasha had filled out, his tanned skin was packed with more muscle than she had seen in a while, still tall and lean but healthy. He was magnetic; she hadn’t been prepared to steel herself against his appeal. He had the same irreverent, bad-boy look that had drawn her in the beginning, with the piercings, tattoos, and black jeans that barely clung to his slim hips, torn by his fidgeting claws rather than designer labels.

It had been Inuyasha’s golden eyes that tugged at her heartstrings, though. They had been full of the same pain and remorse that was reflected at her each morning in the mirror, as if he had suffered every day of their separation with her. Those invisible ties that had grown slack between them had bound her once more and with it came that same fierce desire to hold him, soothe him, and to allow him to comfort her in turn, a yearning that she didn’t truly understand.

She heard the doorway to the bathroom swing open and closed. “Kagome?”

Sango’s voice made her flinch, and she bit her lip as another frustrated tear fell down her cheek.

“Kagome, I know you’re in here,” she said in a patient tone.

She grit her teeth and flicked the lock, flinging the door wide open. “Of course, I’m in here,” she hissed. “I have nowhere else to escape. You made sure of that, didn’t you?”

Sango rolled her dark brown eyes. “That’s a little dramatic, isn’t it? You can leave at any time.”

“Not without making a scene,” Kagome grumbled as she stomped towards the sinks and grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser. “I’ve already made a hysterical fool of myself once today,” she said while leaning forward to dab at her smeared mascara. “Not exactly eager for a repeat.”

Sango sighed and took a step towards her. “Look, I know it was a shock to see Inuyasha—”

“Don’t.” Kagome whipped around to glare at her. “Don’t you dare come in here and argue on his behalf.”

“I’m not,” her friend replied in a shaky voice. “I’m arguing on mine.”

Kagome swallowed hard as Sango took another step closer.

“I know that I’ve said this before,” she began while staring at her hands. “But I’m sorry, that I abandoned you.”

“Sango, we’ve talked about this,” she said in a dismissive tone. “What you should be apologizing for is bringing him here with no warning.”

“I know but this is the first time I’ve seen you in person since Inuyasha…” She hesitated. “overdosed.”

Kagome pursed her lips as another tear fell from her eye.

“I didn’t want to choose sides,” Sango continued. “But then you left, and I-I couldn’t leave.”

“And I couldn’t stay,” she whispered around the lump caught in her throat. “You weren’t there. You didn’t see him or have to use your hands to keep his heart pumping. For a moment, the whole world became gray and dull, like life itself wasn’t even worth living. I never want to feel like that again, especially for someone who doesn’t love me.”

Sango stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Kagome’s trembling shoulders. “I don’t blame you for leaving.”

“I don’t blame you for staying,” she replied through sniffles. “I’m glad Inuyasha had you around.”

“He’s doing a lot better, if you’re wondering.”

Kagome pulled back with a watery chuckle. “I thought you weren’t here to argue for him.”

“I’m not,” Sango replied with a shrug. “It’s just that, even though I’ve watched his health improve, he’s become quieter, more withdrawn than I’ve ever seen him. I just thought this would give him something to live for again. And I know if anyone can make it happen, you can.”

“I don’t know, Sango.”

“Just give him a shot,” she replied. “You don’t need to commit to anything now.”

“So what?” Kagome said with a sly grin. “Just take the music and run?”

“Why not? We already had plans today, didn’t we?”

“You don’t think that’s a little rude?”

“Serves him right for how he treated you.” Sango ducked around her and took a quick glance in the mirror, dabbing at the skin under her eyes.

Kagome did the same before she felt a nudge against her shoulder. She met Sango’s reflected gaze.

“Remember that time in New York when we stole Inuyasha’s wallet and went to have brunch at the Ritz?”

She giggled. “How could I forget? Inuyasha was so mad, he made us pay for his meals for the rest of the trip.”

Sango rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, I wonder if he isn’t half-cat instead of dog. That asshole can sure hold onto a grudge.”

“Don’t ever let him hear you say that,” Kagome replied.

They shared a dubious look and melted into a fit of giggles until Sango’s gaze grew tender. She swiped a few strands of hair behind Kagome’s ear.

“See? There were some good times, too.”

“I know. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it.”

Sango smiled and pulled her into another hug. “I’m really glad you came.

“Me too, the ambush notwithstanding.” Kagome paused and pulled back, loosely gripping her friends’ elbows. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?”

“I wanted to see you and I didn’t want you to cancel just because of him.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have canceled. To be honest, I’ve been wanting to see all of you. I just didn’t expect him to be so—”

“Dickish?”

Kagome laughed. “No, it’s just… the way he was looking at me.”

“Like he’s head over heels?”

“Don’t say that,” she scoffed. “It’s not true.”

Sango’s gaze grew serious. “You have to know that he cares about you.”

“Not really, he never made a point of showing it,” she replied.

Her friend grabbed her by the shoulders. “I know he’s screwed up in the past, but Inuyasha’s changed, Kagome. More like the guy you fell in love with and less like the playboy rockstar.”

She looked down to study her nails and remained quiet.

“You do still love him, don’t you?” Sango asked.

Kagome hesitated to answer. She should hate him, everything she knew about being a strong independent woman told her so. Inuyasha had toyed with her affections, pulling her close only to push her away. He had used her, satisfied his lust within her body only to treat her with disdain. It was hurtful, but Sango wasn’t wrong. There were good times.

The moments when they were intimate seemed to exist in a universe of their own, outside of the way he treated her in the real world. Lost in each other, Inuyasha showed a new side of himself. He was attentive, generous, and focused solely on her pleasure before his. In those sweet hours, she had felt like all that mattered. It was only afterwards that he made her feel like a mistake and that contradiction had slowly chipped away at her self-esteem.

Things were different now, though. She wasn’t the same immature girl anymore. She owned her own business, managing several different well-known clients. She owned her own home, and had just paid off her modest sedan. She had even adopted a cat. By most people’s standards she was successful, but the wounds that she had incurred back then had left lasting scars.

Kagome didn’t open herself up to people anymore. She was friendly and polite, with many close acquaintances, but none that she considered actual friends other than Rin. She wasn’t sure she could count that one since technically she was family. Her love life was non-existent; she’d practically become a nun. No one had touched her intimately since… him .

Not that she hadn’t tried, but being in romantic situations with other men made her stomach turn. No one had touched her, held her, set her blood on fire the way that he did. It had been years since the first time they had connected in such a way, but she could still remember every detail. It was a well-trodden and comforting memory. From the first moment she was hooked; he became her drug, one that she had been in withdrawal from for the last six years.

#inuyashaxkagome #inukag #inuyasha fanfiction #inukag fic #modern au #rockband au #here with you #chapter 4

10 notes · View notes

somekndofnature · 2 years ago

Text

Summary:

Back in the present day, Inuyasha tries his best to convince Kagome to manage The Strays again. She's understandably reticent and this irritates him. When he loses his temper, Kagome let's him know, in no uncertain terms that she is done dealing with his bullshit.

Notes:

Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter. You'll get a little more information about the band and how exactly Inuyasha hurt Kagome. I really appreciate all the support so far, it has really helped me feel a bit more confident about posting this story.

So.... as for the music in this chapter. Who doesn't love a bit of Gotye's, Somebody That I Used to Know? I'll be honest, I hated this song for years because in college I worked for GAP and they played it endlessly. Thankfully, after the trauma of working retail faded, I was able to appreciate it again. lol.

AO3

Chapter 3: You Gave Me Lows I Won't Forget

Chapter Text

Present day…

Inuyasha tried to shove the memory of that first meeting to the back of his mind. He’d been such a fool back then, unable to see the amazing blessing just dropped into his lap by the hands of fate. He’d spent months trying to keep Kagome at arm’s length, growling and snapping at her to nurse a healthy animosity between them. It had been an effort in futility.

She was so sweet and forgiving to a fault, beating her way past his defenses with ease. Kagome wore her emotions on her sleeve. Even now, he could see the panic swimming in those crystalline blue eyes as she weaved her way around tables towards them. Her cheeks grew darker with embarrassment or anger, he wasn’t sure which…until her scent at last curled around him; it was definitely both.

Inuyasha’s eyes slipped closed, nostrils flaring as he pulled the pleasing aroma deep into his lungs…lavender and chamomile. A deep-seated sense of peace slipped through him that had been absent for the last six years. He almost fell to his knees, biting back a pathetic whine of desperate longing. Gods , he wanted to hug her, to imprint the feeling of her small body into his memory so that he could never forget again.

Mine , his demon growled from the back of his mind.

Inuyasha no longer denied this claim, but he had fucked up so bad, he knew that he had no right to voice it. Soon , he soothed that primal part of him. It was the reason he was here. He had a plan. It was growing difficult to remember, however, the longer he stared at her.

She was gorgeous. If he placed his lips to her body, Inuyasha was sure she would taste of summer. Kagome’s alabaster skin was sun-kissed like she’d been drenched in honey, and she was showing so much of it. The green tank top and tan shorts clung to her curves, leaving her slender arms and long legs on display. Those legs …Inuyasha almost groaned, remembering the many times they had wrapped around his naked hips as he buried his length inside of her trembling body.

Mine , his demon insisted again, to his irritation. Ours, learn to fucking share.

“You’re drooling again,” Sango hissed from Inuyasha’s side.

His jaw snapped shut as the reality of the situation once again settled on his shoulders, weighing them down. “You didn’t tell her?” he repeated with a growl.

“Of course not,” she scoffed. “I didn’t want her to outright refuse.”

He snarled. “Oh yeah, it’s much better that we spring it on her!”

“Kagome!” Miroku called over their bickering.

He stood and circled the table as she approached them, rolling a small suitcase behind her. Kagome released a strained laugh as he wrapped her up in a hug.

“Miroku! How are you?” she asked, pulling back to offer him a smile, even as her eyes darted in Inuyasha’s direction.

“I’m fantastic.”

“Looks like it,” Kagome replied, patting him on the back. “Engaged life seems to agree with you. You haven’t tried to grab my butt yet.”

Miroku shrugged. “What can I say? It feels pretty good being domesticated. There’s only one butt for me.”

“Good to know. I better be invited to the wedding,” she warned with a mock glare.

Sango finally unfolded her body and approached the other woman, grabbing her hands. “I kind of hoped you would be standing up there with me.” Inuyasha saw her shoulders bunch. “That is, if we’re still friends?”

Kagome pursed her lips before pulling her into a hug. “Of course we’re still friends, silly.”

“I promise, we aren’t trying to ambush you.” Sango stepped back with her arms still in a loose circle around her shoulders.

Kagome’s eyes narrowed as her plush lips twisted into a smirk. “Really? Because this feels a bit like an ambush.”

Inuyasha cursed under his breath and dragged a clawed hand down his face. He had thought this was a step forward, that she had agreed to meet him here. It had felt like a second chance and it hurt to have that sliver of hope completely ripped away from him.

He cleared his throat before lumbering to his feet and approaching them. Every eye turned to him and Inuyasha felt a blush creep up his neck. “I swear, I didn’t agree to this. I thought you knew I would be here.”

Kagome frowned. “If you wanted to talk, you could have just picked up the phone.”

“I kind of assumed that you had blocked me,” he replied, scratching at the back of his neck.

She gave a small shake of her head. “I didn’t; you could have called any time.”

The accusation was there in her tone, but Inuyasha couldn’t help but feel heartened. All this time, she had wanted to hear from him; that had to be a good thing. He felt that small ember of hope burst into full flame.

He stepped closer and snatched up her hand, rubbing his thumb along her soft skin. Kagome tensed but didn’t pull away. Inuyasha drew her out of Sango’s loose hold until she was standing toe to toe with him.

“I wanted to, every day I wanted to call you. I just didn’t know what to say,” he said, trying to infuse his voice with every ounce of debilitating regret he had struggled with for the last six years. “I still don’t know how to apologize for… everything.”

Kagome’s face softened, a small smile curling her lips. “You could always start with, ‘I’m sorry’.”

“Keh,” he scoffed. “That doesn’t really seem like enough but… I am sorry.” Inuyasha squeezed her hand. “I’m so sorry, Kagome.”

She took a deep breath and released it through her nose, her keen eyes darting between his. Inuyasha let her read it all, his remorse, his longing, his excitement at finally seeing her again. It was written all over his face and in his eyes. Inuyasha was done hiding things from his mate—except for the fact that she was his mate.

Too soon . She would run screaming. Inuyasha had to prove that he was worthy, that he could be everything she needed. He had to find a way to earn her love again.

Kagome’s flush deepened the longer he stared at her, until she finally cleared her throat and looked away. “So, why am I here?”

He was very aware that she hadn’t offered her forgiveness, but she was giving him an opening. He’d be a fool not to take it. Inuyasha grabbed her suitcase from the floor and led her toward the seat that Sango had vacated.

Kagome perched on the edge of the wooden chair and readjusted the purse strap on her shoulder. He didn’t like how stiff she seemed, like she was ready to bolt at any minute. He placed her suitcase beside her as she whispered out a ‘thank you’.

Inuyasha reclaimed the seat across from her and scooted closer until their knees were almost touching. “Thank you … for staying. I know this must be a little jarring.”

“Well, I still consider you all friends, at least,” Kagome said, shifting into a more comfortable position as she dropped her bag to the floor. “Not like I’m just going to run out the door.”

“Still friends, huh?” he asked with a grin. “That’s good to know.”

Her face softened with an answering smile. “You’ll always be my friend, Inuyasha.”

He opened his mouth, but words refused to come. He gaped like a fish, unable to voice what that declaration did to his feeble heart.

Sango cleared her throat as she claimed the seat on the other side of Kagome, Miroku taking the one beside her.

“Get to the point, dummy,” she grumbled. “Stop staring at her like she hung the fucking moon.”

Inuyasha scowled, but Kagome released a short giggle that was like fucking candy to his sensitive ears. He felt them wiggle as a shiver tripped down his spine. Fuck , it had been too long since he heard that sound. She was laughing at him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. If that’s what it took to bring her joy, he’d make a complete fool of himself just for her entertainment… anything to see the smile that so entranced him. She looked beautiful.

The long black hair, that normally fell well past Kagome’s shoulders, was bundled into a messy knot on top of her head. Several dark strands had worked their way free and wisped around her face and neck, looking impossibly soft. He almost reached out his hand to wrap those delicate tendrils around his fingers.

Miroku coughed. “Inuyasha?”

He shook himself back to the matter at hand and rubbed his clammy palms on the front of his jeans.How did he ask this? Was there a way to do it gently? He couldn’t think of anything better than just blurting it out. “We want you to manage us again.”

--------------------------------------------------------------

Kagome gawked, mouth working without any sound emerging. Inuyasha’s face looked so hopeful, so bright and lively. She was tempted to shout out ‘yes’ without even thinking, but she restrained herself. She had more to think about than just her own desires.

"Why? Are you working on something new?” she asked, instead of answering.

“Inuyasha has been,” Miroku replied with an encouraging smile.

The half-demon in question flushed and cleared his throat before looking away.

Kagome raised a brow. Inuyasha had never been shy about sharing his work. He was proud of it, as he should be. He was a brilliant songwriter, composer, and could play almost any instrument that was placed in his hands. So, his reluctance to share intrigued her.

“Oh?” she prompted gently.

He shrugged. “Well, it’s a bit different from our normal stuff.”

“Has the label agreed to renew your contract?”

“Not exactly.” It was no secret that he was considered a liability. All the women, drugs, drinking, and run-ins with law enforcement had added up to a lot of bad press over the years. “That’s why I need you,” he finished, grabbing onto her hand again.

Kagome didn’t reveal what that small contact did to her. It had been so long since she had heard his voice or even seen him, but still his touch stripped her bare. Inuyasha needed her; he’d never admitted that before.

Dammit, get your head together, girl. You know this only one way.

Heartbreak…

She stifled a huff of irritation and endeavored to keep her face blanked of emotion.

“That’s why we need you,” Sango corrected from her other side.

Kagome turned to look at the other woman, noting the apology in her eyes, even as she willingly participated in this emotional manipulation. She knew how hard their falling out had been on Kagome. Apparently, her lingering trauma mattered little.

She’d been their manager for three years and, in the beginning, it had been lovely. Well…not the beginning, exactly, somewhere more towards the middle. In the beginning, Inuyasha had behaved like a caged animal, hissing and spitting anytime she tried to draw near. Getting to know him was like peeling back the layers on an onion, as it also made her cry.

It had taken almost a year for him to warm up to her but it had been worth the wait. Despite his rather gruff and harsh exterior, Inuyasha could be sweet, considerate, and clever. Not to mention that he possessed a set of pipes that turned most girls’ knees to jelly, it certainly had hers. After some time, they had found that they really did get along…maybe too well. Kagome had broken her cardinal rule for him; never sleep with a client.

She wasn’t entirely sure how she could have resisted, though. Maybe it was the superhuman good looks. Maybe it was his natural talent and charisma. Maybe it was the way he made her cum so hard she saw stars. There was something about Inuyasha that drew her in and kept her ensnared, even when things had started to turn.

It happened so fast. Kagome had thought they were building something together, an actual relationship that, up to that point, had remained undefined. When one day, out of the blue, Inuyasha had changed from this rough around the edges guy with a heart of gold, to a freewheeling playboy who fucked anything in a tight skirt. He had shattered her heart into crystalline shards so tiny and delicate that it could never be made whole again.

And yet, she had stayed, hoping beyond hope that he would come to his senses. The life of a rockstar was bound to get to anyone from time to time… but then, there was the drinking and the drugs. Still, she stayed, cleaning up after every one of his messes, bailing him out of jail, burying bad press, dying inside as he dismissed her afterwards with little more than a wave of thanks.

Kagome hated to remember herself back then, this pathetic little girl so head over heels in love that she would let herself be treated like dirt. It made her furious and confused. She still didn’t know what had set him off.

Well… that was just an outright lie, wasn’t it? She knew, of course she knew.

She had told Inuyasha that she loved him.

Kagome just wasn’t sure why that had sparked a full-on downward spiral.. but she was sure that she couldn’t go through it again.

She frowned, slipping her hand from his. “I-I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“What?” Inuyasha whispered, ears drooping. “Why not?”

She nearly relented at the soulful puppy eyes he turned on her but steeled herself. “I’m not with the label anymore. I started my own company. We manage dozens of clients. I can’t pass off my other accounts just to focus on you.”

Kagome watched the muscles in his jaw bunch, preparing herself for one of his tirades, when he surprised her. Inuyasha took a deep breath through his nose and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his gaze fixed on his intertwined fingers.

“If you’re worried about it, you should know, I’m clean.” He tsked and rolled his eyes. “Well, clean of anything that could get me arrested, anyway. Thank the gods weed is legal in Nevada now,” he said with a weak chuckle while rubbing at his brow. “I would’ve gone crazy a long time ago.”

He didn’t look at her the entire time he spoke, shame and regret hunching his broad shoulders. It had to be difficult to talk about, especially with the others sitting so close. To their credit, Miroku and Sango remained quiet, their sympathetic gazes offering silent support amid his vulnerability.

“But I can quit that, too,” Inuyasha rushed to say. “If that would help. Whatever makes you comfortable.”

Kagome’s heart lurched and without thinking, she reached out to grab his hand. “That’s not what I was talking about, but it’s good to know that you’re taking care of yourself.”

His molten golden eyes whipped up to hers filled with surprise and a glimmer of soft affection. Dammit! Stay strong, Higurashi, stay strong.

Inuyasha kept a firm grip on her fingers and sat forward, licking his lips. “Well, tell me what to do. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

“That’s not…” Kagome shook her head. “I’m not sure there’s anything to do . We just don’t work very well together.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he scoffed. “We make a great team.” He swallowed before gesturing across the table. “All of us.”

“We did, for a while, that’s true.” She averted her eyes, picking at the peeling varnish on the tabletop with a single nail. “And—"

“And then I screwed up, I know,” he interrupted matter-of-factly. “But I-I’m better now. I feel better. I feel like myself again, if a slightly banged up version.” Inuyasha winced and waved his free hand through the air while continuing to swipe his thumb back and forth over her knuckles in an almost obsessive gesture. “That’s…irrelevant, but my point is, I’m not that guy anymore.”

Kagome pursed her lips as her eyes began to warm. “And I’m glad, but I can’t put myself in that situation again.”

“Didn’t I just say that you wouldn’t have to?” he bit out, beginning to show some of the characteristic temper that he had so far controlled.

“Yes,” she agreed in a breathy whisper. “But it doesn’t mean that you can erase what happened, Inuyasha.”

“I know what happened! I did it!” he snapped, voice rising as he started to fidget. “But I’m trying to fix it, dammit!”

“Sometimes you can’t,” she replied in a firm tone. “Sometimes things are just broken. You can’t put Humpty Dumpty back together again, or unring a bell, or…”

“Put the toothpaste back in the tube?” Miroku supplied, reminding her that there were still other people privy to what was becoming a very personal conversation.

Three sets of eyes narrowed on him, and Miroku shrank under their gazes.

Sango reached out, smacking the back of his head. “Idiot.”

“Ow.” The poor man hissed.

Kagome released an exasperated breath and brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes. “Inu—” She bit her lip, “The bottom line is that I can’t give you the type of attention that you would need.”

“Can’t or won’t?” he sneered, crossing his arms over his chest.

She dropped her gaze to her hands in her lap, feeling isolated in a group of people that she had once considered family. “Both?”

“The fuck does that mean?” He was plucking at old wounds that had never been set properly, drawing up a past that she didn’t want to revisit.

“Inuyasha,” Sango warned.

“No, if she’s just gonna abandon me—” He cleared his throat. “I mean, us. I want to hear why!”

With those words, Inuyasha might as well have stepped forward and torn one of those sharp claws through the aging stitches that held her heart together. Kagome shuddered as hurt and anger bubbled up from the bloodied lump within her chest.

She slapped a hand down on the table. “Abandon you?” she hissed through clenched teeth as her vision swam with tears. “Abandon you?” She turned her furious gaze on the origin of her ire and took little pleasure when Inuyasha gulped, looking as if he would rather hug his brother than continue this conversation. “Do you have any idea how many times I had to watch you walk away from me? Like I was nothing?!”

“Kagome,” Sango whispered from her side, but she was beyond listening.

For too long, she had swallowed her feelings, more willing to hurt inside than inflict that hurt on its source, but she was done. Let Inuyasha see what he wrought and answer for the harm he caused.

“You selfish ass,” she hissed. “Don’t you think, even for a moment, that you’re the only one who is hurt here. Don’t you dare think that you’re the only one with wounds or regrets.” Kagome’s chin jutted up even as a tear breached her eyelid and tumbled down her cheek. “You want to know the real reason?”

Despite all his bluster a moment before, Inuyasha looked unsure, but she continued unperturbed.

“The real reason is you . No one, in my whole life, has ever made me feel so small. Like my concern, my efforts, my very existence were all worthless,” she seethed. “You broke me. Excuse me if I’m not insane enough to jump back into that situation.”

Tears were free flowing down her cheeks and a sob curled in her throat. Everything was just too raw, too exposed. She was beginning to feel like that same young woman who would do anything just for him to smile at her. She needed to get away, needed some space.

Kagome reached down and grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder. She mumbled out a lame excuse that wasn’t fooling anyone and hightailed it to the bathroom, leaving a stricken Inuyasha staring after her.

#inuyashaxkagome #inukag #modern au #rockband au #inukag fic #here with you #chapter 3 #inuyasha fanfiction

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somekndofnature · 2 years ago

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Another chapter everyone! They're going to start being longer from now on. Hope you enjoy it.

This is a flashback that shows the first time Inuyasha and Kagome met. It doesn't go spectacularly. Enjoy reading this dummy hanyou stick his foot in his mouth.

Edit: forgot to add the AO3 link Chapter 2: That Leave Me Wanting More

Nine years ago…

Inuyasha paced the wall of windows lining the pristine conference room of a major LA record label, not quite believing his luck. Most bands had to bite and claw for years to get an opportunity like this, but while The Strays—Sango’s idea of a joke—had paid its dues, they had managed to catch the eye of a label early on. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that he wasn’t about to let go to waste.

Sango grabbed his arm as he passed her for the dozenth time, tugging him toward the table. “Would you sit down? You’re freakin me out.”

He collapsed into one of the plush white office chairs with a blustering sigh. Across the table Miroku rolled his eyes as if he couldn’t believe how childish Inuyasha was being, but his thumbs drumming on the edge of his knee betrayed his nervousness. They were all about to burst with excitement, but the uncertainty of their situation was not lost on any of them.

Inuyasha had no idea what he was doing or how this business really worked. He knew music. He knew how to work up a crowd, wail on his guitar, and tear the motherfucking house down, but the nuances of navigating ‘the biz’ were lost on him. He was the leader, he was supposed to, ya know, lead, but he wouldn’t deny being anxious. This was so far out of his depth.

Inuyasha swiveled back and forth, clicking his claws on the glass tabletop until a small, calloused, hand settled over his.

“Chill out,” Sango said with a smile. “This is supposed to be exciting, remember?”

He tried to return her enthusiasm but probably only managed a pained grimace. His stomach hurt.

She squeezed his fingers and Inuyasha flipped his hand over, clasping hers for a bit of reassurance. Thank fuck Sango was here. He’d never be able to do something like this without her. She was his oldest friend and confidant, more like an overbearing elder sister in many ways.

They had met in middle school and bonded instantly over their tastes in music, which were diverse to say the least. They would pester and criticize each other, bickering about the greatest bands, drummers, guitarists, pretty much anything they could argue over. When they had both received their first guitars one Christmas, they had spent the entire break fumbling around on the strings. They had learned together, composed together, building their talents.

Although, Sango had eventually switched to the bass, becoming a credit to the artform. She stole the show, able to pull sounds out of the instrument that Inuyasha could only ever dream about, and of their small following, a fan favorite.

Of course, they had gone through that awkward and confusing period in junior high where they tried dating. Everyone had always assumed they were anyway. So, in their teenage minds it made sense, but the idea of being romantic with each other in any way had grossed them both out too much. They decided they were better as friends, and whatever anyone else thought of their relationship, they could shove it.

Across the table, Miroku’s gaze snagged on their intertwined hands and a scowl marred his handsome features.

Inuyasha almost sighed and slipped his fingers out from beneath hers to lean forward, gripping his knees.

Miroku had only been with The Strays for a little under two years. Inuyasha and Sango had gone through several drummers before they found the right fit and, even then, ‘right fit’ might be stretching it. At first, Inuyasha had nearly beaten the poor man senseless every time Sango had shrieked at him for rubbing her butt. However, while the hopeless lecher still didn’t have control over his wandering hands, they had learned to live with it.

Those hands had other talents that made their wayward nature more than tolerable. Miroku was a prodigy on the drums and a fucking joy to play with due to his boundless creativity. He was the extra injection of pure fun that their rather serious twosome needed. Always quick with a joke, teasing one or both when they became too sullen, the relaxed drummer had wormed his way into their hearts, becoming irreplaceable in a short amount of time.

Inuyasha no longer flinched when Sango slapped Miroku, instead just rolling his eyes in exasperation. She was able to take care of herself and, at this point, he was pretty sure it was just a weird form of flirting. He wished they would just get over themselves and fuck already. The sexual tension was becoming sickening and Inuyasha was tired of getting dirty looks any time he showed Sango a modicum of affection.

He grumbled under his breath and fiddled with the ring in his lip, flicking it against a fang with a muted click, click.

Sango hissed out a heavy breath. “Can you seriously not be quiet for five minutes?”

“We’ve been waiting forever,” Inuyasha said, jumping back to his feet to resume pacing. “How long are they gonna keep us here?”

“It takes time,” Miroku said with another eye roll. “Stop acting like a hyperactive puppy.”

“Shut it, asshole. I—”

Whatever insult had been cocked and loaded on his tongue was lost as the glass door swung open and in stepped the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Glossy black hair fell in waves around a face of alabaster and rosy cheeks that were creased with a glowing smile. Shining stormy blue eyes clashed with his as a rushed breath escaped him.

“Sorry for the wait. I’m Kagome Higurashi,” she said in soft melodic tone. “I’ve been assigned to act as your manager for the time being…”

Her voice faded away when her heavenly scent at last teased his nose and slipped down into his lungs, wrapping a fist around his heart, and squeezing tight. The finicky organ slammed against his ribs as every muscle in his body went rigid with tension. A thundering possessive growl rumbled in the back of his mind; it was a concerning reaction from the darker side of his nature that Inuyasha always tried so hard to keep hidden.

A sharp pain on his leg startled him back to the present. “Close your mouth,” Sango hissed from the chair beside him, fingers twisting into his jeans and pulling at the hair on his thigh. “You’re practically drooling.”

His teeth snapped shut as he tore his gaze from the blushing young woman to glare at his friend.

Sango’s brows raised. “Why are your eyes flickering?”

“It’s nothing,” he said, which was a lie. It was everything. Inuyasha dropped into the chair beside her, rubbing at his eyelids with a single clawed hand. “Let’s just get this the fuck over with. I’m tired of waiting around.”

Kagome cleared her throat from the head of the table. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine,” he bit out. “Mind your own damn business.”

She pursed perfect pink lips. “Well, that’s a bit of a problem because you are my business. I guess that’s where we should start.” She tossed her hair off her shoulder and rested her fingertips on the tabletop. “I am here to act as an intermediary between you and the label; I’m your advocate. My job is to get you where you want to go. So, tell me your goals, your dreams. I want to help you achieve them.”

Inuyasha released a derisive snort that drew her narrowed gaze. “What a load of shit.”

Sango dug a knuckle into his ribs.

“Please excuse my friend,” Miroku interjected. “I’m sure he didn’t mean any offense.”

“Of course, surely it was meant as a compliment.” Kagome crossed her arms over her chest.

“Come on, you seriously expect us to believe all that,” Inuyasha sneered. “You’re here to ensure we keep making the label as much money as possible.”

“Inuyasha!” Sango hissed.

“Look at her, she’s completely green, all rainbows and sunshine, talking about hopes and dreams. Gimme a fuckin’ break.”

Kagome huffed.

“I think what Inuyasha is trying to ask,” Miroku tried to smooth over, “is just how much experience you have in this field? I don’t think anyone could help but notice how young and beautiful you are.”

“Oh brother,” Sango moaned.

“Stop flirting, dickhead.”

Miroku frowned. “I’m merely trying to inject a bit of charm into the situation since you seem intent on driving her away. Given how long we’ve all been waiting for this, you would think you could put your bad boy persona away for time being and take this seriously.”

“What the fuck are you trying to say?” Inuyasha slapped a hand down on the table, the turmoil within him churning like acid in his gut.

A sharp whistle split the tense air, pinning his ears against his skull. Three heads turned toward the petite woman at the head of the table. Kagome’s stern gaze darted between them before she sighed and brushed her hair out of her face.

“Look, I would really like to get off on the right foot. I understand your concerns. I know I look young but let me assure you that I have plenty of experience in this business. However,” she continued with a slight blush darkening her cheeks. “In the interest of full disclosure, this is my first solo account.”

Inuyasha groaned. “See? This is what I’m talking about.”

“I have several references if you would like to see them. Although, if you’re still uncomfortable you can request a new manager.”

“Well, consider this an official request,” he said in a dry tone.

Her eyes pinched as hurt marred her beautiful features. “Why are you being such a…” she seemed to search around for a word.

“It’s okay, you can call him an asshole,” Sango said. “We always do.”

Kagome deflated right before his eyes and Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably in his seat, biting back the urge to apologize. He didn’t owe her one; this remorse was just a side-effect of the newfound instinct that was clouding his mind. One that he rejected with every fiber of his being.

After a moment, she squared her shoulders. “If that’s really what you want, I’ll find someone else, but I think you are underestimating what I can bring to the table.”

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m listening.”

She tossed her hair, drowning him in a fresh wave of her intoxicating scent, sweet and earthy like fresh lavender. “I haven’t been beaten down by the system yet. You have every ounce of my dedication, every ounce of my tenacity. Your success is going to directly translate to mine. I know it may just sound like a sales pitch but it’s true. I want to push the envelope. Let’s break the mold, break some rules.”

He ran his tongue over his teeth, sizing her up and hunching forward when the slow perusal of her shapely body made a certain part of his anatomy twitch with interest. Down boy. “Have you even actually listened to the music?”

“Yes,” she replied with a small smile. “That’s why I requested you.”

His brows raised in surprise. He wouldn’t have pegged the delicate and feminine woman as a fan of punk rock. Books and covers, he supposed. He errantly wondered about her other hidden contradictions before shutting those thoughts down with a scowl.

“Excuse me,” Sango Interjected. “But when do we get into the studio?”

Kagome offered a patient smile. “Soon. We have a few formalities to work out first.”

“Like?” Miroku asked.

She picked up a folder off the table. “Like reviewing your contracts. That’s number one on the agenda today.”

“Well, let’s get started,” Sango said, sitting forward in her chair.

“Whoa, whoa, wait up,” Inuyasha broke in. “I thought I was clear about getting someone else.”

“Stop being so stubborn,” Miroku groaned.

“Yeah, give her a shot.”

Kagome beamed at both of them and turned those sparkling blue eyes on him. “What do you say?”

Inuyasha swallowed hard, suddenly unwilling to crush the cautious hope in her smile. “Keh, whatever.”

“Fantastic!” She bounced on her toes and clapped. “I know we’ll get along just fine.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” he grumbled while catching the manilla folder she slid in his direction.

“You’re gonna be a challenge,” Kagome said with a wink. “I like that.”

Inuyasha cleared his throat and hid his flushing face behind a fall of silver hair.

They spent hours going through paperwork, proposing changes and arguing over what was realistic as Kagome jotted down notes on her copy. The entire time Inuyasha had to fight against his natural instinct to draw closer to her. He watched her like a waiting predator, cataloging each of her mannerisms and wondering at their origins. Why did she tuck her hair behind her ear or flush when she caught his eye? What did it mean when the corner of her mouth tightened like that? Was she angry or fighting a smile?

By the end, he could barely remember anything that was said but nodded along with the others when they said they were satisfied. Kagome then stood and picked up her copy, moving to the other side of the table to get their initials on the changes made. She started with Miroku, leaning over him to point out where to sign.

Inuyasha couldn’t stop the threatening growl that rumbled up from his chest.

Sango poked his side. “What the hell is going on with you?” she whispered. “Your eyes are flickering again.”

“Forget it,” he hissed. “I said it was nothing.” Another lie, so easily given.

“Everything okay?” Kagome asked as she circled the end of the table, coming to a stop beside Sango.

“Yes,” she said. “We were just discussing a personal matter.”

She smiled. “Well, if you need anything, even for something personal, I’m around.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help. I said it was nothing,” Inuyasha sniped. “Am I speaking a different language?”

The sparkle in her eyes dimmed just a tad. “I was just putting it out there.”

“Well, don’t.”

Her lips thinned into a mulish line, but she let the subject drop and instead focused her attention on Sango.

Inuyasha tried to keep his eyes averted, but they were drawn to Kagome like a magnet, noting the fullness of her breasts, the curve of her waist, the length of her toned legs and the way her swishy dress clung to her rounded ass.

Before he knew it, she was turning towards him with a smile and placing her hand on his shoulder for balance, while slipping the modest stack of papers in front of him. The touch electrified Inuyasha, drawing his spine taut as a guitar string. His vision grew hazy as she led him through the sheets of paper, directing him where to sign with hushed words that seemed to be whispered directly into his sensitive ear. He barely repressed a shudder.

Fuck. This was bad.

And only grew worse as Kagome leaned further forward, brushing the generous softness of her breasts into his shoulder blade. Inuyasha’s half-hearted erection grew instantly rigid in the space of a breath. He swiveled his chair to get away from her but only managed to knock the poor woman off balance, sweeping her legs out from beneath her as she fell into his lap.

Inuyasha swallowed a groan as she wiggled around, noticing the exact moment she became aware of his…predicament. Kagome froze and looked up at him with round startled eyes that stared straight into his soul.

“Um...I-I-uh-I’m sorry,” she stammered as her cheeks pinkened.

His hands settled hard on her hips, desperate to keep her still. “It’s fine,” he bit out. “Just get off me.”

Inuyasha helped her back to her feet, taking a moment to inhale deeply as she pressed her hands into his shoulders. He stifled moan when her hair brushed over his face, drowning him in the scent of lavender and chamomile. A soft whine escaped him as she pulled away and every gaze on the table turned to him.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and jumped to his feet, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans to hide the throbbing erection that wasn’t going anywhere soon. “I need to make a call.”

“Oh!” Kagome said, following right on his heels as he stomped towards the door. “There’s a little balcony at the end of the hallway. It should be private enough.”

“Keh.” He nearly yanked the damn door off its hinges in a desperate attempt to escape her, striding down the hall toward a door that led outside and fighting the urge to look back.

“Just come back in when you’re ready. We still need to nail down everyone’s schedule.”

He waved a dismissive hand through the air and sprinted for the way out.

Once on the balcony, Inuyasha sucked in a deep lungful of exhaust ridden LA air as though it were his only salvation. Fuck, if he had to be in that room with her for another second, he would have torn the damn place apart… or pinned Kagome against the table and shoved his fucking tongue in her mouth.

Inuyasha cursed under his breath and yanked his phone out of his pocket. He quickly scrolled through his contacts and smashed his thumb against the picture of his father’s face. It rang and rang and rang and rang before being directed to a nondescript voicemail recording. He sighed and hung up before finding his mother and calling her. Again, he was redirected to a cheery recording of her voice.

Inuyasha growled under his breath and glared down on the city beneath him, dreading his last resort call, but needing answers regardless. He clicked on the picture staring back at him from the phone screen and leaned against the railing. It rang twice before being answered.

“What do you want?”

“Nice to hear your voice too, Sess,” Inuyasha drawled.

There was a sigh on the other end of the line, as if his older half-brother was barely holding onto his last shred of patience. “I’m assuming you didn’t call me just to exchange verbal barbs.”

“Oh, but it’s so much fun,” he replied in a dry tone.

“Your purpose, little brother.”

Inuyasha sighed and ruffled a hand through the silver bangs around his face. “Is Dad with you?”

“No.”

“What about Mom?”

“No, I am not hanging around with your mother.”

“Hey! Cut it out with that crap!” Inuyasha growled. “If she hears you, it’ll make her cry.”

There was a beat of silence. “Fine,” he conceded, even the cold youkai wasn’t immune to the woman’s tears. “If you wanted to talk to either of them, why didn’t you call them instead?”

“You think I didn’t try?! No one is answering their fucking phones.” He shifted on his feet and dragged a hand over his face. “Please, Sess. I’m desperate.”

“That checks out. So, what’s the problem?” his brother asked, sounding bored.

Inuyasha took a deep breath. “I found her.”

“Who?”

He gnashed his fangs together to keep from shouting. “Her.”

“Little brother, I am about thirty seconds away from hanging up unless you start making sense.”

Fuck. He was going to have to say the words aloud, wasn’t he? “My mate. I found her.”

A long pause followed. “And? Do you need my advice on how to woo a woman?”

“What? Fuck no! I have no problems there,” Inuyasha said. “And seriously bruh, ‘woo’? What are you, some ancient feudal lord?”

Sesshomaru ignored his jibe. “Well, bruh, I’m not understanding. Father has spoken to you about this matter before.”

“Yeah, and he said it was rare, that most demons spend centuries looking for their mate, if they find them at all,” he explained.

“And?”

“And I’m twenty-fucking-three!” He shoved a hand through his hair, wishing that he had just been patient and waited for his dad to call back. “I don’t need some supernatural force trying to settle me down just yet.”

“If you truly think that’s how it works, then you’re as much of an idiot as I’ve always assumed.”

“Hey, don’t get jealous, man.”

“I do not want or need a woman in my life,” his brother said in a clipped tone.

“And you think I do?!” Inuyasha seethed, pacing the width of the balcony in agitation. “The band is just getting signed to a label. Soon, we’ll be in the studio and then touring. This fated mates shit is the last thing I need.”

Sesshomaru grumbled something unintelligible under his breath. “Have you ever considered that it may have nothing to do with her being your mate? Perhaps you’re simply attracted to her?”

He scoffed dismissively. “I think I would know.”

“Would you?” he challenged. “By Father’s own admission this is rare, even more so considering you are only a half-demon.”

“Oh, great lord of the western lands, please excuse my tainted blood,” Inuyasha deadpanned, voice thick with sarcasm.

“I’m serious. The odds of you finding or even having a fated mate are about the same as being struck by lightning. Maybe what you’re feeling is simple attraction.”

Inuyasha mulled over his words. It both pained and relieved him to admit that Sesshomaru was probably right. He had no idea how these things were supposed to go. Even now he was having trouble verbalizing the things Kagome had made him feel. Their intensity had faded once he had left that stifling room. Perhaps, he was being a tad over-dramatic.

Inuyasha rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Fuck. Maybe you’re right,” he conceded, even though that didn’t feel quite right. “I just… I’m not ready for all that.”

After a long moment of empty silence, his brother released a heavy breath. “Look, I have a meeting with Father later today. I’ll tell him to call you.”

“Thanks,” he replied, completely deflated.

“And Inuyasha,” Sesshomaru continued. “Please remember that we come from a long line of powerful demons. Fate does not control us, nor does it direct us what to feel.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “Spare me.”

Inuyasha heard movement on the other end of the line. “I have to go. Good luck, little brother.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

His phone beeped twice before going silent. Inuyasha shoved it back into his pocket and slumped against the rail, fiddling with the two rings in his eyebrow. Somehow, that entire conversation hadn’t made him feel any better. He knew that there was something inside of him that drew him to that woman, it was undeniable, but whether it was the hands of fate or simple horniness that drove him was still up for debate. Maybe I just need to get laid.

Inuyasha’s ear flicked toward the door as it opened and closed, drawing his gaze.

“Hey!” Kagome’s soft melodic voice called out as she walked towards him. “I just saw that you were done with your phone call and I kind of need to go over a few more things with everyone.”

He straightened and strode right past her, biting back a groan when he was once again engulfed in her scent. Had any woman ever smelled so fucking…edible? “Fine, let’s get this shit over with.”

Kagome scoffed behind him. “Seriously, what is your problem? Have I done something to offend you or is ‘moody asshole’ just part of your persona?”

Inuyasha whipped around and nearly choked on his tongue. Kagome was the picture of feminine pique with her hip cocked and arms crossed over her chest, accentuating the line of cleavage between her breasts. The warm summer wind plastered her green dress to her body, outlining the little ‘v’ where her long legs met.

Mine, his demon growled from the back of his mind. “No!” Not yours, and sure as hell not mine.

“No?” Kagome asked with a shake of her head. “No, what?”

Fuck. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “No, I’m not a moody asshole.”

“Well, from where I’m standing…” She raised a brow.

“Shut up,” he snapped. “Not everyone is required to like you.”

“Like me?” she said with a delicate snort. “You don’t even know me. How could you decide one way or another?”

“I know enough.”

Kagome drew her head back like he had slapped her. She looked away, but not before he could see the hurt simmering in her eyes. “I’m not sure what there is to find so repulsive.”

Inuyasha cursed. What the hell was he doing? It wasn’t Kagome’s fault that he felt utterly confused. It wasn’t her fault that fate had the worst sense of timing. She hadn’t asked for any of this, and he had no right to keep treating her this way. Hell, if his mother ever found out about it, he would get the lecture of a lifetime, accompanied by a slap upside the head from his father.

He sighed and rubbed at the space between his brows as he stepped closer to her. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said gently. “I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings and I don’t find you repulsive.”

Kagome finally met his eyes, biting at her plush bottom lip that looked softer than a flower petal. Definitely not repulsive…

A weak chuckle escaped him as he shrugged and scratched at the back of his neck. “It’s just been a crazy few days; it’s surreal. I keep expecting to wake up from a dream, ya know?”

She pursed her lips, gaze darting over his face before she took a deep breath. “I understand. This is… a lot. I get that you’re here for the music, not all of this relentless bureaucracy. So, let me handle that, it’s literally my job. You just keep focusing on what you’re great at. Deal?”

Kagome held out her small hand to him and Inuyasha stared at it. Part of him wanted to get as far away from her as he could, to insist that she find them a new manager and forget she even existed. Even that thought made another side of him want to howl in pain, though, like somehow her existence had become integral to his being. That scared the shit out of him, but it was impossible to crush the cautious hope lighting up her blue eyes.

Before he could think better of it, Inuyasha engulfed her hand in his, brushing his fingertips over the fluttering pulse at her wrist. “Deal.”

They didn’t even shake, just ended up holding hands as the warm summer breeze encircled them. Kagome offered him a glorious smile that warmed her whole face and struck him dumb.

Maybe Sess was right, maybe he had absolutely nothing to fear, given the odds. Either way, Inuyasha wouldn’t be standing out in any thunderstorms for the foreseeable future.

#inuyashaxkagome #inukag fic #rockband AU #flashback #here with you #chapter 2

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