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He was not eavesdropping. And despite appearances, he was definitely not trying to sneak a peek at the two women soaking in the onsen. He had been running a perimeter check around their campsite when her voice rang clear and he found himself being drawn in closer.
“Yeah, it’s kind of like courting. But it’s a lot less traditional, I think. The guy usually picks you up and you go out to a show, or have a meal at a restaurant. Unless there’s somewhere specific they wanted to take you, I mean. But I don’t know. I know he likes me, but I just don’t like him like that. Hojo is such a sweet boy, but to be honest, he’s not the one I’d like to go on a date with.”
Sango let out a slight chuckle in response, then in a teasing voice replied, “Well, of course you want someone else. It’s completely obvious to everyone but him.”
A slight splash of water sounded, followed by an indignant response of, “Sango! I’m not that obvious, am I?”
He remained perched on the limb of the tree, following a conversation he knew he shouldn’t be privy to, but he couldn’t leave yet. He had to figure out who. If it was that mangy wolf, he’d wish for death right then and there. She let out a long, drawn-out sigh before she resumed speaking.
“He doesn’t even care about me like that. He’s so in love with her, he barely knows I exist except as a ‘jewel shard detector’. Some days, I’m pretty sure he hates me, Sango.”
The water started sloshing slightly indicating someone had moved, “Kagome-chan, he loves you more than you know. I don’t even think he realizes how much he cares for you. Don’t give up hope. If you could see things from an outsider’s perspective, it would be as clear as how much you love him. Inuyasha just has odd ways of showing it.”
He almost fell out of the tree. They were talking about him! Fuck, were his feelings really that fucking obvious? Wait, were they really not obvious to her at all? She thought he hated her? Fuck, what the hell had he done that she thought he hated her? Well, except all the times he was rude and crass. Or all the times he had forced her to come back when she had important things to do in her time. Or when he wouldn’t let her take a break during their travels. Or all the times he had insulted her. Damn, why would she think he loved her? He was an ass.
But it probably had more to do with Kikyou than most of his other actions. She would send a shinidamachu out and he would immediately run to her. It barely mattered if the campsite was even ready and safe. Why did he always run to her? Not that it seemed like a good idea to ignore her summons. She was dangerous when she was in a good mood. Having her pissed off at them might be worse than facing off with Naraku. Not that he could explain that to Kagome. She would never understand.
But that truly wasn’t the issue. Kagome thought he hated her. And now she had another courtship offer in her time. He needed to figure out how to stop being an asshole. Now that he knew for sure she loved him too, he really needed to figure this out. Perhaps a certain lecherous monk would have some answers.
He took off silently back to the campsite, making sure there were no demons coming close enough to hurt anyone. When he got back, Miroku had put the water on the fire to boil and the fish he had caught earlier were roasting. His stomach was lurching, he hadn't been this nervous in ages.
“Hey monk, why d’ya always touch girls’ butts?”
Miroku for his part only slightly faltered at the seemingly out of nowhere question, choking slightly on his own spit, and coughing for a second.
“I mean- I guess- where did this come from?”
Inuyasha felt his cheeks heat up for a second. He didn't even know where to begin. After a few seconds of silence, Miroku gave a slight nod.
“A woman’s body is a beautiful thing. There is no reason it should be unappreciated. Is there a certain woman who has your attention?”
He felt himself let out a blustery breath and his words failed him completely. Miroku gave him a knowing smile and remained quiet.
Several minutes passed. He needed to know. “Do they usually like it when you do?”
Miroku looked dumbfounded. Almost as if he had never even thought they might not. He finally seemed to come back to reality, “I don’t think they actually do. I should probably stop that.”
Inuyasha felt his shoulders sag. If the fuckin' lecher didn't even know how to show a woman you cared, what the fuck chance in hell did he have? He had to figure out something else. It was clear Miroku was going to be absolutely no help at all. He sat in silence, racking his brain to the point he didn't even notice the ladies returning from the hot springs. Kagome handed him a bowl of rice with a fish skewer and he barely realized he took it until he burnt his tongue on the fish, and had to spit it out.
"Inuyasha! I just said it was hot, why didn't you give it a minute?"
He snapped to attention and gave a "keh" then took a bite of rice instead of saying anything else. He needed to pay attention, but his mind was far too busy trying to figure out how to show her he cared for her. If she wanted him to court her, he could figure out how to do that. He could do nice things. He watched her eat, daintily pulling pieces of the fish off with her chopsticks and taking small bites. She was talking to the others while Shippou sat in her lap scarfing down his own fish, and Inuyasha found himself envious of the kit's position and ability to get so close to the girl of his dreams. After dinner he hatched a plan.
The next morning came and as everyone packed up, they headed back towards Kaede’s. At the pace Inuyasha set, the village was only a couple hours away. The feel of Kagome’s body against his back and the soft skin of her thighs, however, was doing things to him. Now that he knew she cared for him, he couldn't focus on anything else. After an hour or so, his mind started traveling into much more dangerous territory. Her soft arms around his neck and those thin long fingers wrapped around him in a much more intimate way, holding him, and touching him sinfully. Before last night, he had never permitted himself to think of his Kagome in such a compromising way, but now that he knew the attraction wasn’t all one sided, he couldn't seem to stop himself.
They arrived at the village and it was far too soon for his liking as he felt her slide off his back. They had found another jewel shard on this journey and managed to save a village from a demon. For once, when the monk had told the headman there was an evil aura he hadn't been lying. After a quick lunch at Kaede’s, and an even quicker regaling of the events, Kagome headed for home so she could get ready for school and an important test the next day. Inuyasha went to the Goshinboku to think. He needed to be away from all the prying eyes and ears as he figured out what to do next. As the sunset, he finally was starting to think of an idea.
The next morning, as the sun rose overhead, Inuyasha set out for the well. He timed it so that Kagome would have left for school, but it was still early enough where it would be unlikely Mama Higurashi would be anywhere else. She was his only hope. She would know how to court a girl in their time. Although he normally went through Kagome’s window, under the circumstances he realized he needed to use the regular entryway. As he approached the door, he halted. Should he knock or just enter? He took a deep breath and turned the handle, letting it swing open silently. As the door clicked closed behind him, he heard a chair scrape in the kitchen.
“Kagome? Souta? What’s wrong??!”
Her voice sounded panicked as she practically sprinted into the entryway.
“Mama Higurashi, sorry I scared you.”
The terror that had shown on her face mere seconds ago had vanished and a soft relieved smile had replaced it.
“Inuyasha, I wasn’t expecting to see you this morning. Is everything all right?”
How could he tell her he was madly in love with her daughter? How could he ask for her help in courting said daughter? Especially when there was another offer of courtship from someone in this time period, someone whose life wouldn't leave Kagome in constant peril. Kagome deserved better than he could ever give her, anyway. He was a hanyou. Someone who had no place in the world and who would trap Kagome in the same nightmare. But could he live without her? Especially now that he knew she cared for him? Could he really go through each day without her sunny smile, and her melodic laughter? Could he survive without her? His heart was breaking at the very idea. Sure, he had lost everything and been with nothing before, but it wasn’t like he had had a lot to lose before. Now that he had felt true sunshine on his face, could he go back to the darkness that his life was like before her?
“I need your help. Please?”
His words left him in a whine, and as much as he wanted to be embarrassed, he couldn't bring himself to care. He needed help. Because he needed Kagome. The soft look of understanding on Mama’s face made his ears droop in relief.
“Come on and have a cup of tea. Let’s see what we can do. Did you and Kagome get into another fight?”
He just shook his head as she led him into the kitchen. She sat him down, poured him a cup of tea from the kettle on the stove, and then sat back down across from him. She was sipping her tea, waiting patiently, completely unaware of the war going on inside his head. He needed Kagome, but what about her needs? He could never give her everything she needed. Everything she deserved. He wanted to put her needs first, but the most selfish part of him wanted her to be with him.
“I love Kagome.”
The words tumbled out as he stared into the deep black abyss of his tea. He couldn't look up. Terrified to see the anger, hatred, disgust and loathing he expected on Mama Higurashi’s face. After a moment or so, Mama broke the silence.
“And?”
His eyes shot to hers and his mouth hung open like a carp’s.
“Whaddaya mean, ‘and’? Isn’t that enough of a problem?” He didn’t mean to raise his voice. He really didn’t, but her response made absolutely zero sense! The small giggle that left her had him even more angry.
“Inuyasha, is that really supposed to be a revelation to me? Did you truly think I didn’t know how you felt for my daughter?”
His shoulders slumped in utter defeat. How is it that everyone else knew but Kagome? How is it that his fiery, feisty, and stubborn wench could actually think he hated her, when every other person alive knew he was in love with her?
He took a deep breath and let it all out in a whoosh. Then he let out a mumbled statement of, “I wanna court her.” Hoping with all of his being that Mama would hear it and not make him repeat it.
The smile she gifted him was sweet and sincere. “Ah, so that’s where my help comes in, am I right?”
He couldn't speak, he could barely think. This was definitely not how he expected this morning to go. He gave a hurried and jerky nod in response as his eyes settled back on the tea in his cup. After a few seconds he finally worked up the courage to ask his question, but his voice was still barely above a whisper.
“How do men court women in this time?”
Mama seemed to ponder his question for a few moments.
“Well, I don’t know the differences between time periods, but I know it usually starts with flowers, and small gifts. Then they go on dates - errr- ‘outings’ together. Spending time together and usually eating a meal alone together. The whole point is usually to get to know one another, but I imagine you two already know one another rather well. So I suppose another choice would be to do something fun together, like a park or a festival… OH! There is a carnival coming to town in a week or so. Kagome would enjoy that. You can walk around together and eat food together. How about I help you get things planned?”
His relief was palpable. He let out a breath he had been unaware he was holding and gave her a smile. He wasn’t necessarily worthy of Kagome, but he was gonna try to prove that he could be. For the rest of the day, he and Mama planned this special day.
After her test came and went, they stayed in the village. Mama had told Kagome she needed her help the following weekend, and Kagome had all but begged him to let her stay close to home. He made sure to put on a big act of only doing it for her, and keeping everything a secret, but he didn't want to miss next week. In the meantime, Sango took the opportunity to go back to her village to do some repair work and check on the graves of her family. Miroku kept his mouth shut, although it was obvious to him that something was up, especially after the conversation Inuyasha had tried to start with him before.
Inuyasha snuck over to Kagome’s time at least once a day to make sure everything was still on track. Mama Higurashi had bought him an outfit to wear. He was a little uncomfortable with the stiff, tight material of the pants. Especially compared to his hakama. But Mama had told him that everyone wore jeans now, so he tried to adjust. She also bought him socks, shoes, a tee shirt, and a bandana to hide his ears. She made sure he tried everything on and that it all fit a few days before so that everything would be ‘perfect’. It almost seemed to Inuyasha that she was more excited about this ‘date’ than he was.
As the day grew ever closer, Inuyasha became more and more nervous. What if he fucked this up? If somehow he ruined this, he would not only lose the chance to love her, he would lose the first and only true friend he’d ever had. But if it worked, he might find his first and only chance at true happiness. He was usually reckless when it came to bodily harm, but, it seemed, when it came to emotional turmoil he was an absolute chicken. Luckily, Mama wouldn't let him try to get out of it. Every time he tried to back out, she gave him a little ear rub and told him to not give up yet. He couldn't tell her no.
So that was how he got here. Standing under the Goshinboku while Mama was upstairs telling Kagome to put on a certain outfit. Kagome was clearly suspicious as she kept asking ‘why?’ and ‘what’s going on?’ But Mama kept telling her there was a surprise and to get dressed. When she finally came out in a cute little red skirt that flared at the knee, and a soft black top that hugged her body sinfully, Inuyasha thought he must've died. She had a cute but confused smile on her face as she approached the Goshinboku.
“Inuyasha, what are you doing here?”
He pulled out a bouquet of flowers. He had actually gone and searched for these in the feudal era before the date and brought them back, though Mama had helped him arrange them. A few smaller purple flowers surrounded the deep pink ones, and even a few white ones to make the colors pop. The look of surprise on her face faded into a wide grin.
“Inuyasha? What exactly is my surprise?”
She looked nervous and excited. Even hopeful.
“Kagome, I heard there’s a carnival in town. Would you like to go with me?”
Somehow her smile turned brighter, but her eyes seemed to get teary for a second. He took a tentative sniff and was relieved to find no sadness in her scent. He handed her the bouquet and bent his elbow out as Mama had shown him. As Kagome wrapped her arms around his elbow and they began walking towards the carnival, Inuyasha knew he had never been so happy. But he hoped that if Kagome would be his, he would be this happy for the rest of his days.