DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I don not own Inuyasha. I just like playing with them.

Relinquished Destiny

Ch. 11

By: Lara Winner

As Kagome expected, Ms. Higurashi was more than understanding about her daughters study date. Study date? The way her mother said it, with that little hopeful smile, it made Kagome shudder. Perhaps she shouldn’t have invited Inasho to her house after all. It wasn’t as if they would have any privacy to study and with her mother insisting on calling it a date, she was fit to be tired.

Worrying her lip in agitation, Kagome glanced at the clock for the hundredth time. Textbooks, note books and folders littered the living room floor surrounding her in a cluttered circle, the evidence of a day spent making up missed schoolwork. Inasho’s arrival had loomed in the shadows of her thoughts all morning and as the hours ticked by Kagome’s concentration dissipated. Now she found herself staring at the Element Table illustrated in her physics book unable to comprehend what abbreviations answered the questions on the work sheet lying beside it. The words and symbols were blurring together like gibberish and every other second her eyes darted to the clock. He would be arriving any minute-

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

Before Kagome could move to stand Souta came charging from the kitchen, grinning like the Cheshire cat as he chanted, "Kagome’sgotaboyfriendKagome’sgotaboyfriendsKagome’sgotaboyfriend…"

"Souta!" Kagome cried as she lunged for the little boy. She caught hold of his collar just as he pulled open the front door. She quickly clamped her hand over his mouth and Souta squirmed in her hold, the entire spectacle earning a startled laugh from Inasho.

"Is this a bad time?" He asked lightly, his handsome face lit with an amused smile.

Kagome blushed from the base of her collar to the roots of her raven hair and quickly released Souta taking a step back while trying not to look guilty. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear she forced a grin. "Don’t be silly. Souta was just going to his room, right?"

The eight year old chose to ignore his sister’s meaningful stare and leaned his head back to look at Kagome, "Who’s this guy? I thought you liked Houjou?"

Kagome growled and Souta scampered out of the room knowing when his sister her had reached her limit. Anger, embarrassment, complete and utter mortification didn’t begin to describe what she was feeling. Leave it to the little creep to open his fat trap and say something so… so… so ridiculous. The little brat knew Houjou wasn’t coming over. In fact she had never invited Houjou to the shrine. Where did Souta come up with that idea? As soon as Inasho left Souta was going to be so dead.

Unable to acknowledge Inasho’s questioning stare, she remembered her manners and ushered him inside with a nervous laugh, "I’m sorry about that. Please come in and have a seat." As she spoke she quickly closed the door and resumed her place amidst the explosion of textbooks, worksheets and notebooks.

Inasho did as requested and made himself comfortable on the floor next to Kagome. He shifted his book bag from his shoulder to sitting it in his lap and leaned back against the sofa as he idly observed the unorganized mess. "Looks like you’ve got a lot of work to catch up on."

"I still have make up work from last week to complete added with what I’ve missed this week." She explained absently as she reached for her history notebook. "I wish the doctor would let me return to school tomorrow. I don’t think I can take much more of this junk piling up."

"Feh." He grunted as he began digging through his backpack. "I think the doctor knows what he’s talking about. If you act stupid you’ll only make it worse. Common sense should tell you that. Of course it’s not like I care what you do." He hastily added.

"I didn’t say I was going, geez." She muttered casting the occupied boy a weary glare. He was so negative and pessimistic that at moments like this he reminded her of a grumpy Inuyasha and she wanted to strangle him.

Yet despite her irritation her heart still tripped in her chest and she couldn’t help but give him an appreciative glance. The dark school uniform hugged his lean body and his hair fell loose about his shoulders, freed from the band that held it back. A few ebony strands fell forward and Kagome had to still the urge to brush them away from his face.

Curiously she wondered if his hair was as silky smooth to the touch as it looked. The innocent thought made her fingers itch to entwine themselves into the jet strands and answer her own question. It took sheer will for Kagome to shift her eyes elsewhere.

But by accident Kagome’s gaze landed on his lips, another of Inasho’s attributes that caught her attention as her observations strayed into dangerous ground. Inasho was frowning in concentration and his mouth was set in a pout. The expression was boyish and cute. It made his lips look completely kissable.

Suddenly Kagome thoughts went straight into forbidden territory. What would his kiss taste like? And would his kiss be soft and gentle? Or would he give into passion as easily as he did anger and express his need in a crushing, devouring kiss? Oh how she wished she could find out…

Flushing, she shook her head to clear it of the tempting thoughts and pulled her history textbook from the pile before her.

Thankfully Inasho was unaware of her thoughts as he changed the subject to the work at hand. "I went to library yesterday and I got everything I could find on Feudal Era weapons and military movements from that period. There wasn’t a lot to choose from so this was the best I could do." He said, pulling out seven books and setting them atop a scattered pile of papers.

Kagome fought down her blush. She could feel Inasho watching her as she skimmed the titles with an approving nod. "Now where do we start?"

After flipping pages, Inasho shoved his history text book under her nose, pointed to a paragraph and shrugged, "Well I was thinking we could start here…"

****

"Sis, Mom said dinner’s almost ready!"

The loud screech hailed the arrival of the little boy and the end of the any work that had yet to be accomplished for the two teens. Scampering over the arm of the sofa, Souta crawled along the cushions and then flopped down on his stomach where he was able to lean forward between Kagome and Inasho. The tempting secrecy in witch they whispered and conferred suddenly lost it’s mystery and appeal as Souta looked back and forth at their scribbled words, open note books and asked, "What ya guys doing?"

Kagome continued writing, not even pausing to look up as she mumbled, "A project Squirt."

"Hey! I told you not to call me that. I’m gonna tell Mom you’re calling me names again."

All Kagome could do was sigh. "Well so much for peace and quiet." Through the corner of her eye she saw Inasho grin.

Before she could comment Souta turned his attention to the silent Inasho. "So are you gonna stay for dinner? My Mom’s the greatest cook. I think you should eat with us. What do you think?"

Souta’s innocent yet childish forwardness compelled Kagome to give Inasho an out if he so wanted it. "You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to. I think we’ve done about all we can tonight." When Inasho didn’t look away she blushed and added, "Of course you’re more than welcome to stay…"

"Pleeeaassee!" Cried Souta, nearly bouncing on the sofa. "Its not very often we have people over. Unless you consider Kagome’s silly friends people, but I hate it when they come over."

Inasho eyed Souta while trying to keep his amusement at bay. "And why is that?"

"Because they’re all GIRLS!" Said Souta, horrified.

This time Inasho laughed at the stricken expression on the little boy’s face and the way his ‘they’re girls’ explanation seemed to clarify why he thought the were so scary. Reaching over, he ruffled Souta’s hair. "Right now you think girls are icky but they aren’t that bad kid."

Souta beamed under the attention. He rolled his eyes in Kagome’s direction and whined, "Yeah but I bet you don’t have a sister."

With a shrug Inasho admitted, "Actually I do have an older sister."

"Really?"

At the younger boy’s enthusiastic response Inasho nodded, "She’s pain to live with," then his grin turned evil, "probably just like Kagome."

"Ya wanna trade?" Souta offered in complete seriousness.

Trying not smile at his childish innocence, Kagome huffed, "Thanks a lot Squirt. I love you too." However, before another comeback could be uttered Mrs. Higurashi announced that dinner was ready and ushered everyone into the dining room.

The meal was relatively calm, with both Kagome’s mother and Grandfather asking polite questions about Inasho’s recent relocation to Tokyo. Souta seemed content stuffing his face but Kagome found herself watching Inasho across the dinner table taking in his obvious manners. Unlike Inuyasha and his atrocious eating habits, Inasho didn’t shovel his food down without a care as to how crude it might appear. In the presence of his elders he spoke politely and actually chewed his food instead of simply inhaling it.

Kagome realized how silly it was to be surprised and yet she still found herself wondering in just how many more ways were the dog-demon and the skater-boy different. It was quite apparent that while Inasho’s American upbringing left a few minor culture gaps, all in all he could pull off being a gentleman very well. And if the cheery smile on Mrs. Higurashi’s face was any indication, she was charmed by the young boy.

But as all things come to and end so did their peaceful meal. When Kagome’s Grandfather began talking about dentures and how good it was to actually have teeth again, she almost choked and wanting nothing more than to sink into the floor and die from the humiliation. Inasho, to his credit, had enough respect to keep his humor to himself but if the silent shaking of his shoulders was any indication, it took obvious effort. Souta, on the hand, had no such qualms and nearly fell out of his chair laughing, making Kagome’s face turn an unbecoming shade of red. It took a few moments for the uproar of laughter to settle and she sighed in relief when Souta grabbed Inasho by the hand and dragged him away from the dinner table blabbering about video games, level codes and must-see moves.

Back in the living room a weary, tired and still a little mortified Kagome sent a silent thank you to the Gods for a moment alone. She could hear Souta’s laughter and Inasho’s soft chuckles coming from the little boy’s bedroom up the stairs. She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she collected her books and papers and returned them to her book bag. It took a half an hour to sort through the mess she’d made of her schoolwork but when she was done the living room was once again spotless.

Silently Kagome made her way up the stairs, stopping only to lean against the doorframe of Souta’s room. There before her eyes was a moment of male bonding in the process and her smile widened. Her little brother was lying in his bed on his stomach madly working the game controller in his hands, the tip of his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth and his childish face scrunched up in a fierce frown of concentration as he stared intently at the television. A giggle nearly escaped her lips as she noticed Inasho position was nearly similar, only he propped himself up on one elbow and every now and then he would curse softly.

Both boys were oblivious to her presence and Kagome found the moment too endearing to disturb.

"Now take that!" Inasho cried as the image on the screen blinked in a colorful display. "Sorry kiddo but nobody gets past me."

"That’s not fair! I pressed A+C+D+ L just like you said but nothing happened." Souta grumbled. "I say we play again."

"I’m still gonna kick your butt." Inasho bragged confidently, once again becoming the picture of Inuyasha in Kagome’s eyes.

Souta grinned. "Oh yeah, we’ll see about that."

Two more rounds were played and finally Souta was victorious. He squealed in delight and scrambled to his feet, jumping up and down on the bed singing, "I am the best! I am the best! I am the best!"

Dramatically, Inasho flopped on his back and cracked one eye open to glare at Souta. "Alright! You slaughtered me. I get the point."

Souta was going to gloat more but just then he looked up and saw Kagome. Instantly he flopped down on the bed crossed legged and smiled innocently. Inasho followed the little boy’s gaze and upon seeing her standing in the doorway he chuckled what sounded like ‘busted’. Injecting just enough pleading into his voice so that she couldn’t resist Souta asked, "Um… don’t tell Mom okay?"

It was too perfect a chance for Kagome to resist teasing. Cocking her head to the side thoughtfully, she sat down beside Souta and explained in her most sugar coated voice, "But I don’t think I can do that. See, Mom would get pretty mad if she knew you were jumping on the bed and if you want me to be quiet about this then you owe me." She grinned evilly. "Big."

"Uh…Sis?"

"I’m thinking you get to help Gramps with the shrine on Saturdays." Kagome said, lifting her chin triumphantly,. Glancing at Inasho out of the corner of her eye she saw him move to sit up while watching the exchange with knowing interest.

Souta looked as if her idea were the black plague. "No way! That is so boring." He whined in response.

"Oh well," she shrugged nonchalantly and started to rise to her feet. "I’ll just go tell Mom you were trashing her furniture again."

"No!"

The cry was followed by all 63 pounds of little boy as Souta tackled Kagome back on the bed. Though he was little, he was quick and his fingers were nimble as he began poking her ribs hitting all her ticklish spots. Shrieking in surprised laughter she fought to catch Souta’s hands but the little sneak called to Inasho for back up. To her ultimate surprise, so much so that she almost lost her breath, strong hands grasped her wrists leaving her at the eight year olds mercy.

Laughing so hard she was crying, Kagome looked up at Inasho’s wide grin and tried to sound angry as she accused, "You traitor! Whose side are you on?"

He shook his dark head and grinned smugly. "Us guys gotta stick together."

"Haven’t you ever heard of chivalry?" She gasped while trying to squirm loose. The motion only sent her pressing closer against Inasho and suddenly her heart wasn’t pounding from laughter alone. Thankful that her blush was hidden behind the flush of trying to hold off their joint attack, Kagome warned playfully, "You two are so dead!"

Sharing a meaningful look with Souta, Inasho merely tightened his hold. "If we let you up that is…"

Tbc…  

A.N.- Okay, like I promised a light hearted chapter. It’s about time poor Kagome got a break from the constant heartache that she’s suffered. *lowers eyes shamefully* I’m so so so so so very sorry this chapter is a week late. I kinda got stuck on how I wanted it to come out and then a lot of crap has been going on between family and work so I haven’t had much free time anyway. I can not promise that I will have a chapter out every week but I will try. I don’t plan on letting this fic take forever and a day to complete itself nor am I going to abandon it. I’m having too much fun writing it.

*Sighs* reminds me of high school…

Um, next chapter gets serious again but I don’t think it will be quite as angsty and pervious chapters. Thus the plot thickens… I really need to get this fic finished because I have a dozen other ideas for fics but I don’t want to get started with them until I get a good bit of this story out of the way and I must admit it is FAR from over. *scratches head* Actually we’re kinda still in the beginning…

*Hugs* Thanks for taking the time to read! Luv ya guys!!!! *_*