Half and Half
An Inuyasha Fanfic by Elusion
Chapter Ten

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Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Video

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As Kagome and her mother got themselves ready to go shopping, Inuyasha had a few things to sniff out.

"Oi, kid."

Souta looked up.

"Yes, Inu nii-chan?"

Inuyasha winced slightly.

"What's this deal with the birthday thing? What's all this talk about parties and stuff?"

Souta blinked in surprise.

"You've never had a birthday party?"

Inuyasha shook his head, a bit puzzled.

Unable to comprehend such a fate, Souta just looked at him in horror.

" You never had balloons and cake and ice cream and presents-"

"Presents?" Should he get Kagome a gift?

"and friends over and-"

Inuyasha left Souta in his state of shock, pondering this over. What would he get Kagome?

"Inuyasha! There you are!"

Inuyasha looked up and blinked. Kagome stood there in a flowy yellow flower printed sundress and a cute sunhat. Inuyasha couldn't help but notice how the yellow brought out the newly aquired golden tint in her eyes, and how the fabric of the dress seemed to cling in certain parts, showing off her delicate figure.

Kagome smiled and blushed slightly at the same time as the dog-boy nearly drooled over her.

"Uh, are you ready to go?" she asked, feeling a little awkward. Inuyasha came back to earth and blinked.

"Wha?"

"I asked if you were ready to go."

Inuyasha's cheeks reddened just the slightest bit in embarrassment.

"Yeah. Sure."

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Kagome sighed as she stepped out of the vehicle. The taxi had mystified Inuyasha, and it had taken a while to convince him that it was safe. He had finally gotten in, sniffing the air, and then sneezed at the exhaust fumes. He stared suspiciously at the cab driver, who was giving him strange looks as well. After Kagome and her mother climbed in, the car started. Inuyasha jumped and Kagome swore he would have clung to the ceiling like a high strung cat if there had been room. As it was, his pupils were tiny slits, his nostrils flared slightly, and his hair was almost sticking up. He glanced around nervously as they began moving, but relaxed slightly when he noticed that Kagome and her mother were acting like it was an everyday occurance. He followed Mrs. Higurashi out of the taxi, and watched, interested, as she paid the cab driver.

"What are those?" he pointed to the yen in Mrs. Higurashi's hand, causing the cab driver to stare only more suspiciously before he finally drove away.

"This?" she asked surprised, holding the yen notes up. "This is our form of money. It's called yen."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. Money... he never had much use for it back in the feudal era. There was nothing he needed that he couldn't find, work for, or make himself.

Kagome entered the conversation. "We're going shopping for fun, Inuyasha. If there's anything you would like, just ask one of us, and we can buy it for you." She paused. "Just so long as it's reasonable. Also, if you don't understand something or have questions about it, ask us. Other people might think it strange."

Inuyasha wasn't sure what to expect about this whole "shopping" experience, but what he saw far surpassed his imagination. He had gone once to a grocery store with Kagome, which hadn't been a big deal. He had seen human markets before where you could buy food. What he hadn't seen before, were malls. He had never been exposed to such huge amounts of stuff.

He stared at the huge building in front of him. He didn't know such things could be built.

"Humans built this?" He asked aloud in awe.

"Amazingly resourceful, aren't they?" Kagome smirked. She grabbed his hand and pulled him on, breaking his upwards stare. She navigated through the people milling around in the mall, following her mother, glad she had remembered to put a baseball cap on Inuyasha, and a sunhat for herself, because it was a lot more crowded than she had expected it to be. She looked at Inuyasha for a moment, as he stared at a nearby escalator, his eyes wide, dressed in his bright red robes, and wondered if the baseball hat really made him stand out any less.

She turned to her mother. "Mom, I think..."

"We should get Inuyasha some new clothes?" Mrs. Higurashi finished, also looking in Inuyasha's direction. "Yes, I was just thinking the same thing. The sooner the better, too."

Kagome smiled broadly. She grabbed Inuyasha's arm, and excitedly dragged him into a nearby store.

He looked around wildly. "Huh... Kagome... what?"

Kagome grinned in a way that made Inuyasha feel nervous.

"We're getting you new clothes. And it's about time, I say."

Inuyasha sweatdropped as he glanced around the store. "But... what's wrong with my robes?" Inuyasha asked desparately.

Kagome lifted an eyebrow, and then saw he was dead serious. She sighed. "Inuyasha, it's a bit different here. Your robes are very nice for the feudal era- they allow freedom of movement and even help protect you, but here, well, you need to fit in."

Inuyasha unconciously tugged his hat down a little. Kagome smiled. "But also, just because I want to see you in some other clothes for a change. So come on- I'm sure this would look cute on you." She started pulling things off the racks for Inuyasha to try on.

Kagome rather enjoyed this part of the trip, but Inuyasha wasn't quite as pleased. Having never worn anything but his fire rat robes, which had grown with him as he got older, he found some difficulties in putting on the tighter fitting clothes made of unfamiliar materials. But whenever he emerged from the dressing room with something that looked particularly good on him, Kagome's smile made it all worth it. However, they ran into some trouble almost immediately in tastes.

Inuyasha wanted baggy jeans. Kagome thought the ones that "fit" looked better on him. Inuyasha wanted a red shirt. Kagome was tired of seeing him in red. They probably would have had a fight in the middle of the store, had not Kagome's mother quietly returned with a pair of jeans larger than the ones Kagome picked out, but went so excessively baggy as Inuyasha's. She also found a white t-shirt with a dragon design in red that both agreed was good, and so they reached a compromise.

They pulled off the tags for the clothing and handed them to the cashier to pay for them, rather than having to change back into his robes. The cashier didn't seem to find this strange, though she eyed the fire rat robes when they asked for a shopping bag to put them in.

Kagome eyed her man appreciatively. "Inuyasha, I do believe you look downright hot right now."

Inuyasha blinked obliviously. "Actually, these clothes aren't as warm as my robes." He directed a "thank-you" towards Mrs. Higurashi as Kagome giggled to herself. They left the store, ready now for a full day's worth of shopping.

Inuyasha's wonder never ceased, though he tried to hide it. He suspected this "shopping" thing was primarily a feminine activity, and felt that as a man, it wouldn't do so well to be seen enjoying it too much. So he strutted behind the women, who exclaimed excitedly at pretty things they found in the stores, his arms crossed, and something like a scowl on his face. But, as he watched Kagome enjoy herself, he found he couldn't keep a frown on his face. The way her eyes lit up when she found something she thought he'd like, every time she turned around and pointed out something to Inuyasha, the smile that she had while explaining all the things that were strange, wonderful, or frightening to him... all these things kept him from even pretending to be grumpy.

So, he didn't complain when she had him try on other clothes, or even when she placed the most ridiculous looking hat on his head and giggled at him. He even let her buy him the fedora, though he silently vowed he would never wear it.

"It might make a nice change from that old baseball cap you're always wearing," Kagome said, still laughing a little. He glanced over the other purchases she was making. Horrified, he pulled a shirt from the pile.

"I told you I didn't like this! Kagome, don't you dare - "

Kagome snatched the shirt from him. "It looked adorable on you," she insisted. She placed it back in the pile.

Inuyasha growled menacingly. Kagome didn't even look at him. Intimidation tatics repelled, Inuyasha sighed and looked pleadingly towards Mrs. Higurashi for help.

Supressing a grin, she looked at Kagome quite sternly. "Now Kagome... there's not much point in buying a shirt that Inuyasha will most likely rip up the moment your back is turned, now is there?"

Kagome pouted, but set the shirt aside. "Alright, alright... It was mostly a joke anyways." Inuyasha looked immensely relieved. Yet again, he found himself indebted to Mrs. Higurashi.

Once they left the store, Inuyasha began noticing food smells wafting mysteriously wafting through the air. He glanced at Kagome, and wondered if she noticed them. Her nose twitched slightly, and she turned to her mother.

"Shall we stop by the food court, then?" Inuyasha perked up. A "food court" sounded promising.

"Sounds like a good idea, Kagome. And maybe afterwards, we could leave Inuyasha to eat some dessert while we do a little bit of special shopping."

Kagome looked thoughtful, then nodded in agreement.

Inuyasha glanced at them suspiciously. On one hand, dessert sounded excellent. On the other hand, he didn't like the idea of being left out of something. What if Kagome intended to go back and purchase that shirt her mother had insisted she lay aside? He bristled at the thought. The shirt itself wouldn't have been so bad, if it weren't for all those tiny buttons... and those ruffles were just too much. Not to mention the odd color of teal... He shuddered slightly. Never mind, that shirt just was that bad.

So while he sat in front of a large styrafoam dish of ice cream, he eyed Kagome and her mother suspiciously as they walked away. He knew it! They were headed in the direction of that store that harbored the cursed shirt. Glancing around suspiciously, he picked up the ice cream dish and snuck after them, keeping them just in view. He saw Kagome glance behind her, and he swore, ducking into a store opening, hoping he hadn't been seen.

"Sir, I'll have to ask you not to bring that inside," He jumped guiltily, and then looked to see an employee of the shop he was in pointing to the cup of ice cream he carried.

"Oh... right... sorry." He glanced in Kagome's direction, and seeing her back turned to him, he snuck back out of the shop. He watched as the women walked, passing the store that they had shopped at earlier, the one with the teal shirt. Puzzled, he watched them continue to a shop with a pink sign above it instead. Curiousity took ahold of him, and he walked slowly towards the store, wondering what it was that Kagome and her mother were trying to keep from him.

He glanced in, and his eyes widened and he almost dropped his ice cream. In the window stood two women with wings, wearing nothing but a few very small, rather intimate pieces of clothing. Kagome and her mother went to... oh...

He quickly rushed back to the food court.

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When they returned, he looked up at them, then quickly glanced back down to the styrafoam container, scraping at it furiously with his spoon, even though there wasn't anything left in it. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and cursed silently as he knew they were reddening.

Kagome smiled slyly, and remembered a glance of white and red she had had on her way to the lingerie store.

"Come on, Inuyasha, I think we're ready to go."

"Okay." He stood quickly, still avoiding her gaze and fighting to hide the blush on his cheeks as they left the mall.

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End Chapter Ten