5 - Explanations - Wednesday

Kagome stared at her phone with a frown. She had been doing that for at least an hour, ever since she hung up with Inuyasha. She didn't know how to do this. How was she supposed to call and explain that her roommate is obviously evil and attempting to sabotage the first relationship she had in months? She didn't even know why Kagura had done it!

She sighed and set the phone on her nightstand. She wanted to call him, but she wanted to have a good explanation for him when she did. Kagome looked at the clock and shook her head. Kagura always worked the late shift on Wednesdays, and she wouldn't be home for hours. She needed something to distract her, so she got up and began to clean.

Maybe if she were busy, she wouldn't spend the whole time worried about how to talk to Miroku or enraged about what her roommate had done. If she had the time to think, maybe she wouldn't be so upset by the time Kagura got home that she would end up screaming. That wasn't likely to get her an answer, and she definitely wanted one.

Kagome sighed again. By the time Kagura got home, and she finished her interrogation, it would be far too late to call Miroku. Guilt flooded through her. Inuyasha had said he sounded down and here she was, making him wait another day before she called. Still, she just couldn't do it yet. She had to figure out the best way to explain. She really liked him, and she wanted this to work!

She could only hope that he would forgive her, even though it wasn't really her fault. Maybe they could just start over. She shook her head trying to dislodge her worries and threw herself into her housework while trying to keep her mind blank.

-

Inuyasha checked the clock before picking up his phone with a smirk. He was certain Miroku would be in a better mood now. He dialed his friend, looking forward to hearing the excitement that he was sure to be feeling at the prospect of another date with Kagome.

"Yeah?" Miroku answered, sounding just as lifeless and depressed as he had earlier, maybe even worse.

"What the hell, man? Why do you still sound like shit? Didn't she call you?" Inuyasha didn't know what to think. Why wasn't he happy?

"No, not a peep. I figured she wasn't going to since you didn't call me back right away."

"Damn it, she said she was going to call!"

"Well, apparently she changed her mind. I don't blame her. I didn't really make a good impression. If she didn't take my calls before, why would she call me now?"

"You don't understand..." Inuyasha started.

"No, I understand completely. She probably just told you she would call to make you happy. You can't force the girl to go out with me if she isn't interested. I'm not so pathetic that I need you to pressure her into giving me another chance. I don't deserve one anyway."

Inuyasha snarled into the phone. "If you'd just shut the hell up for a second, and quit feeling sorry for yourself, maybe I could explain! She never got your damn messages!"

The line was silent for at least a minute, and at first Inuyasha thought that Miroku had hung up on him. Finally, he heard his friend suck in a breath. "She didn't?"

"No! She wasn't home, was staying at her Mom's while her ankle healed, and her roommate never told her you called. The bitch deleted the messages and lied to her about them."

Miroku frowned. "Why would she do that? Are you sure Kagome didn't just tell you that to get out of an awkward conversation?"

"Because her roommate's a bitch, and no, Kagome didn't lie to me. She wouldn't do that. Hell, when I called, she was pissed at me for hooking you two up because you never called her. She was just as upset as you were. I don't know why she hasn't called yet. Maybe she's busy cleaning up the crime scene after she murdered Kagura."

Miroku managed to chuckle, and Inuyasha's shoulders sagged in relief. "Perhaps one of us should offer our assistance. Hiding a body cannot be an easy task."

Inuyasha barked out a laugh. "Nah, the wench can handle it. I dunno. Maybe she wanted to confront the bitch first. She'll call you, dude. I promise. You just have to relax and wait. Do me a favor though. Don't sound too eager when she does. You got lucky with her not having heard all your pathetic, whiny messages. Don't ruin your luck by acting all clingy and needy. Chicks don't dig that."

Miroku rolled his eyes at his friend. "I'll do my best, Inuyasha. It's not like I've never dated before."

"Yeah, but you've never been this into a chick, either. You don't want to scare her off."

"Is there some reason you are telling me this? Is Kagome afraid of commitment?"

"Nah, but she hasn't dated in a while. She's been hurt before, so you'd better treat her right, too. If you hurt her again I'll flatten your ass."

"Again?"

"I told you, she was upset that you didn't call."

"But I did!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Yeah, but she never got the messages, so she's spent all this time thinking you blew her off, just like you have."

Miroku sighed. "I suppose you are right. So what do you suggest?"

The hanyou scratched his head in thought for a long moment. "Ummm... I don't fucking know! Just don't be too clingy, and tone down the pervert act."

"But she seemed to enjoy my wandering hand and my compliments, despite their inappropriateness. She certainly didn't seem angered by it."

"Fine, just ignore everything I said then. Be yourself, and hope she doesn't get tired of being groped."

"If I even get another date."

"You will, dude. I just hope things work out. I don't need the wench mad at me for setting you two up."

-

The sound of the front door closing startled Kagome awake. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she rose and walked into the kitchen, spotting her roommate digging in the fridge.

"Kagura, are you sure I didn't get any calls while I was gone?"

Kagura jumped and turned quickly. "N...n...no. Why do you ask?"

Kagome sighed and ran her fingers through her bangs. "I know you deleted my messages. Why would you do that? I spent all this time thinking Miroku didn't like me, and then I find out he called? How could you?!"

"You're lucky I did," she responded snidely. "He sounded like a stalker. What guy calls that many times without any encouragement whatsoever?"

"A guy that wanted to see me again! Why would you do that?" Kagome growled, clenching her jaw to keep from screaming loud enough for the neighbors to hear.

Kagura sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "He was cute."

"Yeah, I know he was cute. That's one of the reasons I wanted to go out with him again."

"It wasn't my fault."

"How was deleting my messages and lying to me about it not your fault?"

"It was my brother. He came to visit while you were away, and he's... he still hasn't gotten over you. He heard the first message, and then deleted it. He made me promise not to mention it to you. Then he kept deleting them. When he left, I had to do it, too. If he called again and you got the message, you would have found out what I did and I... I like living here. I don't want to have to move again."

"Damn it, Kagura. You'd better hope he still wants to see me again or I'm going to make you pay. You know I haven't gone out with anyone since your ass of a brother! I need to move on, and he needs to stop being such a fucking creep!"

"He just wants another chance to fix things between you guys. He said he really cares about you."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "No, he doesn't care about me. He just wants to own me. You can tell him it's not going to happen. He treated me like crap and tried to control me. He was always jealous, accusing me of things I would never do. No way in hell would I go back to that!"

"I'm sorry, Kagome," Kagura said, real regret in her eyes. "I'll explain things to the guy if you want and apologize to him, too. Naraku can be such a dick sometimes. I should have told you about it the first time he called. I don't know why I let him force me into things like this."

Kagome smiled. "So long as it doesn't happen again, I forgive you. But I don't want Naraku in this apartment again. It makes me uncomfortable."

"You're not the only one."