A Miko's Pet by SunsetMiko

It Came From Under the Couch

I do not own Inuyasha and Company, no matter how happy it would make me. Rumiko Takahashi does.

This was written for iyfic_contest (http://community.livejournal.com/iyfic_contest/) Week 141 - Springtime

"Oh, for the love of God! What the hell?!?" Kagome yelled from where she sat on the floor next to the couch. Moving in with her best friend and his brother had been an adjustment, to be sure, but apparently she didn't know the half of it. She really should have known better, but she just couldn't help herself. It was spring and for as long as she could remember spring meant spring cleaning. Just because she wasn't living on the shrine anymore didn't break the habit.

No, Kagome was down on her hands and knees ready to vacuum under the couch when the hose made a funny sound and then the vacuum threatened to explode. She quickly flipped it off and pulled the hose out, immediately wishing she hadn't. The hose had managed to half suck in what looked like it might have been a slice of pizza about six months ago.

"Inuyasha!" she screamed, knowing that upstairs in his room behind the closed door the hanyou was cringing with his ears flattened to his skull. For a second she felt a little guilty. Sesshoumaru had more sensitive ears than Inuyasha, but he was so damn quiet that she almost forgot he was there most of the time. There were a couple of thumps on the staircase before her obedient puppy was there next to her wondering what the hell he did this time.

"What, wench, was so fuckin' important that you had to fuckin' yell like that?"

Kagome lifted the end of the vacuum hose and watched his nose crinkle in disgust. "How the hell do you not know this was under the couch? And how, for that matter, did it get under the couch to begin with?" Inuyasha just shrugged his shoulders and Kagome sighed. "Move the couch for me."

"Ah, so the source of the smell has finally been located."

Kagome turned around and shot a quick smile at her other roommate. "Looks like it. Now why didn't you know it was there?"

"This Sesshoumaru does not spend much time in the common areas of the house. My little brother's habits aren't the most sanitary." Kagome laughed and Sesshoumaru couldn't stop the smirk that slipped past his usually impeccable control. This girl... she could shatter his composure in a second and it made him crazy. "What exactly are you doing?"

"Spring cleaning," she answered without looking at him, rolling her eyes as the floor that had previously been hidden by the couch came into view. "Oh Kami, I'm gonna need hip waders and rubber gloves that go up to my shoulders. Oh," she groaned while waving her hand in front of her face, "and maybe a gas mask."

"It ain't that bad! Damn dramatic wench," Inuyasha growled playfully.

"Let's see you clean it up then!" When Inuyasha refused to meet her eyes, instead looking off into the distance, she laughed. "That's what I thought."

"It is not your responsibility to clean up after the whelp."

"Well he's not gonna do it and I refuse to let it stay that way! Are you volunteering to take care of this... this... oh, just forget it. I think we ought to just board up the room and move on with our lives. It's too far gone to be rescued now."

"This Sesshoumaru will hire a cleaning service," he said while shooting her a small smile that made her stomach flutter. His eyes then turned to Inuyasha and took on an evil glint. "And then I will make the whelp pay the bill."

When Inuyasha started to protest Kagome laughed. "Works for me!" Two sets of golden eyes watched as she tossed the vacuum hose, still plugged with a science experiment's worth of what used to be her favorite food, to the floor. She brushed her hands off on her jeans and walked past the brothers, heading up to her room. At least it was clean!

Inuyasha looked from the now empty staircase to his brother and back before laughing. "Someone's got a crush!" he sang in a high pitched girly voice that made Sesshoumaru cringe. "Dude, you have got to be kidding me. I thought you got over that!"

"Having her living under the same roof, sleeping in the next room... it complicated things."

"Aren't you supposed to be the big fearless taiyoukai? Why the hell are you still just staring at her ass while she walks away instead of sinking your fangs into it?" Inuyasha laughed when Sesshoumaru started to growl, leaping to the side just in time to miss the claws flying at him. "What? You know you wanna!"

"You will shut up now. She will hear you and then this Sesshoumaru will be forced to kill you. Father is not here to save you."

"No, Dad isn't here, but you know that if you killed me she'd never fuck you." Again the hanyou dodged a swipe of deadly claws. He knew very well that if Sesshoumaru really wanted to hurt him he could and would, but angering and evading the taiyoukai was one of his favorite forms of entertainment.

At the top of the stairs just around the corner Kagome stood with a smile on her face. So he did still have a crush on her. She would have to remember to thank Inuyasha later.