Chapter 11

The last thing Kagome remembered was looking at the clock, which read 2:46 in the morning. She vaguely remembered thinking that she could just rest her eyes for a few minutes, and laying her head on her desk. But she woke in the morning, tucked snugly into her bed, somewhat rested and refreshed. How did she get here?

She didn't remember the clawed hands that had gently stroked her hair back to see if she were really asleep or just resting. She didn't remember the strong, red clad arms that picked her up to lay her gently on her bed, or the white hair that fell across her face as the young man tucked the blankets around her sleeping form. And, sadly for her, she didn't remember the lips that, lighter than a butterfly's wings, quickly brushed her forehead before the young man stepped back to study her sleeping face, as if to memorize every detail.

He had watched her peaceful sleep until a frown of frustration crossed her face. She turned over and seemed to be searching for something. Her hand hit upon a white plush dog with little fuzzy triangular ears on it's head, which she grabbed and pulled into her embrace, smiling in her sleep, "Mmmmmmyasha." After that, she returned to peaceful sleep.

That startled him. Did she really sleep with that little stuffed dog because it reminded her of him, or because she missed having Shippou next to her? He decided that he liked the former much better than the latter, and smiled smugly. She didn't sleep with a little Houjo plushie!

Inuyasha watched as Kagome dashed off for school, laden with heavy schoolbag and her lunch. Luckily, she had been too preoccupied with getting off to school to notice his presence. He was going to have to do something about that when he got her back home. Being so unaware of her surroundings could be dangerous. But then, he guessed she didn't feel so threatened in her own time.

He was so thinking when he stepped into the kitchen, ready to begin work. Instead, Kagome's mother sat him down to a big breakfast, and began to coach him in the proper use of utensils and napkins.

Mrs. Higurashi wasn't sure where they would go for pre-prom dinner, so she decided she'd better cover all bases. Forks were a challenge. While Inuyasha liked the idea of stabbing his food before eating it, he held the fork like an assault weapon instead of an eating utensil. Then came the whole concept of using a napkin to wipe his mouth instead of licking his hand and swiping it over his face (A/N I know that's a cat thing, but I'm pretty sure I've seen him do it.) Mrs. Higurashi imagined him doing that in a nice restaurant and shuddered a little. Kagome would be mortified. Or maybe not. She didn't seem to mind the hanyou's eccentricities, or even notice them much anymore. Mrs. H doubted very much that Inuyasha's lack of monetary funds or social skills had much to do with her daughter's refusal to allow him to accompany her to her dance. But if not that, what?

The biggest challenge was getting him to slow down, instead of swallowing his food practically whole. To his credit, he tried really hard to follow her tutelage, but years of practical learning were hard to break. Mrs. Higurashi decided that polite conversation without letting food fall out of one's mouth was a lesson to be tackled another day.

After breakfast, she gave Inuyasha a jumpsuit and painter's cap, and told him to change into them so he wouldn't get paint on his clothing. She pulled his hair back into a long braid (A/N: am I the only one that thinks he looks a lot like Duo?) to keep it from getting in the way. Then she took him outside and taught him how to paint.

Painting wasn't so bad, and he really liked the way it looked when he stepped back and admired his work. It was satisfying. And he didn't get too many drips on the plants below. In fact, the only real mishap happened when Buyo decided it would be helpful to sit at the top of the ladder and continually swish his tail in Inuyasha's face. The cat narrowly escaped becoming a flying paintball by the appearance of Mrs. Higurashi, who came out to call the Inuyasha to lunch.

After lunch, he went back to his task, flushing a little with pride ("Feh!") when Mrs. H praised his work. She was impressed with how hard he was working and how much he had done. If she hadn't known before, she knew now what it was that Kagome saw in this young man, er....half human. He took his jobs seriously, which is probably why Kagome was still alive. And, although he had grudgingly learned over the years to be polite and respectful of Kagome's family (it had taken a few "sit!" sessions to teach him that), she could see he really was trying to learn some social skills. It had never taken him that long to complete a meal as it had at lunch.

Ok, he still isn't ideal son-in-law material (those ears and claws would be a little hard to explain, not to mention the threat of losing her daughter forever to Feudal Japan), but she wouldn't complain. No guy, let alone a guy like Inuyasha, would go through what he was willing to go through just to take her to the prom if he didn't really care. Of course, the real test was yet to come...

Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Souta, running up the steps and clutching a small, thin box to his chest. "I got it! I got it! I can teach Inuyasha to dance now!"

Inuyasha grimaced at the box the boy was now waving at him. He had a very bad feeling about this. He tried to tell Souta that he had to finish painting, but Mrs. H told him he had worked hard enough that day, and should go get out of his paining clothes and put them in the laundry for her to clean. She said he should hurry and get changed so he would have enough time for his lesson before Kagome got home, and that she would put the gear away. When he finally headed inside the house, she smiled to herself, thinking of where she had set up the camcorder.

"..Step back on your left foot and pivot." THUD! "&*(^%$%^$%$*(*)*)_*!!!!!"

Souta glanced nervously back at the growling hanyou behind him. This was not what he had imagined when he volunteered to teach him to dance. He didn't figure that Inu-san would pick it up immediately, but also hadn't thought it would be this tough. His hero may be strong and brave and able to slash his enemies down to mere quivering pools of jello, but Fred Astaire he wasn't. The young boy was witnessing the meltdown of his hero, and it was being done by a hip-hop dance instructor. He glanced over at the coffee table, grateful that he had made Inuyasha remove his sword and scabbard before they started.

THUD! The hanyou hit the floor for at least the tenth time, this time looking as if Kagome had said "sit!" with his face pressed to the floor. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of Kagome dancing with Houjo. Without that image, he would have given up and stormed out long ago. From his spot on the floor he groaned, "Shouldn't Kagome be home soon? Shouldn't I get out of here before she finds me?"

"Na-uh. She told me to let everyone know she was going to study with her bunch of giggly friends, so she wouldn't be home till dinner. You have plenty of time. Let's try again."

Inuyasha grunted and pushed himself back to his feet. He was beginning to miss the Thunder brothers. He couldn't remember anyone dancing like this at the Shrine festival, and he hadn't been watching anyone but Kagome at her dance, but he was pretty sure she hadn't grabbed her foot and jerked her knee up and down at any time that night.

The most infuriating thing was that the kid seemed to be picking this stuff up like it was no more difficult than walking. He followed along with the dancers and got just about every step right away. But every time Inuyasha seemed to be getting the hang of a step, they would change directions or do some tricky "ball-change" thing, and he'd end up on his butt again. Then that dark-skinned guy would say, "Moving on!" and Inuyasha would growl dangerously, "Moving on! What do you mean moving on! I'm not even on the step before the last step you did! Feh! This is STUPID!"

Mrs. Higurashi almost had to choke to keep from giggling as she watched the spectacle in the next room. Hidden behind the door jam, she had a pretty good view of it all. Finally, she couldn't keep from laughing out loud, so she went off to do some laundry. When she came back, poor Souta had Inuyasha by the back of his Kimono, trying desperately to hold him back from the TV. "No, Inuyasha! You can't kill him! He's not in the television! He lives in California someplace!"

A heavily puffing hanyou glanced back at Tetsusiaga and growled, "Where * is * California?"

"Somewhere in America. Nowhere near here. A really, really long way away. Please, Inu-san! I will turn it off!" He let go of Inuyasha's Kimono and darted to the television, hitting the power button. The hanyou slumped to the floor in defeat, looking very unhappy. Souta sat down next to him, just looking relieved.

"Ano...I'm sorry, Inu-san. I didn't know. I never watched it before."

Inuyasha just looked miserable. How could he take Kagome to a special dance if he couldn't even dance himself? No wonder she didn't want to take him.

Mrs. Higurashi looked in on the dismal pair and took pity on them both. Having chaperoned enough of Kagome's school dances over the years, she knew that very few kids danced like the people on the tape. With amusement tugging at the corners of her mouth, she stepped into the room and said, "I think I can help you."

The next few days went by fairly quickly. Kagome took her test, studied, took her other test and went to her prom committee meeting. And slept a little. She began to wish she were back in Feudal Japan just so she could get a decent night's sleep. All the while her "friends" interrogated her endlessly about herself and Houjo, and why she hadn't told him she would go with him. Her telling them that it wasn't fair to lead him on when she didn't return his feelings just didn't register with them. "But he's just so HUNKY!" one would sigh. "You two make SUCH a cute couple!" from another.

She didn't want to mention Inuyasha. First of all, how could she explain him? Even without his ears and fangs, he was pretty unbelievable. And she refused to admit that it was him she wanted to share her prom night with, especially to herself. He wouldn't be a real date anyway. She had no idea why he suddenly thought he wanted to go, but she wasn't about to dance the night away with someone who wanted her to be someone else. Oh, gods, how depressing! And how did these people manage to rope her into helping to plan a dance she probably wouldn't go to, anyway?

"Kagome! Hello! Are you still on the planet?" She shook her head and focused on hand waving in front of her face. Yuki looked at her with concern. "Are you feeling ok? You look a little ill."

"I'm ok. Sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was asking what movie you want to see tonight."

'Movie? I gotta get some sleep!' "Whichever one has the most comfortable seats."

"Or we could go swing dancing!" Nanami suggested.

'Swing dancing! Maybe I have more energy than I thought!'

The next morning, Kagome glared at her alarm clock. Ugh! Why was it necessary to be there when the stores opened, anyway! She hit snooze and rolled over for a few extra minutes of sleep.

When it went off again, she resigned herself to morning, and crawled out of bed with a yawn and a stretch. She reached down and scratched Buyo's ears. "What was I thinking? I never should have closed the club down. 'But swing dancing is so much fun! I should have asked one of those guys to go to the prom with me! That would be good. No broken hearts, no emotional attachments, and no guys wishing I were his old lover. Just great dancing! Hmmm...no romance either...'

She reviewed her plans for the day. She and her friends were on a quest for the perfect prom dresses. "Hmph! As if it matters. What do I need a dress for if I'm not going? Or if I'm going alone." Or she could go with Houjo. Even after she tried to dissuade him, he still insisted that she was the only one he wanted to go with. Or there was ...NO! NO! Not an option!

But no matter how firmly she tried to push the vision out of her mind, she couldn't stop herself from imagining Inuyasha in a tuxedo, his silvery hair pulled back into a ponytail, his cute ears...oh, wait, he would be human, wouldn't he? He'd have to be for it to work anyway. Ok, with his dark hair pulled back...STOP IT!" She turned on the water in the shower as hot as she could stand it and let it pound on her skin, waking her fully.

Inuyasha climbed out of the well Sunday evening without his usual energy, but still happy. All that work around the shrine and the dancing was exhausting! And he had just narrowly escaped being caught by Kagome coming home from her shopping trip.

He had been in the living room, dancing with the instruction of Kagome's mother. She had taught him some basic dance steps, taught him a couple of the popular line dances, and little swing (since Kagome loved that). And then because she just couldn't resist putting it on tape, the Macarena. She wasn't sure how she managed that one with a straight face, but watching the hany

ou try to shake his hips and keep his hands from getting tied up at the same time was just too amusing to pass up.

She had just gone into the kitchen to get him some lemonade when Kagome's voice came floating through the window, "No, thank you Houjo-kun. I just need to sit down for a bit."

Inuyasha helplessly hit the floor, swearing quietly so he wouldn't call attention to himself. "Damn! She's home! Souta, you were supposed to warn me!" 'And what the hell is Hobo doing here?'

"Sorry Inu-san. I was in the bathroom!"

"I gotta get out of here! You go stall her!"

Mrs. Higurashi entered and said, "Why don't you just stay for dinner, Inuyasha? She was supposed to return tonight anyway, so she won't be surprised if you are here waiting for her, right?"

Dinner sounded good. He was really hungry, and a meal here would be better than trying to find something for himself. Kaede was a good cook, but they might have already eaten by the time he got back.

"Feh!" he said out of habit. "I mean...er...thank you Mrs. Higurashi."

So he was still there when Kagome had finally convinced Houjo that she was ok, and no, she didn't need him to carry her inside or go to the store to get her anything. And he didn't go out to maim her would-be suitor because it didn't fit the "I'm civilized enough for you to take out in public" image that he was trying to cultivate. But it took all his self-control not to.

He expected her to be a little indignant when she saw him there, but she wasn't. Or, she didn't seem to be anyway.

"Oh, hi, Inuyasha! You came to get me?" she reached up and scratched the back the back of her head.

"Uh, yeah. And your mom invited me to stay for dinner. I guess she wants to make sure you eat."

"Oh, ok." She seemed nervous about something. "Ano...Inuyasha? I gotta tell you something you're not gonna like."

A hard lump formed in his throat, making it impossible for him to swallow. His heart raced and his gut wrenched. She was about to tell him that this whole weekend was going to have been wasted because she had agreed to go to the prom with Hobo. "Well, what is it, wench?"

She closed her eyes and blurted, "I need to stay home for one more day! Just one more day, Inuyasha! Please! I have a make-up lab to do in chemistry and I want to find out the results of my tests. I promise to go back as soon as I get out of class tomorrow! Please?"

Relief washed over him like a tidal wave. "Ok."

She opened one eye and peered at him uncertainly. "Nani?"

"I said, "ok!" What, are you deaf?"

Ok, this was weird. It was strange enough that he was letting her stay for dinner, although she knew he loved her mom's cooking. But letting her stay another day without a single "sit!" was just too.....how do they call it in fanfics? OOC? 'Something odd is going on here!'

In fact, he was planning to tell her to go to school for the whole week, since he wanted to be able work. And he was getting pretty used to Mrs. Higurashi's meals. He just didn't know how to do that without giving himself away. And he wasn't about to tell her that he was spending his days at her home or what he was doing there. He wanted to surprise her, and besides, it would be too embarrassing if she still refused to take him.

They had a very pleasant dinner, and Inuyasha only had to pinch Souta a couple of times to keep him from divulging something awkward. By the end of dinner, Kagome was seriously concerned that she had landed in some alternate dimension, though. She couldn't help but notice that Inuyasha seemed to have found some table manners. And good ones, too. Instead of picking up his bowl and just horking it all down in one big swallow, he was taking his time, eating like...well... a gentleman.

When dinner was over, and he began to clear dishes and take them to the kitchen, she couldn't stand it anymore. The changes were all for the good, but she was beginning to think that he had been possessed by some demon with designs on the shards, and was trying to earn her trust so he could steal them when she was off guard. Or something.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with the real Inuyasha?" she demanded.

"Oi, wench, what are you talking about?"

"First you tell me I can stay for an extra day without an argument, then you eat politely at the dinner table, and...and...and then you help clear dishes?" She grabbed at the collar of his kimono with both hands and searched his eyes. "You look and feel like Inuyasha, but..."

"But the real Inuyasha couldn't possibly be a nice guy to have around? Is that what you're saying, wench? He couldn't possibly have any manners? I had a mother, too, you know? She taught me some stuff, too, you know! I know how to behave if I want to!"

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "Something strange is going on around here."

But just as he was about to reply, Mrs. Higurashi came in with dessert.

After dessert, Kagome had to bathe and prepare for her lab, and Inuyasha decided to head home. He was halfway across the courtyard when he heard Kagome call to him and he stopped and turned to see her standing in front of him. Her cheesk were flushed from running to catch up with him, and her hair was blowing softly in the breeze.

"Um, Inuyasha... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You're just acting kind of different. But in a nice way. Please don't leave mad at me."

He didn't know what to say. He wanted to ask her about the dance again. He wanted to beg her to take him. But he just couldn't make himself do it. So he nodded, "Ok."

"You're not mad?"

"No."

She reached to hug him, and he met her halfway. They just stood there, holding each other for a few minutes, neither wanting to let go. Finally, she pulled back and tiptoed up to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you."

And then she was gone. Back into her house. Leaving him standing in the middle of the courtyard with his head swimming. She * had* just kissed him, right? But why?

He heard Miroku's voice in the back of his mind, "Don't ask why, idiot! Just be happy she did it!"

He was headed back toward the village, his skin still pleasantly warm where Kagome's lips had touched it just moments before. So wrapped in those thoughts, he didn't notice her till she was walking next to him. He jumped when he heard the voice of Kikyo in his ear.

"Rumor has it that you are spending much of your time in the future world these days."

"Kikyo..."

"So, I take it you were successful in protecting her from whatever it was that brought you back from your journey with me."

He stopped walking and sighed. He didn't need this right now. Looking down at his feet, he muttered, "Kikyo, I'm sorry, but I won't be going with you."

She just gazed at him for a moment, then continued walking. "You say you would do anything, come back from anywhere to protect my reincarnation. So, she has become more precious to you then I?

"Dammit, Kikyo! She's more you than you are now!" Seeing the sad, startled look on the miko's face he went on, voice gentle, "Look, I'm sorry for what happened with us, more than you can ever know. I wanted to spend my life with you. You were the first person other than my mother who accepted me, let alone loved me. And I want to see you at peace. But you didn't kill me. And I have a reason to live now. The Kikyo I knew, the one I loved would want that. And I think the part of Kagome's soul that was you knew that when she set me free from the Goshinboku."

"You've thought about this quite a bit, then."

"Every day."

"And you think things will be different with your little human girl, do you? Will you use the jewel to become human for her?"

"If she asks me to, I will. But she doesn't seem to care."

"Maybe she doesn't want you forever. Maybe she's just here to fulfill her duty."

He closed his eyes. He couldn't think about that. Not when he was just beginning to feel hope. "She won't leave me."

"You think not? What if the same thing were to happen with her that happened to us? Do you think the outcome would be different?"

He had thought about this a lot, too. He remembered all the times she had trusted him to be there for her, the times she had just assumed without a doubt that he would triumph over their enemies, the times she had said, "Don't worry, Inuyasha! I believe in you." He smiled at the memory of her leaping from the firecat into his arms, never doubting for a moment that he would be there to catch her.

"Yes, yes I do think it would be different. I'm sorry, Kikyo, but our trust in each other just wasn't strong enough. Maybe we didn't have enough time to build it, or maybe we just hadn't gone through enough together. But it was fragile enough that it was broken by what was a very simple deception. Kagome is strong willed and stubborn, and way too unmindful of her human frailties. But part of that is that she always trusts me to be there to back her up. And I always trust her to be there by my side, too."

"She trusts you to guard her life, but does she trust you? Does she know without a doubt that you would never do her harm?"

He turned away and winced at that. That was the bottom line. Did she trust him with her heart? Did she know how precious and dear to him she was? He answered, a little shakily, "Yes, of course she does!"

Kikyo chuckled lightly. She had caught the uncertainty in his voice, subtle as it was. "We'll see about that."

Inuyasha spun around in alarm, "Don't you dare touch her! If you so much as..."

"* I* won't touch her."

"KIKYO!!!!!!!!"

But she was gone.

TOP

Chapter 12

"Gods, what a day!" Kagome was rushing home from school. She was running really late, like three hours late, and she knew Inuyasha would be livid. After all, he had agreed to let her stay an extra day without even arguing, and she had promised faithfully to return just as soon as classes let out.

But, as her luck would have it, she had needed a lab partner, and Houjo volunteered. After class, he wanted to talk to her about the prom. She had told him finally to ask someone else, that she didn't want him waiting for her. She told him to find another date; someone who deserved his attentions. His answer? "But I don't want to go with anyone else." Aaaaaaaagh! She told him to find someone else anyway, but he persisted, "If you change your mind, let me know. I will still wait for you."

She sighed. In other circumstances, he would be perfect. Handsome, kind, considerate, athletic, intelligent. Knew how to compliment a girl. But her heart wouldn't listen. And what Sango had said about that was true. "We don't choose who we love, our heart does." Wouldn't it just be her luck that her perverse heart would choose an arrogant hanyou from 4 centuries back who had a thing for an animated corpse?

After she had finally gotten rid of Houjo, her friends had grabbed her and wanted to discuss mirrored disco balls and silver streamers with her. And she had to pretend she cared. So now she was running very, very late, and would have hell to pay.

"Who's depraved idea was it to put this many steps up to our shrine?" she wondered, puffing at the top. She headed for the house to grab some supplies.

In truth, Inuyasha had been so wrapped up in his work that he had completely forgotten about the time. He was finished painting the house, and had started to work on the temple. When his nose caught Kagome's scent, he was still in the jumpsuit, painting away. Souta was "helping" him again.

He panicked! "Oh, HELL! She's gonna catch me!"

Mrs. Higurashi, who was in the gift shop at the time, came out and pushed Inuysha toward the back of the house. When he was safely out of sight, she called out, "Kagome, honey, could you come here a minute?"

'Oh, no! I gotta hurry!' She went running toward her mother. "Hai, Mom!"

"Honey, can you help these people in the gift shop? They want to know about those Shikon no Tama key chains, and I really need to make a phone call before five. Besides," she winked, "you're the expert on that subject."

"Mom, I told Inuyasha I would be there right after class! I'm already late, and you know how he gets!"

She glanced toward the house, fighting to keep from smiling, "I'm sure Inuyasha won't mind if you take a few extra minutes. That's a good girl."

Kagome sighed, "Ok, Mom, but would you please put some extra Ramen and chocolate into my pack? I'm gonna need it."

She went to help the people at the counter, and it turned out that they wanted to ask more than a few questions. She found herself giving a heavily edited account of the Jewel's history. By the time she finished, they were so impressed that they all wanted to buy replicas of the Jewel, and she sold nearly all of them. One man commented on how vividly she told the story, "almost as if she had been there."

"Oh, Miss, this one is chipped. May I have another one?"

She had to stop herself from gaping at the damaged keychain, as it looked so much like the jewel she currently wore under her blouse. She took it from the lady and said, "Of course! Please accept my apology. I didn't mean to sell you defective merchandise!"

She gave the woman another perfectly formed trinket, and stuffed the broken one into her jacket pocket, thinking they would have to send it back to the manufacturer later.

When the tourists finally left, she ran into the house to get her pack. Her mother handed it to her, smiling. "I packed the items you requested, as well as some other food and some warm pjs, and some dry clothes in water proof bags. And your sleeping bag, of course. And you will keep your jacket on today, young lady! It's chilly here, so it might be very cold there!"

"Hai, Mama!" She hugged her mom. "Thank you! I'll see you soon!" She ran toward the well house, but stopped suddenly. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot!"

She dashed up to her room, grabbed a dress hanging on a hanger wrapped in plastic, rolled it up, and stuck it in her pack.. The end of the hangar stuck out, but she decided it would have to do.

When she emerged from the well in the Feudal Era, she wasn't surprised to see Inuyasha there waiting for her. She was surprised at the lack of ire he displayed at her tardiness, though. He wasn't angry, just grumpy.

"Took you long enough!"

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha! I tried, but people kept grabbing me and wanting me to do stuff for them." She didn't mention Houjo. "And then my mom needed my help in the souvenir shop. She packed extra Ramen for you." She held out a few packets as a peace offering. And braced herself for a verbal assault.

He took the offering, "Ok. Just don't be late again."

Her eyes popped and she stepped back. 'Huh? That was way too easy!' Finally, she noticed that he was acting very flustered. Had she just caught him doing something he didn't want her to know about? But what? And he was adjusting his clothes. She frowned. Something was definitely weird here. He hadn't bitten off her head for being very, very late. Any other time, that would have warranted at least half an hour's ranting and a few chocolate bars.

It finally occurred to her that he must have been with Kikyo. Of course. That would explain his disheveled clothing, his unkempt hair. And why he wasn't so upset that she was late. He had probably caught her scent when she came through the well and rushed to find her so she wouldn't suspect anything. Sighing, she turned away and began to walk toward the village.

Inuyasha was a little perplexed at her sudden attitude. For all his heightened hanyou senses, he couldn't hear her thoughts. She had long ago learned not speak her thoughts out loud when he was near. She seemed suddenly sad, and he couldn't think why.

"Oi, wench! What's wrong with you?"

She sighed and said cheerfully, "Nothing, Inuyasha. I'm just tired."

"You're lying. I can smell it."

"Damn your sense of smell." She muttered.

He heard her reply, of course, but didn't know how to respond to it, so they walked the rest of the way to the village in silence.

They smelled Kaede's hut before they reached it. Delicious aromas wafted through the air, and though Inuyasha picked them up first, he was too busy trying to figure out what was wrong with Kagome to let it register. When Kagome said, "Yum!" appreciatively, he looked up and saw that she seemed to have broken out of her melancholy.

Sango heard their approach and came out of the hut, but couldn't beat little Shippou, who raced past her and flung himself into Kagome's arms. "Kagome! You're back!"

Kagome hugged the little kitsune. "Yes, I'm back, and don't even ask. Of course I brought something for you. Just let me get inside, ok?"

Sango smiled and said, "Did you bring it?"

Kagome nodded and pointed to the bag sticking out of the top of the pack. Inuyasha eyed it curiously, and started to grab it, "Bring what? Is it food?" But she quickly pulled it out of his reach. Again he took a swipe at it, but she raised her eyebrows and gave him a meaningful look. Rather than kiss the ground, he backed off.

She turned back to Sango. "I'll show it to you after dinner, ok?"

After dinner, Kaede sent the boys out for more firewood so Kagome could change into her gown and model it in peace. When she emerged from the back room, her three remaining companions showered her with compliments. Shippou exclaimed, "Wow, Kagome, you look just like a princess from those books you read me!"

Kagome blushed and spun, carefully avoiding the fire, to flare the skirt for them. It was a lovely dress. She had looked halfheartedly all day, not really caring if she found a gown or not. But then she saw this one, and knew immediately that it was right. The rosy copper color was so unusual ~ like nothing they had seen all day. The bead-embellished bodice fit her perfectly, as if it had been made just for her. The draped neckline stretched across her breast into thin straps that fell off shoulder. Layer upon layer of tulle and some filmy iridescent material made up the full skirt, and if the light was behind her, one could just make out the shadow of her shapely legs.

Even if she hadn't loved it at first sight, her friends didn't give her a choice. They had the clerk wrap it for Kagome while she changed back into her day clothes.

She tried to escape into the back room to change again before the guys made it back, but had no such luck. Just as she reached the doorway, they entered the hut with a collective gasp. Miroku, without a second thought as to his projected lifespan if he were to act on impulse, instantly crossed the room to Kagome. He dropped to his knee, seized her hands in his and declared, "Kagome, you are indeed a Goddess! Would you bear my ..."

He never knew what or who hit him, as two simultaneous whacks hit him squarely on the back of his head and he lost consciousness. Sango, wiping off her weapon, glanced over at him and remarked, "He'll wake up when he realizes his robes are on fire." On second thought, though, she hooked her hands under his armpits and dragged him away from the flames while Shippou beat out his singed clothing with a broom. Luckily, the broom didn't catch fire. Not so luckily, the monk's legs were going to suffer some serious bruising as a result of Shippou's efforts.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, could do little but stare. Well, that and deliver a fairly serious blow to the back of a pervert's skull. His chest felt tight and his breath caught in his throat. Among the thoughts tumbling around his befuddled brain were, "So that's a promdress! Wow!" and , "The pervert's right; she is a goddess," and, "She is NOT going to wear that dress if she's going with Hoho! I'll kill him first!" and finally, "I absolutely have to convince her to take me!"

Kagome noticed his shell-shocked expression. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?"

He faulted and crossed his arms, turning away. "Why would anything be wrong? You're not planning on wearing that thing around here, are you? How are we supposed to get any shards if you're tripping over your skirt the whole time?" He knew immediately that was the wrong thing to say, but he just couldn't stop it from tumbling out of his mouth. Already he could smell her tears, and heard the swish of the curtain that divided the two rooms. He wanted to go and apologize, but he couldn't make his feet move.

Kagome dashed her hand across her eyes. What did she expect? Did she think he would say something nice? Did she imagine he would give her a compliment? That look in his eyes as he watched her model ~ she must have been crazy to think it had held anything special for her. He was obviously bored, thinking of something ~ or more likely, someone ~ else.

She slipped the dress off and angrily threw it to the ground, before sinking to her knees and covering her face with her hands. Why, why, why did she have to care so much what he thought? Why did she crave his approval? Why should she care what he thought of her in this stupid gown? She hadn't seriously considered taking him to the dumb prom, had she? Ok, maybe she had fantasies of the two of them dancing together, like she had with Houjo. Maybe she had played out the whole scene, replacing Houjo with that infuriating hanyou. Especially after he had asked her to take him. Why had he done that?

He had apologized to her, and had given her flowers, asking her to forgive him for being a jerk. He must have still been trying to make it up to her, so she would go back and help him find the jewel. That's what it always came down to; that stupid jewel.

She heard the curtain sweep aside, and Sango enter. Her friend knelt beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. "I don't understand him, either, Kagome. But he didn't really mean it. I saw the look in his eyes." Kagome didn't share her theories on that. She just continued to sob.

Eventually, Sango got up and retrieved the abused garment. She hung it back on it's hanger and brushed it off before covering it with it's garment bag and hanging it on a peg on the wall. She led gently laid Kagome's clothes in her lap and helped her to get changed back into them. Kagome said, "Thank you. I'm ok." and walked over to a basin of cold water to splash some on her face. She sniffed once more before remerging into the main room.

Inuyasha was gone.

The hanyou was perched in a tree outside the hut, gazing at the moon, and deep in thought and recrimination, as he rubbed the spot where Sango's weapon had connected with the back of his head. He wasn't upset with Sango ~ he felt he definitely deserved that. And a few dozen "Sit!s" from Kagome. Why couldn't he have told her how pretty she looked? Pretty didn't even begin to cover it. She was so beautiful, twirling in the firelight. Why couldn't he have said something like that? Maybe then she would consider taking him to her dance.

But no, he had to say something mean and sound like the world's biggest jerk, again! He couldn't help it. He just opened his mouth and things like that just came pouring out. Sometimes he thought he should have Kaede sew it shut. Or maybe she could put a spell on him so he couldn't talk. He was pretty sure he had blown any chance of Kagome even considering taking him to her prom. She might never even speak to him again.

And now he was stuck out here in the cold. He hated the cold. Most people thought it didn't affect him, but that was only because he refused to show weakness. He hated it. Usually when he had to sleep out in the cold these days, it was because they were camping, and he could at least watch her sleep. But now she was in the hut by the fire and he was alone, out in the cold. Because he had to be a jerk.

Just before sleep finally overtook him, he could have sworn he heard a familiar laughter echo throughout the valley. He began to dream. He was wearing that suit Kagome's mom called a "tuxedo," and Kagome was wearing her lovely dress. The danced just like she had danced with...that guy, and this time, it was Inuyasha who took her chin and got to taste her soft, sweet lips. And it was Inuyasha whom she kissed back so hungrily, so passionately. He woke with a start and cursed himself for his brainlessness. He was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen now.

But he couldn't give up. He had to make it up to her. He had to apologize to her, and make her change her mind.

Because if he didn't, she would go with Hoho, and would kiss him again. And she'd be very angry when Inuyasha killed her date.

He jumped down from the tree and crept back into the hut, careful not to wake the sleeping friends around the fire. Crouching down next to Kagome, he watched her face to make sure she was sleeping. Her breathing was soft and even, and she looked serene but for the tear tracks still marking her smooth, pale skin. Unable to help himself, he reached out with the back of his index finger, and stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry Kagome. I'm such a jerk. You looked beautiful in your dress. Please don't hate me."

Kagome moaned softly at the contact. Miroku, finally regaining consciousness, witnessed the little scene with a small smile tugging at his lips. But he never said a word as the hanyou settled himself at her feet, curling up on the bottom part of her sleeping bag. Not risking a chuckle that would surely be heard by the half demon, he merely smiled and closed his eyes again.

By the time morning came, Inuyasha was trying to figure out how to get Kagome to go home so he could work. He didn't know how much money it would cost to take her to dinner, but he wanted to earn as much as possible so she could have anything she wanted. Plus, Souta had said something about a cur-sage, or something like that. Some kind of flower thing that she could wear on her dress. Of course, all of this depended on whether she ever spoke to him again, let alone let him go to her dance.

Hmmm.... Flowers worked once; maybe they would again. But he had already given her sakura blossoms. There were beautiful flowers in her mother's garden, and lots of them. Surely she wouldn't miss just a few. After all, he had helped to plant them.

He bounded off and hopped through the well. In the space of just a few minutes, he had carefully cut a few stems that were just about the color of her dress, and then returned to his own era. Approaching the hut, he could hear sounds of someone inside stirring to life.

Shippou smelled his approach and came out the door, eyeing him with disapproval. "You think flowers are going to work again? You are such a moron!" He held out a small parcel, and said contemptuously, "I'm only doing this because I hate seeing Kagome sad."

Inuyasha reached for the offering, and saw that the little kitsune was sacrificing some of his precious chocolate stash. "Uh, thanks."

"Go on, she's not awake yet." The little fox demon turned and bounded back into the hut.

As the hanyou entered the hut, he saw that everyone save for Kaede, who had gone gathering herbs, was still asleep. Even Shippou, once he completed his mission, had returned to the warmth of Kagome's side. He opened one eye at Inuyasha's approach and watched him carefully arrange the flowers and chocolate on the pillow next to the slumbering girl. Nodding with satisfaction, the kitsune again closed his eye and returned to dreamland.

"Someday," the hanyou muttered, "It's gonna be me where you are. And I'm kicking you out!"

Without bothering to open even the one eye, Shippou snorted in a sleepy, bored voice, "As if!" and stuck his tongue out. And flaunting his position even further, he burrowed down closer to the girls warm body, wiggling his tail at the hanyou as he did it.

Kagome's eyelashes fluttered open as the scent of something sweet and flowery floated through the air. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she looked back at the gifts on her pillow, then up at the hanyou staring at her with a gaze that was at once hopeful and proud. Closing her eyes again, she heard words flood her mind; words he had spoken to her while she was sleeping. "I'm sorry Kagome. I'm such a jerk. You looked beautiful in your dress. Please don't hate me."

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I don't hate you." She rummaged through her pack, and went on, "You can't really help who you are, can you? And I can't expect you to be anyone else, or I wouldn't be a very good friend. So, thank you for the gifts, but they really weren't necessary." When she had found her clean clothes, some soap, a bottle of water, and her toothbrush, she bundled them into her towel. She carefully scooped up the flowers and took a small pot off Kaede's workbench, and added them to her pile. Then, she shrugged into her jacket, picked up her gathered things, and without another word exited the hut.

Inuyasha gaped after her. How did she know what he had said to her last night? He had been certain she was asleep!

He knew he shouldn't follow her, since she was obviously going to bathe, but he didn't like how that little exchange had gone. It was cold, somehow. Not like the last time they had made up. Last time, he got to hug her. He got to watch her dance first. She told him his gift would be precious to her. This time, she just left. And she was still sad.

He just couldn't leave it alone. He darted out the door and down the path after her. She was walking slowly, so he easily caught up. But he didn't know what to say, so he just walked quietly beside her.

It was Kagome who finally broke the silence. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

He wanted to say, "You didn't hug me." But what he did say was, "You're still mad."

"No, I'm not, really." She said dully. 'Just...disappointed.' She added to herself.

He was getting desperate. The prom was coming up this weekend, and he had to get her to take him. He HAD to say the right thing, for once. "Look, I really am sorry. You know me better than anyone, and you know how I am. I don't always say what I mean. I might say something stupid like, "I hope you're not planning to wear that thing around here," when I really mean, "You look really wonderful in that dress."

She stopped and stared at him. Did he just give her a fairly direct compliment? No way! But that is what it sounded like. "Uh, thank you?" She started walking again.

So far so good. He knew it was probably too soon, but he was running out of time. "So, that's what you're going to wear to your prom?"

"Yes..."

"And you're going to go with that ... Hoho guy?"

She didn't bother to correct him. "I don't know..."

"Kagome ..."

"No."

"But..."

"No, Inuyasha."

"Why not?"

"Why do you want to go so badly?"

"Just ... because."

"Oh, well, in that case..."

He looked at her hopefully.

"No."

By this time, they were at the river's edge. Kagome bent down to fill the little pot with water, and then put the flowers in the pot. She set it on a flat rock, along with her clothes, and then looked pointedly at her companion. He knew she wanted him to leave, but he wasn't done yet.

"Why won't you take me? You haven't answered that other guy yet, so you must not want to go with him. Please?"

What was up with him? He never begs for anything, except maybe more Ramen or chocolate. He wouldn't give her any clues, so she would have to dissuade him some other way. She sat down on the rock and sighed. "Inuyasha, you would hate it. There will be a huge crowd of people, all trying to move in a very small space. And loud music. Very loud music."

"So! I can live with that for one night." He crossed his arms and looked intently at her. No one could outstubborn THIS demon.

Another sigh, "You would have to wear shoes. All night. And this suit with a tight collar and another collar called a tie on top of that."

"Keh!"

"You could not take Tetsusiaga. You would have to leave it here. Or at least at my house."

"Kagomeeeeee! I don't care! Please! Why don't you want me to go with you? Why can't I be part of your special night?"

She just blinked at him. He's feeling...left out? That's what this is all about? Before she could tell him that she didn't want to take someone who thought she was ugly, stupid, useless, and putrid to the most important dance of her young life, that she could not spend the evening dancing with someone who wanted her to be someone else, he spoke again.

In desperation, he blurted out, "Kagome, please! I have been working so hard for this! I wanted it to be a surprise for you. Your mom fixed your father's tuxedo to fit me, and taught me how to eat the right way so I wouldn't embarrass you at a nice restaurant, and she and your brother have been teaching me how to dance."

Kagome cut in, "My mom and Souta... taught you how to dance?" she asked, warily.

"Yeah! Like this!" he jumped up and started to hum the Macarena music as he wiggled his backside and extended his arms out in front of him.

She watched in amazement, trying so hard to keep from laughing that she nearly choked, tears spilling out of her eyes. "Uh, Inuyasha?" (arms crossed, hands on shoulders; wiggle wiggle) He was concentrating too hard to hear her. "Inuyasha?"

(Both hands behind his head; wiggle wiggle) "Yeah?"

She tried, but found she couldn't speak. She could not, could NOT laugh at him! He was trying so hard. But he was so cute! Where was her camera when she needed it?

(Hands on hips; wiggle wiggle) Kagome was sure she would never be able to watch him in tough-guy mode ever again without remembering this little scene. (Jump and turn)

When he turned, he was facing her and saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. He stopped and rushed over to her. "What's wrong, Kagome? Did I do it wrong?"

"No, no! I'm just so...touched that you worked so hard to learn to dance for me."

He flushed, "Keh!"

"Uh, Inuyasha? Did Mom and Souta teach you any other dances?"

"Oh, yeah, lots! But that one is the most fun!"

"Ok. Good." Mom is going to have some serious explaining to do!

He grinned at her. She seemed to have cheered up considerably. Maybe he was actually getting somewhere! "I even have money to take you out to dinner! I have been working at the Shrine every day since last Friday, painting and sweeping and gardening! See!" He reached into the front of his kimono and whipped out a handful of money, displaying it for her approval. He didn't notice that something else fluttered to the ground.

When Kagome didn't say anything, he looked up to see absolute shock on her pretty face. Her gaze shifted from his face, down to the money he held, and back to his face. She knitted her brow in confusion and finally spoke, "You did all that just to ... to take me to my prom? But why? Why would you do that? Inuyasha, I'm not Kikyou. I'm the inferior copy, remember? I'm the ugly, useless one. I'm the one who's scent turns your stomach."

There was that damn knife again, twisting in his heart. His words were once again coming back to haunt him. Pushing aside her pile of clothes, he sat down next to her. In a low, choked whisper he said, "I know you're not Kikyou. I've told you over and over, you're nothing like her! And I never meant all those other things. I didn't think you cared that I said them."

"They hurt. A lot."

"I didn't mean them. Actually, the truth would be much closer to the exact opposite of those things. You're... you're the best friend I've ever had. Kikyou was the first to accept and love me other than my mom, but we never had time to develop anything beyond that. I hate that I had a part in what happened to her, and I need to make it right. But... I won't do what she wants me to do. I won't go with her into hell. I don't want her to go there, either. I want her to be at peace. But ... but I feel like I have something to live for now. Ever since..."

Abruptly, Miroku came running up the path toward them, chest heaving, out of breath. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" He glanced apologetically at Kagome, but then returned his attention to the hanyou. Between gasps, he rasped, "Kikyou!" gasp! "She's very" gasp! "very badly" gasp! "injured!" gasp! "She's dying!" gasp! "Wants to" gasp! "see you before" gasp! "she goes onto..."

Kagome couldn't help interjecting, "Miroku, she's already dead. How can she die again?" It didn't matter. She knew he would run to her, no matter what the problem was, even if it were just a cut on her finger.

Miroku glanced helplessly at her and shrugged, trying to catch his breath. Inuyasha was waiting impatiently, "Where is she?"

Finally, he was able to speak in full sentences, "I'll show you. That way." The monk indicated the direction of the path. "Not far from the village. Kaede thought she was too injured to move, so she's still where we found her."

Inuyasha grunted, "Let's go." He bent down to pull the monk onto his back so they could make better time. Just as Miroku reached up to grasp the back of the hanyou's outer coat, Inuyasha remembered something and straightened again, leaving the monk sprawled out on the ground underneath him. He looked down and muttered, "Sorry," before stepping over the body and walking over to face Kagome.

He couldn't read her face. She had gotten good at that ~ probably from years of watching him. Her inscrutable mask was almost perfect now. And he hated it. He much preferred to be able to read the emotion that pooled in the depths of her beautiful eyes. His hand reached up to touch her face, and his golden eyes pleaded with her. "Kagome, I have to go. I have to see her with my own eyes and know she's at peace, and help her if I can. I promise I will be back soon. Please understand."

She nodded. "Of course you have to go. I'll see you when you return." She smiled at him, cheerfully if unconvincingly, "Now, get out of her and let me bathe."

"Come with me?"

The temptation was enormous. But she knew it wasn't the right thing to do. "No. You need to be there for her. I would only be in the way." She pushed him toward their waiting friend.

He gave her one last searching look to make sure she meant it. Then he turned and, taking Miroku fully onto his back this time, leapt into the air.

"Just please don't go with her, ok?" she called after him.

Kagome just sat there for awhile, staring at the speck the two men became in the sky. Her head was spinning, still trying to register all he had told her. He had certainly done a lot to try to go to her dance with her. He had worked to earn money to take her to dinner! And learned table manners, something she never would have believed if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. And he was starting to say some very sweet things to her before they were interrupted. She shook her head and tried to push down the petty feelings of annoyance she felt at Kikyou for once again, interrupting a private, tender moment between herself and Inuyasha. After all, she was mortally wounded. Hmmmm... Could a corpse be mortally wounded?

But he can't have been spending his days with Kikyou, as she had suspected, if he had been busy working for her mom. No wonder he wasn't angry when she was late, or when she wanted to stay home an extra day!

She finally got up to go to the river to wash up. She decided it was too cold for a full bath, but she could wash her hands and face.

He had said she was the best friend he had ever had. And he didn't really think she was ugly, or useless, or any of those other things. 'That's something, right?' She considered, imagining him again in her father's tuxedo. "Mmmmmmm. Maybe... After all, he never learned to do the Macarena for Kikyou!" She giggled at the memory. Maybe he really did care about her just for being herself."

She was reaching for her soap when her eye caught something red on the ground. She bent over to pick it up, and saw to her immense surprise, the photograph of herself sleeping on Inuyasha's shoulder. The one she had been searching for. How did it get here?

She frowned in concentration. It must have come out of Inuyasha's kimono when he reached in for the money. That's right! She remembered something else floating to the ground, but had been too surprised by what he was saying and the sight of the money to pay attention to it. But why did he have it, and when had he taken it from her room? She tried to remember the last time she had seen it on her mirror. She couldn't remember, but her heart did a little flutter at the thought of him wanting the picture, and of him keeping it with him all the time.

Suddenly, it clicked. 'No, that can't be right! Could it be...? Didn't she look at that photo for the last time just before she left for her date to the last dance...with Houjo?'

TOP

Chapter 13

When Inuyasha touched down with Miroku on his back, he felt the hairs on his neck bristle. Something was suspicious. Besides the fact that an already dead miko, one to which he had once almost pledged his eternal fidelity, except that she had died first, was laying on the ground mortally wounded. Confusing at best, but it wasn't what was bothering him. He didn't know what, but something was definitely not right.

Surveying the scene, he noted that Kaede was lying apparently unconscious, a short way away from Kikyo's prone figure. Sango was trying to stem the copious flow of blood from Kikyo's open chest wound, but had to keep changing the soaked bandages. Inuyasha could only stare ~ he couldn't understand how she could bleed in the first place.

"Inuyasha, you have come," came Kikyo's very weak call. He rushed over and took her hand. It was very cold, but then, it always was these days.

"Wha...what happened?" He waved his hand vaguely to indicate Kikyo's condition, as well as Kaede's.

Sango looked up, "We haven't been able to get that much out of her. She's very weak."

Inuyasha glanced at Kaede, and Sango understood. "She just sort of...fainted when she saw Kikyo. Strange. Very unlike Kaede. But I guess since it's her sister... whom she already saw die once..."

Inuyasha looked away, "As if it's easy for anyone else!"

"Inuyasha," Sango looked at him sympathetically. It was lost on him, though, as he was gazing at the fallen miko. It made his heart wrench in pain to see her this way. But somehow it all felt so familiar. Like some sort of trap. He couldn't help but wonder how she could be bleeding so much.

Sango finally seemed to get the blood to stop flowing from the wound, at least enough to stop changing the bandage for awhile. Kikyo opened her eyes and said, "Thank you for trying to help me, but it really is no use. My time is near. Please let me have some time alone with Inuyasha."

Sango nodded and got up to leave. She joined Miroku who had gone to check on Kaede. The priestess seemed to be in a deep sleep ~ breathing evenly but not waking. They exchanged puzzled looks, but glancing up again at Inuyasha and Kikyo, decided to leave them to their last few moments. They crept off toward the village.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha continued to hold Kikyo's hand. "Kikyo, what happened? Tell me who did this to you, and I will make them pay with their life!"

She smiled weakly, "Same as always. Trying to solve problems with your strength. Killing the offender won't bring the victim back, you know."

Kagome sat on the bank of the river, semi-clean and dressed in fresh clothing. She shivered into he jacket, glad that her mom had insisted that she bring it. The air held a strange chill.

She gazed at the picture in her hand, remembering the day it was taken. She smirked at the memory of herself using Inuyasha's prayer beads to pull him into a hug. Once she got him in her embrace, he had just held on and wouldn't let go. Not that she tried to get away. It made her feel warm all over to remember it. His arms were so strong, so warm.

She shivered again. She would much rather be wearing him than this jacket. He would be warmer. And she could stop these troubling images that were plaguing her mind.

She kept having visions of Inuyasha pinned to a tree again. He was helplessly trying to get free, but the vines held him tight. Kikyo stood in front of him, her arrow trained right at his heart.

She shook her head in disgust. She knew it was her jealous mind playing tricks on her. Playing on her fears that Kikyo would take Inuyasha with her when she died. But he said he wouldn't go. Still, he seemed to fall under a spell whenever she was around, so was he capable of keeping that promise?

Maybe she should have gone with him. But how could she? She knew Kikyo wouldn't want to share the hanyou with her. She would have felt like a vulture, waiting around to claim Inuyasha and the last part of her soul from the dying miko. No, she owed Kikyo her last moments with the man she had once loved. She did after all, give her soul and powers, and the jewel to Kagome, even if it hadn't been intentional.

She pushed down a rush of panic as one of those visions again filled her head. Miroku had said she was hurt badly ~ that she was dying. How could she be hurting Inuyasha? "My imagination is running wild! I have to find something to do!"

Gathering her things and the little pot of flowers, and headed back towards the village.

When Miroku and Sango were finally out of sight, and Kikyo could no longer hear their voices, she sat up and smiled at Inuyasha. "Well, it seems as if we are finally alone."

Inuyasha could do nothing but gape at her. "Kikyo?"

She was still smiling when he backed away. "I counted on your gullibility to get you here, Inuyasha. I told you we would see how much that little human of yours trusts you! Here's your... chance!" She laughed softly at the look of panic that crossed his face as he backed farther away from her, unsure whether to attack or take flight back to Kagome.

"Don't you touch her! I swear, if you do..." He suddenly felt himself grabbed from behind by arms stronger than his own. He felt the rough surface of bark on his back, as viney branches surrounded his arms, his legs, his midsection; his claws helpless to reach anything to slash.

"I told you, Inuyasha. I'M not going anywhere near her." Her sad, strange smile touched her stoic features. "You are."

Out of the trees appeared ...Inuyasha! Or something that looked just like him, down to his red fire rat coat and claws. His face was identical, his hair every bit as long and silvery white. But his eyes were malevolent, angry, and his wicked smile sent a surge of terror through Inuyasha's heart. He watched as his double closed his amber eyes and opened them again, all traces of malice gone, making his face the perfect mask of his own habitual expression.

Kikyo gave the imposter an appraising glance. "Yes, you'll be perfect. She won't ever be able to tell the difference. Go on ~ you know where to find her."

The double spoke up in a voice that made the hair on Inuyasha's spine stand on end, it sounded so much like his own, "But Mistress, shouldn't you give me a shard? It would insure my victory."

"Fool! She would detect it instantly and know you were a fake! And why should you need a shard against a powerless human? She may have some miko powers, but she has no idea how to use them. And I have her guardian right here with no hope of freeing himself, so you needn't worry about that, either. The only help she could hope for is that little kitsune, and he's worthless. The other two are lying unconscious 300 feet away from us. Now go!"

"Yes, Mistress." In a flash, the fake Inuyasha leapt into the air and was gone.

Inuyasha went berserk, thrashing helplessly, though he could only move fractions of an inch. "DAMN YOU! GET BACK HERE! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO HER? I SWEAR, IF YOU HURT HER, I WILL FIND YOU AND TORTURE YOU TILL YOU BEG ME TO KILL YOU!!!!!!"

Kagome sent him a bored glance. "I told you, I'm only testing her faith in you. With your keen ears, you will be able to hear it all. That's more of a chance than anyone ever gave us."

"KIKYO! PLEASE! She has never done anything to hurt you. She has only tried to help me and be my friend."

"You love her."

"NO! She only finds shards for me!" He had to deny it. Maybe if Kikyo didn't know his true feelings, she would relent this appalling plan.

But instead, she sighed, "Inuyasha, I have ears everywhere. As your friend the monk said, save it. I know differently."

"LET ME GO!!!!"

Kikyo eyed him a moment, then cocked her head to the side in a gesture that reminded him painfully of Kagome, "Aren't you curious? Don't you want to know if you're right about her trust in you?" she chuckled lightly, "not that it matters now. By the time he," She snorted, "YOU get finished with her, it won't matter."

Inuyasha was nearly incoherent with rage by now. Stream after stream of obscenities burst forth from the angry hanyou, as he tried fervently to come up with some way to escape. He was barely holding on to reason, but he held on with everything he had. Even as a full youkai, he didn't think he would be able to free himself by force, and he needed to keep his wits about him. He had to have a plan. He had to save Kagome.

The village was bustling with everyday life, but when Kagome entered Kaede's hut, it was eerily empty. "I guess everyone is still out tending Kikyo." She said to no one. Even Shippou was gone, probably out playing in a field or something.

Her stomach was sick with some kind of nausea, and she decided she must be hungry. After all, the sun was high overhead now, and she had yet to eat anything. Rummaging around in her pack, she found some cookies that her mom had packed for her. "Oh well, it's flour, eggs, and milk, right?" she said to that same no one. She grabbed a can of tea and sat down to munch.

But it was much too quiet. She tried to concentrate on the meal she was eating, but the frightening images continued to flood her mind, and she just couldn't shake them. "Kagome, you're pathetic!" she scolded herself. "Are you going to be like this whenever he's gone? You can't be with him all the time, you know! Are you going to imagine he's about to die every time he's away?"

She looked around the hut desperately for something to distract her attention, and her eyes fell on her bow and arrows. "Target practice! Perfect!" She abandoned the food, which was only making her feel worse anyway, grabbed her gear, and shot out the door. She had to get away from those visions.

Inuyasha had stopped struggling. He knew he was only wasting his energy. He had to get out of this. What would Kagome do? She was the clever one. He was the strength. That's the way they worked together. But his strength was failing him now, and she wasn't around to be cunning. And he wasn't stupid. 'Oh, man, where is Myouga?'

Kikyo had been watching in the direction that the double had disappeared. She turned back to Inuyasha and arched an eyebrow, "You never answered me. Don't you want to know?"

"I don't have to hear it. I know."

She chuckled again, "We'll see."

He just stared at her. She really was gone. She may have Kikyo's body, or a very close copy, but Kikyo was not in there. Some of her memories, yes; that's why she wouldn't let him go. Where once there had been a loving, caring person, there was now only spitefulness and hatred. The woman he had once loved was gone, or at least had moved on to Kagome. Still, he couldn't make himself hate her. He couldn't completely rid himself of the guilt he felt. He wanted to help her, but he was pretty sure she didn't want to be helped right now. And right now, she wasn't his main concern. Not even close.

He decided to change the subject, "Kikyo, what did you do to your sister? Your own sister?"

She glanced over at Kaede's unconscious form, lying on the ground a few yards away. "She's merely sleeping. I couldn't have her sensing that I wasn't injured and exposing my plan, could I?"

"And the other two? Miroku and Sango?"

She blinked at him as if he were completely brainless, "They served their purposes. I had to make sure they didn't warn off my reincarnation. You needn't worry about any of them. They will all be fine when they wake up. That annoying little fox demon is off playing with some of my little friends. He'll never know a thing until it's over."

"Oh, well, that makes me feel much better!" He bit sarcastically.

She took up her own bow and pulled an arrow from her quiver. "It shouldn't be long now. You can hear her when your double comes upon her. She'll be no match for him alone, so the misery won't be too drawn out. But before she dies, I will put you to sleep again, just like before. History repeats itself." She took aim directly at his heart.

Kagome had been practicing hard for a couple of hours. She could now hit just about any target she aimed for dead center, but they were all fixed. What she needed was some moving targets. After all, very few youkai stood accommodatingly still while she aimed and shot at them.

But her arms were getting sore, and while the distraction was helping somewhat, she was still inundated by the frightening images. Why couldn't she shake them? 'Maybe he really is in trouble!' she thought, panic beginning to rise. 'But that's ridiculous! Any moment now, I'll look up to see his...'

And sure enough, she lifted her gaze to see the familiar red clothing and white hair in the distance. She wanted to run and fling herself at him, reassuring herself that he was there, that the images had all been figments of her stupid, overactive imagination. She wanted desperately to hold his solid form in her arms and know that he was here with her and not pinned helplessly to a tree or off in hell with Kikyo.

But she restrained herself. How could she be jubilant when he had lost the love of his life for the second time, having to watch her die this time? She watched as his figure drew nearer, head bowed, eyes trained at the ground.

"Inu...yasha?" Something suddenly felt very wrong.

He lifted his face and gazed at her, malevolence glowing in his amber eyes. "I'll have that jewel now, bitch!"

TOP

Chapter 14

Kagome started with shock at his words. "Wha...what?"

He spat at her, "What's the matter, bitch? You deaf? I said I'll take the jewel now."

She didn't move. Her mind was reeling with sensory overload. She just stood there, transfixed.

His amber eyes glowed with evil, and his voice became a low growl, "What's wrong with you? Hand it over now, and you might live to tell about it." He snickered nastily, "Of course, it would be more fun for me to take it of your dead body!"

He was advancing on her, growing ever closer, and still, she did not move. Her insides were churning, her mind reeling, the images of Inuyasha pinned to the tree getting more and more intense. She finally covered her face with her hands, trying with all her strength to concentrate, to comprehend what was happening.

Just as "Inuyasha" lunged for her, she instinctively threw out a hand, hitting him midair squarely in the chest with a beam of pure white light, and knocking him backwards into a tree.

He lay, stunned on the ground and she stood staring, both stunned by the power she had just displayed. He sat up and rubbed the back of his head where it had hit the tree, 'Shit, that hurt! I thought that Kikyou bitch said she couldn't use her powers!'

Kagome recovered herself, and turned the full force of her anger on him, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM?" she screamed.

He stared at her, uncomprehending. Had the blow on his head done something to his hearing? "What have I done with who?" he sneered.

"INUYASHA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH INUYASHA?" the images were almost blinding her now. She had to get ahold of herself.

"Stupid bitch! Are you blind as well as deaf? Who do I look like? Shippou? Now give me the Jewel!" He was on his feet now, charging straight at her.

"I don't know who you are, but I know you've done something to Inuyasha. You and Kikyou! Now, WHERE IS HE?" she shrieked. Unfortunately for Inuyasha's double, Kagome was standing in front of a very large rock, and when he got to her, she sidestepped and he ran straight into it.

She snickered, "For one thing, Inuyasha is a lot smarter than you are!"

He was livid! Who the hell did this human think she was anyway? Obviously Kikyou had underestimated her, or else hadn't told him about her anyway. Kikyou had said she would be no trouble. That she had only survived this long because of Inuyasha's protection. Hah! She didn't even seem to be scared of him at all!

He got up staggering slightly, but by then, Kagome had her bow drawn with an arrow in place, and was aiming it at him. He stared at her, unsure of what to do next. He knew about those arrows. They could kill him instantly, or seal him forever. His job was to kill her, not be killed. After he made her believe that Inuyasha was betraying her. None of it seemed to be going well.

"Look, you stupid bitch! I am Inuyasha! See, the fangs, the hair, the claws that can and will slice you to ribbons if you don't give me the fucking jewel right now! I will use it to restore Kikyou and she will help me complete it. Why should I keep an inferior copy around when I can have her?" Fast as lightening, he swiped at her with his claws, knocking the bow to the side and causing her to drop the arrow. Seeing that he had effectively disarmed her, he made a lunge.

But his pounce found empty ground. Kagome might not be the strongest fighter, but years of dodging and evading Inuyasha in attempt to get through the well had taught her how to get out of the way of a flying body. She rolled to the side, and decided to use the time he stared disbelievingly at the ground to get some distance between them.

He had beads on like her Inuyasha, but would they work? And if she said the word, would it hurt her Inuyasha wherever he was? Oh, gods, where was he? Had Kikyou let that arrow fly? She headed for the river, knowing that if she had to dive in, the water would help to disguise her scent. What's a little cold when you're running for your life, and trying to save another?

She heard him coming and readied her bow again. He stopped when he saw her aiming at him. He was farther away this time, out of swiping distance. "Don't come any closer or I'll let it fly! Now, tell me what you've done with Inuyasha, or I'll turn you into a shish-kabob." She demanded with more bravado than she felt. In truth, she was scared, very scared. She had never faced down a demon alone without Inuyasha coming to her rescue, but if she believed those visions, it was her turn to be the hero.

He let out a string of obscenities, and finally spat at her, "You see me in front of you, you hear my voice. Why don't you believe that I'm Inu- ...me?"

"Oh, please! You're not even a good copy!" she snorted derisively.

He drew his sword out of it's sheath and pointed it at her, "Why, you little...I'll teach you to..."

She laughed. She couldn't help herself. "See, you don't even know that that sword, if it were Inuyasha's, wouldn't do a thing to harm me. BAKA! It can't cut paper! It only works to protect a human in danger!" she laughed a little more, then stopped abruptly. "Now tell me where Inuyasha is, or I let this thing fly!"

He was really pissed now. There is no way a weak human was going to beat him. A full blooded demon! Not a half-breed like the one he was impersonating! He held the sword in front of him, and said, "Of course I knew that. It might not cut you, but I can use it to keep you from hitting me with one of your arrows. And I could use it to beat you to death. Although that wouldn't be as much fun as slicing you and watching you bleed." He grinned menacingly at her.

"Oh, sure! Good recovery."

He was losing it now! Arrows be damned! He was going to kill this bitch, and it was going to feel good! He leapt into the air, over her head and landed on her, causing her to sprawl out on the ground, his hands pinning her arms and shoulders to the ground, his legs straddling her body, and his feet immobilizing her legs.

She struggled and yelled, "GET OFF ME, YOU PERVERT!" 'Now, what did they teach me to do in self-defense class when a guy is pinning you to the ground?' Unfortunately, her legs being pinned meant her knee wasn't free to hit him in his sensitive area. There was this one technique, though, if she could just distract him enough to throw him off balance...

"Now what are you going to do, you smart ass bitch? Looks like you've come to the end of the line. I'm going to slit your throat slowly, so you feel every inch of it. Although... you do have a pretty hot body. Maybe I'll have some fun with you first. You do want me, don't you?" He ground his pelvis into her.

His hot breath was on her neck, making her stomach churn with nausea. She opened her mouth and her lips formed a soundless word.

He put his head down closer to her mouth, "What's that? I didn't hear you."

With is ear down right next to her mouth, Kagome readied herself and let out a shriek, "NOOOOO!" If his ears were as sensitive as the real Inuyasha's, he would be in pain. Sure enough, he let go of her shoulders and covered his ears, howling with pain. She used the opportunity to roll him off her and scramble away. But he recovered too quickly, and grabbed onto her retreating legs, digging his claws in and pulling himself back on top of her. She screamed as the claws dug into her flesh, feeling the blood run down her thighs and onto the ground.

When he heard Kagome yell, "INUYASHA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH INUYASHA?" Inuyasha smiled smugly at Kikyou. "Doesn't sound like your little ruse worked, does it. She doesn't believe it's me."

Kikyou turned away, lest he see the uncertainty on her face. She couldn't think what had gone wrong. He was the perfect likeness, and he had Inuyasha's voice and personality down to a tee. One thing was for sure ~ she had fully underestimated her reincarnate. In a bitter, derisive voice she said, "It would have been nice to send her to her death thinking you had betrayed her, but I assure you she won't be able to outrun him for long. You lose her either way."

"I thought you said this was only a test. You were wrong."

"I lied. And the fact that she doesn't believe it's you doesn't prove anything. He's just not as convincing a double as I thought he would be."

"Hah! You're reaching now! You were wrong." Inuyasha was almost enjoying himself now. Kagome seemed to have everything under control, and she was really pissing that pathetic demon off. If he weren't so scared for her, he would laugh. Especially when he heard a thud and she told the demon that he (the real Inuyasha) was much smarter than he was.

His bravado turned to terror, though, as he heard the demon knock Kagome to the ground and her scream. He began to struggle wildly again, desperately trying to reach one of the confining vines with his claws. "THAT'S ENOUGH, KIKYOU! LET ME GO! I SWEAR, YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

"Oh, and who's going to make me pay, Inuyasha? The great Inuyasha is once again helplessly held fast to a tree, and you might want to get comfortable. You're going to be here for a very long time."

They heard the voice of the demon, ""Now what are you going to do, you smart ass bitch? Looks like you've come to the end of the line. I'm going to slit your throat slowly, so you feel every inch of it. Although... you do have a pretty hot body. Maybe I'll have some fun with you first. You do want me, don't you?"

"YOU BASTARD! YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Inuyasha was going berserk. His blood was boiling, every nerve in his body was on fire. The only thing that kept him from completely losing sense and turning full youkai was the sword that still sat in it's sheath on his hip...

"Look, you brainless, weak, useless mortal! What do I have to do to convince you that I have done nothing to Inuyasha because I am Inuyasha? I am taking the jewel because I don't need you anymore. If Kikyou had been with me the whole time, it would be complete by now!" The demon did not want to risk Kikyou's anger at his inability to convince this girl. Or... Naraku's. He knew if he failed, his life was as good as over.

"STOP!" she screamed. She hoped his ears were throbbing by now. Lifting her head as much as she could to get as close to them as possible, she again shrieked "YOU'RE NOT INUYASHA! YOU'RE NOT EVEN CLOSE! YOU'RE A WEAK, PATHETIC IMPOSTER!"

"STOP SHREIKING AT ME, BITCH!" he grabbed his ears, covering them with his hands.

Her hand darted out and reached for one of her arrows, which were pinned under he right shoulder. She found a shaft and pulled, wincing at the head scraping her shoulder blade. She readied the arrow to stab the demon perched on top of her, but was only able to tear his clothing before he leapt out of her reach. Still, he was off of her, and she scrambled to her feet, never taking her eyes off him. She was not about to be tackled again.

She faced off with him, breathing heavily, bow once again ready and aimed at her nemesis. She had had enough of him, and she had to find Inuyasha. Fully intending to shoot him this time, she first had something to get off her chest.

She shouted hotly, "You really want to know why you're such a lousy imposter? I'll tell you! You may have his hair and his clothes, but you don't have his eyes. They might be the right color, but color doesn't mirror the soul. And the Tetsusiaga thing. You might have done your homework better. But do you know what really gave you away? Inuyasha, MY Inuyasha would never, ever, EVER hurt me. I know that with my heart and my very soul. And he knows that if he needed the jewel, he wouldn't have to demand it like some crazed barbarian! All he would have to do is ask."

With that, she let her arrow fly.

Kikyou and the immobilized, half crazed hanyou stared into the distance at the words they had just heard. Positive confirmation that Kagome trusted her half dog demon with her whole being. But the words affected the two very differently.

Kikyou swore in a manner very unlike her living self. Inuyasha was right, and she hated him and Kagome for it. But, she thought bitterly, it will still end up the same for them. If that worthless demon couldn't finish off her reincarnate, she would do it herself. After she sealed Inuyasha once again. She turned to ready her weapon at the hanyou, but didn't expect the sight she was greeted with.

To Inuyasha though, hearing those words from Kagome sent a surge of strength through his body. "MY Inuyasha!" she had said. "I know that with my very heart and soul!" she declared. He felt renewed, energized. He could take on the world! He was once again the great Inuyasha, powerful and invincible. If he could only escape this damn tree!

Suddenly, he felt a small prick below his collar bone, and looked down to see Myouga refreshing himself with the hanyou's blood. "Nice of you to show up, just when I'm about to be put to sleep again! Get out of here and go help Kagome!"

"Master, if you would only clear your head, you would realize that you can call on Tetsusiaga, even without use of your hands!"

He blinked. Of course!

So, when Kikyou turned around, he was yelling, "Tetsusiaga!" The sword leapt from its scabbard into the air, made a graceful arc, and in a lightning flash, severed vines littered the ground and Inuyasha was free.

He took one leap and landed behind the miko, grabbing her bow and and flinging it into the distance. "I don't have time to deal with you right now, but I warn you, stay away from Kagome and from me. You lost your little bet. Now leave us alone."

Before she could respond, he had bounded off into the forest.

Unfortunately for Kagome, with Inuyasha's form, the demon also had his speed and agility. So even if he had been slow to learn how to use them, he seemed to have finally adapted. Because of this, her arrow failed completely to pierce or even graze him.

Fortunately for her, before he could do anything to retaliate, the real Inuyasha came bounding out of the forest. He grabbed her around the waste, and in a flash, had set her up onto the cliff from which he had once watched her bathe on her first trip to Feudal Japan. "Stay here! Do you understand me? Stay here where it's safe! I have a huge score to settle with this guy!"

And before she could react, he was gone again. She watched as Inuyasha went after the demon, and saw the first blow he delivered. But after that, it became a little confusing. Actually, a lot confusing. Apparently, even if this guy hadn't done his homework, whoever had made his weapon had, because is too transformed when he pulled it from it's sheath. And the demon mirrored every move Inuyasha made, so he was becoming just as injured as his opponent. It soon became painfully apparent that Inuyasha was becoming frustrated

She had to do something to help! But what could she do? Telling the two apart wouldn't have been at all hard if they hadn't been moving so fast. Inuyasha was yelling threats and obscenities at the demon about how he would make him suffer for what he had done to Kagome. The demon was mainly laughing, which just made Inuyasha angrier. Kagome knew that a certain amount of anger was good, but too much would make him careless and would put him in danger. She raised her weapon, thinking that if she could just injure or distract the demon, Inuyasha might be able to get a clear shot at him.

But they were moving so fast, they appeared to be red streaks in the sky. She couldn't chance hitting Inuyasha instead his double. She just had to wish for moving targets earlier that day, didn't she? 'Be careful of what you wish for ~ you might get it!' she thought wryly.

But there had to be something to slow them down! She had to separate them enough to get a clear shot at the demon. But how could she do it?

The sun was beginning to drop to the horizon and the air was getting colder. It was worse at the top of the cliff where there was nothing to shelter her from the cold wind that had risen in the last few minutes. Seeking warmth, she pushed her hands into her pockets and tried to shrug further into her jacket. Suddenly, she frowned. She took one of her hands out of it's shelter and reached up to finger the jewel thoughtfully....Yes, this just might work!

Inuyasha had been up against tougher demons than this one. This one didn't even have a shard. But it's very hard to fight and defeat someone who knows and uses every one of your own attacks, and knows how to duck everything you throw at him. He knew he had to stay focused and clear, and not to lose his head, but his tolerance was wearing very thin. The demon's maniacal laughter was really getting on his nerves. And he was getting tired. He'd used a lot of his energy trying to escape from that damn tree, after all.

Then he heard Kagome's voice ring out loud and clear, "Hey, you stupid demon!"

Both he and the demon stopped and looked over to see the girl standing precariously up on the cliff, holding something out over her head. The something dangled from a necklace with jagged, tooth-like beads and it shone and glimmered in the twilight sun.

Kagome continued, "Is this what you want? If I give it to you, will you go away and leave us alone? Then come and take it from me?"

The demon laughed. Ok, maybe he hadn't been able to do his job, but he could bring Kikyou the jewel and kill the girl in one sweep. That would please her. Or maybe he would just keep the jewel for himself. Yes, that would be better! Let Kikyou, or even Naraku mess with him when he has the jewel!

Inuyasha gaped at her. "KAGOME, YOU STUPID GIRL! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU..."

After that, everything happened very quickly. Both the demon and the hanyou shot off toward the girl on the cliff, but owing to the fact that Inuyasha paused to criticize Kagome, the demon had a slight head start and got there faster. He grabbed the jewel from the girl's hand and at the same time pushed her already unsteady body just enough to make her lose her balance and topple off the cliff, down toward the rocky bank below.

TOP

Chapter 15

"KA-GOM-AAAAAAAAAAY!" Inuyasha flashed toward the girl's plummeting body, and caught her mid-air before touching down onto the rocky riverbed.

She smiled at him, "My hero!"

"IDIOT! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Still holding her, he began to sniff her all over for injuries. He could smell her blood, and it didn't take too long to find the torn flesh of her thighs.

Kagome was struggling, trying to escape his iron grasp. "Inuyasha! Thank you, I'm fine. Please let me go!"

"You're hurt." He was examining the gashes, noting that the punctures were deep, but the cuts seemed to be fairly shallow. If she were hanyou, they would heal in no time. 'But she's not a hanyou; she's human.' At least she was no longer actively bleeding.

"Yes, yes, I know that! Kaede can fix me up after we're done. But, please, you have to let me go now!" She finally succeeded in wriggling out of his grasp.

He sighed. "Ok, you stay here. I have to go after that jewel! In his hands, I can't even imagine what will happen, especially if he gives it to Naraku! Honesty, wench! What were you thinking?"

Kagome was readying her bow. She shot him a sad, slightly hurt expression. "Don't worry, Inuyasha. He'll be back any time now. Trust me." She raised her bow, arrow in place. "Now, please be quiet. I need to concentrate."

As if on cue, they heard a rumble just over the cliff, "YOU BITCH! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING? YOU TRICKED ME!" Waving the bauble, it appeared in the sky from over the cliff edge. The only resemblance it now bore to Inuyasha was a few white hairs clinging to ripped and torn red cloth, hanging off its body. The demon that appeared over them was large, bulging, with scaly black skin and angry glowing red eyes. Smoke seemed to pour from his ears as he rumbled.

Inuyasha prepared to strike when he heard Kagome hiss, "No, Inuyasha! Stay out of the way!" He stared at her in surprise. A look of fierce concentration marked her beautiful features, and a halo of white light surrounded her and her weapon.

Then it all happened in the flash of a second. As soon as the demon was within range, she let the arrow fly. It flew through the air with deadly speed, glowing with an eerie bright light. When it found it's target, the demon let out a howl of anger, then exploded into thousands of pieces, which caught fire and rained through the sky in a grotesque fireworks display.

As the charred bits hit the ground, so did the jewel the demon had taken from Kagome before pushing her over the cliff. Inuyasha, completely stunned by the entire display, composed himself enough to bend over and pick up the fallen charm. He turned it over in his hands, and then looked up and frowned questioningly at Kagome.

She grinned at him and unzipped her jacket enough to reveal the real jewel, still hanging safely around her neck. He gaped at her.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Inuyasha! I trust you. Why don't you trust me?"

He was still staring, "I...I do! I...where did this thing..."

"I told you I had to help Mom out at the Shrine gift shop yesterday. I told some tourists about the jewel, and they all wanted to buy a replica. Go figure!" She paused to let out a huge yawn. "Excuse me! Anyway, one of the charms was chipped, so I stuck it in my pocket, thinking that we'd have to send it back to the manufacturer. I guess they won't take it back now!" she joked, noting the charred beads and string. She yawned again, this time even deeper than the first one.

"Oh, wow, I can't believe how tired I suddenly am." Her eyes started to close sleepily, and her knees began to buckle. Inuyasha dove to catch her in his arms before she hit the ground.

"KAGOME!"

Kagome, feeling the warmth of his body, snuggled into his chest and let out a sigh of contentment. A small smile crossed Inuyasha's face as he realized she was merely asleep. 'Using her Miko powers must have exhausted her, since she hasn't really used them before today." He smiled, gazing down at the lovely girl in his arms, and sat down on the shore of the river. He knew he should get back to the others and let them know what had happened, but he wanted to just sit for a few minutes, watching the last bit of orange and yellow disappear on the horizon, and enjoying the feeling of this sleeping angel in his arms.

'She trusts me. She accepts me for what and who I am.' He tenderly stroked a stray tendril of raven hair from her cheek. 'Will she stay with me?' He sighed and pulled her closer.

Inuyasha finally decided it was time to head back to the village. Kagome was still sleeping soundly, and he would have liked to sit and hold her all night, but her wounds needed tending. He had her cradled close to him, as if she were the most precious bundle in the world. Every once in a while, she would stir and sigh, but other than that, she showed no signs of waking.

The hanyou was considering that perhaps he should take Kagome home through the well to sleep in her own bed. After Kaede had taken care of her wounds, of course. He still didn't trust all those strange bottles Kagome carried around with her. Suddenly, his ears perked up, and he listened intently.

There was a rustle in the brush, and then Kikyou was standing before him, bow raised, arrow aimed straight at Kagome.

"Kikyou!"

The priestess said nothing. She just stood there, her weapon trained at the sleeping girl in Inuyasha's arms.

"Kikyou," he said warily, " You know I can't let you do that."

In answer, Kikyou lifted her gaze to Inuyasha, eyes daring him to stop her.

"Please," he begged quietly, "Please Kikyou, don't make me do this."

Again, she said nothing, but instead pulled the bow string back a little further.

"KIKYOU!" Before he knew what happened, he had unsheathed Tetsusiaga, leapt out of the line of fire, and brought the transformed katana down to sever the dead miko's head cleanly from her shoulders.

The hanyou watched in anguish and horror as her body crumpled to the ground, her head dropping with a ghastly thud beside it. Immediately, a ghostly procession of wispy white souls escaped from her slain corpse, swirling in a whirlwind over her, before separating and flying off into the night sky. A small ball of greenish light shot out and hovered over Kagome's chest, seeming to seek entrance, but unable to accomplish it. After a few moments, his sensitive nose become aware of a putrid stench as the green seemed to burn away from the light into a tiny column of smoke, and leaving a pure white light. The white light immediately disappeared, and Kagome's unconscious body gave a violent shudder.

As the green smoke curled up and disappeared into the atmosphere, Inuyasha heard a voice. Kikyou's voice. Not the one he had been hearing since she was resurrected, angry and full of hate, but the one from long ago; kind and sweet. "Finally! I'm finally free!" the voice seemed to wrap itself around his head, speaking directly into his ears. "Thank you, Inuyasha, for setting me free." When the light disappeared, the voice was gone.

He looked down where Kikyou's remains had been, but there was only a pile of ash and dirt.

Inuyasha stroked Kagome's face with concern, "Oi, Kagome, are you ok?"

"Mmmmmmmmm." Was her only answer, but it was enough to reassure the hanyou that she was still there. He laid her gently on the ground, taking off his fire-rat fur coat and folding it into a pad to pillow her head. He then took the blouse that Kikyou had been wearing, and carefully scooped her remains into it, using it as a make-shift pouch. When he completed this task, and tied it tightly to keep the contents from escaping, he tucked the pouch into his belt. He wrapped Kagome in his coat, cradled her against him once more, and made the rest of his journey back to Kaede's hut.

All the way back to the village, Inuyasha tried to sort out his feelings about what had just happened. He knew he should feel a little guilty, and he would have, if he hadn't heard that voice. He knew in his heart that Kikyou was finally where she was supposed to be, and it wasn't hell. He thought about her being suspended in that body borne of evil, and suddenly his guilt hit him full force. If he hadn't been so selfish before, if he had listened to Kaede in the first place, he could have released her long ago and saved her, Kagome, and himself from a lot of pain.

He looked once again upon the sleeping figure, so contently nestled against his body. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I'm a fool as well as a jerk." But even as he berated himself, he couldn't help the small bit of joy that bubbled up inside of him as he realized that he was finally free to offer himself to her completely. He could give himself with no reservations, no guilt, no confusion.

"But will you want me when I offer?" He voiced his thoughts out loud.

Kagome gave a stir and opened her eyes, blinking up at him. "Inuyasha! What happened?"

He grunted at her, hoping she hadn't heard his musing. "One minute, you were yawning, and the next you were asleep! I caught you."

She smiled sleepily, "Of course you did. You always do." She gave a little giggle, "My big, strong hero." She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He flushed with pleasure, "Feh! You're the one who killed the demon!" he pouted a little. "I didn't get to be the hero today."

She yawned. "Of course you were. You caught me when I fell, just like I knew you would. Without you and your speed and strength, the plan wouldn't have worked." Another yawn, "You're always my hero." As an afterthough, "Gods! I'm so sleepy!"

Feeling her arms around him, he thought he might burst with happiness. "I think using your miko powers wore you out." He said quietly. "I'm want Kaede see to your injuries, and then I'm going to take you home to sleep in your own bed." 'Maybe I can stay and get an early start on work tomorrow, since I missed a whole day. Then again, I guess it won't matter if she still won't take me...'

"Thank you , Inuyasha." A chill wind blew around them, and she tried to burrow closer to him. He tightened his hold.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you be my date to my prom?"

It was dark and Kagome's head was pillowed on the hanyou's shoulder. Which was a shame because if she could have seen his face, she would have seen the biggest grin that had graced his features since he was a small pup. "I'll check my calendar, but I think I can fit you in."

Kagome probably would have whapped him on the arm for his answer, but she was already asleep again, at ease in the safety of his arms

TOP

Chapter 16

So, upon arriving in the village, Inuyasha had several surprises for his friends. The first, of course, was the still unconscious girl in his arms. Shippou leapt up onto Inuyasha's shoulder, much to the hanyou's annoyance, for a closer inspection before he would believe that she was just sleeping. She did look pretty battered, after all. And Miroku, Sango, and Kaede had all been quite anxious about the pair since waking in the forest to find them all gone.

Inuyasha carefully deposited Kagome on the floor in front of Kaede, for her inspection. He then pulled the make-shift pouch from his belt, and proffered it to the priestess.

She looked at the tied-up blouse, then up to Inuyasha, and then closed her eyes and nodded. "Ah, yes, I thought I sensed...But no, perhaps you had better tell me what happened."

So, while Kaede inspected, cleansed, and bandaged Kagome's wounds, the hanyou related the events of the afternoon, ending with his part in the demise of the woman to which he had once been betrothed. When he was finished, the hut was completely silent.

Miroku broke the silence with a low whistle. Kaede finally spoke. "It's over then. As it should be. My sister can finally be at peace. We'll take her remains and bury them where they belong, where they have belonged all along, in the morning. Thank you, Inuyasha, for returning them to me. To our village."

Inuyasha cleared his throat, and looked away. "Feh! If I had done it to begin with, I could have spared everyone a lot of... I'm sorry."

Again there was silence. It took everyone, even Kaede, a few moments to recover from the fact that Inuyasha had just apologized, and had done it in front of several people. Kaede smiled gently, but didn't voice her thoughts. She knew that saying what she was thinking ~ that Inuyasha was much kinder and more sentimental than he would ever admit to anyone ~ would only make him angry.

She finally said, "Does Kagome know?"

"No. She hasn't woken long enough for me to tell her."

Sango looked up, "Has she woken at all?"

"Once. For just a minute."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. He knew his friend had left something out. "What did she say?"

"...Nothing."

"Right. She said nothing." The houshi wasn't going to let this go. It was the only real fun he'd had all day. Sango hadn't even let him "help" her by supporting her on the way back to the village. "What did she say? It might be important."

"It's not. Not to you anyway."

Kaede looked serious. "We won't know that until you tell us. What did she say, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's face was now as red as his coat. He grunted and then muttered something almost incoherent.

Sango crossed her arms and looked at him reproachfully, "Excuse me? I didn't quite catch that."

Shippou bounced up and said helpfully, "He said she asked him to be her date to her prom." Then he ducked the hand that would have sent him flying into the wall, and darted behind Sango. "What? That's what you said!" He stuck his tongue out at the hanyou.

There was a chorus of congratulations from everyone else in the room, as Inuyasha tried to pretend he was annoyed. But he knew if he didn't get out of there soon, he was going to lose the battle with his face and they would all see the stupid grin he had been wearing most of his journey back to the village.

"Are you done with her yet, Baba? I want to take her back to sleep in her own bed. I'll be back in the morning for the burial, but after that I'm going to work the rest of the week at Kagome's home."

Kaede ignored the rude term he used for her, and nodded. "You may take her now. Sleep is what will help her the most now."

Picking Kagome up gently, he nodded to the group and exited the hut. When he was out of the village, and certain he wouldn't meet anyone else along the way, he finally let down his guard. He dipped his head and gently kissed the sleeping girl's forehead. The smile returned to his face as he thought to himself, 'I'm going to get to kiss her. We'll do that dance, and I'll get to kiss her. And maybe she'll like it enough to want to do it again when we're not dancing. And then maybe...,' he took a deep breath, 'maybe she won't leave me when this quest is over. Please, please, gods, please let her like it.'

Kagome's mother was more than a little alarmed when Inuyasha brought her home battered and unconscious, but Inuyasha told her that she had just had an accident and a very tiring day. Mrs. Higurashi was still skeptical, but luckily, Inuyasha had managed to keep the claw marks on her thigh covered, so she let it go at that. After all, she was alive, and Inuyasha always protected her.

Inuyasha wanted to work, but he was reluctant to leave Kagome. Mrs. Higurashi solved his dilemma by refusing to allow him to work at night. "You need your rest. I'll bring a futon in here, and you can stay close to Kagome so you won't have to worry about her."

"Keh! I don't ..." 'Oh, what the hell? What's the use?'

When Mrs. H left to fetch the promised futon, Inuyasha laid the sleeping girl gently onto the bed, removed her shoes and socks, and tucked the covers around her. He found the little plushie dog he had seen her sleep with before, and placed it gently into her arms. He couldn't help but smile when she made a small, happy mewing sound and hugged the doll tightly. He then waited while Kagome's mom spread the futon in the corner, laid out blankets and fluffed a pillow for him. He didn't bother to tell her that the blankets would be of no use to him.

As soon as she left, he dragged the whole thing over next to the bed where he could keep a close eye on the girl. He had no intention of sleeping. Sitting up, he crossed his arms on her mattress and rested his chin on his wrists to watch her sleeping face. Reaching out a tentative hand to smooth a lock of black hair off her cheek, he thought 'You are ok, aren't you Kagome?'

He yawned deeply.

The next thing he was aware of was daylight breaking on the horizon and finding it's way into the bedroom window. He blinked and realized he was staring into the very surprised eyes of Kagome.

"Inuyasha, how did I...? What are you...? Oh, wow. I must have been really out of it!"

He eyed her with concern, "How do you feel?"

Kagome stretched and considered, "I think I feel fine. My thigh is pretty sore." She inspected Kaede's work. "I'd better put a more modern bandage on this. I'll never be able to cover it with my gym clothes."

So, Kagome went to school and Inuyasha went back to his own era to bury Kikyou's remains. He hadn't told Kagome what had happened during their walk back to the village, or that Kikyou was ... gone. He knew she'd insist on going back with him, and he didn't think it was a good idea. He also wasn't sure how she would react to the role he had played in her demise. He was still having a hard time believing it himself. But after all that had transpired, especially the day before, he couldn't bring himself to be unhappy about it either.

But would Kagome understand? Of course, if he hadn't done what he did, she would be dead now, so she couldn't be unhappy about that, could she? But what would she think of him? Would she think him a monster? He knew he would have to tell her, and soon, but now was not the time.

The rest of the week flew by. Kagome was busy with school and Prom Decoration Committee stuff. Inuyasha was trying to completely re-do the Higurashi grounds in record time. He didn't care what it took, he wanted to make sure he could afford to take Kagome someplace just as nice, or preferably, nicer than where she had gone with Houjo.

Not knowing anything about any restaurant, let alone ones Kagome would find appealing, he approached her mother about it. "Don't worry, dear. I've taken care of everything for you. I've made reservations at Kagome's favorite bistro for the two of you. In fact, we will be going there for lunch today, so you can learn about menus and how to pay for your meal."

"But I have to work! I have to ..."

Mrs. H smiled gently. "Believe me, dear, you have already worked hard enough to pay for dinner, flowers, and quite a bit more. You've earned this. I've laid out clothes on Souta's bed for you. Go on and change."

Inuyasha changed and joined Mrs. Higurashi for lunch. There was a problem with his eyes and ears, of course. She mused, "You couldn't have been a Cocker Spaniel, could you? Your ears would have been much easier to blend into your hair!"

Before he forgot himself and how much she had helped him, and made a rude reply, she snapped her fingers. "Oh, that's right! I know!"

When they arrived at the restaurant, she requested a table outside. Inuyasha wore a hat and blue tinted glasses, and Mrs. H explained that he was "albino; very sensitive to the sun," so he wouldn't be considered rude for wearing a hat and dark glasses at the table.

As they ate their meal, Inuyasha was mainly quiet. He didn't mean to be impolite, but he had never been to a place like this, and it was pretty overwhelming. And he was carefully studying everything Mrs. Higurashi and the other patrons were doing so he wouldn't embarrass Kagome when they came by not knowing what to do.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled at him, "The house looks wonderful, Inuyasha. You have done a great job. I'd like to keep you around."

He looked up at her, trying to decide if she meant it or if she was just being kind. "Even though I'm a hanyou? I mean, would you hate it if Kagome and I..." He suddenly realized what he was saying. He snapped his mouth shut and dropped his gaze to the table.

"Ended up together? Married?" Mrs. H finished for him. He nodded. "Whom my daughter chooses to spend her life with is her decision. Not mine. But if you really want to know my feelings about it...?

Not raising his chin, he looked up through his bangs expectantly, more than a little nervous about her answer.

"You've always taken care of her, Inuyasha. I know what you two do is dangerous, and I know she doesn't tell me most of it because she knows I would worry. But I never fret too much because I know you protect her with your life. So, no, Inuyasha, I would not "hate it" if you two...ended up together. I can't think of anyone I would rather see with my daughter."

Inuyasha concentrated on his plate to keep from showing his extreme relief.

"Besides," she quipped, "I was thinking of having a new pond dug for the shrine."

He looked up sharply to see her grinning mischievously at him. 'Hmmmmm...Like mother, like daughter!'

The big night finally came. Inuyasha had been bathed, combed, and blow dried, and he now squirmed anxiously while he let Mrs. Higurashi and Souta help him dress in this complicated outfit they called a "tux." Mrs. H had done a good job altering the suit so that it fit him perfectly, and Mr. Higurashi's shoes were a pretty good fit too. But for someone who had spent his life bare-foot, they felt very confining. Over the last few years, he had learned about buttons and zippers, but these "cuff-links" and "bow-ties" were completely foreign to him. The collar felt constricting around his neck, and he was beginning to think he wouldn't be able to handle wearing it.

And then he saw Kagome.

Suddenly, the shoes were fine. The collar was fine. He would endure anything to be with the angel that was descending the staircase. He had always thought, in spite of what he had said, that Kagome was beautiful. But now, she was ... he didn't even know the word for what she was now. She turned her smile on him and took his breath away.

Completely unaware of Mrs. Higurashi pulling his white hair back into a loose ponytail behind him, or of Souta struggling with the cuff link on his left wrist, he was completely lost in the vision that was coming toward him. His eyes took in her raven hair pulled up off her neck and curling softly around her radiant face, her sparkling eyes, and the soft fabric of her gown that seemed to flow like water over the curves of her shapely body.

Noticing his "deer in the headlights" expression, she frowned, "Is there something wrong? Do I look alright?"

He started and tore his gaze away from her. "You look fine, wen...." The voice in his head admonished, "Oh, great answer, loverboy! You'll really impress her with that. Do you want her to kiss you or not?"

He looked down at the shiny shoes on his feet. "I mean, yes. You look...stunning."

She smiled shyly. "You look nice, too, Inuyasha. Really...handsome." 'Actually, you look really hot,' is what she was thinking, but wasn't about to say it. Especially in front of her brother and mom. "Are you sure you're ok with this? Is your collar too tight? Your shoes?" She walked up to him and started to reach for his collar.

He caught her hand in his, and smiled down at her gently. "I'm ok. It's worth it"

She had no time to process that startling statement, though, because her mom took that moment to push two clear boxes into their hands. "Here's the corsage for Kagome, Inuyasha." She handed Kagome the smaller box. "And here's the boutonniere you got for Inuyasha, Kagome."

As soon as they finished with the flowers, Mrs. Higurashi took several photos, and then shooed them into the well house. In an uncharacteristically sentimental moment, probably helped by the burial of Kikyo's remains, Inuyasha had promised everyone that he and Kagome would come visit them before the Prom so they could see them all dressed up.

Once in the wellhouse, though, Inuyasha took Kagome by the shoulders. "Wait."

She turned to face him. "Nani?"

He turned red. He hadn't thought this through very well, but it was something he had to do. He could tell that his demon senses were fading, and soon, they would be those of an ordinary human. "Uh, you have some of that red stuff on your face. Where your mom kissed you."

She frowned. 'Strange. She usually doesn't wear much lipstick." But she let Inuyasha gently rub her cheek anyway. All the while, he just breathed in her scent. It was her scent, the scent that calmed him, but at the same time nearly drove him insane with desire. Tonight it was mixed with something flowery and spicy. He was sure this is what heaven must smell like.

When he had rubbed the nonexistent spot on her cheek for as long as he thought he could get away with, he stepped back. "Ok, let's go." He took her hand in his and they jumped through the portal.

Everyone was waiting for them by the well; even Kaede. They all smiled and complimented the pair on how wonderful they looked, even though the clothes were very strange to them. Miroku even managed to tell Kagome how beautiful she looked without encountering bodily injury from anyone.

Shippou fidgeted like crazy, but for once, he didn't propel himself into Kagome's arms. She looked so lovely and fragile that he was afraid he might break her. So he just sat and wiggled, gazing fixedly at the couple in front of him, hoping fervently (along with everyone else there) that Inuyasha could manage to get through the evening without saying or doing something stupid. He didn't want Kagome to leave when the quest was over, either.

They didn't stay long ~ they couldn't, because they had dinner reservations. Kagome gave Sango a hug and a promise to bring pictures and tell her everything in a couple of days. Then she picked up the squirming kitsune, hugged him tightly, and promised a present when she returned. Finally, she allowed Inuyasha to grab her hand and together they re-entered her world.

Luckily, the sun set before their car arrived to take them to dinner. Kagome was grateful that her mother had considered the time, too, when making reservations for them. She could imagine what the driver would think if a white haired guy got into the car and a black haired one got out. On the way to the restaurant, Kagome had a few things she felt she needed to say to her date. "Ok, first of all: NO maiming anyone! I don't care what they say or how they look at me, you cannot kill or injure them! Ok?"

"Keh!"

"Inuyasha!"

"Oh, ok!" He scowled.

"Next, I will probably have to dance a dance with Houjo. He's a good friend, and I did wait an awfully long time to tell him I had another date. Even though I told him from the beginning to ask someone else. Still, it's the polite thing to do, and you cannot hurt him for dancing with me."

He was VERY unhappy at this announcement. "NO!" But he didn't want her to be angry. She wouldn't kiss him if she were angry. And this "kissing dance" had become an obsession with him. In fact, it was pretty much all he had been able to think of ever since the night she asked him to be her date.

Kagome shot him a look, "Inu..."

He would have crossed his arms to show his control of the situation, but she was holding his hand and he wasn't willing to let go. So he cut her off. "Ok, but just one dance. And not one of those kissing dances!"

She frowned in confusion. "Huh? What kissing..."

Ooops! Said too much! He recovered. "I mean one of those hugging dances that you showed Sango and the hentai monk."

"Oh. OK."

She went over a few more things that he shouldn't do or talk about, but he waved her aside and said, "Your mom covered all that. She wanted to make sure I didn't embarrass you, too."

She saw the hurt expression in his eyes. "Oh, Inuyasha. You don't embarrass me. It's just that if people knew the real story about how we know each other, 400 years out of time, they would think we're both crazy. I can hardly believe it myself, and I've been doing this for almost three years!" She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "But I'm very glad you're the one I'm spending this evening with. We're going to have a very good time! I love dancing!"

Inuyasha looked away towards the window and let a small smile cross his face. Ever since Kagome's mom had taught him, he loved dancing too. Not that he would never let anyone at home see him doing it... "Oi, Kagome, by the way; what's a Y-M-C-A?"

Kagome grimaced and growled under her breath, "MOTHER!"

TOP

Chapter 17

'Déjà vu." Kagome thought wryly, as she found herself seated in almost exactly the same seat she had been seated on the night of her date with Houjo. 'My mother really does have a bizarre sense of humour.' Still, she couldn't complain. She loved this place, and she had wished to be here with Inuyasha instead of Houjo last time, even though she had viciously stomped down those thoughts at the time.

Kagome once again took in the room, with it's candle light and romantic atmosphere, and then let her eyes rest on her date. So handsome! She tried to decide whether he looked better in his tux now, or before he had changed to his human form. Ok, she liked him better before ~ there was nothing cuter than those ears of his ~ but even now he was dangerously hot. He was sitting there, looking faintly uncomfortable, but trying with all his might to remain calm in this crowded, unfamiliar place. Her heart warmed at the site, knowing what it cost him to be there, but she wondered again why he was there. Why had he been so determined to accompany her tonight?

She sighed. 'If only he weren't so hung up on Kikyou.' She thought wistfully. 'But at least I have him all to myself tonight! And I'm going to enjoy it!'

Candles flickered, soft music played in the background. The entire atmosphere of the restaurant had changed completely from the time Inuyasha had eaten lunch there with Kagome's mother. It was much more ...intimate. He looked around the room at other couples and groups of nicely dressed people about Kagome's age, obviously there for the same reason they were. All those people seemed at ease, chatting and laughing with their dates. He thought about Kagome and Houjo, and the way Kagome had been laughing when he saw them together. 'She must be bored to death with me! Why can't I make her laugh like he can? Why am I here? She probably wishes she had come with him. At least he would know what to say without putting his foot in his mouth.' He thought morosely. 'And then she would kiss him again, and I'd lose her for sure. I have to think of something to say!' He looked up at her to catch her gaze on him.

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry for staring. You just really look ...handsome."

He flushed lightly. "Keh!"

'Come on, moron, say something a little more charming than that. Unless you want her to really regret being her with you!' But he looked up at the girl he shared the table with and saw so much beauty that his breath and his voice caught in his throat. The candles shed their warm glow onto her lovely, soft skin, and the firelight danced in her luminous eyes. He couldn't believe he was actually here with this unbelievably stunning girl.

This was the first time in his life that he had worked hard for something, and actually achieved it. He had lost Kikyou, and he hadn't managed to complete the jewel yet. But he had decided that he was going to be the one Kagome took to this dance, and had worked very hard for it. And here was his prize ~ spending the evening alone with the woman he loved. Glancing around the room at all the other girls there, and then smiled smugly to himself. His date was by far the most beautiful. Those other girls looked kind of artificial. Like their faces were painted on, and would fall off if they smiled too many times. Kagome had some of that "make-up" on too, but only a little. She didn't need it. And he bet the other girls there had no idea how to spot a jewel shard or kill a demon with a bow and arrow!

Truth be told, as stunning as she was right now, he thought Kagome was at her most attractive when she was flushed from battle, hair tousled, slightly out of breath. Or when she woke in the morning, sleep still in her eyes. Or when she tenderly cared for his injuries...

He looked up, and was alarmed to see he saw a waiter pushing a cart toward them, and on the cart there was a large dish that was on fire! And it looked as if the cart was headed straight for Kagome! Instinctively, he grabbed his glass of water and made a lunge for the cart. Kagome, having instantly recognized what was about to happen, grabbed his free hand and pulled him back down. The water flew from the glass, soaked the tablecloth, and spattered Kagome's face and dress. Several couples at nearby tables saw the incident, and were laughing.

He cast his gaze downward, feeling very foolish. "It's ok, Inuyasha. It's called "flambé." It's supposed to be on fire." She said soothingly, fighting to keep from laughing. She dabbed delicately at her face and the exposed skin of her chest. Noting his demeanor, she added, "But thank you for trying to save me."

"Sorry about your dress." He muttered.

She frowned down at her spattered bodice. "It's just water. It'll dry." She smiled brightly. He didn't seem convinced, though. "Inuyasha, is my dress ruined? Do I look ugly now?"

"No! Y...you...you're beautiful as always."

His sweet answer stunned her. But his human form was always nicer, more open than his hanyou side. She went on, "Then it doesn't matter, does it?"

"I embarrassed you. The other people were laughing."

Kagome reached for his hand, "I told you, Inuyasha. You don't embarrass me. Ever. You didn't know that some lunatic would light food on fire purposely. You were just trying to keep me safe like you always do." She smiled and squeezed his hand, "And how do you know they were laughing at us? They might have just heard something funny."

He shot her a look that said he didn't believe it. "Ok," she said, "Maybe they were laughing at us. But I don't mind giving them something to talk about. We're here to have fun. Ok?"

He smiled a rare, true smile at her and nodded. "Ok!"

She giggled, "Now, if someone comes at us with a flaming cart when we're back in the Sengoku Jidai, feel free to go after them with your water glass!"

After that, the ice was, as they say, broken. Dinner was delicious, and Kagome was amazed at the transformation in Inuyasha's table manners. He seemed a little confused by the number of utensils, but instead of losing his temper, he watched to see which one she picked up and followed suit. 'Wow! Mom is good!'

They chatted and laughed, and Kagome answered a lot of questions about their strange surroundings, and the odd things Inuyasha saw people do. They fed each other bites of each other's dinner, and when Kagome decided she had had enough (she had to save room for dessert), Inuyasha enthusiastically finished her plate for her.

When the dishes were cleared away, and they were waiting for dessert, the same Gypsy woman from Kagome's last date appeared at the table. She looked at Kagome with recognition, then appraised her new companion critically. Finally, she nodded with approval and aimed a knowing smile at Kagome. "Much better! The other one was nice, but this one is the right one." She plucked a rose from her basket and laid it on the table in front of the astonished girl.

Inuyasha reached out to the woman with a folded bill (Kagome's mom had schooled him about this as well), but she almost refused it. She studied the young man intently for a moment, and finally took the bill. "I see. You wish it to be a gift from you, and not from me. Fair enough." She smiled and turned to leave.

Kagome, still perplexed at this little show, picked up the lovely flower and brought it to her nose before remembering that the last one had had no scent. But this one's fragrance was intense and sweet. She glanced up at the back of the retreating woman, and then to her date, to see that he had been watching her.

"Thank you. It's lovely."

Having been caught staring, again, he dropped his eyes, but couldn't stop his lips from curving into a slight smile. 'But not as lovely as you.' He thought.

The dance was everything Kagome had warned him it would be: crowded and very noisy. But Inuyasha hardly noticed or cared. All he could think of was that he was finally there, and that he was finally going to get to kiss Kagome.

Actually, he was getting a little nervous about it. More than a little. So much was riding on this kiss, and he suddenly realized that kissing was something he with which he had very little experience. The few kisses he had shared with Kikyou were mostly initiated by her, and couldn't really have been called passionate. He had been too surprised by those kisses to feel passion, or even to really return them. He had seen Kagome kiss that stupid, pathetic, weak human boy. She obviously had known what she was doing.

What if his kiss disappointed her? What if he couldn't make her feel the fire inside that she ignited in him? She didn't even need to kiss him to make him feel that fire. She had only to smile at him. But he was desperate that she kiss him like she had kissed that other guy. He had been waiting for so long... so long before that dance he had dreamed of tasting her lips, touching her, making her his.

She had his hand, and was leading him over to a kiosk in the lobby where a camera was set up to photograph of the couples as they arrived. "Inuyasha, did you hear me?"

He snapped out of his reflection, realizing that she had been talking to him. "Huh?" Thankfully, he stopped himself before the words, "What is it, wench?" came out. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you."

She threw him a sympathetic look, assuming that it was the crowd and the noise that was making him nervous. "I know you hate crowds and noise. That's why I didn't want to bring you."

"I told you, I don't care. I can put up with it for one night." And then, so quietly that she almost missed it, "It's worth it."

Again, she was shocked by his candid sweetness. It was so unlike him! And so nice...'He's human tonight. That's why he's being so pleasant. Don't read anything else into it. Just have a good time and be glad he's here with you.' She told herself sternly. She turned on her most charming smile, "Inuyasha, can we have out picture taken?"

Once again, he completely surprised her by not only agreeing, but by also pushing her away when she reached into her purse to pay for the pictures. He pulled out his wallet (a gift from Mrs. Higurashi, of course), pulled out the right currency and handed it to the girl with the cashbox while Kagome filled in their information on the sign-in sheet.

Standing in line to await their turn, Inuyasha asked Kagome why the flash of light for this camera was so much brighter than that of her camera. And why was this camera so much bigger. She explained to him that it was a professional photographer, so she had much more sophisticated equipment than most people. "I'm afraid it might hurt your eyes." She lamented.

"Nah. Not these eyes. Maybe my han." Kagome clapped her hand over his mouth and motioned over to a few people who seemed to have taken an interest in their conversation. He mentally kicked himself for being so careless.

When it was finally their turn, Kati, the photographer positioned them with Inuyasha standing behind Kagome, arms encircling her waist. She peered through the viewfinder, then looked up and said to Inuyasha. "You might want to straighten your tie, and you seem to have a smudge of some sort on your face."

He frowned and fumbled feebly with the wrenched tie, but had no idea what to do with it. Kagome, realizing his difficulty, turned around and performed the task for him. She smiled at the little smudge of chocolate on the corner of his mouth, and moistened her thumb to rub it off for him. All the while, he had loosened his hold around her to enable her to turn around, but had let his hands rest on her hips, unwilling to completely break the contact. He gazed down at her lovely face while she ministered to him, fixated on her soft, pink lips, remembering how warm and soft they had felt on his cheek.

Kati watched this all through the viewfinder of her camera, and was awestruck by the amount of emotion that came through from this couple in just these simple actions. She almost wasn't aware that she had started clicking her shutter, frame after frame, until Kagome finally finished. The girl smiled in satisfaction, and then turned back into position.

When she had taken their photo, Kati told them to come back in a couple hours and she'd have digital proofs for them to choose from. They heard the music start up, and Kagome grabbed his hand, "Let's go!"

But, of course, nothing ever went easily for those two, and this was no exception. As they were headed in the direction of the ballroom, the doors were suddenly opened, and in came Kagome's group of friends, chattering away, leaving their poor, bewildered dates to follow behind. When they spotted Kagome and Inuyasha, they instantly flocked around them.

"Oooh, Kagome! This is the guy you dumped Houjo for? Cute!"

"Where did you find him? Are there any more like him?"

"Wow! Long hair! Has he ever cut it?"

"Hey, Kagome, is this the two timer?"

"Poor Houjo!"

"Oh, poor Houjo nothing! Did you see him? He's got three dates, and they're hanging all over him!"

Kagome's head was swimming. She had no idea who was saying what ~ they all just rushed at her like a tsunami. She glanced up at her poor date to see him looking confused and more than a little annoyed. "Uh, listen guys!" she shook her hands in front of her, "He is standing right here, you know!"

Nanami finally realized that they might be acting a little rudely. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." Her face brightened as if she had just come up with the most brilliant thought ever conceived. Finger jabbing the air, she spurted, "Let's go to the Ladies room!"

"Uh, no thanks! Already been!" Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's arm and took the chance to escape. "We're gonna go dance!" Her befuddled date eagerly followed.

"Kagome!" Yuri shrieked.

"Later!" Kagome answered, and pulling Inuyasha, disappeared into a crowd.

She turned to Inuyasha, "Sorry about that. They really are good friends. Just a little...nosey." 'And loud,' she added to herself.

"Cackling hens!" he muttered. "You're not like them, Kagome. Why are you friends with them?"

"Well, I've known them since I was a baby, you know? And when you think about it, we're not much like Sango or Miroku or Shippou, either. Sango's a demon hunter! How much sense does that make? But they're like family, and I love them all!"

"Keh!" for lack of any better answer.

Another song started, and Kagome's face brightened, "Oooooh, I love this song! Let's dance!"

So they danced and danced. Partly because they were really having a good time, and partly because they were afraid of leaving the dance floor and running into Kagome's friends again. They never noticed the small figure that crept up to the DJ and handed him a CD. "Would you play this during a break please, please? It's my sister's favorite, and she decorated this place!"

During band breaks, the DJ played cd's. He took the one the young boy proffered, read the title, frowned, and then shrugged. "Sure, Kid! Why not?"

When the band took their break, Kagome asked Inuyasha if he wanted a drink, and led him over to the refreshment table. They were drinking some lemonade when Kagome felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Sorry, Kagome." It was Yuri. "We shouldn't have ambushed you like that. It's just that we've never even seen a picture of this guy, and you don't tell us very much. But you two look really cute together."

Kagome blushed slightly, "It's ok. There's really not that much to tell. We're just really close friends. That's all." She tried to keep the regret out of her voice.

Hearing what Kagome had said, Inuyasha turned away, disappointment clearly written on his face. His human side wasn't as good at masking his feelings as his hanyou side.

"But how do you know him? We've never seen him around here! I'd remember!" Mimi inquired.

Kagome sweatdropped. Yeah, she would definitely remember. Especially if Inuyasha were in his usual form. She had been expecting this question, but it didn't make it easier to answer, "Oh, well, you know...he's just a friend from ..." she waved her hand dismissively, "way back!"

Suddenly, the first strains of the Macerena sounded from the speakers, reverberating around the room. Inuyasha got very excited. "Come on Kagome! I love this one!"

He headed for the dance floor, clearly expecting her to follow. He hadn't grabbed her hand because he was still stinging from the "just close friends" statement. She watched for a split second in horror, but then reprimanded herself. 'Ok, yeah, it's dorky. But how often do I get to see Inuyasha having so much fun? After all he does for me, the number of times he has dealt with humiliation from other demons for protecting a human, the least I can do is dance an embarrassing dance with him!" She turned on her heel to follow him.

Nanami hissed, "You're not actually going to do that, are you?"

"Oh quit being so stuffy! It's fun!" Kagome chided, adding "You know you want to do it!"

This whole exchange took just a few seconds, so that she wasn't that far behind Inuyasha. But by the time she got to him, he had started, eyes closed in concentration. She giggled, enjoying the pleasure evident on his face. 'Yes, definitely worth it!' she decided as she crossed her hands on her hips and wiggled along with him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her friends dragging their dates out to join them, and her heart warmed to them. 'Oh, yeah. That's why I'm friends with them!'

As it turns out, she needn't have worried about humiliation. Before she knew it, the whole dance floor was filled to capacity, and there was hardly room for anyone to wiggle.

When they were done, laughing and happy, she took Inuyasha's arm cuddled into his side. Breathlessly, she laughed, "You're a great date, Inuyasha!"

He loved the contact, her smile, and her shining eyes. But he thought sadly, 'But just a close friend, right?'

He excused himself to the Men's room. She gave him a dubious look, "You do understand about those things, right?"

He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, and for a moment, the indignant hanyou was back. "Yes! You're brother made sure of that!"

While he was gone, Houjo took the opportunity to say hello. She was standing by a set of French doors that led out to a terraced patio, gazing at the moonless starlit sky. When his soft voice said, "Good evening, Kagome," she started

Turning, her cheeks flushed, but she smiled in greeting, "Good evening, Houjo. I hear you have three dates. Are you enjoying yourself?"

He gave her a twisted smile, "Yeah, I asked a girl from my Lit class, and she had already made plans to go with a couple of her friends. So I ended up with three dates. They're nice," he chuckled a little ruefully, "but if they don't stop giggling, I think my head is going to split!"

Kagome grinned but didn't say anything, because she didn't know what to say.

Houjo finally broke the silence, "So, he's the guy you told me about, huh? The one you couldn't get over?"

Kagome nodded mutely. She looked up into his eyes, pleading him to understand, "I'm sorry, Houjo. You're such a great guy, and if it weren't for him...but I didn't choose him." She held her hands up to her chest. "My heart did."

He nodded, smiling sadly. "Believe me. I understand when someone is too special to forget." He took her hand. "I wish you all the happiness in the world, and if that happiness is with him, then I'm very glad for you." His expression was sad but earnest. "I hope you will save one dance for me, though."

Kagome nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Houjo. I'd like that. So, you'll still be my friend?."

He smiled back, "Always."

Kagome felt a familiar presence behind her, and turned to see Inuyasha. He was fighting a battle with himself and she could see it. He knew, somehow, who Houjo was, and he was doing his best not to rearrange his face. She quickly intervened. "Houjo, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my friend, Houjo."

Houjo, ever the gentleman, held his hand out and smiled, "It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a very lucky guy."

Kagome blushed as a look of bewilderment crossed her date's face. He obviously decided to copy Houjo, and held his hand out. Houjo frowned slightly in confusion, but grasped Inuyasha's hand and shook it firmly. "Well, I think my dates should be done with their "nose powdering," by now. It was nice to meet you, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha was still wondering why this guy had been holding his hand and pumping it up and down. Kagome explained that it was a gesture of greeting, generally used between men, but it was a western custom.

The next song was a slow, romantic one. It was an oldie ~ Crazy for You, by Madonna. Inuyasha began to tremble. This was one of those "kissing dances." He could tell by the mood of the music. Could he change her mind about being "just close friends?" Or would he just make a mess of everything? Oh, gods, he had waited so long for this! 'Please let this work out!' he silently prayed.

He took Kagome by the waist and led her to the dance floor, the way he saw other guys do with their dates. They found as spot, and Inuyasha was thrilled when she passed the "holding him at arms length" part that he had seen her do with Houjo, and immediately let her arms encircle his neck, laying her cheek on his shoulder. He sighed happily as warmth flooded his body. He fought to keep from trembling with anticipation.

Swaying room as the music starts

Strangers making the most of the dark

Two by two their bodies become one

I see you through the smokey air

Can't you feel the weight of my stare?

You're so close but still a world away

What I'm dying to say is that

Kagome thought she might just melt right here, she was so happy. She kept fiddling with the dark ponytail that hung down Inuyasha's back to reassure herself that she was really dancing with him, and not just imagining it this time.

I'm crazy for you

Touch me once and you'll know it's true

I never wanted anyone like this

It's all brand new, you'll feel it in my kiss

I'm crazy for you, crazy for you

Inuyasha heard the lines of the song, and wondered if that was his cue. He was still very nervous, but he wasn't about to miss his chance. He loved the feeling of her body against his, his arms surrounding her. It felt so right. They fit together as if they were made for each other; as if they were two parts of a whole. He knew in his heart that they had to be. Glancing around the room, though, he became more confused.

Trying hard to control my heart

I walk over to where you are

Eye to eye we meet, no word at all

Slowly now we begin to move

Every breath I'm deeper into you

Soon we two are standing still in time

If you read my mind, you'll see

He finally decided to ask her. He wanted to do this right. He wanted it to be perfect. It was a little embarrassing to have to ask her, but he knew she wouldn't mind.

"Kagome!" he whispered.

"Hmmmm?" she looked up at him dreamily.

Her eyes were so soft, her skin flushed, he lips...so tempting. But he had to do this right. "Um, when am I supposed to kiss you?"

She knitted her brows in confusion. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Uh, well, your mom didn't teach me this one. (Thank goodness) I see some people are kissing, and some aren't. So, when am I supposed to do it? Kiss you, I mean."

Once again, she found herself face to face with almost overwhelming temptation. All she had to do was tell a little lie, and she would finally get to kiss him. Finally, she would be able to express to him the flood of emotions she held in her heart for him all the time. She could share a little of her soul with him and maybe make him understand what she felt..

But that would be tricking him into it, and it would be wrong. And worst of all, she couldn't bear the thought of him kissing her and thinking of Kikyou. So, reluctantly, she said, "Inuyasha, kissing isn't part of the dance. Those people are kissing because they love each other. Just like in your time. You kiss someone because you feel so much passion for them that you want to share it with them."

She watched as a complete change overcame him ~ his eager face crumbled, his body went limp and sagged around her. He looked as if his heart had just broken into a thousand shards. She felt a stab in her own heart, but could not for the life of her understand his reaction.

And it's all brand new; I'm crazy for you

And you know it's true

I'm crazy, crazy for you

As the last strains faded away, he pulled away and turned his back to her. He said, "Excuse me," very quietly and walked out the French doors, shoulders slumped, looking even without his ears like an abandoned puppy; absolutely defeated.

TOP

Chapter 18

He stood alone on the terrace, staring at the river below, thinking it was a shame that he knew how to swim. The knife in his gut twisted brutally, and conflict raged within him ~ every instinct inside demanded that he leave, run back to the shrine, and go back to his own time. Maybe find that cave again, and finish what he had started before. But he couldn't do that. For one thing, he was human tonight, so he couldn't just leap off into the night. But mostly it was because, heartbroken or not, he couldn't just abandon Kagome. Whether she loved another or not, they were still friends, and she had come here with him. He couldn't just leave her.

It was probably a good thing he was human tonight, too. In this form, while his fury boiled within him, he didn't feel the need for blood that he would if he were hanyou. Killing, or maiming the object of Kagome's affection would probably put a damper on the evening for everyone there.

'Why did I ever listen to that brainless monk? Kissing dance! Keh! I should have known that was stupid!' One tear slid down his cheek, and he angrily dashed it away. What now? 'I guess I should go back and find Kagome. It's not her fault that this happened. It's my own stupidity!' He groaned. 'I still want her to have a good time tonight, even if she doesn't return my feelings. Tonight was so important to her.' But he couldn't make himself move. He just stood, gazing out at the water, lost in his misery.

'What the hell is wrong with him?' Kagome attempted to push through the throng of couples that had engulfed her while she stood, dazed, on the dance floor. Moments before, she had been so blissfully happy ~ in the arms of the man she loved. And then ...what? She shook her head, recalling the conversation of the last few minutes, struggling to understand what had gone so terribly wrong.

After pushing, ducking, and being squished by sweaty, clinging couples, she finally made it to the edge of the dance floor. Focused only on the French doors, she let out a little squeal when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Kagome, may I collect on that dance now?" It was, of course, Houjo.

She sighed. "Now's not a good time, Houjo. I'm sorry."

He searched her face with concern. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head, "I don't know! I just don't..." She looked up at him, "Thank you for your concern, but I've gotta go, ok?"

"Oh, ok." He said to no one. She was already gone.

"Kagomeeeeeeeee! Look! We got a proof of you and Inuyasha! It's sooo sweet!" Mimi was waving a sheet of photo paper, followed by Yuri and Nanami.

She tried to ignore them. 'Don't these girls have dates? Love lives of their own? Why is my life so fascinating to them?' She didn't want to stop. But they caught up with her and somehow, managed to surround her. 'How do they do that? They have to practice at it!' She resigned herself and took the proffered photo and looked at it.

And started in wonder. It wasn't the posed photo she had expected to see. It was one that she hadn't realized had been taken ~ one of herself rubbing the smudge off of Inuhasha's mouth. She wore a subtle smile, adoration clearly written in her eyes. Nothing surprising there. She imagined she must look like that all the time when she cared for his wounds. But Inuyasha's image ~ that astonished her. The expression he wore was so...gentle. So... Was that ... could that be love she saw in his eyes? 'No!' she berated herself for being so silly. Caring, yes. Tenderness; definitely. But love? That had to be wishful thinking on her part. His heart was taken.

Yuri's dreamy voice interrupted her thoughts, "I've never seen a guy so in love! You're really lucky, Kagome! And he's so cute!"

"Noooo...no. We're just... friends. Just...fr..." her voice trailed off.

Nanami scoffed, "Oh yeah, right! I've seen him watching you all night. If he thinks of you as "just a friend," I'll eat my shoe!"

Kagome wasn't listening, "Your shoe? Why would I want ...Sorry guys! I've gotta go. I've gotta find him." Before anyone could protest, she bolted for the doors.

When she finally made it outside, he hadn't moved. He was aware of her presence, but he didn't trust his voice to speak.

"Inuyasha?"

Silence.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong? Why did you leave?" When he still didn't respond, she moved toward him and laid her hand on his arm. "I didn't say you couldn't kiss me. I just said it wasn't part of the dance."

He didn't turn around. He couldn't face her. "So, you love him, then?" He didn't try to disguise the bitterness in his voice.

Kagome frowned, completely confused. 'Love him? Love who? Surely he can't be jealous of his other form? But who else could he possibly think I would love?' "Do I love who, Inuyasha?"

He growled in frustration, anger, pain. Finally turning toward her, he flung an arm in the direction of the ballroom and spat, "HIM! That...that... that human!" When she still frowned at him in confusion, "Ho...Houjo!"

"Houjo? What would make you think that I love Houjo? I mean, he's a good friend, but I don't..."

He cut her off. Turning to face the water again, he said, "I saw you dancing with him."

"Inuyasha, we weren't dancing. We were just talking while I was waiting for you to come back from the men's room. I was telling him about..."

Again, he cut her off before she could finish her sentence, "I saw you dancing with him at your last dance."

That stopped her. For a very long moment, all she could do is gape at him, "H...h-how could you have..."

"I got your brother to show me where your school was." When she said nothing, he added, "We were up in that tree outside the courtyard."

She gasped, remembering the loud crashing sound she had heard. What had she told Houjo? "I'm just going to sit down over here?" When she heard the crash, she had almost gone to investigate, but by then, Houjo had returned with their drinks.

"So that WAS you! But why...?" Why what? Why was he there? Why didn't he interfere when she danced and ...ohdeargods...kissed ...could this possibly explain his bizarre behavior of late? Why he had disappeared for all that time? Why he insisted on coming to this dance? But why did it matter so much to him? Her head was spinning as questions bombarded her brain faster than she could ask them, or even decide which ones to ask.

"Why do you think I left? Why do you think I was so hostile? I saw you kiss him!" He flung his words at her, pain and anger hitting her in a shockwave of anguish.

"Inuyasha..."

"He touched you and kissed you and I was going to destroy him for it. But you kissed him back. I saw you. I watched as you chose him. You kissed him back.... the way I wanted you to kiss me. The way I've always dreamed you'd kiss ...me..."

To say that Kagome was startled would be like saying that the Niagara is a trickle of water. 'He wants to kiss me???' Her insides were a complete jumble of emotions beginning with astonishment and ending with jubilation. But in between there was confusion, uncertainty, and that annoying, ever present little voice that kept murmuring "Kikyou, Kikyou. What about Kikyou?" She pushed those thoughts away. This was all too confusing...and wonderful... and for once, Kikyou's not going to interrupt.

"Inuyasha... you don't know..."

He snorted, "But then the houshi convinced me that the kiss was probably part of the dance. BAKA!" he spat. "So I decided that I had to be the one you did that danced with tonight." He squeezed his eyes shut in pain, trying to hold back the tears of frustration that threatened to burst forth. "How stupid can any one guy be? I should have known you'd choose a human from your own time over a lowly half-breed from a by-gone era."

Kagome shook her head sadly. "Oh, Inuyasha. You could have saved us both, not to mention everyone else, a lot of heartache and pain if you had just talked to me to begin with. If you had just told me..."

Laughing bitterly, he asked angrily, "How could that possibly have helped? I assure you, there is nothing more painful than watching you kiss ..."

"INUYASHA!" she rebuked sharply. Then more gently, if a bit feebly, "I...I *was* kissing you."

That stopped any retort he could have come up with. In fact, it completely flummoxed him. He glowered and blinked at her, "Uh, Kagome, I think I would have noticed that."

"No!" She shook her head, memories of that evening flooding back, "I suppose I was kissing him, but I was thinking about you."

At his dubious look, she sighed. How could she make him understand? Timidly, she took his hand, fully expecting him to shake her off. He didn't. He just stood very still, waiting to see what she'd say next.

She sighed again, trying to compose her thoughts, and tugged gently on his hand, "This is going to be kind of a long story, so you might want to si.. uh, be seated for it."

"I'm fine here."

"Perhaps, but I want to talk directly to you, to make sure I have your full attention. And you're much taller than I am." He stubbornly stood his ground, but when she said, "Please," he relented and allowed her to lead him over to a bench. He looked at her expectantly.

"Inuyasha, do you remember the day of the dance? Before the dance, I mean? Remember that demon we fought?"

Nodding, he said, "Yeah. That son-of-a-bitch was a tough one! And you, you stupid wench ~ going after him and grabbing the kit right out of his mouth like you were."

Kagome cut in impatiently, "Yes, it was a very harrowing battle. And, not being half demon, it was also exhausting for us mere mortals. But I had been looking forward to that dance for a very long time." Seeing a glum expression cross his face, she added, "and not because I was going with Houjo. I just love to dance."

She paused to make sure he was listening, and that the truth of the last statement had registered with him. He nodded, so she continued. "Ok, now my story. It goes back further than the night of the dance, but it all ties in, so try to be patient." She shot him a wry smile at this, knowing that patience was not one of Inuyasha's most accomplished skills.

"We'll start with our heroine. She's an ordinary teenage girl, living in Tokyo, Japan in the 21st century. She gets good grades in school, has nice (if nosy) friends, goes to ballet classes four times a week, and lives at a shrine with her family. Her family has cared for the shrine, according to her grandfather, ever since it was built more than 400 years ago.

On the girl's fifteenth birthday, she sees her little brother go into the building on their grounds that houses an old well. She knows he's not allowed to play in there because it's dangerous, so she goes in after him. Her little brother is worried about the family cat who went into the well house, and wants her to go in and get the cat. But when she goes to do it, a huge centipede comes up out of the well, and before she knows what's happening, it grabs her and pulls her in.

Now, her grandfather had told her stories all her life about demons and monsters of ancient times, but she had never believed any of them. But next thing she knew, she was in a forest, fighting for her life with what looked like one of her grandfather's fantasies. And, if that weren't shocking enough, when the girl put her hand up in self-defense, she sent out a wave of light that seemed to destroy the monster.

But our heroine finds she is not in her well house, or anywhere that looks familiar to her. She looks around to see someone who looks like a young man, except that he has long silvery white hair and little dog ears on top of his head. And he appears to be dead, pinned to a tree by an arrow. Having perhaps more curiosity than is healthy, she approached the young man and cannot help but reach up to stroke his ears. He doesn't stir.

Before she can do anything else, she is discovered by the people of the nearby village, and is eventually told that she is the reincarnation of their long- ago slain priestess. Then the centipede monster revives and attacks the village, and the girl realizes it is after her. So, she runs away from the village and into the forest again, calling out for help, which strangely seems to revive the guy pinned to the tree. He calls the girl "Kikyou," which is NOT her name, and eventually convinces her to free him from the tree, but not before this centipede monster has pulled a jewel from the girl's body.

Now, believe it or not, all this is a little hard for a modern girl to believe, let alone understand. But what was really the limit was when this guy that she freed from the tree saved her life, killed the monster, but then tried to kill her to get the jewel from her!"

"I didn't try to kill you, stupid. I just wanted to scare you."

She glared, "Yeah, right. Don't interrupt. Anyway, it turns out that this guy is a hanyou ~ half human, half dog-demon. Through a series of events that I don't need to go over, she shatters this jewel thing, and ends up duty bound to embark on a quest to collect all the pieces with this guy, who's personality didn't improve much from the time he tried to kill (glare), ok, scare her. He was rude, arrogant, stubborn, single minded, insensitive, and verbally abusive. He had no problem with pointing out all her shortcomings either ~ from her human frailty to her unsightly appearance and offensive scent. According to him, the only reason he keeps her around is that she can see the sense and see the jewel shards, and he cannot. And completing the jewel is the only thing that matters to him, so he can use it to become full demon.

Luckily, while on this quest, our heroine is able to go back to her own home in her own era so that she can still see her family and go to school, at least occasionally. Assuming that she can convince the hanyou she needs to go home or that she can use her subduing spell on him so she can make it through the well. She misses a lot of school, and thanks to her "helpful" grandfather, all her friends think she is a walking poster girl for bizarre diseases medical research, but she is at least able to keep up most of her grades. Math suffers, but her history grade improves by light-years!" she added with a smirk.

"Hmph!"

"While at school, she is approached by another guy. He's one of the most popular guys at that school because he's very handsome, athletic, and smart. He's also very nice. For some reason, in spite of her constant "illness," he likes the girl and wants to date her. He asks the girl if she wants to go out with him to the movies. Hoping she can make it, she accepts. But, of course, instead of being home when he comes to pick her up, she is off somewhere in the Feudal Japan, fighting for her life and a jewel shard with the jerk."

"Hey!"

"Amazingly enough, the Nice Guy accepts her lame excuses, and still wants to go out with her. In fact, she stood him up so many times, you'd think he'd give up, but every time he forgives her. And meanwhile, he brings her little gifts to help with her "ailments," and tutors her to help her keep her grades up."

Inuyasha sighed. All the things he couldn't give her. And he could never even begin to hope he could help her with her studies. Even if he could understand why they were so important.

"Ok, so, moving on to almost three years later: Our heroine is still on this quest, still with The Jerk, but with the addition of several other friends who help them out. She has learned to love the people she spends much of her time with, and has become a stronger, better person for all their trials. But every once in a while, she needs a break. Living a double life is exhausting! She no longer has time for ballet classes, but she still loves to dance. So she decides to go to her school dance. She doesn't tell "The Jerk" about it, because she knows he will try to prevent her from going.

It's bad enough, in his opinion, that she's human and has to take breaks to sleep and take refuge from the elements. If it were up to him, she would never go back to her time, but stay with him and hunt for the jewel shards all the time. Except of course, when he goes off looking for the reanimated corpse of his dead lover, leaving everyone to wonder if he will ever come back or if she has pulled him into hell with her."

At this last part, Inuyasha flinched, remembering he hadn't told Kagome about Kikyou yet. He paled, but since it was dark, Kagome didn't notice.

"Anyway, the day of the dance comes. Our heroine is very excited. She can hardly wait to be there. But that morning, they are attacked by one of the fiercest monsters that they have encountered thus far, and a furious battle ensues, leaving the human and kitsune members of the party exhausted."

"At least we won," came a muted grunt from the bench beside her. "And got the shards."

She rolled her eyes, "Yes, they won. Let's move on. We'll skip everything up to the dance, ok? The girl was very tired by the time she had eaten dinner, and would have been ready to go to bed and sleep for several days if she hadn't been going to a dance. But she wasn't about to miss that. It didn't matter whom she danced with ~ she just wanted to dance. The music revived her; made her feel alive! It was wonderful! So she danced every dance without stopping, and her sweet date didn't object."

Inuyasha exhaled heavily and looked away. He didn't like how this story was going. He really didn't like the way his character stacked up against this "sweet date" of hers. Kagome stood and held her hand out to Inuyasha. Reluctantly, he stood.

"But then the music slowed down, and her date drew her into his arms." She placed Inuyasha's hands on her waist, and she put hers on his shoulders. "She kept him at arms distance at first, because as sweet as he was, she couldn't make herself care for him the way he wanted her to. Because ~ and this is the really stupid thing ~ in spite of all his faults, she is absolutely, completely, madly, stupidly in... crazy about The Jerk. In fact, she cares more about him than anyone in the whole world, past or present. Because, in addition to being insensitive and abrasive, he is also strong and loyal and incredibly brave.

His first instinct is always to protect her and his friends, even at the risk of his own life. Because he can be very sweet when he forgets to put on his "tough guy," act, and because he has the purest heart of anyone she has ever known. And because, no matter how much danger they are in, if he's there, she's never frightened. She'd rather die fighting by his side than live without him."

Inuyasha looked down at her, wide-eyed. Heart thundering against his ribcage, he thought, "She's crazy about him!... Me!" Hope began to rise in his chest, and the knife began to withdraw, to be replaced by something warm; something joyful. Feeling her move closer to him, he responded by tightening his arms around her and drawing her to his chest. She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed happily.

Kagome continued, "But the music was so soft and kind of hypnotic, and she became very drowsy. Resting her head on his shoulder, and closing her eyes, she let the music wash over her. The words of the song were "Once in a Blue Moon," but to her they became, "Once in a New Moon."

As if on cue, the first strains of "Once in a Blue Moon," floated out over the terrace.

The room is empty

the lights are dim

and my heart wonders

if I'll ever see you again

my tears are hungry

for an open door

when your arms held me

I never felt that way before

"Suddenly, she wasn't dancing with "The Nice Guy" anymore. She was dancing with the, uh, ...the other guy. She could feel his strong arms, his powerful chest, smelled his wonderful earthy scent." She breathed deeply and again stroked his ponytail. "It felt so real! She could feel his presence there with her. Probably," she added sardonically, "because he was right there, up in the tree."

I'll be waiting

I'll be watching

under a new moon

the taste of heaven

only happens

once in a blue moon

once in a blue moon

Remembering what was coming next in this little re-enactment, Inuyasha began to tremble. 'Don't blow it! This has to be good!' his mind screamed at him.

"So, when he reached down and lifted her chin... and kissed her...she responded with all the hunger, all the passion she felt for him ... that she had been holding back for so very long...." That was all she got out, because Inuyasha took his cue and captured her lips with his, willingly assuming the role of the, uh, ... other guy.

The feeling was overwhelming. It far surpassed anything he could have ever imagined. Her lips were so soft, like the petals of sakura blossoms, yet so warm. He quickly forgot his nervousness, because at first union, a kind of epiphany came over him. In all his life, nothing had ever felt so perfect, so right. With her he had always felt at home, complete, and this kiss confirmed it. The emptiness and loneliness that consumed his soul all his life filled with the warmth of her love..... of their love. And for once, he wasn't afraid of his emotions. This was meant to be ~ it had to be! Why else would she have crossed time to be with him?

do you remember

when the wind blew free

and we fit together

so naturally

I'll be waiting

I'll be watching

under a blue moon

the taste of heaven

only happens

once in a blue moon

if the wind closes a door

it will open another

And so he kissed her deeply, passionately, willing her to feel all the love he held inside for her. His heart soared when he heard her moan appreciatively. Never in his life could he remember being so happy.

But then she pulled away and looked up at him.

Breathlessly, he clutched her to keep her close and searched her face, "Why did you stop?"

"Because I heard a howl in the distance. It was the saddest sound I have ever heard." Her voice was wistful, "Like his soul had been torn from his body, or that he had just lost his reason for living." Gazing up at him, she realized for the first time that the howl must have come from him.

"He thought he had."

"I realized that I hadn't been kissing the one I had been thinking of. I kind of ...freaked out, I guess, and excused myself to the ladies room." Kagome finished.

Keeping his hold on her, he asked urgently, "What if it had been? What if it had been the...The Jerk?"

She smiled up at him, "Let's call him The Hero."

He smiled back. "What if it had been him that you were kissing?"

Giving him a teasing smile, she said, "If he let me, I would have kissed him again ..." she tiptoed and kissed his lips lightly, "and again," another kiss, "and again." She kissed him again quickly, then had to duck her head to keep him from taking it further so she could continue, "As many times as he let me, for as long as he wanted to." She finally finished, which was a good thing, because Inuyasha was prepared by then to wrestle her to the ground to get at the promised kisses.

Curling his hand around the back of her neck and making it impossible for her to escape (as though she would have tried), he pressed his lips to hers, tasting her lips and then her mouth with his tongue. Oh, gods, she tasted good! Just like he always knew she would. "Hm-mm. You couldn't have." He smiled against her mouth.

She tried, unsuccessfully, to draw back. "Hmmmm?"

"If you kissed him for as long as he wanted to, you'd still be there."

I'll be waiting

I'll be watching

under a blue moon

the taste of heaven

only happens

once in a blue moon

TOP

Chapter 19

The first rays of sunlight made their tentative entrance into the room, as if reluctant to wake the couple slumbering peacefully together in the small bed. Lighting at first on the windowsill, making their way around wispy curtains and over a small desk, then tiptoeing quietly onto the floor, they finally beckoned to their brothers and sisters to join them. Abruptly, as their source finally burst entirely above the horizon, they poured into the room all at once, bathing the lovers in a warm radiance of light. The dark haired man stirred slightly, opening his eyes sleepily just before his body began to pulse with energy, as his form initiated its transformation.

Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over, leaving the casual observer, if there had been one, to wonder if his eyes had been playing tricks on him. Where once there had been a dark haired human male, now reclined a silver haired inu hanyou. Shifting slightly, he gazed in wonder down at the girl next to him and reflected on the events that had brought him to be here. With an unaccustomed shudder of joy, he pulled her closer to his chest and breathed in deeply, allowing her scent ~ her essence ~ to suffuse him. She looked so content, so peaceful ~ her lovely features almost childlike, slack with sleep. Even as he held her, he couldn't quite believe that it was all real ~ that last night had actually happened.

Last night he had finally held her, and kissed her, just like he had dreamed of doing for so very long. For so long in fact, that if he hadn't woken this morning with her in his arms, he would suspect that this, too, had been a dream.

But it wasn't a dream. It was real. Shifting in his arms, she hid her face against his chest to block out the intrusive morning glow, causing a surge the joy to erupt through his heart, threatening to overcome him. This beautiful girl... this woman he had fantasized for so long of being with, of sharing his life with, but had never dared to hope it might be possible ~ she had said she was crazy about him. She had said that she'd rather die fighting by his side than live without him! And then they had kissed. Oh, gods, how they had kissed!

He had no idea how long they stood there, holding, touching, kissing each other on the terrace outside the ballroom. He could only remember the warm feeling of absolute euphoria it gave him, and that he couldn't get enough of her. For so long, he had held himself back, aching just to touch her, cherishing any chance just to hug her or hold onto her, only to lose his nerve and pretend to be indifferent or hostile afterward. But now... now, no matter what, he was going to make sure she knew how he felt. After last night, there was no way he was going back.

A soft smile curved his lips as he remembered pulling back from their kiss to look into her luminous eyes, only to see them brimming with tears. He started to stammer sadly, "Kagome, you're crying. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you cry." Heartbroken, he began to turn away, but Kagome stopped him.

"Inuyasha! Tears don't always mean sadness or fear. Sometimes, you feel so much emotion that you just can't contain it. Some tears are happy tears!" Watching her hopefully, he asked, "And these tears," he stroked her face lightly, taking a few droplets with his gentle fingers, "they're happy tears?"

She nodded, a few beads of moisture still trickling down her smooth, rosy cheeks, but with a smile of pure joy lighting her features, "Very happy tears, Inuyasha. The happiest!"

He could recall little else clearly after that ~ only that everything and everyone else had disappeared, and the night became theirs. He had no memory of walking from the balcony back into the ballroom. He had been completely unaware of the hushed whispers of the other students, as they all gaped in awe, envious of the obvious bond the two shared. He did vaguely recall the music coming to an end, the chandeliers suddenly brightly illuminating the once dimly lit room, and one of Kagome's friends (he never could tell them apart) asking them if they wanted to go get some breakfast. But he wasn't even sure if they had answered her.

Upon returning to Kagome's home, they had found it empty. There was a note on the kitchen counter from Mrs. Higurashi, saying that Suki had called and asked her to come and get Grandpa. She couldn't handle any more of his "help" rearing the baby. Apparently, she didn't think a fossilized rabbit skull an appropriate baby toy, no matter how much history it contained. The note went on to say that she, Souta, and Grandpa would be home Monday, and that they should take their prom clothes to the cleaners in the morning.

There had never been a question or discussion as to where he would spend the night. Inuyasha had simply refused to relinquish his contact with Kagome. Or rather, he would have refused if she had attempted to push him away.

Kagome gave him a pair of black cotton drawstring pants and a red tank top she had bought for him, thinking they would be more comfortable to sleep in than his usual clothing. She also gave him a toothbrush, and showed him how to use it, stressing that he should use a very small amount to the toothpaste. She had frightening, if very funny visions of Inuyasha, with his pointy little ears, foaming at the mouth from using too much.

Dental care attended to, she sent him to her room to change into his sleepwear while she finished her nighttime ritual. When she finally emerged from the bathroom, her face was scrubbed clean of make-up, and cheeks slightly flushed from her face washing. She wore drawstring pants similar to his, except that they were pink, with a white tank top. Inuyasha, seated nervously on the side of her bed, lifted his gaze from the floor to see her enter the room, and couldn't help but smile. She looked much younger now, much less sophisticated than she had earlier in the evening, but amazingly beautiful. This was how he liked her best ~ clean and natural and real.

He sat frozen on the bed, praying that she wouldn't make him leave and go to Souta's room, where he was usually expected to sleep. Watching her carefully hang her dress on it's hanger, put her purse away, straighten up her dressing table, he got the distinct sense that she was avoiding the situation. He felt a stab of guilt at her discomfort, and thought perhaps he should leave ~ maybe even go home. He just didn't know if he could make himself go.

Meanwhile, Kagome was staring into the mirror, steeling herself. She didn't want him to go anywhere, no matter what happened. Only even with all the time they had spent together over the past three years, after all they had been through together, even after all that had transpired earlier that night. she couldn't stop the butterflies that seemed to have materialized in her stomach.

Reluctantly, Inuyasha stood, "Uh, Kagome, do you want me to."

But before he could finish, she took a deep breath, turned, and walked toward the bed, not meeting his eyes. Turning back the covers, she slid beneath them, and moved over to the far side of the mattress. Finally, she looked up at him shyly, and then down at the empty space beside her. And Inuyasha, not waiting for a second invitation, climbed in quickly and stretched out next to her, pulling the blankets up around them.

For a few awkward moments, they just lay there, next to one another but not touching. Mere inches separated them, but it might have been a world away. Finally, Inuyasha couldn't take it any longer. Shaking slightly, he reached out tentatively and slipped his arm around her waist, ready to retract it at her slightest protest. But instead of protesting, she turned to face him and smiling, reaching up to stroke the hair around his face. Letting go of the breath he hadn't known he was holding, Inuyasha tightened his grip to pull her to his body. Kagome sighed happily and moved her hand from his hair to gently touch his handsome face, exploring as if to memorize with her fingers the details he eyes already knew and loved so deeply. Catching her hand in his, Inuyasha kissed her fingertips, then explored her palm and her wrist with his lips, causing a shudder of pleasure to ripple through Kagome's body. Feeling her tremor, he brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her deeply. When they finally came up for air, he gathered her to him and held her tightly, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

Sleep had claimed them soon after that.

Inuyasha shook himself from his reminiscences, and pondered where to go from here. He knew what he wanted... He wanted Kagome. He didn't care how anymore, he just wanted her. Forever, and starting as soon as possible. They still had the jewel shards to collect, and they still had Naraku to defeat. That wouldn't stop him from confessing his desires to her, but it would delay their mating. But he still had to tell her about Kikyo, and he had no idea how she would take his admission.

And what about her? Even if she did love him, would she be willing to spend her life with a hanyou? She didn't seem to care which form he was in at any given time, but up till now they had just been friends. And even if he did become human for her, and live in her world, would she want to take the trouble to teach him all the things he would have to learn to survive there? He grimaced at thoughts of his less than successful attempts so far, the latest of which had happened in the restaurant the night before. Would she want to be continually embarrassed by him? It would be so much easier for her to leave him in his world and choose that Hobo guy instead. He was good looking, intelligent, polite, and liked Kagome very much... He sure seemed to have enjoyed kissing her...

The last thoughts brought an involuntary growl, which shook Kagome from her slumber. She opened her eyes sleepily to a find that her dark haired prince had been replaced by a scowling white haired hanyou. 'Oh, well.' she thought glumly, 'It was nice while it lasted.'

"What's wrong, Inuyasha? Was it that bad?" she asked.

"Was what that bad?"

"Last night."

His expression changed to a gentle smile, "It was the best night of my whole life."

She knitted her brows, "Then why were you frowning?"

His eyes flashed briefly before he answered, "That guy got my kiss."

"What? Which guy...?"

"That Hobo guy. You said you were thinking about me when he kissed you. So it was my kiss, and he got it." For the second time in 24 hours, he was prevented from crossing his arms to emphasize his resentment by his unwillingness to let go of Kagome. So, he contented himself with in indignant look.

"Oh." Kagome had to fight to suppress a giggle. His jealousy was just so...cute! As if he ever had anything to worry about! "Well...you could go and ask him to give it to you."

Inuyasha eyed her sideways, "I don't think so!"

"Well," she tried again, "I could go and ask him to give it back then?"

"NO!" He bellowed. "You keep your lips away from him!"

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha." She smiled seductively at him. "What can I do to make it up to you?"

He didn't answer for a moment, steeling his courage. It was now or never. When he finally spoke, it was very quiet, and very serious, "I want the rest."

Her breath caught, "Inuyasha... you want the rest of what?"

"Your kisses. I want the rest. From now on, I want to be the only one you kiss."

"Uh, well... I mean... I have to kiss my mom, my grandfather, my brother, my Aunt Suki."

He sighed impatiently, "I want to be the only man to kiss you. As a ... a... lover." He looked up quickly to see her shocked expression, and almost lost his nerve. But he closed his eyes and pushed on, speaking gently, hopefully, "Kagome, I'm asking you to stay with me ~ to never leave me. To be my mate after our quest is done."

Kagome blinked at him, and couldn't make her mouth work.. She wanted to laugh in jubilation, scream with joy! But that's when reality reared it's ugly head. 'Kikyo...' She looked away sadly.

"I can't Inuyasha. Even though it's what I most want in the whole world. I can't promise you my heart eternally, only to have you go running after Kikyo the minute she shows up again. I will always love you, but I cannot build false hopes of being the one you love, only to have my heart broken again every time she comes around. Never knowing ... never knowing if you will come back or if you will be gone forever into hell with her."

His heart soared at her admission of love. 'She loves me! She said so. She loves me.... But how will she feel about me when I tell her ... But I have to tell her. There's no hope if I don't. And besides, she needs to know. She would find out anyway, and it would be better coming from me than someone else.'

His voice, when he found it, was quiet, tremulous, "Kikyo's gone, Kagome."

She shot him a forlorn glance, "For now, maybe."

"No...for good. I... I killed her." At her horrified expression, he closed his eyes and went on, "The night you shot the demon, and then passed out. While I was carrying you home, Kikyo showed up and aimed her arrow at you. She would have killed you. I couldn't let that happen."

Kagome turned an astonished face to him, tears once again falling from her eyes. "Oh, Inuyasha...!" she buried her face in her hands, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry you had to do..."

He cut her off. He couldn't stand for her to feel guilt for something he should have taken care of long before. "Kagome, it's ok. If I had listened to Kaede when she was first revived, I could have saved us all ~ including Kikyo ~ a lot of pain." He went on to tell her about Kikyo's voice speaking to him, thanking him for setting her free of the evil body that kept her captive. "She's finally free, Kagome, where she needs to be. She no longer needs to imprison the souls of dead girls to stay alive." He peeked up through his curtain of white bangs to see Kagome's stricken visage still staring at him. Oh, gods! I have ruined everything! But what else could I have done?

Instead of speaking, she slipped her arms around his neck and pulled herself tightly to him, resting her head on his chest. She hated herself for the feelings she was having, but she couldn't help but feel happy. She still felt sympathy for the dead miko from whom she had apparently inherited her soul, but at least she could now rest in peace. And, no matter how much she admonished herself, she couldn't squash the jubilation that was growing within her: that Inuyasha wanted her, and that he wanted to live their lives together as mates.

Meanwhile Inuyasha, feeling a small amount of hope at Kagome's show of affection, began to stroke her soft raven locks with his fingers. "Kagome, so, uh, will you ... do you want to be ... with.... with me? Marry me?"

Kagome wanted to sing with joy, but her voice completely deserted her, threatening to choke her if she spoke.

Her lack of response began to panic Inuyasha, and before he could stop himself, a torrent of words came pouring from his mouth, "I'll use the jewel to become human for you, Kagome. I'll live in your world, learn to take those tests you take so many of, whatever you want. I don't care. Just please don't leave me!" He knew he was begging, but he couldn't make himself care.

Kagome was touched by his words, but hated to see him reduced to pleading with her, especially when it was so unnecessary. She finally found her tongue, "But Inuyasha, you hate being human."

He dropped his gaze and said, "I don't hate it so much any more. I don't think I could have said and done the things I did last night if I hadn't been in my human form. And they needed to be said for so long. My human side has been hurt much less than my hanyou side. At least as a human, I didn't have to hide for fear of being attacked or called a freak."

"Inuyasha, I don't want you to change. Not for me, or for anything, unless it's what you really want. You would lose so much of what makes you you ~ the one I love." She reached up to stroke a lock of silvery hair away from his face, and tenderly kissed his smiling mouth. "Besides," she reached up further to rub his furry, triangular ears, "I would miss these ears."

"Please don't change, Inuyasha."

"But life would be easier for us and our children if I were fully human, so they would be, too. Especially if we live in your time. And I want you to start dancing again."

She smiled,"I want to marry you, Inuyasha. All of you. We can figure out where to live later. Maybe we can use the jewel to keep the well open for good. Or maybe my miko powers will become strong enough to do that without the jewel. As for our children, I will tell you this: I will teach them to be proud of you and of who they are, and of what makes them special, just as your mother did with you. And I know you will help me do it, and keep me safe, so I don't have to worry about dying and leaving them alone to fend for themselves."

Inuyasha wasn't sure his body could hold all the elation he was feeling. He felt as if his heart at least, would burst. For his entire life he had been alone, and now he wasn't. He had friends, a family of sort, people who cared whether he lived or died. And now, someone to love who loved him back without reservation. Just as he was. Someone who would talk to him, and hold him, and eventually... hmmm... do wonderful things with him. And scratch his ears and cook him ramen. And give him pups to love. Could life get any better?

She stopped rubbing momentarily, only to feel him push his head against her hand, wanting her to continue. Smiling, she scratched lightly, and was rewarded with a happy, rumbling sound eminating from his chest. He closed his eyes, and pulled her closer.

"I love you, Kagome. Forever?"

"Come what may, Inuyasha, forever. We can handle whatever comes together."

And with that said, he lowered his mouth to hers, claiming her lips in an everlasting kiss.

Could I have this dance

For the rest of my life?

Would you be my partner

Every night?

When we're together

It feels so right

Could I have this dance

For the rest of my life?