InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ My Other Life ❯ The race and kiss ( Chapter 11 )

A/N: So, yes there will be elimination in this chapter. Who is going to be eliminated, you ask? Read on and you'll find out. Oh yeah, and I had been thinking that for the next few chapters a little bit of fluff will be added. I'll most likely do something similar when Inuyasha and Kagome kissed. So just to let everyone know, there will be future fluffiness in later chapters.

Sango pushed her wild bangs out of her eyes with impatient fingers. She had been standing in front of her closet for the last few minutes and she was no closer at knowing what she wanted to wear then she had been minutes before. Sango sighed before reaching in and pulling out whatever her fingers caught.

Hearing footsteps in the hallway, Sango decided it didn't matter what she wore as long as she wasn't late. Quickly, she reached in to pull put the first thing her fingers touched out. The outfit she encountered sort of felt like it was made out of leather. She gave it a sharp tug and it easily came off of its hanger and fully into Sango's hand.

When her hand came out again, Sango was surprised at what she had pulled out, that she just stared at it for a while. This outfit Sango hadn't seen in years. She had totally forgotten about it. The outfit was a very plain black top with the same plain black material for the long skirt. The outfit had no designs or any extras on it. This outfit had been one of the first things Sango had bought for herself when she had been a lot younger. After she had been able to get more money, she had started buying prettier and more expensive clothes.

Sango wrinkled her nose as she looked at the small layer of lint. She gave it a few whacks with her hand and decided that although it didn't look like it had just come from the cleaners, it still looked good enough to wear.

Sango reached down at the bottom, grabbed a pair of sandals for her feet, and swiftly changed from her pajamas into the skirt and top. Slipping on the sandals, Sango was ready to go. However, when she passed the mirror and gave it a quick look, she had to stop.

Her hair was a mess.

Sango sighed impatiently to herself, and grabbed a brush. She brushed it as fast as she could without hurting her scalp. She finally stopped when her hair didn't look like she had just gotten out of the bed. She grabbed a black ribbon, tied her hair into a ponytail, and practically ran down the stairs.

When she got to the dining room, every body else was already there, waiting. Sango ignored the glare Inuyasha sent her and sat down next to Kagome. This was the moment every body had been dreading for the last couple weeks. It was time for Inuyasha to eliminate one of the girls.

~*~

Kagome looked at Sango as she sat down next to her. Giving her a happy smile, Kagome turned her gaze back to Sesshomaru. He had been sitting there not saying a word. Kagome assumed he had been waiting until all the girls' were in the room before he said anything. And guess what? She was right.

"Now that we're all here, it's time for my brother to get rid of one of you." Sesshomaru smiled. Kagome was taken back, like every other girl in the room was, as it was the first real smile she had seen him use. "This is how it will work: Inuyasha will have to name something nice about each one of you. However, the catch is, is if he cannot say anything nice about you, then you will be eliminated. Inuyasha will then tell his reason why he doesn't like you and then you'll be kicked out of the palace, never to return."

Kagome glared at Sesshomaru. She didn't like how the elimination process was going to be like because everyone in this room knew that Inuyasha couldn't say anything nice about her even if he wanted to. Inuyasha got up from the floor with an evil look in his eyes. With his eyes only, he slowly scanned each girl in the room.

All four girls were sitting next to each other on the carpet, just waiting. Finally, Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, but Sesshomaru stopped him.

"And before Inuyasha starts, I forgot to say this: if Inuyasha finds something, anything, nice to say about you, you are to leave the dining room and are to go into the library. The last girl left won't be humiliated to much seeing as she won't have to face all of the other young ladies."

Inuyasha scowled at his brother. "You know Sesshomaru, an excuse me wouldn't have killed you." Inuyasha turned back to the girls and this time when he spoke, he was able to do it without being interrupted.

"The first person I'm going to choose will be… Sango. I choose her because I like the way she can stick up for her friends. Also, just from the short time I've been observing her, she seems like a truthful and trustworthy person. That's one thing that a lot of people don't do these days - telling the truth no matter what the end results are."

Sango breathed a sigh in relief as her name was mentioned. She wasn't going home yet. She was still going to stay here. Gracefully, she got up from the floor and, with a wink at Kagome, left.

Inuyasha turned away from Sango's retreating form and fell silent again. Kagome really hoped that Inuyasha wouldn't eliminate her now. Oh sure, they may not get along most of the times, but you couldn't get along with every single person you met, right?

"The next person I choose for to stay is… Kagura. I choose her because even though we didn't get along on our `date', I still believe she could make a nice wife. I want to see where this leads." Inuyasha secretly smiled to himself. He had a few plans for Kagura. Though she didn't know it yet, he had no intention of ever picking her as his wife considering how she worked and was related to the worst guy ever to have breath in his lungs - Naraku.

Kagura didn't show any expression as she too left the room. As soon as the door shut behind her, she stopped and put her ear to listen if Kikyou was moving on to the next round with her.

Kagome never saw because as soon as Kagura's name had left Inuyasha's lips, it had felt like she had gone into momentary shock. If Kagura could still stay here after that awful date she had had with him, then what were the chances of her, Kagome, ever going to the next round when he hated her guts?

Kikyou was silently gnashing her teeth together as the second person left the room. She had really blown it. She should have known when Kagome had come in her room yesterday, that something was up. After all that had happened between them, she should have known better. She didn't think that Inuyasha would keep her after that little episode, but a girl could still hope, right?

Kagome put her head down into her knees; already knowing what Inuyasha was about to say. Great. Just when I thought we were making progress, he goes on and says something nice about Kagura. If he can find something nice to say about her, then I know he can't find something nice to say about -

"And the last person I choose is," Inuyasha waited for what seemed like forever before he said, "Kagome. I choose her because even though she can be a real pain in the ass, she can also be a good friend." Inuyasha smirked. "Not that she could ever be my friend, but she can still be a good friend to other low life's like her self."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha like he had just said he was pregnant before she realized that Inuyasha had just said her name. He had actually said her name! With a goofy smile, Kagome left the room, not bothering to say anything about the insult he had hurled her way.

Kikyou looked in disbelief at Kagome's retreating form and for a second, she just sat there, unable to move.

She had failed.

Kagome had actually gone on to the next round. Naraku would b very displeased with her. Heck, Kikyou was very displeased with her self! There was no way that she could continue living here without drawing suspicion. She was eliminated. She wasn't aloud to return here unless someone asked of her, which she highly doubted anyone would. Her life was ruined. Her last chance of becoming free of debt from Naraku had just been snatched from her. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair!

Inuyasha looked at the emotions playing across Kikyou's face. He didn't know why he had done it. In fact, he had been about to say Kikyou's name instead. But instead of the name Kikyou passing his lips, Kagome's name passed instead. It had surprised him as much as it had probably surprised Sesshomaru. He had been tempted to say that he had been mistaken and he had meant to say Kikyou's name, but what stopped him was the joy that had crossed over Kagome's features when she realized she wasn't going home. That was the only thing that had stopped him. At least, that was what Inuyasha kept repeating to him self, unwilling to admit the real reason for keeping Kagome.

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Inuyasha turned his gaze toward Kikyou. She still was seated on the floor, with the same look of disbelief on her face when he had announced she wasn't to be going onto the next round. Softly, Inuyasha said, "And Kikyou. The one reason I didn't have you move on to the next round was because of mostly what you are planning. You want me to get back together with yourself to repay back some foolish debt. Naraku wants to make sure that he gets his money from you, and the only way you would ensure that he would, was to get a rich husband. But let me ask you something Kikyou."

Inuyasha turned around, letting Kikyou look at his back instead of his face. Inuyasha's voice was mocking as he asked, "Did it ever occur to you that you could have just asked me for the money instead of trying to ensnare me into a loveless marriage?"

Kikyou had felt like she was about to stop breathing when Inuyasha had asked her if she had ever thought about just asking him. If she wanted to be honest with herself, that option had crossed her mind. It was quickly pushed away though, when the image of Kouga trying to kiss her came up.

Naraku was going to throw a fit when he learned that Inuyasha knew about his plan all along. Come to think of it, he would most likely take out his anger on her. With that thought in mind, Kikyou said angrily, "Of course that option came to mind! But do you think I'm stupid Inuyasha? Do you realize that if I had of came to you, all you would have done was laughed in my face? You know as well as I do that you would have never given me the money I needed."

Inuyasha's voice was quiet. "But we'll never know for sure, now will we Kikyou?"

Kikyou smiled to herself. No, they never would know for sure. Wiping all emotion from her face, Kikyou went up behind Inuyasha and whispered for his ear's alone, "But note this Inuyasha: you will marry me. I'll do whatever it takes to makes sure you do. So just prepare yourself Inuyasha. Because when I say I'll do whatever it takes, I mean I'll do whatever it takes."

No sooner had she said this, Kikyou was gone. Inuyasha shivered to himself. It didn't exactly matter to him that Kikyou had just threatened him. Anything she could think of, he knew he could get around it. In the corner of his eye, Inuyasha could see his brother trying to hold back a smile. It seemed to Inuyasha that Sesshomaru had heard what Kikyou had said after all.

This made Inuyasha say rudely, "Care to share what's so funny brother?"

The smile that had been there previously was wiped off as soon as Inuyasha mentioned it. Turning his expression back to unreadable, Sesshomaru replied, "Nothing."

Sesshomaru got up from the chair he had been sitting in and left Inuyasha alone in the dining room. Inuyasha looked at his brother before shouting, "Yeah that's right! Run ya coward!"

~*~

Kagome looked at Sango, a grin on her face. She couldn't believe that she had actually made it. It still amazed her every time she thought about it. Kagome laughed as another few droplets of water landed on her cheek.

"Come on Kagome! The water's great!" Sango shouted. Her head disappeared underneath the lake's murky surface. She emerged a few minutes later, laughing.

After the elimination yesterday, the girls' had had a day to themselves to do whatever they had wanted. Kagome and Sango stayed up most of the night just talking about anything they could think of. When Sango had awakened at 9:00am this morning, she had the urge to go swimming. Wanting Kagome to go with her, Sango had to physically get Kagome out of the bed. She just got a bucket of ice-cold water and poured it all over her friend. And even then, that almost didn't work.

Eventually Kagome got up and the two had gone down to the lake. Sango had wanted Kagura to come with them, but she wasn't able to find her seeing as she wasn't in her bed when she had gone in her room. Kagura had disappeared from sight ever since Kikyou had gone. Kagome really wasn't worried over it, but sometimes that girl just gave her the creeps. It was like she was angry all the time, yet you couldn't tell because she would always hold it inside of her.

Kagome had objected at first seeing as the lake was where she and Inuyasha had had there first date together. To a point, she sort of felt like the place was sacred somehow.

Another splash from Sango brought Kagome out of her brooding thoughts. Smiling, Kagome did a perfect dive into the water and came up giggling. A quick glance around showed no sign of Sango anywhere. All of a sudden, she felt a small tug on her legs and before she knew what had happened, she was being pulled underneath the water.

A sudden kick to the person's arms and she was rising back to the surface. Kagome took a deep breath of air and glared at a laughing Sango. Sensing movement out of the corner of her eye, Kagome took a step forward with a smirk on her face toward Sango. She had seen the guys coming to join them and guess who had been with them? Why, none other than the hentai himself, Miroku.

Giving Sango an evil smile, Kagome said sweetly, "I do believe you had better run Sango dear."

Sango's grin widened. "Oh? And why is that, Kagome dear?"

Kagome's grin just widened. "You'll see right about…."

Kagome never got to finish as all three of the guys' jumped into the water; well, all except for Inuyasha. He just kind of ignored everyone while he jumped into the tree overlooking the rest of the people with disdain.

Kouga and Miroku weren't going to let their buddy ruin there fun though. They jumped into the water with big yells and whoops. Kagome laughed as water was splashed onto her and Sango. Sango started to cough as she drew some of the water into her mouth. Miroku was there in an instance trying to help her out.

"Let me help you Lady Sango." Miroku whacked her on her back trying to stop the coughing. At the same time, his other hand that had been hanging casually by his side started to creep up to Sango's legs and higher until it reached her butt. Sango's coughing fit stopped as she grew red and hit Miroku over the head with her hand. Instead of leaving however, Sango went underneath the water to teach Miroku a lesson and hopefully cure him of his fatal wandering hands disease.

Kagome had enjoyed watching the whole thing with amusement. An idea struck her as a game they could all play together. Cheerfully, Kagome shouted, "Why don't we have a race?"

Everybody stopped for a few seconds to consider this. Kouga was the first to speak. "That's an excellent idea Kagome. What did you have in mind?"

"A water race. Let's see who can swim the fastest to the other end of the lake. Whoever gets there and back wins."

Sango pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and smiled. She had long ago gotten out of the water without Miroku. Miroku was out of the water too, with a disappointed expression on his face and a deep red handprint on both cheeks. Nodding, he agreed with Sango.

Kagome clapped her hands excitedly. "Great! Oh, but here's the catch. You have to have a partner. You and your partner have to work together to be the winners."

Sango was confused. "What do you mean Kagome?"

"Okay, let me try and say this so you guys can understand. When Inuyasha's say go, we'll -"

Inuyasha cut her off. "What do you mean when Inuyasha says go? I'm not participating in this stupid race."

Kagome drew in a breath and said patiently, "Yes, Inuyasha. I know. That's why you'll be the referee. You'll be the one who will declare the winner seeing as you're not going to play a part in the game."

Inuyasha jumped out of the tree and glared at Kagome. "How do you know that I don't want to do this? Can you read my minds or something?"

Kagome dredged up all the patience she had learned over the years' from living with her `mom', and said, "No. But you seem like the type who doesn't like to get involved in stiff like this. That's why I assumed you wouldn't want to join us."

Inuyasha snorted. Arrogantly, he said, "Shows how much you know. I do want to be in this race. Therefore I can show all you wimpy humans whose boss around here."

Kouga shouted, "Who you callin' a wimpy human dog breath!"

Kagome's patience was running out. "Look Inuyasha. You know as well as I do that you do not want to get involved. So just shut up and go back to your tree."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and said stubbornly, "No. I want to race. So I'm going to race."

Kagome threw her hands up in the air. "Fine! You do what you want." Inuyasha's victory was short lived, however, when Kagome said, "But there won't be a race unless there's a referee."

Inuyasha shrugged, not seeing a problem. "That's easy. Wolf boy can do it."

Kouga looked at Inuyasha like he had just said he was the smartest person in the world. "Excuse me? I happen to want to do this race. I'm not going to be a referee. You're the one who didn't want to do it in the first place. I say you still have to do it."

Inuyasha walked over to the water's edge and said, "I said I won't. Besides, I'm the prince here. And what I say goes." Smirking, Inuyasha continued. "And since I'm the prince, I say Kouga has to be the referee seeing as he works for me."

Kouga grew red in the face and before he could do or say anything Kagome interrupted. "Forget it. This race is just too much trouble." Kagome got out of the water, grabbed her white towel, and walked toward the palace. Kouga rushed over to Kagome and put his arm around her waist.

Inuyasha got angry at this action. "Get your hands of Kagome wolf boy! She doesn't belong to you!"

Kouga shouted back, "Yeah and she doesn't belong to you!"

Before Inuyasha could come back with a retort, Kagome twisted Kouga's arm off of her waist and said loud enough for both Inuyasha and Kouga to hear, "I don't belong to anyone." She then turned around and continued her walk to the palace, her pace a little quicker.

She hadn't gotten to far when Kouga was back with her, though this time he kept his hands to himself. Quietly, he said, "Come on back Kagome. If Inuyasha wants me to be a referee, then I'll be a ref."

Kagome's smile was blinding as she threw herself at Kouga and squeezed him around the neck. Even though she was a human, she still had a pretty strong grip that made Kouga want to escape for air. Gleefully, Kagome took Kouga's hand and ran back the short distance to the lake.

Inuyasha sent Kouga a smug look. "I see you came to your senses Kouga."

Kouga snorted. "Yeah right. I only did it to make my woman happy."

Inuyasha began to stutter. "Y-Your woman?" Seeing that Kouga was dead serious, Inuyasha fell to the floor laughing his head off.

Kagome grew slightly red before ignoring both of the males. Sango shook her head, feeling envious of Kagome for a few moments. She wondered what it would feel like for a guy to get jealous over her or for a guy to care that much. Sango sent a sneaking glance in Miroku's direction. She wasn't quick to turn away though, and she was met up with Miroku's brown eyes. Color spread over her cheeks.

Sango quickly walked over to Kagome and said in a loud voice, "You never did finish on how we were to play this game Kagome."

Kagome actually looked embarrassed about it. "Oh yeah. Sorry Sango." Clapping her hands together, Kagome said, "All right. It's quite simple really. All you have to do is have one person swim toward the end of the lake, turn around and go back to the starting point. They will then proceed to slap their partner's hand and then their partner will do their lap. Whoever can make it back first, wins."

Inuyasha was the first one to say the idea was stupid. Kouga was quick to punch Inuyasha in the nose for insulting his woman's intelligence and a fight was quickly ensued. Kagome smiled, went over to the fighting pair, and grabbed both guys' ears with her fingers, making sure she pinched them pretty hard. The fighting had stopped as surely as it had begun only a few seconds ago.

In a voice that one would use for a child, Kagome said, "Will you two please stop fighting so we can begin the race?" Inuyasha and Kouga nodded.

Kagome let go of their ears and Inuyasha and Kouga immediately went to finger them. "All right. Now it's time to pick our partners."

Miroku immediately went over to Sango. "Will you please be my partner Sango? I would be greatly honored if one such as yourself would give me the chance to prove that I'm not as silly as you probably think."

Sango was taken back at this, but she wasn't going to just let him off the hook that easy. "Sorry Miroku. I was going to ask Kagome to be my partner. I'm sure Inuyasha would love to be with you though."

Miroku just smiled. "I really don't think he would, would you Inuyasha?" The look in his eyes told Inuyasha that if he accepted, he would kill him later.

Inuyasha wasn't intimidated though. "Why would I want to do a stupid thing like that?"

Miroku smiled at Sango. He blinked as he looked at the empty spot where Sango used to be at. She was now standing with Kagome, her arm linked through hers.

Miroku knew he was defeated for now. At least, he wasn't going to give up yet. There was still hope. He had seen the glance Sango had given toward him and the blush when she had seen him watching her too. Miroku smiled. Yes, there was still hope for him and her to actually be together.

Inuyasha made an annoyed face. "So I get stuck with the pervert? Sure you won't try and grope me Miroku?" All of this was said sarcastically.

Miroku took on a disgusted face. "Inuyasha, don't be a pig. Let's just get the race over with and then you can go back in your tree."

Inuyasha just crossed his arms. Kouga said in a loud voice, "Okay, you sissies! Let's get this race started!"

Inuyasha looked up at the tree Kouga was in. It was the same tree Inuyasha would be in if he hadn't of opened his big mouth. He hated water. He didn't know why. He just knew that he just didn't like it.

Miroku calmly went over to the start of the lake and stood there, waiting for the signal to begin. Sango joined him.

"Ready? Set? Go!"

Miroku jumped in followed by Sango. After only a few seconds, you could tell that Miroku and Sango was an even match. Miroku would take the lead for a second or two only for Sango to speed past him. Then Miroku again would come back and reclaim the lead. This kept going back and forth throughout their whole race.

When Kagome saw that Sango had reached the end of the lake and was turning back around, she got ready. She pulled out a rubber band and tied up her hair. Then she went over to the edge of the water and shouted, "Come on Sango! You can do it! You're almost there!"

Kagome wasn't sure if Sango had heard her or not, but she kept on shouting encouragement anyway. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was shouting death threats at Miroku if he didn't hurry up.

"Will you move it Miroku! This is a race in case you didn't notice! I would actually like to win instead of being beaten by a couple of girls!" Miroku may have heard him because he slowly picked up speed and by an inch, was ahead.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha and gave him a mischievous little smile. "Hey Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha turned towards Kagome. "What?" he snapped.

Kagome grinned and stuck out her hand towards Sango. Sango gave it a big slap and Kagome said while diving in the water, "Eat my dust!"

Inuyasha gawked for a few seconds before he too slapped Miroku's hand and dived in the water. There was just no way he was going to get beat by a girl. No way in hell!

Kagome was swimming as fast as she could. She knew that Inuyasha had an advantage with his demon blood, and seeing as Kagome didn't have a drop's worth of demon blood, she was going to have to try and stay in the lead if she wanted to win. Kagome liked to think of herself as a pretty good swimmer. She wasn't the best, but she could give anyone a run for their money if she set her mind to it.

Kagome reached the end of the lake and turned around. She didn't look to see if Inuyasha was behind her or what, she just swam.

Sango shouted encouragement to Kagome like Kagome did to her. "You can do it Kagome! Just a little bit further and we can win!"

Miroku was doing the same for Inuyasha, though his comments were a little nicer than Inuyasha's were when he had been in the water. "Go faster Inuyasha! You said you don't want to be beaten by a girl! Well if you don't pick up the pace, you will be!"

Inuyasha all of a sudden turned on his back and began to swim that way. Miroku was puzzled at this until he heard Inuyasha's mouth. "Will you shut up Miroku? I can't concentrate when you're yelling nonsense at me!"

Miroku shouted back, "Fine Inuyasha! But Lady Kagome is going to win!"

Inuyasha then said, "The hell she is!" before turning back around on his stomach and, with a boost of speed that surprised Miroku, Sango, and even Kouga, began to catch up with Kagome.

Kagome was getting tired. She decided right then and there she needed to work out some more because from a distance, the length of the lake didn't look so bad. But when you actually swam it, well let's just say that you had better be in a shape lest you wanted to stop in the middle of the lake from exhaustion.

Kagome finally reached shore. Picking herself out of the water, she sat down at the edge and looked around for Inuyasha breathing heavily. "Did we win?"

A voice cockily said behind her, "Of course you didn't win. You're a weak human. When you went up against me, a half- demon, you never really stood a chance."

Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha with a smug grin on his face. Disappointment weighed heavy on he shoulders. Brightening up, Kagome said, "Well it was a fair race Inuyasha. You won fair and square. We should definitely do it again sometime."

Kouga interrupted. "Actually Kagome, Inuyasha cheated."

"Say what?" Inuyasha looked outraged. "How can somebody cheat swimming?"

Kouga sent Inuyasha a look that said you're so very stupid. "Ever here of steroids dog breath?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Of course I have! But I highly doubt that anybody would use that seeing as this was just for fun."

Kouga waved that aside. "Yeah whatever. The point is, you cheated."

Before Inuyasha could start yelling at Kouga for lying, Kouga continued. "You used your demonic power to speed up and pass Kagome. As far as I'm concerned, that's cheating."

Kagome was the one who spoke this time. "I wouldn't exactly call that cheating Kouga. We never said that Inuyasha couldn't use it. If we had of, and he had of done it anyway, then yes he would have cheated. But we didn't say anything about that. So Inuyasha won fair and square. Right Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha smirked at Kouga. "Right Kagome."

Kouga glared at Inuyasha before smiling at Kagome. "So, Kagome. You want to go back to the palace and hang out? Maybe we could play a game or something."

Kagome shrugged. "Sure. That sounds like fun."

Kagome got up from the ground, dusted herself off, and started to walk back. She paused in mid-stride. Turning back around, Kagome jogged back toward the lake and scooped up her towel. Smiling, she said cheerfully, "Let's go."

Kouga jumped out of the tree and began to follow `his woman'. Inuyasha walked a little faster and caught up with Kagome.

Kouga didn't like it when Inuyasha talked to his Kagome and this time was no different. Calling out to Inuyasha, he said, "Hey mutt face! Why don't you and I have a race?"

Inuyasha stopped, an evil grin slowly spreading across his face as he said, "You're on. I'll enjoy embarrassing you when I kick your butt."

The only reason Kouga was doing this was because he wanted Inuyasha's paws off his Kagome and he wanted to show Inuyasha that he could beat him anytime, anywhere.

Kagome sighed at hearing the challenge. It seemed that all those two did ever did was fight or argue.

Electing himself as the judge, Miroku said, "On your mark. Get ready. Go!"

Kagome held up a hand as a huge amount of water splashed up onto the shore. Watching in amazement, both Kouga and Inuyasha were going faster than she ever believed possible. To Kagome, it didn't look like they were actually swimming. Instead it looked like they were gliding over the water, they were going so damn fast.

In a matter of seconds, both Inuyasha and Kouga had finished. Kouga was the winner. Kagome already knew what was going to happen. And she was right. Kouga boasted. "I told you I could beat you dog turd. Ha! In your face."

Inuyasha pushed his hair out of his eyes and said warningly, "In case you forgot Kouga, you work for me. Don't push it or I can have you fired in an instant."

Kouga grinned, undaunted. Going over to Inuyasha, Kouga said, "I remember. Just don't fire me for this." Kouga pushed Inuyasha back in the lake where Inuyasha toppled backwards and went underneath the water.

Kagome gasped and glared at Kouga. "That was a mean thing to do!"

"I know." He sounded so proud of that fact.

Inuyasha came back to the surface, sputtering. Giving Kouga a death glare, Inuyasha shouted, "You just made your death wish wolf boy!" Inuyasha came out of the water, murder written clearly across his face. But before he even reached Kouga, he stopped. Glancing behind him, Inuyasha's mouth dropped open at the picture the two people displayed.

There were Miroku and Sango kissing. And it seemed that they were really enjoying what they were doing. Even Sango. In fact, Sango put her arms around Miroku's neck to get a better grip. Sadly, being the way he is, one of Miroku's hands disentangled itself from Sango's waist and made its way toward her butt. And can you guess what happened?

"Hentai!"

Sango turned beet red as Miroku fell to the ground, twitching.

Kagome began to laugh at Sango's expression before she felt two hands come around her waist. Glancing behind her, she could see and feel Inuyasha nuzzling her neck. Twisting Kagome around so she could face him, Kagome already knew what was going to happen even before he did it.

Inuyasha kissed her. And this kiss was just as good as the last one they had shared. Inuyasha had just pressed his lips to hers when an enraged Kouga threw Inuyasha back. Kouga couldn't even speak he was so mad. Kagome watched the fight go on with a bemused expression on her face.

Inuyasha had kissed her. Again. Kagome smiled at Inuyasha. Inuyasha didn't know it, but that kiss had sealed his fate. Kagome was now more determined than ever to make Inuyasha fall in love with her.

It wasn't going to be for the money. No, the reason why Kagome wanted him to fall in love with her was because she, Kagome Higurashi, was already halfway in love with the half-demon.

A/N: So yeah. I told you there would be some fluff in it. Now I think the next chapter may be all fluff. I'm not sure yet. Anyway, review. Always review.