InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Shadow ❯ Two Dates in One Day ( Chapter 9 )

A/N: Thanks for the warm reviews! I enjoy reading them! Just to tell you, this IS an Inu/Kag fic. No doubt.

I've got bad news for you before you start reading the chappie (grab anything that you could possibly throw at me in case emotion gets too strong). Inuyasha is NOT buying Kagome. Find out why… But I think you'll like this chapter a lot…

 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha, I told you I don't own you. Why do you keep following me around? Now, go back to Takahashi-san before the cops come…       

 

 

 

 

Chapter 9

Two Dates in One Day

 

 

 

 

Kagome's head quickly went to look at the stage where Chisa was standing, her eyes wide like saucers and read, `You've got to be kidding me!'

“What a coincidence…” Nazuna said, trying to sound innocent but failing miserably. “First, Inuyasha… Then, you…” She smiled at Inuyasha sweetly once again.

Inuyasha growled in reply. “I doubt it's just a coincidence,” said the hanyou, glaring at Nazuna fiercely. The girl was deliberately begging him to bite her head off. 

“Kagome, please come up here so we may begin the bidding.” Chisa called to Kagome, meeting Nazuna's eyes briefly for them to share a victorious smile.

“O-Okay.” Kagome said hesitantly, lifting one foot to start walking towards the stage. However, she found herself unable to move because of a certain hand that clasped her arm. “Inuyasha?” She looked at the hanyou questioningly, although she had an idea why he was holding her down.

Inuyasha glowered at Nazuna, who was still with them and was still smiling much to Inuyasha's annoyance. He took Kagome away, leaving Nazuna alone and distancing themselves from the crowd. “You're not going.” He finally said when they were far from anyone's earshot.

“Inuyasha!” Kagome protested, putting her hands on her waist. “Of course I'm going!” She told him stubbornly, chocolate brown eyes full of conviction.

Inuyasha's golden yellow eyes held the same determination. “If you go, I won't be able to protect you!” He reasoned out to Kagome, making sure their conversation wasn't heard by anyone.

Kagome took a deep breath and released it slowly, looking straight at Inuyasha's eyes. “Look, we all agreed on this deal. Whoever gets chosen must go.” She explained, reminding Inuyasha of the terms their section had agreed upon. “I'll be fine.” She added to comfort Inuyasha's doubts, turning around quickly to leave before Inuyasha stopped her again.

“No.” Inuyasha immediately grabbed her arm again, looking a lot like a little kid that was begging for his mother not to leave him.

Kagome sighed then turned to face Inuyasha once more. “Inuyasha, I can handle myself.” She tried to pry Inuyasha's grip loose but he simply wouldn't let go. 

“It's dangerous.” He told her warningly, hoping she would consider the possibilities that Hell's Gate might be lurking around and waiting for the two of them to separate so they could take her.

Kagome knew that perfectly well but she didn't want to live her life fearing Hell's Gate all the time. She wouldn't allow them to ruin her life only because she was a miko. “I promise I'll be very careful.” Still, Inuyasha's hold on her didn't come loose so she tried again. “I can protect myself now. Trust me.” She offered a smile to him.

Inuyasha didn't know what actually made him do it but his grip loosened. Perhaps it was the doing of her words or her smile. Maybe both. “But I'm still going to make Miroku follow you.” He reminded her, not accepting completely that she had managed to change his mind.

“Thank you.” Kagome's smile brightened as she walked towards the stage. `For trusting me—even just a bit.'

Inuyasha had stayed behind, watching the crowd closely and still keeping an eye on Kagome.

“Inuyasha can't let go of Kagome!!! How sweet!!!”

`They're getting worse day by day…' Inuyasha thought as he went a little closer to the crowd to lessen the distance between him and Kagome. If ever there was an emergency, he would get Kagome more easily if he was closer to her.

“First call?” Chisa said to open the bidding when Kagome found her spot at the middle of the stage.

Kagome looked nervously at the silent crowd. All eyes were on her and it was making her uncomfortable. She could see Inuyasha in the crowd, looking around for possible dangers.

“Fifty yen!” A lanky guy from Section B called out, laughing like crazy at his own tactless joke. “Oh wait, I don't have that much! Let's lower it to thirty!” He sneered at Kagome, his slanted blue eyes mocking Kagome openly.

Ouch. Now Kagome knew how Inuyasha felt when she tried to buy him with fifty yen.

Inuyasha growled lowly, looking at the offending boy's direction threateningly. All of a sudden, he really felt like sinking his claws into someone's throat and the insolent human from Section B was starting to become his perfect target. Amazingly, he managed to stay in his position—at least for a few more minutes.  

Nazuna smiled at the boys from her section as they continued to taunt Kagome. “Oh come on, there must be someone who will make do with her!” She looked at Kagome from head to foot as if assessing her then said insultingly, “She looks decent enough.”

“Now that you mention it, she is quite cute actually.” Someone said, looking at Kagome with a not-so-innocent look in his eyes. “Three hundred yen!” His eyes lingered at Kagome's exposed long legs below her little green skirt. 

Inuyasha saw the expression on the guy's face and knew immediately that he wasn't decent for Kagome. He cursed the school mentally for making the girls wear short skirts as their uniform. “Cute?!” He argued, countering the perverted boy's words as he marched to the front of the stage. “Are you blind or what?! She's a bloated whale, you asshole!” His fiery eyes stayed fixed on the guy as he pointed at Kagome. `Stop staring at her that way or I'm going to rip your fucking eyes out!'

`WHAT?!' Kagome's eyes twitched a couple of times as she stared at Inuyasha incredulously.

“Isn't she your girlfriend?” Someone else asked Inuyasha curiously, unable to understand why he was insulting her as well.

“So what if she's my girlfriend?” Inuyasha replied, turning to glare at the stupid guy who had asked him. “Mind your own business and keep out of mine!” He snarled at him.

Being the noble friend that he was, Miroku walked towards Inuyasha to save his friend from further trouble. “Inuyasha, you're not supposed to insult your girlfriend in a crowd—especially in front of her with other males around.” He told the hanyou slowly, making sure Inuyasha got his words.

“Keh! I'll do whatever I want!” Inuyasha scoffed, paying no attention to Miroku's attempt to help him out.

“Anyway, I think you're just jealous because I'm going to have a date with your girl.” Another boy—this time from Section C—said, smirking at Inuyasha arrogantly. He then turned to look at Kagome and smiled warmly at her. He was the president of Section C. Kagome knew him because he attended different school meetings with her. He was Bankotsu Shirame. “One thousand yen!” He offered without taking his eyes off Kagome.

“Jealous?! Do I look like the jealous type of boyfriend?!” Inuyasha asked him, his molten amber eyes daring him to say that he was indeed jealous. “And stop staring at her when I'm talking to you!” He barked, his eyes seething badly as he glowered at Bankotsu.

Everyone was looking at him, their faces had the expression that clearly said, `Correct me if I'm wrong but to me, yes. YES, you do look like the jealous type!' 

`You are acting like one.' Kagome thought, smiling a little at Inuyasha's outburst.

“I'll just pretend I didn't ask that…” Inuyasha muttered to himself, seeing the expression in their eyes. “But I'm warning you, she really eats a lot on a date. And she laughs like she has escaped the mental asylu—”

“I DO NOT!” Kagome interjected, getting infuriated with Inuyasha now. She knew Inuyasha was just trying to save her from being auctioned and she actually appreciated it. But she would have preferred it more if Inuyasha would shut up instead of making her look so disgusting and unlikable. She went closer to Inuyasha, kneeling on the stage so she could talk to him. “Inuyasha, stop it or I'm going to kill you!” She whispered so only he could hear her, her eyes looked really scary at that moment.

“I'm trying to save your ass, wench!” Inuyasha whispered back, growling when he found Bankotsu looking at them and smirking haughtily. What he wouldn't give to wipe that smirk off that bastard's face…

“You're making me look so horrible!” Kagome griped, returning Inuyasha's attention to her.

“Why? Aren't you?”

Kagome resisted the urge to hit him squarely at the face. Instead, she glared at him, stood up and walked away from him, returning to her spot on the middle of the stage. “I think Inuyasha wants a new girlfriend.” She stated out loud, arms crossed over her chest.

“What the hell!?” Inuyasha exclaimed, his eyes looking at Kagome in disbelief. He glowered at her for a few seconds then looked away. “I don't give a fucking damn what you do anymore!” He stormed off and went to the back of the crowd—but still he kept an eye on her, making sure she was safe.

As if that was the cue they were waiting for, the guys started getting bolder and began bidding for Kagome more actively.

“Two thousand yen!”

“Three thousand!”

“Inuyasha, aren't you bidding for Kagome too?” Miroku asked, standing beside his friend as the auction continued. “You should have done that instead of trying to discourage the other bidders.” He looked at Inuyasha sideways, smiling a little when he found a hint of guilt on the hanyou's face.

“I'm not about to waste my money on that ungrateful bitch!” Inuyasha said proudly, looking away to hide his face from Miroku's scrutinizing eyes.

`Stubborn to the core,' thought Miroku, shaking his head slowly. “You are hopeless, you know that?”

“Fuck off.”

“Six thousand? Do I hear a seven somewhere?” Chisa asked, wanting to get the last auction done.

“Ten thousand yen!”

Inuyasha's ears jerked at the words. He wanted badly to turn his head to see who the annoying boy was that tried to buy Kagome but he didn't move and feigned indifference because he could feel that Miroku was still watching his actions. No, he wouldn't give him the satisfaction that he was indeed worried.

“Wow… Someone else definitely wants to spend his money for Kagome.” Miroku commented, trying to get a reaction from Inuyasha.

“Who fucking cares!” Inuyasha answered back although he was tempted even more to look at Kagome's buyer. `Don't look… don't look…' He repeatedly chanted inside his head.

“Going once… twice…”

“The boy seems decent enough. Kagome doesn't seem to mind if he's the one to buy her…” Miroku added, smiling at Inuyasha's evident struggle. `He's really trying hard not to look.'

`Don't look, don't look—oh, screw it!' He thought, not caring anymore if Miroku teased him for his whole life. “Decent my ass! I bet he looks ug—” Inuyasha turned his head to look at the direction Miroku was looking at to find a familiar boy with dark brown hair. `Wait… that boy! He's the one Kagome was talking to last time at Sougeki's!' He walked hastily towards the stage.

“Thrice… and SOLD!” Chisa said hurriedly, relieved that it was finally over and Kagome was out of their way now. “Higurashi Kagome sold to Houjou—”

“Wait!” Inuyasha was now standing right in front of the stage, looking determinedly at Chisa. “This isn't finished yet!”

“Inuyasha…” Kagome looked at him in surprise. `Is he going to bid for me…?' All of a sudden, her heart began to beat faster than normal.

“Ten thousand and one yen!” Inuyasha said to Chisa.

`That jerk!' Kagome thought, mentally calling Inuyasha cheap and annoying over and over again.

Chisa stopped herself from smiling derisively at Inuyasha. “I'm sorry but the bidding is closed.” Chisa said but she didn't look sorry at all.

“Then open it.” Inuyasha snarled at her, a hint of threat in his voice.

“Even if we open it, you can't bid, Inuyasha.” Chisa explained nervously, looking scared of Inuyasha. “You're already sold. You can't bid if you already have a date.” She said in a meek voice.

Of course, how could he forget? `Damn it.' He cursed, looking for a way to solve his problem. `Think Inuyasha, think!'

“Inuyasha! What do you think are you doing?!”

Inuyasha turned and saw Miroku rushing towards him as if to say, `Are you out of your mind?!' An idea formed in his mind as he stared at Miroku. He looked back at Chisa with a triumphant smile on his lips. “I'm not the one bidding! Miroku is!”

“I am?” Miroku asked, looking very clueless of the sudden happening around him.

“Of course you are!” Inuyasha gave him the look and beamed at him. “Don't you remember?” He patted him on his shoulder suggestively.

“Oh yeah! I am bidding!” Miroku agreed merrily, finally catching on with Inuyasha's plan.

Inuyasha knew they looked obviously suspicious but he didn't care what the others thought. As long as Kagome didn't go with that boy, he didn't care even if Miroku looked like an idiot. “So can we open the bidding again?” He looked at Chisa more nicely this time, trying to make her agree.

Chisa looked at Nazuna unsurely. When she saw Nazuna nod, she finally answered Inuyasha softly. “I guess so.” She looked at Kagome sideways then said, “Bidding for Kagome is still open!”

“Ten thousand and one yen then,” said Inuyasha contentedly, smirking at Kagome's way.

“Cheap bastard.” Kagome murmured, making sure Inuyasha could make out her words.

Inuyasha smirked even wider at Kagome then his eyes wandered towards where Houjou was standing. `So, you want to win?' He mentally asked, never disconnecting his eyes from Houjou.

Houjou stared back impassively at Inuyasha for a while then looked at Chisa, saying calmly, “Twenty thousand yen.” He looked so formal and respectful in his all black uniform.  

Inuyasha, on the other hand, looked really menacing with the way he held himself that moment. “Thirty.” He instantly returned, not letting two seconds pass after Houjou had spoken. His eyes stayed fixed on Houjou as if they were playing a game that whoever looked away first would be the loser. Winner would get Kagome, of course.

“Fifty.” Houjou answered back as quick as Inuyasha did, also maintaining eye contact with him. Both were definitely determined to win the game they had set up.

Inuyasha wasn't going to allow himself to lose. `No fucking way.' “Sixty thousand.” He growled to Houjou.

Houjou stopped for a moment, looking at Kagome while he thought. Apparently, he didn't want to play Inuyasha's staring game anymore and he preferred to look at Kagome than him.

Inuyasha's growling increased when he saw Houjou's eyes looking at Kagome. `Give up… I'm not going to let you have her.'

Houjou sighed, still looking at Kagome.

Kagome looked back at Houjou curiously, not knowing why he was willing to spend so much for her. He didn't actually know her at all so why spend so much just to date her? Whatever his reason was, Kagome knew that she was flattered. It was nice to know that a guy was willing to spend so much for you. But in Inuyasha's case… why wasn't she feeling flattered? Maybe because she knew his reason very well.  

Inuyasha was starting to relax, thinking that Houjou had decided to give up at last. Until he saw Houjou open his mouth and bid higher—much higher.

“One hundred thousand yen.”

`How dare he!' Inuyasha glared at Houjou, turned to Miroku and said in a hurry, “Miroku, do something! You're the one who's supposed to be bidding here not me!”

“Hey! You're the one who's not letting me bid!” Miroku reasoned out, trying to defend himself from Inuyasha's fury.

“Just go fucking bid!” Inuyasha told him in frustration.

“Uh… Inuyasha…” Miroku started, looking at Inuyasha guiltily. He moved closer to Inuyasha and whispered to his ear, “I don't have more than one hundred thousand right now.”

When Inuyasha didn't bid higher, Chisa began verifying Houjou's win. “Going once…”

Inuyasha began to panic at Chisa's words. “I'll pay for it!” He whispered back to Miroku hurriedly, encouraging him to bid already before it was too late.

“Going twice…”

“Every yen of it?” Miroku said in a low voice, clearing things with Inuyasha. Unlike Inuyasha who was currently in a hurry, Miroku was taking all the time in the world and enjoying the way Inuyasha's face looked. He was really panicking badly in Miroku's opinion.

“Going thrice…”

“Yes! Every fucking yen!” Inuyasha growled in annoyance, exposing his claws for Miroku to see. “NOW BID!” He yelled at him.

“Onehundredandfiftythousandyen!” Miroku said hastily, grinning at Inuyasha.

“Not that high, you moron!” Inuyasha hit Miroku's head, glaring at the older agent. “You're annoying me pretty much, you know?!”

“I was under pressure!” Miroku defended himself, rubbing the spot Inuyasha had hit although it didn't really hurt that much.

“I want to kill you right now.” Inuyasha muttered as he continued to shoot deadly glares at Miroku's direction.

“Wait! I'm the one bidding, you can't kill me!”

“Okay… so that's one hundred and fifty thousand. Wow… Highest bid for today! Same as Nazuna's bid for Inuyasha!” Chisa announced, looking at Miroku with amazement. “Miroku's pretty rich! Anyone bidding higher?” She looked around the crowd then settled her eyes on Houjou.

They were all looking at Houjou, waiting for him to bid again. Even Inuyasha was looking at him. 

Houjou shook his head slowly, signaling his acceptance of defeat.

“Going once, twice and thrice, Kagome is officially sold!” Chisa said the words in an instant, thankful that it was finally over. “Higurashi Kagome is sold to Machida Miroku!”

Kagome went down from the stage to go towards Inuyasha and Miroku. “You shouldn't have done that anymore, Inuyasha.” She said softly, looking unhappy with the way things had turned out. She walked away and headed for a place less crowded for some time to think.

Inuyasha and Miroku went after her. “Done what?” Inuyasha asked, unable to understand why she wasn't looking even a bit grateful to him. `I was doing you a favor!' He wanted to tell her out loud but he decided against it.

“You forced Miroku to buy me, didn't you?” asked Kagome, looking into Inuyasha's eyes and hoping he'd read her mind. `I thought you'd let me have some fun… I thought you really understood me…' She looked away, unable to look at Inuyasha's eyes anymore. `I thought you trusted me…'

Inuyasha didn't have a clue of what was going on inside Kagome's head. He thought it was only about Miroku being forced to bid for her. He didn't know it was so much more than that. “He was willing! Right, Miroku?” He nudged Miroku for backup.

“Yeah, I am willing!” Miroku nodded vigorously like a little kid.

“Oooookaaaay… That was very believable.” Kagome said with a deadpan expression on her face.

Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore. “What the hell is your problem?! I just saved your ass! You should be thankful about it not tetchy!” He argued, his temper getting the better part of him. “Do you really want to have a date with that scrawny boy?! Fine! Go!” 

“It's not that, you idiot!” Kagome didn't know why but most of the time, when Inuyasha exploded, she also did the same. It was like Inuyasha was activating her to get angry. “It's because you don't give me any freedom anymore! You're overprotective and you never allow me to have fun—ever!” She said furiously at Inuyasha. “I told myself that I won't let Hell's Gate ruin my life but you are the one ruining my life! I thought you trusted me but you obviously don't!” She turned her back at Inuyasha and walked away, wanting to escape him—but she knew that he would always follow her anywhere. Because he was like her shadow now.

No matter how tough Inuyasha might be, Kagome's words had wounded him. He didn't know why it affected him when he didn't usually give a damn to people's words. He followed her immediately, Miroku hot on his tail. “You are always ungrateful!” He tried to remain angry to dull the hurt he was feeling because of Kagome's words.

Kagome spun around instantly, her chocolate brown eyes fuming with anger. “And you're always so selfish!” She shot back, trying to forget Inuyasha's betrayal by being angry with him. “You even made Miroku spend so much just so I wouldn't end up with someone else! You don't care about others as long as you get what you want!”

“Yeah, I'm pretty selfish and I don't fucking care what you think about it!” Inuyasha said, not caring anymore about the words that came out of his mouth. He walked closer to her, his eyes connected with hers. “I sure as hell don't give a damn about you!” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “This is all just because of my stupid duty to protect you.”

Kagome was speechless beyond belief. She knew Inuyasha could be harsh at times but she never expected him to be that cruel to her. She wiped the tears that were threatening to fall. She wouldn't let Inuyasha see that she was hurt deeply by his words. “Yeah, I know.” She said, trying to look strong in front of him.  

Nazuna arrived suddenly, looking happy as she locked her arm around Inuyasha's arm. “Inuyasha, come on! The auction's over so we can start our date by watching a movie! I want to see The Shadow!” She smiled at him, ignoring Kagome and Miroku completely. She didn't mind if she was interrupting something as long as she got Inuyasha away from Kagome. “Come on, Inuyasha.” She pulled him away, not looking back at Kagome and Miroku.  

Inuyasha remained silent and allowed Nazuna to pull him away. He wanted to be away from Kagome for a while—he didn't want to see her crying.

Because he knew that he was the cause of her tears.

x

Kagome stayed rooted in her post, Inuyasha's last words echoing inside her head.

“This is all just because of my stupid duty to protect you.”

She didn't even realize that her friends had arrived.

“Kagome! What happened?! Did Inuyasha and you fight over something?!” Eri asked worriedly, seeing her friend's face.

“Don't tell me you told him you're jealous because he's going with Nazuna!” Yuka scolded her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You shouldn't have told him that, Kagome!” Ayumi gasped, giving her some encouragement that things would work out fine. “You should have faith in him!” She began telling Kagome that it was only normal for couples to argue from time to time but Kagome didn't hear a word of Ayumi's lecture.

Sango noticed that when she saw that Kagome's eyes were cloudy. `With unshed tears?' She wondered, looking at her friend more closely. “Um… Kagome?”

Kagome didn't look at Sango or anyone in particular as she spoke three small words. “I'm going home.” With that said, she left them and didn't turn back anymore. She was tired and all she wanted was to forget everything—especially the searing pain in her heart.

“Um, I'll escort you!” Miroku offered, going after her immediately.

At the gate, Kagome walked past Inuyasha hurriedly without looking back.

Inuyasha watched her form walk away silently.

“Inuyasha,”

It was Miroku. He didn't need to turn his head anymore to know.

“Kagome wants to go home.” Miroku informed Inuyasha, but it seemed like he wanted to inform him of something else. `Kagome was hurt by your words.'

Inuyasha only nodded, not actually hearing Miroku's words or feeling Nazuna's insistent tugging on his arm. His eyes were still trained on Kagome's leaving form.  

“Come on, Inuyasha!” Nazuna tried to gain Inuyasha's attention, pulling him once more to the other direction.

Miroku had already left to run after Kagome.

Before Inuyasha turned to the other direction, he took one last look at the direction where Miroku was headed. Part of his heart wished that he was the one running after the young miko.

x

Kagome walked slowly beside Miroku, not saying a word to break the silence between the two of them. She was thankful for the silence because she needed to sort out her thoughts. `He's right… This is all just pretend… He's not my boyfriend. He doesn't really care…' She thought, making sure she knew the difference between pretense and reality.

“Kagome, are you all right?” Miroku tried to get her to talk, worried that Inuyasha's words had hurt her badly this time.

“Yeah…” Kagome's soft reply didn't convince Miroku even a bit.

“Are you sure?” He tried again, looking at her face. She seemed like in a trance, like she wasn't really with him at the moment.

“Yeah…” Kagome repeated with the same tone she had used earlier.

“You don't look fine.” Miroku said worriedly, telling her what he actually thought. 

“Yeah…”

“Okay…” Miroku rolled his eyes then sighed. `You're not okay.' He finally concluded, giving up all attempts that he had to comfort Kagome. `I can't even talk to her properly!'

“Yeah…”

“Kago—” Miroku was suddenly interrupted when his mobile phone vibrated inside his pocket. It was a text message from Inuyasha.

Don't distance yourself too much from her. Never let her out of your sight. AND do not touch her! I swear if you fucking do something perverted to her, I'm going to cut your hands off. And your head too.

Miroku smiled at Inuyasha's message. `Asshole… you care about her yet you hurt her.' He looked at Kagome and said with a smile, “That was Inuyasha.”

“Yeah…” Kagome didn't seem to know any other word anymore.

`Inuyasha, you owe me for this one!' Miroku sighed and tried once more to reach Kagome. “Kagome, I know you and Inuyasha aren't going along pretty well… But whatever he said to you, I know he doesn't mean to hurt you.” He began, hoping to get a few words from her. `If she says another `Yeah…', I'll just talk to my hand.'

Kagome looked at Miroku and smiled a little but her smile quickly dropped. She just couldn't maintain a happy front right now. “It's all right, Miroku. Really…” She tried again, making use of words this time instead of a smile. “I understand Inuyasha. He's been forced in a mission he doesn't like and he is left with no choice. I don't blame him…” She looked down at her brown shoes and continued walking. `I can't. It's not really his fault. He's only being honest to himself…' “It's okay even if he doesn't really care about me. It's enough that he's there to protect me. He's done so much for me already.” But she knew it wasn't okay. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, she was affected by Inuyasha's words.   

Miroku shook his head to contradict Kagome's statement. “He cares about you, Kagome. I don't know what you see but I see it clearly—the mere fact that he wants to protect you is proof enough that he somehow cares.” It was the truth. Inuyasha might not notice it yet but Miroku could see clearly that the young miko had already gotten a soft spot in Inuyasha's heart.

However, the hurt Kagome was feeling blinded her from everything else. “It's only because he's tied to his duty to protect me.” She told Miroku in a small voice. “He said so himself.”

“Inuyasha only said that because he was hurt. He tends to retaliate callously when he's hurt.” Miroku explained, feeling much like Inuyasha's messenger or speaker. “I wasn't able to correct you a while ago but it wasn't me who paid for you. Inuyasha was the one who really bought you. He didn't trust that boy who wanted to buy you so he interfered.”

That made Kagome think for a moment. Did Inuyasha really do that just to protect her? Again, his last words had blinded her. “He's just filthy rich that's why he can easily throw his money away.” She replied after a while, her eyes staying fixed on the sidewalk where they walked—the exact sidewalk she and Inuyasha would take on the way home. She mentally scolded herself for conjuring more memories about a certain silver-haired hanyou.

“Well…” Miroku said, trying to think of another way to convince Kagome. The task proved to be harder than he thought it would be. “You know what he said in his text message a while ago?” He opened his phone and showed it to Kagome.

Kagome stared at the screen for a while then looked at Miroku blankly. “Hi Miroku. I miss you darling…?” She recited with one eyebrow raised.

“Oh not that one!” Miroku quickly grabbed his mobile phone and scrolled down. “This!” He handed his phone back to Kagome after making sure that it was the right message this time.

Kagome read the message quietly with her eyes. “Quite typical… He's said that before.” Kagome said impassively, returning the cell phone to Miroku.

Miroku looked down at his mobile when it suddenly vibrated again. Another message from Inuyasha. After reading his message, Miroku grinned and handed the phone to Kagome again. “How about this one?”

Kagome looked down at the screen and read the message.

One more thing, she is a little clumsy when she climbs the stairs up the shrine, be ready to catch her if ever she trips. Make sure you do catch her or she might break her neck or something.

Kagome was silent for a while, rereading the message over and over again. It was only a simple message but to Kagome, it was special. It was special enough to lessen if not vanish completely the pain that was currently residing in her heart. Because of that text message, a small smile found its way on her lips.

And this time, it stayed.

“So…” Miroku began, feeling relieved to see Kagome's face lighten up. “You still think he doesn't care?” He questioned although he knew the answer by now.

Kagome smiled brightly as she turned her head to look at Miroku. “On a second thought, I think I don't want to go home anymore.” She stopped walking and turned on her heels to face the direction where they had come from.

“You don't?” Miroku also faced that direction, looking curiously at Kagome. He wondered what was going on inside Kagome's head right now.

Kagome nodded, her bright smile never disappearing.

“Where do you want to go then?” Miroku asked, feeling better now that Kagome was back to her normal self. `At least, she's not that depressed anymore.' He thought gratefully, happy that he was able to help Inuyasha even just a little bit.

“Oh I don't know…” Kagome said, looking thoughtfully as if trying to think of some ways to pass the time. “How about we watch The Shadow?” She asked, her eyes looking innocently at Miroku.

“Um, Kagome?” Miroku asked uncertainly. `Is it only coincidence or is she planning to stalk Inuyasha and Nazuna?' He thought to himself.

“Yes?” Kagome asked with a `Don't-You-Dare-Ask-Me-Something-I-Won't-Like-To-Answer' expression on her face as she flashed a smile at Miroku.

“Shall we take a cab so we'll make it on time?” Miroku asked instead, returning her smile hesitantly. `Ah... She planned this all along.'

x

Upon arriving at the movie house, Kagome quickly scanned the area to find Inuyasha. It didn't take long because he was the only one with long silver locks in the crowd. “Oh look! What a coincidence! Inuyasha and Nazuna are also here! Isn't that great?!” She speedily approached the couple she had spotted, uncaring if Miroku followed her or not. 

“Yeah, what a coincidence indeed…” Miroku smiled knowingly and went after Kagome. `I just hope Inuyasha won't be a big asshole this time.' He prayed silently as he paced forward.

x

Inuyasha wasn't enjoying Nazuna's company at all. To annoy her and mess her plans, he decided not to agree with her.

That was the reason why they were still outside—and without tickets.

“I said I don't want to watch that stupid movie!” He repeated clearly, looking sharply at the girl, who had her arm locked permanently around his arm. `Damn it. It's like she's permanently glued to me!' He detached her arm from his for the nth time only to have it rewrapped around him. The girl couldn't realize that Inuyasha didn't like her. Maybe she did but she ignored it.

“But it's a nice movie,” said Nazuna persistently, looking at Inuyasha with pleading puppy eyes. “I promise you'll like it!” She even added to convince Inuyasha.

But Inuyasha didn't have any plans to be convinced. Even if Nazuna did back flips and turned herself into a cute little puppy, he would never go along with her plans. He wanted to be far away from her. He wanted to be somewhere else.  

But that somewhere else seemed to have arrived.

Inuyasha's eyes turned instantly to the direction where the scent was coming from. She was there, walking towards him slowly. He couldn't make out the emotion in her eyes as she stood directly in front of him. His heart was beating fast as his guilt nagged him louder than before. His mouth felt dry and he couldn't do anything else but stare at her. A memory suddenly flashed at the back of his mind. 

“I sure as hell don't give a damn about you!”

As Inuyasha's eyes lingered on Kagome's eyes, he could see a trace of hurt still visible in her eyes. It had lessened but Inuyasha knew it was still there. He didn't look away from her, wishing that his eyes would be able to tell her what his mouth couldn't say.

`Kagome, that was a lie.' 

Kagome stood in front of Inuyasha, staring at him silently. She was so concentrated on seeing Inuyasha that she didn't think about anything else. Now, she realized that she didn't even know what to say when she was face to face with the hanyou. Her eyes looked back at Inuyasha hesitantly until she saw something in his amber eyes that calmed her. She didn't know what exactly it was that she saw but she was glad and contented that she saw it. “I thought you would be inside already.” She spoke to break the silence hanging in the air.

Nazuna wasn't going to allow Kagome to ruin her date with Inuyasha. She didn't pretend to like her even before and she wasn't going to pretend now. “Go away, bi—”

“I thought you wanted to go home.” Inuyasha interrupted Nazuna, his eyes trained only at Kagome. His voice wasn't harsh like usual, he only pointed out the obvious.

Kagome noticed that and smiled inwardly at that. “I changed my mind. It's a nice day so why not spend it outside, right?” She looked at Miroku, who was now standing beside her and giving weird looks at Inuyasha. `What is he doing?' She wondered in confusion.

Inuyasha pretended not to notice Miroku's look although he knew very well what he was trying to say to him. `I'm not apologizing, you bastard!' He wanted to tell Miroku but he didn't want Kagome to hear that. She wouldn't be happy if she did. He looked away from Kagome and said with a shrug, “Suit yourself.”

“Inuyasha, we better get the tickets now.” Nazuna reminded him impatiently, not liking the turn of events. First, Inuyasha was being stubborn then the annoying wench had arrived and was taking all the attention from Inuyasha that was supposed to be hers alone.

“You're watching The Shadow too, right?” Kagome asked nicely to Nazuna.

“No, Inuyasha doesn't like that movie.” Nazuna said sulkily, looking at Inuyasha sideways. “You choose the movie, Inuyasha.” She told him. `As long as we don't watch The Shadow with that stupid girlfriend of yours.'

“Fine.” Inuyasha grumbled, going to the ticket booth.

“Kagome, you buy our tickets as well.” Miroku shoved some money on Kagome's hands then dragged Nazuna away before she could say `Unfair!'. “We'll grab the snacks!” He told her, tightening the grasp on her wrist just in case she planned to escape and attack Kagome.

“Hey wait! What do you think are you doing?!” Nazuna tried pulling away from Miroku but it was useless. She had no choice but pick what flavor of popcorn she was going to have.

Kagome walked towards the ticket booth and fell in line, standing behind Inuyasha.

“Inuyasha?”

`I'm not apologizing! Why would I?!' Inuyasha thought, not looking behind his shoulder. His conscience was really annoying whenever it reminded him of how harsh he was to Kagome earlier. He would admit it to himself—even just to himself—that he had been pretty cruel to her. 

Kagome wanted to say an apology, Miroku's words finally sinking into her head.

“Inuyasha only said that because he was hurt. He tends to retaliate callously when he's hurt.” 

`I must have hurt him somehow… I didn't actually act grateful for his action.' Guilt began to surface in Kagome's heart. `I was too busy getting angry with him.' Now, she realized that it was half her fault as well that they had quarreled. She knew Inuyasha wasn't going to apologize, it was never in his nature to say sorry. At least one of them needed to say an apology to be able to move on. She wanted to fix things with him so if it meant swallowing her pride and accepting that she would never hear an apology from him, she would gladly accept it. She took a deep breath then released it together with her apology. “I'm sorry about a while ago.”

It was a good thing Inuyasha had his back turned to her because he was surprised. His amber eyes widened in disbelief at the words he had heard. Kagome was saying sorry?

When Inuyasha didn't say anything, Kagome went on, thankful that at least she had the courage to speak out. “For calling you selfish… I was wrong.” She realized that he wasn't completely selfish, a little maybe but that was still for her safety. She just knew it was all for her…

But to Inuyasha, he had been selfish. Period. No more buts or alibis. `No, you're right to call me selfish… I have been selfish when I didn't think about how you would feel.' He mentally hit himself for not getting the courage to tell her. His pride always got in the way.

Kagome began to feel nervous when Inuyasha remained quiet. “Aren't you going to say something?” She told him, taking as step forward as they advanced in the line. “At least say, `It's okay.' or `I don't mind.'” She suggested.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder and smirked at Kagome. “It's okay. I don't mind.” Though it might appear that he only said that to annoy her, he meant the words he had said. Everything was okay now and Inuyasha was relieved for that.

Kagome shot him a sharp look and said in irritation, “Inuyasha, I'm serious here!”

“What?” Inuyasha said, still smirking at his miko companion. “Still not contented?”

“Jerk.” Kagome murmured under her breath but she knew they were back to normal. The mood wasn't tense anymore and he was simply back to his annoying jerk self.

“Okay, okay… I'll pay for your tickets too.” Inuyasha grinned at Kagome before looking at the plump woman behind the ticket booth. He took out his wallet and pulled out a few bills. “Four tickets. The Shadow.”

To his surprise, his nagging conscience had stopped bugging him now. No need to apologize now because somehow he felt that Kagome had already forgiven him. `She's really weird…' Inuyasha thought, risking a sideway glance at Kagome as they walked back to Miroku and Nazuna.

But he was grateful for that.

x

When they entered the cinema, the trailers were still rolling so they decided to take their time in choosing their seats. To their relief, the cinema wasn't that crowded so they had lots of choices.

“Where do you want to seat, Inuyasha?” Nazuna said in a flirting manner, clinging to Inuyasha's arm like a monkey swinging on a vine.

Kagome stood in front of the couple, concentrating on the floor she walked on so she wouldn't trip. `Don't be hysteric, Kagome. She's just flirting around. This is normal. No need to get so worked up—wait! I am not worked up! I simply don't like Nazuna clinging to Inuyasha like she's his girlfriend when she's not really his girlfriend!' Okay, so she might be a little carried away by her role as Inuyasha's girlfriend. At least, she wasn't desperate enough to throw herself at Inuyasha's feet like a certain someone… She sighed and tried not to think about it anymore.    

“Wherever, wench!” Inuyasha groused, trying to dislodge Nazuna's hands from his arm. “Can't you keep your hands to yourself?!” He glared at the girl with pure annoyance but she only continued to smile at him. `This one is so thick-headed…'

`At least Inuyasha does not like it.' Kagome thought to console herself as they walked past rows of empty seats. “How about over there?” She suggested, pointing at the middle row which was fully vacant.

“Why not?” Miroku led the way as Kagome followed him while Inuyasha and Nazuna followed at the back.

Kagome sat on the seat on Miroku's right. Inuyasha finally managed to detach himself from Nazuna's grip and followed Kagome hastily, sinking on the seat next to hers.

Nazuna clutched her fists tightly as she glared at Kagome. “Inuyasha, can you please move?” She talked sweetly, indicating to the vacant seat on Inuyasha's right so she would be able to sit in between Kagome and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha spared her a brief look but returned his eyes on the screen immediately. “There are plenty of seats. Go sit somewhere else.” He told her, still unwilling to cooperate.

“But I want to sit between you and Kagome.” Nazuna protested, pouting her lips as if that would make Inuyasha give in. “After all, this is our date. Not yours and hers.” She pointed out when Inuyasha still didn't make any move.

“Capricious bitch.” Inuyasha growled but moved to the seat Nazuna indicated to him.

Nazuna happily sat on the chair Inuyasha vacated, looking very contented. “Now isn't that much better?” She smiled at Kagome as she spoke.

Kagome forced a smile back. `She's just trying to annoy you… Keep your cool…' She reminded herself, focusing on the movie screen to divert her attention. She sighed in relief when the theater darkened and the movie started playing.

After a few minutes of silence, Nazuna took Inuyasha's arm once again, startling the hanyou and annoying him some more. “Inuyasha, I'm scared.” She even scooted closer to Inuyasha but she wasn't able to get that close because of the arms that separated the chairs.

Kagome's mouth dropped open, trying to find the scary part in the movie they were watching. `What is she talking about?! The girl is just eating alone in her room while watching television! What's so scary about that???' She resisted the urge to point that out to Nazuna but she was finding it harder to resist the urge to tear something apart when she felt Nazuna moving closer to Inuyasha. And Inuyasha wasn't doing something about it.

“Wench, will you shut up? I'm trying to watch!” Inuyasha could feel heat radiating from somewhere on his left. When he turned his head, Kagome had her fists clenched on her lap, glaring daggers at the huge movie screen. She definitely looked annoyed at something—or more probably someone. A nagging voice inside his head was starting to tell him that he had something to do with it. He swallowed the forming lump in his throat and slowly edged himself away from Kagome—that meant from Nazuna as well—in case the miko suddenly burst into flames. 

“Um… Kagome, here's your popcorn.” Miroku said nervously, feeling the girl seated on his right blazing with anger.

Kagome snatched the popcorn without taking her eyes off the screen. It looked like she didn't want to look elsewhere at the moment. Especially not on her right where Inuyasha and Nazuna were sitting.

“Inuyasha?”

It was Nazuna, of course.

“What now?!” Inuyasha complained in irritation, not looking at the girl as she curled her arm wtih his arm.

“I'm cold.” Nazuna said softly, making sure she gave Inuyasha a hint of what she wanted him to do.

Kagome began to eat her popcorn faster, trying to ignore the conversation Nazuna and Inuyasha were having. She took a long sip from her soda, gritting her teeth hard on the straw, wishing it was a certain someone instead.

A girl with long wavy dark brown hair.

This time, Inuyasha looked at Nazuna with a deadpan expression on his face. His golden yellow eyes looked at her uncaringly as if listening to her was a big waste of his precious time.

“I said I'm cold.” Nazuna repeated, pronouncing each word more slowly for Inuyasha to catch. She smiled at him prettily, her bottle green eyes looking expectantly at him. 

“So?” said Inuyasha indifferently, turning away from her to watch the movie again.

Nazuna took Inuyasha's arm carefully and draped it across her shoulders while saying patiently like a teacher would to a student, “You should wrap your arm around m—” 

“Kagome! What happened to you?!” Miroku turned to attend to Kagome, who was now coughing continuously.

“Kagome!” Inuyasha immediately stood up and rubbed her back to ease the food that was choking her. “Here! Drink!” He took her soda and handed it to her as she still coughed constantly.

“Excuse me but do you mind? We're watching a movie here!” A loud masculine voice at the back complained, definitely sounding pissed off.

“Keep quiet, will you?!” Another shouted, also sounding very much displeased that they were being distracted from their watching.

Inuyasha snarled at them all mentally. `This is an emergency, you fools!' He wanted to shout back but Kagome still didn't look okay and that was his priority at the moment.

“Inuyasha, let's take her outside.” Miroku suggested, knowing that if they stayed longer Inuyasha might start more trouble.

“Yeah,” agreed Inuyasha, helping Kagome stand up while she still coughed from time to time. `Before I strangle those damn idiots.' He glared at their direction, hoping that they too would choke on their popcorns.

“Inuyasha!” Nazuna shouted, staying seated on her seat and glowering at Kagome.

“You can come along or stay behind. Your choice.” Inuyasha told her then walked away, not looking back at Nazuna to see if she had followed.

x

Outside, Nazuna stared impatiently at Kagome as she still coughed occasionally. “Come on, let's go back inside!” She whined like a little kid, her arms crossed across her chest. “We're going to miss the ending of the movie if we stay here!”

“I'm fine. Let's go back in.” Kagome said finally, drinking more of her soda to clear her throat some more.

“No,” Inuyasha said with determination.

“No?” Kagome and Nazuna said together, both looking puzzled with Inuyasha's response.

“You don't look fine,” said Inuyasha with some sort of concern. “I think we better take you home.” He began to lead Kagome outside the building, leaving Nazuna behind as if she was never there to begin with.

“Inuyasha! I'm your date!” Nazuna tried to object but she didn't go after him. He would be the one returning to her. She had done enough chasing and she was tired. “You can't just leave me!” She looked at his back angrily, her temper finally reaching its limits.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder and looked at her with the same intensity of anger. “She's my girlfriend.” He stated straightforwardly then turned away. That was the end of their date.

“I think I'll go home too,” said Miroku to Nazuna, walking away fast to escape her in case she decided to vent out all of her anger on him.

Inuyasha and Kagome walked away, leaving Nazuna to burn in fury.

`You're going to pay for this, Kagome!' Nazuna vowed, taking one last look at the couple then stomping away in the other direction.

Inuyasha sighed in relief when he saw Nazuna marching off. “Finally!” He exclaimed. “Come on, let's go watch The Shadow now.” He pulled Kagome back towards the theater's direction.

“Wait! I thought we were going home already?!” Kagome said in surprise, stopping Inuyasha from pulling her.

“Stupid! I only said that to escape from that irritating bitch.” Inuyasha told her with a grin on his face. “Besides, it's still early to go back.” He looked at his watch and read the time. It was only a little past three in the afternoon.

“You used me as an excuse?!” Kagome said in disbelief, sounding a little offended, but actually she didn't mind because she also didn't like Nazuna's company at all.

“I didn't tell you to choke up!” Inuyasha reasoned out, trying to defend himself from Kagome's accusing eyes. “What the hell made you choke up anyway? Must have been the way you were eating the popcorn. You eat like you haven't eaten for ten days!” He looked at her curiously like he was trying to find the answer in her eyes.

That was why Kagome averted her eyes from his gaze while muttering softly more to herself than to Inuyasha, “I was trying to distract myself…”

But Inuyasha always heard her words no matter how soft they were. “Distract yourself from what?” Inuyasha asked curiously, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her.

“Oh nothing!” said Kagome hurriedly, trying to cover up her slip-up. `Why do I always forget that he has doggie ears???'

Inuyasha wasn't to be dismissed that easily. “Distract yourself from what?” He tried again, enjoying the panic dancing in her brown eyes.

Kagome's cheeks slightly turned pink so she walked fast to prevent Inuyasha from seeing her blush. “Argh! Stop bothering me! I'm not telling!!!” She said as she retraced her steps back to the movie house. “Let's go! I thought you wanted to watch the movie!”

Inuyasha swiftly went after her, his eyes looking at her guardedly. “Kagome, are you hiding something?” Something was telling him that there was something interesting going on.

“No!”

Inuyasha smirked as they neared the theater. `This is going to be fun…'

x

Inside the theater, Inuyasha was still not giving up. He was really keen on learning what Kagome was talking about when she said that she was distracting herself from something.  

“Come on, tell me what you were trying to sidetrack yourself from…” urged Inuyasha, looking at Kagome and not on the movie screen that he was supposed to be watching.

“Inuyasha…” Kagome's tone was sending a warning yet she didn't look at him.

“I just want to know!”

“Well, I don't want you to know!” She popped some popcorn in her mouth.

It was time to have some fun, Inuyasha decided. “Hm… is it possible that you were jealous of Nazuna a while ago?” He looked at her pensively, waiting for her reaction.

Her reaction was instantaneous. Again, the popcorn she had put in her mouth went straight to her throat, blocking her air passage, so she began coughing incessantly.

“Hey! I told you to be careful in eating the popcorn!” He moved closer and rubbed her back to soothe her.

“Don't say things like that out of nowhere!” Kagome snapped when she finally swallowed the food that was blocking her air passageway.

“I was just wondering, you don't need to be so agitated—”

“I'm not agitated!” Kagome cut in, eyes looking adamantly at him.

“Of course, you're not.” Inuyasha said tolerantly, smirking at her knowingly.

Kagome simply hated it when Inuyasha smirked that way. It was like he was telling her that he knew something that she didn't want him to know. “I told you I'm not agitated.” She spoke again to emphasize her stand.

“I didn't say you're agitated.” Inuyasha defended, his smirk widening at Kagome's defensive act. She was cute when she was playing defensive yet failing miserably.

“Your smirk is doing the job.” Kagome pointed out, wanting so much to wipe the smirk off of his mouth.

“You're just being paranoid.” He shrugged then his eyes glittered with mischief. “Or maybe it's true?” He really wouldn't let a chance slip to tease her.

“No, it's not.” Kagome said hastily, putting more popcorn in her mouth like she was drinking water.

“Stop that!” Inuyasha took the popcorn bucket from her. “You're going to choke again!”

“Inuyasha, if you don't give back the popcorn I'm going to step on your foot.”

“If you do that, I'll drop the bucket and your precious popcorn will fall on the floor.”

“Do you plan to eat the popcorn all by yourself?!”

“I'm not a heartless pig to do that.” Inuyasha took Kagome's hand, smiled at her and placed a kernel of popcorn on her palm.

“Wow, thanks.” Kagome said dryly but all the same she ate the single popcorn. “So kind of you.”

“You can ask more if you want.” He took her hand again and placed another kernel on it. “This way, I'm sure you eat one at a time so you don't gag.” He took a small handful for himself and stuffed it in his own mouth.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him. “If you exaggerate this a bit more, I bet you'll be feeding me yourself already.” She tried to get the bucket from him but Inuyasha was too fast for her.

Inuyasha stared at her seriously as if considering her idea for a moment. “Hey, that's a great idea!” He grinned, taking another kernel from the popcorn and moving it closer to Kagome's mouth.

“You've got to be kidding me!” Kagome took the piece of popcorn from Inuyasha's hand and ate it herself. “Don't do that again.” She scolded him, turning back to the movie they were watching.

“What?” Inuyasha questioned innocently. “It's not like it's illegal. We're in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship after all.” He also looked back at the screen, a contented smile on his lips. What a great afternoon. No bitchy wench clinging on his arm and he had all the time in the world to do one of his favorite hobbies—to tease a certain miko. Yes, life was definitely good.

“No, we're pretending to be in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship.” Kagome corrected, snatching the bucket when Inuyasha was looking at the big movie board.

“I bet you would have like me to do that though,” said Inuyasha nonchalantly, not minding to have the bucket taken away from him. He relaxed on his seat and watched the movie silently.

“Ha! In your dreams, Inuyasha.” Kagome said in return, focusing too in the movie in front of them.

“Keh! In your dreams too, Kagome.”

After twenty minutes of watching the movie peacefully—well, with a few swatting of hands when they tried to dig into the popcorn bucket at the same time, Kagome found out that it wasn't that bad to be with Inuyasha that afternoon. She really loved eating popcorn and the movie was great too so she had nothing to complain about.

“Weird,” said Kagome, her eyes still trained on the movie as it went on. “The movie is actually good. A while ago I thought it was going to be lame.” She didn't expect any reply from Inuyasha that was why she was shocked when she heard him answer.

“Yeah, weird.” agreed Inuyasha, having some more popcorn. “It's not that bad unlike a while ago.” `Felt like demanding a refund.'

“I seriously felt like demanding a refund back then.” Kagome said as if reading what was on Inuyasha's mind. Recalling Nazuna's flirting, she even added without thinking much about the meaning of her words, “Maybe it depends on the person you are with when you watch the movie…” Two seconds passed before the words sank in and her eyes widened. `Did I just say that I like being with Inuyasha?!' She took a tentative sideway glance at Inuyasha to find him concentrated on the screen, looking like he didn't even hear her words. `At least he didn't hea—'

“…maybe.” Inuyasha suddenly answered, surprising Kagome once more with his unexpected replies.

A small smile crept on Kagome's lips as her eyes returned to watch the film.

Inuyasha was about to add a mocking comment to his answer but when he saw the small smile on Kagome's lips from the corner of his eyes, he contented himself with that single word he had spoken. He got another popcorn and popped it in his mouth, Kagome's smile lingering on his mind as he watched the moving pictures. From time to time, telling the truth wasn't that bad.

And so was playing games with Kagome.

“Hey! No hogging the popcorn!”

But half of Kagome—even more than half—was now willing to let Inuyasha have all the popcorn he wanted that afternoon. 

x

“Inuyasha?”

“Hm?”

Kagome was looking at Inuyasha warmly as they traveled on the familiar sidewalk that always took them home. “I still haven't thanked you for bidding for me back there.” She had owed him for that one—at least. “So… thanks.”

“…”

She smiled at him genuinely then continued. “Thank you for always protecting me and for letting me have fun today.” Inuyasha had proven her wrong that very afternoon.

“We're even. You saved me from the deadly witch.” He stated casually, looking straight ahead.

“Sorry, I wasn't able to buy you during the auction…” Her eyes fell on the ground, feeling a little depressed that she wasn't able to help him like he had helped her. She really wanted to buy him but the problem was the money involved. It wasn't her fault that she wasn't born a millionaire. 

Inuyasha didn't want her to feel down just because of that small thing. “Forget it,” He said dismissively. “I didn't want you to waste your money for that stupid auction anyway.”

Kagome looked up at him again to protest. “But you wasted your money for me.”

Inuyasha suddenly looked at Kagome, processing her words quickly. “You mean Miroku told you?!” He inquired even though he was sure by now that it was Miroku who had told Kagome. Who else could have known?

“Uh… oops?” Kagome said sheepishly, biting her lower lip softly. She quickly made up for her slip-up by defending Miroku. “He only wanted to comfort me. I was depressed because you really acted like you didn't ca—okay, I'm saying way too much now!”

Inuyasha slapped his palm on his forehead lightly and muttered under his breath, “Miroku always doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut.”

“He has a good reason this time though.”

“Whatever.”

“Are you annoyed because he told me?” She needed to know. Did he really not want her to know the truth? Why would he want to hide the truth from her?

Inuyasha's answer came shortly. “Not really.” That was the truth. It didn't matter if she knew or if she didn't. It wouldn't change the fact that he had done it—for her.

“Then it's okay?”

“…”

“I'll take your silence as a yes.” She climbed the shrine steps cautiously, remembering Inuyasha's text message to Miroku. `Am I really clumsy at the shrine steps?' She wondered but she knew that she had tripped more than a couple of times already even though she had walked these shrine steps since she was a small kid. She smiled softly as she took another step upwards. “I officially don't hate you now. I can't hate a person who's risking everything just to keep me safe.”

A moment of silence followed. Only the rustling of the trees could be heard.

“…So am I expected to say the same to you?”

Kagome paused on a step to look at Inuyasha. “Not if you don't like to.” She answered him before resuming going up the long stairs. `But a part of me really wishes you would.'

“Great.” Inuyasha's dull voice said coolly while he climbed up too. “I won't then.”

“I think I'm starting to hate you again,” mumbled Kagome halfheartedly. She didn't actually mean that because she couldn't even if she wanted to. But the way Inuyasha had spoken, he was deliberately trying to vex her. Again, he was pushing her away.

“That will be much better, believe me.” Finally, they had reached the top of the stairs. The house was now visible. Inuyasha didn't move when Kagome didn't start heading towards the house.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha quietly, her mellow brown eyes trying to speak to him. `Why do you keep pushing me away?' She wanted to ask but she didn't have the courage to ask him. She didn't want to increase the distance he had been putting between them. “But I told you I can't hate you. No matter how many times you show me your bad side—and believe me they're not just several times, I know you have your good side but you just don't want to show it to me often.” `I've seen it from time to time.' Her eyes stayed connected with his openly, letting Inuyasha see that she was serious with her words.

Inuyasha found himself unable to look away from her. It was like he was bound to her by a certain spell. “Fine, do as you please.” He stared back at her seriously as well.

“I am.” She gave a small smile that didn't have any hint of mockery or bitterness in it. It was just a plain smile—a smile that was uniquely Kagome's. Then she started to move towards her house as if nothing had happened.  

Following closely behind her, Inuyasha suddenly felt fear grip his heart as he stepped forward. She was trying to understand him and she didn't look like she had plans of giving up.

`Just like Kikyou did three years ago.'

x

He couldn't sleep. He checked the alarm clock on his bedside drawer and read the time. It was twenty past eleven in the evening. Something was bothering him and that kept him awake. Something didn't feel right. He could hear some noises in Kagome's room but they were faint. Probably she couldn't sleep too? Nonetheless, he still went to check on her just to make sure she was not gone.

Inside Kagome's room, everything looked normal and nothing suspicious could be found lurking outside her window. Inuyasha turned to the sleeping girl on her bed, the white puppy stuffed toy she had bought earlier clutched by her right arm tightly.

“So the puppy was for the cat huh?” A small smile crept on his lips. “Don't let it get to your head, Inuyasha…” He told himself, shaking the thought away. He squatted beside her bed and studied her face closely. He found out that when Kagome had her eyes closed, they looked more alike—Kikyou and her. He shook that thought aside too and refrained from touching her face.

“You know, even though I think you're annoying at times, I also…” He paused as if afraid that she would wake up and say, `Aha! Caught you!' When he had reassured himself that she was asleep, he resumed his speech. “I… I also don't actually hate you now. Maybe I've got the same reason as yours. Maybe it's because I can't hate a person I'm protecting…” He pondered about this for a while but then realized that it wasn't that. “No, it's because you're different from others. Okay, that sounded sappy... I mean, you're weird at times. You surprise me with your words and actions and I…” I what? He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. “I am talking to you while you are sleeping.” He finished off and got to his feet. “I'm going crazy. Why am I here in the first place?!” `Because you thought something wasn't right.'

He took one last look at Kagome then closed the door behind him.    

He didn't know why but the moment he had entered his room after going to Kagome's room, all of a sudden he felt peaceful and calm. He lay down on his bed and closed his eyes. He could finally sleep now.

Everything was all right now. Nothing was bothering him.

x

Kagome opened her eyes when she was sure Inuyasha had gone. A small smile was on her lips as her eyes lingered on the door for a moment. She was supposed to be angry with him for entering her room without her acknowledgment but she decided to wait a moment longer and see what he was going to do.

When she heard his comment about the puppy around her arm, she couldn't help but blush slightly. She was only thankful that her room was dark enough to hide her blush. When she heard his next words, the idea of scolding him was long gone. She had a hard time maintaining her even breathing and to keep herself from smiling. Fortunately, she had managed to pull off her act till the end.

“Inuyasha, you're weird too.” She closed her eyes and snuggled her stuffed toy closer. She loved her new stuffed toy because it was cuddlier than her previous one. “And you surprise me too.”  

“I… I also don't actually hate you now.”

That was the last thing on her mind before she fell willingly into the clutches of a dreamless slumber.

  

 

 

 

 

 

A/N: Yay! How exciting!!! Fluffy enough? Oh believe me, angst will follow afterwards so don't be relieved. Thank you for all the warm reviews and suggestions and laughs! Keep it coming and the chapters will keep on coming as well—although they may be delayed… Oh well. How come my chapters are getting longer and longer? Longest chapter so far!

And I just realized something! The title of my fanfic actually applies to both characters (Inuyasha and Kagome). Kagome seeing Inuyasha as her shadow which I have already explained in a previous chapter and Inuyasha seeing Kagome as Kikyou's shadow, which is going to build up pretty soon… Hey, I think it's already starting to build up! Now, I feel much smarter! LOL! Someone give me a cookie!!!