Competition

Kagome sighed as she set her groceries down on the counter, and she began putting them away. She hadn't been able to afford much this week, so it was bare essentials. She had bought a box of white rice; her second favorite meal. The box was large, and could feed her for almost a month even if she ate it for three meals a day, seven days a week. Which she had done before. She would never get sick of rice; it was too good.

She continued putting a few more cans into her pantry, then crumpled up the two plastic bags, and shoved them into a larger bag hanging on the back of the pantry door. She sighed again, then closed the nearly empty pantry lest she become more depressed.

"Oh well," She sighed. "At least rent is paid for this month, so I don't have to worry about that for a while." She hummed softly to herself as she grabbed her school bag from the floor near the kitchen door, and walked into the living room. She didn't have far to go. The small apartment her part-time job could afford was far from luxurious, but right now Kagome didn't care too much. It did its job....mostly. Winter was a cold thing for this building; heat was a luxury, not a utility. No matter if she paid her heating bill or not, it rarely worked when it was needed most.

She sat down on a couch she had taken from her parents house when she had moved out, and opened her bag. She pulled her math book out from inside the overstuffed bag, and opened it to a dog-eared page. Humming softly once again to herself, she set about doing her math homework.

It was some time later when a knock on the door startled her out of her trance. She quickly snapped the book shut and threw it on the couch. She stood up, smoothed her jeans, and straightened her black shirt, before walking toward the door. She wasn't expecting any company, so she wasn't sure who it could be.

As she opened the door, her confusion turned to happiness as a slightly pouty InuYasha stood in the main hallway.

"InuYasha!" She exclaimed. "You came to visit me!"

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "You asked me to, you idiot."

Kagome's excitement dimmed as she pondered that for a moment. "Yeah, well, me asking you is the only way you ever agree to hanging out." She said. "Sometimes I think you don't like me."

InuYasha rolled his eyes again, and pushed his way into the house. "Right, right."

"So, whats for food?" He asked, spotting Kagome's book on the couch and picking it up curiously.

Kagome paused for a fraction of a second, then her smile was back in place, albeit a bit strained. "Whatever you can find in my cupboards." She said, her voice strained.

InuYasha's ear twitched, and he considered her words for a moment. Then he snorted.

"Feh, wouldn't want to eat anything you touched anyway." Kagome started to protest, but InuYasha cut her off. "I'm going to go out to eat, do you want to come?"

Kagome bit her lip. "I don't have any money..."

InuYasha shook his head. "I wouldn't ask if I wasn't going to pay for you, idiot." He said. "Go get ready, I've gotta use the washroom real quick, then we're leaving."

Kagome nodded, and followed InuYasha down the hall. As InuYasha slipped into the bathroom and shut the door, Kagome turned in the opposite direction and entered her room.

She quickly ran a comb through her hair, and checked her makeup. Her clothes were fresh, and she smiled at herself in the reflection. She dropped the comb and picked up a brush, running it through her hair a few times. When she was finished, she grabbed a pair of pure white DC's from her closet, and slid them on. They were brand new, and hadn't been worn yet. She figured she'd get a month or so out of them before the snow fell. It was early September.

She walked out of the room, and grabbed her white sweater hanging on her door knob. It was a tight-fitting tiny sweater, one she loved to death. She slipped it on, then did it half way up.

"Ready InuYasha!" She said loudly, not quite yelling.

InuYasha said nothing, but she heard the faucet turn off and InuYasha emerged, looking at her. She stared back at him, until his eyebrow raised.

"Go?" He posed it as a question, and she blushed, tearing her eyes away from him and scurrying down the hallway. She reached the door, and turned around to see InuYasha straightening up from leaning over her kitchen table.

InuYasha caught her look and cut off her questioning glance. "Go. I'm hungry."

Kagome obliged, stepping out into the hallway as InuYasha slid his feet into his purple Supra hightops. He left her apartment, then waited as Kagome locked the door. Once she was done, they walked down the hall together, and down a flight of stairs before reaching the ground floor.

As they left the apartment complex, a gust of brisk wind caught the door and slammed it closed, rattling the glass in the frame. Kagome mouthed a silent 'Oops' before walking down the sidewalk, following InuYasha.

"Parked my car down the street aways." He said. "There were a few cars parked out front here earlier along the street, and I wasn't chancing anybody backing into my car or something stupid."

Kagome smiled fondly at him. "Your so proud of that thing." She said. InuYasha shrugged. "I put a lot of work into it, thats why." He said. "It's my baby."

InuYasha and Kagome stopped near a shiny black car parked at the curb, and InuYasha reached into his pocket for his keyless remote. The lights flashed twice, and the doors unlocked. Kagome however didn't get in; she gasped as she took in the changed appearance of the car.

"You did more work to it, didn't you?" She asked. InuYasha nodded, pleased that she had noticed.

"Yup, the original 1990 Toyota Celica GT-S bodystyle wasn't doing it for me anymore. It looks a little better now, don't you think?"

Kagome nodded. "It's lower to the ground, wider stance, better wing...looks good InuYasha, congratulations!"

InuYasha smiled, then rounded the front of the car to the drivers side. "Get in!" He commanded, opening his door and getting in.

Kagome did as he ordered, and sat down into new dark red bucket seats.

"Mmmm, interior is very very nice." She said, looking over the dark red trim that replaced the old trim.

"Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet." InuYasha said, pressing the clutch to the floor and starting the car. As the car came to life, the whole interior of the car lit up dark red, to match the trim and the seats. The dome light had been changed, along with lights underneath the seats, aimed forward to light up the floor. The roof edges along the door jambs had dark red lights set into them, also. The dash lights lit up in the same red as the lights, another aesthetic modification.

Kagome was stunned by the effect the lights had in the somber grey sky of the afternoon cloudy day, and was intrigued as to how it would look at night.

InuYasha smirked, jammed the shifter into first, and dropped clutch, revving the engine as he did so. The tires squealed slightly, before InuYasha let off the gas, the car pulling away from the curb and accelerating down the street.

"Where to?" InuYasha asked, shifting from first to third. He had deliberately skipped second, using third as an 'economy gear' for the speed they were going, to keep the engine RPM's down.

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know. Nowhere expensive, though."

InuYasha snorted once again. "I told you, idiot, I'm paying."

Kagome glared at him. "Exactly my point."

inuYasha shrugged off her words, and looked at her slyly, left hand on the wheel, and right hand resting on the shifter. "You realize that if you don't make up your mind, I'll just go to McDonalds, right?"

Kagome shuddered. "Ew, I don't like that idea at all..."

InuYasha smirked. "Then pick!" He said.

Kagome hummed. "Are we talking fast food, or restaurant food?" She asked.

InuYasha answered her question with another question. "What do you want to eat?"

Kagome was silent for a few minutes, deciding. InuYasha slowed slightly, in case the place she picked was in the opposite direction. He was headed out of town as it was, but he saw no reason to turn around yet. There were some good places out of town. Still in third, his engine RPM dropped to about fifteen hundred, and the exhaust note fell to a gentle hum, barely audible inside the car. Kagome idly watched as the buildings outside the window rolled by, until an idea came to her.

"InuYasha..."

-_-_-

Sango smiled to herself as she stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body. Her wet, dark brown hair stuck to her back and neck as she wiped the moisture off the wall mirror. She reached into the drawer, and withdrew her toothbrush and toothpaste. As she brushed, she idly wondered what Kagome was up to, and if she would be up for hanging out tonight.

Kagome had been her best friend since Jesus was a baby, and honestly, Sango wouldn't want it any other way. Kagome was sometimes dense, air-headed, forgetful, and clumsy, but when something came up and one of her friends had a problem, Kagome really applied herself, and suddenly there wasn't a better listener to be found in the entire world, no one more willing to help out or do their best for little or no reward, all to see a smile put back on her friends face.

Sango finished drying off, and put her clothes on quickly. Over her black lace underwear went a very tight pair of faded and ripped blue jeans. Over her black bra, went a tight red V-neck shirt with very short sleeves. Sango then proceeded to skillfully apply her favorite pink eyeliner.

She traded her eyeliner for a comb, and combed out her still damp hair.

"Jeez, I can't believe I got up so late on my day off." Sango muttered to herself as she collected her dirty clothes from the bathroom floor and tossed them into the laundry basket. Opening the bathroom door, the heat escaped, only to be replaced with slightly chilled air, sending a shiver down her back and causing goosebumps to pop up on her arms.

As she walked into her room, she reached onto her dresser and picked up her cell phone. She had been in the shower for forty-five minutes, and had recieved three text messages. Two were from Miroku, and another from InuYasha. She read the ones from Miroku first, and found that he was merely wondering what she was up to. Not having recieved any reply, the second message he sent detailed some very naughty things that she could be doing that would make her not respond to her texts for such a lengthy amount of time. Sango exited that second message halfway through it, a light blush on her cheeks and a glare on her face. She opened the one from InuYasha, and saw that it was sent at 5:45. It was now 6:03. This text was pretty much InuYasha bragging about how he had picked up Kagome for the night and how they were right now cruising for something to eat. Her own stomach growled in response, and Sango stuck her tongue out childishly at the text. Then, she rapidly keyed in a response before clicking her phone shut and shoving it into her pocket.

She then walked from her room into the hallway, then downstairs. She had it in her mind to make some food; she really was hungry.

As she watched the pizza pops slowly revolve in the microwave, she felt her phone vibrate once. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her black phone, flipping it open. InuYasha had responded back. She smiled.

Haha, that's what you get for sleeping in so damn late. Maybe we'll swing by later to see you. I don't know. Haven't talked to her yet.

Sango quickly wrote back an "Okay, text me when you know." and opened the microwave. She pulled her pizza pops out, and set them on the table. She opened the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of chocolate milk. There was probably only two glasses worth left in it, so she didn't bother with the glass. She took the cover off the chocolate milk and raised the jug to her lips, taking a long swallow.

She set the jug down on the table next to her plate, and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. She sat down and began to eat, wondering how much longer InuYasha and Kagome would be. Thinking about it, she reached into her pocket and withdrew her phone. She located Kagome's name in her contacts list, and composed a new message. Ten seconds later, she sent it, and set her phone on the table, before continuing to eat.