Title: Kagome's Secret

Author: Catherine/Pretty/TheIYobsessed

Category: Inuyasha

Genre: Action/Drama, possibly humor and romance.

Rating: K+ Because there's a little bit of action, and some innuendo in the first chapter, and I don't think young kids should do what she did. But if you're at least nine… you should be alright.

Setting: Haven't read the Manga in a while. Not sure where this would fall. Before Naraku's demise and the completion of the jewel, certainly. Set in the canon universe obviously.

Summary: Kagome's not used to keeping secrets. However, she does something while in her time that she wasn't ready for and later regrets. Problems arise when she decides to keep it a secret from everyone, including Inuyasha and her mother. Will the truth come out?

Disclaimer: Yes. I own Inuyasha--despite the fact that (1) this is a fanfiction (2) I'm not Japanese, can't speak Japanese and I've never been to Japan and (3) the manga clearly says Rumiko Takahashi (that wonderful woman with the big ol' fan-base) is the author. It lies to you!

Author's Note: Feedback is nice, especially when you're writing your first fanfiction.

Chapter One : A Yakuza Thing

Yakuza: Japanese gangster

A real person has two reasons for doing anything ... a good reason and the real reason. - Unknown

Lying is done with words and also with silence - Adrienne Rich

Kagome walked quickly around the shrine, trying to burn off some of her nervous energy. She couldn't go home. Not yet. She couldn't face her mother knowing what she'd done--even if she just went upstairs and didn't say anything. Kagome didn't lie, and not telling her mother important things like this was still lying. She'd fess up the moment her mother asked her what was wrong, she knew it. So she couldn't go in there. Avoidance. That was the key... for now, until she had a plan, that is. With a grimace she picked up the pace. Right. So what was the plan--how was she going to explain this?

Temporary insanity? Radiation poisoning? Something in the water? How about a bad reaction to five hundred year old food? That onigiri she brought back from the Sengoku Jidai was technically expired the moment she brought it through the well, right? But that excuse wasn't going to hold water. How about…. she 'wanted to do it?' Yeah, that'd go over well... Kagome smacked her forehead. Peer pressure? That was probably the truest statement of all, but her mother wouldn't find it an acceptable excuse. Besides, if she proved she was this susceptible to peer pressure her mother might decide to keep her away from her friends--maybe even Inuyasha--she couldn't let that happen! She'd just have to keep it a secret, that's all. Other kids did it all the time.

She tried again. Um... stress? Saving the world while still trying to keep a decent grade point average certainly generated a lot of stress... As did going out and doing things she really wasn't supposed to be doing... No! Focus! Uh... She did it because she was... possessed... yeah, by a REALLY bad youkai-spirit that hated her. And Inuyasha. And all of her group, and um... wanted the jewel shards so he had to get her in trouble... This was never going to work and her cover stories were just getting lamer. Even if she explained that it wasn't just a yakuza (gangster) thing anymore and that lots of kids were doing it without thinking twice about it, her mother was never going to forgive her for doing this to her body. She could just see it now. She'd walk in there and her mom would say:

Hi, honey, how was your day? Did you have fun with your friends?

And she'd reply: Um... hi, mom. My day was... fine. And because she could just shut up and leave it there, she'd add: Er... but I have something to tell you... And you're not gonna like it...

Her mother's eyes would sharpen, like a dog catching the smell of its prey—like Inuyasha's did whenever he expected something. And then she'd—Wait a minute! Inuyasha! What was he going to say if he ever found out she did this? Groaning, she covered her face and stopped walking. She gingerly touched her stomach where the bandage was. It still really hurt. Inuyasha would probably notice she was in pain and demand to know what was wrong. Telling him would probably be even more painful than telling her mother. Oh, this was such a mess… At least he wasn't here now or he would've come down already, smelling her distress… She started to lift her head in relief when suddenly she heard, "Kagome! It's about time you—" and screamed.

"Ahh! Sit!"

And a hanyou hit the dirt.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled, covering her racing heart, "you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

A few seconds later he jumped back up and narrowed his eyes at her. "What was that for, wench?" he groused.

"S-sorry," she stuttered, feeling her heart beat quicken at his glare. Did he know? Could he read her mind? Sometimes she wondered if he could, and how good that nose of his really was. Did he—she suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and stared at the clawed hand that had suddenly appeared within her line of sight.

"Huh?" she asked intelligently.

Inuyasha looked annoyed. "What's wrong with you? I said, let's go; your mom is making ramen…" He reached out and took her hand, pulling her along with him up the steps to the shrine grounds.

"Oh," she said, sighing. "Well, if that's the case I'm surprised you waited for me at all—what? Wait! No, I can't go in there!" she cried, tugging at her hand desperately. "Inuyasha—NO! I can't go in there!"

Her hand broke from his and she stumbled backwards, flailing; he had to grab her to keep her from falling right back down the stairs and breaking her fragile human neck. "Stupid," he muttered, scooping her up and carrying her toward the house. Then he asked, "Why not?" But she seemed to become even more distressed. He couldn't tell if it was because he was carrying her, taking her inside, or if it had to do with the question, or something else entirely. She was too hard to figure out sometimes. He lowered his nose slightly and smelled her again. Something wasn't right… "Why do you smell like another man?" he demanded all of the sudden, setting her back on her feet. "Where have you been?"

Kagome blanched. "No where," she insisted. "I was out with my friends. We didn't meet any guys. Are you sure you're not just… s-smelling things?" she stammered, with a deer-in-headlights look on her face.

Inuyasha growled. "No I'm not smelling things! I smell another man on you, why did he touch you, Kagome?"

She stared at him wide-eyed before finally breaking. "Eri and Yuka an—"

"They talked you into going out with that guy again, didn't they? Why don't they just take the hint and realize you're not interested in that Houjou-thing?"

Kagome froze. "Th-that's who you meant? Y-yeah… And Houjou's not a thing. He's a person. Even if he is about as dense as a—"

"What do you mean 'that's who I meant?' Who else would I mean?" he sniffed her again.

Kagome visibly paled. "Nothing. I knew you meant Houjou, of course I did!" She tittered nervously and then took off running. "Uh… The ramen's getting cold, Inuyasha! I think I heard Mama calling us!"

Inuyasha stared at the place she'd vacated. He hadn't heard her mother calling. But she was probably right about the ramen. Why was she running though? Hadn't she said she didn't want to go in there? He took off after her and easily caught up, but not before she dashed inside and turned to hold open the door. She was breathing heavy, eyes darting around like she expected someone to be watching her. When her mother's voice reached them, she jumped. So Inuyasha frowned and put a hand on her shoulder. "Kagome…?" he asked.

Her head whipped around and then her eyes suddenly seemed to focus on him. After a moment she reached up and patted his hand before pulling away. She squared her shoulders and started walking toward the kitchen. But with every step her pace slowed. Finally he just came up behind her and dragged her in, snorting as she sat stiffly in the chair and told her mother she'd had a good time out with her three friends from this time—Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi—even though she wasn't very close to them anymore and they were the reason she was in this mess. Her mother smiled at them and sat down with her own food.

She stared at her bowl of ramen and didn't touch it. I think I'm gonna be sick… she thought. Her nausea didn't really have anything to do with the food, but looking over and seeing Inuyasha shoveling down his ramen without regard to the sight he made certainly didn't help settle her stomach any.

He looked over at her. "You gonna eat yours?" he asked.

"No," she replied, eliciting a glance from her mother.

He still hesitated. "You should… eat a little, Kagome," he said, turning back to his own food. He didn't want to starve her. She hadn't eaten anything at all.

"No," she repeated firmly. She lightened her tone and smiled, "You can have it, Inuyasha, I'll make more later if I have to. I'm not hungry just now. Can I go, Mama?" she asked, eyes flicking up to her mother's. When she got a nod she shoved her chair back and practically ran to her room.

Inuyasha's voice stopped her. "Hurry up! We're going back tonight!"

She froze and slowly turned back to him. "Inuyasha," she said menacingly before taking on a placating tone, "Wouldn't it be more prudent to go back in the morning? It's not like we can start shard-hunting as soon as we get back! We'd have to stop and sleep!"

"Keh!" was all he said, seemingly accepting that logic.

She took her chance and ran upstairs to her room.

Inuyasha eyed her empty chair, and then turned his attention to her abandoned bowl of ramen and dug in. Kagome's mother just smiled at him, though she also wondered what had gotten into her daughter. "Say, Inuyasha... do you happen to know why Kagome is acting so strangely?"

Inuyasha glanced up at her, and shrugged. "Keh. That W--Kagome's always crazy when she's worried about her "skool" and tests…" he said knowingly, stopping himself from calling her a wench in front of her mother since he knew she didn't like it.

Kagome's mother frowned but then forced her face to brighten. "Yes, I suppose that's it," she agreed, standing up. But Kagome couldn't already be worried about her next tests; she'd just taken all the ones she needed for the time being. Perhaps she was worried about her grades in general? But her mother's intuition told her it was something else. She just couldn't put her finger on what. Kagome was a good girl, but she wasn't perfect. One day her little girl would do something she didn't approve of, even knowing that it would get her into trouble. She could only pray that it wouldn't be anything too extreme.

Upstairs, Kagome shut her door, making a conscious effort not to slam it in her haste, and then sank against it, momentarily loosing the energy to stand. But then she moved away from the door and picked up her large yellow backpack. She'd repacked it earlier that day so she didn't have to worry about that now. Part of her actually wished Inuyasha was making her go back now; she was nervous about her mother finding out about what she'd done. Which is why she was unusually anxious to go back to the feudal era and safely away from her mother's prying eyes. But she needed to stay here for tonight, though she couldn't tell Inuyasha why.

She pulled out a mirror from her dresser and lifted up her shirt to look at the big bandage on her stomach. The guy had said to leave it on overnight. She stared at the bandage, picturing the skin beneath it in her head, and felt her eyes mist with tears. She couldn't believe she'd done it... Yeah, everyone else was doing it, and she'd wanted it, and she'd even kind of liked it. But she hadn't wanted it this badly, and now it was too late.

Inuyasha finished off Kagome's ramen and then got to his feet. "Oi! Kagome!" he called up the stairs.

Kagome yanked down her shirt and shoved the mirror under her pillow just as Inuyasha busted into the room. She forced away the guilty expression on her face by focusing on her irritation. "Haven't I told you not to just barge in here like that? I could have been changing clothes!"

Inuyasha smashed his ears against his head and stared at her pitifully. She had told him that, but he always forgot. He was impulsive; Kagome knew that. He looked sufficiently repentant so she sighed and waved him in. "Just don't do it again, Inuyasha," she said tiredly, knowing it was useless.

She sat down on the bed and reached into her school backpack, pulling out her notebook. Inuyasha sat on the floor in front of her, against the wall, and watched as she took out a pen and started to write. She slid back on the bed, drew a blanket across her legs and then crossed them. After a while Inuyasha closed his eyes. But as soon as she got really interested in what she was doing, and almost forgot he was there, he couldn't take it anymore.

"So are you going to tell me why you were acting so weird today?" he asked seriously, cracking open an eye to look at her.

She looked startled. That was the last thing she expected him to say. But it shouldn't have been; he was always attentive to her moods, and her earlier behavior was too glaringly obvious for him to ignore. The look in his eye almost made her want to tell, and her heartbeat quickened. "No," she replied, and didn't break eye contact with him.

He closed his eye and nodded softly, like he'd expected her to say that. He crossed his arms a little tighter, getting comfortable against the wall again. This time he didn't open his eyes at all.

"Are you ever going to?" he asked.

Kagome shifted uneasily. "I wish I hadn't done it. I don't want anyone to know."

He seemed to sigh.

"So it's something you did?" He opened the eye again.

She frowned at him and looked down at her paper unseeingly. She didn't seem inclined to say anything else. But a particular quote floated into her mind and she couldn't seem to banish it: lying is done with words, and with silence. She didn't know who said it, but it was true, and it made her feel really bad about staying quite.

She set the notebook on the floor and crawled across the bed. "I'm going to sleep," she announced, even though she was still in her school uniform. "Can you turn off the light Inuyasha?" she asked, turning pleading eyes his way.

He rose and went to the door, where the "switch" was and turned off the light. Then he moved through the dark to sit on the floor with his back against her bed.

She pulled the covers up and peered through the dark to locate his head. "Good night, Inuyasha," she whispered, and almost didn't hear him when he whispered it back.