Disclaimer: This disclaimer applies to all the chapters in this story. I do not own Inuyasha, and nor do I own any of the songs or song names I use in this fanfiction.

A/N: Ok, I said I was gonna do a SessKag story after 'A World of My Own', but I recently had my entire computer software updated and I lost some stuff… which is very sad. I had it all planned out, with all the stuff I just might need, and now it's gone. So I'm starting from scratch again.

And while I was starting from scratch, I found myself with another idea. Oh damn those ideas and my enthusiastic brain, but here we are.

As you can see, it's InuKag. Everyone in this fic is human. No big swords and claws and poison flying everywhere this time.

I stopped reading the Inuyasha manga halfway through, so please bear with me if some details about objects or perhaps characters that I don't know about that you think I should have aren't there. I never watched the anime.

In this story Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango and Kagome are all in their last year of high school and 18 years old.

Thanks and enjoy!

Sesshy

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Holding Fast

Chapter 1

Mistaken

The young man, around 18 years of age, coasted to a stop on the gravel driveway, putting down the kickstand and walking towards the light of the small convenience store.

Walking in through the double doors, he scanned the shelves of the store while running a hand through his long silver locks. Inuyasha never even considered wearing a helmet while riding his bike, he wasn't exactly one to care about his own safety.

He usually rode his bike to and from his high school, Shikon High, but right now it was the summer holidays, though they were ending in a few days. He vowed to spend those days drinking, eating and lazing about. It would be his last year of high school soon and he wanted to spend it well – namely, not doing anything even mildly work related.

Spotting the object he was looking for on a shelf, he grabbed it and started towards the cash register, which was manned by a teenage girl with blonde hair who was wearing clothes that were a bit too revealing for his liking.

"One can of beer." She took the money from his outstretched hand and glanced at his features with an appreciative smile.

"Will that be all, sir?" She batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.

He wasn't even looking at her, staring through the glass of the doors with a horrified look at his motorcycle, which was parked outside.

Several young people were gathered round it, obviously vandalizing people's property just for the heck of it. Most of them looked to be about his age.

"OI!" he barged outside, still remembering to grab his beer. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" They gave him one horrified glance before scattering in different directions, sprinting off into the night.

He glared after them and cursed, they were all wearing dark jackets, the majority with hoods, and despite the fact that he would probably catch up with them easily, he was too lazy to go chasing after them at night.

Instead he turned his attention to his motorcycle, examining it for damage. He cursed even louder when he found that they'd managed to shatter a side mirror and scratch the fender. Sighing, he mounted it and drove off.

He'd only gone a short distance when he spotted a familiar looking figure wearing a dark hoody. Come to think of it, he actually thought he might recognize it. The person had a slim figure, probably a girl. There had been a girl in that group of teenagers, he recalled…

Inuyasha turned to stop the bike and nearly crashed into a hedge when he discovered that the hooligans had managed to somehow spoil the breaks as well. The figure turned quickly towards him as he stumbled off the motorbike.

He took several quick strides and seized the girl by her shoulders, shaking her slightly.

"What the hell is your problem?! Destroying people's property at night! " He growled at her, seeing her frightened expression, which pretty much confirmed that she'd been one of them. The fear in her cerulean blue eyes quickly turned to anger, however.

"Let me GO!" She backhanded him surprisingly hard and he staggered away, clutching his jaw. Angrily he grabbed her wrist and jerked her backwards none too gently as she tried to run away, pulling her towards him.

"All you have to do is pay for it. I just want to know why you did it." He told her firmly, holding her as she tried to struggle away from him again. He caught sight of those shocking blue eyes again, this time confused and slightly sad.

"I just want to know why." He repeated, softer this time, still holding her.

"I didn't." She snapped, blue eyes hardening into stubborn anger and annoyance again.

"What?"

"I didn't do whatever you think I did. Leave me alone." She shrugged his arms off her shoulders and tried to make a break for freedom again, walking briskly this time.

"Hey…wait!" he grabbed her shoulder again.

"What do you want?!" Her voice was louder this time, more insistent.

"I know what I don't want. I don't want you to lie. What did you do it with?" He stared at her, annoyed at her stubbornness.

"I didn't lie? What did I do what with? I have no idea what you're talking about!" She nearly shrieked the end this time, trying to break free of his grip, twisting slightly.

"You've got to have some tools." He muttered to himself, reaching for the zip of her jacket. Her hood had fallen back, revealing raven locks that now tumbled down her shoulders.

"Agh! What the hell! You ….you… PERVERT!" She struggled again as he undid her jacket, pulling it back in search for something that she could've used to damage his property. What he saw made him speechless.

"Holy… shit." He stared at her, slack-jawed. She stared back, eyes slightly teary by now, breathing hard from struggling, her jacket had now slid down to her wrists, revealing her shoulders and arms in a dark blue tank top.

Bruises mottled her pale skin all over her arms, along with several cuts and one nasty looking gash on her collarbone, just starting to scab. There were dark ugly marks on her stomach as well, from what he could see, the tank top having ridden up slightly in her twisting and turning.

"How…" He still gaped at the marks in disbelief and disgust.

"No…" She drew the back of her hand roughly over her eyes and pulled her jacket back up onto her shoulders, drawing out a packet and a lighter from a pocket. Her hands were shaking so much that she could barely light the cigarette that she took from the packet.

"Smoking kills you." Inuyasha remarked dryly, finally getting his mind around the bruises now that they had disappeared back behind her jacket. He plucked the cigarette out of her hand and crushed it underneath the heel of his shoe.

"So does alcohol." She stared back angrily and he realized that he'd dropped his can of beer on the ground when she hit him. He picked it up and tossed it away without even thinking about his actions.

"Abuse can kill you too." He said softly.

"I know that." She stared up at him, eyes defiant and filled with unreadable emotion. He felt a small glimmer of recognition.

"Do I know you?"

"I don't know…" She muttered, playing with a strand of her hair and frowning at his face.

"… Kagome?" He stared hard at her face, barely recognizing her as the shy and withdrawn girl that he'd shared a class with last year. He'd never even noticed her.

"Inuyasha?" Her mouth opened slightly in shock. "Weren't we lab partners of something once?"

"Feh."

A slim eyebrow arched upwards.

"We were in the same class last year." He told her helpfully.

"Oh."

"Nobody really noticed you, though, so it took me a while to recognize you."

"Thanks a lot." She huffed, spinning on her heel. "I really have to get back…"

"I really have to report to the local authorities that someone I know is being abused!" Inuyasha called after her, feeling a tug at his heartstrings at watching her walk away. He didn't know why, but he didn't want her to leave.

Her reaction was immediate and dramatic.

She whirled around from where she'd been about to stalk away from him, and grabbed his collar.

"Don't you dare tell anyone. Don't tell anyone. He'll … " She broke down sobbing suddenly against his chest. He patted her slightly awkwardly, much embarrassed.

"Whoa… who would I tell anyway?"

Her only response was to sniffle slightly.

"Who's 'he'? Abusive boyfriend?" He asked her gruffly.

"Dad." She spoke, her voice muffled against his t-shirt.

"Oh. Why don't you leave, run away, whatever, then?"

"I have a younger brother. Souta. He's 12."

"Take Souta and scram, then!"

"… My mother's ill. She's in the hospital. He's the one who pays for her medical treatment. It's a kind of silent threat. If we leave, he stops paying... mom dies."

"Oh."

"You know him, my dad."

"I don't think so."

"Naraku." She said softly, hands still gripping his shirt.

"What?" He took her shoulders and pushed her back gently.

"You mean Naraku as in the Naraku?"

"Yup. Exactly." She smiled sadly at him.

Naraku Onigumo was a famous movie director. He was well known and loved by lots of people because of his generous donations to charity.

"He did this?" Inuyasha was very much surprised for the second time that evening.

She nodded silently, closing her eyes wearily.

"I'll be back late. If I'm back late he'll hit me. I should go."

"I won't let you go back there if he's gonna hit you." Somehow he felt protective of the girl.

"Then he'll hit my brother."

"Then we'll go get your brother."

"He can kill you."

"I have connections too, you know."

She scoffed tearfully.

"What kind of connections?"

"For example, Inu no Taishou was my father."

"Inu no Taishou? The Inu no Taishou?" She imitated his phrasing from before, looking equally surprised.

"Yup. The famous actor. Naraku's best friend and the one who Naraku was suspected of murdering, but there was never any solid proof, as they called it." He was disgusted with that.

"How come the world never heard of you?" He had been loud, brash and popular last year, a playboy and the one the girls were always after. If she was in his class this year again she expected him to act the same way- but she would never guess that he was the son of the famous Inu no Taishou.

"Because I didn't want them to."

"Oh."

"Yeah…"

He patted her back a few times again, then realized that she was still clinging tightly onto him like a drowning hamster. (A/N: Teehee!)

"Uh… wanna get offa me?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh! Sorry…" She blushed slightly and pushed herself away from him, standing uncomfortably, fingers clutching her jacket sleeve uncomfortably.

"So…" He fidgeted for a bit and crossed his arms over his chest, standing in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner.

"So…" She looked like she felt equally awkward, fiddling with her jacket. She finally put her hood back on.

"Your name… Kagome… Onigumo?" He inquired.

She pursed her lips. "Higurashi. I was an adopted child. So was Souta."

"Oh. So… you coming?" He gestured towards his bike, lacking anything else to say.

"Well… you… I should…" She pointed towards the direction she'd been walking in earlier.

"I told you, I won't let you go back there. You're probably late already, anyway." He checked his watch. "It's already 10:00 P.M."

"I think Souta's sleeping over at a friend's place today, so if it's okay with you…" She peered at him from below her lashes.

"Hey, I suggested it, didn't I?" He mounted his bike and motioned for her to get on behind him.

"No helmet? Inuyasha, I don't think that's such a good idea." She said doubtfully.

"Stop being my mother and get on." He told her irritably.

"I don't think I should do this," She hesitated, fingers drumming on the seat of the bike nervously. "What would Naraku say?"

"Just tell him you were with a certain Inuyasha Takahashi. I'll take you home tomorrow morning; you can spend the night at my place. He won't dare do anything to you if I'm there."

"What about afterwards?" She whispered softly, and he could almost hear the tears in her voice.

"I'll figure something out." He told her bluntly. "Now get your ass on the bike, wench!"

"Ok, but you're not wearing a helmet, so go s-LOWLY!" She broke off in a yell as he drove forwards abruptly, spraying gravel from the tires of the bike. He could feel her arms wrapped tightly around his waist and her head pressed against his back. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

"Your bike is damaged!" She yelled at him, but the wind whipped her words away from her and blew them away.

"What?!"

"I said, your bike is damaged!"

"I KNOW! I thought you did it!"

"WHAT?!"

"I said, I THOUGHT YOU DID IT!"

"I didn't do it!" She shrieked at him in annoyance.

"I KNOW!" He yelled back, equally miffed at having to shout back and forth to each other. It was especially hard to hear her since her voice was muffled where she'd pressed her cheek against his back.

The familiar sight of his house came into view around the corner.

Inuyasha turned, forgot that the brakes were broken again and nearly sent himself flying over the front gate and into the garden of a nearby mansion. He just managed to spin the bike around again and head towards his smaller, more modest home.

He had a rather hard time stopping.

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The door to Inuyasha's place opened with a bang. The owner of the home was still standing outside, keys frozen in hand, when the young girl flew down the hall and into the bathroom like a bullet from a gun, slamming the door behind her.

"All I did was bounce off a bush!" He shouted to her, entering his house and locking the door behind him.

"Two bushes!" She corrected from the bathroom. He could hear the sound of water running. "Plus you nearly squished us onto that brick wall, narrowly avoided that fence, just managed to brush by that tree and I swear we bounced several times over the driveway when you stopped!"

Kagome waited from her position over the sink, hands cupped under the tap, for a response. None came, but she could hear him muttering.

"Just a few teeny bounces." He entered the kitchen and opened a cupboard. Great. Ramen. He opened another one. Even better. More ramen. And, oh joy, the third cupboard contained the best of all. Ramen. The fourth cupboard…

Was empty.

"MIROKU!" The yell sent the black haired man with a small ponytail flying down the stairs, hands clutched around a cup of instant ramen.

"Yes Inuyasha?" He glanced dubiously at the cup in his own hand and then shoved it behind his back.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.

"Delayed reaction much, Miroku?" he beckoned. "Gimme my ramen."

Said man grinned and shoved the cup into Inuyasha's hand with a singsong cry of "Empty!" before making a quick escape into the living room.

"Miroku!" Inuyasha slammed the cup down on the table so hard bits of leftover ramen flew everywhere, then dug his heels in and took off, fast in pursuit of his friend.

Kagome emerged from the toilet, feeling refreshed, to find her eyes assaulted by the sight of two tall young men running around the partition that separated the kitchen and the living room. One, the one she already knew, Inuyasha, appeared to be chasing the other, a handsome young man with a short ponytail.

The new arrival glanced at Kagome, eyes widening slightly. He made another lap around the partition before skidding to a stop on his knees, staring up at her with eyes as large as saucers.

"Your name, fair young- OOF!" He flopped forwards onto his face, one hand outstretched towards her. Inuyasha growled at his friend, having plowed into him from behind, causing him to fall forwards.

Miroku used a hand to push himself partially up off the ground.

"Or are you already taken by fine young Inuyasha here? If so, I suggest a threes- WAGH!" He let out a cry as his head was once again pushed forcefully into the floor. Inuyasha kept his hand on the back of Miroku's head, a nerve twitching in his own forehead.

"Uh- my name's Kagome. I'm an… acquaintance of Inuyasha's, I'm not close to him. I'm only staying the night, Mr…?"

"Just call him Miroku. He's an idiot." Inuyasha told her helpfully, pushing the heel of his hand into the nape of said 'idiot's neck.

"Hear, hear. Ouch." Came the rather muffled voice of Miroku. "Inuyasha, would you mind getting off me? You seem to be enjoying your position up there, but I thought you knew that I don't swing that way." The comment was followed by a smothered snicker.

Inuyasha snarled and all but threw himself off the man, stalking into the living room and turning on the TV.

Miroku got up off the floor and brushed himself off with a kind of crushed dignity. He was wearing casual clothes, jeans and a t-shirt. There was a small charm bracelet made of purple beads around his hand, Kagome noted.

"My name is Miroku, as you have undoubtedly heard." He shot her as charming a smile as he could muster after having his face smushed into the ground twice in a row. "Pleased to meet you, Kagome-sama."

"Er. Sure." She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, what a beautiful gesture!" he grinned crookedly at her again and got down on one knee, grasping her hand gently in his. "To see a face as lovely as yours is a blessing for me, Kagome-sama. If you would, also do me the favour of bearing my-"

"No, she won't bear your children, pervert." Inuyasha interrupted him gruffly from the living room.

Miroku looked crestfallen. "Let the fair lady answer first, Inuyasha, before you interrupt with your great galumphing elephant voice."

Kagome snorted in a most unlady like way at his description of Inuyasha's voice.

Miroku turned to her again, an expression of dazzled wonder fixed on his face.

"What a lovely laugh, Kagome-sama! If I could hear a voice like yours every day, I would be greatly happy, especially if it were-"

"Oh let it be!" Inuyasha all but shouted from the room next door, interrupted Miroku's perverted train of thought.

Kagome silently withdrew her hand from Miroku and walked into the living room, plopping down on the sofa next to Inuyasha. She stared uncomfortably at a stupid ad about soap currently playing as Miroku trailed in disconsolately after her, muttering

"You're only in the next room, Inuyasha. Please don't yell. I have sensitive ears. I pain much. Fat idiot." Several even more ungracious remarks were uttered and Kagome smirked silently as he took a seat in the armchair.

"Miroku here is the same age as us. He wasn't in my class last year, but this year… Miroku?"

"Yes, I do believe we're in the same class this year, Inuyasha. And I think Kagome's in our class as well."

Inuyasha snorted. "Miroku's the only one geeky enough to check the online class lists… heck, I don't even know where they're posted."

"I only do it to see which lovely ladies are in my class this year." The 'geeky' man wiggled his eyebrows. "Sango's with us this year, Inuyasha."

"Feh. I swear, if that girl clubs me on the head one more time this year, I won't be as much of gentleman."

"If I do recall, you weren't a gentleman last year anyway. You ended up getting your ass kicked by her." Miroku reminded him all too helpfully, corners of his mouth curving upwards.

"Well that's only because she grabbed that big ass art project she was working on – she named it Hiraikotsu, I think – and went all medieval on me!" Inuyasha defended himself.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say." Miroku waved a hand jokingly in his direction, fixing a firm I-don't-believe-you expression on his face.

Kagome watched the exchange, much amused.

"However, I do believe Hiraikotsu was an imitation of a weapon," Miroku mused to himself. " I think it was a giant boomerang."

"Sure looked like one…" Inuyasha grumbled. "Oh yeah, Miroku. A couple of hooligans thought it'd be really fun to damage my bike… so the brakes aren't working, a side mirror's smashed and the fender's scratched. Help me fix it."

Miroku ignored him and turned to Kagome. "See the kind of treatment I receive from the one I call a friend? Not even a please. By the way, I help with fixing bikes and cars at a nearby garage, so Inuyasha always likes to dump chores on me."

"Mi-ro-ku…" There was a deadly tone lacing Inuyasha's voice, so Miroku responded with a mild "Sure, Inuyasha. Keep your pants on.", which resulted in a growl from the latter.

"You guys are so amusing…" Kagome smiled, but was interrupted soon after but an ear-splitting yawn.

"Right. Bed-time for the young one." Inuyasha smirked slightly and turned off the TV, which Kagome had totally forgotten about watching.

"Oh yeah… Inuyasha…?" Miroku tried to speak nonchalantly, but he added a wheedling tone into his voice.

"Miroku. You only use that tone when you want a favour from me. What is it?"

"Well, you know Tsubaki…?"

"Ya mean the scrawny chick with the squeaky voice?" Kagome giggled at his description of her.

"That's the one." Miroku snapped his fingers. "Well, she somehow showed up at my house, demanding to know why I didn't return her calls…"

"Oh no…" Inuyasha groaned.

"… So I was wondering if I could stay at your place tonight."

"Whatever. Just keep outta my way." He turned to Kagome. "Listen, I dunno what you girls gotta do before you sleep, but do it now. There's a spare bedroom upstairs. Miroku, you can crash on the couch."

"Hey! I'm your best friend, Inuyasha!"

"Feh."

"Bathroom's… that way." Kagome muttered to herself, walking to it and removing her jacket at the same time, forgetting all about Miroku's presence. He gaped at her bruises and scars for a moment before she realized her mistake and covered them up quickly. But the damage was done.

"Do you mind if I…" Inuyasha jabbed a thumb in his friend's direction, who still looked stunned.

"Go ahead. Please explain…"

He nodded, catching her slightly pleading look, and turned back to Miroku. The two spoke in low voices for a while, and Kagome could only catch snippets of names like 'Naraku' and 'Souta'.

Miroku nodded in understanding and smiled at Kagome to show that her secret was safe with him. She returned the smile slightly awkwardly and made her way to the bathroom to wash up.

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10 minutes later Kagome emerged from the bathroom to find that Inuyasha had stretched out on the couch instead of Miroku, who had happily skipped upstairs and was probably nestled in a bunch of quilts somewhere.

She was about to tiptoe past him and up the stairs when he grabbed her wrist.

"Not so fast…"
He got up and pulled her to the dining table, sitting her on a chair and turning away to rummage for something in a cupboard.

A few moments later he turned back with a first aid kit in his hand, opening it and bringing out the antiseptic cream. He awkwardly put some of it on his finger and reached towards her. She unconsciously flinched away, but he put a hand reassuringly on her shoulder and moved in closer.

Kagome winced when she felt the stinging sensation on her collarbone, but let him clean the cut. He was leaning over to apply the medicine, and she felt a light blush tinge her cheeks when she saw that he was shirtless, and only wearing a pair of shorts over his boxers. She could feel his breath on her wound, and it was oddly comforting, in a tingly sort of way.

She looked up at his face and noticed for the first time that his eyes were a gorgeous golden colour, and though they'd been hard and cold before, now they were soft, and she felt like melting when they flicked onto her face and stayed there.

"Well… I guess I should go to bed…" Kagome extracted herself from his gentle hold and walked away backwards before turning and climbing up the stairs. Behind her she heard Inuyasha sigh and the creak of springs as he sank onto the couch.

Reaching the bedroom, she found Miroku on the bed, snoring gently, and so she occupied the other, across the hall. It was obviously Inuyasha's, with red and black decorations and an antique looking sword hanging on the while, not to mention the pile of schoolwork in a corner.

She pulled back the duvet and snuggled into the softness of the bed, though her jeans were unbearably uncomfortable. Spotting the cupboard, she glanced guiltily at the door, which she had closed after coming in.

Surely he wouldn't mind …?

Tiptoeing over, Kagome reached in and pulled out a pair of socks. Tossing them away, she reached in again to find … a rank t-shirt. Frowning, she opened the cupboard to see that like most guys, Inuyasha had piled all his clothes haphazardly. Giggling to herself, she started to dig through it.

Finding what she was looking for, she checked very carefully that it was clean before taking off her jeans and pulling it on.

In her much more comfortable sleeping clothes, she took a running leap onto the bed and got under the thick quilt again, sighing in contentment.

So much had happened tonight… the events just kept running through her head, she didn't think she could sleep.

She was out like a light within 5 minutes.

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A/N: So how did you guys like it!? I'm really, really looking forward to your answers so please review!

Please review!

I don't want to sound all whiny and insistent, sorry but I'll repeat it one more time in case you missed it.

PLEASE REVIEW!

Thanks :D

Sesshy