Las Time

"InuYasha, I do believe I owe you something," Kagome said dangerously low.

"What is it?" He asked, his ears flattening on his head.

And with that Kagome slapped him with all she had.

Now

"KAGOME!" her mother yelled helping InuYasha up, "what was that for? Apologize now!"

"No, it's fine Mrs. Higurashi," InuYasha said rubbing his sore cheek, "I deserved it."

"Boy's don't make fun of your brother," Izayoi was scolding Miroku and Sesshoumaru, "what if you two got hit like that?"

"I would still laugh mother," the two said simultaneously.

"Why don't you all go into the living room, I'll go get some drinks and ice for InuYasha," Mrs. Higurashi said, making the two older boys laugh even harder, "Kagome come and help me."

"Coming," Kagome said smiling at the family who didn't seem to have a problem with their host smacking their son.

In The Living Room

"InuYasha what did you do to that poor girl?" his mother asked him as she examined his cheek.

"Remember when we moved to Tokyo?" his parents and Sesshoumaru nodded, "well I kinda didn't tell her. I just left a note in my room hoping she would find it, I left that along with a couple of pictures and the other half to the necklace I wear."

His parents nodded, "well I don't blame her for hitting you then" his father said leaning back in the chair.

"I agree," his mother said sitting on the couch with her husband.

"I hope she can forgive me," InuYasha said still not forgetting the look of hurt she had in her eyes when she looked at him.

In the kitchen

"Kagome why did you hit that boy?" her mother asked as she put ice in a rag for InuYasha's face.

"I owed it to him," Kagome said pouring tea into some cups. "when they moved to the city, he didn't come over and tell me. I had gone over to his house to see him, and when I got there it was totally empty. I went up to his room, and where his bed had been was a couple of pictures and the necklace I always wear. He wrote me a letter about how he couldn't tell me in person about his moving. He said it hurt to much, and it was best that I wasn't home that weekend to see me anyway. I was mad at him, and I told myself if I ever saw him, I would try to show him the same pain he gave me. So I hit him."

Her mother frowned, but she understood. Pulling her daughter into a embrace the woman realized that somehow Kagome had loved InuYasha.

"It's okay I guess," she said smiling, "his parents didn't get upset. And InuYasha accepted it like a man. His brothers liked it though."

"No surprise," Kagome said dryly picking up the tray, "Sesshoumaru was always beating on him when we were young."

Walking into the living room, Kagome was a little happier. She even talked a little to Miroku, who ended up creeping her out more than anything. Dinner even went pretty well, except the fact the Miroku and Sesshoumaru were being jerks and made sure that the only two seats left were for Kagome and InuYasha and they had to sit right across from each other. Kagome managed to look everywhere but in front of her during the meal, while InuYasha on the other hand quite enjoyed watching Kagome except when she would look at him, he would instantly look away or frown. She really doesn't so much look like Kikyo, he thought to himself, except a couple of things in their facial structure. No, she's more beautiful than Kikyo. And she has a lot more life to her.

When the meal was done, the Takahashi's went home and Kagome helped her mother clean up the kitchen.

"You know," her mother said. "InuYasha grew up to be a very handsome young man."
"I couldn't tell," Kagome said even though she too had noticed it.
"Well," Dai said putting the last plate away, "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up to late."
"I wont," Kagome said following her mother up the stairs and going into her own room. As she changed from the clothes she had been wearing, and into a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt Kagome noticed someone outside her window. When she opened it up, instead of seeing someone she wanted to see, she found InuYasha.

"What do you want?" she asked when he just hopped into the room.

"I want to apologize," he told her looking her strait in the eyes, "I should have told you I was leaving. I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry."

Kagome didn't want to hear it though. She continued walking around her room, doing other things, like brushing her hair and tying it in a braid, then getting on her computer. "Damn, the first time I ever apologize and it's to a woman that doesn't even listen," he said mainly to himself.

"Look InuYasha," Kagome told him standing up, "get in that drawer right there" as she pointed to a stand next to her bed. "Inside there is a picture book, take it out." InuYasha did what he was told, and when he opened it up, sinking down in the bed, what he found made him gasp. The book was a scrapbook of them as children, the cover page was the picture of them kissing when they were five. As he looked through it, he found other pictures, there was the one of them hugging at their last Christmas together, and then they went back in time. From when they were at the beach, burying a sleeping Sesshoumaru under a blanket of sand, to their preschool graduation, all dressed up in their little caps and gowns holding their miniature diplomas.

"I've looked at that book every night since my mother made it for me," Kagome told him sitting on the bed next to him.

"Why… when?" he asked, not able to make a proper sentence.

"About six years ago," Kagome said, "my mom found some envelopes from the photo developing places and all of the pictures in them. She put the book together for my birthday, thought it would make me feel better. She made you one too." InuYasha just nodded when Kagome got up and left the room for a couple of minutes, when she returned she was holding a book identical to the one he was looking at.

"Take it," she said switching with him, "I don't need two."

InuYasha didn't know what to say, this woman wasn't the same little girl he left here. She was grown now, and so much more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. Why am I having these feelings? he thought to himself, I have Kikyo. What more could I want? But almost as if his question had been answered for him, Kagome leaned forward and gently pressed her lips to his. He didn't respond, nor did he get the chance, because as soon as it happened she pulled away.

"There isn't a day that you weren't in my mind," she said again, "I hope you know that."

"Kagome," InuYasha tried to say, but nothing else but her name could come out. So he took a leaf out of her book and kissed her. But much more intimately than she had. Gently he put his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him, she kissed him back, but quickly pulled away.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said.

"I want you to know that I feel the same," he told her standing up, "I have wanted to call you for seven years and apologize to you. I just couldn't get the nerve to do it. I want you to forgive me, and I hope we can be friends again."
Without another word InuYasha climbed out of the window and back over to his house.

Kagome smiled, and as she got into bed she realized that she would sleep peacefully for the first time in a long time.

A.N. This second chapter is done. I'll write more later. But for now, I'm going to try and work more on Phoenix. Hope you like it!