Hello. It is 11:46 p.m. on a Saturday night. Other than MAP testing, my life is great. So not much to say about this chapter. But the chartcter I put in, Ai, her personality was inspired from a character in a book I read.

Oh, and I was kinda thinking of writing a gothic. You know, set in the late 19th century (1895) in London with Queen Victoria? Pride and Predjudice? Sense and Sensability? Manisfeild Park? Emma? By Miss Jane Austen? I don't know. Its just that I don't think there's been a gothic about Kagome and Inuyasha yet, so, yay. First gothic/romance novel. (maybe? idk.) I 've started writting some of it. It's like Kagome is sent to a finishing school in London. Her season is comming close and she is being invited to lots of balls and names keep filling up her dance card. And there's a young master (guess who?) that makes and impression on her. A bad one. But not only does she have to deal with the mean girls at school, but she has to keep the persuers of her hand (in marriage) at bay and her reputation in tact. That sounds boring. Lets throw in some scandal. umm.....I'll think of that later, but there will be some scandal. (Not like that! Gosh, how many times a day do you interact with Miroku?)

So enough of my ramblings: Please enjoy chapter 2: Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha&co.

Flames are welcome.


Chapter 2: Memories

Inuyasha opened the door to cabin 18 and nearly fell over from the rugged look of it. There was a set of bunk beds on either side of the large square room and four large rocks with blankets draped over them were positioned in a semi-circle around a fire place. A fire place he was certain wouldn't be used. To the left of the fire place was a door that led to the bathroom and on the right side was a door that led to closet space. In the middle of the floor were Inuyasha's two suitcases and another suitcase he assumed to belong to this Kouga person.

Miroku had already claimed the bottom bunk on the left wall and was setting up his sleeping area. Other than the two friends, there was no one else in the room.

"So," Inuyasha said, yanking open the suitcase that held his sleeping bag and pillow. "Seen our other cabin member?"

Miroku shook his head. "Not yet. I wonder what he's like."

"Who cares what he's like? As long as he stays out of my way I'll be fine."

The two teens heard the door to their cabin being thrust open and smash against the wall, with a voice following.

"Good morning." The voice said, obviously female.

The two turned their heads to see who had barged in. It was Kagome.

"Good morning!" Miroku responded with a little too much gusto. He took long, graceful strides to the girl and grabbed hold of her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Miroku." Miroku raised her hand to his lips in an attempt to kiss it.

"Charmed." Kagome replied, yanking her hand away before it could make contact.

"So, your grandmother is the head of this camp?" Miroku asked.

"Yes, I—"

"Whatever." Inuyasha said, pushing Miroku aside. "It's not like we care or anything. Now what do you want?"

"Um, not to be rude or anything, Inuyasha, but I actually do care." Miroku protested. Inuyasha didn't budge.

"Well?" he prompted.

Kagome smirked. "Well, excuse me, your highness, but I'm supposed to tell you that you can come down to the mess hall to eat, but since you don't care what I have to say, I guess I'll be going now." She smartly turned on the heel of her wedged shoes, her hair smacking Inuyasha in the face. The door closed with a long, eerie creak. Silence passed between the only two people in the room.

"Well that was rather rude." Miroku pointed out.

Inuyasha scoffed. "She's a commoner. What does she care?"

"Oh so because she's poorer than you, means she doesn't have feelings?"

"She didn't seem affected by it." Inuyasha retorted.

Miroku shook his head. "You don't know what she could be hiding in her heart." With those final words, Miroku left the cabin, leaving Inuyasha to hear the creaking of the door again. Only this time, Inuyasha was the only one to hear it.

* * *

"Did he really say that to you?" Sango asked incredulously.

Kagome just stared grimly at her cut up eggs, yolk flowing over her toast and seeping into whatever lied below. The expanding yellow substance reminded Kagome of blood seeping from a wound. The thought triggered a memory that Kagome had successfully been able to suppress flooded back into her mind. With a gasp, she squeezed her eyes shut, and willed the memory to disappear, to shut itself away back in the corner of her mind, never to be roused again. When she opened them, she snatched up her tray and headed to a trash can. She passed the one closest to the table she sat at and kept on going.

When she came upon the next closest trash can, she past that one to. She kept going and going until she came to the trash can that was closest to his table. Kagome was well aware of all the eyes watching her strange behavior, but she didn't care. She just kept her eyes down as she threw her tray into the trash with a satisfying bang.

Inuyasha looked up and smirked. "What was that for?" he mocked. "The tray didn't do anything to you."

Kagome turned her piercing eyes on the insufferable teen. "How would you know? You haven't been watching me have you?"

Inuyasha sneered. "No. And I wouldn't have to since I know by common sense that trays don't just randomly attack people. Then again," He looked her over. She flinched slightly from his scrutinizing. "Considering how dumb you look, I don't even know if you have common sense."

Kagome's cheeks flushed. She rose up her fist and knocked Inuyasha over the head with it. "Next time you check me out," she threatened, ignoring the jab, "I'll hit you over the head." She turned around and walked away, mumbling something about decency.

"What the hell?!" Inuyasha shouted after her. "You just did! And I was not checking you out!" He slumped back into his chair.

Miroku shook his head. "And I thought she wasn't your kind of girl."

"Shut up, Miroku." Inuyasha grumbled. Just then, his pocket started vibrating. Inuyasha flipped out his sidekick to find he had a new text. He rolled his eyes when he saw who it was from.

"Seriously, can't that girl take a hint?" He muttered as he read the text. Suddenly, he was overcome by a huge case of chronic laughter. Miroku stared at him like he was a madman.

"Dude," Miroku nudged Inuyasha. "People are staring."

"So let them stare." Inuyasha said when he finally caught his breath. "It's only natural for commoners to be on the outside looking in on the rich man's world. But check this out," Inuyasha moved the cell phones screen closer to his friend. "Do you see what this girl wrote? She says: 'My love for you has opened and spread its vast wings like a bird about to take flight. It leaps up into the sky soaring higher and higher over endless seas of shimmering blue. Below, water swirls about like the shades of obsidian that slow dance in your eyes; hard yet mysterious. And then dusk slowly falls, gracefully and shimmering like the waves of black silk that spill around you and wrap you in a shimmering shield. And as dusk falls, my love seeps into the seas, changing, morphing, until it is one with the seas. And seeing you causes my love's waves to bubble and expand until it is a tsunami, standing high above the clouds of heaven and it comes plummeting back down to Earth, back down to were you wait, were you stand, determined and strong, much like my love for you.'" He began laughing uncontrollably again.

Miroku, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. His eyes narrowed and his mouth became a thin line. "Inuyasha, you shouldn't mock her so much."

Inuyasha stared at his friend incredulously. "But why? Did you not listen to this crap she sent me?"

Miroku's cobalt eyes flared. "She just confessed her love for you! And she put it in a way that she thought was special! For you! And you turn around and laugh at it!"

Inuyasha's face hardened. "I didn't ask her to love me." Before Miroku could respond, Inuyasha slammed his own tray in the trash can and stormed off toward the exit.

When he came up to Kagome's table, she smirked. "What was that for? The tray didn't do anything to you!" she said as he passed.

"Go shrivel up in a corner and die!" Inuyasha fired back. Gasps filled the room, yet Inuyasha didn't care. He just marched right passed her and through the door until he was well away from the mess hall. There, he leaned against a large tree to calm down and catch his breath. Miroku was only a few paces behind him.

"Are you always going to push people away? What if you encounter the one person who really, truly loves you? And it isn't just some high-school puppy-love crush?"

Inuyasha wheeled around to face Miroku. If he had been a half-demon at that point, his fangs would have barred. "Do you think that that girl would still send me those 'love-sick' poems if she knew who I really was?! Do you think that anyone would if they knew who I really was?! They would either shun me, or run away!"

"But if she really loves you, she'd just pass it off as some cute little quirk!"

Inuyasha was shaking with rage. "When the hell," he said in a strangely, yet frightening, calm voice, "will you realize that no one will ever LOVE ME!?" he roared. "Get that through your thick skull and into your tiny brain!"

"When the hell will you realize that there is someone out there for everyone including you?!"

Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, so you're an expert on this, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Am I to assume that you're hoping that that Sango chick will pass off you wandering hands as a cute little quirk?"

Miroku's eyes darkened. "That's different."

Inuyasha scoffed. "And what do you see in her anyway?"

"She's beautiful and a nice person!"

"She's a commoner!"

"That didn't seem to stop you from crushing on Kagome!"

"What the hell?! Crushing on her?! Hell no!"

"Don't try to hide it! I saw your face when she was up there reading off the cabin members! You were blushing!"

"No, I wasn't!" Inuyasha snarled. At that same time a huge flock of birds zoomed out of the trees in the forest. The two teens forgot their argument and turned to face the strange scene.

"I didn't actually think we were yelling that loud." Miroku pondered.

"We weren't." Inuyasha stated matter-of-factly. "Plus the forest is too far away." He looked back at his friend. "Something isn't right. Let's go check it out." And on that note, the two friends dashed off towards the woods and their argument was all but forgotten.

Scene Change

Murder swirled in his azure eyes as the furious black-haired teen stormed out of the mess hall. He began shaking with rage when he saw and emotion in his love's eyes that wasn't normally there; hurt.

"Kouga?" the wolf-demon's friend Hakkaku asked. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay!" the wolf demon snarled at his friend. "Not only do I have to share a cabin with that delinquent rich guy Inuyasha but he just insulted my woman!" he slammed his hand down on the table.

"That's right," Ginta pondered, playing with a strip of bacon. "This is the first year we're not all together."

The group of wolf-demons' thoughts were interrupted when Midoriko announced the end of breakfast and the campers filed out of the hall to finish unpacking.

Kouga sprinted away from his friends to catch up with Kagome. "Hey there, Kagome!" he greeted, splitting between the girl and Sango.

"Oh. Kouga, nice to see you again. How was your school year?"

Kouga sighed. "Oh it was tolerable. I would've been more excited to go if we went to the same school." He looked down at Kagome. Hurt was still registered on her face. The wolf-demon growled. "I could kill him for you, you know."

Kagome laughed once. It was a short laugh, lacking enthusiasm. "Although I'm sure you wouldn't mind I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I knew I was the cause of your first casualty."

An idea suddenly formed in Kouga's head. "Hey, Kagome. Do you think you could help me unpack?" To Kagome, it was a simple request for some help. But to Kouga, it was a way to get her alone with him for a while.

Kagome looked nervously at the boys' cabin. "I don't think I really want to see Inuyasha at the moment."

Kouga scoffed. "What's he gonna do? It's not like he can throw you out. It's my cabin too." He placed his arm around Kagome's shoulders. Normally, Kagome would've felt uncomfortable, but considering her crappy mood, she took comfort in the gesture.

Kagome smiled. "Well in that case, okay."

Smirking, Kouga led Kagome all the way to the boys' cabin.

Scene Change

"Do you see anything? Or hear anything or smell anything?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha, who had changed back into his demon form for better luck at finding something, shook his head.

"No. It's like whoever—whatever—it was that scared off those birds just disappeared. It's liked they just up and left."

"Well maybe they—" Miroku was cut off when Inuyasha shushed him curtly.

"Quiet." The half-demon said. "Do you hear that?"

Miroku looked around him. "What? I don't hear anything."

"That's just it." Inuyasha whispered. "There's nothing. Absolutely no sound at all."

"Well, the birds did kinda leave after all." Miroku pointed out.

"Miroku what else lives in a forest?" Inuyasha asked, annoyed. "I'm talking about the animals. Normally there would be a leaf rusting here or a twig snapping there, but there's nothing." Inuyasha sighed and changed back into a human. "Let's just go back to the cabin. I still need to unpack."

When the two friends got back to their cabin, they heard some laughing on the inside.

"Okay, how 'bout this one?" Kouga said when Inuyasha and Miroku opened the cabin door. "So there were two women that were walking their dogs one day when they came across a bar. The first woman says "Why don't we stop for a drink?" and the second woman says "But they don't allow pets inside." Then, the first woman says "its okay, just follow my lead." and she pulls out her sunglasses and puts them on. When she gets inside the bartender says "No pets allowed." and the first woman says "I'm blind and he's my seeing-eye dog." And she's allowed inside. So then the second woman puts her sunglasses on and walks inside. "No pets allowed." The bartender said. "I'm blind and he's my seeing-eye dog." Then the bartender looks at her funny and says "They're using Chihuahuas as seeing-eye dogs?" and the woman says "A Chihuahua? Those bastards gave me a Chihuahua?!"

Kagome threw her head back and shrieked with laughter. "Oh, that's funny!" she said between laughs. "Where do you find these? These are gold!"

"Oh, I just come up with them on my own. One of my many talents." Kouga bragged.

Inuyasha scoffed. "That liar! I've heard that joke before, back when I was, like, twelve!"

Kouga glared at him. "Hmph. So you're the idiot I'll have to hang out with for four months."

Again, Inuyasha's temper got the best of him. "Says a guy who tries to claim he made up a joke! Now that's stupid!"

Kouga stands up in front of Inuyasha and puffs up his chest to seem more intimidating. "You do realize I'm a demon, and a lot stronger than you, so you better back off."

"Yeah, and I live with the guy who's the head of the organization that supplies Japan's military equipment, so you better back off!"

Kouga raised an eyebrow at his statement. "You live with Sesshomaru?"

Inuyasha smirked. "Yup he's my older," Inuyasha was about to say that Sesshomaru was his older half-brother but quickly remembered his cover-up story. "Sister's husband."

Miroku, realizing his almost slip-up, smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Idiot." He muttered under his breath.

"Really?" Kagome asked, awed. She didn't mean to say anything to him, but the thought that she knew someone who was close to Sesshomaru excited her.

Inuyasha turned to face her, is smirk still in tact on his face. "You're surprised? Yeah, you commoners always are." He laughed once. Noticing Miroku, Inuyasha slung his arm over his friends shoulder and dragged him over. "And Miroku's owns the largest business here in Japan."

"Wow. That's pretty interesting." Kagome admitted.

A thought suddenly occurred to Inuyasha and an evil smile replaced his narcissistic smirk. "Hey, Miroku. You know how it's always so funny looking at a commoner's face when we tell them our status?"

Miroku gave him a skeptical look. "What? When did—?" Inuyasha cut him off.

"Well it's funnier with her," he gestured to Kagome, "because she already looks so stupid!"

The next event happened so quickly no one, not even Kouga the demon, realized what happened. Inuyasha's face was turned to the side with Kagome's hand positioned next to it, stiff and red. Kagome had slapped him.

Inuyasha placed a hand on his stinging cheek and slowly turned his head to face the girl. "You," he growled, low and dark. Nobody got away with hitting him, poor or rich, girl or boy.

"Shut up!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha stared at her, taken aback. "I don't know what I did to you, but I'm sure that whatever I did, I still don't deserve this from you."

"Did it ever occur to you that I just don't like you? Did you ever think once that you're not going to be loved by everyone? People have different opinions of others and my opinion just happens to be that I think you're stupid, and annoying."

Kagome lowered her head and pray that the tears that were threatening to spill over stayed in their place. "You can just go to hell." She said in a whisper, and then pushed Inuyasha out of her way and ran out the door.

Kagome's never sworn in her life. Some people never understood how when she got angry, she was always able to watch what she said. The fact that she just told Inuyasha to go to hell showed that she wasn't angry. Oh, no. She was furious.

When Kagome made it to her cabin, she pushed the door open and that's when the tears began to fall. Out of instinct, Kagome curled up on her bed, and let the tears fall willingly. She wasn't going to pretend that she wasn't crying; she was tired of that.

Kagome wasn't going to lie to herself; she wanted to be his friend. When she was standing there, on the stage reading of names, he was literally the first person she saw in the crowd. There was just something about him that made him stand out. And when she came into his cabin and saw that he was in the brothering group to hers, she was excited because that meant she had the chance to get to know him.

When Midoriko had warned her that he was the delinquent and to be careful around him, Kagome worried a little bit. But she decided that since he was here at a camp instead of Juvenile Hall, he couldn't be all that bad.

Was she ever wrong.

She couldn't stand him. He was cocky, arrogant, narcissistic, got mad easily, sarcastic, basically everything she hated about a guy.

After letting her tears fall, she wiped her eyes with her hand. She ignored the sting she felt. A creaking noise followed by a voice directed her attention to the door.

"Hey, Honey, I hooooome!" Sango sang jokingly as she entered their cabin. Their cabin was just like the boys' but with beanbags instead of rocks covered with blankets. "You wouldn't believe the trouble I went through to—" The sight of Kagome stopped Sango in her tracks.

At the sight of Kagome's red eyes and tear-stained face, Best-Friend mode took control of Sango's body.

"What happened?" she asked as she took a seat next to Kagome on her bed.

"Just that jerk, Inuyasha." Kagome made a face at the thought of him. "I can't believe I have to spend four months with him." She muttered.

"Well, complain all you want," said another voice. "But I think you'll cheer up soon!" Kagome looked up just in time to see Ayame walk through the door, followed by Kikyo.

Kagome grinned instantly. She leapt off her bed to embrace her two friends.

Ayame was a full wolf demon like Kouga. She was a little younger than the rest of the group, but fit in perfectly. Red hair waved down her back and stopped a little bellow her shoulders and clashed beautifully with her emerald eyes. A cheerful smile was stretched across her face which brightened any mood.

Kikyo was a tall girl with a lean figure. Her hair was much longer and straighter than the other girls' and ended at her hips. Bangs covered her forehead and brought attention to her pretty grey eyes. The smile on her face wasn't as toothy or large as Ayame's, but it was happy all the same.

"You're right," Kagome said to Ayame. "I am cheered up." She turned to Kikyo. "So who are you sharing a cabin with?"

"Oh, just some random girls whose names I didn't bother to remember. If they have four beds in here, then why are there only three people per group?"

Kagome shrugged. "I think Grandma said something about it being easier for the counselors to control or something like that."

"Oh, that's right!" Ayame interjected. "Would you mind if I went over to the boys' cabin? I wanna say hi to Kouga and see if the other guy is nicer than that Inuyasha."

"I don't mind." Kagome granted. "And Miroku is a lot nicer than Inuyasha." On that note, Ayame hooked her arm around Kikyo's and dragged her to the other cabin.

Kagome watched them go and subconsciously returned to her previous melancholy state. Sango, being the great friend that she is, sensed that change.

"Hey," Sango redirected Kagome's attention from the cabin to herself. "Don't think about him. He's a jerk that thinks he's better than everybody else and I wouldn't be surprised if he accidentally got hit with a train 'cause he doesn't know how to survive out in the wild."

At the thought of Inuyasha wandering aimlessly through the streets of Tokyo, not having a clue where he was going or how to get home, and then getting spontaneously hit by a train, made Kagome laugh. "I'd bet he'd do just that too." And the girls continued coming up with scenarios that Inuyasha would get stuck in as the unpacked their suitcases.

Scene Change

Ayame knocked once and then barged into the boys' cabins with Kikyo in tow.

"Ayame, slow down!" Kikyo screeched in fear of tripping.

Ayame released her hold on Kikyo as her attention found her childhood friend. "Kouga!' she greeted.

Kouga braced himself as Ayame kamakazed herself into him. "Ayame, you're acting like we haven't been going to the same school for nine months." Kouga remarked, breaking out of her hold.

Ayame then turned around and stuck out her hand to Miroku. "Hi! You're Miroku, the nice one, right?"

"Huh? Well, I guess so." Miroku laughed nervously as he took hold of Ayame's hand.
Kikyo sidestepped Ayame to embrace Kouga. After about three seconds she let go and turned to Miroku. "Hello. I'm Kikyo. Ayame and I are Kagome's friends."

At the mention of the girl, Inuyasha hoisted himself onto the top bunk, above Miroku's. He fished around in one of his suitcases for his iPod, placed his headphones in his ears, and turned the music up way loud.

"Well, Kagome certainly has a great taste in friends." Miroku said to Kikyo's chest.

This movement did not go undetected, and Kikyo instinctively crossed her arms across her chest. "And apparently Inuyasha has a bad taste in his. Though, that statement could go for you too." Miroku flinched at the comment, but let it slide. Inuyasha just plain didn't hear.

"So," Ayame started turning to Kouga. "You'll be my partner, right?" This, Inuyasha heard.

Inuyasha ripped his headphones out of his ears. "What?! Repeat!" he commanded Ayame.

"Um, I was asking Kouga if he wanted to be my partner." Ayame said hesitantly.

Inuyasha arched an eyebrow. "We're having partners? Seriously?" 'I don't really want partners, but I guess I could put up with it if Miroku's my partner.'

Ayame chewed on her thumbnail, something she did whenever she was nervous, and stole a quick glance at Kikyo. They both knew that what they had to say next was going to anger the teen, but if Kikyo was nervous she did a great job of hiding it.

"Seriously," Kikyo said, taking a half step toward Inuyasha, her gaze holding his. "But they're with the other cabin."

"What?! The other cabin?! God damn it!" he roared. He sent a murderous glare in Miroku's direction. "If I have to end up with that girl…." He left the threat hanging as he leaped off the bed, shoved the cabin door open, and took off in a sprint toward the lake. Silence hung in the air where the four other teens stood, shocked into silence.

Scene Change

Inuyasha kicked the sand with his shoe as he walked along the shore line. It was a little after one and was brutally hot. Inwardly, Inuyasha kicked himself for wearing pants. When he got close to the dock, Inuyasha leaped up onto the wooden platform and followed the path until he was at the end. He sat down, kicked off his shoes and dipped his feet in the water, not caring if his pants got wet.

Inuyasha sighed as he thought about having to spend the entire summer looking after Kagome. He knew that if the boys got to pick first, Kouga would choose Ayame since they seemed to be good friends, and Miroku would choose Sango. Choosing Sango or Ayame as a partner would defiantly be out because he didn't like Ayame and Miroku really liked Sango. Even thought Inuyasha objected he still couldn't do that to his friend. So the boys picking first would only end bad. He moved on.

If the girls picked first, Ayame's pretty much made it clear that Kouga was off limits. When it came to whom Sango and Kagome would choose, it was easy. They would choose Miroku. Kagome hated Inuyasha just as much as Inuyasha hated Kagome. And Sango, assuming that Kagome spent some time ranting about him, would quickly look over Inuyasha and settle with Miroku, despite his hands. His only hope was that Kagome would be able to pick before Sango, and that she chose Miroku. Like she would choose anyone else.

Scene Change

Yards away from where Inuyasha sat, brooding about partners, the girls were happily chatting away in the confines of their cabin.

"Okay, if we're able to choose our partners, you have to let me get Kouga." Ayame pleaded.

"'Kay." Sango said without looking up from the book she was reading.

"I really don't care who I end up with, as long as it's not Inuyasha." Kagome grumbled. "That would mean I'd be with Miroku." She said after a while.

This, Sango looked up from her magazine for. "Be careful. He's a pervert." Kagome shot her a questioning look. Sango huffed at the memory. "Before you read off the cabin members, he groped me."

Shock registered on Kagome and Ayame's faces.

"And here I thought he was the nice one." Kagome muttered.

Ayame fell back on her bed, laughing. "Well, it looks like I'm the only one with a good partner!"

"Speaking of which," Sango crossed the room over to where Ayame was sitting. "How are things with him?"

Ayame sighed. "Oh, as dense as usual. He still hasn't realized his unconditional love for me." She said, blissfully.

Ever since Ayame and Kouga were kids, Ayame has had a huge crush on him. She always spent more time with him than her other friends and because of that, she's lost a lot of friends that way.

It was in their third year of junior high that Kagome transferred to Ayame and Kouga's school. After Kouga's first look at Kagome, he decided that he loved her and proclaimed her his woman. And because of that, Ayame swore that Kagome would be her enemy. And then…Well a lot of things happened but Ayame finally saw what kind of person Kagome was and they've been friends ever since.

Suddenly there was a knock on their door followed by it slamming against the wall. In stalked a woman in her early 20's, chewing gum and clutching a clipboard to her busty chest.

"Hello, my sisters!" the woman sang.

"Hi, Ai." Kagome replied, smiling at the woman.

Kagome's always loved Ai's funky look. Ai dyes her hair magenta and is always wearing long skirts and tunics with bracelets and anklets made of bells and a band around her head. The most interesting fact about Ai was her reluctance to wear shoes. But what Kagome like most about Ai was her spiritual attitude. She always spoke in third person and believed in communing with the Earth, spirits, and gods.

"So Ai," Ayame said, crossing over to their consular. "Any news about partners?"

"Mmmmm, Ai's got it all worked out." Ai said in a smooth, relaxed voice. "Ai went up to the boys' consular and won the right of way fair and square. The ladies pick."

Ayame's hand shot up in the air. "Let me pick first!"

Ai raised her arm in Ayame's general direction, granting permission. Kagome smiled at the small sound the bells gave off.

"I pick Kouga!"

"Surprise, surprise." Sango whispered to Kagome. Kagome giggled.

"Who's next?" Ai said to the two remaining girls.

Sango and Kagome looked at each other. They both knew what would happen to the person who chose last….

"I DO!" they both shouted at the same time. Then they began talking over each other, both trying to get Ai's attention.

"Hold it, hold it, hold it." Ai calmly raised up her hands, signaling them to stop. "The gods are telling me who should pick next." She closed her eyes. When she opened them, she looked at Sango. "They tell me it's you." Sango's shoulders slacked in relief. Kagome whipped her head at her friend. "Sango," she warned. "Don't do this."

Sango sent her friend an apologetic look. "Sorry. You know, every woman for herself out here, right?" she turned to look at Ai. "I choose Miroku."

Kagome let out an exasperated growl and flopped down on her bed. She sprawled out and turned over so she was lying on her stomach.

Sango approached her friend. She smiled weakly, though Kagome couldn't see it. "S-sorry! But I'm sure you can handle it!"

"We are no longer friends!" Kagome's voice was muffled a little by her pillow.

Sango laughed nervously. She looked down at her friend. "Isn't it a little hard to breath?"

Slowly Kagome sat up. "Yeah." Kagome stayed quiet for a while. Then…

"Argh! Why do I have to be with him, that jerk!" Kagome slammed her fist in the pillow.

"Who knows why the universe does anything." Ai said in the same relaxed tone. "But don't worry sister. There's a reason the gods paired you with him. Trust me. It's a sign."

"Ai, do you wanna get smacked?" Kagome threatened.

"S-so, Ai! How's college?" Sango jumped in, hoping to avoid a fight.

"Very spiritual. Learning about medicinal herbs and helping the sick an injured can be very rewarding. Last Friday Ai ran into……."

* * *

Scene Change

Inuyasha tossed and turned in his sleeping bag. It's been at least two hours since he went to bed and he couldn't fall asleep. Eventually he shed his sleeping bag and dropped down to the floor, landing with a thump. Making sure that both Kouga and Miroku were asleep, he snuck out the door.

"Dammit." Inuyasha muttered, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "Note to self: Never venture outside wearing nothing but flannel pants." He continued walking down to the docks.

After all the drama at this camp, fighting with Miroku, getting slapped by Kagome, and finding out that he'd have to spent the whole summer with her, the only place that really calmed him down was sitting at the docks.

Something caught his eye. 'What's that?' he asked himself. As he got closer he realized that a person was sitting at the docks. After a minute, he realized who it was.

The full moon's light reflecting off the surface cast a glow on the mysterious person. And in the glow of the moon, he found himself thinking about how the person looked.

'Her eyes are a really deep shade of brown. And in the moonlight they look like they're almost……sparkling.' He cursed himself mentally. 'Dammit, Inuyasha, what are you thinking?! She's a commoner!' Still, he continued to move towards her.

"Hey," he said. Startled, Kagome turned around. Her eyes darkened at the sight of him and she returned her attention back to the lake. Inuyasha continued.

"What are you doing out here?" He tried to make it sound harsh, but he found he really did want to know.

"I could ask you the same thing." She replied.

Inuyasha grunted. "Well, if you must know, I couldn't sleep."

"Really? Huh. Small world." She looked back at him."I couldn't sleep either."

Inuyasha noted the puffiness of her eyes. She'd been crying. "What happened?" in inquired. "Why were you crying?"

"Why do you care?" she snapped.

"I-I don't!" he retorted. "It's just that your eyes were puffy and I just happened to want to know why. Is it a sin to be so curious?" He'd meant it as a rhetorical question, but she answered it anyways.

"It depends on what you're so curious about." She whispered.

A pause followed shortly after. Kagome sighed. "I had a nightmare. It brought back old memories, alright? Memories I thought I forgot. That's why I couldn't sleep." She turned and looked at him again. "What about you?"

Inuyasha was taken aback. After the way he treated her he didn't expect her to confide in him, even if it wasn't much. And now she's asking him a question even though she should be ignoring him. He didn't want this. Without thinking, he just snapped what came to mind. "I don't have to explain my self to you!"

Kagome sighed and stood up. She walked toward him. Inuyasha braced himself for an insult, or a scream, or anything. And yet she continues to surprise him.

"Look; I'm tired and I'd rather not wake up the camp. Can we just save the fighting for tomorrow?" Without waiting for an answer, Kagome stepped around Inuyasha and headed toward her cabin.

As she walked away, Inuyasha noticed that she was wearing a silk tank top and shorts. Inuyasha also noticed that it was the first time he realized what she was wearing. He'd been looking at only her face.

As Kagome walked away, she couldn't help but notice that he wasn't wearing any shirt. And she also couldn't help but notice how strikingly attractive his chest was. A blush crept up to her face. She shook her head but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake thoughts of Inuyasha out of her head.

Unknown to Kagome, Inuyasha also couldn't shake thoughts of her out of his mind.

And unknown to both of them, there were a pair of eyes, watching them both.


Um, can you say stalker? Well all your questions will be answered soon enough.....That is, I hope.

Take care!

Miss Saigon11