Author's Note: Please be advised that this story has totally changed directions from my original intent. It will remain a T rating, but it does deal with heavier issues at hand that will not be described in present detail, but more after-the-fact and the emotion that comes with it. As always, this story has a little piece of me and I hope you respect that. Please look to my profile under Ongoing Stories if you have any worries about it or need to check the warnings I have put into place. There may be some triggers such as: the emotional aspects of physical and mental abuse, alcoholism (not by any main characters) and there may be a fair amount of angst to go with the schmoop. This story will, of course, remain a romance at the heart of it, as always.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

So Now We'll Let the Rain Fall

Chapter Two: Potential

Inuyasha knew that school never got easier – in fact, it was the exact opposite. Kids found their friends, stuck closer to them like lifelines. Teachers cared less or were stricter because they expected more out of you. Homework grew in both size and length, taking over weeknights and weekends, making it almost impossible for the social ones to accomplish top grades and clique status.

None of that was ever a problem for him.

He didn't have friends to worry about leaving behind. He cared probably less about the teachers than the teachers did him, so Inuyasha figured the score could be amicably settled. He did his homework, at night for as long as it took every time. It would give him an excuse to hide away from the drunk in the living room. Inuyasha was strong, he knew this, but the man – the demon – was stronger. Inuyasha merely counted down the days until his birthday.

The only problem with that was the possibility that the turn in age would result in the loss of his friend Kagome.

"You look more morose than usual," Kagome commented dryly, leaning against the brick wall of the building just outside the doors. The first bell had gone off, the second yet to ring. They shared first period – their only class together – and Kagome had always waited for him, ever since grade ten when he finally let her consider them to be more than friendly peers.

"You say that every morning," he replied, witty as usual, smirk dancing on his lips. "Why, what has you in such a good mood?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know. I may have just come to the conclusion that I'm awesome."

Inuyasha nodded. It was going to be one of those days. "And why is that?"

"You've got the job."

Kagome couldn't help but beam, hands automatically grabbing his sides and squeezing. She knew that Inuyasha didn't do hugs. She also knew that he was touch deprived and she never questioned him, or made a deal of, when he would casually lean against her or sit too close to her. It was just…Inuyasha.

"You talked to Kaede already?" Inuyasha sounded shocked, his eyebrows dipping into a slight tilt. "I thought you were going to wait a bit."

Shrugging, she hefted her bag on her shoulder more, going through the door to their Media class and nodding politely at the teacher. She and Inuyasha sat in the back, mostly because Inuyasha had a phobia of the front and their Media teacher didn't really care who sat with whom or where as long as you were quiet when he spoke. "I figured that if you wanted to start sooner and get the forty hours off, you might as well start as soon as possible. I mean, you can do it later," she hurried to add, not wanting to sound controlling. "It's just an option if you want to take it."

She couldn't read the expression on his face, the utter stillness of it completely blank, but she knew Inuyasha and that he needed time more often than not to process. When the half-demon finally came back to himself, finally got a grasp, a small smirk toyed at his lips.

"You're amazing."

And Kagome wanted to melt into a puddle. His golden eyes were trained on her, smiling and open and so vulnerable that it almost hurt to see. The smirk was more restrained but probably only because he wanted to actually smile. That in itself made her happy, because he was happy.

She honestly needed to get a better grip on herself.

Inuyasha looked away, gaze falling to the chalkboard where the teacher was writing something down. The final bell went off and students were pulling out their notebooks and pens. Cell phones were hidden in laps, the occasional sound of a vibrating instrument could be heard. The teacher merely turned around, giving a plain smile before starting lecture.

"So what the hell should I do?" Inuyasha asked. It just dawned on him right now that he had a chance. Kagome had done this for him, had done all of this for him and he couldn't screw it up. He most likely would but he'd try hard not too. Every day he attempted to remove a knot in the rope that tied him to that ever-present anchor. "When do I go? What am I doing?"

Kagome shrugged, smiling a little. "You can come with me tomorrow if you want," she whispered. She looked at the teacher, trying to be the goody-goody he knew she was. "I'm there for four hours tomorrow."

Inuyasha nodded, his eyes trying to catch her gaze but losing it to her engrossment in the lesson at hand. He huffed with disdain but followed suit, only because he needed to pass his courses and move on with his life as soon as possible. Whether Kagome would be in the picture or not… Well he wasn't sure. He wanted her to be, hell did he want her.

The thing about Kagome was that she was too good. She let people take advantage of her. She let people walk all over her, disregarding her feelings for others. It was something that he admired about her at times, something he despised for the rest of it. Like the day of his sentencing, when Kagome was supposed to pick him up. It had been pouring rain all day, buckets of it falling from the dark sky. She had promised to borrow her mom's car and pick him up afterwards. She had promised.

Her mom said no and he travelled for almost two hours to get back home. His foster mother lightly chided him for getting the carpet all wet. His foster father decided chiding was nowhere near enough of a lesson.

Inuyasha ignored the thoughts, the feelings, but it never got him anywhere good. Kagome would've been there if she could and yes, her mom was controlling but…

Who was he to judge?

Kagome never really knew what went on inside Inuyasha's head, no matter how much she wanted to. More often than not he'd be completely out of it, lost in some thought that seemed to haunt him. It was why, for the rest of the school day and the beginning of the next, that Kagome tried her best to keep him optimistic.

Some days she knew it wouldn't work. Those days were usually the days that Inuyasha got into trouble, usually with other students. The demon and human bullies that picked on Inuyasha because he was different made his life difficult, if not impossible. Kagome hated it, hated every part of the stupid hierarchy that high school created. It was a pathetic excuse to gain a title that would never last. It didn't matter that Kagome was resting somewhere that was probably middle-high – she didn't care for it.

When she saw Inuyasha sitting on the bench where he usually waited for her after school with a growing bruise spreading across the right side of his jaw, Kagome couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips. "What happened?"

The moment the words were said she winced, only because she asked that every time and the answer was always the same. A shrug, a bit of a snarl, and Inuyasha would always roll his eyes and stand up to leave. It was why when he didn't move, Kagome got worried.

"Utter crap," Inuyasha muttered darkly under his breath. Kagome could only watch him, see the intensity in his gaze that was focused pointedly across the field. It terrified her that Inuyasha had to deal with this. He sighed before she could think any further. "I truly don't get it."

Kagome took a tiny step towards him, reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder. "Explain it to me then," she murmured, pushing him lightly so that he'd move over for her.

Inuyasha slowly shifted on the bench, lips coming into a thin line. Kagome wanted to touch them, relax them so that he'd stop looking so sad. She knew – not everything but – more than pretty much anyone. He had it hard at home. His foster father was never pleasant to be around with his drunken stupor. It was worse from the kids at school. She wanted to save him, she wanted to help him.

From the look on his face, she couldn't.

He wasn't going to tell her. It was pretty hard every day to remind himself of that. Kagome was always there, so ready and eager to listen. Sometimes the urge to blurt out everything was overwhelming, so much so that he'd purposely walk slower in the halls, take longer in class. He loved Kagome, couldn't get her out of his mind, so it only made sense that he wanted to protect her from the parts of him he hated.

The biggest part was his foster home. His foster mom was nice enough. She genuinely tried to help and be interested in him. His foster father was mostly silent until he found the bottle, in which case the wife hid and Inuyasha was left alone.

He was never alone for too long.

And school? Well it was just the icing on the cake. A lot of people distrusted him because of who he was, the bad boy, the half-demon, the one that no one should associate with. He could have cared less if the fights hadn't started to happen. Kids at school were cruel. Inuyasha knew that. Inuyasha understood it with every fibre of his being. The thing was that he couldn't fight back.

Why? Why wouldn't he fight back when he could easily deck out all the human pansies and probably do some serious damage to their demon friends? One word: Kagome.

Fighting would only cause more tension at his foster home. Generally if there weren't any big scenes, teachers would stay out of it and then there would be no calls to home. No calls to home meant less stress on the people that already seemed to have some doubts about him and those meant he could stay in this crap town, with the crap people and crap livelihood.

But then again, there was Kagome.

He couldn't leave Kagome.

It was why he had worked so hard to save up his money. The moment he turned eighteen, Inuyasha would not only be free of high school, but he could get his own place. He could move out and maybe…just maybe Kagome could come with him. Or maybe she could leave for whatever prestigious university she would undoubtedly go to and he could follow.

"You don't have to tell me," Kagome murmured softly beside him. It interrupted his thoughts, shaking him out of his fantasy world and back into reality. He didn't like reality so much. "I'm here if you need me though. You know that."

Kagome was always there. That was almost the problem.

And most likely the solution.

Nodding, Inuyasha stood up from the bench and held out his hand towards Kagome. "Don't we have an animal shelter to go to?"

"We do," Kagome replied, giving him a small but worried smile. Inuyasha would do anything to take it off her face, to make her realize that he wasn't fragile and that no matter what he would survive.

Because he would, if for no one else but her.

Kagome had to get the car from her house before heading over. Inuyasha waited a block down, despite her numerous protests that he didn't have to. One look from him and Kagome knew that he understood as clear as day.

Sighing, she entered the house. "Momma, I'm getting the keys. I'll be back later okay?"

"Bye sweetie!" her mom yelled from another room, most likely the kitchen.

Kagome hesitated then, staring at the car keys in her hand as she waited by the door. I'm taking Inuyasha with me. He's going to help out there now too. She wanted to tell her mom. She wanted to say the words without any fear of what would happen. Her mother was a good woman, a kind woman. She just…didn't understand Inuyasha. He had a reputation after all – a bad one – and even though Kagome could see past it to the real him, very few others could.

If she told her mom… Would she ever let her go back to volunteer at the animal shelter? Would it kick up a fuss, start a fight? Could she stand the look of disappointment on her mother's face that she associated with someone like him? What about all the questioning that would result, like her drinking habits and her grades. Were they falling? Was she smoking now?

Was it worth it?

It should be.

But in Kagome's head, the doors were already starting to close. Now wasn't the time to tell her mother. One day she would. Today she'd just get into the car and drive away.

Inuyasha was leaning against a stop sign when she pulled up, that distant expression still on his face. It would be her goal to get rid of it, at least for the rest of the day as they hung out together. When he got into the vehicle she drove away, heading for the edge of town where the houses were greater distances from each other and there were more trees than buildings.

"How's your jaw?" Kagome asked, sparing a brief glance in his direction before turning back to the road. Inuyasha looked a bit better but the bruise was on the other side of him and she couldn't see.

The half-demon shrugged, a clawed hand smoothing down his face. "I think it's fine. I'll be healed within the hour for sure."

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

Kagome didn't even have to look at him to know that it was a lie. It didn't matter though. The fact that she could tell was enough for her. "I think Sango will be there tonight too. Do you remember her?"

Nodding, Inuyasha sighed. "Wasn't she in our media class before she switched out?"

"Yeah, I didn't really get the chance to talk to her about that." Kagome put it on the list in her mind to do later. "She's usually there on Wednesdays though."

A comfortable silence fell in the car. Kagome tapped aimlessly on the steering wheel as she drove and Inuyasha leaned back against the seat with his eyes closed. He always looked so tired, no matter how many times he told her he got sufficient sleep. It made her question how truthful he was to her.

Then again, it was Inuyasha. He didn't lie to be mean, more to do things out of what he thought was a form of protection. She didn't like it but it didn't mean she had any control over it.

"Does Kaede know I'm coming?"

"Yeah, I told her," Kagome replied, poking him in the shoulder. "She's going to put you to work you know."

"I figured that was the point," Inuyasha drawled out, smirk coming to his lips. He peeked a golden-coloured eye open, amusement clear on his face. "You couldn't be the muscle. You're about as strong as melted butter."

"I take offence to that," Kagome muttered, glaring at him. "Are you suggesting I'm weak?"

"I'm sorry Superman. You don't need to get your man-tights in a knot." Inuyasha chuckled, shaking his head as he looked out the window. "Thank you Kagome, really."

For what? She wanted to ask the question so bad it almost hurt. Did he want to thank her for getting him the job? For always being there? For making him laugh?

It wasn't like she'd get the answers she was looking for, not when Inuyasha was so tight-lipped about nearly everything. Then again, she figured that eventually he'd wear down and open up to her.

Kagome had to believe that.

When the brick building came into sight, the sign for Animal Shelter in bright colours that seriously needed a new paint job, Kagome let out a huff of breath. "We're here."

"Yeah," Inuyasha mumbled, turning to look at her. His golden eyes were smouldering, so intensely drawing her out that Kagome wondered if maybe – just maybe – he shared the exact same feelings she did. "Yeah we are."

He was only commenting on what she said out loud, but Kagome couldn't help but make the comparison to the one in her head too.

Comments to Acknowledge

LadySparrow: Aw well thank you hun! I'm glad you like the potential it has, I think I do too.

(): I'm glad you think so! Here's another chapter and there will be more on the way!

Frankl's Girl: Here is more! And I promise you'll find out all about that in the next chapter!

(): Oh my goodness there are two of you. Maybe you can be Thing 1 and Thing 2? Anyways, I agree. Cliches are always important once and awhile.

Technicolor: Ah! Well this is the next installment and I promise more on the way. It's another shorter series of mine (in chapter length and possibly story length too) but hopefully none of them end badly.

Mika: Thank you darling! I'm glad you thought so :)

NurNur: Thanks my love! I have and I will!

Mal: Well I hope I don't ruin it then. I usually relate to at least one aspect in every single one of my stories. This one is probably one of the more painful parts. Thanks :)

Chrono81: Aww thanks hun! I have continued it and I definitely will. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Juney-Chan: I am *grins* Aw shucks. Now I'm all embarrassed. I'm going to go have a cookie now. I promise to never stop writing as long as you promise to stay awesome :D

H'oh my goodness. You are all so wonderfully, adorably amazing. Thank you for such lovely, awesome feedback.

As always, feedback is love (partially my crack too, but I'll never admit that).