I apologize for the long wait and the lull in updates! College and work have been sucking up nearly all my time these days.

Anyways, here's the newest drabble hot off the Microsoft Word press!

Obviously, I do not own InuYasha and company.

Alibi

Kagome slipped out of her house with the pretense of heading off to meet with a study group. Though she felt a small prick of guilt for lying to her mother, the truth was simply too far-fetched even for her to understand.

How could she tell her mother that she'd been sneaking off to a dojo each time she came home? For that matter, how would she go about explaining why she'd suddenly taken an interest in self-defense?

Feeling like a thief, Kagome bounded down the last few steps and just as she thought she was going to get away with it, Souta appeared out of thin air. Kagome gave a startled squeak at his sudden appearance. He was leaning against the low brick wall that ran parallel to the shrine grounds at street level.

"Where ya goin', sis?" he asked casually.

Something in the tone of his voice made Kagome uneasy and her heart sped up a bit. She composed herself and buried her guilty conscience under a smiling facade.

"Well, there's a study group meeting in the library to prepare for a test," she flawlessly delivered her well rehearsed line.

"Oh?" Souta replied. "What subject?"

"Algebra," Kagome answered easily, expecting the question.

"Really? What part of it are you studying in class?" her brother queried.

Uh, oh. Kagome thought.

"Erm, well…" she stumbled and cursed herself for not thinking a little further ahead.

Souta pushed off from the wall with his shoulders and fixed her with a piercing stare.

"You're lying," he stated bluntly.

Before Kagome could get a word in, he moved behind her and gave her backpack an experimental prodding.

"Awfully light textbooks you've got these days," he remarked off-handedly.

When he came to stand in front of her again, he crossed his arms and gave her a very grown-up stern look. Kagome's shoulders sagged and she found she couldn't lift her eyes from the sidewalk.

"Guess I'm busted, huh?" she mumbled sheepishly.

"Only if you don't let me in on it," Souta answered.

His stern frown split into a big grin and his scolding stare dissolved into a sneaky glint of mischief. Kagome found herself grinning in response and she quickly cast a glance around the sidewalk for eavesdroppers. She scanned the area with her miko senses, making sure that a certain hanyou hadn't slipped onto the shrine grounds under her radar. Satisfied that the coast was clear, Kagome spilled her secret to Souta.

"Alright here's the truth: I've been training at the Onikamasu Dojo with a friend of mine," she confessed in an excited whisper. "I've had enough of being the damsel in distress and relying on everyone else to rescue me. I'm tired of being demon bait and I'm sick of being picked on by anything and everyone. So I asked my friend to give me self-defense lessons."

Souta stared in wide-eyed disbelief at his big sister.

"You're learning to fight?" he summarized incredulously.

"Yup!" Kagome confirmed proudly.

Souta merely gaped at her, too stunned to speak for a moment as the gears in his mind whirled madly. After a few moments of heavy silence, Kagome began to fear Souta would rat her out, but then the unexpected happened.

"Aw, man! That's so cool!" he drawled with awe.

Kagome couldn't help the feeling of wonder that flared to life at her brother's unbridled admiration. When was the last time anyone had been amazed by something she'd done? Once the newness of her Feudal Era adventures had worn off, it became apparent that Kagome was little more that a Sacred Jewel detector and Souta couldn't be impressed by any tales she brought home with her. In his eyes, InuYasha was the hero and Kagome was just the clumsy girl who always got into trouble.

Though she never said so, she'd always been a bit jealous of the adoring hero worship that her brother had lavished on InuYasha.

For a moment, all Souta's warm rays of awe-inspired regard were centered on her, his big sister. A light sting of happiness burned in the back of her eyes and she felt overwhelmed with cherished honor. She basked in the glow of this rare moment between siblings and carved the memory into a special place in her memory. In the coming days, when the final confrontation Naraku would loom before her, Kagome would draw courage from this precious moment.

She leaned forward and her expression grew serious.

"This is a big secret, Souta," she cautioned. "Not even InuYasha knows that I'm training at a dojo."

Souta sobered at that and nodded his understanding.

"Don't worry, Kagome. I'll keep your secret," he vowed.

Kagome was humbled by his maturity and simultaneously marveled at how fast he was growing up. She straightened and told him she'd better get gone before InuYasha showed up.

"If he does, I'll cover for you," Souta promised.

Her throat grew tight and she softly murmured, "Thank you."

With that, Kagome turned on her heel and sprinted down the street, her nearly empty book bag bouncing against her back. Even if she had a full load of textbooks stuffed into her backpack instead of work out clothes, Kagome would've felt lighter than air.

Souta was proud of her! If he could find a reason to be, then she would too.

Someday, I'll be proud of myself, too. Kagome vowed.

I hope you've enjoyed this little sibling love drabble.

If any of you have ideas for a drabble that you'd like me to write in this series, I'm open to requests. ^_^