"I hope you aren't taking any of this personally."

She hadn't looked at the caller ID before answering the phone.

"Who is this?"

She'd blindly pressed the green answer button on her screen as soon as the call rolled in.

"It's not you I'm after, really."

She thought it was her mom. She'd been expecting her call, so of course she answered.

"But I sincerely hope you enjoy the gifts I sent as an apology. I know how much you love daisies."

She looked at the small table where a large box of chocolates and nicely wrapped bouquet of yellow daisies sat. She found them outside her door just before she'd gone to yoga this morning. Just before she'd changed her mind and stayed in. Suddenly, daisies were the most repugnant flower she'd ever set eyes on.

"That was... who are you?"

"Just know that none of this is your fault, Kagome."

"I don't understand."

"You're only involved for one specific reason."

"To hurt Inuyasha?"

"Precisely."

A clammy, uncomfortably thick sensation washed over her face, running down her throat and into her chest, a cold sweat dotting her forehead.

"Why?"

There was a breathy chuckle.

"You really should be more concerned about yourself."

"Answer me! Why are you using me to get to Inuyasha?"

"It's much more interesting this way. I like watching people break."

"You're sick."

"I'll see you soon, Kagome."

Three dull beeps in her ear let her know the call had ended.

Kagome stared at her phone in shock, the screen going black as she processed every riddling word just said to her. His voice sounded deeper than she'd initially imagined.

Even though it was just a phone call, she could feel her body wavering, her abdomen leadened and tingly, not a single part of her body holding the right amount of stability. She was scared, unnerved, flummoxed, and overriding all of that was the sudden surge of audacious fury. Kagome dropped her cell on the couch, stomping over to the table to scoop up the unwarranted gifts and toss them in the trashcan as aggressively as possible, the plastic bag losing its grip on the bin and dropping inward.

Who the hell did this guy think he was; calling her, pretending it was nothing but a courtesy, acting as if he was being kind by sending her chocolates and daisies, and giving a cheap explanation? He was scum. Horrible, terrifying, disgusting, worthless scum. What was Kagome supposed to do now? Tell the police? She had no valuable information to give them, and this time he took the liberty of blocking his number. He hadn't given any sort of idea to what "see you soon" meant, and she knew it would only be a waste of everyone's time.

She'd just have to swallow this one on her own.

Kagome paced back and forth in her living room, still donned in the yoga outfit she hadn't bothered to change out of. She'd figured that since she wasn't comfortable going outside today, thanks to the ugly flowers and distasteful candies, she'd just flow with her home practice, but then she'd received the call. Her nerves were flared, her muscles where trembling, an intolerable rush was coursing through her bloodstream causing her to be annoyingly antsy, and there was absolutely no hope of her staying still for more than twelve seconds at a time. Her apartment was suddenly too small and she wanted to go outside for a breath of fresh air, but then the world was too big. She was suffocating inside, and she was blind outside. Everything was a lose-lose, and Kagome wanted to yell, wanted to break something.

But what good would that do?

Why should she have to buy a new lamp just because some conniving creep thought he was cunning? She tried stilling for a moment, taking deep breaths to release at least a little stress, and very slowly she could feel herself coming together again. The cramps in her lungs were beginning to lessen, and her limbs began to feel closer to normal, a little gelatinous like they would after a workout, but better than they did moments ago. She wasn't there yet. She wasn't one-hundred percent okay. Maybe sixty-two percent, but it quickly snapped back down to ten the instant her phone's ringtone blared once more, her head whipping to view the illuminated screen laying on the cushions of her hand-me-down couch.

As if a signal was shot into her brain, Kagome began trembling all over again, an insurmountable amount of thoughts racing through her mind and holding her captive. He's calling again. Jesus Christ, he's calling again! He just called! Why is this happening? Stop calling me! Mom? It's mom. It's just mom. What if he has mom's phone? No, it's mom. It's okay. You're okay. Answer the phone. It's just mom.

She reached for the chiming device, constricting her chest muscles to control her heavy breathing and calm down. Who would have thought that a single attempt at contact, hearing his voice one time, would cause her to be such an inconsolable basket case? Her face was freezing from the dewy sweat glistening her face, some of it drying and tightening against her skin only to be dampened again with a new layer. Kagome lightly pressed her fingers over her sticky flesh, wiping the beads away, wiping away any physical evidence that she was not okay.

"Hi, mama." She'd barely managed to answer the phone before it went to voicemail, putting it on speaker so she wouldn't take the chance of dirtying the screen by pressing it to her ear.

"Hey." It was always easy to hear the smile in her mother's voice, a sense of smooth serenity flowing through. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. How are you? How's work?"

"You don't sound okay, Kagome. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, mom, I'm fine."

"Kagome..."

"I've just had a busier morning than I'd planned. How are you? How's Sota?" She tried again.

"I'm alright. Tired from the nightshifts, but it's nothing your mother can't handle. Sota's keeping his grades up and even seems to have a girlfriend, though he's in the too-cool-to-tell-your-mom stage. You know how that goes. When are you coming home to visit?"

"Soon. I can't wait to tease him for finally getting a girl to look in his direction."

"Kagome." She expected the tone to be more stern for her knock at her little brother, not one of concern. Was she that easy to read?

"Soon, mom. I promise. I just... I have a few things I need to take care of that've had me tied up on the weekends."

"Are you sure you're okay? I haven't heard much from you lately. I can't help but worry."

"I'm perfectly fine, mom. Just... busy."

"Alright. Well, we miss you."

"I miss you too. Tell Sota to use protection."

"Kagome!"

"Love you! Get some rest!"

"I love you too."

"Bye."

There was no way in hell Kagome would tell her mom what was going on. She couldn't take a chance of involving anyone else. If her mother knew, she'd insist she come stay at home until the police caught her stalker, but the creep already knew where her family lived. There was a photo taken of her and her brother the last time she'd gone to visit. This guy had invited himself into her home more than once, so who's to say he wouldn't do the same if she switched locations? There was absolutely no way she'd put her family in danger like that. They didn't need to know. She can't take those chances.

Still, Kagome was fidgeting in place. She needed to get out of her house. The windows had been closed up for too long and the stuffiness was getting to her. Although the conversation was brief, talking to her mom had calmed her down considerably. It was a super power of hers, and thanks to it, she felt stable enough to go outdoors. A quick walk would do her some good.

She didn't bother changing. She didn't want to give herself any time to talk herself out of it. The moment Kagome urged herself to go out for some fresh air, she grabbed her small backpack, something she opted for on the weekends that was easier to lug around than a purse, shoved her phone into the side pocket of it, squeezed her feet into an abused pair of sneakers she wore too often, and marched out the door, triple checking that it was locked like she'd done everyday since the break in.

The weather was substantially nicer than what they'd been enduring lately. The sun was out for the first time in at least two weeks, and she hoped the trace amount of vitamin D on her skin would be enough to lift her spirits. Even just a little. Still, it wasn't particularly warm, and Kagome was glad she never removed her thin, cotton sweatshirt or else she'd look like a shivering mess walking along her path. She didn't know where she was going. She let her feet lead the way. She had no place she needed to be, and no place she necessarily wanted to go. She just wanted everything to stop. For a small gap of time, she wanted absolutely nothing to happen.

Kagome tried keeping her mind busy to prevent it from floating back to the phone call she'd received this morning, and the ever-ominous, second, "see you soon," she'd gotten that held the potential of breaking her down again. She thought about future projects and lesson plans for her students, and thought about her brother going through his hilariously embarrassing, too relatable, teenage angst years, and thought about seeing her mom again, and thought about this funny-by-five-year-old-standards joke Shippo had told yesterday, and thought about some grading she needed to do, and then stopped altogether. She'd walked at least a mile, surprised at how successful she was in distracting herself, never once minding her whereabouts. Which could have also led her to trouble. From where she stood, she was probably asking for just that.

Feudal Knockout Gym

The air was dense, smelling of musty salt. For someone who had left the smothering state of her apartment so that she could breathe, she'd definitely come to the wrong place. In fact, Kagome didn't know why she'd come here at all. She had no business waltzing into the gym Inuyasha frequented, a gym she'd only been to a handful of times before only because he'd brought her along.

Inuyasha ducked, dodging the wrapped fist flying his way, guarding his face before throwing a punch of his own. There was sweat gliding down his forehead and over his brow, about to drip into his eye, and he could only hope the velocity of his kick would track the dangerous bead of salt away, even by a centimeter, just to delay the sting. He nailed his opponent, pushing him back just enough so he could use the wrapping around his knuckles to soak up the sweat, barely blocking his opponents quick moves as he came in swinging. The half demon took the punches as they came, blocking left and right, waiting for the assailant to show a sign of fatigue before making his move. At the first opportunity, Inuyasha punched at his opponent, knowing he'd easily block it, but also knowing the force of his throw would nudge him back, taking advantage of the space to nail him with a spinning heel kick.

As the guy stumbled to the side, Inuyasha caught a familiar scent, the sweet, warm aroma clashing with the stench of the gym that filled his nose, stealing his undivided attention as he turned to face the direction it wafted over from. Before he could say anything, or notice anything significant about her, the crack of knuckles to his face knocked him over, bringing him crashing to the ground.

"Here's a tip: you wouldn't have gotten decked if you kept your eyes on me."

"I didn't ask." Inuyasha grunted, taking the offered hand held out to him and rising to a stand, rubbing out the new ache in his jaw.

"I hope it bruises." He laughed, clapping the half demon on the shoulder before walking away. Inuyasha brushed it off, more concerned with the girl standing in the entrance. Kagome held herself awkwardly, undeniably uncomfortable, her shoulders slouching forward as she loosely wrapped her fingers around the straps of her bag. She was dressed in a grey sweatshirt, a loose t-shirt that used to be two sizes too large for her before she cut it, the new hemline of the thin cotton rolling up to meet her midriff, tight, rosy-colored leggings, and rundown, black sneakers. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail that gently wagged from side to side as she looked back and forth over the gym, every now and then meeting his gaze, but then glancing back over to a banister-draped wall.

On instinct, but with a cool control he forced himself to bring forth, he made his way over to her, stopping with a comfortable gap to mind the distance between them.

"What's up?"

Kagome took a deep breath, almost like she wasn't prepared for the question in the first place, her chest rising from the deep inhalation, lips twitching upward as she tried to force them into a prepared smile. "I-I... uh... I... wow, I'm sorry..." She said, chagrined, a pink hue tinting her cheeks as she looked away from him, chewing her bottom lip before trying to speak again. "I don't know what I'm... I-I...I think I just need to punch something."

Inuyasha could feel the twisted expression he wore, obviously worried. A dominant part of him wanted to press her into telling him what was wrong, because clearly something was, but shaking the truth out of her wouldn't get him what he wanted. There was no use in trying to talk about it right now. With the way she was fumbling over her words, her train of thought appearing scattered, if he even tried asking what was wrong there was a high chance that she'd snap. Instead, he stepped back, keeping up that control he couldn't help but be proud of himself for maintaining, holding his hand out to point her in the direction of the nearest punching bag. She gave a feeble smile, toeing her shoes off before stepping on the large blue mat and walking over to the thick, black punching bag weighted with water.

He glanced over at his gym buddy who was watching curiously as he packed his bag. It was quiet, mostly because classes didn't start until the evening on Saturdays. Surprisingly, mid-morning was the best time to fit in some peaceful and efficient practice with maybe a couple other people doing their own thing on the side. Until Kagome showed up, it was only the two of them. He gave a nod toward the door, hoping his friend would catch the hint, and thankfully he wasn't the prying type. He quickly finished shoving his shit into his duffle bag, zipped it up, and walked out.

Inuyasha looked back over to Kagome. She'd propped her small backpack against the wall nearby, standing idly in front of the bag, staring at it with weakly-formed fists laying at her sides. The air about her was heavy and tightly-wound. Something was wringing her dry, thieving away her positive and alluring energy, and she was doing a balancing act just trying to keep herself together. But what the hell was he supposed to do about it? She'd told him she wants nothing to do with him. She doesn't want his help, yet here she was stumbling into his gym looking thirty seconds away from a mental breakdown. He was jammed between a rock and a hard place. If he helped, or tried helping, there was a good chance she'd probably tell him to fuck off and mind his business. If he left her alone when she really needed him, she would probably tell him to fuck off for being an asshole.

He could handle mysteries. He could handle puzzles and riddles, algorithms and horribly long, tedious criminal cases that involved their psychologist having to come in and break everything down bit-by-bit, but by god, he struggled with the full spectrum of human emotions. More particularly, female emotions. Even more specifically, Kagome's emotions. So what was the right move here?

He was staring, she could feel it. No matter how hard she tried to ignore him, she was hyperaware of the sensation of those ember irises boring into her. The more he waited for her to do something, the more anxious she became. The last thing she needed was him witnessing her flimsy strikes against a bag that would probably end up inflicting more damage on her than she could ever do. With the pressure already resting on her shoulders, and the additional weight she'd just piled on top thanks to her dumb instincts and horrible speaking performance, she was feeling considerably more self conscious than normal.

"Can you not watch me do this, please?" Kagome asked sheepishly, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, giving her an ambivalent look before walking away to find his own duffel bag. He meagerly distracted himself by toweling off the drying sweat on his forehead, neck, and bare chest, listening to her fists smacking the material of the punching bag as he pulled a black tee over his head, drawing his ponytail through before the hemline could snag it and loosen the messy knot. She kept going, small grunts escaping her throat as she started punching harder and harder, the rough sounds of knuckles against the bag coming quicker as she finally felt comfortable incorporating her left hand. He could tell she wasn't hitting right. He knew her. He always had to remind her how to do it, and the harder she went, the more likely she was to get hurt.

"Hey, I'm not watching or anything, but keep your wrists tight. Like I taught you." He said before taking a swig of water from his bottle.

Kagome looked over, making sure Inuyasha was telling the truth, reassured that he was only figuratively looking out for her. She adjusted her fists, rolling them out real quick and then flexing the muscles to hold them straight like he'd shown her several times over, her punches coming much more solid.

It didn't take long for her to start imagining the bag was her stalker, punching him hard right in the gut. It wasn't good enough, though. Without a face, a body, a build, anything other than his deep, raspy voice to go off of, the fires in her stomach remained raging. So, she imagined the guy that paid a visit while she got coffee, and threw her fist right at his arrogant smile. Still not sufficient. He was the go-between, the delivery boy, but he wasn't the one that taunted her on the phone this morning. He obviously wasn't the mastermind to all of this; he just so happened to carry out the mastermind's orders. Even so, imagining him didn't feel half as good as she thought it would. What the hell was it gonna take? Kagome punched harder and harder, her throat burning from the ragged cries her body gave to provide more force. Her knuckles were stinging, but she kept pushing. Her biceps and shoulders were fatigued, but she continued to hit as violently as she could muster. She was exhausted and scared and hunted and alone. It was her fault. It was entirely her fault. She refused to bring any of her friends and family into the mix, and she pushed away the one person that could, and even wanted to help. She isolated herself, let her pride call the shots, threw a temper tantrum, and still had the impertinence to imagine the punching bag was now Inuyasha. Kagome swung one more time, gasping as her middle knuckle slid against the leather, clutching her fist to her chest just as she noticed the half demon standing next to her.

"I'm fine!" She snapped, throwing her hands up and turning away before he could say anything. There was a click in his breath as he stopped himself from speaking and it was enough to topple her barely-held restraint over the edge, so she turned back to him, lost in her reverie, her dark ponytail whipping her cheek from her spin. "No, you know what? Screw you, Inuyasha! I can't believe you'd just leave like that!"

"What the hell are you going on about?" He asked incredulously, trying to bite down the shock of her huffing and puffing before him.

"You always want to play the hero, so why would you throw this golden opportunity in the gutter, huh? Tell me the truth! I can handle it! I'm handling everything else just fine, so lay it on me!"

"Yeah, clearly."

"What ever happened to, "I won't let anyone hurt you, Kagome?"" She deepened her voice, giving her best attempt at mocking the half demon.

"Did something happen!?"

"Stop! You don't get to pretend like you care right now! You left my case!"

"How the hell did-"

"Was it because of what I said!?"

"Kagome!"

"I don't know what to do, Inuyasha!"

"Calming down is the first step!"

"I'm sorry! Is that what you wanted to hear? Because I am!"

He didn't rebuttal that time. Inuyasha dropped his hands to his sides, fists clenched, chest swelled, waiting for her to explain what the fuck was going on since he could sense her self-defeat. Kagome's breathing was labored and her cheeks were a furious red, lips almost the same color from the way she kept pressing them together and biting down on the bottom.

"I know I was out of line. It was wrong of me to treat you the way I did. The way I have been." The tension radiating from her was finally easing, her anger waning, changing, shifting into sadness. No, guilt. Tears lined the brim of her tired eyes, spilling over as she blinked, her fingers gliding through her mess of bangs. "I was a jerk and I said things I shouldn't have. You were right, okay? I was still upset. I didn't expect any of this to happen, though! One minute, everything was fine, the next I've got both you and a stalker in my apartment! My ability to process things was, I don't know, shaken I guess. I know I probably deserve this, but a part of me never considered you'd hand over my case to anyone else."

"Who the fuck told you I did?" Inuyasha asked, a fierce expression on his face, setting his jaw to silence his growl.

"I went to the station the other day and Hojo said you weren't on my case anymore."

"So you just assumed I left it?"

"Well y-"

"You idiot." He grunted, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I didn't willingly leave it! I was kicked off! I'm involved in more ways than one, so our defense attorney said in order to make sure there's a chance of a prosecution at the end of this, we had to do it by the book."

Kagome stared at him, mouth sealing shut as she realized she never wanted to talk ever again, her belly gurgling with the unsettling humility she'd sheathed herself in. He hadn't abandoned her. Using the sleeve of her sweater, she hastily swiped away the tear stains on her cheeks, hoping that if she rubbed hard enough, she'd be able to erase her blowout from ever happening.

"You could have called me if you were that upset. I would have told you." Inuyasha said, crossing his arms over his chest, a subtle roll in his eyes.

"I was... I was mad at you."

"Face it, you still are." He said, holding his palm out so she'd give him her hand, wanting to see the knuckle she kept rubbing.

"No, that's not... I don't want to talk about that." Kagome looked away, unable to fight off her embarrassment, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"Me neither." He scoffed, grabbing her wrist when she didn't give it over, inspecting her reddened skin. Luckily, she didn't hit hard enough to split the delicate flesh, but she'd burned it pretty well. It'd be sensitive, but she'd be fine. "So, are you gonna tell me what happened, or are we gonna stand around in this awkward silence for a little while longer?"

Kagome took back her hand, gently massaging the tender area once more. She was right to assume the punching bag would do more harm than she ever could.

"I don't know... everything just became too much." She replied, giving a minute shrug. "Y'know, it took me two days to get my apartment back in working order, and I had to call out of work for one of those because I had to wash all of my bedding and clothes. Now, this morning, I wake up to gifts outside my door and a phone call from this guy saying he's sorry. Sorry." She chuckled cynically at the last word, too caught up in the audacity of her stalker to notice Inuyasha's stiffened reaction.

"What!?"

"No, it's-" Kagome caught herself, knowing that if she said it wasn't a big deal, Inuyasha would fight her into the cold ground. "There were chocolates and flowers, and I threw them in the garbage."

"He called you? Give me your phone!" Inuyasha ordered.

"It was with a blocked number this time." She turned to kneel in front of her backpack, doing as he said and fishing her phone out.

The hanyou snatched it up, glaring at her recent calls list in an attempt to scare the phone number into appearing. Even if it did, even if the perp hadn't bothered using star-sixty-seven like a little bitch, chances were it was just one of his burn phones. This guy just liked to appear all over the place to throw everyone off. The more you switch it up, the less there is to expect. "What did he say to you?"

"He gave me this cheap apology."

There was more. He could see it in the way she fluttered her lashes and continued to avoid eye contact. She was an awful liar.

"What else?"

She shook her head.

"Kagome, what else did he say?"

She looked up at him, her big, brown eyes riddled with perturbation, loosely wrapping her arms around her front. The discomfort spilling from her spiked, making it hard for Inuyasha to stand there idly until she was ready to speak. What had this fucker said to her? Something grotesque? A threat? He needed to know and he needed to know now before he lost his shit like she had. What the fuck did he say to make her mentally topple over this way? He opened his mouth to push her once more, his breath halting in his throat as she gave in.

"He said he's only using me to get to you." She said, her voice timid and small.

"Is that it?"

She nodded.

"Okay." He breathed, slightly relieved, allowing his shoulders to relax and his chest to deflate. He didn't like that the piece of shit was trying to play mind games with Kagome, but he couldn't help but be thankful that it didn't turn out to be anything worse. And in his line of work, he's heard so much worse. Inuyasha didn't blame her for her outrage. He didn't blame her for how exhausted she seemed, or how tiny she tried to make herself appear. The amount of stress she was under was incredible. It was only a matter of time before she broke down.

"Okay?"

"I kind of already figured that out."

"What? How?"

"Intuition. Look, don't worry about the nitty gritty right now." He tried to soften his tone, stepping forward an inch and hovering a hand beside her arm to see if she'd flinch away. She didn't. Instead, she seemed to ease her hold on herself, her fingers unfurling from the cotton of her sleeves. Slowly, gently, he gripped her shoulder, giving a small squeeze of reassurance. "That's my job, not yours. The only thing I need you to do is trust me. Once we have more substantial information, I'll let you know. Otherwise, premature details will only freak you out further."

"But you're off the case. How can you do anything if-"

"I'm helping, I just can't be in the immediate investigation. Everyone's still communicating with me. They let me know you stopped by and what happened. I was going to drop in and check on you, but I wasn't really in the mood to get yelled at." He retracted awkwardly, handing over her cellphone.

"Okay, yeah I kind of blew my top, but in all fairness, you egged me on." She stated, grabbing the phone and dropping it on top of her bag to be forgotten.

"I did not!"

"Can you get your head out of your ass for like twelve seconds and talk to me?" She mocked again, crossing her arms and cocking a brow to mimic his usual stature.

"First of all, you dick, I sound nothing like that."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Second, I said to talk to me. Not call me names and chew me out!"

"You just called me a dick."

"You called me an inconsiderate ass!"

"Maybe so." Kagome shrugged, not bothering to argue that one away. "You were pushing me to do it, though! You told me, and I quote, to get the pent-up aggravation off my chest!"

"You can't say "and I quote" if you're going to change my words around." He huffed.

"Oh my god, Inuyasha! You wanted reciprocation for your efforts, and that's all I had for you! You wanted to talk about a sensitive subject at the worst possible time! What did you expect, pleasantries!?"

"A civil conversation, maybe!" He barked.

"Oh, because you're captain of civility." Kagome responded sarcastically, almost laughing.

"I can be civil!"

"Mhm, like right now?" She smirked, shrugging her brows in a challenging expression. This was the most fun she'd had in weeks. Mostly because she knew she had him backed in a corner.

"What's your point?" Inuyasha asked, stiffening as he bit back his irritability in support of his argument.

"Only that you get all frustrated and pushy when things aren't going your way, and lose all traces of basic manners. Look, I take full responsibility for what I said, but you instigated my temper. There's a time and a place, Inuyasha, and that was not it."

"Maybe so." He echoed, the hint of sarcasm tainting the remark. "Would it have actually made a difference if I brought up the topic at a later opportunity? Because, I don't think it would have."

"You don't know that."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha groaned, shaking his head. "I know you. I fucking fear your temper. No matter what, you were bound to lose it."

"Not necessarily! There probably would have been less pillow throwing!"

Inuyasha inadvertently chuckled, nodding in agreement. She had him there. Kagome was never one for physically offending a person.

"In my meager defense, I wasn't prepared. For any of it; for my apartment to be turned upside down, for a screaming match in the middle of the night, or even to discuss what happened in the first place. It was kind of overwhelming." Kagome shrugged, partially conflicted with the whole matter. On the one hand, she knew she had the right to be upset with Inuyasha. He broke her trust. He'd crossed a line four months ago. On the other, she didn't deserve any sort of defense for what she'd said to him. She'd intended to hurt his ego. In turn, she'd crossed a line four days ago.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Inuyasha brushed off. "Neither was I. Hope you got it all off your chest, because what you need to learn to grasp now is that I'm here. I'm not fucking going anywhere, especially after this, so get used to it. Either we forget about what happened, or we hash it out. Those are our options." He knew he sounded brash, but he also knew he was getting his point across. He wasn't going to leave her.

Not now.

Not ever.

It was never supposed to happen at all. It was one giant clusterfuck of a situation, but at this point in time, he didn't give a damn. As frustrating as she was, as horrible of a fall out as they'd had, he loved Kagome too goddamn much to let her slip away again; to let her deal with this bullshit alone. Even if they never reestablished whatever they used to have, he was fine with that. That wasn't what mattered. Being her friend wasn't even what mattered right now. Everything came second to her well-being.

Eventually, Kagome gave an acknowledging nod, releasing a large sigh as she gave a feeble smile. He knew she wouldn't opt for talking about things right now, and a part of him couldn't help but be grateful. It wasn't necessary. Not at the moment. Her head wasn't on straight, which was more than understandable. While he knew the ins and outs of victimization, she didn't. This was new to her, and obviously she wasn't handling things very well anymore. Hell, she'd hung on longer than he'd expected, though, and credit was definitely due there.

While her skin may be delicate, her mindset and her heart were not. Kagome was tough, and in many ways, much stronger than Inuyasha. She didn't know this, and if he had his way she never would, but not too long ago one affectionate graze from her had him mentally, and almost physically, debilitated for hours. Pigs would fly the day he ever saw Kagome literally swoon the way he pathetically had.

"Look, um..." Inuyasha cleared his throat, clenching his fists to resist the thirst he had to run his fingers through her bangs. "Like I said, don't worry about anything else right now, okay? It's not important. You still need to hit something?" He asked, walking towards a large equipment closet at the other side of the gym.

"That's probably not a good idea with the show I just put on."

"It'll be fine. Catch."

She flinched, barely snagging a small punching pad before it slipped through the crack in her arms, looking up to see him on his way back over with another, similarly sized pad in his grasp. He gave a small chuckle at her clumsiness, taking the object from her as soon as he closed the distance, dropping them both to the floor. Inuyasha began undoing the wraps protecting his knuckles, the long, black material unfurling and reaching the mat.

"Come on." He gestured for her to put her hand out before him, and Kagome mindlessly followed suit, watching as he began to wrap her palm with the black lining in a design that covered both her knuckles and wrist.

"Gross, it's sweaty."

"Deal with it. I didn't bring any extra." Inuyasha murmured, securing the fit before undoing his next hand and wrapping her other one over. "Tight enough, or too tight?"

"No, it's good." She replied, curling and uncurling her fingers to test the padding he'd created.

"Make a fist." He said, waiting for her to show him so he could adjust her thumb and wrists. "Jeez. Every time, Kagome."

"It's been months!" She defended. Inuyasha retrieved the punching pads from the floor, sliding his palm into the gloved portion at the back and securing the strap around his wrist. He handed the other one over to Kagome as she aided him in getting it secured, watching him smack the two circular cushions together before holding them out in front of him.

"Okay, now remember to pivot into your- get in the stance. Come on."

She did as she was told, angling her form with her left hip and shoulder facing Inuyasha, knees slightly bent, bringing her fists up to protect her face. "Pivot my back foot for more force. I remember that much."

"You can remember that, but you can't remember to keep your wrists straight?"

"It's not-"

"Wrists straight, Kagome!"

She quickly adjusted her wrists, guarding her face from his flying, padded hand as he gently swatted her head. "Okay! I'm sorry!"

"Remember the combo?" Inuyasha asked.

"I think so."

"Good. I want you to go until you can't anymore. Aim for the pads, not my face."

"I wouldn't do any damage."

"You've damn near given me a concussion before."

"Hush. You're just a sissy."

"Yeah, yeah. Show me what you got, baby." Inuyasha slapped the pads together once more as he steeled his position, a loud smack bouncing off the walls of the gym.