Man, am I tired. Finals week is FINALLY over. This story is getting to me more and more. There are times where I just want to throw it out the window and cut right to the juicy stuff, but no... I will not give in!! I read this chapter over five times. This was the best I could fix it. ENJOY

r&r?

And of course I forget to mention something...two somethings...1. NEW STORY! Telling Secrets to Strangers. I might post it in a few days. It'll be updated ever so slowly so I can focus on finishing this one. 2. I just got an account thingy on A Single Spark. (yes, I conformed. -.-) Pen name is the same, go ahead and look for me. You know you want to.


"Why didn't you tell me Miroku saw Inuyasha at trials?"

Sango went red and looked down.

"Kagome… I didn't want to say anything that might hurt you."

Let the drama begin!


"He what?!"

"Kagome! Calm down. We're still in the tea house."

Kagome growled and stood up, knocking the chair over behind her.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" she shouted, slamming clenched fists onto the tabletop.

"Because we weren't sure! That Kikyo girl is weird."

She pressed her hands over her ears, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo! What does she have that I don't?!"

"Kagome, nothing is even certain. You're probably just overreacting over nothing." Sango went up and placed her arms around frantic girl, trying desperately to prevent her from causing a scene. "Besides, the way he acts around you, you'd think he was a lovesick puppy."

Kagome looked around at the other customers staring at her and realized she had indeed began to cause a little scene. "Maybe you're right…" she said, her voice lowered.

Sango smiled and took her by the arm, leading her outside.

"Can you at least tell me what you saw?"

She thought for a moment. "You have to promise you wont overreact, okay?"

"I promise." It sounded more like she just wanted Sango to hurry up, though.

She sighed, "Well, at last week's practice, all the teams met up, and Kikyo was around Inuyasha as usual."

She paused to look at Kagome, looking for some kind of signal to continue, but the girl's expression told her to hurry up.

"Anyway, everyone was on a break… so Kikyo saw it as her opportunity to go up and seduce him. Of course he's just plain stupid and blind to any kind of advances and he'll never- "

"Sango!" Kagome shouted. She was going off on a tangent.

"Sorry." she replied. "So… uh… yeah! Kikyo went up and started talking with him and you know, did all the things girls do to get guys attention... like playing with their hair, giggling at nothing… so she grabbed his hand and, well, he started a thumb war."

'That was OUR game.' Kagome's mind hissed.

"But at the end of the day... he gave her a big hug annnnd… shekindofkissedhischeek." she made sure she said that last part fast in hopes Kagome wouldn't catch it. Whether or not she did, Sango wasn't sure.

"I see…" she replied. Her voice held no emotion. "Thank you, Sango."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. We'd know if they were dating, wouldn't we?"

"Yeah… I guess you're right."

Kagome smiled and said good-bye to Sango, wanting nothing more than to go home and take a nap. A nice week long nap... with maybe a little bit of help from a vodka bottle.

"…he didn't even mention Kikyo…" she mumbled sourly to herself. She continued sulking to herself keeping an even pace with each step she took.

It was nearly noon, but the days were getting much colder. In a week or so, it would begin to snow. A gust of wind blew past her, sending shivers up her spine. Unfortunately, she made the mistake of wearing a small blue mini skirt with a tiny yellow hoodie that morning. None were a match for the weather she was experiencing at that moment.

"Hey! Kagome!" a boyish voice called from behind her.

She spun around to see a rather attractive guy with long black hair tied up in a ponytail and vibrant blue eyes come running up to greet her.

"Kouga-kun!" she gasped, surprised, "I didn't know you lived near here."

The two were childhood neighbors, but he moved out with his family a few years ago, breaking their month long relationship.

He finally caught up to her. "Hey Kagome! How's my woman?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I'm fine, but I'm not your 'woman,' Kouga, remember?" she said, pushing him away.

"Right. Sorry."

"Its okay. What brings you back to Tokyo?"

"I just came to visit for the day. You know, Nagoya isn't that far away."

"That's great!"

Another gust of wind blew past, causing Kagome to shiver even more. Kouga noticed this and placed the jacket he was wearing over her shoulders.

She looked up at him. "Thanks Kouga."

"No prob. But you really should get some new clothes." he told her, looking over her body. She was so perfect.

"Um… yeah. I was going to get around to that before Christmas." she told him, trying to cover herself.

He had an idea.

"Why don't you come back with me to Nagoya today? We can go to that new underground mall. I think its called Oasis 21. They have a lot of cool things there."

That offer was too good to refuse. Kagome had always wanted to visit that mall ever since she heard so many good things about it, but going there with Kouga would have been too weird. Going out with him was like agreeing to get married then and there, and she didn't want to get romantically involved with him… again.

She shook her head. "Sorry, Kouga. I'd love to go, but I have a whole lot of work to do at home. Maybe we can go next week?" 'Heh heh. Kagome you dirty liar.'

He smiled. "Alright then. But I'll hold you to that."

'Damn.'

He gave her one last hug before giving her his phone number and walking off.

She watched him from behind as he made his way down the block. Just as he was about to turn the corner, she suddenly remembered she still had his jacket over her shoulders.

"Hey Kouga!" she called, "Your jacket!"

"Keep it!" she heard him yell before disappearing.

"Umm… ok."

'Kougas a good friend,' she thought to herself as she continued to walk down the street, 'but he's too weird. I'd date him in a heartbeat if he didn't always try to claim ownership on me…'

She continued walking with these thoughts running through her mind for another half hour until she realized she was nowhere near home.

"Huh?" she said to herself, looking up. "Where am I?"

The scenery around her was no longer the familiar buildings and street signs of the city, but instead a small road surrounded by trails of sakura trees. Unfortunately it was also starting to snow.

'Greeeeat,' she thought, 'all I need now is a car to come speeding by to splash ice cold water on me while I wander around aimlessly to try and find my way home!'

Of course, two seconds later, a small, black, Jaguar came speeding by, hitting a puddle that seemed to be strategically placed right next to her, splashing her from head to toe.

She screamed in frustration. "Watch where you're fucking going you fucking moron!"

The car quickly stopped and sped in reverse towards her.

'Crap.' She closed her eyes tight, thinking it would somehow make her disappear. 'Crap, crap, crap, crap...'

"Who's the moron now?" a silky voice mused.

She peeked through one of her eyes to see where the voice was coming from before her face burned red from embarrassment.

"Sesshoumaru?!" she jumped back.

He was smirking at her.

"I- I… Damnit, I'm so sorry!"

He chuckled, taking in the sight before him. Her slender body in that small skirt, tiny hairs standing on end, her hard nipples barely visible through that thin sweater… she was perfect.

"Get in the car, Kagome." he told her, unlocking the door.

"You aren't going to hurt me?"

"Of course not. I can tell by the way you look, you've had a hard day… and I have a nice warm blanket and heater… in… here…." His eyebrow shifted.

He had her at 'warm.' Not even a full second passed when he heard the car door slam shut and saw Kagome grabbing a blue fleece blanket from the backseat.

Wrapping it around her body, she looked up at him. "Well?"

He was just staring at her. "Comfy?"

"Very."

"Good. Lets go." He put the car in gear and sped off down the road towards his father's mansion.

After several moments of silence, he spoke up.

"So, who was that guy?"

She snapped her gaze from out the passenger's window to his face, which was staring intently at the road ahead.

"Wh-what guy?"

"Kagome."

She looked down and blushed. "You have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Alright."

"You promise?!"

"Yes, I promise." he said, annoyed and almost regretting he asked.

"His name is Kouga." she said.

"Alright. I promise I'll never tell anyone you know a guy named Kouga… and from the way he looked, its probably a good idea." he smirked.

"Sesshoumaru! You didn't let me finish."

"Gees, Kagome. This must be serious. You know I'm only joking."

She looked back down. "Yeah… I know…how long were you watching anyway?"

"Long enough to pass by to get something from my office and still see you with him as I left to go buy groceries." He never took his eyes off from the road.

She was silent, deciding whether or not she should continue. His tone sounded so mad and hurt. Saying something wrong was the last thing she wanted to do to him.

"He… he was my first boyfriend."

Sesshoumaru felt something tug at his chest when she said that, but said nothing. He nodded for her to continue.

"Umm… it wasn't a very good relationship. He always went off and did his own thing and pretty much ignored me until he felt the need to makeout. I let him do that for about a week before I decided I didn't want that anymore… but I spent a month trying to figure out the best way to end it... Pathetic, huh?" she scoffed.

"Not at all. You were just scared. I wouldn't even consider that a real relationship."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Really. So how did you end it?"

"His family decided to move to Nagoya, so it ended there."

"And no one knows about him?"

She shook her head. "They've only heard of him. No one knew he was my boyfriend, though… Except you now. As far as they know, I've been single my whole life."

"Even Inuyasha?"

She nodded.

"I see… so why tell me?"

"I don't know." she shrugged. She honestly didn't. "I just feel like I can trust you."

He nodded.

The rest of the drive was silent. Sesshoumaru knew Kagome was hiding something else. A little run in with an ex would not have made her that mad, and he intended to find out what it was that did. He pulled up to the driveway and turned off the engine.

"Come on inside," he told her. "I can get you some dry clothes and you can help me load a few of Rin's belonging's in here."

She nodded. "Is Inuyasha there?"

"No." he replied immedieately. "He left for the competition already."

That was only partially true. Inuyasha really wasn't there, but he left to go see that annoying Kikyo girl. Sesshoumaru didn't want to tell that to Kagome. He noticed a little pained expression in her face and figured what must have been bugging her.

"Come on, Kagome. Lets get you out of those wet clothes."

She nodded and grabbed his extended hand, helping her out of the car. He led her to his room and handed her a grey t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"I know they're a little big, but its better than nothing."

She smiled at him. "I'd hug you, but... I'm wet." she giggled. 'Haha, I said wet...'

He nodded. "Go ahead and change in my bathroom. I have a feeling Inuyasha left a mess in the other one."

"Thank you." she said, and walked into the bathroom connected to his room, locking the door behind her.

He sighed and sat down on his bed and stared intently at the boxes stacked against the wall. Half of them contained his belongings while the others held Rin's. His whole week was dedicated to checking in on his house and packing, that he didn't have much time to spend with the little girl, let alone think about Kagome's case. As soon as he was settled in his new home, that should all change.

'I'll be out of here by Friday.'

"Sesshoumaru…"

He turned around to see Kagome, now in his clothes, holding a sleeping Rin. The way she held her would have had anyone assume she was the girl's mother. If he had a camera with him, he would have taken a picture of the little scene, capturing the moment forever.

"I found her sleeping in the bathtub."

He smiled and walked over to her, taking Rin out of her arms and placing her on his bed. "Shes always had a strange obsession with sleeping on porcelain surfaces. She does the same thing on the kitchen counter when Jaken prepares her breakfast."

"Has she ever said anything about her parents?" she asked.

"No. They weren't bad parents, she just never saw much of them. All those business trips and stuff. They were just another face to her."

Kagome sat next to the sleeping child and began to stroke her hair. "Does she really think you're her father?"

"That's what she's been calling me lately. I don't mind."

Rin mumbled in her sleep. "Mommy…" She rolled over and grabbed Kagome's arm.

Sesshoumaru chuckled when he saw Kagome's face turn red. "I told you she likes you."

"Y-yeah." She felt her insides flutter when he looked at her.

'What's wrong with me?! Why am I blushing?? I can't like Sesshoumaru... can I?'

He sat next to her on the bed and watched in humor as she pretended to act busy with Rin, combing her hair out of the way or trying to straighten her clothes. It was kind of amusing, in his opinion. His hand brushed slightly against hers and slowly found it's way to rest across her knuckles. Her hand twitched a little, but she didn't pull away or tense up. In fact, she seemed to visibly calm down… as if she were relieved.

"Sesshoumaru…"

He looked down and met her eyes with his. Her mouth slightly twitched.

"I…"

From the other room, they could both hear the front door slam shut, ruining whatever Kagome was about to say.

"Wait there, Kikyo! I need to change my shirt."

Inuyasha came running down the hall and burst into Sesshoumaru's room.

"Hey, Sesshou! I need- Kagome? What are you doing here? …In those clothes??"

Kagome pulled her hand away. "I- I... need to dry... uhh... clothes."

She ran off to the bathroom to retrieve her wet clothing laying on the floor and into the washroom where she slammed the door shut.

'Damnit, damnit, damnit! What the hells wrong with me?!'

She pounded her fists on top of the dryer as it roared with her clothes tumbling around inside.

After a few minutes, she heard Sesshoumaru come knocking on the door. "Kagome, open up. It's me."

She opened the door enough to be able to peek out. Kikyo was giggling while Inuyasha was pushing her out and telling her to shut up. Her view was suddenly blocked by Sesshoumaru's chest.

"Kagome,"

He walked inside and closed the door softly behind him. "Are you okay?"

She couldn't look in his eyes. Her emotions were playing games with her and she didn't know what she might do if she looked at him.

He sighed after several moments and wrapped his arms around her. "He was only giving her a ride." It was a lie. She knew it was a lie. But for some reason it made her feel a little better.

She shuddered before closing her eyes and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know."


She knows what??? ...exactly.

Review if you want. Or tell me something you'd want to see in here... EXCEPT LEMONS. I know you want to see those... I'll get one up eventually. Hell, if you want to write one for me, I'd be more than happy. haha

'til then,
-VG-