-1A/N - Our computer system is royally screwed. Our old computer was finally replaced (only took a good few months of persuasion from multiple members of our family) but was replaced with a messed up manager's discount computer. Our dad sent it back to be replaced, and was given a different one. However, that one doesn't recognize the phone lines in our house. And neither does the computer I am currently typing on. So I am most likely uploading this from our school (may it burn and rot in hell) or a friends house (depending on their hospitality.)

Daibakuhatsu Daigaku

Chapter 7

Sweet Smell

Dasunoshi building, Men's Dormitory

9:32 PM

"Jeez, you're heavy…" Kagome grumbled to herself, arm locked around the fully drunk and loopy Inuyasha. Her plan worked all right, but she had forgotten one specific detail of it; how to get him back to his apartment. She had no car, no Syukuchi, no nothing except for the shoes on her feet, which had been abandoned earlier, since heels and hills don't mix.

"Which room is yours?" She asked. Her hangover-hanyo kept feeling heavier and heavier, and soon she was going to either dump him or loose her arm, one of the two. He wasn't exactly helping that much either, considering on their way up to this level he'd been rambling about his favorite fabric softener. When this guy gets drunk, he doesn't fool around.

"Vitch voom is hers? The one with the pretty flamingo on it." Inuyasha threw out his left arm to point in this flamingo's general direction, nearly thwacking Kagome right in the jaw.

"Uh, Inuyasha, that's the elevator we just came out of."

"No!" He yelped in disbelief. "That's an Incubator? Maybe that's why it feels so hot in here. It's sooooooooooooooo hooooooooot in heeeeeere…"

If I'm going to find his place, she thought to herself, setting him down next to some random dorm door. I'd better dump the freaky furball. "Inuyasha?"

"Yep!"He hollered back with a aloof, joyous expression that she swore she'd seen on her cat a dozen times before.

"I need you to stay- Hey, look at me!"

"I am cookin' at'chyou."

"No, you're looking at the remains of your little European outfit in my hand." The upper part of his royalty costume had been used earlier to protect her shoulders from drool when she had been giving him a piggy back ride up to the building. However, not only did the piggy's back break, but the rider had had no problem talking to her in some form of Japanese she knew no living thing had heard since the time of Ainu Dominance. Squatting down in front of him, Kagome waved her hand in front of his face to snag his attention. "Yoo hoo, look at me!" She grabbed the front two straps of his A-shirt and jostled him around a little. "You know, it's Kagome Higurashi, the girl you loath and despise?"

"I don't loathe and despise Kagome Hikurashi! I lover 'er! Oh, oh look, the flamingo knows the Charleston!"

Man, what was in that punch before she put the sake in? Beer maybe? Whatever it was, it was turning his brain to mush. Not that he had much of one in the first place… "…Whatever. Listen, I need you stay here, in this spot, on this ugly patch of carpet, while I try to go and look for your room. Got it?"

He raised his hand up to his forehead and gave a military salute. "Aye-aye, general! (hic)"

That wasn't a very promising response. She stood up and stared at him for a moment, wondering how a man like him, scruffy and generally rude and perverted and all the other stuff on her list of adjectives, could turn into a little fluffy puppy dog that was almost…

…

… cute?

So then she walked off.

"Hey!" she heard her little doggy call. "Where are you going?"

"To find someone who knows where your apartment is, I told you that!"

"Okeydokey!" He waved at her enthusiastically before plopping down on the ground again like a sleeping dog. I brought this little thing into existence for a reason. I turned him into this for a reason. Don't get distracted. She chanted to herself like a mantra.

Kagome turned the corner and, not knowing exactly where to start, randomly knocked on the first door she saw. There was a general clattering of interesting noises before the door opened, sending her face to face with a tall man, hair deep ebony and tied back in a long ponytail. He scratched his head, looking about half asleep before responding. "Sorry, Bankotsu's not in right now, but if you'd like to leave a message…"

"Um, excuse me?" She asked politely. He opened his eyes a bit more to actually look at her closer, then flipping a pair of rimless glasses from his forehead onto his eyes. "Oh, sorry, can I help you?" he yawned.

"Yes, um, I'm looking for Inuyasha Taisho's room, please?"

"Well, that half-breed doesn't live here." He said nonchalantly, taking a deep breath of air and letting it go in a massive rush. "Hey, Jyakotsu!"

"What is it?" She heard a voice call back.

"Someone is out here looking for…" he cringed , slightly shutting the door to keep down the brewing storm. "Inuyasha."

"INUYASHA!?" In less than a moment, the door was kicked back open, and this Bankotsu was effectively squished into the wall. "WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY DARLING INUYASHA!"

Whoa. Get a grip. "Um… I'm looking for his apartment?"

Jyakotsu opened his mouth to answer, before suddenly letting his face drop and shoving his arms across his chest. "Why do you want to know, girlie? I don't want some woman taking my Inuyasha away from me!"

Kagome tried to refrained from laughing. "No, no, I'm just looking for a little…" Think girl, think! What's a good excuse? "… revenge." Ah, there we go.

"What kind of revenge?"

Gulp. She hadn't thought of that possible response. "Uh, w-well…" Hold on, if this guy was so obsessed with Inuyasha, He might just let me get away with this with that answer… "My friends and I are out for revenge at him for personal matters. So, I'm planning to sneak in there and take some pictures of him."

She had his attention. "Oh?" Suddenly, this Jyakotsu was hanging off her every word, squatting down to be at her eye level, blush tinting his cheeks. "What kind of pictures?"

"…his package and etc." She was starting to understand why Ayame got so embarrassed about this subject now.

Jyakotsu jumped up into the air a good five feet screaming like a little girl, with Kagome's eyes proceeding to be the size of rice bowls. Once he came back down from cloud nine, "Listen, I want all the information as to how to get copies of the photos, movie clips, prints, whatever you get of my dear Inuyasha. Price is not a problem at this point."

Video clips. I hadn't thought of that one. "Boy do I wish you were joking."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" She scratched the back of her head, adjusting the strap of her lawyer's brief case on her shoulder. It had been the perfect idea for hiding her digital camera and all of it's little accessories. "Anyway, I kind of need to get into his room before I can get the pictures, so."

"Say no more, I'll show you to it." He said, adjusting his oversized night shirt/dress before shutting the door and walking out into the hallway.

"Oh no, that's okay!" Kagome was beginning to panic. What was going to happen if Jyakotsu saw his crush drunk? What would he do? Scream? Attack her? Him? Kidnapping? Something tells me something might happen that would not be allowed on public broadcasting. "I just need to know the room number, that's all!"

"Really, it's no trouble at all!" Before she could stop him he had already jogged off down the hallway she had just come through and turned the corner.

"W-WAIT!" She sprinted after him, turning the corner to find…

Jyakotsu taking a key down from the top of the door frame that she had left Inuyasha by. The irony.

Hold on. Had left Inuyasha by. Had was past tense. This was present. Where was Inuyasha?

Kagome was suddenly going into a state of panic. She lost him! No, she told him to wait right there on the floor! And he wandered off! That idiot of a dog-boy, what the hell was he thinking!… Well, she thought, biting her nails as Jyakotsu opened the door. He probably wasn't thinking all that well considering he was drunk…

"Here we are! Oh…" Jyakotsu wandered into the room, looking around all of his lovers' items. Especially the one with the plasma screen. "When did he get this? I bet that roommate of his had it, that lucky little brat."

"Lucky to get the T.V. or be roommates with Inuyasha?"

"Both…" Jyakotsu looked around the hallway real quick before zipping back into the dorm room. "I think my little Inu-chan went off to a party tonight, so he shouldn't be coming back till later. Will you watch the hallways while I do a little… searching?…"

She was about to answer no because it was violating one's personal privacy. But then she held her tongue, considering what it was she was here for, and also if he was in there snooping, she might be able to go and quickly find their little white haired doggy boy. "Um, not at all, just don't take too much or he'll get suspicious."

Jyakotsu waved his hand back at her before slowly slipping into her target's room, giggling slightly to himself. "Now where shall I start…?"

The moment he shut the door she bolted. Whoa, that guy was creepy. But right now she had something much more important to be doing. "Inuyasha!" She hissed as loudly as she could without drawing attention to herself. "INUYASHA…!"

She ran down one hallway, frantically looking both ways for her escapee before coming to another and doing the same. If someone found him like this, he might never forgive her (not that she was really looking for forgiveness, in light of what it was that she was attempting to do here, but he would probably react extremely once he got over his hangover in the morning. She didn't have any real desire to meet Buddha early in her life.), or someone else might do something awful to him. This really got her worrying. If it's Jyakotsu, I just imagine he'll never be fully secure with his sexuality again. But if it's one of these other guys…

"Inuyasha!" She called once more. That would be pretty funny though she thought wickedly, jogging down to the end of that hallway and starting down another. Getting pictures of Inuyasha and Jyakotsu like that… I'd get a ton of money from Jya and little Inu would forever shun himself…

But then she stopped. Had she really just thought that? Maybe she'd been hanging out with Rin for too long of time. Or maybe she was starting to take things too far. Besides, all she was here for was a picture or two of his private area or something, and that would be it. What on earth was going on with her, becoming so evil in this plan? Maybe I need a shrink. "Inuyasha!"

"Yeah?"

Kagome flew up into the air and yelped upon hearing his voice right behind her.

"Are'sa you looking for meeee-saaaaa?" he asked, lolling his head from side to side from his spot on the floor. Kagome slowly removed her nails from the wallpaper and slithered down to the ground. "Wh-wh- where have you b-been?"

"I heard Jyakotsu's voice so I run and hided."

For good reason. "I see…" Kagome took a deep breath to compose herself and stood back up. "Now, you wait here and don't move a millimeter unless I come back to get you… or you hear someone else coming, understand?"

"Yessiree!" He said, pressing one of his ears to the wall, getting a look on his face like James Bond. "I'll let you know if I hear any commotion, mon Capitan!"

She nodded affirmatively, a little more lax about leaving him alone this time. Who am I kidding, she thought, running briskly back to his dorm room. He's so brain screwed that he probably can't even operate an elevator, let alone decipher what one is. And I was actually getting a little worried about him and everything…

When she returned, everything in the main room was in it's same place, much to her relief. Jyakotsu walked out of Inuyasha's bedroom with a small, Tupperware box containing an interesting assortment of items that, before she could stop her mouth, she had to ask about. "What'chya got there?"

"Oh just some stuff from his room and drawers. Let's see, a few pairs of boxers, a swimming suit, some briefs, condoms, and stuff like that. Listen," he said, fishing around in his pockets that she didn't know existed. From these pockets he brought out what looked to be some black leather and chains. "Do you think you can try and get him in some pictures with this?"

That stuff before was enough to gross her out. This was pushing it. "I'll… try…" …Not to vomit while I flush them down the toilet. "L-listen, I saw Inuyasha and some other people coming into the building a while ago, so you'd better get going."

"How did you see him if you've been in here the whole time."

Crap, this guy is perceptive. "Uh, I saw it through his roommates window, so get going now!" She said franticly, all but pushing the door opener out of the room. "Hurry, hurry!"

"Okay, okay!" He finally started working with her, jogging back to his dorm room, running over Bankotsu again, tripping over the T.V., and landing on his head as Kagome took hold of the door handle and slammed it shut. She was tempted to use those chains and leather for locking that door up tight, but Kagome knew better. They would be easier to just be dumped into the trash compacter outside the Kichinkyo building.

Slowly she started walking back to his dorm, turning the corner and wandering down the hall till she came to the open door. "Okay," she said to herself quietly. "Time to get to work on setting the stuff for why… I'm here…" Suddenly, she didn't really feel that compelled to go through with this plan. It was rather cruel, wasn't it? Getting photos of someone naked when they were drunk and posting them online?…

…she was sure Rin wouldn't mind if the four them just kept these to themselves anyways. It might take her a while to get her off her own and Ayame's backs to avoid drawing things out, but Rin'd live. Especially since her digital camera was the new kind; where the only limit on video shots was how long the battery lasted. Seriously, why didn't we think of that one?

She opened up her briefcase and pulled out her camera, double checking the battery to see that it was full. She took off the neck strap and made sure to take off the flash appendage -how embarrassing would that be, getting caught taking pictures because of one stupid light bulb?

"Okay, all ready." Setting the camera down on a nearby chair, she made sure to hide it behind a pillow. Kagome put the rest of her camera accessories for later behind the couch, including plugging in a xenon-battery charger with a battery plugged in to be charged behind it. She took a quick double take of the room, making sure everything was in it's right place before turning on her heel and heading out of the room.

She trotted down the hallways for the third time, luckily able to find her dear, little, soon-to-be-model. "Inuyasha, coast is clear."

"Awesomeness…" he said in return, attempting to stand up by clambering up the wall. "Zat Jyakotsu creeps me oooouut…" He instinctively placed his arm around her shoulder for support.

" I can understand why."

"I mean," he started as they began trudging back once again to his dorm room. "I don't mind that the guy is gaaaaay or anything-a-magigy, as long as he'd stop trying to be gay with meeeee."

"You mean you wouldn't mind him being gay if he stopped hitting on you?"

"Exacic- Exacticalllor- exactical-"

"Don't hurt yourself."

They turned the corner to his hallway. "Hey look, daz my door!"

"Yes, and it took Kagome a hells worth to figure that out…" Was she talking to a person or a vegetable?

"Awww, dank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…" And he started humming some random song again. So far he'd covered every last tune from the 2010-2020 decade. The murder her poor ears were bearing…

They slowly crept back into his main room, and after helping him to sit down on the couch Kagome turned around and closed the front door. The handle didn't work all that wonderfully, it appeared, since she had to push it back in a time or two again for it to close fully.

Just then the phone rang, and after only one ring, the message recorder picked it up. "Hey, this is Miroku, just calling to say-" Kagome listened to the message for a bit longer, wondering what the sudden stop was. "… Okiko, stop it, I'm on the phone!"

"Pervert."

"Pervert!"

Kagome suddenly whipped her head around to see Inuyasha looking just as stunned as her. "Hey, you said the same thing as me… JYNX!"

"I unjynx myself."

"Aw, maaaan."

"-Anyway," the man dubbed pervert continued. "Just calling you, Inuyasha, to not expect me tonight… or maybe tomorrow till noon. I'm going to be a little (ahem) busy. Oh, and be good Kagome!"

And the phone went dead. As did Kagome's jaw. W-w-w-w-w-what? W-what di- how did he- when-…

HUH!

"Hey, Miroku remembered your name!" Her little, drugged up doggy said. "It took me forever, but he got it just like that!" Snap of the fingers. "Whoa, he's got goooooood membory."

Unbelievable. Miroku knew she was here? HOW! Was it just a guess? Did he figure it out? Did he figure it all out? As in what she was planning to do? Was this all just a hoax or something! Her brain was starting to go into an adrenaline panic, a hyper mode that was supposed to be used only on rare occasions, not twice within the same hour. Kagome felt her palms bead up with sweat, especially if a sober Inuyasha later heard that message. If that happened, her name would be dead mud. With a capital d.

So, that left only one thing to do. Must kill message.

In a leap rivaling those of super heroes of comic books she had studied about, she landed on the message recorder and hit every last button she could find. It started saying things in computerized language before another button was hit and it had to start saying something else. " You have 3 messa- Volume up- Volume down 1 leve- Pleased to meet yo- internal hard chip- finger print scanner install- messages deleted."

"Ah, that's the one." Her wave of relief, however, was interrupted by a tedious squeaking behind her. Kagome looked over her shoulder, simultaneously placing the message recorder back in it's original place, hoping that the small traces of smoke coming out of it wouldn't be too conspicuous. What she saw could only be called a dear diary moment.

There was Inuyasha, her archrival, as it were, jumping up and down on the couch like a kitten smothered in catnip. Each time he went down he yelled out "Boing!", although after a few jumps the alcohol inflicted it to " Blyoinining!", and later just "Bluh!" Oh, if only she could take out her camera now! This would be perfect!

With the face of an amused parent trying to contain themselves to try and scold their child, Kagome walked up to the intoxicated hanyo and her arms over her chest. "Inuyasha, could you come down here please?"

"Nuh uh!"

"Please?"

"Nope!"

Where was Sango's advice at a time like this? "Now."

"Nothing doing!"

She pointed her finger straight to the ground. "SIT, BOY!"

He slipped on a cushion and landed face first on the ground.

" Inuyasha, you okay?"

He didn't budge at all. Kagome knelt next to him and gently shook his shoulder. "Inuyasha?…"

He suddenly threw his head up in the air, shocking poor Kagome to bits once again. "Whew, that was fun, but that hurt! Did I get a bump-a-dee-bump?"

Once she was able to breath enough to respond, "N-no, no bump."

Kagome helped him stand back up again, and after spending a few minutes reteaching him the basics of walking, Inuyasha was able to stand on his own again. "Hey, I think I got it!"

"Good boy." If I didn't hate him so much already, I'd say he was cute.

Ugh, Kagome, get a grip! She mentally slapped herself. You are here for a purpose, for revenge (and if not revenge, yen). Stay focused! "Hey, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think you'd better wander on back to your room and change into some better clothes? I can only imagine how much longer that outfit will hold up before it falls apart." She asked, slowly inching her way towards the hiding chair.

He looked down at his clothes with a curious look. "Well, maybe you're right. I think the Charleston Flamingo squawked at them earlier."

"Okay then, you go change your clothes."

The moment he turned around to start for his room, Kagome whirled around to search for her camera.

This will be great, she thought, mentally preparing herself for her upcoming debut as a photographer. I'll get those pictures, and maybe video clip or two, Rin'll get off our backs, and I'll have another round at revenge at old… Hold on, where'd the camera go? She was sure that she'd put it right behind that pillow. Maybe it got knocked around in all this ruckus or something.

She slowly moved back the seat cushion, and sure enough, there it was, squished between the cushions, half a chocolate bar (Ewww) and the remains of what appeared to be a remote controller. She double checked that the battery was still in before turning it on, making all of the right settings for her photo shoot. Okay, big guy, here I come.

She stood up and turned around.

To find Inuyasha standing there wearing only air. "Hey, I'm not done yet."

"EIYA!" She whirled around and huddled her hands to her chest. That was way more than what she was asking for. Blush gorged its way up onto her face in cascades as she heard Inuyasha slowly stepping closer. "Kagome, what is ze matter?"

She opened her mouth to try and speak, but the closest thing she could get was a kind of choking/squealing sound that's pitch was barely audible. She had never seen a naked man before; well, not true, considering if you split everyone into men and women, her younger brother qualified as a man. Though not really. But just in that split second she had never felt so embarrassed in her life! It was permanently scorched into her mind, and somehow, all pictures and videos were now permanently out.

"Holy crap, you're choking!" He yelled, and moved around her to perform the Heimlich maneuver. But, considering where this placed his it, as it was so dubbed, that was enough to almost make her choke for real.

"GET OFF!" She screamed, turning around like a wild hurricane and shoving him across the room. It was only after the shove did she realize that she had forgotten to shut her eyes, and therefore, had another image permanently scorched into her brain.

After his crash landing, Kagome fell to the floor, hands covering her eyes. "G-g-g-g-g-go p-put something on for c-c-rying out l-loud!"

Inuyasha looked down at himself, and suddenly realized the dilemma. "Oh, whoops." He then scurried, to the best of his effort anyway, off towards his room, which conveniently was right next to his landing area.

She felt sick to her stomach. Kagome felt bad. Very bad. She felt violated, except it was kind of her own fault, so that feeling wasn't so extreme. But in truth she felt guilty. That she even planned to do any of this. That she let Rin remind Ayame time after time of this same event that she would undoubtedly have to endure too. She just felt…

… pompous… at that, she laughed at herself.

She heard Inuyasha's footsteps once again, and slowly peeked through her clasped hands. And sighed. "Thank goodness you at least know how to dress yourself."

Suddenly, all thoughts of that previous little adventure into the unknown slipped away as he said four little words.

"I don't feel good."

And threw up.

10:57 PM

Kagome listened once again to the gurgle and flush of the toilet, not really looking up from the T.V. screen this time. Not when the American Soap Opera was getting good. "You okay in there, Inuyasha?" She called out, taking another handful of chips and putting them in her paper plate.

"Yeah…" she heard back, and in a few moments more he turned the corner and trudged back into the main room, walking slowly over to the couch and plopping down on it. As Kagome had just discovered, there were apparently three different stages of a drunken hanyo. They were loopy-go-loosey mode, or what she had to endure up until Inuyasha threw up, reversal mode, where all stomach and body contents wanted out of the body the same way they had came in, and the third, for which she was worried most about; hangover. She had a pretty good idea that she should get out of there before that final mode set in, since it was the one before soberness and the inevitable havoc that would be brought with it.

However, she wasn't about to go and leave someone in this state, throwing up every fifteen minutes. So, Kagome handed him the bag of chips, eyes glued to the plasma screen. "What did I miss?"

"Not much," She answered. "Just some new guy talking to Roger, or at least I think his name is Roger." She pointed to the screen towards 'Roger'.

"I thought that was Shaun."

"No, the one over there is Shaun, I think, and- WHOA!"

"WHOA! I don't think his wife is going to be very happy about that!"

"Which one, Roger's or Shaun's?"

"Probably Roger's, since Shaun's just found out about his mistress, so she's already gonna be ticked."

"That's true, though the mistress isn't gonna be too pleased about this either. Oh, there they are." Kagome said, biting into another chip as the two women circled each other like two vultures going after the same carcass."

"I'll never let you have my brother, Suzanne!" She said.

"What do you think Mariah said?" Inuyasha asked.

"All I caught was Suzanne. Maybe she said she's never gonna let her have her husband?"

"Oh come on, it's for one day only. We all know he's good at basketball, so why don't you just let him teach our team for one practice?"

"Something to do with basketball and…"

"One day," he finished. "Maybe Suzanne met him one day while playing basketball?"

"No idea."

"But on his wedding day! Even if it is with another man, it's still a sacred thing!"

"Oh please."

"I didn't pick up anymore words on that go-round. Probably more angry bitch talk." Kagome leaned over and snagged the pillow from earlier, placing it behind her neck for support. "Oh, we're over to Juniper and Malor… What kind of a name is Malor?"

"Italian?"

"You're hiding something, Juniper… what is it that you know about this upcoming basketball game?"

"It's nothing like that-"

"Or is it about your friend… Roger?"

"Oh, she flinched at the name of Roger! Is she in love with him?" Kagome asked to herself.

"Look's like it's over," Inuyasha announced, the screen fading black and the credits turning up not long after. He reached over to the remote and turned off the T.V., scooting back into the cushions of his tan, cloth couch. When his stomach gave a foreboding rumble, Inuyasha curled up around it, turning over and cradling himself on the couch seat. "Ugh…"

" I must say, I really do wonder where your stomach gets all that stuff to spit up." Kagome said randomly, patting him on the back some like she used to for Sota. This usually prevented the vomiting, she had learned. All in how relaxed the person was. "If you don't quit soon I'm thinking an organ or two is going to pop out."

"Oh… hush up…"

Sounds like the normal Inuyasha I loathe and disgust is coming back…

They just sat there for what seemed like an endless eternity, Kagome patting his back to keep down the bile, Inuyasha every now and then cringing at the pain in his abdomen. Once or twice she thought about getting up and looking for some suppressant or medicine to help, but she always went against it, not knowing what all might happen if something like that met a large dose of alcohol. For all she knew, she might find herself having to try and piggyback him over to the local hospital for a stomach pumping if something bad went down. Riding it out was the safest choice at the moment, but it certainly wasn't the easiest.

Inuyasha suddenly got a much more powerful pain in his stomach, like a strong punch getting dealt in and trying to churn around his insides into an inoperable mess. He knew that the effects of the alcohol were beginning to wear off, since he was starting to be able to think more clearly and focus. When he squinted, he could even see the clock above the movie port reading 11:24, before shutting his eyes tightly closed once more.

For a hanyo, having the consumption of stuff like rice wine wasn't much. His liver was much more efficient and handled it differently than a normal human, so it was able to filter it out better. However, Inuyasha knew, mainly from past experiences, that the effects and after effects of such a high dosage were going to be with him for the whole trip. Most likely, he would only remember bits and pieces of tonight in the morning, those bits and pieces probably getting pushed aside by a hell of a hangover.

"Shh…" Inuyasha listened to the soft feminine voice, cooing him like a weeping child. Who… who is that?…

"Shh…" Inuyasha heard again, his back being soothed by continuous, rotation rubbing. "Breath, Inuyasha… if you keep tensing like that you'll only make it worse…"

It's… it's that Kagome Higurashi? What is sh-she doing in here?… His mind was suddenly aching to remember what all had happened this night, which had lead up to him being comforted by his apparent arch rival. Not much was coming out of the old memory banks, considering his brain was still putting on a kaleidoscope of colors every time he shut his eyes. The only thing he could really recollect was seeing a dancing flamingo, and considering he didn't live in a native place of flamingos, Inuyasha suspected this was a little attribute of the sake.

But after listening for a while, he slowly felt himself begin to loosen up, letting his muscles relax to her soothing tone. He kept listening to her voice…her sweet, gentle voice, Kagome gently moving her hand back and forth to coax him to be calm.

Surely something was screwed up here. Wasn't this the same Kagome Higurashi that he had been at war with for the past two months? What the hell happened? Was she drunk too? Nope, not one fowl fume of alcohol was coming from her breath. He doubted that she felt bad for him and was now taking care of him or something. He didn't quite think she had what it took to be a little 'angel' considering what all she had cooked up as revenge.

But right then, he didn't really care. He didn't mind who it was, as long they were calming him down. His torso muscles gave way to her words of calm, letting his head move forward and closer to her. He felt his forehead touch something warm, almost like touching flesh, only there being a barrier of clothing. As he discovered, his entire body was slowly uncurling out onto the couch, not just his head.

Maybe it was because of the alcohol, or that old saying that the way to a man's heart was through his stomach, but as Kagome reached down to continue her rubbing, Inuyasha's hand snatched hers in the middle of the air. He held it firm, in almost a needy way, like what she used to do to her mother when she was feeling ill, and wanted more attention, refusing to let it go until assured of safety.

After a few more moments, Inuyasha was fully sprawled out, his feet overhanging the sofa arms, his head in Kagome's lap. She felt his breathing through the black slacks of her costume, rough and unpredictable, but slowly calming down with each reverberating exhale. Slowly she rolled him over, so his face was to hers, head resting on her legs. "Better?"

"…y-yeah…" he managed, taking a gulp from the dryness of his mouth. Whether the dryness was from his physical stature or emotional, he couldn't tell. But then he got to wondering… what exactly was it that was pulling him out of this alcoholic stupor? Even for a demonic liver it's not this fast… he thought, slowly cracking his eyes open in wonder. As he gazed up at her face Kagome reached down and wiped the few beads of sweat on his forehead, making sure none escaped into his eye. "Well, that's good, I guess. Though in a few hours you'll be back to your normal, grumpy self," She sighed, sitting back into the cushions. "It was nice while it lasted."

"W-what…" He began before clearing his voice, making sure he didn't sound too sober. Never thought I'd being aiming for that in my voice. "W-what was… nice?…"

"Oh, you in drunko-puppy form." She said, picking up the channel/program guide, scrolling through the different shows currently on the telly. "Like this, I might call you cute, if I didn't hate your guts when you're not boozed up."

Oh, that made him feel great. She, this woman who he claimed was beautiful physically, emotionally -as recently proven- and spiritually, thought that he was the equivalent of pond scum. Juuuust peachy. Shoot me now… "Why do you hate me?"

"Well, maybe because you tye-died our room, blew up our microwave, and gave me and Sango a hefty bill for clean up and repair…" He would have made a smart remark, but held his tongue. Mostly because she had more to say, and he didn't want to blow his cover. "But…" she sighed again, putting down the T.V. schedule down nearby and twiddling with his hair. "I suppose we… I kind of deserved it, considering I lashed back each time… but what about that first time? Why'd you go after us in the first place?"

"Simple," he said, closing his eyes before they rolled. "I have to eat with my hands for a good long while now. That first night the cafeteria only had spaghetti, so I decided to give you all the same color of room that had been my hands."

"What are you talking about? You don't have to eat with your hands because of me!"

"You busted my only chopsticks."

So what, like that-" Hold on. Her current events class was starting to come back into mind. "… wait… that's right, the Over-Declaration laws from America…"

"Yep, so for another two years or so I have to wait for my brother to come around and get me some. Usually he gives a pair to me every fourth birthday."

Her sub-coconscious was telling her it was rather suspicious how clear he was speaking and with good memory, but she wasn't listening. "You have a brother?"

"Half-brother, really. He's a jack-ass, but gets a little guilty about leaving his 'poor little half breed brother' every now and then."

"Well, that's dumb."

Huh? Where the hell did she get that from? "Come again?"

"It's stupid." She repeated, staring down into his eyes with pure confidence.

"Mind explaining?"

"Well, I guess that sake hasn't fully worn off you-"

If you only knew.

"Why should he feel guilty about you or anything. You're not really someone to get guilty over." Boy were those words hypocritical.

"Keh, thanks a lot."

"Oh no, that's not what I meant."

"Well you said it, didn't you?"

"Yes, but it came out wrong. I just mean that as far as I can tell, you seem to be rather self-reliant, and getting guilty over you because of your blood is just dumb. It's like how the British used to pity the 'poor, naked savages' of Siam, for example. Or with the Spanish towards the Central Americans who were some of the best scientist and mathematicians of the day… though the Spanish just kind of came and slaughtered them all, so I guess that's different."

"Huh, ya' think?"

"Oh shut up," She somewhat scowled at him, but brushed it off. He doesn't know what he's doing anyway, so what's the harm? "That's what my father made sure to teach me and Sota as we grew up."

Wait, on the computer with old Kaede that day, it said that she only had a mother. "Made? Why not makes sure? You're not exactly an adult yet, you know."

She pressed her hand to his forehead. "Hm… are you beginning to sober up?"

Quick, think of something! And he did. He made a little yipping sound, making sure to never let any other living soul hear that again as long as he lived. But at least it did its purpose; from her face he could tell she still thought he was a drunkard.

"He died a good many years ago. I was only two, and Sota wasn't even born yet."

"Then how does that work out, with you both getting taught by him and-"

"Can we change the subject, eh?" He looked at her face and took deep mental note on it. She wasn't just hiding something. No, this was something much bigger than what he hid about his parent's deaths. As a lost child he knew that well enough.

"No thanks…" He said, yawning quite honestly, his brain shutting down to sleep. As much as he wanted to deny it, he really was tired. Probably because of the sake, he thought. … I wonder… why did I get sober so… fast…

Kagome let out a disgruntled breath of air, watching his heavy eyelids slip down over his irises. He really was something when he was drunk, she'd admit. And not too mention didn't look too bad -Don't think of his package, don't think of his-oh crap! -, but he still was a jerk normally. It's really too bad, I guess…

Inuyasha somewhat rolled over, his face turning in towards her stomach. "You smell nice."

At first, she thought she misheard. That maybe he'd said "I smell mice." But he didn't. He said, in his normal, sober-like self you smell nice. And that was all that was need to push her heart down a dandy little avenue entitled Pulmonary Screeching-dead Halt. "W-w-w-what?"

"You smell nice…" He said again sleepily, taking in another whiff of air. "… that bastard Koga was right. Oh well, can't win 'em all…"

W-w-w-w-w-w-w-hat! She was still trying to get used to compliments from men. And considering this was the second one in her entire lifetime, she still had a way to go. Wha-wha-what did he m-m-mean by that! "Inuyasha," She began. "are you…" Kagome watched his chest rise and fall rhythmically and peacefully, is face without it's usual angry contorts. "…asleep?…"

Well that was one way to end a night; nearly having your heart go into cardiac arrest. Kagome sat there for a little while longer, trying to figure out what on earth it was that that meant. Well, it obviously was a compliment - she wasn't that dense - but where on earth did he pull that one out of.

As she slowly slipped out of the dorm room, locking the door and placing the key back in it's hiding spot, Kagome kept running it over and over again in her head. You smell nice … You smell nice… Oh, boy, what the hell is wrong with me. She thought as the elevator door's closed in front of her. Why is my stomach getting all… fliddery or something. Like butterflies are having a drag race in there.

But it was at that time that she put two and two together.

"Holy crap…" She gasped to herself, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I love him!" (Nope, just kidding! That'd be waay too fast. Let's try that again!)

"Holy crap…" She gasped to herself, covering her mouth with her hand.

Now she understood why his face had kept popping into her head. In a mighty and thunderous yell that almost woke up the dozing hanyo a floor or two above her, Kagome yelled "KOGA! HE MENTIONED AYAME BEFORE WITH KOGA! OH MAN, IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT!" She banged her head against the wall. "AYA IS GOING TO MAIM ME!"

Oh, that was fun.

For those of you who don't know Bankotsu and Jyakotsu, you'd better go get those new manga books. I'm not explaining.

(Side Note- the Intro was done i do believe... two weeks ago. yeah, oi. Our computers are back and up and running, and I plan to get the nest chapter up this weekend.)