Story so far: Kouga confessed his love for Kagome, but Inuyasha was haunting the poor girl's mind. What a dilemma!

Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement intended.


The Accident

"Thanks mom"

Kagome hugged her mother. Her mom was always full of wisdom and helpful advice that Kagome adored.

"You are always welcome, honey"

"By the way mom, our school will be having a spring festival next week. You guys should all come. Hear that Souta? Jii-chan?" Souta, whose eyes were glued on the TV said yes lazily. Grandpa nodded behind the newspaper he was reading.

"Oh yes of course dearest!! We wouldn't miss it for the world! Plus, you are part of the school play, aren't you?"

Kagome sighed. "Yes mom," she said quietly. Souta looked away from the TV show he was watching and sneaked behind Kagome.

"Hey sis, aren't you going to be the…lizard demon of the play?!" Souta said while chuckling. Kagome glared at him.

"Stop making fun of your sister Souta. The lizard demon is a very important role. After all she will get beaten and humiliated in front of the whole school so it takes great courage to play that part," said Mrs. Higurashi said with all sincerity. However, she only made Souta laugh harder.

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement mom," said Kagome with sarcasm in her voice.

"Hahahaha! Gods sis, don't worry I'm gonna cheer for you. You're doing a fine job lizard youkai! Hahahaha!" Souta was hugging his swelling belly. His laughter rang all around the shrine.

Kagome threw a newspaper bundle at her brother, who dodged it skillfully. "You…are so dead!" The siblings chased each other around the shrine and wrestled while laughing.

"Sis, enough! I'll be scarred forever!" Souta was giggling like a mad man. Even he couldn't handle the 'tickle technique'.

"Serves you right!"

After dinner, Kagome went to her bedroom and instantly collapsed on her bed. Her eyes wandered around her room and landed on the bouquet that Kouga had given her at school today. What a way to end the week…Again, she sighed heavily.

"If only Inuyasha was as open as Kouga…" Kagome's thoughts trailed off. "I shouldn't be worried about this sort of thing. After all, I'm the lizard demon of the play. I should be worried about that!"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The following Monday morning…

"Good morning Sango!"

"What's up Kagome?" Sango was holding a different weapon instead of her hiraikotsu. It was an axe-like weapon with chains. Kagome flinched at the sight of it.

"Sango, our school has a spring festival tomorrow and I want you to come!"

"Wow! Up until the last day before spring break, Shikon High still has activities," Sango said while winding the chains of her weapon around the axe.

"I know! I really need you to come so you can cheer me up after I mess up as the lizard demon," Kagome said.

Sango chuckled but thought twice. "Well…I kinda planned to practice my new weapon after school tomorrow…"

"Oh come on, Sango, please! For me?!" Kagome pleaded with a cutesy pout.

Sango was defeated. "Anything for my friend!" Kagome did a happy dance.

As soon as Kagome reached her school, she knew that it would be a long day. It was the last day of preparations for the festival and the whole theatre club would surely be stressful. Her class also had to set up a game booth since all the second year students were assigned to host the games. The only thing Kagome was thankful for was not having any extra-math help sessions this week. After all, there were only two days left and tomorrow's the last day.

Plus, Kagome had an extra burden. She had to deal with Kouga who was madly waiting for her response. She was walking to the main doors of the school when she was stopped by someone.

"Inuyasha? You're early today."

"Yeah I know that. Can we talk?"

'Did he come here early to wait for me?' Kagome thought. She followed Inuyasha who was walking towards the teacher's parking lot. They sat on a bench that was in a completely isolated corner.

'Why isn't he talking?' Inuyasha had been awfully silent for awhile.

"So, Inuyasha, what did you wa-"

"Do you like Kouga?"

"Pardon"

"You heard me."

"Well, I'm not really sure what to say to him…"

"Do you like him or not?"

"He's been nice to me but I -"

"Just answer the FUCKING QUESTION! YES OR NO?!"

"YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOUT AT ME!"

Inuyasha stood and leaned on a post, his hands in his pocket. He was trying to avoid eye contact with Kagome.

"Why do you even want to know?" Inuyasha did not answer.

"It's not like it's your business or anything but," Kagome put a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, "I'm not going out with him." With that she stood and was about to walk away, but Inuyasha caught her wrist.

"You're not going out with him…so nothing happened between you two yet?"

Kagome lost it. "OF COURSE NOT I'M NOT THAT EASY!" Inuyasha let go of her and she stomped away from him.

"That Inuyasha, does he think that I did something with Kouga for him to like me? I don't even have my first kiss yet –"

"Kagome!!"

'Uh oh!' Kagome thought. After her confrontation with Inuyasha, she had to face Kouga. Talk about a double whammy!

"Hey! I thought I was going to see you at lunch last Friday but even your friends said they don't know where you've gone to."

"Uhm…" Come on Kagome, LIE! "I…I was resting at the clinic. Yeah! My migraine almost made me faint." 'You're on the roll girl'

"Oh are you alright now? Are you feeling well?"

"Yes…never better!" Kouga sighed with relief.

"Look Kouga, about what you asked me –"

"Oh! Have you decided?" Kouga's eyes shone with hope.

"Uhm…not quite. I think I need some more time to think. Plus, we have a lot of things to do today so –"

"Don't worry about it Kagome," Kouga picked up her hands and held them tight, "I understand. Just let me know when you're ready." A small blush peeked on his cheeks before he walked away.

"I would so have over-fatigue today. God help!"

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

After such a busy day, the theatre club would finally have their final dress rehearsal. Kagome hoped to get home by 7:30 at the most.

'After this, I could finally rest. Also, no signs of Inuyasha and Kouga anywhere! Somebody must still love me in the heavens'. Kagome was almost rejoicing…

…but not for long.

A rushing Yuka approached Kagome and whispered, "Kagome, you better do a good job because Kouga is one of the students who will give final critiques." True enough, Kouga waved at her from the audience.

'Shit!' Kagome mentally killed herself. She went backstage to put on her costume but she accidentally hit someone.

"Sorry, my bad…"

"Wench, is hitting people by accident your habit or what?!" Inuyasha glared at her but it was hard for him to keep his jerk expression straight.

Before she could say something, Inuyasha was shoved to the end of the crowded room and he started carrying a heavy amplifier.

"That jerk! To think that I wanted to dump Kouga for him…such an ass. What is he doing here anyways?!"

"Kagome, get into your lizard demon costume quick!" Shippou shouted. Being the club president and lead actor, he was a hundred times more disturbed than the rest of them.

"Yes Shippou-sempai!" Kagome then rushed to get the smug costume on her with the help of Shiori. Kagome had never seen such a chaos ever in her life before. She turned her head when she heard a familiar name being called.

"Inuyasha, bring the amplifier here," said Bankotsu, the drama club's sound director. Inuyasha then carried an extremely bulky amp and set it down to where Bankotsu wanted it.

Shiori observed that Kagome was distracted and identified the person stealing her attention. She finally zipped the costume in place which caused Kagome to grunt in slight pain due to the snugness.

"He is strong, isn't he?" Kagome looked at Shiori as if she was a complete stranger.

"Who are you talking about?"

"Come on! You've been watching Inuyasha since you bumped into him."

"Oh him…I guess he is strong…but that doesn't change the fact that he is such a snob and an insufferable jerk!"

Shiori smirked at Kagome's denial but she softened her expression a little. "Well I'm pretty sure he's got reasons behind his issues. Actually, I think he's starting to loosen up a bit ever since you came to this school. Almost a year ago, he totally stopped talking to people including his best friends."

Kagome listened intently. It was true that Inuyasha did not sleep in class as often as he did when she first met him, but she could never claim that it was her bringing his spirit back. She was never anything special for Inuyasha. At least, that's what she knows.

"All the staff and prop people, get off the stage! We're about to start!" Shippou shouted as he motioned the people to clear the stage.

"Ok good luck to both of us!" Shiori said happily while gripping Kagome's lizard arms.

"Shit! Just wait a bit more Shippou! I'm not sure if this cable is strong enough to hold this spotlight. It's too big!" Gatenmaru, the light director, shouted.

"Whatever Gatenmaru! You were supposed to have those lights ready for today. The teachers and the student critics are getting impatient!"

"I need to fix this or it may fall! Just give me ten more minutes!"

"We can't wait anymore! Get off the stage now!!"

As soon as the stage was cleared, the curtains closed and the lights were dimmed. Nasuna read the narration and the sound effects began…

The rehearsal really went well. Everyone memorized their lines and Shippou was satisfied with the performances so far. Finally, the actors reached the last scene where in the lizard demon would be defeated. Kagome positioned herself on the stage very slowly (because of the heavy costume she's wearing) and sighed. She noticed Kouga who was scanning over a copy of the script and jotting down random notes that Kagome assumed were comments.

"You will never defeat me little squirrel!" Kagome said as she frantically wiggled her lizard arms.

Shippou delivered his lines, "I am not a squirrel! I am a fox demon and I can get rid of you!!" he pounced on Kagome who easily fell down because of the heavy weight she was carrying. Shippou then started throwing weapons at her for a 'battle scene'. Everything was going as planned when…

"Ahhhh!! All the people backstage shouted when they saw a spark from one of the spot light cables. The audience also noticed smoke coming out of the enormous spotlight. Gatenmaru knew what was wrong and began to panic.

"GET OUT OF THERE IT'S GONNA FALL!!"

Just then, Kagome realized that she was directly underneath the spotlight. She tried to wiggle but it was impossible for her to stand and her costume immobilized her.

"HELP!!"

Kouga sat up from his seat, "KAGOME!!"

CRASH!! KABOOM!! WRACKKK!!

Smoke covered the entire stage…

"KAGOME!!" Everyone rushed to the spot where she laid thinking that she couldn't possibly survive that hit. When the smoke dispersed, everyone gasped at the same time.

There was Kagome…with Inuyasha on top of her…and their lips were fused together…

Kouga's eyes twitched at what he saw. "Kagome?!" he called to her in what seemed like a whisper. Kagome was called up to reality and she realized the position she was in.

"KYAAA!!" She shouted and smacked Inuyasha off of her. The poor guys head hit the spotlight that fell just about three inches away from their bodies

"ARGH!!" Inuyasha was still.

Kagome realized what she had done and instantly scampered up (although her costume weighed almost twice as her) to Inuyasha's side.

"OH MY GOD Inuyasha!! I'm so sorry are you ok?!"

Inuyasha looked up and met Kagome's concern-filled gaze. He smiled a little and said, "I'll live. How about you, are you ok?"

"Yes I'm fine" Kagome's voice was so soft and gentle that Kouga who was witnessing the whole incident felt awkward about the situation. He slowly stepped back and went out of the gym.

"IS ANYONE HURT?" Shippou squealed. Apparently, he managed to jump off the stage before the spotlight hit the ground. He scampered in a corner and was only able to calm himself five minutes after everyone did. Noticing that no one was seriously hurt, he continued.

"Uhhmmm…I think that's enough rehearsal for today. We could all probably meet again tomorrow for final polishing. Good night everyone. GATENMARU COME HERE!!" Shippou went on with his stressful rage as everybody else began to leave. Bankotsu and the other guys helped Inuyasha up, who straightened his shirt as if nothing happened. Kagome, however, caught a glimpse of a cut on his left eyebrow. When she finally got out of her costume, she ran to catch Inuyasha who was already heading out of the gymnasium.

"Inuyasha, wait up!!"

Inuyasha stopped and turned to see Kagome panting from the short sprint. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes! You have a cut and it's still bleeding. We have to treat it –"

"Don't worry about it. I'll fix it up at home."

"No! Come with me!" with that, Kagome dragged Inuyasha to the school clinic that was surprisingly not locked.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Really, you don't have to worry about the cut. It'll heal." Inuyasha said as the frantic Kagome searched the nurse's cabinets for a first aid kit. When she finally found it, she sat beside Inuyasha and began dabbing cotton balls on his wound. She did not say a word but she tried not to have eye contact with her patient.

"Listen –"they both said at the same time. They both grinned and Kagome went first.

"I want to thank you…for saving me…again…"

Inuyasha smiled. "Looks like you have a habit of getting into trouble." He chuckled in a cute and cheerful way.

"And you have a thing for being my rescuer. What were you doing there anyway?"

"I got a detention by Mr. Taisho. He ran out of worksheets to make me do so he told me to help out with the drama club."

"Geez…he gave you detention on the second to the last day of school. Why does he always pick on you anyway?!"

"I don't know…maybe the fact that I constantly annoy him or just us being related –"

Kagome stopped from cleaning Inuyasha's cut and said, "You're related to Mr. Taisho?!"

"Not just related, he is my half-brother," Inuyasha said indifferently.

"WHAT?! Now that's a shocker…How can you two be half brothers?"

"Same father, different mothers…I use my mom's last name so no one figured it out. It doesn't matter to me anyway. Sesshoumaru is an asshole."

Kagome chuckled. They did not start another conversation until Inuyasha broke the silence.

"Kagome, I'm sorry…" She looked him in the eye with a questioning look.

"What for?"

"You know, about what happened…"

"You mean about this morning? Don't worry about it. You saved me anyway so I can let it slide."

Inuyasha looked uneasy. "Well, I'm sorry about that too but I'm talking about…the kiss"

Kagome dropped the alcohol bottle that she was holding. She couldn't look at Inuyasha directly. She couldn't say she doesn't mind. Her first kiss was taken after all. However, she was a little sad that the kiss was only an accident and not something Inuyasha really wanted to do…a part of her wanted him to do that…

Kagome couldn't believe her thoughts 'woah! woah! I do not like Inuyasha! Why did I even think of that?'

"Uhm Kagome, I said I was sorry" Inuyasha also looked away.

"UHHH…." Kagome shifted her tone into an obviously fake cheerful voice, "That's ok…I know you didn't mean it…"

"No it's not that! I just…thought that…you would get offended."

"You mean, it wasn't just an accident?"

"I…uhhh…I'm sorry"

Kagome's face blushed furiously red. The almost abandoned clinic felt as if it was cramped with a thousand people. She could swear that she felt smoke coming out of her ears.

"You…actually…meant to kiss me?"

For the first time, Inuyasha looked straight into Kagome's eyes. He didn't know what he saw in them. A glimmer of hope, happiness…love? but definitely not disgust for him.

Could it be that Kagome had feelings for him too?


Author's Note: Took me a bit longer to update…Don't forget to submit a review guys!! Take care and remember…you are all beautiful!!

By the way, for my next chapter entitled "Trapped in a Duel" I'll have Kouga and Inuyasha compete in a showdown to impress Kagome...but I'm kinda stuck so PLEASE...anyone can leave SUGGESTIONS!! I need ideas for the possible contests/events...for example: sushi-eating contest or...obstacle course whatever!! just make sure that they fit in a high school festival setting, ok?! this can also be a manipulative way of saying REVIEW!!