***Author's note: Hey guys, thanks for the great reviews. This story is coming along quite quickly, if I may say so. It's been a long time since I posted it, but not long since I updated it. Sorry guys if I'm not making any sense. Been up all day, and up all night. I think I got about barely six hours worth of sleep. Here's chapter 7!

Chapter 7

"What do you mean?" he demanded. He couldn't let himself hope.

"What I mean is that she doesn't know if she should forget about it or not. I don't think she wants to," Amaterasu told him, speaking slowly.

"She doesn't want to forget that I almost kissed her?" Inuyasha asked.

Amaterasu sighed. "Isn't that what I just said? I feel like I'm talking to a wall," Amaterasu mumbled.

"Does that mean she...?" Inuyasha asked leaving it open.

"I don't know. She said she'll just forget it. But I don't think she will," Amaterasu said. "There might be a slight chance for you, boy. Maybe next time if you actually kiss her it might work."

"Heh," Inuyasha said. "She'd just slap me and leave."

"Did she pull away when you almost did today?" Amaterasu asked. She answered herself. "I don't think so, sunshine."

"Well she would've after I kissed her!" Inuyasha growled.

Amaterasu sighed. "Fine. I'm trying to help you, but you just want to keep cutting yourself down. If you keep pulling things like today with Kagome, she might start falling for you. I actually think she wanted you to kiss her."

"Like almost kiss her and stuff?" Inuyasha asked.

Amaterasu sighed again. "Keep up with me Inuyasha. Kiss her sometime. Only once though, then act like nothing happened. Like the next time you talk to Kagome, don't act like the almost kiss happened, okay?" Amaterasu told him.

"Okay?" Inuyasha demanded. "She'd know I love her then!"

"No, she won't. She'd just assume it was a caught-in-the-moment thing," Amaterasu stated.

Inuyasha was so confused. He'd never understand girls. "Uh, okay." He figured to just go along with it. He'd just get another confusing explanation from Amaterasu.

"Well, I have to go now," Amaterasu said. "Later."

"Bye," Inuyasha mumbled. Now what was he going to do? He hung up. He looked around the quiet room, then got off his bed he was laying on, and went downstairs to eat lunch. The rest of his day was uneventful.


The next day, Kagome came back over. She talked and let Shippo show her his drawings, along with playing a game with him when he asked. Inuyasha watched Kagome laugh and smiled as her and Shippo played hide-and-seek.

Inuyasha sighed. He didn't think he could do what Amaterasu said. He didn't exactly know how to get to that point either. He couldn't just walk up and kiss her. That'd definitely get him slapped. Or get his ass kicked. Which he didn't exactly want to happen.

Kagome walked back over to him when Shippo went back over to get something from the basement. He said it was hers, and that he found it. Kagome assumed she must have dropped whatever it was.

"Hey," she said. "I haven't talked to you since yesterday."

'Since the almost kiss,' Inuyasha mentally corrected. "Heh," he mumbled. "Doesn't matter."

Kagome glared at him. "Yes it does. You're my best friend. I haven't been talking to you as much as I used to."

"You moved in with your boyfriend, you have a job, and you have college work. You're busy, I get it," Inuyasha stated. He tried to brush it off as if it was nothing, but in truth, he actually missed her. A hell of a lot.

Kagome looked at him sadly. "But I shouldn't be so busy that I completely ignore my best friend," Kagome told him.

"Heh," Inuyasha said. He was watching Kagome move closer to him. She got close, then hugged him.

"I've missed talking to you," Kagome told him.

Inuyasha slowly and awkwardly put his arms around her to hug her back. She just loved to kill his dreams, didn't she? He was planning on not doing what Amaterasu said, but she just brought up the perfect moment for it. He didn't want to do this. His nerves were frayed, and he was so nervous, he thought he was shaking.

Kagome looked up at him, and god dammit, he wanted to kick fate in the face and stomp all over its body. Today was seriously not his day. Inuyasha was locked in her chocolate brown gaze, and he couldn't looked away.

This time, he wasn't the one leaning in. Kagome was. Inuyasha just closed the distance, and pressed his lips to hers. She didn't pull away, she didn't slap him. Nothing. Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked at her, and her eyes were closed. Inuyasha pulled back, and stared at her. She stared back.

Inuyasha kissed her again, and then Shippo walked in on them, and his eyes grew wide. Inuyasha pulled back quickly and looked at Shippo.

Shippo smiled then, and hurried over to Kagome and handed her the thing that he found. It was a sweater that she forgot over at the house a little bit before the high school graduation. She smiled at Shippo and hugged the sweater closer to her.

"Thanks Shippo," Kagome said. "I was wondering where this went." She hugged Shippo and the turned to Inuyasha and smiled. "Bye Inuyasha." She watched him as she walked out, blushing.

Inuyasha watched her in disbelief. Did that actually happen? Did Kagome actually start it? Did she actually kiss him back? Inuyasha was just aware that his mouth was slightly open staring after her.

Shippo jumped on his shoulder. "What was that?" he asked. "Didn't you say you didn't love her yesterday?"

Inuyasha pushed him off his shoulder. "Heh," Inuyasha mumbled. He seemed to be saying that more than usual lately. Which wasn't a good thing for him. He ignored Shippo.

Shippo watched Inuyasha storm into the kitchen with a smiled on his face.

Inuyasha got into the kitchen, and Rin was there, trying to look innocent and not smile. Inuyasha guessed she saw the whole thing. Inuyasha sighed.

Rin was pretending to read the paper. She was shooting looks at Inuyasha. "So there's a story in here about a couple getting married. They've know each other for most of their lives, they started out as best friends," Rin told him. She put the paper down. "What's up with you and Kagome?"

"Nothing," Inuyasha snapped. "It's none of your business." Inuyasha opened the fridge and pulled out the orange juice.

"I think it is," Rin stated. "I know you, Inuyasha, we've grown up together. I know Kagome, and that in there was something."

Inuyasha didn't look at her as he poured the juice into a cup. "Amaterasu thinks Kagome might want me to kiss her."

Rin nodded. "Well, I'd say what just happened in there, she did." Rin smiled at him. "Inuyasha, you should have done this before Koga came in."

Inuyasha smiled at her and shook his head.


Kagome rushed into the antique shop and ran in the back to Akemi. She quickly put her things down and jumped at her. "Akemi! You have no idea what just happened! Inuyasha and I kissed!"

Akemi smiled. "Really?" 'About time,' she thought. "What about Koga though?" Akemi asked. "Are you gonna break up with him?"

Kagome stopped smiling. She didn't know what to do. She liked it when Inuyasha and her kissed, it felt right. And Koga... Koga wasn't such a nice guy anymore, and Kagome knew that. She remembered everything she learn from health about unhealthy relationships, but she couldn't seem to get out. It was hard when you were actually in one. She thought about Inuyasha protecting her from Koga. She pictured him wrapping his arms around her protectively. She didn't want to be hit anymore, and she didn't want to be with Koga anymore. If he was hitting her, he didn't love her. She started to cry.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Akemi asked, concerned. "There's no reason to cry. It's just a simple choice." Akemi went over and hugged Kagome.

Kagome whipped the tears away, but little did she know that she smudged the makeup. She sobbed into Akemi's shoulder. "Akemi, I-I don't kn-know what t-to do," she cried. "I-I don't w-want to s-stay with K-Koga anymore." She sniffled and whipped the tears away again.

Akemi pulled back to look at Kagome's face, and she saw a dark coloring on her cheek. She tried to rub it off, but when Akemi raised her hand to her face, Kagome flinched. "Kagome?" Akemi asked. She kept her hand in place, then started to move it forward slowly. She tried rubbing it off, but instead, rubbed the rest of the makeup off, exposing the rest of the bruise on her cheek. "Kagome!" Akemi exclaimed. "Did Koga give that to you?" she demanded.

Kagome gave her a sad look. She then pulled away and just went go the from of the store, starting to work.

Akemi watched her walk into the front with a worried expression. She knew what to do. After Kagome left, she'd call Inuyasha and tell him to go get Kagome, and beat Koga senseless. She hoped that son of a bitch got what was coming to him.


Sango and Amaterasu brought over Sota, Chiyo, and Kohaku to play with Shippo.

"So, did you do what I suggested?" Amaterasu asked.

Inuyasha nodded. "She was the one who leaned in."

"Knew it," Amaterasu mumbled, mostly to herself. She smiled. "I wonder what she's acting like now."

"What are you talking about?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha blushed, looking away.

Amaterasu smiled at Sango. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Sango glared at her. "Really. What were you talking about. It was about Kagome, but something else too."

Amaterasu and Inuyasha looked at each other, then Inuyasha nodded at her.

"Inuyasha is in love with Kagome," Amaterasu told Sango. "They kissed today, something I suggested. Kagome leaned in first though."

"I assume she wasn't supposed to do that," Sango said. "Guys, didn't you ever consider Koga in the plan?"

"We're hoping Inuyasha gets her to leave Koga," Amaterasu told her.

"That's wishful thinking. I don't like Koga so much, but is he really that bad?" Sango asked. "You provoked him, Amaterasu," Sango told her when she started to open her mouth to protest.

"But he didn't like Kagome coming over to us, and he didn't like it when Kagome hugged Inuyasha," Amaterasu told her.

"Did you ever think that maybe he feels threatened by you two? You guys aren't exactly easy to talk to," Sango told them.

"He isn't either," Inuyasha growled. "And he's too possessive. He should trust her."

"Please, Inuyasha, don't tell me you wouldn't mind another guy talking to her if you were her boyfriend," Sango said, rolling her eyes.

Amaterasu looked at Inuyasha. "She's got a point," she stated.

"Who's side are you on?" Inuyasha demanded. "And besides, I wouldn't display my dislike out, she could talk to the guy if she wanted."

"I didn't know there were sides," Amaterasu stated. "And if there are, then its your side, and Koga's, and everyone knows flat out that you're better for Kagome. At least you'd let us all hang out and let Miroku and Jurou hug her."

Sango nodded. "Inuyasha, I'm just worried that this might upset Kagome," she told him. "I agree with Amaterasu. I'd rather you be with Kagome."

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Heh." He looked around for the kids, but they were in a different room.

****Author's note: Hey guys. If I don't make sense here, then let me know. Yesterday night I was up until like three in the morning, and then at 9:45 in the morning my best guy friend texted me just asking where Green Day was from, when he could have googled it. He was offended because he thought they were Canadian, and they have an album American Idiot. Next time I see the boy, I'll strangle him. Lol, I'm ranting now. Thanks for reading and please review!