Disclaimer: Own nothing... (If you haven't noticed, I don't like disclaimers...)

I recieved a ton more reivews than I had expected to so I decided to post another chapter! (YAY!) Hope you like it and R&R!!!!!

Good Times

Chapter 9

firefox369

------Kagome------

What was I doing...? Why was I aiming at onii-chan? ...why did I want to kill him...? But it was too late, and the arrow had been released. It flew straight and true, and I watched as it was about to connect.

'No!' my mind screamed and I shoved him out of the way with my miko ki. He hit the ground with a grunt just as the arrow flew past and hit the tree behind him. I fell to my knees, unmoving, horrified at what I had almost done. Syusuke sat up, that damn smile still on his face.

"That was exciting, I hadn't had that much fun in years" he commented and Sango slowly opened her eyes. Her face lit up with a smile.

"You didn't kill him, Kagome!" she exclaimed, almost as if congratulating me. I stared blankly at the ground, still too shocked to speak. I had almost killed Syusuke, the only leverage in my life other than Sango. What was wrong with me? The bow dropped out of my hands and I slowly lifted one hand to my face as my vision blurred.

'I almost killed him... I almost... killed him...' I stared at my hand with so much hatred that I was tempted to chop it off. I could hear the screams in my head, echoing and never disappearing... the demons I'd killed, the humans I had watched die... all the screams were engraved in my mind, repeating over and over again.

"Why didn't you run...?" I asked nervously and Syusuke looked at me, still smiling that damn smile of his. I wanted to rip it off.

"I didn't think I'd need to" he replied. "I trusted you enough to know that you wouldn't shoot me with death in your mind."

"And if I did?"

"Well then, I wouldn't be here right now, would I?"

"No. I guess not..." I whispered, shutting my eyes. "...I guess not..." I was suddenly tackled in a hug and my eyes flew open, meeting a dark uniform the moment they did. "What are you-" I cut myself off when I felt him trembling. He was scared... I couldn't tell from far away, and even now, the only reason I knew he was trembling was because I could feel it.

"Please don't threaten to kill me while pointing a weapon at me again, it was scary" he mumbled and I released a timid laugh. "Very scary."

"Gomen nasai..." I said softly, glancing over at Sango to find her looking away, not wanting to ruin the moment for us, if this was considered a moment. Syusuke was still making stupid jokes and I was still in a state of shock. Nothing was really happening, 'clicking' between the two of us. Syusuke began to relax and I felt a feeling of discomfort settling inside of the back of mind, nagging at me until I couldn't take it anymore. "You're missing school" I stately bluntly and he let go of me, still smiling.

"I am, aren't I?"

"You don't look good. You're white as a sheet."

"So are you."

"I'm sure I have more color in my face than you do."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

"You still need to give me my rights to marriage back."

"Sorry, I'll keep them. Not like you get them back anyways."

"Stupid onii-chan" I mumbled and Sango sighed in relief, happy that we were still (somewhat) sane, and stopped us before we could argue any further.

"Just go back to school Syusuke. Go to your classes like you usually would, and I'll see if Kagome's ready to go back to the dorms. Considering she didn't kill you, that's a good sign, but the fact that she almost had killed you is not a good sign" she informed and Syusuke hesitated before nodding, standing up and turning to leave. I watched as his silhouette slowly shrunk, and then disappeared as he turned a corner.

"I may have been wrong, Kagome" Sango murmured and I looked at her. "Maybe staying with him is good for you... sure, he's bringing out the extremely bad side of you, but he's also drawing out who you used to be, too. You act like a little kid around him, and I miss that."

"...I don't know what to do anymore, Sango..." I whimpered. "I want to leave him so he doesn't get hurt by me, but the thought of leaving him scares me..."

"You've grown attached to him a little more than you had hoped, ne?" she laughed and I shot her a glare.

"Being attached scares me. You never know when the person you trusted is going to leave you, betray you."

"Okay, you know what? I'm done with your complaining for one day, I'm making you go to school so you can cheer up a little."

"How is going to school going to cheer me up?" I demanded.

"School equals Fuji-kun. Fuji-kun equals Kag happy. Therefore, using transitive property, School equals Kag happy" she explained, grabbing my hand and starting to drag me back to Seigaku.

"School does not equal Kag happy!" I shouted, planting my feet firmly in the ground. "Let go of me!"

"Stop throwing a tantrum like a stupid four year old, Kagome!"

"I'll throw a stupid tantrum when I feel like throwing a stupid tantrum like a stupid for year old, stupid!"

"Language, Kagome, shame on you!"

"Baaaaka!!!! Let go of me!"

"You are going to go to school, whether you like it or not!"

"No I'm not!"

"Fine, then you can stay alone at my house with my dad."

My eyes widened, horrified. Alone in the house with that pervert?! "Fine! I'm going to school!" I hollered, frustrated, and stormed off. I heard Sango's laughter chasing after me, stalking me the entire way to school. I stood in front of the front door, staring at it for a very long time, deciding whether or not I should enter, but the moment the bell rang for lunch I decided not to and walked back to the dorms. I stuck my key in the room I shared with Ryoma and walked inside, scowling when I saw that the spare bed had still not come in.

"Do they enjoy seeing me sleep on the ground? Stupid little..." I trailed off, deciding to relax a little bit. I plopped onto the seat beside the desk and saw a tennis magazine. Curious, I opened it and flipped through it, looking at the different moves that it described. My eyes dulled the moment my eyes landed on the twist serve and I slammed it shut, setting my head against the desk with a groan.

"I hate being sick..." I grumbled, gently hitting my forehead against the desk. "I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate being sick... guess mom was right..." I sighed to myself and sat up straight, staring out the window. That's when I noticed that Ryoma's room was right next to the courts, and the tennis team was practicing. I saw Fuji miss a shot and I scowled. 'I know he's better than that, the baka.'

"Fuji, what's wrong with you today?" Eiji questioned and Fuji looked at him, smiling.

"Nothing important."

I scoffed. The liar. After watching a few more of his rallies, I knew that he wasn't concentrating. Annoyed, I shot to my feet, grabbing the white racket that I had left in the room, and opened the window wide, hopping through it and picking up a stray tennis ball. I bounced it a few times before throwing it in the air and serving it, aiming straight for Syusuke's head. It hit him with a satisfying 'clunk' and dropped to the ground. Syusuke scowled before he saw me, that's when his smile grew wider. Walking over to the basket of tennis balls, I picked up another and threw it in the air, serving it at him again. I repeated the process over and over, hitting him each time.

"What are you doing, Kagome-sama?"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Syusuke?!" I commanded, completely ignoring Eiji as I served another ball and hit him again. "You're supposed to be good at tennis, not some loser who can't even beat the stupid juice-drinking donkey! Get up!" He did, but flinched when another ball hit him in the stomach. "Prodigy my ASS! Play like you normally do, dammit! It's upsetting, watching you get killed by the annoying, pipsqueak!"

"Is this what she did to you when she was teaching you?" Oishi asked Eiji and Eiji laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Y-yeah... I'm lucky that she didn't know how to use the twist serve back then..."

"Some coach... more like a murderer than anything..." Oishi commented and I froze, slowly facing him.

"What did you just say...?" I questioned coldly and he took a step back.

"N-nothing..." he stammered.

"Nothing my butt..." I growled but I was held back before I could kill him.

"Whoa, Kagome-senpai, no killing the vice-captain, he's an essential part of our team, you know" Momo grunted, holding my arms back. I growled menacingly as I kicked him in the shin, making him collapse to the ground in a fit of pain. I was held back again, but this time a familiar voice drained away all of my anger.

"Kagome-chan, no need to get angry, I'll play like I usually do, 'kay?" Syusuke said softly in my ear and I pouted, glaring at the ground.

"Fine, but if you mess up like you were before, I get to serve another tennis ball at your head." I felt him tense before letting go and beginning to leave.

"Hai, hai!" he hollered back, waving his hand and I scowled, plopping onto the court and watching as he played. He was doing well until he suddenly stumbled over nothing in particular and completely missed the ball. I could see him ducking, preparing for the pain to come. When nothing happened, he turned to look at me. He slowly stood up and hesitated before getting into his ready position. I got up and picked up a tennis ball, throwing it in the air as he prepared to serve. I served it at him and hit the back of his head just as he was about to hit the ball. The ball he threw into the air landed on his head a split second after mine had hit and bounced on the ground once, twice, before stopping and rolling to the net.

"...ow" he mumbled.

"Baka! Don't just stand there! Serve already!" I shouted.

----After Practice----

"Kagome-chan...!" Syusuke whined, following me as we made our way back to the dorm entrance, rubbing his bruises all the while. "Why do you have to be so cruel to me?"

"Don't worry, tomorrow it's going to be Donkey, then Kitty the day after, then Porcupine, then Psycho Scary Guy, then Puppy, then Bunny, and last, but not least, Ducky!"

"You need to explain these names to me, Kagome-chan..." he sighed, not understanding a single thing I just said.

"You know who Donkey and Kitty are. Porcupine is the black-haired kid with the spiky hair. Psycho Scary Guy is the guy that goes crazy when he has a racket. Puppy is Oishi, Bunny is Eiji, and Tezuka is Ducky!"

"Why is Tezuka Ducky...?"

"Because I said so."

"...I see... and why are you following me to my room?"

"My bed still hasn't come in yet. Does Syusuke-kun not want me here?"

"No, its fine, I was just curious is all" he replied, opening the door and allowing me inside. Stretching, I looked at the clock and scowled when the red numbers glowed 9:30.

"Hmmm... five hour practice, huh?" I commented and he glanced at me.

"Yeah." He began to lift his shirt collar and I squeaked before facing away from him. He gave me a confused look. "I was only wiping off sweat..." he mumbled and I laughed.

"I-I knew that..."

"How many?" he asked and I glanced at him.

"How many what?"

"Days left."

I gave a bitter smile. "Not enough..." I mumbled, climbing up the ladder to the top bunk. I plopped down onto it and laid down on my stomach, chin in between my hands as I watched him move around the room.

"The number has lessened even more, hasn't it...?"

I laughed. "All because of the alley incident" I replied.

"What happened in the alley that shortened it?"

"They hit me in the ribs, and although it didn't damage my lungs, it hurt me enough."

He sighed. "Turn around" he commanded, pulling out a shirt. I obeyed and shut my eyes, blocking out the rustling of his clothes. "'Kay, its safe now."

I turned around and got onto my hands and knees, crawling over to the railing and hanging over it, staring at him. "Am I annoying?" I asked.

"That was a random question."

"Am I?"

"You worry me too much, if that counts."

I sighed. "Of cour-Eeek!" My body slid over the edge a little too far as I went limp and I went toppling over the edge of the bunk bed. Syusuke caught me before I hit the ground, but he ended up falling over and I hit the ground anyway, although not as hard.

"See? Heavy" he joked and I noticed that one of his arms was around my waist as the other hand was dangerously close to my face. Our legs were a tangled mess, and his face was a little too close for comfort. He let go of me and stood up, untangling himself, before he could see my face flush and I was about to climb up the ladder again when his voice stopped me. "I think it would be best if I slept on the top bunk, after what just happened."

"I-I'll be fine, I won't be so careless this time."

"You better."

As I crawled into the bed, I felt that my face was still hot. I shifted uncomfortably and I wrapped the blankets around me tighter, trying to drive out what had just transpired. The lights shut off and I there was a creak beneath me as Syusuke climbed into the bed below me.

"Kami-sama..." he whispered so softly that I almost didn't hear, a rustling telling me that he had shifted in his bed.

After what seemed like forever, I knew that I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. The screaming in my head wouldn't' stop, and it continued to echo over and over again. I couldn't take it anymore, I was terrified that somehow, the things I had killed would return to hunt me down.

"Syusuke-kun...?" I whimpered, afraid that I might wake him, and I heard another creak as he shifted.

"Hn?"

"Did I wake you...?"

"No."

"I can't sleep."

"Neither can I."

"I'm scared..." I whimpered and an extremely loud creaking told me that he had gotten off the bed. His eyes soon met mine in the dark and I saw that they were worried. "I hear screaming... there's so much screaming that-"

He sighed, stopping me. "You can sleep with me again tonight, if you want. I've already taken away your marriage rights so you don't have to worry about them anymore." I gave a tiny laugh and sat up, hopping off the top bunk and climbing into the bed, pressing myself against the wall. Syusuke climbed in after me and I tensed when he held me to him.

"A-ano... what are you doing...?" I yawned.

"Making sure that you don't get cold" he replied quietly and I shut my eyes, drifting off into sleep almost right away. But something was telling me that I had missed out on something important. And I had.

If I had paid closer attention to him before the lights turned off, I would have noticed that he was covering the bottom half of his face with his hand, and I would have noticed that he was blushing just as brightly as I had.

If I had paid closer attention, I would have known that his whispered 'Kami-sama' was because of me and that the fall had put us in a more intimate position than I thought.

If I had paid closer attention, I would have felt his lips crashing on to mine for a split second, making brief contact.

Before I fell asleep completely, a soft vibration in his chest was felt against my cheek.

"I'm so glad you didn't notice..." he laughed, "I'd die if you knew what just happened..."

To Be Continued...