~* Omg, I hate myself. I'm sooooooo sorry you guys that I lost track of my time and forgot to update x.x You can all kill me now, Inu won't protect me ! D': Oh I made a personal Tumblr now :3 So I have Kagome's Tumblr, and my personal Tumblr. Kagome also has a role playing Facebook, everything is on my profile. So if you guys want to talk to me or Kagome, you either go on my tumblr, her tumblr or her facebook ^.^ Here's the chapter : Fluff and improvement on InuKag's relationship ... Don't blame me if it's rushed .

"I know there's something in the wake of your smile,

I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yeah.

You've built to love, but that love falls apart,

Your little piece of heaven turns to dark."

- "Listen to your Heart" by DHT

Chapter Ten: Early snow

It had been three days, and Naraku never came back. Kagome finally let the subject die down since she could never see him face to face. In the three days that did pass, a lot did happen between her and her friends. She now talked to Sango, Miroku, Bankotsu, Koga, along with Inuyasha of course, but that was all for now. She wondered why everything was changing in her life. Before she had been a cheery child, joy always filled in her voice, then she became a cold lonely silent girl, and now she was a mix between the two. Never really sharing anything of her life, and yet still being happy with friends. At least she talked.

"So, Kikyo's better I see." Sango commented to Kagome. She had thought Kagome was worried about Kikyo and now since Kikyo was back to normal, Kagome had seemed normal too.

"Yeah, she's back to being her usual self." Kagome mumbled and placed her books in her locker. Kagome wasn't worried about Kikyo, she knew she would heal. She was just worried about Naraku. Even though she let the subject die down, it still crept into her mind. 'And Inuyasha's back to being all lovey dovey with her.' Kagome thought sadly. It seemed Inuyasha was becoming more distant. He had been replacing Kagome with Kikyo.

The two girls made it to their next class and the day went on.

Kagome calmed her breath and aimed straight for the target. She held a tight grip on her arrow, and waited for the right moment to release it. Once she did, it landed far to right corner. She sighed and groaned. She was really off today.

"It's alright Kagome." Eri told her and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. It's not that she was bad, it was that she couldn't concentrate. "Something up?"

Kagome shook her head and smiled, hoping Eri would leave her be. Eri sighed and shrugged, walking away, Kagome never really told her anything anyway.

Sighing again, she decided to focus. She needed to be more clear. She imagined the target Naraku, and it was important to hit him so that he would stop harming others and so she could talk to him. She narrowed her eyes at the target, picturing Naraku. She let the arrow fly and it hit straight in the center, but just for a moment, Kagome could've sworn she saw the arrow... glow.

Kagome looked around for Inuyasha for she had wanted to catch a ride with him back home. Hoping he wasn't with Kikyo, she waited at the back door, where he would come out of practice. She carried her bow and arrows on her back.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled excitedly as he exited the building alone. He smiled and walked up to her.

"Hey Kagome." he wiped the sweat off his face with a small towel.

"Wanna ride home together?" Kagome grinned up at him, and his eyes grew wide. He bit down on his lower lip and looked away embarrassingly.

"Well, I kinda told Kiky-"

"It's ok. I'll go with Bankotsu." Kagome sighed, all hope in her dying. She turned around to walk away but stopped at Inuyasha's growling. Why couldn't he make time for her too?

"Bankotsu?"

"Yeah. You're busy aren't you?"

"Kagome, you seem to like Bankotsu a lot."

"Well excuse me. He's the only one who offers me rides since my best friend can't make time for me!" she blurted out angrily, but instantly recoiled at her words. She stared down at the ground, biting the inside of her cheek. It was silent for a few moments and she started to side step away but his voice stopped her.

"I know." he sounded sad, but Kagome didn't care. It was about time he realized the truth.

"I'll just walk home." she sighed upsetly and looked at Inuyasha who seemed to be thinking. He was torn between his best friend and girl friend. "You know, Inuyasha, sometimes I think you only hang with me cause I look like Kikyo." Kagome joked, though to her, it was a bit true. Inuyasha was always running off to Kikyo, but when Kikyo was busy, he hung out with Kagome. Did she remind him of Kikyo? Inuyasha had taken it a bit too seriously.

"That's not true!" he yelled out, "When I look at you and her, you two are completely different people!" he was upset. Kagome sighed and smiled softly. At least someone saw them as different. Most people expected them to be the same since they were twins, but Inuyasha didn't.

"Nice to know. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow." she started to walk away, but Inuyasha's hand grabbed her arm.

"You're not leaving with Bankotsu, are you?" he questioned upsetly.

"Who knows? Maybe I'll see him or Koga along the way." she shrugged and mentally rolled her eyes at him. She said that just so he could get upset, so he could see how it felt to be her.

"The wolf?" he growled and Kagome patted his shoulder softly.

"Kikyo's probably waiting." she smiled sadly and he slowly let go of her arm.

"Hey, Kagome!" speaking of Koga, he jogged up to the two.

"Hey, Koga." Kagome smiled at her friend and asked if he would like to walk home with her. She knew Inuyasha would get upset, but at the moment, she didn't care.

"Koga, if you lay one finger on Kagome, I will rip you to shreds!" Inuyasha growled and Koga smirked.

"Don't you got that girl, Kikyo? What do you care?" he wrapped an arm around Kagome's shoulders and the two began to walk away.

Inuyasha couldn't respond to his words but Kagome could hear his growls of anger. She wondered why he didn't like Koga, or why Koga didn't like Inuyasha. She turned to look back at Inuyasha who seemed to be trying to control his temper. She felt bad for leaving him, then again he always left her.

Kagome sat on her bed, thinking. Thinking about everything. She felt extremely guilty for acting mean ealier. She should've never done that.

Why had she started speaking after one whole year of being mute just because of three people? Maybe she was looking in to it too much. Inuyasha and her other friends probably felt sorry for her. Maybe they would abandon her some time soon. The weather was getting colder. Would Kagome go back to being silent?

Now that she thought about it, she could picture herself still being the quiet Kagome she was. Her friends avoiding any contact with her. She really hoped that wouldn't happen again. She was glad she met the people she met. She was greatful she spoke again, and made so many more friends than before. She groaned and laid limp on her bed. She hated yet loved high school. Everything was changing dramatically.

She pulled out her untitled piece of lyrics she had written once and wondered if she should even continue. She neatly folded it and placed it in the notebook Inuyasha had given her. What's the use? She probably wasn't going to sing. She hadn't sang in a while even after her voice returned. She was going to try so many times but ended up doing something else.

'I know! I'll write down a list of everyone who's my friend.' she smiled at her idea and quickly began to write the list.

- Inuyasha

- Sango

- Miroku

- Shippo

- Bankotsu

- Koga

- Eri

- Yuka

- Ayumi

That was the end of the list. She couldn't think of anymore. She didn't really speak to her friends in the archery club, but they were nice to her. She tapped her chin with her pen lightly. She really wanted to spend a lot of more time with Inuyasha since he was supposed to be her best friend. She actually considered him more of a best friend than Sango since she talked with him more. They had a bond, and although Sango was her best friend as well, Inuyasha seemed to be more... special for some odd reason. She didn't know why she felt that way, but that's how her heart put it.

'I wonder what he's up to now. He's probably still upset. I don't know why he gets all upset like that! I don't complain when he's with Kikyo.' she thought upsetly. Opening her window for some fresh air, she peered up at the night sky. The stars twinkling in the sky down at her. She started to hum a song she knew and decided to finally give singing another try.

"Four years old with my back to door, all I could hear was the family war.. Your selfish hands always expectin more, am I your child or just a charity award?.." her voice trailed off to a silent hum. She stopped because her thoughts began to invade her mind again. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she recalled the events of her fathers death, that, and every horrible thing her mother did to her. Then she thought of Inuyasha, and how he was also being idiotic and mean.

'Stupid Inuyasha. Why do you make me so upset?' she thought angrily, making her hands into tight fists. 'Why do you always go running off to her? She's cruel, can't you see?' she thought, tears prickling in the corner of her eyes. She sighed and dropped the subject. They were dating, how could she even think such nasty thoughts? Sure Kikyo was cruel, but Inuyasha liked her. She didn't even know why she was so jealous.

The cool breeze invaded Kagome's room and she shivered slightly as her eyes began to get sleepy. To lazy to close the window, she glanced sleepily at the clock and realized it was 8:00 p.m. Her eyes fell shut and she was fast asleep with the window wide open.

Kagome stirred silently as she felt heavy material on her. She hadn't put the covers on and it was freezing in her room. She sat up straight and looked beside her to see Inuyasha sitting on the floor with his back turned on her. He looked like he was guarding her.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome mumbled sleepily as she rubbed her eyelids. He turned around and shook his head at her.

"Tch. It's 10 now. I decided to stop by and chat but you were sleeping with no covers on and the window wide open. Are you trying to catch a cold?" he grumbled and stood up, dusting off his pants.

"Oh, thanks." she blushed shyly, as she remembered what she had thought about before sleeping. Inuyasha wasn't so bad all the time. He made her feel special. He would come visit her on random nights just to talk and that made her feel like a princess locked in a tower waiting for a hero. He had cheered her up and made her speak after a whole year of not speaking. He cared for her when she was injured. And even though they would have fights, they still made up in the end. So much had happened over such little time...

"Kagome? What's wrong?" he asked, his voice in panic. Her eyes were beginning to water. He hated it when girls cried. Although, he was happy she was brave enough to cry in front of him. She turned her head away from him as she gathered her insane thoughts. No, she couldn't actually be falling for him could she? Inuyasha wasn't a bad guy, but he was dating her sister! And just that thought made her want to gag. She was just really happy she had him as a friend, it's just, the problem was she was slowly liking him more as a friend. A light crush had been developed without her even knowing, or maybe she did know but never wanted to admit it. Is that why she always got so jealous? She was so confused.

"I'm... just happy you're here." she sniffled silently, wiping away the tears that began to fall. She wasn't crying because she realized she might've liked him, she was crying because she realized he could never be hers. He couldn't like her like that. He couldn't, wouldn't, like a freak like her. He liked Kikyo, and went through any trouble to be with Kikyo, so she had no chance, meaning she had to drop the silly crush now.

'But didn't he go through troubles to see you too?' a little voice asked Kagome in her head. She wanted to push that little voice away. She didn't even believe Koga was actually into her. All these people who were her friends were probably all just feeling sorry for her. She was getting too sucked up into this social life.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to talk about what happened today." Inuyasha coughed a bit at the awkward silence. Why was Kagome crying? He could smell her tears and if she were happy, why wasn't she looking at him. He didn't want to push the topic, he wanted to see her smiling. She tried to brush away every tear before finally turning to face him. Her face was a light tone of pink.

"What's up?" she tried, smiling weakly. Her dark thoughts were starting to kick in. 'He doesn't care for you. He feels pity towards you.'

"Well, I'm sorry I left you earlier and that you had to go with that scrawny wolf, Koga." he growled at just saying his name. She was surprised he apologized so quickly and without hesitation.

"It's alright. Kikyo needed you, right? You made a promise to her." she was starting to cover herself up now. She couldn't believe she had almost cried in front of him. A dark shadow crept over her as a brick wall. Her face showing no emotion towards him.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean it was right to leave you. Look, I know I constantly go to Kikyo and you don't like it very much..." his voice trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He knew this conversation was going to be hard and very much did not want it, but knew it had to be done. He wondered why Kagome wasn't smiling, frowning, or even giving him an angry look. She was just staring with a blank look, almost looking bored.

"It's okay." she replied in a dull tone.

"No, it's not." he grumbled angrily at how calmly she was taking this. What was she exactly doing? Then it hit him, she was locking herself up. "Kagome," he said sternly. "You don't have to hide anything from me. You can be honest with me." The look on his face was enough for Kagome to forgive him. She sighed and slumped against the wall.

"I just want you to make time for me too." Kagome felt like she was saying something very selfish. Her pure heart hated anything to do with pain and dark feelings.

"And you are not wrong for feeling any such way." he grabbed her hand and sqeezed it gently. She blushed lightly and smiled at him, giving a weak squeeze in return. "I promise to try and make more time for you too. You are my best friend, after all." he grinned at her and she wanted to melt in his smile. She couldn't stay mad at him for long. She abruptly wrapped her arms around his neck and he returned her embrace by locking his arms around her waist.

"Inuyasha...?" Kagome mumbled silently and he made small circles with his thumb onto her back.

"Yeah?"

"Are... are you glad we met?" she was afraid to ask such a question, but she wanted to hear his answer.

"Of course, Kagome." he wondered what brought this on.

"E-even if I'm a freak? Even if I get mad at you for stupid reasons? Even if I get you mad by spending time with people you don't like?" her voice was crumbling and he could feel her tremble slightly. He tightened his hold on her.

"You're not a freak. I don't regret meeting you. I get you mad too so it's only fair for you to get me mad, right? Don't worry, Kagome." he soothed. Maybe she was just tired.

"Y-you won't leave me right? Our friendship is real, right?" she pressed on. He chuckled softly and realized just how long they had been hugging. He pushed away and looked her in the eye. Tears had formed there.

"I won't leave you. Our friendship is very real. Don't you worry, Kagome. You can trust me." he smiled warmly at her and she returned the smile. She needed to be sure. If she couldn't have him, she'd rather have him as a best friend rather than they be strangers.

"Thank you." she mumbled quietly. She backed away from him on her bed and stared at her hands embarrassingly.

"You better get to sleep," he told her embarrassed figure. He was just as embarrassed that they had even hugged for tha long, making his cheeks lightly pink. "Goodnight, Kagome." he said, jumping out the window.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha..." Kagome watched him hop out, her face flushed. She was so happy on nights like these where he would visit and they could speak happily with no inturruptions. But after today, realizing her feelings for the young man, she was afraid of the future she was headed for.

Would she crumble?

"Hi!" Kagome smiled brightly, not a fear in the world. She giggled lightly in her bright summer dress and reached out a hand to the boy she was greeting. "My name is Kagome! I'm six! I live in a shrine, I like to read and write. I sing too! My birthday is on..." she rambled on as the stranger stared at her. "What's your name?" she finished in a rush.

The boy took her hand. He looked about the age ten with broken eyes and a sad sorrow.

"N-Naraku..." he stammered out, blushing lightly at the younger one.

"Why ya here alone, Naku?" she tried out the name which was a little too difficult for her little self to pronounce.

"Cause I like coming here, got a problem?" he grumbled to her. He crossed his arms and blushed even more.

"No problem, Naku. Want to be friends?" she grinned cheesily as Naraku stared at her dumbfounded.

"F-friends?" he stuttered out nervously.

"Yeah! C'mon. We can go play hide and seek." she tugged on his hand and he silently followed.

"Kagome? Kagome?!" Sango's voice filled Kagome's ears as she picked up her head from her desk. She sleepily rubbed her eyes. What was that just now? A dream about Naraku? Was that a previous event that happened in the past? The more she tried to remember it, the more it faded away.

"Yeah?" Kagome yawned and stretched a bit in her seat.

"2nd period is over. Are you going to 3rd?" Sango was gathering her things and Kagome blushed as some people stared at her. Sango had yelled pretty loudly and she was sure most students saw her there sleeping. She had never fallen into deep sleep like that before.

"Um, no..." Kagome answered after some time. Someday Myoga was going to get real mad for her always missing his classes, but he actually really liked her. 'Inuyasha's meeting me on the roof.' She thought, smiling to herself as she exited the classroom with her friend.

"I wonder where you go all the time." Sango muttered and waved to Kagome who left with a teasing smile.

She rushed up the stairs, eager to beat Inuyasha and stare at the wonderful scenery, but to her surprise, Inuyasha was already there.

"That's odd. You've never beaten me before." Kagome commented and sat on the usual bench.

"True. But today is special. Why? Because I'm going to show my best friend just how much I care about her." he grinned at her, blushing and pulled out a small box. He handed it to her and she gasped at the sight of it. "You haven't even opened it yet and you're already gasping?" Inuyasha chuckled some more.

Kagome slowly opened the box to reveal a gold ring with green vines wrapped around it. "Wha..." she trailed off staring in awe at the present.

"It's a friendship ring. See? I have the boy one." he held up his hand to show her his gold ring with a green symbol on it she couldn't quite tell what symbol. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, after, planting a small kiss on his cheek. He blushed and she pulled away, a small tinge of pink on her cheeks as well. She slipped the ring on to a perfect fit.

"Funny. Cause I have a something for you too." Kagome giggled sweetly and he cocked his head at her. "Here." Kagome said pulling out a gold locket. She opened it to reveal on one side a picture of him and on the other, a picture of her. "Remember that day we decided to spend together and we stopped by a photo booth to take pictures but we ended up arguing and pictures of us like this came out? Well since it was the only picture we had together, I cut 'em out and put them here." She placed the necklace over his head and let it fall around his neck. "Promise you'll wear it always."

He reached for the locket. "Thanks." he mumbled, examining the locket. She shrugged and smiled brightly. She felt so happy at that moment.

A small cold white snowflake landed on her nose. She looked up towards the cloudy sky and saw the small white snowflakes come down slowly. She smiled and whispered softly, "It's snowing."

"Yeah, and so early too. Its only the middle of September, well near the end anyway.." he smiled up at the sky too. He then looked back at Kagome. He felt so happy at that moment, even happier than he was with Kikyo, but didn't know why, not like he'd ever admit it. Kagome just had that effect on him, where he could always be happy around her.

"Care to dance?" Kagome smirked at him teasingly and stood up.
"In the snow, with no music?" he shook his head at her. "You're a freak."

She laughed at his comment. "I know." She tugged him to his feet and started humming the song 'Beauty and the Beast' as they started to dance. Kagome felt like a princess again. Alright, so maybe he didn't feel pity for her, but she wasn't quite sure. But right there, dancing with him like idiots, it was special.

It was one moment those two would never forget.

~* Believe it or not, early snow actually did happen to me before when it was really cold. It came around October.. I live in NY , :p For those thinking "oh my god! She likes Inuyasha!" well, it's a crush, not a deep love or like. She just really appreciates what he does for her and she thinks she likes him because of her feelings when he's with Kikyo or because of how happy they are together. She still prefers him as a best friend at the moment and that is all they are right now. Their relationship is improving slowly and they're just best friends. That's all they see each other as. Kagome can't really picture herself as Inuyasha's girl friend, she can't picture herself anyone's girl friend. She can't even picture anyone liking her. So when the time comes for her to really like him and they have that type of relationship (like in the anime) I'll let you know. I hope you enjoyed it ! Go talk to Kagome now :3 Tumblr or Fb , on my profile! Oh and review! 3 I love you all .