Soooo I feel really bad posting this because it wasn't beta approved (finals and such so we're busy) but I just couldn't wait. It will probably be re-uploaded once she edits it after school is out, so sorry for any typos, etc.

Make me feel better by leaving me a review please!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that can get me sued.

Chapter 11

Sango sat on the floor in her room, gazing at her reflection in the mirror that hung inside of her closet door. Kohaku sat on her bed, playing with their pet cat, Kirara, listening to his sister hum a song as she curled her hair in loose waves to frame her face.

"Do you have to go out with him?"Kohaku whined. "I mean, do you trust him?" He asked as he made Kirara chase a toy mouse on a string. Kirara pawed at it, paying no mind to her owners.

"Why of course I do silly. If I didn't I wouldn't go anywhere with him. Besides, I think he's actually going to ask me to go steady with him." She sighed dreamily. Kohaku fought back a gag.

"This isn't the stone age Sis, guys don't do that anymore." He responded, prying the toy mouse from Kirara's paw.

"Well they should. It's romantic." Sango got up from the floor and turned to face her brother in one fluid motion. "So what do you think?"

"You need hairspray. The back's already limping a little." He answered honestly.

"There's no hope for my straight hair. Can you please take Kirara out? You know her nose is sensitive to this stuff." She asked her brother pleasantly as she rummaged in her hair supply drawer for her hair spray.

Kohaku gently placed the cat outside Sango's room. She mewed impatiently.

"It'll just be a minute." He laughed at her while giving her an affectionate pet on the head.

The relationship between Sango and Kohaku was a complete 180 from Kagome and Souta. Kagome and Souta teased each other relentlessly, only ever showing affection to one another in intimate moments, or when he needed help. Sango and Kohaku, however, were the perfect pair of siblings. They did fight from time to time, but it was never out of anger or spite, mainly impatience or long days. They loved each other, and were raised to protect one another from harm. They were fiercely loyal to one another, and talked constantly. If Sango did not have Kagome, and Kohaku did not have Souta, they would be each other's best friends.

Kohaku admired his big sister, and wished to be just like her. He admired how fast she caught on to new fighting styles, and how she seemed to train with ease. As she grew older, their relationship only became stronger. Kohaku was told to protect her, and so he did. She never minded, for she knew it was out of love.

Sango looked at her younger brother when she was done, and smiled at him affectionately.

"Ugh when did you get so big? Stop growing on me!" Sango ruffled her brother's hair.

"Ah Sis, come on! I'm not a kid anymore." He cried out impatiently.

"You'll always be my kid brother. Now do you want to help me pick an outfit, or do you want to bail?"

"I think I hear Mom calling. Later!" He ran out of the room as fast as he could, and went to play x-box 360 with Souta online.

She laughed at him, as Kirara sat next to her, happy to be let inside the room once again.

"Will you help me pick an outfit?" She asked her pet teasingly. Kirara just mewed, and climbed onto Sango's bed, curling into a ball on the lavender comforter.

Sango rummaged through her closet, looking for a nice date outfit. She was unsure as to what Miroku was planning for their first official date. She settled on a pair of black skinny jeans, with a dark red blouse. She placed her outfit on the bed, and then sat back in front of her mirror to fix her makeup. Sango didn't want to look like she was trying too hard, so for her makeup, she just accentuated her natural beauty. Once she was satisfied, she put on her outfit, and waited patiently for her date to show up.

After what seemed like forever, she heard her brother stomp up the stairs from the living room and knocked on her door.

"Sis? He's here. You ready, or do you need me to tell him you came down with a cold?" He whispered mischievously.

"No Kohaku! I'm good." Sango fought back a laugh as she grabbed her purse from the floor. She walked out and gave her brother a hug goodbye. "Tell Mom and Dad to not wait up. I know my curfew."

"Doesn't mean we'll listen." He smiled back.

Sango tentatively walked down the stairs, nervously petting her hair to make sure the waves stayed intact.

"Hey Miroku." She smiled pleasantly, giving him a hug.

"Hello Sango. You look beautiful as usual." He smiled at her, appreciating the dark colors she wore.

"Miroku, so you came back. I'd like to say it's good to see you again. However, I think my baby could do better." A booming voice came from behind Sango.

"Mr. Satsugai! How are you?" Miroku asked Sango's father, stepping away from Sango.

"Fine. You know the rules right?" Mr. Satsugai asked the teenage boy.

"Yes sir I do. I'll have her home safe and sound. And if not, I'll be sure to dig my own grave." Miroku nervously stated.

Despite all the tiny dates they had, Sango's father still scared Miroku to an extreme. He scared Miroku even more since this was their first date as a maybe official couple. He knew what moves Mr. Satsugai would use against him if he ever hurt Sango. It would end up really bad for him.

"Well we must be going. I have to get you home soon." Miroku looked at Sango and offered his arm to her.

"Alright." Sango smiled at him. She gave her brother a hug, and gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. "Tell Mom I said bye." She took Miroku's hand and they stepped out into the frosty night.

"Are you excited for your birthday tomorrow night?" Miroku asked as he opened the door for her, knowing that her father still watched them from the front door window.

"Ecstatic. I can't wait to see what everybody gets me."

"Do you have a specific present you want?" He pulled out onto to the driveway and started to drive towards the movie theatre.

"No, I don't really like extravagant gifts just because it's my birthday. I prefer stuff I actually need. However, I don't mind beautiful gifts on random occasions." Sango laughed. "So where are we going?"

"I was thinking dinner then a movie?" He replied.

"Same old same old." She teased affectionately. She was actually pretty happy about their casual dates. It kept things stress free, and casual. They haven't been dancing since the Halloween dance though, as neither of them were that fond of it.

The couple sat in comfortable silence as they finished the twenty minute drive to the movies. Once they arrived, Miroku grabbed Sango's arm before she could climb out of the car.

"What?" She asked, trying very hard to maintain her natural instinct to break the guy's nose.

"There was something I wanted to do actually. After the kiss you gave me today-"

"Hey I didn't kiss you!" She denied vehemently.

"As I was saying," he continued as if she didn't interrupt, "It got me thinking about whatever we are. We've been dating since the Halloween dance. It was fun believe me, but I can't just be in this gray area anymore. What I'm trying to say is..." He trailed off. He looked away from her face, and took a calming breath.

"I get it, you don't want to date me anymore. Is that it?" Sango asked, her voice carefully neutral. "It's okay, really. I didn't expect you to stick around anyways. You are the playboy of the school." She laughed without feeling.

"What? No, that's not what I'm saying." He quickly denied, not understanding how she got that from what he was trying to say. "I wanted to ask if, well, you wanted to wear my ring?"

Sango looked down at his class ring, and looked up at him.

"Are you saying you want to make us official?" She asked, shock echoing in her voice.

"Yes that's exactly what I want to do!" Miroku let out a huge breath as she realized what he was trying to do. He held out his senior ring to her. It's aquamarine stone shining up at her, like a deep clear river.

"Oh of course!" She excitingly tried to find a finger it would fit on, but his fingers were much thicker than her feminine ones. "How about I put it on a chain when I get home?" She smiled up at him.

Miroku stepped out the car, and started to walk to her side to let her out.

'I'm never letting this girl go." Miroku thought as he pulled her out of the car and gave her a kiss.

Kagome rolled over in her bed and glanced at her clock.

Audrey Hepburn was smirking back at her, always avoiding her gaze with Cat on her shoulder.

8:47 p.m.

She sighed and tried to readjust to get comfortable. Her mother insisted she go to bed early to rest up for tomorrow, but she couldn't get her brain to settle down. It was going in circles, round and round, with Inuyasha's and Kouga's face running through her brain. How could she break up with him? She was sure he'd be extremely upset, and Inuyasha would demand to fight for her.

'There is no way to go about this.' She sighed, staring at the ceiling.

She had to see Kouga. She needed to know his feelings. She wanted to make sure she wasn't giving it all up for nothing.

'What am I thinking? It's been over between Inuyasha and I for a while now. No matter what happens with Kouga, I will break up with him. I'm not happy with him anymore. Being a teenager sucks, I can't wait to be an adult. It'd be so less stressful.'

She walked to her radio, and put on her iPod, hoping that listening to music will help her relax enough to sleep.

After listening to her music for a short amount of time, she sat up frustrated, and turned off the music. She walked to her closet and put on her dance pants (which is very similar to yoga pants), and a faded green t-shirt, with a big sweatshirt over it. She placed her hair in a messy ponytail, and quietly put on her tennis. Just in case her mom came to check on her she left a note, explaining where she was going.

Mom-

Don't worry, Sango needed an "ASAP" meeting to talk about her date tonight. I'll be home by eleven, probably earlier. Promise. Cell Phone's on. Love you.

Kagome

She opened the window facing an oak tree, it's limbs bare, and expertly climbed on to the branch closest to the window. She only rarely used this method to get out the house, mainly when she just wanted to sit in the tree and watch the stars slowly move at night. Despite those rare occasions, she was adept at climbing trees thanks to her childhood games with Sango.

She silently jumped from the branch that was closest to the ground, bracing herself for the impact. She landed a bit harder than expected, but she could walk it off.

Kagome walked down the streets aimlessly. She just needed to release some energy, or wind down, or just do something! This feeling was not new to her, it came before every tournament, dance recital, any major moment in her life. This was why she randomly walked at night. She pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time.

9:17 p.m.

This was going to be a long night.

Before she knew where she was heading, she walked to the park where it stormed that one night with Kouga. She walked towards the swing set, reminiscing on the smells, the feelings, the happiness, the guilt. Realizing his house was somewhat near here, maybe she could just stop by and see if he's home?

'That's not stalkerish. I was just literally in the neighborhood. Although every stalker says that...' Kagome thought to herself.

Yet her feet continued to walk down the path, completely ignoring her logical side.

'Holy crap this is farther than I thought. I should just turn around.' Kagome battled her logical and irrational side. Her feet still continued forward. She convinced herself it'd be a waste to just turn back now.

After what seemed like forever, which was really close to twenty minutes, she recognized his neighborhood. Despite her telling herself that he might not have been home, her heart rate still increased noticeably. Butterflies began to fill her stomach.

'He's probably out with Ginta and Hakkaku. No reason to freak.' She thought to herself, trying to not think of how she wished he kissed her on the forehead. She wanted it to be real, not her imagination.

She started to slow her pace to a gentle walk, and placed her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. She was close enough to see his driveway. Thanks to years of dance, her footsteps were light and unnoticeable. She heard a door shut in the background, and two pairs of footsteps.

'That's probably Ginta and Hakkaku heading out. I know that noise came from his house. Maybe he his home.'

Kagome nervously began to pat her hair down, realizing she should have worn something more girly, and less athletic.

"So what's up?"

Kagome froze as she heard Kouga's voice cut through the night. His voice could be heard clear as day, there were no crickets, frogs, or bugs to be heard. It was the start of winter, the season of death and silence.

'Well at least he's home.' A smile broke out upon her face as she told herself to not sprint to his voice, to keep relaxed and calm or else her face will be all flushed.

"I wanted to talk to you without Thing 1 and Thing 2 around." A girl's voice started to laugh.

'Who is that?' Kagome stopped entirely. Unsure of whether to stay and listen, or leave and just see him tomorrow.

"You think they aren't trying to eavesdrop right now! Geez Ayame, I thought you've known them your whole life." Kouga teased back.

Kagome was frozen in time, feeling like a stalker, but she couldn't move. She looked at the girl named Ayame. She was pretty, no doubt about it. Her hair was a gorgeous red color in a side ponytail. Kagome was sure if Ayame's hair was seen in the sun it'd look like fire. She was bit taller than Kagome, but looked around 15 or 16, and petite. Kagome was sure she'd never seen her around school before, she'd recognize the hair anywhere. Ayame's eyes were a beautiful green color to Kagome in the dark night. They looked like deep emeralds.

"Anyways, what'd you wanna talk about Red?" Kouga continued.

"Well, I don't think you've noticed, but I've been hanging around you guys more. And..well I just like spending time with y'all. Especially you. You're funny, and sweet, and cute." Ayame laughed nervously, staring at the floor. She was tugging at her hair nervously.

Kouga stared at her, not really believing what he was hearing.

"Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I'm into you. And I hope you're into me too." Ayame looked up at him.

"Oh well actually...Kagome?" Kouga looked past Ayame at the figure heading towards him.

'Excuse me?" Ayame responded, trying to calm her temper.

"I'm sorry Ayame, my friend from school showed up. Can you wait for like five minutes?" Kouga asked her.

"It's cool. I got to get home anyways, it's almost ten. I love how when my parents are actually home they try to monitor my life. Just think about what I said and let me know." She smiled up at him. Before he could get away, she pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. She made sure it was in full view of the girl named Kagome, just in case she was a threat.

As soon as Kagome realized what she was about to do, she averted her gave. She tried hard to act like her heart wasn't being squeezed at the sight.

Kouga pulled away first, unsure of how to respond. Ayame grinned like a cheshire cat and walked to her car.

"Kagome, what's up?" Kouga walked to her.

"You were busy." She stated matter of factly, still avoiding his gaze.

"No, just the usual group." He responded like she didn't see what just happened.

"I didn't know there was a girl in your group." Kagome casually stated.

"Ayame? She's their neighbor. So what's up? Why are you here?" He asked, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I couldn't sleep. I went out running. I'm sorry I shouldn't have came." Kagome started to back away from him.

"Wait, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" Kouga looked at her stance and realized it was all wrong. She was holding herself, like she was protecting herself from him.

"Everything's fine. Why don't you call Ayame back? I interrupted something important." She took another step back from him.

"Ayame? Wait, no, Kagome it's not what you think." Kouga tried to explain, barely realizing what could have been upsetting Kagome.

'But she doesn't...does she? Still if she saw that then she's gonna think Ayame and I are together. I should have pushed her away.' Kouga quickly tried to think of ways to set things right. Instead of the girl doing the hurting in the relationship, it was he who was hurting her. It wasn't right, everything was all messed up.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain to me. I'm not your girlfriend. And she obviously wants you to be with her. I have to go." Kagome turned away and ran before Kouga could see the tears that were about to fall.

She ran as fast as she could, taking random side streets and alleyways. She didn't care if she was going to get lost, the only thing she wanted was to get as far away from him as possible.

Kouga chased after her as best he could, but there were areas that her body could fit through that he just couldn't.

'Fuck. What did I just do!' Kouga grabbed his hair in frustration, watching Kagome slip down another side street.

"Dammit!" He yelled.

Kagome never looked back as she continued to run. Her lungs were screaming for air, and her muscles were protesting in agony. Even when the stitch in her side appeared she didn't slow down. The tears flowed freely now.

When she realized that she wasn't being followed by him anymore she slowed to a walk, gasping for air. She was in a suburb that was unfamiliar to her. She sat on the sidewalk, trying to calm her breathing, although the tears were not helping. Her shaking hands tried to hold a steady gaze on her phone as she tried to get her location. Once she discovered where she was she typed in Sango's address to find a way there. Kagome did not want to deal with being home alone right now. Calling Inuyasha wasn't a good idea. He would demand to know why she was crying and out over here at night. She couldn't say she was crying over some other guy. She couldn't do that to him.

As her heart rate returned to normal, she slowly stood up and began the long walk to Sango's.

Kouga slammed his fist onto his kitchen table.

"Dammit! What the hell!I don't even know what just happened." He slumped into the chair, running his hands through his loose hair.

"Dude what's wrong?" Ginta walked up to him. He's never seen his friend act this way, then again they've only known each other for two or three months.

"Ayame. She likes me, and she kissed me, in front of Kagome."

"Woah! Ayame kissed you!" Ginta stood up in shock.

"And Kagome saw it!" Hakkaku screamed in alarm.

"What the hell, man!" They both said at the same time.

"How could you do that to Kagome, I thought you liked her?" Ginta asked.

"And how'd you get Ayame! She's never even batted an eyelash at us and now you got her too." Hakkaku took a swig of water. "Are you always the love interest of so many girls?"

"Guys, I already feel like shit. It's not like I wanted Kagome to see it. Ayame kissed me, and I couldn't just turn away. But I wasn't thinking because Kagome just showed up out of the blue. Ugh, what if she heard everything? She's going to think I like Ayame. What do I do?" Kouga set his head on the cool table, trying to not think of how he may have ruined his relationship with Kagome.

"AUNTIE!" Kouga screamed.

Kagura ran through the door, knife in hand, looking ready to attack.

"What's wrong?" She asked alarmed.

"I think I just lost Kagome." Kouga spoke to the table. "Ow! What was that far?" Kouga asked as he felt a slap on the back of his head.

"For scaring the crap out of me! I thought you were dying. Idiot." She muttered. "So what's this deal with Kagome and losing her?"She asked, grabbing some cookies from the pantry.

Kouga pointed to the chair, and calmly explained to the party what happened. After trying to explain the best he could despite his Aunt's interjection and overly-dramatic gasps, the three sat in silence. That lasted for about thirty seconds before all three started to talk at the same time.

"Hey! I think he should listen to a woman on this matter." Kagura stated, effectively shutting up Ginta and Hakkaku. "Sweetie, do you like Ayame?"

Kouga shook his head in response.

"She's cool and everything, and a great singer actually, but no sparks right now. I'm sure if I didn't already like Kagome then I could get to like her, but right now, it's a negative."

"Well then go find Kagome and explain everything the best you could. I don't care if she has a boyfriend, if you don't explain everything to her and she still sees you with Ayame she's going to think you're full of it. Time to let those feelings loose." Kagura advised as best as she could.

Kagura loved both girls. Ayame was nice and sweet, but she didn't see the same reaction in her nephew around her. She only saw it with Kagome, which was why she was on the brunette's side.

It's been a while since she saw Kouga react to a girl ever since the ex destroyed his faith in them. Kagome brought that change in him though. The Kouga from summertime wouldn't even be friends with girls, let alone talk to them. She liked what Kagome did to him. She just hoped Kouga will be a good influence on her.

Knock Knock

Kagome messily wiped away her tears and waited for someone to open the door.

"Hey Kagome, Sango's not- what's wrong?" Kohaku broke off as he saw Kagome's puffy red eyes.

"Hey kiddo. I'm fine I just need to talk to Sango, or at least not go home for a while. Mind?" She asked, unsuccessfully trying to make her voice sound normal.

"Of course. Don't worry, I'll tell the parents to back off. Want something to drink?" He asked leading her to the kitchen.

"Just water please." Kohaku grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and tossed it to her. She caught it instinctively and started toward the stairs to go to Sango's room.

Kagome relaxed on Sango's bed, stretching out her arms. She stopped crying for the most part, but there were still some tears present trying to escape. She didn't understand why she was crying so hard over a guy who wasn't even her boyfriend.

'What does it even matter? He obviously doesn't like me.' She grabbed a tissue from Sango's night stand and sat back on the bed. 'I'm such an idiot. That girl, Ayame, or whatever, was gorgeous. Why would he want someone like me? It's not like we built a fort, or held hands, or became really good friends, or anything like that.' The tears started to flow again.

"Ugh!" She yelled out in disgust. She stepped into Sango's private bathroom to wash her face with cold water, hoping it would calm her down.

She let out one calming breath after another.

'Just one breath at a time. You've been through the worse.'

"Kagome? Kohaku told me you were up here. He practically kicked Miroku off our property as he stepped on our porch." She stopped smiling as soon as she saw Kagome's red, puffy eyes, looking defeated at her sink.

"What happened?" She immediately asked, trying to remember the combination lock to her dad's most intense martial arts weapon.

Kagome started to silently cry.

"He kissed another girl. In front of me. Just like I wasn't even there. I was so stupid." She spat out.

'Screw these stupid tears!' She thought angrily, wiping them away.

"Who? Inuyasha! I'll kill him, I swear I will!" Sango began to rant, taking off her jewelry.

Kagome shook her head.

"Not him. Kouga." She sniffed, staring at her best friend for condolence.

"Oh sweetie, what happened?" Sango asked giving Kagome a wet washcloth to press on the back of her neck to help calm her down.

After Kagome's breathing slowed, she started to tell Sango the events of today. How he gave her a ride home, how she thought he kissed her on the forehead, when she went for the run she automatically went to him, how that girl kissed him. She didn't leave anything out.

"I thought he liked me." She finished lamely.

"Did you even give him a chance to explain?" Sango asked reasonably.

"What was there to explain! If he liked me, he wouldn't have kissed her in front of me. Oh and her hair! It was so gorgeous, and healthy, and RED! No wonder he likes her. Look at my hair. It's so brown it's almost black, and it's so wavy. When I brush it, it frizzes!" Kagome tugged at her hair in the mirror. "Look at it!" She hysterically screamed.

"Woah there. Calm down. He's a jerk. Simple as that. Get over him. Let me take you home, and we can figure this out after your regionals. I know you. You'd hate to lose just because you were obsessing over an idiot boy who obviously has no taste."

Sango took Kagome's hand and led her to her car. She saw Kohaku give her a questioning look. She shook her head to let him know now wasn't a good time to explain.

Being the best friend that she was, Sango stayed at Kagome's house that night. She tried her best to relax Kagome and get her ready for the tournament. After a while Kagome finally fell into a restless sleep muttering words like 'Kouga', 'stupid wolf', and 'red hair'.

That night was nothing compared to what happened the next day.

So what'd you guys think? Remember to please review and let me know! Am I doing a good job? I get insecure sometimes about my story, and I just want

to make sure it's going well.