Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. He belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. (sobbing) I can't believe I just said that!

A/N: O-kay! Chapter 11! Wow....this story is going to be a long one. The characters just go wherever they want, I tell you!

Sesshoumaru: I want to go to Disneyland next.

But you're not even in this story yet!

Sesshoumaru: You will take me to Disneyland, bitch.

Rin: But Sesshoumaru-sama, Rin wants to go to Six Flags.

Sesshoumaru: (eyes glaring and claws dripping poison) You will take us to Six Flags!

(whimper) Help meeeee!

Kagome held a firm grip on the door handle to her room, determined not to let go until both she and Inuyasha had their story straightened out. She was close to sitting him until he complied, but biting her tongue, she stood her ground and tried to reason with him.

"So we're just friends," She clarified to him once more.

"Don't you dare forget the intent claim, bitch!" Inuyasha snarled. "I'm not about to let it go without a fight!"

"Of course not," Kagome sighed and prayed for patience. On one side, she was absolutely thrilled at his words, but on the other she knew her mother would take it the wrong way at this point in time. "But while we're around my mother, we are just friends," she whispered furiously, trying to get him to bring the noise level down. Heaven forbid her mother was standing on the other side of the door.

"Why can't we tell her?" Inuyasha frowned, upset that she wanted to hide the nature of their relationship. Was she ashamed of him?

"Because in my time, I'm too young for this kind of stuff!" Kagome replied, getting annoyed that he wasn't listening to her explanation.

He growled low in his throat and huffed. "Fine, have it your way bitch!" Much to his horror, it came out sounding more hurt than he intended.

Taken slightly aback at his tone, she took a step forward and stroked his arm. "Hey, I'm not saying I don't want this. All I'm saying is that we should wait to tell my mother," she assured him, leaning forward to nuzzle his shoulder.

Sighing, he leaned into her head. "You're catching onto the signals way too quickly."

"And this is a bad thing?" She frowned, leaning back so she could see him.

"No," he snorted. "It just calms me down when I don't want to."

Kagome beamed. "So I am getting better?"

He shrugged, and to any outsider's viewpoint, he might look indifferent, but both he and Kagome knew that he was secretly proud of her progress.

"That was a comforting gesture, right?" She asked, not entirely sure what she just did.

"You mean you did it without knowing?" Inuyasha jutted his head back slightly, startled. Only those with youkai blood would learn these things by instict, not humans.

"Well," she laughed nervously. "You did it last night to me, and it helped calm me down, so I figured it would do the same for you."

Inuyasha huffed, then nodded. "You got it right this time, but don't do anymore unless you know for sure what it means!" He poked her shoulder, slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she put a finger to her chin, teasingly. "I might accidentally come on to Kouga if I'm not careful."

Snarling, Inuyasha grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her. "Don't you dare even think about that! I'm not letting the mangy wolf anywhere near you!"

"Mou, Inuyasha," she chuckled, touched at his jealousy. "I was only kidding. I don't even really like Kouga."

Inuyasha felt his eyebrow twitch. "Don't even really like?" He repeated in an acid tone.

"Okay, I don't like him at all," Kagome quickly amended. "Feel better?"

He gave a quiet 'whuf' noise and glared at her.

"Alright, I don't know what that means," Kagome shook her head in confusion.

"It means I'm not pleased with you right now," Inuyasha bit out.

Kagome nuzzled the underside of his chin and gave it a quick lick. "I love you." The admission came easier than she expected, and she smiled.

He closed his eyes. "Better."

"And you're sooo much stronger than that wimpy wolf," Kagome laughed, having fun stroking his ego and watching him puff his chest out.

"Even better," He smirked, nuzzling the side of her neck.

"And the next time he comes around I'll tell him that I've been claimed by a very possessive inu hanyou who doesn't like me hanging around with wolves," Kagome moaned as he lightly bit the side of her neck, willing to say almost anything to make him continue.

"Fantastic," He smiled against the side of her neck.

"Why'd you stop?" Kagome leaned into his shoulder, rubbing her cheek against his t-shirt.

"I told you, we should wait until it's safe," he had to firmly pull himself away from her before they did anything that might not be a good idea to do with Kagome's mother downstairs.

But kami, he wanted to.

"You look like a puppy who just lost his bone," Kagome teased.

Huffing, he grabbed a hold of her shoulders and practically shoved her out the bedroom door. "Let's go, I'm hungry bitch."

Giggling softly, she padded lightly down the stairs. "Alright, we'll eat breakfast and then I have to go do some homework. I'm so far behind I don't even remember the basics," she moaned.

"Keh!" Inuyasha sniffed indignantly. "That's because more important stuff came up."

A sudden thought occurred to Kagome and she gasped in delight. "I've got an idea!" She turned to face Inuyasha excitedly as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"What?" he asked warily.

"You teach me more youkai body language signals, and I'll teach you the basics of reading!" She jumped up on her toes. "It'll be like school, only at home and with a much more interesting topic!" Not to mention a hotter teacher, she added to herself silently.

Inuyasha blinked. "You-you'll teach me to read?"

"Of course!" Kagome smiled. "I'm sure it'll take a while, but if you're willing, I'll help you."

Swallowing, Inuyasha turned his face to the floor to hide his awed expression. Nobody had ever offered to teach a worthless hanyou how to read. Not even Kikyo. When he told her he couldn't read, she laughed and told him that was to be expected. Not many knew how in the feudal times.

The fact that Kagome told him she'd help him learn to read as if it were the easiest and most natural thing to do held him speechless. Silently nodding, he nudged her hand until she held it, and promised to teach her all he knew about inu youkai traditions and communication.

Smiling, Kagome held his hand and led him into the kitchen, where breakfast lay on the table. Looking around, Kagome could not find her mother, but saw a plate set up for her in her usual spot. Figuring she was throwing her apron in the laundry, she gestured for Inuyasha to sit and begin eating.

Halfway through the meal, her mother's voice came from the other room. "Kagome? Could you go upstairs and get me your laundry?"

"Now?" Kagome blinked. "But what about breakfast?" She glanced over at her mother's set place.

"Kagome," her mother's tone took on an icy bite. "Get the laundry and bring it to me please."

Swallowing, she nodded. "Yes mama," she whispered, obediently standing up and walking out of the kitchen.

'That was odd,' she thought to herself. 'Mama rarely uses that tone, and never when I ask a question.'

Taking the steps two at a time, she toddled on into her bedroom and gathered up the laundry from the floor. Grunting, she hefted the large pile over to the hamper by her closet. Heaving all the clothes into it, she sighed and stepped back before realizing that her pj's also needed a wash.

Shrugging out of them, she added them to the large pile and went in search of clothes before anyone could walk in on her. Finding a pair of jeans in her closet, she decided to be comfortable today and threw them on, as well as a t-shirt.

Armed with the week's laundry, she carried the huge hamper downstairs to her mother in the laundry room.

"Thank you, dear," her mother's voice came from behind the half-closed closet door inside the laundry room. The radio was on and she could barely hear her mother's voice.

"Er," Kagome looked around the laundry room. "Where's the rest of the laundry? I thought that's what you were doing?" She looked over to the washing machine and saw that it was empty. Next to it the folding table was devoid of freshly dried and crisply folded clothes.

"Mama?" She asked again, dropping the basket on the floor. "What's going on?"

"Nothing dear, I'm just getting started," her mother replied. "You may leave the laundry and I'll get to it."

Kagome licked her lips. "Alright." She replied slowly and dropped the basket on the floor where she stood. Scooting out of the room, she shrugged her shoulders at her mother's odd behavior.

Unbeknownst to Kagome, a figure half-turned to watch her leave, confident eyes watching her progress with a smirk playing upon its lips.

"That was odd," Kagome frowned as she entered the kitchen.

"What was?" Inuyasha asked in between bites of ramen. Kagome rolled her eyes as a piece of ramen fell from his lips and into his lap.

"My mother, she's acting...odd," Kagome sat down hesitantly and began eating once again. "I wonder if she's sick."

Inuyasha lifted his head and sniffed at the air. "No, she's fine," he took another bite. "Smells normal to me."

Kagome laughed. "That's handy."

"Especially when a certain someone claims 'sick' so she can go running home," Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her.

"Hey!" Kagome protested. "I only did that once!"

"Twice," Inuyasha snorted, gulping down the last of his ramen.

"Okay, twice," Kagome rolled her eyes. "Big deal."

"Shut up," Inuyasha huffed, clearing away his ramen cups and throwing them out in the garbage.

"You know, I've been thinking...." Kagome trailed off, a confused look on her face.

"That's a first," Inuyasha retorted, dodging a clump of rice that was thrown at him.

"You know how the other day you said you could only smell my scent on the note?" Kagome pressed on.

"Yeah, what of it?" Inuyasha slumped into the chair across from her.

"How come you couldn't smell my mother?" She frowned. "She picked it up too. And you for that matter," she added.

Inuyasha sighed. "Moron. That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Kagome snapped her chopsticks in irritation.

"The scent on the paper was old. It was yours, but it smelled like it was a day old," Inuyasha explained.

Kagome's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner? How could this be possible?" Her mind reeled.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I don't know. I'm waiting until another note comes so I can figure it out."

"You what?!" Kagome shrieked. "Those notes give me little heart attacks and you're waiting around for the next one like they're mail reminders from the dentist?!"

"What's a dentist?" Inuyasha blinked. "And I'm not sure about that scent," he argued. "I need the next one to be sure."

"I thought you said each person had a different scent," Kagome narrowed her eyes.

"They do," Inuyasha nodded. "Which is why it's weird that the note smelled like you."

"So....you think I wrote it to myself?!" Kagome panicked, thinking he didn't believe her.

"Of course not!" He roared. "What the fuck do you think I am, an idiot?!"

"Then what's going on?" Kagome shouted back, confused and scared.

"I don't know! Maybe somebody stole some of your paper and covered up their own scent!" Inuyasha retorted.

"Oh," Kagome sat back in her seat. "I suppose that's possible." She shook her head. "Wait a minute, I haven't found any missing paper! That can't be right."

"Idiot! I said 'maybe'! There are hundreds of other possibilities!" Inuyasha yelled, exasperated.

Settling the ends of her chopsticks on her lips, she sat back and thought about those other possibilities.

"I....can't think of anything," she reluctantly admitted.

"Keh. Me either. That's why I'm waiting for the next one," he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"Kagome?" Her mother walked into the room, a bag in hand. "There you are! I was worried you'd wake up and wonder where I was."

"Eh?" Both Kagome and Inuyasha turned to stare at her comically. "You were just doing laundry. You asked for my clothes just a few minutes ago," Kagome frowned. Had her mother finally lost it?

Her mother frowned. "No," she replied slowly, looking to both Inuyasha and Kagome as if they were crazy. "I was getting some more eggs so we could have fried eggs with breakfast. I left the house before the two of you even woke up."

Kagome frowned in confusion and turned to Inuyasha, but the boy was too busy sniffing the air to look her way.

"Old scent," he breathed, finally catching on. He hadn't noticed it before because he didn't have the real scent to compare it to.

"What?" Kagome asked, more confused than ever.

"Your mother's old scent is coming from the laundry room," Inuyasha leapt up and grabbed Tetsusaiga from its place on the counter.

"Old scent?" Kagome stood up and followed him. "What do you mean?"

"Old, like the one on the note," he growled and pushed her back into the kitchen. "Both of you stay here!" he shouted and ran towards the scent trail.

Pushing open the laundry room door, he unsheathed the Tetsusaiga and held it out in front of him. Cautiously looking around the room, he examined every little detail and sniffed again, though it did no good. The scent was already old, so he couldn't tell if it had left or not.

Glancing down at the basket that usually held Kagome's old clothes, he found it to be empty and cursed under his breath. "Great," he muttered to himself and put his sword away once he realized the room was completely empty and he didn't smell the old scent anywhere else in the house. "Just fucking great."

"Inuyasha?" Kagome's voice came from behind him and he sniffed quickly, calming down when he realized hers was a recent scent. "What?" He asked gruffly, turning around. "I thought I told you to wait in the kitchen!" He snapped, angry that she had not listened to him.

"Wh-where are my clothes?" Kagome stared wide-eyed at the basket. She looked up to the washing machine and saw it was empty also.

"They're gone," he replied simply. "But at least we know why the note smelled like you."

"What was it?" She asked in a shaky voice. "The voice sounded exactly like Mama's," she shuddered. "And how could our scents be used?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha sighed. "I couldn't even smell it, that's what really pisses me off."

"Do you think it's a youkai?" Kagome asked in a small voice, pressing a hand up to her lips.

"Fuck Kagome," Inuyasha exploded. "I just said I couldn't fucking smell it!"

"I know," Kagome nodded her head. "I just thought-maybe...."

Furious at himself for snapping at her, he yanked her closer to him and awkwardly threw an arm around her shoulders in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

"If it sounded exactly like your mother," Inuyasha mused. "Then it has to be a youkai."

"No," Kagome shook her head, subconsciously leaning into his warmth. "Here in this time....there are devices that can mimic a person's voice to a certain extent. Plus the radio was on in the closet, so I could barely hear the voice."

"But even if it was human," Inuyasha pressed on. "Why the hell couldn't I smell them? Why the hell could I only smell your mother's scent?" He growled low in his throat, upset that his nose was rendered useless against this opponent. He felt like it was the new moon all over again.

Kagome shook her head. "I don't know." She shivered. "Why the hell did they take my clothes? That's a little too creepy to even try and ponder about."

"Then don't," Inuyasha snorted. "Buy new ones."

"Easy for you to say," Kagome grumbled. "Now I have to go bra shopping all over again."

"What?"

"Nothing," Kagome sighed and stepped back, looking up at him. "What now?"

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Now," Kagome's mother came up behind them, starling them both. A quick sniff told Inuyasha that this was the real mother. "We go back to the police station. Our home has been obviously broken into, seeing as how I locked the door before I left." She grimaced. "This is taking a turn for the worst."

(passes out tater-tots) Thanks for reading. PLEASE REVIEW and I shall get the next chapter up as soon as I know that people are still reading! : )

(hands self esteem book to wabibito, who claimed to need it) Here you go, Inuyasha's done with it. His ego is big enough, I think.

Inuyasha: Keh! You're trying to use underhanded means of language to lower the value of my own self-worth.

O.o ......do you have any cookies for me?

Inuyasha: No. Sit! (points to author who is lying on the floor) Sttaayyy! BE HUMBLE!

I am! I am! Thank you readers! (bows low and climbs back into cage)