a/n: Once again 'tis I, drvnkrazee, back with another chapter!

I am so so so SO sorry about this excruciatingly long delay of updating. I have many excuses for it, but I don't really want to bore you with them. SORRY!

BUT, I was shocked to see so many Inuyasha fans confused about this, but Hojou isn't Hojou's first name -- It's his last! Don't you all remember from the movie (and the newer episodes) that he had an ancestor named Akitoki Hojou? Hojou was the last name and Akitoki was his first. Ah, but no matter. I'll just use 'Hojou' as if it was his first name... We all know who that is, right:D

Now time for a quick review of what happened last chapter:

Kagome realizes her feelings for Inuyasha. She doesn't like it. She bumps into Hojou who asks her on a date. She says yes. Kagome is still fighting with her feelings about Inuyasha and wants to get him out of her head. Kouga finds out about the date and 'blackmails' her into dating him later on that week too. Kagome reluctantly agrees and now here is the next insert to the story!

And once again, my apologies for the long absence (only crap! A year!).

XxX

(-) (-) (-)

Call Her

(-) (-) (-)

XxX

Inuyasha rested on his bed and watched Miroku as he struggled to get past 'The Boss Man' on one of the video games that were sitting in front of Inuyasha's television. Miroku was always hanging around at Inuyasha's house, which never made sense to him seeing that Miroku's house was much bigger.

"You know you don't live here, right?" Inuyasha asked with slight annoyance.

Miroku continued to rapidly press the buttons that were on the game controller. He was bored and his date with Sango wasn't until Saturday night. He had probably already been there for about an hour now. And besides, he had very important things to discuss to Inuyasha involving Kags.

"Yeah, I know, but your house is more fun to hang out at than that ol' boring mansion some call a home," Miroku replied, indicating his own home.

"I guess so, huh," Inuyasha responded as he grabbed his pillow and put it over his head, an attempt to release his frustration about that day's activities at school. "I'm just glad school is over and that it's finally the weekend! Class is such a fucking pain in my ass!"

"Hmph," Miroku smirked, still concentrating on the game. "As long as class isn't actually fucking you in the ass, I think you'll be fine," Miroku joked. Suddenly, Inuyasha's pillow went flying through the room and smacked Miroku soundly across the face. "Ow!" he cried as he hit the ground roughly. "What the hell was that for?" he yelled as he witnessed his character die at the hands of 'The Boss Man'.

Inuyasha shrugged carefree as he grabbed another pillow from the head of his bed. "Eh. No reason in particular."

Miroku threw down the game controller distastefully while he watched his player's soul fly off into the sky with bright red words flashing 'You're a loser! You lose!' across the screen. He leaned over and shut off the television. "So," he said as he sprawled out across the floor on his back, "what are we going to do now? You pretty much killed my game stamina to try and beat that guy again."

Inuyasha looked at his ceiling blankly as his hands and arms lay crossed beneath his head. "I dunno. We could go get something to eat downstairs. I think my dad cooked something." He lightly breathed in. "It sure smells like he did," Inuyasha thought quietly as his demon sense of smell picked up the rancid aroma of what should have been a salmon dinner with rice. His father was never a good cook; his mother always did the cooking, but no one ever knew that the female human living with the Fuku's was actually the woman of the household.

Miroku felt his stomach gurgle at the thought of Mr. Fuku's cooking though. The last time Miroku ate there, he had gotten sick from the undercooked chicken... well, actually, everything was pretty much undercooked. He stuck out his tongue to show his disgust. "Nah. I think I'll go eat from your toilet if I feel like eating something that'll make me puke, thanks," he laughed.

Inuyasha smiled, still staring at the ceiling. "Yeah. That'd probably be a safer bet."

Miroku sat up and looked over to Inuyasha. "So, how have you and Kags been?" Miroku asked while trying to not sound like he obviously knew something that Inuyasha didn't (even though he did).

Inuyasha shrugged again. "I dunno. Alright, I guess. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I don't know," Miroku answered as he stretched out to pull the chair at Inuyasha's desk to him and sat in it. "You two seemed to be a bit distant these past few days."

"Distant?" he repeated as he looked at Miroku. "What do you mean?"

"Well...," Miroku dragged out slowly, "for instance she's going on a date tonight...,"

-- Inuyasha's eyes widened immensely --

"with someone from school...,"

-- he sat up abruptly --

"who isn't you."

Inuyasha stared at Miroku with an unreadable expression on his face. To Miroku, he seemed to be unaffected by the new information, so when he decided to ask if he was alright, he couldn't have been more wrong.

"What!" Inuyasha exploded as he jumped up from his bed. "She's going on a what?!" he screamed.

Miroku too jumped, but only away from Inuyasha. He could be the dumbest person in the world, but he could sure as hell be the scariest person.

"A -- a date!" Miroku answered frightened.

Inuyasha soared from his bed and landed in front of Miroku's seat, wanting to be face to face with the boy. "And you knew about this, but you didn't tell me until now?" he whispered menacingly.

"Um, Inuyasha?" Miroku started as he tried to sneak out of the close confrontation. "I think you're missing the point!" he told as he slid to the side of the chair and began to back away, the hanyou still hot on his trail. "I mean, I'm not your girlfriend sneaking out behind your back, right?" he laughed nervously, almost tripping on the game controller he threw down minutes earlier.

Inuyasha growled and clenched his fists instinctively at Miroku's words.

"Okay. You're obviously upset," Miroku smiled uneasily as he gave a watery smile and backed into Inuyasha's bathroom. "But I have an idea that could help your situation! You won't have to hurt the trust in the relationship and she won't even know that she's under your surveillance - ack!" Miroku yelled before he fell backwards and landed in the bathtub. He bumped his head roughly against the wall, but was too scared to notice the pain.

Inuyasha stopped once he was at Miroku's hovering feet that hung over the edge of the tub and took a moment to think about his offer.

That would be nice if he could see what Kagome was doing without having to have her know that he was there. Kagome would probably get upset if she knew that though. 'But what the hell is she thinking?' Inuyasha thought. 'She's with me!'

He gave Miroku a deadly look before saying, "I'm listening."

(-)

"Friday, January 9th (Night)

Dear Diary,

it is official. I am, by far, the worst person in the world - not to mention the worst dresser in the world. (Yes, that's right. Souta helped me get dressed again! But I am getting better!) Anyways, I still feel guilty about this whole thing. I mean, first it was just Hojou, but now Kouga too? I think I should tell Inuyasha what's going on, at least about the date thing."

Kagome glanced at her clock from her bed. Hojou would be there soon.

"But then it's not like he would care. From what we talked about in the car, it seems he wouldn't mind if I dated other guys. I'm even sure that he would encourage me to date Hojou!"

Kagome began to rapidly tap the pen's bottom on the page. So many thoughts were flying through her mind about the situation that she just didn't know what she should write down. But time was racing by and she figured that her diary didn't want to hear about her whining.

"... I don't know. I'll just try and enjoy myself. Hopefully, this date with Hojou will take my mind off of Inuyasha, Kouga, Kikyou, and this drama that comes with being one of 'Them'!"

She closed her diary, grabbed her familiar black jacket, and headed into the kitchen to await the arrival of Hojou.

"I'm sure I'll have fun..."

(-)

He smiled nervously at Kagome from his seat across from hers. She hadn't said a thing since they arrived at the restaurant. Instead, she would just gaze off into space and completely ignore Hojou.

She lazily stirred her water with her pinky, flicking the water off occasionally, and poked at the food that was brought out to her.

The restaurant was called Volere Bene and was incredibly gorgeous, not to mention a good forty-five minute drive from home. There was a dance floor in the middle with small tables surrounding it and booths were smothered against the restaurant's walls. Plus, there were lovely ivy plants crawling on the ceiling and walls with an adorable candle that sat in the center of each table. This place was incredibly beautiful, utterly romantic, and, most definitely, expensive. Any girl would fluster over this place and their date.

Except Kagome.

Hojou shifted uncomfortably in his seat and cleared his throat loudly, hoping to get her attention.

It worked.

She looked up quickly at the sudden sound from him and met his eyes. He smiled warmly at her and offered her a piece of bread that was in the basket provided on the table.

Immediately, she smiled back and bashfully took a piece. "Thanks," she said softly before she took a bite.

'Here I am, on a date with a really nice boy in a really nice place, and I'm being a total bitch to Hojou. Yeah, way to be unselfish, Kagome!' she thought harshly.

"No problem, Kagome. It's always my pleasure," he told. "And you look very beautiful tonight."

"Ha... Thank you."

"So," Hojou began as he placed the basket of bread down, "what have you been up to lately? Like... what happened to you?"

"Oh," Kagome quickly let out. "Nothing really, except for having new friends, I guess you could say..."

Hojou smiled. "Why do you say it like that?"

"Say what like that?"

"When you mentioned your friends," he explained. You don't say it with too much confidence."

Kagome looked down at the table. He was very observant and nothing at all like Inuyasha; he would have never noticed the uncertainty in her tone. "It's probably because I'm not too confident on that part, but that's alright. I'm learning," she smiled.

(-)

"Miroku! I feel so fucking ridiculous in this!" Inuyasha whispered through clenched teeth as he struggled to walk along side Miroku, occasionally grabbing at his friend's arm for support. When Miroku said that he had a plan, Inuyasha didn't think that it would involve becoming Miroku's wife, and why he even agreed to it is beyond him.

"Hey, don't blame me!" Miroku told as they headed towards the glass doors of the restaurant. "I told you to get dressed at my house so you could get some practice in, but it was your idea to follow them first and then get dressed in the car."

"Yeah, but why'd I have to be the girl?" he argued.

"Inuyasha," he chuckled as he continued to be Inuyasha's support. "Everyone knows that I have the distinctly sexier and manlier features of the both of us."

Now that Inuyasha was wearing high heels, along with a borrowed dress that belonged to Kagura, he had a couple of inches on Miroku in height, which made the two look very out of place with one another.

"Whatever, man. Just shut the hell up and open the damn door!" Inuyasha frowned while he staggered in his strut.

Miroku fixed the fake mustache that sat under his nose before pulling the doors open as he was commanded. 'Part of a Halloween costume,' Miroku had explained.

The two of them had been following Hojou's car all night and once he arrived at the restaurant with Kagome, they began to put their plan into action.

Inuyasha had a black bandanna on his head to cover his ears with a long-sleeved dress to match. Of course, this did not help his wide and masculine shoulders, along with his lack of womanly-like breasts, but it helped a little. Additionally, Inuyasha had incredibly hairy legs.

Miroku, on the other hand, looked quite handsome with his fake little mustache and sleek black suit.

"Ladies first," Miroku sighed as he pulled the door open and watched Inuyasha swagger into the building, stumbling every step of the way.

"Damn right!" Inuyasha yelled at him in his best female voice.

Miroku followed in after him, thinking that disguising themselves as a husband and wife at dinner wasn't exactly the greatest plan in the world, especially since Inuyasha knew absolutely nothing about being kind, feminine, or walking in heels.

(-)

By the time the food came out, Kagome had warmed up to Hojou and was really enjoying his company. She never knew a boy could be as sensitive and as sweet as Hojou was. He was truly a gentleman and she liked that about him.

He was nothing like Inuyasha.

"So tell me Kagome, are you planning on going to the dance on the thirty-first?" Hojou asked while he cut the meat on his plate.

Kagome, remembering to not talk with her mouth full (thanks to Inuyasha), swallowed her food, coughing slightly, and looked at Hojou. "The dance? What dance is that?"

Hojou smiled at her as if she were joking with him. "The dance! The... The Ikari Dance!" When Kagome continued to just stare at him, he went on. "It's the most important dance of the year, Kagome! Surely you've heard of it!"

Kagome took a sip of her water and then shook her head. "No. I've never heard of it. What happens there?"

Hojou continued to look at her in disbelief. "Ha. Well, to start, they bless the gardening club to ensure the health of our gardens for the New Year. I'm actually in that club! You should think of joining, Kagome! We're always looking for new members!" Hojou smiled. Kagome just smiled back in return. "Plus, our wonderful teachers are recognized for their hard efforts during the school year!" he told excitedly. "It's really a wonderful occasion! Oh... And there is always this stupid thing where they claim a boy and a girl as the school's 'Royalties', but really that's just a popularity thing. It doesn't even represent the best of the school, just the most popular."

Kagome smiled softly. "You really don't like that, do you?"

Hojou shook his head. "Nah. I'm not into that whole 'materialistic just to please others' thing, you know what I mean? I prefer people to just be happy with their selves and not care about what others think."

"You know it's not that easy, right?" Kagome let out suddenly. "You know you can't ever be happy just relying on what you think about yourself. This whole world is based off of what others think about you."

"What? No, it's not!"

"Yes! Yes, it is! Why do you think people buy certain clothes, go to certain places, and refuse to talk to certain people? It's because we're always on our toes about what everyone else is saying... and it's hard!" she told. "It's very hard!"

Hojou grinned gently and grabbed Kagome's hand from across the table. "Kagome, I like you. I don't know if you like me back, and I don't know if you would ever consider going on another date with me, but would you consider going to the dance with me? Be my date? That is, if you don't already have one...?"

(-)

"Inuyasha! Stop kicking me with those stupid heels on!" Miroku told as he shifted his legs from under the table.

"Sorry! I'm just trying to see what they're doing!"

"I guess... But can't you hear them?" Miroku questioned as he leaned over to rub the area on his shin that Inuyasha had bashed.

"Yeah, I can, but this stupid thing on my head makes my ears itch like crazy!" he responded as his hand reached up to remove the cloth.

"Stop! You know that Kags will recognize you if you take that off!" Miroku warned as he threw a piece of bread at Inuyasha.

"Sorry! Okay? Sorry! I'm just a bit on edge right now!" Inuyasha explained.

Miroku sighed as he fixed his mustache. "It's fine. I guess I'd be a bit on edge too if my girlfriend did this," he told with empathy. His hand began to rub the smooth patch of hair on his upper lip. "Hm. You know, I think I'm going to grow a mustache," Miroku announced. "So, what are they saying?"

"I think that boy is talking about the dance comin' up."

"Oh, really? I had almost forgotten about that! You going?"

Inuyasha looked to Miroku in a disgusted way. "Shut up!"

Miroku threw his hands up defensively. "Alright! Jeez! Just trying to make small-talk with my wife here! Gosh! …Asshole."

"Ugh! This stupid thing!" Inuyasha whispered as he scratched his ears through the cloth.

"Just stop messing with it!" Miroku scolded, pulling Inuyasha's hand down from his head.

"I think he just asked her to go with him!" Inuyasha cried. "That bastard! Doesn't he know that she's going with me?"

"Just relax, Inuyasha! It's not like she said yes to him!" Miroku soothed, but suddenly looked at Inuyasha curiously. "Right?"

"I dunno, but they're dancing now…" he told somewhat dejectedly, sliding immediately back down into his seat. "Damn," he whispered.

Miroku looked at him sympathetically. "Hey… Don't be upset. She probably said no anyway!" he comforted.

Inuyasha was silent as he looked down to the table, seemingly confused.

"You wanna eat something?" Miroku offered. "It may make you feel better. Food normally does!"

"Yeah… sure."

(-)

Kagome giggled as Hojou's small breaths began to dance on her neck. It tickled and made the hairs on her neck stand on edge.

She heard Hojou chuckle in return. "Sorry about that," he told. "I guess I can't really control myself when I'm with you."

His breaths continued to brush against her neck, almost causing her to burst out laughing right there on the dance floor, but she restrained herself and instead tightened her grip on his left hand. Her other was strapped onto his shoulder while his was placed on the small of her back.

"It's alright," she responded. "It's my fault. I've never danced with a boy before so I can't help it." She giggled again. "It just tickles so badly!"

"Tickles?" he asked as he pulled back to look at her.

She looked up at him. "Yeah. You're breathing on my neck, Hojou. It tickles."

Hojou continued to stare at her, then suddenly seemed like he got the message. "Oh! Tickles! Yeah, sorry about that…" he laughed bashfully as he pulled her in close once again.

They continued to dance as the song switched to another.

Kagome mentally sighed. 'Wow,' she thought. 'I've never been treated in such a romantic way before. This is so dreamy…' She snuggled deeper into his embrace.

"Thanks," she whispered. "This means a lot to me."

Hojou suddenly hugged her tighter as he whispered back, "No problem at all, Kagome. It's my pleasure and I'd be happy to do anything for you…"

This time, Kagome felt goose bumps rise across her body as his words hit her.

(-)

"Oh, my god! They are making me sick, Miroku!" Inuyasha gagged as he continued to watch them. "Did you see that? Did you see that? She's grabbing at him! Like some kind of animal, Miroku!" He turned around to see Miroku's reaction at this disgusting scene.

"Mhmm. Yeah. Some kind of animal. Gotcha," Miroku replied. He wasn't really listening though. He was eating the food they had ordered. "Oh, my goodness! Have you tried this? Oh, wow! Are you going to eat that?" he asked as he pointed at Inuyasha's pasta with his fork.

"What? No. Go for it," Inuyasha said as he looked to his munching friend. He watched him for a second and turned his gaze back to the dancing couple. "Can you believe this? She's just throwing herself to anyone now, huh?" he asked, not expecting an answer though.

"Oh, wow! Taste your pasta, Inuyasha! It is fabulous!" Miroku managed to say with his mouth full.

"I just can't believe this…" Inuyasha muttered. "I mean, it looks like she actually enjoys that creep putting his hands all over her!"

Miroku took a gulp of his water before replying, "Well, do you think that you don't give her enough attention? Like, physically?" Miroku smirked. "Is she ready to go to the next level, but a certain little guy isn't quite ready yet?" he cooed.

"Shut it, Miroku!" he growled as he threw his cloth napkin across the table and at Miroku's chest. "It's nothing like that!"

He shrugged as he picked up Inuyasha's napkin from his lap. "Hey, I'm just saying maybe that's why she's going out with this guy in the first place. I don't know what goes on in your relationship, so you can't blame a guy for asking!"

"There's nothing wrong with our relationship!" he retorted as he turned back around to watch Kagome swoon over this loser. "Our relationship is perfectly fine…" he mumbled.

"Okay…" Miroku said as he dug into the chicken that was laid before him.

Suddenly, a gentleman in black attire approached the table with a small reddish book in his hand. "The bill, sir?"

Miroku looked at the small book then nodded towards Inuyasha. "Honey? Do you think you could get this tonight? I left my wallet at home."

"What?" Inuyasha asked as he turned around, but quickly repeated himself but in a higher voice as he saw the waiter. "What are you talking about, sweetie? I have no money on me."

Miroku looked at Inuyasha with wide, horrific eyes. "But, darling, I don't have any money either," he told through gritted teeth. A moment of silence passed before the server announced that he'd return in a minute. "Inuyasha! You don't have any money? What the hell!" he whispered while leaning over the table.

"What do you mean? I'm not the rich one here!" Inuyasha reminded as he leaned across the table as well.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not the crazy boyfriend out chasing my cheating girlfriend! You should have brought money!"

"What? This was your idea to follow her so you should have brought the money!" Inuyasha snapped. "And she is not cheating on me!"

Miroku exhaled painfully as he looked down to the table. "So what are we going to do? They won't kill you for not having money anymore, will they?"

Inuyasha looked around quickly. "You wanna dine n' dash? If so, you can go first because I'm a lot quicker than you. They won't be able to catch me if I go after you," Inuyasha told with all seriousness in his voice.

"What!" Miroku exclaimed. "Are you crazy? No! We aren't going to ditch!"

Once again, a man arrived at the table, but this man was much larger and older. The two assumed that he was the manager.

"Is there a problem here?" he questioned.

"Shit…" Inuyasha whispered under his breath.

The man looked to Inuyasha. "Excuse me?"

"Um… Sir," Inuyasha began in his falsetto, feminine tone, "it seems I forgot my purse at home. Heh." Inuyasha began to twirl his long sliver locks around his finger. "Pretty funny, huh?" he said with an attempt to be appealing to the man.

The man looked at him sternly. "Yes, miss. Real funny." Inuyasha smiled wider in response. "Are you two familiar with dishes?" he asked.

"Dishes?" Miroku repeated. "What do we have to do with dishes?"

The manager smiled. "You two bums are going to be washing them until you make up your tab!" he declared as he reached for the collar of their shirts and began to drag them to the back kitchen.

"What! No! I can't!" Inuyasha yelled in his female voice as he and his best friend were being dragged off by the large man. He witnessed Hojou tell something to Kagome, her give a smile and a small nod, and him leading her to the table and then to the front doors. "Please! No! I can't!" he shouted after Kagome and her date were gone. "I'm to pretty to wash dishes!" he announced, completely dropping the voice and crying in his own.

(-)

Hojou walked Kagome to her front door and stopped walking once they reached it.

Kagome looked down bashfully and then brought her head up with a smile.

"Thanks again, Hojou. I had a great time!"

Hojou reached over and gently held her hand. He grinned softly.

"I told you, Kagome. It's no problem."

Kagome's eyes led her to their hands and felt the blood begin to rush to her cheeks. He really knew what to what to do and say to make a girl feel special. 'Why can't Inuyasha treat me like this, even if we are pretending?' she thought to herself. She looked up suddenly. 'Oh no. Inuyasha.' She released her hand from Hojou's grasp.

"Hojou… Listen," she started as took a small step back. "I really enjoyed tonight, but… I have a boyfriend. Inuyasha Fuku…" She stood staring at him, awaiting the explosion soon to come. After all, what guy could forgive a girl for being unfaithful to her man by going out with another?

"I know, Kagome," he suddenly replied.

Kagome blinked several times to show her confusion. "What?"

Hojou let a small, crooked smile onto his face. "I know. I've known ever since I got back, but I just couldn't believe it. To think that someone, so sweet and wonderful like you, could be going out with someone that is so careless and so immature." He took hold of Kagome's hand again with both of his and held it next to his chest. "You can't possibly be happy with him. Your heart can't be beating for him like mine beats for you, Kagome!"

He looked deep into her eyes.

"Kagome, you are too wonderful to be wasted on the likes of him. If you ever need someone to lean on, I'll always be there for you," he confessed.

Kagome was stunned. She stood there staring at him with her mouth slightly ajar. 'Is he saying that he likes me?' she asked mentally. She was a bit skeptical about the idea because no one - absolutely no one - has ever told her that, at least not to her face.

"I know it may be hard to take in, and I'm sorry for pouncing this on you, but I think you have the right to know. If you like someone, you should tell them, right?" Before Kagome could answer, Hojou was off again. "I mean, life is too short to not take it by the horns and live it to the fullest. Like, I know rejection is a terrible thing, but we're all going to have to deal with it anyways, so why not go down fighting, you know?"

Kagome looked at him and, suddenly, it seemed like everything just clicked. It felt as if a door to a new world was opened and a holy and blinding light flooded in. Hojou made so much sense that it was ridiculous that she hadn't noticed this sooner.

She snapped out of her thoughts and tightened her hold on him. "Thank you… for so much, Hojou. I really mean it."

Hojou looked down lightly and nodded. "Heh… Anything for you, Kagome Higurashi. Anything." He glanced up once before he bent down and kissed the hand that he was still holding onto.

(-)

"This is so lame…" Inuyasha muttered as he tossed a dish into the sink full of soap and water. "I can't believe you forgot your wallet."

Miroku chuckled as he dried off the already cleaned plates. "Yeah… How perfect was that?"

A moment of silence passed as the two continued to clean. By now an hour had passed and they had cleaned a series of fifty-five dishes, not including silverware. In the beginning, the boys refused to take part in the "inhumane punishment", but now it was seen as better to get it over with now.

Inuyasha went to the opposite counter to get more porcelain tableware. As he set them down next to the sink, Miroku exclaimed, "Geez! How much more do we have to wash?"

Inuyasha dunked a bowl in water before he began to scrub at it. "I think just this bit and we can go."

Once they were thrown into the back, Inuyasha had dropped the act of 'wife' and willingly explained why he was dressed like that. The manager, being the kind man he was, took about 25 percent of the originally planned cleaning to console for his loss.

Five more minutes passed before Inuyasha announced, "She left with him when we got called back here…"

Miroku looked at him. Inuyasha seemed so sad and quiet. He watched him as he got another bowl.

Was he really getting this upset over this girl? Wasn't she just caught, like, cheating on him? And besides, it had been barely three weeks since they started dating. Miroku knew that even though Inuyasha was absolutely in love with Kikyou, he didn't start caring like that until two months after their relationship had started.

But she obviously meant something to him, and if she meant something to Inuyasha then she meant something to Miroku.

"Go home, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked up to him. "Sorry?"

"I said for you to go home now. Listen, I can wash the rest of these stupid things. Go home and try to patch things up with her. Talk to her."

Inuyasha stood motionless. "Miroku?"

"Now don't be aggressive when you talk to her. Be gentle. Try to be understanding," he advised. "Asked why she did it and ask what you can do to make sure it never happens again."

Inuyasha continued to gawk at him, seemingly moved by his generosity. "I… don't understand."

Miroku gave a final and reassuring smile. "Call her."

(-)

"Friday, January 9th (Late Night)

Dear Diary,

I can't believe it, but I had an amazing time. I know! It was weird, but… I was treated like someone special. I liked it. I liked feeling important and like I meant something wonderful to someone (Oh my goodness! He told me he liked me! AHH!). Once we got home, Hojou told me something that made me realize that my feelings for Inuyasha are so strong. I mean, I know that he can't ever like me the same way that I like him, but what is so wrong by being in his presence, right? Of course, I'll tell him eventually how I feel, but I'll do that when the time is right. I'm just -"

The phone, for some reason, was sitting on her bed and was ringing. Kagome put her pen down, got up, and walked over to the bed.

"Must have left it here when I was talking to Hojou earlier."

Kagome pressed the answer button and raised it up to her ear. It was pretty late so there was no way the call would be for her, and she made her way to her door to bring the phone to her mother.

"Hello?" she answered casually.

Right when she reached the door handle Inuyasha's voice echoed back at her.

She stood still. "… Inuyasha?"

"Oh, Kagome! It's you… I was afraid that you might be sleeping by now. It's pretty late, so sorry for that," Inuyasha told.

Kagome backed away from the door and went to go lay on her bed.

"What's up? Is everything okay?"

She heard Inuyasha sigh and reply, "Yeah… Yeah. Everything is, uh … Everything's…" He stopped talking suddenly and she heard him laugh softly. "No, Kagome. I… I know where you were tonight, and frankly, I'm not okay with it."

Her heart dropped. He knew? How? Who told?

"I don't understand, Kagome. Why'd you do it? Why'd you go behind my back and do that?" His voiced seemed to drip with pain and the way he was saying her name caused her chest to ache.

"I… I didn't think that you would care," she told. "I mean, I thought that you would have encouraged me to go out with another guy." She heard him laugh again.

"So why didn't you tell me about it if you thought that I'd encourage you?"

She didn't have an answer for that. She couldn't tell him that she was trying to get him out of her mind! That she was trying her damnedest to not to think of him and not want him more than she already did. He would never understand! He would never understand how she felt about him and how it hurt when he said that there would be nothing between them. 'You can't just tell her a girl that she's beautiful and not expect her to be head over heels for you!' she thought.

She shook her head at her frustration and simply answered, "I don't know."

More silence passed before he replied. "Kagome, I'm sorry. I just want to be told…"

Kagome nodded in understanding, completely forgetting that he couldn't see her.

"I… I don't want to lose you, Kagome. Really, you're all I have now."

Her chest felt as if it just caved in and the hairs on her arm began to stand. 'What is he trying to say?'

"I care about you, I really do." He stopped talking again before laughing again and saying, "God. By the way I'm ranting, it seems like I'm in love with you or something, you know?"

Kagome felt tears form in her eyes. She didn't know if it was from the joy she felt as he said that he cared for her or the pain she felt when he practically announced to the heavens that the idea of loving her was cynical.

She choked the tears back.

Her chest was hurting again.

There was a huge lump in her throat that seemed impossible to swallow.

Her skin was crawling with the pain of knowing the boy she cared for would never see her in the light that she hoped for.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before laughing softly and replying in a broken voice, "Yeah. Crazy, right?"

Inuyasha exhaled happily, feeling that what needed to be said was said. "Alright, well, I'm gonna go now. I'm pretty sure you're tired, right?"

'Damn it! Stupid tears! They won't stop coming out!' Kagome discovered while continuing to wipe them away.

"Yep, yep! Pretty tired. You know how it is! Gotta get that sleep!" she said a bit over-enthusiastically.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow?" she asked while she breathed in deeply. Finally, those little suckers stopped pouring out. "Tomorrow is Saturday!"

"Yeah, I know. We'll go out for lunch!" he declared.

"Oh! Okay, then. Tomorrow it is. Good bye!" she answered back before hanging up. She dropped the phone and went back to her diary immediately. Grabbing the pen, she skipped a line after the previous sentence and began to scribble down words.

"Nope. Don't do it. Hojou was wrong. I'm not even trying to win him over and I'm getting rejected already! Don't tell him. At least, not yet… I don't want to hurt more than I'm already doing…"

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a/n: So? What did you think? Good? Not good? Too sexy? Lol! Just messing with you. But oh my goodness! When I was writing that little sentimental bit, my iPod was playing at random and all of these sad love songs were on and it made me feel so sad when writing:D Funny. Well, I didn't have time to respond to your reviews, but I'll try for next chapter, alright? Oh, and about my beta: I haven't had enough time yet, but if you're interested in the job, e-mail me! Well, much love to all!

Next Chapter: We Have to Deal