Chapter 14! Wh00t! -- I can't believe I just 'said' that. :X Anyway, R&R, comment, and no flaming please! Oh, and also, following me on Twitter will get you guys some extra info on when the next chapter comes out, plus maybe a little extra more, plot wise ;) Enjoy!

PS: OMG, I cannot believe I got 186 views on my story on the 1st o.O Thanks for the views you guys!


Kagome sat in class, unable to concentrate on the enormous amount of work the teacher had just assigned them. She found herself daydreaming, again, and she found herself thinking of InuYasha.

That jerk… he left me here all alone. Three whole years have passed and I still can't stop thinking about him.

"Hey, Kagome?" Eri whispered to her, poking her in the back.

"Hm?" she said, popping back to the present. "Sorry, what?"

"I asked what the answer to number two is," a man said loudly. She looked up from her desk and into the impatient face of her elderly Algebra teacher.

"Um, let's see, number two… Uh, which one is number two?" she said, rubbing her head and shrugging.

"Please may more attention in class, Miss Higurashi. This will be on the test next week," he said in a voice that sounded as bored as she was.

"Yes sir, sorry," she said overenthusiastically. The bell rang then, saving her from another workload, and she rushed out the room before anyone could stop her.

"Wait up, Kagome!" Eri called after her. "What was all that about? I mean, I know you usually space out during Algebra, but this time it was like you were in a different world."

You have no idea… "Sorry, I've been a bit—"

"—distracted?" Eri offered.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, feeling more ridiculous by the second.

"Hey you guys!" a voice came from behind them. They turned to see Ayumi running towards them, books clutched in the arms. "What's going on? How was your first day of class, Kagome, Eri?"

"Great, well, except for Sleeping Beauty over here," Eri said, teasing.

"Hey! I wasn't sleeping; I just got—"

"—distracted?" Eri and Ayumi chimed in, laughing at the face Kagome made in protest.

"Hey, you don't suppose it's like last time do you?" Ayumi said, worriedly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Eri said, shaking her head.

"What? What do you guys mean by last time?" Kagome said, clueless.

"You know, when you were dating him," Ayumi whispered, leaning into Kagome.

"They say that your first love is always the hardest to get over," Eri said, shrugging.

"Huh? Come one you guys, just tell me," Kagome pleaded.

"You're as clueless as ever, huh Kagome?" Eri said, poking her in the side. "We're talking about InuYasha, duh."

"Oh…" Kagome said, falling silent. I didn't think they'd still remember that… I did take it pretty hard not being able to go back.

"Well, is he back again or what?" Ayumi asked, concerned.

"If he is, I'll give him a piece of mind because Yuka isn't here to do it," Eri said defensively. "He left you once, and it nearly broke you in two. We've got to look out for each other!"

"No, you guys, you've got it all wrong!" Kagome said, waving her hands. "It's not him."

"Oh, so then who is it?" Eri pushed, her interest piqued again. "Tell us all about him."

"Yeah, Kagome, tell us!" Ayumi piped in.

Damn, these guys never miss a beat, do they? If I don't come up with something quick, they'll see right through me…

"Well… he's tall, much taller than me. And he's handsome, I guess," Kagome ventured.

"Really… Come on, Kagome; give us something more than that."

"Alright, alright; he's thin, but really strong. And he's the quiet type, not really much of a talker," Kagome said, finding herself describing Sesshomaru. Why did I think of him? I could've described Souta or someone else, but I thought of him right away.

"Uh, Kagome, you've got that sparkly-eyed look again," Ayumi noticed.

"Hey, come on, we'll be late for our next class!" Eri said, pulling on Ayumi's sleeve. "Tell us all about him during lunch, 'K?"

"Sure. See you guys later," Kagome said, still lost in thought. She walked aimlessly down the halls, thinking to herself.

Every time I think of Sesshomaru, it's because I need an excuse. But now…

A bell chimed, sounding the hour. Kagome snapped back to reality and looked at her watch.

"Damn! I'm gonna be late!" she said out loud as she ran for her next class.

"I'm home!" Kagome said as she took off her shoes and put them aside. "Mom, Grandpa… Hello?"

"No-one's here," Sesshomaru said from the kitchen, making her jump.

"You startled me," she said, walking towards the sound of his voice. "Where did everyone go?"

She turned to him and he simply handed her a note. Puzzled, she took it and unfolded the piece of paper. It read:

Kagome,

We've gone to the market for a few things. Grandfather went with me.

I didn't want to leave him alone with Sesshomaru. I'll be home around four,

make yourself something to eat if you want.

See you soon,

Mom

"Well, I guess we're alone until four then," Kagome said, throwing the paper away. "What do you want to do?"

"You have work to do, do you not?" Sesshomaru asked her.

"Ugh, homework, I forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me," she said, going back into the hall for her bag. "I'll stay down here to keep you company, if you'd like."

He shrugged, indifferent. Kagome rushed upstairs and got the things she needed. Setting up in front of the empty fireplace, she laid her things down and began to sort things out.

"Algebra… last thing I'll do," she mumbled to herself. "Economics, History, Calculus… ah, Accounting, let's do that first."

Sesshomaru stood by the window, as always, occasionally looking over at her when she spoke to herself. Kagome worked diligently on her homework, but was getting nowhere fast. Stuck on a particularly hard problem, she threw down the pencil in despair and groaned. Her stomach growled just then, and noticed she had been working for almost two hours. Getting up, she stretched and sighed.

"I'm getting myself something to eat; you want anything, Sesshomaru?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen. When he didn't reply, she took his answer as a 'no' and quickly made herself a sandwich. Taking it back to sitting room, Kagome nearly outright screamed at what she saw.

Sesshomaru was sitting were she had been just a few minutes ago, a pencil in hand and her work in front of him. The previously blank page was now filled with text, his elegant writing streaming across the page.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying to keep her anguish hidden.

"You were having problems with your work, so I took the liberty of correcting it," he said, moving over so she could sit down next to him.

"Wait a minute; you know how to do algebra?"

"Why wouldn't I? I am educated, unlike that moron of a half brother of mine," he said as if that explained everything.

"Yeah, but… this is advanced stuff. I mean, it can take me all night to do just a few of these, and you've already done half of my work!"

"Don't insult me; there is much more to me than just a demon," he said, sounding insulted. He stood and Kagome grabbed his leg.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that. I just never expected someone from the Feudal Era to be able to do advanced algebra, that's all," she said, trying to apologize. It's not as if InuYasha was a great example. The moron actually tried to 'read' my textbook back when we first met.

"I see… Your view of demons is exactly as I would expect of humans; uneducated and incorrect."

"Oh come on, don't be like that," Kagome pleaded. "Can you show me how you did it, at least?"

"Alright," he said, sitting back down. Kagome could've sworn she'd saw a ghost of a smile on his face when she'd asked him for help, but she didn't comment. Sesshomaru brushed his hair to the side and ot of the way so Kagome could see what he had done.

For the most part, it was understandable; the fact that he had written the entire thing in Japanese characters didn't help her much, but it was to be expected. His answers were right, of course. He had scoffed when Kagome suggested looking for the answers at the back of the book, saying that he was never wrong. She learned more from him in the hour he took to explain things out to her than she had in the last six months of university.

She was so enthralled by his work that Kagome didn't hear her mother and grandfather come in. The two of them stood by the door, watching them for a good five minutes before Sesshomaru pointed them out to Kagome.

"Your mother has arrived, Kagome," he said, interrupting her train of thought. Kagome looked up from her work to see her mother smiling kindly at her and her grandfather's disapproving glare boring into her forehead. She blushed and hurriedly got to her feet.

"Hey mom," she said, stammering. "How was the market?"

"We had fun didn't we?" she said, looking at the old man who's looks could kill. "Sorry to bother you; you can finish your homework while I make supper."

"I'm already done," she said, smiling. "Sesshomaru helped me."

"Really? A demon—" her grandfather began. Before he could finish though, Kagome slapped her hand over his mouth, giving him the same glare he had given her. She glanced over her shoulder at Sesshomaru, who had conveniently decided not to hear their conversation.

I'll have to teach you some manners, Gramps, she thought sighing, or else Sesshomaru will.

"Alright then, if you're done, then you can—"

"Thanks mom, I'll leave you to it then!" Kagome finished, running for Sesshomaru. "Come on, let's get out of here," she whispered to him, taking his arm. He stood reluctantly and followed her out the door, leaving her quieted mother and angry grandfather in the hallway.

"—help me with dinner…" her mother finished. "Oh well; come, father, I'll make us some tea."

"Sorry about that, Gramps can be…" Kagome said once they were alone. "Well, he can be a little opinionated."

To this, Sesshomaru only raised an eyebrow, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. She sighed and raked her fingernails through her hair. They continued walking at a leisure pace.

"If it had been anyone else, I would have destroyed them right then and there," Sesshomaru said after some time. "But, I hardly doubt that is acceptable in this world of yours…"

Kagome stopped and so did he. She blinked, trying to decide if he was trying to sound funny or if he was dead serious. When Sesshomaru turned his head to her and looked her in the eyes, unblinking, she decided he was very much serious.

"Um, thanks then, for holding back."

"Hn…" he replied, looking away. Kagome could have sworn she saw him smile just then. She sat down on one of the many stone benches around the outer patio of the shrine. She motioned for him to sit next to her, but he ignored her. Again, she sighed, trying to keep herself from putting her foot in her mouth again.

There really is more to him than meets the eye. He's smart, educated and on the inside, I know he really is a good person; he just doesn't show it, that's all.

"Hey, I have an idea, come over here," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him to a ledge by the gardens surrounding the house. "Let's try a trust exercise."

"What?"

"Humour me, OK? This is how it goes; you stand on this ledge, with you back to me. On the count of three, you let yourself fall backwards and I'll stop you from falling. Sound good?"

"Alright then, if you really want to," he said, stepping onto the ledge. "I do not understand why you would want to do this,"

"That's the point; it's to see if you trust me. Normally, people would be afraid of falling or hurting themselves. This way, you figure out if you can trust the person," she finished, stepping several feet back. "One… two… three… fall."

And that he did; Kagome hadn't expected him to be so heavy, and he fell like a ton of bricks on her. But still, she managed to grab him under the arms to stop him from hitting the ground. She could feel herself going red in the face from the exertion, but she carried on, lifting him upright.

"She, wasn't that fun?" she said, sounding out of breath. Sesshomaru merely looked at her, his face unreadable. "Alright, time for me to try."

She stood as he had, on the garden's low wall, her back to him. Although she looked calm, Kagome's heart was racing and she could feel a drop of sweat going down her neck. This time he would count her off and she closed her eyes, waiting.

"One, two, three," he said, his voice a low mutter. Fall, she thought to herself as she leaned back, letting gravity take over her body. Her hair came up around her; time seemed to slow as she fell backwards.

He should have caught me by now… what if he doesn't catch me? What if he walked away?

As these thoughts went through her mind, Kagome prepared herself to hit the hard, cold cement of the patio floor. But she didn't; almost parallel with the ground, Kagome felt gentle but strong arms reach around her, stopping her in midair. His arms, unlike hers, had wrapped around her frame, almost cradling her. Her eyes flashed open and she was staring into Sesshomaru's face, framed by his silver hair and the orange glow of the setting sun.

Every feature of his face came into amazing detail then; the high, regal cheekbones, the alabaster skin and amber eyes, the stark contrasting purple of the demon marks slashing across his cheeks and the velvet blue crescent moon on his forehead. Every feature enraptured her attention; Kagome just wanted to reach out and touch his face.

"Kagome," he said, his deep voice eerily close to her ears. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said as he helped her stand. "I just got a little bit frightened, that's all."

"I wouldn't have let you fall," Sesshomaru said as they stood side to side.

"I know that," she answered. Or, at least I'm absolutely sure of it now. "Come on, I think dinner's ready," she said, breaking the awkward silence that had suddenly fallen over them. She lead the way, but this time paused when she reached the door. She opened her mouth, as if to say something, but closed it in an after thought.

"What is it?"

"No, nothing," she said. I don't need to tell him anything, he already knows I trust him.


And it's done! Wah, isn't it such a nice chapter after the last one? It was so depressing compared to most other ones, I felt like I needed to lighten the mood somehow. I noticed that I actually have a tendency to write from Kagome's point-of-view and not so much, or as in-depth, from Sesshomaru's. Should I write more of his thoughts, or leave it as is? Leave your answer below, 'K thanks.

We're getting pretty close to the climax now, I think. There's only a little before I reveal my master plan :D I can't wait to finally publish the ending of this story X3. It's gonna kick ass! And I promise it wont be the typical ending either!

Thanks again for staying with me for so long. I know I've been stingy when it comes to publishing, and by the time you guys read this, I'll probably have another 3 chapters done XD Oh well, you'll just have to wait! ;)

-Jack Knights