I have the right to refrain from commenting on who you all generally thought was Kagome's "guy." I just...never mind.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

Elevator Music

Examine Those Thoughts

(Air)

Kagome shifted so that she was leaning against the elevator wall, resting her head on the shiny surface. "You don't know him," she started off, looking a bit uneasy.

Inuyasha hoped the relief didn't show on his face. If he actually knew the guy...he wasn't sure what he would do. With everything that was mixing him up now, all those things he had yet to examine, he was sure it probably wouldn't be a good thing.

"You really want to know?" Kagome asked, pouting and crossing her arms. He was positive that she crossed her arms under her bust for a reason since it made them rise and look bigger and damn if that wasn't distracting.

"Yeah," he answered softly. "But you don't have to." The last part he wished he never said but he knew making Kagome feel cornered about responding to him wouldn't exactly be healthy. He actually cared.

He really needed to start examining those damn thoughts.

"His name was Bankotsu," Kagome sighed, looking up at the ceiling so that she didn't have to look at her companion. "He was five years older than me and kind of my boss. He worked at my first job. He showed me the ropes, how to deal with everything effectively. He was smart and funny and cute. He was a really nice guy."

Inuyasha thought there had to be more but when Kagome didn't offer anything else up, he frowned. "How the hell did that work out?"

"Oh not well," Kagome answered, sounding bitter. "While it was bad enough he was my boss, he was also married to another woman. It's hard to focus on that when he's all over you."

Inuyasha couldn't help but stare at her. "You were some sort of mistress?" For some strange reason, he was compelled to spell it out.

Shaking her head, Kagome gave a self-deprecating smile. "No but I always wished he'd pick me over her. It was childish and wrong but he was amazing and he always flirted. I just...didn't know what to do. He even told me he liked me and that he wanted me."

"He told you?" He really couldn't help himself. It wasn't processing properly in his brain. There was too much anger building. It felt like for the first time there wasn't enough air in the goddamn fucking elevator. That couldn't be a good sign.

He really needed to examine those damn feelings.

Wait, no – thoughts.

Even Kagome seemed to find that he was acting strange, leaning forward once more to touch his arm. "It was a long time ago Inuyasha. I got over it. I stopped working. I couldn't stand thinking that about someone who was..." She trailed off, eyes fixed on the floor.

And then a question popped into his head and Inuyasha couldn't – what the hell was going on? – stop it from leaking out of his mouth. He blurted it out loud, unable to help himself. "He didn't give you an ultimatum, did he?"

Kagome sighed. "Inuyasha, it was a really long time ago and it doesn't matter–"

"I'll kill him!" Inuyasha yelled, clenching his hands into fists. "That fucking asshole."

Laughter wasn't what he was expecting out of Kagome, but that was what he got. The raven-haired beauty was bending over, her forehead brushing against his shoulder as she laughed. "I should have left anyways. It was for the best." She sighed, letting her hand trail down and touch the back of his own. "I'm fine. I grew up. I came to work here. You can stop acting like it was his fault when it was mine for letting myself love him."

The word 'love' struck a chord in him. A very large, rather obtrusive chord.

Oh god.

No.

Inuyasha stared at Kagome in wide-eyed horror, taking in her dark brown eyes and flushed creamy skin. She was absolutely perfect.

Groaning, Inuyasha laid down on the elevator floor, covering his eyes. This wasn't good. This was totally not a good thing to be really attracted to his half-brother's personal assistant. At least he wasn't married. Still, it was a very, very bad thing.

His dick didn't agree, but it rarely did unless sex was about to occur.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked, narrowing her gaze.

Inuyasha felt his hand being squeezed and realized that he was actually holding hands with her. His fingers had somehow intertwined with hers and now they were holding hands. And he was attracted to her. The kind of attracted to her that made him really like her. Like, like her more than just for sex.

He liked her.

This could lead him nowhere good, not in this damn elevator.

Why hadn't he been paying attention when he told himself to examine his damn thoughts already? Why did he just shove it by the wayside thinking 'don't worry, there's always time'. Because guess what, there isn't time. And now he's holding hands with a woman he genuinely likes and this shouldn't be a big deal but they were stuck in an elevator with nothing to do and now he totally couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't madly hit on her and attempt to do anything because they were being watched but he was kind of an exhibitionist and–

"Inuyasha, you're hyperventilating. Come on, you're scaring me," Kagome whispered, suddenly way too close. Her other hand was tapping his cheek, trying to get him to look at her. He hadn't even realized that he'd closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he saw concern and worry flickering in the chocolate orbs.

He was totally screwed.

"Yeah Kagome, I'm fine," he whispered back, squeezing her hand and sitting up. "I just...needed a moment."

"I could tell," Kagome remarked, instantly snapping back to their quick banter as per usual. "Anything you want to tell me about?"

"Not particularly," he said lightly, smirking at her in case she needed reassurance. "So," he started, "what's your favourite sport?"

To his relief, Kagome just played along.

Comments to Acknowledge: There are a lot of you that I can't reply to through PMs, so I'm going to group some of you.

EndlessIdeas, NurNur, Daniela D and Kenia: Thank you all so very very much! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I hope this chapter cleared things up!

IrishIndy: Do you know how awesome you are? You reply to absolutely everything but you're not a login so I've never actually said thank you. So THANK YOU dear. I'm so lucky to have amazing reviewers like you.

SilverStella: No, don't feel dumb. I forgot it as I wrote it. I forgot a lot of things in this story *facepalm* Thank you! Only 9 more to go...

Fnick's Witness: We all need help my dear. I especially.

p00p 1: Interesting name choice. Now that you know who it is, I guess the point of this is moot, but thanks for guessing?

Nepenthec: Well now you know! Thanks love.

Saria Forest: Your back-to-back reviews are adorable. Trust me, I'm certainly not complaining about all the nice words.

RL has slowed down. I'll be able to write now, but due to the fact I'm leaving my laptop for a few days, that'll put more things on pause. Happiness: The Tale of an Unstoppable Force and an Immoveable Object will be updated by next Wednesday at the latest.

Feedback is love, as always.