Kagome tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she ducked her head to hide her blush. "You make a compelling argument," she said. "Yes, Inuyasha. I would be honored to be your date."

That had been weeks ago, and it was still playing in her thoughts on loop. Inuyasha had asked her to be his date for his brother's wedding. She'd said yes.

She wrung her hands together as she stood in her bedroom, wearing nothing but a fancy bra and panty set she'd bought just for the occasion. It was cute. It was expensive. It also wouldn't show a panty line with the dress. It was perfect.

Even if no one else but her saw it.

That thought led to another one, which led to another one, which led to her making a keening noise in her throat. How the hell was she going to get through a whole day with Inuyasha if she couldn't stop thinking about jumping him in a closet? She needed to not think about her best friend with a horny teenage girl mentality.

It wasn't even a new moon that evening. He'd be able to smell her if she – oh god.

Her thoughts started to spin up every past memory of when she felt the dirty thoughts creep in at work. Had he known? He hadn't said anything, but it wouldn't have been hard to tell with his nose… Kagome could remember a few times where he'd given her a funny look, but… oh god he must have known!

Why did she have to have the hots for her hanyou best friend again?

Because life was cruel. That's right.

To add further insult to her existence, she couldn't do anything about her predicament. She didn't have time to get one out, even a tiny one, before she had to be ready. Inuyasha was going to pick her up and take her to the venue. That meant she had to be dressed. Hair, makeup, shoes, all of it. There wasn't time for a quickie solo mission. If she tried, he'd know and he wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

Inuyasha still couldn't believe that he had the balls to ask Kagome to be his date for his brother's wedding. It had been weeks since she'd said yes. It should have sunk in by now.

It might have, if it were anyone else but Kagome. He could still recall how he'd spent his off hours, giving Kagura an earful for even putting Kagome up to this mess with the online dating. As soon as Kagome left for home he was flying through the building looking for the woman. He'd managed to scare quite a few of his coworkers in the process, until he finally found her fixing coffee in the break room.

"What are you so mad about?" she asked, nonplussed about the seething hanyou before her. "You have a date, and even better - it's Kagome. Why you didn't choose to just ask her in the first place, I'll never know-"

"Because she's my friend-"

She scoffed. "Friends can have benefits-"

"Not with Kagome!"

"Look," she narrowed her eyes at him, but he was too annoyed to be intimidated this time. "Kagome is a sweet girl. She's your best friend. If something were to happen between you, would it really be that bad a thing? You two have grown up together-"

"And we also haven't seen each other in over ten years," he added. Inuyasha rubbed his hand over his face, frowning as it crossed the stubble that he was too lazy to shave. He knew he'd have to for the wedding. The best man and brother of the groom couldn't look like some haggard hanyou. "Kagome is different."

"How?" Kagura asked sarcastically. "So help me if you feed me that line that she's not like other girls I will stomp you into the floor. Women hate that line and I will make sure Kagome hears it."

He knew she'd do it. Trampling him to the floor or blabbing to Kagome about how he run his mouth. She was the perfect match for his brother. "She just...is. I lost her once already, Kagura. If we... if we did do something... and it didn't work out, then what? I'd not only have another ex girlfriend, but also an ex best friend!"

Kagura pursed her lips in thought. He had good reasons, but they still felt pretty stale to her. "Have you ever thought about what it might be like if things, you know...actually worked out? Where you didn't naturally assume that every scenario you imagine is going to be hellfire and brimstone as the endgame?"

"I..."

"You haven't, have you?"

Inuyasha frowned deeper at the look Kagura was giving him. It was a mix of concern and sympathy, which looked bizarre coming from her. He grew up hearing her dry wit and expected that, not a forthcoming lecture that would've been right out of an afterschool special. "I have," he insisted. "I've thought about it more times than you can imagine. Having a life with Kagome, to be able to wake up next to her each morning? Start a family together? Grow old together? It's haunted my dreams for years. But...she's a dream that I can never have."

"Who says? God?"

This time it was him that scoffed. "God would laugh at my dreams."

"If you're going to be that pessimistic about it, obviously he would." There was the dry humor, just like he'd wished for.

"Kagura-"

"Don't Kagura me, mister." She leveled Inuyasha with a look. She absently stirred her coffee, despite the cream and sugar being long since dissolved. "Don't write off your dreams. You deserve to be happy just as much as the rest of us in this world. Probably more so than some people, if I'm being honest." The look of disgust that crossed her face could only mean that she was referring to Yura.

Naturally his brother told his fiancé about the breakup.

The asshole.

"As I was saying," she continued, "You never know until you try. I think that's how the saying goes. My point is that you're closing the door on a possibility that you don't even know is impossible yet. Have you ever thought about asking Kagome what her type is?"

"No," he replied gruffly. "Probably human."

"You think she wouldn't love those fuzzy ears of yours?"

His ears were the least of his problems with why Kagura was wrong about being hopeful.

Kagome was Kagome. She wasn't just any woman he'd dated in the past. She was his best friend. The little girl he'd been introduced to when her family came over to welcome them to the neighborhood, dressed in a bright yellow checkered sundress. She'd proudly presented his mother with the tin of cookies that they'd made. Their first play date had been starting a sand fight in the park, and when he'd gotten some in his ears on accident, she'd helped him brush out what she could. They'd helped each other with their weakest subjects in school. Tutored each other as the tests got harder. She was the one to expand the circle of friends around him because he'd been too shy. She'd come to his defense when some kid had called him a freak because of his ears. Had cleaned the kid's clock with a right hook when he was dumb enough to swing at a girl in the first place.

He had to wonder what she'd have done if she ever came face to face with Yura.

The point was, Kagome was his world. The day she'd moved away, hell even the day she'd told him she was moving, had gutted him. It had shaken him, because he had a feeling that he'd never see her again. To have her back, and as a coworker no less, it was a dream come true. His world was back as it should be, even if it wasn't everything he wanted. He couldn't risk it.

She shouldn't have jumped at the knock at her door, but she did. Kagome smoothed out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress and checked her hair once more in the mirror. Everything was where it should be, so she needed to open the door. If she could make her feet move.

Why was she stalling? It was just Inuyasha.

'He's your friend. It's not like you're going on a date with Chris Hemsworth.' Her nose wrinkled at that image. She didn't even like Chris Hemsworth. She didn't understand the appeal. 'It's not like he has those ears – oh god dammit, Kagome!'

All the while she was berating herself mentally, she didn't think about it showing on her face as she opened the door. At least, not until Inuyasha asked her if she was alright.

"I…uh… was having an internal debate." It wasn't a lie.

Inuyasha leaned against the doorway, tucking his hands in his suit pockets. "Sure looks like it was some debate," he grinned. "You looked like you had a cut durian shoved under your nose. Still look lovely."

And there was the blush. As if she wasn't making enough of an impression. "Th-thank you," she stammered. "Let me grab my purse…"

He waited until she'd locked her apartment before asking, "So what were you debating about?" He'd offered her his arm as they walked down the hall, and she'd slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow.

"Chris Hemsworth."

Kagome started to speak, but stopped. This happened a few more times before his question finally got out. "As in… Hemsworth versus Hemsworth? Versus Pine? Evans? Pratt?" He glanced down at Kagome and his eyebrows rose higher. "You know I think you're the first woman I've ever seen look legitimately ill listing all of those guys off. I've met lesbians that can at least appreciate one of them!"

"Okay one – both Hemsworth brothers' eyes are too close together. Evans' arms can't touch his sides. Pratt is a prat in the truest sense of the word. Pine is the only one I genuinely like, but his eyelashes make me sick with how long and dark they are."

"Yours are long and dark."

"I have makeup on."

"You don't have that much on, and I could smell the mascara if you were wearing it."

"How did we get on my makeup practices?"

inuyasha shrugged. "You were the one to start it." He reached out to press the button for the elevator. No way was he going to let Kagome tromp down the stairs in that bridesmaid gown and heels. "Talking about how you're jealous of Chris Pine's eyelashes."

"Damn right I am! It's not fair!"

"Sorry to say he doesn't do anything for me. You're far prettier, in my opinion." The words were out before he could stop them, and Inuyasha felt his stomach drop. Fuck. He'd fucked up. He'd –

"He doesn't do anything for me either."

Okay…maybe she hadn't heard? Or chose to let it slide? "So…what? You got more of a thing for that Olsen girl? Is that what gets your engine running?"

The noise that came out of Kagome had him bent over laughing as the elevator doors opened.

Kagura had explicitly asked her bridesmaids to come in dressed and ready to help wherever they could. Despite plans being nailed down, there had been hang ups and some of the people the bride had been counting on to show up to do the job she'd paid them for…just didn't. Instead of losing her patience, the older woman had calmly set about finding alternatives. Everything was going to be fine.

It was going to work.

Or she was going to kill someone.

"Mama?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Uncle Inu's going to be here, right?"

"Of course, Rin. He's your daddy's best man." Kagura dropped to a squat in front of the chair Rin sat in. "He just sent me a message saying that he's just arrived, so he'll be coming to see you real soon. Aunt Kagome is going to be with him too."

At the mention of Kagome, the little girl's face lit up. "Aunt Kagome is gonna come?"

"She's one of my bridesmaids, so I certainly hope she is," Kagura laughed. She knew the woman would follow through, of course. They'd been messaging each other frequently ever since she returned. At first it had been Kagura checking in on her, making sure she was settling in alright with work and to tell her if Inuyasha was giving her problems. In recent weeks it was Kagome who was checking in with her, seeing if there was anything regarding the wedding that she could help with.

Given that the babysitter for Rin had become a no-show, it was a favor that Kagura was having to call in with Kagome. Rin was set to be the flower girl. She was dressed and ready to do her task. As well behaved as the seven year old could be, she still had her moments where sitting still for lengths of time and waiting were impossible.

She needed a distraction. Someone that wouldn't grow tired of her energy. Inuyasha felt like the right choice, except…Rin was in her dress. Anytime Kagura left him alone with her, dirt tended to happen. Or food.

Kagome was the logical choice.

"Hey squirt!"

"Uncle Inu!"

Just as Kagura expected, Rin shot out of the chair like a rocket and launched herself into the hanyou's arms. She bit down on the inside of her cheek when he hoisted her up, swinging her around like a ragdoll while Rin squealed. She wasn't going to panic. Inuyasha wasn't a complete moron. He wouldn't mess his niece's flower girl dress up before the wedding. Still didn't mean she didn't want to throw one of her pumps at his head.

"I take it you both made it here in one piece," she said to Kagome, who had moved out of the way.

"Of course. Inuyasha's a good driver."

"Ask your cousin to tell you about the time he did 40 making a right turn on some back road –"

"I USED THE BRAKE!"

"Kikyo says otherwise!" Kagura shot back as Kagome laughed. When Inuyasha proceeded to mumble under his breath, she knew her daughter was better left with Kagome before the ceremony. It wouldn't do for him to take off with Rin and she end up with Hostess cake all over her dress because he got his boxers in a twist over an old story from their teen years. She looked back to Kagome and asked, "I was going to ask if you were sure that you'd be able to handle Rin for a couple hours, but I should really be asking if you'll be alright with that one during the reception."

"Oh ha ha."

"I can ask your brother to muzzle you. He'd do it."

"You'd do it."

"Not today. My nails would get chipped."

Inuyasha shifted Rin to his hip and fixed her with a look. "There you go. Can't be done today. Unless you want your brother-in-law to look like Hannibal Lector in the wedding party photos."

Kagome tilted her head to the side and studied him. "Mm, no. Not with that hair. We'd have to shave your head –"

Rin, too young to catch the teasing tone between the three adults, gasped. "No! Mama don't let Uncle Inu shave his head! I like his hair!"

"Trust me Rin, I can think of one person in this room that would tackle your uncle to the floor if he so much as considered it." Kagura saw the tiniest hint of a blush pass across Kagome's face before she turned away and felt vindicated once again. The hanyou might not believe her, but she could tell.

Learning the truth about Rin was possibly one of the wildest bits of news that Kagome had gotten since she had moved back into town. When she had learned that Kagura and Sesshomaru were engaged, she naturally assumed that the little girl that flew around her mother's legs the first day they met again was a "surprise" between them. It was only after Sesshomaru had taken Rin to the cafeteria for lunch did she get told all the news by Kagura.

There had been a period of time just out of high school that Kagura and Sesshomaru had gone separate ways. The older woman didn't divulge and Kagome didn't feel like it was her place to ask, but the woman's face was full of regret. They had gotten back together some time later, and that was when she discovered that she was two months pregnant. It wasn't Sesshomaru's; Kagura had made that clear. She had made mistakes right out of high school, which lead to their parting, but the one thing that she didn't see as a mistake was Rin. Rin had been her blessing. Kagome learned that from the day that she told Sesshomaru, he treated her bump as if it was his own. They had taken their time, giving her the time she needed to care for the newborn. He never pushed to be married. "It's in the plans," Kagura had told her. There was no rush, and he had no desire to make her march down the aisle months pregnant and uncomfortable. They could find the right time, make the wedding and the reception just how she wanted it, and it would have the added bonus of Rin being the flower girl for her parents.

Said flower girl was currently waving a folded piece of paper in her face, tearing her from her thoughts.

"Aunt Kagome? Can I tell you your fortune?"

The piece of paper was crudely folded and almost popped her in the nose with how enthusiastically Rin was waving it. Kagome carefully plucked the fortune teller from the girl's outstretched hand and looked it over. There were crayon marks smeared onto the four outermost panels, denoting red, blue, green, or purple. The lettering was clearly Rin's, labeled accordingly in capital letters. "Oh these take me back," she mused, turning the device around in her hands. "We used to play with these when I was a kid."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

Rin held her hand out for the fortune teller. "Then you must remember that only the person that made the fortune teller can be the one to look within it." It was said with such seriousness that Kagome couldn't laugh.

"Of course, my apologies," she conceded, passing the fortune back to her. "Am I worthy of having my fortune told?"

Rin's head bobbed so quickly that Kagome was worried she'd get whiplash. With the fortune back in hand, she carefully sat in the chair next to the older woman, facing her. Her little fingers tucked into the flaps, causing it to flip up into its shape. "Okay. Aunt Kagome… I need you to tell me truthfully… what's your favorite color?"

"Hmmm…" She really didn't have a favorite so much as a preference, but she couldn't let Rin down. "It would probably be… green!"

"Green, okay! G…R…E…E…N." With each spelling of the word, Rin would alternate the pinch-pull motions with the fortune teller. Kagome watched patiently, waiting for the next step. "Okay. Now Aunt Kagome... I need you to pick a number."

Of her options, she was given the numbers fourteen, seven, twenty-one, and nine. What perplexed her was the symbols beneath each number. "I'll go with…" she paused, debating picking nine, but remembered they had time to kill. "Twenty-one. But what's up with the symbols?"

"You'll see," was all the girl would say on the matter. She was too focused on counting and keeping pace with the fortune teller. After a couple minutes of counting Rin paused, holding out the options for Kagome's view. "Okay…now I need you to pick a symbol so we can find out who you'll marry in the future!"

Kagome sputtered, eyes widening. "W-what?!"

"That's the rules of the game, Aunt Kagome!" Rin stared at her skeptically. "I thought you said you played this game when you were a kid?"

"We did – but we never used them to say who was going to marry who!" That was a whole other game that involved drawing a spiral and crossing off what was usually everything you preferred and getting stuck with what you didn't…

Rin looked confused. "It's how Mama said she played it, and it's how she taught me. We put it together this morning," she said, waving the fortune teller a bit. "Said that it was meant to have all the names of the single people listed, but she had to help me with that because I don't know. Do you… not want to find out who you're gonna marry one day, Aunt Kagome?"

"I…" What harm could it possibly do? Kagome really didn't want to disappoint Rin; she'd looked so happy as she played the game up until this point. That's all it was, anyway. A game. "You know what, Rin? Let's see what it says!"

The flower girl let out an excited "Yesss!" and pushed the fortune teller up under her nose again. "Okay but you need to pick! You gotta choose between a flower, a star, a moon, and…" she looked back inside and squinted at her own artwork. "…I think a sword. Or a stretched out snake?"

"Such choices… let's pick… the flower!"

Rin pulled the fortune teller back to her, turning it so she could see the reveal. "Let's see…" Her eyes lit up and she was grinning from ear to ear. "You're gonna marry Uncle Inuyasha!"

Kagome almost choked on her spit, which was a feat given how quickly her mouth had gone dry. Rin had pushed the device under her nose again, and sure enough, there in an elegant scrawl that had to have come from Kagura…was Inuyasha's name.

It was just a game.

That's what she kept telling herself all through the ceremony and now through the reception.

It was only a game. Nothing more.

She sipped from her drink at the table, watching the newly wedded couple sway to the music on the dance floor. It had been a beautiful ceremony in the end, and she was really happy that Kagura was with who she was meant to be with all along. That should have given her hope.

Instead all it did was make her eyes follow the movements of the hanyou and his niece as he spun her, wishing that she could forget how that fortune teller had made her heart skip. Rin hadn't had a clue, and with how she carried on about it, she was all too excited to tell everyone that would listen that her aunt and uncle would one day walk down the aisle.

The knowing looks. The smirks. They had no idea that that was only adding salt to the wound.

Then again, maybe she was just being a bitter single person at a wedding where almost everyone was paired up. Even her cousin was happily chatting with a dark haired man that went by the name Suikotsu, and she was the least-inclined out of anyone in the venue to actively date. Was it too much to ask to be able to be that happy? To know that she'd have a bed to share with someone through the years. Wake up next to. Cook meals with. Have someone to lean against for support as they watch their children go off to school for the first time. It wasn't so much that she needed that romantic side of the relationship, although that wouldn't be a bad thing. Kagome was a realist. She knew that a partner would need to be someone she was comfortable with.

Like a best friend.

Which brought her thoughts back to the paper fortune teller. If it hadn't been Rin that had made it, she might have ripped it to shreds and burned the pieces over the lit candle at her table.

God she really was being bitter, wasn't she?

She took a deeper gulp from her drink, almost choking when a familiar voice next to her said, "Easy now. Not sure if you'd want me to have to carry you back to your place."

"Inuyasha!" She dabbed at her mouth with the napkin, pushing back the image of him carrying her to her apartment and the urge to say yes please with it. "I thought you were dancing with Rin?"

"Kiddo wanted to eat, so I turned her loose on her Uncle Jaken since he's free." Inuyasha dropped into the seat next to her and leaned back. "You okay?" he asked, "You looked like you were upset."

"Huh? No, of course not!"

"Uh huh. This has nothing to do with Rin running around telling everyone that we're gonna get married, right?"

Kagome let out a groan. "Oh god, you heard?"

"It was the first thing she said to me when we hit the dance floor. Caught me so off guard I damn near dropped her."

"Sorry…" she winced. Kagome went on to explain the whole thing after he'd left them to go check on his brother earlier. By the end of it Inuyasha was picking out the folded device from his jacket pocket and waving it at her with a cheeky grin. Her eyes flashed. "That's not fair! You know the rules!"

"Yeah, but I was given permission by the creator of this fortune teller that I could be a proxy for dealing out fortunes in her stead." He tucked his fingers into the flaps, being mindful of his claws poking through the paper. "Go on, Higurashi. Pick a color."

He was baiting her.

Lips pursed, Kagome stared at the hanyou. Surely if she picked different choices, the outcome wouldn't be the same, right? Only one way to find out.

"Red."

"R – E – D. Gimme a number. You got thirteen, six, thirty, and four."

"Six."

"One – two – three – four – five – six. Alright pick a symbol. There's a…moon, a star, a…the fuck is that? I think it's a shoe, or maybe a kidney bean…and a bell."

"Moon."

Inuyasha proceeded to mimic Rin's actions, which with a grown man looked silly. "Alright, Ka-Go-Me…your future husband is…"

"What?" She wasn't sure if his silence was teasing or not anymore. "Inuyasha? What does it say?" The fortune teller was passed to her, and he had an unreadable look in his eyes. Kagome felt the mixed drink churn in her stomach the longer the silence drug on, and glanced down at the revealed "fortune".

It said 'Inuyasha'.

Two weeks later, Kagome pushed the shopping cart down the next aisle of the grocery store, frowning at her list. It seemed like everything she needed to get, the store was out of, or they didn't have as good a sale on their meat as she'd been hoping for. As it was, she was too stubborn to unpack her cart and go elsewhere, so she was going to push through and get what she could before checking the next closest store.

It felt ironic that she was once again making due with the cards she'd been dealt.

The remainder of the evening had been…odd. Inuyasha had, at her request, played the game with the fortune teller another three times, and each one the end result had been his name. No matter what she'd picked, no matter what combination it had been, it kept coming up with his name. At this point he'd been giddy, claiming it was fate.

The teasing from him at least hadn't been malicious. He'd managed to ease her mind – or maybe it had been that last drink she'd all but guzzled at his dare, but either way, she wasn't paying the rest of the reception any mind. They had made it a running joke as the night wore on, referring to each other as their future spouse and lover. The only time it had gotten a disapproving look had been from Sesshomaru, and that was to tell them not to get Rin's hopes up with their games.

Not get Rin's hopes up? She was trying not to let the jokes get hers up.

The façade had been wonderful, though. Inuyasha had asked her to dance, claiming that he deserved two at least, given that they'd missed going to prom together. She hadn't minded honoring that request. Being held against him as he lead her in a waltz? It was better than she ever imagined.

Later that night, when he'd driven her home, it had felt like a genuine date. Maybe standing on her toes to kiss his cheek at her door had been a bit much, but he hadn't minded. She certainly didn't, even if it'd be the best she could get.

And then he'd bent to kiss her cheek.

Kagome swore she could feel the warmth of his lips on her skin even now. Which, if she was in the privacy of her own home, it might not have been a bad thing. At least it wouldn't have been a person she'd knocked into as she was lost in her thoughts.

It was now three weeks since his brother's wedding, and Inuyasha was no closer to a relationship than he'd been before it. The joking that he'd done with Kagome that night…it might not have been the best idea he'd ever had. It had been fun in the moment. It made her relax, made her laugh. He didn't regret that.

But all the soft touches, all the looks, the little hints of a blush he'd caught from her? That didn't feel like it was an act. If it was, she'd managed to become a damn good actress since her days in second grade as Violet Beauregard. Nothing about her scent changing so subtly through the night ever implied that it was an act, and that was what was eating him up. He'd been thrown for a loop to feel her body press against his when she kissed him on the cheek. The shy blush he could see creep up in her cheeks, how she chewed on her bottom lip…it nearly had him throwing caution to the wind and kissing her on the lips instead of the cheek.

Almost.

He'd chosen not to drink, even if the amount of alcohol in the mixed drinks were minimal. Kagome hadn't even been the slightest bit buzzed, which only added to his belief that she was genuine in her actions.

So now he found himself sitting at his desk, looking at his computer screen and trying to decode how to fold one of the fortune tellers on his own. Rin – or rather Kagura – had been especially sneaky and had written his name on every fucking space in the one that they'd been playing with at the reception. Once he'd found out, he'd broken into his last bottle of whisky and drunk himself to sleep. He still hadn't been able to decide if he was more hurt or embarrassed that Kagura would go to those lengths.

Just because she got her happiness didn't mean everyone was destined to. For every winner, there was a loser.

He'd just finished filling the fortune teller out when Kagome came into the office. "Morning, 'Gome. Pick a color."

"You're joking, right? We're doing this again?"

"Yes we're doing this again," he mocked her tone, grinning all the while.

Kagome laughed as she sat down, leaning forward to look at her options. "Yellow."

"Y-E-L-L-O-W. Now pick a number."

"Mmm, three." She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Oh by the way, I have news!"

"One – two – three. Okay pick your favorite Power Ranger. Yeah?"

"If you can't remember who my favorite Power Ranger was, are we really friends?"

"It's the Pink Ranger. I can't forget those plastic masks we wore that Halloween." Inuyasha flipped up the piece of paper, not paying attention to it. "So what's your news?"

The blush on her face should have tipped him off before she said, "I…I met someone."

A pin could have dropped at the silence. Inuyasha blinked. "Y-you did?"

"His name is Bankotsu," she said shyly. "We met a week ago, actually. At the grocery store. He asked me out to dinner this weekend." Kagome shook her head. "Sorry, I know that's not really news, seeing as everyone seems to be hooking up anymore. I'm just…surprised is all, I guess. But go on Inuyasha. What does the fortune teller say?"

He'd forgotten all about it.

Inuyasha glanced down at the paper in his clawed hands and swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. He'd wanted to give it a genuine attempt when he wrote this fortune teller out. He'd wanted to see what Kagome would have picked when there wasn't the same name written in every space. Looking at it now, he felt stupid.

Of course the stupid fucking fortune had to show him his own name, of all times.

"Inuyasha?"

"Uh, it says that you're gonna have a good weekend." He hoped the lie didn't come off as bad as he felt it was. Kagome was looking at him with concern. "That's what it says."

"I want to see."

"Can't," he said quickly. "Remember the rules? If you were to look at the fortune without being deemed the proxy your future wouldn't come true."

Kagome let out a dramatic sigh. "Alright, Inuyasha. If we're going to go by school rules, then fine. We should probably get started on work."

He nodded. Work. Right. He had a job he needed to focus on. Inuyasha folded the fortune teller up and tucked it in the top drawer of his desk, trying to ignore the sour state of his stomach. He'd gotten his wish and had to lie about it.

Maybe he shouldn't have unfolded Rin's fortune teller and seen the truth.