"I ripped it up."

"Her valentine? You did not."

"I did."

"Inuyasha," admonished Kagome, but her light laughter undercut the chastising. "She obviously had a crush on you."

"No, she didn't. Did you not listen to my story? She made fun of me all the time. Called my ears satellites," he grumbled.

"You were in elementary school. She probably didn't know how to express her feelings so she was mean to you," declared Kagome.

"She didn't like me," he repeated less certainly in the face of Kagome's assurance.

"I'm still trying to imagine what recess must have been like at an all demon boarding school."

There was little chance of them being overheard as the music blasted through the courtyard.

"Dodgeball was a bit intense," recalled Inuyasha thoughtfully. He shook his head. "Are we going to stand here all night? Yuka probably dragged them back to the beer pong table. She seems to like the game a lot."

After leaving the apartment, Kagome and Inuyasha set about rejoining the rest of the group, but Ayumi, Yuka and Kenji were proving difficult to locate.

"Inuyasha, she wasn't interested in the game. How have you not improved since elementary school?"

"Come off it. We just met. She doesn't know me enough to like me. Plus I'm the demon of her nightmares."

"She wouldn't be scared if she knew the truth." Probably not anyway, thought Kagome uncertainly.

Inuyasha remained quiet. Kagome was focused on his troubled face and didn't see the decorative paving stones encircling the mulched area beneath the skinny trees of the courtyard landscaping.

She tumbled forward into the low shrubbery surrounding the trunk. She couldn't see him but Inuyasha's laugh was unmistakable. The leaves and branches were grabbing at her hair and clothes as she crawled backwards to safety.

"You've got some new hair accessories." Inuyasha pointed to several spots on his own head as a mirror.

Kagome swiped furiously at her dark strands, several tiny leaves drifting down like autumn.

Inuyasha stepped forward, still laughing lightly as he reached toward her face. He removed a leaf tangled near her ear and held it up with a grin. Someone passing behind bumped into him.

He winced immediately and slumped forward. Kagome stretched her hands out flat against his chest but momentum and weight were not on her side.

As she lay embedded in the shrubbery beneath Inuyasha, Kagome could hear smatterings of laughter from nearby students.

Inuyasha lifted himself up, careful not to move his injured shoulder, trip over the shrubbery or step on Kagome.

"You said your shoulder didn't hurt," accused Kagome as she stood.

"It doesn't."

"It does."

"It doesn't. Don't tell me what -"

Inuyasha's response was interrupted by another voice.

"What is wrong with you?"

Kagome and Inuyasha turned to look at Yuka simultaneously. After a moment of evaluation by Inuyasha, he determined her disapproving stare thankfully wasn't trained on him. He glanced to the priestess for explanation, but she looked just as bewildered.

Her roommate pressed on before Kagome could say anything. "You have Akitoki and yet here you are rolling in the dirt with Inuyasha."

"Oh, you thought - no, he fell on top of me." Kagome cringed. It was the truth but it wasn't very convincing. She blundered on uselessly. "Someone bumped into him and pushed him into me. That's all."

Yuka snorted. "I knew if I invited Inuyasha you wouldn't like it, and you proved me right. The second he started showing me attention, you picked a fight so he'd save you."

Kagome's mind reeled at her roommate's sudden vitriol. She'd hiked up a mountain only to find an active volcano at the peak.

Something caught the light between Yuka's fingers as she flexed them tighter around the object. "Yuka, what's in your hand?"

She ignored Kagome. "You got Akitoki but dating him's not enough. No, the challenge is over, so now you're moving on to the next one."

An offended Inuyasha interjected. "What the hell do you take me for? As if I'd be interested in someone like her in the first place. You couldn't pay me to -"

Kagome stomped on his toe to end his little speech. Inuyasha hopped on one foot in pain.

"Akitoki and I aren't dating. And secondly I can promise there's nothing going on between me and this guy. At all." She glared at Inuyasha.

Yuka's eyes narrowed. "Talking, dating, whatever. You're basically his girlfriend, but you don't even like him that much. You could have invited Akitoki tonight if you really wanted. He's been out of the museum meeting for hours, but you didn't want him seeing you with Inuyasha, did you?"

Kagome had seen his social media stories and knew Yuka was referencing him being at a separate party hosted by his frat.

"That's because he …" Then it clicked in Kagome's mind. Yuka wasn't upset about Inuyasha. "You like Akitoki."

"Don't try to change the subject." Yuka gripped the object tighter in her hand, her voice elevating, and Kagome's eyes tracked the motion carefully. "You're the one in the wrong here."

Yuka sneered and the hair on Kagome's arms rose. Inuyasha stopped pouting about his squashed foot.

Inching closer to Kagome, he spoke low. "Somethings off with her."

Kagome had a suspicion as to why. "Yuka, what are you holding?"

"It's mine. Stop trying to take everything from me." She swayed on her feet as if overcome by a sudden dizzy spell.

Kagome stepped forward intending to force it out of her hand, but like a petulant child Yuka fled from the courtyard.

Yuka slipped between apartment buildings and emerged out the backside. She was making a mad dash for the woods down the hill when Inuyasha overtook her, landing effortlessly in her path and grabbing her by the arms. She fought to get free but it was feeble in attempt.

Kagome caught up to them just as Yuka collapsed.

"What did you do?" demanded Kagome as she dropped to her knees beside Yuka.

Inuyasha stood there with wide eyes. "Nothing! She passed out on her own. I think she's sick."

Kagome put a hand to her friend's forehead. "She's burning up."

"I told you," grumbled Inuyasha, but she wasn't paying attention to him.

"Yuka, wake up, hey." She shook her gently. Yuka's chest rose and fell in heavy breaths, but she didn't respond.

"What's wrong with her?" Inuyasha peered down at them.

Kagome looked at the Fire Amulet a few feet away in the grass. Bright, white flames flickered inside. It was blue when Satoshi showed it to her.

She focused intently and her sense of her surroundings sharpened like turning a dial, the blurry veil lifting slightly. The amulet gave off a wicked energy and the flames inside lashed about in agitation.

"We need to find Satoshi. He took this from the Fire Ogre."

"Keh. I scared that sucker off. He's probably - coming around the corner. What the hell?" Inuyasha's smugness deflated like a popped balloon.

Sure enough Kagome saw Satoshi stomping his way across the back lawn, emerging from the same alley between apartment buildings that Yuka had led them through.

"I knew it. How dare you steal from me. Was that the plan all along?" Satoshi stopped short when he was close enough to see Yuka unconscious. His sanctimonious tone took on a twinge of panic. "How could you be so irresponsible? I'm not taking the blame for this."

"What's happening to her?" demanded Kagome.

Satoshi gaped between her and Inuyasha. "The Fire Amulet poisons humans if they touch it without the right protection."

"And you brought it to a party full of people," flared Kagome. "Help her."

"She needs purification, but the nearest shrine is still too far away to make it in time."

"What do you mean make it in time?" asked Kagome sharply.

"Unless the demonic energy is removed, she's going to die. Shit. This can't be happening. Takemaru's going to kill me."

Kagome was on her feet in an instant, jabbing a finger at his chest. "You're a priest. Do something."

"I can't." It looked difficult for him to admit. "I'm not strong enough."

"He's a good for nothing scavenger. Of course he can't help," said Inuyasha with contempt.

"What did you call me?" snapped Satoshi, his hand reaching toward his forearm. "Aren't you a priest too? I don't see you helping out."

"You're stupid as you are ugly," snorted Inuyasha.

Ignoring the bickering boys, Kagome reached for the stone decisively.

"Stop! Are you crazy?" Satoshi was first to notice. "My protection charm is gone. It'll poison you too."

"Kagome!" Inuyasha made a strangled noise in his throat.

She held the stone clamped between both hands with her eyes closed. For a fearful second it was like a tidal wave threatened to overtake her, but she pushed it back.

Yuka's heavy, ragged breathing evened out to normal rhythm, and as Kagome opened her hands, the inside of the amulet had returned to it's blue color.

She tossed it to the side and felt Yuka's forehead again. Her shoulders sank with relief. "Her fever is gone."

A boggled Satoshi observed the scene and regained his haughty composure. "Yeah. She'll think it's a particularly bad hangover but she'll recover. I hope you all learned a valuable lesson."

Kagome glared up at him. "This is your fault."

Satoshi shook his head, bending down to retrieve the amulet with a small piece of paper in hand. He slipped it into his pocket.

"No it's not. She's the one who took something that didn't belong to her. And why did you bother asking me for help if you could do it? I can't stand a showoff."

"And I can't stand a fake. You're obviously jealous that you suck," defended Inuyasha.

"I took down one of the four ogre chiefs today."

"Liar. You came in after the hard part was over," said Kagome.

Satoshi's jaw dropped. "It was you guys. You unsealed my jail jar. Didn't you?"

"I - you shouldn't have left it there."

Satoshi touched his fingers to the tree tattoo on his forearm and rays of light beamed outward. Kagome watched a short dagger materialize out of the brightness.

Satoshi grabbed it by the handle, holding it out to them in threat. "Where's the demon that helped you?"

Kagome feigned ignorance and Inuyasha took a step forward, positioning himself between her and the weapon.

"You two didn't make the claw marks," said Satoshi. "We know it was a half-demon."

"How could you know that from claw marks? Doesn't matter. There was no demon, half or whole." Kagome was finding it really difficult not to glance at Inuyasha during this conversation.

Satoshi smirked. "The ogre had blood on it's fingernails. A simple test was all it took."

"And why do you want to know about some half-demon?" asked Inuyasha.

"It's my duty as a Child of Midoriko to protect humanity from demons, and a half-demon capable of killing an elemental chief is cause for concern. We just want to make sure they aren't a threat to humans like us."

Inuyasha snorted. "Somehow, buddy, I don't think your investigation skills are up to the task."

"Pardon the interruption."

A young man with gold earrings and short, dark hair had approached silently. Satoshi pivoted to point the dagger at the newcomer in surprise.

"And who the hell are you?"

The new arrival grinned but his eyes held no warmth. "I can be your friend or your enemy. It's up to you."

He held up some sort of badge to the group. Kagome noticed Inuyasha's entire body stiffen, and Satoshi's demeanor changed. He released his grip on the dagger hilt, but instead of falling to the grass, the weapon dispersed into pinpricks of light swirling into the air until gone.

"You're a hunter. Good. I suspect they have information about a dangerous half-demon in the area."

"I told you I don't," insisted Kagome.

"I'd love to help, really, but," said the hunter, holding out his hand, "you'll have to file a complaint through the usual channels. My current objective is to recover the Fire Amulet. So hand it over, Son of Midoriko."

Satoshi hesitated, brought up short by the response. "What? But you can't not investigate a possible threat. What's your name? I'm going to report you to the Shikon Council."

"By all means waste everyone's time. My superiors will love to know you're obstructing official council business, especially one of the peacekeeping variety. The fire ogre you killed went rogue for Naraku, but the other three elemental chiefs are loyal to the Council and want the stone back."

"So you're doing favors for demons now?" said a repulsed Satoshi.

"Not a favor. A job." The hunter clicked his tongue. "Bounty license, please."

"Wait - I didn't kill the ogre. She did." Satoshi pointed a finger at Kagome.

"And yet you have the amulet and you cashed in the bounty this afternoon. It also appears you have broken your solemn oath to protect humans from demonic threats." He pointed to Yuka on the ground. "Shall I add negligence to the list, or will you do as I asked?" The hunter wiggled the fingers of his outstretched hand and Satoshi begrudgingly pulled a laminated card from his wallet.

After a quick appraisal, the hunter shook his head. "You were so close, really. You missed the watermark in the top left and the Board of Collection's signature isn't slanted enough."

The hunter smiled easily at a sweating Satoshi. "Of course, I'll have to confiscate this, but if you give me the amulet now, I could overlook the infraction with a warning."

Satoshi tossed him the amulet without hesitation. With a final, disapproving glance at everyone, he stormed off, and the hunter addressed his remaining audience.

"You did quite a fantastic job severing the connection between your friend and the amulet. I'm impressed."

Kagome felt cheered by the compliment. "I wasn't sure it would work, but I had a hunch and went with it."

"A hunch? I thought you knew it wouldn't hurt me - you. I mean you." Inuyasha glared. "So you took a gamble with my - I mean your welfare?"

"It turned out alright so it's fine." She turned to the hunter. "Thank you so much for showing up when you did. That guy was something else."

"Children of Midoriko love to show off their marks." He tapped his inner forearm and rolled his eyes. "And not to critique your form, but I do still sense some vestiges of the demonic aura within your friend. It's minor but it will still cause issues."

"What? Oh no. How do I get rid of it? I'm not great at the priestess thing."

He raised an eyebrow but offered to take care of it for her.

As the hunter knelt down and took Yuka's hand in his to examine her, Kagome spoke casually. "That scavenger guy talked about a lot of things. Um, do you know anything about a spell called the Warrior's Oath?"

Inuyasha gave her a warning look, which she served back. She couldn't let this chance pass them by. She knew Inuyasha likely wanted the hunter gone so he didn't find out Inuyasha was a demon, but hunters were high-level priests. He'd have to know something useful.

The hunter missed the exchange between priestess and half-demon behind his back as she focused on Yuka.

He spoke without turning his head or faltering in his cleansing of Yuka's aura. "Only what little they taught us in the shrines. Fell out of practice ages ago after it was banned. Your friend will be fine. She just needs rest and an aspirin."

The hunter stood up and turned to Kagome fully, turning his back on Inuyasha, who's lip curled at the slight.

Kagome's face paled. "Right. Why was it banned again?"

"Because of the Dark Insurrection." Seeing her face, he elaborated. "It's been a while since elementary school history, I know. That was when a group of invincible warriors and their priests went around terrorizing the countryside, killing and pillaging. If you've got a fighter impervious to physical attacks, it's not much of a fight, is it? The Shikon Council stepped in at the request of the Feudal Lords."

"Oh, duh. How could I have forgotten?" Kagome laughed nervously. "Thanks for clearing that up. Well I don't want to keep you. I know you're probably busy and all with returning that amulet."

"Yes, but I always have time for a beautiful woman. And your name?" Kagome blushed at his compliment and answered. "Kagome? A lovely name for a lovely lady. I'm Miroku. If you ever need assistance, or want to grab a cup of coffee, don't hesitate to call." He passed her a business card and winked before he excused himself.

"What a creep. It was like I wasn't even here," remarked Inuyasha sullenly as soon as he was gone.

"Forget that. He said it was banned. As in illegal." Kagome's mind had already skipped ahead, but Inuyasha didn't see the issue.

"I heard. Maybe now you won't try to bring anymore hunters into our business."

She elaborated her point. "It doesn't matter if we clear your name for the attack now. If Myoga comes back empty-handed, how am I supposed to ask anyone how to break it if I'm not allowed to cast it in the first place?"

Inuyasha absorbed this for a moment. "Why would your old man teach you something like this?"

She met Inuyasha's eyes, her face troubled. "I'm not sure. Inuyasha, what if -"

Yuka stirred on the grass but didn't wake.

"Help me get her up to Kenji's apartment."

"When I saw her with Inuyasha tonight, I thought she was finally over Akitoki." Ayumi closed the door to the bedroom where she and Kagome had helped a very-out-of-it Yuka stumble into bed.

"Why didn't she tell me? She was the one that introduced us and told me to go for it. I never would have pursued anything if I'd known."

Ayumi shook her head. "He had already turned her down before you met him. She's never liked to talk about her feelings, but I think supporting you was her way of trying to move on."

"Maybe." Whether her jealousy was amulet-based or not, Kagome didn't know anymore.

Ayumi put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't take anything she said to heart. When she's a certain level of drunk, she says things she doesn't mean. She doesn't want to break you and Akitoki up, I promise."

Alcohol and a demonic amulet contributed, but Yuka wasn't drunk when she invited Inuyasha, which meant she'd used Inuyasha as a tool to prove Kagome wasn't worthy of Akitoki. That fact bothered her more than Yuka's cruel depiction of her character.

"You two are so cute together. When's Akitoki going to make it official already?" gushed Ayumi, hoping to move on to less uncomfortable conversation.

Kagome sighed. "About that."

"What's it going to be this time: black or white?" Kenji laughed at the serious look of concentration on Inuyasha's face.

"Black," replied Inuyasha decidedly.

He focused intently, lining up the shot as he held the dart carefully between his fingers. He threw it with what he thought was masterful precision, but the pointy end sank into the wall instead of the dart board, joining another wayward dart already embedded.

A guy with blond hair held out two full shot glasses. "Oof. At least you're consistent."

Inuyasha was downing said shots when Kagome and Ayumi returned to the room. It seemed like they had been gone forever, which was how he'd gotten roped into this game of darts with it's own rules.

"Want to play 50/50 with us?" asked Kenji.

"No thanks, I don't want to destroy my liver tonight," declined Ayumi.

When they'd arrived with Yuka, Kenji and a couple of his friends were in the living room. Ayumi had met them on the landing outside after Kagome had warned her of their arrival.

Inuyasha had hung back and watched them call out a color, throw a dart at the board and then cheer or groan as it hit the target. He quickly learned that if you landed in the color square you announced, you were safe. If not, you had to take a shot.

The guy with glasses sunk his dart into one of the small red rectangles. He pointed at Inuyasha. If anyone landed in the much smaller red or green blocks, they could give out a shot.

Inuyasha added a third shot to his queue.

"Me neither. I'm no good a darts," said Kagome.

"C'mon, Kagome," said the blond boy. "You can't be worse than this guy." He hooked his thumb at Inuyasha.

"Maybe next time, Finn. It's been a long day. I'm ready for bed."

"Kenji's apartment's a bit crowded. I'd be happy to share mine, but I can't promise you'll get much rest." Finn winked.

Kenji shoved him in the shoulder. "Dude, don't be a dumbass."

Inuyasha sat down the empty shot glasses on the messy coffee table with a clink.

"I already promised to walk her back to campus." He turned to Kagome expectantly. "Well? You ready?"

"I feel like I'm in the ocean." Inuyasha puckered his lips in his best fish imitation as they made their way up the stairs of his dorm.

"It's all those shots sloshing around. You were fine when we left the apartment. Just how many times did you lose that dart game?"

"Oh, a lot." His head bobbled. "Guess it didn't hit me at first."

"I'm aware. I had to keep you from climbing trees on the walk back." Kagome held out her hand palm up when they reached his door.

He gave her a high five.

"No. Your keys."

Inuyasha laughed and fished them out of his pocket. "Right. Duh."

He wandered into his room and before Kagome could even shut the door, he was taking off his shirt.

"What are you doing?" she cried in alarm, worried he was about to strip. "I'm right here."

"My shoulder itches like crazy." He pulled at the wrapping and ripped off the bandages. She was surprised at how much better his shoulder looked compared to this morning.

"And this damn thing. Feels like I'm suffocating." He removed the bracelet that concealed his half-demon identity.

She didn't notice a difference in his demonic energy level once removed, but it had to conceal it from everyone else somehow. "How does your bracelet work?"

Inuyasha tossed it to her unconcerned. "Dunno. Myoga got it for me."

Kagome caught it after a slight fumble. She weighed it in her hand and rolled the beads between her fingers. She'd expected polished stone, but it was made of perfectly-smooth wood.

Inuyasha kicked off his shoes and fell face first onto the bed, sprawled like a star fish.

"Kagoooome, tell the world to stop spinning."

"You shouldn't have taken all those shots." She spoke apathetically, her focus on the bracelet. Was it a spell that prevented detection? Was it a barrier that wrapped around him?

Inuyasha groaned dramatically. "Hey."

He didn't get a response and carefully sat up, his legs dangling off the side of the mattress. He waved a hand in the air. "Hey, Kagome."

"What?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Thanks for going to the party. I had fun. You know, not counting the bits with the scavenger." He'd never been to a party and had always been curious. At least he could cross that off the college experience list before he skipped town.

Kagome lost her focus on the bracelet and just stared at him.

"What?" he blushed and got defensive. "What are you staring at?"

"You just thanked me for something." She stepped closer, putting a hand to his forehead. "Are you sick?"

He made a face at the insinuation. "Geez, don't make such a big deal about it."

"Thank you too. It was a good distraction. For the most part."

He glanced at the floor, frowning slightly, before glancing back up. "Sorry your boyfriend dumped you."

The corner of Kagome's mouth twitched but she couldn't bring herself to smile. "He wasn't my boyfriend. It was just a few dates and stuff. Nothing major."

They were eye-level with Inuyasha on the bed and Kagome standing in front of him. He could clearly see the hurt in her eyes even if she didn't want to acknowledge it. She'd stuffed it down all day and even further after Yuka's accusations.

He leaned forward and kissed her. "Only an idiot would rip up your valentine."

She stood stock still, eyes wide, as Inuyasha yawned and laid his tired head softly on his pillow, eyes closing peacefully as if he hadn't just fried Kagome's brain.

A/N: I did it. I posted. Finally! Something about uploading a new chapter just makes me feel like I've really accomplished something. (POV: you're my to-do list giving me a death glare from the corner because fanfiction was not on the list)

See You Next Chapter,

RadiantSun