Training seemed more difficult when he was out of his comfort zone, and especially when he didn't have a certain something that gave him a pep in his step. Lethargic and frustrated, Inuyasha collapsed onto the mat underneath him, stretched out in a starfish position. His chest heaving up and down, golden eyes squeezed shut against the light above him.

"You aren't done yet." Myoga said, the punch mitts still on his hands, even though Inuyasha had physically checked out. He nudged Inuyasha with his foot. Inuyasha groaned, turning his head away, a wrapped hand falling over his eyes.

"So...tired." He said between breaths, causing Myoga to raise his eyebrows, slightly worried. Despite Inuyasha's attitude and proneness to lash out, he valued him as a trainee because he was willing and able to go for hours if needed, unless he was due to revert to his human form. "Break...please?!" He yelled over the loud music that was playing, tapping his hand on the mat.

"Ten minutes." Myoga muttered, sighing as he moved to sit down at the bench press. Almost as soon as Myoga spoke, Inuyasha scrambled to his feet, scurrying out of the gym and up the stairs, out of the basement. He closed the door behind him, but could still feel the vibrations of the rap music through the door. His silver hair stuck to his back, that was covered in sweat. The muscles under his skin twitched, and his face tingled from the pre-workout he'd had a few hours earlier.

Almost gasping for air, he made his way to the kitchen, his bare feet hitting the cold stone of the old, country house. Once in the kitchen he ripped open the fridge, grabbing a water bottle. He opened it, and desperately drank its contents, completely oblivious to the fact that Kagome had come into the kitchen. She too was sweaty, and covered in dirt, a riding helmet tucked under her arm. Her previously white polo shirt had taken on a slight beige tinge covered in a mixture of dust and dirt, and her hair was slightly disheveled, sticking to her sweaty face.

"Thirsty?" She asked, crossing her arms. An amused grin gracing her features. His ears swiveled in her direction, and his head soon followed, a trail of water running down the side of his face, dripping onto his chest. Her eyes trailed down slightly, curiosity getting the best of her for a brief moment before her eyes snapped back up.

Inuyasha grunted in response. "Nah, no I just decided I was gonna chug this water bottle for no reason." He replied, sarcastically. Kagome rolled her eyes, giving him a nasty look afterwards. "Don't look at me like that, I'm the one lettin' ya ride my fuckin' horses."

It was the first day in Vermont, and if it was up to either of them it would be their last. They arrived yesterday afternoon, and got into a disagreement about dinner because of course they would. The disagreement, however, wasn't resolved and the two had spent much of the day avoiding and ignoring each other to the most of their ability. Until now. The music from the gym in the basement was still loud, he could feel it through the floor, he could barely hear himself think.

Clearing her throat, Kagome spoke. "There was a helicopter circling the property...wanna explain that?"

"Paps, Miroku probably tipped us off."

Of course.

His breathing has stabled by now, his hands planted on the cool surface of the kitchen counter. "I'm goin' back to the gym." He muttered, after a few moments of awkward silence between them, which seemed to be amplified by the loud music playing beneath them.

"Wait—" Kagome called after him, Inuyasha paused in his steps, turning his head ever so slightly in her direction.

"Hm?" He asked, voice gruff. His eyes squinting at her, but he was curious.

"Can I come watch?"

"No." Inuyasha replied immediately, shaking his head. "Go ride the horses again if you're that bored."

Kagome rolled her eyes. She was, of course, expecting him to say no. "Why can't I?" It was almost a dumb question.

Almost.

"Because...I don't want you to?" Inuyasha responded, his face contorting into a look of obvious contempt. "Look, I have a fight coming up next month, I don't want any distractions, alright?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest. Tapping at her arm with a finger. "Distractions?" Her eyes trailing over his back until meeting his eyes. "Do I distract you?" It was a genuine question, but her voice was playful, teasing him.

He hated it.

"No." He tried his best to disguise the crack in his voice, turning his face just as he bit his bottom lip, debating on whether he should change his mind or not. "It's like…" he started, trying to come up with some analogy to show her why he didn't want her to come. "When I was about 15, I got a job at a ramen shop around the corner from where we lived. My friends would come in all the time and fuck around. Distract me."

He turned to look at Kagome, who had a sudden look of understanding her face. She nodded slowly. "This is my job. I don't work out as a hobby, I don't do it because I want to do it. I have to. Any change to this, and I will lose my focus."

"Even if I'm just another pair of eyes in the room?" Kagome pressured, taking a few steps closer to him. "I'm really not trying to bug you," Her eyes flickered over to the large, spacious living room. Kagome added, shrugging her shoulders, "I'm just curious to see how you prepare for a fight, that's all."

One of Inuyasha's eyebrows raised, covered by his white bangs as he looked down at her, jaw clenched. "Okay." He responded. Kagome broke out into a wide grin. "But no talking, no asking questions, no bothering me. Pick a corner, sit in it, and watch. Got it?" Inuyasha laid down the rules for her. Kagome nodded her head. "Say it."

"I got it."

"Good."

It was night time now, Inuyasha had stopped training about two hours prior. But only after intervention from both Kagome and Renkotsu. They'd all had dinner, and the small group of people consisting of Inuyasha, Kagome, Renkotsu, Myoga and Bankotsu were all sitting outside, spread out around a bonfire. The conversation was lively at first, with Bankotsu and Renkotsu sharing stories of getting in trouble with Inuyasha when they were younger.

"He got fired from that ramen shop job for eating like half of the noodles they served." Renkotsu said through laughs, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"Yeah he used to be a real asshole." Bankotsu added, nodding his head. "Used to be a real menace to society."

"Used to be?" Kagome questioned, looking over to Inuyasha who seemed to smile to himself, silently listening to the stories they told about him. "He still is one!"

"Oh, whoa." Inuyasha muttered, raising a hand. "I've mellowed out over the years." Kagome raised her eyebrows, brown eyes widening slightly. "What?"

"Nothing it's just," She sighed, laughing a little bit. "You call yourself mellowed out, now? The first time I went to your apartment you picked Miroku up like a paper plate."

"Yeah well…" His voice trailed off as he shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie, legs folded under himself on the chair he sat in. It was still chilly at night, despite it being summer. He attributed it to being in rural Vermont. "He did something that pissed me off."

"Oh?" Kagome asked, a hand pressing gently into her chest. "What's that?"

Inuyasha gave her a knowing look, golden eyes seeming even more beautiful as his face was illuminated by the soft glow of the fire. Kagome's breath hitched for a moment. "You know."

"I'm just teasing." She stammered, looking away.

Noticing this, Bankotsu smirked to himself. "What? Did Miroku walk in on you guys?"

"No...it's...nothing." Inuyasha said. "Point is: I've mellowed out. And..not everything is about sex, you perv."

"If you wanna call being in the news every few weeks for generally bad reasons 'mellow', sure." Myoga chimed, holding a beer. "Otherwise, I'd argue that you've only mellowed out now because you have Kagome in your life." Myoga added, shrugging his own shoulders.

"I wouldn't say I'm the reason." Kagome said, grimacing as she held a glass of wine. "Rather, I talk sense into him."

"When the fuck was the last time ya talked sense into me, Kagome?"

There it was again.

The softness in his voice when he said her name, only more noticeable now. She hadn't heard that in his voice since the last big argument they had, the one after Vegas. Her eyes darted in his direction for a split second, looking over his features, searching for a hint of softness in them. Anything. But it wasn't there. His eyes still had a hard look, his jaw seeming permanently clenched.

You're so hard to figure out, Kagome thought to herself.

"Um…" She tapped a finger against her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. Inuyasha stared at her, eyebrows raised expectantly.

"Um…" he mocked, before kissing his teeth. "Exactly, ya ain't done it."

"I have but I'm not gonna put you on the spot for that right now." Kagome answered softly, smiling slightly as she brought the wine to her lips. "Too personal."

"Oh wait now I wanna know." Bankotsu said, leaning forward in his chair. Hands placed on either side of his face, supporting his head. Dark colored eyes darting between Inuyasha and Kagome. Renkotsu slapped at his arm, glaring at Bankotsu.

You and me both, buddy. Inuyasha thought, settling more into his seat, biting the inside of his cheek.

The rest of the conversation progressed naturally, with comfortable silence scattered sporadically. Myoga was the first to go back into the estate, patting Inuyasha on the shoulder on the way back into the house. A few hours later Renkotsu and Bankotsu followed, also patting Inuyasha on the shoulder on their way in.

It was just the two of them.

Inuyasha and Kagome.

"The house is nice." Kagome mustered, after a few moments of silently staring into the fire. "It's like you took a french chateau and just...planted it in the middle of horse country." She added, nodding her head. "It's peaceful, secluded...zen-like."

"Thank you." Inuyasha muttered in response, eyes glued to the flame. He almost seemed deep in thought, barely blinking. His hand came up momentarily to scratch at his forehead, before settling back into the pocket of his hoodie. "That's why I chose this one."

"Because it's secluded?"

"Mhm."

"Hm." Kagome responded, smiling softly. We're having a conversation, this is good! "Training seemed hard…" She added, her mind wandered back to when Bankotsu had accidentally punched the right side of Inuyasha's torso, just under his ribcage. Where his liver was. Kagome remembered hearing Inuyasha sigh heavily once he did so, doubling over, hands on his knees. He stayed like that for a good minute, hissing in pain, eyes squeezed shut. "Are you okay after that big hit?"

"Hurt like a bitch if that's what you're asking." He grumbled in response.

"No it's just...Sesshomaru told us, before he left...that you had surgery because of your accident, on your liver so I was just—"

"For the last time. I. Am. Not. Normal. I. Am. A. Half. Demon. Yokai." Inuyasha responded, irritated. He brought the side of one hand down into an open palm, emphasizing his words. "I healed a hell of a lot quicker, and better."

"Well. Excuse me for being worried." Kagome ground out through clenched teeth, bringing the wine back to her lips. "You just seemed in a lot of pain, is all."

"It was a hard hit, of course I would be in pain." Inuyasha replied, shrugging his shoulders, an incredulous look on his face. Kagome sighed in response.

"No not...whatever." She wasn't going to start yet another argument with him since getting to Vermont. She wasn't going to let Inuyasha get under her skin, no matter how much he was right now. Huffing, she placed the wine glass in the grass, settling it so it wouldn't fall over. Kagome pulled her legs up and crossed them in the chair, while pulling her hair up into a messy bun. "How long have you been fighting at this level?" Kagome questioned. She realized that she had never quite asked that. She had a general idea that he had been in the industry for a few years now, but not exactly how many.

"I started when I was 18...that's when I signed my first contract with the UFC."

"I see." Kagome hummed, "so seven years? You're 23 now, right?"

"Yeah." Inuyasha breathed, letting out a puff of air, his head falling back, hitting the edge of the seat. His mind was racing, and he wished it would just stop. It jumped from training, to the upcoming fight, to Myoga, to Koga, to Kagome.

Kagome.

That woman sitting next to him was a god damned mystery. She was the most excruciatingly infuriating woman he knew. With her constant push and pull, like a game she liked to play with him. But he wasn't exactly innocent either. There were many times when Inuyasha, too, had pushed her away and pulled her in...only to push her back away from him.

He shook the thoughts of her out of his head.

"I didn't want to do this, you know. I mean I did, I wanted the money but..." Inuyasha muttered after a while, his head lazily turning in her direction, eyes closed, feeling the warmth of the fire heat up his face. "I was forced into this career, to fight." Forced might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but he never really planned to get this big. He supposed no one did...plan it. It just happened.

"Oh don't say that." Kagome said in response, rolling her eyes. "I saw you train today, you fight with so much passion, Inuyasha. It's like you're a completely different person when you train, during fights...during interviews." She smiled at him, her body now turned in his direction. She was referring to how he could instantly switch from his normal self to this...persona that he put on for the cameras. Witty, funny, arrogantly confident. He was like that in private, of course, but in public…

It was amplified.

"I didn't want to do this." Inuyasha repeated, laughing to himself. He was tired, she could tell. The laziness in his voice, the way it dropped, becoming a little lower. It sent a small chill down her spine, butterflies started to form in her stomach, but she took another sip of wine instead. "The charity...Myoga...they made me. I just wanted enough money to eat and get my own place...and then my dumbass had to go and gain media attention."

"Respectfully, Inuyasha." Kagome started, "where would you be if it wasn't for your career? What type of future did you have for yourself in Japan?" His upbringing was no secret. He'd told her himself, albeit in an indirect way, that he and his parents (or at least, he and his father) didn't have the best relationship.

Where would I be?

"Prison, more than likely. Executed, at worst." She winced at his blunt honesty.

"That's...a little harsh." Kagome responded, eyebrows raised slightly. She laughed nervously, but he shrugged. "You have a talent for this, a natural talent….what they say about you is true. What the sports magazines say, the statistics...they don't lie." She bit her lip for a moment, her words suspended in the air.

"You're the greatest in the world right now for a reason."

"So you've researched me?"

"Only slightly." Kagome said, shrugging her shoulders. "I wanted to know what I was getting myself into."

He gave her a small, yet sad smile.

He should smile more…

Seemingly touched by what she said, while also slightly disappointed, he spoke. "I'm thankful for it...ya know? Look at all the money I have after growing up dirt fucking poor but…" His eyes fluttered open and god were his eyelashes long; she suddenly noticed just how tired, and beaten down he seemed.

"You can't keep beating up your body like this...right?" Kagome interjected, finishing his sentence for him.

"What would you do if you were me?" Inuyasha asked her, a genuine question, a small smile on his face. He's definitely tired, he wouldn't be talking to me like this otherwise.

"I'm sorry," Kagome said playfully, faking a gawf of disbelief. "Is the Inuyasha Takahashi asking me for advice?"

"Don't get a big head over it." Inuyasha grumbled, eyes suddenly darkening into a glare. He was suddenly wide awake again, staring intently at her.

His intense gaze made her nervous.

Every single time.

It didn't matter how much she didn't like him, she couldn't help the flush that came to her cheeks, the sudden interest in the ground, the stammer.

And he must have known because when she finally looked up from her ankles, he had a cocky grin plastered on his face. "So?"

"I-I don't know." Kagome stammered, mentally cursing herself for doing so. "I'm not an athlete."

"You used to ride horses though, that's a sport. You've been one." Inuyasha pointed out. "Let's say you spend 7 years riding at a professional level. But it's starting to become a lot for you...what would you?" Inuyasha asked.

"Take a break." Kagome responded, shrugging. "Like, honestly...take a break. I'm not going to burn myself out, especially not if it's something I'm passionate about." She let her sight linger on him for a little, as he seemed to process what she said. "The sport will still be there for me when I'm ready to come back." It was silent for a few moments, neither one of them speaking.

But it was a comfortable silence.

"I'm still confused about what happened at the museum." Inuyasha said quietly, clearing his throat. He was trying to change the subject and although Kagome was curious as to why, she went along with him. "What exactly were you trying to get at?"

"Oh wow you're a lot nicer when you're tired. Sometimes I think you hate me." He shot her a long hard look, drawing in a breath before sighing. He could see where she was coming from, just as she could see where he was coming from if he had said something similar.

But he didn't hate her. Or at least, Inuyasha didn't think that he hated her.

"I-I don't hate you." He muttered, "It's just...you get under my skin a lot."

"And you get under mine." She responded softly, pulling her oversized shirt back over her shoulder. His eyes lingered over her body for a few seconds, before coming back to her face. Her eyes were closed as she pulled her hair out of the messy bun she had it in, and tossed it over her shoulder, raking a hand through it.

"Are you gonna answer my question? What was that whole 'getting to know you' thing about?" He asked again, voice low, dragging slightly. It took on a new, huskier tone.

It did things to her.

And she hated it. She hated the way his voice made a chill run down her spine in a good way.

"Just…" she tried to figure out what exactly her words meant. What any of that conversation meant. "You should make more of an effort to get to know me." Kagome added, barely audible above the crackle of the wood in the fire. "I feel like you know nothing about me."

"Because I don't." Inuyasha responded, shrugging his shoulders. "You never told me anything about yourself," he added. "You don't know anything about me, either. It goes both ways ya know." He added.

"Because you never asked." Kagome ground out, slightly irritated at him. The conversation was taking a turn in a direction she didn't want it to. It was starting to resemble the one at the museum, and that one had been a mess. "You seem guarded, so I never did ask because I felt like I would never get a straight response out of you."

He hummed lightly in response, blowing out a puff of air. She...might have been right. About him being guarded. Ouch.

"Favorite color?" He asked, his eyes now glued to the didn't want to dwell too much on the fact that she'd called him out. He picked up a log that sat next to his chair, and tossed it into the flames, watching the fire rise slightly, before settling back down, slowly consuming the new wood. Kagome raised her eyebrows incredulously, before giggling to herself.

This was reminding her too much of the youtube video they did, what seemed like ages ago. She'd never actually gotten around to watching it.

"Light blue." She answered.

"Birthday?" he pulled his phone out of his pocket, glancing for a moment down at the time. It was late, but he wasn't tired enough to haul himself back into the house and go to bed. And it seemed, neither was Kagome. "Wait I think I know this one." Inuyasha said, before she could respond. Kagome bit her bottom lip, eyes squeezed shut as she waited for his answer. "Um….September…"

"Wrong!" Kagome said, "It's November 24th."

"August 18th." Inuyasha responded.

"A day after your fight." Kagome responded, suddenly giddy with excitement. "Are you going to do anything? I mean, you'd have an excuse to party, double if you win."

"When I win. I don't celebrate my birthdays much, so...I don't know...maybe?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Birthdays and I don't mix well...I tend to forget when my birthday is unless Miroku texts me or some shit." He made a dismissive movement with his hand. Inuyasha didn't want to think about it any more than he had already.

Birthdays were a touchy subject for him. He hated his own, mostly because he blamed himself for the fall out of his parents marriage, his father's dissent into drugs and alcohol, his brother having to grow up a lot quicker than he should have, stepping in more than once to "raise" him, however he could. He was grateful Kagome didn't push the subject. The only birthday he did manage to remember, his mother was present for it. But that was before she decided to completely cut him out of her life, unless, of course, she had something to gain.

The atmosphere around them felt different for what seemed like the first time in forever. It wasn't heavy, or tense, or thick with the searing anger and annoyance. They didn't feel like they were going to be grabbing each other by the throat, and neither of them had raised their voices at each other or been disrespectful.

They were just adults conversing, and getting to know each other.

And that felt good to Kagome, she felt like she could let her hair down around him. She could feel the tension she held in her shoulders from constantly being on edge around him slowly start to fade away. "You have any hobbies?" It was the most mundane of questions, but she was finding herself desperate to fill the silence between them.

Besides getting wasted and high off my fucking ass every few days? Nothing much, Kagome. "Does getting to legally beat the shit out of people count as a hobby?" He questioned, half joking.

"You have to have at least one, Inuyasha." Kagome answered, reaching over her chair to gently shove his shoulder. "Not even one?"

"I don't have time for hobbies." Inuyasha responded, shrugging. "Too much to do in one day."

"Oh that's bullshit."

"Oh yeah?" He challenged, crossing his arms over his chest. "Okay, the day we went to the boring ass museum, right? I woke up at 3:30, was out my door by 3:45, was training by 4:30. Showered there, changed, went over to the studio where my interview was being held, and was there by about 8, left at about 1, picked you up 45 minutes after that." He watched as Kagome's jaw dropped, disbelief in her eyes. He kept going. "We were at that museum for like what...3 hours or so? I dropped you off after we had dinner, had a phone conference with Miroku about where my sponsorships stood, what deals I'm renewing and which ones we're going to negotiate more money for. Then I watched practice film, took notes on it, showered, and I was in bed by about 11. Sleeping by 1 AM."

"I stand corrected." Kagome mustered, "You did all of that?"

"Oh sometimes I do more." Inuyasha said. "That's when I'm not doing magazine spreads, or cover photoshoots or any type of press. Press weeks are harder. Less sleep. More stress. Court days are also stressful, days when I have to travel are stressful too. UFC did a 'week in my life' video last year..."

Kagome had a newfound respect for him. He worked hard, it was no wonder he always seemed constantly on edge, like every little thing would set him on a tirade. "I..wow." She breathed, scratching at the side of her head. "And I thought I did a lot in a day…" She added, her voice trailing off, slightly embarrassed. What she did didn't begin to compare to what he usually did in one day. "I bet coming to Vermont is...relaxing? I mean sure you still have a lot to do, with training and all." Her statement earned her an empty laugh from Inuyasha, and she grimaced in response. "No?"

"Miroku still calls, my lawyers still send emails, film still has to be watched...work doesn't stop." He muttered in response, closing his eyes for a second, breathing deeply.

"Have you ever even vacationed?" It was a genuine question, born out of her new curiosity for his workload, and what his days entailed. It seemed like it would be hard for him to ever truly have time off. "I mean, since you know...reaching stardom."

"No.." his voice dragged as he exhaled. "Well, I—when I lived in California I used to go to the beach a lot. But...like...vacation vacation, no."

"Where would you even want to go?" Kagome asked, staring at him, arms wrapped around herself. "Like what's your dream vacation?"

"I guess, somewhere sunny, beachy…" he glanced over at her. "Miroku went to Puerto Rico last summer and he loved it...so...maybe there?"

"Puerto Rico is your dream vacation?" Kagome asked, raising an eyebrow. "I was expecting something like Bora Bora, or Ibiza...Paris, maybe?...maybe visiting back home."

"I don't want to go back home." Inuyasha interjected, shooting her a glare. "Not even for a second."

Oh?

"Not even to...visit?" She pushed, perhaps more than she should have, biting her lip as she sat back in her chair, awaiting an answer, if she was even going to get one. She watched as his jaw clenched for a few seconds, and he opened and closed his hand slowly. She could practically see the wheels turning in his head, debating on whether he should open up to her any more than he already had.

"I...just, no, Kagome. I'm not going back to Japan. There's nothing for me there." His tone was simple, plain. She could tell he just wanted to end the discussion about Japan right then and there, and she wasn't going to push him any farther than she already had.

"Alright, alright...sorry." She muttered, averting her gaze from him.

It was quiet for a few seconds, and then Inuyasha yawned, and stretched and got up from where he was sitting.

"You're leaving?" Kagome asked, eyebrows furrowed as she looked up at him, and he nodded weakly in response. "Tired?"

"Exhausted."

"Makes sense." Kagome replied, getting up as well.

"What are you doing?" Inuyasha asked, eyes scanning over her body, hands stuffed into the front pocket of his hoodie.

"Going back inside with you?" Kagome said, although it ended more in a question. Her eyebrows raised as he stood silently for a few moments. "I mean, I'm not gonna stay outside, in the middle of nowhere, alone."

"It's safe out here." Inuyasha muttered, but he still didn't move to leave. "You want to stay?"

"It feels nice outside and I was enjoying talking to you…" Her voice trailed off, and again she looked away from him, seemingly interested in the flames of the bonfire. "But it is late so…" She heard the grass rustling as he moved to take his seat again, and then he looked over to her, motioning with his hand for her to sit back down. "You don't have to stay out here if you're tired, Inuyasha."

"Yeah but you don't want to be out here alone and you wanted to keep talking, so I'm staying. One more hour won't hurt." He responded, "What?" he added when he noticed Kagome was smiling down at him.

"Look at us being civil with each other."

"Well, being stuck with you for a month straight would be hard as fuck to get through if I wasn't at least...nice to you."

"You're nothing but a big ol' softie, Inuyasha." Kagome teased, and he grumbled at her in response. "All rough and hard on the outside, but cuddly and sweet on the inside."

He laughed a little, shaking his head. "You're annoying." Inuyasha uttered in responde, eyes trailing over her face for a few seconds, before flickering back over to the fire that blazed in front of them.