For the ninth time, let's take a look at the way things stand:

Exhibit A: Me. Small, female college student, majoring in French and Liberal Arts. Does not have a great deal of funding to do things like go to Europe for a couple weeks with her high school Latin teacher, and said teacher's current Latin students.

Exhibit B: XxxHoLiC, written by CLAMP, very awesome manga and anime with an international fanbase, ergo generating epic amounts of money in royalties.

Exhibit C: InuYasha: a Feudal Fairytale, written by Yumiko Takahashi, manga and anime with huge epic major international fanbase, even if it doesn't have sufficient plot to support its bulk. Also generates massive amounts of money in royalties.

So, therefore, it stands to reason that if Exhibit A has highly limited funds, and Exhibits B and C generate a great deal of funding in royalties, Exhibit A is not receiving royalties from either Exhibit B or C. Ergo, Exhibit A does not own Exhibit B or C. As Exhibit A does not wish to have any problems with copyright infringement, she would just like to make that very clear. Again.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

The day before Valentine's Day, Kagome found herself asking Yuuko permission to use the kitchen at the shop in order to start work on the many chocolates that she was going to need the following day. Mentally, she began ticking off the people who she owed chocolate. Doumeki, Watanuki, and Himawari, of course, followed by Yuuko, and last but not least, the wonderful, miraculous doctor who had saved her education. Five people. Add to the list a couple spare boxes so that she would not get caught totally off guard by anyone who had made her chocolate and she did not have anything to give them. So, roughly eight boxes of chocolate. That, she knew well, was going to be a lot of chocolate. She might just get the couple spares at a store, but still... Five boxes of decent sized chocolate would take a very long time to make, so she might as well get started earlier rather than later. Unfortunately, her query seemed to give Yuuko ideas, as she suddenly decided to force Watanuki to make fondant au chocolat. She winced in sympathy. She was not nearly so ambitious with her cooking projects, knowing full well that the less solid the chocolate, the higher the difficulty levels in preparing. No, her plans involved making chocolate balls, letting them sit, and then neatly putting them into small jars, to which she could later add a ribbon, if she saw fit.

So, as Kagome was waiting for her chocolate to chill enough for her to make it into little balls, she watched Watanuki heat his chocolate to perfection, before finally smiling slightly as the chocolate dripped down from spoon with which he had been stirring the concoction and pronouncing

"It's done." Kagome smiled at him, and had opened her mouth to congratulate him, when the formerly quiet kitchen was invaded.

"It's done? The Valentine's Day chocolate is done!" Yuuko called with glee, her hands clasped together under her chin.

"Stop RIGHT THERE!" Shrieked Watanuki, jerking the bowl of molten chocolate up over his head, out of the reach of those who would steal tastes. "No stealing tastes! I just meant that heating the chocolate was done!" He brought the chocolate down so he could resume stirring it, hunching his entire frame over the bowl to defend it from Yuuko. "Honestly, why do I have to make you chocolate anyways?" He muttered darkly as he stirred. Kagome giggled.

"Hate to break it to you, Watanuki, but it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, and Yuuko doesn't cook. Therefore, you're stuck with the job." She informed him kindly.

"But it's the girls who make chocolate on Valentine's! I'm not supposed to do anything until White Day!" He pointed out with a snarl. Kagome's eyebrows rose.

"I know. Why do you think I'm over here making eight batches of giri-choko? And you're Yuuko's cook. That's why you're making chocolate." She answered calmly.

"She didn't have any of the ingredients for this!" He snapped. "She's keeping me up late into the night to make fondant au chocolat, which is quite possibly the HARDEST TYPE OF CHOCOLATE TO MAKE!" Kagome rolled her eyes as Watanuki entered psychotic rant mode, and returned to her own project to Moro and Maru's cheerful chirps.

"Watanuki's mad! Watanuki's mad!"

No kidding. She thought dryly as she turned her attention back towards her chilling chocolate.

Watanuki finished his fondant just before Kagome put the last of her chocolate balls into a glass jar. Yuuko was delighted, and cooed

"It looks delicious!"

"It's my first time making it, so I can't guarantee the taste..." Watanuki muttered looking away. Kagome smiled in the background. She could tell Watanuki was proud of his accomplishment, but he was not about to mention that in front of Yuuko. Oh no. Definitely not.

"YES!" Yuuko shrieked, looking at the clock, "It is now February 14! Happy Valentine's Day!" And with that, she promptly dug into one of the fondants. Sighing fondly, Kagome placed one of her jars in front of her employer.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Yuuko-san. I'm giving this to you now, because I have tomor- I mean, this afternoon off." She explained quietly. Yuuko smiled at her young employee, and patted the girl on the head.

"Oh, yes, of course! Thank you very much Kagome-chan, that's so sweet of you!"

"Not at all! It was my pleasure. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go brave the subway, and head on home.

"No! One of the others is for you, Kagome-chan!" Yuuko scolded her, yanking the startled girl down next to her, and pushing a plate of fondant in front of her.

"Alright, alright! I'll eat, I'll eat!" And with that, she delicately began spooning small amounts of fondant into her mouth, before turning to smile at Watanuki. "She's right, Watanuki-senpai, this is delicious!" The boy in question turned slightly red, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'arigato'. Kagome smiled, and pretended to ignore it, along with Yuuko's usual comments about alcohol and Watanuki's accompanying rant. Just as Kagome was getting ready to leave, Mokona swallowed up the remaining four fondants. She turned to look inquiringly at Yuuko, who smiled mischievously.

"That way, the other Mokona can give our brave inter-dimensional travelers a taste of fondant au chocolat!" She explained. Kagome's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Wait a second- those were gifts to them from you?" She asked, suspicious. Yuuko nodded, beaming.

"Oh, to Syaoran and those other guys? That's pretty nice of you, Yuuko."

"Heh, no it's not, Watanuki-senpai." Kagome said dryly. "It's called 'broadening the net'." Watanuki looked completely baffled, and Kagome sighed at his utter inability to remember cultural norms.

"Watanuki-senpai, what are you going to be doing in about a month for any girl who gives you Valentine's Day chocolate later today?" She asked calmly.

"Huh?" Yuuko cackled maniacally.

"Ho ho ho ho ho! Very good, Kagome-chan! This way, we're all set for White Day! I expect great presents from all of them!"

"SO THAT WAS YOUR PLOT ALL ALONG!" Watanuki shrieked. At that point, Kagome decided that it was time for a quick exit. After all, she had a long ride back home.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - —

The next day was, as Kagome had expected, pure and utter Hell. Every girl in her class was giggling like a maniac, and pushing their friends towards various and sundry guys. Every boy looked entirely too optimistic every time a girl so much as glanced at them. Even the teachers were acting weird, either condoning the insanity, or in one mildly disturbing case actively participating. By the time the tenth boy looked at her with a smile, asking if she was planning on giving chocolate to anyone (specifically the boy doing the asking), Kagome was ready to scream. As soon as class was over, she darted out of the classroom, thanking her lucky stars that archery practice had been canceled that afternoon. Just as she turned the corner leading to the shoe lockers, she crashed into someone, and started to fall. A pair of strong arms locked around her waist, and set her gently back on her feet. Blushing slightly, Kagome looked up to see into whom she had just rammed.

"Running a little fast, aren't you?" Doumeki enquired dryly. Kagome rolled her eyes.

"If a bunch of girls kept asking you for a White Day present in a sneaky manner, wouldn't you be?" She answered. Doumeki snorted.

"That bad?" Kagome rolled her eyes.

"That bad. Speaking of which..." She dug in her bag, before retrieving his jar of chocolate balls. "For you. Have some chocolate to add into the masses that you've been given already. I expect a good White Day present." Doumeki smirked.

"So, is it giri or honmei?" He asked evilly. Kagome resisted the urge to blush. Sure, she had thought about giving Doumeki honmei-choco, after all, she did have a crush on him. Sort of. Possibly. However, there was no way she was going to tell him that. Not yet, at least. She liked having Doumeki as a friend, and she knew all too well how much strain unrequited love put on a friendship. She and InuYasha had provided a textbook case of the subject. Instead, she smirked back.

"That is for me to know, and you to guess. Good luck figuring it out." She looked around the corner, and stiffened. There was asker number three, quite possibly the most obsessive guy of the bunch. "Oh, no." She murmured, knowing that there was no escape. Doumeki followed her gaze, before turning back to her, eyebrows raised.

"One of your admirers?" He asked.

"Don't remind me. Now he's going to corner me for the third time!" She moaned. A slightly evil grin grew on Doumeki's face.

"Let me handle this." Kagome blinked, confused, then shrugged.

"Ok."

— - — - — - — - — - — -

Kagome's stalker type gave Doumeki a wonderful opportunity, he realized. He could use him to subtly let other boys know that his friend was off limits. He was, of course, going to do so because Kagome did not seem interested in dating anyone. It was not as if he was hoping that she had made him honmei-choko, or anything like that. No. Of course not... Maybe?

Kagome's classmate turned the corner, and immediately got stars in his eyes.

"Higurashi-cha-" the boy found himself abruptly cut off from his goal by a strong, distinctly masculine arm slamming into the wall next to his head. He looked up into the eyes of one glaring Doumeki, and gulped.

"Beat it, kouhai." Doumeki snarled. The boy nodded fervently and ran as Kagome looked on in awe.

"How did you do that?" She breathed, evidently fascinated by the ease of which he had dealt with the annoyance. Doumeki chuckled.

"When dealing with an underclassman, intimidation always works." He assured her. He hesitated ever so slightly before shrugging off his concern and offering, "C'mon, I'll walk you to your subway station, since we don't have practice." Kagome broke into a wide smile.

"Thanks! Let me get my shoes, and I'll be ready to go." Doumeki nodded, and Kagome darted off to her shoe locker. He leaned against the wall, and thoroughly investigated his predicament. From all the signs, he had a crush on one of his closest friends, and she would be the one member of their group who was blatantly uninterested in dating. What the Hell was he getting himself into?

A few minutes later, as he and Kagome were outside walking past the windows of one of the first floor classroom, they heard a familiar, highly depressed voice wailing from the interior.

"Himawari-chan caught a cold and didn't come to school today!" Doumeki rolled his eyes. Honestly, could Watanuki be any louder? Suddenly, a playful smirk crossed his features, as he walked over to the open window, and called,

"Oh, shut up!" Kagome giggled behind him, but Watanuki ignored him.

"She didn't come! Today! February 14!" He continued despairingly, "Himawari-chan! Get well soon! Very soon!" This time, it was Kagome who spoke.

"Himawari-chan didn't come to school today? Shame. I guess that means Doumeki will have to eat her chocolate. Fondant doesn't keep very well." This time, Watanuki whirled to face his friends.

"What are you doing?" He snarled at Doumeki, "And what are you doing there?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Doumeki commented as he vaulted over the window ledge and into the classroom. He then turned around to help Kagome with her less acrobatic entry.

"I had it all planned!" Watanuki wailed loudly, "Himawari-chan and I would casually stop by the Home-Ec classroom after school, and she would taste my exquisite creation! I even owe the Home-Ec teacher for letting me borrow the room, and I heated the fondant to the perfect temperature!" By the end of the rant, Watanuki was weeping copiously. Kagome just shook her head as she moved to comfort her senpai. Doumeki's eyes narrowed slightly as he pretended not to notice by investigating the fondant. Inside, he was quietly seething at the loss of Kagome's attention.

That was when he caught sight of the fork. A mildly evil glint entered his eyes; he would be the first to admit that revenge did have its appeal. Besides, the fondant did look good... Before he could talk himself out of it, he picked up the fork, and took a bite out of the chocolate treat.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Watanuki shrieked. Doumeki glanced at Kagome, and saw her with a hand pressed to her lips, eyes twinkling with mirth, and evidently trying very hard not to laugh. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"Ah, yes," Doumeki stated coolly, ignoring the fact that Watanuki was frantically attempting to choke him. It was not as if the other boy had sufficient upper body strength to do so. "The chocolate in the center is warm." Ignoring the fact that his head was now being shaken violently, Doumeki scooped up another bite of fondant, listening to Watanuki's shrill demands that he spit it out. Revenge was sweet indeed, and Kagome found it entertaining. Perfect. Wordlessly, he set the fork down with a clatter. Watanuki stared in horror at the now empty plate, before letting out a despairing wail. Kagome laughed.

"There, there, Watanuki-senpai. You wouldn't have been able to give that to Himawari-senpai when she got back anyways, it wouldn't have kept very well." She reassured him. "And I'm sure Doumeki appreciated it."

"Ahn. Can you make anything that tastes bad?" He asked, out of genuine curiosity. Wordlessly, he picked up the cup of hot chocolate next to the plate and passed it to Kagome. She accepted with a smile, as Watanuki answered indignantly.

"Of course it's not bad! Oh, GOD, this is bad!" Doumeki's eyebrows rose, impressed in spite of himself at the five second shift between emotional states, and the one that immediately followed, "No, the taste is good, I mean... but today is..." Suddenly, his eyes fell on Kagome as she sipped on the hot chocolate. "GYAAAAAAH! Not the hot chocolate, too!" This time, it was Kagome's turn for her eyebrows to raise.

"Watanuki-senpai, does it really matter if I drink this? It's not like Himawari-senpai would be able to, even if you had saved it." She pointed out dryly. Watanuki looked down, and muttered

"Well... I guess not. But it's all over! My chocolate, my choco!" Kagome patted his shoulder consolingly. Doumeki had a bad feeling about this.

"It's alright, senpai. Come on, Doumeki-senpai and I will walk you to Yuuko's." Doumeki's stomach plummeted. There was the reason for the bad feeling.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

Kagome walked between her two friends, trying very hard to keep them from needling each other too much. Watanuki was still depressed about his ploy to win Himawari's favor with chocolate failing so spectacularly, and Doumeki seemed particularly antagonistic towards Watanuki for some reason. She just shrugged it off, and settled in for a very entertaining walk.

"What's with the doom and gloom face?" Doumeki asked in his usual droll tones.

"I guess everything is all bright and shiny for you!" Watanuki hissed, gesturing down at the extra bag Doumeki carried, "Just look at all the chocolate you got!" Kagome felt a flash of insecurity at the thought of Doumeki comparing her chocolate to all the rest he had received, before she scolded herself. It was just chocolate. And just giri-choco at that, no matter how much she wished she had the guts for it to have been otherwise.

"On top of that, on the very day of Valentine's Day, my chocolate was eaten by this idiot!" Watanuki concluded with a wail.

"What, someone gave you chocolate, right?" Doumeki asked innocently. Watanuki nodded grudgingly, and fished the jar of chocolate balls Kagome had given him that morning out of his bag.

"Yeah, this." He muttered. Kagome winced. So, her chocolate had been the only chocolate Watanuki had received for the day. She felt rather badly about that. She noticed Doumeki looking at her enquiringly. She nodded slightly, indicating that she had, indeed, been the one to give Watanuki his chocolate.

"I see. So, only one person saw fit to give you chocolate?" Doumeki asked. Kagome was rather touched that he had been kind enough to leave out the fact that she, a girl who very obviously was not interested in Watanuki in a romantic fashion, was the one to have done the giving.

"I don't see why girls give chocolate to Mr. Zero Expression Face over here!" Kagome blushed, and looked away.

Possibly because he's a prominent member of the student body, being a champion archer. Also because he's incredibly good looking. And he's funny... or well, at least he is once you get to know him... Kagome forced herself to listen to Watanuki's dark mutterings, and nearly laughed out loud.

"It's a mass hypnosis! It must be!"

"What'll I do? What'll I do?" Kagome and Watanuki both whirled towards the source of the ghostly wail and saw a girl about their age wrapped up in a cute winter coat. Kagome's eyes narrowed. That girl was not human. "What'll I do?" The spirit continued, "I have to find it quickly!" Unhesitatingly, Watanuki stepped forward.

"Is something wrong?" The girl spun around hastily, gasping in surprise. She was rather cute, Kagome noted, in an immature sort of way. Rather like a thirteen year old, she supposed. She was not willing to bet on the spirit actually being that young.

"KYAAAA!" She cried, bringing both her hands to cover her mouth and blushing furiously. "Wha-wha-wha-wha-what'll I dooooo?" She shook her head frantically, her bobbed hair swishing into her face constantly. Kagome fought the urge to tell her to calm down.

"What are you and Watanuki staring at?" Kagome jumped and shivered as Doumeki's breath hit her ear.

"There's a girl standing in front of us. She's a spirit, and rather frantic, at the moment."

"Ahh. I see." Doumeki nodded in understanding.

"I never expected us to meet each other here!" The girl continued, still blushing fervently. Kagome caught the flash of anger in Watanuki's eyes before he resumed talking to the girl, and grinned slightly.

So, he didn't notice the fact that she's been avoiding looking in his eyes since she noticed us. Crush a mile wide there.

"Did you drop something?" Watanuki asked solicitously. The girl shook her head slowly.

"N-no, I'm looking for something. For Valentine's Day chocolate, to give to someone wonderful!" She concluded in a mumble. "I wanted the chocolate to be special, but I couldn't find anything like it for so long!" Suddenly, her face brightened as she caught sight of Doumeki. She even clapped her hands together. "But now I've found it!" She explained gleefully.

"Ehh?" Watanuki looked confused, and Kagome had to admit, she was a bit unclear on things herself.

"Right here!" The spirit concluded, and shoved her hand up to the wrist into Doumeki's stomach. The boy stiffened with shock, unable to see what was happening, but Kagome was certain he could feel the spirit's hand inside of his body. When the girl pulled out her hand, a glowing, ghostly after-image of Watanuki's chocolate fondant hovered between her palms. "Yaaaay! It looks so delicious!" As she spoke, Doumeki keeled over, forcing Kagome to rush in order to catch him enough to lower him gently to the ground. He was solidly unconscious.

"Doumeki, oi, Doumeki!" Watanuki yelled, ignoring the spirit. "What happened to-" Watanuki turned to look at the now seriously guilty looking girl.

"Um... I wanted to... g-give... m-my chocolate..." She said softly, eyes tearing up before she started crying in earnest. A whirl of wind surrounded her, sweeping her into the air as she escaped from what Kagome guessed must be a truly painful experience for her.

"Sh-she flew..." Watanuki whispered, awed.

"Of course she flew, Watanuki-senpai, most spirits do." Kagome commented dryly. Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she leaned forward to investigate Doumeki more closely. "Oh, no..." Kagome whispered, "Oh no, no, no. Watanuki, run and go get Yuuko-san. We're going to need-"

"Oh, don't bother Kagome-chan, I'm already here." Yuuko's voice popped up behind them. Kagome yelped, then looked back at Yuuko.

"His soul is missing, isn't it? That spirit accidently took it along with the chocolate." Yuuko nodded gravely.

"Very good, Kagome-chan."

"Wait a minute... doesn't that mean that if we leave Doumeki the way he is, he'll stay that way... forever?" Watanuki groaned as Yuuko and Kagome nodded solemnly. "And that one spirit only showed up because of me!"

"Yes..." Yuuko said musingly, "That girl is not something you meet by accident."

"So you're saying that this is all my fault?" Watanuki asked pitifully.

"Yep!" Yuuko answered so cheerily, Kagome almost laughed.

"What do we do to bring him back to normal?" Yuuko smiled sweetly.

"I can tell you, but it'll cost you plenty!" She told him in a sing-song voice.

"The last thing I want to do is help him, but I'll never sleep at night if his condition is my fault!" Watanuki retorted angrily.

"Then we're agreed." Yuuko waved a hand negligently as she spoke, "I'll deduct it from your paycheck!" Kagome winced slightly, knowing how very much that would suck to have more time added onto his servitude. Watanuki collapsed to the ground in misery, but picked himself up admirably. Yuuko looked up at the skies for a long moment, before Kagome caught sight of an enormous black bird, being piloted by Mokona. It landed in front of Yuuko and Watanuki, raising an equally enormous cloud of dust.

"IT'S HUGE!" Watanuki shrieked.

"Oh, beautiful, Mokona!" Yuuko called, "You're just too cool!"

"Yep!" Mokona agreed cheerfully. Yuuko turned to Watanuki, and ordered.

"Board the bird, and get going after that girl!

"Yuuko, you've always been a bit extreme, but there are limits!" Watanuki grumbled as he got onto the bird.

"Watanuki," Kagome said softly from her position next to Doumeki's body, "If you don't get Doumeki's soul back within a few hours, he," She took a deep breath, forcing herself to contemplate the awful idea, "He won't wake up again. Ever." Yuuko nodded in agreement.

"We'll keep an eye on him. You go get that chocolate."

"Leave that to us!" Mokona chirped as he cracked the reins to make the bird take off. As Watanuki and the bird became small specks in the sky, Kagome turned her attention back to Doumeki. His prone state reminded her all to well of her time spent in Urasoe's herbal bath.

"Why don't you put his head in your lap?" Kagome looked up sharply into Yuuko's laughing face. "Come on, you know you want to. And don't you think your lap would make a better pillow than the concrete?" The older woman added teasingly.

"Yuuko-san! That would be inappropriate! What if he doesn't want his head in my lap?" Kagome asked plaintively. Yuuko snorted.

"Riiiight. He only stares at you because you're unusual. Of course." Kagome blushed slowly. Doumeki stared at her? Did... did that mean he liked her? Kagome shook her head to clear it of silly thoughts. Of course Doumeki liked her, they were friends. That was all. Just friends. InuYasha had made it abundantly clear that was all she could really hope for in regards to guys. Still... that concrete did look cold... and there was no telling when Watanuki would be getting back...

Kagome carefully sat down, and lifted Doumeki's head into her lap.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

About a few hours later, Watanuki returned, chocolate soul in hand, to find Kagome running her fingers through Doumeki's hair absently while she chatted with Yuuko.

"You're back!" Yuuko called, "How did it go?"

"These guys with black wings on their backs... they made a hostile aerial attack on us." Watanuki panted. "Yuuko... what was that girl?" Yuuko smiled mysteriously.

"She's a Zashiki-Warashi."

"EHHHHHH?"

"Zashiki-Warashi are pretty susceptible to evil and bad thoughts, but it's rare to see them nowadays. Usually, they take shelter in backwater mountain locations that have a strong spiritual element, along with their Karasu Tengu. " Yuuko sighed melodramatically, "But today is February 14! A day when a girl can't help but go out and give symbols of love!" Kagome caught the maniacal twinkle in Yuuko's eye, and knew a joke was coming at Watanuki's expense. "And you playboy! You received chocolate from a very cute Zashiki-Warashi!"

"Ehehehehe... Wait a minute, THIS WAS MADE BY ME!"

"They sound a bit like miko." Kagome interjected thoughtfully. "Now, I hate to interrupt, but could we give Doumeki back his soul?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure." Watanuki knelt down next to Doumeki, and gently lowered the fondant onto Doumeki's chest. With a swirl of wind, the soul slid back into its body. Doumeki's eyes slid open.

"Eh?" He muttered, noting that he was lying on the ground, with Watanuki hovering over him. Suddenly, he looked up, and saw Kagome's concerned face break into a smile of relief.

"Welcome back." She said softly.

"Kagome? What happened?"

"Doumeki! Just now, Watanuki received chocolate from a very cute young girl! It was chocolate he made himself, buuuuuut..." Her eyes sparkled. "Do you want to hear the whole story?" Kagome could see Doumeki hesitate.

"Maybe in a little while. I told Kagome I'd walk her to the subway station, and it's getting late." Kagome glanced around, and realized that the street lamps were burning.

"Oh no!" She yelped. "Okaa-san is not going to be happy with me..." Doumeki got up slowly, and extended a hand to help her up.

"Don't worry, I'll get you to your subway. Come on."

"Bye Yuuko-san, bye Watanuki-senpai! I'll see you tomorrow!" She called over her shoulder as they left.

"Do you want to tell me what was going on back there? The last thing I remember is the feeling that something pulled something out of my stomach, and then I was waking up with my head in your lap."

"A Zashiki-Warashi was trying to get the chocolate fondant you ate earlier, and wound up taking your soul along with it." She explained. "Think of it as a sort of... extended faint." Doumeki's eyebrows rose.

"Alright then... One more question." Kagome tilted her head to the side, puzzled.

"What more could you want to know?"

"Why do you seem so familiar with the concept of having a stolen soul?" Kagome froze, and looked down, her bangs covering her eyes.

"Because I've been there before. I know what it's like to feel someone pull out your soul, and what it's like to be an empty shell. The others don't. I don't think they really want to, either."

"You might be right." The two walked the rest of the way to the subway in a companionable silence, letting their thoughts wander.

It was not until after she got home that Kagome realized Doumeki had never let go of her hand after helping her up.

— - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — - — -

I live! I promise! I'm sorry for the extended period of time between updates. I meant to write some while I was on break, but yeah... never really happened. At any rate, it's done now. Let me know what you think!

Also, thanks to all the lovely people who review this story! It makes me very, VERY happy when people do. It's even better than favorites and story alerts!

A few notes on subject matter:

Valentine's Day in Japan is celebrated by girls giving friends, co-workers, classmates, love interests etc. one of two forms of chocolate.

1) Giri-choko, or 'obligation chocolate'– Given too friends, co-workers, and other people to whom the girl would like to show gratitude. For example, in this story, Kagome is making a jar of her chocolate balls to give to the doctor who lied about her health to keep her from getting expelled.

2) Honmei-choko – Given to a love interest to express or reaffirm the girl's affections.

White Day takes place on March 14, and requires that the guy receiving the chocolate on Valentine's Day needs to repay the favor by giving the girl a gift at least three times more valuable. This is why Yuuko sent chocolate fondant off to the Tsubasa travellors; she wanted to get some nice presents!