TheFireFox123: Thank you ^^

HopelessRomantic183: I love your username xD thank you for reading! I have no idea what's going to happen at the end haha

Lav: That's good :)

Chapter Eight

New moon

At last, the night he had been waiting for almost two months had arrived.

He would finally be free.

Inuyasha was already at the edge of the forest when the sun was hiding behind the mountains, biding his time.

There were no other demons nearby. He had made sure of that before he climbed that tree and watched the sunset with impatience.

He had dressed in human clothes in the cave that evening, running through the forest carefully so as not to ruin them. His red kimono was well hidden next to his sword in the roots of a tree near the flower-filled meadow.

After feeling the typical tingle on his skin, Inuyasha landed on the other side of the fence with a jump. He was on the outskirts of the city and there were no humans around at that hour.

He ran a hand down his shirt, brushing off a couple of leaves, and started walking in the direction of one of the main streets in search of one of those shops where he could exchange his gold for money.

After doing so, he took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the screen. It was only half an hour until he had to be with Kagome.

There wasn't enough time left to walk there. He would have to get into one of those stinking machines he had read about in the guidebook of Tokyo he bought during his first foray into the human world.

Inuyasha saw that there were three of them standing off to the side, green and yellow like those pictures in that book. He approached the nearest one and the man sitting inside lowered the window pane, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you take me to Higurashi temple?"

The human nodded.

"Sure, hop in."

Inuyasha hesitated, but opened one of those metal doors and sat inside, peering into the machine called 'car' with suspicion.

As he looked forward, he saw that the man was staring at him with curious eyes through a small mirror in the centre of the front glass. Inuyasha frowned in disgust.

"You remind me of my son, when he liked rock music," the human commented quietly, looking straight ahead again.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, puzzled.

"He also grew his hair long and tied it in a ponytail, just like you. It took him years to cut it off and he keeps it as a souvenir in one of his drawers. It's disgusting."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose, averting his gaze to the glass to his right. He gazed at the lights of Tokyo's buildings as he pondered why anyone would voluntarily cut their hair.

"I'm not cutting my hair," he growled through her teeth.

The man laughed.

"You'll tell me in a few years."

Inuyasha shot him a hateful glare through the small mirror and the human shrugged, not speaking again until he stopped in front of the temple entrance.

"That's two and a half thousand yen, my friend," he muttered, turning to look him in the eye.

Inuyasha clicked his tongue, pulling a wad of notes from his pocket and dropping five into the man's hand.

He exited the filthy machine, muttering a curse and wishing he never needed to use them again. Looking up, he saw the long stone staircase with over a hundred steps, illuminated by the electric light of several lamps on either side.

If there was one thing Inuyasha envied about humans, it was that they had that kind of light. Only oil lamps and torches existed in the yōkai world, but humans could easily illuminate anywhere.

The scent of his mate was everywhere. He leaned his back against the wall just off the steps, sniffling. Inuyasha was quite hungry, he had been thinking for days about those noodles the human had promised him.

His thoughts flew to her latest messages, where he could tell how excited she was to see him again. Inuyasha shook his head, grunting. He couldn't let his human feelings get the better of him, he needed to concentrate and convince her to accompany him to the forest.

It had to be that night, he didn't want to wait another month. Inuyasha spent the days thinking about her, her scent, her smile, the light in her eyes... and he couldn't take it anymore. This nightmare had to end at once.

He pulled out his phone again, confirming that it was only a few minutes left to the time she had said. Looking up, he saw a figure at the top of the stone staircase.

Inuyasha smiled inwardly. Kagome had put on a red dress and, when a gentle breeze brought her smell to him, it was mixed with another floral one. He could tell she had dressed up to try and get his attention.

Inuyasha held his breath, clenching his fists at what that wave of her scent was doing to his body.

This time she would not escape.

Kagome left her house, smoothing the front of her dress nervously and looking around. There were still several people on the temple forecourt, saying prayers in front of the shrine. She nodded to them and continued on her way, starting down the enormous steps.

She gasped when she saw that Inuyasha was already down there, leaning against a wall and staring at her. Kagome felt her cheeks flare and sighed, making sure her bangs were neatly combed as she continued down.

She hadn't seen him in four weeks, but he looked even more handsome than he had that day. His hands were tucked into his trouser pockets and he wore a grey jacket over his white shirt, hiding the muscles of his arms. His black hair was pulled back in a long high ponytail, and his dark eyes didn't leave hers until she reached his side.

Kagome swallowed, stopping about three feet away.

"Hi."

Inuyasha gave her a smile that took her breath away again.

"Hello, Kagome."

She smiled shyly, glancing sideways at him through her eyelashes.

"Shall we go?"

He nodded and the two began to walk together, keeping their distance. Kagome nibbled at her bottom lip and looked away, trying to control her nerves. She could feel his presence beside her and something was pulling her closer, but she held back.

She had convinced herself that, after four weeks without seeing him, she would never feel that intense attraction to him again. But she had been wrong... it was even worse. Kagome couldn't wait to reach out and touch his arm, or brush his fingers as they walked. She wanted to know if she would feel that spark again.

Looking at his face, she saw that Inuyasha was very serious. He even looked a little angry.

"Inuyasha? Are you okay?"

He blinked several times, surprised by the question, and turned his head to look at her.

"Yes. I'm just a little hungry."

"The place I told you about is very close, we'll be there soon," she said, trying not to smile.

After passing a park, Kagome pointed to a restaurant with a small terrace.

"Do you like it?"

Inuyasha shrugged and she approached one of the waitresses, explaining that she had made a reservation for two. The woman pointed to the only table that was free and Kagome glanced back at Inuyasha, smiling and waving her hand at him.

He clicked his tongue and followed her, sitting down right across from her. The waitress left two menus on the table and walked away.

"There's a list of all the noodles there. You have to choose."

He blinked, staring at the menu with wide eyes.

"I don't... I have no idea what to do," he muttered in confusion.

Kagome chuckled. There were about ten different kinds of noodles, with over twenty sauces to choose from.

"Which ones do you know?"

"Just these," Inuyasha said, pointing to the picture of the most typical ones.

"My favourite are those white ones, they're made of rice."

He bit the inside of his cheek, squinting as he read through all the choices again.

"Okay, I want those."

Kagome smiled, resting her chin on one of her hands as she watched him. Inuyasha made funny gestures and looked around curiously, as if it was his first time in a restaurant.

"And the sauce?"

He looked up, staring into her eyes. Kagome felt a shiver run down her spine.

"You choose for me."

She sighed, looking down so that his almost black eyes stopped piercing her. He seemed to be able to read her mind and she didn't like that, it was like feeling naked.

"Then we'll both have the same."

When the waitress approached again, leaving two glasses of water on the table, Kagome ordered her two servings of rice noodles with vegetables and soy sauce. As soon as the woman left, she looked sideways at Inuyasha and saw that he was still staring at her.

Kagome glanced up at the sky nervously, taking in the few stars that could be seen from there.

"It's a new moon tonight, just like the night we met."

She felt Inuyasha tense in front of her and looked him in the eye, frowning.

"What's wrong?"

He cleared his throat, shaking his head.

"Nothing."

Inuyasha sniffed at the glass of water and took a large gulp. Kagome laughed softly again, until he scowled at her.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You're funny. It's the first time I've ever seen someone smell something before they drink it."

Inuyasha clenched his jaw.

"I like to check that what I'm about to drink isn't dangerous."

"Why would it be dangerous? It's just water," Kagome replied, arching an eyebrow.

Inuyasha shrugged, leaning his back against the back of his chair.

"You never know, it's better to be safe."

Kagome twisted her lips, not quite understanding why he would say that. Maybe Inuyasha came from somewhere where the water was undrinkable. She decided not to ask any more questions on the subject and sighed, resting her head back on one of her hands.

"What have you been doing these past few weeks? You haven't told me much in your messages."

Inuyasha glanced to his right, watching a couple next to them before answering.

"I've been... working, and I met someone."

Kagome felt a very unpleasant pang in her stomach, but he kept talking.

"He's quite a bit younger than me, but we're starting to get along."

He wasn't talking about a girl. Kagome sighed in relief and smiled again.

"How did you meet him?"

"I found him. Well, he found me."

"How?" she asked, quizzical.

Had he met a boy on the street?

Inuyasha moistened his lips and her eyes flicked down his face to follow the movement. She looked up again and locked her gaze on his eyes, feeling herself blush.

Why was she looking at his mouth? She couldn't do that anymore, it was the third time already.

"He was alone, his parents... they died a short while ago."

Kagome felt like she couldn't breathe properly. She put a hand to her mouth in horror.

"He's alone? But... What about his family?"

"He's with my brother now. He has no family, but it doesn't matter."

Kagome scanned his face with her eyes, shocked. He was still just as serious, as if he were talking about something normal.

"Are you taking care of him?"

Inuyasha nodded, looking away. The waitress had returned with their food. After setting the two huge bowls on the table, she turned away again.

"That's... that's very nice, Inuyasha. Not everyone would do that," Kagome added quietly, still touched.

He shrugged again, playing it down. He held the chopsticks in his right hand and grinned at the food in front of him.

Kagome smiled too, thinking that Inuyasha never ceased to surprise her. And, besides... now she knew he had a brother.

Inuyasha began to eat at full speed, but when he heard Kagome's laughter he decided it wasn't a good idea. None of the humans around them were gobbling down their food, so he decided to mimic them and eat slowly.

That was fucking delicious. Much better than the packets of noodles he used to buy and take back to the forest. He stared for a moment at the glowing letters with the name of the restaurant, jotting it down in his mind. He would dine there again every dark night.

He fixed his eyes back on Kagome, who was still eating quietly. She had asked him about his brother, though Inuyasha had evaded the question. He'd rather she didn't know too much about his life, he was already regretting telling her about Shippo.

Though perhaps that story had made her trust him a little more now, and that suited him just fine.

Inuyasha set the wooden chopsticks down on the edge of the bowl and she looked up.

"So... Are you going to want to come with me tonight?" he asked in a whisper.

Her brown eyes went wide and she glanced around nervously, finding that no one was paying attention to their conversation.

"I don't know, Inuyasha. The nightmare I told you about happened at night, and I don't see myself going there now," she replied quietly, dipping her chopsticks into her food.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and a growl rumbled in his chest. Kagome stared at him as she heard it with a frightened expression.

Shit, he had to get a hold of himself. That damn human was giving him a hard time, but he couldn't lose his temper or he'd never earn her trust.

Inuyasha cleared his throat, cracking his knuckles.

"I assure you nothing bad will happen to you," he muttered, picking up the chopsticks again.

Kagome cocked her head to the side, thinking.

"I'd rather go during the day. How about tomorrow?"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth, controlling his anger. No, tomorrow he wouldn't be in his human form anymore, dammit. And he didn't want to have to wait another month.

"I'd rather go now, once we're done eating."

Kagome bit her lower lip nervously and Inuyasha snorted, glancing down at his plate. Every time she looked at him like that, he felt things inside that he didn't like. A small part of him had grown fond of that kind girl and didn't want to put his claws through her throat. The damn human part of him, weak and full of emotions, didn't want to kill his mate.

But Inuyasha wasn't a human, he was a half-demon. And there were only two options after finding her: continue his existence with her, or one of them had to die to free the other.

And he knew very well who he preferred to die. No one would miss a single human, there were millions of them scattered all over the planet and they were all the same.

He hid the hand he wasn't using under the table and clenched his fist tightly, letting out a little of his fury. He would think of an alternative plan if he didn't manage to kill her that night, but waiting another month was out of the question.

Inuyasha decided to change the subject to distract her, and it worked. As soon as he asked her about her weeks, Kagome began to tell him anecdotes about her study hours in the library and the visit of friends different from the ones he saw that night in that club with so much noise and coloured lights.

When they finished, Inuyasha called the waitress over and handed her a handful of notes, standing up.

Kagome got to her feet as well, holding one of his arms and preventing him from leaving the table.

"I want to pay my share, Inuyasha."

He wrinkled his nose, shaking his head.

"Keh, nevermind."

She pursed her lips until she finally nodded.

"Okay, but only if I pay next time."

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. If all went well, there wouldn't be a next time.

They left the terrace and started to walk through the streets of the city in silence. Kagome held her handbag in both hands, a sign that she was nervous again.

"It doesn't have to be today if you're not sure. We can go another day," Inuyasha mumbled, averting his gaze so she wouldn't see him roll his eyes.

Kagome sighed, quickening her pace so she could walk beside him.

"I want to go better in the daytime. That way I can take pictures, I'd like to keep them as a memory."

Inuyasha gave her a hateful glare, narrowing his eyes, and Kagome took a step back.

"Don't look at me like that, I kept my promise. I haven't shown anyone what you sent me," she whispered, leaning closer so he could hear her.

His brow relaxed and he nodded, walking a little slower.

"I'll walk you home then," he grunted under his breath, shoving both hands into his pockets.

Kagome smiled.

"Thank you for tonight, Inuyasha. I've had a good time and I think I know you a little better now."

Inuyasha turned his head and saw that her eyes were sincere. That human really was interested in knowing more about him.

He couldn't understand it. He wasn't being overly friendly, just enough not to scare her away. How could she like spending time with him?

It would be because of the bond. Even if she couldn't understand the strange feeling that spread through her body when she saw him or heard his voice, she could also feel that they were destined to meet.

But he knew what it all meant and, after nearly two months of enduring it, he had reached his limit.

Kagome had to die as soon as possible.

She stopped and Inuyasha did the same. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't realised they were already standing before the stone steps.

"When will I see you again?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

Inuyasha already had a new plan in mind. He needed to think about it some more, but he was almost certain it would work.

"Soon, in a couple of days."

Kagome smiled again, intertwining her fingers in the handle of her handbag.

Why wasn't she leaving? What was she waiting for?

"Well, Kagome... see you soon," he said, backing away.

She closed her eyes and clenched her fists, shaking her head slightly, and Inuyasha frowned.

What the hell...?

His mind went blank as she took two steps towards him, placing both hands on his shoulders and standing on her tiptoes. She was so close and he felt completely paralysed.

Kagome pressed her lips against his gently, just for a second. All his skin bristled and a fire-like sensation was born where their mouths brushed, coursing through his body and searing every cell of his skin.

He heard her gasp. She had felt it too.

"See you soon, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, taking a few steps back with her gaze lowered and hiding behind her bangs. Her cheeks were redder than ever.

She started up the stairs and he watched her with wide eyes, unable to move.

What had that human just done?