Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one.

[Author's Note] Now, I'm not quite sure how school weeks work in Japan.. Is it something like, Monday through Tuesday, Thursday through Saturday? Well, in the anime, Kagome's dates translate on Saturdays, so I decided just to make it like the American school weeks (Monday-Friday).

mvdiva- about the "I love you" thing… In Kagome's case, it's a little weird, because she feels a bit strange, being in love with someone who, to her, doesn't really exist in the real world. So for her to mean it when she says it, she really needs to surpass her doubts and fears concerning her love for him. If that makes any sense…

silverstarlight- Ah, good point. You've inspired me to write some extra paragraphs to rid myself of this little problem. Thanks!

Rhapsody- yay! glad you like it!

Amyusagi- hmmm.. Poor Hojou.. I feel kinda bad for the guy. He always seemed nice, to me. Dense, yes, but nice. But I like Inu Yasha better.

Chapter 7: too late

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Kagome awoke in her bed on Saturday mid-morning, and found herself dressed in a fine silk period kimono from the Sengoku Jidai.

"H..huh?" Her head throbbed from all the alcohol she had drunk the night before.

*knock, knock* Kagome's mother tapped the door lightly. "Itai," Kagome exclaimed softly to herself. She fell back onto her pillow, and replied softly to the knocking on her door. "Come in." She rubbed her temples, hoping the pain would go away.

"Good morning, Kagome," her mother greeted her as she walked in.

" 'Morning." She purposely left out the "good" part.

"Oh, dear, you look terrible!" Kagome's mother put a hand on her forehead. "It seems like all the excitement last night really took a toll on you. Why don't you just stay in bed and rest today?" Kagome nodded weakly. "Let me help you into some pajamas. Upsy-daisy!" Her mother felt nearly the full weight of Kagome as she helped her remove her kimono and put on a pair of light cotton pajamas. "All done," she said cheerfully as she tucked Kagome back into bed. She pulled the chair from Kagome's desk up to the bed, and sat down beside her daughter. "So, Kagome, who was the boy who took you to the dance yesterday?"

"Boy? Hojou?" All Kagome could remember about the dance was that she was supposed to go with Hojou.

"No, it was another boy. He was really quite cute. He said his name was Inu Yasha."

"Inu-- Yasha?" Kagome felt herself drifting back off to sleep. She was too tired to talk with her mother. "Inu Yasha…" she whispered before slipping into unconsciousness. Her mother smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead and stood up.

"I should take this to the cleaners," she said softly to herself as she whisked up Kagome's new kimono and obi, and quietly exited Kagome's room.

For the remainder of the weekend, until Sunday evening, Kagome slipped in and out of consciousness, recovering from the party. She didn't have much time to really think or try to recall what happened at the dance. She also didn't chance to look outside her bedroom window; if she had, she would have spotted Inu Yasha waiting patiently below.

***

Monday morning, Kagome prepared for school as usual. There was no sign of the kimono she now only vaguely remembered. 'Must have been a dream' she shrugged. "Oh well,"

she said aloud, and continued her morning pre-school hygiene rituals.

*****

"So, Kagome, who was that cute boy that you brought to the dance? Was he really a cousin?" Yuka asked just outside of the school.

"Uh, what?"

"Oh dear," Erri whispered to Ayumi, "she must have drank too much punch. I heard it was spiked."

"Yeah," Ayumi shook her head. "What a shame. I would hate to forget sharing a night with someone like that boy…" The two turned to watch as Kagome struggled unsuccessfully to remember the night before.

"I think I remember waking up in the morning, dressed in a gorgeous blue and white kimono. But I didn't see it anywhere today. I think my mom asked me the same thing about the boy Saturday morning. But I really don't remember much. It's all kind of fuzzy." Her three friends looked mildly disappointed. After a few more minutes of more or less interesting gossip, the four girls turned and headed inside the building for their first class. Kagome tried hard to remember the boy from Friday night.

***

After a while of endless attempts at remembering what happened at the dance, Kagome finally recalled a dark-haired Inu Yasha, much like the Inu Yasha of her dreams. 'I think I remember Inu Yasha taking me to the dance,' she thought during class. 'It seemed like a dream… after all, whose dreams ever become reality like that?' she said to herself. Outside, a silvery white canine waited patiently and hopefully for his beloved to come to him.

*****

After school, Inu Yasha and Kagome walked side by side to her house in silence. Inu Yasha whimpered occasionally, trying to remind Kagome of what she was supposed to say to him, but to no avail. She only absentmindedly scratched him behind the ears. In fact, she seemed extremely dazed the entire walk home- Inu Yasha was worried about her, and getting annoyed that he couldn't do anything to help her in her time of need. They stood at an intersection; the final crosswalk before the last, humongous hill up to the shrine. Inu Yasha sat down on the sidewalk, waiting for the audio call to cross the street. Kagome continued to speculate about what happened the night before.

*chirp, chirp* rang the speaker from the right side of the street.

'Nope, not that one. The next one,' Inu Yasha told himself, still patiently staring at the ground, thinking of Kagome. Kagome, whose scent was dissipating… wait… dissipating?? His head snapped up, and he looked frantically around to find Kagome. She was crossing the street- the wrong way! She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she when she heard the chirp, she began crossing- even though it was the chirp to cross in the other direction!

'KAGOME!' Inu Yasha barked, and ran at her full speed. She was nowhere near being at the other side, and he could hear a car approaching quickly, the driver most likely not paying attention to things on the road. When he got within jumping distance, he propelled himself into the air with his haunches, slightly turning himself to the side, so that his body would force Kagome off the street. He slammed into the small of her back, pushing her forward with incredible force. She flew the remaining distance to the other side of the street.

Inu Yasha, however, fell onto his side in the middle of the road after the impact with Kagome. He sensed the car was very near, and coming closer still, but as he rose on his four paws, he knew that he wouldn't be quick enough. One of those blasted machines was going to hit him.

It was a gross, indescribable sound when Inu Yasha's body collided with the grill of the speeding vehicle. Kagome cringed when she heard it, even though she was still on the ground, a little over half the length of the intersection away from the collision. She sat there, propping herself up with her skinned hands.

"Wha-" she stopped when she saw her stray companion, Inu Yasha, lying motionless on the street. The speeding car braked immediately, and pulled over. A young, hysterical woman jumped out of the car and ran toward the dog. "INU YASHA!!!" Kagome cried, and scrambled to her feet as quickly as possible. In fact, although twice as far away from Inu Yasha as the woman who hit him, Kagome reached him first, tears in her eyes. She knelt down over his limp body. "Inu Yasha," she whispered frantically, "are you alright?" She looked up at the woman, and the crowd of witnesses who had begun to gather. "I've got to get him to a vet!" she yelled, and without thinking or listening to the protests of the witnesses, she scooped the beautiful yet heavy dog into her arms, and ran toward the nearest veterinarian clinic.

After about a minute, Inu Yasha regained consciousness. He was very uncomfortable. He let out a soft growl, mixed with a whimper, pleading for Kagome to put him down. She stopped and looked into his eyes. She was crying. She walked over to a small alleyway and put him down, safe from foot traffic.

'Kagome,' he thought, 'Don't cry. I'll be alright. Just- get me to the well.' Although Inu Yasha had demon strengths and senses, he did not have his durable half demon body. He knew that if he didn't get to the well soon, he very possibly could die.

"Inu Yasha, you… you can't leave me," she said softly, praying that he wouldn't die. He could only whimper. He was beginning to taste blood in his mouth, and he knew that trickles of blood were coming from his tear ducts. Wheezing noises from his lungs began to grow louder as the end drew near for Inu Yasha.

"I- I know it sounds really stupid, because you're a stray, but I feel like we have known each other for a long time." She remembered her dreams of the half-demon Inu Yasha. Her emotions loosed themselves. She was going to lose the symbol of her dreams- hanyou Inu Yasha and the canine Inu Yasha lying before her were connected so closely in her mind. It seemed to her like she was actually watching the Inu Yasha she loved fade slowly out of existence. She saw his eyes begin to cloud over, and her throat began to close. Tears had already run wide paths down her cheeks, although she didn't even notice. "I- I love you, Inu Yasha," she choked out. His ear twitched slightly in response to her confession before the eyes of Inu Yasha, the beautiful silver-white dog, closed forever.

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[Author's Note] Aw. Aww. Well, what do you think of my story? Please review!!