"Let me get my purse, I'll be right back. Why don't you leave Tetsusiaga home, ne? We wouldn't want you getting arrested." She stretched out her hand. "Arrested?" "Yeah, you know, by police - authorities - oh, well you aren't allowed to carry weapons around in my era OK?" "You mean they can stop me just for carrying my SWORD? What kind of people make these STUPID god damned rules?!?

"Inuyasha. C'mon. Just cooperate, go by my rules for ONE night. I want you to see what my world is really like outside of this shrine and my school. It'll be fun!" Kagome truly hoped to get Inuyasha's mind off of Naraku and now this new problem. She looked toward the sword and was caught off guard when suddenly his arm was around her and he was climbing up the side of the house toward her room. "Heyyy! We have stairs for that!" He ignored her and laughed. "Ha, I don't need stairs, even as a human! Go get your stuff." He handed her Tetsusiaga and she climbed in the open window.

Inuyasha hopped back down to the ground and sat on the outside steps, waiting for her to return. He closed his eyes and listened to the strange sounds of traffic and music coming from the street. It was all so different. Time had changed so much. But Yurzska was still alive and unchanged. He had killed her himself, with his bare claws, or so he thought. That was the first time he ever used the Sankontessou attack.

While deep in thought, Inuyasha didn't notice the young girl with the wavy hair that walked past him. She did a double-take upon noticing his red robe, and then realized he was, in fact, a very good looking human boy. "Um, excuse me? Are you Kagome's friend too?"

"Huh?!?" Inuyasha was startled. His sense of smell was so dull that he hadn't even noticed the girl. He didn't know what to say, figuring that Kagome would be mad at him no matter what story he made up. "Hi, I'm Ayumi. I go to school with Kagome." Ayumi stuck her hand out. "Um, hi." Inuyasha didn't know what she was doing with her hand. In a panic, he looked behind her for any signs of Kagome. Ayumi put her hand back down. "So are you from out of town?"

Luckily, he heard the door slam and knew he would be saved. Kagome saw Ayumi and ran over to greet her, worried that Inuyasha made up some wild story about himself. "Hi, Ayumi! What's up? I didn't expect to see you tonight!", she said in her sweetest voice. "Hi. I thought I'd come by and drop off this week's notes. I thought you were still in the hospital." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at Kagome and tried to take a step backward. "And why don't you introduce me to your silent friend here?", Ayumi said with a smirk.

Relieved by the 'silent' comment, Kagome said, "Where are my manners? Ayumi, this is my... f-friend Inuyasha. And I am feeling MUCH better. I was planning on going to school on Monday. Thanks for bringing these by." Kagome took the notes from Ayumi. "Nice to meet you, Inuyasha. Hey, Kagome is he..."

Mrs. Higurashi interrupted her. "Oh hello Ayumi! I'm glad someone is still concerned about Kagome's schoolwork. I'll just take these back into the house for you, OK honey?" she grabbed the notebook and glanced at Inuyasha. "Could you be a dear and help me carry some bags upstairs?" Inuyasha got the hint. "Sure!" he said as he followed her inside, giving Kagome a worried glance.

Ayumi felt like she would explode if she didn't get an answer. "C'mon Kagome! Fess up!!! Is that him?!? Is that your boyfriend the JERK?" Kagome blushed. "Well like I said, he's NOT my boyfriend. We're just friends. But yeah, that's the jerk.", she said as she let out a giggle. Ayumi laughed. "Well, now I can see why you put up with him." "You're terrible!", Kagome declared.

"This is just PERFECT! Yuri won tickets from the radio station to the rock festival tonight. I was hoping you could sneak away if you were feeling better, so you could go with Yuri and me. But there IS an extra ticket! I was going to invite Houjo to be your date buuut..." Inuyasha was walking toward them. "So, Kagome, are we going somewhere or what? Because if we aren't I'm just going to eat some more ra..."

Kagome shot him a dirty look. She would have been able to get rid of Ayumi if he had just stayed inside a little longer. She made a mental note to 'sit' him as soon as she had the chance. Ayumi was determined to get them to go together so she could learn more about this mysterious guy. "Hey, Inuyasha, what kind of music do you like? Do you want to come to a free concert tonight?" "Sure, whatever, I mean whatever Kagome wants to do.", he replied. "OK it's settled! I'll have Yuri come back for you at 8." With that, Ayumi dashed down the stairs on her way home. Kagome's eyes stayed focused on Ayumi until she was out of site. Then she turned to Inuyasha and quietly said, "SIT!". He went flying to the ground. "OW GOD DAMNIT KAGOME WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?!?" Inuyasha stood up, rubbing his elbows. "I was NICE. I didn't say it too loudly because I didn't want you to really get hurt. But you shouldn't have agreed to that."

"I only said I'd do what you wanted. Jeez." Inuyasha sat back down on the steps with a thump. Kagome sat next to him, checking her watch. It was only 6:45pm. "Well, I guess we're going to the festival. That should be fun. It's been a while since I did something fun in my own time." A sad look crept across Inuyasha's face. He seemed to be studying her. "What's wrong Inuyasha?", she asked. He took a minute to figure out the right words to say. "Are you sad that you have to spend so much time in my era? With me?"

"No! Of course not! I was just saying... it's just something different, that's all. I have friends here too you know. That doesn't make my friends in your era any less special. I just spend so much time away from this home that I'm not sure which era is 'home' at all." This was the first time she had said it out loud, to anyone. Living two lives was tough on her, but she tried not to mention it.

Inuyasha's expression only got darker upon hearing this. "When we find the last shards, you'll come back here, and the well won't work anymore. I'll..." He didn't know what to say. They were so close to finishing what they set out do, completing the Shikon no Tama. He wanted to tell her he would miss her, her scent, her courage. He wanted to say that Sango and Miroku and especially Shippo would never be the same after she left. He really wanted to ask her to stay with him when it was all over, but he couldn't say any of those things. Not after what happened with Kikyo. Kagome had her own life to live in a world so wildly different from his. There was no way she would give that all up. He didn't know how to say all of that without saying it out loud, so he just put his arm around her shoulders and brought her close.

Kagome's heart was beating so fast she thought she might have a heart attack. What was he trying to say? When she felt him pulling her close, she began to get worried. Of course she wanted him to kiss her. She loved him. If things were only that simple.

She remembered the time she kissed him, to awaken him from Kaguya's spell and stop him from transforming into a full demon. At the time it seemed natural. It was the only thing she could do to get through to him. And he kissed her back. He kissed her like he meant it, with a passion that she'd remember her whole life. But that was just the passion of the moment. It was arguably the most dangerous situation they had ever been in. That kiss didn't change anything; Inuyasha was the same unbearable jerk he had always been just an hour later. She accepted the fact that his heart still belonged to Kikyo, even though it seemed Kikyo was gone from this world.

Inuyasha broke the silence, whispering "I'll miss you." He gently smoothed her hair and she let her hand wander to his. She played with a strand of his black hair and it occurred to her that he only said things like this when he was in his human form. She was surprised to hear him talk about the future. Usually he was focused only on their next move, the next plan to finish Naraku. "I'm here with you now. Don't worry about what will happen. It's not like you."

"What are you saying? That I'm different when I'm human?" He looked down at her with a hurt expression. "Well, yes. I want to know your feelings, but I know not to ask. Sometimes I'm afraid of the answer. But sometimes, when you're in this form, you open up to me a little. It's kind of nice."

"I guess I just... I-I FEEL different. I feel like I belong. I'm one thing, not half of both. I would never hurt you, but at times like this I wonder if my demon blood will make me do something stupid. So I tell you while I have the chance."

"You know you can always talk to me. I don't care what color your hair is or whether you have amber or brown eyes. That's all that's different. It's all physical. I don't know why you think you can't have feelings as a hanyo. And I know that you are as stubborn as me. Nothing, including your demon blood, will make you change your mind."

"Kagome, how can you trust me? After everything I've done?"

"I..." She wanted to tell him she loved him. That seemed to sum it all up. But she couldn't put that burden on him. He loved Kikyo, not her. Her saying that would only complicate things and make him feel bad. She certainly didn't want his pity. "You've saved my life more times than I can count. I owe you trust, and you've earned it. You're a good person, whether or not you want to believe it."

"At least someone thinks so." Inuyasha moved his hand away from her hair. He picked up her hand and put up against his, comparing them. "Tonight, I'll be like you. I'll go and see what you strange humans do for fun around here. But tomorrow..."

Kagome smiled. "Don't worry about tomorrow. Yuri will be here soon. Listen, you've never been in a car before, so I just want you to sit down and follow my lead. Remember, you are a NORMAL guy from MY era tonight! You go to school in the ***** district, and change the subject if they start getting too nosy. OK?" She sat up and faced him, trying to make sure he was really willing to behave in front of her friends.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'll try not to kill anyone." A smirk crept across his face. "Well, I can't promise anything if I see that Ho-jo guy, but I'll be nice to everybody else." She playfully punched his shoulder. "C'mon, I'm serious!", she giggled. He stood and picked her up by the waist, setting her down on the step above his. "Hey! Willya stop that? They're going to think you're a martial arts champ or something. Ooooh, that's a great story actually. We'll tell them you study martial arts, and that you only have a short vacation from school. That's perfect."

"Ok, whatever. Hey, by the way, why did your friend ask you if I was the 'jerk'? What have you told her about me?" Kagome blushed. "You heard that?" Inuyasha stared at her. "Of course. What do you think I went deaf too?" "My friends are wierd. They make stuff up, don't worry about it." Kagome couldn't think of anything better to say. Inuyasha laughed. "Suuure."

Kagome looked behind him for any sign of Yuri's car. She checked her watch - 7:40pm. Still a few minutes to spare. She sighed, worried about not only that night but about everything Inuyasha said. She would have to stop going to the Sengoku Jidai after the Shikon no Tama was destroyed. Inuyasha was eye-level with her and had that look of worry on his face again. He said, "Don't worry about tomorrow, right?". She smiled and took his hands. "You're right. Let's go tell Mama where we're going OK?"