Where this came from I'm not too sure.  A friend burned me a CD, and from that CD was a song titled "Pretty Girl" by a band named Sugarcult.  The song is addicting, and entrancing.  For some reason, the song gave me this crazy idea, and so I wrote this.  The characters are OOC, the plot is angsty, and the story is probably confusing.  And just to let the crazed fans know, I LOVE Inu/Kag pairings, but for the sake of the story Inu was made the bad guy.  I'm very sorry, I love him to death, but it had to be done.

.oOo.

It's the Way

A OneShot

.oOo.

She knocked on the door gently.  Her body was abuzz with excitement and she had to force herself to keep from bouncing on her toes.  She quickly ran a hand over her hair, smoothing any possible bumps or flyways.

'Well Kagome, this is it."  She told herself.  'You've scored a second date with the Inuyasha.'

She thought back to that evening one week ago.  When she first opened the door, she found him, smiling crookedly and dressed in a sleek black button up shirt and loose slacks.  She'd smiled shyly, still not quite sure why she'd accepted his offer, but ready for anything.

He'd taken her out for dinner.  The conversation was light and casual, but she'd found him to be good with words and much more intelligent that she'd originally considered.  Once they'd stepped out of the restaurant, he had pulled out two tickets... first row to her favorite band, who happened to be in concert that night.

She didn't know how he knew her favorite band, or how he'd managed to get first row tickets, but at that moment she realized how beautiful his golden eyes were... how his hair glittered in the streetlight... how perfect he was...

And here she was.  Standing on his doorstep, ready for a second date.  Granted, she was a little early, but hopefully he wouldn't mind.

Kagome frowned when he didn't answer.  She'd been lost in thought for at least half a minute... 'Maybe he's in the shower.'

She knocked again, harder this time.  Once again, no one answered.

'Alright... I'll just come back in a few minutes...'

Sighing slightly to her herself, she turned and walked down the neatly kept hallway.  Being sure she held the railing securely, she made her way down the stairway and out the door of the apartment building.  She stopped in front of her car, and suddenly realizing she had no interest in sitting in there for another fifteen minutes, she kept walking down the sidewalk.

The night air was warm.  A cool breeze rustled the trees above her, and she could hear crickets chirping in the shadows.  She smiled, entranced by the mood around her.  'Tonight is going to be perfect.'  She thought, thinking of his gentle laugh and his sparkling eyes as he had leaned forward on the dinner table with interest.

And then she recalled that one amazing moment, as the two of them stood on her doorstep that night.  It was dark, the night quiet with anticipation.  He'd smiled crookedly and raised one hand to gently cup her cheek.

'Kagome...' he'd said quietly.  'You're amazing... you're so beautiful...  I've never felt so close to someone as I do to you.'  And then he'd leaned down and pressed those perfect lips against hers, and it felt as if time had stopped and the world held it's breath in wonderment, and she couldn't think and she'd frozen with the world and time...

After that, she couldn't keep her mind off him.

It's the way

That he makes you feel
It's the way
That he kisses you
It's the way
That he makes you fall in love

Wishing she could be sitting in his apartment right now, with a cup of hot chocolate in hand and his melodic laugh filling the air, she sighed once more.  'I want to be the one to make him laugh.'  She thought determinedly.

She rounded a corner and found herself standing at the entrance to a park.  It was quiet and dark; there were no streetlights inside to light the way.  Only the moonlight lit the ground not covered by shadows.

The sight of the park was making her nervous, how silent and ominous it was.  It gave off the feeling of abandonment, as if no one had set foot inside for years.

Kagome glanced behind her, feeling as if someone was watching her.  When she saw no one on the street or surrounding sidewalks, she turned back to face ahead.

'Should I go in?'

For some reason, she felt summoned… like there was a specific purpose for her entering…

Glancing once more behind herself, she stepped past the gate.

.oOo.

'How strange… it's so silent…' She was no longer afraid.  The breeze no longer brushed past her bare legs, and the crickets had long stopped chirping in harmony, but still she kept going, driven by a mad curiosity that had often been her downfall in incidences before.

The heel of her shoe caught on a root, causing her to trip but catch herself in time.  Cursing, she pulled both off her feet and held them tightly in one hand, allowing her to use the other just in case she should fall once more.

A few muffled curses later, she found herself standing in a clearing.  Before her stood a tall, oddly ancient tree.  It was huge; she had to crane her neck painfully just to see the top branches swaying in the moonlight.

"Why…why am I here?"  She asked, though she wasn't sure if she was asking herself or the tree.  It made no answer, so she stood there for some time longer.

The air around her seemed old, it felt thin and brittle, and she was uncertain if she should even breathe or not.  The moonlight seemed strangely dim, and when she looked up she could see thin clouds had passed over the moon above.

'Maybe I should go now…' she thought, suddenly remembering her date with Inuyasha.  It miffed her a bit to know that her excitement had disappeared, leaving her feeling strangely empty.

She'd just turned around, taking a few steps in the direction she'd come from, when she heard it.  At first it was only the sound of a branch cracking, but she turned to listen better and she could hear more, breaking almost rhythmically.

She frowned.  Uncertain, she took several steps towards the noise.  Her bare feet made a slight noise as she padded forward, so she forced herself to walk slowly despite the feeling of anticipation.

However, anticipation never readied her for what she found next.

Pushing the tree branches back with a pale hand, she leaned forward and looked into the darkness.  Lying, entwined with a girl she didn't know, was Inuyasha.

Their lips were locked tightly, and one of his hands groped desperately underneath the girl's shirt.  The girl moaned and pressed herself even deeper into his body, one hand slowly descending down his body.

"Oh my god…" Kagome murmured.  It must have been louder than she thought, because Inuyasha opened his eyes quickly and let them rest on her.  They widened, those beautiful golden eyes of his, and she could see they were clouded with passion but rapidly clearing.

"Shit!"  He swore, pulling away from the girl to face Kagome.  But it was too late, she had already disappeared.

Pretty girl is suffering, while he confesses everything
Pretty soon she'll figure out what his intentions were about
That's what you get for falling again
You can never get 'em out of your head

Rocks tore her feet as she ran, but she didn't feel the pain.  She couldn't get the image out of her head…

It was too late for her to realize someone was following her.  She'd just managed to make her way out of the trees when a hand enclosed around her wrist, stopping her quick enough to cause her to fall to the ground.

She gasped as she fell, letting a sob escape.  Arms wrapped around her shoulders tightly, and a voice murmured gentle reassurances in her ear.   She cried, not caring a stranger was holding her.

As her mind pulled itself back into the present, she finally recognized the voice.

'Inuyasha…'

And with that, she pulled away angrily and turned to face the man who'd broken her heart.  He stared at her desperately, but she could see now that he didn't mean it, he didn't mean anything he'd said before.

"Who was she?"  She asked through labored breathing.  "Who was that girl?"

Golden eyes averted away from her face, as he said, "No one. She was no one."

There's no way he could get away with an excuse like that.  "Who was she, Inuyasha?  Why were you with her?"

His eyes flashed as he looked back at her.  "You seem to think I'm not allowed to be with other women."

"We were supposed to be having a date at this moment."  She threw back.

"A date.  A second, measly date.  It shouldn't mean anything."  He ran a hand through silver hair.

Kagome could feel another sob forcing its way through.  "It meant something to me.  I thought you liked me.  I thought…" She broke down.  "I thought we had something going, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, you thought."

Her eyes narrowed.  "You told me I was beautiful."

To her amazement, he laughed.  "Beauty is only skin deep, Kagome.  I don't want to see anything further past that.  I thought you knew that."

Behind him, the girl appeared from the trees.  Her long, dark hair was tosseled and messy and her eyes held confusion.  She stopped beside him and glanced at both of them as if trying to figure something out.

"Does she know, Inuyasha?"  Kagome asked quietly.

"Do I know what?"  The girl said, her deep voice echoing through the night.  She searched for Inuyasha's gaze.

"Nothing, Kikyo.  Just go back to the apartment."  He said, still staring at Kagome.

Kagome let out a choked laugh at this.  "No, don't bother.  I was just about to leave."

And with that, she turned and ran once more, this time unhindered.

She's beautiful as usual with bruises on her ego and
Her killer instinct tells her to beware of evil men
And that's what you get for falling again
You can never get 'em out of your head

The night was warm.  A cool breeze brushed past her, and as she slowed down to breathe, she realized she'd left her shoes behind.  Refusing to ever return to that park and promising to buy herself a new pair, she continued walking home.

Her mind swirled with her thoughts, visions of him and… what was her name?  Kikyo?  Him and Kikyo underneath the trees… she remembered that kiss so long ago and the way he'd said her name in a strangely husky voice.  How he'd told her she was beautiful and how she felt like she could just fly away.

'He betrayed you.  He's not worth your thoughts.'  She tried to tell herself, but still she remembered how close she'd come to loving him.  Would things ever be the same?  Would she be able to trust anyone again?

Several blocks later she'd cleared her mind enough to remember that she'd brought the car and it was still sitting outside In-… His… apartment.  She swore, stopping and turning around.

Standing there beneath the streetlight was a tall figure.  White hair glittered in the light, and golden eyes watched her.  At first she saw him as Inuyasha, but she held herself together long enough to see he was much too tall and held himself too well to be anything close to the man she'd left moments before.

"It's been a long time, Kagome."  He said in a low, mesmerizing voice.  "I haven't been able to forget you." 

And she smiled.  Some things never change.  Maybe things Iwould/I get better.

"Hello, Sesshoumaru."

.oOo.

…So?  Love?  Hate?  Confusing?  Please leave reviews…