Edited: 7/20/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.


Dashed Hopes

Chapter Twenty-One: Stay With Me


Inuyasha rolled over in the sleeping bag on the floor, his shoulders already stiff from the uncomfortable sleeping position. Somehow, it had been decided that the only spot left for the young man to sleep was on the floor of Kagome's old room, which had barely changed since she was seventeen years old. The weirdest thing of all was that it had been Mrs. Higurashi who had been the one to suggest that Inuyasha—a man—sleep on her daughter's floor.

If Inuyasha were the paranoid type, he might have feared he was being set up.

It would have been alright, except that there was a cold draft and seeped through the sleeping bag, there was a creaky floorboard he kept accidentally rolling onto, and there was a mountain of dust bunnies under the bed.

An hour later, he still couldn't sleep. To add to his discomfort, Kagome was gently snoring about two feet away.

He rolled over again, squirming in his attempt to find a comfortable position. Under his breath, Inuyasha grumbled about "conspiring mothers" and "insensitive blue-eyed women."

"I am not insensitive!" Kagome snapped groggily, woken up by his not-so-inaudible complaints. She peered over the edge of the bed down at him, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"Well, if you weren't insensitive," Inuyasha countered heatedly, "Then you would have let the guest have the bed!"

"What?" the woman whispered incredulously "Technically I'm a guest here too!"

With a dramatic sigh, Inuyasha changed the subject. His eyes swept her old bedroom, taking in the décor. "Nice room. Were you one of those sunshiny teenagers?"

"For your information, I likeyellow and blue!" she grumbled angrily.

"Feh," Inuyasha muttered.

"Will you just go to sleep?" she pleaded.

"I would if I could!"

Kagome paused before answering, and when she did, her voice was resigned. "Fine," she snapped. The covers rustled, and Inuyasha waited for her to climb out of bed to hit him for waking her up and refusing to keep quiet. Instead, when the rustling stopped, she was still lying down. When he glanced up tentatively, expecting to see her glaring at him, he instead saw that she had pulled back the covers in invitation.

"Well?" she asked, irritated when he didn't join her right away.

The idea of a soft bed and warm covers overuled any question in his mind, and Inuyasha climbed in quickly. "Good night," he mumbled around a yawn, suddenly finding it easy to sleep.

"You're like a child!" Kagome scolded, her mood lightened only by the fact that up close she got a better look at—and feel of—his muscled chest, which was obviously considering he didn't wear a shirt to bed.


Someone screamed. And then someone else screamed. And then a third voice from outside shouted, "Ohmygod! Ohmygod!"

Inside at the kitchen table, Kagome stumbled to her feet, trying to get a look out the window to see what all the commotion was about. Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha shared confused glances. Scrambling out of the room, still in her flannel pajamas, Kagome raced out the kitchen door.

Soon after she disappeared, the other adults heard her scream too—which would have thrown them all into a panic if she hadn't sounded so excited at whaterver or whoever she had found outside.

"Ohmygod!"

Wanting to make sure that their friend had not just been murdered by a gang of cheerleaders, the others followed out into the yard. What they found outside momentarily confused the hell out of them.

"Kagome!"

"Yuka!"

"Kags!"

"Eri!"

"Ka-Go-Me!"

"Ayumi!"

And then, finally, "Ohmygod!" all four screamed in unison.

"Oh my god," Inuyasha muttered faintly, struggling to comprehend.

"Oh my god," Sango agreed while watching the four ex-schoolgirls start to babble and giggle.

"Sweet Buddha," Miroku whispered with a faint smile on his face as he got a nice view of Kagome and another girl from behind. Subconsciously, he showed his excitement by groping Sango, who was standing right next to him. Naturally, she hit him. "Sango, darling, I swear! It has a mind of its own!" Miroku declared placing his hand delicately against his red and throbbing cheek.

"I'm sure it does, my dearestMiroku," Sango growled.

The four girls turned to look at the squabbling couple, and Kagome's friends almost stumbled in shock when they caught sight of Inuyasha's bare chest.

"Kagome! Whoa!" Eri squealed excitedly.

"I'd go with wow over woah!" Ayumi said, her sweet voice making the comment even more amusing to Kagome.

"Uh-huh," Yuka added intelligently, looking as if she might drooling at any second.

Kagome was laughing, but she still blushed pink in embarrassment. "Don't stare, you guys! It's rude," she scolded her friends.

"Actually, I don't really mind," Inuyasha admitted with a shrug and a wink.

Eri giggled in response before turning to Yuka and Ayumi. The three shared an intense, silent look before they reached out and grabbed Kagome by the arms, dragging her several meters away to begin a giggling, whispered conversation out of Inuyasha's earshot.

Within seconds, Kagome was fighting to get away from them, her cheeks now flaming red. "Eri!" she shouted, waving her hands frantically to dismiss whatever her friends had said to her. "No!"

"But Kagome!" the girls argued in unison.

"I said no!" Kagome snapped, managing to pull away. Stomping back toward the kitchen doorway, she gave the startled Inuyasha the evil eye and grabbed Sango by the elbow. "I need the company of a sanewoman now, please!"

The three girls left behind giggled, unoffended. "You know we're right, Kagome!" Yuka called after her, still laughing.

"No!" came the faint cry of a pissed off girl in the kitchen.

Rolling her eyes, Eri walked forward to eye the two men critically. "Is Kagome…" she started to ask, but the way she spoke made it clear that she was speaking more to herself than to them.

"No way," the other two, Yuka and Ayumi, countered as they came to flank Eri on either side. Miroku and Inuyasha started to fidget under their joint scrutiny.

"Yeah, but," Eri started, pointing at Inuyasha stubbornly, making him even more confused. "He is—!"

"Yes he is," Ayumi cut her off with a scolding tone, "But Kagome never went for guys like that!"

"Never?" Inuyasha asked hesitantly, feeling let down even if he didn't fully understand what they were talking about. He could guess, though.

"Nope," Yuka confirmed gently. "The last guy she really liked was really sweet. And her high school boyfriend was sweet, too. And then back in Junior High—"

"Oh, he was really, really sweet!" Ayumi agreed.

"Oh!" Eri squealed. "I remember him! I liked him."

Miroku, just happy to be surrounded by young women, kept his mouth shut. Now was the time to hear what girls talked about. In a way, it was research that could be used to get closer to Sango.

Inuyasha, however, snapped, "What guy in Junior High?"

Eri turned to him, her arms folded tightly over her chest. She ignored his outburst and eyed him up and down, her head tilted in thought. "Ayumi is right: Kagome wouldn'tgo for a guy like you."

"And why not?" Inuyasha felt offended. Who wouldn't have?

The three ex-schoolgirls shrugged dismissively and went into the kitchen to help themselves to some breakfast. Miroku and Inuyasha shared a look before following them.

"So," Yuka said thoughtfully, glancing back at the men. "Naraku's gone? We told her we didn't like him, but she wouldn't listen. Kagome insisted that he was sweet and charming, but he gave us the creeps."

"Yeah, he's gone," Inuyasha confirmed, his voice all growly since he still felt insulted. He resumed his meal, determined not to like these girls. What exactly was so bad about him?


Kagome studied Inuyasha's profile intensely, her friends' words from earlier running through her head and driving her crazy. They're wrong, she thought stubbornly, I'm not going to end up with Inuyasha! Of course, the longer she looked at him, the more she wished she was wrong. He was definitely attractive.

On the downside, he was also loud, arrogant, rude, egotistical, insensitive, and a jerk!

Then again, he helped her out so much in the past weeks. He was a good friend and a decent role model for the boys. Plus, he was protective and could be nice when he put his mind to it. She also loved his car.

Now she was just confusing herself.

With a groan, she leaned back into the couch, unable to concentrate on the gossiping ex-schoolgirls who were chatting about everything that had happened in Kyoto since the last time they'd talked. Kagome wondered if maybe her friends had been right. Would it really be that bad if she were interested in him?

When she glanced at Inuyasha again, he turned just in time to catch her eyes. A butterfly feeling flooded Kagome's stomach, and she quickly broken eye contact. She instantly blamed Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi for planting the idea in her head. They had her doubting her friendship with Inuyasha and wishing it was more.

Shaking her head violently, Kagome forced herself to focus on what her friends were saying.

"Remember Kin and Gin from high school? They got married and just had a baby," Ayumi was saying excitedly.

Kagome burst into giggles, thoroughly confusing almost everyone.

"What's so funny?" Eri asked, frowning.

"Kin and Gin, gold and silver!" Kagome said as though that explained everything.

"What?" Ayumi questioned, confused.

"Kin means 'golden,' and Gin means 'silvery,'" Inuyasha explained, clearly unamused. "Apparently their names are funny to this idiot."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screeched, throwing a decorative throw pillow at the laughing man.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" Eri asked to get his attention, watching the whole scene with a frown.

"Yeah?"

"That's why," she said simply.

"Oh," Inuyasha muttered, although he wasn't sure he fully understood. Kagome wouldn't go for a guy like him, because he'd understood what made her laugh when no one else had?

Or was Eri talking about how he'd just insulted Kagome?

Neither honestly seemed all that imporant to him.

It was then that the doorbell rang, and Kagome immediately trudged off to answer it.

"Kouga!" Kagome yelled, excited, when she found her old friend on the other side.

He promptly handed over a bouquet of orchids with a charming smile. "Here you go, Kagome."

"Thanks! I love them," she told him gratefully, burying her face into the petals and inhaling their scent deeply.

Everyone was watching this exchange, and Kagome's friends took the opportunity to school Inuyasha. Yuka nudged the glowering Inuyasha in his side. "See that?"

"What about it?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Kagome goes for that kind of guy," Ayumi explained in a whisper to keep from drawing unnecessary attention to their conversation.

"What? A wimp?"

"No!" Eri rolled her eyes. "A sweetguy; one who brings her flowers and compliments her."

"You don't really strike us as that kind of guy," Yuka whispered.

"Feh." He sulked and pouted in an armchair, watching the duo at the door unhappily. When Kouga gave Kagome a hug and a peck on the cheek, Inuyasha left the room in a huff, muttered, "Disgusting," under his breath.

"What's his problem?" Kouga asked innocently, an arm still wrapped around his friend's waist.

"I don't know." Kagome shrugged, going back to chatting with her old friends.


An hour later, Miroku and Sango excused themselves to take a stroll around the grounds of the shrine. He had slung an arm around her shoulders, and so far, he was behaving himself.

"What was your girl chat about?" Miroku asked.

He felt his arm lift up and down as his girlfriend—for yes, you see, they had made it official; Kagome and Inuyasha just hadn't quiet caught on yet— shrugged. "Kagome was upset, because those three friends of hers were hounding her about dating Inuyasha; they said a relationship was bound to happen. Kagome walked off about the time they started to tell her how perfect Inuyasha looked."

Miroku looked thoughtful. "So," he said finally, dragging the word out. "Do you think I'm perfect looking, too?"


During dinner that night, the phone in the kitchen started to ring.

"I'll get that," Kagome said, excusing herself from the table. She ran into the room and plucked the phone from the wall. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Higurashi," a cold voice drawled, the voice sounding almost sinister over the static.

Kagome gasped.

But it couldn'tbe!

And yet it was!

...

...

...

"Kagura!" Kagome greeted the caller excitedly.

Her yell brought Inuyasha into the kitchen. He stood in the doorway, watching Kagome from behind, fighting the sudden, undeniable urge to hold her. It wouldn't seem so strange if he hadn't done it so many times before. But those times were to comfort her—and this time, it would be to comfort him.

"Is it really her?" he asked quietly, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. She shivered when she felt his breath on her neck.

"Yeah," she mouthed silently, glancing over her shoulder at him. It put them almost nose-to-nose, and after a second, she looked forward again. "Kagura, thank you!" she said loudly into the phone. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you that time you called, and I'm so thankful that you let me—"

"Kagome! Be quiet, please," Kagura cut her off with a chuckle. "I'm just glad that you learned from your mistake. I heard our favorite criminal is finally gone."

"Yeah, he is. And ew, what a way to go, right?" Kagome wrinkled her nose.

At that, Kagura laughed openly. "Oh, I agree. I just wanted to thank that guy friend of yours for helping get rid of him."

Kagome covered the mouthpiece and whispered over her shoulder, "She says thanks."

"No problem." Inuyasha shrugged, still standing as close as he could to the young woman without actually touching her; being that near to her made the need to hold her stronger, unfortunate. Stubbornly, he kept his arms at his sides.

"He says you're welcome," Kagome relayed into the phone. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. My sister, Kanna, and I are on… vacation. We'll be back in Kyoto soon, I think."

"That's wonderful! Give me a call when you're back, please?" Kagome pleaded, feeling very close to this woman. Despite their difference, they had managed to form a bond.

"Of course."

"Take care of yourself, Kagura. I'll talk to you soon."

"You too, Kagome."

"Thanks," Kagome repeated before she hung up. "Kagura is doing fine," she told Inuyasha, noticing how close to her he was standing.

As if sensing her unease at their nearness, he shrugged and walked from the room. "Good," she heard him call over his shoulder.

When she joined everyone back at the dining table, they were oddly silent. "What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, taking her seat and peering at the faces around her.

"I was just telling everyone that I went through the mail that piled up while you were gone," Mrs. Higurashi explained. She paused there, but clearly that was not the end of her explanation for the sudden mood shift. "You work sent an official letter of termination, because you had just an extended period of unexplained absense."

"Oh," Kagome said very quietly, dropping her gaze to her plate. She'd suddenly lost her appetite. "I guess that's not really at that surprising."

"Don't worry, dear, I'm sure everything will work out," her mother told her supportively, reaching over to pat her on the hand.


That night, long after everyone had excused themselves to bed except her and Inuyasha, Kagome showed him a ladder that led to the roof of the shrine. She brought a blanket thrown over her shoulder, and when they got to the top, she spread it out for them to sit on. Kagome curled up at his side, throwing a second blanket over both of their shoulders. From that vantage point, above the trees, they could see more stars than they could count in a lifetime.

"Inuyasha?" she asked gently, keeping her eyes on the sky instead of turning them to him.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You've been acting weird since Naraku died."

"I'm fine," he assured her, but his tone of voice sounded a little down. "How about you?"

"I guess so."

"Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you planning to do now?" he questioned, looking down at her. Her face was still turned upward, which let him see the outline of her profile against the night backdrop.

"I'm going to catch up with Mama," she told him, sounding uncertain. "I need to look for another job, too, now."

There were several minutes of silence, and Kagome didn't miss the way Inuyasha was squirming restless on the blanket. Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion. "Kagome?" he said again, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it.

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

"Will you…"

Kagome turned her blue eyes to him, and he couldn't read the emotions he saw there. "Yes?"

"Will you stay with me?"

Next Chapter: Loose Ends