HAHA! Chapter 16 has finally arrived! Well at least I didn't take a whole month this time right!? I really do try to post these chapters ASAP, but I admit sometimes I'm a bit too lazy to write during my free time, but I am working on it! Lol. School makes me lazy, it's true and all my studying and exams and what not makes it worse. Also it just so seemed that whenever I felt like finishing the chapter, someone decides to come and visit me, which happened actually twice this week! Oh my, Well anywayz enough of my blabbering, I'm sure you'd rather read the chapter! -, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Do I look like Rumiko Takahashi? (00)me.......I didn't think so!

Chapter 16: "Isn't this what you wanted?"

A familiar blue light made it's appearance at the bottom of the Bone Eater's Well. The first to make their way to the surface were a certain silver haired hanyou and Kagome, and not far behind a blur of blue darted up.

Inuyasha hopped a few feet away from the well, Kagome still in tow on his shoulder.

When Kagome saw that he didn't seem eager to place her back on her feet, she gave the grass and longing deadpan look, "Uh, Inuyasha?", she finally let out.

"hmm?", was his intelligent reply, as he continued to keep the girl away from the wolf, who was now walking up next to him with a slight scowl at the sight of the two of them.

"You can...um...put me down now, you know?", Kagome said this in an almost pleading voice.

Inuyasha glared at the gazing wolf who looked back at him smugly before returning the force of the glare with his own. Even though Inuyasha was hoping that Kagome wouldn't really notice that he had still been holding onto her, yes he was being stubborn, he scoffed a "Feh!" and let her down to her feet.

"Thanks", Kagome mumbled as she scrunched up her nose a little while brushing off a small patch of dirt that made her way onto her pajama pants.

For the sake of Kagome, the two males had made a silent truce, at least until they could settle it between themselves. But of course, dirty looks and insults were still welcome.

Kouga took a spot next to Kagome and placed a hand on her shoulder which made her look up at him and smile warmly, "feels good to be back", he said smiling back down at her and taking in a deep breath of fresh air. He was still wearing the jeans he had been wearing the previous night, but unlike Kagome's hair, which was slightly tussled and messed up, his rested perfectly over his shoulders. Also, to Kagome's advantage, he was still shirtless, giving her a perfect view of his well defined chest and abdomen. Unknown to herself, she had actually been unconsciously admiring it...

Her reverie was broken when she heard Kouga chuckle at her wandering eyes, really she was getting worse than Miroku, and when she noticed what he had been laughing at, she blushed profusely, 'how come I always get caught doing these things!?", she mentally scowled at herself.

However her gaze was averted when she heard the cough of a certain hanyou, who seemed to be glaring at the hand rested on her shoulder. Wanting to ease the tension that seemed to be as tight as a drawn bow, she took Kouga's hand and let it fall to rest beside his hip before she took a small step away. This of course caused Kouga to glare at Inuyasha.

The hanyou them a look of obvious disgust before he leapt up into a tree branch, so that he could keep his distance from the wolf, but still be able to watch them.

Kouga wasn't too happy that 'mutt-face' decided to stick around, but at least he didn't have to stare at him anymore. He smirked, seeing this the perfect time to make the hanyou jealous.

"Kagome!", a high pitched squeal came through a bush and not far behind it popped out a small orange ball of fluff running at unbelievable speed.

The fur continued to make it's way towards the pair near the well until it was at a close enough range to jump and embed itself into Kagome's stomach.

A few moments after Shippou had emerged from the bush, Ginta and Hakkaku came out, a little out of breath from running after the fox kit.

Kouga frowned a bit from not being alone with Kagome anymore, but when he looked over to his most loyal companions and the retarded stare they were giving him, he looked back at them as if they were two of the stupidest idiots that existed. Oblivious to his annoyed expression the two other wolves continued to gawk.

"Oi! Idiots, what are you staring at?!", Kouga bit out, making them jump.

"Kouga!?", Hakkaku exclaimed.

"That's Kouga?" Ginta whispered to his friend quizzically as they made their way over to the threesome.

The wolf prince gave them an arrogant smirk, "I've only been gone three days and you've already forgotten your leader?"

"Oh no no no, Kouga we would-"

"What are you wearing?!", Ginta questioned loudly, he was never very graceful at anything he did. He began to half circle Kouga and pick at the thick blue material that cad his legs.

"hey, I think they look good on him", Kagome smiled as she straightened herself up with her surrogate child in her arms and tried to ignore the annoyed snort that came from a nearby tree branch.

"Yeah, Kagome bought these for me," Kouga gave a dashing smile to the said girl before narrowing is eyes at his comrades and then raising an eyebrow at them, "you got a problem with them?"

"No, no problem," Ginta smiled nervously as he put up his hands in a defense gesture.

Hakkaku, who was beginning to show signs of exasperation for his dunce friend, decided to get straight to the point, "Well Kouga, now that your back, we really need to get back to the den. I'm sure the pack are beginning to get restless and worried, they haven't heard from you in three days. Or have you forgotten about us?"

Kouga gave up his playful face for a more serious, knowing one as he nodded his head in agreement to go back to the cave.

He turned around to survey the girl standing behind him who practically had a small kitsune talking her ears off about all that had happened, including Miroku's injury that transpired from him having jumped in the well.

Shippou stopped talking when he noticed the wolf demon walking over to them with a smile plastered on his face, "Kagome...I have to go back to the den for a while, come with me?"

Kagome smiled back up at him and contemplated in her head what to do, "I think I'll stay here and see what Sango and Miroku have been doing"

Kouga still smiled down at her, even though his eyes did show a bit of disappointment, "alright then, I'll be back later," he placed both hands gently on her hips and before she could figure out what he was up to, he leaned down and closed the distance between their faces as their lips connected. Savoring the feel and taste of her lips, he let himself stall there for an extra few seconds.

"Ewww, that's disgusting!", Shippou declared as their kiss ended and stuck his tongue out for more emphasis on his statement.

When Kouga stood at his full height once more, he looked down at Kagome to see that she was blushing once more, he smirked, he loved having the power to do that to her, it made her even more alluring.

Breaking his gaze from Kagome and looking down at the fox kit, who was still wearing a face of surfeit. The wolf prince brought his hand down over the small head of the kitsune and scuffed up his hair, "get used to it, kid", then he looked back to Kagome and winked.

Kagome's face flushed redder at his blunt statement, but tried to keep up her composure despite the thought of kissing Kouga again. That was something she'd look forward to. As if out of instinct from thinking of Kouga, a guilt fell over Kagome and she looked up to Inuyasha in the tree branch to see his reaction to what had just happened. He wasn't looking at her, but instead giving Kouga a death glare. Then his eyes moved to rest on hers and that's where they stayed. He seemed to be thinking...

Inuyasha broke his intense gaze from Kagome, when the wolf finally said his last goodbye to the girl and Shippou, something about being back later that night. Just what Inuyasha was looking forward to, he rolled his eyes.

The wolf had kissed his Kagome right in front of him and she didn't even make any protest against the action, was she trying to break his heart?! Then he thought back to earlier that morning, where he had caught Kouga lying on top of Kagome, a low growl escaped from his throat, what the hell was Kagome thinking?! She had even admitted to letting the wolf do so! Didn't she know he loved her? Of course, he had never told her that, 'she doesn't love the wolf, she can't, she loves me...maybe she's just not sure about my feelings for her and needs proof...'

But how was he to prove his love? A smirk graced the scowl on his face as he watched the wolf run off with his lackeys. The wolf would no longer have his Kagome.

Yes, she would be his tonight.

Kagome followed Shippou through the fields near Kaede's hut and tried to follow as much as she could with what he was saying, he was talking so fast and wildly that she could have sworn he was speaking a foreign language. Pretty much all she got out of it was something about Sango.

A few minutes later, Kagome marched through the opening of the hut, Kaede was sitting next to the fire getting a cup of tea while Miroku sat on a mat and seemed to be meditating, but who knew what he was thinking. Sango didn't seem to be in the room. 'I hope nothing happened to Sango...,' she thought as she tried to think back and decipher what Shippou had said about her friend.

Just then, Sango emerged from the doorway to another room and as soon as she saw Kagome, he eyes widened in surprise, "Kagome!," she shouted with glee, bringing Miroku out of his trance to watch Sango run across the room and hug Kagome, "you're back! Are you okay? Where's Inuyasha? Where's Kouga?!"

Kagome laid a hand on the tajiya's shoulder and tried to calm down her frantic questions, "Of course I'm alright, Sango, what's wrong?"

Sango exhaled a deep breath trying to ease herself down, "no nothing's wrong, I was just a little worried is all"

"Worried?," Kagome looked over Sango's shoulder to see Miroku who was giving her a warm smile, then she looked back to Sango, "what were you worried about?"

"I don't know, I just thought that when you didn't come back after the monk knocked you down the well- Shut up lecher, you know it was your fault!", she cut Miroku off before he could say anything.

Kagome sweat dropped.

After Miroku recovered from the bellow he had just received, he smiled at Kagome, "nice to see you back again Kagome, so how was your trip back to the future?" (An/ back to the future? It actually makes sense now, lol)

The said girl returned his kind smile as she thought of how to answer his question, "it was...interesting". It was pretty much the truth.

"No doubt, child," Kaede let herself be known, "why don't you come sit down and have a cup of tea?"

Kagome gave Kaede an appreciative smile as she walked over to sit down, followed suit by Sango and Miroku. It felt good to be back in the Sengoku Jidai, like a second life where she had a second family who were the people in the hut, save a hanyou who was probably still off sulking in a tree. After the first sip of her tea Kagome spoke, "So, had there been any sign of Naraku lately or news of jewel shards?"

Miroku shook his head, "no, there have been no signals of Naraku at all lately, I suspect he may be up to something, so I think we should probably be on our guard a little more than usual," his serious tone certainly changed the mood in the hut, until he gave her a bright smile again. "Other than that, nothing has happened, except for maybe the company of a couple of wolves...and the absence of you and a certain wolf price," he raised a delicate eyebrow in question after his last words.

Kagome made a small cough, "yeah, well when is Naraku not up to something, ne?", she said as she tried to change the subject from herself and Kouga.

That obviously didn't work, due to Sango's next question.

"Kagome, why didn't you bring Kouga back with you? And how exactly was he able to travel through the well with you?"

"I...don't know," it was a hesitant answer, but it was the truth. She didn't have a real reason for keeping Kouga in her time with her. Oh yeah, she thought she wouldn't be able to force him because he could have resisted easily, but then again, she didn't try either. Of course she wasn't going to tell them that, they'd probably think her weak or Miroku would insinuate something dirty. Not that 'I don't know' was any better.

"I've already told you Sango, they wanted to be alone," Miroku beamed as he turned to Kaogme with a playful wiggle of his eyebrows, "a bit of heavy petting was in order?"

Immediately after that statement had left Miroku's lips, a huge red stain flushed from her toes all the way up to her face. As soon as he mentioned that, the memories of what happened flooded the girl's thoughts, the pleasure she felt, the feel of Kouga's lips on hers, his hands on her body. A familiar heat pooled in Kagome's stomach once again.

Evidently, Mirkou didn't miss her crimson blush. He was actually astonished as to what that blush could be implying.

Sango was aslo not the one to miss the sudden change in her friend's expression. Not only had the girl turned beet red but she seemed to now be in a trance and her eyes were glossy and wistful. "Kagome?," when the girl failed to answer she tapped her shoulder, "Kagome!?"

The said girl jumped and made a quick, "hmm?," not actually realizing she was in a daze, thinking of Kouga.

"Are you okay Kagome?," Sango asked, her voice laced with concern.

Kagome stared at her friend for a second, trying to think of something to say, the heat pulsating in her lower abdomen had now subsided somewhat. She mentally shook her head to finally break and say something, "I-I'm not feeling too well, I think I'll just go for a walk or something," well it was something and after that little episode, she wouldn't be able to take anymore questions about Kouga, without lusting after what they had did last night, if she went on.

"O-okay," Sango replied, "would you like us to come with-"

"No!", Kagome said a bit loud, "I mean, no, that's alright, I'll be fine by myself," with that and a reassuring smile, Kagome got to her feet and walked out of the hut.

The minute the girl left, Miroku turned his head to look at the Taijiya beside him and gave her a wide lecherous grin, "told you"

Sango sweat dropped and smacked Miroku over the the head, knocking him onto the floor and making an impressive faceplant, "pervert," she grumbled as she turned away crossing her arms and legs, but there was no doubt that she was thinking the same thing as the monk.

Kagome walked quietly down a beaten path in the forest, but of course she was careful not to stray too far away from Kaede's village.

All Kagome really needed to do right now was think. She brought her hand up to her stomach once again, why was it that with the mention of or sight of Kouga caused this strange heat to appear. No doubt it was her teenage hormones, she actually enjoyed the feeling it brought inside of her, but it seemed that when it wasn't satiated, it got frustrated.

'So this is what sexual frustration feels like?,' Kagome thought to herself.

Wait a second. Sexual frustration? She couldn't be sexually frustrated, she was a fricken virgin, she had never experienced sex before to miss it!

That thought alone made Kagome think back to when she was lying beneath Kouga, moaning due to and for more of his touch. Did she really make those sounds? His touch alone felt like heaven on earth, it wasn't feather light, it was rough and demanding but at the same time, gentle and sensual.

Kagome closed her eyes as she walked through the path, careful not to trip over anything protruding from the ground, imagining the pure ecstasy that had happened. Trying to relive it.

She opened her eyes once more when she realised what she was conjuring up in her head. Why had she let him ravish her body like that, hell, she had only shared her first kiss with him less than 48 hours ago, and already she had sprinted all the way to second base! She was suppose to be sweet, innocent Kagome and here she was having fantasies in her head about a wolf youkai who claimed to love her. But he made her feel so incredible at that moment, her hands had roamed over his back, feeling every muscle twitch under her caress and she was almost sure they were itching to explore every part of his body. If Inuyasha hadn't come when he did that morning, she would probably gone all the way with Kouga!

The thought of even having sex with him felt strange, yet exciting. Then she remembered the evident firm erection that had been grinding against her core. Had she done that to him? A shudder of want filled her body.

Just thinking of this stuff made Kagome feel dirty, but oh how she loved the feeling. She was a virgin, who had never kissed a boy before and in just three days she had just about given it all up, to person she had never expected! At the moment she didn't care, she was in pure bliss and she was so full of lust, yes lust, for Kouga right now that she begged that he come and take her at that very moment!

Sex, was she really ready to do that? With Kouga? She didn't love him, but she sure liked him...a lot, and she loved him in her dream...and after now, after what they had done she felt that she really did want to feel his touch once more. She yearned for it. And from his movements last night, she was sure he felt the same for her also.

But Kagome was a mature girl, she was strong, if she were really going to contemplate doing such a thing with Kouga, she was seriously going to think about it, it was a very important decision. What if she were to get pregnant? She would have to talk about this with Kouga. Which wasn't all that great to look forward to, she couldn't even talk to her mother about this stuff, let alone a man...er...demon.

Cognizant that it was beginning to get dark and that she had wandered quite far, Kagome decided that she should turn back, the last thing she needed to do was worry Sango again.

'I wonder what time it is?,' Kagome asked herself as she watched the sun setting lower below the high trees towards the West, 'maybe Kouga's back!,' he had said that he would be back later, and after all her 'thinking', she really needed to talk to him.

She smiled at the thought of Kouga probably waiting at the hut for her return. Kagome had a sudden jolt of energy ignite throughout her body and she began to run back through the old path towards the hut, wanting to see his dashingly wolfish smirk that she loved so much.

But all her thoughts went blank when she suddenly ran into a firm surface and down backwards on her rear. When she looked up to witness exactly what she had run into, two magnificent golden eyes shone into hers and his silver hair was evident as it contrasted wildly against the color of night approaching. Finally, the one thing that could truly identify the being before her, the blood red color of the clothes he clad.

Inuyasha.

He just stood there at his full height looking down at her with a very mischievous smirk gracing his lips. Before Kagome had the chance to question his sudden appearance, he held out his hand tp help her up. Appreciating his gesture Kagome accepted his outstretched hand as he helped her back up to her feet.

She looked back into his molten orbs, why was he so happy all of a sudden? "Inuyasha?" she wanted to ask him a question, but she didn't know what to ask. 'Why are you so happy Inuyasha? No, that would just be stupid! You don't ask someone why they're happy Kagome! He'd probably just say something like 'why shouldn't I be?''

As Kagome was mentally confusing herself, Inuyasha was still smiling at her, and it wasn't a crappy fake smile, it was genuine. It was actually scaring Kagome a little, making her nervous even, 'why is he smiling at me like that?', Kagome asked herself as her brows furrowed in confusion, ' wasn't he ready to bite my head off earlier?'

"Hey Kagome," he seemed to be quite cheerful too and he had a small twinkle in his eye, "why were you out here by yourself, you could have got hurt?"

Kagome broke out of her daze where she had been caught in the mystery of emotions before her. She gave him a coy grin and brought her hand up to rub the back of his neck, "heh, I wasn't really feeling well, so I thought I'd just come out and walk it off"

"Alone?", Inuyasha chimed in with his eyebrows arched but he was still smirking at his good fortune of finding her alone.

"Well, I also had a bit of thinking to do also," she replied as she averted her gaze slightly to the side, his intense stare was really beginning to get to her, he had never really paid this much attention to her before.

"Oh?" he brought up both eyebrows in interest, "what were you thinking about?"

Well, she wasn't just about to say that she was having sexual fantasies about Kouga and his addictive ministrations and suddenly felt the need to give her body to the wolf youkai, "I'd rather not talk about it", 'hopefully he'll let it go'.

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders, "alright"

Kagome was a bit surprised at such a blunt answer but was thankful nonetheless, "well, we should get back to the village don't you think, it's getting pretty late," she said wanting to break the silence and break free from the freaky, yet comprehending, Inuyasha. She begun to hastily walk past him and though the path once again.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha made a swift movement and grabbed her arm to spin the girl around making her gasp.

The girl's eyes were widened in fright as she was spun around promptly at 180 degrees. She stared into the hanyou's face, his expression had become serious, his head was turned to the side and his bangs had created a shadow over his eyes so she was unable to lock with them.

"I'm sorry," he looked back up at her and she could see his eyes once more, "about what happened back in your room...with Kouga, I didn't mean to-"

Kagome placed two fingers over his lips and was smiling up at him. She detected no hint of doubt in his eyes as she looked at him, "it's okay Inuyasha, I knew you were only acting on instincts, but you have to understand that I can make my own decisions and correct my own mistakes"

Inuyasha removed her hand away from his mouth with a gentle touch of her wrist, "so your saying that what you did with Kouga was a mistake?" maybe she didn't love the wolf after all.

Kagome's eyes turned sad, and she began to softly shake her head, "no, that wasn't a mistake and I don't regret it", had she actually said that? But it was the truth and after all they had been through, Inuyasha deserved to hear the truth.

Inuyasha's small smile turned into a frown. He didn't know what to say to that. She didn't regret almost rutting with the wolf!

Kagome saw that he wasn't going to reply, and her eye- if possible- became more morbid, why did she have to say that to him, it made her feel terrible. She too, had nothing else to say to him. She gave him a sad smile and turned her back to him once more and was just about to walk away from him again.

"Do you love him?", Inuyasha's voice protruded through her ears.

Kagome turned around and found herself lost in his eyes once again, "what?"

"Do you love him?," he repeated in a much softer tone.

Kagome took a step towards him and gave him a small, weak, but real smile, "no", she whispered it out almost breathlessly, 'but I sure am falling into it', thinking to herself.

Inuyasha's white ears perked up at her words and he almost smiled until the next thought popped into his head and came out verbally, "do you love me?"

Kagome was still giving him that smile. She did love him, but not in the way he wanted her too, "I do love you Inuyasha, I've always loved you-"

Breaking off her sentence, Inuyasha brought his lips crashing down on hers in a hungry kiss.

'Oh my God! Inuyasha's kissing me!', this was all Kagome had ever wanted ever since she had first fell in love with him. She couldn't do this! She was practically in a relationship with Kouga! And however much she wanted this to be real, he was doing this for all the wrong reasons!

She placed both of her hands on his chest and began to push him away, "No Inuyasha!"

The hanyou took a step away from her and had an astonished expression on his face and pain in his eyes, "what? But I thought you said you loved me?, Isn't this what you wanted?" Inuyasha was desperate for an answer, she said she loved him but why was she denying him?

Kagome's eyes were filled with just as much pain as his own, "I do love you Inuyasha, but only as a friend!" she laid her hand on one of his cheeks, "but Inuyasha you know you don't love me that way either, your only acting this way because your jealous of Kouga"

Him, jealous! Of the wolf no less! He was about to give her a piece of his mind until her words actually sunk in. She was right, he did love her, but not for the reason he should, "but if we love each other even as friends, we could be lovers"

Kagome shook her head, why was he doing this, it was hurting her to see him like this, "Inuyasha, listen. At one time I remember all I ever wanted was to be with you, but now we've created a friendship that I would never want to jeopardize what we have. And being in a relationship would do just that! And I know you still have feelings for Kikyou, and you still see her when you look at me sometimes"

Inuyasha was about to protest against that also, but then he realized that what she was saying was very true and he didn't want to lose her over something that wasn't meant to be, "but what about Kouga?"

"I don't love him but I really do like him, and I want you to accept that. But you'll always be my best friend and I'm never going to leave you", she smiled at him, that was the best she could have worded it, and she hoped that he would understand.

Inuyasha leaned into her palm. As much as he would hate to see her in the arms of the wolf, but she was happy with him, as much as it hurt, he would let her, she was his best friend also, she was the only one who ever understood him. And having to put up with all his bullshit, she deserved to be happy and he didn't want to postpone her happiness. Besides he would always be here to protect her if the wolf ever did her wrong. "I know", that was his simple reply but it held so much emotion and understanding.

Kagome smiled brightly up at him and squeezed his hand, "friends?"

Inuyasha equaled her smile and stared deep into her eyes, "best friends"

Kagome was so caught up and surprised by his understanding that she wrapped her arms around him tightly in a warm hug, which he gladly returned.

After the separated from each other Kagome gave Inuyasha a chaste kiss on the cheek, "thank you", she whispered softly in his ear. Inuyasha just replied with a warm smile. Noticing that it had gotten even darker when she looked past his shoulder up into the sky, "can we go back to the village now?", she asked in a joking tone.

Inuyasha nodded his head, "yes, now we can go back to the village"

Hand in hand the couple began to tread the path that led back to Kaede's village.

Friends.

Ugh! There you go! Chapter 16, I don't like it a whole lot, sorry if it was any bit confusing. And plus I think I made Inuyasha a little OOC but I had to include that small whimsical moment between he and Kagome. Another pathetic attempt --. Oh but next chapter will be quite exciting.....gah, forget I even said that whistles Oh and I hope no one thought that Inuyasha was going to rape Kagome or anything, I would never do such a thing.

I loved the reviews last chapter and I thank you so much for them, sorry no big responses this time, it's 12:00am and I'm tired and I'm so glad that you enjoyed the action sequence in the last chapter. Thanks to: Puffin, Haily, playful Kagome, empress-of-the-shadow (blushes learn something from me? Wow, that makes me feel great that your learning from my petty writing skills! You flatter me!), balletanimerose, crimson release, starlit333, EvilCheese ( I know Kouga would win, but let's just say Inuyasha had an adrenaline rush, if it didn't go that way it would have screwed up the story line), Midnight1212, Saiyan-legacy102 (heh, I don't think Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru would be able to withstand being in the same closet with each other lol), kogas girl (Oh thanks for the recommendation of that fic, I read it and enjoyed it very much -), Inuyasha-luva-4, lady battousai.

Recommendation for this week: Heart of a Wolf by BellDayNight. Any Kougome fan should know about this one! And a lot of her other stories are awesome -.

Okay, that's all! Please review, makes me happy to know people like it and helps me want to continue the story, the next chapter should be up soon! Love you all! blows kisses