Author's note: So, did I keep you in suspense long enough? Eh, probably not, but oh well.
Let's get on with it!
~*~
Kagome gaped at Hojo, unsure of what to say. Did he just ask me to Tolo? The same confused question kept running through her mind. Say, something, she told herself. But, what do I say? She asked silently. An image of Inuyasha popped into her head. She blinked it away, wondering why it had been there in the first place.
"Umm, Hojo-Kun…" the schoolgirl stammered, "I-I…"
"Yes, Higurashi?" the boy said, expectantly, leaning closer to Kagome.
"I…" she stammered again, "I can't. Gomen." Kagome averted her eyes from his.
"What?" Hojo asked, stunned, "why not?"
"Uh…um," Kagome glanced at the clock outside of her school. It was 3:45. "Ah! I gotta go!" she shouted and took off down the road, leaving Hojo alone in his stupor. "Gomen, Hojo-Kun!" she called back.
Kagome ran down the street towards her home, desperately trying to ignore Hojo's calls behind her. She closed her eyes, and ran faster. Just run, Kagome, run, she told herself silently.
Kagome would have been doing just fine in her dart home, but she hadn't been paying attention to the road in front of her. The girl slammed into something. Hard. Kagome fell back onto the street on her back. She quickly sat up to straighten out her skirt and check to see what she had run into.
A pair of gold eyes stared back.
"INUYASHA!" the schoolgirl screamed, "What are you doing? Someone might see you!"
"Well, if we catch anyone's attention," the hanyou started, "It'll probably be from your screaming, baka." He pulled Kagome off of the ground.
"Why were you running so fast, anyways?" he asked skeptically, "And with your eyes closed."
Kagome blushed. "It's nothing…" she looked up to see that Inuyasha was wearing one of Souta's hats. Oh good, she thought, so he wasn't completely exposed.
Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's backpack. "Well, let's go," he said, turning on his foot and walking towards Kagome's house. Kagome followed closely behind him.
I just said no to Hojo, she recalled grimly, what in God's name brought me to do that? Kagome's cheeks flushed as she remembered. She had said no to Hojo, the single best-looking guy in her grade, because she had envisioned someone else with her at the dance. Someone with silver hair and golden eyes…
-*-*-*-
The instant that Inuyasha reached the top of the stairs, he braced himself, ready to enter Kagome's sweet-smelling room. He stepped inside and hummed contently. The room was clean, virtually spotless, but Kagome's scent still hung in the air.
Kagome dropped her knapsack on the desk and started pulling things out, and putting new things in their place. She muttered to herself, trying to decide which books to take, and which ones to leave for later studying. When dealing with school and the Feudal Era, there was one thing that you had to rely on:
Cramming.
Inuyasha walked over to Kagome's bed and sat cross-legged. Upon sitting, he saw something poke out form under the covers. He reached his clawed hand out and gingerly removed a neko plushie from the blanket. He stared at it, transfixed by it's worn and torn appearance.
"What is it, Kagome?" he asked curiously, examining the stuffed animal from all possible angles.
Kagome giggled. "It's a stu-" Kagome began, but thought of a better word to use, "-plushie. I've had it since I was five."
Inuyasha sniffed it. It had Kagome's scent all over it, just like everything else in the room. But, this had a different version of Kagome's unique smell. It wasn't the sweet, perfumed scent that Kagome now wore. It was a deeper sweet, like candy. The hanyou sniffed it again, taking in the wonderful aroma.
"Ready, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, slinging her pack over her shoulder.
Inuyasha stood up, dropping the neko plushie on the bed, and strode over to Kagome. He took the backpack from her and tossed it over his shoulder. "Yep," he replied, leading Kagome over to the windowsill.
-*-*-*-
Inuyasha leapt out of the well. The clouds had completely gone from the sky, revealing the crisp evening sky. Inuyasha turned around to help Kagome, who was struggling to climb up the side of the well. The hanyou picked Kagome up by the back of her shirt and settled her on the ground.
"Arigato, Inuyasha," she said.
Inuyasha grunted and nodded, as was his usual response. The two started walking to the village.
"Where are Miroku and Sango?" Kagome asked, looking around the wooded area, "and, Shippou? They normally come to greet us at the well."
"They went off to fight a youkai," Inuyasha explained, "Naraku's movements have been flushing out all of the youkai in the area."
Kagome nodded and picked up her pace, trying to keep up with Inuyasha's swift stride. She looked to the sky and tapped her bottom lip thoughtfully. Maybe this little trip will help Miroku and Sango along, she thought, smiling.
-*-*-*-
Kagome wrinkled her nose as she stared confusedly into her science book. A whimper of bewilderment escaped her lips as she tried to grasp the basic idea of the Space-Time Continuum. Her eyebrows creased in concentration. The schoolgirl glanced at the mathematical formulas at the bottom of the page. What the…? Letting out a cry of frustration, Kagome lifted her head to see Inuyasha staring at her with a bemused expression on his face.
"Can I help you?" she asked impatiently, dropping her shoulders.
Inuyasha shook his head. "I'm just wondering why you do all of that when it makes you so stressed," he said sitting back with his legs crossed, "Why not just drop it?"
Kagome sighed. She wasn't about to explain how her world worked. Birth. School. Job. Death. As simple as the concept was she didn't think Inuyasha would understand.
"Because, I can't," she answered simply, looking back down at her book.
-*-*-*-
Inuyasha folded his and watched Kagome. Her body was tense with concentration, but her eyes were pleading. The hanyou hated seeing her like this; so confused and aggravated. He growled softly and closed his eyes.
When the hanyou opened his eyes again, it was dark outside. The moonlight was glowing through the open window. It fell on Kagome's face.
Inuyasha looked at the schoolgirl. She lay on her back on the other side of the fire pit, fast asleep. The book that she had been studying so studiously lay open in the curve of her waist. The girl's breath came slow and even, her chest rising and falling to the steady beat. Inuyasha watched her sleep, feeling better now that she was at rest.
The hanyou tucked his hands in his sleeves and bowed his head. His silver hair fell around his face, and his golden eyes closed.
Inuyasha fell asleep to the sound of Kagome's steady breathing, matching his breath with hers'.
-*-*-*-
Kagome opened her eyes. Sunlight was pouring in through the open window, shining on her face. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked around the small hut. Besides Kagome, the hut was empty. But not for long.
Inuyasha walked in, carrying a handful of small fish in each hand. He dropped them into one of the pans that Kagome had brought from her time.
"Morning," she said, trying to catch the hanyou's attention.
Inuyasha looked over, seemingly startled by Kagome's greeting. "Morning," he replied. He looked back at the fish. "Ready for breakfast?" he asked, glancing back at Kagome.
The girl nodded, pushing herself up and sitting with her knees folded beside her. She yawned and stretched out her arms, arching her back at the same time. When did I fall asleep? She wondered. The schoolgirl looked to the side of her and noticed a familiarly dreadful book. She grabbed the science book and threw it on top of her backpack. Evil, evil book… she thought, glaring at the text.
-*-*-*-
Inuyasha crouched next to Kagome as she eyed the book with revulsion. Once again, the hanyou found himself wondering why she read those books when in actuality, she hated them. He shrugged off the thought and lit one of Kagome's magic fire sticks. He dropped it into the fire pit and then proceeded to cook breakfast.
After breakfast had been consumed, all of the fish gone form sight, Kagome stood up and offered Inuyasha her hand.
"It's a beautiful day," she said, smiling down at him, "Wanna go for a walk?"
Inuyasha nodded and followed the girl out of the hut.
-*-*-*-
Outside, the sun was shining brilliantly without a cloud to block its beautiful rays. A chill still hung in the winter air, but it was no longer silent. The soft chirps of birds could be heard, signifying the inevitable approach of spring equinox.
Kagome tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stared up at the blue sky. The girl smiled happily, opening her arms and twirling around. Kagome stopped to look at Inuyasha, who was giving her a deadpan look.
"There's something seriously wrong with you," he said blankly, still giving her the same look.
Kagome sighed and turned away from him, but the smile could not be removed from her face. In fact, it widened at the remark that the hanyou had made. It was such a classic, stereotypical Inuyasha answer. It was almost funny.
Kagome turned back to Inuyasha as a gentle breeze passed through the area. The hanyou's silver hair drifted across his face, masking everything except his amber eyes. His eyes looked contemplative, almost brooding. Kagome rarely saw him like this, but when she did, he was normally thinking about Kik-
Kagome stopped herself from completing the thought. She sat down in the grass and breathed deeply, inhaling the sweet scent of winter that hung in the air. She glanced over at Inuyasha again. He would look really good in a tux…
Whoa, where had that come from?! Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She definitely had Tolo on the brain. Kagome sighed heavily and rested her chin on her hand. She couldn't think straight for even a moment!
-*-*-*-
Inuyasha stared up at the sky. A gust of wind blew his hair into his face, tickling his chin. He blinked and tucked his hands into the opposite yukata sleeves.
The way that Kagome had just acted; the way that she had smiled so gleefully and spun around with such a carefree manner had awakened something inside of him. It snaked through him, tickling his stomach and chest lightly. He wanted to smile, but wasn't sure if that was what he was supposed to do.
Inuyasha sighed deeply. It must have been something in the air. He just couldn't think straight. Not at all. Not even for one moment.
~*~
Author's note: So how was that? I thought it was a fairly good chapter… but then again, it's almost 3 in the morning, and I am friggin' exhausted. You could probably show me the lyrics to some stupid Hilary Duff song, trying to pass it off as an Ayashi no Ceres fic, and I'd tell you that it was the greatest thing I'd ever read. Let's just hope it never comes to that.