Author's notes: I'm back! Can I get a woot, woot? cricket chirps or, maybe not! thank you all for being so patient while I dealt with school and other important issues! …ok, so no all of them were important. -.-;;

Argh, fanfiction.net has some new thing going on, so it's messing up my format. -.- I'll fix it if I can…

Anyway, here is the much-awaited 6th chapter. Enjoy!

Dance With Me

Chapter 6

Inuyasha dropped his head into his hands and stared at Kagome. She sat in the corner of the hut, studying another one of her books. Her brow was creased in concentration. A loud yawn emitted from Inuyasha's mouth. He rolled onto his side, still staring at the schoolgirl.

"Kagome," he said in a bored tone, "Are you done yet?"

Kagome glanced up from her book just long enough to send an icy glare at the hanyou. She looked back at her book and began scribbling onto a piece of paper. "I wasn't done two minutes ago- Chances are I'm not done now," she muttered angrily, her eyes fixed on the book in her lap.

Inuyasha yawned again and closed his eyes. God, he was bored. Not to mention anxious. He should have been out, looking for more pieces of the Shikon no Tama. But, no, that would only be in a perfect world. Instead he was sitting inside- doing nothing. Inuyasha snorted.

---

Kagome took another moment to glance up and glare at the hanyou. Why did he have to be so impatient? Because he wants to go find the jewel shards, she quickly answered herself. The girl sighed and stared down at her schoolwork. At the moment, there was nothing she wanted to do less than this bunch of busywork. Even a fight with Naraku didn't seem too bad. Kagome snorted. That was an extremely foolish thought.

Kagome gently closed her book and placed it in her backpack. She'd had enough algebra for one day. It was time to start working on her English. Kagome groaned softly. She hated English. It was such a hard language to learn… and even harder to speak.

The schoolgirl opened her backpack even wider as she searched for the ugly, orange English book. It didn't appear to be in her backpack…

"Shit," Kagome muttered softly. She picked up her backpack and flipped it over dumping all of its contents onto the wooden floor with a loud clatter.

---

Inuyasha's ears perked at the noise. He shot up and looked in Kagome's direction. She sat on the floor, a sea of schoolbooks, clothing, and food surrounding her. Her brown eyes darted around, seemingly searching for something in the mass of clutter.

"Dammit!" she cried in a frustrated tone. She quickly scooped all of her belongings into the bag and threw it over her shoulder. She began walking towards the door.

Inuyasha gawked at her. "Where are you going?" he asked, although he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer. He stood up and walked after her.

Kagome turned around and gave Inuyasha a pleading stare. "I need to go back to my time for a bit," she said quickly, turning back around and walking to the well.

Inuyasha followed. "You've been here for barely two days!" he shouted. He leapt in front of her, blocking her path.

Kagome gave him another pleading stare, here eyes widening slightly. "I just need to go back for a minute! I'm just going to pick something up."

Inuyasha growled softly, but began walking to the well. He folded his arms. "Then I'm going with you. Just to make sure you don't take too long." He heard Kagome's soft footsteps behind him.

"Arigato, Inuyasha," she murmured, bounding up next to him. "I'll just be a minute, don't worry."

"Uh-huh," the hanyou murmured doubtfully. He padded up to the well and jumped through, closing his eyes as he felt himself being transported to Kagome's world.

---

With Inuyasha's help, Kagome climbed out of the well. She jumped off of the edge and landed softly on her feet. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in pure euphoria. She could smell her mom's cooking in the air. The sweet, delicate scent filled the schoolgirl's nostrils as she walked towards her house.

Kagome turned back to the hanyou. "I don't suppose that you would want to have dinner with my family tonight?" She offered, smiling gently.

"Feh," Inuyasha muttered, turning his head away.

Kagome's smile widened. Despite his classic answer, she knew that Inuyasha could never turn down her mom's cooking. In fact, she had never met anyone that could. It was that good.

---

Inuyasha inhaled deeply. What was it about Kagome's mom's cooking that it made it so irresistible? The spices she used? The sauce, maybe? Or maybe the fact that it seemed to be everything great all wrapped in one? Either way, it was one of the finer things he had come to appreciate.

The hanyou followed Kagome to her house. She opened the front door and took her shoes off, walking in once she had done so. She dropped her backpack next to the door.

"I'm home!" she called sweetly.

Inuyasha walked into the warm house, his ears perking up as he heard the excited squeals of Kagome's little brother.

"Inu-Chan!" Sota was now running down the stairs at top speed. He bounded up to Inuyasha and grinned. "Are you going to have dinner with us tonight?" The little boy's eyes were now widening and sparkling with hope.

Inuyasha's cheeks flushed slightly; his ears flattened. God, the kid was forward. The hanyou nodded, shooting a sideways glance at Kagome. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a smile creep across her face.

---

Kagome smiled sweetly at Inuyasha before running up the stairs. Once she reached the top, she turned and pushed the door of her room open. Her brown eyes roamed over the small room, and fell on her desk. She walked to it and examined the top, but she didn't see her English book.

Kagome's brow creased slightly. She kneeled next to her desk and began pulling out the drawers. She stared into each of them, pushing aside the stray pieces of paper and old mementos from long ago, but still, no book.

Kagome's breath caught in her throat. What if I left it at school? She wondered. What if somebody found it and took it? With each thought, her stress level rose. Schoolbooks were expensive to replace. This one alone would probably cost fifty dollars!

"Shit…" Kagome murmured, falling to her hands and knees. She leaned down and looked under her bed. A cry of surprise erupted from her mouth when a big fluff-ball of a cat swiped at her with a massive paw. "Buyo!" she shouted angrily, pulling him out from under her bed. The cat quickly squirmed out of her grasp and ran through the open door.

---

Inuyasha pressed himself against the wall, narrowly avoiding tripping over the cat that had just ran out of Kagome's room like a bat out of hell. He watched it scramble down the stairs, but his attention turned to Kagome's room when he heard a cry of frustration. He walked to the doorway and peered in.

Kagome sat on the floor, her brow creased slightly. She quickly rose to her feet and reached for the weird contraption next to her bedside. She held the piece of machinery to her ear and began to press little buttons on the base of it. She seemed oblivious to Inuyasha's presence.

---

Kagome held the phone next to ear and listened to the dial tone anxiously. She knew that Inuyasha was standing in the doorway, apparently waiting for her to acknowledge his presence, but she really couldn't talk to him right now. Not until she found her book. Finally, someone picked up the phone on the other end.

"Oi, Eri," she said, "Have you seen my English book? "

"Yeah," came Eri's voice through the phone, "You left it at school the other day, so I brought it home with me."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. "Arigato, Eri-Chan," she said softly, "Can I come over and pick it up?"

"Sure," came Eri's answer, "I'll see you in a couple minutes, ne?"

"Hai," Kagome said, "Ja ne." And, with that, Kagome hung up the phone. She turned and looked at Inuyasha, who was still standing in the doorway.

"Inuyasha," she said, "I'll be right back; I just need to pick something up from a friend's house." She brushed past him and began walking down the stairs.

---

"Oi, Kagome!" Inuyasha called after the girl, running down the stairs to catch up with her, "I'm coming. It'll be faster if I take you."

Kagome whirled around and stared at Inuyasha. Her brown eyes widened slightly. She seemed to be considering it…

"No," she finally said, "You can't be seen." Inuyasha snorted. He had gone out in her world before, why was this any different? "I'll be fast; I promise," she reassured him.

She turned around and headed for the door. Sliding her feet in her brown shoes, she walked out the door, leaving Inuyasha glaring at her retreating back.

He didn't stare at it for long, however. Inuyasha waited for Kagome to leave the compound before he ran after her. He glided smoothly and quietly on the pavement, unnoticed.

---

Kagome walked down the street, her heels clicking on the cement with every step she took. She glanced up at the winter sky. The clouds had parted, leaving a clear view of the orange sky as the sun began to set. The schoolgirl yawned and stretched her arms behind her back.

She was almost to Eri's house when she heard something behind her. She quickly turned around, looking for a stray cat or maybe a dog. Nothing caught the attention of her eyes, so she turned and walked on. I must be getting paranoid from being in the Feudal Era, Kagome told herself as she walked.

Kagome reached the door to Eri's house and knocked 3 times. She bounced on the balls of her feet and looked listened for any movement inside Eri's house. The door swung open, an angry-looking Eri standing in the frame. She glared at Kagome, her brow creased.

"We need to talk," she muttered, and with that, she grabbed Kagome's hand and pulled her into the house.

Eri gave her another penetrating stare. Kagome stared back with wide, bemused brown eyes.

Eri crossed her arms. "Did Hojo really ask you to Tolo?" she asked.

"Yes…" Kagome replied simply, shuffling her feet.

"And did you really turn him down?" she pressed.

"Yes." Kagome flinched, preparing herself for the oncoming lecture-rant.

Eri exploded. "How could you turn him down? He is the single best-looking guy at our school! And, he's nice, funny, good-looking-"

"Yeah, you said that," Kagome chimed in with a snicker.

Eri didn't pay any attention to Kagome's snide remark. "How could you really say no?"

"Well, aren't the girls supposed to ask the guys?" Kagome asked, defensively.

"Yes, but so what?" Eri asked rhetorically. Her eyes glistened slightly; she clasped her hands together. "Are you going to ask him to Tolo?" she asked excitedly.

Kagome gave her a deadpan stare. "No," she said simply, causing Eri to facefault.

"Let me guess," Eri said, "You're going to ask that jealous, two-timing, jerk boyfriend of yours, aren't you?"

Kagome sighed. She means Inuyasha… Kagome thought about that. The idea had been dancing around her brain ever since she had seen the flyer. But she never actually thought it would happen…

Eri scoffed. "He seems like such an animal, the way he treats you," she muttered, "I guess the theme would fit him, then..."

"Huh?" Kagome asked, puzzled.

"The theme for Tolo this year is Wild Inside," she said, seemingly exasperated that Kagome didn't already know, "You're supposed to go formal, but have some hint of an animal, or something." She shrugged. "I dunno, it's kind of weird, if you ask me. But it would fit that jerk boyfriend of yours perfectly."

Kagome snorted. If only Eri knew the truth behind her words… Kagome shook her head viciously, remembering why she had come to Eri's house in the first place.

"Eri, can I have my book?" she asked, "I need to get home…" Yeah, my jealous, two-timing, jerk boyfriend is waiting, she added silently.

Eri nodded and bounded off down the hall. She came back, Kagome's orange English book in hand. She gave it to Kagome.

"Arigato, Eri-Chan," she murmured taking the book and cradling it in the nook of her arm. She turned on her heel and began walking away when she heard Eri say something.

"Yep," she muttered, "Good luck with that boyfriend." She closed the door.

Kagome smiled slightly at her friend's brusque behavior, and continued walking. The sun was completely gone from the sky now, sending the world back into darkness. The only lights that were visible were the few streetlights in the area and the glowing moon overhead.

A subtle breeze passed Kagome, sending chills up her spine and raising goosebumps on her arms. She shivered and rubbed her arms, ducking her head down to avoid the chilly wind.

"Oi, Kagome."

---

Inuyasha stared at the girl. She was shivering. The hanyou quickly took off his haori and draped it around her shoulders.

"Baka," he said, "You shouldn't come out after dark in the winter. You'll get sick."

Arigato, Inuyasha…" she replied, smiling gently. He noticed her eyes rise to his ears. They twitched slightly. "Inuyasha!" she hissed, "Someone's going to see you!" She dropped her book and stood on the tip of her toes, covering his ears with her hands.

He felt himself being pulled down by the pressure that she put on his head. He quickly scrambled out of her hold and stared at her. "Baka, nobody's going to see me." He turned and began walking to Kagome's house. "Come on. Your mother's food is probably ready." Baka… he added silently in reference to her behavior.

---

Kagome followed closely behind the hanyou, watching him strut down the street with an air of confidence. She smiled, her cheeks beginning to flush from the cold. Inuyasha was so confident, so hotheaded… Tolo would definitely prove to be an interesting event if she took him…

Inuyasha turned and stared at Kagome. He raised his eyebrows slight, an indication that suggested she was taking too long. Kagome ran up to the hanyou and continued walking with him.

She shot a sideways glance in his direction and smiled. She had decided. It was going to happen.

She was going to ask Inuyasha to Tolo.

Author's notes: ok, if at some parts it seemed like I was struggling to write it… it's because I was. xx it just wasn't flowing very well… it'll get better in the later chapters, so, w00t.