I suck.

By the way, I went to Thailand, so I'm past my week...but it's because of that.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my lovely boy. x3

I would do quite a lot of things to make my fic enjoyable to read (like for one, make it longer), but with the first chapter, I ruined that entirely. I'll try again after this one's finished...

Anything But This

Chapter 11

Still Here

-Inuyasha-

Fuck it. He stared at Kagome and Hojo, only their shadows visible through the white sheets blocking him from them. He could hear them clearly, could just imagine how Kagome was reacting to that son of a bitch's words.

The sun was brilliantly shining against a soft blue sky, denying the fact that people on the world were suffering. That's why he didn't like it, and this was what made him angrier still.

Here he was standing, moments after Shippo had come running up to him exclaiming that Kagome had finally arrived. And before he could go to her, she had come to him. Although she probably didn't know that yet.

"This is a joke, right?.."

He heard the pain in her voice, and before he could stop himself, he extended a hand to brush the sheet aside just a tiny bit. What he saw bit into his gut like acid. Out of all the things he'd seen before, he would never have expected this. This strong, arrogant, kick-ass girl was...crying. she was weeping for that Hobo guy. For all he was worth, his value did not involve Kagome's pain.

If anything struck him like it did then, he'd chew off his ears. (He couldn't reach them though.) He bit his lip, nibbling on the inside of his mouth and his tongue so it would not lash out without his permission.

"I'm sorry... but I've made a commitment, and now I cannot put you first out of all of my thoughts. I just want you to...find someone who can.."

Leave the rambling job to this demented cheater. His gaze narrowed at the pale, spectacled (So Hojo doesn't wear glasses, but it fits him. =P) boy who was closer to Kagome then anyone else would ever be, but was now shoving it all away because he had found someone else? Kinda funny, and terribly ironic that he was here to see it happen.

"But..."

He could hear her voice crack, could see the agony in trying to control her feelings and yet make sense of what was happening. He couldn't say he fancied this girl after all she'd put him through, but a 'crying' Kagome was his weakness. Obviously. Actually, all girls that cried made him feel helpless. And he didn't like it. In fact, he loathed it.

So he did the first thing that crossed his pea-sized brain.

He tore down the white sheets and poles and clotheslines and everything in a frenzy of anger and frustration. Anger; Kagome was crying. Frustration; she didn't understand. The bright sunlight was immediately blocked by the cloth as it fluttered down comfortably on Inuyasha, including Kagome and Hojo. Anyone below would think the sky had decided to fall on top of their heads.

What had he been thinking?? Nothing apparently.

Oh, crap.

-Kagome-

"Kagome??" A firm, warm hand reached out and grabbed her arm, but at that time, she was too disoriented to slap that hand away. She would have, she really would, but she could just pretend those last few moments had never occured.

But they had.

"Kagome!" Hojo pulled her out from the blankets and clothes that were tangled around her, and brushed invisible dust off of her as he naturally would. This kind of concern from a guy who had just dumped her was almost too much. She was throwing herself into his range again, naked and vulnerable. Smiling grimly, she gently pushed his patting hands away and continued to dust her own self off. He looked at her for a few moments, and as much as she wished she could avoid that gaze, she knew that just walking away would be the end of her dignity.

"You okay?" Hojo asked softly. Trying to will the moistness in her eyes away, she looked up at him defiantly. "Yup."

The boy continued to look at her again, and she was compelled to gaze at him the same way. She wished whatever look in her eyes would send the message she wanted to transmit. However, she seemed to have failed. His gaze dropped to the ground, looking very much like an ashamed boy. Pity, mixed with a strange ingredient of sadness filled her to the brim, but she forced herself to maintain her pride.

He took her hand again, but she did not pull away. Instead, she followed him as he led her to another area, just walking slowly with no exact destination in mind. "Maybe I should tell you what I've been up to for the past few weeks?" He started to defend himself.

"It doesn't matt--," She started, but was cut off.

"This may sound silly..," he continued without waiting for her entire answer. "but I'm kind of...you can say, required to put people like my family and you second because well..." Kagome stared at him, a flicker of disgust fueling her just enough to remain sane. "I've decided to work with the nuns. And not just like that. I'll be head of the new church they're constructing for the orphanage. I hoped you'd be happy, but then I realized that now I had to rely on God and have him put first." He began to sound excited, a feverish glint in his eyes. The poor boy had finally managed to do something, but not properly.

Babble, this inane prate was barely being absorbed. Western religious matters were never her strong point, as her grandfather was more keen on demons and charms and evil spirits. In the end, all she caught was an apology and a vague farewell.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I think I have to go now.." he said hesitantly, but her spontaneous side suddenly pounced as she spoke.

"Wait!"

His reaction was to stare at her with a queer expression on his face, and this was when she realized that from the beginning, Hojo never had any special affection for her. She had just been a desperate bookworm and having this gentlemen have some concern for her once in a while was so flattering she found herself caught up in the spider's web too late. Now she was being devoured little by little, and soon all that would be left would be regret. Her teeth bit down onto her tongue, but she said what she had been planning to say anyway.

"I probably have to go too..let's go together." She said haltingly.

That sounded exceptionally ill-fitting, but she waited for his response. Hojo smiled slightly, crookedly, but she felt neither relief or joy. It was just the same expression, the same reaction, the same smile. The one she'd seen before, the same answer he'd give to any other person regardless of who they were.

-

The days were starting to get shorter. The moon was waxing and becoming more full. The shadows grew bigger. And the darkness more longer. As the two of them walked to the bus stop, no one stopped them. Not the nuns, not the children. But one shadow followed them.

Kagome pulled on her coat, as Hojo did the same. She untucked her collar so it concealed her neck more from the cold and both stopped looking at eachother or even acknowledging eachother. They sat on the bench by the bus stop and waited as the daylight waned.

Kagome did not notice the silver-haired, shivering figure clad in a thin T-Shirt stand a few meters away from her. She did not notice the person as she climbed on the bus, even after she had found a seat next to the window. This time her gaze was outside as the stranger climbed on as well, seating himself quite a distance from her.

Hojo sat by her side, quietly. His hands were clasped in his lap and he was smiling slightly. This made Kagome a tiny bit angry. She stomped down on her anger and decided to do the same. It was the best way. Best way to do what? Forget maybe.

She kept her gaze out the window. She did not want to see Hojo, and for that matter, remember what happened. Drawing a breath, she exhaled it softly, and traced a finger over the fogged up window. With a clearer view, Kagome saw her reflection. An ugly tangled mess which cloth, wind and tears each had their part in.

She shut her eyes to close out that image. And before she could react, oblivion enveloped her. Kagome fell asleep. And did not wake when Hojo gave her a last glance and got off the bus. She did not wake when the bus slowly emptied.

A dull ache was at her chest, even at sleep. She frowned, and suddenly her face cracked. If her eyes hadn't been closed, a few more tears when have fallen from them. What she dreamed to make her react like this, however, she did not remember when she eventually woke. It was incredibly dark.

With a curse she regained her senses completely, when only she and silver-haired stranger remained on the bus. She rose, a strange thought nagging at her mind and for a moment she whipped her head around. No one.

She was getting paranoid, and vague. What had she been thinking about that made her turn around? Shaking her head, she hopped off the bus quickly, and checked to see where she was. She had gone a few stops too far, but at the moment, she didn't feel like returning home. Her heart still ached, her head still throbbed, and she wasn't ready for her mom to pummel her. This was partially literal.

Absentmindedly, she pulled out her wallet and entered the nearest restaurant. She had forgotten about lunch apparently, and just realized she was terribly hungry. Even without her stomach rumbling, she felt empty. But for once, she couldn't really distinguish it from her mental pain or her hunger.

A dark silhouette broke apart from the darkness as the bus started to leave. The tall shadow stood behind her, and the shadow belonged to a young man. The person stopped outside the window of the restaurant, and stared at Kagome as she ordered and ate what was her dinner for the night.

Her mind, and her thoughts gave her a strange feeling that made the food and drink turn to ash in her mouth. Kagome shoved the remnants of her dinner away, and hesitantly, almost reluctantly called for a bottle of alcohol. As it arrived, she could see her own hand trembling as she poured a full cup.

It started to rain.

Clenching her teeth angrily, and with a firm resolve, she drained the cup in a one-shot, and felt the effects twaddle with her brain. The person outside watching her entered then, but she did not notice. After a few more cups, she began to feel a bit dizzy and did not realize that person had just sat down at her table. When she did, she just stared at him, blinking for a few moments.

"Inuyasha..?"

-Inuyasha-

He looked at her with some disgust. It was evident she was weak to such strong drink. He merely nodded to her vague question, although he guessed all she saw was someone splitting into two persons.

"Hey..." He finally said, his voice devoid of humane emotion. Shoving his hands into his pockets, his gaze lingered on the empty glass bottles, then stared at her wondering what to do at this point. How could he tell her now?

It was good and yet not that she was drunk, or else she would have left as soon as she had spotted him. At the moment, she was far from sober and already babbling with a tinge of uncontrolled anger. She was not as drunk as she was letting on... or it was either that she wanted to be and believed in it.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" A line appeared between her eyebrows, marring her flushed face. A quivering hand set down her glass none too gently. She hiccuped. "You're a demon...not allowed.." He saw her squint her eyes shut, both hands reaching to grab her head as if supporting it so it wouldn't fall apart. He remained undaunted at her insult, in fact, he was glad she was still so arrogant. It was worse if she started to cry.

When she opened her eyes again, Inuyasha saw that she looked at him without recognition. Before he could stop her, she had taken her glass and sloshed what remained down her mouth. She looked positively green. Her words were slurred.

"Hojo..he, he.. You know Hojo? Yes, my boyfriend..wait.." She grabbed her head again, but then reached out her hand for her glass. Inuyasha immediately grabbed her wrist, he wanted her to talk. "Whashthis?" Kagome looked at him as if she had just noticed him for the first time. "Hojo? No..him say to not meet anymore..he has another duty..be priest and worship or something.." She waved her hand vaguely, and stared at him. "So your not him..no...he dumped me."

Inuyasha looked at her with disgust mixed with pity. It seemed he was left to pick up the shattered pieces of Kagome's sanity and put them back together. But first he absorbed what he was being told, and stored it away to be used later.

"He dumped me." She said louder this time, and began to grin foolishly. He wished he had a mirror right now, he felt like his eyes had popped open like a frog's. "Everyone!!" She shrieked brokenly, and Inuyasha reflexively turned to meet more than a dozen pairs of eyes stare at him. Turning back, he grabbed Kagome by her shoulders and tried to shush her. But she did not notice him. Yanking free from his grasp, she stood and began to wave at the people that looked at her.

Inuyasha was torn from wanting to laugh at his drunk tutor from crawling underneath a rock and dying from embarassment. "Everyone!" Kagome repeated, and stumbled from her chair. "I was dumped!" She raised her glass as if making a toast, and by now Inuyasha had chosen to hide. Obviously noticing nothing but the glass in her hand and the fact Hojo had, so to speak, 'dumped' her, she did not see Inuyasha in the most queerest position he could ever manage under the table. She gulped down the alcohol, and finally slumped down to the chair, only to smack herself across the window. "Dumped!" Her voice was muffled, and for some odd reason, Inuyasha rose hesitantly, placing his hands on the glass and peering outside to see if anyone was watching. Anyone would have thought he was trying to imitate her.

The restaurant owners had noticed the commotion and walked swiftly their way, not too mild expressions on their faces. Inuyasha, sensing danger quickly stared at Kagome as if she'd do something. Seeing no reaction, other than her making a trail of her own drool down the window, dragged Kagome's dead weight out of the door along with her coat and into the rain.

'Maybe this will wake her up.' He thought grimly, as the water droplets came down softly. Seeing that she was too wobbly to stand, he propped her up by the wall and forced her coat onto her. Some grunts and curses followed the process, as she kept on marching towards a vague direction and then he had to stop her before she slid down the wall. And she was pretty heavy to drag up by the sixth time. Pulling the hood tightly over her head, he then shifted her body onto his back and began to walk what he thought was the way home. He didn't know where Kagome lived unfortunately.

Only a few minutes in the rain and already Inuyasha was cursing himself and Kagome. "Stupid girl hauled herself into this mess.." He kicked at a stone and then stumbled. "Fucking " Kagome herself had her own chant of the single word, 'dumped'. Inuyasha was very close to just 'dumping' her himself to the ground like a sack of potatoes she seemed to be like, but heard her say his name.

"Inuyasha..?" Feeling her struggle to get off, he wearily released his grip on her and let her slip to the ground. Twisting around with a swiftness that was profound because of his exhaustion, he extended a hand for her to lean upon in case needed. He then grabbed her shoulder firmly, making sure she wouldn't collapse, and seeing that she was sober enough to stand, he let go. She blinked blearily.

"I'm sorry..," She suddenly said, which made Inuyasha look at her with surprise. She was apologizing? This was a first. He stared at her intently, expecting more. "but my head hurts with you bumping around like that.." With this, disappointment along with frustration rushed through his mind.

"Well, I apologize too, Miss Higurashi..," He said sardonically. "I would have been a little bit more graceful had it not been raining with a particularly heavy girl on my back." If Kagome had understood what he had said, he would have been unconscious in two seconds flat. But instead she just grabbed her head again and started to rub her temples.

"Make the spinning stop.." She whined, then groaned, stumbling into him. Inuyasha kept her from falling, holding her shoulders. The girl in front of him closed her eyes, finally seeming to have made the 'whirling' inside her head stop. Her head tilted upward, leaning against his chest.

Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, and told himself that if she wasn't so drunk, he'd have pushed the damn girl away and left her to rot. That was, after he had had time to defend himself for her being angry at him.

Suddenly she lifted her head to look at him, opening her eyes. Somehow he was caught up in the closeness and warmth of this girl, even if that warmth came from her feverish face. Even drunk, she still had a helpless, beautiful quality about her that he would have been attracted to if they weren't on such bad terms.

He could swear she was leaning forward, closer to him. Her eyes closed again. Before he could stop himself, he did the same, and only a small fraction of him said that this was pure revolting and wrong. But the larger fraction told the smaller part to shut up.

He could feel her breath now, and although smelling a bitter, he couldn't blame her. He himself smelled like an ash tray after a cigarette.

Only a few millimeters were between them, any movement would have had them collide with eachother..but gently. If you take my meaning.

Inuyasha could feel himself flush as his heartbeat sped up just a little bit, and leaned in just a tiny bit more. His eyes closed...

I grow in rambling and shrink in detail as the chapters go by. Woe is me.

I wish I could have made this longer, but, alas...

-starts to weep- I'm a friggin' retard... T.,T