Inutori: I'm trying to type these chapters as fast as I can and post them.  When I'm done with Enchanted I plan on moving on to The Beat of the Drum.

Inuyasha: Yeah, but when will that be, lazy butt?

Inutori: When you stop insulting me.

Kagome: Like that'll ever happen.

Inutori: It would if I owned Inuyasha, but since I don't, Inuyasha will just have to try extra hard to be nice to me if he wants me to stop abusing him in my stories.

Inuyasha:

Chapter 7

Second Chance

Last time:

Something cold touched her neck, and Kagome realized that whatever it was, it was heavy.  Two hands wrapped around her neck and fiddled with something beneath her hair.  Before the hands were withdrawn, the breath drew closer until the stranger's lips were lightly pressed against her own.  Her eyes shot open and she saw the gleam of silver from the man's hair: a stranger no longer.

'Inuyasha!  That jerk!  The jerk is kissing me!'

And now on with the story…

Kagome's eyes were wide as Inuyasha pulled away from her slowly and opened his eyelids slowly.  That was, until he saw Kagome looking at him, then he quickly dashed out of the room in the blink of an eye.

After Inuyasha left, Kagome began to wonder if that really happened, or if she had just imagined it.  But then she became aware once again of the weight on her neck and chest.

Bringing up a hand, Kagome fingered the object gently, realizing that it was some sort of necklace.  Curiosity overcame her and Kagome got out of bed and went to the bathroom where there was a mirror.

It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the light, but when she could see, her breath was taken away.

Hanging from her neck was an intricate necklace with a diamond at the center in the basic shape of a heart, lined with small sapphires and emeralds.  The band of the necklace was thick and had designs of dragons engraved in it with small diamonds making it sparkle.  Truly it was beautiful.

But then Kagome remembered whom it was from and frowned.  She didn't know Inuyasha's intentions, and he was a jerk.  So, quickly but gently, Kagome unclasped the necklace and discarded it in hopes of returning it tomorrow.

Kagome went back to bed with a sigh.  To bad she couldn't get something like that from someone who wasn't an idiot like Inuyasha.  For all she knew, this could be something Inuyasha did as a joke with his twisted sense of humor: probably trying to get Kagome thinking that he had the hots for her than throw it back in her face without warning.

*

Miroku yawned and sat up lazily in his bed, but when he opened his eyes, he felt ten years of his life jump out the window.  There, standing at the foot of his bed, glaring at him was his manager, Sesshoumaru.

"Get up, filth.  We have work to do."  With that he swept out of the room and left Miroku hyperventilating. 

"Inuyasha's brother…is going to be…the death…of me…"

Miroku stood up and yawned, stretching his stiff muscles.  It was going to be a long day, what with the afternoon concert they were going to do in the park, and the recording, and practicing…as well as figuring out what they could do for new songs…definitely a busy day.

After showering and changing, Miroku headed downstairs to find Ami and Kagome arguing.

"You should keep it, who cares if the guy that gave it to you is scum?"  Ami was up in Kagome's face as the two stood in the lobby.

"I care!"

"Dude, something like that, it doesn't matter what 'his intentions are' or 'who the guy is,' it's an expensive item, and I'd completely keep it.  Ignore the dude that gave it to you.  Consider it a pricey birthday gift!"  Ami seemed quite upset over something, since her eyes were flaring.

"I'll do what I want, Ami!"

"No, Kagome, I don't care if you're older than me.  But you listen, if you want to get rid of it that badly, then give it to someone else.  What is a guy going to do with jewelry anyway?"  Ami was holding Kagome's arm and glaring at the raven-haired girl coldly.

"B-but-"

"I'm serious, Kagome."

"Ami~chan."  Kagome sounded like she was complaining to her friend, having obviously lost the argument.

Ami just cocked her head to the side and smiled innocently.

"What are you lovely ladies getting so worked up over?"  Miroku walked up to the two casually, smiling at Sango's glare from across the lobby.

Kagome turned slightly pink and looked to the floor.  "A-a guy gave me a n-necklace…and I…I want to give it back."

Miroku cocked his head to the side, remembering the last store he and Inuyasha had stopped at: Kaede's Finest Jewelry.  It was a specialty shop that carried the bodily ornaments made by the world famous jeweler Kaede.  Each item was unique and extremely pricey; yet also exquisite.  "May I see the necklace?"

Kagome nodded and opened a cloth in her hand, revealing a most intricate necklace that would probably not have a single other like it in the world.  "I love it…I really do, but I just can't accept this from the guy…he's a creep."

Miroku nodded back to Kagome, deep in thought.  "Well, I'd have to agree with Ami on this one.  You should keep it.  Perhaps there is more to this gift than you think.  After all, something like this would cost a small fortune."

The now 18 year-old Kagome pulled the necklace back to her and folded the cloth back over it.  "I know," were the words that she whispered as she carefully put the package in her purse and zipped it closed.

Kouga came out of the elevator in a huff.  "Dude, can we get a new manager?  Sesshoumaru's too strict.  I said to him: 'Yeah, dude, can you let me sleep in for once?' and he nearly sliced me in half with his claws.  Dude, what is his problem?" 

Everyone was silently staring at him.

"Yeah, and he said that I had to pay for the bed that he broke.  Dude, come on…HE broke it, not me!"

"Kouga-kun, is there a point to your ranting?"  Kagome seemed to be skeptically eyeing the wolf youkai as he shook Miroku.

"Umo…no?"  Kouga smiled stupidly at Kagome and released Miroku from his death grip and allowed the bass player to crumple to the floor.  Suddenly, Kouga sniffed the air, seemingly smelling something he didn't like, and dashed up to Kagome.

His nose got awfully close to Kagome's mouth before Kouga was yanked away from her.

"What do you think you're doing, wimpy-wolf?"  Kagome's eyes met with none other than the silver-haired hanyou's as her blush deepened.

"Why is your smell all over MY woman?"  Kouga seemed to be growling at Inuyasha as they sized each other up.

"Yeah, Kagome, why is Inuyasha's scent on you?"  Ayame came up behind Kagome with the smile of a Cheshire cat, even though she was a wolf.

"I was wondering about that myself."  Ami popped up on the other side of Kagome, smiling innocently at the blue-eyed girl beside her.

The thought running through Kagome's mind at that moment was 'I hate demon's sense of smell.' 

Neither Kagome nor Inuyasha answered that question, and a long silence overcame the lobby.  The only background noise was the employee at the front desk and a toddler running around screaming at the top of its lungs.

Inuyasha's eyes wandered to Kagome's bare neck and she noticed the pained look that crossed his face.  She felt kind of bad all of a sudden, and wanted so much to pull out the necklace and put it on for Inuyasha's sake, but she refrained.

Then Sesshoumaru showed up with Kagura, breaking the trance.  Who knows why they were together in the first place. 

"Half-breed, wolf, human, get your butts in the car out front this instant."  Sesshoumaru bit out his words as he glared at each of the members of Enchanted.

Ami's attention veered away from Kagome for the meantime as she piped in.  "Can we come watch?"

Sesshoumaru gave Ami a once over, and if looks could kill, she'd have been dead a hundred times over.

"No one's stopping you, kit."  Sesshoumaru turned and seemed to glide through the lobby and out the front doors.  Enchanted followed reluctantly, and trailing behind them were Sango, Ayame, and Ami, all chatting happily. 

Kagome looked to Kagura, "You coming or staying?"  The two stood there in silence for a moment before Kagura too followed the entourage out to the cars.

She looked back over her shoulder to Kagome with an uncaring look.  "It's not like there's anything else to do around here."

Kagome shrugged, and with a smile, jogged to catch up with Kagura.  "Yeah, you're right."

*

Somehow Inuyasha ended up in the back seat of one of the cars with Kagome, the only other occupant being the driver, whom was a hired native.  They were almost to the park where everyone was gathering for Enchanted's performance.

"Inuyasha?"  Kagome was looking out the window, with one hand in her purse.  The hand slowly came out and there was a cloth package in her hand.  "I…I can't…I can't accept this."  Kagome handed Inuyasha the package just as the car pulled to a stop, and so Kagome quickly unbuckled and jumped out of the car before the ignition had even been turned off.

Inuyasha sat there for a moment before unfolding the cloth and finding the necklace he had purchased just yesterday for Kagome.  A surge of anger pulsed through his body and he stuffed the gift into his coat pocket.

He stepped out of the car in a fowl mood and headed to the makeshift dressing rooms where he was going to get ready for the concert.

After getting changed and having his hair done, Inuyasha picked up his guitar and stormed onto the stage followed by Kouga and Miroku.

"What's gotten into him?"

"How should I know?  He seemed fine at the rehearsal this morning."

"Hopefully this won't affect his performance."

"It's probably just girl troubles."

Inuyasha jerked around and pointedly glared at the two other members of Enchanted, showing them that he was listening.  He then stepped to the front of the stage and did his usual greeting before introducing the first song.

During each song, Inuyasha was able to temporarily brush aside the thoughts swimming around in his head, but as the afternoon was coming to a close, and thus the Enchanted part of the concert, Kagome was dominating his head.

"For the last song, we'd like to play for you all a song I dedicate to the girl who wouldn't accept a gift from a man she despised.  For her, Enchanted presents: Second Chance."

Inuyasha nodded to Kouga and Miroku, and Kouga tapped his drumsticks together.  They all came in together playing an interesting tune that seemed to be asking for something.  All this time, Inuyasha had his head down, concentrating on his instrument, but when it came time for the lyrics, he looked up and to the back of the park where Sengotsu was seated, watching the other band.

You opened my eyes with your heart

Allowed me to get a better start

But why won't you accept me now?

Am I still not good enough?

Inuyasha's features scrunched together as he made eye contact with Kagome.  Even from that distance, those deep blue eyes were enchanting.

Stop right there, girl

You've shot me in the heart

Just when things were looking up

You decided to push me back down

Then the thought ran through his head, just why did she give the necklace back?  He'd gone to so much effort to find her the perfect gift, and yet she still said no.

You're saying that it's my fault

So maybe it is,

But I can't change the past

Just give me a second chance

Don't just walk away now

You've made me find myself

So you can't just leave

Without warning like that

He couldn't tell what Kagome was thinking by her expression.  It was completely neutral as they kept eye contact.

Stop right there, girl

Don't walk away from me now

Am I still not good enough?

Give me a second chance

Whatever have I done wrong

To make you act this way?

Forgive me, girl

Just give me a second chance

They ended the song, but Inuyasha didn't seem ready for it to be over, so with out any other accompaniment besides his guitar he sang:

Please give me a second chance

Cries rang up through the crowd as Enchanted exited the stage and went back to their dressing room.  Inuyasha sighed and sat down on a folding chair, leaning back and covering his face with one arm.

Soon Sengotsu came in, analyzing the boys' performance.  Apparently they did OK, but Inuyasha not moving around during the last song was rather dull.  Kagome wasn't chatting with them, but remained detached, looking Inuyasha's way.

After a few minutes Kagome went back outside, and Inuyasha quickly followed. 

Kagome was standing in the park's gardens when Inuyasha found her, the sun was setting in the west, and there was a small river flowing towards the sea nearby with a bridge going over it.

She wasn't facing Inuyasha, and was looking up at the sky.  There were a few scattered clouds that were tinted red from the setting sun, but otherwise the sky was clear.

The hanyou was able to come up and stand just behind Kagome without her noticing his presence.  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small package.  Unfolding it, Inuyasha picked out the necklace and put the cloth back in his jacket.

Gently taking the ends, Inuyasha reached up and brought the necklace over Kagome's head.  She seemed to jump a little, but didn't move otherwise as Inuyasha clasped the necklace back on her neck and dropped his hands to hang at his sides.

He leaned forward until his mouth was right next to Kagome's ear.  "Kagome, onegai…give me a second chance."

Kagome leaned back slightly until her weight was pressed against Inuyasha's chest.  Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her waist and noticed that her arms were crossed in front of her.   "Gomen ne, Inuyasha."  Kagome whispered gently, and Inuyasha wasn't quite sure what she was apologizing for.  Was she going to say that he wouldn't get a second chance?

"What do you mean?"

"I was being stupid.  Gomen."  Kagome leaned her head back more firmly on Inuyasha and the hanyou was beginning to rather enjoy the contact.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes as they watched the stars come out.  The only sounds were that of the flowing water and their slow breaths of wonder. 

*

"So, houshi-sama, when is our flight?"  Sango looked over at Miroku from her chair in the airport, her body completely relaxed with her boomerang within arm's reach.

The monk asked the question glanced down at his watch.  "Let's see here, oh, we have another half hour."  Miroku smiled at Sango innocently, the bump on his head glowing red.

"When is our flight?"  Sango glared at Miroku suspiciously.

"Um…7:20?"

"So you're saying that you're not sure?"

Miroku hesitated slightly, his smile faltering briefly.  "Let me check."  He opened up his carryon bag and pulled out the tickets, looking at the time.  "It says here that the flight is at 7:20."

"Let me see that."  Sango glared at Miroku as the bass player handed her the tickets.  "It says flight 720, you dolt.  The flight takes off at 6:55 from Gate C23."  The taijiya looked at her watch.  "It's 6:49!  If we miss our flight, I'm so going to kill you."  She said this with all seriousness as she stood up and looked around the airport frantically.

"Sango-sama, seeing as how we're in the F terminal, it'd be best if we ran if we want to catch our flight."  Miroku looked back at Sango from where he was already legging it towards the C terminal.

Sango stood for only a brief second before picking up her boomerang and following Miroku's example.   "You're dead, houshi-sama!"

The two ran for several minutes, arriving in the C terminal just in time to watch the plane they were supposed to be on take off down the runway.

"This is your fault, houshi-sama.  If you hadn't decided to leave the group we wouldn't be here right now!"  Sango turned angrily to Miroku, Hairakotsu raised.

"But you needn't have followed me, dearest Sango-sama, I didn't request your company."  Miroku waved his arms in front of him frantically, not wanting to get impaled by her boomerang again.

"Yeah, that may be so, but I was trying to protect all the innocent teenage girls in this airport from your lecherous ways."  Sango's expression was getting darker by the second and Miroku turned on his heel and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.  "GET BACK HERE, FURYOU HOUSHI!!!"

~

Inutori: Hope this was long enough for now.  I don't know who to feel sorry for, Miroku or Sango.

Miroku: Me!  I'm being chased by a lunatic!

Sango: What was that? *holds up Hairakotsu*

Miroku: N-nothing, S-Sango-sama.

Sango: Good.

Inutori: Then again, Miroku also cost Sango her flight out of Australia…

Sango: That's right!  Houshi-sama, get over here!

Miroku: *cowering in corner* I'll pass, Sango-sama.

Inutori: Ahem, well, enough of that, *looks to readers*  I need ideas for what should happen to peoples in this story.  The couples are as follows: Inu/Kag (duh!) Mir/San, Kouga/Ayame, Fluffy/Kagura, Shippou/Ami.  I already have the basic plot in mind, and Shippou isn't going to be introduced for a long while yet, but I need things to happen, and I need details of places for them to go around the world.  (I'm not exactly an international traveler)  So could anyone help me, onegai?