Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Inuyasha.That is all.

Rated: PG-13 (For Language)

Pairings: Inu/Kag and Sess/Kag (Love Triangle)

Author's Note: Hey, peeps! I finally updated! I know some of you are confused by the pairings. This is strictly a love triangle between Sesshomaru/Kagome/InuYasha. In the beginning, it might seem like its Sess/Rin and Inu/Kikyo, but its not. Usually people have crushes/love interest in the beginning, but then their feelings change at some point in time. So please don't get misled to think otherwise.

Now let me stop rambling and carry on with the story.

The Step Family -Deadly Tears

Chapter Three: Hide N' Seek


Heading up the flight of stairs, Kagome wiped her eyes that threatened to leak out more tears.

She decided earlier that moping around wouldn't help her get anywhere. So the best bet was to take action again and search for the jerk.

But a feeling tugged at her gut, telling her instead to look in his room. Maybe he put the key there or something.

Yes- she will have to trust her gut one hundred percent.


Reaching the third floor, Kagome headed straight to the door with a poorly drawn sign stuck to it. She snorted, studying the small sign.

'Even a preschooler can draw better than he could.' Kagome thought. How does he expect anyone to take the sign seriously when everything was so...blah!

Looking both ways of the hall now, she made sure no one was around to witness her.

Her right hand balled into a fist and knocked lightly on InuYasha's door, hoping to Kami he wasn't in there. After a few more tries, she slowly twisted the doorknob and opened the door.

Just to make sure, she called out his name. "InuYasha? Hello?" Satisfied by the silence, she stepped into his bedroom and quietly shut the door.

Her head whipped around the empty compartment, finding nothing but a clean-cut, capacious blue room with posters of sports, cars, and girls clung to his walls. 'Typical guy stuff.' She rolled her eyes.

There was a bed on one-side and a desktop computer table on the other. Across the room was a personal restroom in the far right corner, and left of it was a walk-in closet.

Kagome half expected the room to resemble a wild jungle with monkeys flying around and screeching everywhere... but surprisingly it didn't. Quite cozy-looking in fact.

For the past month she lived in this mansion, she never got to see neither brother's room. Either it was closed from prying eyes or just slightly opened, but never enough to view the entire room. It just irritated her to no end.

Her feet guided her to the big, navy blue bed on the left side of the room. She fell onto the bed's soft and bouncy surface, laying flat on her stomach.

'Tentalizing.' Kagome thought, as she inhaled the strong-sweet aroma from the silken-made pillows. He just smells so good...

She closed her eyes and imagined InuYasha lying next to her, holding her close with his masculine arm straddling her waist.

"I love you, InuYasha... If only you can think of me the same way and stop acting like a stupid jerk." Kagome sighed. She was a typical lovesick puppy. Or maybe it wasn't a feeling of love, but infatuation. For four years now, this infatuation for the Takahashi brothers only increased a ton. So what would someone call that feeling?

Not a clue.

As she lay upon his bed, her mind started drifting off into a pleasant dream involving the two subjects of her attention.


Sesshomaru waited patiently in the fourth floor corridor, in front of a cream-colored bathroom door that was currently shut.

He rubbed his ears in circular motions, trying the get rid of the annoying ringing sounds produced in his eardrums.

He never thought that dragging InuYasha up the flight of stairs would make him scream like a sissy. He will have to report this to father one day.

Some curses and yelling brought his attention back to the door behind him.

"Is he complying, Rin?" He asked, waiting for a response from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I'm almost done. Just give us a little…more time." He heard her say. She sounded as if she was struggling with her task.

When ten minutes flew by…

A manly, distressed cry resounded throughout the corridor.

"WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?"

Sesshomaru blinked and looked at the door. That must have been InuYasha.

"I'm so sorry, InuYasha, but isn't this what your brother had wanted? I had no choice…" Rin's voice almost went unheard.

"The freaken' hell you did! What the hell! Are you insane? Just look at me- Hey, its not funny!" InuYasha fumed.

"We're coming out now, Sesshomaru!" Rin talked over the angry boy's voice.

Sesshomaru distanced himself from the door as it unlocked and opened. He immediately pulled out a digital black camera from his pocket and waited.

On queue, the nervous maid walked out, followed behind was a furious InuYasha.

It took all Sesshomaru's might and control to not laugh at what he saw.

There stood InuYasha, in what glory he had left, wearing bright red lipstick and silver hair tangled into two pigtail braids. Pink blush was smeared all over his face along with heavy purple eyeliner around his eyelids.

He looked like a Hermaphrodite!

"Magnificent work, Rin." Sesshomaru marveled. He held up his camera, aiming the lens at his brother. "Now pose for the camera, InuYasha." He ordered.

InuYasha spat out something red, resembling what looked to be a clump of lipstick. He glared dangerously at Sesshomaru, holding up his middle finger instead. "Screw you."

Not long after, InuYasha found himself against the wall, his throat being strangled to death by Sesshomaru's hand.

"I gave you two choices, brother. Either you pose for the camera or you'll find yourself walking with crutches soon. Which one sounds better?"

A pained sound left InuYasha's mouth. "Neither… I mean… the first one." He replied between breaths. Soon the threatening hand left his throat and he could breathe normally again.

"Now pose." Sesshomaru repeated.

"I heard you already! Dammit, I look like a fuckin' clown!" InuYasha snapped, tugging at one of his braided pigtails. Growling, he did a pose that resembled an angry mother; hands on hips.

"Perfect."

Rin stood silently from the side as she watched the dispute exchanged between the two males. It was almost a daily occurrence for the brothers to bicker like this. It was quite funny now.

A few flashes went off the camera.

"Let this be a reminder that next time, choice B will be your only option." The elder brother coolly warned. He tossed the camera in the air and caught it with one graceful move. A wicked smile crept onto his lips.

"You'll regret it if this makeup doesn't scrub off." InuYasha maliciously said, gritted his teeth, and stormed off.

Sesshomaru watched after him amusingly. Now that he obtained the images of his brother wearing women's makeup, he'll connect his camera unto his computer and save the images unto it.

If that senseless, idiotic half-brother of his tries something like that again, blackmailing him will come to mind and his reputation would be at risk.

He looked over at Rin, who watched him silently, and winked at her. He then turned and walked away.

Rin placed a hand above her heart and sighed dreamily once he vanished from sight.

The ways he made her feel...


Was it ten or fifteen minutes she dozed off to dreamland?

Kagome had no idea.

She pushed her body upright and sat upon the bed now. His bed was so comfortable; it could put anybody to sleep in a matter of minutes.

Then she tried to remember why she came here in the first place?

Once that thought popped up, muffled sounds in the hallway reached her ears, and it was getting louder each second…

INUYASHA!

Kagome's heart raced, finally remembering that her quest here was to find the damn keys. How stupid and mindless can she be!

She scrambled off his bed and looked for a place to hide.

Hiding under the bed would be too risky, so the girl decided against it. The only other options were the walk-in closet and the bathroom.

She squealed in fright when his voice was seconds away from the bedroom door. Rushing to the walk-in closet, Kagome froze right after she opened it. The smaller compartment was too neat and spacious to hide her body in.

Her feet scurried to the bathroom once she heard him opening his room door. She automatically hid in the big white bathtub, thankful that a shower curtain was there to hide her body from being seen.


Once the hot-tempered boy entered his bedroom, his hands shot up to untangled the pigtails Rin had braided on him. He looked so dumb!

"Stupid, thinks-he's-so-tough, asshole!" InuYasha fumed. He finally loosened the last braid and found a comb on his dresser. "Strike a pose, my ass! Once I get my hands on that camera, I'm gonna' smash it and shove it down his throat..."

He jammed the small comb through his silver mane and combed the knots out. "Now for this damn make-up." He headed to the bathroom and shut the door.


Oh-my-gosh! Oh-my-gosh! Oh-my-gosh!

The girl screamed in her head. He was in the bathroom now!

Her hand covered her mouth to keep her from being heard. She was breathing hard as a gorilla, which was not so great at a time like this.

...And standing stationary was so difficult, especially when your legs involuntarily wobbled in fright.

Running water was soon heard in the bathroom, which Kagome assumed that the faucet was turned on in the sink.

"So much lipstick, dammit!" She heard him yell. A few splashes later… "Man, now I see why Kagome doesn't use make-up."

Kagome's eyes slightly widened. What the hell did he mean by that? And was that supposed to be a good or bad thing?

A couple of minutes later, she heard him turn the faucet off. "Whew, I thought this will never come off… Now time to drain the snake, it's been killin' me."

What the? Did Kagome hear him correctly?

The sound of clothing being zipped opened confirmed her assumption. When she heard the sprinkling of water afterwards, she knew it wasn't actually water...

"Oh, yeah. Spill out the goods, big fella'."

Realizing what he was talking to, her legs almost gave away. Did boys most often converse with their manly hood? That was just sick.

But she wasn't too sure about the thought being true; so maybe having a little peak at this friend of his will help answer her question...

'You're now being a sick girl, Kagome... a sick girl!' Her muse protested against her.

So maybe she was... Kagome's lips formed into a mischievous smile. Just maybe... she was.

She heard him flush the toilet a full minute later. "Good boy" He said, and then he zipped his pants up and washed his hands in the sink.


InuYasha studied his reflection from the mirror. The make-up was off and his hair was back to its normal look…

The said boy grinned in satisfaction and swaggered his way out the bathroom.

Right then, a ringing sound reached his ears. He searched his pockets, first pulling out a set of keys and then his mobile phone beneath it. Tossing the keys onto his bed, he answered the chiming phone.


Closing her eyes, she breathed out a sigh. Her left leg was getting numb as hell.

Reopening her eyes, she quietly pushed aside the shower curtains and stepped out the tub. Tiptoeing, she peaked through the doorway and found InuYasha placing his cellular phone beside his ear.

"Kouga, wassup?" He greeted coolly. "--Caller ID, genius… So what's the deal?…Nah, man. I can't hang out with yah…. My dad's taking us to this stupid boat ride today... I dunno, jeez, maybe family time together, that kinda crap... We're probably coming back late or so… Yeah, Kikyo called for the same reason—"

Drowning out his voice, her eyes began to scan the room for the keys. When she looked over the bed, something caught her vision. Was that the keys? Squinting her eyes, she dipped her head further.

It was the keys!

'Now's my only chance to grab it before he takes it again.' Kagome thought.

She crouched down like a Cheshire cat, placing her knees and hands flat onto the ground.

Kagome crawled out the bathroom as quiet as she could, at the same time keeping a close watch on the distracted boy. Good thing his back faced her, enabling her to be unnoticed.

She came up beside the bed moments later, taking another peak at his back. Good, her presence wasn't detected yet.

Now- for the grab… Her hand slid slowly toward her target, which lay at the edge of the bed from the opposite end.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She froze halfway there. Her heart raced against her chest, and a drop of perspiration rolled down the side of her face. She couldn't believe he caught her already!

'Ugh, I knew it was too risky...I'm so stupid!' Kagome berated herself. She tipped her chin and looked up; ready for the verbal abuse she was bound to get from the older boy.

But it never came.

"…It sounds like a freakin' lion in the background…Uh-huh, you're helping your brothers fix their motorcycles?…You? Kouga? You're full of shit, you know that? You damn well haven't worked your entire life, except fixing your hair and smiling in front of a mirror… Whoa! No need for the swearing—"

His back was still turned the other way, which meant he wasn't talking to her at all. Kagome felt relief wash over her.

Concentrating on the keys once more, she crept a hand across the bed and grabbed it. Now the only problem was dragging the keys back without making a sound.

Unfortunately, it jingled a little.

Kagome heard InuYasha pause a brief moment, thinking he was going to turn around. But Kami had been on her side now, and soon he continued blabbering to his best friend on the phone.

Once she successfully brought the metallic keys on her side, she immediately spotted the pink diary key she's been searching for.

Shockingly, her fingers perfectly weaved out the key from the silver key chain, leaving the rest on the bed.

The teen slid the diary key into her pocket and ducked from sight.


Moments later, InuYasha bid his friend a farewell and tucked his phone away.

He could've sworn he heard something move behind him.

He looked around.

Everything seemed quiet now and nothing was out of place.

Unknowingly, he swept past Kagome and went to investigate the restroom.

Right then, Kagome found the opportunity to leave the room before she got caught.

So she stood up, rushed across the room, swung open the bedroom door, and bolted out like lightning.

Seconds later, InuYasha poked his head out the bathroom, looking confused as ever. What the hell made that noise and why the hell was his bedroom door wide open now?


She escaped!

She finally escaped!

She couldn't believe it! How was that possible?

'He was so close but yet far away... Could be seen but yet I was unseen... Not lucky and yet, lucky enough to get away...' Okay, maybe Kagome's thoughts hadn't made any sense at all, but she was delighted to be free!

'Free as a bird searing through the sky...' She closed her eyes, running through the hallway with both arms stretched out like wings. 'I am free! I'm flyi--'

Kagome found herself suddenly crashing into something hard, instantly cutting her crazy thoughts away and falling off her feet.

A small scream left her mouth and she hit face first onto the ground... or was it something?... Hmm, but it didn't feel like a thing, though.

The fallen girl groaned in pain, hearing something crack in the process.

Not wanting to find out right away, she laid there for a moment, eyes still closed and just wimpering on the pain she felt.

Kagome's hand clutched the floor for support. Hmm... Why does it strangely feel like a man's bicep? Why does the floor breathe? And how can it move when it's not alive? Many questions rolled around her head in utter confusion.

"Ahem." A clear of the throat was heard after.

Slowly opening her eyes, golden orbs stared back right beneath her.

Right underneath her...

Yes-yes, that must answer all her questions. Silly her, she didn't fall onto the ground, but instead onto someone... who looks deeply similar to Sesshomaru...

"Eek!" She squealed, once realizing whom she was on and what predicament they were in. Her body was lying on top of Sesshomaru's own; both sprawled about the floor, and his face resembling an irritated angel.

Kagome threw her body off him and jumped up to her feet. Her face converted to the color of a fresh tomato, and she puffed her cheeks in embarrassment.

Oh...My...Gosh!

"Must you scream, Higurashi? I swear I'll go deaf one day." He said as he pushed himself up to stand. He towered over her and Kagome had to look up to see the annoyed look on his face.

"I-am-so-incredibly-sincerely-positvely-sorry-for-being-so-clumsily-careless-in-not--" Kagome paused in her speeded apology when Sesshomaru had place a hand on her shirt.

Being who Kagome was, a dirty thought popped into her head when his hand began peeling her shirt up, revealing her tanned tummy. "Hey- what are you doing, Sesshomaru? What-"

"You're bleeding in the nose." Sesshomaru interrupted, raising the green fabric of her shirt to her nose and gently wiping away the blood oozing down.

"Um- t-thanks, I guess." Oh-freakin'-Kami! Was she really bleeding? And was he wiping it off for her?

So embarrassingly romantic!

When his hand soon left her shirt, Sesshomaru stared down at the girl before him with those gorgeous eyes of his.

It seriously gave Kagome the butterflies. 'He's so freakin' adorable!'

Sesshomaru raised one eyebrow. "Will it be possible to move out of my way?"

"Oh-oh! I'm sorry! Stupid me!" She laughed nervously and side stepped.

The handsome boy rolled his eyes and coolly walked past her.

Kagome inwardly groaned; she was such a klutz sometimes…


Finally arriving into her room, Kagome slammed her door and dramatically collapsed to the floor. As she lay there, she vowed never to act so dense and trust her gut for anything, ever!

Never, in a long time, has she felt frightened of being caught before. And then right after, be so embarrassed.

Regaining her composure, she stood and reached for the pink diary left on her bed. She took the key from her jean pocket and locked the diary secure.

Now nobody can read her secrets.

She kissed the key in triumph, giggled, and tucked it into her bottom drawer.

The crazy things she would do for her diary...


A/N: Hey, folks! How's everyone doing today? :Crosses fingers and hopes no one will throw objects at her: I updated as fast as I can :Silence: But I really did! :A random tree is thrown at her: Dammit, we all have busy lives, you know. :Is almost hit by two flying trucks: Who the hell is throwing these things? :Spots the offender and runs after her:

Few Comments on reviews:

CultKagome and Sesshomaru: Believe me, the brothers will notice her soon enough, just not right away (Heh heh). Thanks for the review!

sessys-lover4eva: Its going to be a love triangle between InuYasha, Kagome, and Sesshomaru. I hope that helps and thanks for the review.

oXoCrAzYMyHaNyOuXoX: I'm really sorry if it took me a while to update. It wasn't my intention to make you concerned; its just the busy things going on in my life... yeah, that kinda' stuff. But thanks for your concern!

PurityFlower1989: Oh, you'll be surprise later on. Kagome will do things out of the ordinary just to be noticed. Oops, did I give it away? Heh, thanks for being a loyal reviewer!

BelleDayNight: Yeah, I agree. InuYasha and Sesshomaru can be total jerks especially when it comes to Kagome. But it won't be for long... Oh, and the pairing is a love triangle, so I hope that clears things up. Thanks for the comment!

Jaded-Shrew: Lol! That 'random tree' comment had me cracking up! Thanks for the 'unique' encouragement! (Heh heh)

Aravis Silvertree: Yes, how can I forget about them. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo are definitely going to make their appearance pretty soon, along with a few other characters too. And to answer your other question,Totosai teaches history (I bet you already knew that, heh heh).Thanks for the review!

DarkAngelB: Sesshomaru's crush on the maid, Rin, can be misleading. I think that's what confuses everybody about the pairings. Like I mentioned before, it's strictly a love triangle between Sesshomaru, Kagome, and InuYasha; That will happen later in the story. But for now, InuYasha's love interest is Kikyo and Sesshomaru's love interest is Rin. But I'm glad you asked and thanks for the comment!

Jade Catseye: I'm so happy you put me on your favorites! Wowies! Heh heh! Thanks for the review!

Divine-Red-Crayon: I don't really like to call it incest because Kagome and the brothers aren't related. But you do have a point there. Anyway, thank you for the review.

And also Big Thanks to:

sabriLVSanime, Shadow Kitsune67, Tokyogurl1, Pyrogothrin, Darkness carrier, TwistedBlackAndRedRose, piccolojr212002, x158, ioke, Tyler C., outofplace, chibi-luvers, Chaos Dragon Spine, Janie, Terra Mecca Solace, Addanc-TSC, dragon's kitty, demonswty, Autum Otnorot, Shivawn, m1s7ress, sasha, yoyo person, miss boo,storywriter10791,Crystal Shimmers,Tsuki Yume,aninaig, Woven Bamboo Pattern, theresa, iLuvJaeWon, chesca, animebaby08060, Asian-Girl2005, Fangslayer, SesshoumaruXp, kasusander-jie, azn-modern-miko, Deon.good bye everyone, Aqua Miko, JellyGurl, Kawaiipie007, MEME, Dark Mistress Of The Night, Evilmiko21, DEMONESS, mysticalgirl, Phalon22, alaine, and Sessys-matelove.

Ciao! -D.T