Koga sat in his bus seat staring out the window. Children chatted all around him. The seats were filled with two or three students. He, however, sat in his back seat alone. The bus pulled up to a little farm house. The last stop before heading to the school in town. A girl skipped off the porch and toward the bus. Her blue eyes sparkled with joy. Her ebony hair was braided into pig tails with blue ribbons.

He forced his eyes off her as she neared the bus and returned them to the sky. The doors opened and many children welcomed the girl. He knew where she would sit. The seat near the driver to the left with Sango. However he noticed today, Miroku sat next to her and Kagome disliked a three seated. Koga kept his eyes on a cloud as the sound of her shoes neared. Someone plopped down next to him. He jumped out of his thoughts and looked at the smiling, blue eyed girl next to him. "Morning!"

The bus started up again and they pulled away from her house. The children chatted along the road and Koga kept silent as always. Kagome hummed as she fiddled with her braid. A small blush was painted on her nose as she scooted a little closer to him. He left the movement in the seat and turned to look at her. She blushed a little more and smiled. Then he felt her lips on his cheek and a blush sprung onto his nose. She put her fingers to his lips. "Don't tell please." He smiled a little and nodded.

As the bus pulled up to the school, they waited till everyone passed before the two exited. They entered the school, still chatting together. The bell range and everyone rushed to their rooms. Koga sat in the second to last row right next to the girl in braids. Out of habit, he began to doodle the smiling girl next to him. He had to admit, he was a good artist. Soon the bell range and the children rushed outside. Koga leaned against the trunk of an old oka in the yard and watched them run in the grass and play.

He felt to hands push him by the shoulder. He looked to see Kagome smiling at him. "Catch me if you can!" She ran away and he chased after her. He soon caught up to her and patted her shoulder.

"You're it!" He ran from her. She laughed as they neared where Sango was swinging with Shippo and Miroku. She tagged Sango and ran toward Koga. Sango slapped Miroku's shoulder with a laugh and ran away. Shippo leapt from his seat and ran from him. Miroku chased Kagome around the yard. "Come get me Miroku" He stopped and U-turned, going up behind Sango.

SLAP!

"YOU DON'T TAG A GIRL BY THE BUTT PERVERT!" Koga snickered and the game continued on. Koga sat quietly in his seat finishing his homework. A piece of paper taped his leg and he looked to see Kagome trying to pass it to him. He took it and found his name written in pink ink on the front. He unfolded it and read it to himself. The paper was taken from him and he looked up at the teacher. She shook her head and gave him a small lecture about notes and said she'd return it after class.

Koga returned to his work, not forgetting what he read. The pink letters began echoing in his mind.

Do you love me? Do you want to be my friend? And if you do. Well then don't be afraid to take me by the hand, if you want to. I think this is how love goes. Check yes or no.

oO0OoO0Oo

Koga sat on the bench, his sketch book in hand with a pencil. He looked up from his page and back once more as he drew. Cheers rang through the outdoor court as the girls ran up the cement floor. His blue eyes trained on the girl in the 5 shirt. Her ebony hair was pulled into a pony. Sweat shimmered on her face and her cheeks were flushed. Her blue eyes burned with determination. His pencil brushed over the page carefully. The basketball bounced on the ground as she dribbled up the court.

The whistle blew from the couch and the girl seized their game. They walked over to the benches and grabbed their water bottles. She smiled and leaned against the fence as she watched him. He looked up every so often and into her eyes, trying to capture them on the paper. She sighed when the whistle blew again and got ready for the next match practice. Koga traced her every move with his eyes and tried to capture every detail on paper. He knew he could never capture her beauty but he could sure as heck try. Practice soon ended and he folded the book up again.

He leaned against a tree trunk as he waited for her to emerge from the locker rooms. She soon exited and ran up to him. Instead of her jersey she wore blue shorts and a white top, not far from it. He took the gym bag from her and they began to walk along the path through the park. "Wow! Koga look! The lilacs are blooming." She said and ran toward the bushes of pink and blue flowers. He sat under a tree not to far away and opened the book she stood there, a smile on her face, as she smelled the flowers. He worked quickly but well.

She laughed as a bird landed on her finger. Koga glanced up and smiled a little and continued. Once it was finished he closed the book and she sat next to him. He lay his body down on the grass and folded his hands under his head, resting it on her legs. She pulled his pony out from under his head and brushed it out straight with her fingers over her leg. She hummed and he closed his eyes. He felt lips on his forehead and looked into her happy blue eyes. She winked. "Don't tell please." He grinned and captured her lips with his.

"Promise." He tapped her nose with his finger. "You're it." He said as if to spell it out. She laughed as she lifted herself up off the ground and chased after him.

oO0OoO0Oo

Koga knocked on the door of the farm house. It was soon answered by a boy around eight. "Hey kid. Ready to go out?" He nodded with a grin.

"Bye mom!"

"Have fun Sota!" Sota closed the door behind him and they walked toward Koga's truck. The drove into town and into the sonic. They listened to the radio as they ate. Koga tossed his trash out the window into the bed of the truck and started it up. Sota did the same as they drove away. They soon pulled up to the river as the sun was setting. The two sat on the tail gate. Sota licked his spoon as he ate his ice cream. Koga fiddled with the class ring on his finger. Sota looked up at the guy next to him.

"What ch'a thinking about Koga? Is it sis?" He grinned as a blush crossed his nose. Koga sighed and continued to finger the ring. Sota stabbed the spoon into the ice cream and looked intently up at him "It really is about Kagome isn't it? You two didn't fight did you?" He began to panic. Koga waved his hands.

"Nah. Of course not." Sota breathed in relief. "But I need to ask you something kid." He perked up and looked at him. He was staring out at the water, the orange and red sun glimmering on the surface. "Sota, you're the man of the farm since your dad passed away when you were little. And your gramps isn't well right now so I need to ask you. Sota...can I..."

oO0OoO0Oo

Kagome lay on the sandy beach of the river, Koga's legs on either side of her. His sketch book rested on her head between his legs as he drew the setting sun on the water. Kagome twirled a daisy between her fingers as she hummed. "Same old boy, same sweet girl, five years down the road." She sang quietly. She hummed the next verse and looked up to see if it bothered him. It actually made him smile as he worked. "And Johnny said, take my money, take my wallet, take my credit cards. Take the watch that my grandpa gave me, take the keys to my car. Mister give it a whirl, but please don't take the girl."

Koga sat the book down and pulled her up, draping his arms around her shoulders. He rested his chin on her shoulder as she sang. "Make this my last request, take me out of this world. God...don't take the girl. Johnny's daddy was taking him fishing when he was eight years old." Koga kissed her cheek and she smiled.

"Can I hear another?" She laughed and nodded.

"There are three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway. Why there's not four of them, heaven only knows. I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you. It's what you leave behind you when you go. That's the story our preacher told last Sunday, as he held that blood stained bible up for all of us to see. He said, bless the farmer and the teacher and the preacher who gave this bible to my mama who read it to me. There are, three wooden crosses on the right side of the highway. Why there's not four of them, now I guess we know. It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, it's what you leave behind you when you go. There are three wooden crosses on the right side of...the highway." She finished. He smiled and kissed her lips.

"Beautiful." She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes landed on his book and she began to ponder. Her hand inched it's way under the arch of his leg toward the book sitting next to him. Her fingers barely touched the bind when his hand caught hers. "No peeking. I told you I don't like people looking at my book." She smiled shyly up at him. "You're to cute when you make that face. No!" She sighed and rested her hand on her stomach where he could see it.

"What's so secret about it? You're a great artist. You have wonderful talent. You shouldn't hide it." He kissed her head.

"I just don't want you to see. Okay?" She nodded against his shoulder. "Good. Any other songs on your mind?"

"Mmm...nothing comes to mind. Oh! I got one." She hummed, trying to remember the tune. "What do you expect me to do? Just sit around and wait for you? Well I've had enough. My time is up. Bye-bye love, I'll caught you later. Got my left foot down, mike celebrator and the rear view mirror torn off. Cause I ain't ever looking back, you can count on that. I've tried all I can imagine. I've begged and pleaded for true love's satisfaction. I've got pride. I'm taking it for a ride. Bye-bye. Bye-bye my baby bye-bye."

"That's fine. I just like listening to you sing. It doesn't matter. Kagome?" She looked up into his blue eyes.

"What is it? Koga?" She began to worry. The look in his eyes, she'd never seen it before. "You okay?" She brushed his cheek with her fingers. He took her hand in his and leaned into it. She noticed him clutching something in his hand, his class ring missing. "Koga?" He always wore that ring. It was a gift from his brother in Germany.

"Kagome...I asked Sota a really important question the other night. You know when I took him out?" She nodded. "Well I asked him since he was the man of the family since your gramps is in the hospital right now. Kagome, what do you think of me?"

"Koga..." She smiled. "If you're asking if I love you or not, you're a fool. I could never deny that I love you. I have since we were kids!" He smiled a little but his strange face returned soon after. "Tell me what's wrong Koga. I'm worried." He rested her hand on her middle and held her tight in his arms. "You never answered my note either."

"Huh?" Do you love me? Do you want to be my friend? And if you do. Well don't be afraid to take my hand, if you want to. I think this is how love goes. Check yes or no. The pink lettering flashed through his mind and he smiled. "If I still had that note I would have defiantly checked yes. Let me prove it." He took her left hand in his and fumbled with the ring in his hand. He slid it onto her ring finger. "This is my check mark. Yes for I love you. And hopefully the check yes for my question."

"What question?" He opened the sketch book and handed it to her. She looked at the picture. It was her sitting on a hill in one of the pastures with a daisy in her hair. Below she read the black ink words. Do you love me? Do you want to marry me? And if you do. Well then don't be afraid to cry, if you want to. I think this is how love goes. Check yes or no. Tears welled up in her eyes. She took the pencil and circled the yes with a heart. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried happily. "Oh Koga!"

I think this is how love goes. Check yes or no.

don't own anything

matta ne