Well everyone, it's been a long week…alright three. I am sorry it took so long to update, but my computer was being funky. I couldn't even use the internet. It is no excuse for not at least WORKING on a chapter to get out. Instead, we bought a BRAND new computer that actually works and isn't as old as my relationship with my husband. Sorry to say I am dropping the beginning and end conversations. I would hate for that to be the reason the story got deleted…and I am running out of thoughts. It gets harder and harder each chapter to think up something….fun.

Chapter 28

"After the pair defeated both Yura of the hair and successfully retrieved Inuyasha's sword from his father's resting place, much to his brother's chagrin. The pair found themselves well on their way to recovering pieces of the jewel. Trouble usually found them, not the other way around." Sensei Hikotaki smiled at Kagome before continuing. "Demon's seeking jewel shards seemed to fall on their laps, including one very unexpected one. One day on their journey a little fox demon came to steal the jewels that they had found."

Kagome listened, smiling softly thinking about the day they encountered Shippo. He had been such a little brat that day. Hmm, maybe he hasn't changed that much in the past 500 years. Sensei Hikotaki went on to tell how the little fox demon knew exactly which buttons to push to enrage the hanyou.

"As the fox stole the shards from the pair, he enchanted one of his illusion statues and placed a spell on it trapping Inuyasha beneath it. Kagome followed him as the little fox demon took off with their jewels, leaving Inuyasha with only Myouga to help him pull the spell scroll from the statue. During the chase, Maten, the younger of the thunder brothers managed to kidnap Kagome. Shippo ran back to release Inuyasha, he felt guilty for not being able to do anything to save her. He had stolen the jewel shards in order to get revenge on the Thunder brothers for killing his father. He knew he needed the hanyou's help in order to save Kagome."

Kagome started to daydream, losing attention in the subject. Sure, it was interesting hearing her life story being told but she was more interested in what was going on in another classroom down the hall. Considering the topic Kouga had began with, Kagome couldn't help wondering how the rest of the afternoon had gone for the pair. She just had to make it through the rest of the period, and then they could go home and meet up with Shippo again. She stole a glance at Yuka, who seemed enraptured in the tale the teacher was weaving. She heard the class laugh as she tried to convince the Thunder Brothers that Inuyasha was in love with her and would give them the jewel shards to get her back. Yuka turned around in her chair and grinned at her, Kagome rolled her eyes in response.

"Higurashi, I am curious to hear what you think the hanyou would have done in the situation? I happen to know that your family was handed down this book and know the story quite well."

"Hmm, if Inuyasha was forced to choose between the jewels and Kagome? At this time in the story, it's a fairly easy answer. They were still virtually strangers that were just beginning to trust each other. Although, I think he would have fought to save her, there was no way he would be handing over the jewels. He would have picked the jewels at the time."

"Good answer, trust was a big issue with Inuyasha. He trusted no one but himself at the time." He nodded in agreement at Kagome's answer, not that he could argue with someone who had actually been there. "During the fight something had changed, he thought he had lost Kagome and Shippo. The fight turned into revenge for their death. The jewels were forgotten and he feared he would be left alone, again. In his grief he revealed that he might actually care for her a little. He enjoyed her company and didn't want her to leave. He tried to deny it when he discovered that they were both fine, but the damage had already been done. Kagome began to realize that he, pardon the pun, was all bark and no bite when it came to his complaints and insults toward the girl." The teacher grinned before continuing, "So what had saved Kagome and Shippo from the death blow they had been given by Hiten? Shippo's father had protected his son and new friend with his fox fire, protecting their lives. Inuyasha and Kagome had gained a new companion for their journey."

Their teacher paced up and down the aisles of the classroom slowly, "Trust." He paused next to Kagome. "Trust is something that one needs to earn, correct?" She smiled softly as he began his pacing again. "Inuyasha hadn't trusted anyone since his mother died. The one person he might have trusted, he thought had betrayed him. Now in front of him was this one women's reincarnation. He was quickly learning that these two women were extremely different people. Inuyasha had earned Kagome's trust, he protected her. In order to succeed in their mission, he needed to trust her. Little did either of them realize that this opportunity was upon them."

"Now, it was a very well kept secret that every hanyou had a period of vulnerability. That is to say a night that they lose their demon powers and are mortal. When the sun sets that evening, they turn human. When the sun rises again, their hanyou powers return." He stopped in front of the classroom and faced the students. "Now in the past, Inuyasha had never let anyone see him on his human night. Only his mother had known what night it had been. He was still traveling with Kagome and Shippo when his night fell upon them, and they were surrounded by demons. He risked his life, yet again, to save his new friends. Kagome refused to leave his side, even crying when she thought she would lose him. She refused to leave him behind, and fought to free him from the spider demon's grasp."

Kagome grinned thinking about that evening. It had been a long time since she thought about that night. He had told her she smelled nice and went to sleep on her lap. She wondered what would have happened between them if Kikyo hadn't been revived right after that. Everything had changed after that. She looked at the clock waiting for class to finally end. She hoped they didn't get to the point where Kikyo came back, she wasn't sure she could handle that today. Tomorrow would be a good day to start that, she wouldn't be here tomorrow.

Not a cloud marred the robin's egg blue sight of the freedom waiting outside the godforsaken classroom. Freedom, he longed for it right now. Fucking Kouga, he knows I'm going nuts in here. It was the perfect day, and he was trapped inside this classroom like a damned animal.

The wolf demon hadn't shut up since they returned from lunch. They were currently on hour five of a subject that Inuyasha felt he knew more about than he ever could have wanted to know. Not that he hadn't learned anything, he had. He could never look at Kagome again without the word lutal phase, ovulation, and fallopian tubes coming to mind. He shuttered at the thought.

Yes, definitely more than he ever wanted to know.

Kouga laughed to himself, he had lost the hanyou's attention over an hour ago. The kid sat there, eyes glazed over as he gazed longingly outside at the breathtaking autumn day. His shoes clicked beneath him on the linoleum as he walked over to the hanyou who had his head in the clouds. "Pay Attention!!!" Kouga screamed as he slammed his textbook on the desk in front of him, making Inuyasha jump in the air.

"Oi! What was that for?" Inuyasha growled, glaring at the wolf demon.

"Had enough? Let's go have some fun." Kouga returned to the front of the classroom and grabbed his concealing necklace to place around his neck. Inuyasha stared at him in confusion from his desk. "Come on, Inu-kurro! Get off your ass and follow me!" Kouga yelled walking toward the door.

Inuyasha grabbed his necklace and placed it over his neck, chasing after the wolf prince. He didn't know where he was going; just that he was getting out of the classroom. The pair walked across the school to the gymnasium. Kouga opened a few lockers in a storage room and dragged out the items within it, putting them into a large basket. "Let's go Dog-turd." He pushed the basket out into the field next to the school.

"Oi, what the hell is all this stuff?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Welcome to your first PE class, your gonna love it." Kouga grinned, handing him a baseball bat. "This is baseball; something tells me you will be a natural."

"Feh," He scoffed, taking the bat as he eyed it with suspicion. "What kind of weapon is this?" He demanded staring at it.

"It's not a weapon, baka! It's a bat." Kouga said, rolling his eyes. He picked up a small white ball from the basket and lifted it to show the hanyou. "This is your goal; hit this ball with that bat as hard as you can when I throw it. If you can swing the bat like you swing your sword, you could play pro. Let's see what you are capable of."

"So, that dumb white thing is the enemy?"

"No, just hit the hell out of it. It has no feelings." Kouga sighed; this wasn't going as well as he thought it would.

"Then why the hell am I hitting it?"

"It's a game, mutt-face! Just a game. Give it a shot." He walked a short distance away from the hanyou and turned to face him. He wound up and threw the baseball as hard as he possibly could at Inuyasha.

CRACK! The connection of the ball and bat was precise and pure. Kouga grinned watching the ball hurtle over the field, an impossible distance away. He had been right about the hanyou's abilities. He was a natural at the game. He turned back to grin at a surprisingly worried hanyou.

"I don't think it worked." A sheepish hanyou said quietly, staring at the ground.

Kouga laughed at the reaction. "It was perfect, mutt-face. You're a natural. It's not your fault the bat is too weak for your powers." He kneeled down and picked up the pieces of the shattered bat that littered the ground. "Now let's see if you can field, that is the only thing I am worried about. He walked over to the basket and pulled out a mitt, tossing it to the hanyou.

Inuyasha took one sniff of the leather and began gnawing on the strings holding the mitt together. Kouga snatched it away immediately. "Damned dog, it's not a chew toy! It's a glove." He showed the hanyou how to put it on his hand for him. "Now, your goal is to catch the ball in this glove." He grabbed a glove from the basket for himself and proceeded to play catch with the hanyou. Inuyasha quickly caught onto the simple game and soon the pair was throwing the ball as hard as they could between them.

After about an hour of demonstrations and explanations of the game, the pair headed back inside since school was almost finished for the day. Kouga grinned, looking at the baseball supplies. He couldn't help thinking he had found the perfect way to help Inuyasha fit in a little better in school.

At home that evening, Kagome and Inuyasha sat in front of the Goshinboku tree, packed and ready to go. They had eaten dinner with the family and waited for the arrival of their friends to come and get them for their journey. Inuyasha seemed restless to Kagome, she wondered just what was on his mind. "What's wrong Inuyasha? You have been fidgeting since we got out here."

"Feh, nothing's wrong, wench." He looked around the shrine grounds, nervously.

"I don't believe you, Inuyasha." She chided him, knowing he was lying to her. "What has you so worried?"

"I don't know. Something just doesn't seem right." He sighed, "I don't think you should be coming. I think you'll be safer here."

"Inuyasha, we've been over this." She sighed, getting to her knees to kneel next to the hanyou. "Everything will be fine. We fought Naraku and came out victorious. This is just a human and he is after my jewel too, remember. Would you honestly feel better not knowing how I was at all times?"

His look of surprise told her he hadn't even thought about that. She reached up to gently rub an ear. He growled softly, leaning into her affectionate touch. "No, I would go nuts not knowing how you were. If you were safe." He sighed, frustrated. "I just have a bad feeling about everything. I don't want you in any danger."

"I don't want you in any danger either, Inuyasha. If we go, it will be dangerous. There are two jewels that have powers that we need to protect. There are a lot of people after these jewels. But I trust you; you will risk your life to protect me just like I would to protect you."

He looked down, sighing, "For some reason, that is what I am afraid of. I can't lose you again, Kagome."

A lump formed in her throat as she lifted his chin to look into his soulful honey-gold eyes. His emotions spilled out into the deep pools, oh, Inuyasha…"I will always be by your side. I won't leave you, I promise."

He slowly leaned forward and claimed her lips with his own. Her response was immediate and with as much desperation within it as he felt. He needed her, with every ounce of his soul; he knew this to be true. Without her, he was nothing and never would be. If it wasn't for Kagome, he wouldn't exist. TTheir lives had been painfully entangled from the moment they met; fate had toyed with them and lost. Yet, somehow he knew it was fate that he was there today. He wrapped his arms around the schoolgirl, deepening the kiss, never wanting to let go.

A cough came from behind them, causing them to break the intimate kiss. Their four companion's stood behind them, staring with varying degrees of amusement. "I don't think this will be the same as before. What do you think, Kirara?" Shippo couldn't help laughing at the intertwined couple on the ground. They still hadn't broken their grasp on each other.

Nestled comfortably in Shinju's grasp, they noticed the Neko-Demon for the first time. The little kitten mewed her agreement to the kitsune.

Inuyasha couldn't help remembering why he hated fate so much as he helped Kagome to her feet.

Fate hated him.