Hola muchachas. Summer is here thank GOD. Alas, I have only two months to bust my tail trying to finish maybe at least ONE story. Because, well...

Guess who's going to boarding school?

.........................

Disclaimer: I DON'T. OWN IT. Okay? Yes? We good?

.................

Chapter 8-Bugged

..................

Inuyasha barged in shortly after they set my cast. Apparently my ankle was sprained, and limping around for so long had only made it worse in a very short period of time. They had to brace it up, and instructed me casually after the treatment had been administered that I should avoid moving around too much.

The doors burst open just as they were assigning me some crutches and Inuyasha came in with a cloud of fussy satellite nurses wavering around him. They cried in delicate anxiety every time he flipped his head around wildly, searching for me in the small space contained in the room we had originally been waiting in.

"Kagome?!" he snapped, "KAGOME!"

I raised my hand awkwardly as everyone stared at him wide-eyed, "Present."

He fixed his vicious yellow stare on me instantly, and then he saw my foot. "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" He shouted.

I sniffed, "You're so damn violent. Control yourself."

"Like hell!" He snapped, "What the hell happened to your fucking foot?!"

"It's just a foot," I told him icily, "You don't need to attach the extra adjective."

"Don't give me that shit!" Inuyasha strode over to me as the doctor quietly shooed the panicked nurses away. As he bent down to inspect the cast, I sort of flinched.

"Don't touch it," I whimpered, "I know for you the urge must be strong, but please refrain while it's in a cast. It still hurts a bit, you see."

"What. Happened."

"I told you already, I–"

"She slipped on the way to the theater. Right?" Yukari smiled at me, and at Inuyasha, affectionately.

"Right."

"Thanks," he muttered coldly. Yukari beamed.

At this point in time Hojo chose to speak, which thoroughly annoyed Inuyasha in a very visible way; I couldn't quite imagine why at that very moment. "I, um–" Hojo got up tentatively and reached out towards Inuyasha, who took his hand with obvious reluctance, not to mention distaste, and shook it numbly, "I'm Hojo."

"I noticed."

Meanwhile, I was shriveling where I sat. The doctor seemed totally oblivious to everything and just continued scribbling over his clipboard for medication I would need to pick up. He didn't appear to mind that there were five people crowded into the already cramped space in the little room, including himself. He also didn't appear to mind that a very volatile homosexual was moments away from punching out the shrimpy guy with the red hair for absolutely no reason. I was beginning to regret calling Inuyasha...It really wasn't necessary, I was sure that Yukari and Hojo would have been delighted to help me home.

Quickly, I interrupted the scathing glare-fest that Hojo was losing. "Ahhh, Inuyasha, these are my um, friends, from the...theater. That's Yukari," she waved happily, "And this is Hojo, as you know."

" Yes." His eyes never once left Hojo, even when I pried him away with a gentle hug and brought him down to ear level.

"We will discuss your behavior later," I hissed in a low voice so that the others wouldn't hear me.

"Well," the doctor, who I had learned was named Tom Fitzpatrick, turned to us on a stool with wheels affixed and handed Inuyasha a paper, "I assume you're going to get this little lady home?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"Alright, I'm prescribing a few things to soothe the pain, you may want to pick them up as you go." He nodded again, and Doctor Fitzpatrick went on to describe the do's and don't's of wearing a cast. I would be able to return to the same med center to have it removed in a mere three weeks. But he told me that I wouldn't be allowed to go to work for the next fifteen days, or walk around much at all, despite how light the damage really was. "The injury isn't as bad as you might think," he told me, "Which must be why you didn't seem to be too bothered with it for such a long time."

"I think her nervousness outweighed her pain," Yukari commented.

The doctor laughed a little, Yukari and Hojo had only been too happy to explain the events leading up to the trip to the med center in great detail while they were setting the cast.

"I suppose if you don't have any questions or concerns, you're free to go." I shook my head. "No? Well good luck Miss Higurashi, don't forget to check out at the desk, I'm sure you'll be able to get a hang of the crutches with no trouble at all. And the burning agony you're going to start to feel after the pain killers we just fed you start to wear off is perfectly normal, no doubt one or two capsules of what I've prescribed will take care of it in no time." He then winked casually.

"Thank you," I replied with a tint of fear.

He smiled, "Not at all, I hope all goes well with your acting career."

............

Hojo seemed a little reluctant to let us go. He sort of hung around, even after Yukari left to go feed her cat, Max. He just kind of fluttered around us as we were signing some forms and what not, and then he accompanied us out and helped me limp around gingerly, as I was a more than a little inept with the crutches.

Hojo was in fact trying to get me to practice with them near a bench on the sidewalk as Inuyasha was trying to find a cab in the somewhat quiet part of town. I sat on the bench crossly, arms folded and looking perfectly indignant when he suggested I try again.

"Come on now," he begged, "I'm sure you'll be able to get a hang of it."

"No way," I snapped playfully, "I'll fall. It's still really sore you know." He snickered at me and tucked one under each arm. "What are you doing?" He started to hop around and do pirouettes on the sidewalk.

"Trying to show you how easy it is," he smiled warmly at me and began making great bounds like a man on stilts.

"Stop it," I started to giggle just watching him, "You'll wear them out!" He continued to prance around, and began circling my bench. "You lunatic."

"I'll tell you what," he told me, twirling. "I'll give these back to you if you promise to use them in front of me."

"I didn't say give them back, I said stop wearing them out!" My hand shot out as he swooped past. Hojo laughed heartily.

"Oh so you do want them back?"

"No!" He made noises behind me that sounded like he was deliberately dragging the ends against the concrete. I whipped around, "Hojo!"

He was actually just dragging the heels of his shoes around. "Made you look."

I sniffed, but couldn't help chuckling. He was pretty damn cute when he wanted to be.

"Come on Kagome," all of a sudden he was right in front of my face, big silly eyes gleaming woefully, "Please try them?"

I struggled, remembering my hurt foot and the multiple times he had already made me attempt to coordinate my actions with the crutches. But his sappiness was in the end, irresistible. Holding out my hand stiffly, I muttered, "Give em' here."

He was all smiles when he placed them in my hands. I cradled them under my arms briefly before throwing my weight before me and trying to stand. Adding pressure to my wounded foot made me wince, but I endured it regardless. Hojo immediately placed a reassuring hand on my back to steady me as I rose.

"There," he coaxed, "You're doing great."

"I haven't even stood up yet."

"Hey, you want encouragement or not?"

I grinned sheepishly and tried to straighten myself, only to topple to the left a little. Hojo reached out and placed his arm over my shoulders pleasantly, though despite how comfortable he appeared, his face was burning sensationally. "O-Okay," He said shakily, "Let's try taking a step, shall we?"

I nodded, "Onward, ho."

The "step," of course, made me pivot and fall. But I didn't fall just anywhere, I went right into his chest and ended up slamming my face into his neck, just below his chin. Blinking stupidly for only a moment, I felt his heart rate speed up where my nose was pressed against skin. His hands were both on my shoulders, securing me against him.

I was the first to speak, "S-Sorry," I whispered faintly. I was more disturbed than I had supposed.

He swallowed, but did not let go at first. Eventually, however, he released me, and helped me to steady myself a little haphazardly. He had his head bowed a little so that his hair hung over his eyes, "Sure...it's okay," Hojo mumbled.

It wasn't long before he lifted his head and revealed his eyes to me. This time around though, they weren't misted or jovial, they were purely emotional. I hesitated, and almost drew back from him, but it wouldn't have felt right. After noticing that my mouth was slightly ajar, I shut it with a snap and began biting down on my lip fiercely. I would have chosen to break the ice again, but my voice was long gone. Yet still, echoing in the back of my mind, lurking in my heart, this mute feeling of regret was shivering inside of me, like a warning. Not a warning of past experience, not something that was trying to make me afraid of relationships. It was something else connected to, a person.

"Hey."

Inuyasha startled us both, and I was almost glad, if a little disappointed, to have an excuse to abandon the uncomfortable situation. He was standing some fifteen feet away, thumbing back behind him at the taxi that had just rolled up along the curb. "Ready to go kid?" He asked me. His tone was flat, not something I was used to. It bothered me. Had he seen us together?

"Yeah," I replied. Slowly, I turned around to look at Hojo. He was looking very embarrassed then. "I should go..." I said stupidly.

"I guess so." His voice suddenly went up enthusiastically, "Hey, work on those crutches, okay?" He slapped me on my shoulder.

"Of course."

"Great, we'll um, we'll call you about..." His hands moved while he spoke, "About the thing, the tryout, audition...thing."

"Oh yeah," Inuyasha came up beside me and leaned my way so that I could wrap my arm around his shoulders for support, "Thanks."

Hojo moved forward instantly when he saw Inuyasha trying to help me to the car, "I can help!"

Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks and gave him the most icy stare I had seen coming from my friend in weeks, "It's okay," He said coldly.

Hojo halted as well, "Oh, alright. Um...have a good evening, be careful."

"Thank you for everything Hojo," I called quietly to him.

He waved, "Anytime Kagome."

Inuyasha then opened the cab door and shoved me in. Before I could say another word to Hojo he practically slammed the door shut and started barking directions to the driver. Once we had started to move, I turned on him.

"What the hell is a matter with you?" I asked furiously.

"Nothing."

Fuming, I closed my eyes tightly and then opened them again, "Nothing? Nothing?! What do you mean 'nothing?' What happened back there?"

He gave me a very heated stare, "Nothing. Happened back there."

He didn't say another word, and neither did I. For about ten seconds. Then, "Are you still mad about this morning? Look, I'm sorry for kicking you and all that, I was just really nervou – "

"No!" He cut me off dejectedly. "NO! It, it was NOT about that." Inuyasha slumped over on his side and stared out the window, "I, it was not about that. It wasn't."

"What was it about then?" I pressed.

"Nothing."

"Quit saying that!"

"God dammit Kagome! It was about...about Hojo."

"What about Hojo?" I inched closer to him, though his eyes still remained fixed on the window.

He sighed gruffly, "Kagome, will you listen to me? I mean, really, listen to me?"

The sincerity in his voice was duly noted, and I carefully looped my arm around his and put my head on his shoulder. "Of course I will," I told him softly, "As your best friend, I'm entitled to listen to every word you say with love and respect, even if it ticks me off."

Inuyasha sort of half-smiled and patted my head, "You're a good kid." Then he sighed again very slowly. "Kagome, you know I just want you to be happy, right?"

"Right, of course. I want you to be happy too."

"Well now, of course you remember Kouga..."

I sniffed, "I try not to...wait," The pieces suddenly fell into place. "Inuyasha, you don't – Hojo's nothing like Kouga!"

He looked at me over his shoulder. Didn't say a word, just smiled at me.

"He isn't!" I insisted shrilly. My head left his shoulder in panic. "You don't really think that, do you Inuyasha?"

"I'm just worried." He ruffled my hair affectionately.

I gaped at him, "Oh Inuyasha, how did you come to such a conclusion?"

He shook his head, "It's not that I think Hojo reminds me of Kouga, it's that you're, well, you're obviously getting closer to him every time you guys meet. You practically started making out the first time you talked to each other."

"We did not!"

"Oh you did too. But let's not fight about it-"

"That was new, you just broke up one of our fights."

"Thank you. As I was saying, it's not Hojo, it's the possibility of something happening between you guys that makes me uneasy. Something serious."

"Why would that make you uneasy?" My chin found its way back to his shoulder without me realizing it.

"Because then you risk..."

"I risk...?"

"You risk getting hurt again."

I released him promptly. "Oh, o-oh, Inuyasha..."

"It's okay, I can understand if you get a little angry with me."

I shook my head, "It's not that!" I cried, "It's not that at all!" He turned around and stared at me woefully, "I – ," I threw my head down into his chest and gave him a massive hug, "Thank you so much Inuyasha."

He returned the hug warmly.

"Your welcome."

"But please, try and understand that I'm not going to let myself be screwed over again. I'm just not. It's not worth it to go through that shit another time."

"I know."

"I promise Inuyasha, I'm not going to let it happen, alright?"

"Alright Kagome."

I looked up at him, "Okay?"

Inuyasha started to laugh. "Okay."

"Good." Nuzzling into his shirt, I closed my eyes and kept him wrapped up in my arms. It felt oddly like being a little baby again. Inuyasha was almost like a brother to me. Or...a sister. Only he would let me hug him in such a fashion.

...........................

Breakfast At Tiffany's was showing for about the five millionth time. I didn't mind though, at least I wasn't at work. The idea of being a hard working member of society was appealing, but I detested little more than following that noble thought through. My vacation was profoundly enjoyable, especially after the pain started going away in my foot.

Inuyasha flopped around the house. When I was at work in the summer he was usually home sewing in his little private room devoted to the hobby. He loved to make clothes, all the time, it was his passion, and the reason he'd majored in fashion design in the first place.

My presence did not disrupt his habits in any way, so if I wanted him to turn the machine off for a while so I could take a nap, I'd have to fight for my right to sleep. The option of getting a hotel room for the remaining week and a half was sounding mighty tempting.

But my more or less immobility (I still refused to use the crutches, and thus hadn't set foot outside of the apartment for about ten days) plus the fact that the phone number I had given the theater pertained to the flat prevented me from taking the initiative. I learned to deal with Inuyasha hammering away on his sewing machine, and both Sango and Miroku were more than happy to keep me company; granted, they wanted to do so for slightly different reasons.

At that moment, watching Audrey Hepburn's painfully beautiful face be aired yet again on T.V., Sango herself was situated next to me on the bed, her fingers twisting around in her hair idly. I had no qualms with seeing the heroine of the film eat her breakfast in front of the extravagant and lovely jewelry store, but my companion was a bit bored. Hence her motivation for starting a conversation as we stared at the screen.

"Kagome, do you think I have a chance with Miroku?"

I snapped out of my reverie. Until that moment I had been completely entranced by a diamond the size of a small bird's egg. The question was so sudden, and so personal, that I was shocked into silence for a while. Sango seemed to have no trouble with voicing it, and didn't even avert her eyes from the television as she waited for my response, still fondling her long tresses distantly.

"What?"

"Oh, I know he loves to fool around...but do you think someday he might settle down?"

My eyebrows went down in confusion and surprise while she continued to look out in front of her dreamily. Feigning innocence, I smiled at her sweetly, "Why Sango, you should have told me you liked Miroku."

"Please," she huffed, "I know it's been obvious forever."

"Obvious to everyone but Miroku." Sango sighed deeply and bowed her head. Noting her blatant disappointment, I spoke again to lighten the mood. "What made you come out with it just now?"

She laughed gently and tangled some sheets up in her fingers, "It will sound silly."

"Try me," I suggested immediately.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and I could see her glowing just a little bit. Gradually she let her chin tilt upwards with a sort of pride evident. "Do you mind if I close the blinds?"

It was a strange request, but I gave her permission, of course. Sango leapt up off of the bed and scuttled to the window, where she closed the blinds securely until the room was swamped in shadows. Her movements were that of a happy housewife. As she made her way back to her original location she stopped and closed my door as I turned off the T.V. Finally settled again she looked at me in the dark and lowered her voice to a whisper.

"I've been seeing some telltale signs..."

I nodded, feeling not unlike a fourteen-year-old playing truth or dare.

"Well, he's been acting...nice, lately."

"How?"

She shrugged, "Oh, he's been helping out more, staying home more, cleaning, if you can believe it."

My eyebrows rose, "What else?"

"And, well, the other day, I saw him leafing through photo albums..." She twiddled her thumbs idly while she spoke. "My photo albums."

"Yours? Why would he do that?"

A long sigh escaped her lips while she gazed wistfully up at the ceiling. "I have no idea..."

"Sounds like stalker work to me," I warned her, sniffing coldly. "Has he leafed through your unmentionables yet?"

Sango gave me a hard look, a single eyebrow arched; as if to say, are you kidding?

I whistled slowly, "Okay, stupid question. It is a tad strange though."

"Not as strange as what happened today."

We let the statement hang for a while before I finally asked the inevitable question. For which she seemed to be oddly prepared. "What happened today?"

Then again, that idea went out the window as soon as she actually opened her mouth. Simultaneously as she did so her face blushed a vivid pink that was recognizable even in the dark.

"I wasn't doing anything," Sango began heatedly, "It was completely his move, I swear. I'm not a slut, I don't seduce everything that is distinguishably able to reproduce –"

"Slow down," I shushed suddenly. Out of breath, she lay panting for a second. "I don't mean to offend, but I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." The panting gradually became stiff, forced breathing, like she was either very angry, or about to cry. My hand rested on her shoulder firmly, "Now, tell me calmly...what happened?"

Her large brown eyes were fixed adamantly on her busy thumbs, "I had just called Kirara. We were, talking about Kohaku."

I fought down a wince. The mere mention of her brother's name was enough to remind you of everything else that had happened to Sango, and those were not pleasant thoughts.

"When I hung up, I sort of sat there for a second by the window, and then all of a sudden Miroku showed up."

"Showed up like...how?" I questioned, "Like pop up? As in, 'I was eavesdropping?'"

She nodded, "I get the feeling that he was."

"Stalker," it came out like a hiss. "So what happened then?"

Swallowing once, she tilted her chin down a little and stopped twiddling her thumbs. "He gave me a hug."

"That was sweet. I would too."

"You don't get it..." she whispered. Her voice was suddenly filled with awe, "This was a real hug; and you know what he did next?"

"Surprise me."

Her throat emitted the smallest of giggles, "He kissed me."

There was a hushed silence for a second while we each tried to read to read the other's reaction in the dark. I'm pretty sure Sango didn't expect mine.

"Fucking bastard..." I growled vehemently.

She looked over at me in surprise, and in a delicate tone asked me why I was so upset.

"He took advantage of you!" I threw up my hands in disgust. "I think you should kick him out of the apartment.

"No, no, no..." Sango said, "You have it all wrong."

I glared back at her, "Oh yeah?"

Nodding, she took my hand in a very serious fashion, "I think he was being sincere."

With a disdainful snort I flopped backwards into the wall of pillows behind me. "Miroku's never been sincere once in his life."

Sango was moved into submission by my outburst and quietly lay back down herself, though she still held my hand. "I suppose your right..."

In the dark I could hear her sigh deeply, and realized immediately that she was crushed, and it was my fault. As much as I didn't want to admit that I was wrong, I felt that I had to, if I wanted to lift poor Sango's feelings. She'd had enough to handle emotionally for a while, and just as she was finally getting her hopes up, I'd come around to knock her down again.

"Hey," I began sweetly, "You never know..."

"What do you mean?" she asked flatly.

"Well, you could really be right. Anyone can change, especially for love."

She looked up curiously. "You think he's in love with me?"

I snickered at what I lead her to believe was her own naivete. "He's been living in an apartment with a gorgeous, good-natured person. I'm pretty sure he's had a hard time resisting falling in love with you."

I could see her light up gradually, and it was a very nice thing to watch. It was good to see Sango get cheered up once in a while, no matter what it took. Even if you had to lie.

On the other hand, I began to consider the fact that maybe she was right. Maybe Miroku was serious... Yet still, a voice in the back of my head insisted I come to my senses. Miroku? Falling in love? Settling down? When hell froze over.

Our thoughts and conversation were interrupted when the phone started ringing shrilly on my nightstand. It rang once or twice as we stared at it blankly before Sango nudged me and told me to answer it.

"Ah, oh, of course..." I said, feeling as though I'd just come out of a trance. As I was reaching out for it Inuyasha barked at me to answer the phone from the sewing room. Mimicking his voice sullenly I lifted the receiver and held it to my face.

"Hello?"

I could feel Sango's curious stare in the dark; she was straining to hear the conversation.

A familiar voice came to me over the connection, filled with enthusiastic happiness. "Kagome? Is that you?"

I paused, "...Yukari?"

"Yeah, yeah! It's me! Kagome, I have news for you..."

It had to be about the theater. My heart thumped wildly in the tense moments that followed while I waited for my sentence. All of my thoughts were balanced precariously in between the two outcomes of Yukari's phone call.

And then, in just a few, long, agonizing seconds, it all came crashing down.

"We chose you!"

Crashing down excellently.

It was like a weight had been lifted from me, and I screamed on the spot with complete ecstacy. Up until that point, I hadn't realized how much I had dearly wanted to be accepted at the theater. It wasn't until my happiness came gushing out in the bedroom that I was brought to earth, and it was so great that I forgot for a second that my ankle was wrapped up in bandages.

Yukari was squealing with delight on the other line, but I didn't listen to that for long; I slammed the phone down onto the bed and cheered to the ceiling with my arms twirling in the air.

Sango looked over at me awkwardly, having difficulty suppressing the little smile that was creeping to her lips. After watching me flail around singing wildly for a few seconds she tentatively asked me what had happened.

I halted in my display of extreme joy to turn to her and wrap my fingers stiffly over her shoulders. "I GOT IN!" I cried, shaking her slightly, "THEY CHOSE ME!"

At that moment Inuyasha came crashing through the door clutching a pair of scissors. "What's going on?!" He snapped fiercely, looking around the room as if expecting an attacker to appear out of nowhere.

"I GOT IN THE THEATER JACKASS!" I shouted, now throwing pillows over my head.

He blinked and frowned in confusion before it dawned on him. At which point he shook his fist in the air triumphantly and tried to think of something to say.

Sango, who had been very patient with the both of us, congratulated me politely and gave me a little hug. I was still blindly throwing things around though, so I didn't quite notice it. My pillow supply exhausted, I determined that the alarm clock was next and told Inuyasha to duck.

...................

Okay okay, review responses NOW. For whoever read the last chapter and left a note because...well...why not?

Sibby: Hey, glad you like it.

Tsuki Yume: Yeah, it takes me a while to put new chapters out. I'd like to say my summer romance had been keeping me busy or, 'you know those needy children in Africa, they're always so happy to see me,' but alas, no. I'm just lazy and unenthusiastic.

Ichigo: Yeah, I always thought Inuyasha had the potential to be gay. I mean, super feminist gay, minus the high voice. Can't you just see him wearing designer clothes and looking excellent? And besides, you heard that girl in the beginning episodes, she was wild for his hair. Does that not suggest that he pays a little extra attention to his mane? Plus he looked a little flattered if you ask me. Well anyway, I never disclose pairings unless I really don't care, so I can't tell you who Kagome gets with. Sorry.

acrimsonnight: Ha ha, glad you liked it! Time constraints are frequent in my department, yes, but there's always a moment to spare for fanfiction.net.

sashlea: Jake Lionheart is a name I made up. It struck me as being kind of "baby sister's club-ish." As for Inuyasha's temper, I'm trying to tame it gradually. The guy needs to loosen up, in the episodes he's always on edge. Another reason I thought he could be written as a gay character, he gets so pissy about everything. "A sliver?! I HATE EVERYONE!" Like that.

Now reccomendations:

Ariels by psycho pixie

Ripples in the Sand by Chickmooget

Everything by feathergurl

Myouga Strikes Back by Myouga Jiji

Moonstruck by Aiwendil Amaurea

Disease by psycho pixie

Nine Men And A Little Lady by Kielle

And The Secret Diaries for LOTR. Of course I almost died laughing reading these:

http:home.nyu.edu/amw243/diaries/