A/N: I know, guys. Try not to all have heart attacks, but I have updated again! I think this is even within a week of my last update? I wanted to be extra-speedy in thanks for all your wonderful reviews. Over 100! Wow! You are awesome. Also, I worked out some more of the plot for the story, so I have a bit more of an idea about where this is going. I've known the ending for a while now, but now I am starting to see how I am going to get there. I'm also thinking about changing my summary a little bit. And maybe the genre? But I'm not sure what genre this would be, if not general…

Disclaimer: Don't own it, and am starting to suspect that I never will. Sad.

Chapter 13: Towels and Talks

"Kagome!! Kagome, Kagome, Kagome, Kagome," a small bundle of energy shot into Kagome and Inuyasha's room early Monday morning. Without a pause, the streak aimed itself towards the bed.

"Wheeeeeeeeee," it shouted as it leapt into the air.

"What the fuck?" A clawed hand shot out from under the covers. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" The hand batted at the small boy, who went flying across the room.

"Kagome," Shippo gasped, "What happened to you?"

"It's me, dumbass," Inuyasha threw off the rest of the covers and sat up in bed.

Shippo gaped, speechless.

Across the room, another figure stirred. "Inuyasha?" a sleepy voice asked. "What's going on?"

"Kagome?" Shippo turned around to see another figure lying on the sofa. "Why are you over there?"

"Shippo?" said Kagome. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," he announced. Picking himself off the floor he hurtled towards the sofa, "Kagome!"

He jumped into the bed. Kagome opened the covers so he could lie next to her. Across the room Inuyasha snorted.

"You're letting that runt in?"

"Of course," said Kagome. "Is that a problem?"

"Keh. As if I care." Inuyasha swung his feet to the floor.

"Oi, I'm getting up now." He crossed the room, and pulled the cover off Kagome and Shippo.

"That's fine, Inuyasha, now give me the covers back," Kagome opened an eye to glare up at the boy standing right above her.

"No," he said. "Get up."

"Don't order me around!" she shot back, opening the other eye.

"Brrrr," said Shippo, burrowing closer.

"If you're so cold," said Inuyasha, picking up the small child and bundling him in the cover, "Why don't you go lie on the bed?" Without a word, he plopped the little redhead down in the center of the recently vacated bed.

Really, his mind insisted, it was time for Kagome to get up. His actions had nothing to do with the way that little runt was snuggled up close to her. After all, the brat was all of about five, not what you would call a threat. Not that Inuyasha saw any other boys as a threat, mind you. He certainly could care less what Kagome did in her free time. He snorted.

He turned around, "Are you up y…" His voice trailed off. What the hell? The sofa was empty.

"She went into the bathroom while you were moving me," Shippo's voice was clearly amused. He giggled and snuggled further into the covers.

"That sneaky little wench," said Inuyasha, glaring at the closed bathroom door. Steal his shower, would she? Well, she would pay later. He went to sit on the couch as he waited for Kagome to finish up her shower.

Inside the bathroom Kagome cursed silently. Dammit. She had forgotten her clothes. Again. This was getting to be embarrassing. Maybe if she asked nicely, Inuyasha would hand her the duffel bag with all her clothes in it.

All right, she curled a fist, brace yourself. She opened the door and peeked out into the room.

"Inuyasha?"

"Huh?" He looked up as Kagome's face peeked around the bathroom door.

"Umm, could you hand me my duffel bag? I forgot my clothes."

"Keh, what do you think I am? Get it yourself." Really, he told himself, he didn't have any ulterior motives. He just was making sure not to let her boss him around.

Kagome flushed. Well, she hadn't really expected him to get it for her anyways. And it wasn't as if he hadn't seen her in her towel yesterday. She peeked over at the dog-boy. His eyes appeared to be closed.

Inuyasha watched her from under his lashes. He didn't miss the sidelong look she gave him. It was a shame, he thought, that Kaede's towels were so big and fluffy…

Just then a knock sounded on the door. "Shippo?" a male voice called. "Are you in there?"

Without another word, the door to the room swept open. Kagome let out a little squeal and then clapped a hand over her mouth. That noise had not just come out of her mouth. She stood as if frozen, one hand clutching her towel, the other holding her duffel bag.

Before anyone could move, Inuyasha was standing between Kagome and the door.

"Doesn't anyone wait for an answer when they knock in this house?" he asked.

"Oh, um, uh, sorry," the boy stuttered. He looked like he was about Kagome's age, with short brown hair. His face was slightly pink. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I was just looking for Shippo."

"Interrupt," Inuyasha's voice sounded strangled.

At the same moment, Kagome pushed around him. "Hojo?!" she said incredulously, "Is that you?"

Hojo peered at the girl standing in front of him, wrapped only in a towel. If he weren't so polite, he would have been wishing that Kaede's towels were a little less big and fluffy. Then a shocked expression crossed his face. "Kagome!?" he said. "Is that really you?"

"Okay, what's going on here?" Inuyasha interposed his body between the two of them again. "You know him, Kagome?"

"Yeah, I knew Hojo in middle school." She turned back to Hojo, "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Kaede took me in after…well, it's a long story," Hojo answered. "How about you...two?" His gaze moved uncertainly to Inuyasha's face. For some reason, he didn't seem fazed by the sight of Inuyasha's dog ears.

"We'll talk about it later," Kagome said, "It's also a long story." She pushed Inuyasha a little to try and get him to stop blocking her view of Hojo. "Anyhow, I have to get dressed, but we should talk later, okay?"

"Right," said Hojo, his gaze, despite all of his well-bred willpower, dropping to rest on the area where the upper edge of the towel met Kagome's skin.

Inuyasha, noting the direction of his gaze, shifted his weight forward just a little. Hojo's eyes immediately snapped up to Inuyasha's face and he stepped back a little.

"Ok, umm, Kagome, I guess I'll see you downstairs, right?"

"Sure thing," Kagome smiled brightly. Hojo backed out the door.

"Well, that was interesting," Kagome said as she walked back into the bathroom.

"Keh," said Inuyasha to the bathroom door.

OOOOOOOOOOO

By the time Inuyasha emerged from his own shower, Kagome and Shippo were gone. With a softly muttered curse, he grabbed his hat and headed down the stairs. As he neared the kitchen, he could hear Kagome's laughter.

"Boyfriend?" she said, "Oh no, Hojo. Inuyasha and I are strictly friends and that's all."

Inuyasha stopped at the threshold of the kitchen.

"Then why are you guys staying in the same room?" Hojo's slightly simple voice asked.

"Because that's what Kaede gave us."

"Oh. Well, I still don't think he likes me very much."

"Don't be silly," Kagome laughed again. "Inuyasha just takes a little getting used to. I'm sure the two of you will get along great."

Inuyasha stepped into the kitchen, intentionally making his footsteps louder than normal.

"Speak of the devil," Kagome turned around in her chair and smiled at him. "Good morning!"

"Keh," said Inuyasha. Crossing, he took the chair between Kagome and Hojo. "What're we doing today?"

"Well," said Kagome with a glance at Hojo, "I think we are just going to do some sightseeing…"She stepped down on his toe as she said the last word. Inuyasha looked at her.

"Oh," he said, "Sightseeing…"

"Right," she said. "In fact, we should probably get going now. See you later, Hojo!"

"Bye," he said, his eyes following her as she left the room. He didn't notice the way Inuyasha's yellow eyes turned back to look at him as they crossed the threshold.

Shippo did, though. From the corner he said, "This is going to be fun."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At the bus stop, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Do you think you could try to be a little more subtle please?" she said.

"What?" Panicked, his mind raced over the morning. He hadn't thrown Shippo down the stairs, he hadn't torn out that Hojo-person's eyes, and he hadn't picked Kagome up and shoved her into the bathroom to get her "middle school friend" to stop ogling her. On the whole, he felt that his behavior had been highly exemplary.

"I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Hojo there. I had to do some massive quick-thinking to come up with a good reason for us to be there." She scowled up at him. "You could at least not have asked me what we were supposed to do today in front of him."

"Oh yeah," Inuyasha looked down at her. "So what are we doing today, anyways?"

Kagome groaned. "We're going to see Miroku and Sango."

"Oh," Inuyasha's eyes still looked puzzled.

Taking pity on him, Kagome added, "I talked with them yesterday after we met Eri, remember? We're meeting them in the park."

They rode the rest of the way in silence.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"We really shouldn't be here," Miroku said in an undertone to Sango.

"I know," she replied, "But we can't just leave them alone."

"Couldn't you have gone over all this on the phone?"

"No. We need to see them."

"We should have waited at least another day."

"I know," said Sango again, "But…I just didn't want to desert them. Especially after guilting Kagome into this."

Miroku sighed. "Oh well," he brightened up. "It's not like Kouga's the brightest guy in the world."

"Which reminds me," Sango glared up at him. A sharp smacking noise resounded through the area.

"Ouch!" Miroku brought a hand up to his stinging cheek. "What was that for?"

"Do you think you could, just once, get us out of a situation without implying that we are sleeping together?" Sango demanded.

Miroku grinned. Just then another voice was heard from a distance.

"I heard a slap, they must be over there."

"Ah, they're here," he answered. "Anyways," he added as an afterthought, "You are my partner. It's basically a foregone conclusion that we're…intimate. I am pretty charming after all."

As Kagome and Inuyasha walked into the clearing, they nearly tripped over a prone Miroku.

"Sango," Kagome gasped, reaching out to restrain the older girl.

"Oh, hi guys!" Sango said. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. He had given up trying to understand the older pair's relationship. "Miroku, stop laying around and get up," Sango demanded.

Miroku groaned, but pulled himself to his feet. "Hey guys," he said. "Inuyasha. Kagome," he locked eyes with the younger girl, "Still as beautiful as ever."

Kagome flushed a little under the man's intense gaze, then caught herself. Sango sighed. The four settled down under one of the trees, and quickly got to planning.

Sango and Miroku explained how they were a part of the team to catch Inuyasha. As of yet, they reassured the teenagers, Kagome's name had not been brought up at all. Headquarters wasn't even sure if Inuyasha was being helped or not.

"Although," said Miroku, "If they continue to be unable to find you, they will have to assume that you have help."

"And we'll have to be really careful about contacting you guys," Sango added. "You probably won't see much of us. But I'm going to leave you my cell phone on loan, and you have Miroku's number, so feel free to call us whenever you need anything."

"I hope Kaede's place is working out for you," Miroku said. He grinned at the hint of a blush that emerged on both teenagers' faces. He was definitely going to have to keep tabs with Kaede to see how the "only available" room was working out.

"Oh, and that brings us to money," Sango said. Kagome winced. Money was definitely an issue. Right now all they had was some borrowed cash, and a small amount of her own measly savings. And she had no idea what Inuyasha was going to do when she left him.

At the thought, her stomach gave an unpleasant twist. For a moment there, she had forgotten that she would be leaving Inuyasha in a little less than two weeks. Beating down any emotions that the thought raised, Kagome tuned back into the conversation.

"A job?" Inuyasha was saying.

"Yep," the agents chorused. Kagome laughed as the two attempted to explain economics and the job market to the clueless teenager. Then she frowned. Oh god, find Inuyasha a job.

"Are they looking for him here yet?" she asked abruptly, interrupting Miroku's enthusiastic description of the benefits of working at a restaurant.

"Just make sure you check out the waitress's outfits before you apply there," he was saying, "You don't want to get stuck in one of those where they make the girls wear really conserva…What was that?" He looked over at Kagome.

"Are they looking in the city yet?" she repeated.

"No, not yet," Sango said.

"But it's really only a matter of time," added Miroku. The group fell silent.

"Oh," said Sango, breaking the silence, "Kagome, I almost forgot. I brought you a couple of things. Want to come to the car with me?"

"Sure," said Kagome.

"This is actually a good way for us to end," said Miroku. "We can all leave separately."

"Ok," said Kagome. "Inuyasha, meet me at the bus stop." The dog-boy nodded. "Alright Sango, I'm ready." Inuyasha and Miroku watched the two women walk away.

Miroku gave a sigh of appreciation. "Ah," he said, his eyes firmly trained on the retreating figures.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Inuyasha.

"Yeah?"

"I had a couple things I wanted to ask you…" he trailed off, fidgeting a little.

"Go right ahead," said Miroku.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At the bus stop Kagome looked up at Inuyasha. "Did you feel that there was anything strange about that meeting?" She asked.

"Hmm?" he said, his mind preoccupied with the little "talk" he'd had with Miroku.

"I mean," she continued, oblivious, "Why did they need to come all the way out here? And take the risk of being seen like that? We could have had that entire conversation over the phone."

Not quite, Inuyasha thought. He definitely would have missed Miroku's very expressive hand gestures if they'd only communicated by phone. A smile touched the corners of his mouth.