Broken Glass
Chapter Thirteen

Inuyasha rubbed at his forehead. His atypical dosage of Doxepin was still having an affect on him. His doctor had instructed him to take a dosage of 25 mg in the morning and after school. His failure to take the dosage in the morning due to his sleeping arrangements had had its affect on him throughout the day. His distaste for the little pink and blue tablet was rather obvious whenever he visited his doctor. He hated his stupid reliance on the pill to keep him from becoming depressed.

Kagome's thoughtfulness had touched him, though. As he walked down the hill leading to their school with Kagome by his side, he felt completely at peace and rather happy. Naraku's vague threat still wore thin on his senses— but, for the time being, he could not be distracted by it. Kagome was a sweet girl and he smiled lightly as he looked down at her.

Kagome quickly looked away. The startling realization that she had a crush on Inuyasha was playing on her mind. Blue eyes stared at the ground curiously, as if it would provide her with the answers. 'How?' Well, that question was rather simply to answer, really. She'd spent nine days with the boy accompanying her and being sweet to her. She peeked at him briefly before looking away. 'Of course I'd get a crush on him. I know he likes me… but…'

Her cheeks turned red at the memory of the kiss he'd placed on her cheek. 'Did he mean that romantically or as a sign of thanks? I mean, I had taken him in without any knowledge as to why he was there… Perhaps it was just a token of his gratitude?'

Her heart flopped. 'Or maybe he really does like me.' She peeked at him again, her lips curved into a hesitant, fearful smile. Did he like her, too? She wasn't sure. She knew how crushes worked— oh, how she knew.

Every little thing that a crush would do would silently point to an unspoken motive. Every smile was captivating. Every time the crush spoke it was like a thousand butterflies in the stomach. Every time the crush was just the tiniest bit nice it pointed to signs of a beautiful marriage in the near future.

She knew how it worked.

And that was probably why she was so frightened by the startling realization that she held affections for the boy.

'Keep it at bay, Kagome,' she told herself. 'No use in getting your hopes up. He may be a charming, sweet guy, but he's just your friend. Once you get your glasses back he probably won't even come and visit you again.'

That depressing thought, and many others, rose in her mind and her steps slowed as she moved with Inuyasha. He noticed this and slowed as well, the sandals he'd borrowed from Kagome (his own shoes having been stolen) scraping against the ground as they moved.

"Good morning, sunshine!" chirped an overeager voice the next morning. Kagome let out a small growl of annoyance. Stuffing her head under her pillow as she attempted to retreat back to land of the dreams, Kagome unleashed a small mutter of frustration. Her alarm clock was captured by a large hand and held to her ear through the pillow. Moments later, there came the telltale bleeping of the said alarm clock. Kagome groaned and lifted her head, preparing to dismantle the nefarious object for interrupting her sleep.

Blurry vision focused on the golden eyed boy who stared at her. His chin rested on her mattress and he looked at her with a gentle smile on his lips. Kagome looked at him for a long moment before slowly sinking under her blankets.

Inuyasha laughed openly and placed her alarm clock back in its rightful position. "Good morning," he chirped again, his golden eyes glowing in his amusement. Kagome mumbled something and he looked at her quizzically. "What's that?"

"What are you doing here?" she repeated, peeking out of the covers with her face bright red. Inuyasha laughed again.

"I'm here every morning aren't I?" he answered her question with his own, golden eyes looking at her curiously with a bemused expression.

Kagome fidgeted under his gaze and felt her cheeks growing hot. Now that she knew she actually did like Inuyasha, she was finding it harder and harder to look and talk to him. Which wasn't a good thing.

"Not this early," she protested quietly, her cheeks flaming.

Inuyasha laughed again and stood up. "I'll meet you outside, Kagome." He didn't protest his coming early and Kagome frowned lightly. Slipping from her bed, she quickly got changed into her typical knee-length pleated skirt and long-sleeved shirt. She knelt down and retrieved some knee-high socks and slipped them on.

She stood up as straight as she could, observing herself in her vanity mirror. Blue eyes swept over her figure and she slumped over, standing as she always did— with a slouch. She sighed and the air ruffled long ebony tresses. 'I look so much taller when I stand up straight.' She frowned again. 'It just hurts to stand up straight for too long… just proves that I've been slumping for too long.'

She slipped out of her room and found herself scuttling into the kitchen. Droopy eyes took in the sight of Inuyasha helping her mother with breakfast. The silver-haired boy's eyes were narrowed in concentration as he attempted to flip a pancake like they did in the cartoons, only for the thing to flop down onto the side that was already cooked.

Inuyasha frowned. "Stupid bugger," she heard him mutter.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled behind the boy as he finally succumbed to the pancake and used a spatula to flip it onto the uncooked side. The side staring up at the ceiling was a light golden brown— just the way Kagome liked it.

"Good morning, sweetie," her mother greeted and Kagome smiled.

"Hi, Mama," Kagome answered as she sat herself on a stool.

"Pancakes?" Inuyasha questioned as he flipped the pancake off the pan and onto a plate. He held the ceramic plate out to her which Kagome gratefully accepted.

"Thank you," she murmured out, ducking her head and unable to meet Inuyasha's gaze.

Inuyasha nodded his head, ignoring Kagome's sheepishness, and began making more pancakes for Souta and himself. He hummed lightly and stirred the batter before dropping it on top of the frying pan.

"Are you working today, Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi questioned her daughter as she chewed on the plate of pancakes that Inuyasha had already prepared for her. Kagome nodded her head. "From what time?"

"I'll be home for dinner," Kagome clarified as she swallowed a chunk of pancake smothered in maple syrup. "So set a place for me," she muttered out, almost inaudible over the sound of the cooking pancakes.

"Everything okay, Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned once Mrs. Higurashi had retreated from the room to wake up Souta. Kagome blinked in surprise and her grip on her fork loosened.

"What do you mean?" she managed to squeak out despite the fact that she felt her throat was going to close up and she was going to faint. He looked at her for a long moment.

"You just seem a little… I don't know," Inuyasha thought for a moment. "Shyer than usual."

"Kagome's always shy," Souta said as he turned the corner and hopped up onto the stool next to his sister. Inuyasha quickly retrieved the pancakes from the pan and gave a plate to Souta. The boy quickly poured excess amounts of maple syrup on the flapjacks, sufficiently drowning them.

Kagome didn't answer his question and continued to eat.

The two approached Sango who sat on her bench, as always, and the said girl looked up. The girl whipped hair over her shoulder and scooted over, making room for Inuyasha and Kagome.

Kagome sat and situated herself and Inuyasha just flopped onto the bench, his long legs stretched out. Due to the fact that his Converse had been stolen (much to his dismay) Inuyasha was forced to wear his combat boots again. He loved them, of course, but he'd promised that he'd never wear them again. But then again, the girl didn't seem to mind…

Kagome looked away from Inuyasha. It was hard to not look at him.

He knew that something was up with her and she had to stop acting like a fan girl in front of him. Instead she focused her attention on Sango.

"Good morning," she greeted her friend, though it wasn't very necessary due to the fact that they were both sitting there together.

"Morning." Sango's attention was on Inuyasha and she frowned thoughtfully before jerking her focus back to Kagome. She offered a small smile. "Ready for another fun-filled day of Spanish? We're presenting today."

Kagome nodded her head. "Luckily tomorrow Mr. Kyo's going to let us watch Monster's Inc. instead of do actual work."

"It's going to be in Spanish," Sango pointed out.

Kagome shrugged. "I like Monster's Inc. Boo is too cute."

The two girls continued to converse with one another, and Inuyasha stared at the ceiling and watched freshmen try to hacky sack out of the corner of his eye. Golden eyes stared blankly at the posters some kid had stapled to the ceiling advertising the wristbands that their school was selling for two dollars. He frowned thoughtfully.

"Feels like Friday," he muttered to himself as he watched the hacky sack the freshmen were using fall into an open garbage can, soon followed by rousing cheers of 'good shot' and 'that's so awesome'.

"What's that?" Sango questioned, leaning over so she could see Inuyasha past Kagome.

Inuyasha glanced up. "Sorry. I was just saying that it feels like Friday even though it's Thursday. That always happens to me right before we go on break."

Tomorrow would be their last day of school for a week since the week following would be their second winter break. Inuyasha was very excited because it had been a long time since he'd had a week off of school. His old school in Montana hadn't allowed winter breaks, much less summer breaks.

Sango must have noticed the change in Inuyasha's expression because she raised a curious eyebrow. "Reminiscing?"

The word came out in an almost hiss but it could have been Inuyasha's imagination. Inuyasha sat up a little straighter and smiled sardonically. "No breaks in Montana."

Sango's eyebrows slanted downward and she looked at him thoughtfully. "That can't be right. Surely schools had to give breaks to students— especially for Christmas."

"Well, I don't really celebrate Christmas." Inuyasha jabbed a finger at his Star of David that faithfully hung around his neck. "And, no, they didn't give us breaks. We were expected to go to school every day. But we did get days off on holidays."

Kagome and Sango looked at him, one curious and the other doubtful.

Sango looked like she was about to say something but the school bell ring— a savior for the silver haired boy. He jumped up and offered his hands to the two girls he'd sat by. "Shall we, ladies?"

Kagome's face ignited into a bright red flame, but a shaking hand reached up and grasped his left hand. Her fingers curled around his hand and his around hers in turn. It felt like a spark had ignited when their hands touched because Kagome's neck and ears started turning red as well and she ducked her head.

The right hand beckoned Sango but she ignored the call, standing up, slinging her backpack over one shoulder and shrugging off the chivalrous gesture. Inuyasha sighed and Kagome looked guilty.

Sango moved towards the door, but Inuyasha beat her to it. He held the door open for her and grinned cheekily. Sango gave him a wary glance before striding inside. Though obviously giving Inuyasha the cold shoulder, she didn't forget to mutter a quick, "Thanks."

Kagome and Inuyasha watched her go before Inuyasha's hand released hers and gently placed itself on the small of her back. He led her inside and their day went as such.

Mr. Kyo called attention to his class after the pledge of allegiance —a rather monotonous pledge it had been and always had been— and called for volunteers to present their piece. Kagome felt her hands instantly turn clammy. She hated presenting— especially in Spanish. She, for the life of her, could not roll the letter R to save her life. She gulped down a lump in her throat and hesitantly looked at Inuyasha.

The boy noticed someone looking at him and turned his attention to Kagome. He looked at her questionably. "What's the matter?" he questioned curiously, noting the way she fidgeted and looked uncomfortable. It must have hit him, because he answered his own question before she could, "You're afraid to present?" She meekly nodded her head.

Inuyasha pursed his lips and glanced at Mr. Kyo. The teacher had his attention focused on the presenters who were now talking about Spain's role during Napoleon's rule and not paying attention to the two partners. Inuyasha scooted his desk closer to her so that he was within arms reach and reached out a hand.

Kagome contained the squeak of surprise as she felt a hand touch her forearm. She looked up hesitantly at Inuyasha, feeling her cheeks paint themselves pink. He looked at her with that intense soul-searching look he always had but said nothing. Kagome continued to fidget.

"Stop," she whispered out, closing her eyes.

She heard Inuyasha sigh. "Kagome. No one cares what you're talking about up there. Are you listening to anyone else when they present?" Kagome shook her head. "Then no one's watching you. Everything's going to be fine. And if worst comes to worst, they'll all stare at me because I'm a freak."

He'd said it lightly, jokingly, in an attempt to ease her fears, but Kagome didn't like the way he called himself a freak. She looked up at him again and gazed at him seriously.

"You're not a freak, Inuyasha," she stated calmly, looking at him before her bashfulness caught up with her and she ducked her head again, heart thundering. When she heard Inuyasha laugh, she felt herself feeling better.

Nearly half of the period later, Mr. Kyo called on Inuyasha and Kagome to present. Kagome felt fear grip her again but also felt Inuyasha's hand on her shoulder as he led her to the front of the room.

The boy used his trademark, lopsided smile and introduced himself in Spanish. Kagome tried to repeat him and only succeeded in educating the front row as to who she was. She cleared her throat and glanced fearfully at Mr. Kyo, who was writing something in red ink already.

Inuyasha spoke first, introducing the point of the Renaissance before giving the spotlight to Kagome. Kagome felt her knees weaken and felt like she was going to faint. Even simple little presentations like this got her on edge. She gulped down the ever present lump and felt herself shake as she struggled to speak.

Inuyasha frowned as he observed her. She was freaking out and looked extremely pale. He steadied himself and made an executive decision for Kagome's sake.

When Kagome finally stopped talking, Inuyasha brought it up again. All seemed fine as he spoke until he began to slow down in his speech and filler words such as 'uh' and 'um' began to make their way into the middle of his sentences. Kagome looked at him curiously, unsure what was wrong with him. Mr. Kyo narrowed his eyes in curiosity as well. The rest of the class wasn't really paying attention.

Finally Inuyasha came to an abrupt stop in the middle of his speech and turned to Mr. Kyo. "So, how do you say Spain in Spanish?"

There was a collected pause where people tried to determine whether or not Inuyasha was being serious or not. Mr. Kyo raised an eyebrow and frowned.

"You know how to say it, Inuyasha," he finally said and scribbled something on his grading sheet. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders.

"If I knew, would I be asking you?" Inuyasha questioned with a light hearted shrug. Giggles roused from student's lips who'd started paying attention. Kagome watched him in surprise before realizing what he was doing.

"Inuyasha," Mr. Kyo looked warningly at him. "You're doing a presentation; I suggest that you get back to work."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and started speaking again, saying some Spanish words in a more French accent. His words moved so quickly that, when he spoke, the class, Kagome and Mr. Kyo almost missed it. But, sure enough, halfway through a sentence Inuyasha spoke nonchalantly about how he wasn't wearing any pants.

This, of course, caused and uproar from the immature students of the classroom followed shortly but nervous laughter from the other members of the student body. Kagome stared in shock and struggled to maintain her laughter. Mr. Kyo looked horrified.

Kagome started speaking again and realized what Inuyasha had done. The whole class' attention was on Inuyasha, not her. As she spoke, everyone focused on Inuyasha, waiting for him to do something humorous. Her heart soared for the boy.

'Thank you… so much,' she thought as she finished her speech and the students clapped for Inuyasha, who did a rather ostentatious bow. They made their way back to their seats after Mr. Kyo demanded that Inuyasha wait after class to see him.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha as they situated themselves in their chairs again and smiled brightly. "Thank you, thank you so much."

He smiled charmingly at her and shrugged one shoulder. "Don't mention it. I'm happy to do it. I know you hate presenting."

Inuyasha silently wrote down the procedures for the next lab they were doing. Their new unit, stoichiometry, involved a pre-lab that Inuyasha was none too joyous about. Mr. Weber often did that. They weren't actually doing a lab, they were simply writing up a lab procedure as if they had done one. Inuyasha sighed and scribbled down a data table that would be filled with useless information they'd have to decipher individually and answer in pointless analysis questions.

Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully and poked the eraser into his mouth. Standing, he moved towards the pencil sharpener. While moving, he passed Sango's desk. The girl suddenly stood up and the back of her chair crashed into his left leg. He cursed loudly and was very thankful that the teacher had left the room for a few minutes.

"Watch where you're going," Inuyasha demanded and rubbed his hand over his bruising thigh. Sango gave him a withered look and moved past him towards the pencil sharpener— cutting in front of Inuyasha.

"You can at least say sorry," Inuyasha demanded as he stood behind her. Sango cranked the handle of the sharpener like she was trying to rip it off. She looked at him with a dark look. "Or not…" Inuyasha trailed off.

Inuyasha frowned thoughtfully and leaned against a lab station, watching her. "Want to tell me the reason you're being a bitch to me?" he questioned.

Sango gave him a dark, contemplating look but said nothing.

"Too good to talk to me?" Inuyasha questioned, his anger growing. He understood that Sango was jealous because Kagome was hanging out with him, but this was ridiculous.

Sango sneered at him and pulled out her pencil, revealing its sharpened tip. She dug into the pocket of her hooded sweatshirt and pulled out five more pencils. Inuyasha growled. He only had one pencil and this girl had cut in front of him? He sighed in annoyance; it was obvious that Sango did not like him in the least.

Sango continued to sharpen pencils silently for a couple of minutes before Inuyasha tried again. "Cold shoulder, Sango? How very like you."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Sango demanded. Inuyasha inwardly smirked; he'd finally gotten a rise out of her. All those years of being an annoying prick had come in handy apparently— he could still get people to talk to him.

"I'm just saying." Inuyasha flicked his shoulder free of invisible dirt. He smirked and tilted his head to the side, looking very confident in himself. "Ice queens are excellent at giving cold shoulders."

Sango narrowed her eyes and turned to look at him, her blazing eyes meeting his squarely. "Ass."

"I've been called that, yes," Inuyasha agreed with a smirk.

She sneered again and turned her attention back towards the sharpener. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed again. "So tell me, Sango, why is it that you're such a bitch to me all the time?"

He noted how the sharpening became faster and the muscles in her jaw clenched. Inuyasha frowned when she didn't answer. "Is it because you're jealous? I mean, Kagome's a great girl and it must kill you to know that she's hanging out with me a lot more than you right now."

Sango's eyebrows slanted downward and her eyes narrowed to slits. "Or perhaps," he continued, "It's because you're jealous of Kagome? I mean, I'm a pretty awesome guy myself." He said it jokingly, but doubted very much that Sango would pick up on his sarcasm. "And she's been hanging—"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up," Sango said coldly as she removed her last pencil and turned to look at him darkly.

"Not until you answer my question," Inuyasha shrugged.

"Fine." Sango's dark eyes glared at him. "It's because I know who you are."

The declaration surprised Inuyasha, to say the least, and golden eyes looked at her curiously. "Well, yeah, I know who I am, too. I'm Inuyasha Cohen."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," Sango snarled out darkly. She stalked towards him and her eyes met his. Inuyasha noted that the girl was only a couple inches shorter than him. "I know who you are… what you are… what you've done."

Inuyasha's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. She couldn't possible mean… no… she couldn't mean that, could she?

"Well," Sango trailed off. "It's only a hunch. I have no proof."

Inuyasha regarded her darkly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

How had the tides turned so quickly from his favor to Sango's? Could it be possible that Sango did indeed know about what he was? What he'd done? Who he once was? He looked down at the girl and the hideous anger, distrust and hatred in her eyes told him that yes, she did know. She'd known all along.

Sango was much more observant than Kagome, apparently. Either that or Sango had been a victim of his in the past, perhaps?

"I know why you were sent away," Sango said darkly, her eyes glaring up at him. "And I know why you're so keen on taking care of Kagome. Had it been anyone else's glasses you'd broken you would have paid for the repairs and been on your way. No. I know why you're doing this."

"Why haven't you told Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned. He wondered idly why no one was doing anything about the squabbling students in the back of the room. Everyone seemed too focused on their homework to even bother sparing a glance at the bickering learners.

Sango pursed her lips. "Because," she stated simply. "A couple of a reasons, actually."

Inuyasha was silent, wondering if she'd clarify further.

Sango must have realized he was waiting for her to speak. "Firstly, I have no proof to prove it and secondly." Sango pursed her lips. "I want more than anything for Kagome to be happy."

"So you'd let her associate herself with me?" he questioned.

Sango glared at him. "I don't like you. That much is clear," Sango stated coldly. "But I know that whatever you've been through… you've changed for the most part. I don't trust you… but I know that Kagome's a good judge in character. She must see something I don't."

Inuyasha regarded her curiously.

"And," Sango took a step past him, making to move back towards her desk. "You're the one that needs to tell her. Not me."

Sango began moving, then thought otherwise and turned back towards Inuyasha. She pulled her fist back and slammed it against Inuyasha's arm. Under normal circumstances this action wouldn't have hurt so much, but she hit a particular bruise that Naraku had left that night and he hissed in pain, his hand coming up to grasp his bicep.

"I do not harbor any feelings for you at all," Sango said darkly. "So if you truly think I'm jealous of Kagome you need to slam your head against a wall a couple of times."

With that said, the girl turned on her heel and returned to her desk.

Meanwhile, Kagome and Rin were busy talking to one another in their creative writing class. Their regular teacher was missing today and they had a substitute. Unfortunately, their teacher failed to leave a plan for the day's activities and they were allowed a free period. Rin and Kagome were currently in a game of Speed to which Rin was winning.

"So," Rin began as she flipped a card and continued flying through her game. Kagome wasn't doing too well and was seeing that losing was in near sight of her. "Anything exciting happen last night?"

Kagome shook her head. "No. He just walked me home and was invited to dinner. But he couldn't stay because he needed to go see his bubbie."

"Ah," Rin said slowly as she finished and smirked. "I win," she added thoughtfully. "Anyways." She shook her head as she collected the cards and began to make the necessary adjustments to start a new game. "Did he pick you up this morning?"

"Of course, he always does," Kagome said sheepishly as she took her cards and began setting up for the next game which she was sure to lose as well.

"Anything romantically gushy I need to know about?" Rin questioned. Kagome giggled nervously. Rin gaped at her and dropped her cards. "Oh my god, he kissed you didn't he?"

Kagome looked at Rin in shock. "What? No!"

Rin looked at her seriously for a long moment. "If you're lying to me…"

Kagome's cheeks flamed red. "No, I swear. If he'd kissed me you'd be the first to know," she promised and smiled nervously. Rin seemed to like that answer because she perked up and laughed along with Kagome. "Besides…" Kagome trailed off. "He didn't kiss me last night."

That seemed to send Rin over the edge because the girl squealed and drew attention from fellow classmates on to her. "Do you mind?" she snapped at them and they all looked away. She turned back to Kagome and looked at her with wide yes. "You mean he's already kissed you?"

"On the cheek…" Kagome confessed with a light, sheepish smile. Rin squealed again— though it was much more subdued than the last one.

"Oh my God!" Rin gushed out, her brown eyes closing as she hugged herself and squealed. Kagome blinked and watched the girl in surprise. "That's so cute… what was it like?"

"Like being kissed by my brother."

"You're kidding?" Rin demanded, brown eyes observing blue critically, as if searching for some trace of a lie in Kagome's eyes.

The girl shrugged. "When it was happening, it didn't feel like anything special. But after he left…" She situated herself so that her knees were pulled to her chest and her hands were cupped together over her head. "It was like nothing I've ever felt before."

Rin looked at Kagome in shock. "You really like him, huh?"

Kagome blushed and meekly nodded her head. "Yes… it was… only after he kissed me, really. I mean… I'm fine with him being my friend…"

"Liar," Rin cut her off and Kagome didn't protest.

"But I'm not sure he likes me in that way," Kagome confessed, feeling like her cheeks would burst from the amount of blood rushing into them.

Rin thought this over with a tap of her finger to her lips. "Hm… I can do some snooping…"

Kagome's eyes widened. "Wouldn't he know that you'll just tell me?" she questioned.

"Of course not, I'm very sneaky when I want to be," Rin winked.

Kagome thought this over and felt her heart soar with the possibility that perhaps Inuyasha really did like her. But, then again, what if he didn't like her like that? She gulped a lump that seemed to always be in her throat at the most inconvenient times and shook her head.

"No," she finally said. "I want to find out on my own, if that's okay."

Rin sighed and nodded her head. "Of course, I understand. But if he kisses you on the lips…" She eyed Kagome. "Or anything romantic like that, you'd better tell me."

"You'll be the first to know," Kagome repeated and Rin beamed. Kagome felt a small twinge of guilt. It seemed that she was growing closer and closer to Rin and growing farther away from Sango.

'I don't want a guy to come between us… she's been my best friend for so long…' Kagome thought with a small frown. 'Inuyasha's a friend, too, though, not a boyfriend. Sango doesn't have to like him but she should understand that I want to be friends with him… why does she hate him so much?'

"I'm winning!" Rin interrupted her thoughts and Kagome realized that Rin had started their game without her.

"That's not fair!" Kagome protested and struggled to grasp her cards and begin.

Rin laughed brightly, brown eyes sparkling with her amusement. "Want to play something else?"

Kagome shrugged. "Sure. Provided you don't cheat."

"I'm not cheating," Rin protested and laughed. "I know. Let's call some other yahoos into this game and play crazy eights." Kagome shrugged again. "Then it's settled." Rin looked around.

"You!" she commanded to a person sitting to Kagome's right. It was a senior with blond hair pulled back into a small pony tail. "Play crazy eights with us!" Rin commanded. The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Fine," she said and scooted her chair over to Kagome's desk, where they'd been playing. "I'm not very good, though," she confessed.

"Doesn't matter," Rin beamed. "Kagome sucks, too."

"Hey!"

"It's the truth, isn't it?" Rin questioned and didn't wait for Kagome to answer. She continued to collect another person to join their game and the rest of the period was spent playing crazy eights, BS, Egyptian Rat Slap and Hearts, though it was cut off when the period ended.

Lunch was spent with Inuyasha eating her food and Kagome allowing him to share it with her when she realized she'd forgotten her own.

Kagome took a hesitant bite out of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she'd made for him. "I'm really glad that I decided to make a sandwich without meat today."

"Crazy vegetarians and their schemes," Inuyasha muttered in the middle of a mouthful of sandwich. Kagome laughed quietly.

"You need to get me some more of that tofu stuff," Inuyasha declared as he took a bite out of a cookie and carrot stick at the same time— not the greatest combination but Inuyasha didn't seem to mind much. "That kind your Mom made was good."

"Well, the cookie has tofu in it."

Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock. "I thought those were white chocolate chips?" Inuyasha questioned in surprise, staring at the cookie like it had violated him in some way.

Kagome shook her head. "Nope. It's tofu."

"Well, it's good, though I'm glad you told me after I ate it or else I wouldn't have tried it," Inuyasha confessed as he bit into his cookie again and quickly polished it off.

Kagome smiled tenderly. "I'm glad you like it. I'll bring more tomorrow."

"Have I told you yet how extremely thankful I am that you make me lunch, Kagome?" Inuyasha questioned, looking down at the girl. Kagome smiled shyly.

"Only about once a day," she joked.

Inuyasha grinned when he realized Kagome was joking with him. When he'd first met her, she wouldn't have dared to be so open with him. She was becoming stronger, he noted.

'And in a way… she's making me stronger, too,' he realized with his golden eyes staring down at her. 'Crazy girl.'

"Well, I'll tell you again." He captured her hands and cupped them in between his larger ones. "Thank you very much, Kagome," he said with a bright smile which caused Kagome's heart to start thundering and her cheeks to turn red.

"Pursue him!" She heard Rin's words ring in her head. During their game of BS, Rin had started talking about Inuyasha 'in code' so that the others playing with them wouldn't know. "Two Queens," she had said with a brush of her hand only to retrieve them when some one muttered 'BS' to her. "If he doesn't know you're interested, you'll need to flirt with him."

The others playing with them had seemed very interested in this conversation. One girl, Kiana, with long black hair and green eyes, had smiled, too. Kagome had recognized her as a girl in their block class. "Yeah, you have to be subtle about it, though."

Rin had nodded her head in agreement with Kiana, and Kagome had wondered how this conversation had become so heated for the girl's playing around her. The blond senior, Nami, had nodded in agreement. "Don't be too forward or you'll scare him away."

"I think Kagome would scare herself away if she tried to be forward," Rin had joked and the two other girls had laughed.

Kagome had blushed hotly and placed down an Ace. No one had protested or told her she was lying and Kiana had attempted to place down a two before being called on by Nami, who held all four of the twos.

Now, at lunch, Kagome took those words into account. She looked at Inuyasha who was busy leaning on the ground, staring up at the ceiling and crunching on a bright orange carrot stick. Kagome felt her hands start to sweat and she wiped them on the pleats of her skirt.

"Um… Inuyasha?" she questioned.

Inuyasha looked up at her. "Yeah?" he asked, his voice a soft tenor.

Kagome swallowed again and scooted towards him. "Are you… uncomfortable?"

"A little, why?" he questioned.

"You can…" She couldn't believe she was about to say this. Her heart hammered in her chest, her cheeks were bright red, her throat was dry and her hands were shaking. "Rest in my lap, if you'd like…"

Inuyasha's eyes widened in shock and he turned to look at her in surprise. He sat up, golden eyes locking with hers and she suddenly regretted saying anything. He was going to think she was weird, for crying out loud! She was too forward.

But he surprised her when his eyes softened and he smiled. "Really?" Kagome wasn't sure what happened next, but she thought she nodded. "Okay, then, I'd like that," Inuyasha said and crawled towards her.

Her breath caught in her throat as Inuyasha's head rested itself in her lap and she stared down at him.

His eyes were shut and he felt a calm wash over him in waves. He took a deep breath of air and detected the powerful scent of Kagome. He turned his head and rested it against her thigh as she sat.

"Thanks," he breathed and Kagome squeaked out a quick 'you're welcome'.

The rest of the lunch was spent with Kagome trying to eat and not disturb Inuyasha and Inuyasha trying not to become so comfortable that he fell asleep. Kagome's fingers twitched, and by the end of the lunch period Inuyasha's hair had been finger combed enough that it was shining.

Author's notes: This story is over half way done now, which is surprising. Thanks again to everyone who's been reading and reviewing so far. I'd like to give a shout out to The-Female-Inuyasha who's just too enthusiastic about this story for her own good. Every time I talk to her my ego is stroked to oblivion.

Fanart:
Inuyasha and Kagome:
www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)16084101