"Is my ramen done yet?" Inuyasha whined at Kikyou in the kitchen.
"Just hang on. Sheesh, you've always been an impatient one…" Kikyou grumbled.
Inuyasha smiled teasingly like a little kid. "You know me well."
Kikyou sighed and smiled.
"But seriously, how long does it take to make a thing of ramen? It's called instant for a reason, you know…"
Kikyou shrugged. "It's not my fault our stove isn't that strong… The water took a while to boil."
"But I'm hungry," Inuyasha whined again.
"Oh, geez, here!" Kikyou thrust a banana into Inuyasha's hand. "Eat that while you wait."
"But I don't like—"
"Just eat it!"
Inuyasha remained quiet and obeyed. He slowly unpeeled the banana and stuffed it in his mouth. He didn't really like bananas, but since it seemed to make Kikyou happy if he ate it, he listened.
As he walked over to the trash can to dispose of the peel, Kikyou called out that his meal was finally ready.
"Yay!" Inuyasha squealed with delight as he sat at the table.
Kikyou placed a bowl in front of him containing the steaming hot noodles. He quickly dug in.
She went back and retrieved her own bowl. Kikyou had just sat down when she heard Inuyasha say,
"Kikyou, I want another one."
She gawked at him. "You… You're done already?"
Inuyasha nodded.
"But I… Oh, here, have mine." She placed the bowl that was intended for her in front of Inuyasha.
Inuyasha smiled, but he noticed that Kikyou looked hungry. He took one look at the bowl, then slid it back over to Kikyou.
"You eat it. I shouldn't be eating this much anyway."
"No, no," Kikyou slid it back over. "You said you wanted more and now you have it. Go ahead. Take it."
"I was only kidding. I don't really want more. You've barely eaten anything all day."
Kikyou gave in and ate. Inuyasha smiled.
Meanwhile, Kagome and Kouga had taken Miroku and Sango's former spots in front of the house. They had been sitting in an awkward silence the whole time.
"So umm…" Kouga tried to start up a conversation once again. He always failed miserably.
Kagome stared at the grass, picking a blade every now and then and slowly peeling it apart.
Kouga couldn't stand it any longer. He had to say something. Anything.
He thought of the first thing that came to mind.
"Do you like anyone?" he blurted out.
Kagome froze and looked slowly up from the grass. "What?"
"I asked if you liked anyone," Kouga repeated. 'I can't believe I'm doing this…'
"Uhh… No…" Kagome said as she turned away again, hoping that her slightly pink face would be hidden. "Why are you asking anyway?"
"I'm just curious… And I'm trying to start up a conversation here so give me a break." Kouga rolled his eyes.
"Fine then, who do you like?" Kagome shot Kouga's own question right back at him.
"What? You're kidding me right?" Kouga stared at Kagome. "If half of our neighborhood knows, then you have to know too."
"Well, I want to hear it from you. I don't trust the rumors," Kagome replied.
"You've even heard it from Kikyou, Ayame, and Sango. Almost all of those that you trust. Isn't that enough?" Kouga argued.
"I said I want to hear it from you." Kagome said in a threatening tone.
"But I—"
"Kouga!"
"What?" Kouga yelled back at Kagome.
"Kouga, tell me," Kagome said as she lowered her voice back down. She had just remembered that they were still near the house, and that could mean unwanted attention could be attracted.
Kouga turned his head away.
"Kouga, look at me and tell me," she demanded.
"Fine!" Kouga turned and looked at Kagome and stopped. His voice was shaking, and his heart was beating fast. "I-It's… I like…" He kept stuttering.
"Oh, come on, you moron, spit it out!" Kagome's yelling was definitely not helping Kouga.
'It would probably help if she didn't insult me either seeing as how she's the one that I…'"…Well…?" Kagome tapped her fingers impatiently.
Kouga's mouth moved, but no sound came out.
"I'm going to sit here all day if I have to, Kouga," Kagome said. "It's not that difficult. Just tell me who you like. I got Sango to tell you who she liked, and she's not exactly someone who's comfortable about the subject of crushes and—"
"What's that got to do with anything?" Kouga questioned.
"Well, you owe me one."
"Owe you one for what? For telling me that Sango liked Miroku?" Kouga seemed a little irritated.
"Well, how else would you have known?"
"We were left alone in the park that one day. She wasn't feeling good, and she didn't care. And you had given me so many clues already that I would have been an idiot not to know!"
"Whatever," Kagome scoffed. "Back to the subject. Tell me!"
Kouga mumbled something that Kagome couldn't hear. "Say it louder so that I can actually hear what you're saying, smart one."
Kouga's face was flushed by now.
"Why are you so red? Are you sunburned from sitting out here or something?"
"Har har..." Kouga laughed sarcastically. "That's got nothing to do with it."
"Then what? Geez, just spit it out and get on with it!"
It was amazing that Kagome actually had this much patience in her. But she really wanted to hear Kouga say it.
"Spit what out?" Kouga smirked and decided to play this game.
"Oh my God, Kouga…" Now Kagome was beginning to become a little irritated. Just a little. "Tell me who you like!"
Kouga just stared blankly at Kagome.
Now she felt like hitting him out of frustration. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to hit you," she threatened.
"Psh, I'll show you how to hit." Kouga said his cheesy comeback line.
"Goddamnit, Kouga!"
Kouga tried to get up and walk away, but Kagome held him back. "Oh, no, don't try that on me."
"Try what on you?" Kouga said, still with that playful smile on his face.
"Ew, freak!" Kagome blurted, but she still held onto his arm. "Just tell me who you like and I'll let you go."
"Just go ask Kikyou or Sango or someone. There's no need to ask me." Kouga tried to brush Kagome off.
"Oh my freakin' God… I told you that I want to hear it from you. You, you, you, you, you!" Kagome yelled exasperatedly.
Again, Kouga tried to change the subject. "Hey, everyone's inside. We should go too…"
"No way. There are too many people in there who would stare at us like we were a soap opera in the making. I like it this way. There's more privacy and you can tell me without having to worry about someone else hearing. Now quit changing the subject and spill."
"But it doesn't matter if they hear," Kouga replied smugly. "They know already anyway."
Kagome kept glaring at him.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you." Kouga decided to just give in, despite how much fun he was having playing around with her. 'It's fun doing this to her though…'
"It's… It's… Oh, wait, I just remembered that I need to call Sango for something!" Kouga reached for his phone.
Kagome groaned and rolled her eyes. 'He so does NOT need to call Sango…'
After a minute or two, Kouga hung up. "Goddamnit… Hang up on me will you…" Kouga muttered as he put his phone away.
"That's what you get for trying to change the subject again," Kagome smirked.
"So, what were we talking about?" Kouga asked nonchalantly.
"Don't act dumb. You're not Inuyasha."
"What?" Kouga kept playing his game after all.
Kagome couldn't stand it any longer. She hit him upside the head. "Baka! Don't try to act likeme and pretend to not know what's going on! I know you do!"
Kouga held his head. "Ow, that hurt… You didn't have to hit me, ya know…"
"Well, I wouldn't have had to hit you if you had just told me who you like in the first place."
"Kouga remained silent while rubbing the side of his head where Kagome's hand landed. "For the last time, ask Sango! She's honest enough!" He continued to try to persuade Kagome to go away, but it wasn't working.
"And for the last time, I told you I want to hear it from you!" Kagome wasn't giving in. She was determined to make him say it.
"I… I… I like… I…" Kouga couldn't keep himself from stuttering as he looked at Kagome.
"You sound like a broken CD player."
"I like—Hey, isn't that Miroku in Sango's balcony?" Kouga looked up.
Kagome turned around, and sure enough, Miroku stood there with his back turned. She smiled inside.
"Hey, Miroku actually got a girl! And it's Sango nonetheless. That's great!" Kouga was desperate to get Kagome's attention off of him for once.
"Oh, no. We'll deal with Sango and her affairs later," Kagome turned back to Kouga. "Out with it."
"Okay, so… Remember how I… Uhh… You know how… Argh…" Kouga didn't know how to say it.
Kagome rolled her eyes. 'Kouga and his annoying sentence fragments…'
Kouga inhaled deeply, then back out.
"Hey, you don't have asthma, stop breathing like that," Kagome sneered.
Kouga looked at Kagome with a serious stare. One that Kagome had never seen in his face before.
"K-Kouga, why are you looking at me like that? Stop staring at me like that!" Kagome said nervously, though part of her wanted this to happen.
"You're the one who wanted this!"
"Want what!" Kagome just spoke on impulse. She didn't think about what she was saying.
"I like you, okay? I. Like. You!" Kouga blurted it all out. "Happy now?" His voice sounded irritated, but inside he felt relieved. Part of him also wanted to kill Kagome at the moment, but that was beside the point.
"Did I crush your pride or something? Sheesh," Kagome hissed.
Kouga just looked away. "Can I go now?" he asked in a small voice.
"Not just yet," Kagome said in a serious tone.
Kouga rolled his eyes. "What else do you want from me?" he whined.
"Now you've earned yourself the truth."
'The truth? Is this… Is this what I've been waiting for…?'Kagome looked around, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. "I like you too, Kouga." She let out the breath that she had held.
Both Kagome and Kouga's hearts stopped.
"You-You really mean it?" Kouga stammered.
"Baka, of course I mean it…"
"And I mean it too, Kago—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know that you mean it," Kagome interrupted Kouga's statement.
"Then why the hell did you put me through all that?"
"To see if you really did care about me," Kagome said calmly. "I knew there were rumors that you liked me, but I'd much rather hear it from you."
"Oh," was all Kouga managed to say.
Kagome looked down at the grass again. Then she felt something on her hand.
"Kagome…" It was Kouga. He had taken Kagome's hand.
"Wh-What, Kouga?" Kagome didn't know what to feel. She had wanted this to happen for the longest time, but she never really knew what she would do when it did happen.
Kouga pulled Kagome towards him and hugged her.
Kagome's first impulse was to break free by any means necessary, but she relaxed and let him embrace her. She put her arms around his body as well and hugged him back.
Kyo-chan: O.O;; Wow, I went waaay crazy on that one...
Sango: Aw, look at the new happy couple!
Kouga: -mutters and turns away-
Kagome: -scoffs- His stupid pride...
Kikyou: All I did was eat ramen with Inuyasha? Nothing fluffy for me? T.T
Kyo-chan: Er, you'll get your time soon enough, Kikyou.