Shades of Night

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha

Realizations

-Last time-

"Kag?" he cried softly, trying not to startle her. Realizing that the one place she would want to be was her room, he headed upstairs. Used to the standard protocol of barging in whenever he wished to, Yasha didn't knock, and therefore got more than he bargained for.

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"Uh…Inu? You can…stop staring now…" Kag's face was bright red. 'There's a way to get his attention that I haven't thought of,' she observed wryly. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't tear his attention away, and the longer he stared, the harder it got.

"Oh, boy." She definitely didn't miss that. Finally, InuYasha seemed to regain his senses and turned as bright red as Kagome. Unable to think of anything to say, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"When did that happen?" Feeling her eye begin to twitch, Kagome just stared at InuYasha in disbelief.

"Oh, I don't know, about the same time you started looking for doxies and streetwalkers?" He sputtered, but still continued staring. "C'mon InuYasha, I'm sure you've seen more impressive than that in all of your experiences." InuYasha snapped up his head at that and looked her straight in the eye. His eyes were glazed, a predatory gleam in them, and he looked like he wanted to say something yet was incapable.

"Yasha? Hey, InuYasha? Y'okay?" He walked towards her slowly as she backed up. Kagome hit the edge of the bed and fell down onto it, Inu following only seconds later.

"No," he said softly. Blue orbs grew wide and extremely bright as he pinned her body beneath his and the mattress. He grabbed a strand of her shoulder-length hair and twisted it around his finger. "I haven't been okay for awhile now."

Kagome was unable to say anything yet felt extremely warm. First she started blushing, then she was pinned beneath InuYasha's body, which was exuding body heat like crazy. Her breathing quickened, partly because of her position and partly because he was lying on top of her lungs. She was feeling claustrophobic.

"I…Inu…"

"Yeah?" His warm breath tickled her face, smelling oddly enough like cinnamon. Suddenly he nuzzled his nose into the arc of her neck and her pulse jolted to the point where she thought her heart had stopped.

"Wha…what are you doing?" He trailed his hands upwards from where they had rested by her sides, grazing her stomach and making the muscles contract, grazing upwards even more…until he cupped her face in his hands. Kagome was shaking slightly, even hotter now than she had been before. She couldn't control the response he ignited within her, she couldn't resist anything he offered her.

"Kag, honey, shh. It's okay." He stared down into her eyes. Those beautiful, blue colored eyes the shade of the sky in summer. Slowly closing the distance between their faces, he stopped just inches from her lips, his head tilted gently towards the side. "I'm doing exactly what I've wanted to do for so long now." Kagome's breath caught in her throat as her eyes fluttered closed. Gently, softly, their lips met. InuYasha pulled back just enough to look at her, their breath intermingling.

"Inu…" Her lips were slightly parted, looking moist and inviting. Just as he was about to kiss her again, the phone rang, causing InuYasha to jump off Kagome and look at her in horror.

Embarrassed yet forgetting her half-clothed state, Kagome grabbed her portable phone, trying desperately to find something for her hands to grab on to.

"Hello? Yes, this is. Oh, hi, Kouga."

Dragged away from his racing thoughts, InuYasha stared intently at Kagome, remembering only now that he had originally come here to apologize. Kagome glanced at Inu then resumed talking on the phone.

"Hey, listen, can I call you back? Yeah, we have company right now. No, I've already got your number. Okay, thanks. Bye."

"Well, what did he want?" Kagome finally managed to locate a robe and put it on, much to her great relief and InuYasha's slight disappointment.

"None of your business." He burned with righteous indignation.

"Listen to me! I'm only trying to help you out and prevent you from getting hurt by that scumbag!" She sighed, a habit as of late.

"Why? Because he wants to do to me the same thing that you just did?" Burning with shame at the fact that he hadn't asked her permission, he mistook her agitation for annoyance.

"Look, it was a mistake, alright? Honest to God, I didn't mean to! You know I'd never do something like that to you, Kag!" Her heart stopped in her chest. Even though she promised herself, earlier in life and today, that she wouldn't cry, she couldn't prevent the tears from flowing. A small sob escaped her throat.

"K…Kag? Are you okay?" Her small frame shook with suppressed sorrow and anger.

"Get out, Yasha."

"Kag?"

"I said get out!"

"I…what'd I do?" Kagome fell to the floor, clutching her knees to her chest.

"Just get out…" Unable to comprehend what had just occurred, he complied. As he passed the doorframe, he turned around and looked at her with determination burning in his eyes.

"I will for now, but this isn't over yet, Kag. Do you hear me? It's not over yet!" He wanted desperately to hug her. He wanted to comfort her. Heaven help him, he wanted to kiss her again, and go even farther. One thing that he learned was that no matter how much time had passed, he would still be thinking of Kagome Higurashi as much, much more than a friend.

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InuYasha didn't bother talking to his mother again when he got into his house the second time. First of all, she'd wonder why he hadn't managed to apologize, and secondly, she'd wonder at the state he was in. He took a cold shower, packed his clothes angrily in a bag, and went outside to wait for his father. Startled, he saw Kagome outside waiting for him, her hair slightly damp, dressed in a tank top and pants.

"Kag…" he breathed. InuYasha couldn't believe that she was here, that she might, just might possibly be willing to forgive him. When he saw that her eyes were as cold and hard as steel, he felt his heart sink. The one thing that confounded him was that he saw pity in her gaze.

"Y'know, Inu, you never did ask me who I liked."

"Wha…!"

"Save it. It was never really Miss-I've-never-liked-anyone-in-my-entire-life. It's always been I've only liked one person in my entire life." His eyes grew wide, shocked at the admission. "Yeah, ya never knew, did ya? Of course, since I'm so young that I didn't know anything about it, why should I really tell you? If you're going to sit there and push me away, treating me like your kid sister forever, why should I tell you that I'm hopelessly in love with you? You can reject me, reject my feelings all you want, Inu, but that still doesn't change anything. Then again, what do I know? I'm young and stupid, apparently, and it doesn't change anything. You're probably right, I'm just imagining this all. I think I really will go call Kouga, maybe he can teach me what liking someone is all about." She turned away. She just turned and walked away. He didn't know what to do. InuYasha wanted to go after her, but he couldn't digest what she had just told him. Kagome was in love with him? When did that happen? And more importantly, why did he feel like he should be telling her the same…?

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"I'm so stupid, so stupid! Did I think that telling him would actually make a difference?" Kagome didn't bother closing the door to her bedroom. Through the open window, she could hear a car door slam and the engine take off. InuYasha had left. She began to cry.

...I am incapable of creating a single chapter in which the characters do not fight or something bad happens. :sighs:

Review Responses:

billysgotagun: Thanks! Whoot, you're one of the few that actually stuck with me through a new story! And thanks for pointing out my mistakes:scratches head:it does happen, and you pointed it out nicely! Yeehaw, here's more, hope ya like!

Kagome M.K.: Awright, thanks for reviewing!

Love ya 4 eva: Thank you! I tried.

purepriestess345: Thanks!

Shadow Kitsune67: Thank you! I continued, hope it's good!

Fiona-Angel: Thank you! The enthusiasm is AWESOME! Here's the next chapter!

coldflamez: Haha, I love this part/the cliffie that led to it. Yeah...I don't really think I can write a fic that has a long time of little kids. It's cute and all, but in a romance novel, iffy, because I don't think I could write well enough to maintain the interest of the readers. I tried updating, but argh, busy and dead tired right now. Mayhaps I will email ya sometime!

Kaa-san