Pan-Chan'sHope: Dance, my puppet, dance! Muhahahahaha! (clears throat). Shot out in this chappie, so enjoy it. (hugs)

InuyashaKagome love fan: if you're a love fan, I think you'll love it here. Love it enough and I post early. (hugs)

White dragon lady: I'll be using that little item as well sometime. (hugs)

orangepencils: I remember you. Glad you're back. Glad you found me again. (hugs)

inubaby2: sad yes, but just wait. (hugs)

anonymous: I don't think I could ever write without a happy ending. I'd die first. (hugs)

kagome88888: Ew, I'll never understand those. How do people come up with that? I'm a full-blown InuKag writer, don't worry. (hugs)

Acey: audibly gasped, huh? I'm impressed. Thanks for your support. (hugs)

Element-Water: déjà vu… you aren't the same person as Acey, are you? Wow that's weird. But thanks all the same for your awesomeness. (hugs)

Mrs.Fluffy: if you're name means you really like fluff, than you and I will get along famously. Thanks for the begging. I shall reward you always with new material.

Jenn-silent breed: Good, I was afraid that it wasn't exciting enough for a first chapter, but perhaps I was mistaken. Great to have you back reviewing again. (hugs)

protestmyboredom: It took me forever to come up with a good title, and I assure you it does mean something both literally and metaphorically. (hugs)

Hi all! Second chapter up and running! Thanks to everyone who responded and wanted more. Do it again please! Enjoy!

Oh, and… HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAN-CHAN'S HOPE!.!.!.!.!

Chapter 2: A Visitor's Silent Request

Thinking can be such a dangerous thing, especially for someone who feared it so. And yet he remained in her room all night, despite the threat she posed to his pride. Inuyasha found himself considering that there was no harm in letting his thoughts wander where they pleased for just a few minutes. But a few minutes turned into hours, and the hanyou would not find sleep.

He narrowed his eyes at her sleeping form, trying in earnest to be angry at her for having such an effect on him. However, even her light snoring was beautiful, and he could not contain the smile that faintly planted itself on the corners of his lips. His eyes glazed over as he wondered what the reincarnated miko might be dreaming about. Even after two years, the girl was still such a mystery to him.

He couldn't tell her how much that day two years ago meant to him, because he didn't understand how much himself. What he did know was that that day changed his life forever. Not because he was awakened from eternal slumber, but because it was the beginning of the melting of the ice around his heart. The hanyou who had once lived a life alone and afraid now had friends and a reason to keep on fighting. In the presence of Miroku, Shippou. Sango, and especially Kagome, he had found what he thought he could never have. Being with them, with her, felt like he had a home. Kagome could never understand how important this day was for him personally.

His small smile gave way to a light pout and he turned his gaze away from her. There were so many mixed feelings tonight. Of sadness, because Kagome did not wish to spend her birthday with him, and anger because he was becoming dependent on her being with him at all times. He knew full well that that fate would never happen. The shikon jewel would soon be completed, and she would come back to her era never to return to him again. That should have been alright with him, but somehow it wasn't. Somehow despite his promise to stay with Kikyo forever, he knew he wanted more. He knew that one way or another, he wanted to keep Kagome. Despite his love for Kikyo, despite this knowledge that he could never have Kagome, he needed her. He needed to keep her safe… and happy.

As he heard her begin to stir, he remembered what he should have been more concerned about at the moment: getting a present for Kagome. It would take a great deal of courage indeed to give a present to someone he secretly had feelings for, most especially considering his stubborn nature. But this anniversary and near-completion of the shikon jewel brought in a new motive. If he could make Kagome happy, perhaps she would not abandon the Feudal Era once the jewel was whole. The question was what to get her. What did one give girls in the future?

She lifted her arms over her head and squealed as she stretched with a smile. Inuyasha's ears flattened at the sound, but was immediately by her side, wide awake as ever. "Okay, let's go now."

Kagome's smile faded and she rolled her eyes, "Just hold on, Inuyasha. I need to pack some things."

She rubbed the sleep from her eyelids and rose from the covers. Inuyasha crossed his arms and followed her downstairs, "Keh! Whatever you need you can get in the Feudal Era. Let's get a move on."

"There's plenty of things your time doesn't have. Including things I dearly care about."

Her statement caused him to stop in his tracks. She didn't notice and continued onward. His head bowed down and his fists clenched, but he tried to let it go at least for now. He couldn't afford to worry. When he made his way into the kitchen, Kagome was already pulling out various food products and spices and stuffing them into her backpack. Inuyasha commented, "What in the world are you doing?"

She looked back with a pleasant smirk, "It's a surprise. You'll know soon enough."

He groaned and leaned back against the wall, "I hate surprises."

"Well you'll like this one," she said, and silently hoped it would be so.

She knew she couldn't expect Inuyasha to enjoy any of her cooking, but there was no way she could fail now when cake was involved. With all that sugar, how could he possibly hate it? She was positive the others would like it too. She was usually not one for celebrations, but for some reason lately she was feeling like she was left out of a great thing. Not just her life in her own time, but living in her own time. Kagome remembered how jealous she was when she found out that the popular exchange student from the US was having a party the same day as her birthday. Therefore, having any real party for herself was out of her question in her own time. 'Thanks a lot, Melanie,' she would often think in sarcasm.

But at least she had some salvation to turn to, in the past. Now fully packed, she returned to her room to change her clothes. Since this was a special occasion, she decided she could afford to dress in something nicer looking than a school uniform. What she chose was a simple summer dress, but beautiful nonetheless. The color was periwinkle with a blue sash with a white buckle around the waist for decoration, and spaghetti straps blue to match. Made of cotton and a simple pattern, it was just fine for a day in Feudal Japan. Once fully dressed, she debated with herself for a few moments whether she should put her hair in a bun or leave it down. She didn't want to be too fancy, but fancy enough for a birthday/anniversary party. Finding no clear cut answer, she opened the door to question the hanyou. "Inuyasha, spare an opinion for a moment."

Inuyasha was too distracted by her dress to hear her speak, but he quickly turned his head before his thoughts were allowed to wonder. Too late. She went on, "Should I put my hair up or leave it down?"

His eyes darted around the room trying to find something, anything to focus on but the beautiful girl next to him. He sneered slightly, "Keh, who cares! It's just hair."

"Argh! Please Inuyasha. I am asking for your opinion here."

He finally found the will-power to look at her. She held her hair up and turned for him to see her profile. His eyes ran over her raven hair for a few moments, allowing the shining strands to entice him all the more. The hanyou felt as though his eyes had memorized almost every inch of her, including her hair. Satisfied, he looked away again, "Down."

She nodded and let her hair fall, "Thank you."

Picking up her backpack, she signaled to Inuyasha that she was ready to go. However, just as they were about to make their way down the stairs, there was a knock on the door. Inuyasha groaned in annoyance. Kagome looked curiously downstairs. As she stood wondering who it might be, there was a call, "Higurashi! Are you home?"

No doubt, that was most definitely Hojo-kun. Inuyasha grumbled as he too recognized the voice of that annoying kid from that festival show. He inwardly prayed that Kagome would ignore him and they could go out the window and sneak into the well house undetected. Unfortunately for him, Kagome answered the call, "Just a second please."

Inuyasha's look was that of confusion and anger. "Kagome! We can't afford to hang around talking to that guy. We gotta get out of here."

"I'm not leaving him out there, Inuyasha. He's probably just here to wish me a happy birthday. How could I possibly ditch him for being nice to me?"

His eyes narrowed, "Easy."

She rolled her eyes and started down the stairs, "Just please wait upstairs and be as quite as possible. It will only take a few minutes, I promise."

He let out another groan of aggravation and made his way into her room to wait. Luckily for him, he had sensitive enough hearing to hear what they would talk about downstairs. He sat close to the door just to be sure he could hear every syllable. Kagome opened the door where a happy Hojo was waiting for her. "Hojo-kun. Hi there. It's been a while."

"Too long, Higurashi. How have you been?"

"Okay, I guess. Tired."

Hojo lectured, "You know we've really missed you at school. I would be glad to hear that you will be coming back for good?"

Inuyasha tensed up, and a growl began to curl on his lips. Just as he had suspected. This chump was trying to lure Kagome away from the past. God help him, he would not succeed. Deciding he could afford to disobey Kagome this time, he began punching his fist into the floor loudly, hoping that Hojo would become annoyed and go away before he did any more damage. Hojo and Kagome both looked up at the ceiling as they heard the loud banging, and Kagome tried to retain her uneasiness. She tried to speak through the noises. "I don't know. I never can tell when I'll get sick again."

Hearing that his plan wasn't working, this time Inuyasha got to his feet and jumped up and down. The increase in noise did not result as intended. Hojo merely stated, "You want to step outside?"

Kagome eyed the ceiling and smirked slightly. She knew Inuyasha was only trying to cause her trouble. "Okay."

As the door slammed shut behind them, Inuyasha knew that his plan had failed. He let his growl grow in intensity before making his way out Kagome's window. As quietly as he could, he leapt into a tree and perched himself deep within the branches. He moved slowly to find the perfect spot where he could see them but still be hidden. His eyes leaned forward to listen carefully as Kagome spoke, "So why are you here, Hojo-kun?"

Hojo did not reply, but instead revealed from behind him a bouquet of red roses. Kagome gave a small grunt of surprise at this. "For me?"

Hojo grinned dreamily, "I know it isn't functional like the rest of the things I've been getting you, but since it's your birthday, I thought this would be a nice change."

Kagome took the bouquet into his hands. It was truly a beautiful arrangement, accompanied by a good balance of baby's breath in between. Her girlish instincts soon kicked in, and she couldn't help the smile from growing onto her face, inside and out. Such a gift was one she never expected to receive from a boy. Even if she knew Hojo was interested in her, this was surprisingly brave of him.

Inuyasha squinted his eyes to get a better glimpse of the item given to Kagome. He saw that the roses were indeed beautiful, more beautiful than the wild flowers he had seen in Feudal Japan. Roses, which were temperamental flowers, only grew in one unreachable area, and therefore the hanyou had never laid eyes on such beautiful plants. 'But why did he give her flowers? What does that mean?'

He growled as Kagome drew him into a quick embrace. "Thank you, Hojo-kun. This is a wonderful gift. How can I ever repay you for all your kindness?"

They pulled away and Hojo compassionately rubbed her arm with his hand, "Dear Higurashi, you know you don't need to do anything for me. Except maybe get better so you can come to school more often and hang out with me."

Inuyasha's long nails dug into the bark of the tree in anger, but his eyes possessed a look of fear. 'That bastard. Those weird flowers must mean he's asking her to stay with him. He's trying to keep her from going back with me.'

It would have been useless to his cause if he had considered that Hojo knew nothing of his existence or what Kagome had been up to. He ignored what he did not care to consider. What disturbed him more than the gift was the look on Kagome's face upon receiving it. She didn't just seem happy, she seemed ecstatic. There was a light in her eyes that he had only seen a few times before, and before the look had been directed only towards him. Each of those glances had succeeded in melting the ice away from his heart and making his blood freeze and boil over simultaneously. When he had thought the power of that stare was just for him, now he found that the privilege was being handed over to someone else, and Inuyasha did not like the robbery one bit.

After a seemingly long silence, Hojo jumped into conversation again, "You would like to see more of me, Higurashi?"

"Of course I would, Hojo-kun," Kagome replied, "How could I not?"

Inuyasha turned his angry stare now to Kagome, who seemed to be pulling at his very heart strings. She was allowing herself to be pulled in by the meaning of that gift. She was slowly succumbing to his spell and if Inuyasha was ever to keep her now, he had to break her of it. He got into position to leap down between the couple, but before he could act, Hojo was already leaving happily and waving goodbye. Kagome waved back and looked once again at the flowers. When she looked up again, Inuyasha had appeared right in front of her up close and personal, causing her to fall back slightly. He eyed the roses in disgust, "What the hell are those?"

"Don't tell me you haven't heard of roses before."

"I've heard of them, but I've never seen them," Inuyasha replied, "I heard they were untouchable."

"If you're referring to the thorns, they're not that much to worry about. Anyways, I'm gonna just put these in some water and we can go, okay?" Kagome replied, and she turned to go back inside.

Inuyasha called after her, "And what was your answer to him?"

His hope had him believe that she had answered him no, that somehow his ears had missed the rejection of Hojo's courtship. She simply said, "I said I'd come by to see him more. Nothing big."

'Nothing big?' Inuyasha thought, 'He's trying to keep you away from us all and it's nothing to you. Well he won't get away with it.'

As she emerged once more with the backpack full and no roses, an idea came into his mind and he smirked, 'Two can play at your game.'

To be continued…

You know what to do. How am I doing? Give enough responses, and I may post early. I would have this time if I hadn't have been moving. I sincerely appreciate your opinions on my work. Be honest please. Take care everyone!