Title: Intricate Love
Author: Moi!
Rating: T for light swearing
Summary: Many loves entangled into one. Most come and go but one man stands by. One hanyou. Jealousy, hate, and love blended together doesn't make a very good result...
Pairings: Kagome/ InuYasha
Kouga/Ayame
Jake/Kagome (-squeals-)
Other side pairings

"Talking"
'Thinking'
Flashbacks

Disclaimer: …I own… InuYa- -gets evil smiles from lawyers- … nothing. –Glares back-

AN: Ok, ok, so I got a little impatient about adding in the new character… -smiles- … that just happens to be my character. Most people don't like reading about new characters, in my opinion, so I'm a little hesitant to write and post this, 'cuz I'm not sure you all will like it… Hopefully you do. –crosses fingers-

Also, there are many different views in this story, so I just put 'Jake' after the title to make it easier.

Yaaah.Your probaly tired of metalking... on with the story! Oh, and aren't you proud of me for updating faster? I also tried to make it longer. -feels proud- Although, I'm sure it's not... oo;

Chapter 3
Bad Boy, Bad Boy, Whatcha Gonna Do?

Yeeeeah. Ok, this was totally boring. I'm not one with a… big attention span. Nope. Nadda. No way. Especially when it came to school. Ugh.

"Jake?"

'Did the teacher just call on me? …'

"Yo?"

A couple kids laughed, mostly girls. Yaah, not bragging or anything, I was popular with the ladies. Reeeal popular.

"Stop being a smart-"

"Ass?"

More girly giggles.
Not that I'm actually, you know, listening to them. Or that I care. Really.

"Mr. Collins! I will not accept bad language in my classroom!"

"Yeah… whatever."

More giggles? What was so funny about me getting in trouble? I turned around to look at them in the back, and as soon as I looked back, a bunch of girls started smiling at me and batting their lashes.

I smiled at them, loving the attention they were giving me. Of course, I would never tell anyone that. Or show anyone I loved attention. So, I remained 'cool' about it.

"Mr. Collins! Turn around in your seat, and answer your question! Now is not the time to be a flirt, you can save that for after class.

I turned back around with a frown, while another round of giggles started up, this time joined with snickers from the boys.

'I'm a flirt now, am I?' I thought, my eyes narrowing.

"MR. COLLINS! The question!" My teacher… umm… what' her face… not the hot one, the old ugly one… Mrs. Dills? Or was it Mrs. Millers? I sighed in frustration as I desperately tried to figure out the old woman's name, so I could earn some brownie points with her by remembering her name. Which I couldn't do until I actually remembered her name.

"Mr. Collins, this is the last time I'm asking you."

"Asking me what?"

More giggles.

Seriously, I wanted to know what was so funny.

"Mr. Collins," she started in a strict voice. "Where you even listening at all this whole class?"

"Truthfully?" I paused, continuing when I didn't hear an answer. "No."

The class started laughing as Mrs. …what's her face… turned her conspicuous eyes on me.

"Mr. Collins, in the hall. And if you don't behave yourself, it's off to the principals office!"

She said it so like that part in Alice in the Wonderland- 'Even though I seriously haven't seen that movie in ages…' -that I just had to mock her. I had to. Hey, when you gotta do something, you gotta do something!

"Mr. Collins," I said in a high voice, narrowing my eyes at the class. Some even cracked up right there, seeing my face. What can I say? I was the class clown, and proud of it too. "In the hall. And if you don't behave, off with your head!" I bellowed out the last part, and the class burst out laughing. I bowed as I headed out, …the teacher shaking her head disapprovingly.

My best friend, Josh held out his hand and I slapped it happily. I loved making the class laugh. It made me feel good about myself.

I smiled as I headed out and closed the door, cutting off the old woman's "Behave, Mr. Collins! Conduct yourself!"

'Pfft, like I even know what conduct is.'

I walked past the spot where I was supposed to sit against the wall and "conduct myself". I went straight to the back door, and around the building into the parking lot.

'Bad idea to have back doors.' I thought smugly as I dug around my leather jacket for my key.

"Ah, they won't miss me for a class period…" I trailed off, realizing I was talking to myself, a bad habit that I thought I had grown out of. "Damn, it's coming back to haunt me…" I whispered, once again, to myself grimacing as I got into the drivers seat of the car.

((AN: I didn't want to make this whooole chapter in case people thought reading it would be boring… please tell me if it isn't, or is, because I would gladly have more time with Jake! Oh, and he will be moving to Japan in the next couple of chapters…))

x-x

Kagome yawned as she opened her eyes. She felt warmer now, and she wondered why that could be, since it was only beginning to warm up as it was the last days of spring. At first, she thought it was her blanket from her bed, and was about to happily go back to sleep. Then she felt a cold breeze hit her face. 'Huh? Whysa window opan?' she thought sleepily, slurring words together. 'I neva keepta window opan…'

She opened her eyes fully, and even though her eyes lacked total vision, for they were still half asleep, she could unmistakably see trees and grass in her twenty centimeter vision line, which wasn't very much at the time, (due to sleep). So she wasn't in her room? Then where was she?

She tried to clear her vision by blinking rapidly, while stifling another yawn. But, this only succeeded in making her look idiotic, which didn't help her at all.

She smelled cherry blossom trees close by, which confirmed that she wasn't in her house. After all, she didn't think she had any Sakura trees in her house.

Well, last time she checked.

Which was… about a month ago.

Before she could feel guilty, she heard a gruff grumble in front of her, and recognized red.

'InuYasha?' she thought to herself, realizing she must be in the feudal area.

Said dog hanyou was currently behind her, legs crossed in his customary position. She realized with a blush that she must have either fell asleep in his lap, or he put her there. Even though she was surprised at the latter thought, she hoped it actually was that he put her there, for what if he thought her a slut? I mean, she didn't think it normal to crawl into a guy's lap, unless she… was his.

'And I'm most certainly not his.' She thought sadly but acceptingly, and looked at the hanyou. He looked so… peaceful. In fact, everything was more peaceful around Feudal Japan after Naraku was killed. Ah, yes, the threat was finally done and over with. Gone. He was no more. She smiled to herself as she thought of what the hanyou had suggested, and they in turn had taken up his suggestion, and done it.

They had destroyed the jewel.

Kagome had thought that he would have gone psycho over the jewel, demanding that she hand it over if she didn't want to hand it over. Heck, she had been preparing for that moment ever since the journey started. Ever since she fell, unknowingly, in love with the arrogant jerk. Ever since she had admitted, then finally accepted her love for him. After she had accepted he would never be hers, and that he would never forget Kikyou; loving her until the end of time. But, he didn't go psycho. When she had asked him what he had wanted to do, she was prepared for it. But it never came. Then she prepared for the inevitable requests for the wish, (1. InuYasha becomes human for Kikyou. 2. InuYasha becomes full demon to prove himself. 3. InuYasha wishes for Kikyou to come back to life, in which case he would forget all about "worthless" Kagome, and go back to his lover.) but those didn't happen either. It was the two words that he spoke out that surprised them all the most then. Sango, Miroku, Shippou, and herself were dazed beyond belief.

"Destroy it."

We must of looked at him strangely, for he gave an irritated grunt, and walking up to me, he asked for the jewel.

'Here it comes…' Kagome had thought to herself then, as she solemnly gave up the jewel. 'I'm out of his life forever.'

She remembered it all quite clearly. Kagome then was determined not to cry, for after all, she was prepared for the letdown and the feelings of betrayal. She was so depressed at the moment. She, Kagome, would always be second best, whether it be to Kikyou or the jewel, maybe even the grass. Did InuYasha care about the grass more than her? She had wondered tearfully at the time.

She laughed now, InuYasha considered her more like a younger sister now. She didn't think she could ever consider him a older brother though, she thought considerably. Even despite the fact that it was a one-sided relationship, she would cherish him and he would cherish Kikyou.

'Kikyou.' She reflected, not with hate or envy but with sadness. 'She wound up in Hell, not with her true love, but with Naraku…'

She reflected on her "twin" miko. Sure, InuYasha would rather choose a dead girl that was currently in Hell rather than Kagome, and even though that made her a bit heartbreaking, she could understand why.

'Wow,' she contemplated. 'I've done some really deep thinking.'

With a happy sadish sigh, she jumped up from her spot on the ground. 'Which most certainly is not on InuYasha's lap…' she thought mischievously as she started walking in what she thought was the direction of the stream.

"Where do ya think you're going?" said a stern but laden with sleep voice.

"Umm… drink?" she said weakly, inching over towards the wooded area.

"…" he look intently at her for a few seconds.

Just when Kagome was about to turn around and continue in the area in which she intended to go, she heard him laugh.

It was low and barely recognizable at first, but turned into a bellow.

Kagome stopped in her tracks, and turned around to glower at him.

"What, pray tell, are you laughing about?" she snapped, irritated that he was laughing so hard at her.

He looked at her for a few seconds, in which the laughter died down. He studied her, then started to laugh again.

"What!" she asked once more, annoyed. She immediately turned around to peek at the back of her skirt, looking for grass stains. There was none.

'What is he laughing about!' she thought, 'I didn't do anything!'

"What are you laughing about!" she requested yet again, letting her annoyance at him to seep into her voice.

Finally, he seemed ready to giver her an answer, as he forced out around his laughs, "You… -laugh, laugh- The stream is… -snicker- the stream is… hahaha…"

"What! The stream is what!" she yelled warily, her patience wearing thin.

"The stream is that way!" he yelled back out to her amusedly, pointing in the opposite direction that she was going in before bursting out laughing, falling to the ground in fits of laughter.

Kagome let out a growl that sounded like InuYasha's, which got him started on a new fit of laughter.

Kagome sighed and then smiled.

'I'm glad that he's laughing again. I thought he would go into a fit of depression after Kikyou died… he's really changed since then. His laughter is… so… appealing…'

Kagome rushed back to him, and grabbed his hand, pulling him up, effectively stopping his laughter.

Ok, ok, so she tried to pull him up.

He was just too heavy.

Yeah that's it. He was waaay too heavy. She wasn't weak. Nope. Not at all!

Ok, maybe she could work on the muscles a bit. But still, ladies with those big manly muscles looked horrible!

Right?

Riiight.

So, there she was trying to pull him up, but it wouldn't go her way. Just like everything else. And suddenly, she just felt the urge to cry. She didn't know where it came from, but it was a urge that she couldn't ignore. Maybe if she let it loose she could feel better…

So, there and then she plopped down on her butt, put her head in her hands, and started sobbing. For InuYasha, for Kikyou, for InuYasha and Kikyou, for InuYasha's obsession with Kikyou, for Sango's brother who got dragged to hell with Naraku, for happiness that Miroku got rid of his curse, and that him and Sango got married and are living close by in Kaede's village, where she can visit them, and where she currently lived in the Feudal area. But, what she cried most over, was her hopeless situation. Her lover for InuYasha was pointless, and it wouldn't get her anywhere. 'I'm considered the "little sister"' she thought despairingly as she continued to sob.

Meanwhile…

'What the hell is wrong with her' I thought, looking at her through narrowed eyes, narrowed in frustration.

I honestly didn't know what to do. I mean, I didn't think Kagome was the one to cry, and I didn't have any experience in the comforting department to tell you the truth. Kikyou never cried – she always seemed naturally sad in life.

'Kikyou…' I thought. 'I'll… I'll miss you… thanks for forgiving me though, and letting me go on with my life…'

I immediately regretted comparing Kagome to Kikyou, even if it was just in my head. They were total opposites, and now that I was getting over Kikyou, I know that Kagome was an awesome person, whom he didn't deserve. He had been so cruel and harmful towards her when they were searching for the jewel shards, and he regretted every small spiteful thing he ever said to her. I still missed Kikyou greatly, though, and I mourned for her everyday. Sometimes I even think nothing will be ok, no one can make it be ok. I wallow in my loss, but before I get too far, my thoughts turn to Kagome, and I become very concerned.

'Did she cry like this at home, every time I said something hurtful to her before?' I start to think with horror, my eyes widening at the thought of Kagome crying every night; crying herself to sleep just because of him. 'What did I do this time? I promised myself I would never hurt her again no matter what, and here she is crying…'

My heart hurt excruciatingly as I gazed upon her. I hated seeing her like this.

I had to do something.

Now.

Well, could she wait a few?

I watched as she curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth. I panicked.

'Ok, what the hell is happening!'

I debated going back to the village to get someone to help her, because, hell, even the perverted monk knew more about comforting a woman than he himself did.

But that thought dissipated as he heart a heart wrenching sob.

'Maybe if I just…?'

I went up to her hesitantly, praying to Kami that I was doing this right. I didn't want to make things worse.

I dropped down next to her, and started to stroke her hair. She looked up surprised, tears running down her face. Her eyes were all puffy, and it made me feel so very guilty, even though I hadn't a clue of what I had done. After a brief glance in my direction, she went back to sobbing, only harder this time.

'Damn!' I thought in distress. 'Worse, not better! Err. Now what?'

After thinking for a few minutes, I got an idea. My mother used to hold me close when I was heartrending, so why didn't I hold her? I blushed at the thought of close contact with her, and was a little hesitant at first. Then I put a look of determination on my face. She was like a little sister to me, and I needed to protect her!

'More than a sister… I heard a voice inside me say, but for the moment I just told it to shut up and go away. I would deal with that later. Right now I had a bigger problem.

So I picked her up, which to tell you the truth wasn't a problem. She was light… very light.

I pulled her against my chest and cuddled her. She looked at me confused, and she had such innocence on her face that reminded me of a child's. That's what I liked about her. She was always so caring. Sure, temperamental at times. 'Hell, she scares the crap outta me sometimes,' I chuckle. But she's sweet... so sweet and caring.

She looks up at me, and gives me a genuine smile of thanks as she buries herself into my chest, and soaks up my shirt. Which I don't mind much. It actually feels pretty nice to have her this close. It felt nice to actually comfort her instead of bringing her pain.

She mumbles something against my chest, something which sounds like, "Sorry... I needed to vent..." It was hard to hear it, what with the hiccups that she was emitting regularly, but I managed. It would have been indecipherable if a human would have heard it, but alas, I am not human.

"Shhh..."I whispered in her ear. "It'll be ok." I say to her reassuringly. "It'll all be ok.

And surprisingly, I mean it.

A/N: Well, how was it? Do you like Jake? Any suggestions on where to go from here? Was it ok? Please tell me! I really love when you all review, and I don't care if it's just one word, as long as I know you're reading it! Pleeeease! Also, could you tell me what I could do better? I need to improve my writing.

Lots of Love,
Alisha

Review Please!
Can you tell I'm desperate? xD