Disclaimer: Don't own him…or anybody else.

A/N: So many things to talk about and so little time…not really. If you don't know I was in England and Ireland. Which was fabulous, the people there are so nice. I went to England to 5 days and then headed over to Ireland. Missed, the bombings in London by only 3 days; really scary. Because when you're watching that kind of stuff on the news and you know that you were just there you can't help but think "Holy shit…I could've died last week." Its quiet a reality check.

Okay onto the main order of business, which is why this chapter came out so late. Well there are many reasons actually and I'm sure that you could care less, like anybody reads any of this anyway. But! I want to clear my conscious, so if you don't mind. The first real reason is because after coming back from Ireland, a 9 hour plane ride I had a nasty case of jet lag. I was asleep for most of the day, and when I wasn't asleep I was sleep walking. Apart from getting back into the swing of things I had to take care of my very sick family. Mom, Dad, brother, sister; all deathly ill; vomiting, fevers, runny AND stuffy noses, case of the coughs, the works. Oh don't get me wrong, I was sick too. But it seemed I was blessed with getting sick during the vacation not afterwards. Now the family is in top condition but my internet is down. It seems that it caught a virus. So finally the internet is fixed and I am finally updating, I'm rather relieved. Well, that is my story for you all about my week back from the fantabulous countries of England and Ireland. The End. On with the story…well the story you all want to read.

Cigarettes and Lavender

Chapter 8-A Game of Pretend

Bi Polar

It had been 9 days since Inuyasha went "missing." Well, that's at least what Sango and Miroku assumed and hoped for. They didn't let their fears come out in words. Sunday night and they were still driving around Kofu searching every last nook and cranny for their friend.

Earlier that day Miroku went to the police. He assured Sango that he wouldn't say a think about their silver headed companion, in a way that would be illegal. I mean you don't just go to someone's house, talk to them and then accuse them of covering up their son's disappearance. What he did find out though was the amount of days before a missing person was actually declared "missing." He told them it was for a school project, they could really care less though. If said missing person was accused of foul play the police didn't send out search parties for about 2 weeks, children were immediately at the top of the list to be found. Old timers, especially ones with illnesses, were up there too. Teenagers cam next, but weren't taken as seriously, considering their behavior.

"We have Thursday and Friday off, you know." Miroku said quietly, like he was afraid that if he spoke any louder the windows of the car might crack.

"We should go to Tokyo." Sango said in the same solemn hushed tone.

"I agree, that's probably where I would go too."

Miroku took Sango home at 2 in the morning that cold Sunday day. Neither one of them slept.

Inuyasha had already cleaned up his short-term bed, ate breakfast, swept the grounds, dusted and polished the main shrine, and was now watering the plants that Mrs. Higurashi cherished so much when Kagome's grandfather came downstairs.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull boy, but I'm not buying it." The old man stood right behind Inuyasha leering over his shoulder.

Inuyasha flung around to face him, his words came slowly, cautiously. "I don't know what you mean…I'm just doing my job."

"Look, I know you're not who you say you are, and I don't know why my family believes you or even how you got them to believe you." The elder squinted his eyes giving an all to familiar glare; Inuyasha shuddered.

"…Mr. Higurashi, all I want to do is live and work here peacefully even if it's only for a short time. I'm trying to repay them for saving my life; I'm not trying to con you or your family."

"I'm watching you boy." He gave him another chilling glare and walked back to the kitchen.

Inuyasha started at the elder Higurashi as he walked away. The hair on his neck stood on end, he felt cheated, betrayed almost. He thought that maybe he wouldn't have to go back to feeling that way; that maybe he had found a place where people didn't treat him like a piece of shit. Inuyasha ignored the feeling and went to watering Mrs. Higurashi's irises.

Kagome was washing the dishes and watching Inuyasha from the window. He was in his tree but she couldn't tell what he was doing. Grandpa sat at the kitchen table, drinking tea and reading the newspaper.

"I don't think he should be staying here." Grandpa didn't look up from the Sports section.

Kagome rolled her eyes, it took Gramps awhile to warm up to people, she was use to it. She continued to watch the silver haired 17 year old, remembering that she had never asked him about that, his hair that is. "Grampa he was hurt, and there was no way I'd just leave him there."

He Grandfather scoffed but she said nothing else. Kagome sighed, dried her hands, grabbed two apples, and walked out the back door.

"Hey! Inuyasha!" Kagome stood at the base of his tree. Inuyasha stared down at her. "Come down and have a snack."

He hopped down with inhuman grace and sat down next to her. She smiled at him; they munched on their apples in silence. "Is he bothering you?" She asked, ashamed for her Grandpa's behavior.

"I've dealt with worse." Inuyasha shivered again but turned to give her a measuring grin.

School was hardly important any more; it seemed they were the only two that noticed Inuyasha's vanishing. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday couldn't have possibly gone any slower than they did. Thursday early morning, Sango and Miroku left for Tokyo.

Both agreed that telling Inuyasha's parents would cause more trouble than it was worth. The sick feeling in their stomachs still hadn't gone away; they'd felt like that ever since they had talked to Mrs. Takashi. It was a quiet ride with only the radio making a sound.

When they arrived in Tokyo they went to the closest Motel, they needed to stay and that place had to be cheap. The city was crowded and busy; the kind of busy that makes you feel like you should be busy too. In a way they were busy, they had made missing posters last night and planned to use them to their full advantage.

They stood in a small motel room. The orange-ish carpet, infested with dirt clods, added a 70s flare to the look and feel. The wallpaper hung loose from the walls and spiders crawled in and out of the walls themselves. The bathroom was an unnatural yellow, which made neither of them too eager to use it. The beds were hard and you could feel the metal poke you as you lied there. They each claimed a twin bed, put their suitcases down and left to use the bathroom in the fast food restaurant across the street.

Kagome's grandfather was killing him. His constant "friendly reminders" were making him wish he would just roll over and fall on a bed of knives. Unfortunately, that's not how things work in the real world, what does work is stress relief. In Inuyasha's language that meant smoking; now everyone knows that smoking kills. It leads to slow and painful deaths, usually due to clogged arteries meaning heart attacks and strokes. But saying you're going to quit is easier than actually doing it.

Inuyasha browsed the local 7/11. Shoplifting at any 7/11 is one of the easiest things in the world, not counting the guilt that followed. It's not like the owners weren't paying attention it's just that, chances with the teenage population were not good. But Inuyasha wasn't going to shoplift, not today at least. He couldn't live with stealing from the poor old guy that owned the shop.

He walked up hesitantly to where the old man stood, behind the cash register. He stood with a hunch, his eyes warily spying the silver headed youth. He smiled pleasantly, his eyes crinkling. "Uh…I'd just like your cheapest pack of smokes." Inuyasha looked down at the bills and coins he held.

"You don't seem old enough to be smoking, young man." The old man continued to smile as if he had said nothing at all.

"Erm…"

"Let's make a deal. I'll let you buy a pack of cigarettes if you also buy 2 packs of nicotine and a pack of those patches that you stick on your arm. I want you to use them though, the nicotine patches that is. What do you say?"

Inuyasha's doubted that he would try the gum and patches, but Kagome's grandfather was going to drive him insane if not more than that. He needed the cigarettes, but he could do without the gum and patches. That is why would he want them? Another look at the kind old man and he thought about it again. He would feel a lot better, that was for sure. He might as well try it, considering he had probably already taken 17 years off his life. "It's a deal." Inuyasha gave him a toothy grin.

"Good, but please try them. I promised my wife a year ago and I haven't smoked since." The old man lifted up his white shirt sleeve to show Inuyasha a patch on his tan wrinkly arm; he smiled and nodded his head.

"I promise I'll give it a try." Something about the withered hunchback of a man handing him a pack of cigs along with the drugs to prevent smoking them made Inuyasha seriously think about life without relying on them all the time. Inuyasha's walked out of the store feeling a little less anxious.

The dinner table was quiet in an almost graveyard like way; besides the clinking of china and the hushed 'excuse me's', no one spoke. Inuyasha found it most uncomfortable looked around the table to see if anyone would start talking. Anyone would do, and any topic would be fin, someone just needed to talk.

He was almost glad he had bought those cigs; he was having the most powerful craving right now, but didn't excuse himself. No…silently, under the table, he pulled out one of the patches from the pack in his jean pocket, slinked his hand up underneath his shirt and stuck it on his scarred chest. Sighing deeply and mentally giving himself a million gold stars for his good deed he leaned back in his chair.

"So…" Finally someone had spoken, but maybe the silence was for the best. Kagome's grandfather looked up from his plate and stared Inuyasha in the eye. "When are your parents expecting you back home?"

The question, had somehow failed to have been asked. But knowing the two female Higurashi's they knew where to stop the questioning. Souta could care less but the elder Higurashi, no, he was merciless. Kagome and her mother stopped sipping their tea and sat there wide eyed and staring at Inuyasha.

He began to fidget, a habit picked up from Kagome. "Ummm…" He sat there going through the files in his mind desperately trying to find something.

"Hmmm?" Grandpa leaned back in his chair, a cocky grin plastered all over his face.

"They're dead." The first think that popped up in Inuyasha's mind also happened to blurt out of his mouth.

The room went back to its previous silence but the tension had gotten a great deal more noticeable. Inuyasha felt he had to say something. "They died…3 months ago…" 'Oh great, yea that'll help. Digging yourself a great big grave there Inuyasha.' He thought.

Inuyasha put up his best acting, acting which had saved him from being killed countless times while facing his father's wrath. He stared straight into the table, squeezing his eyes shut so they just barely watered, he wanted to be convincing but he also didn't want to lose anymore pride than what had already been stolen from him. He pushed his food away. "May I be excused?" He whispered.

"Of course, dear." Mrs. Higurashi spoke and he felt his heart sink. If only he had a mother like her, if only his parents really were dead, then he might have been happy. If only. Inuyasha scooted his chair back, keeping his face unseen, for now real tears had made there way to his eyes and were refusing to stay hidden. He walked out the back door and towards his favorite tree. The rest of the dinner party turned to glare at the elderly man as he sat there bewildered and guilty.

It had been an hour after Inuyasha had excused himself from dinner and Kagome was wondering whether he was ever going to come back inside. Grandpa had gone up to bed after that, blameworthy and depressed; completely recalculating his image of Inuyasha. Mrs. Higurashi tucked Souta in, assuring him that his "big brother" was going to be fine and that all he needed was some time to himself. But Kagome sat in the kitchen with a cold cup of tea sitting on the table in front of her and her thoughts on the young boy that had just left the room.

She had had enough. Inuyasha was going to come into this warm house and sleep on the nice comfy sofa or she'd die trying. Her sweater wrapped tightly around her, she stepped outside and into the chilly air. She stood in her all too familiar spot, at the base of "Inuyasha's tree." He was silent, probably thinking. She cleared her throat and in seconds Inuyasha was standing in front of her, his eyes hollow and his face straight.

"Er…" She had nothing better to say.

"I'm sorry for leaving like that." Inuyasha looked at his bare feet and sat down with his back against the old tree, she joined him.

"Grampa should be the one apologizing to you."

"He didn't know." It was like a game of pretend, a very dangerous game of pretend, but still the same concept.

"Still…some things you just don't ask. I mean, mom and me could tell that something was up and we were just going to let you tell us in time. But Grampa…he just doesn't understand." She held her knees up to her chest and laid her head down on top of them staring at Inuyasha's thoughtful profile.

"No…he had a right to know. Allowing someone into your house without knowing anything about them is dangerous. He was just being careful. He wants to protect you guys, I understand."

It was quiet and only the breeze blowing through the branches of the tree could be heard. It was calm and that's what they both needed after the fiasco in the kitchen.

"How did they die?" Kagome still stared at Inuyasha with some kind fascination that made him tense and relaxed at the same time. She had that kind of effect on him, she left him baffled. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No…I'll tell you." 'Seeing as how it never really happened, sure why not.' He thought to himself. Telling her a complete lie was harder than just plain lying. She held this sort of innocence that some people envied and others loathed.

But before he knew it he spewed out a story. Once you started lying it was hard to stop, almost like smoking, the fuses to bombs; they're hard to put out. "It was a fire, they think an arsonist. Three months ago. They had gone to some dinner party with some friends and had left me home alone. I didn't expect them home until early morning, so I went out. I came home with the house on fire and my parents being carted out in body bags." Inuyasha paused here, holding his head in his hands. He didn't feel right lying to Kagome, it gave him a sick feeling in his stomach, but not lying would probably send him back home. "They sent me to live with my cousin, here in Tokyo. I left though, he was an alcoholic and I had had enough of him coming home drunk with willing whores. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed; if maybe things might have been different. I miss how it used to be." His thoughts landed back to her. He guessed that's where all of the passion came from, he missed her…not them.

"Oh…Inuyasha!" Kagome held the boy in her arms. Her chin resting on his head, he kissed the top of his silver locks from time to time. "My dad…" She stared off slowly, hesitantly. "My dad died…about 9 years ago, thank you for not asking about it though. Usually, that's the first thing that people ask."

"Your welcome; I understand." He hated it when people asked him about his dad. You can only say so many nice things about the man who beats you.

"He was caught in a shoot out, a hold up by some teenage punks." Inuyasha's head still lay in Kagome's lap, she stroked his head affectionately and he closed his eyes enjoying it. She was somewhere else though. "7 people including dad died that day. Shot three times in the chest. I was 7, Souta was 3. Now that I think back, I don't think that I fully understood that he was never going to come home."

She looked up at the branches of the tree they sat under and pulled her sweater more firmly around her. "By the time the police found them 3 out of 5 had committed suicide. I guess the guilt got to them. The other 2 were sent to juvy for 17 years. They went easy on them because of their age and because of that I lost my dad." Tears came to her eyes and Inuyasha felt he needed to do something. So he took her hand, hoping that maybe it would make her feel better. She took it graciously and smiled down at him, wiping her eyes. "My dad was a good man, caught in a bad situation. The worst things happen to the best of people, don't they?"

"Sometimes it seems that way." Inuyasha stared up at the reminiscing girl and then back down to their interlocked hands.

"So what do you say we go back inside and hit the hay, hmmm?" She smiled let go of his hand, stood up and then held her hand out to him again.

"That sounds good right about now." Inuyasha took her outstretched hand and held onto it as they walked up to the back door.

Then Inuyasha stopped. They stood outside the kitchen door and Kagome gave him a questioning stare. "What's wrong?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"I just…I wanted to say thanks." Inuyasha turned to look at Kagome, taking her by both of her hands. They stood under the porch light, the cold air making them both shiver. She was beautiful and her eyes were as blue as ever. And then it hit him, in the span of 11 days this girl, who otherwise seemed like a regular everyday teenager, had saved him and had put him back together.

Kagome felt her heart drop and then pop right back up again. She had always been mesmerized by Inuyasha's eyes but in the dark they glowed and in a sort of haunting way, they were gorgeous. Tonight they showed more of him than he probably would ever tell; she was reading him like an open book.

"I…ummm…." Words failed him and as he leaned down in what he hoped was a somewhat romantic fashion, his fear kicked in. He stepped back and looked Kagome in the face. He was sweating, his palms were clammy, and he couldn't help but feel like dinner was going to come up. It took Kagome awhile to realize that the long awaited kiss was not going to happen so she opened her reluctant eyes. He was afraid, she could tell. So she took matters into her own hands, she wasn't going to wait around for him to contemplate what he should do.

She had to stand on her tippy toes but she got there. Her lips found his. Inuyasha barely knew what was going on; she had somehow gotten her arms up and around his back while her lips were firmly placed on his. Inuyasha figured he'd better do something before she decided to give up on him. He slipped his hands around her waist and dipped his head, allowing the kiss to be less awkward and more intimate. Her lips were soft and full. He held her closely but softly, she was like a doll, fragile and small. She smiled against his lips as he slid his tongue in her mouth. Neither quite knew what they were doing but they managed relying on instincts and what they had seen on movies. (A/N: Thank god for those movies!)

Kagome broke away, placing her forehead on his. They stood like that for what seemed like hours, the dimmed porch light making that steady humming noise and the wind through the branches barely overpowering it.

A/N: Yup…first kiss…yadda yadda yadda. I hope that wasn't too bad, I can't really write romance, even if this is a romance fic. But you know, like kissing and stuff. I get so embarrassed. I start blushing like crazy. Maybe one of you can teach me the art of romance writing.

Double thanks to all of my reviewers because I didn't thank you last time, and I felt so guilty. I 3 you all so much! Well, anyways not much else to say, but I'd really appreciate reviews, I probably sound needy but all the support really gets me going. And I end up putting out the chapters faster. You guys can add in anything to help, or advice or anything else. So…yea, please review. Thanks again to all of you magnificent reviewers.