"You ready yet?" Kagome stumbled out of the dressing stall and glared at Inuyasha.

"How can I decide what I want when you keep rushing me!" Inuyasha scoffed.

"Keh! Don't see why you have to shop so much." Kagome rolled her eyes as she hung the blouse on a near clothes rack.

"This is only the second store we've been too." Inuyasha glared at her.

"How many fuckin' stores do you plan on going to?" Kagome smiled brightly.

"Just a couple. Besides, you wanted to come, remember?" Inuyasha stood up, grabbing her hand and leading her out the 'girly' store.

"Come on, we're leaving."

Kagome groaned as she let him drag her out. They walked around the crowded mall for a couple of minutes before she heard Inuyasha begin to growl.

"What's wrong now?" He didn't glance at her, instead he kept looking forward, eyeing the walking people.

"It's too fucking crowded!"

Kagome let his hand go and walked in front of him. Inuyasha stayed stunned for a bit then stomped over to her.

"What the hell are you doing! Leaving me behind?"

Kagome kept walking till she noticed they were by the food court. 'Jack pot!' She sat down on a white table and looked up to Inuyasha.

"You're obviously tired and I'm starting to get hungry." Inuyasha glanced at the small restaurants, giving her a bored expression in the end.

"You wanna eat here?" Kagome smiled.

"Can I have a strawberry smoothie?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he walked away grumbling into the crowd. Kagome smiled to herself.

'He really hates the mall…'

She set her purse and elbows on the table, bringing her hands together under her chin. She glanced down, staring at the table.

'He's probably fuming cuz' there's no Ramen here.'

She sighed as she brought her gaze to the passing people. Out of nowhere, a couple of guys sat her table, eyeing her with interest. One sat next to her, the other across from him, and another directly across from her.

"Hey Kagome, long time no see?" Kagome knew him, the one sitting directly across from her. She frowned as his buddies drew closer to her.

"What do YOU want?"

The black haired, brown eyed, eighteen year old chuckled at her. Kagome soon realized that he hadn't changed at all.

'Asshole…'

"How long has it been? Two years?" Kagome scowled as she lowered her gaze down at the table, not wanting to look at his face.

"What do you want. Takemaru?" He chuckled again, bringing his hands together on top of the table.

"What's wrong with wanting to talk to an old friend?" Kagome didn't like his tone of voice, it was too…smooth, calm, friendly. She didn't like it, at all.

"I think you should leave." Takemaru noticed her getting stiff, which only made him want to stay where he was.

"Kagome…" He leaned on the table, getting close to her. "I just wanna talk."

Kagome suddenly felt his hand over hers, his thumb caressing her hand.

"Tell me Kagome, you have a boy-friend?"

Kagome quickly stood from her chair, her eyes blazing fire at him. "Don't touch me!"

Takemaru stood up slowly, his grin turning into a smile. His buddies stood up too, eyeing her.

"Kagome, I-"

"Who the fuck are you?" All eyes turned to Inuyasha, standing about five feet from them.

Kagome had never felt more relieved in her life. She walked to Inuyasha's side, hugging his arm for comfort. She glanced at Inuyasha, talking to him practically in a whisper.

"Let's just go." She tried to tug on his arm, but he wouldn't budge. His eyes never leaving Takemaru's.

"Who the fuck is he, Kagome?" Takemaru chuckled, placing his hands in his pockets.

"This your boy-friend, Kagome?" The guys behind him snickered at Inuyasha, which only made the situation worse. Kagome tugged harder on Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha please…" She glared at Takemaru, "He's not worth it."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the four humans before huffing and turning around, Kagome following closely behind him.

"Oh, and Kagome!" The couple stopped, Kagome gripping Inuyasha's arm as she felt his body stiffen and his throat producing a threatening growl.

"Tell Sango I said hi." Kagome turned to him in an instant, gritting her teeth as the four guys laughed out loud and walked in the opposite direction.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Inuyasha was driving in silent anger. The radio was too low, the music barely reaching her ears. She sighed quietly.

"Are you mad at me?" Inuyasha's scowl deepened, refusing to answer her. Kagome moved her gaze to her lap.

"Will you talk to me?" She heard him grip the wheel, almost afraid that he'd break it any second. But staying silent wouldn't help anything, and she was beginning to get fed up with his attitude.

"Why are you mad at me? I didn't do anything!"

In short seconds, he parked by the curb of the sidewalk, at her house. He turned off the engine and unbuckled his seat belt, crossing his arms and staring out the window. Kagome unbuckled her seat belt and leaned further in her seat.

"Inuyasha…" He turned to look at her, his glower making her wince.

"What the FUCK was that about?" Kagome fidgeted with her fingers, gazing down at her nervous hands.

"I dunno." She heard him sigh in anger and hit the stirring wheel with his hand, making her flinch.

"Who was that!" Kagome sighed before answering, her voice just above a whisper.

"Takemaru..." Inuyasha leaned his elbow on the window frame, trying to hold in his anger…it didn't work.

"If he knows Sango, then why the HELL is he talking to you! Damn it, Kagome!"

Kagome was on the brink of tears, the hurt in her heart was making her ache. She didn't like his words, nor the way he was talking to her. She turned to him and burst.

"For your information, he was the one who hurt Sango!"

Before he could register her statement, she opened the door and bolted out of the car, slamming the door as she ran towards her house.

"Damn it…"

He quickly got out of his car and caught up with her, just above the steps of the shrine.

"Kagome, wait!"

He managed to get in front of her and took hold of her shoulders.

"What happened?" Kagome kept her head low, knowing that he knew she was weeping.

"I don't wanna talk about it." He nodded, then pulled her into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know." Kagome slowly hugged him back, feeling him kiss the top of her head.

Inuyasha sat on the ground next to Kagome, watching her nibble on a rice cake. He leaned against the God Tree, staring up at the leaves for awhile before bringing his gaze back on Kagome.

"Feel better?" Kagome nodded slowly.

"Yeah."

He nodded then turned his attention elsewhere, waiting for her to start talking.

"He's from my old school…from St. Peter's." He turned to her in mild surprise.

"So what's he got to do with Sango?" Kagome winced at the memory beginning to form in her head.

"Sango…used to go there, before Shikon." Inuyasha rose his eyebrows.

"Really?" Kagome nodded, bringing her knees up, her chin resting on them.

"Yeah, we both met there our freshman year." Inuyasha nodded.

"So when does this asshole come into place?" Kagome frowned sadly.

"We were sophomores then, and Takemaru was the most popular guy in school, he knew everybody, even the juniors and seniors."

Why was Inuyasha not surprised? He kept silent, nodding only once to let her continue.

"Well, rumor had it that he liked athletic girls, and he wanted Sango." She sighed as she continued.

"So, they dated and all that, Sango told me everything. And I mean everything!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"REALLY?" Kagome giggled at his sarcastic tone.

"Anyways, one night…Sango called me. She was crying and asking if she could come over. She came over and…"

Inuyasha noticed her reluctance and leaned against her, letting her know it was okay to tell him anything. Kagome took a silent breath and tried to continue.

"She said…he…tried to…" Inuyasha leaned back, his mind going hay-wire.

"That sick little fuck!" Kagome quickly turned to him and hugged his waist tightly, weeping onto his chest.

"I didn't know what to tell her! She didn't want anyone to know! By the time we got to school the next day, he had told everyone she was easy and…"

She couldn't finish, her crying took the best of her, making her sob into his chest. Inuyasha embraced her, half of him not able to believe what Kagome had said.

"She didn't tell anyone?" Kagome shook her head.

"She didn't want to. Instead, she asked her dad to change her schools…and that was it. I finished my year there, and I wanted to come too, but I my grandpa told me I had to go to Japan for a while. My mom said I could go with Sango when I came back."

Inuyasha nodded, he couldn't shake the anger that rose above his heart. Right now, all he wanted to do was find that little shit and beat him senseless!

"Just please, Inuyasha. Don't give her any looks, or she'll know I told you." He glanced down at her.

"What's wrong with that, we're all friends anyway. And I should beat the shit outa' him for doing that!"

Kagome leaned off him, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Sango doesn't want anyone to know, not even you or Miroku. She'd kill me!" She rubbed her arms with her hands.

"And I already feel bad as it is. I shouldn't have told you." Inuyasha grabbed her chin and turned her gently to him, staring at her straight in the eyes.

"No Kagome, you both did wrong. You should've told someone." Kagome nodded sadly.

"I know. I tried to convince her, but she didn't want to. She didn't want people giving her…pity looks."

Inuyasha shook his head. Why hadn't they said anything? Why would Sango just…

He shook his head out of anger, not understanding how stupid Sango could be.

Kagome stood up, wiping her bottom of any dirt she might have. Inuyasha stood up, wiping himself as well.

He walked her to her back door, his arm around her shoulder. They reached the door and Kagome looked at him.

"Please don't tell anyone. She's my best friend and…" Inuyasha nodded before she could finish.

"Yeah, I get it. Can't say I agree with you, though." Kagome glanced away.

"I know."

She reached up to him, her hand cupping his face as she kissed his lips. Inuyasha placed his hand on her hip, kissing her back.

She ended the kiss and half smiled.

"I'll see you later, okay? I'm gonna go call Sango and tell her I saw HIM at the mall." Inuyasha nodded.

"Alright, call you later." Kagome nodded.

They met for a quick peck on the lips. Inuyasha let her go inside then walked himself out from her backyard and towards his car out front. He passed the 'certain' spot, the one that he thought he could never forget. The spot where 'SHE' had dumped him.

To his small surprise, he didn't think twice about it. He shrugged the old memory away and walked to his car.