Daughters
Chapter Six: If Everyone Cared

"Here," Inuyasha said with a frown as he plopped a small plastic bag in Rin's hands.

"What's this?" she asked curiously, observing the bag and peeking inside at two rice balls Inuyasha had sloppily made.

"Your lunch," Inuyasha said with a grunt as he stuffed his books into his knapsack and closing the clasp with some difficulty. Glancing at himself in the reflection of the window over the stove, Inuyasha readjusted his tie so it was a bit straighter and turned away, missing when his tie flopped back down into its original, crooked position. "Come on."

Rin followed after him, keeping in stride with her older, taller cousin. Inuyasha glanced at his watch and readjusted his tie again. He hated ties. He hated school uniforms. He hated his school uniforms that included the blasted ties.

They walked in silence, Inuyasha being sure to walk slower so that Rin would not get lost in the early morning crowd of commuters and students. Inuyasha sidestepped easily and glanced back over his shoulder occasionally to make sure that Rin was still behind him.

A while later, Inuyasha and Rin parted ways, Rin entering her school with her teachers and Inuyasha leaving for his own classes. Inuyasha knew he'd be late because of the fact that he'd stayed to argue with the teachers about leaving Rin all by herself and not keeping a better eye on her. For their part, they did look ashamed, but quickly scolded him on always being late to pick Rin up.

They parted ways, and Inuyasha felt like his sour mood would never lift. He snarled angrily at his shoes and kicked a pebble in front of him. Turning down a smaller street that led to his school without the hassle of other bodies on the sidewalk, Inuyasha stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Don't want to go to school," he muttered to himself.

"People rarely do," a voice said beside him.

Inuyasha jumped and did an odd whiplash turnaround in order to look at Kagome, who watched him with some amusement. He felt his cheeks turn pink and he crossed his arms. Snorting loudly, he turned his head away so that Kagome couldn't see his embarrassment with being spotted not only talking to himself, but then acting ridiculously when she made her presence known.

"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha asked harshly. Kagome laughed.

"I live here," Kagome said calmly and pointed up to a tall, elegant building they were walking past. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing!" Inuyasha declared heatedly.

"Of course, of course," Kagome said gently, a sigh in her voice. She walked beside him and said nothing more.

Inuyasha watched her out of the corner of his eye. The notice had been sent out throughout the school and the uniforms had been changed from winter to spring, and the light spring breeze ruffled the sleeves of Kagome's shirt.

The uncomfortable silence that railed after Inuyasha and Kagome was almost unbearable. Inuyasha kicked some pebbles lying on the street and turned the corner with Kagome beside him. Kagome was silent, staring at the ground, her shoulders tense. They both could feel the strain pulling in the air like a rubber-band and yet neither did anything to relieve the mounting tension.

As they turned another corner the school came into sight and Kagome breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah, there's the school," Kagome said, beaming, and her arm brushed against Inuyasha's as she made to point. Inuyasha quickly skirted away from the contact; he hadn't realized he was so close to Kagome in the first place.

"Congratulations, you can see," Inuyasha said sarcastically.

Kagome dropped her hand and looked at him, her blue eyes indescribable. Inuyasha felt raw under such an intense gaze and turned his head away. He started walking faster but was disappointed to hear Kagome's quickened footsteps behind him.

"What did I do to you?" she asked suddenly to his back. Inuyasha felt himself stiffen.

"Nothing," he snapped.

"Then why are you so rude to me? I admit, I've said some rude things to you, but you've said rude things to me, too. What did I do?" Kagome questioned earnestly, her blue eyes continuing to gaze at his back.

"You didn't do anything," Inuyasha said harshly. "Now just drop it."

"Then why are you so mean to me?"

"It's not always about you," Inuyasha said irritably as he whipped around. Kagome nearly crashed into his chest at his sudden stop but quickly stopped herself in time. She tilted her chin up to stare at the tall boy before her.

They stood in a stalemate, their eyes locking and their lips drawn into deep frowns. Around them students filtered into the school, paying no mind to the two stubborn classmates from class 3-4; Kagome felt uneasy under his gaze and Inuyasha vice versa.

"Then what?" she demanded.

"I'm mean to everyone," Inuyasha admitted, snarling at his classmate. "Why should you be any different?"

Kagome lowered her gaze and bit her lip.

"You've been nice to me ever since you found out I was a damned orphan," Inuyasha spat out, feeling his fury rising. "I don't need your damn pity, woman, I don't need anyone. I've always been alone and I'm fine with being alone now."

Kagome stood still. Save for the slight breeze that ruffled her school uniform, she could have looked like a statue. Her wide blue eyes stared at him in disbelief before she finally lowered her gaze and clutched her book bag tightly.

"I see…" she murmured. "Sorry to have bothered you."

With that, she took off at a run, running past him and into the school. Inuyasha wasn't sure what to feel about her sudden departure.

'Whoever scheduled our class to have PE before lunch was a cruel, cruel soul,' Inuyasha thought to himself as he trotted around the last corner of his school's track and slowed down to a stop, panting along with his other male classmates. He tried to ignore his growling stomach. On the other side of the field, the girls were doing their PE class, too.

"Okay boys, partner up," their PE teacher, Mr. Nakamichi, called out to the senior boys, his lips quirked downwards in a frown—a feature that seemed engraved on his face. "And work on your running drills."

Inuyasha sighed and watched as the boys in his class quickly moved towards their friends and darted off to goof off and disregard their PE teacher's instructions. Inuyasha folded his arms and stared at his feet, kicking at stray pebbles that had bounced their way onto the rubber eight-lane track.

"Hey," a voice said beside him and Inuyasha glanced at a boy about his height, with bright blue eyes. "I'll be your partner."

"Whatever," Inuyasha muttered.

"You're Shinkanshi Inuyasha," the boy continued, not really taking notice of Inuyasha's sour attitude. "I'm Endo Miroku, but you probably already knew that."

"No," Inuyasha said flatly.

Miroku looked stricken. "But… I've sat behind you since the beginning of the year!"

"Sorry," Inuyasha said with a shrug, not really meaning the apology and not really listening to the boy.

"Well, that's okay," Miroku said with his own shrug, waving aside Inuyasha's cold attitude with a wave of his hand. "You know me now."

Inuyasha started walking away, heading towards an empty section of the track. "Come on, Indo."

"Endo," Miroku corrected, smiling nervously.

"Hm," Inuyasha grunted.

He hated PE. He especially hated PE right before lunch. He worked with Miroku, because he didn't want to talk to him, like his other classmates were to their own partners. They raced around the track, Inuyasha never letting Miroku get the upper hand. Either Miroku noticed his attitude and chose to ignore it, or he was just an idiot. Inuyasha was leaning towards the latter and didn't spare any sympathy for Miroku when he lamented that he hated running and had horrendous endurance.

Across the field, Miss Kurosaki was with the girls, having them play volleyball. The girls were divided up into four separate teams and two games were underway already. Kagome Higurashi continued to stare at him before quickly turning her gaze away.

Inuyasha felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. The last thing he wanted was for Kagome to be staring at him. Who the hell did she think he was? Some animal on display? He'd told her off this morning and she hadn't dared talked to him all day. So why did she keep looking at him?

'There she goes again,' he thought angrily as Kagome glanced at him before quickly looking away when she realized that Inuyasha was staring angrily back at her.

Miroku was laughing beside him. "Geez, Kagome's looking at you a lot."

Inuyasha snapped his head around and cursed the boy, who backed away in alarm at the sudden hostility (that he'd either ignored or didn't notice up until this point). He waved his hands in what he supposed was a pacifying manner and tried to soothe Inuyasha's ruffled feathers.

"Kagome must really like you," he continued, unknowingly fueling Inuyasha's anger. What Miroku thought was comfort was only enraging Inuyasha more. "She's usually a bit introverted, ya know?"

Inuyasha stalked away from Miroku and the said boy stared after him in confusion. "Hey, where are you going?"

Inuyasha didn't bother answering his classmate and stalked across the field towards where the girls were playing their volleyball game. It took a couple of minutes, but eventually the girls noticed that a boy from across the field was indeed approaching them. They paused in their games and the two volleyballs rolled at their feet until falling into a rut and stopping.

Kagome watched Inuyasha curiously as he stalked up to her, seething.

The girls around Kagome chatted nervously with one another. PE classes were strictly segregated and they'd never seen the rule be broken before, especially by a loner that didn't say anything instead of a player, like Miroku or any of the other boys in their class.

And never before had a boy stalked across the field, disobeyed the segregation rule, nor had the said boy been a silent loner who stalked up to a fairly popular girl. Kagome blinked in alarm, clutching her hands together as she watched his approach.

"Yes?" she asked calmly when he came to a halt before her. The boys across the field seemed to have realized Inuyasha's disappearance and turned attention towards the girls in the distance, where they could make out the male PE uniform swimming amidst the sea of female PE uniforms.

"Stop it," he commanded and the girls around Kagome and Inuyasha wondered what he meant.

"Stop what?" she asked, still calmly observing him.

"Looking at me," he snapped.

"Who said I was looking at you?" Kagome shot back, her eyebrows lifting towards her hairline.

"Don't be stupid," Inuyasha said harshly and some of the girls recoiled at Inuyasha's brashness. "I don't want you acting all high and mighty, glancing my way with those damned looks of pity. I hate that! I hate it, you got that? So stop."

"I have no pity for you," Kagome snapped, turning her face away and knitting her brows. She wrinkled her nose before whipping her head back towards him. "So stop acting like you're the most important guy in the world. Just because I glance your way doesn't mean that I feel sorry for you."

"Then why the fuck are you being nice to me, huh? If it's not pity?" Inuyasha said, enraged.

Kagome scoffed. "Why are you so against someone being nice to you? Maybe I just want to be nice to you."

"Why the hell would anyone be nice to me?" Inuyasha snapped out angrily.

Kagome was silent for a short moment, her eyes glowing with her anger. "Maybe because I want to be your friend."

Inuyasha stared at her, flabbergasted. "Why the hell would you want that?"

Kagome bit her lip and clutched her hands tighter, her knuckles going white. "I don't know…" she admitted. "I just think that maybe you'd like a friend."

Inuyasha snorted. "That's stupid. I don't need friendship. Especially from a stupid and annoying girl like you."

"But I thought…" Kagome muttered to herself, trailing off.

"You really are a moron," Inuyasha said with a snarl. "What makes you think for a minute that I'd even want to be friends with a stupid, ugly girl like you? It's just a waste of your time. I have no desire to be friends with anyone. Especially you."

Kagome's blue eyes stared at him, and Inuyasha almost saw a glimmer of sadness in her oceanic gaze. She lowered her gaze and released her grasp on her hands. A second later, however, those two hands clenched into fists and she shook.

Whipping her head up Inuyasha almost saw the tears in her eyes. "Fine then! I won't try to be nice to you anymore. I won't try to be your friend!"

Inuyasha's mouth clamped shut. He hadn't expected that. He'd expected her to tell him he was a jerk, or something of that nature.

"I guess I really must be an idiot to want to be friends with you. I thought that maybe, if you had someone to talk to, you wouldn't be so angry all the time. But now I see that you're just a jerk, who doesn't care about anyone." Kagome shook her head quickly. "I never want to speak to you again."

Inuyasha saw the tears now.

All around him girls stared at him, their critical eyes silently tearing him apart for daring to make their classmate cry. One of them, Sango Inuyasha thought her name was, inched over to Kagome and touched her shoulder. Kagome turned away quickly and trotted away, hiding behind Sango's taller frame.

Inuyasha stood rooted to the ground, unsure what he felt about making Kagome cry. No one wanted to be his friend… and this display probably just solidified that belief. But, Kagome had wanted to be his friend? Kagome wanted to befriend him? Be nice to him?

He felt like a jerk, and knew he was one. He'd always known. He'd made Kagome cry.

Even if she'd said rude things to him, knowingly or unknowingly, Inuyasha knew that Kagome was trying to make amends with him. And he'd completely shoved it back in her face. Was she genuine in her attempts to befriend him? Or was it pity?

"Come with me, young man," the girl's PE teacher said angrily, tugging Inuyasha away by his shoulder. The girls in his class continued to look back at him in contempt.

"Let's hurry home and cook dinner, okay, Rin-Chan?" Kagome said as she clutched Rin's hand tightly.

"Okay, Kagome!" Rin bubbled happily, swinging the small bag of groceries Kagome had trusted her with. Two larger bags swung at Kagome's side. "Do you think Inu-oniichan will be happy that we made dinner?"

Kagome's face twitched and she turned her head again, looking away from the child. Her heart throbbed and she tried not to think about her classmate and employer. It hurt to think about what he'd said in front of everyone to her.

"I'm sure he'll be happy," Kagome lied. Knowing Inuyasha, he'd find something wrong with their cooking and refuse to eat it. "Especially since you're making it for him!"

"Yeah!" Rin chirped happily.

Kagome came to a stop at the crosswalk. The streetlight overhead blinked precariously. Kagome sighed and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.

"Hey!" Rin said suddenly, startling Kagome. "There's Inu-oniichan now!"

Kagome looked to see where Rin was pointing and sure enough, there was Inuyasha, inside a small restaurant. He scribbled down something on a notepad before disappearing around the corner, undoubtedly going to place the order his customers had given him.

"Well, what do you know…? It is Shinkanshi-Kun," Kagome said, a small trace of sadness in her voice that Rin didn't pick up on. His words from Monday still stung, after all. She didn't want to see him.

"Let's go say hi to him!" Rin said, determined to do just that. She clutched Kagome's hand tighter and dragged her towards where Inuyasha was working.

Kagome didn't see any appeal in that idea. When she'd come to her classmate's house to watch Rin, they hadn't said a word to one another. He'd simply barked at Rin to not cause any trouble and stalked away. She hadn't wanted to talk to him, anyway. Not after what he'd said on Monday during PE. She'd been content with the silent treatment. It had been going on for two days and she wasn't about to break it.

Especially in such a circumstance.

"Wait, Rin-Chan, I don't think…" Kagome trailed off as she allowed the girl to pull her into the restaurant on the corner. Inside the dusty restaurant, Kagome could barely make Inuyasha out through the smoke that hung in the air like a cloud.

"Inu-oniichan!" Rin started to walk towards where she saw Inuyasha last. Kagome quickly wrenched Rin back.

"Rin, no!" Kagome commanded, watching as Inuyasha slipped by them, holding a large tray of drinks. He hadn't noticed Kagome or Rin's presence yet. "We can't interrupt Shinkanshi-Kun while he's working."

"Ah," Rin deflated, looking defeated.

Kagome sighed. "Come on, Rin-Chan. Let's go home before he notices us and gets angry."

"Okay…" Rin said sadly.

They moved back outside, their plastic white bags swinging as they moved around the corner just in time for the light to turn green and cars to rush by in a large wave. Kagome sighed sadly. They'd just missed the light.

"Ah well. We'll just have to wait," Kagome said more to herself than to her small companion. "Hopefully Shinkanshi-Kun won't notice me."

Rin watched her for a long moment, her hand gripping Kagome's larger one earnestly. "Kagome…?" Rin ventured. "Why are you sad?"

Kagome blinked her eyes and tilted her head upward, not wishing for Rin to see her pained look. She didn't know why it was that Inuyasha's anger affected her so deeply. If he didn't want to be nice to her, then fine, she should let it go. She couldn't get along with everyone. But… she wanted Inuyasha to like her. She wanted him to like her…

Her heart throbbed again and she clutched the material of her shirt, just above her chest. She swallowed and ducked her head.

"I don't know," she lied to Rin. The little girl wouldn't be able to understand. She blinked back tears and sighed, trying to control her whirlpool of emotions. The last thing she wanted was to break down crying in front of Inuyasha's work place. "Let's just go home."

"Hey, pretty lady," a slick voice said behind Kagome. The said girl froze instantly and hesitantly turned her head towards the voice.

A tall man stood, leaning against the wall of the restaurant, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. The blue-grey smoke curled in the air like a translucent snake, dancing in the night's air. It curled and danced around his head before disappearing in the sky above. Kagome swallowed.

"Can I help you?" Kagome questioned, willing the light behind her to change.

"Maybe," the man said with a small shrug. With a small 'pfft' the cigarette butt was on the ground and his heel pounded against it once before it extinguished. He smiled wickedly at her, his teeth stained a deep yellow from years of tobacco use.

Kagome repositioned herself so that she was standing in front of Rin. The little girl had the sense to remain silent, quietly clutching the hem of Kagome's light blue, summery skirt. Her brown eyes watched the scene before her, fear written on her face.

"Well…" Kagome willed the shaking in her voice to cease. "I'm sorry… but I don't have any change for the bus fare. I… uh… maybe the people inside have some."

Her eyes darted to the streetlight. It was still green and cars whizzed by, taking no mind of the high school girl facing a much older, stronger man. Her blue eyes surveyed her surroundings, willing someone inside the restaurant to come out and save her. She couldn't defend herself against a man and protect Rin at the same time. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"I don't need money," he said with the same wolfish grin on his face. He took a step towards her and Kagome stiffened, her grip on Rin's shoulder forcing the small girl to skirt behind her. Her eyes narrowed in warning and she felt her heart hammering against her chest.

"Kagome…" Rin cried behind her.

"Run away, Rin," Kagome commanded, her eyes never straying from the man before her.

"No," Rin whispered, still clutching Kagome's skirt.

"I said run away," Kagome repeated, turning around to stare at the little girl.

That was a mistake.

Within moments Kagome felt a grip on her wrists. She screamed out of impulse and the bags of groceries and her purse fell to the ground. She gasped in pain as the man slammed her against the wall. She tried to cry out but she was quickly silenced by a pair of cold lips pressed firmly against her own.

Rin stared in horror, her entire body shaking as Kagome tried to break away from the man. The alcohol on the man's breath nearly suffocated Kagome and she thrashed and kicked, trying to break free from the man's steel vice-like hold.

'No,' she thought miserably, kicking fruitlessly. They were nestled in the shadows—no one would save her. She clenched her eyes shut as the man's tongue swept through her mouth. She bit down hard.

"You bitch!" the man snarled, pulling away and spitting onto the pavement. Kagome panted, her eyes widened in fear.

"Rin, run away!" Kagome screamed as the man lifted a fist and it flew towards her. She clenched her eyes shut again. She gasped in pain as the fist pushed against her cheek, whipping her head to the side.

"Shut the fuck up," the man snapped, his fist raised threateningly. Kagome's cheek throbbed and she knew it would bruise over. Her eyes widened and she shook. Her heart hammered against her chest and she tried to push the man away. His steel chest refused to budge under her limp arms.

"Please," she cried. "Don't."

The man laughed; his laughter was cold and mirthless. Kagome felt as if a bucket of ice water was splashed on her. Her body felt weak. She couldn't defend herself against this man. Why wasn't anyone coming out? Why wasn't she strong enough to protect herself?

"Please," Kagome repeated, still trying to push against him.

"Shut up," he snarled, raising another fist. Kagome clenched her eyes shut, already imagining the pain it would bring. Her cheek still throbbed.

The expected fist never came. Kagome kept her eyes shut and didn't dare open them, for fear of seeing something she didn't want to see. She shook visibly, even as a second hand touched her shoulders, encasing her in warmth. Unlike the first man's grip, this one was almost comforting.

She opened her eyes and nearly jumped in shock to see Inuyasha's arm around her, while his other hand gripped the man's fist tightly.

"Shinkanshi-Kun…" Kagome breathed, her eyes wide.

Inuyasha didn't respond. Instead, he focused his attention on the man before him, who narrowed his eyes.

"Haven't you got anything better to do than to force yourself on a girl?" Inuyasha asked calmly, betraying no emotions. Kagome shook beside him. He glanced at her and shoved her away towards Rin. "Stay back," he ordered. "Don't get in the way."

Kagome clutched her hands together, backing up towards Rin and hiding the small girl behind her legs, not wishing to expose Rin to the scene. Inuyasha's lavender eyes blazed angrily.

"Shinkanshi-Kun," Kagome repeated. She collapsed to the ground, quietly taking Rin and hiding her in the shadows. She felt her entire body shaking. She could still taste the man in her mouth.

"What do you care what I do?" the man said, trying to pry his fist free from Inuyasha's grip.

"I don't care," Inuyasha said bitterly. "But I cannot allow someone who takes advantage of women and children to go along their way unharmed."

"Oh?" the man said, laughter in his voice. He sent a kick towards Inuyasha and caught him in the stomach. "A knight in shining armor, then?"

"Hardly," Inuyasha snarled, sending a punch to the man's face and knocking him back a couple feet.

Their eyes blazed angrily, and each threw punches. Inuyasha ducked and threw a kick. The man dodged and threw his own punch. They continued in that fashion, their bodies moving around one another as if the fight were choreographed. Kagome watched in amazement, her blue eyes wide and her entire body trembling.

Kagome watched in horror as the man captured Inuyasha's foot after an attempted kick and threw him against a pyramid of empty food crates near the back door of his work. Inuyasha groaned but was quickly on his feet. A small bruise was forming near his temple, he could feel it.

He charged the man and swept his feet out, catching the inside of his knees and causing them to buckle. The man dropped to the ground in time to receive a backhand in the jaw. His head whipped upwards and Inuyasha continued his assault.

Releasing a string of curses, the man rolled away, his yellow teeth flashing angrily as he extracted a pocket knife. Kagome stared in shock as the man dove towards Inuyasha, the blade glinting in the dim light of a streetlight.

Inuyasha dodged, like he was made of liquid, and the blade merely grazed over his forearm. Her classmate spun around and caught the man's wrist, twisting the appendage behind his back.

"Bastard," the man hissed, his arm screaming in pain. The knife clattered to the ground.

Inuyasha said nothing, merely threw the man away from him. He stumbled and hit the wall near Kagome. Kagome gasped in horror as the man rushed forward and grasped Kagome's wrist.

"Come on, pretty lady. You know you liked it."

The man was hysterical, wishing for some leverage over the black-haired boy. The alcohol loosened his movements, and he lacked the proper knowledge of a fighter, unlike Inuyasha, who was disciplined in martial arts—and life experiences.

"Let me go," Kagome gasped as the man inched closer. She shook violently. He'd stolen her first kiss. He was touching her. She could feel him on her, crawling like a spider.

"Don't you fucking touch her!" Inuyasha snarled and threw an empty crate lining the wall of his restaurant against the man's face. The man collapsed, his body hitting the ground like deadweight. Silence met the man's descent and Kagome blinked. He was unconscious. It was over.

"Oy," Inuyasha said angrily, kneeling beside Kagome. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Kagome stared at him, tears filling her eyes.

Inuyasha didn't seem to notice. "Did he hurt you? What the hell are you doing out here, anyway? You and Rin shouldn't be out after dark."

Kagome continued to stare at him until the tears clouded her vision and overflowed, running down her cheeks. Inuyasha recoiled in shock as Kagome ducked her head and cushioned her face in her hands, crying uncontrollably.

She was trembling. Inuyasha blanched. "Oy…"

"I didn't… I didn't want that…!" Kagome cried out, tears staining her hands, her shoulders shaking. She could taste him in her mouth. He was her first kiss. She could still feel his lips, his tongue, his presence. Kagome knew that, if Inuyasha hadn't come, it would have turned out much worst. That only scared her more.

His hand touched her shoulder softly before quickly disappearing. She lifted her head. She could just make out his figure through the curtain of tears. "Shinkanshi-Kun…"

He stared at her curiously, unsure how to help her.

"Thank you," she sobbed, clutching her knees and ducking her head. "Without you…"

"Keh," he said quietly, turning his face away. His cheeks were stained pink. "Like I could let someone do that to a defenseless girl."

Kagome nodded. He hadn't done it for her, per say, but just because his morals wouldn't let him just turn away. Nevertheless, she was eternally grateful to him.

"Rin," Inuyasha said harshly and the said girl peeked out, her entire body tense and her face fearful. "It's safe now."

Rin ventured out and stared between the two people before her. She clenched Kagome's shirt sleeve. "Kagome…" she whispered. "Don't cry."

Kagome lifted her gaze and stared at Inuyasha again, a world of gratitude in her eyes. "Shinkanshi-Kun," she whispered. Her blue eyes, tears swimming within them, took in his blushing profile. He eyed her warily. "Are you hurt?"

"That's my line," he muttered and continued to blush. He cleared his throat. He glanced down at the small line of blood on his arm, soaking through his work shirt. "I'm not hurt. He was nothing."

He turned his face to look at her, his lavender eyes clouded and smoky. Kagome felt as if she could become lost in such eyes. The heated orbs surveyed her face and settled on her cheek. The wine colored eyes darkened as he stared at the forming bruise.

He reached out a hand but quickly recoiled it, mentally berating himself for wanting to touch her cheek. He turned his face away.

"It looks worse than it is," Kagome reassured him, lying through her teeth. Her cheek throbbed painfully and she placed her hand over it, covering the colored skin shamefully. "I'm fine. I promise."

After informing the manager of what had happened and the police were called, Inuyasha took off for the night.

"Oy," he called to the two girls sitting at a table nearby. "We're going home. Come on."

Walking in the darkness, Rin sleeping against Kagome's shoulder as the girl held her with both hands, Inuyasha made his way towards Kagome's house. Kagome shivered at the events of the night, her grocery bags swinging limply in her numb hand. It had all happened so fast.

"I'm sorry," she spoke, breaking the silence the two classmates had created. Inuyasha didn't say anything but continued walking. "I wasn't able to protect Rin… or myself."

Inuyasha sighed, closing his eyes. "You must really be an idiot, huh? Walking alone at night in that part of town. What were you thinking? You were just asking to be mugged." He glanced at her. "Or worse."

Kagome ducked her head in shame.

"But everything turned out okay in the end," Inuyasha lamented, his hooded eyes lifting to look at the twinkling lights of the city around him. "So you don't need to apologize."

"Right," Kagome said, still feeling ashamed.

They walked in silence, the only sound in the empty streets were the sound of their footfalls. Rin muttered something in her sleep, shifted, and then continued her slumber. Kagome stumbled over her thoughts, trying to find something to say to Inuyasha to voice her gratitude for what he'd done for her.

"I'm a jerk, aren't I?" Inuyasha said after the long silence.

Kagome shifted her hands so she could support Rin better. Her plastic bags crinkled. "I wouldn't say that…"

"I am," he said firmly, pursing his lips.

"I don't think that that's who you really are," Kagome said finally, not denying his accusations on himself. "You're not nice, Inuyasha. I have to be honest. You can be mean and rude to people."

Inuyasha paused in his step and sighed.

"But," Kagome continued. "I've seen the good in you. Even if you like to deny it. I know it's there. You're a good person."

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Inuyasha whispered, thinking back on Rin's teacher the first day he'd brought her to school. "I'm not a good person."

"This is my house," Kagome said, defeat in her voice. She punched in her code and the door clicked open. She deposited Rin into Inuyasha's arms. "Thanks again, Shinkanshi-Kun."

"Whatever," he muttered, shifting Rin.

"Even if you don't think you are," Kagome said, picking up on their conversation. "I think that you are a good man." She paused, clutching her doorframe. "Maybe you just need to look harder."

"Wha… hey, wait," Inuyasha began.

"Good night, Shinkanshi-Kun," Kagome said with a blush, clicking her door shut.