Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews; and thank you eyes of the midnight wolf for encouraging me and telling me the story is not lame and that I don't need a lot of reviews; it will come someday. Thanks :)

Slightly long chapter.

Brief: (Some of the) gang goes to the mall; they find Kikyou…
Mixed, teenage emotions.
Let the plot build.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 3: Perplexity

It was a beautiful Sunday morning; birds were chirping, the grass was shining with early morning dew, and the sun was shining…

'Stupid sunlight…' Kagome groaned and rolled over, trying to get back to sleep. After a while, she sighed and gave up, getting up out of bed and wiggling her toes on the soft carpet.

She stood for a while, brought up her arms and arched her back, effectively making a 'crack' sound. She went into her bathroom and first did her 'thing' and then brushed her teeth. She turned the knob of the shower and set it to a temperature between warm and hot. She slipped out of her clothes and stepped into the steaming hot shower.

Kagome sighed happily. She stood still under the hot pounding water, letting it work out the kinks and stress all over her body. 'I haven't taken a long shower this relaxing for weeks…'

When she finished showering, she wrapped a green colored towel around herself and then took out her Bath & Body Works' Sweet Pea lotion and smoothed it over her skin.

Kagome walked out of the bathroom to find Miroku lying on her bed. She kept walking over to her closet, not really caring that Miroku was watching since they thought of each other as family. They didn't think of each other that way, so she didn't worry.

She put on her undergarments, and when she finished Miroku spoke up. "So, what are we going to do today since you're getting all dressed up?"

She pulled on some fairly tight Dickies pants and answered. "Well, I was thinking some of us could go find a mall and do some before school shopping for clothes and such," she said, putting on a slightly tight red short-sleeved shirt.

Miroku nodded, but realized she wasn't looking at him. "I guess so," he answered aloud.

Kagome put on some red ankle socks, then grabbed her towel and dried her hair slightly with it, before going into the bathroom again, but keeping the door open. She pulled out the drawer and took out her blow dryer, and started… drying. She finished in about ten minutes, since her hair was pretty long; mid-back. Kagome didn't wear much make-up; she put on some black eyeliner and smacked on some lip gloss. She stepped out of the bathroom, and Miroku was still lying on her bed.

Kagome looked at him strangely. 'I thought he already asked his question…?' "What are you still doing on my bed, Miroku?"

Miroku looked like he just snapped out of something. "Uh, nothing, really… just thinking, that's all."

Kagome lay down on her bed next to him, and rested her head on her right arm, facing Miroku. "Oh? Thinking about what?" she inquired.

Miroku turned to face Kagome, and then looked back up at the ceiling, arms crossed behind his head. "Nothing really… just, how would life be if Kikyou never left that day…"

Kagome had a sad face on, and made a slight 'o' shape with her mouth. "I guess… we'd all be in Kyoto still, racing. Souta may have lived, may still have…" Kagome still struggled with the thought of what had happened to Souta, so Miroku sent her an understanding look, stating she didn't have to say it. "Well, yeah, it may or may not have happened. Maybe, just maybe, Suikotsu would have been happy together with her, too…" she continued.

After a bit of silence, Kagome sat up. "Enough of this silence and shit, let's get going."

"Well, uh, Kagome… I'm not exactly dressed properly…" she heard Miroku say. She turned around and noticed for the first time he was wearing his pajamas. She sweat dropped. "Oh, right, go get dressed and I'll ask the gang if they want to go to the mall with us."

Miroku walked towards the door connecting their rooms and went to change, while Kagome slipped on her black and red Converse high tops and went downstairs to ask people if they wanted to go to the mall with them.

Miroku came out of his room wearing black, long sleeved button up shirt, the first three buttons unbuttoned; showing his well-toned chest. It was getting a bit chilly outside; autumn was really starting to show now. He wore some baggy faded black jeans, and some black high top Converse. He grabbed his leather jacket and went down the stairs, where he found Kagome and some other members of the gang waiting; Kouga, Suikotsu, Ayame, and Rin.

Kouga was about 5' 10", and had a well-built body. He had straight black hair kept into a high ponytail that reached to his shoulders. Messy bangs hung in front of his face, bringing attention to his icy blue eyes. He had a wrapped brown bandana that tied around his forehead, some of his bangs under or on top of it. He wore a big brown long sleeved shirt and some baggy faded blue jeans. Kouga was a wolf demon; you could tell by the long brown tail behind him. He wore brown Timberlands on his feet. He was seventeen years old; a senior in high school.

Suikotsu, as he was described before, was about Kouga's height and had hazel colored eyes. He was wearing a maroon colored t-shirt and a big black jacket. He wore some loose-fitting jeans and black Phat Farms. Suikotsu was eighteen, the oldest of the gang (going to the mall), but also still a senior in high school.

Ayame was an attractive girl; a wolf demon, like Kouga is. She had hair similar to Shippou's, but a more red to it than brown. She kept her hair in her signature pigtails; the only time she took them off was in her sleep and when she was wearing her helmet on the motorcycle. She had sharp green eyes that pierced through your own. She wore a green long sleeved shirt, but was covered with the black hoodie she was wearing. She wore tight fitting dark blue jeans and green and black checkered Vans slip-ons. She too, had a tail behind her like Kouga. She had just turned seventeen a few weeks ago, a high school senior.

Rin, their last mall companion, was a small petite girl. She had black hair down to her shoulders and a small side ponytail to her right. She wore a bright orange t-shirt with a yellow grinning face, the shirt concealed inside a big black zip up jacket. She wore dark blue jeans, like Ayame, and on her small feet were black Converse. Rin was a peppy girl, and how she got in this gang, Kagome didn't know. Rin was the youngest of the whole gang, fifteen years old, but she was the gang's second genius (Shippou was the other) and was a senior in high school along with the rest of the group.

Kagome put on a black long sleeved collared shirt that belonged to Miroku, left unbuttoned. They all took their keys and went out the door, Kouga, Suikotsu, Ayame, Kagome, and Miroku on their bikes and Rin in her Honda Civic. To the mall, they raced…

They all parked in a lot in front of a huge mall they found called the 'Tengoku Mall'. They walked into an entrance, and were overwhelmed by the many people that were at the mall on a Sunday noon. They all decided to find the food court and have some brunch.

After walking around a while, they found the foot court and ate some McDonald's. Throughout the meal they had slight conversation, more of them focusing on their food or thinking of tomorrow. When they finished, they threw away their trash and headed on to find some stores they could shop at.

Kagome first spotted Hot Topic. "Hey, guys! Wanna go into Hot Topic?" Everyone nodded enthusiastically (with an exception with the guys) and walked into the store. The girls ran around, finding clothes they liked to try on in the fitting room and then purchasing it. The guys found a few clothes they liked, also.

The gang walked out of Hot Topic with at least one Hot Topic bag and walked around more and found Pac Sun. They walked in and browsed around, unaware of a familiar person that was in the very same store...

Else where in the Pac Sun store were two pretty girls and an attractive boy. One of the girls looked strikingly like Kagome; she had long, straight black hair that reached down to her waist. She had a delicate and curvy figure, also like Kagome. The only difference was her eyes; they were a smooth chocolate brown; her eyelids shadowed with a pretty baby blue. She wore a gray collared shirt from Aeropostale with a little blue butterfly logo. She wore a white pleated skirt, reaching a little lower than the middle of her thighs, and she wore blue flip-flops that matched the butterfly logo.

The second girl was also very pretty; she had long brown hair kept in a high ponytail. She had a strong, shapely figure, but was still very curvy. She had caramel brown colored eyes, and was wearing her signature magenta eye shadow. She wore a tight magenta colored t-shirt with the words 'Keep out of reach of ex-boyfriends' in white. She wore tight-fitting dark blue jean capris and dark pink Converse high-tops, the tops of it folded down slightly.

The man that accompanied them was very attractive; he had long waist length silver hair and messy bangs. He had doggy ears on his head, showing he was part dog demon. His eyes were a piercing golden color, drawing everyone's attention to them. He wore a large red t-shirt and saggy blue jeans. He was wearing high black Nike Air Force 1's.

"Come on Kikyou, are we done yet? We've been here for fucking forty five minutes!" the boy said.

The girl who looked like Kagome, Kikyou, turned around from the clothes rack to look at him. "Inuyasha, it's not that long! Besides, you were the one who agreed to go with us!"

Inuyasha grumbled. "Only 'cause Sango threatened me."

The girl with magenta eye shadow, Sango, retorted. "I did not threaten you!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Inuyasha grumbled again, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Suddenly, Kikyou's eye caught a group of people about ten feet away from her. Her eyes widened, Inuyasha noticed. "Kagome…?" Inuyasha heard Kikyou whisper. He and Sango turned to look the way Kikyou was looking, to find a girl that looked strangely like Kikyou with two other guys looking in places around her.

'Wow, that girl looks like Kikyou… she's kind of… hot…' Inuyasha thought.

Inuyasha saw the look-a-like turn the way they were and saw Kikyou bending down, hiding behind the clothes and closing her eyes. 'What's she so worried about?'

When Kikyou caught the girl's face, she panicked. 'It is Kagome! But what is she doing here?' she asked herself, putting her face into her hands.

Inuyasha looked towards the girl again, and saw she was coming their way.

When Kagome and the gang reached inside Pac Sun, she immediately ran towards the right side of the store, to a shirt she saw from outside the store.

She picked up the shirt; it was a military green colored shirt that said 'Caution' in black block letters. After shifting through the clothes a bit, she turned around to look at the left side of the store, but instead caught sight of a girl…

'Is that Kikyou' she thought, her eyes wide. Their eyes locked for a millisecond, before the girl flew down and hid herself behind the clothes.

Suikotsu and Miroku were looking at clothes that were kind of near Kagome, and saw Kagome's eyes were widened. Both of them confused, they looked the way Kagome was looking. They didn't see anything…?

Kagome's eyes went to their normal size, and then Kagome's fist clenched. Suikotsu and Miroku were still confused, when Kagome started to stalk to way she was looking. The two boys looked at each other and shrugged, and then ran after her.

By that time, Kikyou was sitting down on the floor, hands in between her hair, running them through it as a nervous habit. 'Oh no, she's coming here…' she clenched her eyes closed, waiting for those familiar shoes to appear beside her. She hugged her knees to her test tightly, waiting nervously, while Inuyasha and Sango looked confusingly between her and the girl coming their way.
As Kagome got closer to her destination, she slowed her steps until she came to a full stop beside a girl sitting on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. Kagome's eyes saddened, making the eyelids fall a bit. 'It is Kikyou… right here… I found her…'

Kagome stood staring at Kikyou with her hands to her sides, Kikyou still in the same position. Miroku and Suikotsu were a few feet from Kagome, walking towards her.

"Hey, Kagome, why'd you ru—" Miroku stopped his sentence, eyes widening. There was Kikyou, right there on the floor! Suikotsu looked over Miroku's shoulder, trying to see what they were staring at. He regretted it and turned away to look at another direction, eyes faintly stinging. 'Kikyou…' Suikotsu continued looking the other way, before fully turning that way. He didn't think he was ready to see her face just now…

"So, Kikyou… we found you again…" Kagome said in a small voice, her hand trembling as she clenched and unclenched her hands.

Kikyou bit her lip, and finally freed her face from behind her knees to look up at Kagome. She answered in a shaky voice. "U-uh… Y-yeah…"

Kagome soon, too, bit onto her bottom lip. "W-why did you leave?" she said, her voice starting to give away. 'That sounded desperate…' Kagome thought, looking down to her feet.

Ayame and Rin spotted their group, all staring down at something on the floor, Kagome looking down. They looked at each other and thought the same thing, 'What's going on?' They both rain towards Kagome, Miroku, and Suikotsu… spotting Kikyou. They kept quiet, their mouths agape for a moment before closing their mouths.

"I-I told you in that letter, d-didn't you read it?" Kikyou stuttered.

Kagome got a little angry. "Yeah, I did! What were you talking about? Pressure!" she shouted, "We were doing those competitions for almost a year!"

Kikyou cringed; Kagome was younger than her, but she could sure scare her. "I know, but… I… I just couldn't take it! That was a huge competition and it was just so much more… It just scared me a lot!"

"Well, we had to forfeit," Kagome said. She could feel the familiar stinging in her eyes; she was going to cry. She hid her eyes under her bangs, not wanting anybody to see her cry again. Before any tears could fall in front of the group, Kagome ran and accidentally brushed past one of Kikyou's friends, Inuyasha. She ran out of the door and blindly ran around, looking for a bathroom so she could cry her eyes out. She didn't like thinking about one year ago at that competition… when Souta… passed…

Miroku watched Kagome run out, and then looked down to his feet and spoke to Kikyou. "We had to forfeit, and you knew it was the most important competition. You know why, don't you?"

Kikyou looked up at Miroku. "It was the championship…?"

Miroku's eyes narrowed. "Yes, it was…" he grounded out, "but did you forget something else? Something that was important to the gang, especially Kagome…"

Kikyou started to say 'No', but her eyes widened in realization before tears filled in her eyes. "Oh my Kami… we needed to money for… for Souta…" Kikyou let a few tears slip from her eyes.

"Yeah, and you know what happens when we have to forfeit?" Miroku said, his voice rising.

More tears slipped from Kikyou's eyes, falling into her hands. "W-We don't get the money…"

Miroku's lips pressed together forming a thin line. "He died two days later…" Miroku said, before following Kagome and walking out of the store.

Kikyou was really crying now, and looked up at Suikotsu. He resisted from caving in; instead, he stared at her with blank for a while before closing his eyes and walking calmly out of the store in search of Miroku and Kagome.

Rin also left slowly, watching Kikyou as she walked beside her. She had nothing to say; she was disappointed.

Ayame was the only one left. Kikyou spoke again, desperately. "W-Was I the reason he… he died?"

"I don't know… Who was the one who didn't show up last year?" Ayame said coldly. Kikyou said nothing, and Ayame continued. "The gang lost respect and trust in you, Kikyou. I don't know why, but Kagome isn't blaming you after Souta died. She didn't blame you on anything when you left. I sure want to blame you… but Kagome tells everyone not to. You should thank her."

Kikyou looked down, ashamed.

"And you know what? When you left, Suikotsu was heartbroken. You just left him like that. He really loves you, you know," and with that, Ayame left Kikyou and out the store.

Kikyou covered her face with her hands, letting out a sob. Inuyasha and Sango looked at her worriedly but patted her back. They didn't understand, but they were her friends and they had to comfort her, right?

As Inuyasha was patting her back, Inuyasha wondered. 'What was that we just saw…?' he thought, before focusing on stopping Kikyou from crying.

Inuyasha POV

I hate it when women cried.

It made me feel weak.

Particularly Kikyou… but… when that other girl cried, Kagome, I felt my heart clenching. Why am I feeling that way? I used to feel that when I saw Kikyou… cry…

I hardly know this girl, right? I just saw her, that's all…

I still have a crush on Kikyou—wait. I used to say I loved Kikyou… not a measly crush.

One look at that other girl and I feel some tugs on my heart? Like… she's the one? It can't be. I felt that with Kikyou when I saw her.

Felt.

…What's wrong with me? Am I giving up on Kikyou just like that…?

We aren't a couple, but…

I love her, don't I?

Deep down, though, I could hear a taunting little voice, in the back of my head. It's saying… 'Not anymore…

It's someone else.'

Someone else…

I sighed. I couldn't help it though, it's just… she looked so sad, and I felt like my heart had just broken in two. All this thinking over some girl I don't even know?

I closed my eyes, trying to get the thoughts out. Once I figured they were gone, I just continued trying to comfort Kikyou, putting away my own problems…

Kikyou's POV

I covered my face with my hands and let out a sob. I felt a large, calloused hand and a smaller hand patting my back. Inuyasha and Sango were trying to comfort me… but I don't think that will work. I want Kagome to comfort me. Miroku… Ayame… Rin… Suikotsu… They probably won't forgive me anyway. I let out another sob; people were probably staring at me.

He died. Souta died.

He died because the gang couldn't get all the money.

They couldn't get the money because I ran away.

I ran away from my problems, not wanting to face them. Not telling anybody else. And because of that, they forfeited the biggest competition with the biggest money prize, losing their chance for Souta's surgery.

It was all because of me.

Guilt washed through me like huge waves, and I wanted nothing more than to turn back time and start over.

Start over, win the race, and get the money. I know I'm trying to reassure myself, but it's not working. I can't turn back time, and that's the problem. I can't bring myself to not feel guilty about it; Kagome didn't blame me, Ayame told me… Why isn't she? Does Kagome love me so much she wouldn't blame me for not getting the money? For letting Souta die…?

The thought of Kagome not blaming me after all that just makes even more guilt wash through my body, tears flowing freely, not caring who saw or stared.

What was I thinking last year…?

I wanted the guilt to go away. I just wanted it to leave me. I want it to leave, to never come back again. I hate feeling guilty.

I admit, when I left that night, there was something tugging at my heart. Like I'm leaving something really important behind. Was it the competition? The gang? Kagome? …Suikotsu? Do I love him, too?

Inuyasha is the one I'm in love with, right…?

I'm not so sure anymore. I don't know what to do…

What are all these mixed emotions? Suddenly, I feel like Suikotsu is the one for me. Like, I loved him the whole time…?

I suddenly remembered how much fun we had together, the little looks he gave me that I had never understood.

I understand, now. He's loved me the whole time…

But am I ready to give Inuyasha up?

I don't know if I love Suikotsu that way… But… my heart's just bothering me. Am I making the wrong decision by ignoring what I feel with Suikotsu?

I thought I loved Inuyasha… is it just a crush? No, it can't be… can it?

Why is life so complicated?

Ehhhh. 3,598 words.

Watch out for love triangles, squares, and pentagons, whatever.

The good stuff is coming up… Chapter four is huuuge (in my opinion):) The biggest chapter I've written so far.

-Green FR00TL00PS