Chapter Two

---

He concentrated on his drawing, making soft curves and sharp lines in just the right places to depict the angry hanyou sitting with his back against the well and his arms crossed over his chest. Kagome would want proof of what he'd been doing while she had been at home. 'Photographic evidence' as she so often called it, whatever that meant.

Shippo smiled at his completed work. He held it out in front of him, admiring how wonderful drawings looked on the white paper Kagome had brought from her time. He'd matured as an artist, having moved from crayons, to markers, and finally to his new medium of choice, watercolors.

"Looks like you've really out done yourself this time," an angry voice growled from behind him.

"I-inuyasha!" the small kitsune's voice cried out in fear.

"Grr," Inuyasha clenched his fist and brought it high above the small fox demon's head. He brought it down forcefully and laughed as the small fox began running in circles clenching his head in pain.

"Owie! I'm telling Kagome when she comes back!" he cried.

"If she comes back," came the calm voice of the monk standing with his back to a tree and eyes on the sky. "Inuyasha made her pretty mad last time she left."

"Quiet," he growled.

"I miss Kagome! But I drew her a picture!" Shippo ran over to Miroku and handed him the drawing he'd just completed of Inuyasha.

The monk chucked softly, making sure his words were sharp enough to portray his irritation, "Looks just like him. Pouting: because his sense of pride won't allow him to apologize for what he's done wrong."

"What did you say?" Inuyasha asked through clenched teeth.

"Nothing, Inuyasha," Miroku said calmly. "But it is your fault Kagome went home and that she has yet to return. Didn't she say she would be gone for only one week? She's been gone for two."

"Oh no!" Shippo exclaimed. "She has been gone longer than she said she would be! What if she doesn't come back? I'll miss her so much!"

"We'll both know that it's completely Inuyasha's fault if she doesn't return though," Miroku said, calming the crying kitsune.

"What's completely Inuyasha's fault?" the innocent voice of Sango questioned, clinging tightly to a basket of herbs she had gathered.

"Oh, nothing," Miroku said nonchalantly.

"Just the fact that Kagome's been gone for two whole weeks and he hasn't gone to get her!" Shippo blurted, pointing at the frowning Inuyasha.

"You little! Why I oughta," he clenched his fists and began rolling up his sleeves to give Shippo a strong knock on the head.

"Ahh!" the kitsune yelled, running behind Sango. "Save me, please! Sango!"

"Inuyasha!" Miroku and Sango exclaimed at the same time.

Sango gasped, blushing and looking away from Miroku. She reached down and picked up the cowering fox demon.

"Leave Shippo alone," she scolded the fuming hanyou. "They are both right, Inuyasha. It is your responsibility to go back and apologize to Kagome!"

"Apologize?" he sounded disgusted. "But I didn't do nothin' wrong. It was all that little fur ball's fault."

Everyone watched as he pointed to Shippo. The kitsune exclaimed, "Hey! I resent that remark. You were the one that encouraged me to pull the string on Kagome's skirt! I would have never done something so awful if I had known what would happen!"

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha muttered. "But I'm still not going to get her."

"Then it looks like we're not to be finding any more jewel shards," Miroku said crossly, walking back to the village with Sango and Shippo close behind him.

"Hmph! Damn them!" he cursed his friends. "What're they all blaming me for? She's the one that got upset and went back home!"

"Master Inuyasha, if I may be so bold," the voice of Miyoga rang out.

"And just where have you been, flea?" he asked rudely.

"I took a short leave in the spirit of personal reflection," he smiled to himself.

"So, that's what they call running away in fear these days," Inuyasha laughed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Master Inuyasha!" Miyoga exclaimed. "I'm quite hurt that you would think of me in such a manner."

"Whatever, flea," he muttered, taking his seat beside the well.

"So, where might be the lovely Kagome?" he asked.

"She went back to her time," Inuyasha sounded unenthused.

"Oh," Miyoga reflected.

Inuyasha only grunted and looked up into the cool grey sky. It was winter now; he wondered if it was winter in Kagome's time, too. Maybe the weather was keeping her for longer than she had anticipated.

But he knew that wasn't the case. Even though it wasn't his fault that Shippo decided to ruin Kagome's favorite skirt, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel a little guilty about not stopping the kitsune. Sure, Kagome had over-reacted quite a bit, but that didn't mean she was necessarily all wrong.

Shippo was just a kid, after all. And, even though he'd matured three years, he still did need some looking after. Perhaps Kagome was just mad that Inuyasha hadn't been watching him? Or could it have been that she saw Inuyasha as being irresponsible for letting him get into her things? Either way, Inuyasha didn't see any of this as his fault, but Kagome was different than any other girl he'd ever met.

'Maybe I should just apologize to her,' he thought. 'This may not be my fault, but at least she'll be speaking to me again.'

"Master Inuyasha?"

"What do you want, flea?"

"I had asked if you were planning on going to get Miss Kagome."

"Yes," Inuyasha answered, sighing. "I'm on my way."

---

It was exactly two weeks ago that she'd left Inuyasha and the others. It was the most time that she had ever spent outside the Feudal Era; save the times before she'd ever been there. Needless to say, Kagome was happy to have set up a somewhat 'normal' routine in her life again.

She met Houjo every day and they walked to and from school together. With his help Kagome had caught up and surpassed most of her classmates; she'd always been a fast learner, not to mention the fact that Houjo was a wonderful teacher.

All in all, Kagome hadn't really given much thought to Inuyasha and her other friends. She was enjoying herself quite a lot in her own time, reestablishing old friendships, meeting up at old hang outs, and catching up on lost time.

It was the beginning of the third week of her absence from the Feudal Era when Houjo had offered to take her to lunch again. Kagome made up for his desires to take her out and spend money on her by making him lunches, which they ate together at school, every day.

On this trip to lunch, Houjo was taking her to a park where they'd once played when they were children. Winter was quickly approaching, though this particular day was fairly warm and sunny. Houjo had packed his own lunch for Kagome and had planned that they would enjoy themselves outside for the day.

She was still inside the classroom, picking up the last of her books for the weekend, as Houjo stood at the door watching her. Kagome's raven black hair spilled down her back, curling up at the ends just slightly. Though she was wearing the navy blue winter uniform, her skin still appeared soft and creamy.

He walked behind her, slowly and quietly, unable to resist this opportunity. He stood behind her with his hands behind his back and could smell lavender and wildflowers. Before he knew what he was doing, he'd placed his arms on her shoulders and spun her around.

She gasped, fighting to keep her balance as her eyes met Houjo's. She could only smile as he pulled her closer to him, stopping her from falling to the ground. His body was warm, his uniform soft.

"Houjo," she sighed, placing her hand over her heart. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," he flashed Kagome a perfect smile. "I couldn't help myself."

"That's no excuse!" she laughed.

"Maybe it isn't," he hugged her closer. "But you're just so irresistible."

"Houjo," Kagome blushed.

"Ready to go?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," he winked.

Kagome loved it when he surprised her. He'd been doing it for nearly three years before this; but something about his unexpected visits and gifts seemed so much more endearing now.

He grabbed her by the hand and led her out of the school. They walked three blocks to the park and their spot next to a small pond. Houjo spread out a blanket and Kagome laughed when she realized that he'd planned a picnic lunch.

"Oh, Houjo," she breathed. "You shouldn't have done all of this!"

"But I wanted to," he said, pulling her down to sit next to him on the blanket. "I wanted to do this for you."

She smiled, "Thank you."

He smiled back at her.

They spent the rest of the day talking, laughing, joking; falling in love. Houjo knew that he'd always been crazy about Kagome, but then, so had she. Slowly, Kagome realized that she was beginning to fall for Houjo. Everything about him was so different from Inuyasha; he truly loved her. And that was a welcomed change.

'It's not about that anymore,' she thought. 'I can see what everyone has been telling me for so long, now. Houjo is perfect. He's so kind and caring; and I think he's really in love with me.'

He walked her home that night, just like every other night. There were stars in the sky over head, though they were barely visible. Kagome knew that they would look absolutely beautiful in the Feudal Era.

They stood at the bottom of the stairs to the shrine, holding hands and watching the stars in the sky. It was cold, but it didn't matter.

"Kagome," he breathed her name. He felt her soft hands in his own.

"Yes, Houjo?" she smiled at him.

"Kagome, I," he paused. "I've liked you for so long -- even before Jr. High."

"I know," she breathed. "And, I guess I've always known I liked you, too."

"But I'm in love with you, Kagome," he said it fast, without hesitation. It was almost as though he hadn't realized what he'd said. He blushed. "I'm s-sorry. I shouldn't have said-"

"Houjo?" she interrupted him, holding tightly to his hands to keep him from pulling away. "Do you really mean that?"

"Y-yes, I do, Kagome," she looked into his eyes, seeing only his honesty and his love for her.

"I love you, too, Houjo," she whispered; burying her face on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you, too."

Houjo pulled away from her, staring into her eyes. She was crying. "What's wrong, Kagome?"

"Nothing, Houjo," she whispered.

"Please," his voice was soft, calming. "Tell me."

"I've never been in love before," she wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or if she was lying. But she knew that it didn't really matter, she understood that Houjo was the man all of her friends had always wanted her to find. "I'm just scared."

"Kagome," he whispered, pulling her into a passionate kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. And Kagome closed her eyes, having recovered from the shock; she kissed him back with all of her might.

In her wildest dreams she'd never thought that her first kiss would be like this. Never could she have imagined that Houjo would be holding her like this, kissing her like this, loving her like this.

They stayed together, locked in their embrace in front of her home. It was their first kiss; her first kiss. Kagome was lost; nothing mattered to her but Houjo. And each one was so caught up in the other that neither realized just who might have been watching from the top of the shrine's stairs.

---

Inuyasha sat with his back against the living room wall, motionless. He tried his best to forget the images he had just seen. He wanted to erase it from his mind, forget that Kagome could find someone to love in her time.

'She's supposed to be in love with me,' he felt tears stinging at his eyes, though he was far too proud to let them fall. He wouldn't' even allow himself to truly admit they were there in the first place.

His mind was racing. Should he leave her here, in her own time, to be with that boy? Was it selfish for him to expect her to collect the jewel shards? Would she even want to come back with him?

His arms were crossed over his chest and he looked haughty like usual, only, right now his eyes were hurt. His dark hair fell around his slumped shoulders.

'Kagome,' he thought as he heard the door open and close. 'She doesn't even know that I'm here.'

He let her run upstairs to her room without getting up to follow her. In all honesty, he'd actually forgotten that he was even still sitting in her living room. It was like she wasn't even home yet, like he hadn't left the Feudal Era, like all of this was just a bad dream and that he would wake up soon.

"Inuyasha?" Mrs. Higurashi asked, tapping the now human boy lightly on the shoulder. "Kagome's home now. You can go up and see her."

He jumped a little and looked up at her. He rubbed his eyes, just to be sure there wasn't any hint of a tear left in them. His voice was hoarse when he finally answered her, "Thanks."

"Oh, poor dear," she sighed, patting him lightly on the head. "Did I disturb your sleep?"

"Y-yeah," he muttered, standing up and walking to Kagome's room. 'Let the woman think what she'd like.'

He put his ear to the door, listening for her. She wasn't making any noise, but Inuyasha thought he'd heard the water in the bathroom begin to run.

'She's taking a bath,' he thought. 'I'll just wait outside until she's finished.'

He'd walked in on Kagome during a bath before and knew what an awful idea it was to make her that angry. And then he was reminded of why he was there in the first place. He needed to apologize.

'Feh,' he thought to himself. 'I'm not apologizing to that wench! She obviously just got mad as an excuse to go home to do this.'

But Inuyasha knew that, in order to bring her back, he would have to apologize; appease her. Hell, he knew that he'd even eventually forgive her; once she realized her mistake in choosing that boy over him.

Though Inuyasha would never say it to her face, Kagome was his woman. She wasn't that annoying wolf demon, Koga's, she wasn't his brother, Sesshomaru's, and she certainly wasn't that stupid human boy's. Kagome was his; he'd chosen her as his own, though he hadn't actually verbalized it.

Having cleared his mind a bit, Inuyasha opened the door to Kagome's room slowly and quietly. He looked inside, seeing her motionless body lying on the bed. He stepped inside of her room, softly shutting the door behind him.

'She's sleeping,' he thought. He gently stroked a strand of her raven black hair behind her ear. 'She's beautiful.'

It was the new moon and he'd known that he had already changed forms. He knew that his hair matched her own; his eyes were deep brown now. This was a good place for him to be on the night he was most vulnerable.

He sat down on the floor beside her bed, getting ready to watch her in her sleep when he noticed a small book on her desk. It hadn't ever been there before and that fact made him curious. He made his way across her bedroom as quietly as he could, knowing just where the floorboards creaked.

'What's this?' he asked, picking up the book and walking closer to the window. He was thumbing through the pages, looking at everything that had been written on the inside. He was sure this was Kagome's handwriting.

There were several common phrases throughout the small book. It seemed like she wrote 'Inuyasha made me so mad today' and 'stupid Inuyasha' a lot. It was obvious, from the entries after the incident with Kagome's favorite skirt, that her human boy was called Houjo.

'Houjo,' Inuyasha thought, playing around with the pronunciation in his head. 'I don't care how to say it; either way I don't like it.'

He came to the last page with writing on it in the small book. The writing was small and crushed together, like it had been written quickly. He began reading:

He kissed me today! 'Tell me something I don't know,' the hanyou-now-human thought.

Houjo finally kissed me. I can't tell you how long I'd been waiting for him to tell me he loved me. And he did tonight, at the bottom of the steps to the shrine. We were looking at the stars.

It was my first kiss ever! And everything about it was just like I'd always wanted it to be. It was so romantic, the stars were out and it was so warm in his arms. He'd held me so close to him that I could feel his heart beating.

His kiss was everything I could have wanted my first kiss to be! I can't imagine ever having a better one!

Inuyasha closed his eyes, almost unable to go on. 'So this is the kind of stuff she cares about? She wants boys to 'kiss' her? But what about the time she kissed me? Doesn't that count for anything?'

Almost as though the book read his mind, the next paragraph confirmed his worst suspicions. It read:

I did kiss Inuyasha before, but that doesn't really count. It was only my duty to him. He would have lost his soul if I hadn't. Even so, it's not like it was as nice as Houjo's kiss was. I can't wait to have more.

'It wasn't as nice?' Inuyasha thought, slamming the book closed. He shuddered, knowing that he could have woken up Kagome. So he put the book back on her desk, just as he had found it and walked back beside her bed.

He looked at her, smiling in her sleep. He thought bitterly, 'She's probably dreaming about him.'

But he couldn't be mad at her; he could never be mad at her. She was so peaceful in her sleep, looking warm and soft.

Inuyasha fought the urge to reach out and touch her, to crawl in bed with her. He wanted to pull this girl into his arms and never let her go.

'But she's not my woman anymore,' he knew it was true. This fact was something that he shouldn't struggle with too much; he couldn't change her mind. Not when she was so obviously happy about the recent developments between herself and this Houjo boy.

Inuyasha sighed, taking a piece of paper from her desk and writing a short note to her. He'd offer her the options. Either she could come back to his time or she could stay in hers.

Though Inuyasha wouldn't mention how her actions hurt him, he knew that Kagome would be able to figure out what not returning to his time would do to him. And, without another look back at her, Inuyasha put the note in her hand as she slept and left her room. It was time for him to go home and wait for her decision.

Author's Note: Hmm, so it turns out that not everything will wait as long as Inuyasha needs it to. Poor guy, I do feel a little bad for him; all the bashing Kagome does to him and all with her 'osuwari' and such. Well, are you curious about what decision Kagome will make? Read on to find out, my friends!