"So...you...what?" Sango blinked, stuttered some more, and then blinked again.

Kagome was back in her tiny apartment, and as much as she loved how cozy and comfortable it was, she had grown accustomed to the large square footage of the Vermont property, the vast landscape, and the nature. Coming back to New York annoyed her, just slightly. The sounds of nature were replaced with yelling, honking, busses, the subway.

The beautiful view was replaced with skyscrapers and construction sites.

Peace and quiet were replaced with loud neighbors and an even louder neighborhood. She wondered for a few moments if they could afford to move elsewhere, somewhere more peaceful.

"You're joking?" Sango said, laughing. "Honestly?"

"Seriously." Kagome said, nodding her head. "We had sex."

"I knew something was different about you guys...but I didn't want to jump to conclusions."

"So what's he like?" Shippo interjected, causing Kagome and Sango to give him a strange look. "As a person, not in bed...gross."

Shippo was Sango and Kagome's only employee. He was a young man, a junior majoring in Computer Science at Columbia University. He was an honors student, who usually kept his head down and did his own thing. Shippo was a good kid, so when he came into their place last year looking for a job, they were quick to hire him. Shippo pushed up his glasses, short hair swaying slightly as he looked between Kagome and Sango.

He was a smart kid, could basically figure anything that you needed to find out, so long as you had a general idea of what it was that you wanted. He used to routinely take off for Hackathons, which Sango and Kagome fully supported. That was until Kagome took up the contract with Inuyasha, leaving Sango and Shippo to man the ship on most days. He didn't mind though, the extra cash came in handy for computer parts. Plus, being a struggling student, the more money he could make, the better.

"Well?"

"He's a bit of an asshole." Sango muttered, glancing in Kagome's direction. "Very arrogant, very cocky, and slightly entitled."

"Sango!" Kagome squeaked from where she stood.

"Isn't he an...athlete or something?" Shippo was out of the loop on a lot of things regarding their lives. Or well, he usually was. It wasn't often that he picked up shifts, he sort of just filled in whenever one of them couldn't make it. He had an idea of who Inuyasha Takahashi was. He'd heard of his name before; but between classes, work, and applying for internships, he didn't have much time to look him up.

"Shippo, do you watch UFC?" Sango asked, Shippo nodded his head wearily.

"Yeah...sometimes. Oh wait…" It dawned on him, and then he looked between Sango and Kagome, and then back to Kagome, emerald eyes looking her up and down. "That Inuyasha Takahashi? That's who you're dating?! How the fuck—I thought it was some other random celebrity! Not him! Kagome, are you mad?!"

"Shippo," Kagome started, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Chill out. He's a good person. He's nothing like what the tabloids say."

Except he was. He was every bit what the tabloids said and then some. But that was a conversation for another day.

"Kagome, he smiles in his mugshots." Shippo muttered as he looked on his phone. He'd already located his latest mugshot, and showed Sango. "Look at it." He muttered.

Sure enough there it was, his smiling mugshot. His head tilted back ever so slightly, Inuyasha gave the camera a wide smile, baring fangs. There was a look in his eyes like he knew something they didn't. Sango glanced at Kagome and then glanced back at the mugshot. It sort of made the hair on the back of her neck stick up.

"When was this?" Sango asked.

"Uh, in May."

"May was the charity dinner fight." Kagome said. "A few weeks before his accident." It fell silent for a few seconds, before Shippo proceeded.

"Arrested...arrested...arrested...arrested...first went to juvie at 13 years old, Kagome!" Shippo looked like a disappointed elder brother. "How is he even here...like...no bullshit, how is he even allowed in this country?! With that track record?!"

"Shippo he's actually a really good person, he's just...he had some shit go on in his life in the past." Kagome said, but Shippo still looked disappointed. "It's one million dollars, Shippo."

"He sounds dangerous." Shippo said, pushing his phone back into his pocket.

"He's not." Sango interjected, although she wasn't fully convinced, herself. "Miroku has been friends with him since elementary school, he wouldn't still be his friend if he truly was a bad person."

"Are you just saying that because you're dating Miroku? Which, by the way, really?" Shippo asked, raising his eyebrow. "I thought you hated him!"

"He was relentless and I gave in and I really love our relationship now! He's a great guy once you get past the lechery!" Sango shook her head, "look it's not about me right me. Kagome, how was your trip?"

"It was nice, I liked it." She said, and Shippo wiggled his eyebrows.

"Probably because you got laid."

"Shippo!" Kagome shouted, making a fist at him. "God I just wish I could hit you." She muttered darkly.

"How was it?" Miroku spoke before Inuyasha could drop his suitcase on the marble floor. He leaned against the couch, arms crossed over his chest. A serious look on his face. "Feel better?"

"No." Inuyasha said plainly. "I do not feel better."

Inuyasha took a few moments to look around his apartment. He'd almost forgotten what it looked like. Better yet, he'd almost forgotten how...cold and sterile the apartment felt. He realized that he much preferred the style of the Vermont property. He preferred the space, and the seclusion from the outside world. The stone walls, fireplaces and warm colors.

He could live up in the Vermont house for years and not know about a single fucking thing that was going on in the outside world and he would be perfectly okay with that. Living amongst other people? It wasn't his thing anymore, at least for now.

They'd all agreed to stay in Vermont for an extra week, making their month-long trip into a month and a week.

It was probably the best decision Inuyasha had made for himself.

He enjoyed the serenity that was offered to him by the nature they were surrounded with. It was peaceful there, even when his phone and email were blowing up with work obligations. It was a lot easier to ignore it all when he was far away, and didn't have the constant threat of Miroku showing up at the gym or at his apartment to go over stuff. He's had that happen more times than he can count.

Coming back to his apartment felt...suffocating. As if all of the pressures that he was temporarily relieved from came back to him, inviting themselves into his mind. His shoulders felt heavier already. His mind was already bogged down with the future obligations, the flight, having to pack (again).

"Not even slightly?" Miroku asked with a frown, and Inuyasha paused in his steps.

Well…

"Maybe a little bit?" Inuyasha responded, making his way to the refrigerator. When he opened it he noticed that the alcohol that was in it had been thrown out. Inuyasha sighed, but decided against saying anything about it. It wasn't worth it. He grabbed a water bottle. "I mean...no one left me alone to just train, lawyers still called, you still emailed me...Rin called."

"She told you the news?" Miroku asked, slightly annoyed. "Damn it! I told her not to bother you until you came back."

"Honestly, Miroku." Inuyasha started, "I'm stressed out already and the last thing I would need right now is for Rin to come up that elevator and curse me out. So I'm glad she called me when she did."

"...was it...bad?" Miroku asked, causing Inuyasha to scoff. He winced in reaction.

"The fuck do you think? She all but called me names, I don't even remember if she did. I just know she was pissed." Inuyasha sighed. "How were things over here? All good, I hope."

"It was...okay, actually. Not too many fires to put out." Miroku said, shrugging. "Got to spend a lot more time with Sango.."

"Gross."

"How were things in Vermont? How do you like it up there? You kind of bought that place and then forgot about it."

"Well," Inuyasha started. "There was a storm halfway through our stay. Knocked the power out for basically the whole night. It was back on in the morning though. Kagome spent a lot of time with the horses on the property, so I might hold off on selling them for a few months." His comment caught Miroku by surprise, but he continued to listen. "Spent like 85% of my time training. Still stressed but...feel okay."

"Good." Miroku said, pulling out his phone, "because I have your schedule for the week here." He said, and began reading off of his list, following Inuyasha around his apartment as he tried to get settled again.

"This friday, you're flying to Las Vegas, you're not doing anything else that day. I booked you time at the UFC training center for the VO2 test on Monday. Wednesday, and Tuesday are light grappling days at the center, according to Myoga. Thursday night you have the press conference with Kouga. Friday you'll weigh in with Myoga at the training center, Saturday morning is your official weigh in and the fight. Rest Sunday, go home Monday morning. Jet is booked for 7 AM."

Inuyasha could barely understand what Miroku was muttering about. He sort of tuned Miroku out after he mentioned the VO2 test. "Can you send me this in an email or something?"

"Inuyasha," Miroku said, laughing bitterly, "bro, you never check your emails."

"I will this time." Inuyasha said as he put away the clothes he had in his suitcase, and started to pack new clothes into it. He was going to leave in a few days, anyway.

"No you won't." Miroku said. "Is there anything you'd like me to take off? Do you want less training time? I can have that arranged."

"When are you, Sango and Kagome going?"

"Kagome is going with you on Friday, Sango and I will join you on Thursday morning." Miroku said, looking down at his phone. "Do you want the run down on the re—"

Inuyasha held out his hand. "Miroku," he started.

"Yes?"

"Please...shut the fuck up." Inuyasha muttered darkly, shooting him a glare. "I just drove four hours, I am exhausted. Leave me alone with all this work shit." He added with a sigh. "Can we talk as just friends right now? Put the phone down." Inuyasha walked over, and snatched Miroku's phone out of his hand.

"O-okay." Miroku said wearily. Inuyasha nodded, and stuffed Miroku's phone into his pocket and walked back to his suitcase.

"How are you and Sango, by the way?" Inuyasha asked, glancing up from the pile of clothing he'd thrown onto the floor. He would organize it all, eventually. But right now he was just picking what he wanted to pack.

"We're great." Miroku said. "I really like her, a lot. We just sort of..click." He looked up from his hands, and stared at Inuyasha. "How are you and Kagome getting along?"

"We're okay." Inuyasha said. He had to bite back the little smirk that tried to make its way onto his features. Golden eyes glanced over to his friend to see if he'd caught it.

He hadn't.

"Really? I would've expected you to say you argued a lot."

"I mean, we did." Inuyasha said truthfully, "But we'd get over it pretty quickly, we figured we had to, if we were going to be living together for a bit."

"To be honest," Inuyasha continued, "I got to know her a lot more than I thought I was going to. We spent a big part of the trip trying to avoid each other. She'd go spend time with the horses, in the garden, or at the pool. I would just...train. There was a bit where we wouldn't even really see each other at all. We got...closer towards the end." Uncomfortably close, Inuyasha wanted to add.

"You had sex with her, didn't you?" Miroku asked, sighing as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What? No." Inuyasha cackled. "We didn't do that." Oh, yes you did and you enjoyed making her your little sl—

"Yeah you did, Inuyasha. I can see it in your fucking face." Miroku sighed. "I can't believe I'm about to ask this but: was it good?"

"You want to know how sex with your girlfriend's best friend went for me? Is that what you're asking Miroku?" Inuyasha asked, raising an eyebrow. Miroku gulped.

"You wanted to talk as friends, right?" Miroku asked, giving him a smile. "C'mon bro."

"...No." Inuyasha said, shaking his head. He laughed a little bit. "It was good, that's all I'm gonna say."

"That's...absolutely not fair, I bet Sango is getting all the juicy details right now." Miroku complained, sounding like a child on the verge of a tantrum.

"That's Kagome's choice," Inuyasha responded through bitter laughter, "I'm choosing not to give you all the details. I'll keep those to myself." He added, patting at his chest. Miroku grumbled with discontent. "Sorry, Miroku."

"That's unfair." Miroku grumbled.

"Like I said, it's not my problem if Kagome is giving Sango all the details about what happened that night." Inuyasha muttered in response.

"Kagome?" Sango asked later that night as they relaxed in front of the television. Kagome resting her head on Sango's shoulder.

"Yeah, Sango?" Kagome asked softly, cuddling closer up to her friend.

"Remember when you guys went to the museum, and you sat here on the couch and you told me about how you weren't sure how you felt about Inuyasha?" Sango asked again, brown eyes glancing down at her friend, who glanced up at her.

"Yes." Kagome responded, pulling her body away from Sango's, searching Sango's face for what she was about to say.

"Do you still feel that way?" Sango asked, her voice soft. There was genuine curiosity in Sango's voice, present in the way she finished off her question, with an uptick in her tone.

"I…" Kagome opened her mouth as if to speak, but closed her jaw again, not quite sure what to say. She…

She cared for him, that much was true. There was an undeniable sexual attraction to him on her part, which only grew stronger after spending the last month with him.

But did she love him?

Could she love someone like...him? Someone as damaged, as tainted, as dark as him? Someone with issues that weren't properly treated? She suspected that her answer was no. But, she couldn't be quite sure.

Kagome didn't think she could quite care for Inuyasha at the start, either, and now she did. She viewed him as a friend.

Or a frenemy?

He could get under her skin so much…

However, there were times, few and far between, where he was an absolute sweetheart to her. There were times when he was kind, and gentle, and treated her with the utmost respect. But on the flip side of that, there were times when she wanted to murder him and he wanted to murder her.

She was, quite frankly, confused.

"Yes." Kagome finalized her answer. "Yeah, I'm still not sure how I feel about him." Kagome muttered, "there's a lot going on there, and I'm not sure how I feel about it, or how I feel about getting involved in it."

"Hm." Sango hummed, although the sharpness in her tone was not missed by Kagome. "If you find yourself falling for him at any point," Sango started, and then she turned her head to make sure Kagome saw her face. The seriousness of it, the gravity of her words.

"I love Miroku, and I'm sure that Miroku loves Inuyasha very much, and I'm sure Inuyasha is a great guy deep down. But I have my reservations about him and you spending so much time with him like that." Sango could practically hear the sigh that Kagome was going to let out before she even did so, causing Sango to raise a hand.

"Kagome, you know me. I'm going to tell you how I feel, regardless of whether you want to hear this or not." Sango said sternly.

"I know." Kagome grumbled. "But, okay, to be fair, Sango. We're both adults. I'm not judging you for dating his best friend after saying you aren't interested in him for months."

Sango blinked at her, and then sighed.

"Yes, I know that but...that doesn't take away from the fact that Inuyasha is...he's…" Sango hesitated for a moment. "He's a heartbreaker. He's just got that look to him. I don't fully trust him."

"You've barely talked to him!"

"Okay but, I don't need to talk to him to get a feel for who he is based off of what's out there about him."

Kagome sent Sango a deadly glare, and Sango glared back at her. "Sango…"

Sango interjected, cutting her off. "He's not exactly...stable, as you can see from his record. Even Shippo was a bit nervous for you. You're an adult and you can do whatever the fuck you want. But Kagome," Sango took a deep breath.

"But Kagome, if you find yourself falling for this guy...I have one piece of advice I hope you will take..that's all..."

"Think of yourself, first."