Disclaimer: -grumble, grumble- I'll never get him this way. –sigh- I guess I'll have to give up. (Not)

A/N: I truly want to thank everyone, who has reviewed this fic so far. It just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that you guys really care!

Chapter 7- A Nap and a Match

A bright streak of sunshine cut into Inu Yasha's eyelids, waking him from his very restless sleep. He groaned and tried to block the bright light. From the sofa-bed came the noise that had kept him up all night. Kagome's grandfather was snoring, and quite loudly according to Inu Yasha's sensitive ears. He scowled at the old man, before groggily rising to go to the bathroom. As he crept across Kagome's room, he glanced at the miko. She was sleeping quietly with a peaceful expression. He paused to watch her for a moment. The scowl melted into a grumpy frown as her sweet scent overcame his senses. He sighed and went into the bathroom.

As the door shut, Kagome slowly cracked her eyes open. Luckily she was looking the opposite direction from the glass sliding doors and so did not receive the same piercing ray of sunlight as Inu Yasha. She noticed the bathroom door was shut and turned her head slightly to look at the light outside. It was just after dawn. She sighed softly. 'There is only one person, other than me, that would be up this early. And it's his fault I wake up this early, even when I'm home.'

Speaking of the culprit, Inu Yasha reappeared in the doorway. His hair was muffed and he was decidedly grumpy. Kagome sat up and gave him a small smile. "You look tired."

"Feh, so?"

Kagome had had a very good sleep that night and was in such a good mood that even Inu Yasha's gruffness couldn't pull her down. "Come here."

He glared at her and crossed his arms. "Why?"

Kagome stood calmly and took one of his hands. He resisted momentarily before allowing Kagome to guide him to the bedside. "Lie down and rest. I'll go make us some breakfast."

A slow smile crept across his features, making Kagome's small smile grow. He nodded and she left him, closing the door behind her. She turned to the small kitchenette to get started. She jumped as a loud snore came from Gramps. She chuckled lightly and began to prepare their breakfast.

Kagome made plenty for the family and a little extra for her sleeping hanyou. She made piles of omelets, sausage, toast, and fruit. Gramps was the first to wake and stumble to the tiny table. He watched her move about the kitchen with foggy eyes. Sota and Iki were next in line for the food. Kagome smiled as they thanked her vehemently before digging in.

She left them to get Inu Yasha. Quietly she opened the bedroom door and crossed the room to his side. Inu Yasha had his face buried in the pillow she'd been sleeping on. He was sleeping so soundly that his ears barely flicked at her approach. Kagome gazed on his soft features as he slept and hated the idea of waking him. 'I'll let him sleep. I'll just save him some breakfast.' Kagome turned to leave, but was surprised when a strong hand caught her wrist. She turned to gaze into amber orbs that were still soft with sleep.

"Feeling any better?"

"Feh, I already told you. I don't need as much sleep as you humans." The truth was that the half hour of sleep he'd just gotten was much better than what little he'd gotten the night before.

Kagome graced him with a small smile and placed her other hand over his. "Good. Are you hungry?" He nodded. "Come on then. Mom made sure to bring you some Ramen and I made you a bowl to go along with the rest of my breakfast."

He returned her small smile and followed her back into the kitchen. There wasn't anymore room at the small table so Kagome and Inu Yasha took their breakfast to the small coffee table and sat beside it on the floor.

Breakfast was rather quiet, until Sota actually woke up that is. "Hey, mom, what time is the barbeque?"

Kagome looked over at the table. "Barbeque?"

"You both left before they announced we were having a barbeque this afternoon." Iki's eyes narrowed slightly. "Where did you disappear to last night? I thought we had an understanding."

"Kagome was tired." Inu Yasha snapped instinctively defending her.

Kagome placed a hand on his arm to silence him. "Sorry, mom, I wasn't feeling good."

Iki nodded slowly. "All right, but let me know where you're going from now on. Your grandmother started asking for you again. I told her you must have been tired and came back to the suite."

"Well, that is what happened, it's not as though you lied." Kagome pointed out.

"Yes, but I don't like making excuses for you, especially when your family hasn't seen you in so long."

Kagome sighed. "All right." She looked back at her plate of food and felt slightly nauseous. She pushed the plate toward Inu Yasha and he gave her a questioning look as she stood. "I'm going to shower."

Inu Yasha growled and defiantly turned his back on Iki. He was in no mood for her upsetting Kagome. He waited to hear the bathroom door shut, then picked up his plate and headed out onto the balcony.

Iki frowned at the two disgruntled teens. She sighed. 'Well, at least I was right about him taking care of her. He defends her even when their not in danger.' She picked up Kagome's uneaten food and placed it in the refrigerator.

Outside, Inu Yasha flopped in one of the chairs, his plate of food balanced in one hand. He growled once more but this time it was directed at the sun. 'Damn sun, damn wench! How dare that she upset Kagome like that! She doesn't even know what's going on!' He stared at the food Kagome had prepared for them. His worry for his Kagome outweighed the slight tug of hunger. He set the plate aside and stared out at the beach. He watched as the young couple from yesterday appeared again with their toddlers.

Yuki was keeping a particularly watchful eye on Kinshin and kept jumping up every time he made a move toward the water. Kitto seemed far more relaxed, but kept a watchful eye on the little girl that played at his feet, covering them with sand. Inu Yasha watched them for quite some time with envy and even longing. Lately he had been craving such things as a mate and pups of his own. And being so near Kagome was driving his instincts crazy.

As if on cue a sweet scent met his nose at the sound of Kagome's glass door sliding open. Kagome was dressed in a light pink sundress with little flowers around the hem. She offered him a weak smile. The shower had made her feel better.

"Don't be angry with her, Inu Yasha. She doesn't understand what's going on."

"Feh, she would if you'd tell her." He picked up the plate that he'd set in the chair beside him.

Kagome shook her head. "No, she has enough to worry about." She sat beside him and gazed out across the ocean.

Inu Yasha snorted. "So, you don't care if I'm the only one that worries."

Kagome chuckled and turned back to him with a smile. "You'd worry anyways." The wind blew gently, swirling her raven hair around her and giving her an angelic appearance.

Before he realized what he was doing he reached out and pushed the stray hairs out of her face. He returned her smile. "You bet I would." Cupping her check, he leaned in to kiss her softly.

Kagome melted. Each time he kissed her it was like her body was filled with warm honey. Every muscle relaxed, every worry disappeared. She was in a world of her own, where she was the safest and most loved person in existence. And when he pulled away, it was always the same. She felt a sudden loss as his warmth left her and his lips drew away. She opened her eyes and looked up into his golden gaze.

Inu Yasha saw the flicker of longing in her eyes. She wanted more than what he had given her, more than a simple kiss. Inwardly, he gasped at the desire embedded in those chocolate orbs. He was utterly surprised that she would desire him that much. "Kagome, I…."

"Yes, Inu Yasha?"

Inu Yasha melted on the inside. When she said his name there was always so much emotion trapped within that single word. His heart raced and his mind swam. Was he ready to ask that of her? She was still young according to this time and he was a lowly hanyou after all. Would she be willing to do that for him? Would she willing stay with him forever? But he wanted to ask so badly. He stared at her for a long moment and his nerve suddenly left him. "Uh, you need to eat." He shoved the plate of slightly cold food into her hands.

Kagome blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"You didn't eat dinner last night, so you're not going to get away with not eating breakfast." His ears flicked and he gave her a look that said he wouldn't be argued with. "Now eat."

Kagome frowned and poked the omelet with a finger. "But it's cold."

Inu Yasha groaned and glanced over his shoulder through the glass door into the living area. No one was there except Sota, who was still eating while watching TV. "All right, come on." They stood and went back inside. Kagome warmed Inu Yasha's plate, as well as her own, in the microwave. They finally sat down and ate breakfast in relative quiet, while Sota watched flipped through the channels. Gramps came in a few minutes later with a newspaper.

"It's getting warm out there." He wiped some sweat away from his brow with his sleeve. He looked to Sota. "Where'd your mother go?"

"She went to take a shower. We're going down to the beach when she's done." Sota stopped flipping the channels on some anime show.

"I though the barbeque wasn't until noon." Gramps sat down beside the boy and frowned at the show on the television.

"It is at noon, but I wanted to go swimming first." Sota was already wearing his swim trunks and sleeveless t-shirt.

Iki appeared in the door way of her bedroom. She wore a one piece baby blue bathing suit with a pair of dark blue shorts. She had her towel wrapped around her shoulders and carried a small bag with a thin button shirt for latter, two more towels and sunscreen. She gave the couple a small hesitant smile. "I'm taking Sota swimming. Do you two want to come?"

"No, not right now. Inu Yasha still has to shower anyways." Kagome said. The hanyou in question flicked an annoyed ear in Kagome's direction and refused to meet Iki's gaze.

"Oh, all right. What about you, Father?"

"No, that's okay. I don't swim and I'm sure no one out there wants to see this wrinkly old body in one of those swim trunk things."

Kagome squirmed at the image that popped in her head. "Ew."

Gramps frowned at her. "I'll have you know I was quite the catch when I was younger. But I've already made plans to meet with Kai and Shikaku."

Iki smiled, imagining Gramps and Kagome's great uncles sitting around plotting. "Okay, but don't get into too much trouble, all right?"

Sota jumped up and grabbed Iki's bag and ran to the door. "Let's go then!" Without waiting for his mother, he sprinted out into the hall. Iki sighed and followed him.

Kagome rose from her seat and picked up their plates. "Go shower."

"Feh." Was Inu Yasha's only response before he disappeared into the other room. Kagome smiled after him, before she turned to wash their plates.

After reading the paper a bit and flipping through the TV to find the news. Gramps said he was going down to meet with Kai and Shikaku. Kagome made sure the kitchen was clean and then took Gramps' place on the couch. She flipped the channels on the TV once more. 'Its been so long since I've had time to actually sit and watch TV, that I don't even know what's playing on it anymore.' She settled on a soap opera that really wasn't all that interesting.

A moment later Inu Yasha appeared, he was dressed in his jeans and white t-shirt. Kagome blushed slightly as his muscular chest flexed beneath the thin material as he continued to dry the tips of his hair with a towel. "Where'd the old man go?"

Kagome half chuckled at Inu Yasha's description of her grandfather. "He went to meet my uncles."

"Aren't we going to the beach?"

Kagome glanced at her watch. "No, it's only 10:30. We still have some time. Why don't we relax for a while? We don't get to do much of that with chasing shards all the time."

He nodded and sat beside her. After only about a minute of watching the soap opera, he scowled. "What is this stuff?"

Kagome sighed. "It's just a show."

"Well, it sucks."

Kagome almost laughed hearing him talk like any modern teenager. "Yeah, it does." She passed him the remote. "You find something."

He grinned and like any man, took control of the remote eagerly. Kagome leaned back into the couch and rested her eyes. He flipped through the channels until he landed on a strange game he'd never seen before. "Hey, Kagome, what are they doing?"

Kagome cracked an eye. "They're playing football. It's an American game. I don't really know much about it."

Inu Yasha watched the game with interest for a while. The sport was rough looking, and the players were big and tough looking. He decided that he like this sport. It was certainly violent enough to curve his aggression, and he liked the idea of having so many opponents all at once. At last he too, leaned back against the sofa. Beside him, Kagome was resting. She wasn't in the least interested in football. He glanced at her and yawned. 'I never thought about how tired all that running around must make her.' He yawned again. 'And me.'

&&&&

Some time later, Kagome opened her eyes and found a solid weight in her lap. Looking down, she muffled a gasp as she found a certain silver haired head there. Slowly she smiled and ran her finger gently through his locks. 'It's been three years since the last time he's laid in my lap. The last time he was human.' She recalled the night when in his human form he had fallen prey to the spider-demon's poison, and he had asked to lie in her lap.

Kagome continued to run her fingers through his hair. 'It seems we've come full circle, koishii.' Inu Yasha shifted, snuggling deeper, but he didn't wake. Kagome smiled at him again and sighed. 'He really mustn't have gotten much sleep last night.'

She stretched a little and glanced at her watch. "Ah!"

Inu Yasha shot up, claws and fangs bared. "What is it? Is it a demon?" He nearly tripped over the small coffee table in his haste.

"No worse! It's one o'clock! Mom's going to be furious!" She jumped up and ran into the bedroom and back out with Inu Yasha cap in hand. "Come on, we have to go!" She grabbed his hand and drug the still stunned hanyou out the door. She passed him his cap as they made their way to the elevator.

Still dragging Inu Yasha, Kagome ran from the hotel and over the dunes to the beach. She at last came to a stop near the large group that was crowded around a large barbeque pit. She clutched her knees, panting. Inu Yasha merely glanced at her then looked around at the crowd.

"Kagome! Inu Yasha!" Sota sprinted across the soft sand and skidded to a stop before them. "Hey, we were wondering where you two were. Mom was going to send me to find you. We're about to eat."

"Kagome fell asleep." Inu Yasha informed the bright eyed boy.

"Oh, okay. Come on." Sota turned and began leading them to where Iki was sitting.

Kagome gave Inu Yasha a smirk. "You did too."

"Feh." He crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. "I got bored. I wasn't tired."

Kagome smirked again. "Sure."

Iki looked up from her place on her towel. "Kagome, there you are. Where've you been?"

"Sorry, mom, I fell asleep watching TV and," Kagome gave her hanyou a quick smile, "Inu Yasha didn't want to wake me."

Iki nodded. "Okay, grab a plate. They're serving already."

"All right." Kagome grabbed Inu Yasha's hand again and went to the where the food was being dished out.

&&&&

Shina, Taro, Chi, Gyou, and Kado sat together under a round table with an umbrella. "Shina, look who's decided to show up."

Shina glanced toward the food, to see Kagome explaining what a 'hot dog' was with slightly pink cheeks. "We need to separate them, so I can have a chat with little princess."

"That's not going to be very likely. He never seems to leave her side." Chi said as he sipped at a beer disguised as a coke.

Shina smirked. "Any man that is that possessive of a woman will want to show off for her."

"Oh, and how do you know that?" Kado asked as she slipped Puki another piece of fat from her barbequed chicken."

"Because I know men." Shina informed her flatly. Kado rolled her eyes. Living with Shina was like having a sister with her very own herm of men.

"So, you intend to separate them while the guy's showing off." Gyou asked, his own bottle of disguised beer in hand.

"Yes, why don't you boys have a friendly competition of arm wrestling?" Shina glared pointedly at Taro. "Don't hurt the merchandise too badly. I need him still in one piece, if I'm able to have any fun."

Taro yawned. "Fine, at least it'll pass the day. And possibly give Ms-Goody-Two-Shoes an idea of how weak of protection he really is."

In Kado's arms, Puki suddenly poked his nose straight in the air and started to squirm. He'd caught Inu Yasha's scent on the wind. "Puki, what's wrong?" Kado tried to hold him down, but the little dog scratched her hand and she released him. She watched in shock as the little dog made a bee line for the hanyou.

Puki ran straight to Inu Yasha's feet, where he and Kagome had settled on Iki's spare towel, and whimpered. Inu Yasha looked down on the dog with a slight scowl. Puki proceeded to roll onto his back submissively showing his belly. Inu Yasha gave a low approving growl. The little dog rolled back over and promptly sat up on his hind quarters, begging to be picked up. Inu Yasha set his plate aside and picked up the pup. They regarded each other quietly for a moment, before Puki's tail began to wag. Inu Yasha smirked and turned to Kagome.

She stared at him in slight amazement. She'd watched the entire exchange between the two. "Wow, how'd you do that?"

His smirk widened. "We had a 'chat'. Here." He passed the little dog to Kagome. Puki's ears flattened and he ducked his head submissively, his tail still wagging. Kagome gazed at the pup in wonderment. Inu Yasha leaned in close to whisper in her ear. "He knows your mine and he's seeking approval from you."

Kagome blinked for a moment at the 'your mine' comment and then smiled down at the little black ball of fur. She petted his head and rubbed behind his little ears. His little tail sped in its pace. Kagome smiled broader. "You know, you're cute when you're not trying to bite my brother." The little dog looked up at her with round sad eyes. "He looks so depressed."

Inu Yasha chuckled. "Wouldn't you be if you had to live with that?" He nodded at Kado, who was standing with her fists on her hips, glaring across the sand at them.

Kagome chuckled too. "I suppose I would."

Sota turned to them from his position beside his mother on her towel and jumped when he saw Kagome holding the little dog. "How'd he get over here?"

Inu Yasha took Puki from Kagome and dropped him in Sota's arms. Sota nearly dropped the dog in shock. "But….But what if…"

"Don't worry kid. He knows you're a member of my pack. He won't do anything now."

"Really?" Sota tentatively began to pet the little furry head. Puki responded by licking him repeatedly under the chin, until Sota began to laugh. "Hey, that tickles." Suddenly a shadow loomed over him and a pair of hands snatched the little dog away.

Kado glared. "Did I say you could play with my dog?"

"Hey, he came over here. If you don't like it then keep a better eye on him!" Kagome was finding that although she didn't like Kado, she wasn't really afraid of her like she was with Shina.

Inu Yasha opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the sound of men cheering. He turned to glare at the crowd around the table where Kado's companions had been sitting. "What the hell's going on over there?"

Kado smirked. "My cousins are having an arm wrestling match to see who the strongest guy on the beach is."

Inu Yasha snorted. "That's stupid."

Kado snorted back. "You're just jealous, because you know my cousin Taro is a lot stronger than a jerk like you."

Inu Yasha growled. "Feh, what do you know? I could pound him into the ground without breaking a sweat."

"I know you're scared."

"He's not scared! He could beat all those guys!" Sota jumped up and glared at his cousin.

"Oh, then I dare him to show me." Kado glared past Sota at the hanyou.

Inu Yasha stood, towering over Kado a bit. She took an uncertain half-step back. "Feh, fine, whatever. If it'll make you get out of our faces, then I'll do it." He turned on his heel and stomped off in the direction of the crowd. Kagome glared at Kado as she stood and followed her man loyally.

"Now, you'll see." Sota grinned and ran off after his hero.

Kado smirked as she followed them into the crowd. As the four emerged at the front of the crowd, they found Taro and Gyou in arm wrestling match. Taro looked past his opponent's shoulder to see his target. Kado nodded to him giving him his signal. Taro, who'd been holding back to give Kado time, now slammed Gyou's hand the rest of the way into the table.

He smirked. "Sorry, Gyou you need to work out more."

Gyou glared and rubbed his hand. He'd known all along that Taro would win and that he was only buying time. But did he have to be so rough? He laughed. "I guess I'll have to lay off the ladies and take up weight lifting."

"Any more takers?" Taro prompted the crowd. "What about you, Chi?" Chi took a few steps forward.

Inu Yasha stomped forward and shoved the young man back. "Why waste your time on kids, when you could take me on?" He smirked confidently at the larger man.

Taro gestured to the seat across from him. "It'd be my pleasure." Inu Yasha took the seat and the two men locked hands and eyes. Taro smirked. 'I got to buy some time for Shina to grab the slut. I'll just put on a show for now.' "Ready, go!" Taro put pressure against the young man's hand and found that although the man was lean, he was strong. He groaned as he tried to hold his own. It felt like his arm was about to be ripped off.

Kagome wasn't at all worried that Inu Yasha would loose, she was really going to enjoy seeing Taro's face when he was beat. She grinned from ear to ear in anticipation. Suddenly a hand grabbed her elbow and she was pulled backwards through the crowd.

&&&&

A/N: Hey, I just had to put a cliff hanger in there some where. If you guys know my writings, you know I love cliffies. –laughs manically- Till next time! R&R!