Disclaimer:: I don't own Inu Yasha. * sniffle *

Thanks to all of you who reviewed! You guys are A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!!!!

Well, here it is guys!

Chapter 7

Kagome glanced around the quaint Italian restaurant as she allowed the waiter to seat her. A candle burned merrily on the center of each table, she noticed, emanating soft golden glow. Fresh flowers had been picked, and placed in crystal vases on top of the crimson table cloths. Soft acoustic guitar music drifted across the dining room, adding the final touch to the perfect romantic atmosphere.

She sighed happily as she gazed over to look at Kouga, the flickering candle flames reflected in his eyes, making them appear to be sparkling as he smiled back at her.

This is the most romantic place I've ever been to she thought, and with such a wonderful guy too. What more could a girl ask for?

A few moments later, a waitress clad in a black dress that reached about mid thigh came up to their table, balancing a tray full of glasses and a pitcher on her shoulder. She smiled at the couple and bent down to place two glasses in front of them, and then proceeded to fill them with water.

Kouga's eyes immediately drifted over the hem of the waitresses dress, which had begun to slowly ride up a bit as she poured them their drinks.

Noticing the handsome young man's eyes on her, the waitress flushed a deep pink, and then cast him a discreet smile as she hurried off towards another table that was in need of more water.

Kouga leaned back in his seat, a slight grin on his face, completely unaware that Kagome had just witnessed the little interaction between the two.

Was he flirting with her? Kagome thought worriedly. Was it just me, or was he smiling at her the same way he smiles at me? That same smile that makes my knees weak, and makes my head spin? She glanced up at him again, with a slightly perturbed expression on her face.

"What's the matter, babe?" Kouga said smoothly, placing a hand over hers, a concerned look in his eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing." She replied. Now why would he be looking at me like that if he wasn't totally serious about me? She asked herself. Stupid Kagome. You need to learn to trust people more, other wise you'll never be happy. Give the poor guy a chance. With that, she glanced back up at him, giving him a sweet smile.

As she gazed lovingly into his eyes, she realized that in the candlelight they took on an amber hue. Amber eyes. She could remember those angry golden eyes, flashing maliciously at her whenever she had made an error in their studies and he was growing impatient with her. Despite the fact that he had been greatly irritated with her at the time, it seemed that the angrier he got, the more beautiful his eyes became. She then remembered the genuine look in his eyes when he had been apologizing to her, he had had a softer look to him, almost as though he was afraid of her. Thoroughly lost in thought, she completely forget all about her current surroundings and didn't even notice she had taken Kouga's hand in hers, and had been gently rubbing her thumb across it.

"Inu Yasha..." She said, barely above a whisper.

"What did you say?" Kouga asked, taking his water glass from his lips, and looking at her with a startled expression.

Oh my god. I didn't just say that out loud, did I?? Uh oh.

"Oh, um. Nothing. I was just talking to myself." She said with a guilty smile, hoping he wouldn't interrogate her any further.

Kouga scrutinized her face for a moment, searching for any signs of deceit, but upon not finding any, returned her smile, and returned his attention to the job at hand.

Twenty minutes later, their food was brought out to them. Kagome was so absorbed in the enticing aromas emitted from the steaming plate of pasta in front of her, that she was oblivious to the exchange of smiles between her date and the once again, blushing waitress. She was rarely taken out to such fancy dinners, and this was definitely a night she would remember long after.

My first real date. She thought happily to herself, as she brought her water glass to her lips, and sipped some of the cool liquid. Everything is perfect. The food, the restaurant...She glanced up at Kouga. Him. He was perfect. He was so incredibly handsome.

"Hey, you still with me?" Kouga said gently taking her small hand into his, noticing the far off look in her eyes.

"Yeah...I'm sorry. I was just thinking about how wonderful tonight has been. Being here with you, this has been the best night of my life. I've never felt so happy." She said softly, her pale lips curving into a shy smile.

"I feel exactly the same way." He said sweetly, running his thumb across her palm gently.



He watched as a pleased look appeared on her face, and her eyes brightened with tears.

Man, are you in for a big surprise. Kouga said to himself, amused. This stupid girl. Stupid, stupid girl. Oh well, who cares how she'll feel after I'm through with her. I'm just in it for the money, and to keep up my reputation of course. He thought to himself cockily.

~*~*~

"So," Kouga said as he cut the car engine on with a quick flick of his wrist. " You want to do something with me tomorrow night? We can go see a movie or something. Whatever you want to do." He asked, glancing over at her as he put the car in reverse and backed out of the emptying parking lot.

"That sounds wonderful!" she cried enthusiastically. "Maybe we could go see a movie, like you said. There are some really good ones playing at the mall."

"Sounds cool. What would you like to see then?" he asked, attempting to sound somewhat interested in their conversation.

"How about that movie called Elf. I heard that was supposed to be funny."

"Ok. Great. What time would you want to go see it?"

"Preferably in the early evening. Like seven or something. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing that there was a 7:30 show time. I'll look again though."

He nodded, not taking his eyes off of the road as they drove through the brightly lit city, heading in the direction of Kagome's house.

"I had a really nice time with you tonight." She said quietly as she gazed at his profile, taking in his handsome features. "This was really nice of you to do... taking me to such a nice place and all. Thank you so much, Kouga."

"You're welcome." Was all he said, without looking at her. Kagome was a bit discouraged that that was all he had to say on the matter. Maybe he didn't have as good of a time as he let on. Oh no... what if he thought she was boring? Or what if he thought she talked too much. She had a habit of doing that.

She twiddled her thumbs nervously, wondering what she could have possibly done wrong tonight. Replaying the entire night in her mind, she could find no difference in the way that she normally would have acted, minus the occasional blushing of course.

Maybe I'm just over reacting. She said, trying to convince herself. Other wise he never would have wanted to go out with you again, right? He seems like an honest guy. I don't think he'd keep wanting to see me if he didn't truly like me. Satisfied, she settled back into her seat, and was content watching the bright street lights as they zoomed by, causing them to blur together in a dazzling display of colour.

Before she knew it, the car slowed down and she realized they had finally reached her house. The car slowly came to a stop, and Kouga cut the engine.

Kagome just sat there, not knowing what she should do. It was time to say good bye, wasn't it? So why were they just sitting there in the car? She wondered.

But before she could think of anything to say to him, he reached his hand over to her side of the car, and slowly placed a hand on her thigh, dangerously near to the edge of her skirt.

Her eyes widened as she looked first at the hand that rested on her leg, and then up to Kouga's smiling face.

"Kouga-What are you do-" She was cut off however, as he leaned in and quickly silenced her by pressing his lips onto hers firmly.

Shocked by his sudden actions, Kagome struggled for a moment, completely unused to this kind of interaction, finding it nerve wracking and weird, yet oddly enjoyable. She stopped squirming, and relaxed her body, allowing herself to indulge in what was as of yet, the most romantic moment of her life.

His lips are so soft and sweet. She thought dreamily to herself as she closed her eyes and tried to imagine any other time in her life that she had felt this happy.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop however, as she became very aware of Kouga's wandering hand, inching closer the hem of her skirt. What is he doing? She thought frantically. Without bothering to wonder what he was doing, she tore away from him, breaking the kiss abruptly.

Kouga stared at her with disbelief.

"What'd you do that for?" He asked almost irritated , an unreadable expression contorting his visage.

She bit her lip.

"I'm sorry, I've got to go now." With that she hopped out of the car, and after hurriedly calling "Good-night" over her shoulder, quickly scurried to the house, and let herself in.

What the hell was that all about? He thought crossly as he turned the car on, and turned to leave her drive way, a showering of gravel flying up around his car as he hit the accelerator. This girl was really getting to him. First he takes her out to a really nice restaurant, forking over a ridiculous amount of money, just so that she could sit there and then run away from him like a petrified rabbit. What a waste. He concluded, heavily letting his foot hit the accelerator as he flew down the main road and out into the night.

~*~*~

Kagome lay sprawled on her bed, gazing up at the ceiling. She was thoroughly embarrassed by how she had acted that night.

He probably thinks I'm a loser now. She thought angrily. You're such a moron, Kagome. Absolutely stupid!

She had never experienced that kind of intimacy with anyone before, and it was rather new to her, yet she still felt that she shouldn't have just run away like that. It wasn't really the kissing that had bothered her though, no, she had enjoyed that immensely. She ran her finger over her lips as she remembered his warm lips pressed on top of hers. What had really shocked her was that hand of his. She wasn't upset with him for doing it though, she was sure his intentions weren't bad. She knew he liked her, and wouldn't try anything she didn't want him to. It was her inexperience with relationships that was to blame. She was just so nervous around him, and tended to freak out at the slightest thing. She would have to learn to get over that.

With a yawn, Kagome decided to shower and then change into her pajamas, and go to sleep. After a night like tonight, she was most exhausted and wanted nothing more than to hop into her warm bed, and dream of Kouga.

~*~*~

Inu yasha awoke with a start, his breath came in short gasps. Looking down at himself, he noticed he was covered with a sheen of sweat.

What an awful dream. He thought groggily to himself as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

He had dreamt that Kagome had been out with Kouga, out to dinner or a movie or something, he couldn't really remember exactly. He just remembered seeing them together, Kouga standing there with his arms wrapped protectively around Kagome's waist, as if to say she was his. He had remembered that he was standing there watching them standing in each other's arms, Kouga's face buried in Kagome's raven hair. Kouga then looked up, straight at Inu Yasha, a twisted smile on his face. Inu Yasha had felt a searing pain, and clutched at his chest as Kouga's invidious glare bore into his very soul.

The rest of the dream was a blur of emotions and voices resounding through his mind, a jumble of confused thoughts. Somewhere in the dream however, he suddenly heard a blood curdling scream. Kagome's scream... crying out for him. As he spun around and tried to locate the source of her voice, he could see nothing but complete blackness surrounding him as he blindly thrashed around, desperately trying to help her. That's when he had woken up.

Shaking his head, he got up slowly, and padded out into the dark hallway, flicking the light switch on his way to the stair case. He sleepily walked down the stairs, and into the kitchen.

Sighing, he opened a kitchen cabinet which gave a quick squeak as he pulled it open, and grabbed a glass, and then proceeded to fill it up with cold water.

Raising the glass to his lips, he threw his head back, and downed the liquid in a matter of seconds, the sudden cold causing him to shiver. He set the glass down onto the counter top, and remained where he was standing, gazing out the window into the moon lit yard. The silver beams of light casting eerie shadows throughout the yard.

It was a beautiful night out. The stars were shining ever so brightly, and there was just a breath of wind rustling through the leaves, making them shimmer in the pale moonlight.

He was not affected by the beautiful sight in front of him thought, he was too preoccupied thinking about the horrid dream he had just had. Somehow, he took that dream to be a bad omen. It had to mean something. It was just too abnormal to just be some random, meaningless dream. He concluded. But what could he do? He had no proof that Kouga was any danger to Kagome. She would never believe him if he told her what he thought of Kouga, or if he told her about his dream. She would think he was crazy. Or that he was lying to her. She would never believe him...unless he found some way to prove to her that he posed a threat to her. From now on, Inu Yasha thought determinedly, I'll keep close tabs on that guy. He'd better watch himself from now on.

~*~*~

Well, there you have it. It's rather short in comparison to the other chapters. I stopped it earlier than I had originally planned, but it works out better for me this way. ^_^. Writing it in smaller segments so that I do a decent job on each chapter, rather than hastily writing down crap just to finish a super long chapter in one night, when I can make two smaller ones, with better detail and effort ^_^. Any ways, heh, I Know I'm making you guys miserable with the Kouga stuff. But please, lol, don't keep telling me to get rid of him and put more Inu/Kag fluff.... I'm workin' on it! Trust me! Lol. Any ways. See you in the next chapter ^_^!

~Crazy Jaivy