Chapter 43

"Stupid. You could have gotten yourself killed! You're so clumsy!"

"W-What?" Kagome blinked at the boy's concerned and kind face. His voice and words didn't match his kindly and handsome face. That sounded like something Inuyasha would say. Hojou would never say anything like that. He had even said it in Inuyasha's voice. What was going on?

"I said you should be more careful, Kagome. That bus nearly hit you!" He said, his voice so low and kind, soothing to the ears that seemed to have heard honking horns endlessly ringing through her eardrums. But all she did was nod in reply. She knew it. Hojou would never say something like that. Her mind was still stuck on the hanyou she had left back home. He wasn't here. Kind, polite, soothing Hojou was her rescuer this time around.

"Are you alright?" Hojou asked, his arms holding her closely against him. But, Kagome couldn't reply. She trembled, the words stolen from her throat as she clung, dearly, to the front of Hojou's shirt. Her legs shook, wobbling, her fists clenching tighter onto the boy's school uniform. He must have been just heading off to school.

"Well...Did you get my letter?" He asked, pulling her closer and farther away from the beeping and flashing cars and skidding tires. Kagome couldn't have said a word if she tried as she was pulled closer onto the boy that had barely slipped past a beating from Inuyasha.

"Y-Yes..." She stammered, trying her desperate best not to fall flat on her face. Couldn't Hojou hold her more securely? At least until her feet sturdied themselves or hold her in a less awkward position? "Do...you...really think I'm the girl of your dreams." More words. Yes. Good. Her vision was blacking out. It was just such a shock. To think, if Hojou hadn't been passing by, she would have been on the underside of a bus tire. Or would she?

----

He stared, eyes narrowed and fists clenched. So sick and tired of the same scene over and over again. When would it end? When would one of them win the everlasting fight for the girl's attention, her affection, her love? It never ended, and he was on the verge of giving it up.

'I was almost there! If he would have just backed off, she wouldn't be with him like that! She'd be with me...in MY arms...This is so stupid.' He thought. The blue hat over his ears felt loose, like it would blow off at any moment and be carried away by the wind, by the angry screams of the man who's car he stood atop.

"Hey! Hey! You hear me? Choudai ofu! Get off!" He screamed, his voice hardly even reaching Inuyasha's tuned out ears. He didn't care a lick, and that was clear how he just knelt there, a fist propping him up as he glared, menacingly, at the sight a few lines of traffic away. His fist raised to rush down again, slamming into the hood of the shining and obviously much-loved car, leaving a clear dent where his furious fist had punched.

"Baba!" The man cried out, his hands in his hair as he struggled to yell the hanyou off the top of his precious car. It was no use. Inuyasha wouldn't move, his eyes narrowed and those daring amber irises dripping with menace.

----

"Of course, Kagome...Isn't it obvious?" Hojou replied, his arms slipping around her in an embrace that should have been warm and firm, but the opposite to Kagome. So different.

She wished he would stop saying her name. She wished he would hold her closer, that, or let her go. Let her go and let her return to Inuyasha. Forget about the store, forget about school, forget about everything and run to the feudal era. Run for a place that she called home more, now, than her own house here. But she couldn't get away when he held her so tightly. So tightly, but at the same time, she felt like she was falling. She felt as though his arms couldn't hold her close, protectively, lovingly, like Inuyasha's could. She felt like he was a ghost and his arms were an illusion and so very cold no matter how tightly he attempted to hold her.

"Everything I said in that letter was the truth." He assured her, his hand slipping up her sides to cup her chin and lift her eyes to his. He smiled down to her, trying to pull one to her own lips. If only he knew.

And this was the boy that Kagome was destined to marry. Hojou. If she had never fallen through that well, never met Inuyasha or her closest friends. If she had never gone back in time, she would still be living a normal girl's life. How boring, it seemed now. But it would be what it was, and, to think, she would be in Hojou's arms like this all the time. She had read the scrolls over a thousand times, her eyes working for some slip up in the words that told her that some 'Kagome' had married a 'Hojou' back in time.

It was so weird, thinking that she was supposed to be with him, then and now. Forever. And maybe her taste in boys would have changed without Inuyasha. Maybe she wouldn't have that certain taste for the bad boys, her complete opposites. And, of course, she would have fallen for the hanyou who stood nearby. She knew, no doubt, that he was watching her from behind. And she knew that it was killing him inside.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Kagome."

'My name! Stop saying my name!'

"You make me happy."

'No! No I don't! You can find someone else! Can't you see that I'M not happy?'

"I'd jump at the chance to ever be with you, Kagome."

'Where have I heard that before?'

"And I know, I trust, that you will find the boy of your dreams. And I know he'll love you forever. They'd be crazy not to."

'I know...Hojou, I know! But it's not you! It's not you...I'm so sorry...but...'

----

'It's clear how she loves him. That letter, how she won't let go of him! Damn. I just want her to be happy. And if it's with him...' Inuyasha thought. He couldn't help but think it, as much as it really hurt him inside. But that was what confused him. Why. Why did he care if she was in love with someone? If that someone wasn't him? A stupid jealously that not even he could decipher.

And just as he thought all was settled, that Hojou had won and he had lost for once in his life, just as he slipped off the top of the fuming man's car, his eyes raised and widened as a harsh blow smacked into his side. It took a moment to realize those long, pale, arms that wrapped firmly around his waist and that tear streaked face crushing into his chest.

His arms shot out to take the sobbing girl by the shoulders, his eyes flashing from the top of her raven colored head to the lone boy who stood in the distance. He struggled to push her away, shake her off before he caved in. It was always too late. By that thought, his arms had already taken control and fallen around her waist to pull her tight, his shoulders tight and hunched as he dipped his cheek to press to hers.

"What'd he do? Dammit! What the hell did he say to you! I'll kill 'im. I swear I will!" He defended, his arms tight around her trembling body. He didn't let her fall though her knees buckled, trusting him to hold her up. It was as if she knew he wouldn't let her tumble to the ground.

And she did know. She felt safe, secured, cared for in his warm and muscular arms. His harsh words and accusations didn't bother her. His threats, to her or to Hojou, didn't mean a thing. She knew what he meant and only a sliver of what he felt. She had come to realize that 'You clumsy fool.' meant 'I was so worried about you'. Or that 'You're stupid.' meant 'Stop! You're about to make me laugh!'. She knew.

"No, don't. He didn't say anything. Nothing, Inuyasha...nothing at all."

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Ah, the sweetness. Ooh la la. Fluff is good, huh? You guys are gonna love me later on...though I'd probably have lost my head by that time. SORRRYYYYY! I'll say it ahead of time. You'll see. Don't ask.

Geeez! All those typos! I tried to fish a few out of this chapter...and yes that 'always' was supposed to be there. As in, he was always going to just cave in by the time it was up.

I've even gotten a few fluffy pics that go along with the story. It'd ruin the future parts...which I dun wanna do...but I'll try to sneak in a few pics at the end of that chapter. MINUS THE WEDDING RING...just saying...for a future pic. And plus some clothes on Kagome...no...Inuyasha can stay like that... -grin-. Smexy beast, I'm telling you.

So, thanks again for the great reviews. I love you all. Yes, Yes. And tune in next time!