Chapter 2

I do not own the delicious InuYasha and characters. But I love them.

The party had been lit so far. The guys on the couch facing Inuyasha's theater-sized flat screen had all of their bottoms sitting on the edge of the cushions in anticipation as Hayato Nakamura vs. Ibuki Yamamoto, the most famous rivals in Japanese MMA were about to begin. The girls either sat behind the guys on bar-stools from the kitchen, chatting away with each other or hung over their guys closely on the couches. Sango and Kagome were among the ones seated behind the couch on bar-stools, battling in conversation regarding the two rivals who were soon to get in the ring. Sango more so than Kagome, who mustered a beaming smile, laughing at Sango's jokes ever so often and jumping into their banter, wanting to make the most of her first night in Tokyo on her own.

Sango had already hyped herself up with her fifth beer while Kagome took her time sipping her third as the fight started. Her exterior and conversation was of the essence of the party but her mind ran wild as she could feel a certain pair of golden eyes glued to her back. It seemed as though he had been staring at her all night, although he did well to make sure not to make it obvious. She was, in fact, facing the direction of the television and it seemed from what Kagome could catch in terms of his conversation with Miroku that he wasn't going to make it known but she could feel it just as much as a touch.

As Sango raved like thunder next to her, Kagome tried to get into the festivities and somewhat mirror her cousin's cheers at the right moments of the fight. It seemed as though she was winning and obnoxiously taking credit each chance she got. Kagome smiled. She wondered, although they were cousins, about how different they were. But it was as if opposites attracted because she very much admired her cousin's spirit.

The fighters took a break for a "sit down and hydrate" before the next round as Sango finished off the fifth bottle and turned to Kagome, glowing with excitement mixed with alcohol. She was definitely feeling it.

"Do ya want another one?" She asked as she was about to rise to make her way over to the kitchen.

"No thanks, I'm still drinking this one," Kagome responded as she side-glanced toward the kitchen where InuYasha and Miroku had previously resided but had no longer been. She was about to look around unconsciously to try to figure out where they could have moved off to in such a small vicinity, when they seemed to have appeared out of thin air behind them.

"Hey guys. It seems like you've both been enjoying the fight. Did you want another beer Sango? I could get that for you, don't worry about it," Miroku insisted as he grabbed Sango's empty one. He turned to Kagome, who for some reason; although Kagome and Sango had been there for about an hour or so, he had not met as of yet, thanks to Sango losing half her mind on pregaming back at their apartment.

"And I don't believe that we have formally met yet. But you must be Kagome, Sango's cousin, right? She forgot to mention how beautiful you are." Miroku complimented, presenting a genuine smile although Inuyasha was all too aware of the slyness of the seemingly innocent remark he had made toward her. Sango narrowed her eyes at Miroku but decided to ignore his introduction.

"Can it, pervert." InuYasha suddenly blurted out beside him. He hadn't said a word since they had come over to them and Kagome had almost forgotten he was standing there. She blushed at Miroku's directness and InuYasha for having stood there.

"Uh...thank you, Miroku, is it? I've heard a lot about you from Sango. You guys work together right?"

"As a matter of fact, we do. But I can see that beauty runs in the family indeed. Our kids would be gorgeous don't you think," Miroku responded, disregarding InuYasha's suggestion. By now he usually had the girl swooning over him with the implication of child bearing and a family of some sorts. Most found it to be dreamy.

Sango began to grit her teeth watching Miroku clearly hitting on her cousin with fists balling. InuYasha tensed for a moment but took a sip on of his beer, his expression remaining indifferent. Kagome had since recovered from her prior embarrassment of being put on the spot, especially in front of the guy she was in denial about feeling an attraction to. She smiled politely at Miroku but the expression immediately vanished and replaced with stunned as she felt a bit of pressure at her bottom. Some sort of brushing. She had instantly recognized that the feeling was brought on by a hand.

Kagome squealed in surprise and with quick reflexes, brought her hand across Miroku's previously smug expression. Sango had then reached her tolerance limit and joined with a fist across his head.

"Miroku! YOU PERVERT!" Sango yelled, stumbling as she lost her balance a bit after throwing a punch.

"This is why we don't have any friends Miroku. You're a creep," InuYasha responded, almost wanting to choke his best friend but realizing that this was common behavior for him. It usually hadn't bothered him so much. He wondered why for a moment before turning to Kagome who appeared bright red at that point.

"Don't mind him. He's pretty harmless from here on out. He's already checked off all his boxes for meeting the new girl." InuYasha then gulped down the rest of his beer and walked back over to the kitchen to grab another.

"Ooo, make sure to get me one too InuYasha!" Sango yelled over to him, suddenly forgetting about Miroku's lecherous introduction.

"You know, I think you've had enough tonight Sango. You said you were going to help me finish unpacking some more, remember? Although, I have the feeling that you'll just pass out when we get there," Kagome suggested, feeling that it was time to call it a night. She had just arrived to her cousins and exhaustion was starting to crash down on her. Sango pouted, glancing at InuYasha who shrugged his shoulders with indifference.

"Aww, why so soon ladies?" Miroku asked, hoping he could guilt them into staying a little longer.

"Sorry guys, I've still got some unpacking to do and I'm beat. Sango, I think, just needs some sleep. She tends to get a little out of hand after too many drinks so I think I'm just going to stop her here. We could hang out some other time, maybe."

"Oh yes, definitely we will," Miroku responded, putting his arm around Sango's shoulders. As Sango tried to push Miroku's arms from over her, Kagome dragged her body away like a ragdoll.

"Thanks for having us," Kagome said from the door looking over at Miroku and glancing at InuYasha who just waved with a half smile. Although it was nothing but a simple goodbye, Kagome felt heat rise in her cheeks once more before closing the door behind her and Sango, half carrying her across the hall to their apartment.

Later that evening, after hauling Sango to bed and realizing that there was no point to attempt unpacking, Kagome lay in bed, tossing and turning. She felt restless aside from the fact that she had been exhausted from a long day of moving in, catching up, and meeting new people. It should have been easy to attain the shut eye but it was quite the opposite. With a final sigh, Kagome gave in to her lack of sleep and grabbed her phone. She thought about what Sango had suggested earlier on that evening, about taking a rebound. But the reality was, there was no way she could bring herself to having sex with a stranger. For her, sex was an intimate act between people who cared deeply for one another. No, she couldn't just do it with anyone.

She turned on her screen and scrolled through her contacts, landing on Hojos name. She stared at it for a few passing moments before clicking on it to send him a text message.

"Hey," she typed and stared at the message for another few moments before deleting it, shaking her head.

"What am I thinking," she mumbled to herself. There was a reason they had broken up in the first place. Well, there were a few reasons. She just hadn't felt as committed to him as he was to her. They had been together for years and he had started to mention marriage and kids and a house to her, which any girl would have loved. But the thought of settling down with Hojo made her feel like she was missing something in her life. She had finished school and started her career as a grade school teacher. It was what she had wanted since she was a little girl. Ever since her brother was born, she loved to teach everything to him using her own experience. It had made the two very close, but also made her realize how much she wanted to teach. She had finally landed her first job at the local middle school teaching 9th graders. She loved it for the first year and on her anniversary, Hojo congratulated her and tried to propose. That's when things came into perspective. She had come to the realization that she hadn't explored anything. She had stayed with her high school boyfriend, went to school in her hometown, graduated and took a job there. She had never ventured out and opened herself to new horizons. She felt completely inexperienced and Sango had always been more adventurous. She had even spent a year as a foreign exchange student in America. Kagome told Hojo she was sorry and gave him the typical "It's not you, it's me" speech breaking his heart but feeling relieved. The next day, she decided to take a leap of faith and called Sango to ask if she could move in. Sango had been searching, or so she had said, for a new roommate for months and couldn't seem to find someone she had chemistry with. Kagome thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask her to move in. It was going be a fresh start and she had options to teach pretty much anywhere. So, she put in her two weeks at the local hometown middle school she had grown up at. Conveniently, it fell in sync with everyone out of class for the summer. They had plenty of time to find a replacement. So now here she was, moved in with her cousin in this city of possibilities and feeling just a bit homesick, which brought on the anxiety.

Putting her phone back down onto her makeshift nightstand, also known as a cardboard box, she got up and threw on some sweats she had worn earlier on in the day when they had brought in her things, seeing as there were no other options, and decided to go for a walk. It was a warm and peaceful night that she was curious to explore. She put on her sneakers and rushed to the door, feeling a bit of excitement to go out and see the night life. As she closed the door behind her softly, taking into consideration the passed out Sango and the neighbors, she hadn't noticed a figure leaning just across the hall when she had stepped out so when she had finally turned to leave, she gasped and jumping back against the wall before she realized the person was familiar to her. It was InuYasha, holding a beer to his lips and looking straight at her with curious eyes. Kagome's heart stopped for a moment as her eyes met his, but quickly regained her composure and gave him a half smile. Inuyasha took his gulp and lowered the bottle to his side, keeping his eyes on hers and returning the half smile with his own.

"Where ya headed this late?" He asked. It was the most he had said to her that evening and it had taken Kagome for surprise. She was at a loss for words in that instant, with her lips parted, wondering why he had asked, before responding politely.

"Oh, I just couldn't sleep so I decided to take a walk. I wanted to see it out there. The city. Hadn't really gotten the time with the move in. What are you doing out here?" Kagome asked, looking down from his eye contact and fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt. InuYasha held his posture against the wall where he leaned.

"Some of the guys are still here but I'm about to kick them out. You can come back over if you like. It's not really safe to go wandering around an unfamiliar place. It's kinda stupid don't you think?" InuYasha ended with a chuckle, almost obnoxious but seemingly concerned all at the same time. Kagome raised her head again to meet his golden eyes. She sucked in her breath as she took in all of his facial features but she couldn't seem to steer too far away from his eyes. They were so beautiful and she felt drawn to the playfulness that danced in them.

"Uh, that's okay. You're right, it's not safe to go wander out alone in the dark. And I think my exhaustion has finally kicked in to the point where I can actually go to sleep so…." Kagome trailed off as she slowly turned to reopen the door behind her to get in bed before her body changed its mind and her mind started running again. But she was stopped short of turning the lock by a hand on her arm. She looked down to realize that InuYasha had swiftly moved across the hall to stop her and turn her slowly. She raised her head once again to meet his beautiful golden orbs. He lowered his head to be eye level with her as she then held her breath, silently panicking.

"You should come over," He suggested once again, this time with a smirk across his lips. He was still holding his beer in one hand but managed to slide his free arm around Kagome's waist. She instantly knew she was in trouble. This guy knew what he was doing and she almost found herself falling for it.

"Um, th-that's okay," she managed to stutter out, gently removing herself from his hold. "I'm actually tired and I have to finish unpacking tomorrow. Maybe next time?" she said, failing to tear her eyes away from his but moving the rest of her body back towards the door.

"Heh, suit yourself," he said, his voice slightly more gruff than before and turned to his door. "Later," he said before going in and leaving Kagome this time, shaking in the hall, dazed from the unusual situation that had occurred.

"He hadn't said a word to me this whole evening and then he tries to come onto me? What a jerk," she thought to herself as she recovered, opening her door finally to walk in and close it behind her. She was confused and out of breath. Was she holding it in this whole time? And then there was this weird knot in her chest. Clearly she was getting sucked in for a moment. But she wasn't going to dignify that feeling with any more examination, over a maybe, a tiny, a minuscule really...crush?