There wasn't many things Inuyasha was sure of anymore, but there were a fewkey things he would stake his life on; First, he had screwed up, in some majorly colossal way, and now he and Kagome were not together anymore. Second, he was lucky as hell to have the employees he did in his company, who kept it up and running when he was in the hospital; Third, and most importantly (he couldn't stress this enough)- he was going to murder Miroku.

No, it hadn't always been that way. Before the capricious man used to hold the title as his best friend! He hadn't always wanted to strangle the life out of him and watch as the smirk faded away from his lips; but as Miroku sat by his side at the table, a smug look of satisfaction on his face as he nudged him playfully with his shoulder, Inuyasha was sure that by the night was over, he was going to kill him.

"See?" He whispered, low enough so that only the hanyou could hear, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I told you didn't I? Yukka is great!" He raised his brows suggestively, indicating that he was referring to more than her personality. "This is exactly what you need."

Miroku had set him up on a damn blind date. The bastard had to die.

Funny, he always assumed his best friend would have been done in by an angry ex-lover; angry ex-best friend had to hold some merit, right?

It had been a month since he had left the hospital and came home to Miroku's one bed, one bath apartment. It was cramped, sure, and not ideal to be spending his lonesome nights on the leather couch instead of snuggled behind Kagome, the sweet smell of her soft scent lulling him to sleep. It wasn't perfect, but it was bearable. He was happy to be with a friend than utterly alone going through this alone.

Small mercies, right?

Living with together with Miroku was nostalgic; They settled into a routine fairly quickly, already knowing each other's likes and dislikes, not having changed much since their roommate days in college. Inuyasha was still sensitive to noises early in the morning and Miroku still hated it when Inuyasha left a dirty dish in the sink. Spending time apart and growing up had made the transition a much easier one than when they were still in their teens. A little care and consideration, and a lot of maturity made the whole thing a lot easier; except for the no Kagome thing. That was rather annoying.

Once the initial shock of Kagome dating had worn off it was replace with anger, so strong it was borderline blinding. When he stood up, ready to beat his competition bloody, Miroku had talked him down. Why not wait? He had asked. Inuyasha had difficulty controlling himself when he barked out his response. She was dating! There was already too much time wasted! Any second he spent talking it over with him was another second she was in the arms of someone else.

Had she kissed him? Have they fucked? Did she love this guy? Did she love him?Dangerous questions raced through his mind making him dizzy. He had to sit down on the bed, head in hands while he breathed deeply.

Miroku patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Why not wait until your memory returns? Then you can go forward with all the facts. If you go now, in this state, you could say or do something to make things worse and she might never forgive you. Just wait, my friend."

Is what the bastard said.

But what he meant was "it's time to get over her."

That was never more clear than it was now, with a leggy brunet sitting across from him, biting her lip as she shyly stole a glance at him. His ear twitched as he picked up her hushed whisper "He's really cute." To the friend at her side.

It was obvious that Miroku had very little faith in his ability to get Kagome back, and this was probably an act of kindness in his fucked up mind. Who the hell sets an engaged man up on a blind date?

Sort of engaged, that is. Miroku never failed to remind him of that

Kagome talk was strictly off limits.

Miroku had insisted that it wasn't fair, and down right creepy to stalk her. Inuyasha, on the other hand, disagreed. What was wrong with keeping tabs on her? She was always so clumsy, constantly tripping into things. And so bad with directions! What if she got lost and needed him? Apparently, he was "obsessive" and maybe that's why "she left his crazy ass."

Miroku had gotten a black eye from that one. He wasn't even that upset; he knew it was crossing the line, and it made him look 'tough'.

Or that's what he told him when Yuri walked over to them, wearing a slim, low cut black dress that left little to the imagination. On her arm was a stunning woman, the type that could have stepped out of a magazine. She was tall and sexy, with long brown hair that fell around her shoulders in soft waves. When the pair sat down at the table, Yuri leaning over to give Miroku a kiss on the cheek and then introduce Yukka, Inuyasha felt his world turn red. His traitorous ex best friend was going to pay.When he had figured out what was going on, albeit a little too slowly, he immediately stood up, ready to walk away. Miroku tugged on his wrist, doing his best to pull the hanyou down toward his seat. "You owe me." He said under hushed breath, loud enough so that only he could hear. "No." His stern voice left no room for argument, but Miroku was relentless. "Yes.Give it a shot and I wont bug you about it again. If you leave so will my date. You oweme, man." He stood up to greet the guests, introducing the two women; Inuyasha gave little more than a grunt of acknowledgement as they sat down.

His plan was to get the night over with as fast as possible. Then he could go back to discussing his Kagome related theories out loud and Miroku wouldn't be able to say a damn thing.

"It's so awesome you own your own business." Yukka said after taking a sip of her drink. "My father used to run a convince store. My brother took it over after he retired. It's so much work when you're the boss. I basically spent my childhood stocking shelves." She laughed at her memory and Inuyasha smiled, trying to be polite. He could relate to that; he had worked at his father's company from infancy, his mother answering the phones while he napped in the play pen. Clients used to remark how family oriented the business was, and it would keep their business.

But he told her none of that, of course. That was information he didn't need to share, not with Yukka anyway. He pressed his lips together in a thin smile and nodded, a look of clear disinterest on his face as he took a sip of his beer, thinking of all the ways he was going to maim Miroku when they returned home.

Although from the way Yuri had her hands all over him, whispering things in his ear that make even Miroku blush, he doubted his roommate was leaving with him.

When he got home from his escapades thenhe would kill him. Who the hell did he think he was, trying to set him up? He wasn't looking for some one night stand, or a something that could turn serious. He was interested in Kagome.

"We're going to go order some more drinks at the bar." Miroku suddenly said, after grasping Yuri's hand and leading her away. Somehow, Inuyasha doubted it; if he was a betting man, he would put money on the pair finding an empty bathroom stall and Yuri on her knees.

"This is pretty awkward, isn't it?" Yukka said, idly pushing around the noodles on her plate. "I really don't like blind dates."

"I didn't even know I was going on a date." He supplied rather bitterly.

"Sounds like an ambush." She gave him a half smile as she leaned in closer, resting her head on her hands. "How terrible for you."

Inuyasha shrugged. "It's always terrible when Miroku is around a woman. Its unpleasant for everyone involved."

She laughed and Inuyasha felt awkward. He hadn't meant to be funny, people in general didn't find his wit amusing. He knew his humor was often dry and lacking, finding that it grew on people over time. Either Yukka was being polite or she had some odd tastes. "He seems alright." She said. "I mean, clearly he's a flirt and is just looking for a good time, but hey, that's Yuri's type." She sighed before she continued, a kind smile gracing her lips. "You don't have to stay, you know. I mean, I don't want you to feel obligated to sit and have dinner with me because your friend forced you to. Like I said, blind dates suck, so I wouldn't be offended. I totally get it."

The silence felt heavy when he finished talking, like he needed to fill it. It wasn't like he could come out and tell her that he needed to stay for the duration in order to rub it in Mirokus face. He watched as she sat back a little, absent-mindedly rubbing her hand over her arm, clearly chilly. He would have offered his hoodie, if it was Kagome. Then again, if it was Kagome shewould have forced him to bring one, always fearful he would get sick despite his far superior immune system. She liked to care for him in those small ways, even if it didn't make a difference. She treated him like anyone else. Inuyasha swallowed hard, needing to change the subject. It was hard to think of her without wanting to cry and fling the heavy ceramic plate across the room at the same time.

"I'm-I don't mind staying, but I have to let you know… I'm not interested in dating, or hooking up or anything like that." He stated bluntly.

She nodded, her hair bouncing. "Good, neither am I." Inuyasha scoffed, clearly not buying her story.

"So why did you agree to come? If you don't like blind dates, and you're not looking for a relationship or getting laid."

Yukka smiled. "Have you metYuri? She gets herself into bad situations all the time. Part of me wanted to go just to make sure she wasn't seeing some creep and would make it back alive. But, the other part of me was interested." She smiled as leaned forward a bit. "It's been a while since I dated. I got out of a long term relationship and just dove into work. It's hard to meet people, you know? Even if we don't have a love connection, its fun to get out, isn't it?"

"Haven't you heard of dating apps?" He scoffed. "They're literally made for that. Plenty of fish, tinder, any of that ring a bell?" Not that he ever used them, but he'd heard of them at least.

She laughed, soft and full at the same time. "How long have you been out of the dating scene? Those are for hook ups, buddy. The last guy I met on tinder was a doctor. He liked to ski in the winter and go out on his boat in the summer and volunteered at an animal shelter on the weekends."

Inuyasha narrowed his brows. "That doesn't sound too bad." He said. Did this woman have incredibly high standards or what? "So why aren't you out on the doctors boat instead of having cheap beers with me?"

"Yeah, all good in theory. Except do you know who actuallyshowed up?"

"Who?" He asked, and before he even realized it, he was engaged and enjoying her conversation. She was easy to talk to. His jaw actually dropped when she told her story, and before he knew it, he found himself chatting back. It wasn't an unpleasant way to spend the night.

Miroku and Yuri returned later, looking disheveled and flushed, only to find the table missing one key player. "Where's Inuyasha?" Mirkou asked, raking a hand through his black hair.

Yukka shrugged. "He said he had to go. I- I thought we were having a good time, then he just stood up and left." She pouted a bit, making her lips look even puffier. Yuri rushed to her side and somehow Miroku knew he was going home alone tonight.

Mirkou frowned as he looked at the half eaten plate of chicken and the bills thrown down on the table to cover his fare. It was a bold move, trying to set Inuyasha up; back in their college days the man was a literal dog. He could smooth talk any woman he wanted, although it didn't seem to take much back then. He had no interest in relationships, no interest in settling down in any way, shape or form.

But then he met Kagome.

It was like he did a complete 180 overnight. He met her and came back to their dorm starry eyed. He took her out for a date, and actual date, and barely managed to kiss her he was so nervous. From the moment he first spoke about her, he knew his best friend was ruined.

Really, he should have known better trying to set him up, but the man was so heart broken he thought a distraction woud do him some good. Once he had Kagome, there was no one else for him; When he heard the news that he and Kagome broke up he easily brushed it off as bullshit. There was no way he would have broken up with her, no way he would have found someone else.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised Inuyasha fled. Without being told, he knew where he had gone, and for his sake, he hoped he wouldn't screw this up.

~.~

He found himself outside of their door - herdoor now. Just hers. He didn't live there anymore. It was a shot in the dark, checking their old apartment to try and find her, but for once, the Gods were on his side. She hadn't moved, the scent wafting from the doorframe told him that.

It also told him she wasn't home.

It had been so long since he saw her, so long since he spoke to her. It was nice, talking to Yukka. She was pretty and fun and a great story teller. It was easy to spend time with someone like that.

But it didn't matter.

She wasn't Kagome.

It wasn't that he forgot about her when they started to talk; Kagome wasn't the only thing that raced through his mind. It was true, at first, that he compared her to his fiancé. Kagome was prettier, her curves more his taste and her darker hair gave her pale skin a beautiful contrast. Yukka was taller, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing; He liked that Kagome was short, liked to watch her stand on her tippy toes as she stretched to get the rice from the second shelve in the cupboard.

But as the date wore on, he found himself comparing less and just enjoying the company. She was interesting and had some crazy stories to share. And he just kept thinking 'I've got to tell Kagome about this. She would eat this shit up.' His thoughts always came back to her. He was sitting across from a great woman, really- she was a catch- but it never crossed his mind. What he did think about his how Kagome would react when he retold her escapades- about the surprise ending and how she would sit on the edge of her seat as he delivered the punch line, leaning in closer to him like she always did when she was invested in a story, how she would playfully hit his shoulder in excitement, no doubt because she would have 'called it' earlier. There was no way he could move on; in his mind, he was still dating Kagome. He wanted that, wanted her and no one else; He could have easily bedded Yukka, could have easily found a dozen women to take her place. But if it wasn't Kagome, it didn't matter, tonight's debacle proved that. He wanted to see her again, wanted to wrap himself around her and find the comfort he was so sorely lacking. He wanted to go home.

So he did; the ache in his chest was painful, he felt like he couldn't breathe. He knew that the only way he would find an ounce of relief was with her,not a substitute. He apologized and placed some bills on the table before he bolted out of the door, heading in the direction his heart told him he should've gone weeks ago. Maybe Miroku was right; maybe he should wait until his memory returned, maybe he would make things worse by showing up at her doorstep, fresh from a date.

But he didn't care.

He wasn't sure what he would find when he ran down the same street he used to walk, climbed the steps two at a time, gripping the rail more out of nerves than for support. Once he was sure that she still lived in their building he breathed a sigh of relief; but it was short lived- the next hurdle was what or whowould he find when he got there? He was ready to fight for her, that wasn't the issue. The real problem would be holding back and not actually killing the bastard who dared to take his place. He had waited too long, allowed another to take his spot like a fool. Not any longer.

Well, a little longer. He was amped up and full of nerves and she wasn't home. The tension eased, a little, as he slid to the floor, back against the white door. Where was she? Out with that Koga guy? Taking the pictures heshould've taken? Were they eating together, having a date much like he was just minutes earlier? Was he about to take her home? Was she thinking about him, feeling the same pain he did? Or was it all too late?

He decided he would sit there and wait; Best case, she came alone. Worse case, she didn't come at all…. Or came with him. And that just wasn't acceptable, not anymore. He wouldn't lose his nerve, wouldn't budge until he saw her, would be leave until she heard him out. He-

Her scent came to him, crisp and refreshing. His heart was beating double speed, he was sure she could heart its anxious sound from the stair well. When he heard her voice, his breath hitched in his throat, nerves strained as he opened and clenched his fists as her figure came into full view, a bags of groceries in her hand, and thankfully, no one by her side. Her blue eyes were wide with shock as she let out a small gasp of surprise.

"Inuyasha?"