Blood Behind The Tears

The drive to the girls' apartment was evidently silent.

Sesshomaru was behind the wheel, back straight, hands at two and ten and focused on the road in front of him. Miroku was in the passenger seat going through different radio stations and various versions of static between switching while Inuyasha was in the very back seat, going through his phone when it began to ring. Miroku looked back at him.

Inuyasha seen a name flash across the screen and pushed the phone in to his pocket.

"Aren't you gonna get that?" Miroku asked, raising an eyebrow.

Inuyasha sighed. He pulled the phone back out of his pocket, clicked the phone and brought it up to his ear. "Yes." he muttered, trying to talk in a whisper. "I told you I don't have it." he moved his hand in front of his mouth so they wouldn't be able to hear him. "I'm done. Find someone else." and without another reply to him, he hung the phone up, shut it off and slipped it back in to his pocket.

He gave Miroku an angry look and he slowly turned back around in his seat. Sesshomaru made a final left turn and drove in to a long paved drive way. "We're here." he broke the tension as he turned off the engine, opened his door and got out. Miroku followed behind him on his side, opening Inuyasha's door for him and he jumped out, slamming the door behind him.

Inuyasha lead tham as they walked up the stone walk way, they all tried to fixed themselves, stopping a few feet away from the door to get another look over by one another. After a quick look over, Inuyasha cleared his throat and knocked on the door. From within the apartment, they heard Sango yell to them, "Come in!" and they grabbed the door and walked in side.

They kicked their shoes off, placing them on a mat by the door and walked in to the living room. Miroku and Sesshomaru immediately diving for the only lazy boy chair. Sesshomaru kicked Miroku off and he landed on the couch. Inuyasha stood back, leaning against the wall, and watched at they fought for the chair, they froze and sat down when they heard one of the girls yell to them, "We'll be ready soon."

Miroku snorted, spotting a bowl of candy on the table that was in the middle of the room. "Women take so long to get ready," he said while he tried to manage a big pile of candy in his hands.

Sesshomaru looked around the house, seeing if there was anything lying in the open that they could look at or learn something from. But there was nothing. "Odd," he spoke out loud as if to himself. "Everything is perfectly placed. I love the color schemes they have with the tiling."

Inuyasha didn't say a word.

He stood at the wall with his back leaned against it, his left foot on the wall holding him in place, with his head hung low and hands in his pockets.

Before Miroku could stuff another piece of candy in to his mouth he looked over his shoulder to see Inuyasha standing against the wall and he felt a sudden wave of sadness flowing off of Inuyasha. He placed the rest of the candy in to his pockets and through his head over the head of the couch. "Something bothering you, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha's head quickly snapped up. "Feh. Nothing." he spat at him, crossing his arms.

Miroku rolled his eyes sighing, "He's so stubborn, when will he ever learn that people can help him. That he doesn't need to always be the hero." Inuyasha narrowed his eyes on him, thinking that he was talking to Sesshomaru about him but Sesshomaru was too busy looking around the house and drooling over the newly varnished floors.

Inuyasha gave a small groan to himself. Sesshomaru picked up on it and his head locked on Inuyasha, he knew that kind of groan, knew what that face meant, and knew what the awful self pity look rubbed on his face. "The girl, is it?"

Inuyasha looked up at him, to see both Miroku and Sesshomaru looking at him as if he was a common theif that stole too much and had been caught by the baker. He wasn't going to listen to what his best friends were trying to tell him. He wondered if he would ever be happy, honestly and genuinely happy, not the fake kind of happy.

Then it came to him. Light filled his face, red covered his cheeks and a smile masked his fangs. He came closer to them, "Guys," he almost asked. "How many girlfriends have I had?"

Sesshomaru and Miroku lost all emotion in their face, and stared at Inuyasha with a blank expression on. Miroku sighed, as he rolled his eyes and looked away from Inuyasha. "Man, if you don't know, how would we?"

"Exactly," Inuyasha exclaimed.

Sango was the first of the girls to be finished getting ready. She opened her bedroom door where they were finishing up and stepped out in to the hallway, walking down the the living room she over heard Inuyasha talking, and paused at the corner. She eyed him around the corner, coming in halfway through him talking to Miroku and Sesshomaru. "I've went out this a few girls and I don't think I've felt this way about any one of them as I feel for Kagome."

Sesshomaru sighed as he rolled his eyes as he stood up. Shaking his head and crossing his arms over each other, he went along with Inuyasha. "What are you trying to say?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he explained, and Sango almost pressed her ear through the wall trying to hear them. "I don't want Kagome to be another one of those girls, I can't even remember most of them. I don't want that to happen to her and me."

Miroku stood up from the couch and walked between the two brothers. "What are you going to do Inuyasha?" he raised his eyebrow. "Eventually, you and Kagome will break up, there is nothing you can do about that." He didn't want to be honest with him, but he also didn't want his friend chasing a pipe dream of his own making.

Inuyasha shook his head. "You're wrong." he whispered as a smile crossed his face. Miroku didn't know what he was talking about at first, and then it hit him.

Miroku and him exchanged smiles, and he put out his hand for a congradulatory hand shake. Inuyasha, grabbed it and pulled him in to a hug, both of them hitting the others back. Miroku pulled out of their embrace and nodded at him. "Good luck."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, looking from Inuyasha to Miroku. "What are you two talking about?"

Miroku moved out of the way as Inuyasha looked at his brother, as he shoved his hands in to his pockets, he smiled at his brother. "I love her. And I'm going to be with her forever, that I am sure of."

Sesshomaru's eyes grew in surprise at what he thought his brother was trying to say. "Inuyash-"

"I'm going to ask her to marry me!" He blurted out before Sesshomaru could say another word.

Sesshomaru gave a disgusted look at Inuyasha, sighing and rolling his eyes as if it was just a stupid thought but before Miroku or Inuyasha could ask him what his problem was he switched from disappointing to thrilled in a matter of seconds, and ran to lift his brother up in excitement. "She's gonna have her hands full with you, brother."

The three of them exchanged punches and small chit chat, as Sango peered around the corner. She heard everything. She couldn't believe it. Should she tell Kagome, or leave it alone? She started to back away from the hallway and turned to go back with the girls in the other room. He can't marry Kagome, she thought, they just got back together, what if he hurts her again..

Sango opened the bedroom door and walked in as Kagome and Ayame were making their way out to greet the boys. Sango gave them a quick smile, but when Kagome's eyes met hers and she saw the happiness that illuminated from her, she could see that maybe, just possibly, Inuyasha would be right for her. But she had to be certain.

Kagome leading, they made their way to the living room. The guys all turned around to see them, each walking over to their date for the night. Miroku kissed Sango's hand and they exchanged small insults, Sesshomaru and Ayame began to talk about something that had happened in a class hey shared, and Inuyasha greeted Kagome with a kiss, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her in to a tight embrace.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in to her ear as he pulled away from her.

"Thank you," she smiled, looking at him up and down. "You look quite handsome, by the way."

Sesshomaru grabbed Ayame's hand and started walking towards the door. "Let's go, shall we?"

Everyone was slipping in to their shoes or putting on their jackets. Inuyasha was helping Kagome put her coat on when Sango cleared her throat, making them freeze and look over at her. She was standing a few feet away from them, her legs and arms crossed in her little black cocktail dress. She looked straight at Inuyasha, almost mumbling when she spoke. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Kagome flashed a quick look at Sango, and turned to face Inuyasha who seemed to look like he didn't know what was going on. He moved his eyes from Kagome over to Sango. "Alright," he said, walking over to Sango and away from every one else. He turned back to them. "We'll meet you guys in the car."

Kagome opened the door as one by one they left the house, before Kagome left she looked at Inuyasha and Sango and closed the door over. As soon as the door closed over, Inuyasha spun aroudn to face Sango. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

Sango looked away from him, she didn't want to sound rude and she didn't want her friend to be mad at her, but she felt as if something wasn't right about this whole thing. She had a horrible feeling. "Are you really going to ask Kagome to marry you?"

Inuyasha laughed to himself, he lowered his head, placed his hands on his hips and then looked back up at her. "You heard me."

She nodded, walking over to him. "Yes, I did. And I don't want my friend to be heart broken again!" she exploded with anger.

Inuyasha was taken back, he narrowed his eyes at her. "What to mean by heart broken again?"

She gasped, she couldn't believe she said that. "Forget about it," she tried to change the subject, switching back to angry. "Just don't do anything to make her cry, she's my best friend."

"I love her, I'm not going to hurt her."

She didn't want to believe him, she knew that if Kagome would believed him but she wanted to the realistic one. Giving him a last chance was the only thing she would give to him until he proved her wrong. "You better not. Or you will regret it. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear," he laughed and stuck out his hand to her, as they were starting over with a clean slate. "You have my word."

Sango looked down at his hand, and in that moment she wondered if he really meant it, that he was telling the truth. But she didn't care if he was telling the truth, words can be easily broken. She shook her head. "Your word means nothing to me." and she walked past him, grabbed her coat and went out in to the car.

Inuyasha followed behind her, closing the door and getting in he back with Kagome. He reassured her that every thing was fine and kissed her on the forehead. Sesshomaru adjusted his rearview mirror and looked back at Inuyasha. "Koga's party?"

Kagome suddenly became tense. Sango and Ayame gave her a quick look without the guys noticing. She looked at Inuyasha. "Why are we going to Koga's?" she whispered.

Inuyasha pulled her in closer, whispering to her. "He's throwing a party for the school, and it sounds like it will be pretty good," he grabbed her hand and rubbed it gently. "Do you not want to go?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, I want to." and then she fell silent, as Inuyasha smiled and kissed her. She pulled out of the kiss and sat there in the dark back seat, with Iunyasha's arm around her, as Sesshomaru drove and turned on the way to Koga's party. Kagome couldn't figure out the feeling she had about this, but she knew that after tonight, things would be different. She should have told him.