Kagome woke up to the smell of bacon. Her hair was standing up in angles fit enough for display in an art museum. She took in her surroundings, especially her bedroom door that was lying flat on the ground from when InuYasha kicked it in. She grumbled low in her throat at the memory. She kicked off the covers and proceeded to the kitchen. Kagome watched as InuYasha pierced the slimy meat in the pan with his claw and flipped it over elegantly. Kagome lifted up her lip in disgust. It was too early for this. She treaded through the kitchen, slipping past him to get to the fridge. His gaze didn't tear away from the sizzling bacon.

"You know how to cook now?" Kagome began, twisting off the cap to the milk gallon and tilted her head back for a drink. He simply pointed to the television in the living room. It was on the cooking channel and he seemed to be in sync with it. "You're so fuckin' weird…" she yawned and shoved the milk back into the fridge.

"Like you're one to talk. Take a seat, it will be ready soon." He retorted without missing a beat, attentive to the screen in the living room.

Kagome's head jerked back. Did he just- Kagome took a hesitant seat at the dining table she hardly ever occupied. There were several letters and magazines stacked on the table. She couldn't remember the last time she checked the mail. She shot a glare back in the direction of the kitchen. Maybe she should have finished reading that owner's manual.

Kagome reached over and grabbed her cellphone from the counter, there was a missed call from Urasue, so Kagome listened to the voicemail.

"Hey Kagome! It's Urasue, hope things are going well with your Shikon. Your first payment should hit sometime today if not already. Our client is flying in town in a couple of days, she's excited to meet you! Call me when you can. Ciao!"*****

Oh right. Kagome nearly forgot how she got wrapped up in this in the first place and didn't just take in a stray. She opened her bank account on her phone and whistled. Not bad. Not bad at all. It was almost worth a few broken doors in her apartment.

Before the anger could come back to a simmer about the door, InuYasha placed her meal in front of her. More or less, it was an omelet with a side of bacon. Her stomach started to grumble; she was used to drinking milk for breakfast and falling back asleep.

"Thanks, I guess."

"Of course. Are you feeling better?" He asked, taking a seat across from her.

"Oh, you mean about my friend dating my ex behind my back. No! I'm pissed." She took an angry bite of the bacon as if that would prevent the tears from welling up again. "And why the hell did you break my door?!"

"You were unwell. You didn't need to be alone." He said assertively. "Am I wrong?"

Kagome just chewed her food slowly. "I don't know how much their gonna charge me to replace that door, but you better hope an employer will take in your Shikon-ass to pay for it."

He simply watched her eat the remainder of her meal without banter. She pondered over it; she did have a history of panic attacks and what most people would simply blow over, she reacted to it in the extreme. How did he know that she needed someone then? That's what wasn't sitting well with her. She made herself physically ill seeing her ex with her friend. An ex she didn't want to admit she had lingering feeling for. She didn't think her heart could be more strangled than it already had been. He looked straight into her soul no less, caught red-handed screwing her friend in a changing room. As much as she hated to admit it, she was grateful for the bedroom intrusion; she couldn't remember the last time she clung onto someone for emotional support. Kagome had been so used to riding out her waves of pain in solitude.

Once she realized there was nothing left on her plate, she slid off the dining chair and placed the dish in the sink. She shuffled awkwardly back to InuYasha, suddenly feeling inferior for once.

"Thank you for being there for me InuYasha. I'm sorry for snapping at you."

He smiled lightly and nodded.

()()()()

"Okay, so choose your character. You're the blue icon." Kagome Instructed, leaning over to press some buttons on the controller InuYasha was holding. He tried his best to follow her movements. She had set up one of her brother's old gaming systems he gave to her as a housewarming gift. There seemed to be a new system out every six months so there was no chance he would mind parting with one for his beloved sister. She finally had someone to play with.

She had to occupy her mind or else she would linger on the assumptions of the evidence she acquired. Kagome had her favorite socks on and her hair twisted up in a cute sleepover bun. She was determined to have fun, no matter what the circumstances. It was stressful enough looking at job sites.

Kagome sat on the heels of her feet, beside InuYasha, as they both gazed up at the screen. It seemed simple enough, like a board game, only the characters searched for stars and there were minigames scattered throughout.

"Wait, you just stole my star, you can do that?" InuYasha stated, looking at Kagome with a concerned expression.

"We dueled, and you lost." Kagome teased, readjusting herself to get more comfortable. She was in the zone now. "Your star is mine now."

()()()()()

"You definitely cheated." InuYasha accused, chucking the controller from his grasp so hard it actually hit the wall. Kagome was too busy dancing in his face in triumph from winning to notice. "I would have won if it weren't for those damn bonus stars."

Kagome stopped mid-booty shaking. "InuYasha…" She gasped in excitement. "Did you just-"

"Your vulgarity seems to be brushing off on me."

Kagome's bright chortle filled the room and for a second, he was convinced that she had completely dissipated the anger she had felt the night prior.

"Oh! I have a great idea! Stay here!" Kagome grand Jeté'd to her towel closet that stored several board games she used to play with her grandfather before he went senile.

Something caught her eye near her desk in her bedroom. She balanced the board game box on her hip and peered down to investigate the rustled notebooks. There were scribbles within one she had no recollection of making. She rose an eyebrow toward the direction of the living room but brushed it off nonetheless.

As Kagome set up the board game on the dining room table, InuYasha rolled up the controllers for her gaming system and organized the mess. She caught herself staring at him. The way his hair spilled over his shoulder, his concentrated expression, and his posture were all captivating. His amber eyes caught hers in the act and immediately her eye muscles screamed mayday and retreated.

She mentally tried to smack off the pink tinge of her cheeks as he joined her at the table. Her thoughts were entering dangerous territory according to her spectrum.

"Okay, so here's how you play."

()()()()

Kagome picked up a card and the look on her face plastered an unavoidable grin on InuYasha's face. He tried to mask it by pinning his lips in a thin line.

"Fuck this game, fuck the creators, and their families. I'm done." Kagome knocked off the center pieces of the game and stormed to the kitchen for a snack. She felt the ultimate betrayal from her late grandpa, she thought for sure he had taught her all the ins and outs of that game to strategically win each time flawlessly, but somehow InuYasha outwitted her.

InuYasha snickered to himself. It was apparent that both of their attributes were rubbing off on each other. It was kind of sweet.

Kagome walked back with a few cookies in her hand and her cellphone in the other.

"Can you believe this? That bitch tried to reach out to me to apologize for 'being caught'" Kagome showed the text messages to InuYasha.

"Is this the same girl you spoke of...Ayumi?"

"No, Ayumi's not a snake. She's actually the reason I have you. Eri, on the otherhand, clearly doesn't know that ex's are off limits."

InuYasha overlapped his forearms on the table and rested his chin on them, listening to her girl-talk attentively.

Kagome finished her cookies, offering the last to InuYasha, which he accepted and continued. "Me and Hojo had been together for so long, I guess it was easy for me to overlook whether or not my friends had developed feelings for him." She shifted her tune. It was the past now, it didn't matter. "Thanks for keeping me company today, not like you had a choice, but I had fun." She shrugged with a head tilt to the side.

"Anytime." He winked at her. Every muscle in Kagome's body tensed in that instant. Like Medusa, that wink was powerful enough to turn her into stone. She didn't know what the hell was happening to her, but she didn't like it.

Next Update: 11/16/18