Thank you so much for the reviews! I thought after the last chapter, you all would be furious, but a lot of you said you liked this turn of events, and all of you said that you wanted to see where this was going, so thank you! I do have a plan for this, and did not just pull it out of the air, so thank you so much for trusting me and being patient!

Disclaimer: After all the disclaimers I have posted, you really should have gotten this by now. I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA!

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Chapter 12: Explanation

All three of her friends were staring at Kagome with their mouths open.

"Did you just…?"

"And he just asked…"

"And you said yes?" Sango surged to her feet and grabbed Kagome's arm, nearly ripping it out of its socket as she marched out of the cafeteria and into the courtyard outside.

"Did Kouga just ask you out?" Kagome turned her face to the sun and smiled a little.

"Yes." Sango's eyes widened.

"And you said yes?"

"Yes." Sango grabbed Kagome's shoulders and forced Kagome to look her in the face.

"Why?" Kagome sighed. She knew this would be coming, but she felt she had made the right choice.

"Sango…" Kagome took a deep breath, and looked back towards the cafeteria where she could faintly hear people happily chatting away. "There are so many reasons."

"Then tell me." Sango grabbed Kagome again, and pulled her to a bench where they both sat down. "For some reason," Sango said, and now it was her turn to look away, "I thought…I thought you might like InuYasha." Kagome made a funny choking sound, and Sango thought she was laughing, but when she glanced over at Kagome, she realized that the girl had tears in her eyes.

"Heh…That was the biggest reason of all."

"I…I don't understand." Sango took in her friend's appearance. Kagome looked so confused and lost.

"Yesterday I told him things that I hadn't had the courage to tell anyone before." Kagome glanced at Sango and let out a small laugh. "Yes, even you. Then today, he acted as though nothing had happened." Kagome blinked and looked away again, willing herself not to cry.

"I'm sure he was just trying to think abou-"

"I know," Kagome cut Sango off. "And that wasn't really the reason, although it did hurt a lot when he practically ignored me. Mainly, it was today, when I saw him at school. He looked so happy. He was flirting with every girl he could see, with Kikyo just sitting by and watching, and he was happy. But Sango, I don't think I could do that. After what happened…the thing that I talked to InuYasha about, even if my stupid crush did turn into anything, I couldn't live in a relationship like that, not after I was just hurt so badly. I couldn't sit by and watch InuYasha flirt with other girls, because it would kill me. That's why I had to cut off this crush before it turned into anything. I don't think I could live through another heartbreak." Sango stared quietly at the girl in front of her who had begun to sob quietly. She wrapped her up in a huge hug, and patted her back as Kagome cried on her shoulder.

"Oh Kagome, I had no idea." Kagome quieted after a while and dried the tears from her face. She smiled at Sango gratefully.

"Thank you Sango, I needed that. But I don't think that I am going to cry anymore for a while. I have to be strong, and I have such a wonderful life. I shouldn't be crying. And Kouga is wonderful. He really likes me, and I think I need that right now." Now Kagome looked at Sango pleadingly. "Even if I don't love him, right now I think I just want to be wanted, to be cared about. Is it really that wrong?"

"No, Kagome. I think after all you've gone through, you deserve this small thing." Sango watched Kagome get up and walk towards her next class. Yes, she thought Kagome deserved this, and if it made her happy, then Sango was all for it. But InuYasha had hurt her, and Sango was going to give him exactly what he deserved as well.

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InuYasha suddenly stopped mid-sentence while he was flirting with a random girl. He thought he had just seen…no. Had Kouga just kissed Kagome on the cheek? InuYasha started to growl without even noticing it. What the hell was that mangy little sorry excuse for a human being even thinking?

"…yasha? InuYasha!" InuYasha snapped his head around to find Kikyo staring at him with a very annoyed expression on her face.

"Um, yes Kikyo?"

"I was just asking you if you wanted to go out tonight!" InuYasha glanced around as if her were trapped.

"But…um…it's a school night!" he managed to squeak out. Oh God, what was I thinking? A school night? InuYasha mentally screamed at himself. Kikyo's voice suddenly became very soft and seductive.

"That's never stopped you before." A week before, InuYasha would have jumped at a chance like this. After all, Kikyo was the hottest girl in the school, and every guy would kill to date her. But today, after seeing Kagome and that…that…well, he didn't really want to go out. He wanted to ask Kagome what the hell she had been doing.

"Look Kikyo, I just can't tonight. Maybe later, okay?" Kikyo looked absolutely shocked for a moment before her face contorted with rage.

"Fine! Have it your way!" and she stormed angrily from the cafeteria. InuYasha just sighed and tried to spot Kagome again, but found she was no longer in the cafeteria. Well, once he got home, he would give her a piece of his mind.

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"Hey WENCH!" InuYasha bellowed as he strode into Sesshoumaru's house.

"Yeah? I'm in the living room!" Kagome called out. InuYasha smirked for a moment. She had actually answered to 'wench'. He walked into the living room and found her watching a movie on TV with her back turned towards him.

"Hey!" he barked, "I want to know what you were…" He trailed off as Kagome turned and looked at him. She looked perfectly…happy.

"Yes? You were saying?" Kagome laughed at his dumbfounded expression. "If you aren't going to say anything, I'm just going to watch TV." InuYasha stared at her as she turned back to the TV. Something was different. She was being friendly. And it wasn't like the past few days that were full of tension, but she seemed indifferent! For some reason that really pissed InuYasha off.

"Oi! Wench! I'm talking to you!" Kagome turned back to InuYasha again, rolling her eyes but still smiling. "What were you doing…um…today in the cafeteria?"

"Um…" Kagome looked sincerely confused, "eating lunch?"

"No! With…" InuYasha nearly shuddered, "with Kouga."

"Oh." Kagome's eyes widened with understanding. "He kissed me on the cheek." InuYasha stared at her again, now with his mouth hanging out. How could she say this so matter-of-factly? Well, sure, he did way worse things with Kikyo in public, but with Kagome…

"He WHAT? Why would he do that?"

"Oh. Because he asked me out and I said yes." InuYasha's eyes nearly popped out of his head. She was going out with…with…Kouga. Why would she do that? What had made her do that? And most important of all, why did he care?

"Oh…heh…keh." InuYasha tried to produce a smirk, but failed miserably, then raced to his room. "What is happening to me?"

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