Hello my fellow fans! I'm SO sorry this took so long to do. It really isn't a long chapter (sorry!) but I was so busy the past week. I had Science Fair Project to do. I hadn't even started on it and it was due, like, the next day. (Yes, I know that's bad but hey, I got it done, didn't I?) Anyway, here's chapter six! Enjoy!

Previously on "The Project":

"Are you two ready?" Inu-yasha said trying in vain to hide his astonishment.

"Yeah," Souta spoke for them. They piled into Inu-yasha's car and he drove to a place unknown to Kagome and Souta.

"You'll love where we're going," Inu-yasha declared.

"Where?" Souta and Kagome said in unison.

"You'll see," Inu-yasha replied with a mysterious grin.

Chapter Six

Inu-yasha wanted a place that wasn't romantic since Souta was with them and this wasn't supposed to be a date. But he didn't want a fast food restaurant since that seemed too cheap.

Sakura was just the place. The Japanese steak, seafood, and sushi house was a small restaurant off the side of the highway. The chefs cooked in front of you and put on a little show to impress the customers. Inu-yasha figured that would be fun for Souta. The food was expensive but for a good reason; it was always absolutely divine. It was Inu-yasha's favorite restaurant.

When Kagome saw the bright red sign that said 'Sakura' she asked, "Is this the place?"

"Hai."

Souta looked at the place with wide eyes. "Wow, it looks good already." Inu-yasha smiled.

Ten minutes later, they were being led by a kind waitress to a table. Since the place was small and tucked behind a few trees, not many people even knew it was there so it was easy to get a table. When they reached the seats, Kagome slide Inu-yasha's jacket off. It was hot in the quaint place since the kitchen was apart of the dining area. Inu-yasha put it on her chair.

Inu-yasha caught a glimpse of Kagome before she sat down in her chair (which Inu-yasha pulled out for her). She was magnificent. No, she was beyond that. She wore slim black jeans, a huge improvement from the baggy ones she usually wore, and a v-shaped pink shirt. It was striped and flared a little on the sleeves and hem. Her attire was basic but it fit her perfectly. It curved in all the right places. Inu-yasha couldn't understand it. Why would she hide such a seductive body? She could have any guy in the whole school with a body like that, Inu-yasha thought. Why doesn't she use that to her advantage? Any other girl at our school would… Then he remembered that he himself might be one of the guys she'd want and therefore use such an enticing body on… but she still rejected him. She just got more and more confusing… but Inu-yasha loved it. It only made him want her more.

They ordered some drinks and Inu-yasha decided to start a conversation. "So, how is it? Do you like it so far?"

Kagome looked around the radiant restaurant. Small groups of people watched the talented chef in front of them flip large pieces of chicken in the air. There were Japanese themed colors and patterns on the walls. The waitresses wore dazzling kimonos with all sorts of flowers on them, but the most common, of course, was a sakura blossom. Round Japanese lights hung from the ceiling, casting a golden hue on the customers' faces. A chef a few tables away made a sudden fire on the stove. It was so big that Kagome could feel the heat from where she sat.

"I love it," Kagome finally answered, still taking in the site.

Inu-yasha grinned smugly. "I knew you would."

Souta was still bug-eyed from when they first pulled up. "This place is so cool!" he exclaimed when he saw the chef make the large fire again.

Kagome and Souta looked at their menus and Inu-yasha watched in amusement as both of them stared at it with open jaws.

"T-The food looks s-so good," Kagome exclaimed.

"It is," Inu-yasha replied shortly with a grin.

"Is the 'steak and shrimp' any good?" Souta asked.

"The best. It comes with fried rice. All the entrées do."

"Hmm…" Kagome said thoughtfully. "What about the chicken?"

"It's good too. I stole some off of Sesshomaru's plate once," Inu-yasha recalled.

"Who's that?" Souta asked.

"His brother," Kagome answered for him distractedly. The two kept asking how every thing tasted until Kagome decided on steak and chicken with a side of sushi and Souta decided on shrimp and chicken. Inu-yasha always got lobster tail, and shrimp with a side of lo mien (it was the closest to ramen noodles the place could offer).

A few minutes later, a waitress came to them with their drinks and took their orders. "The usual sir?" she asked Inu-yasha. He answered with a nod. After she shuffled away, Kagome asked, "How often do you come here?"

"No too often since the food is kind of expensive and my dad would kill me if I came here that much. I'd say I come here about… four to five times a month."

"That's still kind of too often, isn't it?" Kagome asked uneasily. "I mean, just one meal here costs enough to feed my whole family."

"That's exaggerating too much," Inu-yasha insisted, although it was probably true. "But my family can afford it anyway." At this, Kagome seemed to get very quiet. Souta even stopped looking around… only for a second though. Inu-yasha shifted uneasily in his seat.

Just then, a friendly looking man appeared from the inner kitchen pulling a cart full of ingredients. He had on a white apron and a chef's hat.

"Welcome to Sakura," he said with his Japanese accent. He smiled and said, "You can call me Lee." The threesome smiled at him politely. "Let's see… who had the sushi?"

Kagome raised her hand halfway and said, "I did." Lee grabbed a small plate with sushi on it and placed it in front of her. Lee proceed to clean the stove top. It was awfully close and Kagome hoped he didn't do the large flame like the other chef did; she wanted to keep her eyebrows.

But it wasn't meant to be. The chef poured some sort of oil all over the stove top, the water-like substance sizzling once it hit. Then Lee took out a long lighter, lit it, and set it next to the oil. The whole stove lit on fire and Kagome backed up in her seat instinctively. She soon found out that was a bad idea. Her surprise made her jump back too fast and the chair toppled over with her still in it, screaming the whole way down.

Inu-yasha gasped involuntarily, instantly asked if she was alright, and helped her up (although he had a hard time keeping his own laughter in).

Souta, completely oblivious, had his mouth wide open and yelled, "That was SO cool!"

Kagome looked at her brother in disbelief. She scoffed and said, "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine, no need to worry about me, really!"

"Huh?" Souta finally looked over at his sister and saw her standing with Inu-yasha holding her up by her arm. "Were you being sarcastic or serious? You look fine to me." Kagome glared.

Meanwhile, the other customers were laughing, having witnessed Kagome's fall. She sighed in a joking way. "Well, isn't this a great start?"

Lee stared horrified at her at first since he was the one who caused it to happen but when he saw that she was being a good-sport about it, he chuckled (mostly in relief).

As Kagome up righted her chair and sat back down, Lee said, "I'm so sorry! That's the first time anyone's done that."

Kagome sighed good-naturedly and said, "Yet another event to prove that I have no luck whatsoever." Everyone at the table chuckled and the nearby customers had gotten back to their own dinners.

"Alright," Lee said in his heavy Japanese accent, "are we ready to eat now?" The three nodded happily. Lee smiled as he used a fork and knife to put some cold white rice on the stove. He tossed the rice a couple of times before moving onto the eggs. Lee cracked an egg in each hand at the same time. The contents poured onto the stove and instantly started to sizzle. In a matter of seconds, the eggs were already cooked. He chopped the eggs into smaller bits and mixed it into the rapidly-cooking rice. After pushing the rice to one end of the stove, he grabbed an onion from the cart behind him, and then used a sharp knife and easily cut the onions into slices.

Souta watched mesmerized. Anyone could tell Lee had done this quite often; he was very fast. Kagome looked at Lee with same intensity as Souta. Inu-yasha was distracted by Kagome's face… It looked so soft…

Lee skillfully took the layers of onion apart and spread them across the stove top. Then he stacked them one on top of the other, the largest of them on the bottom and the smallest on the top. Souta furrowed his brow in confusion but he understood when Lee poured that watery liquid that he had used to make the fire into the cone-like structure. When he took out the lighter again, Kagome flinched involuntarily and Inu-yasha and Souta snickered. Lee held the flame inside the onion volcano and a flame shot up. It was tall and big but it definitely wasn't as bad as the first time.

Lee then got out a bottle with a brownish liquid (soy sauce) inside it and poured that into the volcano too. After a moment or two, the substance boiled out, creating "lava."

"Woah!" Kagome and Souta exclaimed in unison. Inu-yasha just smiled; he'd seen it before.

Both Souta and Kagome were saddened when Lee chopped the onion volcano to bits. But to make it up, Lee started to dish out the now finished fried rice. He gave some to Souta first. Kagome was logically supposed to be next since she was in the middle but Lee skipped her. Kagome waited patiently. After Lee gave Inu-yasha some, he went back for another spatula full. But instead of putting it on Kagome's plate, he gave more to Souta.

"Hey!" Kagome finally spoke up.

Lee smiled jokingly and said, "You don't want any, do you?"

Kagome played along and said, "No, of course not!"

Lee shrugged and said, "Okay," and gave more to Inu-yasha.

Kagome gasped and said, "I was just kidding!"

Lee laughed and then finally gave her some.

Kagome couldn't help but feel picked on. But when she took the first bite, she decided that it was worth the wait; it was the best she'd ever had!

They watched Lee cook the lobster tail, chicken, and steak. He did multiple tricks using his fork and knife, tossing everything in the air before he let it settle on the stove to cook. About half-way through, when Lee was cooking shrimp, Kagome noticed that he put a few off to the side. She thought that maybe she was the only one who noticed so she didn't say anything.

Some time later, everyone had delicious food in front of them. Lee was almost finished. He just had to do the final trick, but it was the customer's turn now.

"Who wants some shrimp?" he asked cheerfully.

Inu-yasha told Lee to do him first so Kagome and Souta would know what to do. They looked at both the chef and Inu-yasha in confusion.

Lee cut the shrimp into three smaller pieces and asked, "Are you ready?" Inu-yasha nodded. In one swift move, the shrimp went flying. Inu-yasha caught it in his mouth.

"Woah!" Souta exclaimed. "I wanna try!" Lee turned to the boy asked the same question he'd asked Inu-yasha. Souta nodded, maybe a little too energetically. Souta just barely caught the shrimp in his mouth.

Lee looked at Kagome.

"Oh no, I think I'll pass," Kagome insisted.

"Oh come on," Inu-yasha said. "We did it. It's your turn." Kagome sighed in defeat. Once again, Inu-yasha won. Lee smiled and tossed the shrimp.

Kagome shrieked and stood up. The shrimp had gone down her shirt and she was frantically trying to get it out.

By now other customers had noticed and were confused but laughed as well. Kagome turned around so they (and Inu-yasha) wouldn't see her stick her hand down her shirt. She turned around and triumphantly held the shrimp in her hand. "Why does this always happen to me?" she asked exasperated.

All three of them were pointing and laughing. She smiled and sat back down.

"Want to try again?" Lee asked between chuckles.

"Sure, why not?" Kagome said, the expression in her voice clearly saying 'what could happen this time?'

Lee tossed the shrimp into the air but Kagome missed. It landed on her face instead.

"Ow!" Kagome yelled. The shrimp was still scorching hot from the stove and it slightly burned her face. She quickly flicked the shrimp off and onto the ground. Kagome scowled but said, "One more try." Lee shrugged and obeyed. This time, she caught it. "Finally!" she cried triumphantly.

Inu-yasha grinned. Souta was still snickering from when the shrimp went down her shirt.

"Alright," Lee said. "I think I'm done here."

"Thank you," all three of them said at the same time. Lee bowed and wheeled his cart away back into the inner kitchen. The three ate their food, talking about Lee's tricks and which ones they liked the most.

They were just nearing the end when Inu-yasha asked, "So, how long have you guys lived here?"

"Since summer," Kagome answered after finishing a bit of chicken. "Before then we lived farther west."

"Where west?"

"Colorado." Kagome stole one of Souta's shrimp.

"Wow," Inu-yasha exclaimed. "That's half way across the country!" Kagome nodded. "So why did you come here to D.C.? Colorado is a lot safer than here." Washington D.C. was a high crime area, considering the fact that the president lived there.

"Just wanted a change," Kagome shrugged. Inu-yasha noticed that both she and Souta were picking at their food now. Inu-yasha narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"So, do you like it here?" Inu-yasha blinked in an attempt to get rid of his untrusting eyes.

"Yeah," Kagome said, clearly glad that Inu-yasha didn't press her reasons further. "There's so much to see here. I still haven't seen all of the memorials."

"Yeah, there are a lot. I probably haven't seen them all and I've lived here my whole life." Inu-yasha hesitated before he added, "Maybe I can take you sight-seeing sometime."

Kagome turned fully to look into Inu-yasha's golden orbs. She smiled and said, "Maybe you can… sometime." Inu-yasha grinned widely at her.

Souta looked from one to the other. He rolled his eyes and said, "Are you two love birds ready to go yet?" Kagome snapped out of it first and glared at her brother.

Inu-yasha stood up and said, "Yeah, we should probably go now, it's almost ten o'clock."

"Really? It doesn't seem that late…" she said more to herself than to Inu-yasha.

They grabbed their stuff and Inu-yasha (wincing at the price) paid for the meal at the front counter and then followed Souta and Kagome back to the car.

Inu-yasha pulled up at their house fifteen minutes later. Now it was ten o'clock. Inu-yasha didn't mean to keep them for so long, especially since it was a school night but he didn't care; Kagome was worth it. They walked up the stairs slowly; they were all tired.

Kagome had Inu-yasha's jacket on. Inu-yasha still thought she looked amazing in it. The stair climb passed quickly as he memorized her body. She was twirling a hood string as she looked at her shoes, deep in thought, it appeared.

The silence was killing him. "So did you guys like it?" Inu-yasha asked.

"Yes!" Souta said from a few steps behind them.

"Yeah, it was the best food I've had in a while," Kagome said now looking up.

"Good. So does it make up for the toothpaste?" Inu-yasha asked with a grin.

Kagome laughed softly. "I suppose," she said.

They reached the door. Inu-yasha stood their awkwardly.

Kagome opened the door. "Get ready for bed," Kagome told Souta when he caught up to them. Souta nodded tiredly as he passed her and went in. Kagome watched him for a moment before turning to Inu-yasha. "Thank you, for dinner. You really didn't have to."

Inu-yasha grinned and said, "Yes I did. It would've been rude."

"Since when do you care if you're rude?" Kagome asked teasingly. "After all, you have been tormenting me the last two days."

"That's not being rude," Inu-yasha defended himself. He stuck his chin up defiantly and said, "It's curiosity."

"Oh!" Kagome said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course!" Inu-yasha smiled at her and she returned it.

Kiss her, he told himself. Do it now. Inu-yasha's smiled disappeared as he leaned forward a little. He waited for her to say good night and slam the door in his face but it didn't happen. So he took it as a sign to keep going. He got closer and closer. She closed her eyes and leaned forward a little too.

At the last second, just before their lips were going to meet, she looked away and twirled around, leaving Inu-yasha with his eyes half-closed, ready for his first kiss from her. She stepped through the frame and she said, "Good night."

The door clicked shut.

Oh my God! Inu-yasha exploded in his mind. He was still staring at the door with his fists clenched. I was so damn close! It was just about to happen! What the fuck was wrong! Did I have something on my face or something! (He wiped his face, just to check.)

Instead of walking back to his car, he decided to let off some steam and walk. He was in no hurry to drive home and get his beating from his father. He was sure Inutaisho was still awake. He stomped his way around the corner of her house. His steps softened when he saw the garden. He had no idea there was one. It extended about ten feet from the side of the house and seemed to go around to the backyard. There was a short white gate encircling it. It almost looked deep green from all of the vines intertwined with it. A large white arch served as the entrance. There was a small pathway leading every which way. Along the sides were flowers of every sort but the most common one were lilacs. The scent was overpowering but still refreshing.

Inu-yasha walked into the arch and along the pathway. Tulips, daisies, and roses played tag around his feet. He found it hard to believe that they were so healthy. It was almost winter and these flowers were blooming as if it were late spring. Nevertheless, Inu-yasha enjoyed it. He let the calming feeling the garden held wash over him and his feet took him around to the backyard. He walked pass a lantern light. It seemed to mark the middle of the garden. Willow tree branches hung over this portion of the garden. The hid a small bench.

Suddenly, something vibrated on his leg. He jumped in surprise and clawed at his pocket to find out what it was. Cell phone. He suddenly felt really stupid.

"Miroku" it glowed. He answered. "Miroku? Is that you?"

"Yes, hi."

"What do you want?" Inu-yasha didn't want to seem rude but he was still hot from his almost-kiss.

"You know your dad is looking for you right?"

"Yeah." Inu-yasha guessed that Miroku had just woken up.

"Where are you?"

"In Kagome's backyard."

"Is she with you?" Miroku asked.

"No," he answered through gritting teeth.

"You sound mad."

Inu-yasha practically yelled, "Ya think!"

"Calm down," Miroku commanded. He waited a moment before continuing. "Now, start from the beginning."

Inu-yasha sighed and started. "Do you remember that house we tepeed last night?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Well," Inu-yasha said, straining to keep his voice quiet. "It just so happens that that house…. is Kagome's home."

"What!" Miroku exclaimed. Then he started to laugh. "How's that for karma?"

"Shut up," Inu-yasha growled. "It's not funny. You know why? Because I had to help clean it up! When I was the one who did it!"

All Inu-yasha heard was laughter. "What the hell? Why did you help?"

"I saw it and couldn't just walk away and wish her luck. I walked with her to her house and she showed me. Remember when she was mad all day? That was why, because she woke up with toilet paper and toothpaste all over her god damn house!" Inu-yasha was speaking a little louder that he needed to be. He was, after all, still right outside Kagome's house. But he could care less right now. He'd been wanting to get this out of his system since he'd found out.

"So she still doesn't know it was you right?"

Inu-yasha was just about to answer when he heard a rustle come from behind him. He turned but saw nothing. It was pitch black. The only light was the glow coming from his phone and the lantern light which he was standing next to now. But the light wasn't powerful enough so it was basically useless.

"Inu-yasha? Are you still there?" Miroku asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," he said distractedly. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if she knew it was—"

Inu-yasha closed the phone shut, cutting Miroku off. The rustle he'd heard from before was louder now. He couldn't find out where it was coming from and what the source was if Miroku was blabbing in his ear. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see better.

Suddenly, a figure appeared. It was too dark to really see them so only a silhouette showed.

Inu-yasha's heart froze. Although he couldn't see who it was, he could make out long hair and thin legs….

Muahahaha! Suspense, drama, cliffie! I love it! Sorry if I made this chapter too predictable. It's also kinda slow. But whatever. Anyway, just in case you were wondering, there really isa place called Sakura where I live. I've been there a few times. I described it just the way that it really is, with the chefs and their tricks and everything. The only thing different is that there are about twelve to thirteen people at a table, not only three. Just about everything else is the same though. It really is the best resturant in the world... in my opinion anyway. I'm really trying to work on thedetail thing. I'm just not as good at making up those in-depth descriptions as other people are. I at least try to swith up the vocabulary though. Hmm... there was something else I wanted to add but I can't remember it now... Oh well. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you to all of the reviewers! Really, it helps A LOT! Bye!

Hiko