Omg, I'm SSOO sorry I took so long to update! I went on vacation to Colorado for three weeks and then only a few days after that, I went to NY for two days. I didn't get to work on my story at all during that time. Besides, it was a vacation. I didn't feel like working... Lol, just kidding. But I have been back from NY for about six days now so I guess being on vacation still isn't a good excuse. Well, just so you know, it's 6:15 in the morning and I've been working on this chapter since about 11:00 p.m. My hand are sore, my head hurts, I'm dead tired, and I need to use the bathroom (Lol), but I'm glad I finished this for you guys. Well, I hope you enjoy Chapter 11!

Previously on "The Project":

Now he had to worry about Kagome. He was on rough terrain with her. First of all, there was their date. It turned out horribly bad with all its ups and downs. And now he had to ask her if she would be so kind as to have dinner with him at his house... tonight! Otherwise, his dad would find out he was lying and that would make him worsen Inu-yasha's punishment even more. So far, he was off the hook, but that was only because Inutaisho thought that Inu-yasha was busy with a girl, which was semi-true. It was going to be hard to convince her, even if he told her his story and tried to get her sympathy.

He also had to worry about Miroku. He told him that he could get revenge on him and he wouldn't try to get him back. That only meant one thing: Miroku was going to get him back bad. Plus, Inu-yasha had a feeling that Miroku hadn't even discovered the balloons in the closet or the balloons under his pillow. He probably only made it far enough into the room to realize that his room had been destroyed before he came to get Inu-yasha back. Miroku was going to come up with the worst prank in the world. And to make it worse, Inu-yasha couldn't even return the 'favor.'

In short, he was in deep shit.

Chapter 11

Boy Troubles

Inu-yasha wearily pulled up to the school parking lot. Today was going to be hecktic. He had to talk to Kagome today and it might be hard with their date and all. He'd find something to get her in a better mood though. He had to if he ever planned on getting her to agree to go to his house for dinner.

The boy soon picked out Miroku from the groups of students busily talking to each other. Of course, it wasn't that hard to spot him when there were about ten girls walking away from him with disturbed looks on their faces, leaving him all alone with a desperate look on his face. Inu-yasha shook his head in amusement as he walked up to his best friend. "Still no luck?" he asked with a smirk.

"Shut up," Miroku said gloomily. He suddenly brightened and said, "I'll be fine by tomorrow though..." He was grinning from ear to ear with mischief blazing in his eyes.

Inu-yasha groaned. Miroku was definately going to get him back good. "Don't remind me," he growled.

Miroku looked at him teasingly. Then, as if it was possible, he grinned wider and said, "Guess who asked where you were yesterday..." Inu-yasha sideways glanced at him. He was too tired to play games.

"Who?" he asked with a sigh.

"Jeez, you'd think you'd be more happy since it was Kagome who was inquiring." Miroku said it as if he was grouchy but he had to try hard to hid the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips.

"She what?" he asked, suddenly full of energy. Then he furrowed his brow in confusion. He was with her during school yesterday so how could she have possilbe asked Miroku where he was? And if she was with him, why would she wonder where he was? "What do you mean?" he asked more cautious now.

Miroku looked at him as if he were crazy. "What do you mean 'what do you mean!' Kagome was actually interested about your well-being. Don't you think you should be a little more happy?"

"But... that's not possible. I was with her yesterday..." He looked really confused (poor guy, lol).

"Inu-yasha," Miroku said carefully, "I think you should see a theropist... as if that could help." He laughed at his own joke but stopped when he realized that his friend still had that stupid bewildered look planted on his face. "You're serious?" he asked and finally actually considered the thought.

"Yeah," his friend answered matter-of-factly. "We went sight-seeing and everything."

Miroku scoffed and said, "She was here all day, I saw her. What, you think she has a twin or something?" He shook his head at the ridiculous idea but stopped when he saw Inu-yasha actually considering it. "You can't be serious!" he shouted exasperated. "Don't you think that you would've met her if she had a twin? Or at least seen her?"

"Well, yeah... but I could've sworn I was with her..." He trailed off as he remembered how he had thought she was acting weird the whole day, how different she was from what he first thought. Maybe Kagome really did have a twin. But surely she would've told him if she did... right? And he would've seen her since he went to her house...

Inu-yasha held his head in his hand. His headache was returning. All this was confusing him too much.

"Well, you can always ask her," Miroku said as if he was a genius. "In fact, that's her now, isn't it?" He pointed to a girl in jeans that had to be three sizes too big and a large navy blue sweater that looked like it belonged to her father. Her raven hair trailed after her figure as she walked into the school.

Inu-yasha knew that look all too well. With just a wave to his friend, the confused boy ran to catch up with her. She was just going around the corner when Inu-yasha got inside the two front doors. Everyone was outside socializing so the hallways were nearly empty. He had just jogged around the corner when he saw her slip into the library.

His eyes widened. He hadn't set foot in a library since he was... well actually, one would think he didn't even know what a book was. Reading just wasn't his hobby. Inu-yasha swallowed his pride and followed her into the realm of knowledge. Books and more books... it made him dizzy. He was just about to give up the chase when he saw Kagome hunched over about five books at a nearby table. She was furiously scribbling notes on an open notebook. There was still about twenty minutes before school started so she was studying to fill her time, he guessed. Inu-yasha had to admired her dedication briefly before making his way over to her.

She's different from yesterday, he thought instantly. Yesterday, I had a bad feeling the whole day from her... Now I feel that same warm comforting sensation that attracted me to her in the first place. (Yeah right, like Inu-yasha would really think of something that poetic! Ha! Lol, sorry to make him so out-of-character here guys but I'm trying to show how he gets a different feeling when he's with Kagome versus Kikyo.)

Inu-yasha was just about to say a friendly greeting when he saw another guy come up to her. The boy sat right next to her and she seemed to be expecting him. Inu-yasha disliked him instantly. He instinctively crouched behind a stray book cart. He seemed familiar to Inu-yasha for some reason... What was his name? Then it hit him: Kouga. How could he forget that smirk that always seemed to occupy his face and that brown hair that seemed to attract every girl in the school? Positively sick! (As if he could talk since his smirk and hair were what attracted girls to him.)

Kagome pushed a book toward Kouga and said, "Here. I found some really good books. You can start with this one." Kagome couldn't tell but Inu-yasha saw that Kouga was slightly disappointed and hesitated when she pushed the book in his face.

Ah, the old 'let's go study together' trick, Inu-yasha thought angrily. Inu-yasha had invented that trick! It was the oldest one in the book! How dare this Kouga guy use his trick! Inu-yasha would have liked to ring his neck right there on the spot. In fact, that's exactly what he was about to do... except something stopped him and made him crouch even more.

Another boy came over and sat next to her. Inu-yasha was just about ready to explode with anger. As he tried to remember his name, he watched this new boy look astonishedly at Kouga. He returned the look. Then they both glared at each other and said in unison to Kagome, "We'll be right back."

The two met up on the other side of the table, almost punching distance from Inu-yasha. Once out of earshot of Kagome, they both whispered at the same time again, "What are you doing here?"

Kouga was the first to say something. "I got here first! I asked her and she accepted. She's my girl. Back off before I make you." Kouga glared at the other boy. Suddenly, his name came to mind: Hojo. He was in a couple of Inu-yasha's classes, as was Kouga.

"She invited me! She clearly wants me over you since she asked me instead of me asking her. You back off!" Hojo seemed like a kinder person than Kouga but he was glaring just as hard as Kouga.

Inu-yasha saw Kagome looking over at them like she knew what they were discussing. Inu-yasha started to piece together the puzzle. She most likely saw right through Kouga's 'let's go study' trick and so, invited someone else to come. That way, it would be strictly studying and nothing else. Inu-yasha knew right then that she wasn't an beginner at this kind of stuff. A beginner would've fallen right for that one.

What really bugged him was that she said yes to Kouga in the first place. She would never say yes to him if he had asked. What does she have against him?

Suddenly, Inu-yasha observed another person come up to Kagome and sit down. Inu-yasha's eyes widened in disbelief. He knew that person better than any other, unfortuatly.

Sesshomaru. Kagome looked surprised to see him.

Inu-yasha's face heated up in anger. If Kagome was surprised to see his half-brother come, then that meant he invited himself... Which meant this was how Sesshomaru was going to get him back, by taking the girl Inu-yasha wanted. He must've figured Inu-yasha liked her since he got angry with Sesshomaru for even talking to her.

Kouga and Hojo were still battling it out and didn't even notice the new arrival. "Fine! Let's ask what she thinks!" Kouga yelled/whispered. They both turned around to the sight of Sesshomaru talking seductively to Kagome. "Why don't we get out of here?" he tempted. Kouga, Hojo, and Inu-yasha's jaws dropped to the floor. Before Kagome could reply (or Inu-yasha could punch his brother to China), Kouga and Hojo marched right up to Sesshomaru and demanded to know what the hell he thought he was doing. Inu-yasha noticed Kagome was stuck in the middle of all this. She looked helpless in the chaos. The librarian was starting to notice how dramatically the noise level had changed.

Inu-yasha decided now would be a good time to save her. He hated to see her so defenseless, especially since he had always see her as a so defiant and free. He side-stepped around the three bickering boys and tugged on Kagome's arm. She looked at him in surprise. She opened her mouth to say something but put his finger to his lips to quiet her. He motioned with his head toward the library exit. Without a word, the two slipped past all three of them without being noticed. They got out the door just as the librarian confronted the three boys. Inu-yasha smirked as the woman gave each of the boys detention. Then he turned his attention to Kagome. His jaw dropped when he looked over and saw that she was marching down the hall away from him.

"Hey!" he yelled and ran to catch up with her. "You could at least say thank you!"

"I don't need you saving me!" she shouted back, keeping her pace.

"You're the one who got yourself stuck in that! I was just helping you!"

Kagome stopped her fast walk. "I don't need your help," she said through her teeth. "Just leave me alone!" She marched off again.

Inu-yasha felt anger spark through the course of his body. He ran to catch up with her and walked backwards as he talked to her. "You didn't have to let me help you. You could've just ignored me like you normally do." Before she could reply, he said, "Which reminds me, yesterday--"

Ting!

"OW!" Inu-yasha shouted. He rubbed the back of his head. It was throbbing. He'd run straight into a pole, the hard metal pole that seperates two doors in the hallway. Since he was walking backwards, he didn't know it was there. "Godammit! That fucking hurt!" Inu-yasha raved some more. "Stupid piece of shit!"

Kagome instantly burst into laughter but strained to stopped herself. She didn't want to laugh with him. She didn't want to have a good time with him. Well, it wasn't that she didn't want to. She would've loved it. The fact was that she couldn't. That's why she had decided yesterday that she had to stop this relationship from going any further than it had. That's why she got mad at him for helping her. His trying to get closer to her and help only made it harder for her to resist him. That's why she had said yes to Kouga. Maybe if she had a boyfriend, he'd stop his pursuit.

But in spite of herself, she shuffled past him trying to hid a wide grin. Inu-yasha, with his hand still trying to calm the throbbing of his head, caught her smile anyway. "You saw that pole," he said darkly but teasingly.

"No I d-didn't," she stuttered, still trying to hold her laughter in. She tried to keep a steady pace toward her locker.

"Yes you did," Inu-yasha growled. "You just thought it would be so hilarious to see me bang my head on that damn thing. And it's only better that I'm only just getting over my fever from yesterday."

"Oh," Kagome exclaimed as if the pieces to a puzzle had fallen into place. "That's where you were. You really were sick. I thought you just didn't want to see me." Once she said the words, she instantly regretted them. Now he'd think she missed him. It would only make their relationship get closer to the line between 'give up' and 'there is a chance'.

Inu-yasha gave her a weird look. "So... you really were in school all day?"

Kagome stopped walking even though her locker was only a few yards away now and furrowed her brow at his odd question. "Yeah..." she said cautiously.

"Do... Do you have a twin?" Inu-yasha asked. He couldn't help but feel akward. It really was an unusual question to ask.

"No..." Kagome answered warily. She paused and thought for a moment then said, "But I do have a cousin that looked a lot like me. She's two year older than me though, I think. I'm not sure. I haven't seen her since I was in grade school and even then, it was only for a few minutes. She probably doesn't look like me anymore or even recall my name."

Now it all made sense. That was her identical cousin Inu-yasha had went out with yesterday, not her. It only made him wonder though since she had went along with him calling her 'Kagome'. Inu-yasha sighed a huge sigh of relief. He was glad Kagome really wasn't that snobby and rude.

"Why do you want to know?" Kagome asked suspiciously.

"Uhh..." Inu-yasha started. He couldn't tell her he'd gone out on a date with her cousin. It would make him seem like a cheater, even if it was a mistake. "It's nothing, I just thought I saw you at the store yesterday." He lied so easily, not that it was entirely a lie.

Kagome took one look at him and said, "Liar." She walked the few feet to her locker and began to open it.

Inu-yasha scoffed and said in his best lying voice, "I am not lying."

She glanced at him again from the combination dial. "Yes you are," she said and set back to work on the locker.

"What makes you think I'm lying?" Inu-yasha asked defensively. She couldn't see through his lies like Tami and Miroku could right?

Kagome stopped trying to open her locker all together and took a step closer to Inu-yasha so she was only inches from his face. She looked straight into his golden orbs. Inu-yasha tried to hid the blush that snuck onto his face. "It's your eyes that give you away," she said mysteriously with a smirk. Kagome stood there for a second longer and then looked away to work on the forgotten locker.

After Inu-yasha had gotten over the feeling of her closeness, he mumbled, "Feh." But the blush still hadn't left his face. As much as he loved being close to her, he wasn't expecting that.

Just then, the bell rang. Kagome had just finished gathering her things and closed her locker. She looked back at him with one last smirk before she was swallowed by the sea of students.

Inu-yasha noted the place of her locker before heading toward his. Out of no where, Kouga, Hojo, and Sesshomaru's face flashed through his mind and how they had all surrounded Kagome like vultures. He narrowed his eyes when he thought of them. How dare they try to steal his woman!

xXx

Why the hell did I do that, Kagome asked herself furiously as she went to her homeroom class. You're trying to get him to stop chasing you. What you just did hinted that you wanted to get closer to him. Now he thinks he's got a chance. Brilliant, just genius!

She really didn't know why she did that. Her heart seemed to have taken control of her body when seconds before, her head was in control. Her heart wanted to give in and say yes to Inu-yasha but her head told her it wasn't safe. It was a battle she recognized from two years ago when she had first met him. Her heart wanted to take a chance and see the 'wild side', as he had called it. But her head told her she would only end up in a bad situation and big trouble. Last time, she had followed her heart and her head ended up being right. In the case of Inu-yasha, she intended to follow her head, like she should have done two years before.

Kagome was so caught up in her thought that she bumped into two bodies as she went around the corner. "Oh, sorry," she said hastily and tried to continue.

"Wait," two familiar voices said and she turned around to see Kouga and Hojo. The two exchanged a glare before facing her again.

"You forgot this," Hojo said kindly, holding out her pen.

"And this," Kouga said with a flash-glare at Hojo, holding out her book. He knew which of the five was hers.

"Oh, thank you," Kagome said while taking the items. "To the both of you," she added when the two glared at each other as if to say 'she said thanks to me, not you'.

As she walked away, a certain angry silver-haired boy came up to them. "You two know she's already been claimed, right?" Inu-yasha growled.

Kouga and Hojo stared at him. "By who?" Hojo asked, annoyed.

"His name is Inu-yasha Taisho... That'd be me boys! She's been mine since the first day of school. I catch either of you trying to take her on a date, and there will be hell to pay."

Both of them snorted. "Yeah right! What could you do to me?" Kouga said, thinking he was the king of the world.

"You have no idea," Inu-yasha said darkly. Suddenly, Inu-yasha remembered a certain little boy who was very possessive over a certain sister... He added a smirk to his dark scowl.

All three boys glared at one another, the hatred practically visible in sparks. Just then, the warning bell rang. They held their ground until, at the same time, all three turned heel, and walked away, already plotting against one another.

xXx

The whole day, the teachers had Inu-yasha busy. Since he had missed yesterday, he had missed the beginnings of their lessons and a lot of work. Distracted by school work, he hadn't even thought about his dinner that was supposed to be happening tonight until lunch time. But when he looked at Kagome's table, she wasn't there. Sango wasn't there either. He figured she was in hiding after her 'situation' that morning with all four boys.

She was in his next class though and he thought of asking her then but after the other day when the two had exchanged notes, Jizani-sensai moved their assigned seats so they sat on opposite ends. She also gave Inu-yasha all the work from the day before along with that day's work so he was pretty overwhelmed. Inu-yasha couldn't help but think that Kagome looked relieved. He was sidetracked by that thought the whole class.

When the bell rang, Kagome quickly left the room. Inu-yasha, who had tried to hurry and finish up the last question on his sheet, wasn't able to catch up with her. After taking the time to turn in his work to the teacher, he had given up trying ask her before gym. He and Miroku walked to gym together and Inu-yasha updated Miroku on his project.

"She's so difficult!" Inu-yasha growled. "I helped her and she got mad at me. On top of that, there's three boys who want to get to her before me! And get this, one of them's Sesshomaru!" Miroku laughed at the abserdity of the idea. "He's only doing it to get me back for what we did to him though."

"Don't you have like, a million pictures of him though?" Miroku asked.

"Yeah but I'm gonna warn him again first before I put it on the Internet. Don't forget, this is my brother. If he gets embarrassed, so does the family, especially since he's the heir to Taisho Cybernetics."

Miroku nodded in understanding. "You don't think he'll do the same to you, do you? I mean, take a picture of you doing something stupid."

Inu-yasha looked unconcerned. "Nah, he wouldn't. First of all, you never catch be dead putting make-up on my face. And second of all, he's all about pride. If he used my idea and did that to me, it would mean he had to copy from me to get an idea. I'd laugh at him for life because he isn't creative enough to think of his own ideas." Miroku considered it and thought it made sense.

By then, the two had reached the gym. Inu-yasha instantly picked out Kagome. He was just about to walk over to her when Kouga came out of no where and started smiling and talking like she was his. Inu-yasha didn't remember seeing him in the last gym class, but then, he had no reason to look for him. Now he did.

The anger radiated off Inu-yasha's body. He would've liked to leave him tied up in front of an oncoming semi-truck. With his fists ready, Inu-yasha was about to pound Kouga's face in but Miroku, without thinking, grabbed a fistful of Inu-yasha's hair and pulled him to the other side of the gym.

"Dammit Miroku, do you have death wish?" Inu-yasha shouted.

"You're not going to get suspended and leave me here alone when it's only the first week of school," Miroku said firmly. Inu-yasha glared a few feet away.

When George came out of his office, he told the class they were doing a volleyball game today. He wanted to see what everyone knew about the game already and what they didn't. Inu-yasha grinned evilly at Kouga when George brought out the balls.

George seperated the class into four groups. Inu-yasha, Kouga, and Kagome were miraculously all put on the same team. They were going against Miroku and a few other girls. (Mirkou was in heaven.) George blew the whistle and the teams started the game. Inu-yasha was first to serve the ball. He looked at the back of Kouga's head. He grinned maliciously as he served the ball with a powerful blow.

Bong!

"Inu-yasha, you bastard!" Kouga yelled with a hand on the back of his head, trying to sooth the pain. Some of the players were giggling. George, having witnessed the whole thing, blew his whistle and went between the two before they had a chance to throw punches.

"Enough you two. Inu-yasha..." George said expectantly.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Inu-yasha said alarmed. "I really didn't mean to. I haven't played this game in a while so my aim is kinda off." Kagome shook her head wearily. She could see through that lie easily.

"Why you... You really think I'm gonna believe that?" Kouga shouted. Apparently, so could Kouga.

"Calm down," George said firmly. Kouga 'humphed' and went back to his place. George looked warningly at Inu-yasha again and said, "Make sure you aim over the net this time."

"Will do," Inu-yasha said seriously. As George went back to the side lines, Inu-yasha thought, Yeah right!

After a few moments, Inu-yasha still hadn't served the ball. He busied himself by tying each of his shoes and making sure his clothes didn't have any stains on them. George even blew the whistle to signal they could continue. But still, Inu-yasha continued to pat his hair down and dust his shirt off. Finally Kouga turned around and said, "Would you hurry up and--"

Thump!

Kouga's face twisted in agony and he crumpled to the floor. Several players were laughing full force now, Inu-yasha along with them. Even Kagome was snickering behind her hand. As soon as Kouga had turned around, Inu-yasha aimed carefully for his crouch and, well, it went from there.

"You... asshole!" Kouga breathed as he stood up shakily.

George blew his whislte again. As he went toward Inu-yasha he had to try to hid the smile that threaten to take over his face. He decided to pull Inu-yasha out this time and make him sit on the wall. It'd be better if the two weren't so close to each other. The two made faces at each other, Inu-yasha because he had gotten Kouga good twice in a row and Kouga because Inu-yasha had to sit on the wall while Kouga got closer to Kagome.

The bell rang just as the winner was declared. (Inu-yasha's won by fifteen. The girls on the other team refused to jump in front of Miroku so half of the team didn't even make an effort.) The teacher appoligized for making everyone late. They still had to go in the locker rooms and get undressed so everyone was about five minutes late getting out of the door. Inu-yasha tried to hurry to catch Kagome but a girl who came out of the girls' locker room said she'd already left.

Remembering that Kagome walked home, Inu-yasha quickened his pace with new energy. He could still catch her. He couldn't believe he'd waited until school was over to ask her about dinner. He'd forgotten about asking her last class because of the ordeal with Kouga.

With a hastly good-bye to Miroku after he'd been to his locker, he hurried out the front door. Inu-yasha considered using his car. He remembered that last time he'd offered a ride, she declined so he'd have to park again if he planned on talking to her. After deciding it would be easier if he just left the car here, he ran to catch up with her. He went toward the sidewalk he had seen her walking on the second day of school. It wasn't far and soon, he could spot her figure on the other end of the block. He jogged halfway and then ran the rest. He was eager to ask her. No matter what, he had to get her to say yes. If not, not only would he have his brother and best friend on his back but he'd also have his father to deal with. That was a deadly combination.

As he began to approach Kagome's back he walked. He didn't want to scare her by running up on her. She seemed deep in thought. When he got close enough, he said, "You know, I think you're avoiding me."

Kagome shrieked and nearly jumped out of her skin. When she saw who it was, she glared. She put her hand on her chest as if it could slow the beating of her heart. "Jesus, you scared the shit out of me." She decided to point out the obvious.

Inu-yasha smiled smuggly. "Call it payback for letting me smack my head into that pole."

"Why do you insist on following me?" she asked in annoyance. She began to walk again but she seemed to be in now real hurry to get away from Inu-yasha.

"I'll insist on following forever you until you say you'll go out with me," Inu-yasha answered truthfully with a grin. A light blush appeared on Kagome's cheeks.

"Well now, I guess that means you'll be following me forever," Kagome answered.

"You're so pessimistic," Inu-yasha said with teasing disappointment.

"Oh no, look out! Inu-yasha's using big words now!" Kagome laughed.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Inu-yasha said with mock hurt. The two laughed together.

The battle between Kagome's heart and head raged on stronger than ever now. At the moment, her heart was in control again. Kagome decided she liked it better that way.

"So did you like gym today?" Inu-yasha asked, hoping it would bring back memories of the funny faces Kouga made.

Kagome lauged again. "You know he's gonna get you back for that right?"

"Oh yeah, I know that. But when he tries, I'll be ready with something better," Inu-yasha said in a smug tone.

Kagome chuckled again. "All that smugness is gonna land you in big trouble one day."

"It already has," Inu-yasha said with amusement. He was trying to get her laughing and smiling before he tried to ask her for dinner. He was still trying to get the right words anyway.

It was quiet for a moment. Then Kagome said, "Um... about this morning... Thank you. I was just mad about something. I really wanted to say thank you then but I was... distracted."

"What were you mad about? Did those guys do something to you? I'll beat the hell out of them if they did." Inu-yasha jumped to all the wrong conclusions.

Kagome chuckled briefly before replying. "No, it's not that. It's nothing really, not even important." She waved it off easily.

Inu-yasha looked at her and then said, "You're lying."

"What? I am not." Yes you are, she told herself. Her head started to get a grip over her body again. She didn't want him to know why she had been so mean to him earlier. If she told him it was because she didn't want to get close to him, she have to explain and she wasn't ready to do that yet. In truth, Inu-yasha really was important to her. She didn't want to loose him. Even though she knew she could never have him the way the both of them wanted, she wanted him close by. For some reason, he made her worries go away. There was just one worry he couldn't get rid: Him. It was what stopped her from getting closer to him.

"You are too," Inu-yasha said, taking her back to reality.

For a moment she forgot what they were talking about. "Am not," she said when she remembered.

Inu-yasha chuckled at her late response. "You are so lying. You know how I know?" Suddenly, Inu-yasha grabbed her hand and twirled her around so she was facing him. He pulled her closer with his stong arms and looked down into her eyes. "It's your eyes that give you away," he whispered, his hot breathe sending chills down her spine. His hair smelled like vanilla and he had on a cologne that she'd remember forever.

His eyes bored into hers. She felt as if he could look into her heart through her eyes and see all the pain she went through and all the scars it had left. She had to look away.

Too late, Inu-yasha thought. He had been miliseconds from kissing her. To get her to feel better and not so flustered, he decided to make a joke of it. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" Inu-yasha said with a smirk.

"Not fair," Kagome said through her blush. "You used my words."

"I know. But it's true. You're eyes really do give you away."

"They give you away too," she said in an attempt to switch the attention back to him. She had only just remembered she was walking home and started walking again. Besides, maybe it would help hide the blush that was still dancing on her face. He had no idea how hard this was for her. If she had looked into those gorgeous eyes any longer, she would've kissed him herself. If that had happened, it would signal the official beginning of their boyfriend/girlfriend status. She couldn't let that happen though, unfortunately.

They were only a block from her house now. Inu-yasha had to ask soon or it would be too late. "Hey, do you feel like coming over to my house tonight? Just a little get-together with family and friends." He thought that maybe it would be easier to convince her if she knew it wouldn't really be a date. He'd have to presuade his father to allow her family to come and a couple other friends so it could be considered a small party instead of a personal dinner meant for her.

She was quiet for a while. She waited until they were at the bottom of the steps leading to her house before she answered. "I really don't need to be going to parties," she said. Especially with my situation, she added to herself.

Inu-yasha looked really disappointed.

Kagome opened her mouth and closed it. She didn't like to see him like that, looking so sad and beaten. "But if it's just a small party and nothing big, I might be able to."

Inu-yasha looked estactic. "Really?"

"I said I might be able to," she warned.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, as long as there's a chance. Thank you! Really, it's going to be great! I'm gonna make sure it is! Remember, it's tonight at my house around seven." The words tumbled out in his happiness. He really didn't know what time it was but he wanted to give her a time so it seemed like it was already final (even though it had only been planned since the day before). "Thank you," Inu-yasha said again. In his excitement, he kissed Kagome on the cheek and hugged her. Either he didn't notice, or he didn't comment on the deep red blush that instantly appeared on Kagome's cheeks.

Inu-yasha was already walking away. He didn't want her to change her mind so it was best to get away before she could. "Remember, seven, my house, bring your family!" And he ran away.

Kagome touched her hand to her cheek where Inu-yasha kissed her. His vanilla and cologne smell still lingered without his presense. She smiled. She didn't think that saying yes really was that big of a deal but she was glad to see him happy.

xXx

Inu-yasha ran until he was around the corner and Kagome's house was out of sight. He stopped only then and breathed a huge sigh of relief. She said yes, he thought. That means there's a chance. There's a chance she'll have me and I can rightfully call her my woman. It's possible. He was so happy when she had said yes, he'd kissed her. He wondered if he went a little too far. He only did what he felt was right at the time. But now that he thought about it, he wondered if she'd say no now because he'd gone too far. At least it wasn't on the lips, he thought.

As he walked back to the school parking lot, he thought smugly that she couldn't cancel now since she didn't have his phone number. Now his problem was solved with his father since she had agreed. If everything went as planned, his dad would be distracted enough to forget about any punishment he had in mind. And with the use of blackmail, Sesshomaru wasn't an issue. Since Kagome would be bringing her family, Inu-yasha would have a chance to talk to Souta about getting Kouga and Hojo out of the picture. Everything was going perfect. There was nothing that could make Inu-yasha mad now.

But of course there was... and Inu-yasha saw it the second he reached the school parking lot.

His car... Someone had dared to touch his beautiful silver Spyder Eclipse. Tissue paper... everywhere! His entire car was covered in it to the point that he couldn't even see the silver anymore. Even the tires were covered! When Inu-yasha reached his precious car, he could see that the entire inside was covered in tiny confetti pieces. When Inu-yasha found the door handle under the tissue paper and yanked it open, some of the tiny pieces of paper tumbled out. Some unidentified stench emitted from the car the second Inu-yasha opened the door.

Inu-yasha felt like crying. When he'd thought nothing could make him mad, he'd forgotten about Miroku's revenge.

Well, what did you guys think? Was it funny enough? Does it even make sense? Jeez, I'm so tired, I don't even know if I spelled the words right. Lol!

Okay, so I'm faced with a problem. I like my story but I don't like the characters I used. Don't get me wrong, I love Inu-yasha and the gang as much as the next fan (maybe more) but I don't think my story is for Inu-yasha. I mean, Inu-yasha is SO out-of-character in my story. So is just about everyone else but Inu-yasha seems to be the worse. It makes me feel like some people aren't enjoying it because the characters aren't themselves. It's bugging me and I'm not sure what to do...

Anyway, please review and tell me what you think of the chapter. I hope it was okay, especially since I spent seven hours trying to finish it. Lol! Well, see ya next chapter. (It won't take so long to update next time, I promise!) Oh, and there's probably a million mistakes in this chapter but I'm so tired I can't pick out so sorry!

Hikoboshi