Wow, I can't believe this! I should get whiny more often, shit! It's been like, eight hours since I posted this afternoon, and I have SIX reviews already! HOLY CRAP. I must be doing something right...

Deds:

INU-sarah - Well congrats on your prompt review! Lol, I won't let her get hurt, I promise! It's good to hear from you again!

Jimmy35 - Thanks, I hate cliffy's too, thats why I can't bear to leave you guys hanging! I skipped a "let's drink moderately" birthday at Sid's with my supposed best friend and her stupid boyfriend that no one likes to write more and post this. (She abandoned me on my birthday, so now we're even). I also made egg salad for Dad's lunch. Productive, I know! Never fear, Kouga gets caught. He gets what he's got coming later, too!

Photgraphing Poetry - No worries, it all turns out good. Let the dumping proceed! (Not in this chapter though, muahahaha!)

taintedinuyasha - It's a deal! I can live with that! Makes me glad I write almost constantly, I think my ass is taking on the shape of this chair... and, (sniff) I like to pretend to be all that... on occasion.. lol!

Valsapena - OMG! Yes!!! Hahaha!

Kagomelovessesshy5 - You made it in here by the ass of your pants! I don't think more accounts are necessary, just nice words... or whatever... lol. Woot for sidetrack..ed..ness???

Inuyasha: Grease'd

Chapter Nine

Rin put the finishing touches on her make-up and stood back to inspect her handy-work. Satisfied that her make-up was perfect, she returned to her room to pick out an outfit. Fever was playing on the radio as she held up one outfit after another to herself, singing along quietly and clucking her tongue instead of snapping her fingers to the song.

Her mother peeked around the corner of her room, then walked in without knocking, and turned off the music.

"Mom! Why do you always do that?" Rin asked, her head buried in the closet. Where were those red pumps?

"Are you going somewhere tonight?"

Rin sighed. Here we go, she thought, I get a date and she's heard about it already. Probably come to quiz my brains out.

"Yes."

Her mother nodded to herself, as if Rin's answer had confirmed something only she knew about. "Where?"

Rin pulled out her shoes and sat on the edge of the bed, putting them on. She stood, her slip and bra all she had on. She reached over to pull the chic red and white-striped fitted skirt and jacket outfit she'd decided to wear. "The most expensive restaurant in town."

Her mother blinked. "Antonio's?"

"That would be the one. Do you mind, mother, I'm trying to get dressed here."

Her mother stood up from the desk chair where she'd made herself comfortable but didn't leave the room. "Who are you going with?"

Rin swallowed behind the fabric of her outfit as she pulled it over her head, her mother momentarily lost from her view. "Sesshoumaru Takahashi." The moment of truth is upon me, she thought glumly, and prepared herself for what she knew was coming.

"Takahashi?" Her mother repeated. She'd heard of that name. It was the name of a rich family of demons! She shook her head in disbelief, before saying, "I will not allow you to go out with him, Rin. You know how we feel about demons! How can you even consider this after what they did to your father?"

Rin pulled the dress down and turned on her mother, her face angry. She'd had all afternoon to prepare an argument. "Allow? Mother, I'm eighteen. You have no say in what I can and cannot do! Maybe you don't like demons, but that doesn't mean I don't!"

"But-"

"But nothing, mother. I'm going out with him tonight, whether you like it or not." Grabbing up her little red clutch, Rin stormed from the room, just as the doorbell rang.

Inu G'd

Sesshoumaru had emerged from the bathroom at quarter to eight, his hair combed and tied into a neat topknot and his suit freshly pressed. He stopped at a huge gilded mirror in the hall to tie his bowtie, when his father opened his study door and closed it behind him for the night.

Spotting Sesshoumaru, and eyeing what his son was wearing, Taisho asked, "Got a hot date?"

Sesshoumaru lifted a thin brow at his father's reflection in the mirror. "You could say that." Grunting, Sesshoumaru pulled the bow he'd made apart and tried again, only to fail. Growling, he made another stab at it before Taisho offered, "Let me."

Sesshoumaru reluctantly handed him the damn thing, ready to melt it with a glare, but Taisho put it on and before Sesshoumaru knew it he had a perfect bow.

"Thanks, Dad," he said, smiling a little.

"No problem, son. I've got lots of experience with bowties." He watched Sesshoumaru turn to Jaken who put on his jacket, straightened it, and handed him a corsage in a tiny plastic box.

Must be a special girl, he thought, for Sesshoumaru to go all out like this. Normally his son wasn't seen socialising outside of school; lately Taisho had noted his absence from home, and wondered what he'd been up to. Now it was obvious.

Leaning over the rail over-looking the grand foyer below, where Sesshoumaru waited for his Mustang to be brought around, Taisho asked with a grin, "So when do I get to meet her?"

Sesshoumaru smiled despite his natural inclination against doing so. "Soon enough, Old Man," he replied, and Taisho had to be satisfied with that.

Watching him leave, Jaken approached him from behind, and he commented, "When did he grow up so fast, Jaken?"

Jaken smiled discreetly. "Just these last few weeks, I believe. Whoever she is, he loves her, sir."

Taisho nodded, lost in thought. "He must. Well, it's about time! I like the effect it's had already." With this thought, he walked to his room, and closed the door.

Jaken watched him go, and thought of Master Inuyasha. His father knew naught of Inuyasha's exploits yet, but there was little that escaped him, the family butler. Soon, he thought, straightening a vase of peonies on the landing. Soon, this will be a family again.

Inu G'd

When Sesshoumaru rung the bell at Rin's house, he felt an emotion knife through his heart that he hadn't felt in years. Nervousness bit at him like a bitter cold wind, and he tried vainly to suppress it.

Rin opened the door, her face flushed and he heard a woman yelling briefly before she slammed the door behind her.

She smiled at him, forcing herself to be cheerful, and asked, "Shall we?"

He smiled back. "We shall." He lead her to the car, where he opened her door for her and saw her settled before getting behind the wheel on his own side.

Rin's mother watched them through the window. This demon, he seemed gentlemanly enough, but she was still suspicious. Demons were just that; they had no good in them. He had to want something from her daughter bad enough to woo her for it, and she was determined to know what it was. When Rin came back, she would be waiting, and her sons would be with her.

Rin sunk into her seat and tried vainly to keep her tears locked inside. She could have killed her mother. She was so closed-minded about demons because of one accident that she projected her fears onto her family, and they had taken them up as well. Her brothers, she knew, would try to talk her out of anything to do with Sesshoumaru, but she'd resolved that she'd be damned if they succeeded.

Sesshoumaru turned to her and said, "I brought you something." She turned to face him and watched as he slipped the corsage onto her wrist. It was a red hibiscus, the same colour as her outfit, and she smiled, her tears turning from angry to emotional, and spilling over they trailed down her cheeks through her make-up to seep down her neck.

Stroking her jaw with his fingertips, he leaned his forehead against hers. "What's wrong?"

She sniffled. How could she tell him? How could she tell him that her family hadn't even met him yet they hated him? She couldn't; not yet. He didn't deserve to have the burden on his shoulders that she'd carried ever since the death of her father. That much she wanted to spare him.

Neither of them realised it yet, but they had fallen so deeply in love with the other that they each tried to protect the other from any harm; he protected her from her enemies, and she protected him from the wrath of her family. When they looked at each other's eyes all they saw was perfection.

She wiped away her tears. "Nothing's wrong. You're just so sweet," she replied, and he smiled, his teeth white in the semi-darkness of the car. Pulling out, she felt her whole body relax as he took her hand in his, and rested it on her thigh as they drove to the restaurant, the radio playing loves songs around them.

Inu G'd

Saturday had not been a good day for Kagura.

Naraku had been waiting for her that morning when she opened her bedroom door and had punched her in the eye so hard that it had swollen shut and turned a disgusting shade of purple.

Looking in the mirror eight hours later, after she had awoken in a pile on the floor in her doorway, her brother nowhere to be found, she lamented her sore face. The bruise was beginning to spread, from her eye outward, in a concentric circle. It throbbed with every beat of her heart.

Making her way to the kitchen, she wished her parents kept servants, which they didn't, because they believed that their son and daughter needed to learn how to get by on their own, which they were often, for their parents were never home. Sometimes the postcards would come from France, or Africa, or even Australia. They never stayed in one country too long.

At least they're having a good time, she thought, cringing. Just thinking was painful.

Digging around in the freezer she finally found a steak and threw it into the sink to thaw under hot water. Taking a few Advil, she laid down on the couch, the cold steak resting on her face as she slept once again.

She bolted awake, the now-bloody steak sliding from her face and landing with a plop in her lap.

Auugghh, she thought, touching her face. It was numb, but her fingers came away red and sticky when she touched it. The doorbell rang again.

Getting up, she used her shirt to catch the dripping piece of meat and threw it in the garbage before she finally answered the door. One of Naraku's friends was on the other side.

He took one look at her and asked, "What the hell happened to you?"

She smiled, the muscles of her face moving but the sensation eluding her. "What do you care? What do you want?" Her tone was surly, to say the least.

"Well, I wanted to know if Naraku was home-"

"He's not."

"-but I guess he's not," He repeated her. "I'll just go then."

"Yeah, go." She slammed the door behind him, bolting and chaining it. Trudging up the stairs, having forgotten to clean up the mess on the couch from the dripping steak, Kagura caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on the way to her room.

The girl staring back at her was almost unrecognisable. Her face was grossly swollen, and covered in tacky blood from the steak. The red and purple seemed to run together and form a grotesque mask of her face. She sobbed openly as she stared.

Reaching her room, almost unable to tear herself away from the image of the disgusting girl in the mirror, Kagura reached into her purse and pulled out her Polaroid. Quickly snapping off three pictures, she slipped them into an envelope with a short note, and, slapping a stamp on the front that she'd found in her desk, she left the letter in the mailbox for the mailman to find the next morning.

If it was the last thing she did, she'd see that Naraku didn't get away with what he'd done. After that, she fell asleep again and didn't wake up.

Inu G'd

Kagome gurgled, a hand squeezing the air from her throat, and her eyes rolled back into her head. Her last thought was that she didn't want to die.

Inu G'd

Inuyasha drove his head into Kouga's side at a run. Releasing Kagome, Kouga had latched onto Inuyasha and the two had tumbled away, leaving her alone on the grass in the dark.

Inuyasha had Kouga by the scalp, and was yanking backward as hard as he could, trying to get the wolf to yield, but all he got for his efforts was clawed down his back. He could feel the wounds bleeding, but he felt no pain.

Kouga struggled to get free, but the hanyou's grip was interminable; no matter what, he refused to let go, like a bulldog. Finally clawing him deeply, each released the other and growled, Kouga's red eyes fading to their normal blue while Inuyasha's began to flicker from red to gold, and back again.

Deciding that now would be a good time to leave, Kouga made away through the bushes like a wraith in the night, leaving Inuyasha alone with an unconscious Kagome.

Inuyasha's sides heaved, his lungs greedily drinking breath as the oxygen it carried flooded his veins and he began to relax. On his knees, he crawled to Kagome to see if she was alright.

When he reached her, the expression on her face was so serene that he felt his heart twist. The urge to protect her from everything that would hurt her ran strong, and his heart swelled with his feelings for her.

Gently, he carried her to the back door of her house where, after knocking, her mother came out and gasped when she saw Inuyasha.
His hair was mussed, and his face scratched; blood trickled freely down his nose and dripped off his chin, landing on Kagome's chest as he held her close to him in his arms. His clothes were shredded, and her mother could see deep gouges in his skin everywhere.

Rushing toward him, worried for her daughter's safety in his hands, she looked at Kagome, and, seeing her unharmed, asked, "What on Earth happened?"

Inuyasha sunk to his knees again on the cement but he refused to let Kagome go. Her mother watched as he gathered her body close, and, speaking softly, patted her cheek and begged her to wake up.

He loves her, she thought. It was obvious; the poor boy was cut to ribbons but didn't seem to notice; he was more concerned with her daughter's welfare than his own. It was at that moment that Mrs. Higurashi wondered where this boy had been her daughter's whole life.

"Kagome," he pleaded, tapping her cheek. He could smell life in her, but her failure to open her eyes scared him.

Finally Kagome came around, and instead of starting at the sight of Inuyasha's bloody face so close to her own, all she did was wrap her arms around his neck and thank God he was there. Her fear was still fresh in her mind, and she hadn't noticed his blood-stained skin. She clung to him like a babe to its mother, and sobbed and cried her fear away as he held her close, his blood slowly draining from his body as he held her. He could feel it begin to coagulate, and his demon blood began to knit his wounds, but it was a painful process and he squeezed her right back as his body followed its natural inclinations.

When she finally released him, she noticed his state and whispered, "Oh my God, Inuyasha, look at you," her hands covered with his blood. It was all over her, and at this point her mother broke her silence and rushed forward, saying, "Kagome, are you alright?"

Kagome smiled briefly at her mother to reassure her but replied, "I'm fine, mom, but Inuyasha's hurt really bad."

Together they pulled him over to the door and into the house. Souta walked into the room, took one look at what they were dealing with, and walked right back out.

Mrs. Higurashi looked into Inuyasha's eyes and saw that his pupils were dilated slightly; his eyes were glazed and he stared off into space before they suddenly shut, and he sagged in Kagome's arms as she held him upright in the chair they'd pulled into the back room.

Kagome felt his shoulders slump and took charge. "Mom, I need scissors, disinfectant, and bandages," she said, lowering his body to lie flat on the floor. Nodding, she ran to get what her daughter had asked for.

When her mother was gone Kagome held Inuyasha's head in her lap, his bloody face a mess to her tear-filled eyes. She knew it was Kouga who'd attacked her. She'd gotten a look at him before she passed out, and when she had awoken, Inuyasha had been clutching her to his chest as if she were dying. She'd even seen tears in his beautiful gold eyes.

Stroking his brow, she ripped off what was left of the top layer of her skirt and spit on it, and gently began to wipe his face clean.

Her mother returned to find her this way, but she never said a word. She helped Kagome move Inuyasha up to her bed, where they lay him down on top of the pink comforter.

"Mom, do you mind...?" Kagome struggled to get out what she wanted to say, but her mother nodded, understanding. She smiled, and Kagome knew she knew.

"Take good care of him," she said, shutting the door behind her. Kagome's cheeks turned pink, but she busily attended to her task before her thoughts could wander off.

Taking the scissors, Kagome cut Inuyasha's shirt off, and cleaned all the blood from his chest. She disinfected and bandaged all his cuts before turning him over to treat his back. When she was finished, she laid him face-up again and then sat on the floor next to the bed, and held Inuyasha's hand until he woke up.

He opened his eyes, and the scenery that greeted him was unfamiliar. Blinking, his eyes adjusted to the gloom, and he realised that someone was holding his hand, and that his body was very sore, but better than it had been before he'd passed out.

Lifting his head off the pillow, the first thing he saw was the black mass of Kagome's hair, fanned out over his bare stomach. Her face, with her eyes closed, an angelic picture to his love-sick gaze, rested firmly against him, her other arm supporting her neck. Her mouth was still bloody from biting Kouga's palm.

He smiled, not regretting for even an instant coming to her rescue. She meant the world to him, and it flattered him greatly to know that she'd brought him to her room to clean him up, for as he looked around he recognised all the pink things which the night before had slightly repelled him. He just wasn't into pink.

He squeezed her hand, and she moved, then yawned, and he smiled at her as she blinked and rubbed her eyes, her right hand still firmly clasped in his.

"Hey," she yawned, her hair a mess, "how are you feeling?"

Like a million bucks as long as you're with me.

"Better."

"Good." She reached up and felt his forehead, a gesture that between she and anyone else would not have been as intimate as it was between he and her.

She blushed, but he pretended not to notice. "Am I fevered?"

She sighed quietly. "Nope. You're perfect." In more ways than one. Then she slapped herself mentally for thinking that, but not as shocked at herself as she should have been.

He stared into her eyes for a long moment, and before either of them knew it, they were face-to-face, and her heart was hammering, his keeping pace right along with it.

"Kagome," he whispered, before his lips pecked hers, and she closed her eyes, it felt so right, but suddenly the phone rang, scaring the life out of her, and breaking the moment, and she reached over to her nightstand to answer it.

"Hello?" Her voice had an impatient edge to it.

Inuyasha sat back again. He'd been so close!

"Oh, hey Houjo." She leaned her back against the bed so she wouldn't have to see Inuyasha's face while she talked to Houjo.

His heart slowed right down, and he felt all hope drain from his body. Damn you, Houjo! He thought, frowning.

"No, I don't feel well tonight... No, it's nothing serious. I'll call you later... Bye." She hung up, then looked at her clock. Eleven-thirty. He called at the weirdest times.

She turned to look at Inuyasha, but the bed was empty. She frowned, and felt the draft coming from the window. Suddenly she felt horrible. Although she hadn't wanted to see it, she knew he liked her, and she liked him, but she wasn't sure just how much she liked him. He was nice, and cute, but he was such a geek! Even for thinking that she wanted to slap herself, but she couldn't help the way he was or the fact that she had a boyfriend. If she was anything it was loyal, faithful, and honest, but she couldn't help wishing things were different.

Sighing, she got up, closed the window, and crawled into her bed. It was still warm, and it smelled like him. She fell asleep, tears for what she thought could never be trickling down her cheek. She felt strangely awful about missing that kiss.

Inu G'd

Rin waited for Sesshoumaru to come back from the bathroom, watching other couples dancing on the shiny dance floor where their table provided an unobstructed view. For dinner they had dined on fresh lobster, a salad, and for dessert, tiramisu for two.

She smiled, remembering every detail. He was so romantic. No boy had ever lavished her like this. She felt like a queen when she was with him.

When he came back, he had a rose between his teeth, and he held his hand out to her. She lifted a brow, and hoped that he wasn't going to ask her to Tango, which was exactly what he did, only he didn't ask.

Leading her out to the middle of the floor, he signalled to the maestro who played the opening notes to the famous dance, and he held her to him, and whispered, "Close your eyes," as he brushed the rose down her forehead, over her nose and lips, to finish at her chin.

She giggled; it tickled!

Then, before the song could move on, she heard him say, "Follow my lead," and, putting the rose back between his teeth, he led her around the floor in the Tango, alternately dancing with and dragging her, before she caught on and added a few of her own moves.

When the music slowed down again, she did too, and extending one leg out behind her, she kneeled before him, then slowly stood up, trailing her hand up the side of his leg, only stopping to take the rose between her own teeth before he was leading them around again, this time to the applause of the rest of the restaurant patrons.

Blushing, she bowed with him when the song was over, and he returned her to their seats, where he gently placed his jacket over her shoulders.

"Are you ready?"

She looked at her watch. Ten-thirty. "Mm-hmm."

Taking her arm, they left, and the valet brought the Mustang around, and Sesshoumaru handed her into the car before getting in himself. Tipping the valet, he drove them away, and asked her, their hands clasped tightly together behind the gearshift, "Did you have a good time?"

She smiled at him, only the soft glow of the dash lights softening her beautiful face. "The best."

He chuckled, and asked rhetorically, "Have I outdone myself?" and she laughed, replying, "That was the most extravagant date I've even been on, and I loved it. Thank you, Sesshoumaru."

"You're welcome. Show me just how much you liked it by accepting another date with me?"

She grinned at him, and responded, "How could I ever say no to you?"

He smiled back, and she leaned across the seat, pecking his cheek. In return he squeezed her hand.

When they finally reached her house, he walked her to the door, and she prayed to God her mother would leave them alone long enough to say goodbye.

Standing under the porch light, he said, "Goodnight, Rin," and kissed her hand gallantly.

She smiled. "Goodnight."

She watched him walk back to his car and drive away before she entered the house. She kicked off her shoes and carried them through the living room, but before she could reach her room the light came on and her mother and three brothers were sitting there, frowning at her.

She blinked into the brightness, and thought, Oh fuck.

Her eldest brother, Gin, said quietly, "You are never to see him again, Rin."

Her other brothers nodded. She could see she'd get nowhere with them. Her mother, though, was what pained Rin most. Her mother had a look of such disgust for her daughter on her face it almost made Rin feel ill. How could her mother abhor the love she treasured most?

Suddenly it hit her. She loved him. She loved him so much that she was willing to sacrifice everything if it meant being able to see him again.

"May I remind you all," she began, resolved that this time she would get her way or all be damned, "that I am eighteen years old and no longer under your control? I will date whoever I please!"

Her mother stood up. "Not while you live here, you won't. I won't have this family's good name tarnished by your infatuation with that demon. Don't you have any respect for your dead father at all, God rest his soul? I'm ashamed to call you my daughter!"

Rin felt her heart skip a beat, and despite her resolve to remain calm, she got angry. Balling her fists, she screamed, "I don't care what you think, mother! You need to open your eyes and realise that dad's gone, and hating demons won't bring him back! I don't care what you all think, I love him!"

They all stopped, shock marking their faces. Mrs. Tsing was the only one who saw it coming, and replied, "Young lady, you will terminate your relationship with that, that, thing, or you will cease to live in this house! Is that understood?"

Rin's brothers all looked at their mother, and the youngest, Akira, said, "Mom, isn't that a bit harsh? I mean, to kick her out-"

"I don't mean to just kick her out. I will disown her if she does not obey me!"

Gin looked at his brothers. He didn't like demons either, but he wasn't going to argue with Rin if she was in love with the guy. He knew what it was like to fall in love and how fortunate he was that his girl was a human woman and so had not incurred the wrath of his mother as Rin was doing now. Suddenly, he began to shift his point of view.

"Yeah, mom, Akira's right. That's too harsh. Why don't you at least meet the guy before you decide to hang him?"

Rin couldn't believe her ears. Through her tears, her brothers were smiling at her. Where they willing to give Sesshoumaru a chance?

"Please, mom," she pleaded, attempting to further her brothers' suggestion, "at least reserve judgement until you've met him." Though whatever you decide I'm never going to leave him.

Her mother crossed her arms, and glowered at them all. "Have you forgotten who it was that murdered your father? If you have, shame on you all!"

"Mom, I think we should trust Rin," said the second oldest, Haruko.

"Yeah," agreed Akira. "If she's in love than we have no right to question her judgement."

"Rin knows nothing of love! He will only hurt her! That's all demons do, is hurt humans!" Mrs. Tsing insisted.

"No, mother! That's what you're doing to me!" Rin cried, holding her hand to her face to stem the flow of tears.

Gin stepped up. "Rin's right, mother. I think if Rin likes this demon, we should give him a chance."

Mrs. Tsing glared at them all, her eyes mutinous. "You betray your father's memory," she hissed, and stomped up to her room, slamming the door.

Rin sank to the floor, her tears of relief mixed with trepidation. What if her brothers hated him? Her doubts were removed when Akira bent down and said, "If mom kicks you out, sis, you can stay with me."

"And me, Rin."

Gin also smiled and said, "You always have a home with me, little sister."

Grinning through her tears, she stood and hugged them all, replying, "Thanks, you guys, I love you!"

They all laughed and Akira commented, "Mom's just sore, that's all. She'll come around."

"I don't know," Haruko reasoned, "she's pretty set in her beliefs about demons."

"But Sesshoumaru is nothing like that! He's sweet, and gentle, and-"

"We know, sis. We'll vouch for you."

Rin sniffed. "Thanks."

They all saw Rin off to bed before returning to their own homes, a lot on their minds. Each brother loved Rin, and had spoiled her shamelessly with affection. If her passionate outburst could change their opinion of demons, how could their mother not be moved, too?

Inu G'd

Houjo hung up the payphone he'd used to call Kagome and called his friends over. They were on the next block, just at the bottom of the stairs to the Higurashi property, when he called. Waving goodbye to them, he started up the stairs. Kagome had said she wasn't feeling well, so he was going to check on her.

Last night with Ayame had been just what he'd needed. She'd let him do as he wished with her, and things had been perfect until she'd started talking.

"Are you ever going to break up with Kags? I feel bad doing this with you behind her back."

He had rolled over and given her a hard stare. "Don't you dare say a word. I love Kagome. You know that."

"Then why are you here with me?"

He rolled away and replied, "Because I want to be. You give me what she doesn't. When I marry her, you'll be my mistress. Either way, you benefit."

Ayame had to agree there. He often bought her gifts, and jewellery. Kagome may have gotten his love but she got his attention. Houjo knew about her relationship with Kouga, but he only used her, and Houjo didn't care about that. Ayame sighed. She was beginning to tire of this lifestyle of secrets and lies. All she wanted was a man who loved her, and her alone. Was that so much to ask?

Houjo dropped her from his thoughts as he reached the top of the long flight of steep stairs in time to see a form leap from Kagome's window and disappear into the night.

Inuyasha, he thought angrily, storming up to the front door and pressing the doorbell for longer than necessary.

Looking tired, dishevelled, and covered in blood stains, Kagome answered the door. "Houjo? Why are you here?"

He herded both of them into the house and closed the door, hissing, "Why was Inuyasha leaving your bedroom window just now?"

Kagome frowned, and decided she'd had enough.

"Houjo, listen. I'm sick of you being so jealous of him. Nothing's going on!"

"Then why are you covered in blood? What aren't you telling me, Kagome?"

She looked away, frustrated, then looked back. "I was attacked, okay? Inuyasha saved me, and he got hurt really bad, and I cleaned him up, and he left. Are you happy now?"

He eyed her, sure there was something she was neglecting to say, but decided not to push her any further. "Why didn't you call me?"

She guffawed, awed at his audacity. "Because it happened so fast I didn't get a chance to take two minutes to dial your number! Were you even home? God, Houjo! Sometimes I wonder what we're doing together!"

In that instant he could feel her slipping away from him, and he pulled her close, and squeezed her tight. "Oh, Kagome, I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," he said, stroking her hair, "I wish we could redo this whole weekend and start over."

Her emotions overridden, she let him hold her, and the tears wouldn't stop as she hugged him back. Picking her up, he carried her to her room, and she let him.

He laid her on her bed, and closed her door. Then, gently wiping the blood from her lips, he began to kiss her. He kissed her until her thoughts were nothing but puffy blooms of nothingness, and before she knew it they were both naked and he was penetrating her, and the pain made her lurch against him, but he held her down and waited until her pain had passed before he finished making love to her.

He fell asleep in her arms, and she with a smile. Her life was finally back on track again, and she and Houjo were happy.

Inu G'd

Oh Jesus, no! Kagome, don't do it!! Hahah, she's silly sometimes, like, talk about jumping from the frying pan into the fire much. Anyway, if anyone reviews the previous chapter and I missed you, you'll get on the next one. Ks5 just made it, so you others - whoever you are - oops! Anyway, you know what to do... lol! P.S. Kudos to whoever can guess which movie I "borrowed" the Tango scene from!!