Living For Today, Chapter 2.

InuYasha gently set Ayame down, and helped her balance on her foot. He asked what she wanted, and she said she just wanted something to drink, that she wasn't a big eater this early in the morning. She had regained her composure, and now stood with her good foot on the ground, supporting herself with the toes of her injured foot. She had buttoned up her shirt, and now waited, watching as InuYasha ordered her something to drink. He came back with a few other things, and handed her a tall glass of chocolate milk, helping her over to a seat. The group sat down, and started talking, their orders taking a few minutes to arrive.

InuYasha was engaged in conversation with Kagome and Sango, and Ayame was silent, thinking about what InuYasha had said on the way to the fast food place.

InuYasha...I'll make sure that I never leave your side, you'll be with me forever... She thought, not ever wanting InuYasha to die.

Sango glanced at the girl across from her, sitting beside InuYasha, sipping on her chocolate milk. Sango noted that the expression of pain had faded from her face, and she was now staring at her glass of chocolate milk, occaisionally casting glances at InuYasha's profile. Sango smirked. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, it was completely obvious. Ayame was in love with InuYasha. Sango smiled at the thought, as the waitress set her tray down in front of her. She thanked the waitress, and hungrily tore into her burger, earning a grimace from Ayame.

"I would never be able to eat something like that this early in the morning." Ayame said. Sango laughed.

"Early? It's almost ten thirty." She said. "Another half hour, and this breakfast deal wouldn't be available." Ayame nodded.

"Yeah. Ten thirty is really early." She stated, moving a few inches toward InuYasha. Sango started to feel a bit jealous that Ayame was so close to InuYasha, and started cursing her, mentally.

Suddenly, a voice inside her spoke up.

Oh, like the feelings she has are any different from yours. Sango had to laugh at that one, and she got a few inquiring looks from her friends.

"Oh, nothing." She said, and they resumed their conversation.

Kagome took a sip of her pepsi, and wiped off her mouth with her napkin. She crumpled up her garbage, and stood up, to throw it out. As she walked by the table, she happened to glance down, and what she saw surprised her. Ayame had managed to get ahold of InuYasha's hand, and was gripping it tightly, beneath the table. She pretended she had seen nothing, and walked over to the garbage can, throwing her junk out. As she came back, she realized that Ayame was moving a bit faster than anyone had expected. She was now leaning right against him, and holding his hand. Kagome sat down, and took comfort in the thought that maybe InuYasha was just letting her lean on him because she was hurt, and he felt sorry for her.

A few hours later, about 12: 30.

InuYasha was in the process of trying to convince Kagome to get on the roller coaster with him. They were at an amusement park, about twenty minutes away from their house.

"Come on Kagome!" He pleaded, trying desperately to convince her to get on with him. Kagome shook her head, standing her ground.

"No!" She said. "I will not get on that dangerous thing, it doesn't look safe." InuYasha smirked.

"What in life is safe?" He asked. "You never ever gonna get your liscence, because you're afraid of getting in an accident?" He asked, goading her. "Afraid to cross the street, for you might get hit by a car? Might as well stay home and sit in a corner, dressed in protective gear." He said. "Oh, but you can't. You'd find a way for that to be dangerous." He said it all with a sly smile, so Kagome wasn't offended. But she was starting to crack, InuYasha could see, so he quickly changed tactics, before she steeled herself against his next attack.

"Come on." He said, trying one last time. "It isn't really that high, doesn't go fast, and..." He smiled, and slid up next to her, wrapping his hands around her hips. "..And I'll let you sit next to me, and hold on to me." He said. He could see her biting her lip, thinking about it. He grinned inwardly as he thought of a way to make sure she went on it.

"And if you don't go on it, Kagome, you know I'll try something stupid." He said. That did it. Sango laughed as Kagome's eyebrow twitched sporadically, and she glowered at him.

"Grr! InuYasha!" She said. Then she groaned. "Fiiiiiiine!" She said, taking his arm, and walking toward the roller coaster entrance.

"But I'm only going to make sure you don't try to jump out, or something." She said, not admitting that the deciding factor was that she got to sit with InuYasha.

InuYasha grinned happily, and paid the operator the required fee. He helped Kagome in, and jumped in beside her, locking the grab bar in front of him.

"Have a nice ride." The operator said, moving their coaster up. A few minutes later, all the coaster carts were filled, and the ride started, the roller coaster going around a moderate right turn, then up a steep hill, slowly. Kagome's grip on his hand got progressively tighter as they got progressively higher. When they reached the top, the coaster hesitated for a second, then plunged down the steep drop.

"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Kagome panted heavily after her long scream of fear, then inhaled deeply.

"WAHHHH--" She stopped screaming as InuYasha pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms tight around her, and pulling her against his chest. She blushed and looked up at him, seeing no trace of fear on his face. He was grinning slightly and wasn't even bothering to hold onto the grab bar. Suddenly, her stomach was thrown into her feet as the roller coaster went up a sharp incline. She waited until it was over...and waited...and waited. Then she realized that they were upside down. She felt her heart skip a beat, before they plunged down the other side of the loop, the air rushing against her face. She gripped InuYasha's hand even tighter, as they streaked even faster through a series of lefts and rights, throwing her around, putting incredible pressure on her body as gravity worked against her. Suddenly, the whole track twisted 180 degrees, throwing the cart upside down. Kagome's heart started beating even faster as they raced through many more turns, all upside down. She could hear some screams of delight from the people in the carts behind her, but delight was the furthest thing from her mind. She was worrying about what could and might go wrong, and imagined how it would end for her and InuYasha. Suddenly, they were righted again, and were sent down another sharp decline, toward a solid brick wall that said 'END'.

At the last second, the brakes were applied, and the cart slowed to a stop, bumping gently against the wall that Kagome had feared they would hit. InuYasha laughed, and undid the bar, jumping out. He helped Kagome out, and then noticed that his hand was bleeding. He peered closer, and wiped some of the blood off his hands, revealing four fingernail marks that were still bleeding slightly. He shrugged it off, and took Kagome's hand, leading her away, not noticing that her hand was shaking.

They rejoined up with Sango and Ayame, who were both laughing, for they could hear Kagome screaming from all the way down here. Kagome blushed when they teased her, and turned her attention to InuYasha.

"Grr! Why did I let you drag me on that damned machine!?" She yelled at him, and he held up his hands, grinning in nervousness.

"I don't know, Kagome." He replied. "Only you know why you let me drag you onto that damned machine."

Kagome, now starting to calm down, stopped yelling at InuYasha, and admitted, grudgingly, that yes, she did have a tiny bit of fun on the roller coaster.

"All right!" InuYasha said. "Wanna go again?"

SMACK!

"Guess not..." InuYasha said, holding the side of his face.

Sango surveyed her friends, and couldn't help but smile at their antics. She sighed, and slapped InuYasha on the back, not admitting to herself that it was her excuse to touch him.

"Good job, InuYasha." She said. "You got the uptight, safety oriented Kagome to have fun." She said, her hand lingering on his lower back for a few seconds. InuYasha, not noticing, grinned, sticking his tongue out.

"Yeah, guess she ain't so bad after all." He said.

Kagome slapped him on the shoulder. "I'm right here, you know!" InuYasha laughed, and took a few steps back, holding his hands up in front of him again.

Suddenly, Ayame grabbed InuYasha's hand.

"Come on!" She exclaimed. "I know where the awesome spinning machines are!" She said, dragging him off. Ayame had gone back to her house after they had eaten, and she had grabbed a pair of sneakers. She now ran deep into the amusement park, InuYasha tagging along behind her.

"Umm, Kagome, any idea where they dissappeared to?" Sango asked, as they walked through the park, in the general direction they had seen the pair go. Kagome shook her head. "No idea." She said, her worry evident in her voice. Sango sighed, for she knew what was bothering Kagome.

"C'mon." She said, grabbing Kagome's hand.

"Wha-where we going?" Kagome asked.

"Don't worry 'bout it!" Sango replied.

Sango led Kagome to a quieter ride, a large merry-go-round, and pulled her onboard, sitting across from her on one of the benches.

A few seconds passed in silence, with Kagome staring off to the side, watching the crowd as they swarmed around the rotating machine.

"So..?" Sango asked. Kagome looked at her, snapping out of her thoughts. "So what?" She asked.

"So what do you think?" Sango asked. A confused look passed over her face. "Think about what?" She asked again.

"About InuYasha and Ayame." Sango said. Kagome lowered her gaze to the ground.

"You noticed too, huh?" Kagome asked. Sango nodded. "Yeah, I noticed alright."

Kagome looked at Sango.

"Do you think that InuYasha likes Ayame more than just a friend?" Kagome asked.

Sango shook her head.

"Well, he is a guy, and he's known three beautiful girls since he was a child, eventually he's gonna grow to like one of them, but..." Sango trailed off, thinking. Kagome waited, knowing that Sango was well informed about this stuff.

"...But I don't think that's happened yet." She said. "Besides, It's InuYasha. When does he ever have time for a girlfriend?" She asked. "He's too busy screwing around." Kagome laughed, knowing that it was true.

"Do you think he knows?" Kagome asked.

It was Sango's turn to not catch the hidden message. "Knows what?" She asked.

Kagome blushed heavily. "D-do you think he knows that I like him?" She asked.

Sango was taken aback. She had been watching Kagome, but it hadn't appeared to her that she had any purpose for InuYasha other than scolding him out. Sango chose her next words carefully.

"Well, he probably knows somethings up, but he's too shy to ask about it, you know how he is." She said. Kagome nodded, accepting that answer. Sango immediately felt the guilt spreading in her heart, for not telling Kagome the truth.

The truth is, Sango thought, I don't think InuYasha has much interest in you at all.

"Umm, InuYasha?" Ayame asked, taking a deep breath. They were in the middle of being spun around like crazy, and she wanted to ask InuYasha a question. InuYasha turned to her.

"Yeah?" He asked. Ayame looked into his golden eyes, and decided to ask him.

"InuYasha, will you please consider ma--"

"The ride's over, everybody off!!!" The ride operator yelled, as the machine slowed to a halt. InuYasha jumped out of his seat, and waited for Ayame to undo her harness. They exited the platform, and InuYasha walked over to a nearby vendor to grab something to drink.

He came back, and took her hand, making her blush.

"I'm sorry, Ayame, what did you want to ask me?" He asked, staring into her eyes. Ayame shook her head, and adverted her gaze.

"Nothing, InuYasha." She said softly. "It was nothing important, don't worry about it." She said. InuYasha, not knowing what she was going to ask, merely shrugged, and offered her a sip of his drink. She accepted it gratefully, and took a drink, thirsty from all the running around. Once again, she had failed to ask InuYasha about it, and now her courage was gone. Who knew when the next chance would come? Ayame, deep in thought, tilted the can up once more, only to have a single drop of Cola land on her pink tongue. She blushed as she realized that she had just drank all of InuYasha's Coca Cola. She apologized, bowing to him, only to have him laugh. She raised her head to look at him, and he pulled her into a hug. She gasped at his unexpected action, but hugged him back tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Ayame..." He whispered, rubbing her back. "You're one of my best friends, and I hope that you know I lov--"

"There you guys are!!"

InuYasha let go of Ayame as Sango and Kagome approached, waving. InuYasha waved back, mentally cursing his two friends for inturrupting an important moment. Ayame was standing by his side, and she waved, absentmindedly, her thoughts with what InuYasha was just going to say. She wondered what he was going to say, and she hoped that he would tell her soon. She even dared to let herself think that he was about to say that he loved her. She felt her palms go sweaty just at the thought of it.

Just then, both Sango and Kagome caught up to them, and they both gave InuYasha a hug, which he accepted with a grin.

"Didn't know I'd be missed that badly." He commented. Ayame continued to stare at him, his cut off sentence driving her insane. She had to know what he was going to tell her.

"We should head home, it's getting late." Kagome said, looking at her watch. InuYasha checked his own, and shook his head.

"Jeez you girls got a messed up sense of time." He said. "Ayame thinks ten thirty is early, when really, half the day is gone, and Kagome thinks that 7:03 is late, when it's just the beginning of the second half of the day." He said. Kagome slapped him, while Ayame half-heartedly punched his shoulder.

"We're going home, InuYasha!!" Kagome yelled, forcing the hanyou to agree.

A few days later...

Ayame sighed, and shut off her alarm clock, not feeling like going to school today.She pulled the covers up over her head, and squeezed her eyes closed, trying to sleep, but all she could think about was InuYasha. She hated how she couldn't stop thinking about him. At first, she thought, it was okay, she would just get butterflies whenever he smiled at her, or touched her arm. But now everything he did set her off, and her feelings for him were getting harder to hide.

"Come on Ayame, you'll be late for school!" Her mother yelled from downstairs. Ayame didn't reply, and sighed again, feeling the pain in her chest grow as she opened her eyes to stare at the picture of InuYasha that was on her nightstand. She reached out and picked it up, examining the picture. It showed them all together, the whole group, it was taken about a year ago, when they had all skipped school one day, even Kagome.

Ayame hugged the picture to her chest and closed her eyes, thinking about the boy she loved. A few minutes later, her door opened, and her mother came in, to check on her daughter.

"Why, Ayame, what's wrong?" Her mother asked, sliding the covers back. Ayame tried to hide the picture under her pillow, but her sharp mother caught the movement, and picked up the picture. She analysed the picture, and, seeing as InuYasha was the only boy in the whole picture, and her daughters weird behaviour, put two and two together.

"Ayame, is there something going on with this boy that you want to talk about?" She asked. She got no response. "Did this boy hurt you, or put you down, in any way?" She asked. Ayame felt the anger rising up in her at that question. Ayame sat up, glaring at her mother.

"You don't know InuYasha, he would never do something like that!" She yelled, grabbing the picture back, and laying back down, turning away from her mother. Ayame's mother was silent for a few seconds, before she got it. She smiled softly, and patted her daughters leg through the blankets.

"Looks like someone was bitten pretty hard by the lovebug." She teased, making her daughter growl.

"Come on, Ayame, get ready for school. I know how you feel, but you can't lay in bed all day. Just think, InuYasha will be waiting for you in school." She said, thinking that was what her daughter had called the boy. Ayame stiffened beneath the blankets, before sighing once more. She got up, and proceeded to gather her clothes, heading for the shower. Ayame's mother was left alone in the room, and she picked up the picture again, examining the boys face.

"He looks like an okay boy..." She mumbled to herself, flipping the picture over. There was nothing on the back, no words or description of the day the picture was taken, or who was in it. Ayame's mother recognised the girl with the long brown hair in a ponytail, her name was Sango, her and Ayame had been friends forever. She didn't know the blackhaired girl with the unsure expression on her face, or the boy named InuYasha.

"The boy sure can grin like a champion, though." She said, dropping the picture.

She walked out of the room and went downstairs to prepare breakfast for her daughter.

InuYasha looked up and down the hallways for Ayame, but couldn't see her anywhere. She was always early, and always sat in front of her locker, reading, until the bell rang for first period, but for some reason she wasn't here today. He groaned as said bell rang, and he cast a final look up and down the hallways, before shaking his head, and walking away, to first class.

Ayame heard the bell ring, and she ran faster, dashing throug the hallways, her locker just up ahead. She rounded the final corner, and dodged a teacher with a stack of papers, stopping in front of her locker. She groaned in defeat as InuYasha was nowhere to be found, for he always met her here, in the morning. She cursed herself for being stupid this morning, and she absentmindedly spun the dial on her lock, opening her locker. She gathered her books, and was about to shut her locker door, when a hand slammed into the locker beside her, startling her into dropping her books. She looked up into cobalt blue eyes, and felt her heat skip a beat, and her palms start to sweat.

InuYasha raced back through the deserted hallways, for everyone was in class. He didn't know what he was doing or why, but he had a feeling that maybe Ayame wasn't alright. He had missed her this morning, and he wanted to see if she was at her locker now, for maybe she was just a bit late. He ran past a classroom with an open door, and was yelled at by a teacher. He stopped, and apologized, before walking quickly down the hallway.

Ayame looked up into the mans face, and fear started to circulate through her body. She did her best to not show it though, and she glared at the man.

"What do you want, Kouga?" She asked. Kouga slid a little bit closer, glancing down the empty hallways. He placed his hand on her neck, and carressed it, sending shivers down her spine.

"Just wanted to check up on my girl, see how she's doing." He said, leaning a bit closer. Ayame felt his fingers start to tighten around her throat, but she could still breathe, so she didn't panic yet. He bared his fangs, and used his other hand to play with her breasts through her shirt.

"Remember all the games we used to play, Ayame?" He asked, tightening his fingers a tiny bit. "You got so aroused when I used to play rough with you."

Ayame glared at him, and cursed his name.

"Screw you, you damn bastard. I don't have any connection to you anymore, nor did I ever." She said, hating every part of Kouga. Kouga grinned.

"That's right, resist. Resist like you used to, it makes the end result that much sweeter." He said, sliding his hand under her shirt. She slapped his hand away, and he chuckled, grabbing her hand and squeezing her wrist harshly, making her yelp.

InuYasha waited until he had rounded the corner, before he took off running again. He had barely gotten ten feet, before he heard another shout. He stopped, and spotted another teacher coming toward him, presumably to lecture him about running in the hallways.

Kouga pressed his body against hers, and rubbed up against her. He unbuttoned her pants, sliding the zipper down. Ayame whimpered as he started to touch her, violating her. He had crushed her right wrist, and still had her by the throat, but she was afraid of striking out, fearing he might hit her really hard. Or even if he did back off, he would always come back with a vengeance, and the next time, it would be even more powerful. She felt the tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes, to run down her cheeks. She knew that it was safer to let him have his way this time, and hope that he stopped coming after her. She felt her pants being tugged down a bit, and thanked God that she had put on the tight pair of jeans, it was making it hard for Kouga to undress her with one hand.

"...Yes sir, I'm sorry sir." InuYasha said, his mind on Ayame.

"Don't let me catch you running again young man." The teacher said.

"I know sir." InuYasha said, turning around and walking away.

Ayame felt his fingers pulling at her panties, and she started crying uncontollably, for the pain in her wrist, for the fact that she was about to be raped, and for the love she felt for InuYasha, and how he would never love her back if he knew about Kouga.

"I told you we were over Kouga, why do you keep coming back?" She asked, the tears streaming down her face. Kouga reached up, and squeezed her left breast savagely, making her whimper.

"Because I can't just leave my bitch alone, and forget about her." He said, smirking. Ayame took a shuddering breath, for it was hard with his fingers so tight around her throat, and stared him straight in the eye.

"I am not your bitch, Kouga." She said. "Don't you ever call me that again!!"

Kouga laughed. "I can call you whatever I want." He said, his hand slipping inside her panties. Ayame shook her head, and started screaming for help, even as he completely cut off her air, digging his fingers into the flesh of her throat. He leaned down, and kissed her harshly, biting her lip as he did.

InuYasha rounded the corner, and saw Ayame pressed up against her locker, with a guy infront of her, holding her there, kissing her. From where InuYasha stood it looked Ayame was just getting intimate with a boyfriend nobody knew she had. He was about to turn around and go back to class when he heard her voice.

"...Please don't Kouga...hurts! Fuck off!!"

InuYasha froze as parts of her sentence reached his ears. He turned around, and saw the guy squeezing her throat, and reach down to touch between her legs.

"Oh I don't fucking think so!" InuYasha said, taking off. He ran toward the guy on silent feet, reaching his arm back as far as it would go. Just as he pulled even with the guy, InuYasha let his fist fly, and put all of his power into his punch, striking the guy in the temple. The guy was knocked down onto the floor, skidding across the linolium about 8 feet. InuYasha stood there panting, having put everything he had into his punch. When it became obvious that the guy wasn't getting back up, InuYash turned to Ayame. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.

Ayame was crying, her sparlkly green eyes filled with fear and hate, and also relief at seeing InuYasha. Her shirt was wrinkled, and her pants were unzippered, and halfway down, revealing her white panties. InuYasha noticed the way her right shoulder was limp, and he looked at her hand, noticing the swelled wrist. He cursed, and looked again at the bastard who had done it to her. He walked over to the guy on the ground, who was starting to get up.

"You know," InuYasha said. "I'm an honourable guy, most of the time. I don't usually hit people when they're on the ground, but for bastards like you, I make an exception." InuYasha said, drawing back his foot and kicking the guy in the face. The guy yelled when he was kicked, blood spraying everywhere. For some reason, the blood excited InuYasha, and he wanted to see more. He kicked Kouga again, making blood spatter on the floor. InuYasha growled in anger, for it wasn't enough.

"If you think that's all you're gonna get, you better think again." InuYasha said. He raised his foot over Kouga's face, and hesitated, knowing that it would probably kill the guy. Instead, he picked Kouga up by the front of his shirt, and drew back his fist. An image of Ayame flashed through his mind, and InuYasha snapped.

Yelling angrily, InuYasha smashed the guy in the face as hard as he could, letting go as he did. The guy hit the ground and skidded away, coming to a rest six or seven feet away. InuYasha, breathing heavily, glared at the guy, before turning to Ayame. His knuckles hurt, and he knew that he was probably going to get expelled or suspended, but he didn't care.

Ayame watched InuYasha beat the hell out of Kouga, her body quivering in excitement as he unleashed two kicks and a punch at him. She felt her knees go weak, and she dropped, only to be caught by InuYasha as he turned to face her. He shook his head, and felt the anger swirling around inside of him. He helped her fix her pants, and shirt, then let her climb onto his shoulders again, so he could give her a ride to the nurses office.

InuYasha gently set Ayame down on the medical bed, and kneeled down beside her. He was still angry, but his anger was slowly fading to concern, as he watched his best friend lay on the bed, while the school nurse got some pills. Ayame smiled weakly at him, and whispered something.

"Wha.." InuYasha leaned a bit closer, and heard her.

"Thank you, InuYasha." She said. InuYasha shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. No way was I going to let something like that happen to you." He said. He was pushed aside by the nurse, who handed Ayame two Aspirin, for her wrist. The nurse made sure she took them, then turned to InuYasha.

"Hey, go call Ayame's parents, while I question her about what took place." The nurse said. InuYasha, hesitant to leave Ayame's side, stalled for a few seconds. He looked at Ayame, and she nodded to him, so he got up. He leaned over Ayame and kissed her on the cheek, before walking out, leaving her with a blush and a few questions to answer.

InuYasha picked up the phone and dialed Ayame's mother. He waited a few seconds, until she picked up.

"Hello?"

InuYasha took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Hi, I'm InuYasha, a friend of Ayame's, I'm calling from the school, the nurses office, actually, to let you know that Ayame was in an...an accident." He said. He heard a gasp on the other end, then a panicked voice.

"What happened? Is she alright?"
InuYasha tried to answer the questions. "Yes, she isn't badly injured, she's alright, but I'm afraid she was nearly...raped." He spat out the word, conjuring up images of the guy in the hallway. The anger was back, and InuYasha wished that he had stomped on the guys face.

"Oh my God..." Ayame's mother said. In her grief and worry, she didn't recognise the name as the name of the boy that Ayame was in love with. InuYasha switched hands.

"Yes, please get down here as soon as you can." He said, hanging up. He walked back into the room, and saw Ayame's face light up as soon as he came in. He walked over to her, and kneeled down beside her, suddenly feeling tired. He had just had a wickid shot of adrenaline, and now that he knew she was going to be alright, he was starting to come down off his adrenaline high. He rested his forehead on her stomach, and Ayame tentatively ran her fingers through his silver hair. InuYasha moaned as the tension in his body started to leak out, and he scooted a little closer.

A few minutes later, Ayame's mother walked in, heading straight to Ayame's side. She immediately started fussing over Ayame, making sure that she was comfortable, and wasn't hungry, thirsty, or in pain. After that, it was all business.

"Alright! Out with it! How did you get yourself into a position where you were almost raped?" Ayame's mother asked. Ayame recounted the details about how she arrived late at school, and when she went to her locker, InuYasha was gone, and almost everyone was cleared out of the hallway. She had been grabbing her books, when Kouga had shown up and surprised her, then pushed her into the locker and started touching her.

"Who is this Kouga?" Ayame's mother asked.

Ayame looked up at her concerned mother, and past her to where InuYasha sat on the nurses counter top.

"A boy I used to date a while back." She mumbled. "He never quite understood when I said it was over."

"Okay, and how did you get here?" Ayame's mother asked. Ayame giggled, despite her situation.

"Well, I was being choked by Kouga when out of nowhere, InuYasha comes flying down the hallway and punches Kouga out, then kicks him, to make sure he's down, then comes over to me and picks me up, and carries me here."

Ayame's mother turned to InuYasha.

"You helped out my daughter?" She asked. InuYasha nodded. Ayame's mother bowed.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." She said.

InuYasha shook his head.

"Nonsense. Ayame is my best friend, and I wouldn't be much of a friend if I saw that and let it continue." He said. "Ayame is a very important person to me." He said sincerely.

Ayame's mother held out her hand. InuYasha shook it.

"My name is Motoko." She said. InuYasha nodded. "InuYasha." He said. Now that she knew her daughter was safe, Motoko was finally able to think of other things. She started to remember InuYasha's face from somewhere, and a few seconds later, remembered the picture.

"Hey," She said. "Are you the one Ayame is in love with?"

Ayame, on the bed, gasped and told her mother to shut up. InuYasha, totally confused, just shrugged.

"I don't thi--"

Just then, the door was thrown open, and two armed police men entered, weapons pointed at InuYasha. The principal entered right behind them, and pointed at InuYasha.

"You're under arrest, InuYasha, for violently beating a student, giving him a concussion, breaking his jaw and smashing out three teeth, and breaking his nose."

InuYasha, his anger returning, hopped off the counter, marching up to the principal, never minding the guns pointed at him.

"Oh yeah?" InuYasha smirked. "You really think you're going to arrest me?" He asked. The principal nodded.

"I won't tolerate violence in my school." He said. InuYasha sneered, and offered his wrists.

"Oh, no violence, but I guess you let rape go, eh?" He asked, and the police officer stopped placing the cuffs on InuYasha.

"What?" The principle asked.

InuYasha pointed to Ayame on the bed.

"Yeah that's right, you ignorant fuck. This girl, my friend, was almost raped by the guy I beat down." InuYasha said.

"So go ahead and arrest me. Because if you do, I'll tell the media all about how I was wrongly arrested after protecting someone who was almost raped." InuYasha said.

"IN YOUR SCHOOL." He said loudly, daring the principal to arrest him. The principal stared at him for a moment, obviously contemplating his situation.

"Very well, InuYasha, we will let this go this time, provided you keep this sexual harrassment and attempted rape out of the paper." The principal said, nodding to Ayame's mother.

InuYasha nodded. He turned his back to the principal, and nodded to the cop to remove the cuff that was on his left wrist. The police officer did so, and InuYasha walked over to Ayame's side, dropping to his knees. He sighed, and placed his hand over hers, intertwining his fingers with hers. He had completely forgotten about Motoko asking if he was the one Ayame was in love with, and right now, he just wanted to go to sleep.

About fifteen minutes later, he was awoken by the bed moving, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Ayame was allowed to leave the nurses office, for she had no major injuries other than her wrist, which didn't even need a cast. InuYasha, his classes forgotten, followed Ayame and Motoko home, just to make sure they got home safely. At the door, he was invited in, and he accepted, anything to spend a few extra minutes with Ayame, whom with he now felt a close personal bond.

InuYasha and Motoko helped her up the stairs, and into her bed. Motoko went downstairs to make some tea for them, leaving them alone. InuYasha sat on the edge of the bed, and yawned, now that the action was over. Ayame giggled, and patted the bed beside her.

"Come on, InuYasha, lay down, I know you're tired." She said. InuYasha shook his head.

"No, it wouldn't be appropriate." He said, fighting the urge to lay down beside her.

Ayame pouted. "Aww, come on, pleeeze?" She asked. InuYasha laughed, and nodded.

"Okay." He said. "But if I get in trouble, it's your fault." He laid down beside her, and breathed in her scent. Almost immediately, he fell asleep, his arm around his best friend. Ayame cuddled up to him, and stroked the side of his sleeping face.

"Thank you, InuYasha, for looking out for me." She said, kissing him on the cheek.

"I love you." She said softly, closing her eyes.