The Way I Feel Inside
Chapter Six


Kagome,
Sure. He just walked into the store, right? He doesn't exactly seem like the reading type. Just kidding you. Of course, I believe you. I trust you. I'm glad you got the chance to meet him, at least you didn't have to have a backstage pass for that. I don't know why. I guess that I'm hoping for a chance, but are you still unable to come? I want you to be there. Well, I better be going. My friend is staring me down with murder in his eyes. I have a feeling that if I don't quit now, you'll never hear from me again...
Inuyasha

Kagome hadn't realize at moment who she picture him as. It couldn't be possible. Dogboy Takashi and Inuyasha were not the same person. She put her head in her hands. Oh, God. I can't feel like this about the both of them. Her mind began to feud with itself, but was futile. This is not happening to me. Why can't I just meet someone the normal way? She thought out why both were horrible choices. Either a mystery man, who she had no idea who he was or what he looked like. Or a famous rock star, who could easily have his choice of almost any woman. What the hell is wrong with me? She clicked reply and sat at the computer, staring at the screen. What should I do?

"Oh shit!" Inuyasha cursed. Souta saw what it was that he was worried about. A mob of people down the street had recognized him. Inuyasha jumped in the driver's seat. Souta looked in through the passenger's side-window.

"Sorry about that - um-" Inuyasha just nodded, showing that he understood. "Thanks for the ride and helping me unload. I think you better get out of here." Inuyasha nodded.

"Thanks. See you later." He quickly peeled out, taking off down the road. Looking in the rear view mirror, he saw some of them jump on Souta, probably mistaking him for Miroku. Unfortunately, many of them jumped into their cars and began following him. Oh, damn... He didn't know of anything else to do. He couldn't go to the hotel with them and all the hotels otherwise were probably booked full or would take too long to register for a room. They would easily just follow him to his room or bribe the front desk. He couldn't have stayed with Souta. That gave him one option. His mind filled with many curses. He didn't want to, but he was too low on fuel to outrun them. She was his only option at that point. It had been hard enough before, but now they'd be alone, one-on-one with no distractions. He wasn't too sure about it, but he had no choice. Last time he was mobbed, it turned out to be brutal. They didn't mean to, but there were just too many all tugging and pulling at him. He tried to out-maneuver them before he reached the apartment buildings, but all he managed was to gain some distance from them. He parked, jumping out, and made a mad dash to the front door. They were close enough that they saw what building he had gone into. He ran up the staircase, he was at least two floors up before he heard the pounding footsteps after him. When he reached her floor, he ran straight to her door and knocked hard and rapidly. The footsteps were coming closer and closer.

Closing his eyes, he silently whispered, "Come on. Come on, Kagome." Finally, he heard the doorknob click as she opened it. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw him. He didn't have any time to explain, just walked in and shut the door behind him, locking it for a security precaution. She was even more surprised and confused by his behavior. As she begin to open her mouth, he quickly pinned her against the wall, putting his hand lightly over her lips to signal for silence. She complied, but was caught unexpected by his proximity to her. He was breathing heavily from running, but as she heard voices in the hallway and what they were saying, she understood what was going on and he caught on that they didn't see where he had gone. Letting out his pent up breath, he then realized their positions. Immediately, he stepped back away from her. She quietly moved farther away from the door into the living room, gesturing for him to follow. They sat down on the couch. He took note that the computer wasn't in the same spot as before. She had read his message. He decided to take the initiative in speaking.

"I'm sorry about before." He said in a hushed tone. "I was saying my goodbyes to Souta when they came upon us. I didn't have anywhere else to go. I'm sure it looked good. Me barging in and locking the door behind me."

"It's alright. Just took me by surprise. I knew what was going on when I heard them talking in the hallway." There was a short pause. "This happen to you often?" He laughed lightly. She never seemed to run out of questions.

"In a way. Except I was on foot. That didn't turn out much worse than this one did." He said, turning to look at her. She gasped lightly, leaning in toward him.

"Did they do this?" She asked as she gently touched the black eye he had received from her brother. He just watched her. She had been concerned when she saw it. Her touch was enough to relieve the pain. It was so gentle, he could hardly even feel it. As response, he shrugged. "Do you know how long it'll take them to clear out?" He shrugged again.

"I'm not sure. They never taken it this far before. I don't want this to be awkward or anything, but um... is it alright if I stayed until they leave?" Her face became very serious. No one had stayed at her apartment that late at night besides Sango and that was only once while some repairs were going on at her own place. She'd never invited a guy over to her apartment before, especially someone that she was attracted too.

"No." Kagome said. Inuyasha did a re-take. He hadn't expected her to say no, though he did understand why she wouldn't want a man she didn't really know in her apartment that late at night. When he saw the corners of her mouth twitch in amusement and signs of her holding back laughter, they both laughed about it together. "For a moment there, I saw the 'Oh shit. What am I going to do now?' look written all over your face." She said between laughs. He just laughed harder after she said that. After they settled down, she spoke again. "My turn to repay you for your generosity. I wouldn't turn my back like that." He smiled.

"You had me seriously wondering there for a second, but I know you wouldn't do that." Their eyes locked once again that night. Kagome felt a zing run through her body to her stomach while Inuyasha felt another shiver down his spine. He managed to catch himself before he leaned in and kissed her, though he felt fairly sure that it was on her side too.

"So..." he said, clearing his throat. "... what do you do to pass the time?"

"I don't really have much of a life."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, I work two jobs. I go to work, then go to work. When I get home, I go to sleep so I can do it all again the next day."

"You must do something to help you unwind."

"Not really. Check the phone message and my e-mail."

"Ah ha! You're an internet person."

"Not really, just check my e-mail."

"Hm... Sounds to me like you have someone to speak with if you check it so frequently."

"Well, yeah. I suppose so. There's only three people that I talk with, but I suppose that it is my way of hanging out with people."

"Sending out love electronically." He said. "I know the feeling. While on tour, things are just so chaotic." He stopped for a moment. "You know. I think that I better tell Souta that I'm alright. Last thing he saw of me was being chased by that mob." He said, taking out his cell phone. Standing up, he went into the kitchen area for a little privacy.

"I can't believe this." Then there was crazed laughter.

"It's not funny." He said, running a hand down his face. "This is horrible..." He paused for a moment. "Actually, it's not horrible. It's just difficult not acting upon it whenever I think it's mutual between us. She's partially encouraging it."

"I wouldn't sat that, but I don't know since I'm not there to see it for myself. She's naturally like that. It's her personality."

"If that's the case, why aren't guys flocking to her?"

"There is. God, there is! It practically took a baseball bat to get some of them away from her. She's just - well- picky. No, that isn't the right word for it. She's only interested in a particular sort of guy. He can't be stereotyped. Let's just say she has the idea of who she'd like to be with and won't stand for anything less of that mark. Well, that's not quite right either." He growled lightly in frustration. "Let's just say she's complicated." He said, obviously finished trying to explain it.

"It's alright. I got the idea." He sighed. "I guess I better get back to her."

"Alright, but Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't break her heart."

"That's the farthest thing from my mind."

"Good. Well, good luck."

"Thanks. See ya."

Kagome never felt so odd in her life. The mob was still hanging about outside her door as she observed peering out the peek hole in the door. She sat down, confused about her situation. Inuyasha was still talking on his phone and appeared that he was going to be a while more. Kagome re-read the message once again. This time when she read it, she heard a voice in her head as if he was speaking it to her, but she never heard Inuyasha's voice before. She realized that it was replaced by the voice of another. It had been Dogboy Takashi's voice.

"Oh, God!" She exclaimed, almost slamming the laptop closed, She sat back on the couch, rubbing her face with both hands. With a frustrated sigh, she leaned back, allowing her head to fall back as well. Closing her eyes, she took a couple deep breaths to help calm her nerves. After a while, she could feel someones gaze upon her. Opening her eyes, she notice he was standing on the edge of the room, looking at her.

"Everything alright?" She smiled, trying to convince him as she spoke.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He walked over, sitting down next to her on the couch.

"You know, I can tell some thing's bothering you. Your face may smile, but your eyes are saying something else." She sighed.

"I'm just a little tired and confused about something all at once. That's never a good combination."

"Oh, I see..." He faded off for a moment. "I'm not distracting you from anything being here am I?"

"No. Nothing at all." He nodded.

"Alright. I'm sorry about this."

"It's alright. Don't worry about it." He creeped over to the window, facing the parking lot. A couple of people were standing by his car. He was alright with that until one of them began peeking in the window. "Damn their persistence."

"They're still hanging around, huh?" He nodded. Kagome bit her lip, but had made up her mind about it. "This may be a little awkward, but I can offer you the couch if you have to stay here overnight."

"Don't take this wrong, but unfortunately, I think that I may have to accept that offer."

"I'll go grab some extra blankets and a pillow or two for you." She said, heading off down the hallway. He watched her go and smiled to himself. She was in a state of confusion and nerves because of him. He couldn't help but find it cute. At the same time, he wanted to help her relax. He glanced around the living room and saw a deck of cards on the end table. That was as good as anything. She came back, her arms full of bedding. He quickly stood up and took them from her.

"Thank you." He said, setting them in the middle of the couch.

"I just realized that I haven't offered you anything to drink." He laughed lightly.

"I'm alright. Don't worry about me."

"Feel free to get something and the bathroom is the first door on the right."

"Okay." Nonchalantly, he picked up the deck of cards. "So, you're a card player?" She looked over at him.

"Oh, occasionally. I haven't played anything but solitaire for quite a while."

"I may not be any good myself, but if you want to play..." He drifted off. She smiled.

"Sure. I'll play a hand."

After quite a number of hands, Kagome began to wind down and tire out. Inuyasha was shuffling when he noticed her eyes begin to droop. "Hey." He said. She shook her head to try to rid the drowsiness.

"I'm alright."

"No, you're not. You need your rest." They all had finally cleared out of the building, but many were hanging around outside still. "Thanks for your hospitality. Is there anything I can do while I'm around?"

"No. This is payment for your generosity earlier." She said.

"There's no need to re-pay me. Either way, let's call us even." She nodded, hiding her yawn behind her hand. He stood up, helping her to her feet.

"Thanks."

"Listen. I have a busy day tomorrow. If I'm not here when you wake up, don't take it personally."

"Alright." She said, looking drowsily at him. He had a sudden impulse to breakdown and tell her everything right then, but he resisted.

"Well, this is goodnight, I guess." She said as she began heading to the bathroom. A tender smile came across his face as she was walking away.

"Goodnight, Kagome."