The Way I Feel Inside
Chapter Seven

As he woke up, he couldn't recall exactly where he was, but as his senses began to return to him, he remembered. Today's the big day... He thought. Her scent was all around him. Burying his head in the pillow, he breathed deeply taking it all in. He stood up and suddenly became aware of the fact that he had stripped off his clothes down to the bare essentials. Sleeping in slacks and a dress-shirt wasn't exactly comfortable. He stripped off the jacket, tie, and shirt, wearing the wife beater that he had on beneath. On the bottom, he just wore his boxers, but made sure that the blankets covered him while he slept. As quickly as he could, he put the slacks back on. After that, he put the dress-shirt back on, leaving a couple buttons at the top unbuttoned. He had no intention of putting the tie or jacket back on. He quietly headed toward the bathroom, when he saw Kagome's bedroom door cracked. Did she leave for work already? Creeping down the hallway, he reached the bedroom door. Peeking in, he knew she hadn't even stirred from her sleep. Smiling lightly as he watched her form turn on her sleep. She laid on her back. The blankets covered her from feet to waist. The sun shined through the window from behind her bed, causing her to almost glow. Her hair was scattered all around her. She was beautiful. He didn't know how long he had been standing there, but whenever she began to show signs of waking, he slipped quietly and quickly down the hallway into the bathroom. He freshened up to the best of his ability without a toothbrush or anything. As he came out, he went back into the living room. There was some clattering coming from the kitchen, so he turned and saw she had gotten up. He noted with amusement that the first thing that she did was start a pot of coffee. She had her back turned toward him as she got two coffee mugs out of the cabin. As she turned around, she saw this form standing on the other side of the counter.

"Oh... hey." She said as she set the mugs on the counter

"Good morning." He said. There was a quiet moment for quite a while, which was broken by a small laugh from Kagome.

"I'm sorry. I'm just not used to having someone here whenever I wake up."

"You see, I have the opposite problem. I'm too used to people being there whenever I wake up. There's not too many secrets between us on a tour bus." She smiled in amusement. As the the coffee pot slowly came to a halt, she turned around to get it.

"Coffee?" He nodded.

"Sure." As she poured the coffee, he went around the counter and stood next to her.

"I don't know how you take your coffee. There's creamer in the fridge and sugar in this bowl." She said, pointing to it. "Help yourself." She said, handing him a mug.

"Actually, I think I'll take it black this morning. Thank you." He said as he took the mug from her. They stood side-by-side as he drank his coffee and she prepared hers with
a little creamer. As Kagome stirred the creamer into the coffee, she noticed his clothes.

"You didn't sleep in those, did you?" He looked down at himself.

"Oh, well, I have a shirt under this one. I slept in that."

"I could have offered you some clothes that Souta left behind."

"It's alright." He said, looking at the clock on the over behind her. He finished up his coffee. "Well, I better be on my way." He went to gather the rest of his items from the living room. "Thanks again for the use of your couch." He said. Kagome laughed lightly.

"No problem." He threw his jacket over his arm and headed for the door. "I'll see you a little later on." He reached for the doorknob. Even knowing that he had to leave, he didn't want to. Something compelled him just to tell her then and there. He looked over his shoulder at her, opening his mouth to speak, but thought better of it. He opened the door.

"I'll see you later, Kagome." With that he made a quick escape, Kagome found herself curious about what he was going to say.

He found himself grateful that he had decided to sign-in gor his room before he went to the bookshop they day before, or else he would have been in a pretty little position. As soon as he got up to his room, he showered and cleaned himself up. He felt even more renewed. After he had finished, he came out of the bathroom into his room, laying down on the bed for a moment to rest and think clearly. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before their was a knock at the door. Getting up, he went to the door and looked through the peephole. Figures that he'd trial me... With that thought, he opened the door, trying to hit him with it, but he took a step back. Inuyasha just walked back into his room while the man managed to grab a hold of the door before it closed again.

"How'd you find me this time?"

"You leave a trial of mess everywhere you go that I usually have to take care of." Inuyasha didn't care to turn to face him, but he wasn't just going to leave his back turned either.

"What?" The man tossed an entertainment magazine to him. It was obvious from the cover. "Exclusive?" Inuyasha read out loud. "Of what?"

"Turn to page 13." Inuyasha did so. There was a long, twisted article about 'Dogboy' Takashi and his new 'mistress' as they termed her. Inuyasha was furious as he read on. They used many other terms for her.

"Those filthy little assholes." He growled.

"Is any of this true?"

"Listen up, you bastard of a brother, has there EVER been a 'mistress' whenever they've claimed that there was one?" Sesshomaru grunted, meaning 'no.'

"Don't worry about the article. I managed to stop it from going to press."

"How'd you do that?"

"The editor and chief of that filth called me and told me it was unfair that I had someone break the camera and threaten them." Inuyasha was now angry and confused. Who did that? There was another knock at the door.

"Who is it now?" Sesshomaru took the liberty of answering the door to reveal a surprised Miroku and Sango. No greeting were even exchange before Sesshomaru pointed at Miroku.

"I need to speak with you privately." Miroku nodded. Sango let go of his arm, heading into the hotel room while Sesshomaru stepped into the hallway with Miroku. Inuyasha let out a frustrated growl at the whole affair, pacing back and forth in front of the window rather fast. Sango didn't say a word, sitting down at the end of the bed. All she did was raise an eyebrow in question and he responded.

"He just won't leave me alone." Inuyasha breathed, throwing the magazine into the trash can across the room.

"Nice throw." She commented, her voice was laced with laughter. "Just like old times. He still breaths down your neck and you still resent it."

"With every breath in my body."

"You know that he's going those things with good reasons. He's trying to help you. He's just going about it in- well, he's Sesshomaru."

"I know, but it's not like I need it anymore and right now, I- I just have a lot on my mind." Sango smiled lightly as he paced.

"Today's a big day for you. Between the concert and Kagome. How exactly are you planning on breaking it to her?" He stopped mid-step, looking rather ridiculous.

"I should have known that he'd tell you. He can't keep quiet about anything."

"It's a perk of being in a serious relationship." Sango stated. "I'm still confused as to how we didn't slip up last night in one way or another."

"I honestly don't know. It's a miracle." He said as he began to pace again, though this time it wasn't in anger, so it was slow, smooth, steady steps. "She's just- I don't exactly know how to put it into words."

"You're worried?" Sango offered. Inuyasha laughed at that. Only an trained ear would be able to tell the difference between amusement and his nervous laugh. Sango knew the difference. He stopped pacing, staring out the window instead.

"I've never been so unsure about anything in my life. What is I seriously screwed up? The last thing in the world that I would want to do is hurt her." Sango was surprised, not by the sediment, but about how open he was with her about it. His feelings used to be so locked away within himself that it was completely rare for him to open up. He'd made some changes in his life. He seemed more calm, rational, and much more open.

"Inuyasha, it comes with any type of relationship. Even the best of friends let each other down, but they don't let that stop them from being friends. The key is to forgive-and-forget and I know from personal experience, Kagome is the forgive-and-forget type. She's more forgiving than I am."

"Coming from you that means..." He turned to her. "... almost nothing." She was about to laugh until she noticed something.

"What happened?" Inuyasha was confused until she pointed at his eye.

"Oh, that! It's a good thing Sesshomaru didn't see it." Inuyasha said, raising a hand and rubbing it lightly. "That was Souta's reaction when I told him about everything."

"Everything?" Sango was surprised. "I have to admit, that was an extremely bold move."

"But it was necessary. I think it was better that I told him than to wait for him to figure it out later on."

"I guess, but it looks like he went a little over the top." Inuyasha shook his head in disagreement.

"He was testing me and giving me a warning shot at the same time." Inuyasha laughed lightly. "He reminds me of myself back in high school." Sango laughed at that.

"You know, that's true. I didn't really notice it, but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense." There was a knock on the door once again. Sango knew who it was and went to the door, opening it enough to look out. Miroku put his hands on his hips.

"Okay, Sango dear, how long has this thing with Inuyasha been going on?" Sango shook her head, opening the door a little more.

"I'm sorry, but you know that the lead men always are more appealing." Miroku laughed straight out at that one.

"Come on! Let me in."

"What's the password?" Miroku pushed the door open a little more and kissed her. Sango just looked at him whenever he pulled away.

"Nope. Wrong password." She said, as she began to close the door on him. He quickly pushed the door open before it could completely shut and lock. Inuyasha rolled his eyes at them, turning away in disgust.

"What did he want?" He said, before they could continue with their flirting. Miroku looked at him.

"I'll give you three guesses, but you'll only need one." He was right. He didn't need another guess. It set him off again, pacing back and forth, muttering things like "That's none of his business" and "Let me run my own life."

"He did also mention something about the set list for tonight."

"For that, I was wanting to get all the guys together for. We have some things to discuss about that anyways." Inuyasha said, snapping into professional mode. "Oh, Sango? I was wondering if you could get Souta here early. We have to smuggle him in and since you have a security pass..." He faded off as Sango raised her hand.

"Say no more." He smiled at her.

"Thanks, if you need his number, let me know." Miroku looked up in interest.

"You swapped numbers? When did that happen?"

"After I told him who I was."

"How'd that turn out?" Inuyasha turned and faced him, showing his darkened eye. Miroku laughed hard, almost to the point of tears. "That is great." He said between laughs. After he had calmed down a little bit, he cleared his throat. "So, what did he say?"

"Well, after this warning shot, he asked why I hadn't come clean earlier. I told him about our plans to meet after the concert. I think he understood what I had in mind. We're cool." Miroku chuckled a little. Though he was still highly amused, his tone became serious.

"We have to do something about that eye. For the show at the very least. We probably should conceal it all day, if we can."

"Shit. I didn't think of that." Inuyasha admitted. Suddenly, he became aware of the smirk on Sango's face. "No. No way!"

"I don't see another option." Sango said. Miroku went into another spell of laughter.

"There's no other way?" Inuyasha asked, pleading. Miroku shook his head.

"Afraid not, buddy." He said, rubbing it in. Sango's smirk grew, Miroku laughed hard, and Inuyasha just sulked. Before anything else could be said, there was, yet again, another knock on the door.

"What is this, a convention?" Inuyasha asked, heading to the door.

"It's probably the guys." Miroku said. As if to prove his point, there stood the other two members of the band. They didn't even greet Inuyasha as both of their eyes went to Sango.

"Well, if it isn't the future Mrs. Houshi." Shippo said. Kouga looked over.

"Hey there, Sango. What's up?"

"Get in the room before continuing your greetings." Inuyasha said. They came into the room.

"No need to get gruffy, Dogboy." Kouga said, walking into the room. Shippo followed. Sango decided to answer his question.

"Fine. How're you boys doing?"

"Well, we made it through another tour without killing each other." Sango laughed.

"That's always good news."

"I have a question." Kouga said. "Why have you put up with that guy for so long?" He asked, pointing to Miroku.

"Well, you see he's like a little lost puppy. After a while of his devout following and begging, almost anyone would give in." Of course, everyone appreciated the comparison except Miroku. While they all laughed at his expense, he turned to her. She was waiting for him to do so and winked at him to show she didn't mean it that way. He smiled, showing he already knew that.

"Ha ha, fellas. Cool it. Sango dear, don't you have something better to do that pester me?"

"Nothing near as fun, but I suppose your right. I do have some things that need to get done." She said, standing to her feet. "I'll see you later, boys." Miroku followed her into the hallway briefly, leaving his foot in the door so it wouldn't lock on him. After a moment, he came back in, receiving looks from all the other men in the room. Before they could breath a word, he decided to talk first.

"Let's get to work."

With a sigh, she jumped out of the car and drug herself in through the diner's doors. It was the worst job. The bookstore was better in every way. Better pay, fun work, flexible hours, even easier to park at. As she clocked in, she thought of another aspect that was better. A good friend to talk with instead of an oblivious guy who wouldn't take a hint. Immediately, she went and grabbed an awaiting order. Looking at the ticket to confirm where it went, she put on a smile and delivered it to the awaiting costumer. When she returned, he noticed her.

"Higurashi! I didn't know you had this shift today." She put on the same smile she did for the costumers whenever she was having a bad day.

"Yeah, lucky me, huh?" He laughed, completely oblivious to the sarcasm in her voice.

"You could have gotten the lunch hour." She nodded.

"Looks like I missed the rush."

"Yep. It's extremely slow right now. I haven't gotten an order with the exception the the one in the front in fifteen minutes." Great... a slow shift and I'm stuck with him. She glanced down at her watch. This may be a record. He hasn't asked me out yet. "Hey, I was wondering. Have you heard about that new movie coming out with... Oh, what's his name?"

"Yeah. I know what your talking about." She said. She really did. He had talked about it non-stop for a couple days. So much for his record...

"Oh, well- um- I was just wondering if maybe you'd- um- like to go tonight." He asked, blushing furiously. Kagome forced herself not to roll her eyes. Good God, man. Get a grip. We're not in high school.

"I'm sorry. I already made some plans for tonight." She almost wanted to straight-out lie and say that she was seeing someone. In fact, she wished that she had. She was seeing Inuyasha. That thought made her mind trace back to his last e-mail. She hadn't responded yet, she wasn't sure if she should.

"Um... Kagome?" She snapped back into then.

"Yes?"

"Is there someone else that you're interested in?" She sighed. Actually, there's two...

"Yes, Hojo. I'm so sorry." Seeing his expression, she had to say something else to him. "Don't get me wrong. You're a great guy, but in my eyes, you're just a friend. I hope that we can remain that." He looked at his feet as she spoke, but his head snapped back up as she finished.

"Of course, Higurashi!" He said, grinning like mad. She smiled back. Hojo... you're such a dope.

It took two tries, but she finally got a hold of him. "Hello?"

"Hey. How's it going?" She asked as she heard an argument going on in the background.

"It's coming along, we're debating the set list." He took a moment to holler at them about something. "What's up?"

"I couldn't get a hold of Kagome, so I'll be needing Souta's number."

"Alright. Hang on." She could hear the beeps of him scrolling through his contacts. "Okay, it's 303-0311. Um..." He seemed to walk away from the noise and lowered his voice. "...do you know if Kagome replied to me? I know my e-mail's been lagging lately. She may have turned me down and this will all be over before it begins."

"I'll casually bring it up next time we talk." He sighed.

"Thank you." Sango heard Miroku yell for Inuyasha to get his ass back in there.

"Sure. I guess I better let you go."

"Yeah."

"Oh, tell Miroku that he better not ever say something like that to me." She could almost see Inuyasha's smirk.

"Do I have to put it that way? Can I twist it a little?" She laughed.

"Go ahead."

"Thanks again. I'll talk to you later." He said, hanging up right then. She laughed again while she dialed Souta's number while it was fresh in her head. After the second ring, he picked up.

"City morgue. You stab 'em, we slab 'em." She laughed a little, recalling Kagome's response when she used that on her.

"Lovely, Souta."

"Huh?" He was confused. He didn't think he knew who it was. Usually, he only used that line on numbers he didn't recognize.

"This is Sango." She said, clearing it up for him.

"Oh, hey." He said, still surprised.

"Hey. I was wondering what you were up to. In order to get you into the concert, we're going to have to take you in through the security gates in the back. I have a pass for it and was the only one who wasn't extremely busy with the show."

"Oh. Okay." He said as it began to make sense. "When do I need to be ready by?"

"Depends. Where are you at?"

"I'm at the house."

"I'm about 20 minutes away. Is that enough time?"

"Plenty. I better start getting ready, though."

"Alright. See you in a bit."

"See ya." Sango laughed lightly. That was a little awkward.

Kagome looked at the clock. It was getting close to time to leave. She was getting more and more excited and anxious at the same time. It wasn't every day that things like that happened to you. She grabbed another order and delivered it to an older couple, who were regulars.

"Hello there. Here you are." She said, setting the tray down in front of them. "I hope everything is satisfactory."

"Oh, yes. Thank you, my dear." The older gentleman said.

"You're so kind and always have the sweetest smile on your face." His wife said. Kagome flushed lightly under their compliments.

"Thank you. If there's anything else I can get for you, you just let me know." She said as she slowly backed away. Looking over, she saw a costumer had let a table. She cleaned it up, happily taking the tip and putting it into her pocket. After wiping it down, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Higurashi." She knew that voice and tone. It wasn't looking good. Turning around only confirmed that it was her boss. Oh, great.

"Yes, sir?"

"Are you working at your other job tonight?" She held back her grin. Thank God, no!

"No, sir."

"Good. I need you a little later on. Apparently, there's a big show tonight and things might get a little crazy around here."

"But sir-"

"Don't 'but sir' me. When you first came on here, you asked for as many hours as you could have. I'm trying to run a business here, Ms. Higurashi. I expect a little cooperation from my employees." Kagome opened her mouth. This isn't happening.

"I'll take the hours, sir." Both of the turned to the young man who'd jumped in the conversation.

"You've already been here for seven hours, Mr. Shinta."

"With all due respect, I'm well aware of that." He looked between the two of them.

"Fine. I suggest, Ms. Higurashi, that you take consideration of his example. You may clock out and take your leave." He said. With that, he turned and walked into his small office in the back. Kagome had intended to march in there and tell him what she thought.

"Don't. He's not worth the breath." Hojo said from behind her.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that."

"You have plans. I don't. I'll clock you out, you don't have to stay in this hell-hole any longer." Kagome nodded, opening her mouth to say something else. "Go on now. Have fun." She kissed him on the cheek.

"You're a life-saver, Hojo." She said before taking off as fast as she could before something else happened.

AN: Is the anticipation building up yet? When is he going to tell her?