Chapter 5 is finally up! Woo, I'm back from Europe, well I was back a week ago, but I've been EXHAUSTED. Sooo, I just now got to typing this up. And for those of you who are reading my "Maybe Memories" story, it'll be updated within the next 2 days too. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha & crew or "duck and run" by 3 doors down. Also, the song in the story is "I'm so Sick" by Flyleaf. A really good girl rock band, you guys should check them out!

Duck & Run

Sleepover

The pair left their gym detention, one leaning on the other from exhaustion. Upon reaching Inuyasha's car they both released sighs of relief and heaved themselves in. Inuyasha sat for a moment, collecting himself before he slowly started up the piece-of-crap car that he called his.

They drove in silence for a while, Kagome sore and in more pain than Inuyasha. Finally her voice spoke up quietly "Man that was hard! Horrible! Atrocious! I don't think I'll be able to move for the next few days, let alone do it again on Monday!"

A nod of agreement came from him as he turned on the radio to rock. He looked to her to see her holding her head a bit.

"Keh… Don't like rock? What a wuss." He was a little disappointed if she didn't like it. Music was his life, his everything in this world where he had so little. Though, deep down he truly wanted Kagome to become his everything. As he sat and tried to deter his mind away from the thought, he heard a small sound come from Kagome, which turned out to be a laugh "What's your problem wench?" The agitation seeped from his voice, though he couldn't hold back a little curiosity as well.

"It's just that it's the exact opposite! I love rock and alternative. Music keeps me sane a lot of the time." She wouldn't tell him what kept her sane the rest of the time.

"Good then." With that he turned the radio up even more, letting the speakers blast out the tunes to Seether's Burrito. Kagome's voice won over the music as she sung her heart out to the song.

Try to hide myself, Give this to someone else
My hands are stained with scum, Wish I could wash it away
You keep taking, taking away. And keep breaking, breaking, break
I can't believe in yesterday, I feel you coming in
I can't just stand by and watch you Save yourself as you fall from grace
When you come around, I won't be your sympathy
The worst is over now, You said it anyhow
My life in monochrome, Wish I could regain control
You keep taking, taking away
I keep faking, faking, fake
Find me, feel me fill me, then cut me up again
Find me, feel me fill me, then cut me up
HATE
ME
HATE

She smiled as the song came to an end, panting slightly from exerting herself so much. Music seemed to get everything out of her body that cutting didn't. It took her a while before she turned to Inuyasha and realize he was staring her down.

A swift flush came to her porcelain cheeks as she stuttered out in embarrassment "Wha…What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You…. You're voice…"

"Sorry! Sorry, I know it's horrible, I can't sing for my life… But I just couldn't help myself! I love Seether!" her cheeks continued to heat even more as she turned her face away from his piercing golden eyes.

"No! That's not it at all, Kagome! You never told me you could sing like that, let alone at all! That's it, you're definitely coming with me to band practice!" he was getting excited about this, forgetting his bad-boy attitude.

"You're in a band? And me? Why would you want me to tag along? Won't I only get in the way?"

"No! No, not at all!" the way he was acting finally caught up with his brain and he coughed and gruffly ended the conversation "I just want to see if you can handle singing, or if you just sang that well because of mere luck."

"Pfft, thanks a lot Inuyasha! You know what? I WILL prove to you that I can sing a hell of a lot better than anybody singing for you now. Then you'll be BEGGING me for singing lessons."

Inuyasha laughed, but even as he mocked her he thought to himself 'We'll be begging her to replace that load-of-crap singer we have now.'

Soon they arrived at a small country road and as they drove down it Kagome hung out the window, shouting excitedly as she saw all the horses. Horses was one of her other true passions and she used to have one before her bum father picked up his bad habits.

"Hey! What's your problem wench! Get back in the car!" he yelled as he grabbed the back of her shirt and started to tug her back into the car. Before either of them could react she tumbled into the car and onto his lap. Curses from both of them erupted as he narrowly kept the car on the road.

Seconds passed by to feel like minutes before he pulled the car to the side of the road and parked it, both of them breathing heavily from the rush of adrenaline. Almost immediately Kagome began to giggle quietly which soon turned to full blown hoots of laughter.

Taken aback was an understatement as to what Inuyasha was feeling. He just sat there and watched the girl laugh until she cried, still in his lap where she'd fallen. The most surprising thing about what the girl was doing wasn't that she was laughing, but the laughter that was escaping her throat was genuine.

Even if he didn't quite understand why they were laughing, he joined in the joyous, bubbling feeling and soon both of them were laughing their heads off. Neither of them thought of the awkward predicament they were in, but only focused in the happy feelings neither of them had felt for a while.

They lost themselves for the first time in each other. He couldn't describe the feeling that she was an ivy vine, creeping its way into his heart and over the walls he'd built around it. For the first time in his life he felt something akin to love, if not love… But for the moment he was too afraid to think it was love.

Tension was bubbling between them like an overcooked stew and Kagome sat up completely in his lap, slowing down her laughing to a few chuckles as she wiped the tears from her eyes and opened the door to stumble outside of it. It was beginning to grow dark and she ran up to a barbed wire fence and through it to enter a field.

The crisp, cold autumn air made her feel alive as she twirled around with glee, ignoring Inuyasha's shouts and arguments. The night air and country and her new friend seemed to make her forget all her worries and all her pains.

"Oi, come on Kagome! Come back here!" he growled it out and barreled right into the barbed wire and yelped slightly, even if most of his skin was covered by his thick hoody and jeans. Once he finally figured out how to duck through the fence he advanced towards Kagome who quickly began running and laughing, putting the chase on.

Inuyasha was easily gaining speed on her as they reached the end of the pasture where some woods began. He smirked, knowing she couldn't get through the trees and away from him very easily when he heard her voice spike up into a shrill shriek.

His eyes flashed towards the girl ahead of him and how she slowly slipped and fell down and out of his sight quickly "Damnit! Kagome!" he rushed towards the spot where he'd seen her fall, hoping to everything that was great and good that she hadn't found herself stuck in a chasm.

Luckily, or not so luckily, she was dangling above a small creek by one of her small hands. He quickly grabbed it, knowing that she wasn't out of danger yet because the slight way down was a slope which would mean her hitting every single rock down, or falling straight into the water where it might not be deep enough to softly cradle her fall.

"Inu…. Yasha!" her voice sounded grateful as she panted slightly, a small grim smile across her face "You gotta let go… The earth beneath you is crumbling and I'll end up bringing you down with me!"

"Like hell I'll let you go. Just give me a second, you'll be fine…" he struggled to pull her up, trying his best not to let her know of his demon strength. The more and more he felt the earth beneath him give way, the more he put into his efforts to pull her out without revealing his true nature.

It wasn't as if she was extremely heavy or heavy at all, but he wasn't used to having to safeguard his secret while trying to rescue somebody… Actually, he wasn't used to rescuing anybody. Unfortunately, in the time it took him to figure it all out they were both tumbling down, Inuyasha instantly cursing and forming a cocoon around the girl as they both tumbled down and then off another ledge into the water.

Surprisingly they were both submerged into the depths of the stream. Both of them struggled to the surface, coughing, wheezing, and shivering. They swam to a little bank and Inuyasha helped her up onto it and they both laid down, heaving in strong breaths.

After a while Inuyasha slowly stood up, feeling his bones creek a bit from the fall but knowing they'd heal much faster than the ones Kagome could have had "Alright, we better get back to my place and dry off before we catch cold."

Kagome was still lying silently on the ground, wispy breaths coming from her mouth so he heaved her up and helped her up a less steep side of the bank where they made their way back to the car. They both got into the car and Inuyasha quickly started it up and turned the heater on and kicked it so it would start up as they drove hurriedly the rest of the way to his house.

She shivered in her thin clothes even with the heater on and said with a little laughter in her voice "I guess I should watch my step more carefully, eh?"

All she got from Inuyasha was a gruff "Damn straight!"

Within five minutes they pulled up to an old country house which was slightly falling apart and both of them got out. He pulled her inside to the living room while he started a fire.

As he started the fire he let out a small command "Take off your clothes, wench." But after he heard her squeak quietly he cringed, regretting his words "If you don't, you're going to catch a cold. I'll go and get you some clothes." With that he tossed a blanket at her so she could cover up and headed up the creaky stairs.

A little shocked, Kagome didn't immediately start to strip down. She bit her lip after 5 minutes of convincing herself that it'd be ok and pulled off her clothes tentatively and laid them out to dry before the fire. She was only in her bra and underwear when she heard a gasp and a low growl come from the doorway.

She screamed lightly and grabbed the blanket, cowering away from what she thought was her father from instinct. Strong hands grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly before she opened her eyes to gaze into enraged golden ones.

"All those bruises and wounds aren't from the fight with Kikyo, are they?" he shook her harder this time as he yelled "Are they!"

Upon hearing her whimper he turned away from her and sat down on his couch, grabbing his head in his hands and shaking it before he heard her pipe up "Yes, it's from Kikyo and them! There were a lot of them!"

"And what about those lash marks on your back, huh Kagome? Don't play dumb with me! Whoever did this to you, I'll rip them to shreds!" his anger was slowly growing as he slammed his fist into the couch. He should have noticed how strange she was acting and asked her why sooner and fixed the problem!

"It's nothing." She said dully as she grabbed the oversized t-shirt and boxers he'd grabbed her. After she pulled both on, she grasped the idea that the boxers were too large to even bother with. With that she decided on just wearing the large t-shirt that reached halfway down her thighs and sat beside Inuyasha, who was already dry but still pissed.

A sigh pulled out of her and she scooted until their sides were touching and she rested her head on his shoulder for a second before pulling away again "Don't worry about it…" with that she gave him a overly-bright smile, keeping her hands over both her wrists and trying to cover up her cuts "Ummm… I'm freezing and hungry! Got any solutions, my grumpy buddy?"

He puffed slightly before pulling her up with him and taking her to the kitchen and saying with his old tough tone "Woman, fix me some ramen!" He'd get to the bottom of her problems and then kill whoever was making them for her.

Saluting him before she rummaged through his kitchen and found a pot and some ramen, she began to cook. While she waited for them to cook she leaned over the counter to wait for Inuyasha to return from wherever he'd disappeared to.

"Here. The food ready yet?" he inquired gruffly as he re-entered and startled her by shoving a large red hoodie at her.

"Not quite, give it another five minutes, alright? Oh, and thanks for the hoodie." She slipped it over her head before she leaned across the counter again, this time getting close to his face.

He glared back at her and snapped "What's your problem?"

"Oh, just wondering why you still have your wet beanie on. Why don't you take it off?"

He growled as he smashed his beanie to his head "Because it's my favorite and I don't like to take it off."

"Aaaaalriiiight." She smirked lightly as she returned to the stove and took the ramen off, pouring it into two separate bowls before she added each their seasoning. She handed him his bowl and they both began to eat their ramen quickly.

Her hands shook slightly as she gulped down the broth at the end, not realizing until now how truly hungry she'd been. Had it been 4 days since she'd eaten last? Probably. It wasn't as if she wanted to go anorexic, it was just that her family never had food around, or if they did her father never allowed her the chance to get any.

It was around 9 o'clock when they both finished their dinners and entered the family room and plopped onto the couch as Inuyasha turned on his television and they flipped through the channels dully.

As his attention was diverted she slowly let her hand creep towards his beanie and she got her hand until it was lightly on his head when she felt a strong hand clasp over hers and a growl emerge. Her eyes darted suddenly towards him and saw him give her a toothy grin? No, that wasn't it. He was showing off fangs!

"Don't you dare fucking take my beanie, bitch."

"Oh, ho, ho… You're attached to the thing like a babe is attached to his blankie! Come now, take it off and let me see that you're not covering up your brains and you're missing half your skull!" she had her other hand over his hand, trying to pry it off.

They were now both on their knees on the couch, one glaring and the other holding mirth in her eyes. Soon Inuyasha go frustrated with trying to fight her hands off, however many times he took them off they just came back so he took her and pinned her to the floor, looming over her.

To his surprise she tricked him and switched their position so she was on top and struggling to try and get his hat off. Soon they were but a tangle of limbs, wrestling like two siblings and suddenly the triumphant one let out her victory call.

"HAH! I have won! Now that wasn't so hard was i…" she didn't finish her sentence as she stared down at two cute little dog ears flattened against his head.

While she was still distracted he growled "Give it back!" and grabbed it from her, shoving it harshly over his head and said moodily "Ok, you happy now? You found out what a monster I am. Happy with yourself Kagome?"

And even as he continued to worry and fret about her hating him and being angry at her at the same time she took off his beanie again and grabbed a hold of his ears, tugging on them lightly. This pissed him off even more, thinking she was mocking him like all the others before he heard her giggle and saw her smile.

"I LOVE them Inuyasha! They're ADORABLE!"

"I know you must ha--- Wait… What'd you say!"

"Your ears, I love them! They're cute and they look good on you! Why didn't you show me before?"

"Be…Because I thought you'd hate me for them! Now stop tugging on them like they're going to come off! Cuz they won't!" even if he was acting angry, he still couldn't hold back the happy tone in his voice. Kagome was accepting the part of him rarely anybody accepted!

"Okey doke! Now let's watch TV! You don't have to wear that stupid beanie anymore and get an ear infection!" and after a slight argument from him he allowed her to pull him to the couch where they sat down, side by side. He was the one to scoot a little closer to her this time.

"I get to chose what we watch." Is all he said as he flipped through the channels and finally settled on 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.

Both of them were so wrapped up in the movie that neither of them really noticed their closeness. Occasionally Inuyasha would feel a fire in his belly and a very strong need, but he'd brush it aside, and ignored the animalistic instincts he knew nothing about.

Towards the end of the movie he noticed Kagome nodding off to sleep, her head bobbing constantly up and down. The movement aggravated him so he just took the side of her head opposite of him with his hand and pulled her head towards him and not so gently laid it against his shoulder.

The movement of her head or the force of how it hit his shoulder didn't seem to bother her. He'd hoped a little that she'd wake up, but most of him hoped that she wouldn't and that he'd be 'forced' to sleep here on the couch next to her.

A sigh emitted from him as he grabbed a blanket and threw it over both of them, blushing a little as Kagome cuddled even closer to him in her sleep. At the moment, he felt as if he could die happy as he fell asleep with the girl he was quickly falling for cuddled up safely next to him.

WELL! There it is. I hope I'm getting better at lengthening my chapters, because I know they're pretty short. Please keep reading, and give me feedback on what you want to have happen in the story!

Umm… 8 reviews por favor?

Edgar Allan Poe Lover: Thank you! I'm glad you like it!

Pay Backs a Bitch: Yah, it was overplayed, but I still can't help liking it

Marufan: Hey, sorry for the later update, I just haven't been in contact with a computer in about a month since my trip.

Tinkies: Thankyuuuu soooo much! Makes me happy that you like it. OH, yah, and Lacuna Coil is good, I think I've heard them before.

Crimson2006: Hope you didn't give up on me! I put up a notice that I wasn't going to update very soon… Oh yes, and I'm desperately trying to lengthen my chapters for everyone!

Shadow my soul, yes, Kagome kicks ass.

Inuyasha1818: Thankyu! I thought Kikyo needed to get taught a lesson…

To this world I'm unimportant Just because I have nothing to give. So you call this your free country, Tell me why it cost so much to live, Tell me why. This world can turn me down But I won't turn away, oh no I won't turn around. All my work and endless measures. Never seem to get me very far, Walk a mile just to move an inch Now even though I'm trying so damn hard I'm trying so hard. This world can turn me down but I Won't turn away, And I won't duck and run, cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone there is Nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down, No cause I'm already here, oh no! I am already here, Down on my knees, I am already here, on no, I am Already here. I must have told you a thousand times, I am not running away. I won't duck and run I won't duck and run I won't duck and run No pass away. This world can turn me down but I Won't turn away And I won't duck and run, cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone There is nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down No cause I'm already here. This world can turn me down. But I won't turn away, And I won't duck away Cause I'm not built that way. When everything is gone there Is nothing there to fear. This world cannot bring me down, No cause I'm already here.