Disclaimers: I do not own Inuyasha

A/N Sorry for the long awaited update. It's here now!!! So I hope you guys enjoy it! And thank you for all your wonderful reviews!

Awakened Dead

Chapter 5. November 4th

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'Alright Kagome, it's okay, you can do this.' She focused on the task at hand, subconsciously chewing her lip while her pencil glided over the page on the desk. 'I know this stuff, I know it.' She mentally cooed, her face brightening considerably. 'Yeah, look at this! This is so easy, I might actually ace this test!!'

"Oi wench, snap out of it."

Was that Inuyasha's voice or was she imagining things?

"You stupid girl, if you don't wake up and write somethin, you're gunna fail this test thing."

Yes, that was definitely him. But what was he talking about? Clearly she was awa—Oh no. Now she was staring at his scowling face. He was there in her class and she was… Looking down at her page she realised she had been daydreaming. She didn't know anything on this test because she hadn't prepared herself for it. No, instead she had gone and spent her night burning some witches corpse and nearly getting killed by her ghost.

Now she was paying for it through her grades. Her mother will definitely have a fit when she finds out about this.

"You know, I could always be the nice poltergeist and look over some kids shoulder to see his answers," Inuyasha tempted, having already tilted over to peek at her neighbour's answers.

Kagome had shot him some fierce glares, which in someone else's perspective would seem strange since she looked to be glaring at nothing but air. Since Inuyasha could only be seen by her at the moment, she knew that everything she did with him would make her look like she was a psychotic, teenage girl. 'I can't cheat! I won't! It's not—'

"This guy got the answer by writing this weird thing down first. X equals—"

'…I am so going to hell for this…' Kagome thought guiltily, writing down Inuyasha's precise instructions. She was just beginning to understand everything when the teacher had stopped them to take back the test. It was the end of class now and Kagome's chest felt even heavier after copying down those answers. Sighing, she stood up and gathered her things.

"You think you failed too?"

Kagome glanced lazily at Sango, her face clearly showing displeasure at the mention of the test, "No doubt."

Inuyasha snorted, "Yeah right, you got most of those answers down, didn't ya? You probably passed, idiot." He shoved his hands in either of his sleeves and eyed Sango, "Who's this girl anyways? Why is she always around you?"

Obviously she didn't answer him, "Come on Sango-chan, let's hurry before we're late for next period."

Sango nodded, "Don't worry so much, if we fail, at least we fail together." She tried to smile.

Kagome grunted in response and they had walked out of class together towards their lockers. The halls were filled with hordes of students, each rushing to get to their class. She could hear Inuyasha dully complaining about the constant bodies of students passing through him until he had skilfully manoeuvred himself behind Kagome. She had rolled her eyes at his antics and hid a small smile upon hearing his low curses towards the student body.

She shivered lightly, the close proximity of his spirit to her back causing her neck to tingle pleasantly. She swore she even felt his breath on her neck for a moment, but brushed it off as her imagination. 'Cool it Kagome.. You do not have any form of feelings for him. Nope, he's a ghost. Sure he's undeniably handsome and rugged… and sexy..' She shook her head, 'But there would be huge relationship issues with going out with a ghost! It just wouldn't work out between the two of us!'

"Uh Kagome-chan?" Sango's voice had snapped her out of her thoughts, causing her to blush.

"Hn?" Her blue eyes blinked up at her friend nervously. Apparently she had been standing still for the past oh… two minutes? That's right, just standing in the centre of the hall, in her own little world.

"What's with that look on your face?" Sango asked suddenly once they arrived at her locker, "You only get that look when you're daydreaming about a guy." She teased.

Kagome squeaked, despising Sango's magical abilities to read her so easily. To make things even worse, Inuyasha had begun to growl behind her. If anything, it had to do with Sango's mention of the opposite sex.

"The hell is she talking about? What guy?" Inuyasha seethed, withdrawing his hands from his sleeves to crack his knuckles.

"W-well—" Kagome nervously glanced between the two of them, watching as Inuyasha shifted so that he was towering over her. She bit her lip and smiled nervously at Inuyasha, shaking her head to get him to back off silently.

"Tell me," He growled.

His eyes had never left hers, and if she didn't know any better she'd say that the look on his face was jealousy.

"Kagome-chan?"

That was Sango's voice, calling to her.

She had turned her eyes away from his to look at Sango timidly, "A-ah, time to go."

Just when she thought that things couldn't get any worse, Miroku had shown up out of nowhere to greet and grope Sango before class. As usual he had been slapped for his wandering hands and then preceded to go with them to their next period. However instead of Miroku solely placing his focus on Sango today, he had been shooting Kagome looks. From what she could tell, they weren't anything like the looks he'd give Sango. These were different, almost worrisome in some way. She even could have sworn she saw him stare at Inuyasha.

'No way, only people with spiritual powers and stuff can see him, right?' Kagome thought, looking over her shoulder to peek at Inuyasha. She noticed that he kept his eyes glued to the back of Miroku's head, soft growls rumbling in his throat. 'Something strange is going on.. I better try to do something.' An idea had come to mind, then she began her performance, "Oooh, aaaoow…" Kagome groaned, clutching her stomach weakly. She had stopped walking and crouched a bit in false pain, whimpering a little before righting her posture.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango was at her friend's side, holding her shoulder and asking her what was wrong in that instant. "Do you want me to bring you to the nurses office?"

Kagome shook her head, "N-no it's okay.. It's just my stomach.. You know cramps and all.."

Miroku coughed, pretending to ignore what Kagome had just said. Men. They just can't handle knowing that a woman has her period. The perfect plan.

Meanwhile, the hanyou ghost had no idea of the hints Kagome had made about the "issue" she was having, so instead of ignoring her like Miroku, he was all over her. It was difficult to tune in to both Inuyasha and Sango but she had managed to. By the time she had waved Sango off, the bell had rung for the classes to start and she had ushered them away, telling them that she was just going to head home sick.

"Oi! Woman, what the hell is wrong with you? Are you okay?"

Kagome's eye twitched slightly, her annoyance for the overbearing ghost beginning to show. "Inuyasha," She hissed when she was sure there was no one in the vicinity. "We are leaving now!"

He gaped at her when she had marched passed him, then narrowed his eyes in anger, "Wait, you faked a stomach pain?!" He practically barked, pointing an accusing finger at her, "Hey, don't walk away from me wench!"

She had stop suddenly, turning her figure ever so slowly to give Inuyasha a hard look. Her usual warm blue eyes were as cold as crystal and bore holes into Inuyasha, causing him to freeze up in fright. "Let's go." Just as she turned to leave, she had bumped into someone. She had heard soft mumbles of an apology and had turned to look at the boy. She had just barely been able to catch of glimpse of him, a handsome older student with dark eyes filled with sadness. 'What's up with him? Why did he look so depressed?' She shook her head and made her way to her locker.

She had gotten what she needed and had left the school grounds swiftly, unaware of the eyes that watched her walk away until she was out of sight.

-X-

Sighing loudly she had spared a glance at her nervous hanyou ghost who was currently sitting on the floor with his back against her bed. She had rolled her eyes and shifted her body so that she had her head buried in her pillow. She had no choice but to stay in her room, in bed, feigning a lousy stomachache since her mother was home as well as gramps.

"This is your fault you know," Kagome mumbled against her pillow.

One of his ears twitched towards her, "Why the hell is it my fault?"

"Because if it weren't for your stupidity at school concerning Miroku, I would be enjoying history right now," Kagome replied.

He waited a moment before speaking again, "You mean that monk? Feh, he's the one who started it… Trying to plaster one of his stupid sutras on me… Damn fucker can burn in hell…"

Kagome turned herself around and sat up in her bed, "He what? What did you call him?"

Inuyasha looked up at her with an are-you-a-baka look, "That guy who's the biggest pervert alive? You, a woman who lives in a shrine, who has spiritual powers, did not sense that the hentai was a monk?" He questioned slowly, as if to be sure he understood her properly. The blank look that crossed her face was enough to convince him, "Gods you have got to be the most hopeless priestess I know." He mumbled under his breath.

That hadn't escaped Kagome's ears one bit, so she glared at him, hard, "Hey, what did you just say..?! You—Wait, did you say that Miroku tried to put a sutra on you? How did I not see this happen?"

Inuyasha snorted, "Probably because you weren't paying any attention, as usual. He's way too sneaky to trust, and he nearly caught me too... If it weren't for my demon heritage I wouldn't have felt the powers coming at me before it was too late." He looked up at her, "He knows of me, and probably of all the spiritual beings out there."

"So all that growling you were doing… Was because you didn't like him?"

He stood up and got into her face, "It was my sign to you to show that I didn't trust him! That male nearly purified my spiritual ass wench! I don't trust him one bit, so I don't want you to get near him, got that?"

Aware of how close they were, she fought back the burning blush, "Now you listen Inuyasha, I can be with whomever I want whenever I want! I don't take orders from anyone! Miroku-san and Sango-chan are my friends and I can be with them if I want!"

Taken back slightly by her outburst he had come to notice how her eyes glittered with determination and how much they reminded him of someone else. "All I do is to protect you, you silly girl. Don't you get that?" In that moment he had brushed one of his clawed hands against her cheek. Surprised that he was actually touching her, he had withdrawn his hand quickly and stared at it. Still glowing, however more solid than transparent. Looking up at Kagome, his heart had leapt in his chest at the shocked look that was still plastered on her face. 'Shit,' He had mentally cursed, choosing that moment to shimmer out of her room and away from her.

Kagome, still stunned, had placed a hand against her cheek in disbelief, still feeling the tingles that were left form Inuyasha's soft touch. Had that actually happened? Had they actually touched? Her insides were just twisting in joy and a lone mischievous thought had come to mind, 'If that happened, then maybe I can kiss him… Oh oh! Bad! Bad thoughts!' Kagome mentally slapped herself for even thinking it. Groaning about this new predicament, she had collapsed back onto her bed and stared up at her ceiling.

Tsubaki had been able to touch her, and grab her heart, so she supposed it was natural that Inuyasha was able to touch her as well. Except that he couldn't before now, so how is it that he did it? 'Maybe he's just grasping his powers as a poltergeist right now. He can cause things to shake and explode… So his powers must be developing in a way.'

Her thoughts had trailed back to when they had first met after she had unsealed the sword. He had scared the hell out of her and had tried to kill her. If it weren't for the fact that he was still so new at being all spiritual and stuff, he probably would have succeeded in killing her. 'But he didn't… And even though he can touch me now… He won't. I know he won't. He said so himself, he just wants to protect me.'

Even so…

She had removed herself from her bed and lifted her mattress slightly, removing an old book from under it. It was the same book she had gotten from the antique shop for free, the one with the broken lock. 'Maybe there's something in here about poltergeists…' She thought, sitting comfortably back in her bed before opening the cover of the book. Leafing through the first few pages she had come to the first chapter.

Priestess's and Their Powers to Tame

She had skimmed through most of the chapter until she reached the end. The whole thing had talked about ancient lines of miko's and monks and their abilities to purify and tame demons and spirits. The last page of the chapter spoke of a necklace made to subdue a troublesome ghost. To her, it sounded more like training a ghost than subduing it.

"… The beads of subjugation can be conjured only by one with powerful abilities and can be set in motion with a single word. A command." Kagome mumbled, "To use said beads, simply chant the incantation and they will be sent to the one of your thoughts." She finished with a snort. 'As if something a ludicrous as this could actually work.' She thought, looking over the words briefly. Despite her disbelief in the 'chant' she had decided to commit it to memory before closing up the book.

This whole supernatural business was beginning to give her a headache, so she had put the book back under her mattress before deciding to take a nap. Yes, a nice nap would make her feel better after all of this. Cuddling into her bed she had placed the alarm on her clock and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

-X-

Inuyasha had soundlessly shimmered back into Kagome's room a few hours later, surprised to see her actually sleeping as opposed to doing schoolwork or something productive. Walking up to her bed he had gently sat down on her mattress, his weight not affecting it one bit due to the fact that he was dead. Staring down at her cheek, he felt his own fingers burn in remembrance of the warmth her cheek had provided against him. He hadn't touched anyone in five hundred years…

It had felt so nice…

Well of course it had been a huge shock to his system before he realized how good it had felt. He even craved to touch her again, but tried his best to crush the feeling. He didn't want to frighten her, and he didn't want to do anything he'd regret. 'She looks so peaceful. Too bad she's the biggest bitch I know,' The end of his mouth twitched into a smirk. Watching her again he was reminded of the woman he had come to love before he met Kagome.

"…Kikyo.." He had whispered gently, extending his hand to her and praying that he could touch her like he had earlier. Swallowing soundlessly, he had softly brushed his claws through the girl's inky black locks, brushing stray strands away from her face. He had been right in thinking that her hair looked as soft as it felt. 'You aren't her… I think though that you're someone… that I…'

Before he could stop himself, his face began to lower. His silver main draped across his shoulders, blocking out the rest of the world as he dipped his head down to plant a soft kiss on the girl's temple. He had mentally congratulated himself for restraining himself from kissing her on her lips like his inner instincts roared for him to do. Like he thought before, the last thing he needed was for her to wake up and to freak out at him. She couldn't possibly understand the strain his body was constantly taking in order to prevent himself from just jumping her. Ever since he could touch her, his demon instincts have been howling at him.

Even now…

His demonic jagged stripes were forming along his cheeks. He knew they were, he could feel them burn as they placed themselves.

Drrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnng

A sudden, annoyingly loud ring had come out of nowhere.

Shooting his head up quickly he had turned to the object sitting on Kagome's night table and snarled.

That damned alarm clock…

It was really starting to piss him off…

He didn't even try to stop himself from tossing the damn thing out of the window with his supernatural abilities. The clock had even gone further due to the increase in his youki. Twitching one of his ears, he had caught the soft moans of the woman beneath him. Standing, he had stepped away from her and waited, despite the constant howls in his mind to stay near her.

"Shit..." Inuyasha clutched his head, aware that his eyes were shifting colours.

"Mmm… Inuyasha?" Kagome mumbled, stretching partly in her bed before sitting up sleepily. Opening her eyes, she had rubbed the sleep out of them and turned to her night table. Anger had begun to over take her senses in that instant, so when she had turned to give him yet again a piece of her mind she had been shocked into keeping her mouth shut. "Inuyasha?!"

Grunting in acknowledgement was all that she had received from him.

His eyes, his face… "What's wrong? Why are you like that? I-I don't understand—" She had squeaked when he had moved to sit next to her in a blink of an eye. It had been so fast, she hadn't even seen him move, he had just appeared sitting next to her with that frightening face, those large fangs… "Inu-Inuyasha?" She had voiced, carefully extending her hand to touch his face.

"…Don't.."

His voice had come out so deep, like a growl of desperation.

Kagome hesitated, pulling her hand back for one moment to look at him. "You're having a hard time aren't you? I might be able to help—"

"…Stay back…" He tried to shift away from her.

"You idiot, would you stop being so stubborn?! I can help."

"K-Kagome…"

That had been the first time he had ever said her name. That had been convincing enough for her to recite the spell she had read earlier.

"I release the binds from this book to protect another heart from itself. Accept this blessing and allow it to heal your broken soul so mote this be it is my will. So mote it be." Kagome had recited from her mind, the space between her mattress and her box spring beginning to glow unexplicably bright.

Inuyasha had backed off her bed quickly to look at her in a strange fear. His senses were becoming overwhelmed by scents of purity and magic, the powerful light almost blinding his demonic eyes. He was obligated to close them at one point just as small dots of light were shooting out from Kagome's bed and heading towards him.

In moments the light had died down, and Kagome had opened her eyes to look at Inuyasha. His eyes had opened too, however he still carried the same demonic features as before and—wait, he was wearing a necklace. 'That's the necklace I saw in the book. It looks just like the picture!'

Inuyasha had stared down at his chest, looking over the beads in question, "What is this? … What are these?!"

Kagome cringed, "I uh.. Well…" 'Think of a command Kagome! Anything!' "Y-you see… I…" She stumbled over her words, trying to form a reasonable explanation for him, but could think of nothing. It progressively got worse when he began to move towards her with a strange glint in his eyes. She really didn't like the look and sought out to look at something different, friendlier even.

Like those adorable dog ears--

"Osuwari!" The word had just blurted out from her lips so suddenly. All she had wanted him to do was stay back, stop even. But no… Instead she had sent the poor guy plummeting to the floor. "Oh no…" She had covered her mouth with her hands and scrambled out of bed, "Inu-Inuyashaaaa!" She had of course tripped over her sheets and fallen next to him, struggling to sit up as he did. "Are-Are you okay?!"

Lifting his face rather difficultly from the floor, he had glared at her hard with his golden orbs, "What the hell did you do that for!? What the fuck are these things around my neck?!" He barked, sitting up and struggling to pull the beads away from his neck. They only glowed in protest against him, not budging from their position.

"Ah… Before I tell you what I did, mind telling me what you were doing?!" Kagome had growled, changing the subject quickly. "And why you were like that!? Honestly, you should be thanking me for helping you!"

He stopped his struggles and looked at her, "I ain't saying anything to you until you tell me what these are and how in gods name you learned to do this!"

"Well I guess you'll never know then since you aren't telling me anything either!" Kagome challenged.

"What?! You are going to tell me woman! I have a right to know what you did to me!"

"Oh yeah?! Well I also have a right to be pissed at you for yet again destroying my alarm clock! Do you now how much those things cost?! You are so insufferable sometimes!"

"Yeah well being around you aint a walk in the park! I have to take out my frustration somehow!"

"Is that so?!"

"Damn well it is!"

"Sit boy!"

"Aaaaaack!"

'You blockhead, why are you so difficult?' Kagome thought, shaking her head at his behaviour. Standing up she had decided that a hot bath was well deserved right now. So she had left for the washroom with a towel and pyjamas in hand, not looking back.

Kagome had sunk into the tub sometime later and felt her senses tingle when the thought of Inuyasha rose. Frowning she had submerged herself deeper into the water, lifting a hand to then touch the temple that he had earlier kissed without her knowledge. 'He's hiding something from me, I can feel it… Like before when I swore I felt him lying about something… It's like we're connected in some weird way…'

'This is getting weird.'

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A/N I hope this was a good chapter for you guys! Not much spooky in this chapter, but there will be in the next one! This one was teetering more on the romantic comedy side with a hint of supernatural. But next chapter will defs be filled with mystery and probs have more Miroku-san and hints of Bankotsu-kun. Well R&R!!