Well, I last posted before New Years' and this is what I get!? One review!? What the hell? Do you guys hate me again? Am I making this too boring? Jesus, shoot me! I'm gonna cry if I don't get some feedback! Wah! I'm such a whiner, please overlook me, hehee.

Deds:

Mystical Hanyou - Feel proud, you're the only person to review! Sniffle, and what a review it was! I could really feel your hate, makes me proud to know that I've made her despicable enought to make you want to whack her... Oh, how twisted my little mind is! This chapter's all for you, my loyal pet! Oh, and Kagura'll be ok, just an ugly bolted cast to remeber the incident by... (makes weird face).

Sweet Temptation

Kagura stumbled down the stairs, her wrist mashed to a bloody pulp. Holding it tightly with her other hand, the shock having worn off at the sight of her own blood pumping at a furious rate out of her broken skin, not to mention the severe pain which was now fading into numbness, she pushed open the door and walked down the street. She wandered until she found herself on Kikyou's front porch, and pushed the bell with a bloody finger.

Kagome opened the door, and her face went white when she saw Kagura's hand.

"Oh my god! Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru came running, a wooden spoon in his hand, Ayame and Sango on his heels.

Rin looked up from her homework at the kitchen table as her sisters and Sesshoumaru brought a shaking Kagura into the kitchen, her hand a bloody mess. Kagome touched her wrist, and she let out a pitiful whimper, and Kagome nodded at Sesshoumaru. "It's broken."

He looked at it from every angle he could and replied, "Broken? It's shattered!"

Kagura sobbed then, She had feared that that would be the case. Would they have to amputate her hand? Was it salvageable at all? "Come on, we have to get her to the Emergency room," Kagome said, and Sesshoumaru turned to Sango. "Get Kikyou. She'll want to go, too." Sango nodded, and, running from the room, rounded a corner and skidded to a halt in front of her sister's door.

When she didn't answer Sango's pounding, Sango burst in and found her laying on her bed, her face soaked and her music blaring in her ears. Shaking her, Kikyou jumped out of her skin and screamed, "What?" Sango yanked out her earphones and replied, "Kagura's wrist has been shattered, but she's still in shock and can't tell us what happened. We're taking her to the hospital. Come on!"

S.T.

Inuyasha came home and closed the door behind him, just as Sesshoumaru opened Kagome's front door and loaded all his women into his Mustang and rushed Kagura to the hospital.

He kicked off his high-tops and dejectedly climbed the stairs to his room.

He just wanted to die.

Flopping onto his bed, he felt the tell-tale sensation of tears stinging his eyes again and threw an arm over his face as someone walked by, then stopped and came into his room. "Inuyasha?" It was Miroku.

"What?"

Miroku knew that tone of voice. It was rare, but he'd heard it a few times before. His brother was hurting. "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha rolled over and hated himself for crying; men weren't supposed to let their emotions get the better of them. "Nothing. Fuck off." He sniffled, and curled into a ball.

Miroku sighed. You are such an ass sometimes, Inuyasha. "Well, I'm here, when you want to talk about it." Getting up, he left.

Inuyasha began to shake. Get a hold of yourself, you pussy! Act like a man! But he couldn't. Closing his eyes, he forgot about everything except what Kikyou would do when she found out, and he tossed and turned all night, her sad face haunting his dreams.

S.T.

Kanna modelled another outfit in the mirror. She felt no remorse for what she'd done to Kagura. Bitch, you deserved it.

Kaede came home from visiting her sister, but went straight to bed. Kanna wasn't about to tell her what had happened, but she felt relief when Kaede failed to notice the tiny droplets of blood that dotted the floor from her room to the front door, and that Kagura's room was dark.

She hummed to herself dreamily as she picked through her extensive collection of dresses and skirts. Being rich had its upsides; one being that she didn't have to go shopping. She had more than enough to choose from. Her only problem was decided which outfit flattered her shape the most.

She wondered absently where Kagura had gone. Probably to Kikyou's. Only they would give a shit about what happened to her… but not for long, not if Kanna had her way. And she was rarely denied her way.

S.T.

Kikyou looked at the X-Ray. It showed the outline of Kagura's hand, but the bones inside were a blur. She held Kagura's good hand tightly.

The doctors had asked her what she'd done to her hand, but she'd lied, and told them she'd smashed it in a car door. Kikyou knew she was hiding something, though.

The doctors left the room to consult with a bone doctor, and Kagura hugged her injured arm, her pulpy hand shaking. They had wrapped a bandage around it for now; they had wanted to X-Ray it before making a cast, if that was the case, but it looked like it would be more complicated than just a cast. But, seeing that X-Ray… Kikyou was worried. Could you fix a shattered hand?

Kagura was sweating something awful and her breathing was laboured. She was beginning to hyperventilate. "Kagura, calm down," Kikyou soothed, rubbing her back gently.

Soon, Kagura's breaths slowed to normal.

"Tell me," Kikyou said in a low voice, and Kagura looked at her, fear dancing in her deep brown eyes, and she sighed resolutely. "There's nothing to tell. What I said was true."

Kikyou frowned, frustrated. Why wouldn't Kagura talk to her? But she didn't push any further.

One of the doctors came back then, and sighed. "We're going to try and set your hand, Kagura, but we have to operate and remove the shards of bone that penetrated your skin. We're keeping you overnight. Do you have a parent or anyone you can call?"

She nodded, and the doctor smiled apologetically, but Kikyou could take a hint. Waving goodbye, she left the room.

Meeting her family in the waiting room, she told them what the doctor had said, but nothing more. The ride home was stone silent, and uncomfortable, but Kikyou was unaware of it. She was too lost in her own misery to care.

S.T.

Kanna looked up when the doorbell rang. Sticking her head out of her room, she saw Kaede's light come on and called, "It's alright, Kaede, I'll get it!"

Running down the stairs, she flung the door open, expecting to see some type of authority figure, but instead of a hot cop at her door, only a hot guy stood on the porch, his hand in his pocket and a lop-sided grin on his face. He had long, purple hair.

Juuromaru?

"Hi, is Kagura home?"

Kanna smiled. "Are you Juuromaru?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I came to ask Kagura to be my date for the dance tomorrow night."

Kanna's mind shifted into overdrive. She laughed self-deprecatingly.
"I'm sorry, Juuromaru, but Kagura's out just now. I really don't feel comfortable answering for her in her absence. Would you like to come in and wait for her?"

He hesitated. Was this girl a relative? If she was Kagura's sister, they looked nothing alike. She was pretty hot, though…

He pulled his hand out of his pocket to run it through his thick hair, and replied, "Sure, why not? Will she be home soon?"

Kanna grinned girlishly. "I really don't know, but if she's not here in an hour, I'll call her cell."

"Thanks"

Kanna shut the door after him, and led him into the living room, leaving him there while she went to the kitchen for drinks for the two of them.

Jesus, she thought, feeling anxious for the first time in a long while, I've been so busy plotting against Kikyou that I haven't even begun to think up a plan for Kagura's man!

She racked her mind for something to talk to him about. When she handed him his Long Island Iced Tea, and sat across from him with a coke for herself, she decided that maybe she'd let him do all the talking, and then take the conversation from there.

But Juuromaru didn't say much, just complimanted the house and sipped his Iced Tea, glancing at his watch every few minutes or so.

Kanna began to grow impatient. Taking matters into her own hands, she got up and sat down next to him. He smiled pleasantly at her, but his mind was working overtime.

She leaned in, whispering, "She really does like you, you know…", and he began to lean into her, when his heart skipped a beat and a big red flag went up.

Coughing, he stood and said, "I just remembered that I left my car running," and he ran from the house. Kanna eyed his unfinished drink and then without hesitation threw it back, licking her lips. She locked the door behind him and watched as he sped away, his tires spinning and a cloud of smoke hanging lazily in his wake.

Scared you, didn't I?

Smiling, she went to her room, closed the door, and flopped onto her bed, asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. She dreamed that all her sister's friends obeyed her every whim, and she had a pink ball in her hand that ensured her commands, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get a good look at that ball, or figure out where she could get it, or one like it..

She settled on being content with the jealous looks on all the girls' faces as their guys hovered around her, ready and willing to do anything she asked.

S.T.

Kikyou rolled over and opened her eyes. She squeezed them shut against the sunlight that poured into her room, and wished it were raining. Rain would suit her mood: miserable.

Kagome opened her door. "Kikyou, come on, time for school."

Kikyou sniffled, against her will. "I don't feel well."

Kagome smiled sadly at her little sister. She was hurting again.

Sango had filled her in last night when they'd gotten home, after Kikyou had gone to bed. She had shaken her head in disappointment. Later, in bed, she asked Sesshoumaru what he thought.

"Well, I've never known Inuyasha to stand anyone up on purpose. He probably has a good excuse."

But Kagome wasn't so sure. She began to feel anxious again, the way she had when Naraku had been after the Jewel. She placed her hand over her heart, and felt the Jewel within it pulse once, sending a vibration through her bones, but it warmed her hand all the same.

She put her other hand to her belly. What if someone else came after the Jewel? She wanted more than anything to be wrong, and hoped her feelings of premonition would fade. But her fear held on; something was going to happen, she didn't know what, but the feeling that it had something to do with her and the Sacred Jewel refused to leave her.

Taking pity on Kikyou, Kagome asked, "Would you like to stay home with me today?"

Kikyou nodded, and tears spilled over her nose and into her other eye at her sister's intuitive offer. Kagome, herself, felt that today would be a good opportunity to discuss with Kikyou her own feelings.

Kikyou rolled over and smiled at her, and Kagome sat on the edge of her bed, pushing her messy bangs back and saying, "It'll be girls' day in, just you and me."

Kikyou nodded again, and Kagome stood, leaving her to sleep some more.

Sango hefted her bag and asked Kagome, "Where's Kikki?"

"She's a bit under the weather, today. I'm letting her stay home."

Sango nodded; she understood her sister's reasons.

Ayame coughed. "I think I'm sick Kag-"

Kagome pointed at the door. "Get!"

S.T.

Inuyasha grudgingly pulled off his boxers and flopped back on his bed. He dreaded school today, and having to tell Kikyou that he was taking Kanna to the dance. He didn't know which would be worse; telling Kikyou he cheated or cancelling their date.

He despised the feeling of wretchedness in his blood. It overflowed his brain made him entertain thoughts of killing himself. Was he that desperate to keep his infidelity from her?

He knew she'd be angry as it was, standing her up like that. His mind kept trying to remind him that it was her name he'd been calling in his ecstasy, but his heart couldn't forget the nasty girl he'd actually been with. He hated her, wanted to throttle the life from her… but he couldn't do that, either.

He dragged himself to the bathroom and avoided Miroku's meaningful look as he passed him in the hall. He still didn't want to tell anyone about his horrible mistake.

Turning on the water, he waited until it was steaming before stepping under and letting the heat numb away his nerve endings, until he could not even feel the pressure of the water pounding against his face.

Scrubbing his body, he washed his long hair next and then got out, eyeing his reflection in the mirror.

I may as well have cheater tattooed across my forehead, he thought, despairing the guilty look on his face.

His Father's razor sat on the side of the sink, and he looked at it for a long time, thinking about the blood trickling from his slashed wrists and how his family would not discover him until he was long gone…

He shook his head. As easy as suicide seemed, he could not bring himself to take the easy way out. He owed Kikyou that much. As much as he was suffering now, he knew she would suffer more if he were to do something like that, and her suffering was the last thing he wanted.

Staring hard at his reflection, he vowed that he would tell Kikyou the truth. How, or when, he hadn't yet decided, but that wasn't important yet. As long as it was her he took to the dance and not that manipulative bitch Kanna, he would be happy. All he had to do was confess to Kikyou before Kanna could tell her, and turn her against him, and he had to tell her soon.

Smiling for the first time since it had happened, he felt a lot better.

He had a plan.

S.T.

Kagura walked home slowly, the early morning sun warming her back and taking the chill off the morning air, the night's fog clearing around her as she stood before her house, large and forbidding.

Her sister was in there.

Kagura felt unrepentant rage well up within her. Her sister would pay for her misdeeds, would pay with every fibre of her being, Kagura would see to it.

Opening the door, she was disappointed to see Kaede's keys gone. She had hoped to show her her plaster-casted hand, shot through with steel bolts to help her hand heal normally. It was painful as hell, but the Nurse had given her a prescription for an extra-strength painkiller before she discharged her. She wondered if they would make her drowsy.

Climbing the stairs silently, she saw her own dried blood dotting the carpet here and there, smeared by a foot in some places, dried to a crust and untouched in others.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, noting that Kanna's door was also closed, and the light snoring that came from there, she opened her book bag and carefully put all her things inside. She wondered briefly how she would take notes, since it was her right hand that was broken, but she supposed if she explained her teachers would photocopy them for her. Or at least she hoped they would.

Sneaking back out, the only difference in her appearance being her bag and a different shirt, she left the house and headed for Kikyou's.

They had a lot to discuss.

S.T.

Kanna stretched luxuriously as she glanced at her bed-side alarm clock.

Eight.

She stretched again and pulled herself out of bed, heading for the shower.

Kagura's door was still closed when she passed it, not at all concerned about when her sister would come home.

She turned up the radio loud as she hopped under the warm spray in the spacious, marble-tiled shower. The floor of the bathroom was warm underfoot, and her dry towels were heating in the towel compartment next to the sink, which gleamed from overhead lamps and gold taps mounted on a fine porcelain sink, a large vanity mirror hanging on the wall above it.

She wondered what the day would hold for her. Tonight was the dance, and she knew what to expect, but what would happen before then… she couldn't say, but she didn't really care, either. The pink ball in her dream had not left her mind, and she continued to think about it as she blow-dried her hair and dressed in a flattering pair of Kagura's chicest blue high-tops, a baby-blue tee that read Sexy across the front, and a white pair of jeans, ripped off at the calf.

Throwing her books over her shoulder in a white bag, she left the house, locking the large front doors behind her.

She watched dispassionately as Sesshoumaru drove by, though he only smiled at her this time.

She ignored him.

The wind picked up as she walked, and storm clouds began to gather on the horizon. The sun still warmed her back, but she was hoping it didn't rain; she'd forgotten to bring an umbrella.

Oh well, she thought carelessly, I'll just get Inuyasha to drive me home.

She got to school without running into anyone she knew. This fact didn't please her, nor did it worry her. She'd enjoyed the quiet.

She listened to announcements half-heartedly in her homeroom, too busy planning what she was going to wear that night.

S.T.

Inuyasha was the last to leave the house, quickly kissing his Mother goodbye and waving at his Father as he blew by him out the door. Hopping in the passenger seat, he smiled at Miroku, who raised a brow in return, but made no comment.

They drove to school, just making it to class by the skin of their teeth - as usual.

S.T.

Well, not much happening, but hey, you gotta get yer boring shit outta the way if yer gonna clear room for exciting stuff. Hope everyone had a happy New Years'! Rach got sick, so I took care of her, and some weird, 30 year old guy stayed over at her place with us without asking... to say the least, it was AWKWARD. He was such a cretant, too! And our other friend ruined our fun at the dance, that bitchy whiner. Anyway, review me, I'm sadly lacking! Uplift me, inspire me, dammit, just talk to me!!! Please??