Author Notes: Okay, so this is going to be like one of those Christmas movies you catch in July and reminisce about how awesome winter is. I planned to get this done within 2013, but obviously I don't write as fast I want and I get distracted. Oh, look! A story line! Let's follow it down the rabbit hole and leave other stories up in the air. Sadly, it's the nature of the writing beast, so I hope you guys keep with it. Thank you to RiceBallMaker94 and Fuzzywazam, my only two reviewers I had for the last chapter. You guys rock and give me a reason to actually keep writing this fic. Thanks again!

Disclaimer: The Inuyasha world and all characters depicted are a creation of mangaka, Takahashi Rumiko.

Auld Lang Syne

By Hoshi-ni-Onegai

The party was a lot rowdier than Miroku had previously led on. Kagome had been under the impression that this would be more of a mellow shindig with some young professionals. Instead, it was a crowded hootenanny with people in their twenties and thirties reliving their partying days. Then again, that was the nature of New Year's Eve festivities and she really shouldn't have expected anything less.

Sango's apartment was a nice size, but not the obscene lap of luxury like Inuyasha or Kouga's apartment. Although Kagome's own apartment was modest compared to Sango's, but she felt more comfortable in this apartment. There was something about high-end living spaces that just made Kagome nervous, like she would break something worth more than five years of pay for her.

Even though her cousin had told her to, Kagome never got around to getting a date. She had attempted bringing up New Year's Eve casually to Kouga the last time he was in the shop, but he seemed to already have made plans. Either way, she wondered if it was really okay to invite someone to a party she wasn't really invited to directly. Miroku had assured her that Sango had invited her, but Kagome had her doubts. She met the cool doctor only once, but Kagome got the feeling that Sango was way out of her league to be a legit friend. Yup, definitely a girl crush.

"Do you see her?" Miroku asked Kagome as he scanned the crowd.

"I'm sure she's around here somewhere. It is her apartment after all." Lending a pair of eyes to her cousin, she glanced around. Instead of catching sight of the girl in question, Kagome's eyes widened at seeing a familiar face in the crowd. She immediately ducked behind Miroku and used him as a shield and maneuvered them in the opposite direction.

"What's going on back there?" He asked as he humored her and sidestepped through the crowd. "Did you see Kouga again or something?"

Kagome placed them behind a particularly crowded section of the party and kept her head down. "Hojo." She hissed. "What's the likelihood that he'd be here?"

"He's here?" Miroku stretched his neck up to look, but was immediately tugged down by Kagome.

"He could see you!" She jeered.

"Are we going to hide out until midnight?" He glanced across the room. "Because I have a lady doctor to find."

Kagome was ready to persuade her cousin to keep her company, but was instead interrupted. "What the hell are you two doing?"

Kagome and Miroku both glanced toward the intruder of their conversation. While Miroku smiled, Kagome could only frown. Why was it that Inuyasha was turning up everywhere? Actually, the better question was how all these men were randomly showing up in places she wasn't prepared for.

"What are you doing here?" She grumbled.

"He's friends with Sango." Miroku shook his head chuckling. "I thought you were going to head over to the party at that club downtown."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Heard who was on the guest list, decided to spend my entire night here."

"We are better company." Miroku admitted jokingly.

Kagome was distracted trying to stay hidden. When she saw that Hojo was passing by, she grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve and moved him to block her from view. She used her hair to hide part of her face and kept her back toward the crowd.

Inuyasha raised a brow at her antics. "What are you doing?" When she seemed to ignore him and kept trying to hide herself from the crowd, he turned to Miroku for the answer. "What is she doing?"

"She's dodging her high school boyfriend." He explained. "I never realized it before, but apparently Kagome is terrible with confrontations."

She brought her attention to the conversation and frowned. "I'm fine with confrontation."

"You're right," Miroku corrected. "She can't deal with boys. First Kouga, and now Hojo."

Mildly understanding the situation, Inuyasha nodded. "Why don't you pull a 'Miroku is my date' trick? You seemed to enjoy that one before."

She shot him a glare. "Enjoy isn't the word I would use."

Being a witness to a brewing fight, Miroku sighed. "Hojo spent Christmas with us, he knows I'm her cousin."

Inuyasha seemed to tense at the revelation, but nodded in understanding. "Then be an adult about it and turn the guy down."

"Not that it's any of your business, but I tried that before and ended up as his girlfriend." Kagome secretly agreed with him, but she wasn't about to say that out loud. She couldn't deny she lacked a certain grace when it came to men who propositioned her. Her mental phrasing probably wasn't doing her any favors either.

Miroku patted her shoulder comfortingly and then turned to Inuyasha. "Will you watch her?"

Inuyasha raised a brow at the request but kept quiet. Kagome, on the other hand sputtered and protested. "Watch me? I am not a toddler in need of supervision."

"Isn't that the whole point of Miroku?" Inuyasha mocked and nodded to his friend. "Go, find your girl. I'll protect your cousin's honor."

Taking that as his cue, Miroku disappeared into the crowd before Kagome had a chance to protest. Still keeping her back to the crowd and using Inuyasha as a shield, she spoke on the contrary. "I don't need you to watch me."

"Then why are you hiding?" Inuyasha questioned, allowing her to keep cover behind his silhouette. He turned his head slightly to look at the crowd. "So which one is this Hojo guy?"

"Brown hair, boyish face." She wasn't sure why she bothered describing him to Inuyasha, but she reasoned that he was lesser of the two evils. Well, he wasn't the evil trying to date her, so that was a win in Inuyasha's column.

"I think he went to the other room."

Peeking around him, she quickly scanned the crowd and saw Hojo absent. Her shoulders visibly relaxed and she leaned against the nearest wall. "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, he walks into mine."

"Yours?" He smirked at her reference.

"You know what I mean." She huffed. "How does Sango know Hojo anyways?"

"Maybe from work. Is he a doctor?" He asked.

"I think he's a shrink." She thought back to his goals in high school and the conversations from Christmas Eve dinner that she tried avoiding.

"Do ER doctors and shrinks consort?" He wondered.

Kagome shrugged and sighed. "Thanks for the cover, you don't need to stick around. Go and mingle."

"Miroku charged me with his baby cousin, you think I'm going to suffer his wrath by leaving you to the wolves?" He pointed out and took a sip of the drink in his hand.

"I would hardly call Hojo a wolf." She watched him carefully, wondering if everything Kouga had told her was true. Then again, why would Kouga lie? Painting Inuyasha in a bad light wasn't winning any points in Kouga's corner so he had nothing to gain. Kouga also didn't know how she knew Inuyasha, so as far as she was concerned what he had revealed the other day was a simple public service announcement.

Straightening her posture and flipping her hair over her shoulder, she checked her reflection in a framed photograph on the wall next to her. She checked her makeup and reapplied her lip gloss. Kagome was an independent woman who wasn't going to hide out in the corner of a party with a guy she didn't even like. She much preferred awkwardly standing in the middle of the crowd with no one to talk to then take cover with the enemy.

"Gird your loins." He said chuckling. "Heading into battle?"

She brushed off nonexistent lint from the front of her dress and turned toward the crowd. "I'm going to look for better company."

Inuyasha frowned at her statement and reached for her arm when she started to walk away. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot." He attempted at an apology. "What I said at the party and my apartment..."

"Forget it." She interrupted him. "You've been my cousin's best friend for years and I hadn't met you. Let's get back to that streak."

He was a little more than surprised by her words. From the way Miroku talked about her, Inuyasha had always expected to meet the perfect, polite, and beautiful girl. Instead, he had the misfortune of meeting the sarcastic, grudge-holding, spitfire. He was trying to do the decent thing and get on good terms with her, especially because she was Miroku's precious little cousin and Sango had taken a liking to her. He had predicted that Kagome would start falling into his social circle so minimum of civility was necessary.

"What is your problem?" He accused.

She whipped her steel blue eyes to his amber ones and he was momentarily startled by how much hatred glared up at him. He hadn't exactly been on his best behavior around her, but she barely knew him. She was looking at him like he had wronged her in some way.

"Why don't you ask Kouga?" She bit out. His hold on her arm loosened and she tugged herself away. Her eyes remained locked with his as she narrowed them. "He told me about what you did to him."

"What I did to him?" Inuyasha thought back to his college years and the final straw when it came to any potential friendship between him and Kouga.

"I won't say anything to Miroku. I can keep your secret." She assented. "But don't expect me to stick around to be your friend."

He shook his head. "I think you got it wrong."

"I don't want to hear it." Kagome straightened her back and got in his face as she whispered out, "It's only business, right?"

With a quick turn on her heel, she stepped into the crowd and away from Inuyasha. She was stupid to think he was the lesser of the evils. If what Kouga said was true, then Inuyasha was someone she preferred not to associate with. Miroku could cautiously be his friend as long as his finances didn't get tangled up with Inuyasha. Kagome made a mental note to make sure that she would give her cousin warning if Miroku ventured that way.

Remembering the conversation she had with Kouga the last time he stopped by, Kagome's mind raced. Maybe she should have given Inuyasha a chance to explain himself. There were always two sides to every story and she only had Kouga's version. But again she reasoned that Kouga had nothing to gain by lying to her. For all he knew, Inuyasha was only a passing acquaintance -something she was going to make sure of now.

As a self-proclaimed book worm, she honestly didn't understand business, finance, or investment very well. Sure, she read up on the topics and knew as far as a superficial understanding that allowed her to mildly understand the news, but the complicated topics of takeovers, mergers and acquisitions was a bit of a mystery to her. However, from what Kouga explained of his history with Inuyasha, she knew that Inuyasha acted like a vindictive asshole.

Kouga had developed a social media platform that launched him into an overnight success while still in college. He wanted to stick around in school, but the demands of his booming internet business forced him to drop out. Inuyasha was a friendly rival who was in the same class and competed for the same girl. Kouga eventually got the girl and Inuyasha retaliated when he graduated and started an overly successful software firm. It was only last year ago when Inuyasha had swept in and initiated a hostile takeover of Kouga's company. Kouga was forced out the company he started from scraps in his apartment. From the way Kouga phrased it, he had been blindsided. He had been able to escape with his own personal fortune intact, but the rest of the employees didn't fare as well. She may not understand business practices, but she knew that she didn't want to associate herself with someone who could do that to someone over a girl.

Kagome made her way through the crowd in search of Miroku or Sango. Actually, she decided to finding a drink took priority and modified her destination. She was thankful that she decided on more appropriate footwear this time. While her dress was getting an encore, her silver sparkly deathtrap they called shoes had been promptly returned back to the store.

"Kagome?" Her train of thought was cut off and she almost ducked for cover but realized that it wasn't Hojo's voice but a female one.

Halting in her step, she turned toward the voice and couldn't help the smile splitting across her face at seeing her freshman year roommate from college. "Ayumi?"

Her friend pulled Kagome into her arms without much thought and giggled. "I didn't know you lived in the city."

"I'm originally from the area." Grinning and pulling back, Kagome looked her friend over. "You look great by the way."

"You too! Love the dress." Ayumi praised.

Between the two of them, Ayumi was always the fashion forward one. A compliment from her was something Kagome strived for all of her first year in college. "How do you know Sango?"

Ayumi shook her head and gestured toward a pretty girl a few feet away. "My friend, Eri, she's a nurse at the same hospital. Her, my other friend Yuka, and I are making the rounds to different parties tonight. This is stop number two."

Kagome nodded in understanding. "You have no idea how many weird coincidences have been happening to me these days. I've been running into people everywhere."

"Lucky me." Ayumi said with humor. "So you know the host?"

"Long story short, she's dating my cousin... I think." She offered with a shrug. "I'm not party hopping, so I'll be here for the rest of the night and year for that matter."

Ayumi laughed at the umpteenth New Year's joke she'd heard that day. "I can't believe we've been in the same city and not realized it."

"I thought you were moving out west?" She questioned.

"I did, for a few months. But I got job out this way and moved here last year." Ayumi answered distractedly and glanced behind her friend. "There's a guy staring at you."

A cold shiver went down Kagome's back and she glanced behind her. When her eyes met Hojo's she knew she was doomed. She could see the coming weeks spiraling into a relationship with Hojo before she knew what hit her. She was going to be smothered with kindness and die within the year.

"Kagome?" Hojo said as he approached them.

Plastering on the polite smile she usually reserved for customers, Kagome turned and stepped aside to stand next to Ayumi. "Hi Hojo."

"What are you doing here?" He asked friendlily.

"Friend of the host, you?" She kept civil and glanced at Ayumi conspiratorially, but her looks were lost on her. They used to be able to communicate wordlessly when they dodged drunken boys at frat parties, but obviously they were rusty on their nonverbal communication.

"I work in the psych ward of the same hospital." He answered with a smile and let his eyes drift between her and Ayumi.

Realizing she was being impolite, Kagome shook herself off and remembered her mother's etiquette teachings. "Oh, sorry! Hojo, this is Ayumi, a friend of mine from college. Ayumi, this is Hojo, a friend from high school."

"Nice to meet you." Ayumi said genuinely.

"Same." Hojo responded with a wide smile.

Then something immediately clicked in Kagome's head. Call it survival instincts or some latent desire to be a matchmaker, but she knew how to put two and two together. Hojo, a boy too nice for his own good, had just met his perfect match. Ayumi was possibly nicer and kinder than Hojo -a quality Kagome loved in a friend but could barely stand in a boyfriend.

"Hojo is a psychiatrist." Kagome introduced not so subtly, making her intent known to both parties. She did have the decency to add as a whisper to Ayumi, "And single."

Ayumi blushed at the implication. "That must be a difficult job, trying to help people who sometimes can't help themselves."

He smiled at her comment. "It can be, but mostly everyone wants the help so it can be rewarding."

Seeing the conversation proceeding at a nice pace and witnessing a definite spark between the two nicest people she'd ever known, Kagome excused himself. "I have to go find my cousin, sorry."

Feeling a sense of relief flood through her as she stepped away, she hoped she didn't doom her friend. But thinking back on Ayumi's luck with men, she recalled more than one of them taking advantage of how nice she was. Honestly, Kagome wondered why she never considered her overtly considerate ex-boyfriend and roommate as a viable match. Oh, yeah, they were in different cities and never had the chance to meet. She was happy for small miracles and big coincidences.

Weaving through the crowd Kagome spotted Miroku in the kitchen talking up a blonde. She raised a brow in question as she approached the conversing pair. Seeing his cousin approach, he offered a smile. "Where's Inuyasha?"

Kagome shrugged. "Ditched him."

The blonde's eyes widened a bit and searched through the crowd. "Inuyasha? The Inuyasha? He's here?"

Kagome wondered about the girl's interest, but nodded. "Uh, yeah. Last I left him, he was in the living room by the back wall." With the new information, the blonde disappeared. Kagome watched the girl walk away. "Who was that?"

"Friend of Sango's. I was trying to get some clue as to what Sango might like to do for an actual date, not just coffee and attending one of her parties." Miroku sighed and glanced at Kagome. "The name that launched a thousand ships. The only name dropping Inuyasha has to do is his own."

"Really?" She furrowed her brows. "What is he famous for?"

He looked at her incredulously."Wait, seriously? You've never read the newspaper, magazine, or seen the news?"

She shrugged, "Sure, but you know I spend most of my time reading books."

"How about the internet? His company changed how the whole of the internet works." He tried gauging her reaction, but she still seemed confused. "You've been living under a rock."

"Actually, a pile of old books." She corrected with a grin. "So he's über wealthy, right? I guess that explains his penthouse apartment."

"Yeah, but it took an investment adviser and his brother to convince him to move out of his studio apartment on the Westside of town." He elaborated, recalling how he had to do some of the convincing as well.

"Isn't that the sketchy part of town?" She asked surprised.

"He almost got mugged a couple times, but he can take care of himself a little too well." He answered vaguely, thinking better of telling her about Inuyasha's multiple black belts. Kagome was never a fan of violence, and someone skilled in the martial arts probably wasn't going to win any points. And Inuyasha didn't have many points left to lose when it came to Kagome.

Changing the direction of the conversation, Kagome looked around the room. "Did you ever find Sango?"

"Yeah, but she's a little busy playing the part of hostess." He stepped toward the kitchen island where the various drinks were located. "Vodka tonic?"

"With a lime if they've got it." She glanced over his shoulder as he began pouring her drink from the self-serve station with its various bottles. "So what's the verdict? Is this a date or not?"

"Maybe." He answered with a shrug.

"Maybe? Doesn't it bother you, not knowing?" She took the offered drink and stood back as he poured himself a scotch.

"I'm not a girl, Kagome. I don't need to know the logistics of a relationship." He affirmed and stepped away from the bottles so the next guest could prepare their drink.

Kagome shot him a side-eyed glare for his jab at her sex, and led them out of the kitchen to the dining room. "Really? Then you're perfectly fine with Sango kissing someone else at midnight?"

Miroku frowned. "I wouldn't say that."

The rest of the night passed uneventfully. At one point or another, Miroku disappeared to search for Sango. Left to her own devices, Kagome mingled through the crowd. By the end of the night, she had met a surgeon for everybody part and two dozen nurses. If anything, she felt a bit out of place without a career in medicine but everyone was friendly and welcoming. She even got wrangled into a drinking game against a petite nurse from the pediatric unit. Kagome was severely mistaken thinking she could win against the unassuming woman.

Feeling a bit unsteady on her feet -albeit with appropriate heels- Kagome found herself sitting on the windowsill in the living room. Leaning her forehead against the cold window, she breathed in a sigh of relief. Maybe there was a reason why drinking games were reserved for college.

"You okay?"

Hearing her cousin's voice, she glanced up to see that she was being joined by him and the illusive Sango. Although she had seen glimpses of the hostess across the room, this was actually the first time in the night she had a chance to speak directly to Sango.

Kagome smiled up at them. "I'm fine. Just needed a rest."

Sango looked at her apologetically. "Did you lose in Quarters against Yura?" At Kagome's nod, Sango winced. "Sorry, she should come with a warning label."

"Warning: she can drink more than she looks?" Miroku chuckled and knelt down to look into his cousin's face. "I've seen you worse."

"Like I said, I just need a rest." Kagome reiterated.

"You know there's only about ten minutes left till midnight, right?" He questioned.

Looking over at the TV, she saw that the coverage of the countdown was in full swing and that there really only were a few minutes left. "Good riddance. I'm tired of this year."

"Was it a bad one?" Sango asked.

"Not particularly, but it was kind of uneventful." She answered and got back on her feet. "Maybe this year, I'll finally get that book."

"Book?" Sango repeated as a question.

"Don't get her started." Miroku shook his head. "There's a client who's wanted this one particular book for how long was it? Two years?"

"Three years two months." Kagome corrected with a grumble. "First client request I received on my first day at work."

"You deal with rare books, right?" Sango asked innocently. "Did you get a request for The Gutenberg Bible?"

"I wish. Then I would know that there are only forty-eight surviving copies and who owns them." She said almost wistfully. "Instead, I need to find On the Origin of Species."

"Charles Darwin?" Sango remarked, which earned her an odd look from Miroku and an appreciative grin from Kagome. "I was a biology major in undergrad."

"She's been chasing after that book since her first day on the job. It's like her Holy Grail." He explained.

"Is it that rare?" Sango asked.

"Kind of." She said with a sigh in her voice as she recalled all the false leads she followed over the past three years and her most recent one with the bookstore in Chicago. "There is one copy that belonged to Darwin's son, Francis. He annotated in it as he followed in his father's footsteps into botany. Francis later made edits that were used in the revised editions of the book."

"So it's a unique version of the first edition." Sango said to clarify. "And you haven't found it?"

"It's in a private collection and rare book dealers tend to be tight lipped about these things. We don't want to be held liable if the person were to get robbed because their rare book collection was found out." Kagome explained. "But I'm going to get this book."

"My cousin, despite her appearances, is like a blood hound." Miroku mocked. "She's never not gotten a book for a client."

"So you've been on the hunt for three years." Sango concluded. "That's commitment. Who's the client? Or can you not tell us?"

"I don't know. It's was an anonymous request. My boss knows, but he's not telling me so that doesn't help." Kagome professed. "Any leads I get or updates go through my boss to the client."

"That's got to be frustrating." Sango sympathized.

"You have no idea." She sighed and glanced at the TV again. "Let's forget about my boring hunt. It's about to be a new year."

"What hunt?"

At the stray question from behind her, Kagome turned on her foot and glared at the questioner. "I'm sure it's nothing you can relate to Inuyasha."

Inuyasha raised a brow at her and glanced at his two friends behind her. "Dusty books?"

"Dusty books." Miroku confirmed.

Going around the miffed bibliophile, Inuyasha handed over two of the four champagne glasses he maneuvered in his hands to Miroku. When he went to hand the last one to Kagome, Inuyasha was met with a glare.

She spared a glance to the glass but shook her head. "There's no way I'm taking a drink from you."

"Oh come on. Consider it a payback for the drink I stole at Kouga's party." He pressed the beverage into her crossed arms and couldn't help his smirk when she flinched at the cold glass.

Witnessing the spark of a possible argument, Miroku interjected. "Take the drink, I promise he didn't poison it. If he did, I'll kill him myself."

Kagome considered the bubbling liquid for a few long seconds and finally relented, taking the drink non-too graciously. "I'll hold you to that Miroku."

"I know you will." He said with a smile.

Sango looked over at the TV again. Seeing the time, she hollered into the crowd. "Guys! Thirty seconds till midnight!"

Kagome glanced around and noticed everyone was prepped with their glasses and grinned eagerly at their friends. Despite the currently added company of Inuyasha, Kagome had to admit she did enjoy herself that night. She even may have successfully paired off two of the nicest people together. Granted, she had some ulterior motives but it was partially altruistic. Kagome was also in the company of her cousin, who always assured a good time for all, and Sango, who she was vying a friendship with. All things considered, this was not a bad way to ring in the New Year.

"I like your dress." Inuyasha suddenly commented to Kagome, leaning toward her so only she could hear.

She frowned up at him. "Yeah, yeah. I wore it at the other party. Sue me, I wanted to wear it again."

He sighed with a shake of his head. "Despite what you may think, my goal in life isn't to bring you down a peg." He gestured to her dress. "Like I said at Kouga's party, I like the dress."

Kagome studied him carefully, trying to judge his sincerity; however, she didn't know him well enough to be able to read him. So she gave a curt nod and response, "Thanks."

"Ten!" The party goers all chanted together.

Startled by the out loud countdown, Kagome whipped her head about. Inuyasha chuckled at her reaction and tried to hide it when she shot him a look.

"Nine!" This time Kagome was prepared. "Eight! Seven!"

She glanced over to Miroku and Sango to see if they were counting down, and low and behold they were pitching in. "Six! Five!"

But as Miroku tugged Sango closer to him as the countdown got closer, Kagome turned away to at least give them the semblance of privacy.

"Four! Three!"

That's when Kagome felt it, a firm arm wrapped around her waist from behind. "Two! One!"

Champagne sloshing out of her glass as she was whirled around, her eyes peered up at Inuyasha's golden gaze. And in that moment he was back, the man she first saw at the party and thought was the most attractive man she'd ever laid eyes on. Inuyasha offered her a crooked smile that caught her off guard.

"Happy New Year!" The crowd exclaimed in the background and the sound of crackers and noisemakers drowned out the first keys of Auld Lang Syne.

And in that moment, she forgot about how much she hated Inuyasha as he pressed his lips against hers. Kagome gasped in surprise and he took the opportunity with a grin against her lips and deepened the kiss. She stood frozen in shock as he brought his hand from her waist to tangle in her hair.

But as the moment stretched on, her senses came back to her along with her prejudices. Bring up her free arm she shoved it firmly against his chest. Relenting, he pulled back with a smirk tugging at his lips. "I like the hair, too."

Kagome mouthed silently as she tried to gather her words and a retort.

Enjoying her inability to react, Inuyasha leaned forward and whispered hotly in her ear. "It's only business, right?"

Hearing her words turned around back on her, she leaned back to stare at him wide-eyed. He didn't give her a chance to answer as he turned and walked away smirking, disappearing into the crowd.