A/N: Thank you all for reviewing, lol. So it seems that after putting the Naraku supporters on edge for the past 33 chapters, it looks like the Sesshoumaru supporters are going to start being on edge.

So now that Naima realizes that she still has a little lingering love for her BFF, what will happen?...


"Alright class, today we are going to do another weapon exercise," Totosai-Sensei told us one chilly day in February. We were all outside on the now vacant football field practicing various weapon techniques and skills. Everybody was pretty much out of it considering that today was also Valentine's Day. Personally, I couldn't wait for this last class of the day to end so Sesshoumaru and I could spend much needed time together. Even though football season was over, track and field season was right around the corner. Coach Takemaru made all of us girls practice non stop until the season began at the end of the month. So like football did with him, track took up most of my free time.

"Alright you guys, I'm going to choose your opponents for you today," Totosai-Sensei continued, "today you can use every attack that your weapon is capable of. This new armor that the school just ordered is strong enough to withstand even the deadliest of attacks, so don't hold back at all."

"Uhhh Sensei, why do we have to fight out here in the cold?" Kagome asked, her arrows shaking in her hand.

"Because a real fighter fights through all conditions, be it 100+ degrees in July or 27 degrees in February. You have to be ready in all conditions. Now let's see, who do I want to go first? Ah yes. How about Naima and Sesshoumaru?" I snickered to myself, really loving who Totosai-Sensei chose for my opponent. I was pretty certain that my kick ass boyfriend would go a little easier on me then anybody else would. I walked from the football sidelines and onto the middle of the field. Sesshoumaru followed my lead and stood across from me. He smirked as he withdrew Tokijin from its sheath. I smirked back as I withdrew my two Kodachi swords.

"Ready to fight me baby?" I smiled as I positioned the swords.

"This will be easy," he replied, voice as monotonic as it could be. I playfully growled at him in reply.

"Okay Naima? Sesshoumaru? Are you two ready?" Totosai-Sensei asked us. We both nodded our heads. "Alright then. Five minute time limit. The rules are still the same. Disarm your opponent and you win the match. Ready? Set? Go!"

"Ahhhh!" I hollered as I charged at my boyfriend with my two swords. I jumped in the air and brought them crashing down onto Sesshoumaru, but he held me off with his Tokijin. I pouted as I hopped back to my original position.

"Come now Naima. You can do better than that," he smirked at me, "let me show you how its done." He turned his sword into a horizontal position. "Dragon Strike!" A wave of blue demonic energy came from his sword and at me. I shrieked as I ran off to the side in order to avoid the hit from the attack. Sesshoumaru smirked as he saw me rise out of the snow with a suprised look on my face. "What? Did you think that I'd go easy on you because I love you?"

"Yeah. Actually," I smiled as I walked back over to him, "but I guess being a nerd comes first."

"Ooo big words."

"Oh shut up." He smirked back as he came running towards me. I ran back at him until we clashed blades in the center. This was the first time that Sesshoumaru and I had battled before and he was quite a tough opponent. He swung his blade with both precision and force and it wasn't long before I was disarmed of my first Kodachi blade. "Damn you," I smirked as I held my single blade with both hands.

"Tough break," he declared as he swung the Tokijin at me again. I blocked his strikes with my sword as eventually found myself on the offensive again.

"One minute!" Totosai-Sensei called from the sidelines. As soon as Sesshoumaru heard the warning, he switched from his defensive mode and back on offense. Not soon after, I was disarmed of my second blade. "Sesshoumaru wins that in 4:26. Not bad you two. Not bad at all." We both bowed respectfully and took our places back on the sidelines. While I was sitting beside Sango watching Bankotsu and Inuyasha fight, Naraku walked over to where I was and sat down beside me.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he declared as he gave me one of those massive Hershey Kisses. I smiled as I declined the large piece of candy.

"Thank you but you shouldn't have," I said, waving my hand at the box. He just smirked as he grabbed my hands and put the Kiss into them.

"How long do you plan on avoiding me Naima? You can't avoid me forever. If we remained best friends for thirteen years and some months, you can't expect us to just all of a sudden stop because you have a boyfriend." I turned away from Naraku's beautiful eyes and looked towards the sky.

"I'm sorry, but we must remain as we are. It's best for the both of us." I heard him chuckle as he reached over and cupped my chin into his black gloved hands. He turned my head to face him, my eyes forced to stare into his.

"Come over tonight. I have something I want to give you. Please." I shook my head no in his grasp.

"I'm spending time with Sesshoumaru tonight." He only smiled at my response, which caused me to feel butterflies in the pit of my stomach.

"It won't take long. I really want to give you this. Please." I shivered slightly as his thumb grazed my bottom lip.

"O-okay," I finally agreed, "I'll come over around seven thirty."

"Seven thirty is fine with me," he agreed. He released his hold on my chin and got up to walk away.

"What was that all about?" Sango asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't go to his house. Do you think I should go?"

"Hey, a gift is a gift." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I'm not talking about the gift. I mean, do you think that I should stop avoiding him and become his friend again?"

"Well, I don't think you two every really stopped to begin with. I mean you and Naraku are close like family, and you really can't ever stop being family now can you?"

"Yes but what about me and Sesshoumaru?"

"If being friends with Naraku breaks your relationship up with him, then it was never strong to begin with. That's just how I see it." What Sango said did make since and I really did miss my best friend. Still, was it the smart thing to do considering that I still was a little bit in love with him?


After classes were over, I went home and just laid around until it was time for me to go meet Naraku so he could give me his gift. I took a shower and changed into a red, spaghetti strap dress, for I was going to meet Sesshoumaru at his apartment right after I got my gift from Naraku.

When I pulled into the Shikon Heights apartment complex, I saw that neither Jakotsu or Bankotsu's cars were there, which meant that Naraku and I would be all alone in their apartment. I still felt a little aprehensive as I parked my car beside Naraku's truck. I walked slowly to his apartment door and rang the doorbell. I shivered as I waited for him to come to let me in. When he finally came, the first thing I noticed was that he wasn't wearing a shirt. I quickly averted my eyes to my feet. I heard him chuckle. I guess he noticed my reaction to seeing him half naked. "I'm so glad you came my dear," he said as he stepped to the side, letting me into the warm apartment. I just nodded my head as my body adjusted to the change in temperature. Almost as soon as I walked in, the aroma of hot food hit my nose.

"Something smells really good," I said as I sat down on the couch.

"Yeah, it's just a little something that Jakotsu helped me whip up for Tsubaki tonight. She wanted to stay in tonight." I nodded again. "Well, come on. Your gift is in the bedroom." I could feel my body immediately tense up.

"The bedroom?" I repeated. Naraku chuckled, seeing how uneasy I had just become.

"What are you even scared to come to my bedroom now? I'm not going to rape you. You should know that my dear. Come on, really." I stayed in my same spot for a few moments more, but I finally agreed and followed him down the hallway and into his bedroom.


When I walked inside of his bedroom, the nervous feeling that I had before came back when I saw the scene before me. The room was dimly lighted with candles and rose petals were all over his floor and black bed. I felt a little uneasy at first, but I quickly shook it off, telling myself that this romantic display was for Tsubaki and not me. "So what did you have to give me?" I asked, still standing after refusing his offer to sit down on his bed.

"Ahhh, something that I'm sure that you'll like very much," he told me while rumaging through the top drawer on his dresser. "Ah! Here we go," he said as he pulled out a white envelope and a white box. He walked back over to me and gave me the envelop first.

"What's this?" I asked.

"You're supposed to find that out for yourself," he replied, smiling. I nodded my head as I tore the envelope open and my eyes widened when I saw what it was. Three hundred dollars in cash.

"N-Naraku...what's this for?" I asked, holding the money in my hands.

"It's the money that you lent me to pay my tuition. I never turned the money into the school at the end of last month and I don't need help anymore to pay it so I'm giving both you and Bankotsu your money back." I put the money back into the envelope and the envelope in my purse.

"Well, thank you very much," I said as I began to leave.

"Hooold it," he said, grabbing my arm, "that's not your gift." I turned around to see him smiling at me. "Your real gift is right here." He held up the box and waved it at me. "Go on. Open it." I slowly reached up and took the white box away from him. Ever so slowly, I opened the top of the box and gasped when I saw what he had bought me. Well, us, to be exact. In the long white box laid two gold chains with semi-circles on the end of them. One said 'Best Friends' and the other said 'Forever'. They were exactly like our original friendship necklaces, only they weren't fake jewelry. They were the real thing this time.

"N-Nara...Naraku," I gasped out. He chuckled as he took the box out of my hands and grabbed the necklace that said 'Best Friends'. "How much did you spend on these?" I asked in amazement while I watched him fasten his new necklace around him.

"Eh, not much," he replied, "the quarterback for the Shikigami, Byakuya, is my cousin. His father owns a jewelry shop and I got these custom made for us the day we left Texas. I just got them in the mail the other day. So I didn't pay much at all for them, considering that I'm family."

"But where did you get the money to buy them?" He chuckled again as he pulled the second necklace out of the box. He put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around so that I could see ourselves in his mirror.

"Funny you should ask," he began as he tossed my hair to the side, "well, on the night of the Jewel Bowl, after everyone had left the field, a man came up to me who turned out to be Arthur Blank, the owner of the Atlanta Falcons." He reached up and unfastened my old necklace before taking it completely off. "And he said to me, that he wanted to give me a full scholarship to Yokai University because he had heard that I had been having a hard time paying for school. Do you know anything about that?" I inhaled deeply. I didn't know that he had already gotten his scholarship from the Falcons.

"I might know a little about it," I modestly said. Naraku just chuckled.

"I had a feeling you did because when I asked him who told him about that, he told me that it was some young lady named Naima." I could feel him move a little closer as he reached around and put the new necklace around me. I could instantly feel my breathing speed up. "So I thought to myself, 'Hey, this girl just got you a free ride all throughout college. You should really get her something to show your appreciation for what she did for you.' So I used some of the money that I saved up over the months and bought you a real, gold version of our friendship necklaces, because fake silver is so played out." He fastened the clip around my necklace, then replaced his hands on my shoulders. He moved even closer to me, I could feel his warm breath on the side of my neck. "Now I bet some people would wonder why would I spend this amount of money on a girl who doesn't even want to be my friend anymore? Well, what they don't know is how much I love this beautiful young woman named Naima and how much I'm missing her right now. I miss her so much that I'm starting to have dreams about her."

"Y-you...had...dreams about me?" I stammered as I felt him come even closer. His body was now against mine and his hands were traveling down my arms which were planted at my sides. I could feel my heart racing in my chest and my breathing wasn't any slower. I stepped forward to put some space between us, but Naraku only followed me.

"Yes I did. As a matter of fact, I dreamt about you while I was still in Texas. You came to me and told me that you couldn't be with me until I cleansed my tainted sheets. To this day, I still have no clue as to what you meant by that, but there was one other thing you said in the dream that stood out as well."

"O-oh yeah? W-what was that?"

"You said that you loved me. Now at the time I thought that it was just a silly stupid dream, but after finding out what you did for me by getting that scholarship for me, I now know that what you said in my dream is what you feel in reality." I swallowed hard, feeling many butterflies in my stomach now. I had to get out of there, but my feet wouldn't carry me. "Now you can say that you don't love me all you want. That's cool, because I know that you'll wise up eventually. But I want you to admit that you missed me and that you want our friendship to be like it was. Admit it." I closed my eyes so I couldn't see ourselves in the mirror anymore.

"I-I...might have missed you a little."

"Just a little?"

"Y-yes."

"What about our friendship? That necklace on your heart says 'Forever'. Aren't we supposed to be friends through thick and thin? No matter what happens?"

"Y-yes."

"You never wanted to end our friendship to begin with. Did you?"

"...No."

"Then you really did miss me a lot, huh?"

"Yes." As soon as I answered him, I felt his lips on my neck. His hands that were on my arms found themselves on my waist and pulled me closer until I was flat against him. I closed my eyes and gasped, shocked at how good his lips felt against my skin.

"I want to hear you say it. Tell me that you missed me."

"I-I missed you."

"How much?"

"Very much." His ministrations on my neck began to get more intense and I was beginning to lose it quickly. "Naraku, stop. Please," I begged him, but that only caused him to intensify his motions. "Ohhh Naraku," I moaned as my hand found its way in his hair, my fingers massaging his scalp. 'Whoa whoa! Time out girl! This man is NOT Sesshoumaru! You better leave!,' I heard my brain beginning to scream in my head. Unlike the other times, I didn't hesitate when my mind told me to stop. Although I still loved Naraku a little, I loved Sesshoumaru more and I wasn't going to leave him. And I refused to be a cheat. "I've got to go and see Sesshoumaru," I said as I wriggled free from his grip. I began to make my way to his door. I turned the knob and opened it slightly when all of a sudden I felt a hand wrap around my other wrist. I turned around just in time to see Naraku close in on me and pin me between the door and his body. "Naraku? What are you doing?" I asked, a little startled.

"You can't run from what you feel for much longer," he told me with a smile, "you still love me and I love you. What we had doesn't go away that easily. As soon as I figure out what that dream meant, I'm coming after you again. You will be mine and not his." He leaned in again and began to dawn my neck with kisses. Very passionate kisses at that. One of his hands gripped my waist and the other slid around my thigh. He lifted my leg and put it around his waist. I had to bite my lip to keep myself from moaning again. Tilting my head backwards as he began to turn his kisses into licks and sucking motions. I bit my lip again as I felt his moist tongue glide across my smooth skin. But like before, my concience stopped me before my body gave into temptation. "Stop Naraku. NARAKU STOP!" I yelled, snapping out of this lustful haze I was currently in and pushed Naraku off of me. He obeyed this time and didn't go after me again. He gave me a disappointed look. I gave him a stern glare as I tried to control my breathing. "If we are going to be friends again, you can't do things like that. I'm in love with Sesshoumaru and I'm not leaving him." Naraku only smiled at me.

"That's what your head says, but does your heart agree?" I didn't give him an answer and I didn't let him stop me this time as I rushed out of his bedroom and out of the apartment door.


A/N: Oh my. Somebody's trying to step their game up, lol