My Girl

by Foayasha

Disclaimer: The epic of Inuyasha, while wonderful, does not belong to me. Thus I cannot, and do not, claim to own any of the characters in this short story... that includes the one with the mean right hook.

luv Shagsthedustmop Thanks Girl!

My Girl Chpt 6 – Man up already

Double Chapter – hope you're ready for this ^_^

"Everyone line up. See this white line? Don't let me catch your toes crossing it," Inuyasha instructed. It was the second week of school, and technically the second youkai PE class. Although, in Inuyasha's mind, it was really the first; the initial class was only going over the basics: filling out paperwork, reading handouts, and watching the government required videos.

The class had been his to lead for at least the past decade; normally with the assistance with one or two of the other youkai instructors. This year he had insisted that Koga partake, and this meant Ayame was more than happy to also join into the fray. Go figure.

There were about forty kids enrolled this year, from kindergarten through the fourth grades, and had been split up into groups based on experience and age. Inuyasha had been adamant to take the kindergarten students this year, but would normally have preferred the third and fourth year kids. His group was made up of about eleven runts: four of them were full youkai, there were also four hanyou, and two hanpa.

This year a single human also signed up. This wasn't a surprise however; the kid was his niece, Rin. The problem was, without another mortal, Rin wouldn't be able to participate in the tandem activities.

As the youngest children made up their line, Inuyasha decided now would be a good time to see if any of these youkai would be a good fit for Rin. Aimi rang into his mind, and although Kagome seemed sure she would be an exemplary youkai, he had his doubts. She didn't have that much youkai blood, and her mother didn't seem to know much about youkai to begin with. How strong could she be?

The kids, who were all bundled solidly, had all taken their instructed positions on the field. The gymnasium was only used by the youkai PE class if activities weren't planned. By the time the weather turned poor, the students who couldn't handle it would stay indoors. Koga and Ayame were doing warm ups with their groups together, while Inuyasha took his small group to the far side of the track.

"Alright, Runts- er, kids," he corrected himself. Even after all these years, he would still sometimes slip. "We're gonna play a game, it's a simple test of speed. All ya need to do is run the goal post," Inuyasha explained, pointing to the goal post at the far end of the football field. "Once you are there, I want you to touch your hand to the grass, and then run back. The first one to return is the winner of this game. Understand?"

The children all nodded, looking very excited as they waited for Inuyasha to clear the front of the running area so they could play. He looked at them, saw they were about ready, so he brought the whistle to his mouth. He counted to three, and blew to start the race. The other youkai students in the class were all from fairly low grade clans, so he wasn't surprised to see them at the same pace as the other students. The leaders still had the race going fairly quickly, mind you.

What did surprise him is that Aimi and Shippo were among the front runners. Shippo grinned at Aimi as they reached the far end of the field, and they both leaned down to touch the grass, and race back. He watched in amazement as Shippo, that damn Kitsune, threw a spinning top in Aimi's direction. Brat. Inuyasha had already tensed with the need to run to her aid, when the giant top burst to life directly in her path.

He stopped as he saw the girl leap and clear the obstacle without losing a beat. As soon as her feet touched back down on the turf the girl picked up her speed to catch her friend, only narrowly avoiding another illusion that Shippo had unleashed. Her thin frame angled so low to the ground, her silvery ponytail swept gracefully on the grass, and small arms drove furiously at her sides. The speed and force of her motions were the only factors which kept the girl from wiping out onto the track surrounding the field. Her surefootedness brought her swerving up behind the boy, ducking around his right, and weaving to cross in front of him.

Shippo laughed at their game, and gave her a congratulatory pat as they crossed the finish line. Inuyasha stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring at the young pair, feeling defeated. There was no way he could pair Aimi with Rin. Soon after several youkai and hanyou students came up behind them, and coming in slowly were Rin and the other hanpa.

"You there," he pointed to the rotund child, "come here."

The young boy, who was still breathing heavily from the race, shyly crept over to Inuyasha as if he were going to be scolded. He seemed a little more cowardly than what he really should be, but that may be because Inuyasha occasionally had that effect on children.

"What's your name," he ordered, as he kneeled down to his eye level.

"Hachi," he replied shyly. His body was round, and when he looked closer, he noticed that the boy had feint markings around his eyes. A light grey set crossing the bridge of his nose, like he was wearing a mask.

"Tanuki, eh?" he asked, and the boy nodded. A devious grin appeared on Inuyasha's face, and the boy leaned back from his evil leer. He would be a perfect partner for Rin, since he was still too young to say anything... inappropriate. That particular breed of youkai, although extremely annoying in their older ages, tended to be rather timid, and less than average compared to other youkai. And the best part, it would annoy his own brother to no end that he paired Rin with a Tanuki. That always put a smile on his face.

Now that he had his 'Rin situation' figured out, he turned to focus on the rest of the group, who had since lost interest in him. After rolling his eyes at their lack of attention and had them return to the line. Instructions were given for another round of the racing game, this time without using any tricks or illusions. After they were lined up, he gave a quick shrill chirp on his whistle, and watched them take off. This time, Aimi had a good lead on Shippo and she skid to the finish with a loud laugh.

So Aimi could at least keep up with these whelps. The wheels in his head turned a bit, and he released the students to play a little while he went to discuss the matter with Ayame and Koga.

"Why are you so interested in this girl anyways, Mutt?" Koga said in a bored tone.

"Keh, it's none of your business, and who are you to question me anyways... ASSistant?" Inuyasha jeered back.

Ms. Wolfgang pinched the bridge of her nose, a slight vein in her forehead pulsing annoyingly. After another thirty seconds of bickering, she smacked them both upside the head. After receiving dirty looks from her peers, she just huffed. "I have two students you can pair her against, and I think that in Koga's group there are at least two others. Although, it doesn't seem fair to pair a five year old against a ten year old."

"I'm not expecting her to win, I just want to see how she fares," Inuyasha explained. "I think an obstacle course is the best option. What do you think?"

The two others nodded, and went to collect the students that they had mentioned. He wanted the course to be simple so that Aimi would understand, but difficult enough that he could actually see her agility put to the test. The course ran a lap around the field; Koga was currently setting up two sheer wooden hurdles, and a short set of slalom poles, and marking two long jumps.

"Alright kids, if we call your name, I want you to line up. We're going to have a little competition, just to see how the best of each class does," Inuyasha called out. Ayame walked over and handed him a clipboard, and a stopwatch. "When I call your name, come to stand next to me."

"Casey Rolland; Markus Stamps; Kaoru Matashou; Sally Givensburg; Aimi Akitoki and Shippo Takata. Line up here, and watch Koga. He is going to show you the course."

"What! I am? You lazy son of a... " Koga growled, but complied. Lining up at the starting line, he waited for Inuyasha to blow the whistle. He ran forward until he came to the first hurdle, and jumped over it, next he ran until he came to the first left turn, and then the next obstacle was a long jump. After clearing that hurdle he ran, and navigated between the slalom poles, then again another turn, and another long jump. He finished the run after the last two turns, and the final obstacle. When he crossed the line, Inuyasha blew the whistle again.

"So, did you see what you are supposed to do?" He asked, and the six children nodded their heads. "I don't want anyone to get hurt, so the race is one at a time. Please get in line, we'll start with Casey."

Each child lined up, and he had them run the course, carefully keeping track of their time. Each student seemed to do well, with only minor faults. Aimi tripped at one point in the slalom, but still finished quickly.

Each student did very well; when he compared his times, he was amazed at the results of Aimi's attempt. Even with her fall the time was only slightly slower than the fastest. She was going to need a lot of training, because one day she would be a very strong youkai. He dismissed the overwhelming pride he felt as a result of being her teacher.

[:::]

Once PE class concluded the students were walking, double file, back to their classrooms. Shippo and Aimi walked next to each other, and were whispering the recent details of their plan.

"Did he say anything about the painting you did of your Mommy?" Shippo whispered in her direction, while his little was paw cupped around his mouth.

"I showed him, but he didn't recognize her. He told me 'Why Aimi, what a pretty horse you drew', but I don't know why. I didn't draw a horse," she answered sadly. "What about you, were you able to say anything about the nice things your Mommy said about my Mommy?"

"Yeah, when we were doing the blocks, I told him that your Mommy doesn't scream into the telephone when she answers it," he said, trying to think of the other things he had said to try and get him to think of Kagome. "Oh, and I also said that your Mommy makes really good sugar cookies. I really liked those."

"Me too," Aimi giggled, but it was followed with a dramatic sigh. "I don't think our plan is working Shippo. I think for Mr. Takahashi to 'like like' my Mommy, he needs to play with her. How would I know if I wanted to marry you if I hadn't played with you first?"

"That's a great idea Aimi!" Shippo squealed, earning a 'shhh' from Ms. Wolfgang. "Aren't we going to the park this weekend? Let's invite him!"

"Oh! Oh! Yeah! And I'll have my Mommy make some of those sticky sugar cream candies! He'll 'like like' her for sure if he tries them," Aimi giggled, excited about their new plan. They had even broken out into a slow sort of childish skipping, while still attempting to stay in line.

[:::]

Inuyasha ushered the children back into class, and began to take a quick attendance before wrapping up his lessons for the day. There was only about an hour left of school time, but he wanted to play the 'recite your phone number' game before it got the end of the day. He looked up from his desk, and was a bit surprised to find two pairs of eyes watching him very closely.

However, after he realized who it was, it wasn't as big a shock. Ever since he had made up with Kagome, Aimi and Shippo had been at it non-stop to get him to admit he had feelings for her. He didn't know what to say, even if he had admitted to it, learning about his feelings from her five year old daughter was not the way for the woman to find out.

He barely even knew her anyways; he wanted to know her better, there was no denying it, but she was never around anymore. Since the day that they had finally made amends, she had picked Aimi up from the curb of the school. There really wasn't any reason for her to come into his classroom to get the girl, so he couldn't expect it.

Then of course, he was so nervous about how he should feel about her. After a good amount of thinking about his feelings, he realized even though she looked like Kikyo, that wasn't what he was drawn to. The problem was, what would she say when she found out about Kikyo? When he first met her his first words were practically 'Hey, you look just like my ex'. Then of course, like a woman, she would jump to the worst possible conclusion. That he would be trying to fill in some void by using a replica woman. He scowled at that thought, women could be so frustrating.

Then there was the more obvious problem, her feelings for him. Sure, he noticed a bit of arousal in her scent, but that could have been from anything. It certainly wasn't strong enough to insinuate anything more than she thought he had a hot body. Did she think he had a hot body? That's a good thing, right? It wasn't like he could read her feelings anyways, and he still wasn't positive about her relationship status. Was she with someone? Or was she single?

He shook his head; the time to think about Kagome, and if she thought he had a hot body, was not during his class while instructing five year old children. He could think about it later, and probably end up depressed. Oh well, such is life.

He rounded the children up into a circle, using their desk chairs, and brought out his flashcards with the children's main phone number. In the old days it was easy, since everyone had a single home line, but now most parents had cell phones as well, sometimes more than one. Hell, even a few of his kids even had cell phones! He would just use the phone number listed as the main on the contact form.

One at a time he called off a name, and the child would rattle off their phone number. Some got it right, some took a few minutes, or attempts. Eventually he had all of them getting the number on the first try, and he was pretty pleased. Only a few more times with this game and he would be satisfied that they could at least call home if they ever got lost.

He found himself blushing a little bit as he called Aimi, knowing that the number she was reciting was indeed Kagome's phone number. He could call her, if that weren't completely and entirely creepy to do. He wanted to anyways, and it took a lot of restraint this past week.

"Did I get it right Mr. Takahashi?" he was broken out of his thoughts.

"Could you say it once more Aimi, I didn't catch the last few numbers," he lied. How stupid of him, dazing out like that when he just said he needed to leave those thoughts at home, where they belonged. He could also take a cold shower there. Yes, it was a good place to leave those sorts of thoughts.

"867 - 5309," Aimi recited.

"Very good. Alright class, that's it for the day. Clean up your desks, and cubbies. When you're done, you can play until your bus arrives, or your parents pick you up," he said, stretching as he got out of his undersized chair. He hated the low seating in the kindergarten classes, but they were supposed to make the students feel 'less intimidated'. Keh.

He took his seat, back at his nearly normal sized desk, and began shuffling through a handful of papers. He was startled to the point of jumping when he looked up from his desk to find Aimi and Shippo well within his personal space. Leaning back a little bit, and taking a deep breath to calm himself, he glared at the youths.

"Are you already done cleaning?" he said skeptically. They must be up to something.

"Mr. Takahashi, do you do things?" Aimi asked, seeming very serious.

"Do things? Like what? I do stuff," he answered defensively.

"I mean, do you do things other than work?" she said again, still fairly vague.

"Of course, Aimi, I like to do lots of things. Why are you asking?"

"Well, Shippo and I weren't sure if you did stuff. Since you do, we wanted to know… Would you want to do stuff with us?" Aimi asked innocently.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, hanging out with 5 year olds, when he was his age, was only appropriate when you were their teacher. Even then there were plenty of teachers who could make that inappropriate too.

"Well, kids, as much as I like you as students, I don't think I could do things with you outside of school," he said softly. He didn't want to bruise their egos.

"Why?" Shippo inquired.

"Shippo, mainly because I'm so much older than you are, we don't have a lot in common," he explained.

"That's dumb, me and my Daddy do lots of fun stuff together," Shippo said earnestly.

"And that's right, we saw you at the park the time you fell out of the tree, Mr. Takahashi. We like going to the park too, and you were there. See we already have things in common," Aimi said rationally.

"Aimi, just get on with it, what do you kids want," he quipped. "And don't say 'dumb', Shippo, that isn't nice."

"Well I'm going to the park Saturday morning, with Shippo and his Mommy and Daddy. They make me nervous sometimes," she said, batting her eyes at him. Oh yeah, she was up to something. "And I thought it would be easier if you were there."

"And would your mother happen to be there too?" he questioned.

"She might," Aimi said, not looking him in the eye.

"We'll see," he answered. So the kids wanted him to meet them at the park this Saturday, and Kagome would be there.

Both of them squealed 'yay', and were off into the rest of his students, running laps around the desks. He got up to scold the class for being rowdy, and went to take them back outside. The cool air would be good for him anyways.

[:::]

From the window of his class he watched his last student leave in the car of her mother. He could hear her giggling, even when her small face was hidden behind a curtain of silver. Kagome had yet again avoided returning to his classroom, which wasn't a surprise. She hadn't set foot in the school since the previous week, and their last talk at the curb. Why was it bothering him though? Sure, he thought she was attractive, and that she smelled great, and drove every one of his senses into overdrive... Oh who was he kidding, he was dying to see her again.

Apparently her phobia was stronger than her desire to see him again. No, no. He shouldn't jump to conclusions. He didn't have any fears on that level, so how could he understand what she went through. She was a very proud and strong woman, yet he had seen her reduced to a huddling mess in front of the school. Just because she hadn't come back to see him again didn't necessarily mean that she didn't want to see him again.

He walked back to his desk, and picked up his supplies, locking his door on the way out.

Why would she even think he was even interested in her like that? Really, had he given her any reason to think otherwise? Yelling at her and going 'Edward Cullen' on her when she's too close doesn't really help his chances. Starting up his car he decided to quit thinking about the damn woman; visions of her would always muddle his thoughts anyways, causing him to lose focus on what was important. Like driving.

"Hey, watch it lady!" he screamed out his window at the old lady who was crossing the street. Yes, he really needed to focus more on the present, rather than on other... soft, warm, beautiful... sultry.. intoxicating.. er, things. Damn it, he was practically purring a just the thought of her. The wench was driving him nuts, and he didn't even know if she even cared to see him again.

When he reached his home, Inuyasha tossed his coat and crate onto the couch, and slumped down beside it. His mind went numb for a few moments before he began thinking about his school day. He was doing his best to not think of his rather boring plans for the evening when he heard his phone begin to ring.

"Takahashi," he answered quickly, checking the caller ID on the phone's receiver jack. It was unknown. Great.

"Inuyasha, it is your brother, Sesshoumaru," he heard the monotone response on the other end of the line. Even with his somber voice, Inuyasha rolled his eyes at his brother's implied 'grand announcement'. Like it was the most wonderful thing to receive a call from 'This Sesshoumaru'.

"You're my only brother, I know what your name is," he said, attempting to convey his deadpan expression through the phone.

"It is only proper to introduce myself, half breed. The purpose of my call is to inquire about the development of my ward in your Physical Education training. How is her progress?" His cold, and stoic voice barely relented any of his interest in the topic. Although, Inuyasha knew well enough that his brother was extremely keen on the girl. This was undoubtedly true or he wouldn't have bothered calling at all.

"She's doing fine. I was even able to get her a partner for the paired exercises," Inuyasha answered, barely able to retain the chuckle caught in his throat. This phone call would definitely brighten his mood.

"I see, and I assume you weren't foolish enough to pair her with a male?" Sesshoumaru said, not attempting to hide his boorish tone.

"Oh, dear brother," he drawled. "I'm sorry to inform you that Rin is the only mortal who enrolled in the class. Instead, I needed to pair her with a hanpa. But, the only suitable one in the class happened to be male." Inuyasha smirked as he heard the growl forming on the other end of the line. It was like Christmas morning.

"You are fully aware of how unacceptable that is Inuyasha. You will find her a suitable partner, I refuse to have her sullied by the hands of a young boy, a hanpa no less," he roared on the other end.

"Sesshoumaru, there are no other mortals in the class, the only option is a hanpa. There are only two, and the other is an Inu descendant who is not suitable. The only other solution," he paused for effect, dying with excitement at the fury he was about to bring forth in his brother, "was the Tanuki hanpa."

You see, normally his iceberg of a brother was the picture of stoic perfection, that is unless something happened to Rin. For Inuyasha it was like a game, what could he do to Sesshoumaru to make him snap? A very challenging, but rewarding game.

"THE WHAT! A... A… a Tanuki? Brother, are you insane? The taint he will inflict on her young, innocent mind, it will be irreversible! She will be scarred for life, you moron!" seethed his brother, and the line went silent for only a moment.

"I see I have no choice. I must kill you. It is the only way to rectify this problem."

The smirk never left Inuyasha's face, if anything his grin only got larger as he listened to the muffled insults and distressed breathing of his brother. The sound of items being knocked over, and his brother's pounding footsteps, filled the void in the conversation as Sesshoumaru paced his home.

"You disgraceful, *mumble mumble* worthless excuse for an Inu," he muttered. "Don't move, I am on my way to dismember you."

When the line disconnected, Inuyasha burst into a fit of laughter which could probably be heard all the way down the street. He put up the rest of his books, and quickly changed his clothes, before grabbing his laptop bag, and heading back out the door. No way was he going to be home when Sesshoumaru showed up, sword in hand, ready to slice and dice.

[:::]

Later that evening, Inuyasha had found himself at his favorite tea house. Alright, maybe it was his favorite because it was the only tea house within fifty miles. And maybe it had free wi-fi, and maybe he was kind of cheap. Whatever the reason, whenever Inuyasha left his house, for whatever reason, at the end of the night, he would find himself slurping at bubble tea and ramen (not necessarily in that order) at the same shop.

So maybe he shouldn't have been surprised when he heard the door jingle, only to reveal the next patron of the shop; who happened to be his now composed, and collected brother. He paled at the emotionless facade of his psychotic elder; and when the dauntingly tall figure coolly sat down at his table dread flooded into the pit of his stomach. The weight of the chair caused it to screech, sliding slowly and menacingly along the concrete floor, as he pulled out from the table.

Inuyasha pinned his ears to his head, and pretended to not notice Sesshoumaru, and just ducked his head a little bit closer to his laptop.

"That was a cowardly escape you made Inuyasha. Not unexpected from a half-breed; though I must admit your skills of evasion have improved," his brother said as his golden eyes pierced through the laptop, directly into Inuyasha's brain.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about. I didn't really think you meant 'don't move', when you said 'don't move'," he replied sarcastically.

"I have put that issue behind me brother. I have only followed up with you to let you know I have given you an extension on your life."

"How gracious of you."

"Yes, I am magnanimous," he replied, either not noticing the sarcasm, or ignoring it. "So you mentioned you have another Inu youkai enrolled in the class, a hanpa. Who is her sire?" he said with slight interest. Sesshoumaru found himself to be rather sly when it came to inter-clan relations. To find out there was an Inu in the school district without his knowledge, would probably be a dig to his ego.

"I'm not sure actually. She's adopted, the father was listed as John Doe, according to the mother," he answered. He made his best attempt to sound less interested in the subject than he really was.

"Adopted? Unbelievable, no Inu would allow one of their own to be broken from the pack," his brother analyzed. "It must be obvious how much importance we put on family relationships. I mean, we kept you around, that should be the perfect example."

"Keh, you're such an ass," Inuyasha jeered, looking again at his laptop. Sesshoumaru just wanted to pay him back for not waiting around for his 'punishment', so he was throwing useless insults at him.

"This may be true," he picked up, "But if I am the ass, you are the ass's ass."

"Clever," Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Back to the topic at hand, you haven't heard of any offspring in the other clan being born, or put up for adoption?"

"I have not. I will contact the alpha of the other clan, and see if there is any information they have kept from me on the subject. I will get back to you," he said as he stood from his chair. "Inuyasha, when you return home, bludgeon your face with a baseball bat, as punishment for avoiding me earlier tonight."

"I'll get right on that," Inuyasha answered dryly.

"Alright, I am glad we had this conversation," he said and turned to leave. His brother could be so odd, how were they even be related?

[:::]

"What are you doing back here, Mr. Takahashi?" Inuyasha lunged backwards as if burned from a flame when he heard the voice above him. "Did you see a ghost? You sure look like you saw a ghost, Mr. Takahashi."

Inuyasha glared up at the girl, who was occupying the nearest branch of the tree which he had been strategically placed. How had he not noticed her approach? He really needed to get his head out of the clouds.

"Aimi, what are you doing up in the tree?" he called to the girl. With outstretched hands he gestured to her, which she understood to climb down to him. Once she was near the ground with him, he resumed his... er, people watching.

Yeah, that's all it was. He wasn't doing anything creepy, like Miroku may have. Although, when he spoke to Miroku about this day, he had given him a similar idea; not that he would have ever took it, not in a million years. He was not spying on Kagome... from a distance... across the park that Shippo and Aimi had invited him to. Yeah, nothing like that.

"Well, Shippo and I were worried that you might not come today to play with us. He said that if you didn't it made you a poo-poo head, but I said.. 'Mr. Takahashi is not a poo-poo head'," she said proudly. "So I decided to look around, I thought you might be hiding or something. I was right too!"

"I was not hiding, Aimi," he muttered his correction.

"But, you were behind that tree, and you were staring at my Mommy," she said, and he blanched in response.

"I was not staring at your mother," he mumbled. "I just happened to be looking in her direction. Keh, I didn't really even see her."

"Really? How could you not see her? She is the only person over there," the girl questioned.

"You know, I think that is enough questions about your mom," he finished sternly. This day was not turning out the way he had intended. He had never been bad with women, and had planned on walking casually to the park, where he would meet his expecting friends, and students. However, when he reached the park, instead taking the normal route, and talking to the woman, he instead took the 'when they find you, you're going to look like a pervert' route, and watched her from behind a tree.

[:::]

The girl glared at him in response, which he returned with a quick bark, and she shied away. The two sat silently for a moment and the wheels in Aimi's head began to turn. Did Mr. Takahashi really not like her Mommy? She was pretty sure that her Mommy was the most beautiful woman in the world. There was the woman on the shampoo commercial that was very pretty too, but her Mommy was even more beautiful-er.

What if he didn't like her? Then her Mommy would be alone... forever. Her Mommy would never get married, and then she could never get married. And then her Mommy would be the 'old maid', and would be stuck in a card game the rest of her life. Her thoughts continued down this morbidly skewed path for a moment, and it wasn't long before she started to feel the sting of tears in her eyes.

"Aimi... Aimi," she heard out of the corner of her thoughts. Mr. Takahashi had been calling to her, and when she looked up, he looked painfully worried, and … uncomfortable. He was panicking, attempting to sooth her, "Er... don't cry, please don't cry."

She sniffed, and began to wipe away the tears which were hiding behind her puffy lids. She heard her mother calling her in the distance, and as soon as the sound hit her ears, she also noticed a strange smell in the air. It wasn't a bad smell, and it was somewhat familiar.

"Aimi, where are you..." she heard again. Her Mommy was looking for her, she must have been away too long. Hopping up from her place next to Inuyasha, she peeked out from behind the tree and began to flag down her mother. The scent in the air was getting stronger, and her nose twitched as it attempted to identify the source. When she turned to look at her teacher, he appeared to be very nervous.

"Aimi, I was worried about you, don't run off where I can't see you," she softly scolded the girl as she came around the trunk of the tree. "Why were you over here anywa-" She cut herself off. As soon as her Mommy saw her teacher the smell increased again. What was it? When had she smelled it before?

"Oh, Mr. Takaha- I mean, Inuyasha," she stuttered seeming very surprised. "I uh... it's nice to see you. What are you... um, doing... back here?"

"Kagome..." he gulped, and Aimi didn't miss the way her Mommy's breath hitched in her throat. "I was... ha, uh... I was, er..." he stuttered as well.

[:::]

He couldn't think, the woman's scent was driving him insane. How could he think around her, but then he noticed he had yet to come up with an answer, and grab the nearest thing.

"I was getting pine cones," he answered, and began to collect a few loose pine cones which were scattered about different areas of the clearing. "For a school project," he defended, when he noticed her skeptical look.

"Ahh, I see. Well, would you like some help?" she offered kindly. "Aimi and I would be glad to help you."

Inuyasha chuckled nervously, but nodded, and the three of them began to pick up pine cones, and place them in a pile. After they had a large grouping of them, much larger than he should need for his class, they all stared at it expectedly.

"I uh... forgot the basket," he answered embarrassed. "You know, just leave them, and I'll get it in a little bit." Inuyasha looked down, and noticed that Aimi was tugging at his shirt. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Mr. Takahashi, what is that smell?" she said.

"Keh, I don't know what you mean Aimi, what smell," Inuyasha said quickly, not really liking the direction this conversation was going. Oh, he knew what she was talking about, but there were so many smells going through his senses right now, that educating the young youkai on this lesson was totally out of the question,.

"You can't smell it? Mommy, do you smell it? It's like that time we came to the park, and there were those two teenagers who we caught kissing," she said, her voice still unsure as she tried to figure out what that smell was. Inuyasha only groaned, and turned away from the pair as Aimi went about her investigation, not noticing the adult's uncomfortable auras.

"Aimi, you know... why don't you just leave that alone for now," Kagome laughed nervously. She didn't seem to like the way this conversation was going either. "Inuyasha, would you like to sit with me? Miroku, and his family are here as well. Maybe you would want to catch up with some friends."

"Keh, alright, I guess I could for a little while," he huffed, attempting to sound indifferent. However, if he had a tail, it would be wagging.

Once they met up with the other adults, Sango and Miroku conveniently walked away with Shippo and Aimi to play at a swing set a good distance away. That left Inuyasha and Kagome sitting quietly until Kagome decided to get the ball rolling.

"So, Inuyasha, level with me," Kagome leaned nearer to him with a sly expression on her face. "Were you really here today to pick up some pine cones?"

Now, considering that Inuyasha was a mature adult, his cheeks should not have gotten as red as they did just at that moment. He clinched his claws into the wood of the bench he was sitting on to keep his hands from fiddling nervously.

Clearing his throat, with an embarrassing and unintentional whimper, he shook his head. "I came by, your daughter and her friend invited me."

"Oh really," she said, and her confidence was making Inuyasha annoyed. How come this woman could be so casual, and comfortable? He was the one who was good at being in control. Women were usually crawling at his feet. "I'll have to thank her. I had wanted to speak with you lately, but I just couldn't get myself back into that school. Small hallways."

He looked up at her, and noticed that her beautiful scent was a tad nervous, but her eyes only shown a bit of curiosity, and interest. He couldn't tell what her real feelings were, but she was happy to be talking with him. That was a plus.

"Yeah, I had wondered about that. You know, my room has a back door," he said with a smirk, feeling his confidence build.

"You would ask me to sneak into your room through the back door?" she laughed, a very pleasing sound. She smirked back at him with mirth in her eyes, "Scandalous."

"With how late you are to pick up Aimi, there wouldn't be anyone around to notice," he teased.

"Well maybe I'll do that. You seem to have taken a liking to her, from what she has said about school. She's practically teacher's pet," she said, placing an elbow on the table, and leaning her chin on it. "So you wouldn't mind watching her a little late in the evening."

"Keh, well not every night, but the girl doesn't bother me," he scoffed.

"I'd hope not, I can only imagine what you would do to the kids you don't like," she joked.

He laughed, and looked up to see that she was staring at him. When he caught her, her cheeks lit up a bit. He decided it was an opportune time to check his suspicions about her relationship status. He steeled his nerves, and put on his best indifferent expression before he began.

"If you don't mind me askin', where is Aimi's father? Of all this time, you haven't mentioned anything about him."

She chuckled a little, and squared off her stance to face him properly, "Inuyasha, I'm pretty sure we have already talked about this. I don't know who her father is."

Was she avoiding the question, or was she truly misunderstanding him? "I meant her current father, I know it isn't usually handled for children to be adopted by single parents, and her last name is not Higurashi." He instantly regretted prying into her personal life after the sad, and shocked expression donned on her pretty face.

"You mean my ex, well he's sort of out of the picture now. It's just me and Aimi now." She said as she looked away from him, the afternoon sun highlighting the soft skin of her cheeks.

"That's pathetic, when a man leaves his family. It's really hard for me, bein' a teacher, and seein' kids whose families have been torn apart," he said, off the shoulder. He hadn't intended on being so cold, or open. It just really irritated him to think that anyone could abandon Aimi, or Kagome.

"It's a long story, and it isn't pretty, or happy," she replied. "I don't know, I guess it really isn't even a good time for me to be talking about it. Some new things have happened recently, and I'm really just getting used to it."

He frowned when he thought of her alone, and her troubles, but at the same time she hadn't mentioned another man in her life. That was at least a bit of good news for him. She obviously had baggage though, but really, most adults did. That is just what happens. Find a partner who has learned and lived, or find one who hasn't. Either way, mistakes happen, and are learned from. Sometimes it is better to have someone who understands the world a bit better. That's where he was, and he surely wasn't interested in a girl who thought that a relationship didn't take work.

Kagome found a small smile after her quick discussion revolving around her love life. Maybe she caught onto his initial question.

"Inuyasha, were you just checking the waters?" she said boldly.

He choked at her words, eyes wide and flustered. Did she need to be so forward, at least he had tried to be nonchalant?

"*Ahem* well, maybe," he replied, his body warming at the somewhat embarrassing confession. "I, er.. was concerned about some things Aimi had mentioned in class, and just wanted to make sure she wasn't trying to..." he trailed off.

"Trying to what?" she urged skeptically.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure that she wasn't trying to find a replacement boyfriend for one she may not like."

"You mean, you were checking on my personal life to make sure that Aimi wasn't getting parented by some deadbeat?" she fumed. Shit. He really hadn't been trying to make her mad, what the hell.

"Keh, well you never know. Some women aren't the brightest, and pick some real asshole boyfriends," he said plainly.

"What you mean like your past girlfriends?" she spat.

"Yeah. I mean... What! Of course not!" he sputtered. "My past girlfriends did not date assholes. I am not an asshole. Miroku," he called to his friend. "Tell Kagome I am not an asshole."

"Whatever you say Inuyasha," Miroku responded playfully. Sango and he had been playing with Shippo and Aimi. He was playing the priest, officiating a mock wedding between the two, while Sango played the crying mother. Shippo grandly bowed to Aimi as she walked down the jungle gym staircase, and descended to be 'wed'.

"Keh, thanks for the help, Bouzu," he said exasperated.

"Well, I think I've had enough fun for today," Kagome sighed sarcastically. Wait, no... Shit, she wasn't supposed to leave, they were supposed to have fun today, and talk. Get to know each other. Find out they were in love, that kind of shit. Get back here wench!

Before he had a chance to think of a smooth retort to convince her to stay, she had already rounded up Aimi. She said her goodbyes to Miroku and Sango, and then left the park entirely, without a further glance in his direction. Although he did notice Aimi turn to look back at him sadly, and waved. He returned the gesture, and slumped down on the bench as Miroku came to sit next to him.

Sango walked up and bopped him on the head, "What the heck did you say to upset her?"

"Something stupid, I'm sure," Shippo said, nodding knowingly.

"Shippo, that's not nice," Inuyasha and Sango said in unison. She glared at the Inu.

"Well, you had better fix whatever you did. Kagome's a nice girl, she doesn't need you being so mean to her," she scolded.

"Keh, what the heck did I do? I can't help it that women can't understand basic English and then take whatever I say the wrong way," he whined crossing his arms with his nose upturned away from her. Problem was, in doing so he didn't notice her scowl, and clinched fist.

She reeled back, and swung hard at the hanyou, while her husband and son both flinched at the impact. Inuyasha fell soundly to the ground, rubbing the sore spot on his shoulder, where she had landed the punch.

"Woman, what the hell? What was that for?"

"For being an idiot. Come on Miroku, Shippo, we're going home."

"Keh, wenches..." he said as they walked away, Sango turning around to glare at him once more, causing him to flinch. Damn it... what was he going to do?

[:::]

One... Two... Oh, there's Three.

Gods, why was he counting the discolorations on his ceiling? Really... Couldn't he focus for once? This was important.

Two weeks had passed since the incident at the park. Kagome had yet to sneak into his classroom like he had suggested her to do. Of course, he knew why; she was an emotional female. But, she was also mad at him. Why did he always have to falter around that woman?

Really, it was getting unbearable. Between his constant thoughts trailing to her face, and body... scent… smile… laugh… Damn, everything and anything about her; and Aimi's ever present reminder of Kagome, he couldn't take it much longer. He needed to see her again, if for no other reason, than to just get his fix of her scent. It was so amazing, he wondered how he had lived without it. She was important to him, and he knew that she held a special spell on him, that wasn't going to be released easily.

He even found himself even more willing of Aimi to sit with him, and talk about Kagome, which she always did. All of her belongings smelled of her mother as well, which was a bonus, and he had to work extra hard as to not steal any of the items for himself. In no world would that EVER be appropriate, and if he had been caught, there would be no chance of seeing the girl's mother in a positive setting. He would also lose his job if he was caught stealing from a student.

And Aimi, on top of keeping his parental instincts in constant over drive (which troubled him, all to itself), also never stop speaking about Kagome. He enjoyed it though, he felt like he was getting a cheat sheet, even though it was a bit biased. Aimi adored her, and never had negative things to say, at least intentionally. Everything she said was in a positive light. It was obvious she loved the woman she had come to know as her mother.

He was proud to learn that Aimi knew that Kagome was not her natural mother, and that she didn't hold ill will against whoever her real mother was. Kagome taught her that when a mother puts a child up for adoption, it is because she loves her as well. That she wanted to give her a chance at life she could never have had otherwise. In this way, Aimi was also able to hold love for her real mother as well.

Kagome really was amazing, and he wanted to get to know her so much more, but when he was around her... he was an idiot. He needed to fix this.

And that was where he was at: lying on his bed, his cordless phone in his hand, while he stared at the ceiling. In his other hand was the card from his school with Kagome's phone number. He was going to man up, apologize for offending her, and ask her out.

This was possible. Not weird. Not inappropriate. He wanted to see her again for all the right reasons. He was interested in her, so why not pursue her? At least until he knew how she felt. He was going to do it. But really, after staring at the phone for forty five minutes, you would think he'd have dialed the damn thing by now.

Man up already.

[~A:|:N~]

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Vocab Time

Tanuki – This animal is the butt of many jokes; mainly pertaining to the males unusually large genitalia. They can be seen swinging them around, using them to do everyday and extraordinary tasks alike. Google it, pretty hilarious if you ask me.

Bouzu – Derogatory term for a priest/monk

Edward Cullen – Wasn't he like throwing up when he first met Bella? Lol… so sauvé, just like Inuyasha!

So, I hope nobody minded the double chappy ^_^ There was just so much I wanted to include from his perspective, and felt like the next chapter could easily be a double as well. So no worries, double the pleasure, double the fun, right! Oh, and that 'recite your phone number' game, I remember doing that in Kindergarten, lol.

Anyways, thanks for all the reviews and such. We're nearly done, phew!

- Foa