I feel sooo bad… you won't believe how much. I haven't updated this story in, like, a month! Which I would never do!! I guess it's because I was so busy (and sick) and people really wanted me to update my high school fic so I mostly updated that on the days I was supposed to update this… so I'm rily sorry~

The Dangerous State of Bliss

Chapter 5: Off Balance

Disclaimer: You already know the answer _

RECAP: 'So that's what happened: Miroku must have dared Sango to dare me to kiss Inuyasha. Man, they're good. Why didn't I think of that?

But now, I have to kiss Inuyasha.

Shit.'

"Isn't the 'I dare you to kiss' thing getting old now?" I laugh nervously. "I mean, c'mon guys! Think of something more original?"

"Actually, it's still pretty funny," Sango says. "But since you're my friend, I will give you another option."

I raise my eyebrows, waiting. "Which is…?"

Miroku and her exchange wicked glances. "Lap dance!" they call out.

Inuyasha glares at Sango. "Since when did you get so perverted?"

She gasps. "My, Inuyasha. I would have thought that given the opportunity, you would leap at the chance to kiss Kagome, and wouldn't mind a lap dance either. Since when were you so virtuous?"

"I would never force a girl to do anything with me," he says, slowly and seriously.

Despite myself, I smile.

"So Kagome, which will you choose?"

"Sango, you are aware that Inuyasha already has a girlfriend?"

"Yeah. So?"

I sigh. "Okay, fine. You know what? This isn't going anywhere. So I'm giving him one small kiss and that's it."

"Remember, it has to be on the mouth," Miroku tells me. I roll my eyes.

I drag myself in front of Inuyasha, but he doesn't meet my eyes. He is probably one of the most flirtatious guys I know, and yet… I pull my face up, so close that we're only a centimetre away, and I quickly touch my lips to his, but for less than a second. Then I return to my spot. I know that if I didn't do it as I had, I might have been tempted to take it further. And that's just the kind of mistake I refuse to make.

"You're no fun, Kagome," Sango pouts. "That was a five-year-old kiss! In fact, it didn't even qualify as a kiss- It should have at least lasted for three seconds."

"Yeah," Miroku agrees. "That's the kind of kiss one gives their mother."

"Whatever. Sango- truth or dare?"

"Dare." Then she sees my expression. "Wait, wait, wait! I change my mind; I choose truth!"

I laugh. "Too late, Sango! Okay, then. Inuyasha, what shall we make our evil little Sango do?"

"Hmm, that's a hard one. Maybe give Miroku a lap dance?"

"You're right. Sango, I dare you to give Miroku a lap dance."

"But I gave you an alternative! You have to give me one, too!"

"Alright. You're option B is to make out with him until I decide for you to stop."

Her face pales. "You are so cruel…"

"So are you."

"I know. But I just gave you a small kiss. You're giving me a lap dance or make out session."

"I would choose lap dance," Inuyasha jumps in. "Making out is way too passionate for two people who aren't even going out."

We laugh our asses off when Sango uncomfortably sits in his lap and moves her hips around a bit. It's technically not a lap dance (more like fidgeting) but her face is priceless.

Miroku on the other hand is hooting, which earned him a hard slap.

After we all calm down, Sango turns to shoot Inuyasha a cold stare. "Truth or dare, Inu?"

"Don't call me that. I choose truth."

'Wimp,' she mouths. "Who was your first kiss?"

He opens his mouth. For a second, his eyes meet mine, but then looks to Sango with an easy going smile. "Duh. Kikyou of course. Who did you think?"

My eyes narrow. Kikyou, huh? That jerk.

But Sango and Miroku move on, seeming to believe him. It does make sense, after all. They've been dating for some time now. Still… why'd he have to lie?

I stand up. "Well, this has been real fun and all, but I've got to get going. I have homework to catch up on and a huge test tomorrow."

"Kagome," Sango says softly. "Is something wrong? I mean, we've always done this Wednesday night thing. If you and Kikyou aren't here, where's the fun? You know what? Let's call it a night, guys. Kagome and I need a girl talk."

"Again? If you really have to, can we listen?" Miroku asks.

She glares. "No. Unless you're a girl. So are you?"

Miroku thinks hard about this. "Maybe…" Then he looks down at himself. "Never mind- I'm a boy."

"Ugh!" Sango grabs my hand and pulls me into my room. "I can't believe him sometimes!"

I roll my eyes. "But you love him!"

She stares at me, wide-eyed. "What? You're joking, right? I would never- I mean, who would- Kagome, you don't think-"

"Sango."

She exhales. "Forget Miroku. What about Inuyasha? Was it something he said that made you so upset?"

I groan. "Was it noticeable?"

"Well, I'm your best friend. I see this kind of stuff."

"Kikyou wasn't his first kiss…"

Sango blinks, knowing where this is going. I cringe.

"… It was me."

"Oh, this is pretty bad. I mean, what if Inuyasha has amnesia- Okay, scratch that. But… remind why this offends you? I mean, you told me you don't like the guy, right? So what does it matter if he claims his first kiss was someone else?"

I open my mouth to retort, but close it when I can't think of anything. After all, what she was saying made perfect sense. I was the one not making any sense here. "I guess I just don't tolerate liars."

"Maybe he actually forgot that it was you, and said Kikyou by mistake."

I shake my head. "No, I could tell he didn't forget. But anyways, we've spent enough time talking about that boob. Sango, can you help me study for my test tomorrow?"

Her cell phone buzzes and she flips it open. "Hello? This is Sango speaking… Oh, no… my God, are you okay?!"

This catches my attention and I watch Sango intently as she listens to the speaker with her full attention.

"Okay, I'm on my way… why not?... okay, I'll tell them then… please be safe, okay, Kaedae? If you really need to call the paramedics, then don't hesitate! I don't care about that- your life is more important… okay… yeah, I got it… alright, bye."

Sango pushes her cell deep into her pocket and races out the door, me right behind her. I don't ask anything because I know she'll explain soon. She quickly finds Miroku and Inuyasha. "Kaedae's in trouble. Sudden demon attack, no warning. She's wounded and she wants you two to help her out. I offered to go, too, but she insisted just you two. Miroku, get stuff to heal her, and both of you change. She's at the alley five blocks from the library. Apparently the demon pushed her down the alley and has her trapped. She was able to call because although he isn't moving, he's more interesting in gathering more people to add to collection or something. Now hurry!"

We all exchange confused looks as we try to process everything Sango just rambled out. All I caught was that Inuyasha and Miroku were the only one going on this mission. "Wait, why can't we go?"

"She wants us to watch the house. Kikyou doesn't know about this, so if she returns from her mission, she wants us to tell her what's going on."

"Then, can you stay and I go?"

"Kagome, she said just them. I'm sure there's a reason. C'mon- let's help them get ready quickly. Grab Inuyasha's clothes and I'll grab Miroku's."

So I run to Inuyasha's room, where he's already dressed. I guess he's just really experienced. He tucks three throwing stars into his belt as well as Tetsusaiga. He brushes past me and makes his way down the stairs before slipping into his boots.

"Inuyasha?"

He looks at me. "What is it?"

I toss him his cap. "You know, just in case there are some students returning from the library. You wouldn't want them to recognize you. I would give you sunglasses, but it's night so there's really no point in hiding your eyes."

Inuyasha grins.

"And just one another thing."

"What?"

"Um… be safe, okay?" I ask hesitantly. Then I scowl. "But I still hate you."

Just then Miroku bounces down the stairs and puts on his shoes as well. "Well, we're off," he says, and they run out, before Inuyasha can reply to my words.

"I think I'll stay in the living room," Sango says, suddenly by my side, causing me to jump. "Just in case. You go up and study."

And I do.

Or at least, I try.

But all I can think of is that Kaedae is injured, and Inuyasha's the only one who can attack the demon because Miroku would be buys tending to Kaedae.

Unable to concentrate, I take a nice, long, hot shower which relaxes me for a while, until my muscles tense again. Finally, I accept that there won't be any studying done tonight, and I settle in bed, looking up at the ceiling.

Were they okay?

I really hope so.

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I wake up drowsily; rubbing my temples as I splash my face, then change into my uniform. When I slip into the kitchen to find myself breakfast, I remember everything from last night: Kaedae, Inuyasha, and Miroku. This instantly wakes me up.

"Did 'ya miss me?"

I twirl. "Inuyasha? When did you get back?"

"Three o'clock in the morning. Didn't get much sleep. Normally I would be in a killer mood but seeing your pretty face always brightens me up."

Flirty or not, he's alive. Not damaged (physically, anyway). I clobber him in a hug.

"Woah- you really did miss me."

"Don't get cocky," I mutter into his shoulder. Then I back away. "How's Kaedae? I want to see her. What about Miroku? Did Kikyou return?"

He looks uncomfortable. "Uh, Kaedae and Kikyou are just taking care of some boring old business, so don't mind them. Yeah, Kaedae and Miroku are both okay. Kaedae's left arm is in a cast at the moment, but nothing lethal. Fortunately, no poison. Miroku got some scratches but nothing a bandaid can't handle. As for me…" He pulls up his sleeve and shows me three pink gashes running up his forearm. When he sees my face, he laughs. "It looks worse than it feels. The demon was taken care of easily. However… as weak as it was, it did have a special 'ability' that surprised us. It was able to hold its breath. That doesn't sound very dangerous, but for a living thing -even a demon- to not use its lungs… that's strange. Not normal. Miroku needs rest and Sango's looking after him, so it looks like we're the only ones going to school today."

"Oh, yay." I want to ask about Kikyou and Kaedae, but he seemed anxious to move on from that topic so I'll save it for later.

"No one made lunch so you're going to have to bring lunch money. Hurry up and eat chocolate."

"Chocolate?"

"Don't you have an exam today?"

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. "I DIDN'T STUDY!"

He shrugs. "Big deal. I never study."

"But you still get decent marks! I'm going to bomb this test!"

"Can't help that I'm a genius. And maybe you should be using this time to study."

I nod. "Good point."

"But it's too late now. We have to leave."

"You meanie."

"Awww, I'm sorry, Kaggie bear."

My feet take me to my shoes and I tiredly put them on. "I'm sure, Inuyasha, I'm sure." Then, like any other day, we leave.

When we arrive, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi are waiting for us, with expectant looks on their faces. "Did you hear?" they ask.

"Hear what?"

Eri bubbles excitedly, "Naomi Okazaki is throwing a huge party this weekend! And you will not believe- everyone in our entire grade in invited! Everyone is talking about it!"

Naomi Okazaki? Throwing a party to which everyone is coming? Since when? Naomi has always been a mellow, go-with-the-flow kind of person with about three really close friends and that was it. Maybe she had changed over the summer. I sigh. How come I never hear about this stuff? Because of my work as being a 'ninja' I've been so busy and no time to catch the latest gossip. Not that I don't like being a ninja, because in a way, I do. It's super cool.

"So are you going or what?" Yuka asks us. "You should totally go as a pair! That would be super cute!"

"Yeah!" Ayumi agrees, nodding quickly. "We're all going shopping tomorrow to buy new clothes, too. Yuka and Eri are hoping to snag a boy at the party. Want to go with us, Kagome?"

I shake my head. "Sorry, guys, but my schedule is packed tomorrow."

"So does that mean you two are going though? On Saturday?"

I begin to decline, to say that we have no time for that stuff, when Inuyasha blocks my mouth his head (ignoring my angry protests). "Yeah, count us there," he says. "Kagome needs to… loosen up a bit. This is the perfect opportunity."

Maybe he's right.

But after what he announced in the cafeteria? I was practically a social hazard. Well, maybe not a social hazard, but I'm definitely not one of those girls who are always the center of attention at a party.

I shudder at the thought of myself in spotlight.

My reverie is broken by the sound of the bell.

"Are you ready for the test, Kags?" Yuka asks me.

"Arg- the test!" I yell. "I'm doomed…"

Eri and Ayumi laugh nervously. "Don't worry, Kagome, it's not that big of a test."

Inuyasha nods seriously. "Yeah, I heard it was only ninety-percent of your overall mark-"

"INUYASHA!"

He smirks. "Just trying to help," he insists, ruffling my hair knowing I hate that, and runs into the building, forcing me to run as well.

And it's time to take the exam… I bomb it. There were at least five questions I didn't have to answer to, and about two that had words I'd never hear of.

When the professor collects my test, she runs her eyes through it, and they widen. "Kagome, this is highly unusual of you. Were you unaware that there was a test today?"

I cringe in my seat. Darn- she noticed. "No, Miss, I knew."

"Then why did you do so poorly?"

"I- I was unable to concentrate. It was my fault; I'm sorry and it will not happen again."

She nods and moves on. Now that was a bit embarrassing.

Hand in palm, my eyes scan the classroom in boredom, and I notice Nazuma Kazaku sitting two rows away. She's one of Naomi's closest friends, from grade school I hear.

I snap awake when I notice the scars running along her upper back, mostly covered by her hair and the blood faintly sweeping through.

AN: Again, I'm so sorry for the wait! I'm not just saying that!

Anyways, the more you review, the faster I update and that's a fact ;) my other story has so many more fans so I update that one every two weeks.

Bye, and talk to you all soon!~