Talking to herself
There's no one else who needs to know
She tells herself

Waking up the next morning to find herself still leaning on his steadily rising chest, sickness pitted itself in her stomach. Apprehension came crashing down and she knew this was wrong. Her dream had given her clarity and she realized that in her dream she didn't hurt. She felt alive.

Well I guess it had to happen sometime. Taking the necessary precautions to lift herself as quietly from the bed as she could, Kagome snuck down stairs to the living room to think about what options she had. She may be limited in those options, but at least she had one or two to pick from.

Having felt a weight being shifted off of him Inuyasha began to wake up. Eyes feeling sore and heavy he chose to keep them closed a bit longer and attempt to fall back asleep. He wasn't prepared to face the day and all the challenges he knew were lying ahead. Just as he started to slip back under he heard her voice and listened in..

Just down stairs he could tell she was on the phone with someone but he couldn't quite figure out who.

"That doesn't mean he just gets a pass for this though. We may both have led the other on and maybe we should have ended it so much sooner…but he's a coward…no…well yea he is a coward..but so was I, just for an entirely different reason. We let our fears make us selfish and in doing so forced ourselves into the situation we're in now. I can't tell if I should be mad or not anymore. The pain I've been in was caused by lying to myself. Sure he isn't innocent either. The first time he went to her I should have ended it…no…the moment I realized I didn't feel a connection to him, I should have ended it. I've been so angry for so long at some point I have to take responsibility for my own inactions."

"God what am I even going to do now?" This was the true reality. Having accepted the fate of the relationship; now it was about figuring out how to support herself on her own. She and Inuyasha split the rent 4 ways for this 2 bedroom house with Miroku and Sango. She never had the nerve to tell anyone but Sango that she was homeless before this. Miroku was a full time student working as a part time clerk at a nearby convenience store and best friends with Inuyasha. Sango is Mirokus girlfriend and works as an intern at an insurance agency. They had hung out a few times in the past and clicked like sisters right off the bat. So when Sango brought up the idea of all four getting a place together Kagome jumped at the chance. This would be the first place she could afford.

"Ugh this sucks, what am I going to tell Sango? I know shes going to ask me where I'll be moving. Shit. Well Kouga has a pretty large home where he and his pack lives, I know he would let me crash there a while. Ha! He may refuse to let me move out. But the lack of privacy and bathrooms would be a problem…." "Well it beats living in abandoned cars again at least" She laughed.

"Ok so a place to stay has been established what else do I need to figure out…hmm. Ah of course breaking the lease agreement, which technically shouldn't be hard as my name isn't on the lease. But I don't want to screw over Sango and Miroku..."

Having heard enough Inuyasha grumbled his way out of bed and sauntered down stairs. Only he didn't see her on the phone. Kagome still in the pink pajama set that she had been wearing last night, was pacing in circles mumbling to herself. Had he been anyone else he wouldn't have been able to decipher what was being said, but since he wasn't someone else – he caught every word. Tempted to just stand there and see what she came up with he decided against it as the thought of her moving in with Kouga set his blood boiling.

"Hey! You don't have to move out stupid, and you sure as hell can't live with that flea bag. So there, now you don't have to worry about screwing everybody over."

Startled at the sudden interruption to her musings Kagome jumped and whirled around to face the staircase. After realizing he heard her she branded him with a hot glare "How would that ever work out if I stayed here? Kouga may have boundary issues but at least it would be that he couldn't keep his hands off ME and not someone else…and yes that does pose a bit of a problem but one that I am more than capable of handling."

Finishing his descent from the stairs he squares his shoulders in front of her leaning into her stare with his own "No Ka-go-me you ain't going to go off and living with that guy. Especially in a house full of a bunch of other guys. That's not happening. You would be on your own with no one to protect you."

Touched by his concern but annoyed at his controlling tendencies the only way to win this argument would be to state facts. "I was on my own long before you. Again I ask, how it would work for me to stay here and you run to Kikyo every night? Or would you bring her here and parade her around the house? Would you actually try bringing her into our group of friends and have her live with you? You can't move out, you make more money than I do. When I leave you'd have to split the rent three ways and its much easier for you guys to take the pay hike than I can. I barely make enough as it is."

"Those all sound like excuses to me. Yes I do plan on bringing her around when I hang out with MY friends. From the sounds of your own little conversation it doesn't sound like it should be a problem. What was it you said, you never felt a connection anyway?!"

Holy shit he knows!

Stricken with guilt and trying to figure out how this got so turned around Kagome had to let up on her own anger to accomplish what she wanted before destroying everything she had gained since her mom died. These friendships were precious to her, his words were true, but for reasons she hadn't accepted yet – yes, yes it would still bother her to have him bring her around.

With wide eyes and a slack jaw she couldn't formulate a response to what he had just said. She found herself once more in fight or flight mode. Sensing her fear he knew she might try to take off or when her brain came back online she might swing at him.

I have to get out of here, I have to figure out what to say before I say anything else at all. How do I salvage this friendship, or has there been too much damage as it is and this is it. Taking a step back she swiftly walks to the foyer, slips her sandals on and grabs her purse off the hook. Pajamas or no she needed to leave and figure this out.

Catching up and noticing she was about to make a run for it Inuyasha made a grab for her arm "hey you can't just leave like that. We're in the middle of a conversation and it's just getting started."

"Let go."

"No you aint going to Kouga's, especially in your pajamas!"

Turning in his grip to face him fully she leveled him with a death glare "if you value any bone in your body you will remove your hand from me. I need space, I need to think, I don't know what to say to you and I don't want to regret what does get said. So release me, now."

"Keh that's not how this works Kagome, this needs to be se…"

He was never given a chance to finish that sentence before her power rose up and burned his hand. It had been so long since she had needed to use her powers, but it was comforting to know that she could still use them when she needed it.

With that she began he brisk walk to anywhere but here.