A/N: Here's the second installment of Eliminated. I'm glad you've liked it so far. Trust me, it's a very interesting story and I've had fun writing it. Updates for this one can occur amazingly fast- just as long as I get feedback on each chapter. So please enjoy chapter 2, and tell me what you think in a review!

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha; duh. XD
Rated: Mature For mainly crude language, sexual references, and mature situations.

CHAPTER 2

The next morning, I woke up way late. The sun, which was slipping through the blinds in the living room, was shining directly on my face. I sat up on the couch and saw that Kagura was sitting at the kitchen table, seemingly deep in thought. A pillow was knocked from my "bed" and she looked over at me silently.

"Good morning," she said, kind of half there. It wasn't uncommon to wake up to Kagura in the apartment- she usually did her part as guardian and made us breakfast if I didn't chase her out.

"'Morning'," I said sloppily. Sitting up, my hair fell about me in a totally damp mess. I sighed- hating how thick it was at times. I stood and stretched a bit before addressing Kagura.

"So, did you come here to just allow me to miss school and stare at the wall all day?" I adjusted my shorts by pulling them down a bit. I hated when they rode up.

"Sango… what do you plan on doing after you graduate? Have you applied to any colleges?"

I gave her a questioning look, but she wouldn't meet my glance. She looked defeated- what happened?

"Yo- you ok?"

She sighed then stood. "I made breakfast," she said pointing over to the fridge. "Stop by my place after work if you want dinner."

"Kagura," I called out to her.

She looked up at me, and I finally saw that she was just moments away from tears. I pulled her into my arms, and she broke down. I just held her tightly, not knowing anything else to do. I couldn't bring myself to look down at her form shaking with intense cries so I shut my eyes and let everything go.

"Sango?" she questioned softly.

"Do you… want to talk about it?" I questioned gently, actually enjoying the warmth of her body in my arms.

"I'll talk if you'll listen," she offered, pulling away.

"Ok," I headed over to the couch and sat down, deciding to give her the time she needed to collect her thoughts. I was surprised, however, when she followed behind quickly. She seated herself right beside me and rested her head against my shoulder. Her extra body heat was making my already groggy state quite unbearable.

"Oh, where to start?" she sighed pathetically.

I was going to smartly reply, "At the beginning." I held it in however when I read the distress on her face- in her eyes. I hated seeing her like this really. I had seen her like this a few times before- in shambles; broken. It was when her 'boyfriend' Naraku had found another girl. Not only did she go through the rejection relationship wise, she started to hate herself because she felt that she wasn't "good enough" for him.

"Am I not good enough for him?" she stated softly, finally.

I should've known. Naraku was such a bastard. I didn't understand what she saw in him. Well- he was kind of hot in a badass kind of way; but that's beside the point. He was a total arrogant prick. She could do so much better than him. She deserved so much better than him.

"Kagura… You have to let it go. I mean, if he's found someone he thinks is better suited for him than he's found someone. No one knows who exactly in life is perfect for them in a relationship than that person themselves," I said gently with a tired sigh.

"But I know that he's perfect for me," she said in exasperation.

"I can't tell you to let him go and have you take my words to heart- you have to realize on your own," I sighed before closing my eyes. "You're a beautiful woman Kagura and you've got a spunky attitude- there are lots of guys who like that out there."

"But not for innocent reasons," I snickered in my head.

She was silent for a while, having gained control of herself quite quickly. She was good at that- recovering. I felt that that was what made her a strong and unique person; she was quite resilient.

"Sango…. Is there anyone special in your life?"

I tensed against her. This wasn't the first time we'd talked about relationships but this was the first time she'd ever asked me about my own love life. It was strange and I knew that it couldn't be anything good. Nothing about my past love life was good.

"No," I answered quickly.

"Why?"

"Because there isn't," I answered truthfully. "I'm the girl that nobody likes."

"Why? I think you're amazing. You're beautiful, smart, and you do sweet things like this," she said draping her arm tiredly across my stomach.

"Well… I'm different at school," I said with a dry throat and blushing cheeks.

"Oh- well they're missing out on a great person," she said letting her eyes fall shut.

She had fallen asleep. I couldn't believe it because it was so sudden. I realized that she must've been up all night worrying about this and having self-esteem problems. I felt bad for her and having not the willpower to just push her off, I let myself get comfortable and fall back asleep.

I awoke hours later to find myself lying on the couch comfortably. I felt that I had been sleeping all day- which was the case. I shifted a bit, finding that my source of warmth was still atop me with her arms wrapped around me. I sighed lazily and pulled her a little closer allowing myself this sinful indulgence.

I heard the door unlock and wondered what Kohaku would say when he walked in on us taking a nap. I had recently realized that Kohaku had developed a slight crush on Kagura- which was probably why he had been trying his hardest to spend time with her and leaving me lonely. 

It was silly really, for him to be angry that we did stuff like cuddle, because we didn't feel that way for each other. But then again- I shouldn't be angry because of his stupid crush. It was hurting me however, so I supposed I should be a little more considerate to his feelings.

"You can wait here until she gets back," I heard him say as he pushed the door open. What the fuck was he talking about and who was he talking to?

"San…." He had started to call my name but trailed off. I opened my eyes and let my head fall over the arm of the chair. Kohaku came into view upside-down; Kagome was with him.

I suddenly sat up, waking Kagura in the process. My face burned with the intense heat of embarrassment. Why the hell was that girl at my apartment?!

Her face was red and so was Kohaku's. The three of us looked at each other in awkward embarrassment until Kagura got off me and stood. Our stares all directed in her direction and she stopped straightening her clothes with a sheepish smile on her lips.

"Maybe… I should leave," Kagome started quietly.

"Wait, ah- sorry!" Kagura said moving forward. I grabbed her arm and pulled her close to me.

"Go wash off your face," I whispered pushing her towards the hallway. She complied quietly muttering foul words.

"Ah, Kagome, what are you doing here?" I asked with my eyes hardening considerably.

Kohaku looked away from me looking a bit upset but then his interest peaked suddenly and he looked back at me with a confused look.

"Wait, you know her?"

"I guess you can say that," I said letting my eyes float back to her blue ones. God- I hadn't seen eyes so gorgeous in my life. I felt as if I could just fall right into them- get lost in their depths.

"We're in school together," she spoke softly.

"Oh," he said, suddenly losing interest.

"Why are you here?" I asked again.

She looked a bit surprised. Her eyes were suddenly cast away from mine as if she couldn't handle my stare. I felt a little bad- I could see the fear in her eyes. I could see the hurt as well- I could see her giving up.

"Oh, Sango, give her a break."

I turned to see Kagura standing behind me with a cocky smile.

"She's here for a job interview," she said with her brown eyes dancing playfully. I wondered why she looked so smug all of a sudden- what was she up to?

"Whatever," I said lifting my arms over my head stretching. "I'm going to get ready for work."

"Hey, Sango?" Kohaku started hesitantly.

"Yo?" I acknowledged as I continued towards the room.

"Is she a friend?"

I stopped short of the door suddenly feeling out of place.

"No," I said quietly before going in and locking the door. I got dressed and ready for work quickly. I couldn't believe I had slept pretty much all day. Stepping out into the hallway I zipped up my coat checking for my keys. That's when I remembered I needed some gas. I'd have to head over to Kagura's to bug her for some gas money.

"Hey, Kohaku is…" I trailed off once seeing that Kagura and Kagome sat on the couch chatting.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" I barked, shocked out of my skin.

"Job interview," Kohaku said flipping through the channels as he sat cross-legged before the TV.

Kagura looked up giving me an arched eyebrow.

"Can't you do that in your apartment?" I was annoyed.

"Technically, this is my apartment," she said, turning around and ignoring me.

"Fuck you," I muttered.

"Now, now- you know where that language almost got you last time," she chided playfully.

A blush blasted across my cheeks and I dug through my bag to grab some money, not even bothering to ask Kagura. I headed to the door with a scowl on my face.

"Hey, Sango?" she called after me.

I glanced back with a hesitant glare. Was she out to embarrass me in front of Kagome?

"You look like a tomato."

My blush only brightened and I felt my ears getting hot. Oh, could it be any worse? I was suddenly very angry. Kagura couldn't even show me any sympathy after I let her fucking cry her eyes out on my damned shoulder

"I fucking hate you," I opened the door, let myself out and slammed it shut behind me.

My mood was foul all throughout work and it hadn't lifted a bit due to the fact that I was moved to table duty. So then I had bus tables and all that shit. It was quite the awful night. In addition to that, my car ran out of gas on the way home- I had totally forgotten, in my anger, that I needed to fill the tank. I sat in my car glaring out into the darkness for nearly two hours. I was too upset even to call home.

Frowning I heaved a heavy sigh and finally caved.

"Hello?" Kagura's voice rang out clearly.

"I ran out of gas; can you come get me?" I mumbled tiredly.

"Oh- I was wondering where you had gone," she said seeming worried.

"Whatever- can you just come get me?" I snapped not in the mood for her playfulness.

"Yeah, sure," she said softly. "Where are you?"

Kagura was with me within a few minutes. She had a container of gas and a sandwich for me.

"Why didn't you call me earlier?" she asked as I tossed the sandwich into the passenger seat. I didn't feel like eating anything. I wasn't hungry.

"I didn't feel like it," I said coldly as I started the car. "I'll see you tomorrow." She stepped back and I took off towards home without sparing her another glance.

When I got to the apartment I locked both locks and used the chain lock. I didn't want to see Kagura until I was ready. I didn't want to see her until I had my temper in check.

The next morning I made Kohaku breakfast and left for school early because I couldn't sleep. I received all of my makeup work and sat in Mr. Banryu's classroom to start on it. I was the only one in there until Kagome walked in. She sat quietly in her seat but every few moments I could feel her eyes on me. I mean, it was so blatantly obvious that she was looking at me.

"What the fuck do you want?" I snapped suddenly looking up and catching her in the act. Her eyes widened and a blush shot across her cheeks. She obviously didn't know what to say and looked quite scared. Her lips fell apart- probably to speak. No words came out, however.

"God," I huffed, looking back down at my work.

I wondered what all Kagome and Kagura talked about. Knowing Kagura, they probably only talked about the job for about twenty minutes- which left a good few hours to talk about other things. Other things like me. Oh, what was I worrying about? I wasn't important enough to be the subject of someone's conversation for so long. Though I really had to wonder, because if I were Kagome I'd have questioned Kagura about her relationship with me.

"Sango?"

I looked up, surprised that she even opened her mouth to address me. I could see the pure determination in her eyes and I smiled. I actually smiled. Her eyebrow rose in a questioning gesture and I realized the position of my lips. I was surprised to say the least. I tried to will the smile away, but then she smiled back and I couldn't help it. A blush slowly rose to my cheeks.

"Yo," I replied looking back down at my paper.

I couldn't handle her smiling face. I couldn't handle the look in her eyes- especially when I realized that it was me that she was smiling at. Especially when I realized that she had built up the determination to talk to me- that that odd emotion in her lake-like blue depths was for me. I couldn't really tell at first, but when I really looked hard I realized that it was appreciation. Why 

this was how she was looking at me, I didn't know. All trails were leading back to Kagura and I planned on questioning her if I wasn't in a fighting mood when I got home.

"Kagura's your legal guardian right?" her eyes seemed to fill with courage.

Usually with questions as personal as such I'd tell the curious one to "fuck off" or something; but since Kagome probably had so many questions since yesterday I decided to answer a few.

"Yeah," I said looking up and cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh," she said trailing off. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents."

"Did Kagura tell you?" She nodded her response with an unexplainable sadness in her eyes. That wasn't sadness for me was it? I didn't need or want sympathy.

"It's no big deal. I've adjusted quite fine," I said looking away from her warily. I didn't want to become a sob story. I just wanted to be me.

"Are you and Kagura… um, well….," she couldn't say it and blushed. That was so amazingly cute that I couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh yeah, we fuck every day," I said causing her eyes to widen ridiculously.

"I'm just kidding," I laughed. She pouted then sighed.

"What type of job did you apply for anyways? Last time I checked she didn't have any positions open," I pulled a breakfast bar out of my bag. Kagura's oriental merchandise business was quite the flourishing one. She had about three stores open citywide and it was expanding and branching out to different cities. She planned to open three more store within the next few months.

"She didn't have any openings. I wanted to help with accounting though," she said leaning back in her seat. So, she didn't get a job- but she looked so fulfilled. I could see it in her eyes how satisfied she was.

"Why do you look so happy?" I questioned as I ate pretty much half of the breakfast bar.

"Well, I did kind of get a job," she smiled. "She said only because I was your friend though," her voice was soft.

My friend? What was Kagura up to?

"You're not my friend," I said simply.

She shrugged still smiling.

"Why the fuck are you smiling?"

Her smile did not falter as her eyes connected with mine. She had that, "I'm keeping something from you" look in her eyes. She shrugged- lying.

"Whatever," I muttered as I finished off my breakfast bar.

"Thanks Sango," she said.

"For what?"

"For being you," she said, standing. She was out of the room in seconds.

"What the fuck?"

Thank you for reading! Please review!
Enigmatic Ethereality