Hmm nothing much to say this time… Well, except that I'm STILL (impatiently) waiting for summer. Summmmerrrrrr…. And that I've been EXTREMELY busy with school. If ever I haven't updated in a while, check my PROFILE. There will most likely with a reason that I've posted, so yeah ;)

Bitter or Sweet?

Disclaimer: I'm not even Japanese!

Chapter 17: Bastard Pt. 2

Well she's hotter than hell
And she's cool as they come
And she's smart and she's wild
All rolled into one
Yeah, you say I'm the guy that you wish you could be
It's not easy to see
That she's an angel to you
But she's a devil to me

~The Click Five: Angel to You (Devil to Me)

INUYASHA'S POV

Kagome can go die in a hole.

She just loves causing me misery. I swear. She'll be the death of me, and when that happens, I'm going to come back as a ghost and haunt her. Well, maybe not literally, 'cause I actually like Ms. Higurashi, and if I bothered her only daughter, she'd probably freak- plus, she's my mom's best friend and even as a ghost, Mom would probably find a way to punish me.

Or worse, she'd get Sesshomaru to make fun of me for being translucent.

Or something.

"Belle couldn't help the mad tears that ran down her face; she was in love. She was in deep, and there was absolutely no way of climbing back up. And so, with her heart pounding and her hands shaking in clamor, she leaned down and as a tear drop from her pure heart dripped onto the Beast's cheek, some mysterious force pulled his body upwards into the air." Kagome narrates.

A Props person climbs up the stairs at the back of the stage and sprinkles down some glitter and confetti and the curtains close.

Koga quickly jumps up and hurries off stage.

"Inuyasha," Eri hisses, nudging me with her elbow sharply, "you're on! Hurry up; get on stage."

Aw damn. Like seriously, who gives a flying fuck about the stupid spring play? Clearly not me, anyone who's normal will gladly agree with me. Geez, the ridiculous things this school makes us do is completely beyond me.

But everyone backstage is glaring at me, and so I stick my hands in my pockets and trudge my feet towards Sango who rolls her eyes at my demeanor.

"Gosh, Inuyasha, do you have to look so… so miserable? You look like you've been sent to the gallows to be hung or something."

Before I can respond with a good comeback, someone pulls the goddamn curtains open and Sango hurriedly pushes me down onto the floor. "Ouch! What the hell was that for, woman?"

"Get. Into. Position," she commands darkly, eyes flashing. I don't know how Miroku puts up with it. When the lights on top click on, Sango's face blanks, and then an expression of complete disbelief and joy passes over.

What the hell?

"Who… who-?" she stammers, blinking owlishly at me.

Ah, I see. "I'm still Beast," I force out dryly, "… See?"

Sango puts on this taken aback face. "But, that's not possible. Y-you can't be… Could you?" She even does a little gasp at the end.

I shrug. "I don't know. You tell me."

Mr. Myoga stands up. "CUT!" he yells. "Inuyasha, are you trying to be horrible at this, or what? The performance date is coming up in less than a month! You better straighten things up with your lines and attitude, mister, or we'll get someone else to do your part."

"Please do," I mutter. "I didn't want to be a part of this whole fiasco anyway."

"Is there a reason why you're acting grumpier and more like a jerk than usual?" Sango snaps. "Everyone else is working incredibly hard to get this done, and to do it right. I won't tolerate you trying to ruin this for everybody! Can't you see that there's a tremendous amount of time and effort being put into this play?"

I just tilt my head back to stare at the ceiling.

Mr. Myoga just sighs. "Let's do this scene over. Properly, Inuyasha. Got it?"

I nod slightly.

"Is that clear, Inuyasha?" he tries again.

"Crystal," I spit out.

"Good."

So then Sango goes, "Who… who-?" like some confused owl again.

So in a sappy, sugary voice with my eyes all twinkly and shit, I say: "I'm still Beast… see?"

Sango glares silently. "But that's not possible," she grinds out. "You can't be… Could you?"

"Belle… it's me," I tell her, voice deep with suave. I even slap on a sarcastically romantic expression. Grabbing her hand, I place it on my hair. "Don't you see, Belle? I'm still just as fucking hairy as I was before!" I say cheerfully. "The only difference is that the twinkly confetti was actually bleach, so my brown fur turned white. Ta-da!"

"CUT!"

Kagome catches my arm on the way out.

"Inuyasha, could you please try?" she pleads. Her eyes bore into mine, and- fuck, I just wanted to grab her and fucking kiss her right then.

But I'm better than that; smarter than that. I know how to control myself. "You can't tell me what to do, Kagome. You may think you're good-girl act works on everybody, and you may think that your will alone is enough to carry the whole entire world on your freaking shoulders, but you're overestimating yourself. You really are."

Kagome's brown eyes widen and for a moment, I wonder if I've gone too far. But before I can start regretting my words I turn around and begin walking away. That's the solution to everything, I swear.

"Is it because of the kiss?" Kagome shrieks, voice crackling, but not because of tears: because of anger. "If you regret it so much, we can just forget it ever happened. I don't care! But you have to tell me what's going on, because you're ignoring me, and you know it!" Pause. "What? Is it because I hurled on you? Is that why you're avoiding me? Because you're so terrified I'll puke again? You have to cooperate with me, damn it."

"It's not because of a stupid kiss," I growl. "And it's not your vomit either."

"So, what, you're just having an off day? Are you not feeling well? Something?"

Why can't she just shut up already? "No offense, Kagome, but is it really any of your business what's wrong? Because I don't think I have an obligation to tell you every little thing that goes on in my life."

Kagome laughs, and I blink in surprise.

"You know what you can tell me? Who are you?" she asks. "'Cause you're not Inuyasha. Inuyasha, the one I know, is stubborn and stupid and idiotic, but kind and sensitive deep, deep down. He's all bark and no bite. He jokes around, teases, is mean at times, but never really means anything he says. The Inuyasha I know still came to pick me up when I'd fainted even though things between the two of us were slightly awkward because he freaking kissed me and refuses to take responsibility for his actions!"

This girl seriously needed to rant.

Kagome finishes, and stops to catch her breath. But I still don't turn to face her. Because looking her in the eyes would be too hard and I wouldn't be able to get out the words I need to. "Kagome, I hate to burst your bubble, but you don't do anything about me. At all. I'd like you to stop pretending like you do."

Then I take steps away from her.

Kissing her was the first, big mistake.

Kagome was wrong; she said I wasn't taking responsibility for my actions. But I am. Because I can't allow myself to love her or even remotely like her. Because it wouldn't be fair to her, and I'd just end up torturing myself.

With that thought in mind, I feel more confident, walking the halls to classes as if I don't have a care in the world.

If Miroku or Koga notice any differences in me, they keep it to themselves. They know that if I want to talk, I'll talk.

Then, of course, little miss red-hair-red-tempter storms up to me and pushes me on the shoulders.

"God, what is it with Kagome's friends and pushing me?"

"Go on a date with her," she breathes, green eyes narrowed blaringly.

I make a face. "What?"

Ayame backs off a bit, visibly calming down a fraction. "Go on a date with Kagome," she repeats. "Don't ask questions; just do. Because both of you are being blind and dense and the only way to get the two of you over denial stage and actually happy for once is to go on a real, actual date. No strings attached. And not as friends or buddies or whatever Kagome calls the relationship between you two. Go as girl and boy, like regular people."

I scoff. "That's not possible."

Miroku clears his throat. "Um, that was the bell for last period, guys…"

We ignore him. "Why the hell is it not possible?" Ayame demands fiercely. "Kagome's nice, and pretty, and caring, Inuyasha. She's not a bad person at all. Would it really kill you that much to just give the two of you a try? Just a try? I know you don't hate her. If the boyfriend-and-girlfriend thing doesn't work out, you can always go back to being pals or chums."

No. Not Kagome. Never with Kagome. If it was any other girl besides Kagome, maybe I'd go on a date with her. But going with Kagome could lead me to like her- in a serious way. I'm not letting that happen.

Because I know Kagome's nice, pretty, caring, and whatever else Ayame described her to be. That's why I don't want to hurt her. Because there's a reason why I don't date. "There's nothing wrong with Kagome. But I'm not interested. There are plenty of great guys for her. I don't have to be one of them."

Ayame's eyes glitter with tears, and I try to hold back my initial shock. Girls are so damn confusing, with their PMSing. "I think… I think Kagome likes you, Inuyasha," she whispers menacingly. "She won't admit it to herself, but I've been her best friend for a while, and I can tell that what she feels for you can develop into so much more."

Why?

Why do they all have to make it so hard?

Why do I continuously have to play the bad guy?

Koga sees the look on my face and steps in front of me.

"Ayame, Inuyasha is really tired. Maybe it'd be good to leave him alone right now. Save this conversation for tomorrow."

Miroku starts dragging me towards chemistry.

"Inuyasha, wait!" Ayame calls. "I have a proposition for you. I know you're not willing to go with Kagome, but… maybe with this other girl we know?"

I stare at her questioningly and suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because she's just visiting Japan and is leaving soon. She said she wanted to go on a date with at least one boy before returning home. So, what do you say?"

If this will make them stop pressuring me about Kagome… "Fine."

Miroku and Koga both gape at me like fish out of water. "What?" they shout.

"Great, I'll send you the details later," Ayame says in a rushed tone. "See you later."

After she's out of sight, Miroku flicks my ear, making me almost bite off his finger. He knows how touchy I am about the ears.

"Buddy, is there something wrong with your brain? I know you, man, and you would never- and I mean never- go on a date with a girl you don't know. You act all tough and macho a lot of the time, but I know you fear women as much as I love to grope them. Why would you agree to something as reckless as that?"

I don't answer him, and just brush past him to class.

But the reason is in my head: I'm not afraid to go on a date with a random girl like I'm afraid to go on a date with Kagome, because I know that at least with a random girl, there's no chance that I'll fall for her.

Two hours later, I push my apartment key into the lock and drag myself through the door.

Making my way into the kitchen, I poke my head into the fridge to pull out an apple. When I turn around, my mother's standing there. "Mom? You surprised me."

"How was your day?" she asks slowly.

I plop down onto the couch. "It was okay."

"Higurashi and I just got off the phone and she said Kagome was looking pretty blue. Do you know if there's any particular reason why?" She's obviously prodding.

"Nope," I reply easily. Lies just get simpler and simpler every time. Or, at least, I wish they did.

"Oh, is that so?"

I nod. "Uh huh."

She sits down beside me. "Inuyasha, you may get away with lying to your father, but it never has, doesn't, and never will work on me. Did you… turn her down? Reject her?"

She's right; lying had never ever worked on my mom. "Not exactly… Her friend asked me to ask her out, and I refused. That's it."

Mom looks so broken right about then. "Sweetie, I'm sorry…"

I smile tightly- something I do a lot around her. "Not your fault, Mom. Why do you always apologize? You know I'll never blame you."

She continues to gaze at me like a dejected puppy. "If… the circumstances were different… would you have said yes? Would you have given Kagome a try?"

I don't even want to consider any 'what-if's anymore. "Well, circumstances aren't different, so there's no point in longing for what might have been and whatnot."

Mom reaches out with a slender hand and strokes my hair. "I know you. You would've said yes."

This whole day, people kept claiming to know who I am. I don't understand; I'm not that easy to read.

I'll admit that she is undoubtedly gorgeous: long, pale hair that's an odd cream color, brownish-red, cat-shaped eyes. Her figure sort of reminds me of Rin- petite, slender, doll-like.

She sticks out a hand. "My name's Kirara," she beams. "And you're Inuyasha, right?"

I nod, and pull my hand from my pocket and quickly shake hands with hers (reluctantly). "Yeah."

"Sooo…. Where do you want to go? What do you want to do?"

So we go to an arcade, afterwards, the zoo, then lunch at some sushi place ('cause apparently, Kirara loves sushi), and finally the park. We even drop by at a café because Kirara exclaimed that it was just too cute to pass up.

"Hmm, I'll have… the double-fudge rainbow muffin and a vanilla-peach-and-cream milkshake. With a cherry on top, please." She flashed a set of pearly white teeth at the waiter as she handed him back her menu, who flushed bright red and quickly turned towards me. He was a gangly boy who was a little too tall and was going through that 'awkward' stage with the braces and the dandruff. He also looked pretty embarrassed to be working at a fairly girly snack bar.

I scan the menu. The words that come up a lot are: rainbow, chocolate, cream, honey, syrup, etcetera. Eke. My manliness is threatened by the existence of this place. "Just coffee," I say. "I'll put in the sugar and milk myself."

The waiter (his nametag says his name is Menomaru) shuffles off to the kitchen, and Kirara smoothens a strand of her hair- which she has a lot of. It's even thicker than mine. "Japan's really beautiful, isn't it? You're lucky to live here."

"Where do you live, if you're just visiting? I mean, you look Japanese."

"I am. I was born here. But I immigrated to the Americas when I was four and that's my home now. But I visit Japan occasionally to see my relatives."

Oh. She's on vacation. "Well, you speak fluently."

She smiles. "Why, thank you very much. But it's probably because my parents are more comfortable with Japanese, so I get lots of practice at home. You know. What about your parents?"

"They're more comfortable with Japanese, too. That's why they live here."

Kirara laughs. "No, I meant, how are they?"

"They're… good. I don't really know how to describe them, but I'd have to say I'm pretty blessed. Though my half-brother is so annoying it's silly."

She raises a brow. "How old? Five? Seven?"

"Oh, no, he's probably around his early twenties. I'm not sure because I really have no interest in any matters involved with him."

"Oh."

I smirk. "Scary, isn't it."

All in all, Kirara's pretty fun- nice, too. I find myself actually enjoying my day with her, and I feel myself loosening up and relaxing for once. She's the typical pushover- sweet and empathetic in every aspect.

Finally, with the sun setting, I offer to walk her home since that's what I'm supposed to do, as the guy. We begin walking.

"I had a lot of fun today," she gushes, smiling.

"Me, too," I say truthfully.

She perks up. "Really? Because I really like you, Inuyasha, and I'd like to see you again. If you want…?"

Oh no.

No, no, no, no, no.

Shaking my head, I kick at a rock beneath my feet. "Um, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

She deflates. "Why?"

"Because…. Because I'm in love already. With someone else." It's not a complete lie.

She tilts her head to the side. "Yet you're here. With me. Now."

"I am," I agree. "I know that sound really asshole-ish, to potentially lead you on when I wasn't really open to the idea of having a girlfriend. But I did have a good time, so thanks. And sorry if I disappointed you at the end. Um… bye, I guess."

She waves a small wave. "Bye," she sighs. "Oh, and I know the way from here, so I'll go on by myself. Bye again, Inuyasha."

I watch her half-skip-half-walk away, her polka dotted dress flapping lightly in the cool breeze.

I swear, Kagome will be the death of me one day.

She's such a bastard… Making me worry about her even when she doesn't even fucking try…

Bastard.

AN: Though it did take a while for inspiration to hit, I had an immense amount of fun writing this particular chapter. I don't even know why.

And please don't hate Kirara- she doesn't actually love Inuyasha…. though that would be an interesting twist, wouldn't it? Haha.

As always, you are all very supportive and all your reviews are lovely to read.

Don't worry; Inuyasha and Kagome will get together some day… though I shall not reveal how soon that is coming. You'll just have to stay tuned and see.

Oh, and Daichi edited this so super fast! Thank her, you guys ^^

I have to study for a million different tests now -_-;

Love, love, and more love,

~Nyony

(PS: I want to have a milkshake right now… what about you guys?)

Daichi: Well, this is great! I also have finals to study for, but who really studies? I get along just fine. And I want a smoothie right now, for some reason. Review for this story you guys!