AN: Much thanks for all your kind words and lovely reviews. They do mean a lot!

Bitter or Sweet?

Disclaimer: never have, never will

Chapter 27: Fine Lines

I won't let this little things slip out of my mouth
But if I do, it's you,

oh it's you,

they add up to
I'm in love with you and

all these little things

~One Direction: Little Things

INUYASHA'S POV

"I'm not going to Kagome's house," I told Mom. "Things are very awkward between us right now. More than you can understand. So I'd really rather not."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a drama queen, Inuyasha. But if it makes you feel better, she won't be there. She's at prom. Where you should be but you chose not to be because you enjoy being difficult."

I scoffed. "You can't blame me for not being self destructive."

But maybe I am.

Because when the doorbell rings and I decide to get the door out of courtesy to Kagome's mom, I find myself face-to-face with the very person I'd worked so hard to avoid.

And like the idiot I am, I just stand there, gaping at her. I mean, she looked... Hair flying everywhere, extravagant red dress frayed all along the hems, shoes in her hand. How did she still manage to look beautiful? It made no sense. I'm as stupid as Sango and Ayame make me out to be. But whatever.

Then she grabs my wrist and yanks me out the threshold and into the damp coldness.

The door shuts behind us with a click and all I can hear is her haggard breathing. Or mine. Or the both of ours. She's probably cold, in that dress. Me, I'm casually freezing my butt off as well.

"Why... why are you here?" I ask, dumbfounded. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realize that this should be Kagome's question. She lives here after all. I guess my question should be: why are we out here and not in there? It's hard to make out her face in the darkness of the night.

"Inuyasha, the day you moved into the house next to mine... you really screwed me over. Figuratively. I've never been so damned in my life. Like, God, out of all the different houses you could've chosen from, why that one? Honestly." She takes a deep breath. "But that's beside the point. The point is—it was all so perfect. Boy next door? Who just happens to be attractive? Don't comment. So yeah, it seems all good, right? But no. Because letting myself fall for you was quite possibly the worst mistake I have ever made in my entire life. Want to know why? Because you have commitment issues. Yes. Yes, you do. So when you, out of nowhere, decide to pick up and leave—"

"I don't have commitment issues," I interrupt, bewildered. I hadn't prepared to listen to a speech. But clearly, she hadn't been prepared to give one either.

She growls. I swear to God, she growls. I nearly jump back. "Yes, you do! No contact for three years—"

This again. I should've known. I butt in for the second time. "My mom."

She opens her mouth, closes it. I've stumped her. "What?"

I swallow. I didn't want to tell her. I really didn't want to. But I'm tired of this, too. Tired of running around in circles like cat and dog. I can't keep doing this to her forever, and she seems determined to draw something out of me anyway, if her hair and dress are any indication. "My mom... she's sick. Like, terminal sick." My voice wavers at the end, and I take a second to recollect myself. I've accepted it already. "We've been moving around since I was a kid, trying to find a hospital and a doctor that might be able to cure her illness. My dad and brother are busy paying off the hospital fees so I'm usually the one who takes care of her. Three years ago, our current physician at the time informed us that he had a brilliant friend in America who could do something, possibly. Obviously, we went."

I pause to check her reaction. Kagome looks stricken, as if she can predict what's going to happen next in the story.

I guess she really did think that I had commitment issues because there is nothing but utter shock on her face.

"He, in turn, said that there was not much he could do. Every time he put Mom on a new prescription, her body started to reject it a month later. He told her—us—that the best thing was to go back home, try to get as comfortable as we could. The bottom line is—she can't be cured."

"Oh, my God," she says, her hands shaking a bit. "Oh, my God... I had no idea. No clue. And here I was, calling you dense."

"Kagome, I didn't want to break contact with you. But I had no way of knowing whether I'd even be able to see you again. I didn't want to start something with you if I knew I'd only leave you hanging high and dry. I was trying to protect you."

My voice sounds faraway, so unlike my own. I don't recognize it. But it has to be mine since my mouth is moving. Huh. Strange.

Eyes glassy, Kagome drops herself onto the curb, pulling her knees up to her chin. "All this time..." She shakes her head over and over. "I can't believe... Inuyasha, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry you're going through something so terrible. And that I didn't make it any easier for you." She reaches up and takes my hand. Her hand's warm. "But I'll help you through this. Izayoi is a strong woman; she can make it. We'll be with her every step along the way. It's not over yet. Don't you think for one second it's over. She's not terminal. Okay?"

I nod, but just barely. Feeling numb, I say, "Sorry I ruined your prom."

Standing up, she shakes her head. "You didn't." She extends a hand. "Dance with me?"

With my arms wrapped around her waist, and hers around my neck, I can feel her heart beat in time with mine as we sway to some imaginary tune. She's so warm, and close, and real that it nearly brings tears to my eyes. How did I think, for even a minute, that I'd be able to exist without her?

She lowers her head into the crook of my neck. I notice that she fits perfectly.

"Where are you staying now?"

I kick at a rock sitting at my feet. "Just at a small apartment downtown. You can come over sometime, if you like. It's extremely boring, though. I wouldn't recommend it."

"I would love to," she says, reaching over to hold my hand.

We're sitting on the swings of the nearest playground, the moonlight washing over us, enough to illuminate our faces.

"Do you think you'll stay here for good this time?"

I shrug. "It's possible. But if there's news... then of course we'd have to go. If there's even a chance that it might help her, then we'll take it."

She nods pensively. "Well, I'd like to be your support in any way that I can. Just tell me if there's anything I can do, and I'll do my best to make it happen. I promise."

"Because we're friends, right?" The words leave an odd, bitter feeling in my chest.

Kagome inhales sharply. "It'd be a lie if I said I don't love you. What I need to figure out is if I'm in love with you, still. It's the same for you, isn't it? I need to know if it's possible to rebuild what we've lost. Until then, yes, we're friends. I won't leave you to face this alone."

I exhale angrily. "Don't get me wrong—I'm really glad that I have you back in my life. Even if it's only 'just as a friend'. But I'm not confused. Because I've had a lot of time to think about it and there have been many days and nights of pure nothingness when I just sat around in my room with nothing else to do but figure things out. I don't know what love is. I'm not trying to be cliché because you know I think that's bullshit, but I don't. At the same time, I know that I am never going to care about somebody in the way I care about you, so by definition, I'm going to have to say that I think I love you.

"I'm not saying these things to pressure you into feeling the same. I know it's different for you and you've got a lot going for you. And I know that tonight has been kind of jam-packed with all these confessions that seem to just keep coming up like word vomit. But you know what? I've been keeping all this in for so goddamn long that I just want to get it all out while we're already at it.

"I don't know when or how it happened, but if the only thing I'm certain about in my roller coaster of a life is that I care about you and that won't ever change. We're not the same kids we were three years ago. You've changed; so have I. In more ways than one. But I just—I just want you to know that there is someone who sees you, really sees you, and loves you for all that you are. Because I do."

I didn't realize that at some time since I started talking and when I ended, Kagome started crying.

She makes no sound, just sits there pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes and I watch helplessly as her shoulders quake, wondering if she thinks she doesn't deserve to hear the things I've just said to her. She really is a bit of a cry baby, isn't she?

What the hell do I know about loving somebody?

What the hell does anybody know about loving somebody?

Maybe that's what life is about- gradually learning, despite all the blunders and missed steps, what it means to put someone else's happiness before your own.

Personally, I think Sango and Ayame were disappointed to hear that I was not the perfect villain they'd created in their minds.

Nevertheless, they gave it their best efforts to take the blow as graciously as they could. They gave me their condolences with as minimal pity as they were able to muster because I find that pity is actually quite disgusting.

Miroku slaps me hard on the back, earning him a glower. "So, buddy, how do you feel?"

I slurp my coke. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, how does it feel to have finally just... let go? After all these years of bottling it in, what was it like to share the darkest corners of your soul with your wonderful, supporting friends who will always have your back no matter how bitchy you get?"

Rolling my eyes, I trudge through my lunch. Miroku and his melodramatics. "Fine, I guess."

Koga, clearly not satisfied, steals my coke can and holds it above my head threateningly.

Oh, no you wouldn't, I glare.

His icy blue eyes reply, you know I would.

"Alright, alright. It felt fucking fantastic. Happy now?" I couldn't have packed more sarcasm in my voice even if I tried. Still, there was a little bit of truth in what I said.

"It'll do," he smirks, setting the can down. "God, you are such a sissy when it comes to your hair. Oh, I'm sorry, mane. Whatever. Anyway, what's the point of hiding what you feel anymore? You barely have any semblance of a private life anymore so might as well just get your emotions flowing and start channeling your inner laughing Buddha."

I rub my temple. "Please stop."

They all snicker.

"By the way, have any of you seen Bankotsu around lately?"

Sango coughs. "Here and there, mostly. He's distancing himself, for obvious reasons, but I'm sure he'll come around. He's a good guy. But speaking of which, I think everyone sitting at this table has the right to know if you two are... you know."

Kagome nearly chokes on her pizza. "And what on earth do you mean by that?"

"Well, like... are you guys, you know, official now? Or what? 'Cause I mean, speaking on behalf of all the people who have stood by you guys for the majority of our high school lives, I think you should spell it out for us. I'm still a little confused as to whether or not you guys are dating, or you're just kind of because you two haven't put a label on it."

Ayame bobs her red head. "So, are you? Or not?"

I jump in for Kagome who looks more than a little uncomfortable. "It's not defined. Yet. We haven't decided...?"

They all groan in perfect harmony, some shaking their heads while others face-palm. "They just go in circles, don't they? My God, we're right back where we started."

"So what's stopping you?" Koga asks eventually.

"A lot of things?" Kagome offers. "First of all, it's senior year. We should all be tearing our hair out studying, not worrying about our love lives. Second... well, yeah, that was the main one. I mean, I know that Bank made a 'sacrifice' for the 'greater good' and all that, but it's like... if something does happen between us... I want to be in a good place first. Like, in a stable place. Right now, there's just too much hanging on the line. University, student loans, mom and brother, etcetera. I just don't want to rush into things if I'm not fully ready."

They turn to me.

I shrug. "What she said."

Again, they all moan. "Well, if you two ever figure it out, let us know. Though I suspect we'll be old and grey before they establish anything for real. In my opinion, I think you guys have just gotten so comfortable with your little in-between place of 'sort-of-dating-but-not-really' that you're scared to venture into the unknown, which, in this case, is legitimate dating. But whatever. Do what you guys think is best, and we'll all try our best to be happy for you no matter what the outcome."

I stand, gathering my textbooks like a geek. "Well, this has been pleasant, but I've got to get to my chem lab. See you guys around, I guess, now that Sango and Ayame don't want to decapitate me... as much."

The science classroom is unusually not full of overachievers who perpetually rush to class at least fifteen minutes early. In fact, the only other person in the lab is Kikyo, to my great surprise.

"Are you just going to stand there or help me prep for our experiment today?"

I make my way over. "Hello to you, too. So, what's going on? You're not typically the first one to bound through the door. Are you feeling enlightened?"

She smacks my arm. "Oh, shut up. I'm not a dumb bimbo; I want to get into university, too, got it?" She sticks her pen behind her ear. "What about you, hmm?"

Sitting down in the stool next to her, I rest my arm on the lab bench. "What about me?"

"Well, I heard. About your mom."

My eyebrows shoot up. "Wow. Word travels fast. Join the pity party, I suppose."

She scoffs. "You guys aren't exactly quiet during lunch. And I don't pity; it's not my thing." She pauses. "You're doing alright, though?"

"Yeah, I'm doing okay. Not exactly peachy, but it's fine. Mom doesn't seem to be getting better by the day or anything, so I'm not really sure where that leaves us, but I've got to be grateful that at least she's okay for now, right?"

She doesn't look up from her notebook. "I've been wondering... would you mind bringing her to see someone? Someone I know, obviously. He might... he might be able to help."

My first instinct is not to feel hope, but wary. I don't feel like getting disappointed again, even though I know Kikyo is only trying to help. And that's pretty awe-inducing in itself."Who do you have in mind?"

"Kagome's talked to him. During the time when everyone found out I'm not their perfect little princess. His name is Naraku—he was my plastic surgeon and family doctor."

"No offense or anything, but I'm not sure if an aesthetic surgeon will be able to do much for my mom's case."

She flips her pin-straight, charcoal black hair, annoyed. "Don't be a pig, Inuyasha. He's borderline obsessed with me so he does what I want and he's bloody brilliant. Demented, sometimes, but brilliant." She heaves a sigh. "I hate to say it, but come on, what do you have to lose?"

I consider this.

As long as I don't get my hopes up only for them to get squashed down again, she's right; I don't—or rather, my mom has nothing to lose.

"Alright," I relent. "What day is he available? Schedule us an appointment."

AN: Okay, so I believe that the next chapter will be the epilogue.

Or maybe two more chapters, I'm not sure. Still weighing my options over here.

Well, first and foremost, I'd like to apologize for the story flopping. Sometimes, I really do think I've lost any edge I might have had, haha. Nevertheless, I promised not to quit on this story and I'm going to do my best to tie it in the best I can.

Special thanks, as always, to the beta, Daichi.

Hope you all are having a fantastic new year so far and may 2013 treat you well (:

Much love,

Nyony.

Daichi: Thank you for the love, Nyony, and I happily receive it and give some to you too. I do hope your regulars are not still recovering from New Year's Eve partying so they can leave you a nice little review! Give her some love, you guys.