Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

Well, I think last week or two weeks ago, I got a review, asking when Walking Tightropes was going to be updated and so I decided to actually get some work on this story done. I wasn't actually supposed to finish this chapter today, but I did so… Yeah. New chapter. Enjoy!

Walking Tightropes

Chapter 13: Trike Race

A while back, after hearing a news report about the increase of rape in our area, Grandpa gave me a can of pepper spray—he tried to give me a taser, but Mom talked him into being a bit more rational. This morning I threw that pepper spray into my purse before walking out the door, deciding I should take some necessary precautions. You never know what girl is going to try to attack Inuyasha next.

"Pepper spray?" Sango asked me while she rummaged through my purse during lunch, looking for a mint. "Really?"

"Girls are really crazy these days." I looked at Inuyasha and he gaped at me. "You really need to start protecting yourself."

"Should I be worried about her?" Inuyasha asked Miroku and he just shrugged.

"This is Kagome showing she cares."

-x-

It was starting to get hard to watch Inuyasha kiss other girls.

Today, Tuesday, I wasn't required to participate in the event or help with supplies and organization or even man the betting polls so I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity and enjoy the Trike Race.

"Next!"

I pulled the hat I borrowed from Miroku further down my head as I stepped up to betting poll, hiding my face. If one of Sango's "sources" found out I was betting to win a kiss from Inuyasha, Sango would never let me live it down. There are already too many moments Sango won't let me live down and I don't want to chance adding this to her list.

I kept my head ducked as I slid the twenty-five dollars I had very painfully taken out of my wallet across the counter. "Twenty-five dollars to Jineji losing." As nice and shy as he is, Jineiji is too big to ever win this race. "And"—it was hard to pull out the other twenty-five bucks—"another Twenty-five to Shippo for the win."

"Higurashi?"

I snapped my head up and Kikyo and I stared at each other for what felt like forever.

"You didn't see me here."

"Really?" A smug grin grew across Kikyo's face as she fanned herself with the money I had handed her. "Because fifty bucks says I did." Kikyo thumbed through the five dollar bills I forked over, raising her brows. "You must be really desperate for that kiss."

"I am not!" I shouted, but then I realized my presence here was supposed to be a secret. "It's not like I spent fifty dollars on one bet," I mumbled, but Kikyo didn't look very convinced. "I'm contributing to the paper."

"Excuses, excuses."

"You just didn't see me here, okay?"

"A hundred bucks says I didn't see you here."

"What?" I looked at Kikyo in disbelief. "I'm not going to pay you to lie for me. You're already rich!"

"Seventy-five?"

"No."

"Fifty…"

"Kikyo!" I snapped. I looked around and noticed a few people staring at me and I tugged the hat down lower on my head. "I'm not paying you," I bit out through gritted teeth.

"Fine by me," she shrugged, filling out my name on the betting sheet. "It's just that I know a certain best friend of yours is going to have a field day over this news." I groaned and Kikyo smirked at me. Of course Kikyo was in charge of the betting polls today. Of course.

"You're off cleaning duty for the carnival."

She grinned smugly. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Yeah, whatever." I took the small sheet of paper Kikyo handed me, proof that I actually placed the bet, and headed off before Kikyo could pimp me out of anymore deals. Damnit, I just had to have that memory lapse; she'll be able to hold this over my head for the rest of my life.

"Hey Kagome," Bank greeted me when I finally made it to the top of the bleachers where Bank, Inuyasha, Miroku and Ayame sat (Sango was at work.) "Why do you look so pissy?"

"Because I just got swindled by the devil," I grumbled, sitting in the seat Inuyasha had saved for me next to him.

"Oh." Bank shared a look with Miroku who just shrugged. "Was it Sango?"

"No," I snapped.

"Is it that time of the month?"

"No."

"Okay then… Hey, can I borrow a dollar?" Bank asked, holding out his hand as if I had already said yes. "I want to buy some candy."

"Don't you have a job?" I was already digging into my pocket though, pulling out a five dollar bill. "I feel like Sango and I are always giving you money."

"Friends give friends money, Kagome," he reminded me. "Besides, I am underpaid and saving for a better car. I think that Patricia is on her last leg."

I rolled my eyes and handed Bank the money. "That's such a horrible name for a car."

"It's better than Triple G."

"Hey," Inuyasha joined the conversation, "I didn't name it that."

"You didn't name your car at all." Bank shook his head and clucked his tongue. "No love for that poor thing. Such a shame."

"Get me a Twix," I ordered Bank as he got up to leave. "And bring back my change!" Bank was notorious for keeping change. Once I gave him a twenty to buy me a soda that only cost two dollars and he gave me back five dollars, under the impression that I would be too stupid to notice.

"Hey Kagome, are you done with my hat now?" Miroku asked once Bank had left, leaning his head forward between me and Inuyasha (he and Ayame sat on the row behind us). "That's kind of a collector's item and I would really like it back before you have a chance to ruin it."

"It's good to know you have so much faith in me." Miroku gave me a sheepish grin in reply. "Yeah, I'm done." I took the cap off and placed it over Miroku's head. He smirked at me and leaned against the back of the bleachers just as the contestants walked out onto the track.

"Why were you using Miroku's hat?" Inuyasha asked me.

"Oh, I was… It was, um…" I scratched the back of my head, trying to think of a valid and believable excuse. I could have used that Twix right now; I needed a moment to think this over. "It was for a drama skit."

"You don't have Drama," Ayame reminded me, grinning. Why can't I have friends who just play along with my cover stories? Really, it would be helpful every now and then.

"No… But I was an extra in a friend's skit and I needed a hat because I was a… thug."

Inuyasha stared at me. "You're the worst liar I've ever met."

"Yeah, Kagome," Miroku agreed, "you suck. What did you really need the hat for?"

"I robbed a bank and needed to stay confidential."

Inuyasha laughed. "No, seriously."

"I played a prank on Mr. Khan and the hat helped hide my face. Did you miss him storming around the school red faced after the final bell?"

"I heard that was because Kikyo pissed him off in front of your entire class," Ayame said and I glared at her. She smiled back.

"I did something that required confidentiality," I said, telling the truth. They couldn't argue with me over this. "Confidentiality means I can't tell anyone."

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Ayame all looked at each other. "We'll force it out of you later," Ayame promised and I had serious doubts about it. They would have to do a hell of a lot to ever get me to admit that I just handed over fifty dollars in hopes of being able to kiss Inuyasha. Nothing is worth the price of that embarrassment.

"Good afternoon, Shikon High!" Aki's voice boomed, echoing from the speakers that surrounded all of the students on the bleachers. His voice caught people's attention and everyone started quieting down, turning their gaze to the field as small tricycles were rolled out on to the track. "Today, the Shikon Times brings to you… The Trike Race!" The crowd erupted in cheering and Inuyasha patted me on the back as some sort of congratulations for my success. After just one day, we really seemed to gain the support of the school.

Aki explained the rules of the Trike race—first one around the track three times wins—while Bank came running up the bleachers with his candy in hand. He sat down next to me and handed me my Twix before starting to unwrap his Snickers bar.

"My change?"

"Come on, Kagome, we're best friends." I held my hand out and Bank groaned but returned my three dollars. "Nobody likes stingy girls. Right, Inuyasha?"

"Wrong," he disagreed and Miroku laughed at Bank's fallen face. Ayame nudged me repeatedly in the back with her knee, as if I didn't already get the hint. I'm not that oblivious.

"Alright, so the top bidders for who comes in first and who comes in last will win a kiss from either Ms. Kido or Inuyasha," Aki summarized. I fingered the confirmation ticket in my jacket pocket, hoping, for once, luck would actually be on my side. "And, for future reference, boys are not allowed to place a bet to win a kiss from Inuyasha." Inuyasha's face went blank and paled. "We don't hold anything against you for your sexual preferences, but InuYasha is not comfortable with kissing guys. Sorry."

Inuyasha's face was distorted by disgust and horror. "That is so…" He trailed off, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head.

"You should be honored," I assured him, wrapping my arm around his shoulders. "This just means your sexiness is not confined to one gender. You're admired by all."

"Shut up, Kagome." He lifted his head though and looked at me, a small grin playing on his lips. "You think I'm sexy?"

"No," I intoned, my face flat. "I used you as a ploy to gain more attention for the Odd Ball Olympics because I thought you were the ugliest creature to have ever walked the face of the planet."

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated."

"I'll count down from three and then the contestants will start the race. Three, two, one, and then go, alright?" The contestants on the track nodded their heads at Aki's instructions. "Three…" Aki started the countdown. "Two… One… Go!"

Unlike most races, no one took the immediate lead. Everyone struggled with getting their long legs to pedal tiny tricycles and halfway through the first lap, the race was more like a turtle race than the high energy bike race I pictured in my mind. With the lack of intensity, the crowd gave up on cheering/being excited and retreated to their individual conversations. Now I was worried more about keeping the crowd's interest than the bets I had placed; the lack of energy and enthusiasm of today could ruin student turn out for the rest of the events.

"Well, this is boring," Bank complained, yawning. "We'll be here for hours at this pace."

"Shut up, Bank."

"Friends tell friends the truth, Kagome," he told me and I slapped his arm. "I understand your anger. The truth is hard to take sometimes. Can I have another dollar for some more food? If I'm going to be here all day I'm going to need nourishment."

"I'm gonna…"

I almost had Bank begging for mercy then Souten distracted me, entering the second lap. She finally seemed to get the hang of pedaling a tricycle and Shippo caught on to her technique a second later and the train of realization seemed to ripple throughout the rest of the group and the race picked up and the crowd began cheering again—Thank God.

"Go, Shippo!" I shouted, releasing Bank from the full nelson I managed to get him in. "Come on, go faster."

"You're very enthusiastic," Miroku said. "Did you place a bet or something?"

"No!" I shouted too quickly to think of a proper defense. "I—"

"You have to cheer for Shippo over Souten," Bank explained, saving me from having to think of an excuse. "Souten's brothers work with the Morning Ribbet. That's unacceptable."

"So much for the newspaper staff being a close knit family," Ayame mumbled and Miroku nodded his head in agreement.

"We support each other all the time," I argued. "But if I'm cheering for Souten or Shipp to win in a race…"

"That's cruel."

"It's life."

Going into the final lap, the crowd was fully immersed in the race again and my encouragement for Shippo to go faster was lost in the sea of other people cheering on the staff members they placed bets on. I didn't have to worry about Jineji disappointing me (he face planted off his trike three times in the first lap) so I focused all my energy in hoping that Shippo would cross the finish line before Souten because, at that moment, they were tied.

"Souten and Shippo are still neck to neck as they round the third turn of the final lap," Aki announced and I crossed my fingers and began whispering prayers up to heaven for Shippo to win this. "Shippo seems to be gaining speed as they approach the final turn… Souten is right on his tail—literally."—I stopped my prayers long enough to groan at the corniness of Aki's pun—"Shippo takes a sharp turn and—NO! Shippo is out of the race! He took the turn too fast and spiraled out of control and is now just a heap in the grass! That means, the winner is…" Aki waited for Souten to ride through the long strip of tissue paper Kikyo and Hitomi were holding across the width of the track as a sort of ribbon, "Souten! Ladies and gentleman, Souten claims first place!"

Dammit.

The race carried on as the remaining staff members crossed the finish line (Shippo picked himself up in time to claim second place). After Jineji fell off his bike again halfway through his final lap we decided to stop since he was obviously in last place. Waiting for him to finish would have taken another ten minutes and nobody wanted to wait that long.

"We're going to sort out the winners of the bets and then announce who will be getting those kisses," Aki spoke through the speakers as Souten did a victory dance. "Would Inuyasha please come down to the field to wait?"

"Really?" Inuyasha grumbled under his breath as he stood up and wiped nonexistent dirt off the back of his jeans. "I hate you for this, Kagome. Just in case I haven't told you yet."

"You told me that about five times when we were on the phone last night." Inuyasha rolled his eyes at me as he started making his way down our row. "Wait!" I rummaged around in my bag before pulling out my pepper spray. Inuyasha looked at me like I was crazy. "It might actually come in handy."

"I think you scared everyone into good behavior yesterday," Inuyasha said, rejecting my form of defense.

"There's not exactly a pool to throw them into today."

"I think it was the look on your face that scared them more than the threat of getting thrown into a pool." I shrugged and Inuyasha shook his head, making his way down the bleachers again. "I'll see you later, Kagome, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. No problem."

"Could you two have flirted anymore?" Bank complained once Inuyasha was out of earshot. "Another second of your goo-goo eyes and I might have thrown up."

"We weren't flirting," I lied "It's called being friends. Look it up sometime."

"I am a great friend. Right, Ayame?" Bank looked back at her for confirmation, but she was too busy texting to pay us any attention.

"You could do better," Miroku answered for Ayame. "Your bluntness is kind of harsh sometimes."

"But that's part of his charm," I admitted and Bank grinned at me, tossing his arm over my shoulders. "You have to admit, he's not Bank if he's not tactless."

"True."

"Alright, now seriously, Kagome," Bank started, changing the subject. "I'm going to ask you one more time: can I pleasehave some money for some more food? I'm starving here."

"Nobody likes broke guys, Bank. Right, Ayame?"

"Right." She put her phone away to join the conversation. "Kouga can tell you all about it."

We spent the next ten minutes taking turns playing Temple Run on Miroku's phone and then Kikyo finally walked to the center of the field with the megaphone and results from the polls in her hands. I stopped playing in the middle of my run, letting my little adventure man trip over a tree trunk and get caught by the monkeys.

"You're more into this than you were yesterday," Bank observed, taking the phone from me for his turn.

"Of course I am. I have to see what crazy girl is going to try to attack Inuyasha today. I'll have to add her to my hit list."

Miroku patted my head. "We'll take you to a shrink right after this. I promise."

"Shut up."

Just like yesterday, the boys were given their prize first—Ms. Kido only had to kiss the cheeks of five boys. The boys each bet forty dollars, today (a large increase from yesterday) and I was starting to worry about how much the obsessed girls at this school were going to throw down for Inuyasha. Hopefully less than twenty-five bucks.

"On to the girls," Kikyo spoke into the megaphone. "First we'll do the girls with the highest bids on Souten before moving on to Jineji. Alright?" Kikyo didn't bother to check the crowd's response. "Good."

I silently prayed that few girls won and that if they weren't ugly, they would at least look ridiculously average—I've been praying a lot since all of this started. I feel like that means something…

There were only two winners, both placing fifty dollar bets again, and I felt my chances of winning slip through my fingers. How do these people have so much money? Yeah, it's all going to the paper, but really? That's a lot for onekiss.

"And for the winners of those who bet on Jineji coming in last," Kikyo started and I pressed my hands together in prayer and brought them up to my lips. Please God, please. Just be nice to me this once and let me win. Please. "Actually, there is only one winner for this category since she outbid everyone else." I crossed my fingers. Please God, help me, because it's only with your grace that I have the possibility to outbid everyone else with twenty-five dollars. Please, help me out here.

"Kagome," Bank tried to break into my prayers. "What the hell are you doing?"

"The winner of Inuyasha's last kiss for the day is…"

Bank leaned in closer to me. "Are you… Are you praying?"

Please, I begged harder. Please let me win this. I wanted to hear my name called and so I could walk down the bleachers like a princess and then gracefully walk onto the field. I wanted to see Inuyasha's face when he heard that I had actually put money down for him because I liked him that much. I wanted to see his face when he realized how… desperate I am to pay for a kiss.

What the hell happened to me! I was just making fun of these girls yesterday; about how they reeked of desperation and how meaningless their little three second kiss was to Inuyasha and now I'm one of them. I went crush crazy for two seconds too long and now Inuyasha and possibly the whole school can call me desperate. Fuck. If the whole school finds out about this, the number of times I'll hear "slut" or "whore" would be…

Please God, don't let me win. Please don't let me win, please don't let me win. If I lose this I will be the happiest person in the world. I swear to you, I will be so grateful if I just lose.

"Kikyo doesn't look too happy about the winner," Ayame said, squinting down at Kikyo's figure on the field.

Thank you, I thanked God. If I had been the winner, Kikyo would've been laughing her ass off.

"Your winner is Kudo Yura with sixty dollars," Kikyo grumbled into the megaphone with absolutely no enthusiasm. "Congrats to that bitch."

Yura walked down the bleachers and to the field, completely unfazed by Kikyo and she winked at Inuyasha and he forced a smile back.

Really? I looked up at the sky and knew God was rolling around up there, pointing and laughing at me. Why must you test me like this?

Anyone, seriously, anyone but Yura would have been fine. It would have been perfectly fine. But no, fate is such a fucking bitch—I get this crap thrown in my face all the time. I mean, Yura? YURA! Why? She is my arch nemesis, the devil! Fuck the Morning Ribbet, fuck Yura! Life sucks!

And to have to watch her kiss Inuyasha and know—though it would have been extremely embarrassing—that could have been me. Really, that's just—bleh! SHOOT MY BRAINS OUT!

So much for being happy and grateful.

"Um, Kagome," Ayame called out to me, bringing me out of my internal ranting. "Are you okay?"

"You look constipated," Bank told me.

I glared down at the field where the three girls were lining up to kiss Inuyasha, Yura the last in line. I had approximately six seconds to get the hell out of here before permanent scarring could be burned into my retinas.

"I'm going to go." I grabbed my bag and hoisted it over my shoulder. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

"What, you don't want to see Inuyasha kiss Yura?" I purposefully stomped on Bank's foot as I walked by him. "Ow! It was a joke!"

"Get a better sense of humor."

"What are we supposed to tell him when he comes back looking for you?" Miroku asked me. "You promised to see him later."

"Tell him I couldn't be in his presence so soon after he kissed the devil's spawn," I called back over my shoulder. "I have to go to work anyways."

-x-

I slammed open the door to Shoe Carnival and stalked over to the counter, shoving my bag under the sale's counter with unnecessary force. When I stood up, Erin was staring at me.

"You're twenty minutes late, but considering the forceful entrance, I'm won't even bother asking what went wrong today. And I won't further damper your mood by telling you about the complete disappointment of trivia hour so far." Erin leaned in and whispered to me anyways. "Nobody knows who discovered the electron."

"Inuyasha kissed Yura," I hissed. She stared at me blankly. "Yura, Erin, Yura! The bitchy anchorwoman who I told off two weeks ago; the whole reason I had to get up at five in the morning to slap posters around the school every day last week!"

"Oh…" Erin nodded her head slowly. "That Yura."

"Yes, that Yura." I groaned and rested my head against my register. "She put sixty dollars down on a bet and won a kiss from Inuyasha. I mean, who places that much money down for Inuyasha? It's Inuyasha."

"Yeah, he's the same Inuyasha you're totally in love with."

I lifted my head and frowned at Erin. "I don't love him."

"You know what I mean."

I sighed and let my head fall on my register again. "Yura is such a bitch. And Inuyasha is a man-whore."

"You volunteered him to kiss all those girls."

"Do me a solid and don't remind me of that." Erin was silent and I took that as a sign of her agreement. "You know, God really doesn't like me. I feel like it's something I might have done in one of my past lives."

"Or maybe something you did in this life." I raised my head again and lifted one brow at Erin. "Did you eat all your vegetables as a child?"

"The lima beans were just so nasty." We both laughed and I willed myself to get over my self-pity. I could at least wait until I got home to revel in the idiocy and unfairness that was put into play today. No need to bombard Erin with my issues that were primarily self-inflicted. "How was your—oh my god."

"What?" Erin jerked her head around and searched for the problem. "What is it?"

"Your hair," I answered, pointing to her long blonde hair. "It's in a braid."

Erin glanced down at her braid then back up at me, as if I was crazy. "Yeah…"

"Erin." I stared into her eyes. "Your hair is always in a bun."

"Yeah, well, I got creative this morning. Besides, I have too much hair to keep trying to craft into the perfect messy bun." Erin stopped fiddling with her braid and glared at me. "Stop looking at me like that! I'm not a monster."

"You just look different."

"It's a braid, Kagome. I don't look that different."

"I don't think you understand how often you wear your hair in a bun. The sudden change is shocking."

Erin patted my shoulder. "Your melodramatics is one of the things I love about you, Kags. You never cease to amuse me."

"It is my duty to humor you." Erin smiled at a customer who walked in the door and I waved and welcomed them to Shoe Carnival, exercising my manners—maybe it will bring about some good karma. "Hey, you want to do something tonight?"

"Besides hang out in Ginta and Hakkaku's apartment and attempt to do my homework?" Erin grabbed my shoulders and looked up into my eyes with desperation. "Please save me from that misery."

"You still haven't been home?" I asked her. It had been about a week since Erin and her Mom got in their last fight.

"I've been home," Erin shrugged. "I just haven't been spending the night. Mom's got a new boyfriend who I'm really not in the mood to meet."

"Oh," I nodded, understanding. Not all of Ms. Chiba's boyfriends were bad, but there were a few sadistic ones in the batch and Erin typically avoided meeting all boyfriends until she was forced to. "So, you want to hang out with me then, right?"

Erin frowned at me. "Are we going to spend the whole night at the Bean Café? Inuyasha's great, but I really don't want to eat pie while the two of you flirt."

"No, I'm not going there tonight," I assured her, shaking my head. "I don't want to talk to Inuyasha right now."

"Because he kissed the awful girl because you signed him up to kiss random girls?" My face went flat. "Sorry, I won't mention it again."

"At least give me a few hours of selfish pitying without having to realize how the majority of this is my own fault."

"I promise," Erin swore. She held up two fingers. "Scouts honor."

"You're not even a scout."

"You get the point."

-x-

I had to stay twenty minutes after my shift since I came in twenty minutes late—T.J forces us to make up all the time that's missed—but as soon as T.J finished his lecture about being punctual and blah, blah, blah, Erin and I got in the car and hit the road.

"You know, I feel like you're always out at night," Erin said as I drove through a green light. "Do you not have any homework? Doesn't Mama H worry about you?"

"My mom calls me every minute after ten if I'm not home on a school night," I answered. "And copying homework is what friends are for."

Erin shook her head. "I'd copy off Hakkaku if I could, but I can't. If only he wasn't an idiot…" I hummed in agreement as I made a sharp left. "Where are we going, Kagome? Not many fun spots exist out here."

"You'll see when we get there," I told her. "We'll be there in, like, two seconds."

In what was actually another five minutes, I pulled into the parking lot of my designated location and cut the engine. "Alright, we're here."

Erin stared at the building in front of us, dumbstruck. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious." I got out of the car and slammed the door shut, beckoning my short friend to hurry up and do the same. "I wasn't kidding when I said I thought God hated me. I need to try to get back in his good graces. I need the karma points."

"I don't think you get in God's good graces by purposely doing a good thing in order to gain karma points. It means you're looking for a reward instead of doing it because you're genuinely pious."

"It can't hurt to try, right?"

"Are churches even open this late?" I tugged on the door handle and the large wooden door opened for me.

I turned back to Erin and smiled. "Looks like it."

"What exactly are you going to pray for?"

"Good health, the prosperous life of my friends and family, Dad," I shrugged. "And beg for forgiveness for anything I may have done in a past or present life. And for some luck with Inuyasha. Considering I've never prayed over any of my other relationships, this might mean something."

"I think you're here for all the wrong reasons."

"I'm here because I need God's help."

I'm only gonna break, break ya, break, break ya heart
I'm only gonna break—

I fumbled with my bag to get to my phone. The caller ID read Inuyasha and I ignored his call. When I looked up from the screen, Erin was staring at me in disbelief.

"Really?"

"You see? This is exactly why I'm here." I dropped my phone back into my purse and walked further into the church. "The fact that I still have that as my ringtone is horrible."

"Good God, Kagome."

My phone beeped and I fished it out of my purse again to read the text Inuyasha sent me.

Did you seriously just ignore me?

I silenced my phone and shoved it back in my bag. Talking to Inuyasha before earning some karma points = bad idea. "Okay, Erin," I said to her enthusiastically (I was trying to be the enthusiast since Erin still wasn't buying into my idea). "Let's do this."

I sat in a pew with my hands clasped together and prayed.

I prayed more than I thought I would. I spent a long time praying for Mom and Souta and Gramps, hoping that Gramps' health wouldn't fail him; that Souta would do great in school and be extremely successful; and that Mom wouldn't suddenly fall into a depression and go crazy and end up like Erin's Mom. I prayed for Erin the longest, I think. I prayed for all my friends and I prayed for Dad, hoping that he was having a good time up there in heaven. I prayed for Yaten because he was like a brother to me. I missed him a lot.

I prayed for myself, of course, since I am a somewhat self-conceited person and the whole reason I was here was to get some legitimate help from above. I prayed for better luck with relationships, better grades in school, and more confidence for myself when facing all my high school critics. I also prayed for some luck in tomorrow's Odd Ball Olympics— specifically, I prayed that nobody would win a kiss from Inuyasha.

"Okay, I'm done." I looked over at Erin who was sitting beside me. She wasn't asleep like I assumed and was actually finishing up her own prayers. Her eyes opened and she turned towards me after she finished. "Praying for a recording contract for the band?" I guessed.

Erin smiled at me. "What else would I be doing?"

We walked back to the car and got in. Before I turned the car on, I pulled out my phone to text Inuyasha back. Now that I scored myself a few karma points, I was in the safe zone.

Sorry, I typed. I was out w/Erin.

Inuyasha replied a second later.

It's alright. Yura stopped by w/some Morning Ribbet ppl. Still hate Sango for writing that column about me. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Night.

Apparently, I received the wrong kind of karma.

-x-

The lesson I learned today: God hates me.

Also, I probably shouldn't drive when I'm not in the best of moods; I scared Erin to death with how sharp my turns were and how far over the speed limit I was driving.

-x-

An update, yay! If you're wondering about Yaten he will be explained. Eventually. It occurred to me earlier that in a little over a month I'll have to go back to school so I should probably really try pushing some more updates out before I get weighed down again. Please review! Reviews are always valued.

~Kimiko888~

What's this? WALKING TIGHTROPES? WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? Even though it feels like a super epic long time since we've updated (it has been), Kimiko and I have been planning so much for this story, it doesn't feel like it's been so long for us.

~hanmajoerin