For the life of her, Kagome cannot figure out why Suguru continues to show up at the shrine nearly every morning. It is becoming bothersome to be honest. The first time was fine. The second time was whatever. But today, she is frankly sick of seeing his face before she has had her morning coffee or tea.

Depends on her mood.

"Good morning, Suguru. How long are you staying today?" Kagome asks, pouring herself a big cup of strong coffee. These days, she needs the caffeine like an addict. Too much on her mind. Sleep? She has no idea what that is anymore. So, coffee and more coffee it is.

She can have a giant cup of tea tonight before bed.

"How do you know Satoru?" he asks, jumping right into it. Kagome rolls her eyes. If Suguru thinks he can start bossing her around like she is some lackey, then he has another thing coming. Just because she agreed to help him with exorcising curses, does not mean she works for him or has to answer to him.

He is not her father, nor is he her man, so he needs to fuck off. Kagome sets the pink mug down and winces as some of the liquid sloshes over and spills out on the table. Gosh, she is such a mess in the morning. How nice it would be if she could have her mornings to herself.

"How do you know him?" she shoots back as she turns around for something to wipe the mess up. "I mean, you walked into his house. Either he didn't lock the door, or you have a key." Kagome lets out a sigh as she pulls out the chair. She tries not to notice how Suguru always goes for the chair Gramps loved so much. Gramps used to tell her how nothing compares to that chair and how it was especially comfortable because he had it made that way.

And now Suguru sits in that chair wearing a serene expression on his face.

It's not his fault those things killed her family, but would it kill him to give her space to grieve? He is always popping up as if he expects to lose all rationality.

"He is my best friend, though we haven't talked in years. I was a bit surprised to find you there and not back at home." Suguru leans back and drums his fingers on the table. "You know it is dangerous to go out alone with some man you don't know. He could have been a curse user."

"A curse user?" Her mind is drawing a blank. Suguru's expression goes flat. Ah, so he has talked to her about this before. "Just remind me." She sighs, not in the mood to pretend with him. So, what if she does not remember every single thing he says? Her outward appearance may look like she is okay, but she really is not. There is no end to avenging her family. Curses are never-ending.

She feels like she is drowning in grief.

How did InuYasha and the others handle this kind of grief? And Shippo-chan, gosh, how did he wake up every day with a smile on his face? One thing is for certain, her respect for everyone has increased tenfold. They are so very strong. Kagome makes a mental note to pick up some extra goods for everyone before she makes another trip to the past.

"Someone that uses curses or their jujutsu for harm," Suguru states. His face is back to that unnerving smile that never quite reaches his eyes. Kagome cannot put her finger on it. She does not know Suguru enough to know his mannerisms and for the most part, he has not tried anything. Though one thing she cannot get past is how he found her last night.

"Were you following me last night?" She lifts the mug to her lips and watches him over the rim of the mug. His expression never wavers. Oh, he is good. Or he truly has nothing to hide. Somehow, she doubts that. Everyone has something they want to hide.

"Oh that? No, of course not." He waves his hand in the air, laughing off her accusation. "I stopped by, but you were not here. So, I checked the tracker."

Tracker?

"Excuse me?" He has a tracker on her? It must be on her phone, she reasons.

"Everyone has one, though now that I think about it, you don't have access to mine. My apologies."

"Suguru, you are not making sense. Why do you have a tracker on me?"

"How else would I know where to reach you? There have been times when you completely vanish. It is so strange. After the tragedy that happen here, I have been worried about you. People do a lot of things in their grief. I have seen far too many sorcerers lose their lives because of silly mistakes. I do not want to lose you too. You must understand I do this for your safety." Suguru sighs and lets some emotion show through his expression. His lips are pressed into a taunt line. His dark eyes are downcast as if he is reliving a memory.

Kagome sets the mug down and stares at the liquid. Looking at Suguru hurts. His expression is too serene. Too earnest. Too much. She still does not know what to make of him. A tracker is excessive, but compared to the methods of her demon friends, a tracker is not that bad in the grand scheme of things.

But Suguru is not a demon. He is human. Her brain cannot decide on how to file him away. Is this a red flag or is this behavior normal for sorcerers?

"I think it is best that you do not track my movements from now on. I understand... your family is okay with that, but I am not." She is not his family. No matter how many times he tries to hint at or make comments alluding to them all being a family. She lost her family not that long ago. The last thing she wants to do is to replace them. "Checking in with others is not my thing. Though I appreciate your concern."

Suguru's expression goes blank. It is sickening how fast his expression can become unreadable.

Kagome stands and stretches her arms above her head. "At any rate. I have some errands I need to run today." She smiles softly.

Get the hell out. Kagome wishes she could say that, but her manners haven't left her yet, so she stills her tongue and keeps a smile plastered on her face, so he knows it is not personal, but this conversation is over.

Suguru chuckles and stands as well. Her words wash over him like water oil. He is always so unaffected by her rudeness.

"You do not have to keep it bottled up, Kagome. If you need me, I will always come through for you." He looks around the kitchen with his hands stuffed in his sleeves. His monk attire reminds her of Miroku's. Perhaps that is why she finds herself wary of him. Miroku too has moments where she cannot tell what he is thinking. The difference is she knows Miroku. Has fought with him for years. There is trust there.

Suguru and she do not have that trust. Not yet. The more he pushes and tries to force his way into her life, the more she wants to stay behind in the past. Truly, she does not know why she keeps returning to this time when nothing but sadness greets her every day.

"That's kind of you," she admits, not so subtly walking him towards the door. "Perhaps we can go out looking for curses tomorrow night."

"Going out tonight without me?" he teases, hand hovering over the door.

"Something like that." No way she is telling him about the well. That would be such a headache and Suguru does not strike her as the type that would be all that forgiving of InuYasha's winning personality. Best to keep those two from meeting, which is another reason why Suguru needs to stop showing up unannounced.

Kagome likes her mornings stress free and to herself.

"I see." Suguru slides that blank expression back on and opens the door.

Kagome sighs.

Why is he here?

"Satoru, what a pleasure," Suguru says, moving to block her from Satoru's view. Kagome frowns. If they are best friends, then why is he trying to keep Satoru away from her? Kagome looks down at her attire. A simple tank top and shorts. Her mind screeches. Has she just been flashing her nipples this whole time?

No wonder Suguru was staring so intently at her face. She forgot a bra, or at least a robe. Ugh, whatever. Kagome pushes past Suguru. Does not matter too much if Satoru sees her like this. They were going to go a lot farther last night if someone had not interrupted. No need to get in tiff about it.

"Satoru, hi! What are you doing here?" Kagome ignores the heated stare of Suguru and focuses on Satoru, who is wearing bandages around his eyes. "Oh, my goodness. Did something happen to your eyes?" She steps forward, reaching for him before she is cognizant of what she is doing. "Bend down."

"Kagome, what are you doing?" Suguru hisses behind her. The venom in his tone startles her. The heck is Suguru's problem? Surely, he can see his friend has been hurt.

"Figured you wanted your kikufuku back," Satoru says, bending down so she can touch his face. He is tall, taller than Sesshomaru. Her fingers brush along the white bandages, sparks shoot out from her fingertips. "You know what that does to me," he reminds her, but she ignores him. What matter is that someone has hurt him.

"He's not hurt," Suguru grumbles, reaching for her arm. He pulls her hand back and glares at Satoru like they are enemies. "That's just to help his eyes not get overwhelmed."

Satoru straightens and shrugs. "Don't you have a cult to run?"

Cult?

"Hilarious. Shouldn't you be at work instead of stalking a woman that does not want you?"

Uh.

Kagome pinches the bridge of her nose. It is too early for whatever this is. If they have something they need to work out, then they need to do it on their own time and far away from her. "Cut it out. Both of you. In fact," Kagome says, jerking out of Suguru's hold, "why don't you both go?" She grabs the box of kikufuku from Satoru. "I appreciate you bringing this to me. Truly." Sarcasm drips from her tone, as sweet as honey.

There is no room for drama in her life right now. All she wants to do is get dressed, run to a couple of stores, and pick up some baby items. Miroku and Sango are expecting another child any day now and she wants to make sure they have everything they need. Not to mention, InuYasha and his wife, Aiya, are also expecting.

Everyone is happy except for her.

Kagome blows out a breath, dispelling the negative thoughts. She is happy for her friends, but she is also grieving the loss of her family. Death is something that happens to everyone. She knows this. Understands this. But the way her family passed, in a time period where it should be safe, much safer than the past, is hard for her to come to terms with.

"Suguru, I will call you later. We can go exorcising curses tomorrow night." Kagome turns her attention to Satoru, who has a frown on his face. She cannot see his eyes, but it is clear he is not happy about getting kicked out. "Satoru, it was nice to see you again."

"Will you call me later too? If it is curses you want to get rid of, I am the teacher here."

"Sounds like you just want my number."

"I'd like to take you out on a proper date."

Kagome considers him. They have chemistry. That much was clear last night. She acted way out of character, as though something was drawing her closer to him.

"I believe the last thing Kagome wants to do is date you," Suguru interjects. "She, as I am sure you are aware, has gone through a traumatic experience. You should have some more tact."

Kagome considers this as well. Perhaps she is being too harsh on Suguru. He has been patient with her, and he has been checking in on her more so than her girlfriends (not that she is upset with them). Maybe she should defer to him in this situation. Her mind is hazy. Some days, she does not know how she made it to bed or what she did the day before.

Kagome backs away and waves. "I have a lot to do today. Thank you both again." She shuts the door and pretends she does not hear them arguing outside. As long as they are gone by the time she gets dressed, she does not care.

She walks past the kitchen and stops. Gramp's chair is pushed in all the way, not halfway like he used to do it when he was alive. She sucks her teeth and keeps walking.

Those two better be off her property by the time she gets dressed.

A/N: Geto is slowly worming his way into Kagome's everyday routine. Guess he'll be turning up the charm with Gojo in the picture. Can't afford to let Gojo steal Kagome away. New chapter of How to Tame should be out this weekend :) Thank you everyone for the reviews and for enjoying the stories. Stay safe and well hydrated!