"Eri, what's wrong?" Kagome asks, right before taking a sip of her soda. She doesn't drink soda as much as she used to, but when Eri begged her to meet up at Wacdonalds, well, Kagome knew it was an emergency.

"He spit the chocolate out!"

Kagome winces. "Who spit the chocolate out?" Speaking of chocolate, she hasn't seen Satoru at all today. Maybe he's busy with missions today and that's why she hasn't been able to run into him. She could always call for a ride out to the estate or ask Dad to take her. He's been hanging out around the shrine more these days, helping Mom and Gramps out with stuff.

"Satoru!" Eri wails, slamming her head down on the table. "I made him chocolate and he—" she hiccups. "I begged him to just try one since he kept refusing to take them and he spit it out!"

Kagome wets her lips. Her fingers grip the cup. Why is Eri giving Satoru chocolate? And how did she run into him before she did?

Is he avoiding her?

What a brat.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it," Kagome says. She blows out a breath. Knowing Satoru, he meant it. He's a glutton for sweets and for him to refuse chocolate means it must have been bad. But how can you mess up chocolate?

"He said it was the worst thing that he ever had and that even shit would taste better!" Eri lifts her head, brushes her hair back, and stuffs a bunch of fries in her mouth. She sniffs as she chews the fries. "And hetoldmetoleavehimalonebeauseimastalker."

"What?" Kagome drags her hand down her face. "I'm sorry, Eri. You had food in your mouth."

"He called me a stalker!"

Kagome sucks in a breath. "Satoru can be blunt." She sighs. "Why not find someone nicer?" She sighs again. Eri is so nice, and Satoru is so not. Why Eri even wants to date Satoru is a mystery to her. He's always brushed Eri off the few times they've met or flat out ignored her.

"Is it true? Did your parents secretly let you two get married?"

Kagome rolls her eyes. "He's been calling me his wife since we were like 11, it really doesn't—"

"He'll never love me!" Eri wails again, and Kagome grimaces.

She told Eri to give up on Satoru months ago.

Satoru told Eri he wasn't interested the first time they met.

What is she supposed to do in this situation? As much as Eri is her girl…Satoru comes first. And it's not right for Eri to keep throwing herself at Satoru when he isn't interested.

And…Kagome swallows. How could Eri think to give Satoru chocolate? How many other girls have given Satoru chocolates today? That must be it. That's why he's ignoring her. He's too busy trying to get as much chocolate as he can. His ego can stand to be deflated.

"Eri…"

"He's just playing hard to get right? Like you do with Hojo?"

"That's not it at all." Kagome pushes her drink to the side. "Satoru just isn't interested. No amount of chocolates or declaring your love for him is going to change that. He's a…" Kagome taps her lips with her finger. "Satoru is a very one-tracked minded guy when he wants to be." One-tracked minded is one way to put it. Satoru hones in on something like a missile getting ready to be launched. He just isn't interested in Eri.

"One track? So, he just wants you," Eri says with a pout. "Should have known. There's no way I could stand a chance with him fixated on you."

Kagome blinks. "What? I already told you; Satoru and I are childhood friends." Yeah, Satoru is still keeping up the whole wife thing, but that's like an inside joke. Satoru isn't serious and he wouldn't hold her to something from when they were 11. One-track minded or not, there's no way he's actually serious.

Eri rolls her eyes and stuffs more fries in her mouth. "You must not see the way he looks at you." Eri stands and grabs their trays. "You just don't get it, Kagome." She throws away the food and sits back at the booth.

Kagome frowns. She gets it plenty. Satoru simply does not want Eri, and instead of accepting that, Eri is hiding behind this whole marriage business. Satoru and she are not married. They're just friends. "Satoru is probably not interested in a relationship right now. It has nothing to do with him calling me his wife." If anything, Satoru is probably using her as a shield.

She overheard Dad and Mama talking about the increase in marriage proposals, and how Dad has been rejecting every single one. To Kagome, Satoru is simply Satoru, but these sorcerers act like he is this great Messiah. Yeah, he is strong and all, but Satoru is not the nicest person.

Frankly, she doesn't get why Eri is so fixated on Satoru when he's been indifferent to her.

Eri reaches into her bag and pulls out the box of chocolate. "Does it really taste that bad?"

Kagome sighs and grabs a piece. She chews slowly and grimaces.

"IT DOES TASTE AWFUL!" Eri wails. "No wonder he looked at me like that." Eri lifts her head and reaches across the table, grabbing Kagome's hands. "You have to help me."

"…Help you? Eri, give up on—"

"No! I can't do that when there's still a chance. If I can just get better at cooking and baking, then I'll win him over. Mom always says a way to a man's stomach is through cooking. Please Kagome, there must be something you can do to help me."

Kagome closes her eyes and counts to three. There are chocolates in her bag and it's not like Satoru has been responding to her texts today, so she doesn't know if Satoru will like what she made, but she could help Eri whip up a new batch. "Okay, I have a box that I made—"

"Thank you!" Eri lets go of her hands and rushes around the table. She unzips the bag and pulls the chocolates out. "I just know these taste a million times better than mine." Eri clutches the chocolates to her chest and grabs her bag on the way out.

Kagome reaches out to stop her, but Eri dashes out of Wacdonalds.

Great. She didn't mean for Eri to take the chocolates, but that she was going to help her make more. Kagome slaps her forehead. It's fine. She'll just make more chocolate. Kagome grabs her bag and makes the trek back to the shrine. She yawns as she makes her way up the stairs.

Maybe she'll make more after a nap. She stifles another yawn right as the door opens and Mom and Dad walk out. Kagome blinks. Dad's hand is resting on Mom's hip. Did she get hurt and need help walking?

"Oh, Kagome. We're heading out. Will you be okay on your own?"

Kagome scrunches her nose. "Yeah, I'll be fine? Is Gramps not home?"

"He and Sota are out on a trip," Dad remarks. His arm is still around Mom, though Mom doesn't look like she's in pain.

Wait. How long are they heading out for?

"If InuYasha stops by, tell him to wait for me at the estate. We'll be back sometime tomorrow." Dad smiles and ruffles her hair as they pass by.

Kagome scratches her head. Okay, it must be some important errand if Dad has to go with Mom overnight. Kagome shrugs. Whatever, she gets the house to herself. Kagome slides off her shoes and trudges upstairs to her room. She drops her bag near the desk and hangs up her coat. She'll just lie down for a bit and then make Satoru's chocolates when she gets up.

What is that sound? Kagome groans as she tosses the cover off her. Her phone buzzes. She reaches for it and gasps. Crap! How did she sleep for so long? And now Satoru wants to get back to her? She looks at the time he sent the message and the time on the clock.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

He's gonna be here in like 10 minutes and she hasn't gotten started on the second batch of chocolates. Kagome rushes down the stairs. There is no way it will be done in time. Maybe if she increases the temperature? Ugh. She should have never let Eri take the chocolate she made. Kagome rushes around the kitchen and tries to melt the whipped cream as fast as she possibly can, but the pot smokes, and some of it burned in her haste.

Lovely.

The cream is burned, and the chocolate mixture isn't smooth.

"Hey! Kagome!" Satoru's voice rings out.

NO!

"Don't come in here!" she yells, but Satoru waltzes into the kitchen anyway. There's a bag in his hand. Kagome frowns. It must be to carry all the chocolates he got today. She blows out a breath.

"Did you burn something?"

"I was trying to make chocolate." She washes her hands and dries them off on the towel. "And it isn't going so well." Kagome leans back against the sink and motions to the bowl on the counter. "Sorry."

Satoru sets the bag down on the table and walks over to the bowl. He dips his finger into the mixture and tastes it. He smirks. "Did you rush to make me more chocolate?"

"Yes, I was trying to…" She squints. "How did you know I made you chocolate already?"

Satoru pushes his shades up and rolls his eyes. He cradles the bowl of chocolate to his chest, dipping his finger in every so often. "Because I ran into that girl and I recognized your perfume on the box."

Kagome blinks. "Wow, you and InuYasha are brothers. Now you recognize my scent." She crosses her arms. "You don't have to keep eating that. I burned the cream."

"But I love it," he says, tightening his arm around it as though she'll take it away from him.

"You didn't respond to any of my calls today."

Satoru hums and walks over to the table where the bag sits. "S'orry, I was trying to get my missions over as quickly as I could. Running on fumes here."

Kagome moves away from the sink. "Why are you running on fumes? Do you need my help?"

"No," Satoru says sharply. "I just got back from Switzerland today and it was a 14-hour trip. That's all." He looks at the bag and then at her, while eating more of the chocolate from the bowl.

"Switzerland?" Kagome's eyebrows raise. Everyone is going on trips but her, but then again, she is still dealing with the mess of collecting the Shikon shards. Luckily Naraku is gone, but other demons keep trying to take his place. "Why did you go to Switzerland? For a mission?"

"Nah, they have the best chocolates."

Kagome sighs. Of course. He went to get chocolates for himself. "Why am I not surprised?" She shakes her head and turns away. "Mom and Dad are gone for the night. Gramps and Sota went on some trip, but I'm not sure when they will be back."

"Kagome."

She looks over her shoulder. "What?"

"The chocolates are for you."

For her? Kagome turns and looks through the bag. Three boxes of chocolates. One is cat-shaped chocolates. Another one is heart-shaped. And the last one is simple round ones.

"There are chocolate truffles," Satoru adds.

"It's not White's Day."

Satoru stares at her and dips his finger back into the bowl instead of getting a spoon. "Yah, I know that. But I wanted to get you chocolate."

"From Switzerland? Did you have a mission over there?" That is the only reasonable explanation for Satoru to have gotten her chocolate from Switzerland.

He walks around the table and dips his finger into the bowl again, though this time, he doesn't taste it. He swipes his finger across her mouth. "I went to Switzerland to get chocolates for my wife."

A/N: Thank you everyone for your kind reviews. The Karen parody was hilarious. I do believe that there is room for improvement in all of my stories and I love having discussions with you all. However, if your only review is to complain because you skimmed and you just don't vibe with my writing, then please just write the story you want to read.

Next chapter will probably be a gossip chapter to see how the other clans feel about the Gojos right about now and I'll probably bring Ryu in since you guys love to hate him lol.

Take care of yourselves. Do some self-care today if you can before Monday gets here. Get outside and get some vitamin D if you can. And remember, life is too short to only fill your well with negative things. Make sure to watch/read/talk to things/people that bring you joy.

See you later in the week with either Thousand Days or One Night.