1

Many of their days were spent wrapped up in a blanket in front of the fireplace, light conversation hanging in the air, and tender affections given to one another.  Nothing could have disturbed the peace that they both felt while holding each other closely; it did not matter that it was not on a very intimate level, they were happy to just...be.

Three weeks they were together, and every day was something new for them.  They made sure to spend time with each other every day for hours on end, it did not matter that they were doing nothing in particular as long as they were doing it together.  There was nothing and no one that could separate them.

They met while their families were on a ski trip in Hakuba; it was the first time either had been there, and they met quite by accident.

The first week that they had been there the snow was falling so hard that they could do nothing but stay inside their cabins.  It was not until the second week that the snow decided to let up enough so that vacationers throughout the resort could actually go outside without being covered immediately with the white powder.

Kagome's mother asked her in the early morning to take Souta, her little brother, to the small hills for him to ski.  One week cramped up in a cabin with a restless young boy and an anxious teenage girl did numbers on Mrs. Higurashi's nerves.  She promised Kagome a nice bowl of oden if she would only take Souta out of her hair for a while.  Kagome was reluctant to do so, but eventually agreed to do it anyway, while her mom took the day to herself to relax and enjoy some alone time.   

Kagome took Souta to the small slopes and was demonstrating to him how to turn on his skis when another person hit her shoulder coming down the hill.  Kagome was caught off guard, and even though the person was not very big or going very fast, she was thrown to the ground with a thud and buried in two feet of powdery snow.

For a while Kagome just lay there starting up at the sky a little dazed at first, but then her vision cleared.  The impact hurt a bit, but it was nothing too serious.  However, when she looked up from her small crater, she swore she could see an angel.  It made her rethink her existence.

"Am I dead?" Kagome asked a bit bewildered.

Then her angel started chuckling at her.  Okay, she was not dead, but now she was highly embarrassed.

**

Sesshoumaru had agreed to take his little sister Rin to the bunny slopes since Inuyasha refused to be seen with the "little brat".  Rin started to cry, and although he would not let it show on the outside, it ate at Sesshoumaru every time Rin was upset.  It was his duty as a big brother to keep Rin safe and happy, so Sesshoumaru quickly acquiesced to take her instead.

He had just made it to the small hills when he saw that someone else was there.  He told a fussy Rin to wait her turn and then went over to lean against a tree.  He watched as the girl down the hill tried teaching the boy with her to turn on his skis.  He had to admit, that even from here he could tell she was quite nice looking; for a human anyway.

She had long black hair that was tied up in a pony tail, and he could see that her eyes were a beautiful blue-silver color: quite unusual for one of Japanese heritage.  He closed his eyes and shook his head in frustration; he did not need to be thinking about some silly girl right now while he was with Rin.

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes again and looked to where his little sister was only to find that she was not there anymore.  A bit frantic, Sesshoumaru stood away from the tree and looked around to see if he could spot her.  He heard a small surprised scream and looked in the direction of it, just in time to watch as Rin plowed into the girl that was at the bottom of the hill, sending her flying back into the snow with her feet in the air.

He cringed a little and then made his way quickly to the "accident" scene.  When he came up to the girl lying in the snow he heard her sigh a little, so he looked into the human-shaped hole. 

Sesshoumaru could not stop the chuckle that escaped him when he heard her ask if she was dead; hopefully Rin's little hit didn't cause too much brain damage.

From here Sesshoumaru saw that the girl was even more stunning close up.  Her face held a nice rosy hue to her cheeks from the cold air, and it added to the innocence held in her features.  He could only stare at her as he watched her eyes focus on him.  He mentally shook himself out of his stupor when he realized he hadn't asked of her well-being.

Kagome focused her eyes on the person above her; she was trying her best to will herself to become invisible to escape her embarrassment.  When she heard his deep baritone voice, she seemed to lose all train of thought.

"Are you alright?  I'm so sorry, but this is my little sister's first time on skis, so she's not very good right now," came the voice deep of her mistaken angel.

"Oh, no, I'm fine.  She just caught me off guard is all," Kagome said.

Sesshoumaru took hold of her hand and helped her off the ground.  To Kagome, he was even more beautiful face to face.  He had long silver hair that was loose over his shoulder, and striking amber eyes.  The magenta stripes on his cheeks looked wonderfully contrasted to the blue crescent moon on his forehead.  When he grinned she could see the hint of fangs behind his lips; he was obviously a demon.

Kagome could do nothing but stare in awe at him; he was the utter most handsome person she had ever seen!

"I'm Sesshoumaru, and this is my little sister Rin," he said to her motioning to the little girl now hiding behind his legs.

"Uh, I-I'm Kagome and this is my little brother Souta," Kagome said absently pointing to Souta who was still trying to work his way over shakily to his sister on his skis.

"Please accept my apologies, and my sister's, for interrupting your lessons," Sesshoumaru stated.

"Oh!  No, don't worry about it!  I didn't realize that we were taking up the whole place, I'm sorry for not paying attention," Kagome countered.

The two kids had introduced themselves to each other and were now trying to build a snowman while Kagome and Sesshoumaru were busy swapping apologies.  Kagome could not help the fact that every time she looked at him she grinned like an idiot; he just made her feel giddy like a love-struck schoolgirl. 

"Would you like to go get some coffee or hot chocolate with me?" Sesshoumaru asked her.

Once again, Kagome beamed.  "That sounds great," she said dreamily.  And then he did something that Kagome swore he would do more of...he smiled at her.  Yes, she was hooked.

That was how their three week vacation was spent after that event.  Kagome and Sesshoumaru were inseparable.  Every day they did something together; skiing, snowboarding, throwing snowballs at each other.  But Kagome never felt as good as she did when all they did was wrap themselves up in a blanket and sit in front of the fire together.  

However, three weeks was just not a long time and all too soon it was time to leave the resort.  For Kagome it was the hardest thing she ever had to do and on Sesshoumaru's part, it was not easy for him either; he had never met someone quite like Kagome.  She was beautiful, smart, funny, and was not intimidated by him in the least.

"Sesshoumaru, I'm going back to Okinawa; what happens if I never see you again?" an almost tearful Kagome said to him.

"You cannot think that way Kagome.  The world is a smaller place than you realize," Sesshoumaru tried to reassure her.

"How can I not?  I just spent three weeks with you, and those three weeks were the best three weeks of my life!" Kagome said wanting to cry.  "It isn't fair!  Why do we have to live so far apart?"

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to do.  For once, he felt at a loss of words, so he let his actions speak for him.  He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her toward him bringing his lips to hers.  He brought his hand behind her head to hold her there while he teased her bottom lip with his tongue asking for entrance.  Her mouth felt great against his and he could feel a tingling sensation working its way up his spine. 

She opened her mouth a little more and his slid his tongue into her mouth, wrapping his with hers.  Their kiss became heated as he started to trail his hands down her arms and brushed his hands across her breasts, teasing her through her shirt. 

Kagome moaned at the feeling and rubbed her hands over his back underneath his shirt.  His skin felt hot beneath her fingers and she wanted nothing more than to feel his skin against hers.  She almost gave in to her desires, but soon thought better of the situation.  She gently pushed him away and both were panting from the amount of emotions rushing through their veins.  She looked down to her feet and started to worry her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry Sesshoumaru, but if we do this now, it'll only hurt worse when I have to leave," she said apologetically.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes allowing himself to reign in his craving for the woman in front of him.

"Forgive me Kagome; it has been more difficult to control myself around you lately," he said still panting a little.

Kagome smiled at him, she knew for a fact that she would never again meet someone like him.  He was genuine, not afraid to show her how he was feeling.  She knew he gave her more privileges with his emotions than he gave most people and she accepted that with open arms.

She drew him in again for a slow kiss, savoring the feeling of his lips against hers; she wanted to remember this feeling.  She ran her fingers over the markings on his face and then through his wonderfully soft, silky hair.  He had his arms wrapped around her waist so he could keep her close to him.  This would more than likely be the last time they would be able to hold each other like this and they wanted to savor the moment.  They stayed in this position for a while, silently memorizing everything they could about each other.

When Kagome shivered from the cold a little it brought them back to reality and they reluctantly parted.

"I guess I should be going," she said quietly, still not releasing her hold on him.

He said nothing in return, but nodded in understanding.  "Take care of yourself Kagome."

"I will.  Please, Sesshoumaru...don't forget me."

"Of course not," he said, "How could I?"

She smiled and placed a chaste kiss on his lips and then turned away from him.  She walked quietly through the snow back to her family's cabin, looking back only once to see him watching her as she left.  She smiled, waved, and then ran the rest of the way back to her room, not even stopping to say hello to her mother or brother as she passed them.

Kagome flung herself on her bed and cried quietly in her pillow.  Was it possible to fall in love with someone in three weeks?  She thought it was, because it felt like her heart was breaking.

She had never before felt such emotions from another person.  Not for the first time, she second guessed their decision of not giving each other their mailing information.  He had told her in the beginning that he was not one to accommodate long distance relationships, and she had agreed.  That realization made leaving him a little less difficult; it was better to have nothing at all if she could not have all of him.

Still, it did not stop the tears that were making their way down her face.

Kagome heard a light knock on her door; her mom no doubt would want to know what was wrong.

"Come in," she said softly.

"Hi dear, I saw you come in but you didn't say hello.  Is everything okay?" Kagome's mother asked.

"Yes-well, no.  I don't know mom," she said unsurely.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really..."

"Well dear, whatever it is, don't let it get you down.  You still have a lot of winter vacation left and then school starts again.  I'm sure that'll help you take your mind off of your troubles," her mother assured.

"Thanks mom, I appreciate you talking to me."

Her mom smiled and then left Kagome's room to finish packing.  From her position on the bed, Kagome looked out of the window to see that it hard started lightly snowing.  Her family would be leaving today to head back to Okinawa, and perhaps then Kagome could move on and continue her life like it was before she met Sesshoumaru.

Even with thoughts of returning to her normal life, she could not help but think that the life she had become so accustomed to before she and her family came to vacation here had ended.

**

Sesshoumaru stayed there, standing in the snow, even long after she was out of sight.  He shook his head at himself; how did he fall so hard for someone so fast.  It was definitely not like him to do so.  He would never admit it aloud, but it tore him up inside to watch her walk away from him.  Sesshoumaru had never had a long term relationship...ever.  He was a man that could get any woman he wanted by just pointing at them, so why bother with dating?

However, something about that girl captured his attention, and he was almost reluctant to let it go.  Sesshoumaru snarled at his thoughts; since when did he become do damned sentimental?

They both knew a long distance relationship between them would never work, so they promised not to give each other mailing information in hopes of keeping their time together short.  That is all that this was; three fun weeks.  Now it was time to return to their own separate lives and she would hopefully forget about him and move on.

So why did he feel so...bad?

"Come on asshole!  It's freezing out here and dad wants to get going!" yelled Inuyasha from the doorway of the cabin.

"I am standing right here little brother, there is no need to shout," Sesshoumaru stated in a bored tone.

"Yeah well if you weren't spending all that time with that chick, you'd remember that we start school again soon and I for one have a lot of things to take care of."

"We have over two months left before the school session begins.  What could a whelp such as you possible have to take care of that requires such urgency?"

Inuyasha huffed.  "For your information, this will be the year that I will finally get Kikyo to go out with me."

"She has turned you down numerous times before, what makes you believe she will so willingly agree to you this time?" Sesshoumaru asked still looking in the direction Kagome had left.

"Cause this year dad's getting me a car!" declared Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes at this.  Inuyasha really was dense sometimes. 

"So Sesshoumaru, who was that girl anyway you were hanging out with?" Inuyasha asked.

"She is no one of consequence," Sesshoumaru said trying to steer his brother away from this line of questioning.  Unfortunately for him, Inuyasha did not get this.

"Why didn't you ever bring her over, I'm sure mom and dad would have been happy to see that you had a love interest.  Between you and me, I think they were starting to worry about the gender of your choice of...companion," Inuyasha said almost laughing.

Sesshoumaru decided to say nothing; it was not like he was interested in the conversation to begin with.  Inuyasha was now laughing so hard he fell over in the snow.  Under any other circumstance, Sesshoumaru would have loved to watch his brother struggle to get up from the snow; he would even be the one to pelt him with snowballs. 

But with everything that had happened between he and Kagome, Sesshoumaru instead turned and walked back to the cabin that his family was occupying.  He was intent on letting all thoughts of Kagome settle in the back of his mind so that he could regain some semblance of his normal life.

The girl made him soft, he concluded.  The stoic iciness that everyone had come to fear and expect from him was his way of protecting himself and he allowed the mask to drop too easily around her.  Well no more.  Starting now, he was going to be sure to keep a tight reign on his emotions.  It hurt too much to watch Kagome leave him, and he vowed to never have to go through that again.

Inuyasha ran to catch up to Sesshoumaru; it was not like his older brother to just give up a chance to embarrass the hell out of him.  Something had to be wrong.

"Hey Sesshoumaru!  What's your problem?  Did you and that girl have a fight or something?"  Inuyasha asked as he caught up to him.

"Not that it is any of your business, but no, we did not have a fight," Sesshoumaru snapped.

"So what's up then?  How come you didn't take the bait to start a snowball fight, you love those!"

"Inuyasha, don't you have someone else you can bother?" Sesshoumaru said exasperated.

"Yeah, but you're more fun to bug.  Anyways, don't let that girl get to you, there are plenty of them around; even more when school starts," said Inuyasha.

"What would make you think I would even consider touching those at school?"

"Geeze, lighten up would ya?  We're leaving in a few minutes, so try and spend the rest of it in a good mood," Inuyasha told him as he walked to his own room to pack.

Now that he was alone, Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose where he felt the stirrings of a headache.  The school session was starting, and somehow he felt that his problems were only beginning.

2

Kagome watched as the people around her talked and laughed at each other; she really did not want to be here. 

Three weeks ago her mother got a phone call informing her that their grandfather who lived in Tokyo at one of the local shrines had had a small accident and could not afford a caretaker.  Being the wonderful woman that she is, her mother had insisted that they move in with him in order to take care of him and the family shrine.

Kagome was not a happy camper.

It wasn't that she did not love her grandfather; it was just the thought of leaving behind her friend that had her hating the move.  She was comfortable there; she loved her friends, tolerated her teachers, and was all in all content with her life...mostly.

Kagome sighed aloud and returned herself to the task at hand; and that was finding the school office to get her class schedule.

She pushed her way through the crowd and was the jostled by someone shoving past her.   With an ‘oomph!' Kagome steadied herself as the person turned back to apologies.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to push you," the girl said to Kagome.

"Oh, it's okay, I was doing the same thing to other people," Kagome replied with a tiny smile.  "Um, could you tell me where the office is; I'm new here so I don't really know my way around."

The girl smiled at her and nodded.  "Sure thing.  I'm Sango by the way!"

"I'm Kagome," she replied as she shook Sango's hand. 

She followed closely behind Sango as she made her way through the crowd of people.  They passed through the courtyard of the school which housed a few tables, some trees, and a patch of grass.  There was nothing special about the school and she felt her ire grow when she continued to notice so many unfamiliar faces.

A few more pushes and shoves later, Sango and Kagome made it to the attendance office.  They walked through the door and immediately it was quite; away from all the noise of the busy hallways.

Kagome felt immensely better when she could no longer hear the other students chatting and laughing.  She walked over to the desk and patiently waited for the old woman behind the desk to notice her.  A tap on the shoulder made her turn around.

"Hey, are you going to be okay now?  I have to get to my locker before the bell rings," said Sango.

"Oh yeah, I'll be fine.  Thank you so much for helping me; you don't know how much I appreciate it."

"It was no problem.  Hey, why don't you try and find me at lunch, I'll wait here by the office door for you and I can give you a tour around," Sango suggested.

Kagome gave her first genuine smile that she'd had since she moved here.  "I would like that, thanks again."

Sango nodded and then left the office in a hurry to beat the crowd to the lockers.  Kagome turned back around and started a bit when she saw that the old woman was looking straight at her.

"What can I help you with?" the old woman asked.

"Um, I'm a new student and I needed to get my schedule," Kagome told her.

The old woman turned around in her chair to dig in a filing cabinet behind her.  "Name?"

"Higurashi, Kagome."

The old woman nodded and continued digging through the files.  Kagome absently tapped her fingers on the desk while she waited and looked around the office uninterestedly.  The old woman turned back around after a couple minutes and dropped a folder on the desk in front of her.

"I'll need you to fill out some paperwork and then I'll need you to take a picture for your student identification card," the woman said as she handed Kagome a clipboard and a pen.

Kagome took said offerings and sat down in a chair against the wall.  She began to fill out the mundane paperwork when the door opened to the office.  A guy with long black hair that was up in a ponytail walked in.  He went straight for the desk with the old woman, and did not bother keeping his voice low in the otherwise quiet office.

"Kaede I have a problem!" the guy shouted.

The old woman sighed audibly and shook her head, all the while with a small smile on her face.

"What is it this year Kouga?  Not enough electives and too many academics?" Kaede asked.

The guy named Kouga crossed his arms over his chest and huffed before he answered. 

"No, it's not that.  Miroku took my lunch and threw it in the trashcan.  He said it smelled as if I left it there over winter break and that it wasn't edible even for me.  Kaede, you know I can eat just about anything!"

Kaede laughed at Kouga, and Kagome could not help the small giggle that escaped her.  Kouga, who had obviously just noticed that there was someone else in the office, turned around quickly upon hearing her giggle to see where it came from.  He looked surprised at first but then his face took on a playful gleam.

"And who might you be?" he asked while plopping down in a chair besides Kagome.  "You must be new, cause I would have noticed you around here before."

Kagome resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead smiled politely.  "Yes I'm new here.  I'm Kagome Higurashi," she said as she stuck out her hand to shake his. 

He took her hand gently and shook back.  He then flashed her with a wide, cocky grin, baring all of his sharp looking teeth.

‘Demon,' Kagome thought absently.  She had been meeting quite a few of them since she moved here.

"Kagome, if you're not doing anything later, why don't you come have lunch with me and my friends.  It must be hard being the new kid, so we could show you the ropes."

Kagome gave him a polite smile.  "Thank you for the offer Kouga, but I'm already having lunch with someone today.  Perhaps some other time?"

"Sure thing.  If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to find me," Kouga said as he stood.  "Until then, I'll be seeing you around."

Kagome watched him leave, completely forgetting the reason he was even in the office in the first place.  She shook her head at him; she could only hope that not every man in this school was as forward as he was.  She finished filling out her forms and handed them to the woman behind the desk she now knew as Kaede. 

"Alright child, here's your schedule now all you need if your picture," Kaede said to her.

Kagome nodded and headed in the direction Kaede had pointed her in.  A couple minutes, and some fake model posing, later she had her identification card.  Kaede gave her a map of the school and told her to be on her way.

Kagome reluctantly left the quiet confines of the attendance office in order to search out her locker and her first class.  She studied her schedule as she walked; nothing new and exciting on the agenda.  She almost cursed when she bumped into someone from behind, but refrained.  When she looked up to apologize she was met with a pair of amber eyes and she froze.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you," she said still staring.

"Yeah well next time watch where you're goin'," the boy said.

Kagome looked the guy over; he looked so much like Sesshoumaru except for a couple of differences, for one those ears on the top of his head-how cute.  Another thing was that he was lacking markings on his face like Sesshoumaru's; maybe she was just grasping for straws when she thought he looked like him.

"Oi, what are you staring at?" he asked her.

Kagome shook her head breaking her trance.  "Nothing, I'm sorry, um well...sorry," she said as she continued on her way.

"Hey Inuyasha!" someone called out.

"Yeah, what do you want Kouga?" said the boy Kagome ran in to.

"Ah nothin', just thinking that this year is going to be great!" Kouga shouted.

"Oh?  And why's that?" Inuyasha asked him.

"Cause there are some great looking women here this year and I plan on getting my hands on one of them," Kouga said arrogantly.

"Kouga the only thing you're gonna get your hands on this year is a restraining order.  Just keep your paws off Kikyo.  This year I know she'll agree to go out with me," Inuyasha said with his head held high.

Kouga looked at him disbelievingly.  Kikyo had turned him down too many times to count but he still went after her.  He must really be a glutton for punishment.

"Pff, I'm not the one you should be telling this to, you know how Miroku is at the beginning of the year, he always thinks he works on a clean slate," Kouga informed him.  "Whoever the unlucky girl is that gets stuck with him is gonna have her hands full."

"That's what she said," came another voice from close by.

"Miroku you pervert, that's not what I meant!" Kouga defended himself as he turned to face his friend.

"Why gentlemen, I did not know I was such an interesting topic of conversation," Miroku teased them.

"What's with the handprint?" Inuyasha asked Miroku.

"Oh this?  Well, I ran into Sango on the way here.  She's still as feisty as ever; man I love that woman," said Miroku with a dreamy look in his eyes.

Kouga and Inuyasha looked at each other with matching expressions of confusion mixed with a small mount of disgust.  Their friend definitely had some issues.

"Ahem," someone cleared their throat from behind.

The three boys turned to face who made the noise and came face to face with a not-so-happy Kaede.

"Shouldn't you boys be in class?  The bell rang no less than five minutes ago," Kaede told them with a look in her eyes that meant trouble.

"Yes Kaede," came their collective reply; yet no one made a move to leave.

"Well?  Would you boys like detention on your first day on class?" Kaede asked.

"No Kaede," they all said again.  Still no one left.

Kaede narrowed her eyes at them; so they wanted to be that way, did they?  "Move it!" she said in a raised voice.

They boys scattered like cockroaches and it took all of her effort for Kaede not to laugh at them.  She shook her head and returned to the attendance office for morning announcements.  She sat down at her desk and switched on the microphone and began to read from her notes.

"Welcome back students to another year here at Tokyo High, and welcome to the new students, we hope you enjoy your time here as well.  The first announcement I have is that this Saturday the Jiujutsu club will be holding a barbeque in order to raise funds for new uniforms.  There will be dancing and food, so come out and support their cause.

For a very exciting announcement: this year, our school has been chosen to host the high school decathlon; it is indeed an honor and privilege to be asked to do so and since it is a news covered event, it will give the city a chance to see what wonderful students we have here at Tokyo High.  I, as well as all of the administration here, expect all of you to be on your best behavior.  Take care and enjoy your day!"

****

Four hours later, and after three awful classes full going over syllabi and rules, Kagome made her way back to her locker to put her stuff away so that she could meet Sango for lunch.  Like promised, Sango was waiting for her near the attendance office and Kagome could not have been happier to see a friendly face.

"Hi Sango!" Kagome called out to her.

Sango looked up from studying her schedule and smiled.  "Hey, how's your first day going?"

"As good as to be expected; I don't understand why they make you stand up in front of everyone and tell them who you are.  It's like giving everyone another excuse to stare at you and receive even more unwanted attention."

"It's harmless; they do that in hopes of someone taking pity on you for being the new kid so they will try and make friends," Sango placated.  "Are you ready for the tour or would you like to eat first?"

"The tour would be nice; I'm not feeling all that hungry at the moment.  Nerves I guess," Kagome told her.

Sango nodded and they began their tour of the school.  It was a typical, everyday high school that seemed to have way too many students per teacher.  She was shown where the library was, the gym, where the rest of her classes were, and the cafeteria.

"Those are the main places you'll need to know; otherwise you could probably just ask someone and they'll point you in the right direction," Sango explained.  "Have you thought about doing any extracurricular activities?  They have a really good archery program here; the volleyball team is pretty good too."

"I'll think about it; I guess it would be a good way to meet some people," Kagome said as they continued walking.

"I want you to meet some friends of mine.  They usually hang out at the tables near the trees in the courtyard.  Would you like to meet them?" Sango asked.

"Sure, I could use some more friendly faces," Kagome agreed and the two of them walked to the courtyard.

**

"Hey Ayame, when did you get back?" asked a girl with striking red eyes and black hair.

The girl Ayame, who had fiery red hair and green eyes looked up from her lunch to answer her friend.

"Hey Kagura, I just got back three days ago.  Grandpa hasn't been feeling well, so I stayed with him most of the winter break.  Did you have a nice break?"

Kagura shrugged.  "It was nothing special, I just wish I didn't have to come back to this place."

"Well, it's only for one more year.  Besides, at least we have some nice-looking guys to keep us entertained," Ayame smirked.  She gave her friend a sly smile and then added, "Did you get a look at Sesshoumaru; he's looking as good as ever."

"Yeah well I can keep looking, it's not going to happen and you know it," Kagura said dejectedly.  "Taisho is not the type of guy who would consider dating anyone; he's too cold, as hot as he may look."

"Well there's a first time for everything," Ayame attempted to make Kagura feel better.

"Hi girls!" Sango called out.

"Hey Sango," Ayame spoke, "how've you been?"

"Doing great as always," Sango answered.  "I want you to meet a new friend of mine; this is Kagome, she just moved here from Okinawa."

"Hello, it's nice to meet you Kagome," Kagura greeted half-heartedly.  She looked the girl over once.  She seemed nice enough, maybe a bit too shy for her likings, but if Sango liked her then she'd give her a shot.

"Hi Kagome, it's so great to meet new students!" Ayame said cheerfully.  "Are you going to the barbeque this weekend?  It should be fun!"

Kagome looked at the girls sitting before her and shrugged.  "I'm not sure, I guess I could go."

"You should come Kagome," Sango said to her.  "It'll be a chance to show you more of what Tokyo High is like.  We can all go to my house afterwards and hang out."

Kagome smiled at her new friend; maybe it would not be so bad here having Sango around.

"Alright I'll go," Kagome relented.  It earned her a couple smiles and a very happy Sango.

"Hello girls, who's the new one?"

The occupants of the table turned to look at the girl standing behind Kagome.  At first they're eyes all shifted back and forth between the two; they looked so much alike!  Finally it was Kagura who answered.

"Kikyo, this is Kagome.  She's new in town."

"It's nice to meet you Kagome," Kikyo said sweetly.

"It's nice to meet you too."  Kagome watched as Kikyo sat next to her.  She seemed very nice and calm; it was quite a change from the rest of the people that she had met.

Kikyo turned to Kagome and offered her a small smile.  "I know how it is to be the new student.  Why don't you come to volleyball tryouts with Sango and I?"

Kagome turned to Sango and Sango shrugged.  "Why not Kagome; you might like it."

"Okay, that's sounds great," Kagome agreed.

While Kikyo and Kagome talked about the tryouts, Sango leaned over to whisper to Kagura and Ayame.

"So what do you guys think of her?  She's nice, ne?" Sango asked.

"I like her!" Ayame said quickly.  "I think she'll get along great here!"

Sango looked at Kagura who shrugged.  "She seems okay."

"Would either of you mind if she hung out with us?" questioned Sango.

Ayame jumped in quickly with an ‘I don't mind' and Kagura once again gave a non-committed shrug.

"I'll take that as a yes Kagura," Sango said as she leaned back to join in the conversation Kagome and Kikyo were having.

Kagura looked at the girl with emotionless eyes.  This girl, Kagome, just seemed so...pure.  Odd.

3

 The girls sat around the table, talking small menial conversations.  Kagome found herself drawn to this group of friends; they had accepted her into their group without much fuss, and were now talking to her as if they'd known her their entire lives when it had only been a few minutes.

"So Kagome, you're from Okinawa?" Ayame asked.

Kagome nodded her head.  "Yes, I moved here with my mother and younger brother because my grandpa needed help."

The girls were all listening now to Kagome while she explained her story.  They only had a little longer left until they had to return to their classes so Sango thought to change the subject to something fun.

"So," Sango began, "What did everyone do over winter break?  I went to visit my aunt in Hokkaido and she took me shopping; not the most eventful break, but it was fun."

 "Well, as you know, I went to visit my grandfather," Ayame spoke up.  "We didn't do much, he was sick most of the time, but he's a lot better now."

The girls all nodded at each story.  Kagura was next to share.  "I got a part time job at one of the local restaurants; I saved a decent amount of money in efforts to get a car; I'm only a couple thousand short," she said with a slight laugh.

Kikyo smiled when she decided it was her turn.  "I spent my break with my sister.  She and I took long drives around Japan and stayed in various towns.  It was very entertaining; you don't realize how much we don't see until we see it."

"What about you Kagome?" Ayame asked their new friend who had been really quiet.  "What did you do over winter break; or did you have a winter break?"

Kagome blushed.  "Yes I had a winter break.  I went on a ski tip with my mom and younger brother to Hakuba."

The other girls stared at her.   "And?" they all said at once.

Kagome looked up at them from staring at the table.  She blushed once again before she continued.  "Well, I sort of met someone there; he was on a ski trip too with his family."

"See this is the kind of thing that's supposed to happen on school breaks!" Sango cried out.  "So tell us what he was like!  How did you two meet?"

"That's a funny story actually.  I was teaching my little brother how to ski and his little sister skied down the hill and ran straight into me.  I fell into the snow and when I looked up he was standing over me.  He was so...beautiful; I thought he may have been an angel."

The girls gave a collective sigh.  "Then what happened?" Kikyo asked anxiously.

Kagome smiled at the anticipation radiating off of her new friends.  "Well, we spent the rest of our time there together doing nothing in particular; three weeks.  He was so sweet to me; he was always bringing me hot tea or coffee, and we liked to wrap up in a blanket in front of the fire together..." she trailed off with a dreamy look in her eyes.  "Oh and the way he kissed; I swear if I died today I would die a happy person."

"Wow...he sounds nice; I wish the guys around here were like that," Sango said wistfully.  "So what happened?  Where is he now?"

Kagome's smile dropped a bit.  "Well, I went back to Okinawa and all he told me was that he did not live anywhere near there.  We didn't exchange addresses because we both felt a long distance relationship would never work out.  So...I don't know where he is."

Kagura rolled her eyes at the now tender moment.  "Eh, don't worry about it Kagome, no one is that special to have you pine away for him.  I say you move on and get on with your life."

Kagome gave her a smile.  "Yeah I know, thanks Kagura; I guess I have been sort of hung up on him."

"So..." Ayame started.  "Did you guys, um, you know...DO anything else?"

The girls around her gave her an incredulous look.  What happened to their sweet innocent Ayame?

"Ayame!" Kikyo shouted.  "That's none of your business.  You should apologize to Kagome for that."

Ayame slumped her shoulders.  "Sorry Kagome."

"Oh, don't worry about it Ayame," Kagome quickly mended.  Ayame quickly perked up and Kikyo looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was listening before she whispered to Kagome.

"So did you?"

"No!  I mean...we kinda wanted to, but when I told him that it would just make it harder for us to leave each other, he agreed with my decision and didn't pressure me into anything.  All he said was that it was hard to control himself around me," Kagome said with a smile.

"You spend what-three weeks with him and he didn't touch you?" Kagura asked disbelievingly.  At Kagome's nod she added, "He sounds like a creep."

"Well I think he sounds amazing; I wish we could meet him," Sango said to them.

Ayame rapidly nodded her head in agreement.

The bell rang signaling the end of their lunch break so the girls reluctantly got up to go to class.  Kagome and Sango said a quick good-bye to the other girls and went their separate way.

"What class do you have now Ayame?" Kikyo asked the redhead.

"I have gym; good thing too, I get to work off what I ate for lunch," Ayame replied with a grin.  "What about you?"

Kikyo looked at her schedule.  "I have art history; the vibrant works of Sengoku Jidai."

The two of them looked over expectantly at Kagura.  She in turn rolled her eyes and took out her schedule card as well.

"I have economics; maybe I'll get lucky and see Sesshoumaru there, ne?" Kagura said.

The girls smiled and shook their heads; Kagura was indeed a handful.

****

Sesshoumaru rubbed the bridge of his nose; he hated being back here again.  All the students here acted as if they hadn't a care in the world and therefore thought is was okay to act like complete morons.  His brother and his small group of friends included.

"Come on Sesshoumaru!  Dad hasn't got me the car yet so you're our only ride!" Inuyasha whined.

"I told you he wouldn't go for it," Miroku quietly interjected.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.  "Alright," he said wearily, "what do you want for this?"

Sesshoumaru looked at Inuyasha and smirked evilly.  Oh the things he could get his brother to do.  This may be worth considering.

"I will think on it and give you my answer tomorrow; no sooner, so don't ask me again until then," Sesshoumaru said as he walked off.

Inuyasha grew pale.  If Sesshoumaru was going to take a day to think about it, he did not want to know what he was going to ask for in return.  Kouga reached up and smacked Inuyasha on the back.

"Good going mutt, we may just get a ride to the barbeque this weekend!" he said joyfully.

Inuyasha frowned.  "Guys, Sesshoumaru hasn't been acting himself lately.  He's been in a bad mood-"

"Your brother is always in a bad mood," Miroku interrupted.

"Yeah, but it's been even worse lately.  Ever since we got back from our ski trip over break he's been like this.  I think that girl did something to him."

"Girl?" Kouga and Miroku asked simultaneously. 

Miroku tried to hide his mirth, but was losing the battle.  He placed a fist in front of his mouth to keep from laughing outright.  "Don't tell me your icicle of a brother actually got with a woman?  I've never even known him to have interest in females before!"

"Yeah, apparently he met some chick while he was out skiing.  I never got to meet her, but they spent a lot of time together there," Inuyasha explained.

"She probably put out," Kouga said with a shrug, "that's the only reason I could see your brother letting some girl hang all over him."

"I dunno; he's just never struck me as the type to let a chic get to him like this.  He walks around all day like someone just kicked his puppy...no pun intended," Inuyasha said.  "Whatever, I don't want to talk about him anymore; someone change the subject."

"Did you guys see that new chick at the attendance office; man she is HOT," Kouga exclaimed.  "Give her some time and she will be all over me."

"The only things coming near you are the flies," Miroku joked.  It earned him a punch in the shoulder from an offended Kouga.  "Ow."

"You guys are idiots," Inuyasha said giving them a bothered look.

"You're no better than me Miroku or even you for that matter Inuyasha," Kouga said as he pointed to them.  "You have a girl that keeps kickin' your ass for touching her," he said as he motioned to Miroku, "And you can't even get your woman to go out with you!" he added motioning to Inuyasha.

"You are all nimrods in my eyes," another voice sounded from in front of them.  They looked ahead to see another one of their friends (actually more of an acquaintance), Naraku, coming their way.

"What's goin' on Naraku, the day's half over, where ya been?" Kouga asked him.

"Here and there; I have a lot to do before this weekend's barbeque, the team has been hounding me to get new mats as well," he said with no small amount of exasperation.

"Well if you could get your sorry excuse for a Jujitsu team to actually win a tournament, the school may be more apt to buy stuff for you," Inuyasha said sharply.

As much as Naraku wanted to beat him for saying such, the truth hurt.  The team hadn't won a competition in three years; it was disgraceful.

The bell rang effectively ending the break that they all wished lasted longer.  With a sigh, they headed to their classes. 

"How long before our next break?" Kouga asked Miroku.

"Fifty-six..." Miroku sighed.

"Fifty-six?!"

Miroku nodded his head.  "I'm counting."

****

Kagome walked out of her last class dragging her backpack behind her.  She had promised Sango that she would meet her and the other girls after school in front of the gym so that they could all go to try-outs together, so she directed herself thusly.

When the girls had all changed into workout clothes they headed out of the locker room.

"So what other sports do they offer here?" Kagome asked.  "I'm just asking because I'm not all that great at volleyball."

"Well," Sango started, "there's swim, track, fencing, Jujitsu, softball, and baseball."

"Jujitsu?" Kagome asked as her head snapped up.

"Yeah," Sango said with a raised eyebrow.  "You know Jujitsu?"

"Well, um, yeah.  My mother insisted that I take classes when we moved to Okinawa; you know, all those military men around.  She wanted to make sure I could defend myself incase any of them decided to get fresh."

Kagura laughed at Kagome's choice of words.  "Fresh?  What are you twelve?"

Kagome stuck her tongue out at Kagura.  "Whatever.  If you guys don't mind, I'd really like to go try out for the Jujitsu team."

"Sure Kagome," Ayame spoke up.  "Whatever's gonna make you happy here, you should do it."

"Thanks girls; would you mind meeting me after tryouts?  I'm still not too familiar with my way around and could use a tour guide around the area," pleaded Kagome.

They all agreed and left for their tryouts.

Kagome walked down the hallway to the dojo and opened the screen.  There were about ten people occupying the room and were all sitting in a circle in the middle of the floor.  The man standing in the middle of the group looked up at her and then ten heads were staring in her direction.

"Volleyball tryouts are down the hall in the gym," Naraku said.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him and put her hands on her hips.  "That would be helpful if I was looking for them," she spat.

"Am I to assume you are here for Jujitsu?" Naraku asked her.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am," Kagome said on the border line of angry.

Naraku eyed the girl with scrutiny.  After a moment he shrugged, "Take a seat then," he said as he motioned to an empty spot in the circle.

Kagome did as she was told and then looked at him expectantly.  Naraku, as well as the other guys in the class, looked at her.  It had been a while since they had a girl on the team; it should be interesting.

"Alright men...and lady, this year we are doing things a little differently.  Since our instructor has effectively quit, I will be in charge until we get another one, which shouldn't be too much longer.  Until then, I expect your respect, and in turn I will give you mine.  Any questions so far?" Naraku asked as he eyed the group.

When no questions were forthcoming he continued.  "We will be holding trials for the next couple of days; this will be your tryout.  From the numbers here, I don't believe any will not be on the team; just don't get too cocky.  Now-we will team up in pairs to begin; everyone find someone or I will choose for you."

The group got to their feet and paired up.  There was an even number, but since no one was willing to partner with a girl, Kagome was left to pair up with Naraku.

The each got into a line and awaited their next instructions.

"Pair by pair you will each spare; nothing too rough, we want to last until competitions.  I just want to see what skill level you are each at.  You two," Naraku pointed to the first pair, "you will go first."

And so went the pattern for the other four pairs.  When it came time for her turn, Kagome was a bit nervous.  All eyes were going to be watching her carefully, no doubt faulting her every move.

Kagome stepped up to Naraku and bowed, never taking her eyes off of him.  He bowed in return and then stood up again.  "Begin," he said.

Naraku wasted no time in rushing Kagome; if he were to be quite honest with himself, he did not expect much out of this small woman before him.  He came at her fast and she rolled backwards while grabbing his wrists and then threw him over her.  She got back up on her feet fast and once again got into a defense position.

Naraku stayed on the ground only for a moment before he was on his feet once more.  He circled slowly taking in her stance and noticed that her eyes never left his.  He moved his eyes to the right and noticed that she very minutely shifted herself, expectant of a move to the right.  Naraku went left instead and grabbed her waste from behind in an attempt to bring her down.

Kagome chastised herself for her lapse, but swiftly thought to remedy the situation.  When Naraku grabbed her from behind, she quickly bent over and grabbed his ankles and pulled, knocking him to the ground once again.

Yet again, Naraku found himself on the floor.  He jumped up again and moved to kick her.  Kagome caught his ankle and turned her body before quickly sweeping his only other leg out from under him, causing him to crash to the ground face first.

From the ground Naraku gazed at the floor.  Perhaps she was a bit better than he thought.

"Enough," he said.  He got up to his feet and bowed to her, and she did so back.

"You've done quite well; I think you'll do nicely on the team.  All of you have done well.  We meet again tomorrow; same time, same place.  You are dismissed."

The all bowed to him and then left the room.  Kagome got a few pats on the back and a couple of ‘well done's' as she walked back to the locker room.  She felt extremely proud of herself as she changed and waited for her friends.  She was the only girl on the team and now she had earned the respect of her teammates; and on her first day there!

Kagome waited outside for only a few minutes before her new friends found her.

"How'd it go?" Sango asked Kagome.

"It went great; I made the team!" Kagome shouted.

They all congratulated her as they began walking towards town.

"Well, no you don't have to worry about the boys here getting fresh with you," Kagura teased.

"Hey she might need someone to do so in order to get her mind off of her break fling," Ayame acknowledged.

"Hey Kagome, what was the name of your ‘angel' anyway?" Kikyo asked.

"Sesshoumaru, Sesshoumaru Taisho," Kagome said nonchalantly.

The girls all froze in their tracks.  Did they just hear her right?  Sesshoumaru Taisho?!

Kagura clenched her jaw; there could not be many Sesshoumaru Taisho's.  She took a couple of breathes to calm herself.  Ayame and Kikyo looked wearily at her, this could not be good.

"Well," Kagura said, "I think after all you've told us he sounds just wonderful.  Who knows, maybe if you wish really hard he might just show up one day; someplace unexpected.  If you'll excuse me, I really must be getting home.  Ayame, Kikyo, would you mind coming with me?"

The other girls nodded dumbly and said absent good-byes to Sango and Kagome.

"Do you really think that could happen Sango; that I may meet up with him again?  I'm not usually one to believe in things like serendipity," Kagome told her.

Sango shifted a bit uneasily; should she tell her?  "Sure...any-anything's possible.  Come on, I'll by you a burger."

Kagome nodded and the two went on their way.  One completely oblivious and the other completely confused.

4

The first week in her new home and in her new school had gone by without much of a hitch.  The Jujitsu team had welcomed her now with open arms after seeing her lay-out their temporary instructor during tryouts.  Kagome had made several new friends, although lately they had been whispering more and more amongst themselves.  No matter, they still included her in all of their get-togethers and talked with her on a regular basis, so she was not too concerned about it.

Tonight however, she was extremely nervous.  The barbeque that the Jujitsu team had coordinated to raise money for new uniforms was tonight, so she would have to be in front of a lot of people wearing the ratty uniforms of last year's team.  Honestly, they could have at least given her one that she wasn't swimming in.

Kagome looked at herself in the mirror and sighed as she saw the sleeve of the uniform once again fall over her hand.  She had fixed her make-up so as to give herself some sort of feminine quality for tonight.  She may have been the only girl on the team, but that did not mean that she was going to look like them.

"Kagome, your friend Sango is here to walk you to the barbeque!" her mother called from downstairs.

"I'll be right down!" Kagome called back.

She gave herself one last look before she grabbed her bag full of clothes to change into once she got to Sango's house.  The girls had been planning on staying there for the weekend, just to get away from thinking about school work.

Kagome greeted Sango downstairs and said her good-bye's to her family before leaving for school.

"Sheesh, it's bad enough we have to be at school during the week, and now we have to go there on the weekend," Sango complained.  "Couldn't the Jujitsu team think of a better place to hold their fundraiser?"

Kagome merely shrugged and gave a half-hearted smile.  It definitely was not her idea to hold it at the school grounds.  It was only for a couple of hours, so it shouldn't hurt any; she just hoped they got a good turnout so she would not have to wear this oversized uniform again.

The two girls walked the short distance to school while sharing life stories along the way.  Upon reaching the school they noticed that there was a fairly big crowd already assembled on the grass area and the barbeque was already well under way.  Sango and Kagome went in search of their other friends so that they could all get a bite to eat and sit and talk together.

They found the other girls a short distance away from where the school's cheerleaders were performing a mediocre dance in order to try and rouse the crowd.  Kagura was busy making faces to the girls in the front of the chorus line and Ayame and Kikyo were doing their best to keep their laughter to a minimum without much success.

Kagome shook her head at them.  "That's not very nice, they're doing the best they can," she lightly berated them.

The girls all shrugged their shoulders and went to find a seat.  Many people had now shown up for the event and the tiki torches were lit around the area to give off nice lighting.  The girls all observed as Kaede, the attendance office worker, approached the makeshift stage to the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Kaede began.  "Tonight I would like to welcome you to the first annual Jujitsu barbeque.  Donations will be accepted all night near the entrance so please help support the team in getting new uniforms and equipment.  Now I would like to hand the microphone over to Naraku, the temporary team instructor who put all of this together.  Please give him a big hand."

Everyone applauded as Naraku took to the stage. "Thank you Kaede.  Thank you to every one of you for being here tonight, on behalf of the Jujitsu team and myself, I humbly thank you.  Our team has been practicing hard for the upcoming decathlon and we have some promising new talent this year.  Please enjoy the food and the company and do not forget to make your way to the donation table."

The crowd cheered and went back to eating and enjoying the music that was now playing.  The group of girls stood up and Sango immediately went to Kagome to straighten out her hair.

Kagome laughed at her friend and batted her hand away. 

"What are you doing Sango?" Kagome asked her.

"Oh nothing, just trying to fix your hair a little," Sango replied back.  She then tugged down on Kagome's uniform jacket to fix it, and then re-tied her belt.

"Sango, I know the uniform looks bad, but there's not much I, or even you, can do about it," Kagome told her friend.

"Kagome," Kagura called.  "Come with us, we'd like to show you something."

Kagome gave her new friends a slightly skeptical look but nodded and proceeded to follow them through the crowd.

**

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha looked on in slight amusement as Miroku and Kouga did their best impressions of the cheerleader's dance. 

"Inuyasha, why is it that you and your friends decided to seek me out and bother me?" Sesshoumaru asked.  Just because he was their ride here, did not mean that he wanted to be anywhere near them.

"Oh lighten up and try and have a good time.  At least try and make the best out of being here," Inuyasha told his brother.

"I was doing fine by myself; I did not need you and your friends to keep me company," Sesshoumaru continued.

"Yeah, yeah.  Oh hey guys look!  Here come the girls!" Inuyasha pointed out.

Upon seeing Kagura, Sesshoumaru turned his back on the group in hopes of her leaving him alone.  The girl did not just take a hint; did he need to make it any clearer that he did not and would not be with her?

He almost gave in to his urge to growl when he felt a tap on his shoulder.  Sesshoumaru closed his eyes to try and will the oncoming headache away before he turned around.  Kagura stood before him with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Hey there I have something for you," Kagura said to him with an evil glint in her eyes.

Sesshoumaru raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her.  "Really?  And what would that be?" he asked curiously.

Kagura smiled again and then grabbed Kagome, who had been talking with Sango with her back to Kagura, and then pushed her forward into Sesshoumaru.  "Yeah, I have this for you."

Kagome stumbled a bit and pushed herself away from the person she had been slammed into to get a better look.  Her eyes widened and she immediately produced a huge smile.

"Sesshoumaru?!"

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened in what was for him, a completely out of character reaction.  "Ka-Kagome?!" Sesshoumaru said in an honestly surprised state.  "What are you doing here?  I thought your family was going back to Okinawa?!"

"We did, but something came up and we had to move here!" Kagome said excitedly.

The group of friends watched the scene with interest.  Kagura had a triumphant smirk on her face, while Kikyo, Ayame, and Sango looked on nervously.  Inuyasha and his friends stared on with wide eyes and jaws dropped.  Did they miss something?

"I can't believe this," Kagome said, "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again."

"Me either," Sesshoumaru admitted.  He then took the time to look her over and he immediately stilled.  He dropped her hands that he had been holding and backed up a step or two.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome began, "What's-"

"Excuse me Mr. Taisho; the teachers are all meeting by the stage to get ready for the speeches in a couple of minutes," said a student who had come up to their group.

Kagome could only stare wide-eyed at the man in front of her.  "Muh-Mr. Taisho?  You're-you're a teacher here?!"

Kagome could not believe this was happening; she was reunited with Sesshoumaru just to find out that their relationship was one that should not have happened in the first place.

"This-this can't be happening...I made out with a teacher!?" Kagome all but yelled.

A couple people turned towards the group with raised eyebrows and Sesshoumaru felt his breath hitch in his throat.  When the people turned away again to continue with the barbeque he took hold of Kagome's arm and led her away further from the crowd.

"Kindly keep your voice down; or do you not mind if I were to get fired?" Sesshoumaru asked a still surprised Kagome.

"Please forgive me if I don't seem to calm about this," Kagome stated sarcastically.  "How could you not tell me you were a teacher?  Didn't I seem a bit young for you?"

"I didn't tell you because at the time it did not seem important; and no, you did not seem too young for me.  I assumed you were of age; a mistake on my part apparently."

"Sesshoumaru I'm eighteen," she assured him.  He gave her a look that clearly showed his gratefulness and she continued.  "That doesn't mean that this is okay."

"Do not tell me things I already know.  It was a mistake to be with you and it is something that will not happen again I assure you," he told her harshly.

Kagome could not help the tears that she felt stinging her eyes.  As much as she knew what had happened was wrong between them, it still hurt to hear him say that their short time together was a mistake.  Those three weeks she held very close to her heart and they meant everything to her.

"You're a jerk Sesshoumaru.  Don't ever talk to me again; I'll try and stay out of your way," Kagome said before she turned to walk away.

Sesshoumaru watched her leave and then swiped a hand over his face.  When he pictured himself and Kagome reuniting again, it surely went nothing like this.  He felt the fool for the first time in his life and it was no one's fault but his own.

"Mr. Taisho, they're ready for your speech," the same student from earlier informed him.

Sesshoumaru nodded and walked towards the stage; his life was about to become exceedingly complicated and all because of three wonderful weeks spent with who was supposedly the girl of his dreams.  Life sure had a sick sense of humor.

***

Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku remained glued to their spot with their mouths hanging open, even after Sesshoumaru had led Kagome away from them.

The girls twiddled their thumbs in nervousness; just what had they done?

Without warning Inuyasha started laughing like a hyena while holding his sides.  In all of his life he would have never, and I mean, NEVER thought that Sesshoumaru would do something so out of character; especially be intimate with a student!  Granted, he did not know how close Sesshoumaru and the girl at the ski resort, who he now knew to be this girl called Kagome, were but at this point in time, it did not really matter.

Inuyasha continued laughing until he was doubled over and hanging on to Miroku's shoulder to keep him upright.  Miroku and Kouga could no longer contain their mirth and soon joined in Inuyasha's laughter.

"It's not funny you guys!" Ayame screamed at them.  This only succeeded in making them laugh harder.

Kikyo looked on at them and glared.  "Inuyasha enough," she told him sternly.

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kouga instantly stopped their laughing fit to look at the enraged girl.

"You all should be ashamed of yourselves, this obviously is a very difficult situation and you all are laughing!" Kikyo reprimanded them.

"Oh lighten up," Kouga butted in.  "You seriously can't see the humor in this?  Sesshoumaru, know ice prince of Tokyo High, has finally hooked a woman and she turns out to be a student.  It can't get any better!"

"Not a word will be mentioned about this to anyone," Sango demanded.  "If this sort of thing got out Sesshoumaru would lose his job and Kagome would be humiliated!"

"Keh!  Back off will ya, we ain't gonna tell anyone; how stupid do you think we are?" Inuyasha said.  "Sesshoumaru may be a cold prick, but he's still my brother."

"I'm holding you to that Inuyasha," Kikyo said hardly.  "That goes for the rest of you as well."

"You have our word that none of this will leave our circle," Miroku said calmly.  "Besides, if Sesshoumaru was out of a job, who else would give us rides to places?"

***

Sesshoumaru made his way up the stage and instantly the crowd grew silent.  "Good evening," Sesshoumaru started.  "Thank you for taking time out of your lives to support the Jujitsu team in their endeavors.  Earlier this week I was approached by the acting instructor, Naraku Nakamura, who kindly asked that I become the permanent instructor for the team and I have accepted the position."

When Kagome heard this she tapped Sango on the shoulder.  When she had Sango's attention she asked, "Can we please leave now; I really don't want to be here anymore."

Sango nodded her head in complete understanding and motioned for the other girls to leave.  As soon as they got into Kagura's car Kagome let out the tears she had been holding back.

"Shh, it'll be okay Kagome," Sango soothed her, "just forget about him, he didn't deserve you anyway."

"H-he was s-so sweet to me," Kagome cried into Sango's shoulder, "I don't kn-know how this c-could have ha-happened.  He said I was a mis-mistake!"

The group drove to Sango's house in silence, every now and then giving what little comfort to their new friend that they could.  Kagura looked on in silence; although she felt a bit bad for dumping the girl into Sesshoumaru's lap; that small action helped to ease her jealousy a bit.  It made her grateful that she wasn't the one in Kagome's shoes at the moment.

By the time they arrived at Sango's house Kagome had used up all of her tears and was now angry.  The girls were not sure which mood they preferred.  They all stalked up to Sango's room, greeting her parents quickly as they made their way up the stairs.

The girls changed and got comfortable around the room.  Kikyo smiled wickedly at them before she brought out a couple bottles of sake for them all to share.

"Do we even want to know how you got that?" Kagura questioned her.

"Probably not," Kikyo answered honestly.

The girls shrugged and looked on with surprise as Kagome took the bottle and gulped down a larger portion of it.

"Kagome, maybe you should take it easy-" Ayame began.

"Oh hush and let her indulge a bit; she's had a rough night," Sango interrupted.

"Thanks guys, I needed this," Kagome said lightly.  "Sorry if I drug you away from the barbeque earlier than you wanted."

"Are you kidding?  We were only there for you," Kikyo told her.

Kagome smiled at them genuinely; even though she had been mad at them earlier for the way they allowed things to happen between she and Sesshoumaru; she was almost relieved that it had just gotten over and done with.  To know that the girls were at the fundraiser simply in support of her made her forget their transgression.

"Guys what am I going to do?  Sesshoumaru is a teacher at school and he's taking over instruction of the Jujitsu club.  I should probably just quit," Kagome reasoned.

"You can't quit!" Ayame shouted making all of them jump.  "You're like the best person they've had on the team in years.  Plus don't you think it would be a little suspicious?"

"Well she can't just pretend that he's not there," Kagura chimed in.  "How awkward do you think it'll be having your fling so close all the time, knowing that you can't be with him?"

"They can be together, they just have to keep it secret," Kikyo offered.

"You guys are all idiots," Sango told them.  "Kagome shouldn't be the one to quit, she should just tell Sesshoumaru that he should find a different instructor; I'm sure there are plenty of qualified people to take that position."

"One problem," Kagome finally interjected.  "He's not getting paid for that job, he's doing it under completely volunteer status.  The Jujitsu team can't even afford uniforms, let alone pay someone to come instruct us."

The girls all sagged in their places around the room.  Kagome hated seeing everyone so down, especially when they were here to have a good time.

"You know what guys, don't worry about it.  Sesshoumaru's an adult and I'm legally an adult, we can handle this maturely.  Just, please, don't say anything to anyone; I don't want him to get fired over this."

"Don't worry Kagome, we'll keep your secret," Sango reassured her.

The other girls nodded their heads in agreement.

"Great!  Now how bout we play a game or watch TV or something?" Kagome offered.

"Ooo, I know!  How about we turn the TV on a movie, turn the sound down, and create our own dialogue?" Kikyo suggested.

They all agreed and Kagome tried to ignore her thoughts of Sesshoumaru.  After she left the ski resort to go back to Okinawa she was heartbroken.  She had never before met someone quite like him and silently vowed to herself that she would see him again one day.  She was just not expecting that one day to come so quickly and be so complicated.

In all honesty, Kagome did not know what to do about the situation.  She could try and just forget about him in order to move on with her life, but that was easier said than done.  Perhaps she could plead with her mom to send her to another school?  Not likely.

5

After Sesshoumaru finished his announcement he immediately went in search of Kagome in order to talk things out.  He could not get over the fact that she was actually here in Tokyo, at the school that he taught at of all places.  How many times did he wish to see her again; how many nights did he dream of her soft lips on his only to wake up and discover that she was not there. 

For what seemed like ages he had thought of her, nothing and no one could take his mind off of her long black hair and pale white skin.  No one could get him out of the funk that she had unknowably put him in.  And now she was here...and he was an idiot.

He was incredibly disappointed when she was nowhere to be found and all he could think about was the fact that he left her with less than comforting words about their situation.  Sesshoumaru was usually known for his tact, but tonight he displayed none of that hard-learned characteristic.

In the shock of the moment the words that left his mouth were not his first choice that he had planned to say to her when he saw her again.  What he wanted to say in indeed quite the opposite.  He wanted to whisk her away to some far away place and show her no small amount of passion until they could both no longer move.  However, that would not be happening any time soon.

Sesshoumaru was close to rubbing his temples when he was still unable to locate Kagome when he heard his brother yell over the remaining crowd.

"Hey Sesshoumaru over here!" Inuyasha called and waved to his brother.

Sesshoumaru sighed nearly inaudibly and walked towards his brother and his small band of miscreants and immediately started his line of questioning.

"Did you know about this?" Sesshoumaru asked none-to-gently as he lifted Inuyasha up by the neck of his shirt.

"Of course not, I would have told you," Inuyasha defended himself trying to not act surprised by Sesshoumaru's quick move.

"Where did she go?" he questioned further before dropping Inuyasha back onto his feet.

"She left with the rest of the girls soon after you started your speech Sesshoumaru," Miroku spoke up.  "We were planning on going and crashing Sango's sleepover-"

"You will do no such thing," Sesshoumaru said quickly.  There was no way he was going to allow these hormonal boys to be around a bunch of girls, a group which included Kagome, who were probably clad in only their pajamas.  It would only end badly.

"I told you he wouldn't go for it," Kouga admonished.

"You can't tell us what to do," Inuyasha whined.  "It's the weekend; you don't have any jurisdiction over us."

"On the contrary little brother; I happen to be your ride.  Where I go, you go," Sesshoumaru pointed out.

"Well then we'll just find another ride!" Inuyasha shot back.

"Suit yourself," Sesshoumaru shrugged.  "I'll have father leave the light on for you for when you finally make it home."

Sesshoumaru walked off leaving behind a stunned and slightly perturbed Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku to stare after him.

"Nice goin' dog breath, now we don't have a way home...or to the girls sleepover!" Kouga yelled at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha growled low before Miroku's voice of reason dissipated the tension.  "Why don't we ask Naraku for a ride?  He just got a car-"

"Have you seen that piece of shit that he calls a car?" Inuyasha asked.  "That thing is like a cardboard box on wheels."

Miroku frowned at Inuyasha then.  "I don't see you coming up with any ideas."

Kouga stepped in and took Miroku's side.  "At least it's a way to get to the girls since your brother left us stranded.  If you don't like it then walk."

Inuyasha crossed his arms; his dad had said that he would get his car when he saw his first progress report for his classes, but that was still three weeks away.

"Fine, let's go find him," Inuyasha relented.

They searched the dying crowd for Naraku and found him leaning against the wall talking to one of the cheerleaders.  The boys shook their heads and went to break up his little love-fest.

"Hey Naraku," Kouga spoke up, "have your test results come back from the doctor yet?  Are you clean?"

Naraku raised his brow at the group and nearly snarled at Kouga as he watched the girl he was talking to walk away.  "Well, seeing as how I no longer have any distractions, thank you Kouga, where do you need a ride to?"

The guys all smiled evilly and walked towards Naraku's car.  It did not take them long to reach their destinations and soon they were parked outside of Sango's house trying to decide which window was hers.

"Just call Sango and tell her and the girls to get down here," Inuyasha whined to Miroku.

"I'm not going to call her I already got my ass kicked by her this week.  It wasn't pleasant," Miroku said with a shudder.

"I'll do it!  You bunch of pansies," Kouga sneered at them. 

He stood on top of the car and threw a couple of pebbles at one of the windows in hopes of it being the right one.  He cleared his throat before he shouted.

"Kagome!" he shouted in his fake, very un-like, Sesshoumaru voice.  "I've come for you Kagome!  Bring your friends!"

Naraku pulled Kouga down and back into the car and punched him in the arm.

"You idiot, are you trying to get us caught by Sango's parents?" Naraku chided.  "I'm sure they'd just love to see four boys outside of their house calling out to their daughter and her friends.  Moron."

The girls looked out the window when the boys started throwing the pebbles and Sango had to be calmed by Kagome who assured her that her parents were asleep and would not catch the boys here.

Kikyo and Ayame were peeking through the curtains and giggling as they saw the car full of their guy friends.  Ayame looked back to Kagome and frowned; Sesshoumaru was nowhere to be found, even after those hurtful words he had spoken to her.  He did not deserve Kagome's forgiveness.

Kagome just had Sango calmed down enough so that she was coherent again when Kagura walked by them fully dressed and slipping some sandals on her feet.  Sango immediately tensed again and reached out to grab a hold of Kagura's elbow.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sango questioned her.

Kagura looked at Sango and gave her a small sympathetic smile.

"As much as I love you guys, you're very boring.  I'm going to go with the guys and see what they're doing tonight," Kagura informed them.

The girls all gaped at Kagura as she continued on her path towards the window.  Them boring?  How could she even think that; she was the one who wanted to have a sleep over in the first place!

Kagura opened the window and began to climb down the drainpipe to reach the ground.  The girls looked on from the open window as Kagura made her way over to the boys.  Sango shook her head at their friend's audacity and went to close the window; she had had enough excitement for one night and there was no way she was going anywhere near Miroku until he learned how to control that wandering hand of his.

Before Sango closed the curtains she looked over towards Miroku who, once he saw her, had yet to take his eyes off of her.  He waved at Sango and then blew her a kiss and she tried hard not to smile at him.  With little reluctance Sango waved back and then closed her curtains, shutting her room off from them.

Kagura sauntered up to them with a smirk on her face.  She noticed that most of the guys were looking at her expectantly so she rolled her eyes and broke the silence.

"Yo.  What are you men doing tonight?" Kagura asked them.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," Inuyasha bit out.  He had never really been fond of Kagura; she was only ever looking out for one person; and that was herself.

"I distinctly remember asking the men what they were doing tonight Inuyasha.  You are not included in that list," Kagura retorted.

Inuyasha took a threatening step towards Kagura before Naraku interrupted.

"I think you would all be wise to leave now," he said as he opened the passenger door and motioned for Kagura to get in.

Kagura smiled triumphantly and sauntered over to the passenger side to get in.

"You can't be serious?!" Kouga exclaimed.  "What are we supposed to do now?  How are we getting home?"

Naraku looked as if he were genuinely thinking about their dilemma but then shrugged.  "Ah Kouga, you should have thought of that before you interrupted me earlier," he said just before he drove away laughing with an arm around Kagura's shoulders.

Kouga watched in disappointment as their only ride left them stranded in the suburbs.  He huffed and then turned around only to be met with Inuyasha and Miroku's evil eyes.

"What?"

***

Sesshoumaru heaved a great sigh as he sank further into the bathtub.  He was at a complete loss as to how to approach Kagome after all of this had transpired, and as loathe as he was to admit it; he almost wanted to say screw the rules and take Kagome anyway.

However, he knew in doing so he would be throwing her to the sharks, so to speak.  The media was always hovering around he and his family like vultures, just waiting for the perfect moment to catch them in deplorable acts; and Kagome would not be immune to their frenzy.

How did his life get so complicated within one night?  And all because of one woman whom he hadn't bothered to ask anything about when he met her.

What was he to do come Monday when he had to see her again?  How was he supposed to act around her?  What would she look like in the little school uniform that all the girls had to wear?  He'd only ever seen her in an oversized Jujitsu uniform; which still did not look half bad on her.

Gods this was not helping.

He mentally berated himself for wandering off in his thoughts and proceeded in his cleansing ritual.  He did not want to admit it, but he hoped that Kagome would be able to come up with a way to approach this so that he would not have to.  Besides, he did not have time to ponder such things, he had classes to teach and now he had a Jujitsu team to instruct; he was swamped.  Relationships, whether they be romantic or not, were just not on the top of his "to do" list.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and rested in the tub.  Monday would be interesting indeed.

****

Kagome sat on Sango's bed and watched as the other girls painted their toenails.  After Kagura had left it was the only thing that helped Sango stop from going on a rampage after Kagura.  Kagome did not realize it, but she had sighed at least five times within the last ten minutes and the girls were very aware of where her thoughts were, or rather who they were with.

"Just let him go Kagome, he's not worth it," Sango finally spoke up.

"Huh?" came Kagome's intelligent response.

Sango sighed herself and elaborated.  "Kagome, you shouldn't be dwelling over Sesshoumaru; the guy's got a stick up his ass.  Anyone who talks to you that way doesn't deserve your time."

"Yeah Kagome," Kikyo chimed in, "Sesshoumaru isn't known to be a nice person; you're better off not having a relationship with him, it would only hurt you."

Kagome smiled lightly at her new friends' attempts to cheer her up, but on the inside she was a mess of emotions.  Although they had only spent three weeks together, she had fallen for Sesshoumaru hard.  Seeing him again brought forth all of those lost emotions she had felt when she with him; but they all came crashing down around her when he had said that their relationship was a mistake.

Still, even after that event, Kagome could not bring herself to dislike him.  He had been so kind and gentle with her; how could she just forget that?

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up guys," Kagome told them.  "I'm going to sit out on your balcony for a while Sango, I need some air."

"Do you need some company?" Sango asked.

Kagome shook her head and went to sit on one of the cushions that were placed on the balcony.  She looked up the sky and took in the stars and the moon, which looked so much like the one that adorned Sesshoumaru's forehead.

Kagome shook her head at her train of thought.  She could not just get over Sesshoumaru like he was some meager little crush; she truly felt for him.  How was she to act when she was around him now?  He had made his feelings perfectly clear earlier, but she could not simply brush him off; it was not that simple.

Things were so screwed up.

Perhaps if they could just talk in private then they could straighten things out.  Sesshoumaru may have felt pressured into saying the things he did tonight because there were so many people around.  Perhaps he was trying to save face?

Who was she kidding?  Even if Sesshoumaru publicly humiliated her she would still want him.  She was hopelessly devoted to him, or more precisely, the memory of him.

Kagome leaned over and placed her head in her hands as she let the first of her tears fall.  She felt like a fool knowing that she would obediently wait for the day he decided she was good enough.  She hated feeling this way; she was never one to allow someone so much power over her, but now she had become the person she feared most of becoming: a lovesick fool with blinders on.

She knew in her head that she should move on and forget him; that there were plenty of "fish in the sea" so to speak, but she just could not seem to get her heart to agree.  Why did things have to be so complicated?

Kagome was dreading Monday, or more accurately, dreading the moment she would step into the dojo and come face to face with Sesshoumaru.  She hoped that he had a plan as to how there were supposed to act around one another, because she sure didn't.

With a great sigh Kagome got up and returned to her friends; she would not ruin this sleepover for them by acting so down.  For now, she would put on her happy face and take one for the team.

****

It was nearly two in the morning when Inuyasha finally made it back to his home.  He, Kouga, and Miroku spent an hour deciding what to do next until they finally came to the decision to just go home.  No doubt Naraku and Kagura were getting acquainted with the backseat of Naraku's car.  With nothing else to do and with no ride, they boys went their separate ways.

Inuyasha dragged himself up the stairs to his room, but stopped when he saw Sesshoumaru leaning with his arms crossed against his bedroom door.  With a scowl he pressed forward until he was standing directly in front of him.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked bitterly.

"Did you see her?" Sesshoumaru questioned him.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at Sesshoumaru who remained unflinching.  "Even if I did I wouldn't tell you.  Thanks to you I spent most of tonight walking.  Now move I'm going to bed."

Sesshoumaru took Inuyasha's answer for what it was: he did not see Kagome and therefore had no information on how she was.  He allowed Inuyasha to pass into his room before he turned at went back to his own.

He had tried several times to fall asleep, but every time he closed his eyes he saw Kagome's hurt-stricken face from earlier.

Well, only time would tell how this was going to play out.  Until then he could only hope that it was not an ugly affair.

6

Monday morning rolled around and it felt as though everyone were walking on eggshells.  To the world, everything was the way it was supposed to be; but to two people, everything was messed up. 

Kagome felt as though everyone were watching her, although no one seemed to care that she was there.  The weekend had seemed to drag on forever, and the school day was going to pass by just as slow.  She would have to wait for her chance to talk to Sesshoumaru at the end of the day; after Jujitsu practice.

So, with a heavy sigh, Kagome made her way through the halls of the school and through the throng of students.  Not paying attention to where she was going, she suddenly ran head on into another student.  They both pulled back and rubbed their foreheads to soothe the ache received from impact.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't watch where I was- hey, it's you!" Kouga exclaimed.

Kagome looked at the guy in front of her for a bit before a light went off in her head.  "Oh hey, yeah...Kouga right?  Sorry about bumping into you."

Kouga waved his hand dismissively in front of him.  "Naw, forget about it, it was my fault.  Where ya headed; can I walk you to class?"

Kagome smiled sweetly at Kouga and allowed him to take her books from her. 

"I'm headed towards science class," she told him as they began walking.  "Thanking you for walking me there, I still don't fully know my way around."

"It's no problem.  Say, what are you doing tonight; would you like to grab a bite to eat?"

Kagome drew her bottom lip into her mouth in thought.  She did not want to be mean since Kouga was being so helpful, but was she ready to out with him on a date?  Kagome looked around for an answer and found one.

Across the hallway Sesshoumaru was talking with another teacher.  He seemed to be enjoying himself in her presence; giving her a rare smirk every now and then.  Kagome's resolve was slowly strengthening and the she saw the woman put her hand on Sesshoumaru's arm after he had told her something that was obviously funny.

With a determined gleam in her eyes Kagome looked up at Kouga, who was little taken aback by her intensity, and told him, "I'd love to go out and get something to eat.  Where would you like to go?"

Kouga gave a smug smile and flung his arm around Kagome's shoulders as he led her down the hallway.

"I was thinkin' we could go to this burger joint down the road; it just opened last week and it's supposed to be pretty good.  Does that sound okay?" asked Kouga.

Kagome smiled and nodded.  If Sesshoumaru had truly meant those words that he said to her over when they had met again, then she would have to move on and forget him.  What better way to do so then to start dating?

She allowed herself to be led down the hallway by Kouga who was talking animatedly to her.  Although his conversation fell on deaf ears, Kagome smiled and nodded occasionally to let him think she was listening.

In all honesty her thoughts were on Sesshoumaru.  He seemed none the worse for wear even after the events of the weekend; perhaps she was the only one affected by it all?  That thought left a bad taste in her mouth.  Surely their time together over winter break meant something to him.  Didn't it?

Thoughts unbidden of his soft kisses and his tender touch running across her skin to keep her warm made Kagome blush a bit, and she could not hide her face in time for Kouga not to see.

"Is something wrong Kagome?" asked a concerned Kouga.

Kagome uncomfortably cleared her throat before talking.  "No-ahem-no, everything...everything's fine."

"Are you sure?  You don't need to go to the nurses station, do you?" Kouga asked a little too loudly.

His voice brought on the stares of a few people and Kagome's blush deepened to a dark crimson now.

"No!" Kagome all but screamed at him.  "I'm fine, I just-oh look here's my class!  Thanks for walking with me!"

She yanked her books from his hand and rushed into the class room leaving behind a confused but happy Kouga in the hallway.

Unbeknownst to Kagome or Kouga, Sesshoumaru had been watching.

****

He was seeing red.  How dare that mangy flea-bitten, poor excuse for a demon touch what was his!  If he had been anywhere other than the school grounds he would have personally put that wolf in body cast for even assuming he could go anywhere near Kagome.

Sesshoumaru saw her as soon as she walked into the hallway to head for her first class and he had wanted to so badly go and talk to her then.  However, that would have not been the best plan considering where they were.

He resolved to compose himself and get his thoughts off of the stunning creature that had yet to leave his mind, but his eyes would not move from her form.  He watched as she walked slowly down the hallway, coming closer to him, almost close enough to touch.

She almost caught him watching her, but he quickly turned from her as he saw a fellow teacher near him.  Immediately he struck up a menial conversation, something that he never did, with the female educator.

Straight away Sesshoumaru regretted his decision when he saw the hurt look in Kagome's eyes.

‘It is for the best,' he thought to himself.

That line of thinking was quickly disrupted when he heard his brother's wolf friend, Kouga, ask Kagome out to eat. 

‘Like she'd agree to that,' Sesshoumaru thought smugly.

Again he was brought down when he heard her agree to a date.  Apparently, she did not like the fact that he was conversing so freely with another woman.  Perhaps his quick plan of action was not so great after all? 

Sesshoumaru mentally sneered as he watched Kagome and Kouga walk down the hall.  He said a quick good-bye to the woman teacher and stealthily made his way after them so he could keep an eye on that wolf.

Halfway down the hall he noticed that Kagome became flustered and began to blush.  Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at this; just what was that girl thinking of?  He almost frowned when thought that she may be thinking of that wolf that was walking with her.  There would be none of that!

He should be the only one she thought about in such a way.  It was him that touched her in ways that made them both long for more.  It was him that missed her so achingly when they said their goodbyes. 

Damn, he should not be thinking like this!

Perhaps she was just sick?  That would explain the rapid flushing of her face would it not?  Did the wolf just say something about the nurse?

Sesshoumaru would get no chance to find out if Kagome was okay or not because she quickly ran into her classroom.  He let out a sigh and ran a hand across his face.  This was not a good start to his day.

"Someone snaking ya bro?" came the taunting voice of his half-brother as he motioned towards Kagome.

Sesshoumaru ground his teeth together in an attempt to not beat his brother to a pulp...at least not until after they got home.

"Should you not be somewhere, you know...away from me?" Sesshoumaru asked him with contempt.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and huffed.  "Geeze, who shit in your Wheaties this morning?"

Sesshoumaru looked at his brother from the corner of his eye and slightly shook his head.  Did ever a proper word come from his mouth?

With no answer to Inuyasha and no backward glance, Sesshoumaru started to make his way to his classroom.  It would not do to have the teacher be tardy; how else was he going to give these parasites detention?

Inuyasha watched with a snarl on his face as his brother left without so much as a ‘hn'.  This whole "Kagome thing" was getting old fast; his brother was even more of an asshole than usual.

He spotted Kouga coming down the hall, every now and then turning his head to watch as another girl went by.

"Man," Kouga started as he approached Inuyasha, "I don't know what to do with myself around all these fine lookin' women."

Inuyasha gave him a disgusted look and said, "I don't care what you do as long as it ain't around me."

"Yeah, but what are you supposed to do with them the other twenty-three hours and forty-five minutes of the day?" Kouga jibed.

"Damn Kouga you're getting as bad as Miroku!" Inuyasha said as he turned to walk away.  "I think you two spend way too much time together!"

"Well he's a guy after my own heart.  You really don't know what you're missing out on dog breath," Kouga said with a wink.

"Whatever, let's get to class," Inuyasha grumbled.

****

Kagome tapped her pencil on her desk.  It was the last class of the day and soon she would be facing Sesshoumaru. 

A knot formed nicely in the pit of her stomach then. 

‘Gods what am I going to say to him?' she thought painfully.  ‘Hey Sesshoumaru, you know, even though you said that you made a mistake by me, I still find you incredibly sexy and I still want to be with you even though you're a TEACHER!'  Yeah, that would go over nicely.

Her pencil tapping became a bit more furious before her foot found the rhythm as well.

Here she was, not five minutes away from being able to talk to Sesshoumaru again, and all Kagome wanted to do was crawl in a hole somewhere and die.

Begin the drumming of the fingers.

‘Maybe it won't be so bad,' Kagome thought positively.  ‘Maybe-maybe this is just all a bad dream; and any minute now mom will wake me up and tell me to help grandpa sweep the shrine steps.'

"Would you stop it already?!" Sango hissed quietly, dropping her hand on top of Kagome's.

"Sorry," Kagome said meekly. 

Sango gave her a sympathetic smile; she knew all too well what her new friend's thoughts were, and she could not blame her for being so restless.

"It's alright Kagome.  And don't worry, everything will work out," Sango whispered to her friend. 

Kagome dropped her head in her hands and took a few deep, calming breaths.  This was a lot harder than she thought it was going to be, and she hadn't even made it to Sesshoumaru yet!

Just as she calmed down, the dreaded bell rang, signaling her time for Jujitsu practice.  With more strength than what she felt, Kagome lifted herself from her desk and slowly made her way to the locker rooms to change.

Sango walked beside her for support and they were soon joined by Kikyo, Kagura, and then the ever happy Ayame.

"Why does everyone look so sad?  Monday is over now and we don't have to go to any more classes!" Ayame cheered.

Kikyo gave Ayame a look to shut her up, but shook her head when she did not catch on.

"Would you shut up already; Kagome has to speak with Sesshoumaru today," Kagura said in effort to silence the still cheering Ayame.  If not for Kagome's piece of mind then her own; she just could not stand to see someone so ...excited.  Especially on a Monday.

Ayame instantly quieted down and made an ‘oh' shape with her mouth.  "Sorry Kagome, I forgot."

Kagome gave the now sulking Ayame a half-hearted smile.  "It's okay Ayame, I don't mind you being so happy.  It's actually a refreshing change for today."

With new permission the girls all began to talk lively in efforts to keep Kagome's mind off of the inevitable encounter.  But all too soon they approached the locker rooms.  Each of them got dressed in their respected uniforms and was then leaving for their separate practices.

Kagome reached the practice room and slowly opened the door and peaked in.  She saw the other members of the group beginning to sit down in a circle and stretch, but she saw no sign of Sesshoumaru.

Perhaps he decided not to instruct the class?

With a sigh of relief, Kagome made her way into the room and joined in stretching.  She relaxed for the first time today and even joined in the conversations of a few people.  They were all just getting ready to start warm-up drills when the door opened and Sesshoumaru strode in.

"I beg you pardon for being late," Sesshoumaru said to them.  "However, I just got out of a meeting with the principal.  He informed me that your fundraiser went exceptionally well and to expect new uniforms and mats within the month."

The group cheered for their victory while Kagome stood there with wide, panicked eyes.  She was not expecting him to show in hopes that he had declined the position or that they had found someone else.  But here he was, standing there in front of them, looking exceptionally sexy in his training suit and not even bothering to look her way.

Kagome closed her eyes in an effort to will Sesshoumaru away, but when she opened her eyes again he was still there.  And still dead sexy.  Damn.

"Everyone find a partner and begin warm-ups," Sesshoumaru commanded.

He watched as they all scattered around and teamed up and then fell into line to await their turn on the drills.

Sesshoumaru dared not look at Kagome, for if he did then he was certainly going to lose his concentration.  The team ran their drills and he then chanced a look her way.  

Kagome had partnered with Naraku and was currently allowing him to practice his take-downs on her.  She was thrown to the mat time and again, and although it was a lot gentler than the real thing, Sesshoumaru found it hard to watch her hit the mat. 

She looked like a walking contradiction in her training uniform.  Sesshoumaru knew her to be a kind and feminine woman with a delicate touch and soft lips.  But watching her now, she looked almost deadly.  Her hair up in a high ponytail and her uniform belt tied tight around her waist.  She and Naraku had since then switched positions and Sesshoumaru watched as she deftly moved through the rhythm of the drills.

Gods what a sight she made.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" came a voice from his side.

He looked over to see one of the team members' giving him a questioning stare; and it was all Sesshoumaru could do to not rub his temples.  Had he just been staring at Kagome this entire time?

"Is there something wrong Sesshoumaru-sama?" asked the boy again.

"No.  What is it that you need?" Sesshoumaru said icily.

The boy stuttered for a moment, opening and closing his mouth a few times trying to figure out what he was going to ask their new sensei; but for the life of him he could not remember now.

"Uh-uh, it's not important," the boy said quickly before he ran off to practice more. 

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly to rid himself of his less than pure thoughts of the female in the room.  He started to make his rounds to watch as they all continued with their drills and would give them instructions here and there.

An hour and a half later he called them to the middle of the room.

"You all have done well today, but I definitely see things that need a lot of improvement.  For the next week and a half we will be going over your grappling techniques since it is where we need to be most focused on.  Any questions?"  Sesshoumaru asked looking around at the silent team.  "No?  Then I will see you tomorrow; you are dismissed."

The team got up and bowed to him and took their leave of the practice room.  Kagome gulped almost audibly when she found that it was now just her and Sesshoumaru in the room, and he was looking straight at her.

She watched as he slowly crossed the room only to come to a stop directly in front of her.

"Hello Kagome."

"H-hi."

"How are you?  Enjoying your time here?" Sesshoumaru asked her.

"I'm fine, thank you.  Yes, I like it here okay," she answered slowly.

Sesshoumaru nodded his head a couple of times before he spoke again.  "Look, I've been meaning to talk to you-"

"About what?" Kagome questioned innocently.

"About Saturday at the barbeque," he answered.  "I said some things that may have come out the wrong way."

"No, I think you made yourself perfectly clear," Kagome said a little stronger.

Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.  "Would you just listen?  Things are not as easy for us now.  I am a teacher here; I have a reputation to uphold."

"And that's why I'm going to leave you alone.  Don't worry about me-"

"Yes, you have moved on rather quickly I see," Sesshoumaru interrupted.

"What's that supposed to mean?!  I thought you said we were a mistake?!"

Sesshoumaru ignored her comment and continued on with his tirade.  "Tell me, what exactly did that wolf do to you to make you blush so?"

"I don't see how that's any of your...wait a minute-you were spying on me?!"

"I do not spy."

"Yes you were you were spying on me!  How else would you know that I was with Kouga and that I was blushing?"

"..."

"Ha!  That's what I thought.  Are you jealous Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked mockingly.

"Jealous?  Hardly; how could anyone be jealous of that miscreant?" he answered haughtily.

"You're jealous.  I can see it in your eyes; you can't handle-"

Kagome was cut off from her taunt when Sesshoumaru closed the distance between them to press his lips to hers. 

He would not admit it aloud, but Kagome was absolutely right; he was jealous.  He hated to see Kagome with Kouga, and he was pretty sure that he would not want to see her with anyone else either.  And so, he let her know that in his kiss.

At first Kagome was surprised at Sesshoumaru's actions, but quickly enough she was surrendering to the feeling of his lips against hers again.  It had been too long since she felt this sensation.  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him in place, and Sesshoumaru allowed her to.

She opened her mouth to him and soon their kiss was deepened and both were breathing hard.  Sesshoumaru ran his hands up and down her sides to try and take in as much of her as he could.  Then he rested his hands on her hips and pushed her forward a bit so that she could feel what she was doing to him.

Kagome gasped a little and quickly pushed him away from her.

"We-we can't do this Sesshoumaru," Kagome stated breathily.  "You...you're a teacher here; it's not right."

"You're not dating that wolf," Sesshoumaru told her.

Kagome laughed lightly and shook her head.  "No, no I won't date him.  But come on, it's free food."

Sesshoumaru did not suppress his chuckle at that. 

"So what do we do now?  We can't let any of this get out, it could mean your job," Kagome pointed out.  "I can't even let my friends know.  How is this going to work?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Sesshoumaru said as he leaned in to her again for another kiss.

Kagome closed her eyes in reflex and felt once again as his soft lips caressed hers.

Kagura closed the door quietly and leaned back against it on the outside of the room.  In all honesty, she had not thought that Sesshoumaru would lower himself to sneaking around with a student; but apparently she thought wrong.

She tapped her chin with her fingers in contemplation.  She may not go so far as to reveal Kagome and Sesshoumaru's little tryst; after all, that would mean that Sesshoumaru would be out of a job and may just end up in jail, then what would she have to look at? 

7

Tuesday morning was a lot brighter to Kagome.  She and Sesshoumaru had come to an understanding about their relationship, and his harsh words, and had now made plans to see each other every now and then after Jujitsu practice.  In fact, today they were planning on meeting out of town to have dinner and catch up on the time they spent apart.

With a slight skip in her step, Kagome walked the hallways of the school smiling as she went. Her bright smile caught the attention of a few other students who politely smiled back

She had a date with Sesshoumaru!  Her mind supplied in a jovial tune which only made her smile grow even wider.

She reached her locker in no time when she felt a hand land on her shoulder.  She turned and met the suspicious stare of Sango.

"Just what are you so happy about today?" Sango asked her.

Ayame jumped into the conversation suddenly and supplied the information.  "Didn't you hear?  She has a date!"

Kagome paled.  How did they know about her date with Sesshoumaru?  No one was supposed to know! 

"H-how did you know about that?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

Ayame looked at Kagome with wide, bright eyes and grinned.  "Are you kidding?!  Everyone knows about your date!  It's all over school!"

Kagome felt her heart stop at Ayame's announcement.  This was it; it was all over before it even got started.  Sesshoumaru was going to lose his job and possible spend time in jail.  She was going to be ridiculed and have a stigma over her head for seducing older men.  Worst of all, she and Sesshoumaru would have to be apart.  They would not be able to see each other civilly until either she graduated or he got out of jail. 

Hot tears began to form behind her eyes as she tried desperately to think of ways they could make everything work.

Her friends, oblivious to Kagome's inner turmoil, continued on with their chatter.

"So Kagome, where are you and Kouga going on your data?" Ayame asked her.

Kagome stopped her less-than-progressive train of thought when she heard Ayame's question and rapidly raised her head.

"Uh...um...what?" Kagome managed to get out.

Ayame rolled her eyes and smiled at Kagome.  She had noticed her far-away look and wondered where Kagome's thoughts had drifted off to.  "I asked where you and Kouga planned on going for your date."

"Oh! Um...I think he said he wanted to go to this new burger place down the road," Kagome offered slowly.  She had completely forgotten all about the date that she had set up with Kouga the day before.  The only thing she could think about was Sesshoumaru and the way he kissed her last night.

"You are soooo lucky Kagome," Ayame swooned.  "Any girl would be lucky to go out with Kouga."

‘Maybe you should take him then,' Kagome thought bitterly to herself.  It was not that she had anything personal against Kouga, but she was apprehensive about the way Sesshoumaru would act when he found out that she still had plans with the wolf.  ‘This could only end badly.'

****

The day passed by quickly enough and Kagome took in a large breath of air before opening the door to the Jujitsu practice room.  Some way or another she had to break the news with Sesshoumaru that she still had plans with Kouga; thus ruining their plans for their date.

Throughout the day she had been bombarded with questions and surrounded by curious people.  Didn't these people have other things to do?  Kagome could not understand the fascination that the populous had with her "date" with Kouga, but as the questions and comments continued to come at her, she came to a conclusion.

It would look greatly suspicious if she were to cancel on Kouga the day of their date, considering the spectators they had rooting them on.  She could only imagine the rumors that would begin to hurl into the fray of gossiping teenagers; especially if the demon she was going out with tonight had his ego bruised. 

She shuddered at the thought of her private life with Sesshoumaru becoming topic of conversation.  Kagome did not yet know Kouga well enough to trust him not to say anything about what he had heard over the weekend. 

That being said, she would go out with him tonight, but deny any more dates with him, giving him so reason or another to sate his ego while letting him down gently.

With one final deep breath for courage, Kagome opened the door to the practice room, only to find it completely dark and empty.

"Huh?"

Kagome took a step into the practice room and looked around confusedly.  There was not a soul in the room and it seemed as though no one had been there at all.

With one last look around the room she stepped back and out into the hallway.  Kagome glanced around her to be certain no one was there before she closed the door completely only now catching the note that was left on the door that had stated practice was cancelled for the day.

Kagome rubbed her temples with her fingers in an attempt to soothe the oncoming headache. 

"It's okay; I'll just call Sesshoumaru and tell him that I have to cancel tonight.  He'll understand why," Kagome spoke assuredly to her self.  She hurried her pace down the hall to get to her locker where all of her things were stored.

Once there she dialed Sesshoumaru's number to tell him of her "date" with Kouga.  Kagome's heart dropped when Sesshoumaru's phone went straight to his voice message.  Running her hand across her face, Kagome waited for the all too familiar ‘beep' before speaking.

"Hey Sesshoumaru it's Kagome.  Listen, I have to cancel tonight, but I would like to take a rain check.  Please call me as soon as you get this so that I can explain."  Kagome sighed as she slowly closed her phone.  She could only hope that Sesshoumaru got her message.

Kagome quickly changed back into her clothes and headed towards she and Kouga's meeting place; her thoughts completely taken over by images of Sesshoumaru.

****

Kagura watched from behind a row of lockers as Kagome exited the room before she smiled wickedly.  So Kagome had a date with Sesshoumaru tonight?  This could definitely work out to her advantage.  Especially if she could get her hands on Sesshoumaru's cell phone before he got the message.

But how to go about it?

Kagura stepped out of the locker room and headed towards the parking lot until she thought of a fabulous idea.  She wanted to pat herself on the back for being able to think of something so devious.  

Switching directions she picked up her pace in search of Kagome.  A short while later she caught up with the girl just about to leave the school grounds.

"Kagome!" Kagura shouted out.

Kagome looked around and saw Kagura so she stopped to wait for her.  "What's up; is everything okay?"

Kagura shifted a little in her stance to portray nervousness; for once her freshman acting skills were coming in handy.  "Listen Kagome, I...I overheard you talking on your phone.  I know that you had plans with Sesshoumaru tonight."

Kagome's eyes widened and she paled.  She didn't know how Kagura would take this information, but she hoped and prayed to all the gods above that she wouldn't say anything to anyone.

"You-you won't tell anyone...will you?" Kagome asked nervously.

Kagura gave Kagome a false assuring smile.  "I won't tell anyone.  In fact, I was actually going to offer you my help."

"Your help?  How could you help?" Kagome questioned innocently.

"You had to cancel with Sesshoumaru tonight because of your date with Kouga, right?"

Kagome nodded.

"Seeing as how you couldn't get a hold of him, what if I went to tell him that you couldn't make it?  That way everything works out how it should," Kagura offered.

Kagome was at a loss for words.  She felt relief and gratitude spring up in her and she could not help but smile at the godsend in front of her.

"Oh Kagura, that would be fantastic!  Thank you so much!  I honestly don't know hoe to thank you!"

Kagura smirked at her plan that was nicely playing out in front of her.  "It's my pleasure."

****

It was nearing seven-thirty and Sesshoumaru checked his watch for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

Where was she?

He had dismissed the waiter several times and each time he felt his anxiety grow.  Absently, Sesshoumaru began tapping his fingers on the table in order to pass time and to keep his mind from wandering down dangerous paths. 

What if something had gone wrong? 

Sesshoumaru shook his head and let loose an almost non-existent snarl at his wayward thoughts.  He was acting like a foolish child.  He could, and would, wait patiently.  She was only...half an hour late.

Sesshoumaru raised his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes to ward off the oncoming headache.  He should just call relent and call her instead of sitting here brooding.  He reached into his coat pocket in search of his phone before a hand fell gently on his shoulder.

He looked up expectantly in hopes of it being Kagome, but was a disappointed to find it was not her that had touched him.

"Good evening Sess- Mr. Taisho," Kagura said deeply.

Sesshoumaru bowed slightly out of politeness.  "Good evening miss Wind."

"Do you often come to dine her Mr. Taisho?  It seems a bit far from Tokyo don't you think?" Kagura ventured.

Sesshoumaru eyed the woman in front of him with a less-than-pleasant look.  "Not that it is any of your business, but I frequent this place often.  I find its cuisine quite pleasing to my pallet."

Kagura grinned at him.  Things were moving along nicely.  "I know what you mean; it's a lot better than most run of the mill places around Tokyo that's for sure.  I keep insisting that my friends come with me here, but they'd rather go to that new burger place down the road.  Even the new girl, Kagome, is having her date there tonight.  I tried to talk her out of it."

Up until he heard mention of Kagome, Sesshoumaru had not been giving Kagura much of his attention.  However, if what Kagura had just said was true, then Kagome stood him up to go with that wolf even after he asked her not to.  Was she punishing him for the words that he said to her when they met again?  She should know better than that; he could never think of her as a mistake no matter how hard he tried.

"You say Miss Higurashi is out tonight?" Sesshoumaru asked.  When Kagura nodded he felt it wise to continue in order for it to seem less suspicious.  "Do you believe she is enjoying her time here?"

"I believe she is; she's made a lot of friends very fast.  This is only her second week here and already she has a date with one of the most popular guys in school.  No girl in their right mind would turn down a chance with him," Kagura offered.

Although on the outside Sesshoumaru seemed calm, on the inside he was seething.  Kagome had missed their date for that lousy excuse for a demon?!  Did she not feel what he felt?  Did she not know that he spent months sulking because of her?

"Sess-I mean, Mr. Taisho, may I please borrow your phone, I seemed to have forgotten mine and I need to check if my date is coming," Kagura requested, bringing Sesshoumaru out of his thoughts.

Sesshoumaru nodded and reached once again into his coat pocket for his phone.  He handed it to her and she strode outside to use it.

Unbeknownst to Sesshoumaru, Kagura had somehow accessed his inbox and erased the message from Kagome.  It was time to put an axe in between Sesshoumaru and Kagome; trust was not an easy thing to win.  With an evil smile on her face, she walked back into the restaurant before she put on a look of dejection.

"Thank you Mr. Taisho; it looks as if I'll be dining alone tonight," Kagura said with a half hearted smile while she handed him back his phone.  "Enjoy your meal," she said before turning around to leave.

Now normally, Sesshoumaru would have done just that: enjoy his meal, alone, and then take his leave.  However, tonight he was in a particularly foul mood thanks to a certain dark haired beauty named Kagome, and chose to act otherwise.

"Kagura," Sesshoumaru called out without looking up from his menu.  "I see no reason as to why we cannot dine together tonight.  It is strictly platonic."

Kagura was extremely pleased with herself.  Her plan had turned out exactly how she wanted it to, and now she was going to get to have dinner with Sesshoumaru. 

"I wouldn't want to impose-" Kagura started.

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly and motioned for her to take a seat, in which she did so graciously.  Kagura did her best to keep Sesshoumaru involved in conversation and even brought up Kagome a couple of times to talk about how much fun she was probably having on her date with Kouga.  She did not miss the slight clenching of his jaw when she mentioned this and inwardly smirked as she felt his restrained rage start to rattle his cage.

Sesshoumaru did not want to believe that Kagome had stood him up for another and each and every time Kagura brought her up he found it harder to sit still.  When Kagura brought her up once again, he knew then that he had to see it for himself.

"Thank you for the company Kagura, unfortunately I have many matters to attend to before school tomorrow.  Dinner is on me, please enjoy the rest of your meal," Sesshoumaru said quickly before he got up to leave.

Kagura's smile was unbridled when Sesshoumaru left the restaurant.  Things were about to get even more interesting once he saw Kagome with Kouga.  He would not be able to deny it then that his little girlfriend left him for someone else.

Kagura quickly picked up her phone and dialed a number.  She only had to wait a couple of rings before someone answered.

"Hey it's me...he's on his way now, give him about fifteen minutes to get there...you know what to do," Kagura said and then hung up the phone.  She entwined her fingers together and rested her chin on her hands.

"Don't mess with Kagura Wind," she said quietly to her self.

****

Kagome propped her head on her fist and drummed her fingers with her other hand.  This was the last place she wanted to be right now and having to listen to Kouga go on and on about his many awards and trophies was making this night the longest night of her life.

Sure he was nice enough, handsome even, but as soon as he opened his mouth things went south.  Kagome wanted desperately to be with Sesshoumaru and she could only hope that Kagura got her message to him so that he wasn't waiting long.  Just an hour more and she could nicely tell Kouga that she needed to go home, and then this nightmare would be over.

"-and that was the fifth time I saved our team from a loss," Kouga continued.

"That's great Kouga," Kagome said unenthusiastically.  She watched as Kouga puffed up his chest proudly and opened his mouth to speak again before he jumped a little.

Kouga reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.  He looked at the number and quickly excused himself to answer it.

Kagome sighed in relief for her temporary reprieve.  ‘Saved by the bell, er, vibration,´ she thought whimsically.  She watched as other couples and groups made their way out onto the makeshift dance floor and scowled mentally at them.

They were all so carefree with their friends and partners that she couldn't help but feel a bit envious.  As much as she and Sesshoumaru wanted their relationship to be easy, it was anything but that.  However, there was a sort of exciting thrill at the thought of having to sneak around behind everyone's backs that made the situation less harsh.

Kagome jumped when a hand was suddenly in front of her face.  She looked up to see Kouga with his arm outstretched towards her.

"Wanna dance?" he asked with a bright smile on his face.

Hesitantly, Kagome nodded and took his hand to lead her on the floor.  As much as she wanted this date to end, Kouga had been a very nice date so she would return the favor.  He led her to the dance floor and wrapped his arm around her waist to which she instantly blushed.  The only other person to be so close to her like this had been Sesshoumaru, so she was still new to the feeling.

The dance was slow, much to Kagome's chagrin, and Kouga took every opportunity he got to brush up against her just a little.  His eyes kept darting to the front of the shop, though Kagome missed this. 

Just as the song was about to end, Kouga found the opportunity he had been waiting for.  Kagome had closed her eyes and did her very best to stifle a yawn when she suddenly found Kouga's mouth latched on to hers.  Her eyes opened wide and at first she was rendered incapable of movement due to her shock.  But when he slipped his tongue into her mouth she raised her hands to his chest and pushed roughly, making him stumble back.

"What the hell was that Kouga?!" Kagome shouted at him.

Kouga looked at her sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck.  "Sorry Kagome, I've just been wanting to do that all night."

Kagome shook her head at him but gave him a small smile.  "I'm sorry too Kouga.  But I just don't think this is going to work out.  You're a great guy, but I'm just not looking for anyone right now."  It wasn't a complete lie.

Kouga shrugged and gave her another toothy grin.  "Eh, don't worry about it, there's plenty of fish in the sea.  Just keep me in mind if you ever are on the market," he said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Will do.  Thank you for understanding.  I've had a really nice time tonight, but I should probably be going now."

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Kouga offered.

Kagome shook her head and then gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before she left.  With that obstacle out of the way, she could now devote her time to Sesshoumaru.  With a happy grin she set off for home in hopes of being able to speak to Sesshoumaru in person tomorrow after practice.

****

It did not take him long to make it to the place that Kagura had told him about.  With so many high school kids walking in and out of the place it wasn't hard to find either.  Sesshoumaru pulled into the parking lot and stealthily made his way towards the front of the hamburger place that Kagome was having her date.  The thought still made him angry, although he would give her the benefit of the doubt.

Sesshoumaru casually looked through the front window in search of Kagome.  At first he could not spot her, but when he did, he almost wished he hadn't.  He watched as she slow danced with the vile wolf and if that wasn't bad enough he had bared witness to them sharing a kiss.  Sesshoumaru could literally feel his heart freeze over with loathing and turned quickly away.  He could no longer watch the one person he had truly cared for with another. 

He missed when she pushed Kouga away, and he missed when she yelled at the wolf for doing what he did.  At the moment he could not even fathom any explanation that she may have had for what he saw, nor did he care for any.

Sesshoumaru sped off quickly, only seconds before Kagome came out of the restaurant alone with a grin on her face.

8

Sesshoumaru frowned as he strolled down the hallways of the school; not that anyone would notice the slight change in his facial expression.  He had thought about Kagome with the wolf, Kouga, all night and was unable to get an ounce of sleep because of it.  During breakfast Inuyasha had made a comment about the new hamburger place and Sesshoumaru all but spat at the mere mention of it.  Inuyasha ended up face down in his bowl of cereal for reasons he didn't understand, but Sesshoumaru was loathe to tell him.

With his steps quick, Sesshoumaru made his way into his classroom in record time and slammed his briefcase down on his desk, effectively silencing his surprised and now fearful class.  He stared at them all hard and could not help but think of what lowly creatures teenagers were and how fleeting their pathetic school relationships were as well.  Ridiculous. 

"There will be a fifteen page paper due in three weeks time on the economic effects of countries who did not participate in the Kyoto Protocol.  I expect at least five resources listed in alphabetical order, a title page, a table of contents, and at least one measurable graph.  Any questions?" Sesshoumaru spat out quickly.

The students stared on in horror and disbelief as their teacher all but signed their high school death warrants.  Before anyone could get a word in edgewise, Sesshoumaru began his lecture.

Although Kagura was upset about the assignment given to them, she could not help but feel elated with knowing the reason for Sesshoumaru's fowl temper.  Kouga had called her not long after Kagome left the diner to tell her that the plan she came up with had worked.  He had sounded a bit regretful, but Kagura didn't care.  If she couldn't have Sesshoumaru, then no one could.

The girl next to Kagura leaned over and whispered very lightly to her.  "What do you think got into him?"

Kagura put on an innocent face and shrugged, so the girl leaned back into her chair and continued taking notes.  Kagura gave herself a mental pat on the back and went to work on her own lecture notes. 

‘Let's see Kagome try and fix this,' she thought to herself.

****

Kagome scooped a bit of her food onto her fork before eyeing in ruefully and letting it drop back to her plate with a ‘plop'.  She was in no mood to eat.  Sesshoumaru hadn't returned any of her phone calls and was effectively avoiding her as if she were the plague.  She had seen him in the hallway and smiled at him as she waved politely, but all he did was look straight through her and then turn away.

‘He's probably really upset that I missed dinner with him last night,' she thought sadly.  ‘I thought for sure he'd understand when he found out why I had to cancel.'

Kagome dropped her chopsticks and slid her lunch tray away from her before resting her chin on her fists.  This was not the way she expected today to go.  She was hoping to cash in her rain check for a date with Sesshoumaru and instead she was sitting at a lunch table staring at a pile of rice.  The last thing that she wanted to do was get Sesshoumaru upset, but it seemed as though she had done so anyway. 

Sesshoumaru not talking to her was worse than him yelling at her.  It was eating her up inside and it took a lot of will power not to break down in front of everyone.  She just got Sesshoumaru back and already she was losing him.

"This stinks," Kagome said aloud.

"You okay Kagome?" asked Sango who had been closely watching her friend.  She noticed that Kagome sighed every couple of minutes and was starting to get worried about her.  When Kagome didn't answer, Sango tried again.  "Kagome?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you if you were all right.  Is everything okay?"

"Sure; everything's fine," Kagome said half-heartedly.  "Hey Sango, I think I'm gonna go home early, I don't feel so well.  Would you mind picking up my homework for me?"

Sango gave her friend a sympathetic smile.  "Sure thing Kagome, are you positive you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine; I think I just need some rest."  Kagome picked up her lunch tray and threw the excess food away before leaving the cafeteria.  She walked slowly down the hall to head towards the office, stopping only once at her locker before continuing on her way.

When she entered the office she greeted the old woman behind the desk.  "Hey Kaede."

"Hello dear.  What can I help you with?" asked the elderly woman.

"I'm not feeling too well, may I please be excused to go home?"

"Of course dear, you'll need to call home before you do so."

Kagome nodded and accepted the phone from Kaede.  When her grandfather answered the phone he told her it was alright to come home, but that she would have to walk since no one was there to pick her up.  She finished her phone call and got all the necessary paper work filled out and then left the office.

Without looking up she walked towards the front gate only to walk straight into a tall, imposing figure.  She mumbled a quick apology and tried to work her way around the person she bumped into, but they kept moving in her way again.

"Look I said I was sorry now can you please get-"

"-Sorry doesn't begin to cover it Ka-go-me," she heard Sesshoumaru say.

Kagome quickly looked up into the golden eyes of the man she cancelled on last night.  "Sesshoumaru...I-I'm sorry about last night."

"I do not need nor want your apologies.  It is obvious you were where you wanted to be last night and unfortunately that was not in my company," Sesshoumaru stated icily.

"It's...It's not like that at all!" Kagome began.  "Please, just hear me out!"

"I have classes to tend to and have no time for excuses.  Go find your wolf to plead your case to," Sesshoumaru said as he stalked away.

The tears that had been threatening to fall earlier in the day now fell freely down Kagome's face.  She didn't make an effort to follow after him, for he made it perfectly clear that he didn't want anything to do with her.  Instead, she turned back the way she was going and ran home, hoping that she could find some solace in the confines of her own room.

****

"I'm really worried about Kagome, she didn't look to good earlier," Sango informed the small group of friends that were circled around a table.

"Did she say what was wrong?" Ayame asked.  Sango shook her head in the negative.

"She was fine yesterday.  In fact, she was smiling all day yesterday because of her date..." Sango trailed off as her eyes narrowed in Kouga's direction.

Ayame followed her gaze and caught on.  She quickly landed a punch to Kouga's arm and he squealed a little in pain.  "Ow!  What was that for?!"

"What did you do to Kagome?!" Ayame screamed at him.

"What are you talkin' about; I didn't do anything to her," Kouga defended himself.  "I took her here to get dinner, we danced, she left.  End of story."

"Well you must have done something," Kikyo broke in.  "She looked very upset earlier."

"Keh!  She's probably upset because Kouga was such a lousy date!" Inuyasha taunted.  "I don't know why she agreed to go out with you in the first place."

"I am not a lousy date!  Ask her yourself; she had a great time!  She didn't even slap me when I kissed her," he added with a smug grin.

"You kissed her?!" Ayame yelled at the wolf demon.

"No wonder she didn't feel good," Inuyasha added with a laugh. 

The group of friends shared a laugh at Kouga's expense.  The mood brightened substantially for them as they resumed their lunch.  In a booth next to theirs, Kagura listened in on the conversation and decided to add salt to the already open wound on Kagome and Sesshoumaru's relationship...or lack thereof.  She stood and walked out of the diner headed towards the school grounds where Sesshoumaru would no doubt be at this time of day. 

Her eyes were determined as she entered the school grounds and sought out the man of her dreams.  It did not take long for her to find him in the training dojo. He was talking to a few stragglers from the Jujitsu team who had yet to leave after practice.  After she stepped inside the room to make her presence known, she waited patiently for him to approach her.

Sesshoumaru's mood had not improved since the morning during his economics class.  In fact, after his run-in with Kagome it was even worse.  He was beginning to regret not allowing her the chance to explain herself. Or perhaps he began to feel it when he saw the tears form in her eyes.  He had already persuaded himself to seek her out that night to talk with her; then perhaps he could get some sleep.

Sesshoumaru looked up when the door of the dojo opened and saw Kagura enter and look his way.  Apparently she wanted to speak with him, no doubt about the assignment he had given his class.  He walked over to her when he finished speaking with one of the team members.  With a subtle nod as permission to speak, Kagura cleared her throat and began her spiel.

"Sorry to bother you while you're in the middle of something, I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she told him concernedly. 

It caught him off guard a little that she came here to ask him about condition, but he took it in stride and answered her.  "I am just fine Kagura, though your concern is appreciated.  Has this anything to do with the assignment I gave you?"

Kagura smirked a little at him and told him honestly, "I would be lying if I said that that wasn't part of it.  But I'm more worried with you.  What has gotten you in such a mood?"

"That would be none of your concern," Sesshoumaru told her straight out.

Kagura shrugged her shoulders in defeat.  "Well at least my friends are in a good mood.  You should hear Kouga today, ranting on about how he got to kiss Kagome last night and she didn't slap him.  Though, I don't suppose you care about our little lives now, do you?"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her.  If what she said was true, then Kagome kissing that fool last night wasn't just an accident.  It was no secret that Kouga was always trying to be a ladies man; he had dated just about every girl within a mile radius of school campus.  It also was no secret that he wasn't very good at it.  More often than not he would return from a date with a handprint on his face.  Whoever thought listening to Miroku's dating advice was a good thing seriously needed counseling. 

"I'm a busy man Kagura. I have no time to think about you and your friends.  My thanks for checking on me, but if you don't mind..."

"Of course, just know that if you need someone to talk to, or whatever," she added in a seductive tone, "I'll be around."  Kagura turned and left then, making sure to add just a slight more sway in her hips for good measure.

Sesshoumaru looked on as Kagura left the training dojo and then turned back to his work.  Sesshoumaru began to seriously reconsider his plans to visit Kagome that night lest his temper get the better of him. He was not one to ever really feel remorse, but at that moment he almost regretted Kagome being at this school.  All of this could have been avoided and he wouldn't have to be dealing with the sudden hardening of his heart.

‘These feelings are useless, she's just another girl; no sense in getting worked up over such trivial things,' Sesshoumaru told himself.  He needed something to distract himself with so he would no longer think of Kagome and her lying ways.  He looked back towards the door of the dojo where Kagura had just left and narrowed his eyes in thought before he returned to cleaning up the dojo. 

****

Kagome sunk down further beneath the blanket on her bed.  Sesshoumaru had seemed so cold to her that it tore her up inside, but she still could not find the strength to be mad at him.  She should have known that skipping out on their date would lead to nothing but bad reactions, but she did it so that they could be together easier, without the constant suspicion from everybody.  So much for well intended plans.

Kagome sighed as she continued her train of thought.  This entire ordeal was her fault and she just had to find a way to make it better.  The thought of losing Sesshoumaru was too much for her to bear and she was determined not to let that happen.  She just had to talk to him, and then she would make him understand.

With her resolve set, Kagome began planning her course of action.  She knew she could win him back; she just needed to be patient and persistent.  She quickly got out of bed and dressed before heading down the stairs. If she ran fast enough, she could still catch Sesshoumaru after Jujitsu practice. It wasn't too late.  Hopefully by the time she got there the other team members would have already left.

With a hard slam of the front door, Kagome sprinted across the shrine grounds, and headed back towards the school to put her plan into action.

****

Kagura panted as firm hands slid over her naked thighs while a very skilled tongue made its way over the skin of her neck.  She clawed at the muscled back as his warm mouth slowly made its way towards her breasts, taking in one at a time while roughly massaging the other in his hand.

"Mmmm, oh gods that feels good," she moaned as he went even lower still.

The male grunted his response and continued on his course to the warmth that was radiating off her moist center.  Kagura instinctively opened her legs a bit wider to accommodate him. Even though they were currently cramped in the backseat of her car, it was more than enough room for them to engage in their sinful acts as they were.

His tongue darted out to taste her wetness and groaned into her, causing a wonderful vibration to be sent through her entire body.  She all but screamed out as he worked his magical appendage across her nether lips while his thumb rubbed over the bundle of nerves rested there.

Both of them were breathing hard as he continued to move his tongue frantically inside her.  Her hands came up to fist in his long hair and she pulled him closer to her still, afraid he would move away too soon.  Her eyes were closed in ecstasy as the heat in her lower abdomen became almost overwhelming.

"Oh gods...ungh...please...more," she panted throwing her head back as the feeling grew even more.

The male smirked in satisfaction at the effect he was having on this woman and slowly pulled away from his ministrations.  A whimper of protest left Kagura's mouth but was quickly silenced when he slammed his mouth onto hers.  She could taste herself on his lips, but that did nothing to hinder her actions, in fact, it made her even more aroused.

He ground his hips into hers allowing her to feel his growing erection against the inside of her thigh.  She gave a small mewling sound of need when she felt it and he took his chance to play with her a bit.

"Beg for it," he demanded of her in his deep, sultry voice.

"Pl...please..." she begged

"Not good enough," he said as he pressed more firmly against her.

"Oh gods please!" Kagura shouted.

He lifted up off of her a little in order to position himself at her entrance.  Using his hand to help guide him in he slowly entered her, causing them both to moan out low at the sensation.

He didn't have to worry about taking it easy with her; he knew it was not her first time with a man.  With a swift thrust of his hips he embedded himself fully into her.

Kagura nearly passed out due to the wonderful feeling of him inside of her, but was able to hang on to consciousness when he latched on to one of her breasts while pulling out of her nearly all the way before slamming into her once more.  She quickly wrapped her long legs around his wonderful body in order to hold him close to her as he quickened his pace.

The windows of the car had long ago fogged up with the steam rising from their bodies and their panting breaths even with them cracked a little.  Kagura left light red trails down his back as she ran her nails over him.  She was unable to keep up with his fast pace and found herself helpless underneath him and could only moan while he pounded into her willing body.

He could feel the all-tell clenching of her inner muscles and knew she was on the verge of climaxing.  He slowed his pace a bit to tease her, pulling out of her painstakingly slow before very gently gliding back in.

Kagura whimpered and resorted once again to begging him so she could reach completion.  "Please...please..." she whined.

"Please what?" he huskily breathed out.

"Please go faster...and harder!" she begged.

He did not take any more coaxing and once again quickened his pace.  The clenching was there again, but this time he pushed onward, going faster than he had before.  He grunted when he felt himself nearing and held out just long enough for her to come first.

"Oh gods Sesshoumaru!!!" Kagura called out as she was sent over the edge.

****

Kagome sprinted the entire way to the school, stopping only once to quickly catch her breath.  She looked down at her watch as she saw the school come into view and breathed a heavy sigh.  Jujitsu practice had finished nearly twenty minutes ago; she could only pray that Sesshoumaru would still be there so she could talk to him.

The halls in the school were empty as she jogged down the corridor towards the practice dojo.  The door was shut, but she knocked a few times for good measure in case he was still inside.  She waited patiently before pressing her ear against the door to try and listen for any sound from inside.  All was silent.

"Dammit!" Kagome cursed aloud.  She gave the door one last pound before she turned away to walk slowly home.

She was so sure that he would have still been there and that they were going to have the discussion that they needed in order to fix their broken relationship.  Her heart was heavy as she walked back down the hallways and she let loose a groan when she saw that the janitors had just locked her exit.  Stomping her feet in a small tantrum, Kagome turned around to go out the other, long way.

"This is just not my day," she said aloud to herself.  She kicked an unsuspecting rock that had so spitefully got in her way.  It sailed through the air a bit to hit the back of a car parked in the parking lot.

Kagome cringed when it hit, hoping that it didn't leave any dents before walking up to check.  Her steps fumbled a little when she heard a grunt come from inside the car.  Kagome's face turned three shades of red when she saw that the windows of the vehicle were thickly fogged up and it was rocking on its tires rhythmically. 

She knew she should have just walked away and left whoever was in the car alone, but human curiosity got the better of her and she stepped forward a little more.  Kagome covered her mouth with her hand to stifle the rising giggle coming from her belly when she realized whose car it was.

‘Oh my god, the girls are gonna freak when they hear this!" Kagome thought to herself.  She shook her head after that thought; she would never reveal such an intimate thing to the other girls without Kagura's permission.  But she'd be damned if she wasn't going to give Kagura a hard time about it!

Kagome smiled and shook her head at her friend's antics and turned to leave, but the next thing she heard made her stop dead in her tracks.

"Oh gods Sesshoumaru!!!" she heard Kagura scream out.  Kagome's blood ran cold as she stood in total shock in the parking lot.

‘She just screamed Sesshoumaru's name...oh my god, she just screamed Sesshoumaru's name!'  Kagome backed away from the car slowly before turning away fully and broke into a fast run.

‘She just screamed Sesshoumaru's name, she just screamed Sesshoumaru's name..."

That was the thought that carried a tearful Kagome all the way back to her house that night.  She cursed Sesshoumaru's name and cursed Kagura's name before she collapsed on her bed once again, sobbing into her pillow.

9

Sesshoumaru walked down the hallway to his bedroom with a slow gait.  One of these days he was going to get a place of his own, but with his father gone so much on business trips, Sesshoumaru was left to the grudging task of keep watch over Inuyasha during the week.  For now, he would have to deal with being housed within the same confines as his younger, obnoxious brother.  And speak of the devil...

"Oi, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha yelled down the hall.  His hair was mussed, obviously due to the fact that he just got out of bed, and his eyes were half closed.

Sesshoumaru sighed inaudibly before answering.  "What is it?"

"Where you been all night?  Dad's gonna be mad when I tell him you weren't here," Inuyasha said with an evil grin.

"I've been nowhere of consequence, and as for speaking to father, please do.  Then maybe he'll allow me to move."  Sesshoumaru continued on to his bedroom, being sure to take an over-exaggerated whiff of Inuyasha as he passed by.  "You need a shower," he told him.

Inuyasha scratched his head a little and then the back of his neck.  "Hey, uh, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru stopped just before entering his room but did not turn around.  He waited for Inuyasha to continue, but when the fool didn't get the hint Sesshoumaru looked over his shoulder with a raised brow.  Inuyasha took a deep breath and released it; maybe Sesshoumaru wouldn't kill him for butting into his business.  "Look, um...Kagome went home today because she wasn't feeling well."

"Of that I am aware," Sesshoumaru said dryly.

"Oh.  Well, Sango said it was because she thought Kagome was having guy troubles.  You...you wouldn't know anything about it would you?" Inuyasha said as he fidgeted near his bedroom door.

Sesshoumaru remained still near his own bedroom door, hand on the doorknob.  Could he be the reason she went home, or was it because of that stupid wolf?  Just thinking of Kouga and Kagome's date made him angry; perhaps Kouga had turned her down for another date?  "Why do you not ask the wolf what is wrong with her?  Surely he would know more than I on this matter; he did go out with her, did he not?"

"Yeah, but he said nothin' happened," Inuyasha told him while he shrugged.

Sesshoumaru took the new information and stored it for later, but as of right now, he wanted nothing more than to fall into his bed and sleep.  "Go to bed Inuyasha."  Sesshoumaru then walked into his room, shutting himself off from the world.  Inuyasha scowled at the closed door before muttering an ‘asshole' and then making his way back to bed.

****

Kagome slammed her plate down on the kitchen table and plopped down in her chair, huffing about hypocrites and stupid men.  Her family watched on as she shoved her breakfast into her mouth with little manners, all but inhaling her food.

"Would you like a shovel?" Souta asked Kagome.  This earned him a smack on the head by their mom.  Kagome looked up and glared at Souta, but put her chopsticks down and picked up her plate to place it in the sink.  She stomped off to her room to get ready for school, all the while continuing her mumbling.

Kagome quickly dressed and headed out the door.  Her mind was swirling with the events of last night and she walked a little faster to school than was necessary.  Her face was set in a perpetual frown and she subconsciously cracked her knuckles whenever she thought of Kagura in the back seat of her car with Sesshoumaru.  Kagome suppressed a shudder that threatened to make it way over her.  Someone had some explaining to do!

When she arrived at the school, she noticed that she was a bit early and took the time to calm down some.  The last thing she needed was to start a fight with Kagura, at school anyways, because she would only end up being suspended.

‘Even if the backstabber deserves it,' Kagome thought maliciously.  She growled a very human, yet very threatening, growl deep in her throat and shoved her backpack into her locker while grabbing the books she would need for her first class.  The students were all starting to come in now and the halls were soon filled.  Kagome watched with loathing in her eyes as Kagura sauntered into the hallway as if nothing had happened the night before.  But Kagome wasn't fooled. 

Kagura saw Kagome out of the corner of her eye glaring at her.  She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but proceeded down the hallway to her own locker.  Kagome never took her eyes off of Kagura and that is how Sango found her.

A tap on her shoulder brought Kagome out of the death glare.  "What's up with you?  Are you feeling okay?" Sango asked Kagome while looking at her with concern.

Kagome shook her head and rubbed her eyes with her hand.  "Nothing, I'm fine," she spat out more harshly than she meant to.  At the look on Sango's face, she rectified herself.  "Sorry Sango, I'm just having a bad day."

"It's okay.  Do you want to talk about it?" Sango asked calmly.

Kagome shook her head.  "Maybe later; right now I just want to be alone."  Sango nodded and then gave her friend a gentle hug before walking away.  Kagome sighed and then finally closed her locker to go to class.  When she turned around the first thing she saw was the reason for her torment. 

Sesshoumaru stood across the hallway staring at her, somehow managing to be invisible to the other people in the hallway.  He looked at her with something akin to shame, and it was all the confession she needed from him.  Kagome straightened up a bit and then turned away from him to go to class.; she didn't want to be late.

****

By the time lunch rolled around, Kagome's mood had taken a turn for the worse.  Five classes had done nothing to calm her anger; instead it gave her even more time to reflect on everything.  The result was a pissed off, scorned woman.  And, as the saying goes, ‘Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'.  The group all sat in relative silence, stealing glances at Kagome every now and then.  Miroku played with the collar of his shirt in an attempt to loosen it; Kagome was even making him uncomfortable, and he liked it when women were angry, it made them look sinfully good in his eyes.

Ayame looked pointedly at Sango in silent question and Sango merely shrugged.  She didn't know what exactly was wrong with Kagome either.  Inuyasha crossed his arms and huffed.  This lunch was boring and if someone didn't start talking he was going to leave.  Kikyo cleared her throat and everyone looked expectantly at her.

"Has anyone seen Naraku today?  He's at school, but he didn't even wait to talk to me after class like he usually does," Kikyo asked them breaking the uncomfortable silence.  Everyone simultaneously shook their heads in the negative.  No one had talked to him today which was highly unusual because he was always very social when it came to them.

"Yo," a deep feminine voice sounded from behind them.  Kagura walked over to the lunch table and sat down gracefully.  Kagome narrowed her eyes at the female and clenched her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.  Kagura dared to come over here and sit near her after what she did?!  How stupid could one person be?!  What if Kagura didn't see her as a threat?  That boiled Kagome's blood even more so and she pursed her lips tight to restrain herself from flying over the table.

"Hey Kagura," Ayame greeted.  "You haven't seen Naraku around have you?"

Kagura sat up a little straighter in her chair and tilted her nose up in the air.  "No, I haven't and good riddance," she said while trying to hide a pout.  She looked over the group and finally noticed Kagome giving her a look that would have killed her twice over if in fact looks could kill.  Kagura furrowed her brows in confusion at Kagome's actions, but then it dawned on her that Kagome must know something.

‘Perhaps she knows that Kouga and I set her and Sesshoumaru up that night to break them up?' she thought to herself.  It seemed the most logical explanation for Kagome's sudden hostility towards her.  However, Kagura wouldn't voluntarily offer herself to the wolves- so to speak- she would wait for Kagome to confront her.

Lunch went on and Kagura shifted uncomfortably in her seat.  She had felt Kagome's eyes on her the entire time and it was starting to wear on her nerves.  The girl had gall that was for sure; she had never been at the receiving end of a girls death glare, she was always the one giving them out.  Finally, after dealing with Kagome's constant glower Kagura had officially had enough.

"What?!" Kagura snapped at Kagome.  Everyone's heads snapped up at the sudden outburst to look at Kagura.  They followed her gaze to Kagome who looked like she was about to explode with rage.

"I thought you were my friend Kagura; now I know for sure you're just a backstabber!" Kagome said in a raised voice.  Everyone's faces turned towards Kagura, waiting for her reaction.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Kagura defended herself.  "You've been giving me the look of death all through lunch; if you have something to say then say it already!"

Once again all heads turned to look at Kagome, awaiting her comeback.  "You have no idea what I'm talking about?" Kagome asked incredulously.  At Kagura's shrug Kagome continued, "Just where were you last night after school Kagura?"  All eyes turned towards the girl in question.  It was like watching a tennis match...only better.

Kagura remained silent as she thought over Kagome's question.  She thought for sure she'd bring up the night Kagome sent her to talk to Sesshoumaru, but instead she asked about last night.  ‘Hm, last night...last ni-ah so that's what she means.  The little voyeur heard me. '   A bright light shined in Kagura's eyes at the wonderful opportunity to drive the wedge further between Sesshoumaru and Kagome and she forced herself not to smile.

"I do believe that is my own business," Kagura said slyly.  "I'm sure even you can put two and two together."

"You BITCH!" Kagome growled out loudly, surprising the occupants at the table.  That fierce noise came from their little Kagome?  "I trusted you, gave you my friendship, and this is how you repay me?!"

Kagura stood up now to become more threatening.  This little girl would be taught a lesson: no one raised their voice to her!  "Not look here you little-"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Inuyasha yelled trying to break up the oncoming fight.  Granted, there was nothing more exciting than seeing two women fight, but this was little Kagome against an irate Kagura; the girl wouldn't stand a chance.

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch and the group, save two, sighed in relief.  Sango stood in front of Kagome facing her.  "Kagome, come on let's get to class.  If you want to mess her up, do it after school so you won't get into loads of trouble."  Kagome kept her gaze trained on Kagura, not once backing down.

"It would be wise for you to not stick around after school," Kagome told Kagura.

Kagura snorted indignantly before replying, "As if I'm afraid of a little thing like you.  I hope you're prepared to get your ass handed to you on a platter.  Be behind the gym after school."  She then flipped her hair over her shoulder and strode off before Kagome could say anything further.

"What a bitch!" Kagome cursed under her breath.  Apparently, Kagura forgot the minor detail of Kagome being on the Jujitsu team; otherwise she might have just given in and prostrated herself in front of everyone.  It was no matter, Kagome would be sure she was the one walking away the victor, Kagura and her idle threats be damned!

****

Everyone did well keeping the after school fight to themselves; the last thing their friends needed was an audience witnessing their brawl.  However, this definitely did not stop them from coming to view the battle. Oh no, they had front row seats and secretly, most of them were hoping that Kagome was the winner; it was time Kagura got dropped down a peg or two.

Kagome waited impatiently next to Sango for Kagura to show up.  Perhaps she thought better of the situation and decided not to show?  Kagome inwardly frowned at that thought; she was in the mood to kick some ass!  Her worries of missing out on maiming Kagura were appeased as she noticed her walking steadily towards their appointed area.  She was walking with two girls she didn't know, but they didn't matter; all that mattered was that Kagome was getting the retribution she deserved.

"So you decided to show; I thought for sure you would've turned tail and ran home," Kagura taunted as she made her way closer to Kagome.

Kagome remained silent to Kagura's taunts but she gave her an unimpressed once over to try and grate on her nerves.  It worked.  Kagura sneered at her, balled her hands into a fist, and then said, "Let's just get this over with, shall we?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Kagome said with a grin.  A tap on her shoulder made her turn towards its source. 

"Kagome, are you sure you want to do this?" Sango asked her friend in a last ditch effort to stop the fight.  "I don't know what happened, but it can't be worth this."

Kagome looked at her friend and smiled dejectedly.  "It is worth it; you'll just have to take my word for it."  Sango nodded and hesitantly backed away from her friend.  Kagome turned around to once again face Kagura when she was slapped hard enough in the face to make her stumble backwards a bit.

"Don't take your eyes off the enemy," Kagura said as she started circling around Kagome.  Their friends backed away from them apprehensively and stood at the sidelines to watch the show.  Kagome didn't move as Kagura circled her, instead she opened her senses up like she was taught and waiting for her to take the first, real, strike.  Just as Kagura made it to Kagome's right side she struck out, slashing her perfectly manicured nails at Kagome's face.

Kagome ducked quickly and grabbed a hold of Kagura's wrist to pin her arm behind her back.  This left Kagura bent forward while her arm was locked behind her, at the mercy of Kagome.  "Is that all you've got Kagura?" Kagome mocked her.  Kagome flung the woman away from her to allow Kagura the chance to recover before striking again.  Kagura stumbled forward in an attempt to regain her balance and then straightened up to whirl back around towards Kagome furiously.

"That will NOT happen again bitch!" Kagura snapped at her.  Now the fight was on.

Kagome lunged first this time since Kagura had learned quickly not to move first.  Kagura grabbed a hold of Kagome ponytail and pulled hard making Kagome's head fall backward.  Kagome used the leverage she had to kick at Kagura's legs which resulted in them both falling to the ground.  Using her nails, Kagura scratched Kagome's face on her cheek just before Kagome used her legs to catapult Kagura up and over her head.  Both quickly got back on their feet and started circling again, waiting for the next move.

"Why'd you do it Kagura?  You knew how I felt about him!" Kagome yelled at the woman in front of her.  Kagura's face had a couple bruises forming; one under her left eye and another on her upper lip from when Kagome elbowed her.  The wind witch licked her swollen lip and could taste her own blood from where she bit down on it when Kagome launched her to the ground.

"You were the one stupid enough to let him go for that wolf!  It's your own damn fault!" Kagura spat back.

"That's why I sent you to him!  You said you would let him know why I couldn't be there!  Just what did you say to him to make him hate me?" Kagome asked Kagura almost desperately.  The air was tense in the small area and everyone was afraid to break the heavy silence that now settled over them all.  They were all confused about what was going on, well, all except for Kouga who was shifting uncomfortably where he stood.

In actuality, he felt awful for what he did.  Kagome had been nothing but kind to him ever since she started school there and he repaid her by teaming up with Kagura and her stupid and petty plan.  If he was going to make it up to her, now was the chance.  Kouga cleared his throat and everyone looked over at him.

"Kagome, there's something you need to know," he began nervously.

"Don't even think about it you mongrel," Kagura interrupted him.  Just what did he think he was doing?!  There was no way he would rat her, let alone himself, out.  Kagome turned back to Kagura and narrowed her eyes once more at the conniving female.

"Just what do I need to know Kouga?" Kagome asked him in hopes of his continuing.  She didn't take her eyes off of Kagura, the woman fought dirty and she wouldn't allow herself to be struck unprepared again.

"That night I asked you out and I kissed you-" Kouga started again.

"Shut up!" Kagura yelled at him.

"When I kissed you, Sess...Sesshoumaru...he saw it.  He saw me kiss you and left before he saw the rest," he finally finished.  Although he knew that he was in for the beating of a lifetime from his friends, it felt good to have that off of his chest.  He wasn't at all surprised at the furious and disgusted looks that he received, but was glad that Kagura was the one that was getting the majority of the glares.

"You set me up?" Kagome asked hurt.  "Why would you do that to me?  What did I ever do to you?"  This was directed at Kouga who closed his eyes in shame. 

"You didn't do anything to me, Kagura just has some...stuff on me that I would rather not have floating around the school.  Look, I'm really sorry Kagome-"

"Just save it; I'll deal with you later," Kagome growled out at him.  Kouga wouldn't admit it, but in that moment he was close to pissing his pants in fear of the small mortal women.  She looked scary when she was mad.

Kagome turned her full attention back on Kagura now even more determined to cause her bodily damage.  Kagura gulped when she saw the look in Kagome's eyes that promised her a world of hurt.  With a fierce battle cry, Kagome was on Kagura within a blink of an eye.  She tackled her quickly to the ground and landed a couple punches to her once pretty face before jumping off of her again.  "Get up and fight me Kagura!"

The wind witch got to her feet and took a couple swing s at Kagome, but none of them made contact.  Kagome crouched down low and swung her leg out catching Kagura's ankles, causing the woman to fall to the unforgiving ground.

Ayame hissed between her teeth when she saw Kagura hit the ground.  "That had to hurt," she said to Sango and Kikyo who both merely nodded not wanting to take their eyes off the fight for a moment in fear that they'd miss something. Kagome moved fast.  They watched on as Kagome wailed on Kagura and all the defender could do was block her hits while trying to deliver strikes of her own unsuccessfully.  Miroku was grinning from ear to ear, praying to any god above that would listen to him that clothing would rip from either of the girls' bodies.  Inuyasha shook his head at the sight; Kagura had brought it on her self. 

Kikyo looked over at the boys and then checked around them to be sure they were all still alone when she caught sight of a tall looming figure approaching them rapidly.

"Shit," Kikyo whispered harshly.  All but Kagome and Kagura looked to Kikyo and then looked where she had her attention.  Their eyes all widened at the obviously angry person striding towards them, but before anyone could warn the two fighting girls, he was already upon them.

Sesshoumaru grabbed a hold of Kagome's upper arm and yanked her roughly up and off of Kagura.  "Ow!" Kagome screamed as she was pulled upward.  "Hey, let me go! Get off of me!" she continued to rant.

"Silence!" Sesshoumaru barked out.  Kagome's eyes widened when she recognized the voice of the person that held her and she quickly looked at him.  She began her struggle anew when she remembered why she was fighting Kagura in the first place, but Sesshoumaru's grip never wavered.  He glanced around the group of friends, ignoring the shouts coming from Kagome. 

"I suggest all of you leave now before I give you detention for the rest of the year," he said in a deep and threatening voice.  The group all bowed their heads in shame and Sesshoumaru sneered at them and their antics.  He did not stick around to see where they went, but instead pulled a struggling Kagome towards his car.

"Let me go you big jerk!" he heard her yell at him. Sesshoumaru continued on his way and opened the passenger side door of his car before haphazardly tossing her into the seat.  "Stay there and buckle up," he demanded of her.  It was time that they had a nice long talk about what was happening between them.

Kagome huffed and pursed her lips in disdain, but complied with Sesshoumaru's wishes nonetheless.  She buckled up quickly and then scooted her self as close to her door as she could manage and kept her gaze out the window.  Sesshoumaru got into his car, buckled up as well, and started the car.  He pulled out of the deserted school parking lot and drove towards his home.  His father was still out of town and since Sesshoumaru was Inuyasha's ride home, he reasonably determined that they would be able to have some alone time together to sort things out.

The drive was made mostly in silence; it was only broken every now and then with Kagome muttering about ‘unfaithful assholes' and ‘stupid jealous bitches who didn't know how to keep their hands off of things that didn't belong to them'.  Sesshoumaru kept his eyes on the road with only a couple of stolen glances in Kagome's direction.  He shook his head slowly at the thought of how screwed up everything had become; how did everything go down hill so fast?

After the longest ten minute drive of both Sesshoumaru and Kagome's lives, he finally pulled into the long driveway of his father's home.  Although Kagome was not in the best of moods, she couldn't help but look on admirably at the beautiful home.  It would have been even better if she were there on friendlier terms.  The car came to a stop and Sesshoumaru got out, expecting her to do the same.  He reached the front door to the house and looked back to see Kagome still sitting in the car and sighed.  She was going to try and be difficult.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms in front of his chest in challenge.  He would gladly force her out of the car if she didn't do it on her own.  Kagome caught his pointed look and rolled her eyes before unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the car.  She followed him into the empty house and fidgeted a little at the circumstances.

"I believe it is time we talked," Sesshoumaru stated bluntly.

Kagome sighed and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry when the memories of Kagura screaming Sesshoumaru's name came flooding back to her mind unbidden.  "I have nothing to say to you."

Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off the oncoming headache.  "Why did you fight with Kagura today?" he asked her.

"Pfft!  Like you don't know, you big jerk."

"This is getting us nowhere, just tell me why," Sesshoumaru told her, losing his once remarkable patience.

Kagome looked up into his eyes, hers brimming with unshed tears as she tried to make herself disappear from his presence.  Her bottom lip trembled and Sesshoumaru took a step towards her to try and comfort her.  He reached his hand up to place it on her soft cheek but she flinched away from him like he burned her.

"Don't touch me!  How can you even act like nothing happened after you screwed Kagura!?" she screamed out.

Sesshoumaru took a step back in complete shock.  Out of all the things that she could have said to him, that was something he never expected.  He could only stare at her as the tears she had been forcefully holding back finally escaped.

10

Sesshoumaru continued to look on at Kagome while she cried.  He was in complete shock as to what she had said to him.  When he heard Kagome start hiccupping because she couldn't breathe properly, he shook himself out of his stupor.

"Kagome, what makes you think I slept with Kagura?" he asked her, genuinely curious.

Kagome gave him the best glare she could muster while hiccupping, but replied, "You were *hic* mad at me and I *hic* wanted to find you *hic*...then in the parking *hic*...in Kagura's car *hic*...screaming your name! *hic*," was what Kagome managed to get out.

Sesshoumaru furrowed his brow in confusion at Kagome's broken reply.  "You're saying that you heard Kagura scream out my name in her car?" he asked her.  At Kagome's frantic nod Sesshoumaru sighed and slowly ran a hand across his face.  "Kagome?"

"What?!" she snapped at him.

"I didn't sleep with Kagura," he told her.  Kagome stopped her hiccups and took a step back from him.  Now she was confused.

"What?" she asked again, a bit more gently this time.

"I. Did. Not. Sleep. With. Kagura." Sesshoumaru said carefully so Kagome would understand him fully.

"Bu-but, I heard her scream your name out; and it was very clear to me as to what she was doing in her car," she said with suspicion in her tone.

"It is none of my business as to what Ms. Wind does in her car.  Whatever was happening in there, rest assured that I was not a part of it," Sesshoumaru told her, a bit annoyed that she had so little faith in him.

"But-"

"Do you think I make it a habit of hitting on students?" he asked her.  She was being extremely stubborn and he was not going to take her accusations lying down.  How could she even think that he had slept with Kagura?!  Did she not know that she was the only one he's had romantic feelings for in over a century?  Apparently, he had not made this fact clear enough.

Kagome dropped her shoulders and honestly thought about his question.  Although they hadn't spent a lot of time together in the past, she knew him to be very upstanding and moral.  But then why did Kagura scream out his name?

"Because she has desired me for quite some time now," Sesshoumaru said, answering Kagome's unspoken question.  She looked up at him with hurt in her eyes and Sesshoumaru walked quickly and wrapped his arms around her before she could protest.  He felt her stiffen in his arms, but she eventually calmed and then wrapped her arms around him as well.  They stayed like that for a moment, but Kagome soon pushed away from him.

"Look Sesshoumaru, I'm really sorry that I cancelled our date.  I didn't want to, but with our...relationship being what it was, I was taking care so that we wouldn't get caught.  I couldn't just cancel my date with Kouga without arousing suspicions," Kagome said to him with her head bowed.  "There's something you need to know too."

"I am already aware that you kissed the wolf," Sesshoumaru told her pointedly.  Kagome looked up tiredly and tilted her head to the side while she put her hand on her forehead.

"Sesshoumaru...I -we- were set up.  They meant for you to see Kouga kissing me," she informed him. 

"They?"

"Yeah; Kagura and Kouga," Kagome said with a near growl.  "What you didn't see was me pushing him away.  I could never...Sesshoumaru, you have to believe me: I didn't want to kiss him, he just threw himself on me!"

Sesshoumaru could feel the tightening he had felt growing in his chest over the past couple days loosen at her proclamation.  He was hoping that something like this would be the case; that she didn't want the stupid wolf.  He felt lighter than he had in a while and allowed a small smirk to cross over his features.  Seeing this, Kagome raised her eyebrow at him in question. 

"What are you smiling about?" she asked.  "This isn't funny!  You thought...you thought I cheated on you!  That's why were so mad at me; it wasn't because I missed our date!"  Kagome was pacing across the room furiously.  Beating Kagura today wasn't anywhere near the amount of pain she wanted that conniving witch to feel now.  She had Sesshoumaru believing that she cheated on him; it was the perfect set up, and the ‘screaming of Sesshoumaru's name' incident was just the icing on the cake.

"Gods, this is really screwed up," Kagome groaned out as she stopped her pacing.  "We really should have more trust in each other ya know?"  Sesshoumaru remained quiet through her tirade and allowed her time to reflect on all that had happened.  It gave him ample time to review the proceedings as well.

He had almost forgotten the way it felt to be so young and stupid; for it was many years ago.  Growing up being a demon lord back in the days of feudal Japan was a lot different than growing up in this era, but there was always spitefulness, jealousy, and hatred; that would never change.  He had changed a lot over the years and had become a lot more accepting to things that he did not entirely understand.  His thirst for knowledge of the way things changed was the reason he became a teacher; there were entire libraries at his disposal, and it was always interesting to watch the changing eras.  Sesshoumaru had set up his life so that he could live alone comfortably if he chose to do so, but living alone was no longer an option...not since he met Kagome.

"Where were you last night then Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked him suddenly.  "You said that you weren't with Kagura, but I looked for you at school after practice; you're always there at least an hour later than everyone else, but you weren't this time."

Sesshoumaru studied her carefully, making sure that he had her undivided attention.  "Come," he said as he led her to the couch.  They sat down in silence and Sesshoumaru reached into the back pocket of his pants and pulled out what looked to be postcards.

"I had to drive my father to the airport yesterday, so I left early," he began.  "Afterwards, I drove around for a while trying to find the best way to tell you how sorry I was for being cross with you.  It struck me then: the best I could come up with at the moment," he said as he handed her the post cards.

Kagome looked at them, there were four all together, and she smiled and shook her head.  "They're all pictures of the Hakuba ski resort where we met," she stated.  "It feels like so long ago."

"Indeed.  It seems as though you and I have some lost time to make up for then," he said as he once again drew her close to him.  Kagome's eyes widened a bit as he pulled her forward, but as he was leaning down to her she closed her eyes.  He sought out her lips and was pleasantly rewarded with no resistance from her and the two shared a long, deep kiss.

Kagome opened her mouth and sought his tongue while he, in turn, did the same.  She moved her hands across his chest, feeling the muscles tense a little under her touch, and then moved to the buttons on his shirt, not once breaking their kiss.  She had wanted to be with him since the trip in Hakuba, but was afraid of being hurt again.  After this entire mess with Kagura she wanted Sesshoumaru to know how much he meant to her, just in case she didn't get the chance again.

When Sesshoumaru felt her small hands fumble with his shirt buttons, he broke away from her slightly to whisper in her ear.  "What are you doing?" he asked huskily.  Oh, he knew what she was doing, but once this step was taken there was no going back.  He wanted her like nothing he'd ever wanted before, but he would allow her to make this decision.

Kagome panted and continued her work on his shirt, now having gotten most of the buttons undone.  "Isn't it obvious?  I'm making up with you," she stated matter-of-factly before kissing his neck.  She ran her tongue over his hot skin and Sesshoumaru groaned.  Her hands made it past his shirt and caressed his chest, her delicate hands leaving tiny tingles wherever she touched him.  Kagome continued to kiss and suck his neck and Sesshoumaru closed his eyes in erotic bliss.  Suddenly his pants felt very restricting and he gripped her waist and thrust his hips into her a bit.

"Not here," he said almost breathlessly.

"Where then?"

"Bed-ungh...bedroom," he hissed out between clenched teeth as Kagome found a particularly wonderful spot just behind his ear. 

She nodded against his neck and he stood, holding her while she wrapped her legs around his waist and continued her exploration of his neck with her mouth.  Sesshoumaru found it rather difficult to walk up the stairs with her attacking his throat with her warm tongue, but none-too-soon made it to his room.  Sesshoumaru turned around and nudged the door open with his back and then kicked it closed once inside.

Pinned between the door and Sesshoumaru, Kagome continued caressing his chest, loving the feel of his muscles underneath her hands.  She could feel his arousal pressed firmly against her and it made her stomach flutter.  They renewed their kiss as Sesshoumaru walked them over to his bed, gently laying her down upon it while he remained above her. 

Sesshoumaru moved his hands to the hem of her shirt and slowly worked his way under it, gently gliding his fingers over her stomach before reaching his goal hidden beneath a thin layer of lace.  His fingers brushed over her taught nipples and she let out a breathy moan in response.  Sesshoumaru's hands worked their way up and Kagome lifted herself a bit so that he could take her shirt off.  It was thrown to the side, instantly forgotten and Sesshoumaru returned his attention to the woman lying beneath him.  She attempted to cover her self, but Sesshoumaru caught her wrists before she could.

"You're beautiful; do not hide yourself," he said seriously.  Kagome still looked timid, but nodded her head and dropped her hands back on the bed.  Sesshoumaru leaned down and kissed her with fervor.  After a moment he pulled back to study his handiwork. 

Kagome's face was a bit flushed and she was panting heavily from their kiss.  Sesshoumaru could honestly say that she had never looked more beautiful than in that moment.  He quickly made deft work of her lacy bra and it too was cast aside.  He leaned in and gave her a searing kiss before pulling away from her and dropping his head down so that he could capture one of her pink nipples in his mouth.  Sesshoumaru's other hand gently kneaded her other breast while Kagome raked her nails down his bare back.

Still clad in his pants, Sesshoumaru rocked his hips to press firmly against Kagome's and they both moaned quietly.  Kagome met his thrust with one of her own and she bit her bottom lip to hold back another moan.  Sesshoumaru's free hand made its way between them and started working the button and zipper of her jeans.  He felt Kagome stiffen a little and it brought Sesshoumaru back into reality from his lust fogged mind.

Sesshoumaru detached him self from Kagome's breast and looked her in the eyes.  She was nearly as far gone as he was, but underneath he saw a brief flash of uncertainty.

"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru called softly to her.

"Hm?"

"We do not have to do this," he told her reassuringly.

"I...I know...but I want you," she said to him quietly as she lifted herself onto her elbows.  She was still breathing hard from their exertions and Sesshoumaru had to will himself to stay sensible.  They had a very trying past few days and this was not how he wanted to take her.  He wanted to be sure that it wasn't just the unsteady emotional state either of them was in right now that made them give themselves to one another.

"I think it would be best if we stopped before we get ahead of ourselves," Sesshoumaru said still partway under the lusty spell.  He watched with rapt attention the rise and fall of her breasts and unconsciously leaned in to take the previously unattended nipple in his mouth.  Ever-so-slowly he pulled himself away with an audible ‘pop' and looked once more into Kagome's hooded eyes.

"I think you're right," Kagome said breathily as she dropped back down to the bed.  Sesshoumaru skulked back up her body and placed a long deep kiss to her lips.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him there, each still only half-dressed.  His chest brushed against hers delightfully and Kagome shivered.  His tongue was warm in her mouth and she played with it using her own.  Sesshoumaru growled low in pleasure and deepened the kiss even more, igniting their growing passion.

Kagome broke the kiss this time around, however reluctant she may have been.  "Sesshoumaru, promise me that we'll talk to each other from now on when we have problems, okay?"

Sesshoumaru nodded his head in agreement; he was in no hurry to lose this woman again, not if he could help it.  He pulled the blankets of his bed down and then covered them up.  "Sesshoumaru, I can't stay, my mom will be worried."

"Only for a while; I'll set my alarm for an hour," he attempted to coax her.  Kagome took a deep breath and then sighed as she snuggled closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder and an arm across his chest.

"Okay, but just for an hour," Kagome said sleepily.  Sesshoumaru gently stroked her bare arm and closed his eyes.  He had not felt this relaxed in years and it did not take long before they were both lulled to sleep.

****

Sesshoumaru heard the front door of the house slam shut and knew then that Inuyasha had made his way home.  He cracked an eye open to look at Kagome who was still resting peacefully and he reached over to place a strand of hair gently behind her ear.  He could hear Inuyasha grumbling in the hallway but paid little attention to his brother's ramblings as the woman next to him started to stir.  Sesshoumaru tightened his grip around her to ease her back to sleep before shutting his own eyes once again.

Sesshoumaru awoke again, this time to wonderful feeling of lips being pressed against his neck.  He moved his hands to Kagome's hips and hoisted her on top of him, giving him a nice view of her still half-naked form.

"That is how this Sesshoumaru should be awoken all the time," he said while lightly scratching Kagome's back.  Much to Sesshoumaru's delight, Kagome arched her back which presented him with an even better view of her.  Kagome looked at him quickly, her eyes wide and a mocking smile on her face when she felt him harden.

"You know, I actually feel sorry for you men, having to deal with that every time something arouses you," Kagome told him.

"Hn," was all he said before he grabbed the back of her head and brought her down for a kiss.  Kagome closed her eyes and savored his unique flavor; everything about him was rich, spicy, and addictive.  She ground her hips against him causing a rumble to build in his chest.  Reaching down Kagome searched out the button of his pants and undid it quickly.  Sesshoumaru backed away from her, trying to break the kiss, but Kagome followed him downward until the bed blocked any further movement.  Her fingers nimbly worked his zipper loose and then she finally broke the kiss.

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru said warningly, "we have already discussed this."

She smiled at him seductively before giving him an answer.  "I know, but there are other things we could do to pass the time."  Kagome lifted up from her resting place on him before dropping to the floor on her knees.  She grabbed his ankles gently in demand and Sesshoumaru did as she asked; moving so that his hips were at the edge of the bed.  Kagome smiled up at him and then made quick work of relieving him of his pants and boxer-briefs.  Her eyes grew a little wider at the sight of him and Sesshoumaru could not suppress his prideful smirk. 

Kagome had never really seen one before...in person that is.  The closest she ever came before was when Yuka, her old friend, had brought her a magazine once of ‘Japan's most eligible'.  The men in those pictures, in Kagome's opinion, had nothing on Sesshoumaru. 

Kagome licked her suddenly dry lips and gulped before she brought her hands down to feel him.  Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as her warm hands grasped his now impressive erection, gently squeezing it every now and then.  He hissed between clenched teeth when he felt her take an experimental stroke that was exceedingly and painfully slow.  Involuntarily, Sesshoumaru's hips thrust upward and Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.

"A little impatient are we?"

"This Sesshoumaru is not impatient," he said in a deep, arrogant voice.

"Mmmhmm, you keep telling yourself that."  Kagome continued her slow torture of his member with her teasing strokes.  Her fingers lightly brushed over him, exploring every inch of his manhood.  She squeezed him gently towards the base of his shaft and then licked her dry lips.  Then, much to Sesshoumaru's pleasure, she leaned down to take a tentative swipe of her tongue, never breaking her eye contact with him.  Kagome's tongue was scorching on contact and Sesshoumaru leaned back on the bed.  Another lick and he groaned and Kagome could feel the throb of his heartbeat against her tongue; it was erotic.

She grew bolder and put the tip in her mouth, eliciting a deep rumble from Sesshoumaru.  He watched, fascinated, as his shaft disappeared into her mouth and his legendary composure was no more.  Kagome teased him lightly by licking up and down his length before running her tongue around the head.  His skin tasted lightly salty and his light musky scent surrounded her.  Sesshoumaru was groaning and biting his bottom lip in attempts to quell the loader moans that wanted to escape him.  Kagome squirmed a little where she kneeled and pressed her thighs together to help relieve some of the tension she felt between her legs.

Sesshoumaru was in the middle of losing his mind.  He had no idea where she had learned her given skills, and at the moment didn't really care, but he felt as though she were trying to suck his family jewels straight through his shaft and it...was...wonderful.  Kagome sucked on him a little more while coming up towards the head and then held her position.  She could feel Sesshoumaru holding back from thrusting his hips, but he couldn't stop the groans of pleasure.  She quickly lowered her head to take him in once more and this time he did thrust into her mouth.

Kagome whimpered just a little when he hit the back of her throat, but she remained diligent while it sent vibrations through Sesshoumaru and his body jerked with a pleasing spasm.  Kagome wrapped her hand around what she couldn't fit into her mouth and pumped both her head and hand simultaneously.  She gently scraped him with her blunt teeth and she could hear his breaths coming out heavily.  Kagome quickened her pace and Sesshoumaru gripped the sheets with his hands to keep them from grabbing her hair and forcing her to take more of him into her hot mouth.

Kagome moved to suck on the head and could feel his muscles tighten the closer he came to climax.  With a passing thought, Kagome sucked just a little harder and his body shook with his tensions ready to release.  She gave one last squeeze at the base and Sesshoumaru came.  Hard.  Kagome's eyes widened a bit, not completely expecting him to come in her mouth and, not knowing what else to do with it, summoned up her courage and swallowed.  Sesshoumaru grunted with the force of his climax and his eyes were shut tight to allow himself time to come down from his Kagome-induced high.  Kagome slinked her way back up his body and Sesshoumaru instinctively put his hands on her hips to hold her there.  When he opened his eyes the first sight that greeted him was a glowing Kagome with moistened lips, wet with his essence. 

He did not think twice about kissing her and Kagome obliged him fully.  The kiss was slow and passionate, filled with his thanks and her acceptance of all that was him.  They pulled apart and Kagome turned her head to finally look at the clock on his bedside table.

With a frustrated growl she lifted herself off of the gorgeous male specimen that was Sesshoumaru and went in search of her shirt.  "I really need to get going; I already stayed a half-hour longer than I planned."

Sesshoumaru followed her up off the bed to help her find her shirt.  Not long after she was fully dressed once more, and Sesshoumaru was in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt.  He slipped his arms around her and pressed another kiss to her lips.  "Come then, I will drive you home," he told her.  Kagome nodded and opened the door to his bedroom only to come face to face with Inuyasha.  Kagome quickly looked down at her feet and blushed as red as a tomato.

Inuyasha raised both eyebrows in surprise and looked incredulously at Sesshoumaru who remained impassive.  "Move whelp," Sesshoumaru demanded.  Not knowing exactly why, Inuyasha complied instantly so that Kagome and Sesshoumaru could make their way down the hall. 

Inuyasha heard the front door shut and he shook his head.  "Bout damn time that bastard got some; don't know why it had to be with a student though.  He better know what he's doing."  Turning around Inuyasha went to his own room and slammed the door; he was tired and cold ‘cause his sorry excuse for a brother made him walk home.  Bastard.

****

At the shrine, Kagome pulled Sesshoumaru in for a good-bye kiss and smiled at him.

"I'm glad we worked things out.  I missed you," she said quietly.  Sesshoumaru brushed his lips against her neck and then gently sucked on it.  Kagome tilted her head to the side to give him better access and Sesshoumaru took the advantage and continued his assault on her neck. 

When he finished there, he worked his way up to her ear and dropped his voice even lower to tell her, "Next time, I will show you how much this Sesshoumaru missed you," and then sucked gently on her ear lobe.

Kagome quickly kissed him once more and then exited the car.  She gave him a shy wave and then disappeared up the shrine steps.  Sesshoumaru sat back in his seat and stared out the windshield of the car.  Things were bound to get complicated, trying to keep their relationship secret.  He couldn't keep his hands off of her, how was he supposed to make it through a day when he knew she was so close but beyond his reach?  A slight pain on his thoroughly worked groin brought him out of his musings.

Hello again readers! Sorry for the long wait, but this chapter refused to be written. Thank you so much for the reviews you guys are fabulous!!! I can't stress that enough to the people who take the time out to let me know what you think!

A special thanks goes to my betas Sunset Miko and Knock knock 313, without them, the chapter wouldn't be what it is.

Enjoy!

____________________________________________________________________

Sesshoumaru sat and watched his class closely.  He began to wonder, not for the first time, what Kagome was doing right then.  He felt as if he should have been sitting in one of the many rows of desks in front of him because he sure as hell felt like a lovesick school boy.  But instead of being mad at his own fawning emotions, he embraced the feeling that only one person had ever been able to give him.  He felt content.  He was content in the knowledge that he had met the woman that he would spend the rest of his long life with, and no one-not even Kagura- could sour his mood.

Walking into the school that day was like a completely different experience than the previous day when he had thought that Kagome-his Kagome- had wanted to be with that stupid wolf.  A small pinching feeling in his groin area reminded him that it definitely was not Kouga that Kagome had given her attentions to last night.  Sesshoumaru allowed a small prideful smirk to quickly cross over his features before returning to his usual stoic façade. 

He glanced around the room once more at his students.  They were diligently writing away and copying the notes he had left on the board.  He then turned his gaze to his hands that were resting on his desk.  He rapped a tattoo with his fingernails on the desk absently thinking about how much fun it would be to throw Kagome down on top of the solid oak table and ravish her until her throat was raw from screaming his name in the throes of passion.  ‘All in due time,' he thought to himself as he shifted a bit uncomfortably to try and accommodate his growing desire.

He returned to thinking about how wonderful it felt to have her back in his life.  When he had met her all those months ago, he was certain that he had met the woman of his dreams.  Unfortunately for them, their time was cut short when he found out how far away she lived.  Instead of torturing themselves with a long distance relationship, they had both decided that it would be best to sever ties then and there.  How wrong they had been.

The following months without her had been the most devastating and depressing months of his life.  Every waking moment of every single day was spent thinking of her.  As if it wasn't bad enough to be thinking of her constantly through the day, he even dreamt about her at night.  He had tried to casually date a couple of times to see if that would take his mind off of his winter beauty, but nothing worked.  In fact, it only made things worse.  He found himself comparing other women to her and no one came close to catching his attention in the way she had.  Sesshoumaru had found himself in a frustrating position.  As the months wore on he became colder to the people around him.  He knew he was being a jerk; he just couldn't bring himself to care.

Finally, when he had just gotten into his new routine of being stone cold and indifferent, she walked back into his life out of the blue.  It was the best and worst day of his life, finding out that she was a student at the same school he was a teacher at.

The bell rang signaling the end of the class period and Sesshoumaru held back a sigh of relief.  There were only three more periods to get through before he would be able to see Kagome during Jujitsu practice.  Three...long...periods.

The students began filing out of the classroom and Kagura slowly walked past Sesshoumaru's desk.  He did not bother to make eye contact with her; Kagome had told him the entire story of how they had been set up by the conniving witch. Looking at her would only fuel his anger at her interference with his relationship with Kagome.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a bit at that thought.

Kagura still knew of his relationship with Kagome, there was no stopping her from telling anyone who cared to listen about his less than platonic affiliation with his student. He lifted his eyes towards the doorway and saw Kagura staring at him with a small smirk on her face.  She winked at him and then turned and headed out the door.  Sesshoumaru pinched the bridge of his nose and sat back in his chair to look around the now empty classroom.

"Six years as a teacher.  It wasn't a bad run," he said to him self dryly.  He looked at his watch and then stretched when he saw that it was lunch time.  He bent down to retrieve the sandwich that he kept in a small mini-fridge under his desk.  The door to the classroom opened and without looking up Sesshoumaru spoke.

"Daisuke, I already told you that there was no extra credit on the exam."

He received no answer, but soon felt arms wrap around his torso.  Sesshoumaru, never one to be caught off guard, was surprised by this and jumped quickly.  He hit his head on the bottom of the desk and then heard a light laughter coming from the person behind him.

"S-sorry Sesshoumaru," Kagome said between giggles.  She watched as he slowly sat up and turned towards her with a look of surprise on his face, however miniscule it was.

"What can I do for you Miss Higurashi?" Sesshoumaru said professionally, though his brain decided to remind him of his earlier, more non-professional thoughts, of laying her across his desk and having his way with her.

Kagome smiled at him and his demeanor.  She walked towards the classroom door and turned the lock so that no one could stumble in on them.  When she turned back around she had a sultry look upon her face.

"Kagome, what do you think you're doing?" Sesshoumaru asked a bit more huskily than he'd anticipated.  He eyed her as she sauntered up to him and he felt his earlier arousal returning to him full force.

"I...I couldn't wait for Jujitsu practice to see you.  I know I'm taking a chance being here, but...you're all I can think about," Kagome admitted as a blush stained her cheeks.

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes in order to think about his situation.  It was true that he had wanted nothing more than for Kagome to be in there with him so that they could spend time together, but they were taking a big risk with her there.  When he opened his eyes he saw Kagome looking down at the floor with her bottom lip drawn into her mouth while she nibbled on it.  It took less than a second for Sesshoumaru to swoop in and take over.

Kagome's eyes widened at the sudden onslaught of her mouth but quickly responded with equal fervor.  She felt Sesshoumaru bite gently down on the lip that she was previously nibbling on and opened her mouth to him.  Her hands were roaming his body; first over his chest, then his shoulders, then his stomach.  She couldn't get enough of him.  He placed his hands on her waist and pressed her against him and his obvious need for her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he reached his arm out to clear a spot for her on his desk before he lifted her up and set her on it.  As soon as his arms were free, his hands began traveling up her smooth thighs while he stood between her legs.  Their never left contact with each other and now Kagome was in need of air.  She broke apart from him, but Sesshoumaru did not let that hinder their moment.  He immediately latched on to her neck with his lips, leaving open mouthed kisses along her collarbone and the junction of her neck and shoulder.  He ground his hips into her and Kagome tilted her head back and moaned softly.  Sesshoumaru kissed his way up to her ear and sucked on the lobe before whispering, "Have I ever told you how much I enjoy seeing you in this uniform?"

Kagome smiled and then sought out his lips for a smoldering kiss.  "Maybe I'll wear it all the time then if I get this type of attention from you," she said playfully.  He kissed her again and slid his hands further up her thighs, lifting the small skirt high onto her waist.  He fingered the small bit of fabric that was her underwear and slowly lowered them down her legs.  Kagome arched her back and lifted herself a bit to help him remove them completely.

Sesshoumaru sat down in his chair and rolled up close to her and saw that she was already glistening below, wet with her own juices.  Kagome knew what he was about to do and mentally prepared herself for it.  No one had done that to her before; no one had ever had the liberties he was taking with her, so she was both nervous and filled with anticipation.  He caressed her legs up from her ankles, trailing kisses as he went.  Kagome was breathing harder as he made his way closer to the apex of her thighs and it was becoming difficult to keep her eyes open.

Sesshoumaru took a tentative swipe of his tongue along the crease of her folds and Kagome nearly came undone.  She threw her head back and mewled her pleasure as he slowly licked her again, this time lingering on her small bundle of nerves.  Sesshoumaru groaned into her and it sent a vibration throughout her body.  She was panting now every so often releasing a low moan as he continued his attentions.

He brought his hand to her folds and parted them while rubbing his thumb over her nub.  Sesshoumaru took long swipes with his tongue, licking her like she was dessert, savoring her very distinct flavor.  Kagome's hips thrust upward gently, trying to get more pressure, and Sesshoumaru obliged her.  He buried his tongue deep within her heat and her scent and taste surrounded him in every way.  She moaned a bit louder and dropped back onto her elbows.  Sesshoumaru continued to stimulate her clit and Kagome writhed in pleasure at his deliciously tortuous ministrations.

"Ahh...mmmm...ohhh gods," she moaned breathily.

He caught her nub in his mouth and sucked gently on it while replacing his tongue with two fingers.  He pumped them in and out of her quickly and soon he could feel her walls tightening around them.  Kagome's legs were quivering from all the different sensations Sesshoumaru was causing and she felt warmth start to spread quickly in her nether regions.  He thrust his fingers in her faster while speeding up his tongue and sucking a bit harder on her clit. 

Kagome felt the pressure building and couldn't stop her incoherent words from leaving her mouth.  "Ungh...uh...ooooo...Sess...ohhhh...oh Sesshoumaru!"  The last flick of his tongue on her oversensitive nerves threw her over the edge.  She laid back fully on the desk and brought her hand up to her face to cool off her heated skin.

Sesshoumaru continued to lap up her flowing essence, gave her one last suck and then placed a gently kiss on her folds.  He looked up and watched on smugly as Kagome tried to slow her breathing.  He gently rubbed her thighs and watched as she slowly sat up, a bright flush adorning her cheeks.

"Wow...um...thanks," she said shyly.

He leaned up and kissed her and she returned it fully.  When they broke apart Sesshoumaru decided that now would probably be a good time to discuss some of the problems they were going to be facing while they still had some privacy.

"Kagome, if Kagura does indeed know of our relationship, nothing is stopping her from exploiting us," he told her.

Kagome sighed and then dropped from the desk to gather her discarded underwear.  "I know, I've been thinking about that.  In all honesty, I don't know why she hasn't said anything to anyone yet.  She could be planning something."

Sesshoumaru nodded in agreement.  "It would be in our best interest, from now on, to keep our relationship away from school grounds."

Kagome lit up brightly as a thought came to her.  "Or...you know, she doesn't know that we made up.  We could just pretend to hate each other around her and if she ever asks me, I'll just tell her that I couldn't be with someone who didn't trust me fully, or something like that."

"Hn."

"Oh don't be like that Sesshoumaru.  I know everything was a big misunderstanding.  I don't blame you for Kagura's conniving ways.  Besides..."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her when she trailed off and started blushing again.  "Besides?"

"Well, how can I stay mad at someone who makes me feel like you just did?  Whew!"

Sesshoumaru didn't stop the small chuckle that left him and then shook his head at her.  "Your lunch time is almost over, and although I have already eaten," he said lustfully while giving her a slow once over, "I doubt you have."

Kagome's fading blush came back full force at his words and she quickly gathered her things.  "Pervert."  She hoisted her backpack up onto her shoulders and headed for the door.  She unlocked it and opened it a bit to look out into the hallway before turning her head back towards him.  "I'll see you later Mr. Taisho."  She winked and then exited the room, leaving Sesshoumaru to compose him self before his next class.  At least now he could make it to Jujitsu practice without going crazy missing her.

****

The girls were walking towards the gym, talking animatedly.  Kagura was of course absent from their small group, but none of them seemed to care.  Kagome was trying very hard to contain her happiness about earlier, but it was extremely difficult to.  She hated lying to her friends, but it was for the best that they did not know about her and Sesshoumaru, so when they asked about what had happened, she told them her made up story.

"Kagome?  What happened yesterday after you left with Sesshoumaru?" Ayame asked.  All the girls looked on expectantly at her, waiting for her answer.

"Well, we talked about everything and we decided that we just couldn't, and shouldn't, make our relationship work.  I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me, and he didn't want to be with someone who thought badly of him."

"Oh," Sango said sadly.  She had hoped that they could work out their differences, but she figured Kagura's scheming got the better of them.

"Besides," Kagome continued, "it's not right that he and I were seeing each other, I mean with him being a teacher and all."  She bit her bottom lip and hoped that they bought her story.  She heaved a mental sigh when the girls all nodded their heads in understanding and changed the subject.

Sango looked over at Kagome who looked way too pleased with her situation and contemplated her reasoning.  She just knew that Kagome was hiding something, but she would keep her thoughts to herself for the time being.  However, she would get the truth out of her now close friend eventually.

A little while later found the girls all dressed in the respective uniforms for their different practices.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, good luck with practice today," Kagome said as she waved goodbye to them.  The girls waved back and Kagome headed towards the dojo.  She had an air of excitement around her that she couldn't hide.  She felt like...well, a lovesick school girl.  Her relationship with Sesshoumaru had been made all the more interesting because they now had to keep it a secret.  However, she couldn't wait until graduation, for then they would no longer have to hide.  It was only a few months away, and as slow as it would feel, Kagome knew it wasn't very far off.

She slid open the door to the dojo and joined the rest of the team members as they stretched in the middle of the room.  There was a decathlon coming up soon, so practices now had to step up a notch, meaning tougher training and more frequent practices.  The guys had welcomed her into the group easily after the first day, and if truth be told, most of them were hesitant to partner with her.  It was not because she was a girl, but because she could easily kick their asses.

When the door opened again, Kagome turned and smiled as Sesshoumaru entered.  He looked fantastic in his uniform and seemed so at home in the dojo.  She quickly turned back around and continued with her stretching, lest she draw attention to herself.  Sesshoumaru didn't miss the smile she gave him and resisted calling off practice so that they could have more time together.  He observed the stretches, making sure they were being done properly, and took roll of who was present.  He noticed a couple of people absent from today's practice and noted that they would run a few laps for not being there.  After a few minutes he announced that they were to begin practice.

"As you are all aware, the decathlon is coming up.  It will be within the next couple of months; a precise date has yet to be determined.  However, this will not excuse you from being lazy at practice.  Anyone caught not properly utilizing practice time will not be allowed to compete.  Do I make my self clear?"

A collective ‘hai sensei' was his answer.

"Very good.  Today we will be running drills, so partner up.  One pair at a time will be sparring, so be prepared to be critiqued and to give critique to the other team members."

Practice started and one by one the pairs took their turns.  Everyone had his own problems to work on and the team members gave their best advice to each other.  After the current pair finished their drill, Sesshoumaru called on a member of the team to give his evaluation.

"Higurashi, since you are the only one I have yet to call on, why don't you give me your thoughts," Sesshoumaru said.

"Well, I noticed while Hojo and Bunpei were grappling that while Hojo was in the superior position behind Bunpei, he made the common mistake of crossing his ankles around him.  Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Bunpei did not notice and therefore did not take advantage of the error."

Sesshoumaru nodded his head at her answer and the other team members stored her information away for future use.  Practice resumed and an hour and a half later, Sesshoumaru called them all to the center of the dojo.

"Practice will be at the same time tomorrow, as per usual.  Do not be late and if you see either Shingo or Naraku before tomorrow's practice, please inform them they are to speak with me first about being absent today.  I need to speak with Hojo and Bunpei now before you leave.  The rest of you are dismissed."

The team rose from their positions on the ground and bowed to their sensei before starting to clean up the dojo.  Kagome took to folding the mats and stacking them in the corner with the help of two others, while the rest busied themselves sweeping the floor and picking up towels.  No one noticed when one of their previously absent members stalked into the room with focused determination.

Sesshoumaru was busy lecturing the two boys who saw fit to talk while he was giving his closing remarks to the team.  He felt someone tap his shoulder and turned around only to be punched squarely in the face.  It was more from shock than pain that Sesshoumaru did not react right away.  When he straightened himself he found both Hojo and Bunpei holding the arms of Naraku as he tried vigorously to escape from them to get to Sesshoumaru again.

"You fucking pervert, can't keep your fucking hands to yourself!" Naraku yelled.  By now he had garnered the attention of the rest of the team who had quickly stepped up to stand either next to or behind Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed red at the threat that had been posed to him, but remained calm.  It was bad enough he was having relations with a student, it wouldn't do to beat one to a bloody pulp.

"What is the meaning of this?" Sesshoumaru asked in a calm but deadly voice.

Naraku continued to struggle, but the two members kept a firm grip on his arms.  "You are the meaning of this you pedophile!  You keep your fucking pervert hands off of Kagura!"

Although no one saw, being so caught up in what Naraku was saying, both Kagome and Sesshoumaru shared a look of confusion and shock at Naraku's words.  This was not what they needed right now.

"I can assure you Naraku Miyamoto that I have no idea as to what you are babbling about!  I have never touched Miss Wind."  Sesshoumaru was trying hard not to lose his cool, but Naraku barging in here making ridiculous claims that he had touched Kagura was beyond his reasoning, especially since he had just patched things up with Kagome.

"Bullshit!" Naraku exclaimed.  "That's absolute bullshit and you know it!"  In his fit of anger Naraku looked over to Kagome and got a crazy gleam in his eyes before looking back at Sesshoumaru.  "So Taisho sensei," he said with a sneer, "are you fucking Higurashi too, or do you just make it a habit to pick up other men's women?!"

Sesshoumaru started to take a step forward but caught himself before he did something that he would regret.  Naraku was pushing all the right buttons to make him angry, but being the teacher, he could do nothing to defend himself or Kagome from Naraku's words the way he wanted to, which was by beating him within an inch of his poor excuse of a life.  Kagome's face was one of pure hatred and embarrassment.  She was utterly humiliated by Naraku's outburst and was about to brandish her own punishment on him when he once again turned to her, giving her a pointed look.

"Just remember that after you spread your legs for him, he'll leave you!  And then, when you're screwing some other guy you'll fucking scream Sesshoumaru's name and he'll get pleasure from knowing no other guy can touch you without you remembering him!"

"Enough!" Sesshoumaru yelled.  "Get him out of here and take him to the office, they should still be open."

Hojo and Bunpei quickly dragged a struggling Naraku out of the dojo, leaving the other members in an awkward silence.  In an act unlike him, Sesshoumaru ran a hand across his face in exasperation.  He could hear his team whispering words of encouragement to Kagome, saying that Naraku had clearly lost his mind and that no one thought of her that way.

"You are all dismissed; I need to have a word with Higurashi about Miyamoto's outburst.  You will all be called in for questioning tomorrow so be prepared to give statements on exactly what you saw here tonight."  The team all nodded their heads and left Sesshoumaru and Kagome alone so that their sensei could make sure that she was okay after Naraku's tirade.

When the last person left the room, Kagome walked up to Sesshoumaru and placed a hand on his face where Naraku had punched him.  "At least it's not going to leave a mark," she said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Sesshoumaru grabbed her wrist and held it still.  She looked at him with wide eyes, afraid that he was going to take two steps back in their relationship when they had just begun to move forward.  She was relieved when he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her to rest his head on hers.

"I have never touched Kagura," Sesshoumaru stated.

"I know, I believe you."

"This is not going to go over well with the school board.  You will more than likely be called in as well; is that something you can be prepared for?"

"Yes, don't worry.  We'll get through this, we just can't...we'll get through this Sesshoumaru," Kagome said with finality.

Sesshoumaru tilted her head up with his fingers and placed a gentle kiss upon her lips.  "Come, I will give you a ride home, everyone should be gone now."

Kagome nodded her head and reluctantly pulled away from him.  She had no doubt that they would make it out okay.  No one had solid proof of their relationship; it was all hear-say.  As much as Kagura would like to see their relationship fail, Kagome was determined and hopeful that this minor setback was just that, minor. 

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Ha ha, Kagome got hers ^_^ Please feel free to review to let me know what you think!