Chapter 6

"You seem to have so much extra free time, now that you have Inuyasha helping you." Souta said from the floor in Kagome's apartment living room.

Often times after he got out from school, he would visit his sister and niece at their home. Not only did it give his sister a few extra hands, but he also liked the brother/sister bonding time it allowed them to have.

"I know, I honestly haven't gotten used to it quite yet…" Kagome answered in a mellow-dramatic tone.

Souta propped his body on his elbows, "Are you upset about this?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kagome sighed deeply and laid her head down on the arm of the sofa, "It's not that I'm upset about it…but you could say I'm a little jealous. Since Ira was born, it has always just been me and her. Now, Inuyasha is in the picture and it makes me have to share her. It's a little hard to accept but that's reality. I'll get over it sooner or later. It just gets a little quiet around here without her sometimes."

Souta didn't quite know what she meant because he didn't have a child of his own, but he did try his best to sympathize. "Ira spent the night at his house last night?"

She nodded, "Last night was the first time I have gone to bed, without my baby girl being in the room right next to me. Honestly, I almost cried. I felt so lonely."

"Don't be so overdramatic, sis. You should have known a day like this would come sooner or later. Besides, now that you have all this spare time, you can go back to school. Finish what you started; I know not finishing high school is something that has been bugging you."

Kagome remained silent, allowing his words to sink in her head. He was right after all, the day she collapsed in science class and went into labor, was the last time she ever set foot in a school building. She had even thought of re-enrolling in high school once before. But, if she were to go back, what would all of her old friends think and say? Most of them stopped talking to her when word got out that she was pregnant anyway.

"I really don't think that you have to handle this whole Inuyasha/Ira thing the way you are. You should be fighting off the negative with the positive."

"Okay, I get it…I understand what you are saying. But, you still wouldn't understand how I feel because you haven't gone through something like this yourself; and trust me, you don't want to! You do have a point though, I'll admit that. It would be nice to have bit of my old life back."

"Exactly! Plus, with Inuyasha helping you out…you can go to school full-time, work part-time, and still have mommy time.

"There is still the social aspect that comes with school. I'm going to graduate a year behind and the last time anyone has ever seen me in that building…I was very pregnant. I just don't know if I'll be able to handle the whispers, the stares and everything else that comes from that."

"Who cares, you are not the first teen mom that has walked the earth and you definitely won't be the last! What's important is that you are still pressing forward regardless of what happened in the past. Also, if you pick up where you left off with summer school…you won't be a year behind and you can graduate with your class. Besides, you survived all the gossip while you were pregnant…what more can they possibly do?"

Kagome sat up, and just smiled at her fifteen year old brother. "When did you get so wise, Souta?" She asked him.

He merely chuckled, "The day you stopped. Someone in this family has to make sense." Souta stood up from the floor and sat next to his sister on the couch. "So, how has it been going with Inuyasha and Ira? It's going on three weeks as a new daddy, am I right?"

"Yea…" She pulled her knees to her chest while drifting into deep thought, "He's a good dad. I never thought I'd see the day, but he actually seems to have fallen in love with her so much these past few weeks."

Souta gave her hand a squeeze. "What about Ira?"

Kagome could feel her eyes becoming glassy, but she didn't want to cry because she didn't really have a reason. "She adores him. When I'm around the both of them, I often have to leave the room because it's a little hard to watch the bond the two of them have. Like I said before, jealousy has a lot to do with it because it sometimes feels like I have to compete for Ira's affection…even though I already know that's not true."

"Ira is a year old, Kagome. She doesn't even know what it means to favorite one parent over the other. You're being dramatic, again…" Souta said with an annoyed look on his face.

"You've never seen the way they look at each other. Or rather, the way he looks at her. It's almost like-"

"The way he used to look at you…?" Kagome gasped, but didn't answer. Souta wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned over on his. "Why are you still holding onto feelings for him, sis? One day you hate him and the next-"

"He kissed me the other day…" She whispered, cutting him off.

Souta raised an eyebrow, "Isn't he supposed to be married?"

Kagome stood up from the couch, walked towards the window and stared up at the night sky. "Yes, he is married. But I don't feel guilty about it." She ran her index finger around her lips, "It wasn't the type of kiss you're thinking. The night he was here, Inuyasha told me his version about what really happened back then."

"And…" Souta said, hoping she would get to the point as to why she was kissing her child's married father.

"He basically regrets everything that happened in the past, and if he did things differently…there's a pretty good chance that we would be together to this day." She took a deep breath and pressed her head against the wall, "I just don't know if I believe that. I want to…I want to accept his apology, but I can't bring myself to let go of the past. The way I perceived things conflicts with his explanation; I want to believe him, but at the same time, I don't."

"This is exactly why you need to get over Inuyasha, and start focusing on yourself and everything else that is important in your life."

Kagome furrowed her brows, and nodded to herself. Then, she took a look at the time noticing it was almost time to go to Inuyasha's house and pick up Ira. Normally, Inuyasha would bring her back to Kagome's place, but this time he asked her to meet him at his house. Admittedly, she was dreading this time because she had never been to Inuyasha's big house. Plus, going there meant possibly seeing his wife. Still, Kagome had to suck it up because it's not like she could avoid her forever. But, she was willing to try for as long as she could.

"Souta, it's getting late, you should probably start heading back to moms. Besides, I have to pick up Ira in a few. You're welcome to stay here while I am gone, but I'm not exactly sure how long I'm going to be out."

Souta raised an eyebrow feeling as if his sister completely ignored everything he said but, she was right. It was going on six o'clock and he knew his mother would start getting worried. "Are you going to be alright getting there on your own?" He asked her while gathering his belongs together.

Kagome was doing the same, "Yes, I'll be fine. I'm taking a cab there and Hojo will pick us up since I'm going out with him this evening."

The two siblings said their goodbyes for the night, and Souta went about his way to the shrine home a few blocks away.

-X-

Kikyo sat idly in the enormous family room of the large estate she shared with Inuyasha. She grinned at some documents that had come in the mail earlier that day. "Everything was going perfectly fine until that girl and her kid showed up. I was finally starting to gain Inuyasha's trust…but then this happens! It would have only been a matter of time before this feeble little company came crashing to the ground, and there would have been nothing anyone else could do about it. But now…now that there is a bloodline child in waiting, that messes with my plans a tad bit. However, she is only a small bump in the road and I'll take care of her, and her mother. With these papers, I can make all of this work in my favor. Then, Inuyasha will have nothing left…but me and only me."

*ding dong*

Kikyo scowled at the intrusive sound of the doorbell which interrupted her mental monologue. Without showing even the slightest hint of being interested in her visitor, she walked to the front door and opened it. "What are you supposed to be?" She asked, taking in the site of a short, young-adult girl in grey jeans, black jacket, and black high boots.

Kagome furrowed her brows not really sure how to answer that question. A simple 'hello' might have been a more comfortable greeting. "U-uh, am I at the right house? Is this the Takahashi residence?" She asked in hopes of the answer being 'no'.

"This is, and you are?"

Kagome groaned inwardly, "I'm Kagome, Ira's mother. Is Inuyasha here?"

Kikyo raised both her eyebrows and looked Kagome up and down. "Oh, so you're the she-devil, baby-mom from hell?"

"Excuse me…she-devil?" She replied not appreciating the insult she was just thrown. How dare she, she didn't even know this woman.

"Yea, I know all about you." Kikyo held out her hand to be shaken, "I'm Kikyo Takahashi, Inuyasha's wife…but of course, you already knew that." She said way too nonchalantly.

Not liking Kikyo's attitude or the way she was speaking to her, Kagome turned her lip up and didn't take Kikyo's hand. "No, I'm sorry…you're name tag must have fallen off before you answered the door." She replied extremely sarcastically.

Kikyo wasn't fazed that Kagome refused her hand, but she was surprised at the response she got from her. She wasn't at all prepared for such a sly remark and she didn't have a good enough come back. So, she just dropped the negatively-polite greeting all together and cleared her throat, "Well, to answer your question…no, Inuyasha is not here yet. He should be in a few minutes."

"May I wait inside? I'm supposed to pick up my daughter." After being given a hard stare, Kikyo stepped aside and gestured for Kagome to come inside. It was February after all and as much as she disliked the girl, it was still pretty cold outside.

Kagome stared in awe at the atmosphere of the house. She was still getting used to the idea that the Inuyasha she met years ago was this big entrepreneur and basically lived a dream life now. "This house is amazing…" She whispered to herself.

"Yes, I know." Kikyo answered as if Kagome was talking to her, though she knew the compliment wasn't directed towards her at all. "Do me a favor and don't touch anything. You can wait in the family room for Inuyasha."

"Thanks for the hospitality…" Kagome answered cheerfully then whispered, "…bitch."

The comment didn't go unheard by Kikyo, but she didn't say anything. She chose to ignore it and go upstairs. As if she would stoop to the immature level of a teenager.

As for Kagome, instead of migrating to the family room like Kikyo instructed her, she decided to take this opportunity to do some exploring around Inuyasha's house. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, it was just a big house with a bunch of rooms. She found the living room, family room, and kitchen. Through the kitchen was a door that led to an indoor pool which Kagome thought to be pretty cool. But, what really caught her attention was this cheery-wood tall door at the far end of the first floor of the house. When she came to the foot of the door, Kagome attempted to open it when she noticed the door was locked. "That's odd…" She mumbled to herself. "Why keep a locked room in plain sight?" Using her expert knowledge of how Inuyasha used to hide things in the past, she ran her fingers across the post of the door and smiled when her index finger touched a key. "Inuyasha, you never change."

When she got the door open, she slowly walked in without turning on the lights and pouted with disappointment. Kagome thought she had come across a secret room filled with stuff she clearly wasn't supposed to witness, when all it was, was a standard home-office. "What a waist…" She said while walking over to the fireplace a few feet from the door. The mantle above the fireplace had some pictures on it which fascinated her a bit. Most of them were family photos of Inuyasha, and whom she assumed to be his older brother with their parents. A few of them were some photos she had given to him of Ira, but the one that stuck out to her the most was an incredibly old photo of the two of them. In fact, it was the picture taken at the restaurant that they celebrated their anniversary. Without realizing it, the corners of Kagome's lips curled up into a small smile. "I can't believe he kept this picture all this time…"

"Can I help you find something, Kagome?" A deep voice came from the door and flipped on the light.

Kagome gasped and spun around and realized it was only Inuyasha, who was holding Ira asleep in his arms. "Oh, Inuyasha…it's just you."

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Yes, it's me…what are you doing in my office? And, how did you even get in? I know this door was locked."

"It was locked…and now it's not." She said while turning her attention back to the pictures on the mantle. "Perhaps you should learn a new hiding place for your spare keys. You put this one in the same place you used to keep the key I would use when I snuck into your apartment two years ago."

Inuyasha shook his head, not really having the energy to counter her remark with something just as cleaver, so he let it go. "I assume you met Kikyo since she must have let you in,"

"Oh yea, your wife is a keeper." She answered sarcastically. "She has some amazing people skills."

"Well, you're not exactly a saint either…" He said while placing his sleeping daughter in the playpen next to his desk.

"At least I don't throw insult at people I have never met; the first day I meet them. What is her problem anyway? I didn't do anything to her and she hates my guts."

Inuyasha took his seat at his desk, and Kagome sat on top of the desk so she could watch Ira sleep from up high. "Kikyo is just really indifferent about this whole situation and doesn't really know how to compose herself. She definitely has her reasons for not wanting you around; as pity as they may be."

"Whatever, she'll have to get over it I guess. So, how was Ira last night?" Kagome asked while prying her attention from her sleeping daughter to Inuyasha.

"A little restless, I assume it was just from sleeping in a new environment. She warmed up after a bit and slept pretty peacefully."

Kagome nodded, "That's good…" She drifted off and started staring into space.

Inuyasha took this silent moment to take in the beauty of his ex and shortly after it clicked in that she was very dressed up, "What are you so dressed up for?" He asked suspiciously.

"Huh," Kagome came out of her trance and looked him in the eyes. "Oh, a friend is picking Ira and I up from here, and we're going out for dinner; nothing special." She answered his question casually.

However, Inuyasha didn't seem to like this idea and it showed all over his face. "What friend?" He countered with a hint of a jealous glow in his eyes.

"That's not really any of your business, Inuyasha."

"It is my business if he is going somewhere and taking my daughter with him."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and fought the urge to start laughing at Inuyasha's obvious jealousy. "When did I at all say that my friend was a him?" She asked.

Visibly, Inuyasha relaxed a little when she made that statement. "Oh, well. As long as it's not a guy…then I guess it doesn't matter."

"I never said it wasn't a guy either. I was simply pointing out the fact that I never said it was, you just assumed my friend was a guy. And for the record, guy or not…my friends aren't of any concern of yours. Also, if I am comfortable with my friend being around Ira…then there is definitely a certain level of trust between this friend and I. The same rule applies to your wife, I wasn't thrilled about her being around Ira…but I let it go and accepted it."

Inuyasha stood up and was staring hard into her eyes with his own, "That's different! I'm married, you're not and I don't feel comfortable with some strange man around Ira! She isn't going, and that's final!"

Kagome hopped off the desk, and held her hands on her hips. "Whoa, over-protective much!? First off, you have been a dad for all of like, five minutes…and now you think you can just make those types of decisions? Secondly, since when do you have the authority to tell me who I can and cannot bring around her? And third, the friend I am meeting tonight isn't a strange man, he's Ira doctor and has known her since the day I pushed her out!"

The reference of childbirth made Inuyasha feel a bit uneasy, but he wasn't about to let Kagome make a fool out of him. "Whatever, Kagome…you're still not going!" He bellowed without realizing what just flew out of his mouth.

Kagome however, caught his little word blurb and smirked on the inside. "So which is it Inuyasha? You don't want Ira going…or you don't want me going? Because I could swear this argument was about our daughter, not me."

Inuyasha scowled, because in all honesty he didn't want either of them going. Of course, he wouldn't admit that to Kagome…not now anyways, "You know what I meant!" He countered.

"What's your deal anyway? You are acting as if you own me and can tell me what to do. If I hadn't told you my plans for this evening, you would be oblivious and everything would have been fine. Maybe that was my fault, I should have made something up." Kagome turned her back on Inuyasha and started walking away so he wasn't so close to her face anymore.

Inuyasha however, grabbed her forearm and spun her around to look him in the eye. He wasn't done, and he wasn't going to let her think that she won either. "First off, you better not ever lie to me Kagome. You know how I feel about being lied to; joke or not that wasn't funny. Also, why can't you just respect that I don't feel comfortable with someone taking the both of you out as if you're a family?"

"Oh, I can respect your opinion. I just don't agree with, nor care about it. If you're mad, tough cookies. You don't really have a reason for this to bother you so much, and if the whole 'looking like a family' thing is what's really bugging you, then that sounds like a personal issue." She pried his fingers from around her arm, "Hojo is a really nice guy, and he cares about Ira as if she were his own daughter-"

"See, that's the thing…she's not his daughter, she's mine! I don't want him hanging around my family!"

"So what do you want me to do, Inuyasha? Drop him as a friend and find Ira a new pediatrician?" She threw her hands up wanting this conversation to just end.

"Essentially…yes!"

"You know what, Inuyasha…it's exactly that attitude that cost me all friends back when we were together. You have such a jealousy problem, and for what? I may have had to put up with it before, but we are most definitely not together anymore and-"

Her sentence was cut short when Inuyasha pulled her close and placed his lips on hers for the second time since three weeks before. Only this time, it didn't feel as genuine. There was almost no emotion in this kiss and so, Kagome pulled away and slapped him across the face. The palm to cheek sound was so loud that it echoed through the room, and even woke Ira, but they didn't notice. "Why do you keep doing that!?" She screamed.

Inuyasha didn't give an answer, but he looked at her apologetically. Unconsciously, Kagome's face softened when she saw the despair in Inuyasha's eyes and without realizing it, she pushed herself up in her tippy toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, this time capturing his lips with her own. She knew this was wrong, in fact, they both did. But, in the heat of the moment neither of them cared. Their lips moved in perfect sync as Inuyasha traced every inch of her body with his hands. Kagome ran her fingers through his long silky black tressess while he ran his tongue over her bottom lip asking for permission into her cavern in which Kagome willingly obliged. Inuyasha's tongue explored every inch of her mouth before he picked her up and pressed her back into the wall. Kagome's breathing became hitched as she wrapped her legs around his waist while Inuyasha placed butterfly kisses from her lips, down her chin then to her neck. She pulled all her hair to the other side of her head allowing him to take over the now fully exposed, left side of her neck. His tongue felt warm and moist over the soft, creamy skin on her neck. Kagome let out a soft moan when she felt him take a light nip at her skin.

Kagome was on cloud nine in a state of bliss all on her own, but when she felt Inuyasha beginning to work on unfastening to button to her jeans, she fell back to reality and cracked open an eye. She noticed Ira was awake and standing in her playpen, staring at them. "S-stop…Ira" She whispered. But, Inuyasha was on a whole different planet of his own and never heard her. Kagome unwrapped her legs from him and pushed his body off of her, "Stop it, Inuyasha!"

He backed away from her and looked stunned, his face was still flushed and so was hers. "What's wrong?" He asked, thoroughly confused by her action.

"For one thing, Ira is watching us…" She said pointing to the one year old that gave the two of them a blank look then a smile. "Also, we shouldn't be doing this anyway…and you know it." Kagome turned to the wall and fastened her jeans. "If you don't want Ira to come with me and Hojo, then I suppose she can stay here another night. I'll come by early in the morning to pick her up before I go to work and drop her off at Rin's for the day. However, I'm not switching her doctor. You're going to have to just get over that. Hojo is a great doctor. Can we agree on that?"

"No! You mean you are still going to go out with him after what we just did?" Inuyasha could feel his blood beginning to boil.

"Why shouldn't I? He's a friend!"

"Whatever, Kagome! Do whatever the hell you want! I don't give a damn about you anymore!" He yelled at her and walked a few feet away refusing to look at her any longer.

The room went silent for a few moments, and even Ira could feel the tension which was why she had yet to make any noise. Instinctively, she knew something was wrong with her parents. "Mommy…" She said softly and immediately gained Kagome's attention.

Kagome forced out a smile, "Rise and shine, baby girl. Did you have a nice nap?" She said to her while lifting Ira into her arms and snuggling with her. "Inuyasha…"

He didn't answer her, and he didn't turn around either. Instead, he kept his focus on the pictures on his mantle; much like Kagome had done earlier.

"We can continue this conversation some other time; I'm not going to argue in front of Ira. She doesn't need to see nor hear it. However, my offer still remains. I'll go, and she can stay here…or we both go. It's really up to you at this point." Still, he didn't give her an answer and admittedly, Kagome felt a little dejected. But, if this was the way he wanted to act, then he can bask in his sorrows alone. "Fine, if you aren't going to give me an answer…I'm taking her with me. Goodnight, Inuyasha."

With that, Kagome gathered all of her daughter's belongings and the two of them left.

-X-
Three Days Later

"So, you two still haven't worked out your differences since that day? Hojo asked.

Kagome shook her head no, "We haven't even really spoken to each other very much since then. I'm not letting it get to me, though."

"That's good to hear, can't let the guy hold you back, Kagome. He had his chance!"

"Yea…" She answered hesitantly then drifted off. She and Hojo were out for the second time that week. This time, to Cheesy-Charlie's so Ira could have some fun on her own. Kagome intently watched her daughter play with some other kids in the ball pit a few feet away from where she and Hojo were sitting.

"Does he make a good dad at least?" Hojo asked, hoping the answer would have been no. But unfortunately, that response isn't what he got.

"Yes, he's a great dad actually. Hard to believe how well he is with her sometimes." Hojo sighed, not knowing how to reply to that answer and Kagome caught onto his silent signals, "Hey…you're not still upset about me not telling you the whole truth about Inuyasha, are you?"

Hojo bowed his head in defeat, "No, I'm not upset…you did what you had to do. I don't blame you. Everything happens for a reason, and you didn't want anyone to know that he fathered Ira so I understand. Trust me; I've heard stories more dramatic than yours in my profession."

"Speaking of professions, I've decided to go back to school and finish my year." Kagome said with a bright smile, "I did a lot of thinking, and I still want to be a nurse. Plus, with Inuyasha around I have more time for myself. I contacted the administration's office at my old school, because I was top of my class before I went into labor, they're allowing me to take a placement test. If I pass it, I can start immediately in the senior class and graduate in June of this year."

Hojo's face lit up. "That's great news, Kagome! Congratulations, I know you'll pass the test with flying colors!"

Kagome smiled softly, "Thanks," She said, "I'm sure I'll pass it as well. But it's not the test that has me worried…it's facing everyone."

"Don't worry about that," He said while wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "You are strong and brave. All you need is a little confidence. Dig deep; I know you have it in you." Hojo kissed her cheek.

She gasped, and touched the cheek his lips just made contact with. A slight red tint started to grow across Hojo's face. "H-Hojo…?"

He quickly removed his arm from around her and looked at the floor finding that to be more interesting than her, "I-I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me just now. Please don't sue me for sexual harassment."

Kagome chuckled, and placed her hand on his. "It's okay, I'm not mad…" She smiled at him.

"Really?" He asked, still slightly embarrassed by his actions moments before and Kagome shook her head no, "Good, because…I think I'm starting to really like you as more than a friend, Kagome."

"O-oh…is that so?" Kagome let his hand go and turned away from him slightly.

Hojo knew that the conversation turned a bit awkward from his confession, "I don't expect you to return my feelings so suddenly. I know I sprang that on you a bit out of the blue. But, I wanted you to know, that when things die down with Ira's father…I'd like to possibly start a relationship with you. If you want."

Kagome took a deep breath, "I don't know…" She answered honestly. "I've got a lot going on and you know it. I'm not saying it isn't possible…I just need to sort some things out for myself before I allow another person into my life."

Hojo nodded, "I understand, that's why I'm willing to wait for you."

She turned back around to him and placed a hand on his cheek. "Thanks for always being so understanding. I couldn't ask for a better friend." Kagome replied trying not to put too much emphasis on the word 'friend'.

Not much time later did evening hit and the venue was getting ready to close. Ira got a little fussy because it was time to leave, and she didn't want to leave her newly made friends. In which case, Kagome exchanged number with the other mothers so their children could get together and play in the future. After all the goodbyes were said and done, Kagome, Hojo and Ira left the children's arcade left. Since the evening night's temperature already settled in, Hojo drove Kagome and her daughter home. The ride was silent, as neither knew what to say to the other. Hojo didn't want to say anything that may make the night even more awkward; and Kagome didn't want to say anything that might hurt his feelings. Truth was, she had never thought of Hojo as potential boyfriend material. Since her break up with Inuyasha, and having Ira…dating was one of the farthest things on her mind. Did she like him? Absolutely, but only as a friend and she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Besides, for all she knew…maybe she could develop feelings for him in the future.

The forty-five minute ride back to Kagome's apartment seemed to take much longer than it would on a less awkward day. But, they made it nonetheless. Without saying more than thank you, and I'll see you later, Kagome got out of the passenger seat of the car and retrieved Ira's car seat from the back. Before allowing her to leave though, Hojo got out of the car and embraced Kagome from behind.

"Please don't shy away from me because of what I said to you earlier." He whispered in her ear. Kagome took a deep breath and relaxed in his arms. It had been a while since she was held like that by anyone; and although Hojo's arms were comforting…they didn't feel like home.

"I won't…" She said back to him and he let her go. Without saying anything more to one another, Kagome walked the rest of the way to her apartment and Hojo drove off. Since Ira hadn't made any noise since they left Cheesy-Charlie's, Kagome figured she fell asleep during the car ride.

She walked with her head down while thinking of the conversation she had earlier, 'I suppose I should have seen something like this coming…he has been sending me signals. But, I thought if I just responded to them in a friendly way…he'd understand.' She sighed while sifting through her bag in search of the keys to her front door. Kagome was so engulfed in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that someone was standing on her doorstep.

"Do you hug all your friends like that, Kagome?" The deep voice rang through her ears.

Kagome looked up, and was slightly baffled as to why Inuyasha was standing in front of her…and at her house. "Why are you here?" She asked clearly disinterested in whatever answer he was prepared to give and brushed past him to unlock the door and get out of the brisk, early February air. Since she already knew Inuyasha wasn't going to just leave, she left the door open knowing he would follow her inside. She just hopped all he wanted to do was say goodnight to Ira, and get the hell out.

"I came because, we…need to talk." He replied while closing the front door behind him and watched Kagome walk into the bedroom, most likely to put Ira to bed for the night.

"If you are here to give me more hell about your disapproval of Hojo, I'm not interested. I told you, he'd a good friend…that's it." She calmly answered back to him from the bedroom.

"That guy clearly has more than friendship on his mind…but no, that's not why I am here." Inuyasha, not wanting to talk from down the hallway any longer, walked into the bedroom where he saw Kagome walking around the room rocking their daughter in her arms and humming softly. Ira was already asleep, but he knew this was something Kagome always did before putting her down for the night. None of that struck him as out of the ordinary though. What made him loose his head a bit was the fact that Kagome had taken her shirt off, and was parading around in her green bra and the black pants she was already wearing. "Uh…Kagome, could you put a shirt on?" He asked ineptly.

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, "For what? This is my house, my room…and I didn't invite you in here. You're the one who barged in without knocking first. Besides, it's not like you haven't seen me before." She placed a kiss on her daughters head before putting her in the crib and turning on the baby monitor inside the crib.

"Why are you still so mad, Kagome?"

After pulling a long t-shirt out of her bottom drawer, she slammed the drawer door shut and shot dagger eyes at Inuyasha. "Why am I still so mad? You can't honestly be asking me that question. Maybe it's because I'm still hurt by the fact that you told me that you don't give a damn about me immediately after giving me such a good-deed kiss. Maybe, I'm still mad because when I tried to come to a reasonable agreement about the situation, you wouldn't even look at me, let alone even answer my question. Maybe, I'm still mad because since that day…you still haven't offered up an apology. Or was I supposed to just grin and bare all that?" She answered him without raising her voice, then pulled the t-shirt on and removed her pants right after. Kagome grabbed the other baby monitor off her night stand and walked out of the bedroom with Inuyasha following behind her and closing the door.

Inuyasha walked behind Kagome into the kitchen and sat down at the small table. "Well, in case you haven't noticed…I'm here so we can talk this out and put it behind us!"

"I'm pretty sure everything was said and done the other day. I told you more than once that Hojo is a friend; he's not going to take the daddy roll away from you." Kagome said to him while pulling her hair into a top-knot and put some water on the stove for a cup of tea.

"I know, I know…you were right, and I was wrong. Are you happy?"

Kagome took a seat across from him and crossed her legs, "That depends, are you done being so naïve and bigoted?"

Inuyasha sighed and defeat knowing that if he didn't surrender, he would never get anywhere with her. "Yes, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blown up about you taking Ira out with Hojo…especially when you tried to compromise and I just didn't say anything. Which I guess, totally defeated the purpose of the argument anyway."

"Oh, did you figure that out all by yourself?" She asked snidely and walked back over to the stove to take the boiled water off the burner. "Would you like some tea?"

"Uh, yea…sure, thanks." He said back to her.

Kagome pulled two mugs down from the cabinet and went about preparing the tea, "How do you take it? Black, a couple scoops of 'kiss my ass'?"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her, "You didn't have to take it to that level."

She came over with the two cups and sat back down. "Well, three days ago…neither did you." She took a sip.

"I just apologized for it…how much longer are you going to act like this?"

"Not much longer, it's honestly gotten old already so, I'm done."

The room became quiet soon after because they both just looked at the other not really knowing what else to say at this point. Kagome played with the hem of her t-shirt and Inuyasha fake coughed a few times.

"So...how is Kikyo?" Kagome asked, not even sure what the relevance of that was and slightly wished she could have taken the question back.

"U-uh…she's fine. Do you really care about how she is?" Inuyasha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, actually I don't. I'm not even sure why I asked that."

Silence fell upon the two once more. Kagome shook her crossed leg that was falling asleep and Inuyasha looked around the room while tapping a finger on the table.

"Kagome…?"

"Huh?" She looked at him.

Inuyasha squinted his eyes, noticing the red and light brown blood clot bruise on the side of her neck. He knew where it came from; but he hadn't realized that he sucked on her neck that hard the other day. "I, uh…I'm sorry about the uh…" He pointed to the side of his own neck hoping she would understand what he meant.

Kagome blinked a few times before it clicked in what he meant, "Oh…" She blushed and touched the side of her neck. "It's no big deal; I've gotten pretty good at hiding it; so, no real harm done." Kagome tried to laugh it off.

Inuyasha looked down at his mug of tea, "Do you think it would be possible to ever go back to the way we were?"

Kagome hadn't once expected that question though she had though about it before, "I don't think so, Inuyasha." She answered, "I mean, I'm sure we could try. But, we can never go back to the way we were before. Things were different then. We were young, careless and at the time, you weren't a married man and Ira didn't exist. It just wouldn't be a good idea."

"But, do you still have feelings for me?" Inuyasha penetrated her eyes with his making it impossible for her to avert her gaze to anything other than him.

Her heart raced a bit, and she felt a little uneasy looking at her own reflection in his eyes. "I-I might, but…it still wouldn't be right; which is exactly why we shouldn't even be having this conversation. Conversation topics between us should never leave Ira. She is the only reason we should have to talk." She said and stood up from the table, taking both of their tea mugs to put in the sink to be cleaned.

While standing over the sink, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her from behind. It was the same way Hojo had held her not too much longer before. Only, she felt more comfortable within Inuyasha's arm and she knew she shouldn't be feeling good about. But there was something about being in the arms of the man she gave her everything to when she was a naïve teenage girl, once again, that just felt so right. She smiled and leaned into his touch.

"Kagome…" He whispered into her hear.

Sound of his voice, and the heat from his breath on her ears was a huge turn on and she almost melted into his arms, "Yes…"

"Can I stay with you tonight?"

Kagome nodded once, "Yes…" she said and turned around in his hold and threw her arms around his shoulders. Inuyasha in turn, pulled her closer and lifted her up by her thighs. Kagome hugged him close to her as if her life depended on it and closed the gap between them with her lips.

Out of pure whim and prayer, Inuyasha maneuvered from the kitchen sink all the way to the living room couch where he gently laid her down and straddled over top of her. He kissed the inside of her bare, pant less thighs before making his way back to her lips and crashing down on them with his own once again. At the same time, Kagome started pulling his shirt up to his shoulders attempting to remove it. They parted briefly as Inuyasha pulled his arms and head through the holes and threw it aside. "Are you sure?" He asked her seriously.

Kagome gave him a pleading look and nodded her head in approval. She then palmed his cheeks and pulled his face to hers once more.