Chapter Ten: Better Make It a Double

So, I figured out what happened with Kisa and Sesshomaru. Because she told me. She'd had a pregnancy scare. She'd even gotten a false positive from a home test. She panicked about it for a week, pulling further and further away from Sesshomaru, and he panicked thinking she was trying to break up with him. Her sister, Dr. Langston, or Kana as she preferred now that we were friends, had made the appointment to get it verified. When they found out the EPT was wrong, Kisa immediately called me and I gently berated her saying that even though I appreciated her speaking to me about it, she needed to talk to Sesshomaru. He was hurt and had asked me if he'd done anything wrong.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed and hung up on me. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. I knew that even if she had been preggers, Sesshomaru would have stood by her. He was head over heels for her. Which was confirmed about an hour after she hung up on me when she burst through my door and tackled me.

"Gah!" I yelped and started laughing when she shoved her left hand in my face. "Holy smokes! That's a nice piece of ice!" I have no idea where that phrase came from but it rolled out my mouth while I sat in shock, giggling. On her wedding finger sat a gorgeous heart-shaped diamond surrounded by tiny star rubies.

"I know, right? I called him and he came over and then we talked and then he proposed! Oh, my God!" She squealed and hugged me. He's out talking to his parents about it and I just had to tell you first. Oh, my God!" she said again and clapped a hand over her mouth. "I have to tell Kana!" She kissed me smackingly on the mouth and giggled like a hyena while I sputtered. Kisa raced out the door and all I saw was the tail end of her ridiculously long hair… because she'd slammed the door on it. "…Kagome?" she said and I could hear the laughter in her voice.

"I'm on it." I could barely get that out I was laughing so hard. Kisa's face was beet red but as soon as she was free, she saluted me and ran back out to her car.

"I love you, Kagome!" she shouted as she drove off. Shaking my head, I went back inside and sat down.

"So, Kisa and Sesshomaru, huh?" My mom said curiously. I just grinned and shrugged. "Helluva ring she was sporting." She said and I choked. It was really rare to hear my mother cuss. Surprised me any time it happened.

"Yeah. I think it might be a family heirloom. Like his grandma's or something." I commented offhand.

"Really? From what I saw, it suited her perfectly. I think he went out and picked it out with her in mind." My mom said and I grinned. That explained where I got my eyes from.

"Yeah." I said softly and we both shared a dreamy sigh.

Graduation was getting close and I was very nervous. I had been named the valedictorian. I hated giving speeches. And I mean hate with a capital F. (Kudos to those who get that joke.) It was literally three days away and the entire Senior Class had been messing around for the last week. Finals were over, grades were in, most of us were graduating, and I spent as much time as I could practicing my speech.

Then, graduation day was here. I neared the podium with trembling hands and looked out over my peers. "Hey guys." I said and smiled. "This has been a hell of a year." I ignored the disapproving stare I received for swearing. "As you all probably know, I was kidnapped and injured earlier this year. But luckily, the two who took me were idiots," a few scattered chuckles riddled my peers, "and I incapacitated one of my captors while still bound to a chair. So, it wasn't as terrifying an event as one might assume." I looked down at my carefully crafted speech, smirked, and crumpled it up. "I'm not gonna spew to you some contrived bullshit that we're all like snowflakes. Or that there is no limit to what we can do. Cause it's not really true, is it? We have our limits and society has its expectations. But you know what? Despite that, you shouldn't ever just give up. So what if there are limits? Who says we can't push them to the brink? We're young. We're stupid. We're going to make mistakes. But most of us will be smart enough to learn from those mistakes."

"What about Inuyasha?" Miroku had the balls to yell out.

I made a so-so motion with my hands. "And some of us not so much." Laughter. "In any case, study what you want. DO what you want. Who cares if it's hard? Who cares if you might not succeed? At least you tried and you won't end your days knowing that there was something more you could have done. Make sure, that when you go to bed at night, that you're happy with you. JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT!" I shouted and flashed a peace sign. People cheered and before I could walk off stage, the principal grabbed my arm.

"Thank you, Kagome, for that inspiring, though unorthodox, speech." She said dryly. I smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "But there's one other thing, dear." I looked at her in confusion. The crowd cheering had me turning to look curiously. Kouga was jogging up the steps to the podium, his robes billowing around him. He looked cheerful and almost a little green around the gills. I wondered if he was feeling okay but he seemed happy so I didn't ask.

"Kagome." He murmured and kissed my cheek in greeting. I smiled and cocked my head to the side. He gave a wave to our friends and classmates before turning his sole attention back to me. When he dropped to one knee all the breath whooshed out of me and the crowd went nucking futs. "The speech was perfect. And I think, if I want to be happy in the grand scheme of things, that I need you with me. I love you, Kagome." He reached inside his robe and pulled out a small velvet box. He took my trembling hands in his and kissed each one. "Will you marry me?" I dove at him in a tackling hug before he could even open the box.

"Yes!" I shouted laughing. He looked so relieved, I just started raining kisses all over his face. "I love you." I whispered after we'd helped one another to stand. It was difficult to hear anything over the crowd cheering but I heard his reply clear as day. I looked down as he slid a ring onto my finger and gasped. "It's beautiful." I breathed. It was six sapphires set into the shape of a wolf's paw print on a white gold band that had small diamonds on either side. I literally cannot remember the rest of the ceremony. Not even receiving my diploma. All I remember is Kouga and me slipping away from family and friends and driving to the beach.

Apparently he had told my mother his plans and she'd packed a bag for me. Bless her twisted little heart. There were a couple of bon fires going with other students as they, too, celebrated their freedom. A handful stopped by to congratulate us and I grinned when our friends all showed up with a couple of coolers. Kisa showed up late with Sesshomaru and they both congratulated us. When Sesshomaru and Kouga walked off together, I raised a brow.

"Don't worry." Kisa murmured, nudging me. "He's just gonna ask him to be the best man at our wedding next year." I grinned and we shared a giggle.

"I can't believe high school is over." I said and tore open a bag of marshmallows. "Where's the sticks?" I complained. Kisa handed me one and smiled.

"Will you be my Maid of Honor?" she said and I accidentally hit myself in the face with the marshmallow I was trying to skewer.

"Really?" I asked in shock. She nodded. "Of course I will!" I said and she hugged me tightly.

"I'm relieved to hear it. I don't want you to be offended but I asked my sister first and she said something along the lines of "Hell no!" and I knew that it had to do with her fear of marriage. I was hoping I could help her get over that." She murmured thoughtfully.

"It's cool. I was wondering why you were asking me instead of Kana. But I kinda understand now. Anyway, AWESOME! I can't believe we're both engaged. I thought for sure that Kouga would dance around it for the next year or two before asking." Kisa raised a brow.

"And, oh great seer of the future, how did you know he was going to ask you at all?" She crossed her arms and eyed me speculatively.

"You have to promise not to breathe a word to ANYONE!" I whispered. She nodded, wide-eyed and leaned forward. "Souta and Shippou found the ring while playing hide-and-seek. Shippou found out later what it was for and then told Souta in sworn secrecy."

"Then how did-"

"I was walking by his room and eavesdropped." I blushed brightly. Kisa clucked her tongue and shook her head in mock-disappointment.

"For shaaaaaame." She said teasingly. I chuckled and shrugged after a moment. "But hey, at least we both got the end results we wanted."

When I looked back down at my marshmallow skewered stick, I groaned. "I just made charcoal."

"Party foul!" Kisa complained with me and we re-marshmallowed our respective sticks. "Gotta pay attention this time unless we're going to be launching these molten suckers at the guys… Naaaaaah. That's too violent, even for me." She joked and I laughed.

The guys came back a few minutes later and we all four talked about our future plans for schools and jobs. I was almost positive I wanted to become a therapist like Kana. So I was looking into it and the requirements. Kouga surprised me. Every time we spoke of what he wanted to do, he would either change the subject or ask if he could get back to me on that. What surprised me was that he actually talked about it this time.

"I wanted to find out whether I'd gotten in or not." He admitted sheepishly. I folded my arms and narrowed my eyes, but he merely brought my left hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles next to my engagement ring. Of course I melted and smiled at him. "I was accepted into Blackridge Tech." He said and we all gaped.

"But I thought you had to get at least a 1450 on your SAT's?" Kisa said and Kouga grinned, nodding. "Oh, my God! That's amazing! Why didn't you tell anyone you were such a smarty pants?" She demanded.

I laughed. "That explains why you know all the answers when Jeopardy comes on." I jokingly complained. He chuckled. "So, what are you going to study? Spill!" I demanded.

"Computer design, mechanical engineering, or something to do with becoming an architect." He said softly.

"Wow!" that came from both Kisa and I.

"Remember what I told you. When you finish schooling, give me a call. Whatever you want, my father's company could use a bright mind like yours." He said and I looked between them a few times.

"Wait. You told him first?" Kisa asked incredulously. I nodded and stuck my bottom lip out. "What a jerk!" She huffed and pulled my hand to lead me away from them. We munched on our marshmallows and giggled. "How long do you think it'll take before he begs for forgiveness?" she whispered in my ear. I choked down a laugh and cleared my throat.

"C'mon, Kagome. You're not really mad at me, are you?" Kouga asked and gave me his puppy dog face.

I rolled my eyes. "That face has never worked with me, mister. And it never will. I'm not your mother." I replied indignantly and turned my back on him. Kisa winked at me and slipped away to be with her fiancé. Kouga's arms wound around my waist and he turned me to face him.

"I just wanted to make sure it was what I was going to do before I told you. I didn't want you to be disappointed in me." He said softly.

I squinted at him. "I'm not mad that you just now told me. I'm put out that you told him first!" I harrumphed. "I've been asking you for months."

He winced and drooped his head. "I'm sorry, Kags." He murmured and nuzzled the side of my face. I giggled and shoved at him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever." I muttered, grinning. When he kissed me, it felt right. I traced his lips with my tongue and he groaned opening for me. We've made out before. Hell, we hit second base already. But this kiss right here was more intense than anything I'd ever experienced in my life. When we pulled apart, we grabbed our stuff and ran laughing to his car. We had things to do. "I love you." I said breathlessly, buckling my seatbelt.

"Love you, too." He said, flashing me his sexy crooked smile. "Where to?" he asked.

I pulled out my cell phone and texted my mother that I'd see her tomorrow. Putting it away, I grinned and held up the debit card I got when I turned eighteen the month before. "The nearest hotel?"

His jaw dropped, his eyes bugged, and I laughed. We peeled out of the parking lot shouting our farewells to our friends who sent us knowing looks and outrageous catcalls.

A/N: So, that's all folks. I have no idea how to expand on this and I'm content to let it sit the way it is. I could always write a lemon or do a spin off of Kisa and Sesshomaru... I dunno. Let me know what you think. Lotsa love!