I'm back with more InuKag loveliness. Ooh and aww at my creation…

OXOXOXO

Kagome was walking home by herself a couple days later, lacking in Inuyasha's, Miroku's, and even Sango's company because her mother had planned a family dinner and would not hear of Kagome hanging out with her friends that day. She yawned and stretched her hands over her head, trying to relax her taught muscles. Three solid weeks of training had a tendency to lock up one's muscles. She hated to admit it, but yes, she had zoned out long enough for someone to sneak up on her.

"Hey, all alone today?" She jumped and spun around, dropping her bag automatically to free up her hands. A guy stood a few dozen feet back, dressed in black and hiding his face behind some hair.

"Nope," she said flippantly, "just walking home with all my invisible friends." His mouth worked into a crooked smile.

"Fairly impudent, I see."

"Yeah, that's just part of my charm, I guess." He snorted and started walking towards her.

"I'm actually just here to relay a message. I have been instructed to keep silent a bit longer, but I thought it would be decent of me to give someone so puny a little warning." He stopped about ten feet from her. "I'd keep my eyes open and fists ready if I were you." And she hadn't noticed before, but he had to have been a demon to make that jump. With just one leap he was in a tree and out of her sight before she even fully realized he was leaving. She hastened her steps to make it home safely and much quicker. Try as she might, it was impossible for her to focus on the big family dinner.

Oxoxoxo

Every little person that spoke to Kagome made her jump. She nearly had a heart attack when Koga came up behind her.

"Kagome, what's up?" She jumped and spun around for the second time in two days. "Oh, didn't mean to scare you. Anyway, I've been thinking and it's been what? Three weeks? I think it's about time we made our relationship public."

"Koga, you have to have a relationship before you can make one public," she said and tried to extricate herself. He laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"That can be fixed. Come live with me, Kagome. Then we can make our relationship public." Kagome rolled her eyes and tried to laugh it off.

"Knock it off, Koga. I have a class to get to."

"I'm not kidding, Kagome," he yelled after her. "You'll love me if it's the last thing I do!" She really did laugh at that.

"Stupid wolf…"

"Morning Inuyasha." She opened her locker, understandably wary, and shoved her books inside. She yawned and shook her head.

"You've been doing that a lot lately," he commented. "Why don't we take a break and start up training again tomorrow?" She leveled a glare at him. He just shrugged. "I didn't think so."

"Lecher!" Smack.

"Miroku is way too much of a morning person," Kagome commented just before he and Sango came into sight.

"I swear, one more time, just one more, and you'll never worry about asking a woman to bear your child again." Miroku's face showed pure terror for a moment before he slipped into smooth mode.

"I was just protecting you, Dearest Sango. You were almost ran into by another student."

"I don't believe you. Leave me alone."

"How could you not believe an innocent face like mine?" Sango spared him a glare as she dug through her locker. Kagome laughed.

"Give up, Miroku. You've lost." He sighed and headed over to Inuyasha with a high five.

"Women sure seem to give you a lot of problems," Inuyasha taunted. Miroku sighed dramatically.

"Can't live with 'em, can't reproduce without 'em. It's a real predicament." Inuyasha smacked him upside the head. Kagome shook her head at them and yawned again. She didn't know how she was going to make it through the day. She ran through the classes that she could take a quick nap in. She leaned back against the lockers, laying her head back and closing her eyes.

"Look out!" Kagome opened her eyes in time to see Inuyasha dive for her. The whole lighting installation above her, the entire forty pound thing, fell right where she had been standing. "You okay?" Inuyasha said leaning up and looking down at her. Her wide eyes took a second to focus on him. "Kagome?"

"I-I'm fine. You?"

"Fine." He stood and pulled her to her feet. Kagome looked across to see Miroku and Sango picking themselves up as well.

"That was completely uncalled for," she told him. He looked at her shaking hands and agreed.

"Completely. You guys alright?" he asked the other two.

"We're okay," Sango told him.

"Okay," Kagome said lowering her eyebrows, "I'm starting to get mad now. It's one thing to have a grudge against me, uncalled for as it is, but it's not acceptable to attack my friends, too."

Inuyasha wasn't sure how to respond to this Kagome, so he nodded and moved them out of the way of inspecting teachers and custodians.

Oxoxoxo

All that day Kagome was on guard, and it was a very good thing. Strange occurrences happened all that day, from shelves in the library mysteriously trying to squash her to light switches trying to fry her. Even one of the floor tiles slipped out right from under her. Literally. It flew up and hit the gym teacher in the back of the head while he headed to lunch. She didn't tell Inuyasha.

"Training again, Lady Kagome?" Miroku questioned while they all headed home after school. Miroku and Sango were about to head off in different direction.

"Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know, you just seem…" he trailed off.

"Exhausted," Sango finished. Kagome winced but turned away.

"I'm only a little tired because I didn't get much sleep last night."

"You're tired because you've been pushing yourself far too hard," Sango corrected. "As a member of a family that has trained for generations as demon slayers, I can personally tell you that there is a not-so-fine line between working hard and wearing yourself thin. If you want to be ready for a battle, the last thing you do is tire yourself out the night before training. You have to be ready to defend yourself from Kikyou, and you won't be able to if you're half-asleep all day." Sango was looking eerily like Kagome's mother right then.

"I can't help it," Kagome said and kicked a stray can. "I can't just sit and wait for something to happen, I feel like I have to prepare for it. I never liked taking a backseat, and I did for way too long. I'm not going to let Kikyou set the pace for me anymore, and I'm going to let her know it. I refuse to let her win." Kagome kept her eyes stubbornly ahead, avoiding looking at them.

"Lady Kagome," she didn't look at him, "you are letting her win if you wear yourself to a frazzle because of her. You're only hurting yourself when you do. Well, think on that. Good night." Miroku and Sango took off down another street, towards their own houses. Kagome stood still, staring into space.

"I hate it when Miroku's right."

"Yeah, kinda sucks to think that that lecherous gas bag might actually know more than you." Inuyasha tried to laugh it off, but saw Kagome swipe at her eyes. "Kagome?"

"I'm sick of being beaten back. I don't like the way I am now. I wanted to change. I tried to, but I couldn't do it. This training isn't getting me anywhere. You keep saying I'm getting better, but it won't be enough, will it? I mean, after all the effort I put into getting away from her and becoming my own person didn't matter. She's still in control. I hate being weak. I'll never be able to compete with her, she's too powerful." Inuyasha couldn't see her face for her hair. He didn't know what came over him, but he did the first thing that came to his mind before he had time to reconsider. He walked over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into the safety of his embrace.

"You're probably the strongest person I know. There's strength beyond the physical. Even if you can't block or throw a punch, you never give up. You always help people when they need it, even if you'd be better off not doing it. You say what's on your mind and never regret being honest. If you make a promise you always keep it. And you never, even under Kinky-hoe's thumb, gave up what made you you. Kikyou is a hollow, selfish, conceited, under-handed person that would be better off in a cage. Don't ever think that she's better than you." Kagome sniffled but didn't shed anymore tears.

"Yes, sir." She looked up at him with a faint smile, meeting his eyes. She saw her own reflection, along with something she couldn't name or place. She didn't seem capable of controlling the pull between them. She felt pure relief when their lips touched.

It wasn't anything like you read in books or see on TV. There was no primal passion, no absolute need to jump into bed, no urgency to feel each other up. It was more like the release of built up tensions she wasn't even aware of having. Their tongues didn't even meet. It was a sweet, almost chaste kiss. His lips fit hers perfectly, and it crossed her mind how he tasted faintly like mint gum and jerky and, underneath that, something so masculine it made her knees week.

Inuyasha pulled back first. Kagome stared up at him, face wet from tears, eyes wide from surprise. She was the most tempting thing he'd ever laid eyes on.

His face only registered shock. Kagome tried to speak, but found that her throat didn't want to cooperate at that moment. She managed a strange noise that she supposed Inuyasha took for disgust or regret. He withdrew a couple steps just as he voice started working again.

"Inuyasha…" He grimaced and headed off down the road at a dead run.

"You'd better train with Sango from now on." And he was gone.

Kagome touched her lips, still able to feel his lips on hers and his arms protectively around her. Inuyasha?

OXOXOXO

How the heck is that? Yay! I just… I just love this chap, okay? lol