Yay! Exams are done! I can taste the freedom! Extra long chapters from now on! Yes! Another fresh chapter!

Approaching the Pareto Optimality

Pareto Optimality – "Given an initial allocation of goods among a set of individuals, a change to a different allocation that makes at least one individual better off without making any other individual worse off."

"Honey, I've been thinking for a really long time," he began as he moved his hands away from the leather steering wheel and took her hands into his. "I know things haven't gone very well between us for the past year. I want us to talk things through. Besides, it's Christmas Eve."

Kagome raised her eyes to her husband's and stared at him speechlessly with her mouth opened slightly from the shock of his words. She wasn't expecting this out of anything. Hojo was still trying so hard to work things out in their marriage and for that, Kagome was glad. She gripped her seatbelt and played with the fabric with her fingers.

'That's right... it's the day before Christmas. How could I have forgotten? Christmas is my favorite Western holiday too...'

He continued his conversation with his wife, "I've made dinner reservations for tonight at Hirakotsu. We need to spend some time to sort things out."

His sincerity was making her feeling guiltier than she had before. That kiss with InuYasha. Should she tell him about it? It was killing her slowly. Kagome wasn't the cheating type. She had always been a faithful wife until... now. Yesterday to be exact.

'But it was only one little kiss. Just one. Nothing else happened. You shouldn't tell Hojo; he might misunderstand.'

The guilt was still killing her from the inside, hacking away at her conscious. But what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Kagome smiled at her husband and nodded. When they made their wedding vows to each other, she had meant every word in her vow. No matter how rough their marriage had gotten; she would still keep trying to work things out with Hojo.

"I'll see you at 7?" Hojo asked his wife with a gentle and caring voice. "We need to spend more time together. Remember how we used to celebrate Christmas Eve? It'll be just like old times."

"Okay," Kagome returned a smile to her husband and kissed him on the cheek before stepping outside of his Lexus.

"Good morning, everyone," InuYasha strolled into the clinic and lowered his head to take his wool coat and scarf off. He surveyed the clinic. InuYasha was suddenly reminded of Christmas and felt the holiday spirit. How could he have forgotten? It was Christmas Eve. In the midst of consultations, surgeries, craziness, and everything in between; he had forgotten all about the holiday. Ai, Shippo, and Hitomiko had done a phenomenal job of decorating the clinic last night. They had hung fresh cedar wreathes and branches around on the walls and tables. The clinic was filled with a refreshing woody scent. InuYasha couldn't help but to smile a little. He turned around to hang his things and caught sight of Kagome who was walking into the clinic wearing a dashing white ski jacket. He felt his face growing warm and his heartbeat quickening as she approached him. He only nodded at her and she smiled meekly back at him. Neither of them knew what to say to the other.

Shippo watched them from afar. He turned to Hitomiko, "Oi, Hitomiko. Is it me or is the tension between those two is so thick you can cut it with a knife?"

Hitomiko directed her attention at Kagome and InuYasha; Shippo was right. Something was odd between those two. She couldn't identify anything for certain but InuYasha and Kagome do seem... awkward when standing beside each other. Something was very unnatural about the way they interacted with each other.

"Rough commute?" he finally broke the dead silence with her.

"Hmm nm... no." Kagome shook her head. "My husband drove me here this morning."

She made sure to emphasize the word husband and dictated the word clearly in place of Hojo's name. She wanted to make sure that what happened between them the other day was only a one time deal. No encore. Just a one time deal. She was happily married and he was merely her coworker. She wanted nothing else beyond professional courtesy from him.

InuYasha's ears drooped down. "Husband.." Of course. How could he forget? She had a husband. He felt horribly about what he did to her: he took advantage of her. He was the one who had initiated the kiss. He was the one who had forced him onto her. He had breeched the trust between them and now they probably couldn't even be friends. He mentally slapped himself. He had messed everything up. Dammit. Damn. Damn. Damn. He tried to apologize but couldn't bring himself to look at her in the eyes or open his mouth. His effort was fruitless. After all, actions spoke louder than words and no words could justify what he had done.

"I love what Ai, Shippo, and Hitomiko did with the decorations, don't you think?" her good-natured remark caught him by surprise. He could only nod in response.

He was going to say something to her, "Kago-"

Ring... Ring... Ring...

"I..." he ignored his phone and continued. "I was wond-"

Ring... Ring... Ring...

Kagome smiled and interrupted him, "You should get that."

"Oh..." he dug his hand into his pocket and touched the answer button. "Hello?"

"InuYasha! Merry Christmas!" Rin greeted him on the phone excitedly. "I just wanted to remind you that the dinner is at 8! Don't forget! You didn't forget did you? Samuru wants to see his uncle! Don't you, Samuru?"

InuYasha grinned. He would have forgotten if it hadn't been Rin's call. Although Christmas was a Western holiday, it was widely popular in Japan. InuYasha had grown up celebrating it.

"I'll be there, Merry Christmas to you too, Rin. I wouldn't miss it for the world - celebrating my little nephew's first Christmas," InuYasha cracked a smile. "Talk to you later, I'm at work."

...

"Yup... see you tonight."

InuYasha ended the call and looked up; Kagome was gone. Great.

He walked into the change room and grabbed his white coat; Kagome's wasn't on the hook. She was probably in an examination room already. Aye. The dynamics between them was so awkward. So awkward. He didn't know what to do about it.

"Doctor Takahashi? We need you in exam room 4," Shiori walked in with a patient file and handed it to him. "The patient has high blood pressure and diabetes. He isn't doing too well with managing either."

"Thanks, Shiori. I'll be there in a moment," InuYasha gave the nurse a smile and opened the file to review it. His first patient of the day. 'Here we go again.'

The day was uneventful. Nothing out of the unusual: just a few common colds, one broken arm, and a few other regular patients here and there. Kagome leaned back into her chair and stared at the clock on the wall. 6:30 pm. She should really get going; she had just seen her last patient of the day a couple minutes ago. She didn't know why but she was making up excuses for her to stay at the clinic a bit longer than she should have. At this rate she was going to be late. Fashionably late for her dinner with Hojo.

Kagome took in a deep breath and propped herself up from her office chair.

"Doctor?"

She heard the woman's meek address and turned to face her. The young woman had a small bundle in her arms. It was an infant.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Kagome asked the woman while putting down the files for the clinic's master budget sheet.

"I'm sorry for taking up your time but can you take a look at my son? It's quite an emergency. I think he's really sick," the woman gave her an apologetic look and stepped closer to Kagome.

Kagome took the eight-month-old infant in her arms and frowned when she realized that he was turning into a bluish color. Even from his appearance Kagome could tell that she had a serious prognosis at hand.

"Is there something wrong with my son?" the young woman looked worriedly at Kagome. "He had been wheezing for the whole day today. I realized something was wrong so I decided to take him here. Please help him, Doctor."

The baby was having poor blood circulation and it didn't seem like enough oxygen was getting to his lungs. There was probably something wrong with his heart. She wasn't too familiar with conditions like this but InuYasha probably was.

"We have a heart specialist today at the clinic, I'll ask him to take a look, okay?"

InuYasha listened to the baby's heart once more with the stethoscope and cringed. A murmur from the heart and limited activity from one of the valve. As if the cyanosis wasn't obvious enough to confirm his suspicions... this was definitely a tetralogy of fallot defect. A tetralogy of fallot defect... InuYasha felt a sudden ill feeling and he felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. It seemed that the little guy's condition had also worsened since he was wheezing. How should he tell the mother? Her son's condition was becoming life threatening. The baby could die within twenty-four hours if he didn't perform the corrective surgery.

"He needs a tetralogy of fallot repair; he has a congenital heart defect that can only be cured with the corrective surgery," InuYasha stated as he stared into Kagome's eyes then the mother's. "We need to take him back to my practice. He needs surgery. Immediately."

The infant quietly grabbed his mother's garb; his little face twitched and it looked like he was in indescribable pain. The poor little thing. Kagome cringed and nodded at InuYasha, "I'm coming with you." InuYasha only nodded to acknowledge Kagome's proposal.

Although she was supposed to be at the restaurant some time ago, she felt justified for her absence if it was attending to a patient for an emergency. It was unfortunate for somehow she felt oddly relieved. Kagome pulled out her phone from her pocket and excused herself while she called her husband. A few ringing later, nothing.

Kagome dialed Hojo's number again but it went straight to his voicemail. She would have preferred to tell him directly but she wanted to get it out of the way sooner by telling him.

"Hello, you have reached Hojo Ikeda and I'm currently unavailable. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Beep.

"Hey honey, it's me. I'm sorry I won't be able to make it for tonight. I'm caught up with things at work. I'll see you later tonight when I get home though," Kagome paused for a moment to gather up her scattered thoughts before continuing. "I... I'll be thinking of you."

Kagome lowered the phone and touched the end call button on the screen. She knew she should have said "I love you" but it wasn't rolling off of her tongue.

"Alright, Abi-san, we're going to take little Jinenji here to Doctor Takahashi's practice where he'll perform the surgery. Since you've heard Doctor Takahashi, your son needs the surgery right away," Kagome informed the mother as she walked back into the exam room. The woman nodded understandingly with tears in her eyes.

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"I'm closing the ventricular septal's defect with the patch," he announced to his team while concentrating his sight on the magnifying scope. "I also need another patch for the right ventricle and main pulmonary artery."

InuYasha commenced the surgery. He was concentrating intently on the magnifying scope as the infant's veins and arteries were ten times finer than the adult's. He made an incision to open the pulmonary valve to remove the thickened muscle. 'Just a little more to the left... up... got it.'

Beep... Beep... Beep...

"Sir, there's a significant blood increase in his lungs," his executive surgical assistant informed him while glancing at the monitor. There was an increase in the infant's oxygen intake from the oxygen tank.

"Good," InuYasha grinned. 'Success.'

Kagome held the trembling mother in her arms. She was here for moral support. Kagome understood how hard it must have been for the mother to go through something like this, especially on Christmas Eve. She wanted to ask Abi-san where the father of the child was since little Jinenji was in such a big surgery but Kagome already figured that Abi was probably a single mother. She didn't want to pry into her affairs. As if having her son in emergency surgery wasn't heartbreaking enough, Kagome didn't want to inflict more unnecessary pain on the woman.

"It's okay, Abi-san... InuYasha is the very best cardiac surgeon. Jinenji is going to be just fine," Kagome tried to comfort the agitated mother in the waiting room. The wait was nerve wrecking even though the surgeon performing the surgery on little Jinenji was InuYasha.

The surgery light dimmed and moments later, InuYasha walked out of the glass doors with a big smile on his face, "He's in recovery, Abi-san. Jinenji is well now."

"Oh! Thank you, Doctor Takahashi! Thank you so much!" the mother ran to embrace InuYasha tightly, teary eyed. "How can I ever thank you?"

Kagome smiled at the heart-warming scene; it was nothing short of a Christmas miracle. She glanced at her wristwatch once more; it was 8:18 pm. She could still probably make it for the dinner. The surgery was very quick.

"I have a dinner reservation with Ikeda, Hojo," Kagome smiled sweetly and cheerfully at the waiter at the reception. She was going to surprise her husband with her unexpected presence. He probably wasn't expecting her after she had left that voice mail for him on the phone. Kagome smiled again while imagining Hojo's pleasantly surprised face when he would see her.

She had even made an extra effort to make herself more presentable before coming. She adjusted the shoulder strap of her velvet dark green cocktail dress and smoothed out the ridges of the knee length lowback dress. She tucked her cascading long hair behind her ears and made sure her earrings' chains weren't tangled. Kagome smiled to herself once more and strutted into the dining area when the waiter motioned for her to follow him. The restaurant was packed with couples and families celebrating Christmas Eve. Kagome glanced around at the festive decorations in the restaurant: hollies, wreathes, cedars, reindeers... Oh the festive cheers.

Kagome saw Hojo and... who was that woman beside him? Kagome perked an eyebrow; she didn't expect there to be anyone else. She felt a bit abandoned and disappointed that Hojo had sought after other company. Usually after seeing their husbands with another woman at a high-end restaurant, it was natural to assume that their husbands were cheating on them. It didn't occur to Kagome that Hojo was the cheating type. She knew most men couldn't be trusted but... Hojo? Hojo was just not the type to have an extramarital affair. She just knew it. Hojo had probably met up with one of their friends. She didn't blame him; she wouldn't want to spend Christmas Eve alone either.

She walked closer to have a better look: it was Kagura Imato. Kagome was excited to see Kagura and a bright smile flashed across her face.

"I see you've found someone to replace me!" Kagome teased her husband as she made her way over to the private table setting where Hojo and Kagura were seated. "How have you been, Kagura-chan?"

"Kagome-chan!" Kagura's crimson eyes suddenly curved up to a half moon smile upon seeing her long time friend. "We weren't expecting you! Hojo said that you couldn't come tonight because of work!"

Kagome gave a giggle and turned to her husband, "Well, aren't we so glad that you're my replacement! Happy holidays, Kagura-chan."

"Honey, I'm so glad you can join us," Hojo gave Kagome a smile before clicking his pen and gathering the pool of paperwork on the table into a neat pile.

"Business at the dinner table? Wow, still working hard on Christmas Eve. Am I interrupting something?" Kagome joked once again. Kagura was a family lawyer by trade; she dealt with big celebrity divorces and handled large prenuptial contracts. She couldn't think of any reasons for Hojo to be seeing a divorce lawyer. Their marriage had gotten rough but they weren't on the verge of a divorce, right... right? Then what were they up to with all those paperwork?

Kagome shrugged the irking feelings off and sat closer to Kagura, "So, what have you been up to lately? I know you're handling the Hamasakiko and Yusara divorce. Spill. I want all the juicy details. Who's getting the mansion in the suburb of Tokyo? Did he really have a love child with his backup dancer?"

"Actually, Kagome-chan, I was just leaving. You enjoy the night with Hojo, alright? Oh, it's so great you came tonight though," Kagura gave Kagome a polite smile and turned to Hojo then to Kagome once again. "I'll take the files from you, Hojo... and Kagome-chan if you can sign here for me."

Kagome looked at Kagura as if she had grown a third head, "What... files? Kagura-chan... I'm not falling for one of your old pranks again."

She nonchalantly took the paper into her hand and glanced over the header, 'Amendment to Prenuptial Agreement.' Kagome's eyes widened. This was no joke. She scanned the paper once again. Hojo was asking to separate the assets in their joint accounts and transferring all of his personal assets to his family This would mean that in the case of a divorce, Kagome would receive no compensation from Hojo.

In the case of a... divorce? Divorce? Hojo wanted a divorce? Kagome's head throbbed. She felt as if someone had thrown an unexpected punch right in her face. Hojo... wanted a divorce? This wasn't a divorce paper but... she knew many affluential men had forced or blackmailed their wives to sign an amendment to their prenuptial agreements before getting a divorce. There wasn't a reason to sign an amendment paper if he wasn't contemplating a divorce though. It was official; Hojo was conspiring a divorce. Kagome felt the sick feeling in her stomach; she was going to throw up from all of the tension building up in her body. The smile on her face had long disappeared.

Kagome looked charily at Hojo. She asked a question she thought she would never ask him, "You're... getting a divorce... with me?"

Kagome was hurt. Beyond hurt. She had been nothing but loyal to Hojo for the past years when he was gone on his business trips. That one small kiss with InuYasha was just a mistake that had occurred when she was emotionally fragile. She could have let it go further than it had but she had restrained herself because she was aware that she was a married woman. Did... did Hojo have someone else? Why in the world would he even consider the amendments to the prenup?

"You don't... love me anymore?" Kagome had tears in her eyes. She and Hojo were in a trough in their marriage but it didn't mean that she didn't love him anymore. It was something that happened to every single couple when they get past the honeymoon stage. Marriage kept married couples together until they fell in love with each other again. That was what marriage was all about, right?

"It's not what you think, Kagome!" Hojo shifted closer to Kagome so that he could try to justify himself a bit more while he reached for Kagome's hand. "I'm just... refinancing some things around the company..."

"By adjusting your personal finances? You run a public company, Hojo. I'm not secluded from the business world just because I'm too busily administering life saving procedures every day," Kagome barked at him while drawing her hands away. "What sort of personal finances could you possibly need to adjust for a 'public' company unless you're planning to buy back shares in the billions? Don't lie to me!"

"Actually, Kagome-chan, a lot of men does this to protect their personal assets..." Kagura tried to ameliorate the situation and ease the tension between the couple.

"You forgot something, Kagura. A lot of men do this to protect their personal assets during a divorce because they don't want to give their ex-wives one single yen! You stay out of this! Whose side are you on anyways?" Kagome pushed Kagura's remarks aside and turned to her husband once more. "And... you! Did you think I married you for your money? I don't want your damned money! I'm telling you now that I'm not even going to take a single yen from you!"

Hojo leaned back to brace himself against Kagome. He had never seen Kagome so infuriated before. Kagome had always been so mellow and understanding. Now she was attracting unnecessary attention around her and pounding on the table.

Kagome looked at the paper once again.

"Amendment to Prenuptial Agreement," she scoffed. Stupid paper. She's not signing this. Kagome took the stack of paper and tore it apart from the center while staring firmly into Hojo's eyes. Kagome didn't know where she had gotten her courage or rage. Or both. Something in her snapped, hard. She was out of character.

"We're done here," Kagome shifted her weight to let herself up and gave her husband and so call friend one last look before throwing the torn paper on the table and walking away with hurt and tears in her eyes. What had just happened? She expected to celebrate Christmas Eve with her husband only to find him meeting up with... of all the people in the world... a divorce lawyer?

InuYasha sat on a couch across from Sesshomaru, Rin, and Samuru in the entertainment room. He watched as the happy family entertained their guests. Miroku was making funny faces at Samuru and the infant half-demon giggled away. The other guests were mingling about with snacks and wine. InuYasha leaned against a large cushion. He couldn't get one thought out of his mind: what was Kagome doing right now? He knew he shouldn't be thinking about her; she was probably celebrating Christmas Eve with her husband. There were so many people around him and yet he felt so lonely.

He was obsessed with her.

"Samuru, what's Uncle Yashie thinking right now? Let's ask him," Rin talked to her son in a childish voice and walked over to InuYasha to sit beside him on the couch. "Something's on your mind, InuYasha."

Rin knew him too well. He turned his glance at her, still hugging onto the cushion.

"Speak," she demanded.

"There's this-" he began hesitantly with reservation before she beat him to it.

"What's her name? Let me think... Kagome? " Rin asked while tickling her son in her arms. "Miroku told me all about your predicament."

InuYasha rolled his eyes. Miroku struck again. Damn that shrink. Couldn't he go shrink someone else and mind his own business? Who else was he telling this to? InuYasha shot Miroku a dirty look across the room only to receive a wink from him instead. Damn him.

"She's married," he grimaced when he reminded himself out loud of Kagome's marital status.

"I know," Rin placed her free hand on InuYasha's shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that, InuYasha."

"Me too," he gave her a half-hearted smile. "Me too."

"How's Ayame over there?" Rin nudged at InuYasha while she gave the neurosurgeon across the room a smile. "I think she's single."

InuYasha rolled his eyes at Rin, "Please, just let me sulk in peace."

"Mam... Mam... Eh... Mam?" the bartender nudged Kagome once more. The young doctor had too much to drink and was now slipping in and out of consciousness by the bar. A few ill-intentioned men were lurking by her. Kagome couldn't care less about her appearance right now but her low back, low cut short cocktail dress was begging for undivided attention in the club. Kagome Higurashi couldn't believe it. Was her marriage really coming into an end? How could she have been so stupid all those time? She thought things were beginning to work out with Hojo again. Then, she got served with an amendment to their prenup agreement? That was no different than signing a divorce paper. That was pretty much a "pre-divorce" paper.

Kagome took another shot of tequila and smacked the shot glass on the countertop. What happened to "until death do us apart" or "through bad times and the good?" They were all just words of nothingness.

"Mam? Excuse me?" the bartender frowned once more as he shook her once more. "You need someone to take you home. Mam? Do you have someone I can call for you?"

Kagome's head shot up to the bartender's in a daze. She couldn't think straight but Kagome flashed a big smile out of nowhere, "Yes."

InuYasha sat there with a bored expression across his face. He cupped his chin in his palm and observed the dinner party guests. He took another sip of his ginger ale when he saw Miroku approaching him.

"Ginger ale? That stuff's fuzzy and has no ethanol. What a weak sauce," Miroku nudged InuYasha with his eyebrow perking up. "Still thinking of the ER doc?"

"Shuddap. Go and hit on that girl you were with," InuYasha brushed his friend off. Rin had already gone to bed with Samuru and Sesshomaru was making a fool out of himself in the kitchen with some of his old friends from business school. Everyone at the dinner party was dead drunk. "Leave me alone."

"Way ahead of you, Merry Christmas!" Miroku cheered.

InuYasha looked down at his watch. A quarter past midnight. Merry Christmas to him.

Buzz... Buzz... Buzz...

InuYasha felt his phone vibrating in his pant pocket. Who would be calling him at this hour? Was there an emergency from a patient or something? He reached for his phone in frenzy and glanced at the unfamiliar caller ID. He answered it anyways, "Hello?"

"Hi... is this InuYasha Takahashi-san?" the man on the phone asked him curiously with some reservation.

"Yes... and you are?" InuYasha was curious. He was speaking to an unfamiliar man from an unfamiliar number. What was happening? There was loud raucous on the other side as well. It sounded like a club or bar of some kind.

"Do you happen to know a Kagome Higurashi? She's very drunk at the bar right now and I'm wonder if you would be able to pick her up," the man requested politely.

InuYasha's heart raced at the mention of Kagome's name. He tuned out after hearing Higurashi, "Yes... where is she right now? Can you give me the address?"

He had to push some drunken people away from him as he made his way through the dark nightclub. The air in this place was foul. The scent of sweat and ... body fluids made him sick. He had only been in here for less than a couple minutes and he was already having a headache from the stench in the air and loud music. Why the hell was Kagome here? Was someone playing a joke on him? Wasn't Kagome at some high-end restaurant celebrating Christmas Eve with her husband? What in the world had happened?

He winnowed his way to the bar and immediately the gorgeous woman in the velvet dress drew him in.

"Kagome!" he called out her name and gravitated towards her. It was Kagome and he was sure of it. "Kagome?"

He called her name once more but received no response from her. He got a better look at her as he moved closer to her. She was drinking herself to oblivion. He looked at the number of shot glasses by her elbow. He counted eighteen. Eighteen shots? What was Kagome doing? Trying to commit suicide? Eighteen tequila shots? Didn't she know that "that" much amount of alcohol was going to take a toll on her liver and kidneys? Why didn't she try to restrain herself?

"Kagome!" he grabbed the nineteenth shot glass from her hands and slid it aside. "What the hell are you doing?"

Kagome slowly opened her eyes; she suddenly flashed a sultry look at him, "Inu... Yasha?"

InuYasha was confused by Kagome's out of character behavior. Kagome didn't look like the type to sulk or drink at a bar. She looked more like the library going girl back in college and not the hard party girl. Something must have happened. She wasn't with her husband she looked troubled. He took a seat left of her on the stool. A burly man sat on Kagome's right and grabbed her wrist.

"Hey sweetheart, how's it going? You look you are in for a fun time," the stranger pulled Kagome in closer, trying to take advantage of the intoxicated Kagome.

InuYasha let out a low growl, "Watch it, punk. Don't touch her."

If only looks could kill. The man was alerted by the half-demon's death glare and dropped Kagome's wrist from his grip, "Take it easy man, she's yours. Gee."

"Kagome! What the hell are you doing here? Can't you see how dangerous it is for you to be intoxicated here?" InuYasha gestured towards Kagome. "Especially wearing... this? What are you trying to do?"

"Oh, good. You must be InuYasha," the bartender came by and nodded at InuYasha. "I called you earlier to pick up Kagome here. She's been here for a while now. You should bring her back to somewhere safer."

"Thanks so much," InuYasha gave the bartender a gentle smile.

"InuYasha! I'm so glad you came! Haha!" It almost seemed like Kagome suddenly came into her senses. She called out his name... Perhaps not quite... she picked up the shot glass of tequila once more. "Here's to the end of my fantasy, fairy tale, perfect, perfect... so called perfect marriage!"

"What?" InuYasha's eyebrow perked up. What did Kagome just say? Just this morning... yesterday morning she had emphasized about her husband and a few hours prior she had told him that she was celebrating Christmas Eve with her husband and now her marriage was over? What the hell happened to her? What happened between her and Hojo? InuYasha was dying to know.

He was still in confusion and deeply in ponders when something unexpected occurred. Kagome reached for his face with both of her hands and brought her lips upon his.

...

...

...

...

...

...

Just like that. She kissed him. Right there.

"Ka... gome..." InuYasha couldn't be more confused.

"There's a mistletoe above us," Kagome gave InuYasha a big grin. He looked above him and saw the white glutinous berries over their heads. "Have you been doing that all night with everyone sitting beside left of you?" InuYasha was afraid of what Kagome's answer was going to be. By the state of drunkenness, who knew how many people Kagome had kissed tonight.

"Hmm... nope. Just you. It's selective," she winked at him. It was that wink again. Her special wink. He felt himself stirring. She smiled at him once more while moving closer to him. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Kagome grabbed him by his deep crimson dress shirt collar and covered his mouth with hers forcefully. He could smell and taste the alcohol on her and from her but there was something else so sweet in her kiss. It was more intoxicating than ethanol. She moved her hands to his hair and gently ran her fingers in his silvery tresses. She gave a soft moan and pressed her body firmly against his. InuYasha wanted to pull her away. Kagome was drunk; she didn't know what she was doing. But... there was something about this moment that he just couldn't push her away. He couldn't resist her. He ran his claws along her bare back down her spine all the way down to the small of her back where her dress's slit ended. It had been what seemed to be like several minutes now; neither of them had the strength to pull away. But finally, they broke for air.

"You know how I said 'sorry' the other day?" she gave him another seductive grin. InuYasha knew immediately what Kagome was referring to: their kiss. The one he forced himself upon her. "I wasn't really sorry. Can I tell you something?"

InuYasha's puppy ears perked up at Kagome's words. It was overwhelming him. It was all such a surprise to him. He gulped down hard. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. His mind and ears were playing a trick on him. Probably. He was questioning his sanity.

"I think I secretly am obsessed with you. You're on my mind, constantly," she leaned closer to him and whispered enticingly into his ears. Upon finishing her thought, she nipped his jaw and trailed her hands down his chest... abs...

InuYasha could feel himself growing warmer. Kagome was pushing it. She was playing with fire and pushing against boundaries. What the hell was she doing to him? Was she aware of her actions at all?

'No, InuYasha. She's drunk. She doesn't know what she's talking about.'

'But InuYasha, alcohol is like a truth serum. You tell the truth while under the influence.'

"Alright, let's get you home," he grabbed her wrist and began tugging her up. He pushed away the multitude of people on the dance floor and led her to the entrance. Where was her coat? He felt the biting cold against his face and turned to see Kagome shivering in her short dress. He winnowed his arms out of his wool jacket and wrapped it around Kagome's shoulders, "Here. I don't want you to catch a cold or something. Where do you live? I'm taking you home."

Something in Kagome snapped once more. She burst into tears, "I don't want to go 'home!' Take me somewhere else! Anywhere but 'home!'" Her eyes were pleading and fear filled them when she said the word "home."

"You've got no other place to go," he scratched his head and contemplated for a while. He couldn't bring her to Sango's; she was probably asleep already. Rin and Sesshomaru's place was already packed with overnight guests and their 7 bedrooms where probably all occupied by now. There was only one place: his.

"Alright, then. We're going to my place then," he gave her a sympathetic smile and waved for a taxi. For some reason, it seemed like the cold air had cleared her thoughts a bit. Kagome nodded and smiled gratefully at InuYasha.

She swayed back and forth and stumbled on her way from the curb to the front lobby doors of his apartment. Kagome was uselessly drunk. InuYasha couldn't bear to see her like this anymore. He scooped her up and carried her up in a bridal style. He used his elbows to press the button of the elevator to his floor. PH.

Ding.

She cuddled closer to his chest and began mumbling words he couldn't quite hear clearly. God she looked so cute in her sleep, InuYasha smiled at the peaceful Kagome in his arms.

"I think about you constantly too," he whispered so low that only he could hear. It just dwelled on him that she was inside his embrace right now; his heart was pounding against his chest.

Ding.

He punched in the password for his door, '4...2...9...8...8...1...' and pushed it open. He stumped his feet twice and the lights in his penthouse suite lit up. 'Thank goodness for modern technology.'

Kagome was sleeping. He didn't want to disturb her. He'll let her have his bed; he could sleep on the couch or something. He kicked off his shoes and made his way to his bedroom. He glided effortlessly across the smooth and seamless hardwood floor with Kagome in his arms. InuYasha nudged the blanket cover side with his knees and placed her gingerly on his bed. Kagome cringed as she left the warmth of his body. He walked over to the end of the bed to slip off her silver stiletto heels and quietly set them aside by the foot of the bed. He went over to pull the blanket cover on her until Kagome slowly opened her eyes.

"Inu... Ya...sha..." her voice was soft and alluring. She caught his hand and brought him closer to her. She leaned closer to him and captured his lips. "Stay... with me."

InuYasha flinched. Kagome was overestimating his endurance. He was a man with principles but he was still a man... who conveniently had an irresistible woman in his bed begging him to stay with her at the moment.

'No. She's drunk.'

'You want her just as much as she wants you and you know it.'

"Kagome... go to sleep. I'll be outside."

"No... I want you here."

She was pushing it. She knew exactly how to stretch his limits and put his self restraint to the test.

Kagome grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled herself closer to him.

No matter how drunk and upset she was with her husband, Kagome was still a married woman. InuYasha knew it. His head was still somewhat still clear enough to judge the right from the wrong even under the current given circumstance. No matter how desperate she was making him, he was a morally sound man. He didn't take advantage of women like this. However, it did kill him to deny her like this.

"Kagome," he paused for a moment. "I'm going to be sleeping on the couch just outside of the room. Just call out if you need anything."

With that, he gently grabbed her hands to place them by her side. He pulled the soft blanket over her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before turning the lights off.

Aww... our little InuYasha... so morally justified :) I just finished writing this chapter... now. I couldn't wait to update it! Hm... I'll come back to edit it tomorrow. *Yawn* I've been up for almost 24 hours now... been up since 4 am to do exam practice and now it's 3 am ish next day... Time to bed.