Disclaimer: I own neither Inuyasha nor Soul Eater and make no money from these writings.

Love On A Learning Curve

Chapter Three

A week after their first meeting found Kagome brushing her hair in her hotel room. Shippou was reclined back on her bed as he watched her. "So your second meeting is today, huh?" He asked.

"Yep," Kagome told him as she pulled the brush through her long hair again.

"When am I gonna get to meet this guy?" Shippou pouted. "I'm your partner, your friend. You practically raised me, so we're as good as family! This guy needs my stamp of approval."

Kagome rolled her eyes at the fox demon before she made eye contact with him in the mirror. "You've already met him, remember?"

"That doesn't count!" He argued. "You only introduced us. I didn't actually get a chance to talk to him."

"And whose fault is that?" Kagome questioned. "I introduced you and all you did was wave. Besides, he doesn't need your "stamp of approval." Sure, it's important to me that the two of you don't hate each other, but he only needs my approval for me to marry him."

"And Sesshoumaru's," Shippou mumbled, but he jumped a little when Kagome heavily set her brush down on the vanity.

"I'm leaving," Kagome announced. "I'm going to be late." With that, she stood and made her way to the door.

Shippou sighed as guilt settled in his stomach for what he'd said. "Kagome, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't think about it before I said it."

"It's okay, Ship," Kagome smiled back at her friend sadly. "But I really do need to get going. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later," Shippou waved as he watched her leave. "Damn it," he whispered into the empty room after the door shut behind his partner. Honestly, he should have known better. Sesshoumaru had become something of a taboo subject around Kagome.

As a fellow canine, he could understand where Sesshoumaru stood with his need to protect those that he saw as part of his pack. The dog demon had just gone about it in the wrong way. They may be able to take humanoid forms, but when it came down to it, the animalistic demons like he and Sesshoumaru had instincts that ran deep and could be near impossible to ignore. They might be able to reason them out with words like "honor" and "duty" and the like, but when it came right down to it, they didn't have a whole lot of choice in it. The trouble with Kagome coming under Sesshoumaru's care had been in their conflicting personalities. Kagome, being from a different time with different values, had been independent and stubborn, and Sesshoumaru, being from a time when most women were more meek and obedient, hadn't known how to handle her. He was an aristocrat and a fearsome fighter. He was very used to people doing what he told them and punishing them severely if they didn't listen. And since Kagome was one of the few people who could retaliate against him in a dangerous or even fatal way, corporal punishment was out.

In the end, the demon lord had gone with the only option that he saw left open to him. He locked Kagome away inside the walls of his father's castle, assigned two guards to her, and ignored any and all of her protests.

As Shippou had gotten older and began to better understand where each of them were coming from, he tried to mediate between them the best that he could, but the damage had already been done. Sesshoumaru had long ago stopped listening to Kagome's arguments, and Kagome has started resenting him for it. So while he'd been against this whole arranged marriage business, he would support Kagome in it. He knew that she'd rather be in a relationship with someone she loved and who loved her in return, but the past several centuries had been hard on her. He wasn't about to fault her for seizing an opportunity to change that.

Sighing, Shippou pushed himself off of the bed and pulled his shoes on. Date or not, Kagome was his best friend and partner. Until he was completely satisfied with this guy that Sesshoumaru had arranged for her to marry, he was going to keep watching her back.

Kagome laughed as she and Kid wandered the streets of Death City. He was showing her around the desert town and along the way had started pointing out different locations where he had memories with his friends and telling her the stories that went along. She had to admit that she really liked Death City. Being in the desert, it was sunny and hot. But more than that, she liked the aesthetic. The cobblestone streets. The white walls with the red roofs that made other colors of the city - flowers in planters, colored glass in storefronts, street art - much more pronounced and vivid. It wasn't hard to picture herself living there and being very happy.

They were just passing by a small flower shop when Kid slowed down. Kagome was pulled to a stop as well since she'd had one arm looped through his as he showed her around - a gesture on his part that she found very sweet and more than a little charming - and she looked up at him in question. The last time they met, she'd been wearing a pair of wedge heels, but in flats she realized just how much taller he was since she only came up to about his shoulder.

"Didn't you say that you liked gardening?" He asked as he turned from looking at the shop to look at her. When she nodded, he continued, "What's your favorite flower?"

Kagome smiled at the question before answering, "Carnations."

Letting go of her arm for a moment, Kid stepped up to speak with the woman arranging a few of the flowers on display. Kagome watched as he handed over some money and went about carefully picking what he probably saw as just the right one, and she was curious about which color he would choose. It took a few minutes, but it didn't bother her. Instead of finding it annoying, she was trying not to be too amused at how closely he was examining each flower. When he finally returned to her side, he had a perfect white carnation in hand. Extending it towards her without a word, he waited for her reaction.

Kagome took the offered flower and couldn't stop the wide smile that spread across her face. Her cheeks were warm, but she wasn't sure if it was from the sun or the small flutter in her stomach. The gesture was sweet and the flower was lovely. It was little things, like with the flower, that reminded her that they were essentially on a date. They weren't just new friends. They were seeing if the potential for a successful marriage was there. And so far, Kid seemed to be putting forth a real effort. The small gestures, offering his arm, opening her doors, buying her favorite flower, were convincing her more and more that she should stay and follow through with the contract.

But then that little tug of guilt would come back. Kid was trying, genuinely trying, to make their meeting more like a date to see what an actual relationship would be like. And while she wasn't not trying, Kagome still felt like she was holding them back. She didn't feel like she was being completely truthful with him, and it was eating away at her conscience. She thought that she'd been desperate enough to get out from under Sesshoumaru's watch that she would do anything, but she was starting to rethink that. Kid was nice. She didn't want to essentially trick him into marrying her only to find out certain details about her afterwards. No matter how badly she wanted to stay, she didn't think that she could do that to someone it turned out she actually liked. Now it was just a matter of finding the right time to talk with him.

As Kid offered her his arm again, the two resumed their tour of the city, doing their best to ignore the aww's and coo's coming from Spirit who followed several feet behind them commenting on how "kids grow up so fast."

Crouched on the edge of a rooftop, Black Start watched Kid as he walked with a woman he didn't know and laughed at something that he couldn't hear. Kid had thrown him off the previous week, but Black Star had found him this time. Granted, the only reason he knew that Kid was with his new girlfriend was because he checked at the Academy and they told him that Kid would be gone all day. It had taken a while to track him down, but now it was time to spy.

Kid hadn't told any of them anything about this girl, and he was curious, damn it! Also concerned for his friend who'd been set up to marry someone he'd never met before, but mostly curious. Well, at least she was pretty from what he could see.

When the couple rounded a corner and wandered out of his view, Black Star stood and was about to follow after them but drew up short. There was someone else on the roof opposite him. They were just standing on the corner of the building, hands in their pockets, watching the same duo that Black Star had been following. "Hey-!" Black Star called out only to cover his mouth a second later. It wouldn't do for Kid to find out that he'd been stalking them. "Hey," he called out to the other man at a more even volume. "What're you doing?"

When the man turned to look at him, Black Star was able to get a better look at him. Wild red hair hung down to his shoulders with only part of it pulled up out of his face. Tattoos - some sort of writing that Black Star couldn't read but that looked Japanese - ran down his arms from under the sleeves of his t-shirt all the way down to his wrists. The guy was also tall. But what really threw Black Star off was that he had a pair of shoes hanging around his neck, tied together by the laces.

Shippou looked over the young man that had called out to him before he turned back to watch Kagome and answered, "Same thing as you, probably." He had to hand it to the human; the other guy was good. Shippou had been on his corner for a while, but he never heard the other man arrive. He only noticed him when the wind carried his scent over. He did a pretty good job blending in for someone with blue hair.

Black Star jumped over to the other roof before stopping on the ledge beside the redhead. From this new position, he was able to see Kid and his date. The two of them stood there in silence for a while before Black Start blurted out, "You with her?"

"Yeah," Shippou answered as he glanced at the shorter man from the corner of his eye. "And you're one of his friends, right?" He asked as he nodded his head towards the two people below them.

"Yeah," Black Star nodded, but before he could say anything else, the other guy started speaking again.

"What's he like?"

"Kid?" Black Star asked, a little surprised by the question. Shrugging he said, "He's a good guy. Kinda crazy, but he's a good friend. What about her?"

Shippou snorted. "A little moody, but you'll have a hard time finding someone who doesn't like her."

Black Star tried to subtly get a feel for the guy next to him, but his eyes widened slightly when the guy jumped to the next rooftop and landed without making a sound. "Hey," he started. "Who are you?"

"Shippou. You?"

"Black Star," the blue haired meister answered. "And that's not what I meant! What are you?"

Shippou gave the other man another once over, more carefully this time. Black Star was shorter than he was, but he was powerfully built and could probably pack a punch. Shippou also didn't know if or for how long he and Kagome would be staying, and he didn't want to give too much away until things seemed more permanent. "Demon hunter," he finally told him.

Feeling his muscles tighten in excitement, Black Star grinned. Demons? Like Kishins? He glanced down to Kid and his date in the street below and hesitated for only a second before looking back up to Shippou and asking, "Wanna spar?" He didn't have Tsubaki with him, but the Shippou didn't look armed either, and he was curious about how strong a "demon hunter" would be.

Shippou watched Kagome, unsure on if he should leave her or not, but Kid didn't seem like he posed her any sort of danger. Expanding his senses some, Shippou sniffed the air and felt for any malicious auras and came up empty. He smirked as he looked back up at Black Star. "Lead the way."

A second later, both men disappeared from their respective perches in search of an area that wouldn't have a lot of collateral damage.

The sun was setting, and Kid had brought her to a spot that overlooked the city. As she leaned with her elbows propped against the wall that acted as the area's guardrail, Kagome looked from the flower still in her hands to Kid who stood beside her, leaning on the wall in a similar fashion. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Spirit several feet behind them, barely paying them any attention. She bit her lip. Even if it seemed like he wasn't really focused on them, she would rather the coming conversation be just between the two of them. Turning around slightly, Kagome called out, "Hey, Spirit." When she had the man's attention, she continued, "Could we have a little time alone? There's something private I want to talk about with Kid."

Kid was a little surprised at Kagome's request, and he wondered what she would want to talk about without Spirit around. They'd had a good day together, but there had been moments where Kagome had seemed a little tense. Wanting to clear the air of any potential problems, he reassured the death scythe, "I'll make sure she gets back to her hotel."

For his part, Spirit almost hesitated but decided against it in the end. He was really only tagging along in case they ran into any problems, but they'd been just fine without him all through the day already. They were both adults, after all. If they wanted to be alone, he didn't have a problem with it. "Okay," he said as he pushed off of the tree he'd been leaning against. "Call me later, Kid." With that he made his way down the street but made sure to call out a "Be good, you two!" over his shoulder.

Kagome shook her head at the redhead before looking back out over the city as the shadows deepened. She knew that Kid was watching her, waiting for her to say something, but she wasn't sure where to start. Spinning the carnation's stem between her fingers, she finally took a deep breath and sighed before asking, "Aside from what I've told you...what do you know about me?"

'Oh,' Kid thought as he watched Kagome. She was deliberately not looking at him, and he wondered just how nervous she was. He had a pretty good idea what she was talking about, though. Looking for a way to phrase his answer, he eventually said, "You're older than you look."

Kagome laughed. It was more the laugh of someone caught off guard than someone who was genuinely amused, but at least she didn't seem offended. "That one way to put it," she told him as she finally turned to look at him. "Does that bother you?"

"Honestly?" When he saw Kagome nod, he sighed a little before answering. "Not really. I'm not bothered by it so much as a little intimidated." He saw her blink at him in surprise and he tried to explain, feeling like a little kid. "Not by your age," he quickly clarified. "I'll live for a long time too, but right now I'm only twenty-five. I don't have the life experience you do, so part of me wonders why you would want to marry someone who you not only just met but who must seem like a kid to you."

"Despite your name," Kagome smiled, "I don't see you as a kid. I didn't know you when you were younger. I only know you as an adult. I may have lived longer and through more, but that really doesn't matter as much as you'd think." Her mind drifted to Inuyasha who had been much older than she was when they were married, and it never made a difference to them back then. But that lead her to a new question. "So is my age the only thing you were told about?"

"Is there more?" Kid asked. When Kagome frowned and looked away again, he tried to correct himself. "No, it's...that's fine. It's why we're having these meetings; to learn more about each other."

"This might be different," Kagome told him quietly. "Before I say anything else, I want you to know something. I'm sorry." Kid gave her an odd look before she continued, "I wanted to get all of this out before things went too far. I'm sorry because I hadn't planned on saying anything, but I felt like I was lying. You seem like a really nice person and I don't want to lie to you. So if you decide to call things off after this, no hard feelings, okay?"

Unsure of what else to say, Kid said "Okay" and waited for her to continue.

"I'm technically a widow," Kagome told him. She watched his initial shock quickly fade into curiosity before explaining, "I was married about five hundred years ago. I won't go into details about it, but we were in love and we were happy. But then there was an accident and he died and I came into the care of his brother." Pausing for a deep breath to calm her rolling stomach, Kagome continued, "His brother is a demon lord in Japan. A dog demon, actually. And the thing about demons is that if they have an animal side, they usually have similarities to the animal. When I married Inuyasha, I became part of Sesshoumaru's pack."

She stopped to make sure that Kid was still following along, and when he nodded that he was still with her, she spoke again, "So when Inuyasha died, Sesshoumaru saw it as his responsibility to take care of me. The problem with that was that we never really got along."

"And he's been taking care of you ever since then?" Kid asked.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me," Kagome ground out before she could catch herself. "Sorry," she apologized. "Sorry. That's my issue with him, not you. But yeah, pretty much. But he took it a little too far. It was like being put in a very well decorated prison. And then he told me about this marriage contract," she sighed at just the memory of that particular fight. "At first, I told him no and refused, but then I thought about it a little more. This is the part that I feel really bad about..."

Looking into Kid's yellow eyes, she closed her eyes, ashamed of what she'd been willing to do to him when she first arrived. "I agreed to come here and meet you so that I could get away from Sesshoumaru, hopefully for good. I was ready to marry you as long as I didn't absolutely despise you. I was going to use you."

Kid was quiet for several seconds as he looked out over the city and watched the streetlights start blinking to life. "And now?"

"And now I feel like a terrible person," Kagome laughed as she covered her eyes with one hand. Shaking her head, she lowered her hand again and said, "I feel like a terrible person now because after getting to know you some, I actually like you. A lot more than I ever expected. And that's why I had to tell you. You've been so nice and polite and just great and I couldn't do that to you." Swallowing around the lump in her throat and hoping that he wasn't too angry, she finished, "So while I really hope you won't, if you want to call this off, I'll understand. This probably isn't the best inspiration to trust me after this."

Kagome waited and Kid was silent for several long minutes. They stood quietly beside each other, watching the sun finish disappearing beyond the horizon, and Kagome grew more anxious about what he'd eventually say by the second. When he finally spoke again, she actually jumped a little.

"What do you want to do for our last date before our decision?"

"...What?"

Knowing that she was probably confused about the meaning behind his question rather than the question itself, he decided to elaborate. "I'm not calling things off. Not yet, anyway."

"That's great," Kagome said in confused relief. "But why?"

Kid shrugged a little as he said, "You apologized. You were honest and told me everything. It was a plan you made before we met. The important thing is that you changed your mind, right?"

Kagome watched Kid for a moment to make sure that he was really serious before she relaxed, genuinely relieved, and smiled. "Yeah."

"So what should our third date be?" Kid asked again.

"Well," Kagome thought for a second before suggesting, "since you showed me your city and shared things about yourself today, what if I cook dinner for you tomorrow? I can tell you more about myself and my past."

Part of him hesitated at the thought of Kagome coming to his home where Liz and Patty would be, but at the rate they were going, Kagome was bound to meet them eventually. "That sounds great," Kid agreed with a small smile. "But it's getting dark. I should walk you back to your hotel for tonight.

Kagome nodded in agreement and took his arm again when it was offered. As they walked down the streets, Kagome pointed out, "We were being followed earlier, you know."

"It was Black Star," Kid sighed. He always knew there was a chance that Black Star would find them.

"And Shippou," Kagome added with a small smile. She would have to talk to the fox about privacy later.

It was about an hour after Kid had dropped her off at her hotel, time enough for her to shower and wash her face, before Shippou made his way back to the hotel room. When she heard the door shut, she made her way out of the bathroom, ready to ask where he'd been only to stop at the sight of her friend. He was covered in scrapes, small cuts, and had more than a couple of bruises forming.

Struck speechless for a moment, when she finally found her words, Kagome asked, "What in the world happened to you?"

Grinning like the big kid that he more-or-less was, Shippou answered, "I think I made a new friend."