The Way I Feel Inside
Chapter One

A/N: Hello to all. Yes. I'm back. Unfortunately the two fan fictions that I started previously I lost interest in. It had been awhile since I updated them and I'm not sure where either one of the was heading. This one I have completely written-out and typed-out. So I should be updating it frequently. Thanks for all of you who take the time to read. I hope you enjoy it.

She swung the door open as she entered from long day. Juggling around her arms full of groceries, she managed to get the key out of the lock and shut the door with her foot. Setting the bags down on the kitchen counter, she quickly took of her jacket and hung it on the coat rack by he door. OK... first things first. She thought. After she put away the groceries, then she went over and plopped down onto the sofa. She had been aching to do that all day, just lay there in peace and quiet. Working two jobs is a particularly tiring thing. She was forced to wake up early every morning and come home late every night, even on the weekends. A flashing light on her answering machine caught her attention. She reached over and pressed 'play' as an automated voice spoke.

"Sunday, 8:16 A.M." It said then played the message.

"Hi, honey. I probably just missed you, but I would like to talk with you about something. Call me back whenever you get some free time." Kagome sighed. Free time? What is that, mom?

"Sunday, 3:11 P.M." The automated voice spoke once again. After it's announcement a different voice played.

"Huh? Oh, hey. This is Hojo. I- um- guess that I'll talk to you later... I guess. Uh, OK. Bye." Kagome rolled her eyes. That boy was persistent. Oh, yes. I know what you want. Honestly, what possessed me to give him my phone number? Rolling over she reached for the laptop on the coffee table ahead of her. She had forgotten to log out, so she was already connected to the internet. She opened it to her e-mail. The icon showed her that she had any messages, but they were all in her bulk mail. All well. She thought disappointed. She went into the bathroom and started her nightly routine. As she came back out of the bathroom, the computer gave off a little chime. She looked down the hallway to her bedroom, and then into the living room at her computer, and back again. Oh, hell. She decided to break her rule and check her e-mail while she was in bed. Walking into the living room, she grabbed the computer and brought it back into her bedroom. It chimed again while she situated herself in her bed, sitting up. After it chimed for a third time, she realized that it wasn't e-mail she was getting. Someone was trying to instant message her. Checking the message confirmed who it was. A smile spread across her face.

"Hey. Did you have a late shift tonight?" and "Are you there?" were the two messages. she tapped her fingers lightly across the keys. What should I say? She began typing.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't notice ya there." She said, pure sarcasm. It didn't take long for a response.

"Head in the clouds again?" She laughed lightly. Either he ignored the sarcasm or missed it. Both were extremely possible.

"No, but my head was about to be buried in my pillow though, so I can go o dreamland and escape this pitiful existence I have." This response was immediate.

"What? Is it that late?" She scoffed at the comment. His sarcasm was never very subtle, even on the internet. She bit her lower lip, trying to think of a clever response. Instead, she thought of a lyric.

"'I'm having trouble trying to sleep. I'm counting sheep but running low.'" She glanced at the clock as she waited for his response. She really should get to sleep. A chime informed her that he had responded.

"That's one of my favorite songs right there." She smile lightly. She knew that already. He'd told her. She let out a yawn as she type her reply.

"It's been an extremely long day, Inuyasha."

"For me, too. I'm still on the road."

"I think I'd rather be on the road than staying in one spot." She began thinking about her jobs. One as a waitress, the other working at a bookstore. Both of the jobs were low pay and longer shifts. The more she thought of work, the more annoyed she became.

"I have a little more to do that just travel, ya know?" She didn't realize how worked up she had gotten over work. She didn't even realize that she snapped at him as she typed.

"Actually, I don't know. due to our little rules, but all well. Life's tough!" Ah, the rules. There were a couple limits they set for themselves, such as they weren't suppose to say anything specific about certain things such as where they worked, lived, last names, or anything like that. They'd made a couple exceptions along the way or slipped up on accident, but they stuck to those rules.

"I thought we had agreed about it. Is something bothering you about this?" As she wrote her heated reply, she paused in the middle of it. He didn't say or do anything to deserve this. She erased what she had written and started all over again.

"I agree with our rules completely. I'm sorry that I snapped. As I said, it's been a really long day for me and I'm kinda irritable right now. I think I better go to bed before something else I don't mean comes flying out." It took a little while for him to respond.

"It's OK. Have fun in dreamland." Kagome smiled. He had understood and didn't take an offense. Whenever they first started talking, he'd take offense to any little comment she made. They ended so many conversations on a bad note, but lately they began to understand each other finally and they drew closer through that.

"Thanks. Goodnight, Inuyasha." She finished. after logging out and setting her computer on the nightstand next to her bed, she just laid back into her pillows, staring at the ceiling with a smile on her face. That had been the first time they ever instant messaged. Even though it was short and nothing new was said, he became a little more real to her. They'd first spoke to each other through a fan site for her favorite band, Feudal Era. At first, all they talked about was music, but through that they gained some common ground. They began to e-mail each other. He was just as busy as she was as far as work went. The only difference was he was on the road. They had chatted for over a year. He knew what she looked like from her page where she had a picture of herself up, but she had no idea what he looked like. All the pictures on his site had something to do with the Feudal Era. She sighed lightly as she rolled over onto her side, clutching the blankets with her hands. I wonder what he looks like. With that thought, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Inuyasha, will you please get over here and help me with this?"

"Yeah, yeah. Hang on a minute." He said as he finished up his conversation with Kagome. "What is it?" Miroku slid the paper across the table to him. He looked at it. "What?"

"Take a closer look." Inuyasha looked at it. "Farther down. A little more... there it is."

"What the hell is this?"

"Our manager threw us a little surprise. He extended the tour for three more shows." Inuyasha ripped the paper into confetti and threw it into the air.

"Sesshomaru..." He growled. "As much as I love preforming, here comes a point where we need to stop and take a little break." No sarcasm, pure honesty.

"Agreed. After playing a festival show and a couple show out of the country, I'd say it's time for at least one day off, but there's something good about this."

"What?"

"The final show is in Santa Cruz. I'll finally be able to see Sango again. It's hard begin away from her for so long. You know I think that it's time to-"

"Santa Cruz?" Inuyasha said, lost in his own thoughts. That's where Kagome lives. I wonder...

"Whoa. Earth to Inuyasha. You there?" Miroku said, waving a hand in front of him.

"Yeah?"

"Nothing. you just dazed out there for a second. What caught your attention like that?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

Dragging herself, she went in through the front doors. At least she didn't have to work that stupid shift at the diner. As soon as she walked in, she smelled the coffee from the Starbucks located inside, which roused her a little. She followed the smell straight to the counter, where a familiar face awaited her.

"One Irish-creme cappuccino coming up." Kagome nodded, gratefully.

"Working coffee shop again?"

"Just until Yura gets here. Kikyo pulled a no call, no show this morning." Sango said as she handed her the cup of coffee.

"Lovely." She said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Thanks for my energy in a cup. I'll see you later." Kagome said as she headed to the back of the store. Pushing open the door with the sign that said Employees Only, she saw several boxes stacked. With a sigh, she set down her coffee and grabbed hold of the box-cutter. After slicing the tape off of the first box, she opened the flaps. "I almost forgot this is going to be released tomorrow." She exclaimed to herself, grabbing a book and looking at the inside cover.

"Cheater. It's not even released yet. You're suppose to wait until you buy a copy before you read it." Sango said as she came in behind her.

"Hey, it's a perk of working here." Kagome said with a smile. "I can't believe it's the 16th of the series. I wonder what will be revealed in this one." She said, as she set the book down and began working on separating the shipments. Sango shook her head. Kagome was so into that series, she even convinced her to start reading them.

"I'm glad that you didn't have to work the diner this morning. You looked so beat yesterday."

"I was beat. When I got home, I just wanted to crash." Kagome said, recalling the events of the day past.

"Why didn't you?" Sango asked. Kagome flushed a little bit. She only told one person about her online chats with the mysterious Inuyasha and that was because it slipped. She hadn't told Sango, not because she wasn't trust-worthy. She was and had proved that over and over again. Kagome was worried about her reaction.

"Well, I got wrapped up in a conversation." Sango sensed that Kagome was holding back something.

"Oh, yeah. With who?" She asked, nonchalantly.

"Oh, some guy..." Sango's interest was perked by that.

"Ooh... Kagome Higurashi was caught up in a conversation with a mystery man in the middle of the night and lost valuable sleep over it?" That was a shocker in itself. "Alright, I know it must have been important. I need details. I know you won't lose sleep just to talk with me casually."

"But I talk to you face-to-face everyday multiple times." Sango didn't take the bait.

"No changing the subject on me. Who's the mystery man?" She asked, antsy with curiosity. All of a sudden, she froze. "Wait. It's not Hojo, is it?"

"Hojo? No! Don't get me wrong. He's a nice guy, but... simply not my type." She said, trying to put it delicately. Visibly, Sango was relieved.

"Alright. Well, who is it then?" Kagome swallowed, taking a moment to gather her courage, not knowing exactly how she'd react.

"What do you think about - meeting people online?" Sango paused her work and looked over at her.

"Online?" Kagome nodded. Sango looked back at the work at hand and continued with it.

"Well, I've personally never done that, so I guess I don't really know about it. I know that you really need to be careful and cautious, though. You never know who you may actually be speaking with."

"I know." Kagome said. "We've both been cautious about this. We're on a first name basis only. He knows that I live out here, but doesn't know anything specifically. He knows I work two jobs and that pretty much it as far as personal things go." Sango nodded.

"You've been smart about it. I just wouldn't give out any personal addresses or anything like that."

"Absolutely not. I think that he would have already asked for that kind of thing if he was some pervert or physco, though."

"Where did you meet him?"

"The Feudal Era bulletin board. We were talking about the band and music in general. He's been to 'so many shows he can't count' while I've haven't been to one yet." Sango snapped her fingers.

"I almost forgot. Miroku called me last night. They're adding a couple more shows to the tour and are planning to have the big tour finale right here." Kagome got excited.

"Really? That's awesome. When is it?"

"2 weeks from yesterday."

"Oh, man. I'd buy my ticket and everything, but it's on a Sunday. I'll more than likely have to work."

"I know you might not have it off, but Miroku did happen to send me two backstage passes. The second one is yours if you want it." Sango laughed lightly. She looked like a little child on Christmas Day. She opened her mouth to speak, but she was too excited. "A 'thank you, Sango' will suffice."

"Thank you, Sango." She stammered.