Black Ice: Jeez, what's with us finding these things?!

"Yo, Kagome." Inuyasha called. Kagome was preparing to braise a pepper steak.

"I told you, Inuyasha, there is no more ramen and there will be no more until tomorrow." Kagome said sternly. They'd been in the hotel a good week or so, and funds were running somewhat low. Inuyasha and Akiyoshi had to get odd jobs to keep their operation afloat. Akiyoshi was still at his job, but Inuyasha had already brought home a few ten thousand yen.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about." He strolled in the kitchen, leaning against the wall. "Teach me how to cook."

"Um, don't you already know how?"

"No."

"Liar." Kagome chuckled. "You cooked for me when I was sick. Or don't you remember?"

"I've forgotten how." Inuyasha stated, and even though she knew he was lying, she smiled in spite of herself.

"Wash your hands, first off. You're not cooking one thing in this kitchen with those grimy hands." Inuyasha blinked, looking at his hands, then left to do as she bade. Now that was certainly peculiar; Inuyasha barely ever listened to her. Normally, he'd scoff and complain, but now...something in the wash wasn't clean, as her mother used to say.

"This squeaky clean enough for ya?" Inuyasha drawled, splashing drops of water from his dripping hands onto her face.

"Keep that up, playboy, and you'll be drinking dishwater for the rest of our stay here." Kagome smirked.

"Okay, I'll be good. What's first?"

"Um...you rinse off the steak and I'll chop the peppers and onions." Inuyasha's nose twitched uncomfortably, and he kept his distance as he ran the two steaks under running cold water.

"What's wrong? Don't like vegetables?"

"Peppers and onions make my nose itch, that's all."

"Then you can't cook." Kagome frowned, looking at him. "I don't want you sick or something on my account. And I especially don't want you sneezing all over the food."

"Aw, c'mon, I can hold a sneeze."

"That's not healthy. That blows your brains out. Now, shoo, shoo—you can cook another time."

"Keh! Fine!" Inuyasha harrumphed, storming out. What was his problem? Kagome merely shook her head in confusion, turning on the stove and setting the oil. Boys were strange creatures.

Inuyasha didn't say anything to her for a long time, even when Akiyoshi came in, immediately complimenting Kagome's cooking.

"It smells like Gordon Ramsey's been in here!" He smiled, peeking in the kitchen.

"Yeah, and he left a lime on the couch." Kagome muttered, knowing Inuyasha could hear her.

"Oh. I'd just assumed he always looked like that. You know. Like gnarled bark." Kagome couldn't help a few snickers.

"No, not always. He's just pissy 'cause I won't let him cook, but he's such a dunce that he doesn't appreciate the fact that I'm only looking out for his welfare."

"Hmm?"

"He's allergic to peppers and onions, apparently. I don't know. He went practically ballistic when I kicked him out and now he seems to have taken a vow of silence."

"He's mad because you won't let him cook?" Akiyoshi frowned, lowering his voice, and Kagome took her cue to do the same.

"I think he thinks I just don't want him around or something. Like I think he'll contaminate the food." Kagome couldn't explain it, but she felt somewhat hurt by this. Didn't he know her better than that?

"Ah. That's unfortunate. Have you tried to convince him otherwise?"

Kagome scoffed, as if the very idea was unthinkable. "Why the hell should I?!" she hissed. "He should know better, damn it!"

"Apparently, he doesn't, Kagome." Akiyoshi shrugged, and the slam of a door made Kagome cringe. She dashed out of the kitchen, her jaw dropping when she saw that Inuyasha had left.

"What is his problem?!" Kagome yelled, frustrated. Akiyoshi seemed all the more amused when he came in, a smile on his face.

"If I'm not mistaken, our hanyou friend has quite literally left the building."

"I'm glad this is so funny to you, dude." Kagome snapped, and Akiyoshi's smile became guilty. "I'm sorry, Akiyoshi. I hadn't meant to snap."

"You must really like him to be so concerned over him."

"Wh-what?!" Kagome stammered, face steaming red. She inadvertently recalled the night before, when she'd rubbed his soft ears, and his voice got so low, it had sent shivers coursing through her bones. "Like him? I don't like him. He just happens to be a guy I'm...traveling with."

"Oh?" Kagome thought she'd developed a fever; was Akiyoshi getting closer to her, or was she hallucinating? "And what category do I fall under?"

"Umm..." And then, the world underwent slow motion. It was as though Kagome was deprived of all her senses when his lips touched hers. Her first real kiss that wasn't forced upon her by Kamikaze, and even then, it didn't feel right. She felt...guilty. As though she were betraying someone. Her eyes strayed instinctively to the partially opened curtains of the balcony doors. Kagome gasped in shock; either her imagination was running rampant, or a pair of dark golden orbs hovered in the darkness of the outside world. "I-I have to find Inuyasha!" She breathed, her heart going into overdrive, and she ran out the door. Her mind didn't have a clue where the renegade demon could possibly be, but her instinct was driving her onto the elevator, to the ground floor, and outside the hotel, where, much to her surprise, Inuyasha sat against the wall, sullen and silent.

Boy, you're good, she congratulated herself, then said aloud, "Inuyasha?" She sat beside his still form.

"Leave me alone." He grumbled. "Go play kissing games with your human boyfriend."

"So you saw that."

"Yeah, I did."

"Then you know I didn't kiss him. He kissed me."

"You let him. And anyway, why do you care about the fucking technicalities? You don't like me. I'm just the guy you're traveling with, right? That's what you said to Sword Boy, isn't it?"

"You can't possibly believe that."

"Believe what?"

"That you're...just a means of transportation to me. You're more than that." Kagome sighed, wishing she could make him understand.

"Yeah, whatever." He stood, staring hard at the ground with his fists clenched. "The hanyou never wins, huh?" That stung Kagome greatly, and she got up as well.

"Inuyasha, why...why are you so hurt by this?"

"I'm not hurt." He was, of that she was certain, but his pride wouldn't permit him to admit it. "I just know when I'm obviously not needed. I hope you and your boyfriend have all the happiness in the world."

"I—Inuyasha!" Her cry was futile; Inuyasha was gone. She would have followed him, if it hadn't been for the faint voice coming from what sounded like the dispatcher of a nearby police car.

"Calling all cars, calling all cars—be on the lookout for a female runaway; 5 foot 3, black hair, gray eyes..." Kagome's eyes widened and she tried to press against the wall to avoid detection. There was no way she could go back into the hotel without its bright lights giving her away.

"Hey, look, isn't that a kid right there?" One of the policemen said to his partner, squinting in the dark at Kagome.

"Let's question her; she might've seen that runaway." Apparently, her instinct was feeling impulsive today; she ran, right around the hotel's corner, which couldn't have been a dumber idea, in her later opinion. But in any case, she was certainly no Inuyasha, and she could never hope to measure up to Akiyoshi, and she was getting tired. She stumbled and fell to her knees, cursing herself for her schoolgirl clumsiness, then scrambled to stand again, cringing and squeezing her eyelids shut.

"Damn. She got away." The policeman's voice was too close for him not to see Kagome, and she tentatively opened her eyes. The two men were barely two feet away from her.

"Huh?"

"What was that sound?" The suspicious officer said, and Kagome clamped her hands to her mouth. This was bizarre...how could they possibly not see her? She was right before their eyes!

Carefully, she held out her arm and gasped. There was nothing there.

"I think we should get back to the car. That kid's long gone and the night's wearing on."

"Yeah...I guess." He mumbled, and they left. Once they were out of sight, Kagome released a relieved breath she hadn't even known she was holding. Was she invisible? No...something told her it wasn't quite that. As she mused, her heart rate slowly returned to normal, and color faded back into her skin.

"Kagome, there you are." She was startled when Akiyoshi came into view, approaching her with a concerned expression. "Are you okay? Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome blinked, and wiggled her fingers in front of her face. She was back to normal.

"He's gone." She murmured, the sting of Inuyasha's abrupt departure returning with an annoying vengeance.

"Gone? Where'd he go?"

"I don't know. And I don't care either." Kagome huffed defiantly, taking Akiyoshi by surprise.

"I...sense a spat commenced. Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh, well, okay. Let's go back to the room, then." As they walked, Kagome noticed how he hadn't bothered to suggest they look for Inuyasha. When they were almost to the hotel, Kagome heard the policemen from before, and it seemed as though they were talking to someone. She looked around and had to stifle a gasp when she saw the silver of Inuyasha's hair in close proximity to the blue of the policemen's uniforms. She paused, pretending to look for something.

"I could swear I had that thing..." She mumbled, and Akiyoshi looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"You'll have to go to the room without me. I think I lost something."

"Do you want me to help you look for it?"

"Nah, I'm sure I'll find it eventually. I'll be up in a few minutes, don't worry about it."

"Okay, if you say so." Akiyoshi shrugged, going into the building alone. As soon as he was gone, Kagome dashed in Inuyasha's direction.

"Look, you assholes, I told you, I'm not "up to anything sneaky". Now leave me the hell alone!" He growled.

"I don't think so. You half-breeds are just the type of sickos to kidnap an innocent human girl."

"Fuck you! I didn't kidnap anybody!"

"Ahem!" Kagome cleared her throat, and the three of them looked at her. "Inuyasha, there you are! Father was looking for you for an hour."

"You know this dog, ma'am?" One of the policemen quirked an eyebrow.

"He's our manservant. He accompanied us on our trip here, but he left a while ago to get something for me."

"Well, you should really put a tag on him. This one's belligerent." The policemen smirked, but Kagome nodded as if she took them seriously, when in reality, she wanted to choke the life out of them both. She took Inuyasha's hand and dragged him along once the police left.

"Stupid bastards." They said at the same time, and Inuyasha glared at Kagome.

"Why the hell didn't you just leave me alone?"

"Not likely. I told you I needed you, and I'll be damned if I just let you run away from your responsibilities like that."

"I don't run away from anything. I just didn't want to be around you two anymore."

"Is that really why you left, dude? I mean, short amount of time though it was, I did start to miss you."

"Stop lying."

"I don't lie."

"You just did."

"...That doesn't count." Kagome grinned wryly. "That was just a fib for to save your ass."

"Let's see. A fib is a collection of three or less lies. So...you said your father'd been looking for me. Lie one. You said I was your manservant. Lie numero two. And you said I left to get something for you. That's a pretty big lie, so I'll count it as two. It all adds up to four lies, making it all just a big ass lie."

"What?!" Kagome laughed. "That's not even fair! That last lie only makes three."

"Then okay, you said you were looking for me for an hour? Fourth lie."

"Okay, okay. You got me." Inuyasha smirked with his small victory. "So...can I assume from this witty back-and-forth that you've forgiven me?"

"Under the circumstances, I really shouldn't."

"Please, Inuyasha? And you know quite well that I never say please, so this must be serious."

"It is a pretty rare occurrence." He nodded. "Okay. I'll forgive you on one condition."

"...Name it."

"Don't kiss Akiyoshi again." Kagome started to laugh, thinking he was being funny, but when she looked at him, his face was the epitome of seriousness.

"What makes you think I would do that anyway?"

"It's my condition. Take it or leave it."

"I guess I'll take it." Kagome shrugged, and they went into the hotel.

"Check this out, dudes." Kagome said the next morning. "We have got to get the hell out of here."

"Yeah. We've been here entirely too long. The police are getting too close, and honestly, it makes me nervous."

"Me too." Kagome nodded. "So we need to find somewhere else to go."

"Do you seriously think we can evade this man for much longer? I don't see why you don't just give up to him, Kagome." Akiyoshi shook his head, and Kagome stared at him in disbelief, while Inuyasha chuckled bitterly. Kagome got up and left the room without a word.

"What? What did I say?" Akiyoshi blinked. He winced when Kagome slammed the bedroom door, but because the door was faulty, it merely bounced off of the threshold and remained slightly open.

"Now that was surprising. I thought for sure she'd beat your insensitive face in."

"Insensitive?"

"That "man" is her stepfather. He's pretty much a rapist and an overall asshole, especially to Kagome. She grew up with him, and she's never known how to fight back, so when she was given the chance to run, she took it. She hasn't given that chance up yet, and I'm pretty sure she won't any time soon, for you or me or anybody else."

"So why don't you fight him for her?" Finding that things were getting interesting, Kagome got up and looked through the crack in the door at them.

"For one thing, I'm a hanyou. If I laid a single hand on that guy, especially since he seems to have ties in high places, I'd be put to death right there on the spot. For two, I won't fight him if she doesn't want me to. If it were up to me, we wouldn't even have to be running, but obviously, it's not up to me, so I don't have much say in things."

"Hmm. Now here's an interesting query for you, Inuyasha." Akiyoshi said smoothly, tapping his bottle of water on the table. "Why did you run away last night?"

"I don't think that's any of your business, Akiyoshi." Inuyasha retorted dangerously, crossing his arms.

"That may be, but I'm not stupid. Kagome went to look for you last night, am I right? That's why you're even here. Because of Kagome." Inuyasha didn't like that insinuation.

"No, fuckwad, I'm here because I want to be here. The only reason you're here is because Kagome's too nice to tell you to go fuck yourself. Now, if you keep toeing the fucking line, I'm going to snatch your head right off your body!"

"What's really interesting is how you only ran off after I kissed her."

"She didn't want to kiss you, motherfucker!" Inuyasha snarled, his anger rising to perilous heights.

"Is that what she told you?" Akiyoshi chuckled condescendingly. "Oh, poor, dumb hanyou." It was like someone had flipped a switch. Inuyasha lunged across the table, and Akiyoshi danced out of his reach. "Is something wrong, Inuyasha? Can't you handle the truth?"

"Lies!" He grunted gutturally, slashing at Akiyoshi. The ninja evaded him easily, but now Inuyasha was getting faster and more vicious. Come to think, his eyes seemed to be changing color. Kagome wondered, should she go out and stop him before something happened? Or would he, with his immense pride, then think she really did like Akiyoshi? She sighed. In a conundrum like that—she flinched when Inuyasha crashed into the coffee table—it was probably best to let them solve it amongst themselves.

Besides, Akiyoshi was a real asshole. She saw that now. He deserved anything Inuyasha delivered to him.

But then she started to feel somewhat guilty for that thought, especially when Inuyasha finally caught Akiyoshi by the throat. Now it was time to intervene. Kagome left the room and stepped into the living room, seeing blood seep through Inuyasha's fingers.

"Inuyasha." She called quietly, and his head jerked around; he was seeing her through eyes she had never seen before, red and blue like conflicting energies. "I heard everything he said. I know you think he deserves to die, and personally, I'm not very far from that opinion either. But trust me, it's not worth it to have his life staining your hands...any more than it already is, anyway." In this beastly state, Kagome wasn't very sure he understood her, but whether or not he did, he let Akiyoshi go nonetheless. The injured ninja sucked up large mouthful of air, glaring wildly at Inuyasha.

"You'll fucking regret that, half-breed!" He screamed, and tossed a dirty look at Kagome before leaving the hotel room.

"Are you okay, Inuyasha?" Kagome walked up to him and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. "I can't help feeling that this is all my fault."

"Not...your fault." He grunted, and Kagome pressed her hand to his forehead.

"You're burning up, Inuyasha. You should lay down before you burst a blood vessel." Inuyasha looked like he was about to protest, but then he just laid down on the couch to appease her. "Lemme go get some ice." She was about to turn, when he suddenly grabbed her wrist, startling her. Kamikaze had done that much too often in the past for her not to be wary.

"You...care?" Kagome blinked, then smiled warmly.

"Don't be stupid. Of course I care."

Black Ice: For those of you who haven't been in the loop with us lately, we have decided to do a writing contest based on the unanimous vote on our poll. These are the terms.

Either me or Rain will choose one of our unfinished stories. Within the course of one month, we want all those interested to write the next chapter of the story. During this time period, we will not be offering our beta services. Don't ask why; we don't wanna hear any complaints.

The chapter has to be at least five pages long, in 12-point font (preferably Andalus font), with specifications as follows:

0.20" spacing below paragraph;

portrait orientation;

8.50 page width;

11.00 page length;

0.79 on all margins.

The contest officially begins Monday June 15, 2009, at 12:00 noon.

There will be NO FAVORITISM. This of course means that your chapter shall be picked based on originality, grammar, punctuation, knowledge of the topic, etc.

Send ALL submissions in .doc file format to my email address, ikichira yahoo . com (take out them spaces, y'all). The subject line should be Chapter Submission and the email body should contain a short summary of what you've written.

Keep checking our website for updates about the contest information. Remember, everyone is eligible and all content is accepted as long as it conforms to the standards of the story.

I think that's about it for right now... Good luck, peoples! Come noon, come to our website to see what the first story assignment shall be!

Website Address: blackiceandbloodrain . webs . com

(Generic, we know. But do we care? Hell no. ^^)