Hello! I have returned from the semi-dead! I say dead becasue I've been basically M.I.A. for months without an update on this story or my profile and I say semi becasue I have been submitting other works. Of course, if you subscribe to my author alerts you'd've known that.

So...School started. And this year was supposed to be about me. Well, it kinda hasn't so far. Bam, the very first day of school I get sucked into drama that I didn't want to be apart of, but it was inevitable for me because I kinda was the problem, so to speak. A guy friend of mine has developed a crush on me and the way he's gone about showing it was more creepy than cute. At the beginning of the year he seemed to be constantly following me, walking me to almost every one of my classes and even entering one of my classrooms and waiting for me at the end of class. He was being very open and very, very personal and he was starting to make me feel uncomfortable. And then he asked me to homecomming, like, two months before the dance. I turned him down, but after that I've felt very awkward and never really wanting to be left alone with him.

And then there was some friendship issues but I won't really go into that because I was being too sensitive and was most likely pre-menstral. PMSing. I hate it.

But it wasn't all bad things that were distracting me! Good things too! Like homecomming week! Yeah, homecomming!

So, at my school we have this overall theme that we all vote on and this year it was music. Then each individual grade level chose a sup-theme and my grade was Pop. Yeah, yeah, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, and of course the King and Queen of Pop Michael Jackson and Madonna! Our floor that we had to decorate was amazing; There was this entire wall dedicated to Michael Jackson, showcasing paper cut-outs of his sick dance moves, and all over the walls were inspirational quotes from many of the singers. And we turned the doors to the floor in to iPods!

And on wednesday of homecomming week we dressed up in accordance to our theme. So I had to dress up as a pop star or a celebrity pop star. And I chose Madonna. Yeah, I decked myself out in a frickn' CONE BRA! I had a cone about a foot long sticking out of my chest! Hellz yeah it was awesome. I was the talk of the school, people took pictures, people called me brave, (people laughed at me but I think I'll leave that part out. XD) So all in one day I tested the lengths of my confidence and lost the very last shred of my dignity. Best day of my life.

I wish I could show post pictures but I can't right now. Sorry.

Anyways, before I set you off to go read the chapter, I want to make a point and ask you all something:

It's been decided that on October 20th, 2010, we will purple in honor of the recent gay suicides. Many of them suffered from homophobic abuse in their schools or in their homes. We want to take a stand to say that we will not tolerate this. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that's exactly what we'd like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th to remember all the lives of LGBTQ youth that have been lost due to homophobia. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools.
R.I.P.

We've already got twenty eight thousand, three hundred and seventy people including me on facebook and I was hoping that we could add more by my spreading the word on here. If I offend anyone in any way by posting this, I give you permission to scream at me later in a message or something. But right now, all I'm concerned with is getting the word out.

And that's all. Thank you.

Disclaimer:I do not own or make money off of Inuyasha. This was made purely for fans by a fan. It is in no way sponsored, approved, endorsed by or affiliated by Rumiko Takahashi or Viz Media, or any other affiliates.

Flames are welcome.

Chapter 12—Setbacks

The knife slid soundlessly over the English muffin, spreading the butter. It was quiet—strangely quiet for the Mess Hall. Kagome's eyes lifted from her plate and she glanced around. Kids and teenagers alike were all huddled together at their tables, looking around and forming their own conspiracy theories. Inuyasha was nowhere to be seen.

Kagome's movements with the knife slowed as her appetite vanished. She set the muffin and the knife down on her plate. Yesterday, a bomb—most likely from the serial killer—had been planted in Kagome's cabin next to her bed. However, instead of triggering it herself, Inuyasha had accidentally triggered it when he was dropping off her clothes. And since he was the delinquent—Kagome frowned at the word—everyone immediately pointed fingers at him. Some even went as far as to claim he was actually a demon in a human's disguise, an idea that Kagome found absolutely ridiculous. Inuyasha was strictly human. Why would a demon want to disguise himself as such a weak creature?

The doors to the Hall opened and sure enough Inuyasha was the one who stepped through. He didn't look at anyone, though many if not all looked at him, and headed over to the peanut butter and jelly stand. Once completed, he took the sandwich and without getting a plate, tray, or drink, exited the Hall. The second the doors closed again the whispers started up. Kagome sighed and got up. No one stopped her.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called when she stepped out of the building.

"I'm right here," Inuyasha said, closer than she thought. He was sitting with his back against the wall of the Mess Hall near the doors.

"Oh, there you are." Kagome sat down next to him. She pointed to his sandwich. "You're getting better at making those."

"Keh," Inuyasha grumbled and took another bite.

"So, you don't want to sit with us?"

"You crazy? After what happened yesterday I assumed that I would've been kicked out of here by now."

Kagome's eyes softened. "They're just rumors. Empty words with no meaning."

"You'd be surprised just how much words can sting. Being sheltered and loved all your life, I doubt that anyone had any bad thing to say about you." Inuyasha stated bitterly, chucking the rest of the sandwich into a nearby bush.

Kagome frowned. "I know you're upset but that doesn't mean that you can just take it out on me, you know! I've had my own fair share of sharp tongues and nasty words!"

"Whatever, Wench." Inuyasha said, standing up. "Look just leave me alone, alright? I don't want you hovering around me all the time."

"Fine!" Kagome snapped, getting to her feet. "I was just trying to cheer you up, but if you're going to be acting like this, then maybe I will leave!" Still fuming, and muttering incoherent words, Kagome turned and went back inside the Mess Hall.

Inuyasha watched her leave. He placed a hand to his throbbing head. 'Dammit,'

Kikyou gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She gave her lips one last swipe with the gloss wand and stood up. Now came the hard part; finding something to wear.

Two months ago picking out something to wear would be like picking out all the green ones in a bowl of her favorite candy—simple to do. A few weeks ago, picking out something to wear was like writing an essay—simple to do if she could focus and if she weren't so dizzy from lack of food. Now, picking out something to wear was like trying to understand boys—complicated and sometimes not even worth the effort.

On her hands and knees, Kikyou scrounged around under the beds for something to wear. Every morning Kikyou threw clothes around in fits of rage from never finding something to wear. Everything slid of her shoulders, hung low on her waist, or started sagging in places they weren't supposed to sag. She knew she was losing weight and it was scaring her.

She found a pair of jean shorts under one of her cabin mate's beds and slipped them on. They slid down. Frustrated, she kicked them off.

Then she spied a belt hung over one of the ladder rungs. She grabbed it, pulled the shorts back on, and slid the belt through the belt loops. Not even the last hole was small enough for her shrinking waist. Now, she was getting desperate. She grabbed a pair of scissors out of the bathroom, slipped the belt off, and began stabbing a new hole in the belt. Once the scissors stabbed through the leather, Kikyou slipped the belt through the loops on the shorts and fastened the belt using the scissor-made hole. They stayed. Kikyou breathed a sigh of relief.

She grabbed a pale green tank top off of one of the beds and pulled it over her head. It was loose, so she grabbed a hair tie, pulled the hem of the shirt tightly behind her, and wrapped the hair tie around it. She'd never had to do that before.

Sighing, she left the cabin, knowing that the time for breakfast was over.

Inuyasha sat in the clearing, far away from the others. He plucked a blade of grass and began twirling it around between his thumb and forefinger. Grass rustled behind him, signaling the approach of someone. Had Inuyasha been in his half-demon form, he would be growling. Because he knew who was behind him.

"Want to talk about it?" Miroku asked.

"No," Inuyasha curtly replied.

Almost as if he hadn't heard what his friend said, Miroku sat down next to him. "You know, I heard that fighting between two people is actually just pent up sexual frustration," Miroku said as if he were commenting on the weather.

"Are you trying to start something?" Inuyasha growled.

"Not really," Miroku replied, but the grin was still evident on his face.

Inuyasha, choosing to ignore the look, turned his attention to the blade of grass in his hand. "Look, I didn't mean to snap at her."

"I know," Miroku said, "it was just pent up sexual frustration."

"Hey! If I'm going to be sharing this crap with you then you'd better keep your damn perverted thoughts to yourself!" Inuyasha snapped. When the Miroku didn't say anything else and the grin disappeared, Inuyasha decided to continue. He still had a teasing twinkle in his eyes, but Inuyasha decided that that was the closest Miroku was going to get out of the gutter. "I didn't mean to snap, but I've just been really edgy lately."

Miroku nodded. "Yeah, well, being blamed for a bomb can put someone in a sour mood."

Inuyasha shook his head. "I've been edgy for a while. Ever since Sesshomaru came to the camp."

"Why?"

"You remember what happened in the cave, right?" Miroku nodded. "I talked to Sesshomaru about it. He said he'd look into it and get back to me but it's been a few days and I'm starting to get a bit worried."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Why? It's only been a few days."

Inuyasha shook his head again, getting frustrated. "When Sesshomaru looks into something it only takes him a day at most. He's got the best damn links in the world and the fact that he can't find anything about what happened tells me that he really doesn't have a damn clue what happened." He began ripping up the blade of grass. When that was done, he reached for a stick and snapped it into pieces.

Miroku sighed. "I know you're frustrated, but for now all you can do is wait for Sesshomaru to contact you."

"I know, but dammit, what am I supposed to do now?"

Miroku thought for a moment. "Well, what do you want to do now?"

"Find out who the hell is causing these accidents around here."

Again, Miroku sighed, this one more exasperated. "There's not much you can do about that now either."

Inuyasha threw the broken pieces of the stick down. "Well do you have any suggestions?"

Miroku was silent for a moment. Finally he opened his mouth to speak. "No, not really," he sighed.

"I have a suggestion," came a voice from behind.

Inuyasha frowned as he and Miroku turned to see Kouga standing behind them. He was glowering down at Inuyasha. Inuyasha quickly got to his feet so he wouldn't have to look up to the wolf. "Oh yeah? And what is that?"

"Apologize to her," Kouga stated simply, not having to elaborate as to who 'her' was.

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at the girl in question. She and Sango were crouching next to a nearby stream that cut through the area. They were laughing and splashing each other and were just having a good time. Although he could tell that she wasn't as cheerful as she usually was. He turned back to Kouga, pretending that he hadn't noticed. "Why? She looks fine to me." Beside him he heard Miroku sigh, but he ignored that too.

Kouga's upper lip curled in frustration. "Don't try to be cute you idiot!"

Inuyasha's face mimicked Kouga's. "What the hell do you mean by that?" he snarled.

Kouga's resolve snapped. He lashed out at Inuyasha, curling is hands around his collar and yanking him closer. "Listen you stupid piece of crap! You know just as well as I do that she is not happy, and even though I hate to admit it I know it's because of you!"

Inuyasha ripped Kouga's hands away from his shirt and took a step back. "Damn impudent wolf, get your hands off me!" He opened his mouth to speak more but got cut off when Kouga grabbed his collar with one hand and struck him clean across the face. Miroku had shot to his feet as Inuyasha stumbled back a bit, surprised by the sudden blow, and his hand whipped to the swollen area. Already he could feel the bruise forming.

"Why don't you stop being so damn arrogant and apologize?" Kouga snapped in a low voice. He let go of Inuyasha's collar. "Just hurry up and be a man already, you damn kid!" One last glare in Inuyasha's direction, and Kouga turned on his heel to walk away.

Inuyasha couldn't help but glance behind him. And there, sure enough, Kagome was looking back.

The water was much colder than Kagome thought. When Sango splashed her hand into the water and sent that small wave right at Kagome, the girl shrieked and jumped at the icy coldness of it. "Sango!" she laughed.

"What?" Sango said, feigning innocence.

Instead of answering her, Kagome crouched back down and splashed her friend with her own wave of water all without missing a beat. This time it was Sango who was shrieking and jumping. Her eyes went wide with excitement. "Oh-ho! Looks like you can dish it but you can't take it!" Kagome scooped up some more water and tossed it in Sango's direction. Sango jumped back from it but still got her shins doused in water.

"Okay okay! Stop it!" Sango laughed as she held up her hands in mock surrender.

"Damn impudent wolf, get your hands off me!"

The outburst was enough to still Kagome's hand in midair. She and Sango looked at each other and then both pairs of eyes turned upward to see Inuyasha and Kouga engaged in a small tussle. Kagome nearly jumped to her feet when Kouga's fist collided with Inuyasha's chin.

"Just hurry up and be a man already, you damn kid!"

Sango looked over at Kagome, but her eyes were still fixated on Inuyasha, eyebrows creased. That's when Inuyasha turned and their gazes caught. Several expressions flitted across his face; embarrassment, shame, guilt, and….anger?

Kagome opened her mouth to say something but before she could, Inuyasha turned and sprinted out of the area. Miroku jumped up and raced after.

The merriment from before had evaporated from the air. No one shouted. No one laughed. No one even talked. After a while, Ai spoke up. She declared that there was nothing more to be done here and she told them to go back to camp. She tried to play the calm, cool, I-don't-give-a-rat's-ass-about-what-just-happened, but from the way her shoulders were set, Kagome—and everyone else that knew the young woman—could tell that she was just as upset about what just happened as the rest of them were.

"I swear to God, Miroku, if you don't get your ass out of here and stop following me…" Inuyasha trailed off, trying to come up with a good threat. After knowing his friend for eleven years, he had made a lot of threats, most of which concerned his "cursed" hands and perverted mind.

"It's not polite to swear, Inuya—Hey!" Miroku ducked out of the way of a flying black sneaker. He straightened up just in time to catch the other one that was flying at him. Soon, the shoes were followed by socks and then a belt. "Uh, Inuyasha?"

"These clothes are so damn restricting!" Inuyasha griped as he tore the collar of his shirt. Silver was bleeding down his scalp, replacing the black and two dog ears popped up on the top of his head. Miroku sighed. One of these days, if he wasn't careful, Inuyasha was going to get found out.

Suddenly, Inuyasha leaped into the air and landed on the bough of a high branch. He looked down at Miroku. "Will you please leave?"

Miroku sighed as she set the discarded clothing items at the base of the tree. Inuyasha muttered something about not needing them, but Miroku ignored him. "No, Inuyasha, I won't." Inuyasha groaned but again Miroku ignored him. You get fairly adept at ignoring a whiny half-demon after years of friendship. "I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay," Inuyasha said, settling against the trunk of the tree and closing his eyes. He was fully prepared to tune out the ramblings of his friend and just try to find some peace and quiet, and he was doing a rather good job too. But there was one word that caught his attention. "Hey! I'm not a coward!"

"Really?" Miroku said, glancing up at him. His eyes had no trace of amusement or light in them. He was being dead serious. "Every time she takes one step close to you or someone mentions her, you go scampering off in the other direction with your tails between your legs." Inuyasha grimaced at the reference to a dog, but Miroku just kept on talking so there was no room for him to yell at him. "This morning, she tried to talk to you and you snapped at her. And just now, Kouga tried to talk to you and you even got a nice shiner to prove how well your conversation went."

"For the love of!" Inuyasha shouted. Then he quickly dropped down until he was right next to Miroku. "What the hell do you want me to do?"

"I want you to be honest." Miroku answered calmly.

Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed. "If you're trying to pull some 'be true to yourself' therapeutic crap, so help me I'll…" Again, the threat goes unfinished. Miroku held up his hand.

"I don't mean that. Well, kinda, but I want you to be honest with me as well as yourself. What's going on Inuyasha?"

The young man in question didn't answer right away. He was hardly ever honest with other people, and screw being honest with himself. His whole entire life was a lie; he was living under a disguise that he abhorred, he had to lie about his family, and not to mention kids from school had forced ideals onto him that he was all but forced to live up too. There was no way that Inuyasha was going to say anything that was on his mind and he opened his mouth to say so. But that was when he saw the look in Miroku's eyes. They were almost…imploring, in a way. Something clicked in the back of Inuyasha's mind, but a shutter came down on the thought. Inuyasha blinked then shook his head. "I…I dunno, Miroku. It's like, these accidents aren't any accidents. And after yesterday it's clear that Kagome's involved. After all, she's been around every accident that happens here, and even the victim of two of them. But…I almost feel as if…as if I'm also involved somehow. I was around all of the accidents too." He stopped and looked at Miroku. "But I haven't been directly attacked. That's why I'm so confused. I want to…protect" he grimaced "her from whatever the hell is going on but at the same time I feel as if she's getting hurt because of me."

"So it's like you want to keep her close to help her but at the same time you're involuntarily pushing her away on the off-chance that she getting hurt because of you." Miroku concluded for him.

Inuyasha brought his thumb up to his mouth and bit down hard on the claw. "I guess so," he mumbled around the claw, realizing how incredibly silly that sounded.

His tongue swiped up against the claw and Inuyasha jerked it out, cursing as he did so. Sometimes, he got so used to being human, that he would forget when he was in his hanyou form. And that was really depressing to him. Was he forgetting who he was? Was that even possible? Had all the lies and deceit finally became so frequent that it felt like reality? He hadn't been changing into his true form as of late, even back before he had been forced to the camp. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought.

"So what are you going to do?" Miroku asked after Inuyasha calmed down from the slice.

Inuyasha shrugged and kept his gaze on his clawed hands—his real hands—"Don't know."

Voices could be heard from the inside of the cabin. Ayame twisted the knob and the door opened with a click and a creak.

"—just tell me what happened!"

"It's nothing to do with you, Kagome," came Kouga's voice. Ayame stepped in and the door shut behind her, catching the attention of the two in the room.

Kagome was sitting on one of the bottom bunks with Kouga standing in front of her, looking as if he'd been pacing around. "Ayame," Kagome said when she caught sight of her friend.

Ayame smiled a bit. "Can I talk to Kouga a bit?"

Kagome nodded and Ayame stepped to the side to let her pass. She shot one last look over her shoulder before the door shut, blocking her out of the cabin. Ayame turned to Kouga. "I don't think I have to explain myself," she said as she folded her arms across her chest.

Kouga sighed and sat down on the bed, almost in the same spot that Kagome had been occupying moments before. "Aya," he said, using Ayame's childhood nickname. "That guy just makes my blood boil."

Ayame crossed to her fellow wolf demon and sat down next to him, slightly turned so her front was angled towards him. "Why?"

Kouga's jaw clenched. "He's arrogant and a jerk. He's got an ego that is too big to fit even outside." Ayame inwardly chuckled at this; Kouga may not realize it, but he was describing himself as well. Minus the jerk part, in her opinion. "But what really pisses me off is that he hurts her."

Ayame looked down, but nodded. "I understand."

"Do you?" Kouga asked, looking over at her. "Do you really? I don't think that I could ever love anyone more than I love Kagome; do you really understand why I get so angry with that guy?"

The words sent a stab of pain through her heart, but she refused to give into the tears that threatened to fall. Instead, she sucked in a deep breath and lifted her head to look him directly in his azure eyes. "Yeah, Kouga. I really do."

Ai was sitting cross-legged on the couch in the counselor's cabin with Mitsuya sitting next to her, picking at his nails. Her brown eyes slid over to where the timid man sat. "Hey," she said in her smooth voice.

Mitsuya's shoulder's hitched a bit and he turned to look at her. "Yes?" he said.

"Have you noticed that it seems that all you and Ai do all day is sit here?"

"Oh," Mitsuya said as he pulled on knee up to his chest. "I guess I haven't."

Ai set her feet down on the floor, the bells on her ankles jingling. "Ai really hopes that Midoriko will still pay her the full amount, even though she's had to send her kids back to the cabin more than once."

"Yeah, me too."

Ai smirked at the sight of Mitsuya, almost curled up in a little ball on his side of the couch. He was such an apprehensive young man; sometimes it made he want to laugh. And then other times he made her want to cry. She had never met anyone so old and yet still be as innocent as he. Suddenly she lightly punched him on the shoulder. Mitsuya let out a startled cry as he looked over at her with his wide eyes. "We got the worst campers, didn't we?" she said, slipping out of her third-person speech for a second.

Mitsuya just continued to look at her for a bit before he smiled a tiny, innocent smile. "Yeah. We did, didn't we?"

Soon enough, lunch time rolled around. This time, Inuyasha decided that he would try not running away and sit with the others this time. He entered the Mess Hall and immediately all eyes were on him. He just ignored their suspicious and accusatory glares and headed over to the peanut butter and jelly stand. After he had finally succeeded in making one on his own, he'd been going back ever meal time. He liked the feeling of being able to make something on his own and not seem like that typical rich boy who needed servants to do everything for him, even tie his shoelaces.

He got to the stand and slid the knife of jelly expertly across the bread without breaking apart the bread. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he looked down. His eyes widened a fraction. "Kikyou?" he asked.

Kikyou stood behind him, hands clasped behind her back. "Hey," she said in a voice that was softer than her normal pitch.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

She smiled and laughed. "Making a sandwich." Inuyasha just hummed in response. An awkward silence passed as they both continued through the line to get more food. Then she spoke up again. "Inuyasha?" He hummed again, signaling that he heard her. "Can I ask you something?"

That's when he looked over at her. "What?"

"Have you ever…wanted to tell someone something, but didn't know if you should? Like, you didn't know how they'd react, or think?"

"Keh. Oh yeah," he said darkly.

"So what should I do?" she asked him. "Should I tell him?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows scrunched together a bit and his eyes flitted to behind her shoulder for a second, before returning to her. "Uh, why exactly are you asking me?"

Kikyou just ignored the question and took a step closer to him. The only thing that kept her back was the tray of food he held in front of him. "Inuyasha, there's something—"

She was interrupted by a piercing bell. Inuyasha fumbled with the cell phone that he kept in his pocket. He opened it, stared at the screen for a bit, then curled his lip and snapped the phone shut, shoving it back in his pocket in irritation.

"What was it?" Kikyou asked, forgetting her question momentarily.

Inuyasha just grunted and shook his head. "Some girl from my school confessing her love for me. It's really annoying." He took a bottle of soda off the counter and looked back at Kikyou. "Were you saying something?"

Kikyou nodded slowly. "There was. But, I see what I have to do now." Then she left the line quickly, leaving her tray of food and Inuyasha staring at her back in confusion.

The afternoon lunch hour stared out normal enough. Good food was served and even Inuyasha had decided to join their lunch table again. But when Kagome felt something hot and wet hit the back of her neck, she jumped to her feet and cried out. Spaghetti was dripping off of her neck and sauce was staining the back of her shirt. The lump of food then fell and hit the floor with a plop!

There was a pause.

And then suddenly food was flying everywhere. Guys called out warrior cries as the pelted their friends with half eaten food and girls shrieked and tried to shield themselves the mess. Counselors shouted above all the noise and tried to calm the uproar. Many of the kids avoided them and jumped up on the table. Soon, the adults were yanking kids down and pulling them away from food, but that still didn't stop them.

It wasn't until Midoriko's loud and positively angry voice boomed through the microphone did the campers calm down.

"I am very disappointed in all of you!" she scolded. "Especially in you older campers! You should be more mature and know how to behave yourselves, not egg on the younger kids! But I'm mostly disappointed in whoever started this whole shenanigan!" She went on and on about the importance of morality and how events like this was not viewed as proper in the adult world where many of the campers would be heading out too soon. And then she dismissed them, without even letting them finish their lunch. The campers filed out of the hall, mumbling incoherent words.

Kagome felt an arm loop around hers and she turned to see Kikyou standing behind her, holding some mops with buckets at her feet. "Hey," Kikyou said. "Someone asked me to clean up. Will you help?"

Kagome smiled. "Sure."

The water sloshed around in the bucket and splattered when Kagome set the mop down on the floor. No matter how soft she tried to set it down, her feet always got sprayed with water. Kagome made a face and tried to shake of the water.

"So," Kikyou said as she pushed the water around with the mop, picking up food particles. "How are things? You know, with you, Sango, and Ayame? We never get to hang out since we're in separate groups."

"It's always one of us isn't it?" Kagome mused. "But they're all fine. Sango seems a bit agitated for some reason and Ayame's been a bit down as of late."

"Yeah?"

Kagome hummed in response and continued mopping.

"Kagome?" Kikyou said after a short silence.

"Hmm?"

Kikyou bit her lip and leaned on the mop. "Uh, never mind."

Kagome looked over at her friend with a slightly confused look only to catch her tugging on the belt loops of her jean shorts. And come to think of it, the straps of her tank top were a little loose too. And it was boxy around her waist. And her shorts were hanging low on her hips. And her….

She was losing weight. "Kikyou? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, not looking up from the floor. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"You keep pulling up your shorts and pulling at your tank top straps."

"Oh," Kikyou said with a light laugh in her tone, only it was a bit weak. "These shorts have never fit me. And this shirt is Yuki's who's a bit bigger than me." She looked up, a touch of alarm in her eyes. "But don't tell her I said that."

"Sure," Kagome said absently. "But Kikyou," Kikyou stopped and looked up. "You just don't look so well."

Kikyou looked down at her shorts. "I'm fine," she all but mumbled.

Kagome wanted to say more, but decided not to press the subject. They had just stopped fighting; she didn't want to fight anymore.

"Kagome?" Kikyou said again after a while. Kagome looked up at her. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Kikyou opened her mouth but hesitated. Her mouth began to close. "What sort of relationship do you have with Inuyasha?" she asked quickly before she lost her nerve.

Kagome nearly slipped on the slicked surface of the floor. 'Inuyasha?' She looked over at Kikyou who was giving her an imploring look but also one of nerves. "Um," she began but stopped. They were friends, weren't they? Just friends who hung out like friends. But they did have their moments. Back in the cave when the lights had been turned out she had grabbed hold of Inuyasha's hand and he hadn't pulled away. And then the time he was in the infirmary after he got knocked out. She remembered his slip up when he called her challenge a date and her face heated slightly. Then there was the time when he opened up a bit about his past and what his parents had planned for them all to do as a family. His past was a painful one, that's all that she could really gather so she had felt touched that he had opened up to her like that even after only a short while of knowing her. And then just the other day after she followed him into the woods after the bomb; the way he held her, the way he showed his vulnerable side. Those were moments that seemed to go beyond the simple 'just friends.'

Then she thought about all there bad times. The jabs, the insults, and everything that made Inuyasha the number one jerk she had ever met. And unfortunately, his bad outweighed the good.

"We're just friends," she said simply.

But were they? The word friends didn't really seem to fit them since they still knew so little about each other. But acquaintances didn't quite fit either because at the same time it's like they had known each other for ages.

Just what was her relationship with Inuyasha?

"Really?" Kikyou said. She headed over to Kagome with long strides, eyes wide. "Then I need you to help me with something."

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"Kagome I need you to help me get Inuyasha."

Ahem. Yes, that is how I decided to end it. I've actually been pretty excited about this chapter because I've been planning this bit with Kikyou and Kagome since a little after I first started the fic. Chapter 4 maybe? And whataya know, it wiggled it's way into chapter 12!

And it also seems that a little bit of AiXMitsuya worked its way in here as well. Wonder how that happened? They make for an interesting couple pairing, no?

That AyameXKouga bit didn't work its way in. I've been ignoring them and their relationship as of late so I plopped it in there.

So not a very interesting chapter but a cliffy ending that'll sure to arouse some annoyances.

Oh! I had written the scene with Kagome and Kikyou when they were talking about Inuyasha back when I came up with it. I searched around my room for the notebook in which I stashed it away in. I didn't find the notebook, but I did find a bag of walnuts! So I ate one!

Plus, I like this version better.

Oh yeah, Kikyou's cabin mates. I've mentioned them once in chapter...7 I think and again in a chapter between 7 and this one but their names changed. In chapter 7 ther was Satsuki (who's actually the counselor so she doesn't count) and then Ami and Kitty. Then in the other chapter I've got Kikyou talking about Yuki and she mentions Yuki again in this chapter...my mistake. It seems like Kikyou's got a lot of cabinmates, huh?

Thanks to my lovely reviews from my equally lovely reviewers!

LoVe23

Namike

Jarri Scythe

inuyashi12

Kag

SimplyAngel (I'm sorry I couldnt add in those little 'o's at the beginning and end of your name; the uploader was being stupid and kept cutting your name out.)

I want to make a point that I've been trying to personaly reply to each review, but life gets in the way and I loose track of who I've responded to. I hope I can do better after this chapter!

That being said, I would appreciate it if you would take the time to review this chapter! Whether you wanna critique it, flame it, praise it, or just drop in and say "hey!" it'll make my day either way! Please and thank you!

Goodness, it's 1:30 a.m.! Why do I always finish these chapters and then post them at the odd hours of the night?

Blessings!

Miss Saigon11