I do not own Amnesia Memories or Inuyasha

This story is over 50,000 words long, and it took me a while to finish it. But try not to let the length scare you. I made this story as adorable as i could think of and did my best to represent Kent and the game Amnesia Memories. (which is a great Otome game. I recommend getting it or at least watching it on YouTube.)

I immediately fell in love with Kent and how adorable he was and I just had to make a story about it

Story

A loud blaring noise disrupted the darkness that surrounded her, causing her to release a groan of frustration. An arm extended out from beneath the covers and with a loud slam, smacked the top of the alarm.

She laid there for several minutes, that is until a small chime and vibrating noise coming from her nightstand woke her from her half-asleep state. With another animal-like sound, she sat up, once the blanket fell off of her body, she became a snake, hissing with displeasure as the sun hit her eyes.

Why is the sun so bright today?

She raised her arm up to cover her face, as she stood from her bed and walked forward from memory, to where her bathroom was—She cried out when she suddenly smacked into something solid, causing her to huff.

"What the-?" She lowered her arm and found herself staring at a wall. A dark grey wall. She rubbed her eyes, believing to still be half asleep. Why else would her pink room be suddenly grey?

She turned and spotted the bathroom on the other side of the room instead, and she slowly wobbled towards it. Once she entered, the cold feeling of the tile against the bottom of her feet surprised her a little, waking her up slightly.

She closed the door behind her and it gave a soft click. She turned and locked the door, not wanting her brother to walk in on her while she was taking a shower—She paused, seeing a full-length mirror placed on the door.

When did she get—…?

Her thoughts were frozen when she looked at the mirror, and the person staring back was not her, but instead someone she didn't even recognized…

So, Kagome did the only logical thing someone put in her situation would do when faced with the fact that she found herself trapped in some unknown person's body… She screamed.

After she practically forced both her lungs out of her body with all the screaming she did, she began to franticly pace around the room—A room she realized wasn't her bedroom at home.

Where was she? What happened? Did a demon cast a spell and put her in another person's body? Albeit, a very attractive and mature person's body— but it wasn't hers, and that's what matters.

"Miss Higurashi?" A worried call caught her attention. "Are you alright?"

"Higurashi?" She repeated. The next thing she knew she had walked out of the unknown bedroom she had been sleeping in, and then through the unknown living room, and up to the unfamiliar door that was creating a light sound of knocking. Without evening looking, she opened the door, and found herself staring at a very attractive man, who had on a bellboy outfit. "Did you just say Higurashi?"

"Umm?" The boy blinked at her, confused by her question, his hand still frozen in place in mid-knock. "There were screams coming from your room—are you alright?"

"Kagome Higurashi?" Instead of answering him, she repeated her own question. "Is that my name?"

"That is the name I have been calling you over the past year you have been staying with us, Miss Higurashi." The concerned look on his face never left his features as he stared at her. "Is everything alright, Kagome?" The man suddenly called her in a familiar way, making her feel uneasy—He reached out and touched her hand affectionately and instantly she pulled away from his touch as if burnt.

"I…" She felt unsure as she stared at the man. "I'm fine, thank you." Without even waiting for him to reply she closed the door in his face, her heart almost leaping out of her chest.

What was that? Who was he? Why did he touch her like that? Did she know him? Well he did say she's been here a year… what, what!? A year!? What is going on!?

She made sure to lock the door, before she swiftly went back to her bedroom, needing answers to all the questions that were drowning her thoughts.

Instantly her thoughts went to her phone. She needed to call someone—anyone. As she was looking for her familiar pink flip-phone, several minutes later she came up empty. She swore she heard it chime when she was waking up this morning. She didn't bother with it before, but now she needed it. Where did it go?

It was only by luck and possibly a little frustration, she picked up a reticular object that was lying on her nightstand, wishing to throw and break something—She paused when a familiar apple icon caught her attention.

"What is this?" She pressed the small button on the bottom and the black screen changed to display the date and time in large bold letters…

What she saw had her in such a shock that the object slipped out of her grasp and fell onto the floor with a loud thump.

The date was August 1, 2015 – Not 2011…

Somehow Kagome had found herself four years into the future, and she had no idea how or why…

.-.-.-

Kagome was staring at her grown up body in the full-length mirror. Instead of screaming this time, she was examining herself rather calmly. She was taking it pretty well, actually—If you don't count the few hours of panic she spent franticly pacing her room, while every negative thought possible ran rampant through her mind, making matters worse.

Once her 'we-are-all-doomed' state was over with, she calmed herself down and tried to process what she was experiencing more rationally.

The first thing she decided to do was take a look at the new body she suddenly developed over night—in the four years she couldn't remember, that is…

The thing that caught her attention right away, was the fact that she no longer wore childish pajamas, but instead, she wore to bed a single dress-shirt. Just that alone, showed that no only her thoughts had turned to a more mature path, but so has her body.

Her long tone legs were bare, leading up to her round hips and rear, which Kagome couldn't help but look at after she moved her hair out of the way, which had grown down to her hips in length, and she lifted the bottom of her shirt up in amazement. Her choice in underwear had shifted from 'granny panties' to something much sexier, which had her blushing in embracement as she caught herself staring at her own ass.

Yeah, that's real mature…

Wait, what about-! She suddenly pulled out the collar of her shirt, and she looked down—her already red cheeks became even darker when she found a matching lace bra to go with her sexy underwear—

And her boobs-! My god! They grew at least two cup sizes-!

Other than the fact that her eyes looked red, and she had bags underneath of them, as if she had stayed up all night, she was a very attractive and dare she say it… sexy woman.

She would have to say she liked everything she was seeing so far…That was a good thing, right?

.-.-.-

Kagome spent the next few hours searching for any information she could gather. In the process of her desperate inspection, her room looked like it had been hit with a tornado, everything thrown around the whole building, scattered everywhere.

Even though she made a mess, she seemed to have made some progress.

Her phone was locked, and she couldn't remember the password, so she just put it aside and tried other things. Her laptop, along with the scattered papers around it hinted heavily that she was in college. Her laptop didn't have any personal information, just notes and essays from her class she took at the school.

Class, as in plural. The only papers she could find if of her math class, which was odd but she decided not to dwell on it. It seemed that the papers that were all around were nothing but math problems and tests—All of which were very low scores. That doesn't surprise her.

The fact that she has tests and notes even though this is supposed to be summer vacation at the moment, could only mean that she is taking a summer class, or possibly being tutored. Just great…

Her school was within walking distance from her hotel: New Moon.

If the embroidery on the towels was anything to go by… How expensive was this place anyway? How did she afford it? And for a whole year…

After putting together any and all information she could deduce while in this unknown building, she put on a change of clothes and decided to leave for the only place that would make sense: Home.

Using her computer and the wonders of the internet, she quickly figured out it that her home was just a short train ride away. She gathered all the necessary things she could need in her purse for the short trip. Even if her phone was pretty much a fancy paperweight at the moment, since she couldn't access it, she took it as well.

"Good afternoon Miss Higurashi." The man greeted her at the entrance as she exited the expensive building. It was the same man that came to her room.

All she could do was rush by him while giving a small nod in acknowledgment, trying to look like she was in a hurry so she wouldn't seem rude by not greeting him by name in reply...

.-.-.-

While on the train, Kagome had time to think. The last thing she remembered was arguing with Inuyasha about going back home, so she could take an important test. Like always, they fought about it, and then… She couldn't remember after that—Her thoughts were too blurred.

She had been seventeen at the time, and now she was twenty-one… She had lost four years of her life.

Even if she knew this, she was still surprised when she arrived at the shrine and she saw her younger brother not only grown up, but in a priest outfit, sweeping the grounds. And surprisingly enough, he was just as shocked to see her as well. Seems she didn't visit often after she had moved out.

Without waiting for him to recover, she gave him a hug. When she was done, he looked at her like she had grown another head. What kind of reaction was that?

She asked him what he was doing, he never cared much for chores before. Let alone doing them instead of having fun with his friends during summer vacation.

The next thing he said had Kagome almost collapsing in disbelief. He was taking care of the shrine now, because Grandfather had passed… almost two years ago.

.-.-.-

Kagome was staring down at the dry well, her thoughts in a whirl. "I didn't imaging it." She repeated. "It happened." She could feel the tears swelling in her eyes. "It was real—I'm not going crazy… Am I?"

Her mother and brother treated her like they always did, happy to see her home. Her mother, like her brother, acted odd when she first hugged her, but other than that everything seemed normal.

She didn't want to worry them, so she tried to be as discreet as possible while probing them for information about what had happened in the past four years- but when she asked about the well and the past, they looked at her like she had gone crazy. They had no idea what she was talking about…

She made an excuse and left, running towards the well, but when she jumped down it, nothing had happened. It didn't have any magic left in it—or maybe it never had any magic to begin with? Was it all even real? Did she imagen the whole thing? Then again… it was pretty hard to believe that a magical well could transport her five hundred years into the past, where she befriended a half-dog demon named Inuyasha, and with the help of a monk, a demon slayer, a fox kit, and a cat demon, they were traveling all over japan in search for scattered pieces of a jewel that could grant unknown power to the holder…

Now that she says that out loud, it does sound ridiculous. No wonder her family thought she had gone crazy.

They were obviously worried, and said that she had been stressed. They wanted her to spend the night, which she decided to accept. Maybe if she stayed in her room, her memories would return?

Then again, maybe she will wake up and find out that this was all a dream…

She hoped so…

.-.-.-

When she woke up the next morning, finding herself surrounded by familiar bright pink, she sighed in relief. Yet when she looked down at herself, she almost cried out in frustration when she didn't see the body of a teenager, but instead she saw the shapely figure of a mature woman.

Sadly, the nightmare she had was all too real…

Her phone gave a small chime and vibrated. She reached out and looked at the screen, surprised to see it lit up. Yet the only words she saw on it were 'Are you alright?' The text came from someone called 'Kent'.

Who was that?

She tried to reply, but she couldn't since her phone was still locked and she didn't know the passcode. Looks like this 'Kent' guy will have to wait until she figured out what her password was.

.-.-.-

Kagome spent the rest of the day bonding with her family. They seemed overjoyed by this—sadly she hasn't visited them much since grandfather had passed. That seemed out of character for her, but then again, she wasn't really sure how she acted anymore after four years had passed—but someone couldn't change that much in four years… right?

But it seems the more she tried to find out what had happened in the past four years, the more she realized that they knew nothing of her new life. She hadn't visited them since grandfather's funeral, and she only called them on their birthdays, Christmas, and on mother's day. In those few times she barely talked for five minutes, and she acted like she was in a rush to get off the phone.

She had alienated herself from her family, and this shocked her beyond belief.

When she said she would spend another night, her brother almost squeezed her spine from her body, and her mother's crying face almost brought tears to her own eyes…

She felt guilty for doing such a thing to them, and she couldn't help but question why she would do it. What had happened to her in four years, and why was she the only one who remembered her adventures down the well?

Even though she did all of this, her family surprised her with a large birthday cake. Her birthday was a few days ago, but they still celebrated. She enjoyed spending time with her family, and she was happy.

That night she received another text from Kent.

'Where are you?'

The texts are only adding to her growing questions: Who was this guy, and what was he to her?

Tonight she should try and figure out the password to her phone…

.-.-.-

When she said goodbye to her family, her mother was crying again. "Gee mom, really?"

"Sorry dear, it's just…" She sighed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It's like you were your old self… I just—You weren't the same after father passed." Her words caused Kagome to feel sad and guilty. "I'm glad to see you back to your old self again. I mean—other than that strange nonsense you spoke of about the well…"

"Sorry mom." She gave a small fake laugh, trying to play it off. "It was a bad joke…"

"You sounded just like father, whenever he would talk about those stories of his." Her mother laughed, but a far off look was in her eyes as she spoke those words, remembering. "But you shouldn't joke with us like that dear, you had us worried."

"Sorry." She repeated, and gave her another hug. "I'll try not to worry you guys again."

She wanted to tell them the truth, but she knew she couldn't… The past two years she has worried them enough. She didn't want to see her mother cry anymore…

.-.-.-

She had spent several hours trying to figure out the code on her phone, with no luck. She had put in random numbers and addresses to her favorite paces to go. She did her fathers and grandfathers' date of death. Her fathers, mothers, brothers, and grandfather's birthdate. But as she passed by the well, a thought came to her and she pulled out her phone; the only thing she didn't try was the most obvious one: The date she fell down the well—Her own birthdate.

When she put the number in, her eyes lit up when the screen changed.

Yes! Maybe now she can figure out what has been going on in her life the past few years.

.-.-.-

Damnit! What are all these buttons for and why are they all on this phone! It had only been four years! How could technology change so much that she can't even figure out how to work her own phone!?

Instead of getting information, all she got was frustrated. The whole train ride, she was fiddling with her phone, and she could only figure out what a few of the icons on the screen were for.

But luckily enough messaging and phone information stayed similar enough for her to figure out what was she was doing. She had kept contact info on her favorite spots to eat and drink, and out of the people she had on her phone, only three of the names were familiar to her: Eri, Yuka, and Kent.

She didn't count her family, and for strange reasons Ayumi name was nowhere to be seen. She hoped nothing had happened to her.

The only reason she knew Kent is because he was the one texting her—In fact, he was the only one texting her, which was odd. Did she no longer keep in contact with her middle school friends? Had they gone to separate schools and grown apart? Don't tell her that she had alienated herself from her friends as well as her family?

As she scanned her texts, she noticed that she had received nine texts total from Kent. The oldest one being five days ago. The first six texts all said the same thing: Either 'Good morning.' Or 'Good night.' Depending on the time—and they were all placed near the same time in the day.

It was odd to say the least. Was that really all he said? Seemed rather bland and emotionless…

But on August 1, the day she woke up not knowing what was going on, she got a different text instead of the usual 'Good morning.' It said: 'I am the Busy Bean. Let's talk. I'll wait until you show up.'

Oops…

Then she got the texts saying 'are you alright?' and 'where are you?' She must have worried him when she didn't show up…

Hope he isn't too mad about it…

.-.-.-

Just as she arrived at her hotel building, she received another text from Kent. 'I understand if you hate me, but don't neglect your studies just because you want to avoid me. It's childish and illogical to throw away your future over such menial matters.'

Hmm, a real winner there- He sounds irritated… And by the looks of it they were fighting…

Her fighting with a male… are they in a relationship? She hoped not. She was in love with Inuyasha. Why would she be dating someone else? Then again, the well was closed, and as far as she knew, it has been for four years.

And what did he mean by studies? This is summer vacation—Does he mean summer class?

"Hello Miss Higurashi." The man greeted her at the entrance.

Hearing his voice, she looked up from her phone, recognizing him as the guy who knocked on her door a few days ago after she screamed her head off. "Hello." She greeted back. "I'm sorry about the other day, I had a … rough morning."

"It's okay." He smiled at her. "If there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

"I'll do that." She was about to go through the door—"Umm, actually…" -but then she stopped. "You know where the Busy Bean is?"

"Just go around the corner and down two blocks. It has a coffee cup sign hanging from it you can't miss."

She smiled at him in graduated. "Thank you."

"Oh, and Miss Higurashi? Mr. Kent came by yesterday."

She gave him a curious glance. "Did he say why?"

He shook his head. "He just seemed to be looking for you… I told him you had left and not returned. If I might add he seemed a little upset by this, but he did want me to give you a message to text him the moment you got back."

"Ah." She nodded. "Thank you…" She would have said his name, but the fact was she still didn't know who he was—and he didn't have a name tag.

Once she entered, she discreetly walked up to the counter, and was greeted by the worker there. She asked her what the name was of the man by the entrance. She gave her an odd look, but she answered her none-the-less.

His name was Tamaki, Tamaki Tenzuka. Hopefully she won't forget it this time.

.-.-.-

After she took a shower and got ready, she headed towards the direction of the Busy Bean. Once there, she took a seat and pulled out her phone.

She sent Kent a text. 'I'm at the Busy Bean.'

It wasn't even two seconds before there was a chime in reply. His quick response almost caused her to drop her phone in surprise. She looked down and there was only one word displayed. 'Understood.'

She took a deep breath and sighed, placing her phone down on the table in front of her. As she waited, she stared out of the window, watching people passing by. One of the people she noticed was a man dressed in a long black and green trench coat, belts strapped to any and all spots they could fit. It was rather odd, but it seemed to suit him as he swiftly walked by with his long legs, as if he was on a mission, a stern look on his face.

She sighed again and looked down at her own outfit, wondering if she had dressed appropriately. She was only in a pair of jeans and a nice shirt, not wanting to be overly dressed, but now she was feeling a little doubtful of her choice and it showed, making her nervous—

"What are you doing?" A deep calculating voice coming beside her almost had her jumping out of her skin in surprise. She looked over, seeing the man she had just watched walk by the window, now standing beside her, staring her down with a hard glare. The moment her eyes made contact with his, he adjusted his glasses and continued to speak. "I understand that you want to complain about my attitude, however, you need to make your demands more clear. I can't read your mind." He was acting as if he was defending himself for an attack. Fangs ready. "I'm doing my best to improve on my actions, after having conducted preliminary research on relationships. If my findings are insufficient, I'll do my best to improve. But I can't do that if you don't tell me what you are discontent about." It was as if he was speaking another language. She knew he was saying something, but the only thing she heard was 'blah blah big words blah blah'. She couldn't really understand him. Did he always talk like this?

He sighed and removed his hand from his chin to cross his long arms over his chest. "Avoiding me completely and ignoring my efforts to try and make things work between us, only makes you look immature and stubborn."

The small unprovoked jab caused Kagome to blink at him, unsure how to respond.

Yup, they are fighting alright…

"Are you listening to me? Could you at least say something?" He was obviously getting more upset when she continued to be quiet, instead of voicing her thoughts and fighting back. "I suspect you messaged me here for a reason." He sighed, his shoulders deflating in defeat, as if her silence was his answer. "If you are going to break up with me, go ahead and do so right now. I do not wish to waste my time sitting down if I'm just going to get up and leave."

B-break up?! So they are dating!? Ah, crap! She was at a loss for words, too stunned to speak. An almost sad look crossed his features, but he turned his head away so she couldn't see it. Just that small little action caused her to pause, and she sighed.

"Sit down."

Her words was obviously not what he was expecting, as he turned to look at her for a moment. He waited a minute before he nodded in reply. He turned and caught the attention of a waitress. "Excuse me, could you bring my coffee, and a café au lait for her?" He gave his order for both of us before he sat down in the seat opposite of her.

Shit-! He knows what she likes!

The whole time she just sat there, observing him, while fidgeting in her chair. He did the same thing, just staring at her as they both waited for their drinks. His gaze was making her feel even more nervous, his very large body was rather intimidating, along with the hard glare that was behind his rimmed glasses.

Even though the man was very handsome, she couldn't help but imagen him with silver hair instead of blonde, and amber eyes instead of green, and she would end up calling him 'Sesshomaru jr.' He had the glare and the 'I know all' attitude already down pat, so it wasn't that much of a stretch to picture it.

When our drinks arrived, she thanked the woman and took her drink with a sigh, holding the warm drink between her two hands, as if to warm them, which was odd considering the only thing cold around here was the icy tension between the two people sitting at this very table…

"What do you have to say?" He was the first one to speak, confused by the quiet atmosphere. "If you have something to complain about, you should just blurt it out like you normally do." Again, he acted as if her not yelling at him wasn't normal—was she a bitch to him all the time or something? "Once you do so, I will refute your points as usual, but if you stay quiet, I won't know why you're so discontent."

He made it sound like every breath they ever said was nothing but fighting amongst themselves… That sounds a lot like the fights between Inuyasha and her. Don't tell her that she had replaced Inuyasha with this man? To do such a thing… she knows how terrible it is to be compared to another, she wouldn't do something like that—then again, she wasn't herself anymore, now was she?

"Ah, or are you afraid of losing in an argument, and that's why you're saying nothing?" He gave a mocking laugh. "A Laudable decision." Was that truly how things were? How they acted and treated each other when they were together? No wonder he thought she was going to break up with him— It was actually kind of sad. "If you understand how this all goes, why don't you also learn how to swallow your pride and apologize while you're at it? That would solve everything. It's not like I'm particularly angry. This isn't even on a level worthy of getting angry. And I still don't understand why our conversations always need to turn into arguments." To tell the truth, neither did she.

The one-sided conversation left Kagome feel rather depressed, so with a sigh she placed her cup back down onto it's plate, not even bothering to drink it.

"What could you be discontent about…?" His tone had changed from defensive to concern, which surprised her. "Is there some reason you can't talk about it? Then why did you ask me to come here? You were quite angry at me the other day." This man—she had him wrong. He isn't mad at all. He is actually worried about her. "Could you stop being quiet like this? If you have a complaint, tell me." He is worried because she is being so quiet? That is rather odd. Did she always yell at him all the time? That's… terrible.

She felt rather guilty just thinking about it. After all, he hasn't done anything to make her mad, other than the fact that he seemed rather edgy and defensive the moment he showed up—but that could just be him bracing himself for how she always treated him: Yelling at him for no real reason.

Sadly, the only thing she has gotten from this man is that she is probably a bitch and he somehow has the willpower to put up with her. Deep down, she had hoped that wasn't the case, and that they were probably just going through a rough time, but she had a feeling that wasn't true.

God, how much has she changed in four years?

Well, she guess she could make it up to him. He asked for an apology, didn't he? Don't see why she can't oblige to his request. After all, she doesn't even remember why they were fighting. Probably wasn't anything too awful anyway.

She looked up from staring down at her drink, to make eye contact with him. "I'm sorry." Sorry for being such a bitch. You seem like a nice guy, Kent.

"Wha… did you…?" His eyes grew in size, and he looked like she had punched him in the face. "What is your…?! Why are you apologizing? What happened to you!?" Wha-? What kind of reaction is that! "I won't accept an answer like you just suddenly wanted to apologize for no reason at all. That would be beyond impossible!" She just said sorry! God! He acted like she never apologized before! "What happened? Don't tell me you experienced some sort of brain damage?" What! She has to have brain damage for her to apologize! Damn, what kind of person was she! Sheesh! Well, she has lost her memories, so the brain damage thing was probably true, but that's beside the point… "To think I'd hear you apologize… It seems there are still countless mysteries in this world beyond my understanding." He seemed to have finally came down from his shock and calmed himself. "I, uh… I apologize too. I don't understand the reason for your displeasure, but I admit that I spoke childishly a moment ago." He turned his head away to look out of the window. "I'm sorry." After a moment he turned his head back to look at her. "If you can't tell what you wanted to talk about now, you can tell me later. I don't mind if you text it to me, either. If there's nothing for us to discuss at present, we should leave." He got to his feet. "You really are acting strangely today." He mostly mumbled to himself. "I'll cover today's expenses." Well, that's nice of him—"Wait, you weren't very good at calculations. I think it would be helpful if you improved that skill for daily use. If you can quickly calculate the total bill in your head, I'll pay for it all. If not, we'll split it half and half." She changed her mind—he is the devil! "The blend I ordered was 670 yen and the café au lait you had was 780 yen. What's the total?" Uh! What! She hasn't gotten her calculator out! Shit!

"Umm…670 and 780?" eight plus seven—carry the one… "1450?"

"Correct." His expression softened towards her in praise. It was the first time she had seen his eyes giving her something other than a hard glare. She had to hold her breath when her heart did an unexpected flop at the image of his smile. "I'm sorry. I simply wished to test you as my student." Student? She thought he looked older then her, but not by that much. Are they having a secret teacher-student love affair!? She could already feel her cheeks flooding with heat at the thought. "As promised I'll pay the bill in full."

Thankfully he distracted her thoughts from wandering off too far, and they both left the quant café.

.-.-.-

Once they left the café, Kent started to walk without saying anything, so she followed. Is he taking her somewhere? Just a block away was the park, and when they entered it, she figured he wanted to walk around with her for a bit and hang out.

But quickly Kagome realized that his long legs and speed made things very hard for her— She had to lightly jog just to keep up with him. If it wasn't for the fact that she was use to walking in the past, she would have been out of breath and panting by now. As they went around the park, Kagome couldn't even take in the sights because she was too busy trying to keep up with Speedy Gonzales. Which was sad, because this was her first time here—that she could remember anyway.

What is wrong with him? Is he still mad at her? Is that why he won't walk beside her?

Kagome decided not to ask him to wait for her. She has been yelled at too many times by Inuyasha whenever she would ask him to slow down, so she kept her thoughts to herself.

After several turns through the nice park, they came out at the other end. From there they continued their walk/jog, and after a few blocks, Kagome noticed that they were walking towards her hotel building.

Once they arrived at her hotel, he stopped a few feet from the entrance. Did he just walk her home? Why in the world did he take that long way around? She was almost sweating…

"Do you want to walk some more?" His question almost made her give him a stupid look.

"Uh?"

"I'm not particularly interested in doing anything, but are you? If so, let me know."

"Thank you for walking me home, I guess." Truth is, she didn't know what else to say.

"I just asked you if you're interested in doing anything, and if you still want to walk more. What part of that would cause you to think that I was just walking you home?" What is he talking about? If someone is walking with you, and you end up at the house, wouldn't you assume they were walking you home? He is so confusing. She can't understand him. "When I asked a friend what kind of actions newly dating couples should take, he told me to walk aimlessly around the park and such. I simply did as he said, but what meaning was there to this?" He was probably referring to window shopping, not that three mile jog he put her through- Wait a minute—"I don't really understand how men and women should go about dating."

Does that mean that tough jog he put her through wasn't because he was mad, but he just… didn't really understand what to do?— Don't tell her that he doesn't even know how to walk with a girl properly. Oh my god. What kind of guy is she dating that doesn't even know how to actually date!?

Is she his first girlfriend? How is that possible? He is at least twenty-five. He must not be very sociable if she is his first girlfriend at this age, and he is this oblivious with what he should be doing.

At that point, Kagome wasn't sure if she should believe if this guy was completely abnormal, or totally adorable…

"I know I'm repeating myself, but if you have any requests or complaints, I'd like you to tell me directly."

Kagome glanced at him, then to her hotel, then back up at him. "I'm sorry."

"Not once but twice you have apologized to me, and this time you have done nothing to warrant the apology—"

"I didn't get your text until I got home today. I didn't know you wanted to meet with me." She told him. "You didn't wait long for me at the café, did you?"

He glanced away from her. "Not particularly."

She sighed in relief. That's good. "I was with my family." She confessed. "I'm sorry I worried you when I didn't reply to your messages."

He quickly corrected her. "I wasn't worried." He still didn't meet her eyes as he spoke.

"Oh, so you came by my hotel yesterday just because you were in the neighborhood? It had nothing to do with wanting to see if I was alright?"

He adjusted his glasses while giving a small cough. "Precisely." Either he didn't hear her sarcasm, or he just won't admit it out loud that he was worried about her. Wait- Is he blushing? Ah! He is! – Her smile grew into a smirk at this new turn of events, and he turned his head completely away from her this time, his cheeks still flushed in embarrassment. "If there's nothing in particular you desire, I'll return to the university. I'll message you later."

He left so quickly, she was surprised that he didn't leave a small dust cloud with how fast he ran away. Kagome giggled. He looked rather cute when he blushes like that…

.-.-.-

Kagome had just closed the door to her room when her phone chimed.

'You said you are not satisfied with just 'Good morning' and 'Good night', so what else do you want me to write?'

Those texts did seem odd when she first read them, but she didn't really mind them. Then again, now that she knows Kent is her boyfriend, more than likely she would be upset that he didn't say anything else to her. It was a high chance that this was the reason they were fighting in the first place.

The truth was, if that is what he really wants to write to her, she didn't care. Kent was technically her first boyfriend she has had, and she doesn't like texting much either, so as long as he is honest and he writes what he wants, she didn't care what he said. Anything was fine; even just good night and good morning. She wasn't going to force him to text her things he was uncomfortable about when the fact was she didn't like to text much either.

So that is what she told him.

'Good morning and good night are enough. I don't care as long as you talk to me, and speak honestly.'

It didn't take long for him to respond back.

'What? And after you complained so much before? You were so stubborn about it. What's with the sudden change of mind? I'm trying to adapt to what you consider a relationship. I'd prefer it if you expressed your complaints. To be honest, I'm not very capable at texting the way you'd like. It would be much easier if I could just send short messages.'

'I'm happy with anything you put.' She texted back.

Her phone chimed. 'You have done nothing but confuse me today…'

She smiled to herself as she sent her reply. ' : ) '

.-.-.-

Kagome woke up before dawn broke. Instead of going back to sleep for a few more hours, she instead turned off her alarm and went to take a shower. When she finished and got dressed, the sun was just peaking over the horizon.

It was still an hour before she would get up, and Kent would send his text. So Kagome decided to beat him to it. 'Good morning.' She almost chuckled to herself when she pressed the send button.

A few minutes later she heard a chime and she reached over to look while still drying her hair with a towel. 'Good morning. Seems you have gotten up before me today.'

'You know what they say about early birds.' With a hum she sat her phone back down and finished getting dressed.

After that her phone didn't chime anymore, and she spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the mess she made the other day. While she was cleaning, she noticed all the hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies that was almost on every counter top in her room. Kagome didn't think much of it and finished cleaning before noon.

She had just sat down when her phone rang. With a groan she got off her couch and went to her bedroom. She read the name was displayed, before answering it. "Kent?"

"You aren't coming today?" He asked.

"Huh?" Was the only word the slipped out.

"You don't have any lessons today, but I thought that you were coming over since you gotten up early." Over where? "Let me guess, you are still angry about the other day?" She almost huffed out in announce. She wasn't angry. Why does he always think that? "I'll apologize again if that is what you want. I'm sorry about that day." He sighed. "So, are you going to come today?"

She found herself sighing as well, and her eyes glanced around the unfamiliar room with uncertainty. "No." She blatantly answered, her tone holding no emotion. She needed time alone. Time to think. She liked Kent, and she feels bad that she treated him so horribly before, but that's no excuse. The truth was he was a stranger to her.

Besides, she doesn't know where in the world he wants her to go. If she asked, it would probably be suspicious—if she didn't know, he would be wondering why she'd forgotten. If she refuses, it saves her a lot of trouble.

"You are still mad." It was more of a statement then a question.

She rolled her eyes, even though she knows he couldn't see her on the other line. "No."

"Then why won't you come?"

She gave a small huff. "Because I'm… cleaning my apartment." She told a half-lie.

There was a pause on the other end, and Kagome knew he wouldn't believe her—"I should have realized." Uh? He bought that? "That is why you got up early." He stated as if he finally put two-and-two together. "You've been cleaning since then." He hummed. "By my calculations you should be close to finished if you are not already. That means you can visit soon. I'll see you then." There was a click signaling that he had hung up, not only without waiting for her to reply, but also without saying goodbye.

When Kagome removed the phone from her ear, she couldn't help but give the object an angry glare. Why do things always have to be so difficult?

.-.-.-

After thirty minutes, Kagome had fixed herself a cup of tea and was relaxing. She didn't know where he wanted to meet, so she just decided to wait it out until he called again, telling her why she wasn't at 'wherever' and hopefully slip out the location of where she was supposed to go.

With a sigh she stepped out into her balcony, holding her cup carefully. The view was gorgeous.

She really didn't want to go, but she guessed she had no choice. If her 'boyfriend' wanted to be together for a little while, why say no? She of course should be doing other things, like trying to remember what had happened to her in the last four years of her life… but maybe it will jog some memories for her if she spends time with him.

She spotted something below her and she hummed. "Kent?" It was definitely him. Did he come to pick her up instead? That's sweet of him. He was walking the sidewalk, almost below her as he headed towards the hotel. He seemed to be deep in thought—"Ooh~!" She hissed when she watched him walk right into a street lamp.

He stared at the pole as if it was the lamps fault he ran into it, before moving and heading inside the hotel.

Kagome stayed outside and enjoyed the scenery with her tea until she heard a soft knock at her door.

She opened the door without even looking, her cup of tea still in her hand and a smile on her face. "Come in." She moved to the side and motioned him in.

He had his eyes closed, and just nodded without even looking, stepping inside. She closed the door behind him with a soft click. "I see that you're finished. Good." He adjusted his glasses and turned to her. "I've come to pick you up…!" His words were caught in his throat, almost chocking on them in surprise as he looked at her. "W-what are you doing?"

"Hmm? What does it look like? I'm drinking tea." To demonstrate, she took a sip right in front of him.

"That's not—" He turned his head away from her, his cheeks tinted red. "Do you attend to go out in public with me while wearing such revealing attire?"

She looked down at herself, seeing that she was still in only her shirt. Oops. She forgot she was still in her night clothes. "Of course not." She laughed and walked further into the living room, placing her cup down onto the coffee table. "I just haven't gotten ready yet."

"You should have been dressed by now." He mumbled to himself as he adjusted his glasses. "Delaying yourself by cleaning your apartment instead and not being dressed when you had ample time. All signs point to the fact that you don't really want to come over. Are you still thinking about what happened the other day?" He has yet to look at her, distracting himself with everything else in the room so he wouldn't stare at her. "If you have a complaint, I want you to be upfront about it. I told you I would listen." He looked at her as he spoke, and she saw his blush returning full force before he quickly averted his gaze again. "Or is it something else? Do you want to break up already?"

Break up? Truth was she did, but she knew she couldn't. This man might be the only one who held any sort of information about who she was, and what has happened to her in the last four years. She took a deep breath and glanced away from him.

Things were so confusing. She just wanted to sit here and try to think of some way to get her memories to return. She was so deep in thought, she seemed to have forgotten the man standing in front of her for a moment.

"Not a single thing in response? I honestly expect a barrage of chatter from you as usual." He crossed his arms over his chest. "So you dislike the idea of coming over to my place that much?" His place? "I mean, I knew you would be a little adamant about it…" Did he just say 'his place'? "but I made sure to clean everything to your standers…" Kent continued to talk, oblivious to the fact that Kagome had become unnaturally quiet.

Him and her are going to be together… alone… I mean, they are alone now, but it's not the same… they well be at his place. They were not children. They were adults. Adults don't go to each other's house just to play video games and hang out. They do… adult things—and they were dating, so those things are more likely to happen…

Her eyes grew in size at the thought and she paced her hand to her lips in surprise. Have they done this before? What if… what if…

Is she even a virgin anymore!? She has to be right? You would know if you wasn't…

Then again, she lost her memories! She doesn't know! Oh god…

What if she had another boyfriend besides Kent? Did she lose it then!? It is possible… she is twenty-one after all.

"Kagome?" Kent's tone snapped her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright? Your flesh tone is considerably lighter." He had a look of concern on his face.

"I…" She looked away from him and began to rub her arm, feeling insecure. "I'm not comfortable going to a guy's house…" She admitted.

"What?" His eyebrows crinkled together as he pushed up his glasses. Uh-oh. He looks mad. "Do you believe I would do something nefarious to you if we were alone together?"

Maybe?

"I uhh…" She nibbled on her lower lip and looked down at the ground. He made it sound so much worse when he said it out loud.

He sighed. "Allow me to say this: A relationship begins first by spending as much time as possible with one another. It progresses in stages, moving along to holding hands, hugging, exchanging kisses and beyond." He explained. "I realized before I even asked you out that when it came to you, there were special circumstances that might upset you with most of those stages, so I put it into consideration and made sure to move at a pace that kept you comfortable." He confessed. His words almost made her blush in response to his obvious concerns about her feelings. "But we haven't even cleared the first stage to begin to worry about that yet." R-really? "Jumping ahead would be equivalent to assault. Do you think that I'm some sort of criminal?"

"Umm. Well, no but…"

Why did he have to say it like that? Kent is obviously not that type of guy, and now she feels bad for bringing it up. But if it were any other girl who was going to a stranger's house, wouldn't they be thinking the same thing? She sighed. Then again, Kent is her boyfriend. They had been dating for she wasn't even sure how long— and she just insulted his integrity.

"Could this be what's been on your mind since the other day? That I'd assault you?" He huffed. "Yet you are wearing such an outfit in front of me—did you do it to test me to see if I would?"

She shook her head at him. "Of course not! I didn't know you were coming and this is just comfortable for me to be in at the house." She explained.

He sighed, seeing she was obviously upset by his accusations. "I apologize if I've been causing you undue worry. I have absolutely no intentions of the sort." Well, she knows that now. "I simply wished to spend as much time with you as we could, to comply with the first stage of our relationship." He shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. "However, I'm very busy with research. That's why I'm having you come to my place. That is all there is to it." He looked away from her and sighed. "I apologize if I didn't explain it properly…"

He is such a sweetheart, and she practically accused him of being a pervert! God, she feels terrible. Now she couldn't think of anything to say to him. An apology probably would be best…

"This is concerning. Since yesterday you have been far too quiet." He noticed. "I'm not saying that I desire to argue with you. I simply wish to understand your intentions."

"I didn't mean to upset you." She told him. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. I said if something concerned you, that you should tell me." His expression softened towards her. "I'm not mad. In fact I'm glad you finally spoke your thoughts and brought it to my attention that it was bothering you. I believe helping with things that are upsetting one another is what couples do, is it not?" She smiled to herself and nodded. He smiled as well, and she could feel heat going into her cheeks at the rare sight of it. "Good. Now that is settled and we are both in agreement, we are heading back to my place, correct?"

She just nodded again, unable to find her voice.

.-.-.-

Kagome was glad that he lived close to her hotel. It saved her feet and leg muscles from having to power jog a long distance if he lived far away. It seemed that Kent was moving even faster now then he was yesterday, making her work extra hard to keep up with him.

If he doesn't figure it out himself, she will have to tell him to slow down next time. Her legs won't be able to hold out much longer.

Once they arrived, he told her that his parents were not home. At first it raised a red flag for her, but then she remembered the conversation at her apartment, and she calmed down. Kent wouldn't do anything.

The moment they stepped inside, Kent turned to look at her while saying. "Is this acceptable?"

She glanced around, when she did she spotted a bucket with several different cleaning supplies and rags in it. She smiled up at him. "It's very nice."

He let loose a big sigh, his shoulder deflating as he relaxed. He then walked through the house until they came upon a room.

It looked more like a comfortable office / living room, then anything else. Several plants were placed around it, including the small desk that was beside the window. When she got a closer look, they all had tags on them that stated their purpose and other uses on them.

Some of the plants she couldn't recognize. Did he splice and grow them himself? That's pretty interesting…

She turned to compliment him, but paused when she noticed that he had taken a seat at the desk, typing on his computer. He looked busy, and she didn't want to bother him—but then again, if he was busy why did he want her to come over?

He probably just had a few things to do, and she will be able to talk to him when he finishes. Until then she decided to pick out one of the many books that were placed in the room, and read while she waited. She paused when she saw the corner of a piece of paper placed underneath the stack.

She easily lifted the few books and pulled out the sheet. When she looked at it her eyes grew wide for a moment. This is- ?

She glanced at Kent, who was too busy typing on his computer to notice her, then back at the paper in her hand. As she looked at it she bit her lower lip in thought, before finally deciding to carefully fold up the sheet and place it into her purse. She then grabbed her book and pretended like nothing had happened.

As Kagome sat on the couch and read, the only sound heard in the room was the ever present clicking of the keyboard, followed by the sound of a page being turned.

.-.-.-

Kagome felt a yawn escaping her lips, and she glanced out of the window, surprised to see the sky turning dark. She glanced at Kent, seeing him at his desk, still typing. He wasn't going to finish anytime soon, she realized. What was the point of this? Why invite her over and ignore her? Guess the only thing she can do is go home now…

With a disappointed sigh she placed the book down onto the coffee table, and stood up. She was walking towards the door, when Kent's deep voice stopped her. "You aren't getting angry today?" Hmm? "You really are acting so strange."

Did this happen often? He would invite her over and ignore her? "Don't give me that look." He must have noticed her annoyance. "I'm very busy, but you were saying that you wished we could spend more time together, so I invited you over to do just that. Are you still not satisfied?" She complained that they didn't spend enough time together? He sighed and crossed his arms defensively. "It seems every time I do as you ask, afterwards you just get more angry and demanding. I don't understand." Oh my gosh. Is he really that clueless? Was it really not clear to him? By 'spend time together' it was obvious she wanted to talk or do something- The only thing they did was stay in the same room… No wonder she got angry.

She thought he was just new to being in a relationship, but it was obvious to her now that this man was completely and utterly hopeless with women! He didn't know anything! And here she thought he was the smartest one between the two of them…

Feeling laughter bubble up, she placed her hand to her lips, but she couldn't hold it in, and a feminine giggle escaped.

"Huh?" He gave her a confused look. "What's so funny?"

"You are!" She admitted with a laugh.

"Me?" He huffed and adjusted his glasses. "What did I do to deserve being laughed at?"

"Nothing~ You did nothing~"

"I don't understand…"

"That's the point~!" She felt tears swell in the corner of her eyes as she saw his expression turn from annoyance to utter confusion. When she finally calmed her laughter she sighed in relief. "Thank you Kent."

"Huh? First you laugh at me, now you are thanking me? Why?"

"Because you made me happy." She smiled brightly at him, even though her cheeks were still sore from laughing so much.

"-!" His cheeks took on a nice shade of red, making him adorable. "I—I'll see you to the door…"

.-.-.-

The next day Kagome was up early again. Wanting a change of scenery she walked to the Busy Bean, believing if she goes there often, then maybe it might trigger something. She doubted it, but it was worth a shot.

On the way out of her hotel she said hello to Tenzuka by name this time, which seemed to make him happy. She wanted to try and appear as normal as possible, but she knew something wasn't right with the way he was looking at her…

It was probably just her nerves. Nothing to worry about.

She walked calmly down the street, and as she did so she picked up her phone and texted Kent. 'You want to have some coffee with me? I'm on my way to the Busy Bean.' Not a few seconds later her phone rang—"Hello?"

"Are you alright?" His question had her stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, giving her phone a strange look.

"I'm fine…?"

"You have never initiated contact with me before…" He seemed lost. "I have always been the one to reach out for us to meet." His thoughts trailed off. "Is there some reason that you wish to see me?"

"I was just wanting to fulfill the first stages of our relationship, as you called it." She reminded him. "Is it really so suspicious of me wanting to see my boyfriend that I need some ulterior motive?" There was a sound on the other side—Almost like a loud crash. "Kent? You okay?" There was several more noises. "Kent?"

"You…" There was something off about his tone. "Y-you're assumptions are correct. I apologize if my words came off as cold and apprehensive…" Was it just her, or did he seem flustered? "I'll meet you at the café."

There was a small click, signaling he hung up.

.-.-.-

When she got to the café she went ahead and ordered their drinks. Surprisingly, Kent showed up not long after that. "You got here quickly."

"I was already on my way to the university when you called." He told her as he sat down across from her in the booth. As she watched him, she noticed that something was… off.

"You alright?" She asked.

When he replied with a mumble, turning his head away, she asked him to repeat himself. "You are acting out of character again and I'm…" He paused as if trying to figure out the right word to phrase it. "I feel troubled that I am not as concerned about it as I was before."

"What are you saying? You don't like the new me?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's just… different." He adjusted his glasses. "You have never called me that before—It surprised me." She gave a small hum and tilted her head. He saw her questioning look and elaborated. "You never called me your 'boyfriend' before. I—I ended up dropping my phone." She giggled, spotting redness enter his cheeks as he cleared his throat. "I'm not sure how to act when you do something like that."

"Just be yourself, Kent." Hearing a soft tap beside her she looked over, seeing the waiter with their drinks. "Thank you." She nodded her head and accepted her hot drink.

"Be myself? Who else could I be?" He sighed. "Like usual, your comments make no sense to me." He stared at her for a moment, tense. "I thought… I thought you were calling me over here to break up with me."

"Don't worry." She smiled to herself. "You are safe." His stiff body seemed to instantly deflate at her words, glad. "For today." She then added, making him tense up again. She found it amusing and she giggled. "Just joking."

The sounded seemed to relax him and he sighed. "You should look up the definition of a 'joke'. Obviously you don't know the meaning of the word." He picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip. "A joke is to create a story or situation to make one laugh."

"I laughed." She noted. "That counts." Smiling to herself she took a sip of her own drink. She hummed in delight when she pulled the cup away from her lips. It was delicious~! No wonder it was her favorite. She glanced back up, but paused when she saw Kent. He was staring at her, as if stunned. His cup was only a few inches away from his lips, frozen in mid-drink. "Is something wrong?"

"You didn't wipe your cup before you drank from it."

She gave a laugh through her nose. "Why? You didn't."

He calmly placed his cup back down onto its saucer, all while staring at her seriously. "I'm not the one who has Mysophobia."

Mysophobia? She repeated in her mind. The fear of germs…? At first she thought he was joking—a bad way to get back at her for her joke from before, but the look in his eyes told her that this was no joke.

Her eyes widened in realization when it all suddenly clicked.

When she was done hugging Sota, he looked at her like she had grown another head.

The odd way her family acted towards her when she hugged them.

"Then why won't you come?"

She gave a small huff. "Because I'm… cleaning my apartment."

"I should have realized."

All the cleaning supplies and hand sanitizer in her apartment.

"So you dislike the idea of coming over to my place that much? I mean, I knew you would be a little adamant about it…but I made sure to clean everything to your standers…"

She didn't think much about the odd statement he made the other day, he always makes odd statements she don't understand, but now it made sense.

The moment they stepped inside, Kent turned to look at her while saying. "Is this acceptable?"

She glanced around, when she did she spotted a bucket with several different cleaning supplies and rags in it. She smiled up at him. "It's very nice."

He let loose a big sigh, his shoulder deflating as he relaxed.

Even though he feared it wouldn't meet her expectations and she would leave, he took the time to sterilize his house just for her to come over. He did all of that for her, and she didn't even know it. But now she could be in trouble. She did something that was so out of character; he can't ignore it and make excuses.

If she doesn't think of something quick, he will start to suspect something, and he might find out about her memory loss. She did not want to go to the hospital.

"Huh?" She looked down at her cup and shrugged her shoulders. "You're right. I didn't even notice." She played it off as if it was no big deal. "I guess it doesn't bother me as much."

"Doesn't bother you…?" He seemed baffled by her words.

To sell it, she took another drink. "I mean…" She smiled at him. "How am I going to take our relationship seriously if I'm afraid to touch you?"

The emerald eyes behind his glasses almost doubled in size at her words. "You…?" He cleared his throat. "You are trying to overcome your phobia … for me?" He adjusted his glasses with a cough, his cheeks turning red.

She rolled her eyes and spoke sarcastically. "No, I have another boyfriend who I wish to spend time with… Of course you silly!" She smiled sweetly at him.

His blush deepened, and he had to turn his head away from her, staring out of the window. "She said 'boyfriend' again." He mumbled to himself, which only made him more flustered. She laughed and shook her head, taking another drink of her coffee- "W-would you…?" She lifted her gaze up and tilted her head at hearing his voice. "Would you like to go with me to the university today?" He then added as an afterthought. "That is, if your evening isn't already occupied."

"University?" She questioned him.

"Don't worry." His expression softened towards her. "It isn't the normal schedule for our lessons. I am not going to test you today."

Lessons? Test? So he really is her teacher after all.

"Sure." She nodded.

"Excellent." Kent stood from his chair. "We'll depart immediately. I'll pay for our drinks." He must have been in a good mood, because she didn't even have to answer a math problem this time.

.-.-.-

When they left, Kent moved even faster than usual. The university wasn't far away, but by the time they reached it she was almost out of breath, and she was just happy to be there so she could rest.

"Come in, make yourself at home." He invited her into the laboratory room. "This is a shared room used by graduate students for mathematics research, but in reality it's more like my own private room." And it shows. It was very similar to his room at his house, only without the plants. "There's rarely anybody here on Wednesdays especially, so my friends just come in as they please. You can relax."

And just like that, Kent walked over to his desk and began typing on his computer. Well, she wasn't really surprised...

So Kagome started looking through the books that were displayed on the shelf. She almost sneered when she saw almost all of them were about math. His room was like that too. The only thing she could read was the several books he had on plants.

With a sigh Kagome glanced at Kent out of the corner of her eye. She didn't want to just sit on the couch and read. She enjoyed herself at the café—why couldn't it be like that?

Kent doesn't grasp what a real relationship is. The way he describes it is almost robotic, as if he was repeating what he has read in a book word for word with no real feeling behind it. That's not a true relationship…

A real relationship grows with you. It has emotions and connection. It has both ups and downs. You learn and love with each experience. The way they are now, nothing will ever change.

Last time Kent believed what they did was what she wished. If she wanted to do something, she now knows that she would have to start it. Maybe-? Maybe he will understand? She wasn't sure, but she can try. He seems like he wants to make it work between them and he even went out of his way to make her comfortable.

"Kent?"

"Hmm?" He didn't even bother to lift his gaze from the computer.

"Would you like to talk?" As Kagome gauged his reaction, she leaned into the back of the couch that was placed behind her.

"Talk?" His fingers froze and he looked up from his computer. "Have the two of us ever had a productive discussion before? I'd like to hear such a topic, if you can think of one." He adjusted his glasses. "As far as I know, either the questions you ask me are useless and a waste of my time, or we simply end up arguing."

She wanted to talk, but he sounded as if it was pointless, and suggesting such a thing was just bothering him. She broke eye contact with him so she could look at the ground in disappointment. His words hurt her a little. If he can't understand something as simple as talking and bonding with your girlfriend, then maybe they really should break up? She sighed and rubbed her arm dishearteningly.

She didn't want to, but it might be for the best. She can't remember anything anyway and she should be spending her time trying to get her memories back. If he can't help her then—

"Ah." His exclamation caused her to pause in her thoughts. "Or are you asking for us to have a conversation rather than a discussion?" He asked. "At times I have talks with friends that can't be called discussions. Is that what you're requesting?" Her expression instantly switched from one of sadness to excitement, and he noticed. "Could you have been dissatisfied by a lack of conversation?" He sighed. "Still, conversations are something that occur on their own. They aren't something you request." He complained about her roundabout way of doing it.

"You were the one who said I've been too quiet."

He hummed and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can't deny that you have made a good point." She was happy to hear him say that, and she smiled brightly. Kent placed his hand to his chin in thought. "It's difficult to simply come up with a topic out of the blue, but I'd be willing to talk if you don't mind what the subject is."

"I don't." She shook her head, feeling excited. She would have said yes to anything. It was almost sad, like a starving dog, begging for scraps, really.

"At best, this subject is simply idle chatter, but"—He leaned back in his chair—"My field of study, mathematics, is often misunderstood. It isn't necessarily about pure mathematical logic alone."

"Umm." Okay, maybe she isn't that desperate. "I don't like math."

"I know." He sighed and adjusted his glasses. "But your lack of interest is only because you're not good at it." She gave a small 'hey' in objection, but he ignored it. "It is the only thing I can think of to talk about." He confessed.

She sighed. "Alright." Her expression softened towards him. "You can keep talking about it if you want. I don't mind." A little lie, but if that is what he wanted to talk about.

"You sure?" She just nodded, and the corners of his lips turned upwards ever so slightly. "It's often believed that mathematics is comprised of logic and theorems, and the construction of aesthetic equations is highly regarded, but I reject that." He crossed his arms over his chest, obviously getting very serious. "I mainly focus on utilizing those theorems to define physical phenomena, and one method of that is…"

Kagome released a sigh and decided to sit down on the couch. She had a feeling it was going to be a long evening…

.-.-.-

After sitting through Kent's theories and methods on his mathematical equations like a champ, she was more than happy to sit on the couch quietly, reading a book. She learned her lesson and didn't request anymore topics or conversations from the man.

She felt like it made her sound ungrateful, but she wasn't. She was happy to hear him talk to her. She couldn't understand a single word he said, but the expressions he made while he was talking—It was obvious that he enjoyed it and it showed. She has never seen him so happy when he talked to her before. His smile made her feel happy too, and it was good enough.

Next time though, she's going to pick the topic.

.-.-.-

Several hours later, Kagome had been reading quietly the whole time, the sound of the clicking on the keyboard was soothing to her. It wasn't until she noticed the sun was setting, turning the room a nice shade of orange, that she decided it was time to go.

Not wanting to disturb him while he worked, she quietly put down the book she was reading and grabbed her things, heading for he door—She paused when Kent stood in her way. When did he-?

"Why haven't you gotten angry?" He seemed lost as he placed his hand to his chin, looking down at her from his very large height advantage. "Why haven't you complained?"

It seemed that he was still stuck on her old self, and how she would complain to him after they were together. Well, she obviously complained because you didn't pay enough attention to her goofball!

But this time… this time he talked to her. He understood and he listened to her request. If he didn't, she would have already left him by this point.

He wasn't as cold as he was when they first met at the café. He changed. He is trying. So she will try too. Kent was- Kent was kind and she realized that she enjoyed the time she had with him.

Inuyasha… he isn't here. Her heart ached thinking about it, but it is a truth she will have to learn to accept. Inuyasha is gone, but Kent is here, and he is kind and trying to be understanding. It was a start, and she wouldn't mind seeing where it went.

"Why would I complain? I'm the one who asked to talk to you. Complaining about what you talked about would be rather rude and inconsiderate of me, don't you think?"

"-!" His eyes grew big in disbelief at her words, his mouth slightly ajar.

Was what she said such a shock to him? He is acting like she just told him she was pregnant or something…

He just continued to stand in front of the door, as if in a daze—

"Don't move." A man wearing blue sunglasses came from the open doorway and stood behind Kent, a smirk on his face. Kagome tensed up, and Kent snapped out of his trance, a surprised look on his face. "You move, you die."

Kagome instinctually reached behind her back for her bow, but then she realized that was stupid of her. She didn't carry around one in this world.

Even though the man threatened him, Kent just sighed. "Ikkyu." Did he know him? "It seems my senses have dulled. I didn't notice your intrusion."

"Victory is mine, Ken. Do you have any last words for your family?" He placed a hand upon Kent's shoulder, still smirking.

Bow or not, if he lays one hand on Kent she will kill him.

"I see." Kent adjusted his glasses. "Tell them I fought bravely." Instead of fighting, Kent just surrendered to the man without struggle.

"I shall…" Ikkyu told him.

Kagome gripped her purse tightly. The moment he moves she will throw it at him and distract him. Then she'll—

"Now!" Ikkyu suddenly shouted, cutting off her thoughts. Kagome raised her hand the same time the male did. "I'll have you check my answer! I've solved your math puzzle!"

Kagome froze in mid-throw, her hand held above her head, purse within, about to hit the man in the head. "Huh?" In the man's hand was… a sheet of paper.

Kent took the paper from him and quickly scanned it. "Heh. It's correct. You've improved, Ikkyu."

"It's all thanks to you Ken."

What?

He was one of the 'friends'? He nearly gave her a heart attack! She was going to kill him!

With a small sigh Kagome's grip on her purse loosened and it fell onto the floor with a thud.

The noise caught his attention and the male looked over at her. "Hmm?" He hummed as he walked passed Kent and towards her. "Who is this lovely woman? Is she a math student?" Kent crossed his arms over his chest defensively and looked away from them, a small scowl on his face. "Why aren't you saying anything?" Ikkyu asked as he glanced at him over his shoulder, even more curious now.

"My name is Kagome." When she introduced herself, Ikkyu turned towards her again.

Kent then quickly added. "We are currently courting one another."

"What? You mean dating?!"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Really? Like, seriously?" Ikkyu's voice held nothing but utter bewilderment. "This isn't another experiment, research, or some kind of weird study, is it?"

Kent paused, as if he was hesitating. Kagome gave him a look—He better not be. "No."

Good…

Kagome sighed, feeling a little relieved at that. Why did he hesitate…? She stopped her thoughts when she noticed that it was oddly silent in the room. Kagome looked up and saw Kent was giving Ikkyu a hard glare in warning, and Ikkyu had a shit-eating grin on his face.

Reaching up slowly, Ikkyu removed his glasses. He sent her a handsome smile and stepped closer to her. "I'm Ikki, nice to meet you." Now that the glasses were gone, found herself staring into the most brilliant blue irises she had ever seen. "Please, don't be put off by this guy's dumb nickname for me." He was laying on the charm as he stood directly in front of her, still smiling sweetly.

Kent raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell?" Ikki gave a small laugh in amusement. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see you get jealous, and I'm not going to miss it." Huh? Kagome gave Kent a confused look—He seemed… worried—"Hey." She felt a soft touch under her chin. "Look into my eyes…" Using just the tips of his pointer finger he tilted her gaze away from Kent and to him. "Yes, like that." Kagome couldn't help but be pulled into the blue crystals that stood out so drastically against his silver hair.

Silver hair… God, she missed it. She missed him…

"Ikkyu." Kent's threatening tone spoke up behind him in warning. "This is the one thing I won't forgive you for."

"So scary." Ikki seemed to enjoy teasing Kent. "I thought you didn't believe in my power? Or are you worried after seeing it all this time?"

Kent looked away from them, keeping quiet as he crossed his arms over his chest—The small concern on his face became more notable.

"It looks like your boyfriend is getting really jealous, but how do you feel? Wouldn't you prefer me?"

"What kind of friend are you?" She gave a small huff and smacked his hand away from her. "Flirting with your friend's girlfriend when he is standing right behind you?" She lectured him, poking him in the chest as she glared up at him. "You might be Kent's friend, but touch me like that again and next time I'll slap your face instead."

"Huh?" Ikki stood there, eyes doubling in size from shock. "It's not working?!"

Kent hummed, but a grin was on his face. "Looks like it."

Ikki still looked baffled. "You're kidding. Really?"

She placed her hands onto her hips. "Of course his lame pick-up tactics didn't work on me."

Ikki gave a laugh in amusement. "She is incredible." His blue eyes shone with delight. "Sorry Ken, mind if I seduce her? I really need to do this." He glanced at Kent for permission.

"Of course I mind." Irritation leaked back into Kent's voice.

"Fine then." Ikki sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "But this is a surprise. There are girls it doesn't work on…" He seemed to be talking to himself.

"I'm sorry but even if you did try to seduce me, it wouldn't work." She growled and looked away. "I don't like men who are so rude and arrogant."

"Oh?" Ikki blinked down at her. "Yet you are dating Ken?"

He's right—"But Kent is…" She looked away, unable to see either of them as she spoke the embarrassing words. "Kent is different." She could feel the heat rushing into her face once she spoke it out loud.

Ikki chuckled in amusement. "To hear such praise from your beautiful girlfriend. You must be very happy, Ken."

When there wasn't a reply, Kagome looked over at him—Her eyes widened when she saw him looking away, his face just as red as hers. He tried to cover it up by adjusting his glasses and releasing a small cough, but he couldn't hide it. He looks so cute when he blushes. His reaction only made her blush deepen.

"Kagome. I know you remember me talking to you about Ikkyu before." He coughed again and quickly changed the subject. "He is a no-good friend of mine. He believes his eyes have an effect similar to an aphrodisiac."

Even though Ikki still had a grin of amusement plastered onto his face, he decided not to continue teasing Kent. "They really do have that effect." He told him. "This is the first time I've met a girl it doesn't work on." But still, he couldn't resist teasing him for long. "It could be possible that she is so in love with you Ken, that she can resist the power of my eyes?"

"Impossible." Kent gave a small huff through his nose and answered much too quickly. "She doesn't like me. In fact, I'm almost certain she hates me."

What? Sure, they had a rough start, but she thought they were doing alright. His words hurt a little bit. She didn't hate him…

"You don't care at all, do you!?" She could feel the stinging of tears in her eyes as she screamed out loud enough for everyone in the street to hear. "How could you-!" He knew it was important to her. "I hate you Kent." She cursed him.

"Ugh…" She gave a small groan when a stabbing pain hit her hard and she reached up to rub her throbbing temple.

"You alright?" She heard Kent's voice of concern, before she felt a light touch on her shoulder.

"Yes I… I'm fine." She glanced to his hand, and he followed her gaze.

He pulled his hand away, as if burnt. "My apologies. I did not mean to upset you by bringing up bad memories, and then make things worse by touching you without your approval."

"It's alright Kent." She rubbed her arm up and down, looking away. "I-I think I'm going to go now." The throbbing in her head was getting worse, and she wanted to go home. "Text me later, okay?" Without waiting for a reply she picked up her purse, before rushing towards the door and leaving without waiting for a response.

The two stood there in the room, staring at the open door without speaking a word for several seconds. Ikki was the one who broke the silence. "Seems complicated." Kent adjusted his glasses, and released a deep sigh. Ikki gave his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder and smiled at him. "How about you and I talk about it over a few drinks?" He offered.

"Yeah." Kent nodded. "Sounds good…"

.-.-.-

When Kagome went home she went straight to bed, feeling tired. She laid on her back and stared at the ceiling in thought. What happened to her? Was that a memory? Are memories supposed to hurt like that? Ugh~

Placing her arm over her eyes she sighed, trying to relax…

A small noise near her caused her to give out a groan. Slowly her eyes fluttered open. "What… did I fall asleep?" Reaching to her nightstand she picked up the phone.

'Would you like to go out tomorrow?' The text was from Kent.

Kagome sighed as she read the message. 'I can't, I'm busy.'

She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she had something else in mind for tomorrow—that is her mind is what she is doing tomorrow… —god, that didn't make any sense. She should just go back to sleep…

The moment she closed her eyes, she fell back asleep. She didn't even hear the chime a few minutes later, signaling another text.

.-.-.-

When Kagome woke up, her mind was on her mission: Getting her memories back.

She got dressed in casual clothes and left her hotel. When she saw Tenzuka, she asked him which of her usual spots she hung out at should she visit for the day. She worded it just right, so that she wasn't blatantly asking him 'hey, I've lost my memories. Where do I usually hang out at?'

The first thing Tenzuka suggested was the Busy Bean, which wasn't surprising. Next he mentioned that she walked in the park on nice days like today. She thanked him and went to the Busy Bean to get some breakfast and coffee before heading off to the park.

.-.-.-

Instead of walking around aimlessly, she decided to sit beneath a large tree and watch the other visitors.

She thought about yesterday and how her memory came back to her so suddenly. She wanted to figure out what caused it, and recreate it, hoping that all her memories would return this time instead of a small piece. But she knew she probably wouldn't get it. Fact was, she had no clue what she was doing.

Maybe if she sat here long enough they would return, but she knew that would be a long shot. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't force her memories to come out.

Still, she tried to recall yesterday and what happened, to will the memories out. When she was finished replaying everything that she could remember, she sighed in disappointment when nothing special occurred and she was left with just questions.

She checked her phone, and a small frown appeared on her face. 'Very well. I understand. Good night.' It was the text that Kent sent her last night.

She read it when she got up this morning, but she didn't reply. She felt a little bad about rejecting him, but she knew that she had to start doing something. She wanted her memories back, and yesterday she had a breakthrough. If she would have any chance, now would be the time while her head was still aching from the last memory-attack. It didn't hurt anymore, more annoying than anything, but she will put up with it if it means getting her memories back.

Maybe she should just relax and meditate? Was worth a try…

She sat for an hour or two, before she realized that if nothing has happened yet, it probably won't. She couldn't focus. Her thoughts were such a mess she couldn't relax and empty her mind.

With a sigh she laid on her back and stared up at the sky. She found peace as she observed the light shining through the leaves in the tree branches, and watching the clouds slowly move overhead.

What has she done for four years? The only thing she knows is that her grandfather had passed. She alienated her family to where they were almost strangers to her now. She has a deadly fear of germs, which she doesn't understand.

She lives in an expensive hotel, which she still doesn't know how in the world she can afford. Now that she thinks about it, she should probably figure that out before the month's rent is due and she gets kicked out.

Oh, and she has a boyfriend which baffles her to no end why they are still together. Because she had done nothing but bitch at him and they do nothing but constantly fight and bicker to the point that if she ever is nice to him, he questions her mental state.

Yup, that about sums it up.

She groaned and placed her arm over her eyes, closing them. She just wanted to sleep… Maybe when she wakes up she will be back home in her real life. She has wished that every time she goes to bed, but so far it has not come true—Her phone chimed and she sighed.

Reaching into her back pocket she pulled out her phone and checked. Of course, it was Kent. Almost a hundred names in her phone and no one else in her life seems to contact her. 'I thought you were busy today?'

She quickly replied. 'I am.'

There was a chime beside her—"You don't look busy." She sat up with a start and her head whipped so quickly her hair fanned out from the movement.

The moment her eyes made contact with his hard green, she looked away. "You spying on me?"

"I always walk through here. It's part of my routine." His tone was cold, but she could tell he was upset. "If you didn't want to be with me today, you could have just said so, instead of lying."

"I wasn't lying." She denied it.

"Then what do you call it?" She bit her lower lip, not wanting to answer him, because she knew he was right. She lied. There's no other way to put it. "I take it that your silence is your way of agreeing that I'm correct?" He adjusted his glasses. "Am I also correct to assume that you have so little enthusiasm for dating me that you would rather sleep on the grass then spend time with me?"

"I'm sorry…" She sighed, still unable to look at him. "I just… wanted to be alone today so I could think."

There was a pause, before she heard shuffling to her side. "Understood." She turned her head just in time to see him walking away from her.

"Hey!" She called to him, quickly getting to her feet and chasing after him. "What are you doing?"

"I am complying with your request and leaving you alone." He answered over his shoulder.

She sprinted as fast as she could to reach him, knowing that if she didn't she would never catch him. "Wait a minute Kent." She felt winded and she paused. "Kent." She called to him. "Please wait!" He stopped in his tracks, and she sighed. He turned around to face her and crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't be angry with me." She pleaded.

"You forgo our invitation to meet so you could sit on the grass and ponder? I know you are trying to justify whatever true reason you had for lying to me, but at least think of a good excuse. If not, I'll notice you are just lying again."

Kagome could feel rage boiling up from his words. "I wasn't lying." She argued while glaring at him.

"I know it's hard for you to force yourself to be around me, and doing so only brings up bad things, causing discomfort for you." He looked away. "I believe you're trying to hint that you wish to break up. Am I correct in making that assumption?"

"W-what?"

"Of course, if one becomes tired of another, it's most efficient to immediately break up and move on to the next relationship, but I believe it's still far too early to consider that. However, have you become tired of me? If that is the case, I can understand your reasoning for lying to avoid me, and your topic that you were contemplating about so seriously on the ground."

"Wait a minute…" She wanted to tell him he was just being paranoid, but there was something he said that made her question him. "You'll break up with me if you're tired of me?"

"What are you saying? My beliefs haven't changed from before. We've argued over this many times." They have!? He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Have you forgotten?"

"The reason for your failure in math is due to your lack in concentration?"

Kagome sighed and shifted in her spot, glancing at the door. Kent leaned forward so he could look through the door window, and he hummed when he spotted what she was looking at him.

"Blaming something as trivial as a poor love life for your failure only proves your lack of skill and abilities." He adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "What kind of answer are you expecting from me? Do you wish for me to comfort you and pat you on the head? Or could you possibly think I would pity you and allow you to pass my class even with your abysmal grades?"

"Of course not." She sighed in defeat, feeling the sting of tears enter her eyes.

He paused for a moment. When he spoke, his voice was more understanding. "I'll state my opinion: It's most efficient for living creatures to change the target of their affections one after another. It allows for a large number of emotional experiences, and breaking up when one becomes tired of another allows for higher rate of producing a sizable offspring." Kagome could feel her heart being squeezed tighter and tighter with each hurtful word he spoke. "In other words, your failed love is quite beneficial as a collage experience. You should continue doing the same…"

There was a loud snap as her palm smacked against his cheek with all her might in rage.

He stood there in shock for several seconds, before he turned his head back towards her and questioned her actions. "I'd like to hear your reasoning for this. What makes you believe that I deserve a slap from you?"

She gave a groan in pain as her brain got hit with another memory-attack, making her feel dizzy. She took a step back, almost losing her balance as she placed her hand to her head, the other reaching out to try and stabilize herself.

"Kagome!?" Kent's concerned voice broke through her hazed mind. "Are you alright?" She looked up just in time to see a hand reaching for her-

She smacked his hand away with a growl. "Don't touch me!" She shouted at him as her tears finally fell and rolled down her cheeks. "Don't…" She flinched, another throb hitting her when she tried to shake her head. She lowered her hand from her head to cover her eye, taking comfort in the darkness that obstructed half of his concerned expression he was giving her. "Just—" She clinched her teeth and flinched. "…leave me alone."

She turned and walked away from him, going home. He did as she asked and didn't try to stop her, nor did he text or contacted her the rest of the day. Both her head and her heart ached throughout the night, and she didn't get much rest.

.-.-.-

When Kagome woke up the next day, she didn't feel quite herself. She reached for her phone and noticed that Kent had texted her. 'I want to talk to you, not argue. If you feel the same way, come by the park.'

After yesterday, it wasn't really what she was expecting. She thought he would still be mad. Her head was aching and her thoughts were a little fuzzy, but she decided to get up and go anyway. She better hurry. She slept in longer than normal so he has probably been waiting for her this whole time- When her feet touched the floor she stumbled, getting dizzy.

She sighed and placed her hand to her forehead. She didn't feel that great…

She went to her bathroom and looked behind the mirror. The only thing she found useful was a thermometer, so she placed it under her tongue. While she waited she began to get dressed, trying not to knock it out of her mouth while she put her clothes on.

When it finally beeped, she pulled it out and shrugged. "99.0" Just .4 points higher than average. No big deal.

.-.-.-

When Kagome stepped out onto her balcony, she noticed that it was pretty cold today, so she decided to wear warmer clothes. A lovely jacket, along with an elegant scarf around her neck to keep the chill off.

Kagome then went to the park, and found Kent by the tree where their argument started in the first place. "You've come." He seemed a little relieved by that.

"Sorry I'm late. I overslept." She told him. "You didn't wait long, did you?"

He shook his head in reply. They both stood there awkwardly for several seconds before he spoke again, turning away from her. "Let's take a little walk."

Like always, Kent was speeding by everything, and she had to jog to keep up. As she did, she noticed that everyone around her was wearing short sleeves and didn't seem bothered by the cold air. She shook her head—People are crazy… She glanced up and noticed that Kent had gotten so far ahead of her she could barely see him.

Luckily, Kent noticed her absence and stopped so she could catch up to him. When she reached him her face was flushed and she was out of breath. Without saying anything he turned and started walking again—She reached out and grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, making him pause.

"You are walking too fast." She finally told him. "I can't keep up." She looked down at where she was still timidly held his sleeve, and it made her seem like such a child. It didn't help much that he towered over her with his monstrous height. "Can you" She removed her hand from his sleeve and placed it over her heart, feeling insecure. "Can you walk slower?"

"I…" He sighed and turned around to begin walking once more. This time, it was much slower, and she almost cried out in relief. Now that she was able to see his face, and not just his broad back all the time, she noticed that there was a troubled expression on it.

"Is something wrong, Kent?"

He looked away from her and down at the ground, as if hesitant. "You see, there is something I think about when we walk like this." He admitted. "This park has a lot of couples."

Kagome looked around, noticing everyone around her. She nodded in agreement. "Yes, that is normal for a park."

"Why are they all holding hands while walking?" He asked, as if seriously puzzled by this. "For some reason, I want to hold your hand too, but no matter how I think about it, I can't find a reason to do so." Wait a minute—"Why is everyone holding hands? Is it a ritual to confirm one's affection? Is it just one step in increasing levels of physical contact?" His tone changed to one of irritation. "And what about in our case? I doubt you have any affection for me, and I think it's too early to increase our level of physical contact. In other words, there's no necessity for this action, and yet I want to hold your hand. Why?"

It seemed that he had been thinking about this for some time, and him being unable to find an answer had him feeling frustrated. "I'm sure you would become angry if I suddenly grabbed your hand. Your phobia would make such contact uncomfortable for you and I did not wish that. I knew this, but still, I wanted to do it. In fact, it made me want to do it more." By this point he had stopped walking and sighed, feeling defeated. "This unexplained need that I have been having doesn't make any sense. Is it ever necessary to hold hands? Am I simply trying to conform with the couples surrounding us? If I can't find a logical reason, I can't accept it." He seemed lost with his own thoughts. "But I like you… and I just… I want to fill your touch."

Kagome could feel heat rising into her cheeks. "Huh?"

"When I walk next to you, I can't help but notice your hands, and that makes me walk faster." He admitted. "Especially after you told me at the café you were trying to change your phobia for me…" His cheeks took on a light shade of pink. "I wanted to touch you more than ever at that point, and it was so hard for me not to… My feet just kept moving so I could distance myself from you so it wouldn't happen. Maybe it was a little too fast for you to keep up, and I apologize." He looked at her and sighed. "I just didn't want you to get mad at me for touching you—" A soft touch against his palm caused him to freeze-mid sentence and look down at his hand. "Are—are you sure?"

She smiled up at him and gave his hand a small squeeze in reassurance. This seemed to snap him out of his daze and instantly his face became red. It was adorable. "Want to continue walking?"

He nodded, unable to speak, and they both started walking through the park. It was several minutes of silence before he spoke up. "Your hand is very warm…"

"And yours is cold." She smiled. She wanted to put it on her heated cheeks to cool herself down, she felt so hot.

"Last night I swallowed my pride and consulted Ikkyu on this situation. Then, after laughing for quite some time, he simply said. 'tell her what you told me just now'." He squeezed her hand and she responded back. "And you actually decided to hold my hand like this, so I suppose that means Ikkyu was correct." He had his head turned away from her, as if embarrassed, the blush still on his cheeks. "Maybe I should tell you what I am thinking more often? It seems that I was incorrect in assuming that talking to you will always result in an argument."

"You mean like yesterday?" She unconsciously squeezed his hand at the mention of yesterday's fight, and he responded by linking their fingers together to reassure her.

"Yes. Like yesterday." She noticed his jaw tensed up, as if he was holding himself back from saying something.

"Kent." She stopped walking, and pulled her warm hand away from his. "I am sorry if what I did yesterday hurt your feelings." She placed her hands to her chest as her heart thumped loudly in her ears. "I just… I have a lot on my mind resonantly." She sighed as she felt her face warm up, her mind swaying as thoughts became more fogged. "I wanted some time alone for myself so I could think on what to do." She looked down at the ground and nibbled on her lip nervously.

"I see…" He crossed his arms over his chest and he looked down at her in thought. "What is troubling you?"

She gave him a questionable look as she tilted her head at him. "Huh?" She resisted groaning in discomfort when the action made her slightly dizzy.

"I believe I repeated myself many times: If you are discontent about something, bring it to my attention. I wasn't just talking about myself, but with anything that might be troubling you."

She began to feel warmer. "I…" She looked down sheepishly as she reached up and tugged on her scarf. She gave a small huff of hot air. Her mind went blank and she stood there for a moment.

"Kagome?" Hearing her name she glanced up sluggishly. "The pigmentations in your cheeks are red."

She blinked at him. "Huh?" What was he saying? It was hard to breathe. She tugged on her scarf again. She shouldn't have worn these clothes. It's too hot…

"Your face is flushed." His voice was just muttering in the background, as her mind started to swirl.

"I'm…" She placed her hand up to her head to stop it from spinning. "...fine…" As the word slipped from her lips, she noticed the ground was getting closer just before her eyes drifted shut.

"Kagome!" Kent's voice was the last thing she heard before the darkness consumed everything.

.-.-.-

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? Kagome you- You've changed." He sighed. Your phobia is getting worse. The doctor says that it might turn into something serious… "

"Doctors don't know what they are talking about." She huffed and turned her head way from him. "The fact that you even believe anything he says just proves how stupid you are."

He took a step away from her, obviously hurt by her words. "This is what I'm talking about Kagome— Where is all this anger coming from? There are days where I come home and I've done nothing wrong, and you start screaming at me, calling me Inuyasha… I don't understand."

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I don't know why I am saying those things. I can't even remember doing them. I'm sorry." Tears started to form beneath her eyes. "I don't care how many times I have to say it. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, don't leave me." Don't leave me alone.

He held up his hand and shook his head. "Not this time Kagome. I'm done giving you chances."

"Alright then…fine." She snapped, her sadness turning into rage. "Go be with her if you want! I don't care! Kikyo is better than me. She will always be better than me!"

"Kagome, who is Kikyo? What are you talking about?" He tried to calm her down by placing his hands on her shoulder-

"Don't touch me!" She smacked his hand away from her "Go on! Get out of here! I don't want to ever see your face again!"

When Kagome started to regain consciousness, the first thing she noticed was that her head was throbbing, and even though she was laying still, it felt as if the world was spinning around her. Her whole body was heavy and sore. Her feet hurt, her hands hurt, her legs, her stomach, her lungs, her back, even her eyes—Everything hurt, but the most painful thing of all was the aching in her heart.

Slowly she forced her eyes open, and she noticed she was staring at her new bedroom ceiling. She is in her apartment? How did she get here? What happened? She vaguely remembered going to the park to meet Kent…

She looked around as the question popped into her head. A large green and black blob was in her peripheral vision. She turned her head and saw that it was Kent, sitting in a chair beside her bed. He had his head hung low in thought, his usual rigged and straight back was now bowed, leaning forward as he stared at the floor. His elbows were resting on his knees, and his fingers were intertwined, yet his thumbs were placed onto his forehead.

He looked very upset.

She sat up, but when she did something fell from her forehead and down onto her lap with a wet 'plop.' It was a folded wet rag, now warmed by her body temperature and no longer cool to the touch. Yet it laid forgotten, what little focus she could make in her blurred vision was looking at the distraught man sitting beside her. "Kent?" She sounded so weak, she almost didn't recognize herself.

Instantly his head shot up at hearing his name. "Kagome?" He sighed in relief. "Are you alright?"

She took a deep breath and exhaled softly through her nose. "I'm fine."

"Forgive me if I reject your assumptions of your own wellbeing. Last time you said you were fine, you passed out moments later."

"I passed out?"

"Yes." He adjusted his glasses, his eyebrows crinkling.

"H-how did I get here?"

"I carried you." Her already flushed face became even hotter, imaging him carrying her all the way through the hotel and into her apartment. "Your temperature was 103." What? "I should have taken you to the hospital." At the mention of the word 'hospital' she felt a cold chill of fear run down her spine. "But I know that you have an extreme dislike of them, so taking you there was out of the question. Luckily the greeter by the door retrieved several medical supplies for you and brought them up to the room." As Kent spoke, he couldn't look her in the eye. His whole body language screamed worry and guilt.

"Thank you Kent." She smiled softly at him.

"You shouldn't thank me." He spoke bitterly. "After all, it is my fault you have contracted illness."

"What? It's just a cold. People get them all the time. You can't control it, and I could have gotten it from anywhere. You didn't do anything."

"I admire your attempts to lie and make me feel better, but I have already concluded that I was the cause of your sudden sickness." She shook her head, but then stopped when it made her dizzy. "I knew that people with cases like yours, people who are afraid of germs to such an extent, sterilize everything they touch. Doing so lowers that person immune system after a prolong period of time." Kent adjusted his glasses. "That person becomes highly susceptible to illness and disease, yet because of my selfishness, I threw you to dangerous elements and got you hurt."

"You make it sound like you tossed me in front of a moving train." She almost laughed.

"It could be counted as the same thing." He said seriously.

"I just feel a little under the weather and I had a fever. It's not the same as getting hit by a train."

"Have." He corrected.

"Huh?"

"You still have the fever." He told her. She thought she still felt warm. She placed her hand to her forehead, which was stupid because she couldn't feel anything with her warm hands. "And it's my fault."

"It is not your fault." At this point she was starting to get irritated. "I was the one who drank and touched everything near me without being cautious. I was the one who went outside, and laid on the grass like an idiot." Probably why it hit her like it did.

"I was the one who brought up my concerns about holding hands." He argued back.

"That is what's bothering you?" She released a sigh, the fight leaving her. "For a smart guy, you are so stupid sometimes." She reached out and touched his hand. He pulled it away, but she quickly snatched it up again and intertwined their fingers. "I don't care if I get a 110 fever every time I touch you, I would still do it."

Her statement caused his own face to blush and he became flustered. "Your reasoning is illogical. If you had a 110 fever, you would die."

"I guess I would die happily then…"

"Do not talk about such things so lightly." He scolded her. "When I think of the possibilities of you dying I… The feelings that take over are unknown to me." He then mumbled to himself. "I'll have to look into what these emotions are later."

She giggled in amusement at his confusion. He is such a child when it comes to his own emotions. It's as if he is feeling such things for the first time. It's rather cute. With a smile she placed the back of his hand against her cheek. "Ah~ Your hand is so cold." It felt so good.

"I should have known…" His voice was soft and full of guilt. "Your hand shouldn't have been that warm to the touch. I should have noticed right away, but due to my own naïveté in such contact I thought it was normal." He looked at her in the eye and sighed. "I apologize for my own lack of knowledge and inexperience."

She looked at him and sighed. "I'll accept your apology on one condition."

"Anything."

"Stop blaming yourself."

"I—" She held up her hand and stopped him.

"And when I'm feeling better, whenever we go out I want you to hold my hand everywhere we go." She smirked at him. "Those are my terms. Do you accept?"

He released a sigh of defeat. "Very well."

She nodded her head in victory. "Good."

He cleared his throat and stood up. "Would you like a glass of water?" She nodded her head. "Umm." He paused before adjusting his glasses. "You have to release my hand…"

"Oh!" She loosened her grip from his hand, and her cheeks felt even hotter.

His expression softened towards her and he turned away. "I'll return in a moment."

Kagome looked down at her lap and saw the rag. When she picked it up, she almost cringed at how warm it was. Since it was useless for now, she placed it on her nightstand instead and laid down. With a sigh she closed her eyes, feeling exhausted. Her mind faded into darkness and she drifted to sleep—

"Kagome!? What's wrong? Are you okay?!"

Hearing Kent's shout caused her to snap her eyes open in surprise. "Ugh." She let out a groan. "I was sleeping…" She grumbled.

"Oh, you were resting?" He sighed, then placed the glass of water on the nightstand. "Is there anything else you may require?"

"This fever." She sighed and wiped away her hair from her forehead. "I need to beak it—I need more blankets. Could you get them for me? They are in the closet."

"Alright." He nodded, and did so without question. "How many?" He asked as he started to pull down a thick cover.

"All of them." She told him. "And turn the heat up in the apartment."

He began spreading out the large layers of blankets on top of her. "How high?"

"Pits of hell."

"Sounds excruciating."

"The faster I break it, the faster I'll feel better." She was in hell as it was. Her body felt like it was on fire, but she wasn't sweating. Once she heard the heat kick on, she turned to look at him. "Kent?"

"Hmm?" He had his hand placed on the back of the chair, about to sit down.

"The jacket you are wearing—You will be hot in here."

"You wish for me to leave." He stated.

"I don't want you to get uncomfortable, besides, I bet you have more important things to do then to look after me."

"I do." He admitted coldly. "But… I would rather be with you."

His words made her heart give a small flutter. "Why?"

"I…" He looked away from her, unsure. "I don't know."

"Could you stay with me till I fall asleep? After that it will be too hot for you to stay any longer."

"Very well." He went to sit down, but she coughed and caught his attention, stopping him.

She smiled at him, before scooting backwards and making room on her bed. "Lay beside me, so I can hold your hand." She patted the pillow beside her head and she saw his face become red.

"I'm not so sure…" He looked away from the bed.

"I'm not contagious."

"I'm not referring to that."

She hummed. "It would make me feel better…" And with that, he was hooked.

With a sigh he laid down beside her, on top of the covers. "Just until you fall asleep." He had his head turned away from her, unable to look her in the eye.

She smiled happily. "Okay." She fought her way through the layers of fabric, and stretched her arm out up and over the covers. Reaching out she grabbed his hand.

"How could this possibly speed up your recovery?" He questioned her, his head still turned the other way. "It serves no purpose."

"But it… feels nice." She gently touched his palm, placing it against her face with a sigh of contentment. "So cold..."

"Shouldn't you be more cautious? Touching me and being careless is what caused your illness in the first place."

"No. I should touch you more." She argued. "The more I touch you… the quicker I will get used to it and my immune system should go back to normal."

Her words caused him to question her. "How does that sound reasonable?"

"Because…" She sighed. "Because… I like… being around you."

"That has nothing to do with your ability to counteract disease." He huffed. "But I … I like the contact we have had the past week. You haven't once snapped at me, and it has gone rather smoothly." He looked down at the floor. "In fact, I was quite upset with the argument we had yesterday. I believe I overreacted and caused you stress that you didn't need." He sighed. "You obviously had a reason to want to be alone, I should have respected that. I'm not particularly bothered by it anymore, and fact is I only wish to forget it and move forward." When he didn't get a response, he paused. "Kagome?" He turned his head to look at her, and saw that she was asleep, holding onto his hand gently, as if it was a precious gift. "Good night…" His expression softened as he reached out with his other hand and softly brushed her warm cheeks with his thumb.

.-.-.-

The next day, Kagome woke up and her fever was gone. She felt a hundred percent better. In fact, she felt normal again. Not long after she got up and took a shower, she got a text from Kent. 'If you are still feeling under the weather, we will cancel our usual lessons and reschedule them for another day.'

Her first reaction was "Ugh, math." And so she immediately faked sick, wanting to play hooky. 'Could we? I'm still tired.'

'Of course.' She sighed in relief. 'But don't think that means you can get out of giving me your math homework I gave you last time. I expect it promptly with the correct answers in a few days' time.'

Kagome made a face. 'Okay.'

'Get some rest.' That was the last message sent.

With a sigh Kagome put down her phone and began looking for the math homework that he mentioned. When she found it she let out a groan in frustration. What is this!? Math problems or an alien language?! And as luck would have it, she didn't fill out any of the answers before she lost her memories. Just great.

She has never seen any kind of math equations like these before. How in the world is she going to solve them!?

With a huff she slammed the paper back down onto her desk—The motion caused the calendar on her wall to come loose and fall down top of her desk. "Ugh." She growled and picked up the calendar in annoyance. "Uh?" As she was putting it back up on her wall, she noticed that it was placed on the wrong month. She flipped the paper over and she paused when something red caught her attention. "Fireworks with Kent?" It was circled in red ink twice—the date was tomorrow!

Oh no! She had no idea she had a date planned with Kent!

After a minute of panicking, soon her scattered brain flipped to excitement as she hurried around trying to pick out a nice outfit to wear for tomorrow. "What kind of fireworks is it? Where is it at?" As the questions filled her mind she went to the one place where she could find all the answers: The internet.

Turns out it was a fireworks festival that was possibly an hour away by train from here. Excitement filled her again as she thought about dressing in a yukata. "I wonder what Kent would look like if he saw me in it?" He smile on her face wouldn't go away as she prepared herself for tomorrow… that is until she realized that she didn't have a yukata.

She sighed. "I have to go buy one, and fast!"

Without wasting time she darted out of her apartment with her purse to go shopping for tomorrow's date with Kent.

"Good evening Ms. Higurashi." Tenzuka greeted her with a pleasant smile. "Lovely day."

"Hello Tenzuka." She greeted back. "Do you know where any good stores where I can buy a yukata?"

"Yukata huh?" Tenzuka smirked. "You going to the festival with Kent then?" She didn't have to answering him, for her face turned pink, giving herself away. He chuckled. "349 west end. You'll find what you are looking for there, I'm sure."

She smiled and nodded to him. "Thanks Tenzuka."

"No problem, Kagome." Again, he greeted her a little too friendly for her and she tensed up. He noticed it and quickly changed the subject. "You want me to hail a cab for you?" She nodded and he walked up to the street and whistled, catching a taxi for her. He even opened the back door for her, smiling friendly the whole time. "Have a nice day shopping."

"Thank you..." She paused as if she should do it or not. "…Tamaki." She said his first name. It felt odd. She really didn't know him. Then again, she didn't know Kent either.

"You're welcome, Kagome." His expression softened just before he closed the door.

With a sigh she turned to the driver. "349 west end, please."

.-.-.-

When Kagome got out of the cab, she didn't find herself in front of a shop. Instead she was standing before an archery training center. "This is…" The moment the word 'archery' came into her mind, everything else left it. The want—no, the need to feel a bow in her hands was much too strong for her, and her feet moved towards the door.

"Welcome back Ms. Higurashi. Do you want the usual?" The woman behind the desk greeted her with a smile.

"Ummm sure?" Seems she comes here often.

"Right away." She nodded her head and turned to the boxes behind her. She opened the box and pulled out an archery outfit and chest armor protection. Then the woman went into a door and came back with a very lovely, VERY expensive looking long bow. The moment she saw it, it almost took her breath away. "I informed your teacher that you were here."

"Ah, thank you." She nodded her head and took her items and went into the changing room.

When she came out she went to the back, where the range was set up. "Ms. Higurashi. How are you today?" An man in his mid-40's greeted her with a smile, wearing the traditional archer uniform. "You are not wearing your safety armor today?"

She looked down at herself. "It messes with my aim."

He hummed and motioned towards a spot a few steps away. "I laid everything out for you."

"Thank you." She nodded and went to stand in the spot. She noticed she had several targets all lined up in front of her in several different distances.

"Now, try and do everything I taught you. Remember don't think about the shot." He spoke as if he had repeated this several times. "Form, balance, raise, and then aim. The arrow hitting its mark is only the product if you have done everything else correct."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The man kept talking and she mostly tuned him out. She didn't need his advice. She already knew. Her body was tuned into this motion—she could do it in her sleep.

She took another breath, and her body moved in one fluid motion, into the stance she had grown so use to keeping. Her arm raised up, holding the arrow between her fingers as she pulled the string back, her eyes were closed the whole time. The string and feathers brushed across her cheek, and she could hear the string resisting as it was drawn against her ear. As she pulled back, she held her breath at the same time. Her stomach clinched at the power she pulled from her arm.

"Excellent!" Her focus instantly fell by his excited exclamation. "You have improved greatly! Have you been practicing at home?" She sighed and lowered her arms and looked over at him in irritation.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I just want to be alone and shot some arrows…"

He blinked in surprise at her words. "Of course." He bowed his head. "You don't need me today then."

She almost sighed in regret. "Umm, actually, could you do something for me? I am better at hitting moving targets."

"Better at moving target? You haven't advanced to that stage yet—You have never shot a moving target before."

Oops. "You're right from before, sansei." She agreed. "I have been practicing at home…"

"Ah, I see." He nodded his head. "I'll send out a target for you."

After he left, there were a few minutes of silence, and then a loud buzzer. Several men came and took away the targets, then the buzzer sounded again. From on top of the building, the ceiling opened up a single green tennis ball fell from the opening. She smiled as she watched the ball, hearing the sound of it thumping against the floor.

Again, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly she got into position, enjoying the feel of the string against her cheek and the arrow between her fingers. She held her breath at the peak of her strength, and then snapped her eyes open—

There was a spark of her power's igniting instinctually, then the twang of the string, whoosh of air, followed by the thump as the arrow hit the ball and stuck to the wall on the other side. The distance made it look like a small pea, it was so small.

But Kagome couldn't enjoy the moment of thrill she had, for something was wrong. Something had rushed out of her body, leaving her breathless. She felt dizzy and her legs gave out, making her crumble to the floor in a daze. She could hear the sound of the instructor beside her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying for the rushing of blood in her ears.

She looked down at her hands, as if she had just seen them for the first time. Her mind was in a whirl, and with each beating of her heart, it felt like her veins were on fire and her head was going to explode.

"Ms. Higurashi?" He touched her shoulder, and she gasped in shock, snapping to look at him, her eyes wide. "You alright?" He asked with concern.

She looked back down at her hands, no longer feeling the sensation of power flowing out of her. "Y-yes." Slowly she got to her feet, and the world around her had changed. It was as if her black and white world was now in color. The light that had been off all this time, had finally been switched back on. She could feel them… Demons. They were all around her. Her powers had come back and she could sense them again. It was almost a relief to her. She turned to the man and smiled brightly. "Could you send out more next time? And double them each time?"

Whatever was blocking her powers, had finally been released, and she was just getting started...

.-.-.-

If she felt invincible after she walked out of that building! The stress of her memory loss, and the fact she had to play pretend with this new life of hers—it got to her, but after she expended her energy on those targets, she felt… great!

Her old powers was flowing through her, and she could sense everything again. It was a breath of fresh air. She missed it.

With her head held high, she walked into the expensive clothing store, ready to by the most beautiful and extravagant yukata they could show her.

Kent will love it.

.-.-.-

When Kagome returned to her hotel, Tamaki was still on duty. She got out, and he noticed her immediately, and the fact that new life was flushed in her face. He smiled at her and nodded. "I see you enjoyed yourself this evening, Kagome." He led her to the training ground on purpose. He must have known she went there often, right? Did he do it because he knew it would make her feel better? Why? What was he to her?

As she neared him, her senses were screaming at her, and she stopped in her tracks and looked at him. "I don't know what you are trying to do, but don't think you can fool me for one second." She leaned closer and whispered the next word to him quietly. "Fox." That single word that slipped from her lips caused him to instantly freeze, and his eyes go wide. His reaction was all she needed to know she was right. She then turned and left him standing there in a daze, giving off a small flare of power to warn him, before leaving and going to her room.

She didn't know what he wanted from her, but she does know one thing: Foxes are sly. You can never trust them. Whatever it was he wanted, she didn't want any part in it.

.-.-.-

When Kagome woke up, she received a text from Kent. 'How are you feeling?'

Kagome smiled to herself. 'Adequate.'

A few minutes later there was a chime. 'Was that a bad attempt to mock me? Well, I suppose if you are able to crack bad humor, you are feeling like yourself again. That's good.'

Kagome hummed and got ready for the festival. It was still several hours away, so she could spend a good amount of time to get ready. She touched the date marked on the calendar and smiled softly.

.-.-.-

Kagome was at the station, waiting. There were crowds of people there, all chatting in excitement. They too were going to the festival. As the miko waited, he kept glancing at her phone for the time, and scanning the crowd for a familiar black blob with blonde hair.

She waited, and waited. Then the crowd died down to a trickle, until suddenly she was the only one standing there.

She looked at her phone again, and realized that thirty minutes had passed. Where was he?

She lifted her phone for the umpteenth time— The hairs on the back of her neck spiked and she tensed up. She glanced around, gripping the phone tightly as her hands automatically turn into fists. Her flight or fight instincts kicking in.

She wasn't alone. Someone was watching her, she knew it— "Ah!" Her phone rang and she let out a squeak in surprise and almost dropped it. She answered it, placing the black square to her ear. "H-hello?" Her eyes were still darting around the empty station, but she couldn't see anyone or anything.

"Where are you?" The sound of Kent's voice had her feeling relieved. "I went to your apartment to check on you, but you are not here."

"I…" She looked around again, but she noticed that the presence she felt before had gone. Whatever was here before, had left. She sighed. "I'm at the station."

"The station? What are you doing there?"

"Huh?" She made a funny face in confusion. "What do you mean? I thought we were going to see the fireworks today…"

"Fireworks? What are you talking about?" He seemed confused. Did she get it wrong? "-!" Then he made a small noise on the other side of the phone. "I'm sorry…!" He apologized. "That's right, we were planning to go watch the fireworks show today. That didn't interest me at all, so it slipped my mind completely." He forgot!? She was the one with amnesia, yet she made it here. "It was supposed to start at 7:30, and it takes thirty minutes for me to get there, then another hour on the train. We won't make it in time." Her expression instantly fell at hearing his words. "I'm sorry." He apologized again. "If there's anything you want, tell me. I'll make it up to you tomorrow."

"I…" He placed her hand over her aching chest. "I just want to go with you… that's what I want."

"Wha…" He made a small surprised sound, then nothing. "…" More silence. "…"

"It's alright…" She tried not to sound sad and disappointed, but she couldn't help it. "Don't worry about it. Maybe next time—"

"Unacceptable." He suddenly spoke up, cutting her off. "Don't move. I'll be right there." He hung up, not even waiting for her to reply.

She pulled her phone away from her ear, and looked at it while tilting her head. Odd.

Ten minutes later…

"…Nn… Haah… Haah…" Kent was taking several ragged breathes in front of her, his hands placed on his keens as he took long deep breathes to try and fill the air back in his lungs. "S-sorry…. Haah. Sorry for the wait."

"K-Kent?" She was just so surprised to see him. That was fast!

"You…" He reached up with his arm and wiped the sweat from his brow, and her cheeks became flushed when she saw how red his face was. Did he run all the way here!? "You wore a yukata on such a cold day…?" He had caught his second wind and was now standing in front of her, staring down at her with his ever piercing emerald eyes. "What would make you do such a thing after you just recovered from a fever?" She turned her head away from him, blushing. God, does she really have to say it out loud? "I-is it possible that you— you did this… so I could see you in it?" His cheeks became flushed again, but for a different reason and he looked away from her. "No, that can't be right." He quickly rejected the idea. "Thinking this is all for me would be the height of conceit." He then moved forward, walking past her. "The train is coming. We should hurry."

Kagome just followed behind him, not saying anything.

What would he have done if she told him he was right? That she did wear this for him…

.-.-.-

"It's raining a little." Kent held up his hand and frowned at the sky. "There are shops and stalls still open, so we should still be able to enjoy the festival." He held up his hand. "Wait a minute. I'll go buy an umbrella. You'll get sick again if you are outside like this." He left the safety from beneath the tree and ran to a shop to buy an umbrella for her. He returned quickly, and unfolded it. He lifted it up and motioned for her to walk beside him.

"Thank you." She did so with a smile.

"There are a lot of people here. They haven't started the fireworks, and the stalls are still crowded." He seemed amazed as he walked. "It's been a while since I've walked in such a large crowd. Be careful not to get separated."

"I don't think it would be hard to find you in the crowd. Your height makes you stick out like a sore thumb."

"You are correct, but just in case we should still be careful… You are so small and…" He glanced down at her, and he quickly noticed that he had once again walked ahead of her due to his long legs. Without even saying anything, he slowed down his pace, and she smiled at this. "If you don't mind, it would be helpful if you held onto the umbrella, too." He then added. "It's so you don't get lost in the crowd. I don't have any ulterior motives."

"If you don't have any ulterior motives then..." She hummed and stepped closer to him so she could place her arm under his and gently hold the handle at the same time.

"Well, I can't say absolutely that I have zero." He revealed. "But the main reason for this is safety." His cheeks becoming flushed and he glanced away from her. "If you don't like the idea, I'll think of another solution. Don't hesitate to tell me."

She made a frown. "You're right, I don't like this."

"I knew it—"

"Could you hold me tighter?" She suggested.

His face became even darker red. "Do you enjoy watching me become agitated?" Yes. "Or do you really—Do you really want to be closer to me?"

"Would you object if I said it was a little of both?"

He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses with his free hand. "It might be safer but you don't have to force yourself-" She didn't wait for him to finish, and wrapped her arm around his bicep, leaning into him with a smile as she hugged his arm. His blush returned full force and he almost dropped he umbrella. "I haven't been to a festival like this since I was a child." He changed the subject quickly, but he switched the umbrella to his other hand, so he could pull her in tighter to his side. "What kind of stalls do you like? I've never had much interest in places like this, so I don't know much about them."

The first thought that came to her mind was—"I like the goldfish scooping."

"I see." He hummed. "Are you good at that?" No, not really, but it doesn't mean it isn't fun. "I don't mind raising plants or pets. If you catch one, I'll take it home."

"Really?" She questioned him.

"Living creatures sometimes act in ways very difficult to understand, sometimes beyond my reasoning. I enjoy observing those actions, and trying to discover the rules that drive them. That goes for humans, plants, and animals."

"Humans?" Something clicked in her mind—

"I don't understand you. All you do is fight with me, but it makes no other logical sense. These feelings I've been having for you must be romantic. That is why I am asking you if you would go out with me, to see if this is really what I am feeling or not."

With a groan Kagome gently massaged her temple with her finger.

"Kagome?" He turned to her. "You alright—"

"That is why you asked me out, wasn't it Kent?" She glanced up at him. "You thought I was difficult to understand and it fascinated you, right?"

He instantly stopped in his tracks. "I…" He glanced out of the corner of his eye, avoiding eye contact. "I would be lying if I said no."

"I knew it." She pulled her arm away from his—He grabbed her hand softly, looking down at her with guilt.

"But I will also admit that while at first our fighting stirred something different in me that I couldn't explain—How difficult you were to understand interested me but..." He looked down at the ground for a moment, then back up. "I like this—the way we are now. Everything just goes more smoothly and I-" He sighed. "I thought that going out with you would be impossible, but it's also unexpectedly pleasant, this strange feeling. Being here with you, I didn't think I would like the festival, that is why I forgot about it, and for that I am sorry." He told her how he felt. "I still wonder exactly why we're able to share such peaceful times together now." He looked down in thought. "Sometimes I feel that you're simply forcing yourself to accommodate my feelings…I feel ashamed about that." His words caused a small stab of pain to hit her, knowing that it was true. But she could never tell him that.

She had forgotten everything about him. She didn't love him. She loved Inuyasha. She was only here with him, because he was the key for her getting back her memories… right?

"Ah." He looked up at the sky. "The rain has stopped. Let's browse the stalls a little longer before going home, while you are still in a good mood."

.-.-.-

Kent and Kagome had left the station, and were sitting on a bench in the park. They decided to take the long way, and enjoy each other's company some more. Kagome laughed as she held up the bag, the small black goldfish inside "He looks just like you."

He sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Impossible."

"No, it's true." She held up for him to look. "He has the same constant frown on his face like you do." She teased while imitating the same face, the bag beside her head.

"I see you jokes have not improved."

"You sure you can keep him?"

"I have an adequate terrarium, it used mostly to hold some of my plants, but I can use to hold him in until I get something permanent."

"Okay then. I leave Ken in your hands." She handed the goldfish to him with a smile.

"Ken?"

"Yeah. Ikki always called you that, and since he looks like you…" She trailed off with a giggle. He gave a small snort in objection, and it only made her laugh more.

"You look very beautiful tonight."

"Huh?" His words caught her off guard and she looked at him. He had his head turned away, a light dash of color in his cheeks.

"The yukata. It is beautiful."

She leaned closer to him. "That's not what you said." She poked him in the arm. "You said that I looked beautiful—didn't you?" The only answer she received was his cheeks flushing into a darker shade. She smirked. "Good, because…" She leaned closer to him, almost at his ear as she whispered her secret to him. "You were right. I did wear it for you."

His eyes widened and his whole face turned red. "Wha—" He was at a loss for words and she giggled, placing a light peck upon his cheek. "-!" He instantly froze, and she smiled, quickly getting to her feet.

With a hum she twirled to face him and smiled brightly. "I'm going to go ahead and go home."

"I'll go with you—" She shook her head when he tried to stand as well.

"It's okay. It's not far from here and you are in the other direction." She waved at him, still smiling. "You'll be at the university tomorrow right?" He nodded. "I'll see you there." She then turn and scurried off, well, as fast as she could in her yukata, that is.

After she was gone, Kent sat there for several seconds. He sighed then lifted the bag that was in his hand, so he was staring at the black goldfish eye-to-eye. "Illogical. We are not similar in anyway." He frowned. "She is so strange, like she is a different person… It's almost suspicious."

As if responding, the fish opened his mouth and several bubbles floated to the surface.

Kent nodded his head and adjusted his glasses. "I agree."

.-.-.-

The hotel was within sight, when she felt it—Her powers spiked and she froze, looking around. She picked up her pace, sprinting to the door—

"Good evening Ms. Higurashi." The new greeter by the door welcomed her.

"H-hello." She glanced behind her shoulder.

"Is everything alright?" He looked at her in worry.

"I…" Whatever it was had vanished again. "I'm fine… just tired." She gave him a fake smile and walked into the hotel, wanting to be in her room as soon as possible.

.-.-.-

Kent was sitting at his desk, looking down at the paper in his hand, and Kagome was watching his reactions nervously. "They are all correct." He informed her as he lowered the paper and looked up at her. She gave a sigh of relief—"You cheated." He stead matter-of-fact. His words made her tense up. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?" He was clearly irritated as he adjusted his glasses. "You even got the bonus question right—you never get the bonus question right."

The bonus question was a trap! She groaned inside her head. She should have known…

"I will get you another sheet, and this time I expect you to answer them without outside help." He scolded her. He went to his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. Ugh! Does he have a whole drawer full of them!? The sadist! "I expect your answers by tomorrow." He laid out the rules as he handed her the paper.

"Tomorrow?!" This time she did let out a groan as her body sagged in defeat.

He paused, glancing at the door. "Someone is outside the door." His words had her tensing up. "I have a weapon. If you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you leave now." But she didn't sense anyone. They must not be a demon—then who?

"So you noticed me. That's too bad, I was so close." That voice. She knew that voice.

"I'm always watchful of the door when I'm in this room. I never know when an assassin will show up."

"I see. You weren't watching your back last time. Just because I failed to take you by surprise doesn't mean I'll leave, Ken." Ikki walked into the room wearing his blue sunglasses, straight to the desk, confronting Kent. "Now, let's see just what kind of weapon you've got!"

"My pleasure!" He reached into the inside of his jacket—"Take this!" He stood up quickly and slammed his palm against the desk. "My new math puzzle!" He pulled the paper out dramatically and held it directly in Ikki's face.

"This is-!" Ikki's eyebrows angled together in concern. "This looks really complicated-!"

Kagome shook her head at them. Boys…

"Sorry for the interruption. It seems he came here to seek a challenge." Kent looked at her apolitically.

Ikki then spoke up, looking at her. "He'll get you with these someday too. You'd best be prepared."

"Too late." She sighed and waved the paper that was still in her hand, and crossed her arms.

"Already!?" Ikki made a noise of surprise.

"Ken, what are you thinking?" Ikki shook his head. "I can't recommend doing this to someone you're dating." She felt a soft touch upon her head. She looked up, and was surprised to see Ikki smiling down at her. "I'm sure he's a ton of trouble. He's not a bad guy though, so try to be patient with him." He caressed her head several times. She just stood there, stunned, and a light dash of pink entered her cheeks.

"Ikkyu…" Kent spoke up behind him, his hands crossed over his chest. "What exactly are you doing?"

"What do you mean? She's going through a hard time, so I'm just stroking her head to comfort her." He acted like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You shouldn't touch women you aren't dating." His tone held his irritation. "You really have no morals, do you?"

"What? Morals? Sure, I've got pretty low morals"—and he admits it!—"but you're getting way too worked up over something as simple as this." He then smirked. "Oh, I get it now. Ken, let me guess, you haven't even touched her like this yet?" He raked his fingers through her hair a few times, teasing him. "There there, I'm sure this stubborn boyfriend is giving you trouble." Truth was, she would have pushed Ikki away from her long ago, but the look on Kent's face—it was such a rare sight, she couldn't look away. "I can comfort you any time you want. I'll even give you a big hug."

She sent him a glare and was about to say something, but a hand on his shoulder's caught her attention and stopped her. "Ikkyu, behave yourself." Kent had a small glare in his eyes as he said this.

"Ahh, how troublesome. Your boyfriend is too intolerant a man that he can't condone eve this innocent level of contact." He shook his head and removed his hand. "Oh, right." He snapped his fingers as if he just thought of something. "We don't have each other's numbers yet. Let's exchange, should we?" With a smile he was easily able to take her phone from the coffee table and input his number into it. She sent him a hard glare. Maybe she shouldn't have disabled the passcode—"I got what I came for." He waved both his phone and the paper in his hand with a smile. "I should be going now. Both of you, have fun together." He winked before leaving the room, still smiling from ear to ear.

Kagome watched every move he made as he left. She sighed, realizing that teasing Kent was probably the highlight of Ikki's day…

After he was gone, Kagome heard Kent give an angry huff out of his nose. The miko hummed and looked at him—"Ah!" She gave a small sound of surprise when she felt a rough hold on top of her head. Ow! What is he trying to do, yank the hair out of her head!?

"I'm not—I'm not so narrow-minded that I'd become jealous just because another man stroked your head." Even though he said this with an angry look on his face, as he moved his hand side to side, harshly rubbing her head with his large and powerful palm. "That level of contact falls well within the normal range of family and friends. There's nothing special about it. So I won't hold back either. There are no ulterior motives behind stroking your head, so there's no need to hold back right?" His fingers curled a little, as if he was grasping a basketball, and she cringed. "You didn't say anything when Ikkyu was doing this to you, so you don't dislike this, right?"

She looked up at him with a pained expression. "I don't mind, but you are doing it too roughly."

He instantly stopped. "Sorry." Slowly he released a breath of air, and his grip loosened. "I have—I've never touched someone as such and I was unsure of how much power to use. Seems I will have to do more research on it later…" He removed his hand and looked at it. "But why… why do you say nothing and allow Ikkyu to stroke our head like that?" He flexed it several times as if testing it. "That man is quick to make advances. Touching your head will move to your shoulders, and then to your waist before you know it."

"I wouldn't allow it to go that far, but like you said, it was only my head. I can't slap him every time he touches me for any reason." She reached up and was doing her best to fix her messed up hair. "He is your friend."

"You are right, he is my friend. He wouldn't try to steal the woman I'm dating. That was most likely him just pestering me." He looked back at her, lowering his hand. "I do understand that, but even if that's not his intention, I have no guarantee that you won't be affected." He sighed and glanced away, out the window as if in thought. "While I hesitate to even hold your hand, your heart could turn towards him—or am I just being paranoid?" A frown appeared on his face. "He's very accustomed to handling women, and has an easy time making them feel comfortable. I'm afraid that he could take you away from me." He then placed his hand to his chin in thought. "Could it be because I'm simply too intolerant?" She had a feeling at that point he wasn't questioning her anymore, but himself. "It takes all I have just to touch your hair. Even then, I can't even get it right." He sighed. "I'm sorry for showing you such a pathetic display." She placed her hand up to her lip as a small giggle escaped. "And now you are laughing at me?"

He looked so pitiful, it was so sad, but cute at the same time. He overacts too much. "Would you like me to show you?"

He just blinked. "Could you elaborate?"

"You said you didn't know how to touch me right? Want me to show you?"

"Huh?" Was all he could get out before she grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to the couch. She sat down on the couch with a plop, and he couldn't help but be pulled down with her. They were now facing each other and she smiled at him. "What are you—" She reached out and got beneath his bangs first, pulling her fingers through them and resting it on his head.

Instantly his face became red and she smiled. "Like this…" She moved her hand through his hair several times, and it felt soft beneath her touch. "Then you just use the tips of your fingers very softly." She stopped moving her hand and instead used her finger tips, and rubbed her thumb in a circle. "Then you move your hand in a circle." She demonstrated. "Understand?" She tilted her head at him, but continued to play with his hair.

"Possibly." His face was still red—

"Good. Now you try." She grabbed his hand with her free one and placed it onto her head.

"Umm." His blush spread down his neck and she laughed.

"It's not hard, just follow me and do what I do." His motions were hesitant and twitchy.

She sighed and stopped her own movements and instead placed her hand on top of his, directing him. His hand was much larger then hers but she managed. Soon, his actions didn't feel like he was trying to rip out her hair, and she sighed in contentment at the nice feeling his hands had as he petted her.

"You like this?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded. "Your hand is cool. It feels nice." His hand slid down a little to the side of her head, his fingers combing through her locks.

"Your hair is soft." He sounded almost amazed, and she smiled.

"I'm happy you're not trying to pull it out anymore."

"I apologize about that…" His fingers brushed against her ear and she shivered. "Sorry—" He pulled his hand away and she grabbed it.

"It's alright. I liked it." She moved his hand so that it was cupping her cheek softly. She closed her eyes at the cooling sensation his hand gave to her warm flesh. She almost purred when he moved his thumb, caressing her cheek. She leaned into the touch and sighed. "See, it isn't so bad." She held his hand in place so she could move her head and softly kiss the inside of it.

"-!" He tensed up, which made her pause.

"Kent?" Slowly opened her eyes back up and looked at him. His face had become flushed, and his eyes were slightly dazed as he stared at her. "Kent?" She repeated, blinking up at him. "Whats-…" She felt the lightest touch upon her lower lip, the tip of his finger trailing over it so carefully—as if he was touching something forbidden and frail.

"I…" His face became even redder, before he glanced away from her and removed his hand. "I need to get back to work." He then got to his feet and went to his desk. "Stay and work on your problems if you wish, but try not to distract me from my research any longer. I have a lot to do."

Without another word he sat down at his chair and began typing sporadically, the blush on his face gone and the stern look had returned. With a sigh Kagome looked down at the math problem that was on the coffee table before her. With a groan of discontent she picked it up. As she looked at the numbers, her thoughts faded off and she softly touched her lips, and splash of rose dotting her cheeks.

.-.-.-

Kagome sighed for the millionth time, her head hurting. She put her pencil down onto the table in frustration, not a single thing written down. These problems made no sense. She couldn't understand them. She glanced a Kent, who was still typing on his computer. She couldn't understand him.

She touched her lips, still remembering the tingling sensation the touch of his fingers left on them.

She didn't think he would do something like that. It was out of character for him. It surprised her, but that doesn't mean it was bad…

She continued to stare at him as he diligently typed on his keyboard.

Maybe… maybe she should tell him? Tell him everything. About her amnesia. Her life. Her past. Inuyasha. Everything. Maybe he would understand? He might not call her crazy and send her to a hospital. Maybe he could help her? Maybe—

"Why have you been staring at me like that? It's distracting." He voice spoke up, breaking her thoughts. "There's only a week left before the conference, but I'm not at all prepared yet. I don't have time to play around with you." Conference? What conference? "If you tempt me like earlier, I'll..." He sighed, talking to himself. "What exactly is wrong with me…?" He crossed his arms. "Even now, I'm taking your gaze the wrong way, and I can't help but look at you." Huh? What is he talking about? "If you think my misunderstandings are bothersome, tell me. That way, I can concentrate on my work."

"What misunderstanding?"

"I assume you can infer from my assumptions, correct?" Not really—"How should I interpret your actions? Is it really a misunderstanding? Or are you really going to say that you were simply… looking at me?"

Umm. Did he think she was giving him a lustful look or something?

She opened her mouth to immediately reject him, but then she paused. Well… it wasn't lustful but—when he touched her lips— she couldn't stop thinking about it. So maybe… There was something. Not lust but, curiosity?

"I …" She glanced away, feeling embarrassed by her own thoughts. "I don't mind if you misunderstand."

"-!" He made a small noise of surprise and he became flustered, turning red. "In that case, if you are not opposed…" He placed his hand under his chin and looked away as well. "Would you not mind if I kissed you…?"

Her heart gave a quick flutter, almost making her dizzy. For a moment she objected, but as her heart started to beat loudly against her chest, such a reaction was making it hard for her to reject him.

"So is it really okay?" She jumped in surprise by the sudden closeness of his voice. She turned her head, only to see he was standing directly in front of her. When did he—She moved to stand on her feet, and she wobbled, unbalanced. With hands on either side of her arm, he gripped her biceps rather tensely. She wasn't sure if it was to stabilize her or prevent her from running away. "Kagome, I really do like you." He leaned down towards her and her eyes widened. Her heart leaping into her throat and cutting off her voice. His eyes closed and—

There was a soft thump on her forehead, when his collided with her own. "Uh. Sorry." He slowly opened his eyes and sighed, his forehead still pressed against hers. "I was nervous."

She blinked at him, almost stunned, but then a blush spread over her cheeks and she giggled, finding it funny.

"Heh." He too chuckled. "I keep showing you such a pathetic side of me. I'm starting to dislike myself." He glanced out of the corner of his eyes. "Yet you still accept me, even when I'm like this." His voice was soft, his expression even softer. He was so close, and looked so endearing it was causing her heart to restart, fluttering wildly once again. "In that case, I should have told you my feelings sooner. I've thought this every day." His hot breath upon her lips, making them dry. She fought the urge to lick them. "I'd be happy if you felt the same way for me, but I wonder if that's the case for you." Finally, he pulled away from her, and her heart gave a small ache, already missing the warmth and contact. "Thank you, but it seems it was a little early for us." He turned away from her but a pleased smile was on his face. "This isn't the time to be thinking of such unnecessary things. If I don't concentrate, I won't make it in time for the conference."

As he walked away and back to his desk, Kagome just stood there in a daze. She looked down, unsure, placing her hand to her still rapidly beating heart.

She couldn't deny that in those moments, she never once thought of Inuyasha. Her mind was filled with nothing but Kent…

It couldn't mean…?

.-.-.-

Kagome was in such a daze when she went home. She decided to take the shortcut through the park, but it seemed rather quiet now that the sun had set. Yet Kagome paid no mind to it. She was in such a daze that nothing bothered her, she wasn't paying much attention anyway.

Her mind was too hazed over with thoughts of Kent and how he almost kissed her. She removed her hand from her chest, and softly touched her lips, remembering the feel of his own cold fingers upon them. She wondered how his lips would have felt like…

She shook her head at the thought, a blush entering her cheeks. She shouldn't think of such things—"You are not paying attention, little miko." Her head shot up as a jolt went through her—She raised her hands just before a powerful flame smacked against her shield. Once the blazing attack subsided, she lowered them again—"Walking alone at night? That's dangerous. There are bad things that come out at night…" The voice was so close- behind her. She turned around, but nothing was there. "Things that wouldn't mind having a little taste of that pure power you possess." Her eyes darted around the darkness, before landing on a spot where she could sense his presences. She balled her powers into her hands and they flaring out of her palms as she aimed it at the darkness—"Ngh!" She heard a grunt in pain and she took that as her cue to run.

She ran and ran, sprinting as fast as her legs would go. No matter how fast she went, she could still feel him right behind her, breathing down her neck. Even when the hotel was in sight she still ran, her lungs burning, her legs aching.

She didn't stop until she was at the elevator, hitting the up button franticly. "Come on, come on." She looked over her shoulder, waiting for him to come out. Her powers were screaming at her that he was close, and it was making her panic. Where was he?! The elevator dinged, and she didn't even wait for it to fully open before she rushed inside, quickly hitting the closed button over and over again until it obeyed.

When the doors finally closed, she pressed her back against the far end of the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly she sank onto the floor as the elevator rose up to the floor of her apartment.

As she tried to calm her heart, her mind was racing as she took several panicked breathes.

Who or what was that?

.-.-.-

Kagome sat on the couch, tapping her foot anxiously on the floor as she watched Kent study her paper diligently. When he lowered the paper, she held her breath. "It seems your jokes have become even less sophisticated than before."

She let out a puff of air in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He looked at her seriously. "If I counted the bonus question not only as positive points if gotten right, but negative points if gotten incorrect, you would have a total score of -20 percent. Such a feet has never been achieved before in my short career of torturing."

"So…" She tilted her head and nibbled on her lip. "I made a new record?" Thinking positive, that's good right? She smiled at him.

"It was not a compliment." He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Your joke caused me to waste some of my valuable time." He sighed and walked over to his desk. Once again he pulled out another sheet, exactly like the other one. "Do not piddle and joke around this time, or are you no longer serious about this and your future?"

She sighed and took the paper regretfully. "Sorry…" Damn, and she really tired on that too! If she fails again, he knows she won't be joking… then what? "I was just a little distracted last night."

"Distracted? By what?"

The elevator dinged, and she didn't even wait for it to fully open before she rushed inside, quickly hitting the closed button over and over again until it obeyed.

When the doors finally closed, she pressed her back against the far end of the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly she sank onto the floor as the elevator rose up to the floor of her apartment.

She glanced over at Kent, then shook her head. "Nothing." I would be best not to make him worry. He can't do anything to help her anyway. Kent is 100 percent human, she was sure of it. The thing that attacked her last night was full-blooded demon, her powers sensed it.

While in this city she barely got any reads on full-blooded demons. They are either half-and-half or less. The small percentage she got was full blooded were very old and very powerful—so powerful in fact she has only felt them from far away. Even now she can feel them…

Kent wouldn't stand a chance against one of those monsters. She didn't want to risk him getting hurt. So she decided not to tell him about it for his own safety. She will have to deal with it on her own.

"If that is all, I'll be working on my report." He walked back over to his desk, and then spoke as an afterthought. "If you don't mind, try and stay out of my line of sight, so you don't distract me like yesterday."

Yesterday? She was about to question him, but then the sound of constant typing filled the room and she sighed. She looked down at the sheet in front of her and she mentally groaned.

The familiar throb behind her eyes and temples giving her a warning. There was going to be a headache very soon in her future.

.-.-.-

Kagome let out a huff and she placed her pencil on the table with a thud. She had answered over half the questions on the paper, but she answered most of them the same as last time. And he said those were wrong. What couldn't she understand?

She had done some of the problems on a separate sheet, to try and figure it out, but the only thing that got her was her eraser was half-gone and the pages was filled with scratches, holes, or just plain balled up and thrown on the floor.

She leaned back in the couch and stared up at the ceiling with a stressful gaze. This was so hard! Ugh~! She released another sound as she threw her hands up in the air.

"Could you please stop making those sounds? It's distracting."

She blinked and looked over at him. He was still typing on his computer. "What sounds?"

"You have done nothing but grunt and groan the whole time over there." Kent complained from his side of the room. "It is just a review sheet, so I know you've comprehended my lessons so far and can move forward. All the questions on it have been problems we have already gone over the past few weeks. You should know them."

She should? She gave a small hum and smirked. "You're right. I do know them." Maybe she can get away with not doing it? "So why don't you just give me an A, so we can go on to the next lesson?" It was hard, but that's only because she was trying to figure it out on her own. Once Kent was beside her and teaching her the steps, she was sure she would do alright.

"The next problems are a higher caliber. You must master those problems first. They are just a single step needed to solve your next equations." Ugh, just great. "It seems you are having trouble, so it would be impossible for you to comprehend the next lesson if you can't get those right."

With a huff Kagome gave up. Her headache was getting worse, so she pulled out her purse from beneath the table and started searching through the contents for an over the counter pain reliever. She was sure she saw some in here—She paused in her search when she spotted a neatly folded piece of paper stashed away safely in the side pocket.

When she pulled it out and unfolded it, her eyes turned mischievous when she realized what it was. How could she have forgotten this? She smirked, looking back over at Kent, who has never lifted his hands from the keyboard for hours. "How about we make a deal?"

"A deal?" He gave a small huff through his nose. "What kind of deal do you think you can propose that would serve enough leverage that could possibly get you out of doing those problems?"

She still had the sly grin on her face as she stood up from her spot on the couch, slowly walking towards him. "You see, I found this piece of paper at your house."

"My house?" He hummed, curious. "There was nothing at my house that could be of any value—"

"Name of person: Kagome Higurashi." She slowly read off the list on the paper, her smile growing more and more. "Age: 21 ; Height and weight: 5'2, 105lbs."

"That's-!" Kent instantly stopped typing and turned towards her in his chair, his face slightly flushed from embarrassment.

She continued to read it "Date, time, and location of last seen: September 30th, 3pm, The park, next to the fountain." She pulled the paper away and smirked at him, fanning it beside her head, teasing him. "You even got the exact length of my hair. You know so much about me in such precise detail, if you were anyone else I would have thought you was stalking me and a pervert…"

"What are you doing with that?" He questioned her seriously.

"I thought you wasn't worried about me? I thought you were at my hotel because you were just in the neighborhood?" She continued to tease him. "Yet you can guess how surprised I was when I saw this missing person report lying on the table in your work room at the house…"

"And?" He crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away, his cheeks still flushed. "What do you plan to do with it? Nothing you do will make me give you a passing grade—"

She hummed. "I wonder what Ikki would say if he saw this…?"

His eyes widened a little and he snapped his head towards her. "You wouldn't."

"Oh, he would get a kick out of it, I'm sure~" She continued to wave it beside her head, while walking around his desk to stand in front of him. "You will never hear the end of it."

"You are blackmailing me? How crude of a tactic." He obviously wasn't amused.

"It's not blackmail if we both get what we want." She smiled. "I get a free pass on the math for today, and you get"—She flaunted the paper in front of him, like bait.—"This very embarrassing piece of paper: Proof that you were worried and overreacted enough to want to go to the police and label me as missing."

He turned his head away from the paper, and acted like he didn't care. "I won't do it."

"Oh?" She frowned at him.

"In fact, shouldn't you be more worried about Ikki seeing that? After all, I also put your précised body monuments on it."

"You what?" She pulled her hand away to look at it—A blur of motion made her react and she pulled the paper away from his swiping hand just in time. "Trying to trick me uh? Well, you're not going to get it that easily~"

"Give it to me." He got to his feet, standing before her intimidatingly.

"Never." She stuck her tongue out at him, and gave a small squeak when he used his height and tried to grab for the paper again. "Too slow~!" She ran away from him, holding the paper above her and out of his reach. He took a step for her and tried again, but she dodged out of the way. "You will have to move faster than that if you want to get it."

"I have no time for such foolishness, give me the paper." He chased after her when she sprinted away from him, both ended up on either side of the couch. Kent on the far end, and Kagome closer to his desk.

"Not until you give me an A on my paper."

"Never." He frowned from his side on the couch.

She leaned forward and hummed. "I'm sure being free of the headache that Ikki will cause you is at least worth a B?"

He shook his head and turned away from her. "I will not subject myself to this." He started walking back towards his desk and she pouted. She watched him like a hawk, and whenever he got closer to her, she went around the couch, out of his reach. She now stood in front of the couch, a bored look on her face.

"That's no fun." She sighed and turned away, crossing her arms. "Maybe you just think I'm bluffing? Very well." She turned towards the coffee table and bent down to pick up her phone. "I'll just call Ikki over and-" Instincts told her to move, and she pulled her arm up and away just as a large hand reached out to snatch the paper. She clicked her tongue at him and shook her head. "Shame on you—Eee!" Using his long legs he was right on top of her and she backed up—her foot caught the couch just as he reached up to take her paper. She did her best to struggle out of his grasp, but then they both ended up falling onto the couch with a harsh plop. The wind almost getting knocked out of her when his large body fell on top of hers.

"Ugh!" He grunted.

"No!" She cried out when he was close to overpowering her.

They were both squirming wildly, trying to fight for the paper that was in her hand. Kagome to keep it out of his reach, while Kent tried to take it from her, both rolling around on the couch till they ended up lying on it completely. Kagome at a disadvantage on the bottom while Kent tried to use his abnormal reach to stretch his long arm and grab the paper that was held above her head. The miko knew that her hand was hanging over the side of the armrest, so when Kent was just about to grab it, she crumbled it in her hand and threw it away from her, among the pile of the rest of the papers that she had stacked nearby.

"Ha!" She cried in victory, and grabbed his wrist to stop him from pulling his hand back. "I… win!" She gave a small huff between large intakes of air.

"I… wouldn't necessarily… call that a victory…" Kent was also out of breath, breathing heavily. "Neither of us… can have it now."

She looked up and noticed that Kent's face was just a few inches from hers, his cheeks flushed from the harsh exercise he just went through. She didn't doubt that she looked just as rough.

As both of their chests were heaving up and down, she could feel the mold of his entire body against hers. "Kent… umm." She wiggled a little beneath of him, and he tensed up. He tried to pull his hand away, but she had a tight grip on it.

"Kagome I…" His labored breathing was hot, and with each word she felt it against her dry lips. "Release my hand…" He glanced away from her out of her corner of his eyes, and his face became even redder.

The only thing she could smell, was the relaxing scent of pine needles, and the delicious flavor of mint mixed in. God, he smelt good. She took a deep breath and sighed, inhaling his aroma. "Kent." At hearing his name he glanced back at her, and his pricing emerald eyes drew her in.

"Kagome…" When his lips began to move, her eyes focused in on them. She couldn't understand what he was saying at the moment, her mind too fogged over, but she did notice how soft they looked. "We need to—" The touch of her fingers trailing across his bottom lip froze him in mid-sentence, and his eyes widened.

They were as soft as they looked. "I…" She licked her dry lips as she stared at his own, still testing them carefully with the tips of her fingers. "I want to kiss you."

His already heated face became even redder. "K-Kagome I—" Her lips stole his own in a soft kiss, cutting off his objection. The contact was short and sweet, making her whole body shiver in delight. When she pulled away, she couldn't help but go back for another taste, this time pressing against his just a little harder.

This must have snapped him out of his shock, for he responded almost hesitantly. She could feel her body heat rising from the simple contact, and she pulled away with a pleased sigh. She looked up, seeing him staring down at her with a dazed and unsure expression.

"You keep saying over and over again to tell you what I want." She smiled up at him.

"You're correct. I did…"

"I want to kiss you again."

His face flushed once more, and he glanced away. He seemed conflicted. This time she didn't even wait for him to speak his disagreement, and sealed his lips with hers. Her mouth moved against his, and she placed her hand into his soft hair. Her other hand released his wrist, and instead intertwined her fingers within his.

This time he responded to her more eagerly, and it sent a thrill through her. Once, twice, then on the third time they parted with a sigh, a little out of breath.

She looked into his eyes, to gauge his reaction. "Kent?" This time, his expression was filled with unspoken questions, and he reached out and softly touched her cheek.

He leaned close to her, their lips a breath away from contact. He whispered against them, words she almost didn't hear he spoke them so softly. "I want to kiss you."

Her mouth parted slightly in surprise by his statement, and when his lips touched hers, a moan escaped from them. The sound caused a reaction from him and he groaned out in response, pressing harder against the tender flesh.

The room became filled with soft huffs and rough breathing as their kisses became more hungry and wild. Her heart was beating in her ears, the only sound able to penetrate the loud thumps was the intimate sounds that was leaving Kent's lips. The sounds excited her, and she kissed him more desperately, wanting to hear more.

Just the same, he was invoking noises from her she didn't even know she could make, and they seemed to stir him on more. Her mind had become mush, filled with nothing but the man before her, and the need of wanting more. The heat between them left her feeling hot, and his wonderful scent was making her dizzy.

"Well well, seems I stumbled in on something interesting." The clear voice beside them caused them both to snap their eyes open in surprise and gasp. "Please, don't stop on my account." They turned their heads and saw Ikki, sitting on the coffee table, front row seats to watch the show. He had a Cheshire cat grin plastered on his face, his legs crossed conformably, his elbow on his raised leg, his hand resting in his palm. "I'm very proud of you Ken, I didn't know you had it in you." Kagome could feel the heat from not only her cheeks, but Kent's as well. "And in a public place no doubt—such a daredevil."

Kent had raised up on his elbows, glaring at him fiercely, but it wasn't very threatening, because his cheeks were still flushed red in embarrassment. "Don't say another word, Ikkyu."

"What? Are you embarrassed I'm here?" He glanced at the open door. "I thought I was invited. After all you didn't lock the door, so I just assumed you wanted me to watch."

"Ikkyu—" Kent started to scold him, but then Kagome interrupted.

"It's alright. I—" She placed her hand upon Kent's chest as she sat up. "I have to go anyway." Without hesitating Kent allowed her to move out from under him. "I'll text you later." In blur of movement she picked up her purse and phone, before darting out of there.

After the door was slammed shut, there was a tense silence in the room. "Do you think she is shy?" That is until Ikki spoke up. Kent sent him another glare, and this time he no longer had the blush upon his cheeks to dilute the effect. "Sorry for barging in and stealing away your fun time. It was very rude of me." Even so, it had no real effect on Ikki, who was still grinning from ear to ear.

With a sigh Kent adjusted his glasses and stood up. "I can't believe I am saying this but—Thank you Ikkyu." Ikki gave him a questionable look and Kent glanced away. "If you didn't show up I… I don't know what got over me."

His sly grin returned full force and Ikki stood up as well. "Don't worry. It gets the best of us." He gave his back a soft pat in reassurance. "But I can't say that I blame you for getting swept up in the waves of passion." Ikki nodded to himself as he hummed. "Especially with such a gorgeous lover like Kagome." Kent's cheeks blushed once again. "It's easy to lose yourself and get pulled in by the strong call of desire." He then glanced at Kent out of the corner of his eyes. "Even by something as simple as a kiss." Kent's cheeks darkened, which only urged Ikki further. "So, are you going to tell me the details?" He bent down so his ear was near Kent's lips. "What did it feel like? Was her lips soft and sweet? What did she smell like? What—"

"Enough, Ikkyu." He swatted the man away with a huff, even though his cheeks were tainted crimson. His eyes glanced down at the coffee table, and he paused on his way to his desk. He bent down and picked up the paper, glancing over the words. The more he read, the more his eyes began to gather to the center of his face, showing concern. "Why…?" He placed his hand under his chin and glanced at the door where Kagome had left.

All Kent could do was look back at the math worksheet in thought.

.-.-.-

"Oh my god!" The muffled screams repeated over and over again as she rolled around on her bed. "Oh my god! Oh my god~!" What was she thinking!? "That was so embarrassing!" She released a grunt when she finally lowered the pillow from her face, and stared up at the ceiling.

But it wasn't… bad. In fact it felt rather nice…

Her blush returned full force and she placed her pillow back over her face with a groan.

"Ugh~! Oh my god!" She started the process all over again, rolling around on her bed while repeating the same words. "Oh my—" A chime stopped her, and she reached out to her nightstand for her phone. She lowered the pillow and looked at the message.

'I apologize about what happened with Ikkyu.'

'It's okay.' She sent back. 'What are you doing tomorrow?'

'I will be at the university. Are you going to come over?'

'If it is alright with you? I'll try not to distract you from your work like I did today.'

There was a long pause before he finally replied back. 'I didn't necessarily dislike it.' Her heart gave a small flutter.

She smiled to herself when she was typing her reply back. 'I didn't either.'

With a sigh she flopped her back onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, her phone placed over her rapidly beating heart.

.-.-.-

When Kagome came into the room, Kent stopped typing and looked up. His expression softened just a little and the corner of his lips turned upwards. She smiled at this and walked inside.

"I have something for you." She walked up to his desk and held up her bag. "Coffee." She placed it on his desk and he accepted it with a nod, looking inside.

"Thank you…" He hummed. "You usually bring me Earl Grey, correct?" He lifted up the container and looked at her.

She don't remember bring him any before, he must be talking about before she lost her memories. "Sorry, that's all I had in my apartment. I'll bring it next time."

He nodded again. "I have something for you as well." At this she perked up and got excited. He reached into his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. "Another math worksheet." Her heart sank and she frowned. "I made them a little simpler this time, so just answer them with the best of your knowledge and we will go from there."

"Thanks…" She spoke in a down heartened tone and took the paper. She glanced at the paper, and she paused. Hey! She knew this one! A small smile appeared on her face.

He noticed and a smile appeared on his face as well. "I'll make the coffee." He stood from his chair, and she took a seat on the couch.

Kagome pulled out a pencil from her purse and began enthusiastically writing down her answers. When Kent placed her cup of coffee onto the table, she gave her thanks and he went back to work as well on his computer.

.-.-.-

When Kagome was finished, she got excited. She had answered almost all the questions. There was a few at first she couldn't understand, but then the questions started changing to ones she knew very well. She had just studied for them. They were going to be on the test that her and Inuyasha argued about—Well, the last freshest memory she had about the past, that is.

After that the questions got a little bit harder, but she as able to figure out what they were by guessing. Wasn't as difficult to do as the other worksheet, that's for sure. She was more confident about this one, so she was smiling ear to ear, excited for him to grade it.

"I'm done." She told him, then reached out and took her cup of coffee.

He gave a hum and stopped typing. He walked over to her calmly and picked up the paper, looking over it while still standing.

Kagome put the drink to her lips, and took a sip—She made a face once the cold liquid hit her tongue. It set out too long and it got ice cold—Ugh~! With a sigh she put the cup back down, then glanced up at Kent, who was still looking over her work.

Like always, he had an unemotional face as he looked at her sheet, which was making her nervous. She could never tell what he was thinking. She anxiously shifted in her seat, the confidence she was feeling earlier had vanished.

No, she shouldn't think like that. She shook her head and took a deep breath. She knew the answers and she worked hard. She knows she did well. Her smile returned as she lifted her head up and watched Kent.

He lowered the paper with a sigh and stared at her. "I thought so…" His words caused her to tilt her head at him, unsure of what he was talking about. "Kagome, I have been thinking about the possible reasons that could have elicited a change in your attitude."

She shook her head. "You are getting off subject again. What does that go to do with my test?"

"It has everything to do with the test I just gave you." He adjusted his glasses. "You see, there was a number of factors to consider when I was thinking of your sudden change. Reasons ranging from a mere whim or change of heart, to the far-fetched, such as alien abduction." Alien abductions!? What is he talking about? "After eliminating various ideas one-by-one, I was left contemplating the likelihood of a single possibility." Wait a minute, is he-? "Regardless of how unbelievable the conclusion may be, seeing how I could find no mistake in my reasoning, my only choice is to believe it." He couldn't be, there's no way he—"So I've come to the most feasible conclusion: Your memories are missing." Kagome's eyes widened in shock and a small breath of air sharply entered her lungs. "This worksheet was a test, to see how far your memories were forgotten. Based off of this, and the fact that you acted like you didn't even have a phobia, I would have to conclude you seem to be missing all your memories from as far back as 4 years ago, maybe even before you had gotten extremely ill. But that also includes any and all memories you had of your past interactions with me." He brought his hand down from his chin and looked at her in the eye. "So, do you have any objections?"

Kagome's first instinct was to run. Before she knew it she had gotten to her feet, and she had to stop herself from sprinting out. She glanced at the door, then back at Kent. When her eyes met his emerald green, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, fighting back the urge to run. "You're right. I'm sorry for hiding it from you."

"I knew it." He crossed his arms. "I'm thankful that you answered me honestly."

"I should have known you would have figured it out." He is just too damn smart for his own good.

"I shouldn't have had to figure it out." He tone was a little scolding. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you talk to someone?"

"I…" Kagome thought back, to how her family looked at her like she was insane when she spoke about the well and the past. "I didn't want to get locked away in a hospital, or worse…"

"That isn't a reason to hide it from everyone. I'm sure a lot of things were inconvenient for you." He sighed. "But I can understand why you would feel that way." He looked down at the ground. "Still-I see… So you really forgot." There was a pause as he thought, then he slowly brought his gaze back up to hers. "Am I correct to assume that you lost your memories sometime between our discussion on July 31 and August 1st? It would explain why you would suddenly go to your family's place, when you usually had no prior contact with them at all."

"Yes, but they couldn't help me… I was surprised to find out that they knew almost nothing about me and my life. I had shut them out."

He gave a small nod, as if he already knew this. "I'm sure you were surprised by receiving such a sudden and unpleasant meeting from me."

"Not really." She admitted. "I thought you were just upset about me not replying to your messages." She looked away. "But I soon figured out that it was something more."

He sighed. "You probably have already guessed, but we had an argument over something trivial the day before. It wasn't just the day before. We argued every time we met. Over the worst of reasons."

"Yeah, it wasn't hard to figure out."

"Since you didn't remember any of that, I'm sure I seemed like a strange man to you. I always spoke prepared for anything to turn into a dispute. You probably wondered why I was always angry." Well, Kagome also thought she as a bitch too, but that's probably not something to bring up at the moment. "And yet you still decided that I was worth of some trust. Am I correct? If not, if you truly couldn't trust anybody, you wouldn't be as vulnerable around me as you are now."

She gave a small nod in reply. "Yeah."

He adjusted his glasses with another sigh. "…We started dating on July 28th." What!? Really!? "Your attitude changed so suddenly just three days later. When I realized you were acting differently, I was confused." She did notice him saying the words 'impossible' whenever she apologized for something or acted kindly to him. "I thought that perhaps you were taking our going out seriously, too. I thought you actually had taken a liking to me." His words made her chest ache, feeling guilty. "I couldn't bring myself to dismiss such optimistic reasoning. But it seems I really was wrong. You had simply forgotten. Forgotten that you didn't like me. Forgotten that our relationship was full of conflict. You took the fact that we were dating as truth, and acted like you were my girlfriend."

The aching in her heart worsened. "Kent…"

"To be honest, I realized from the beginning that something was strange, but I didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that the you now was the real you…" His long arms wrapped around her smaller body, as he leaned down and pulled her close to him. The hug was so sudden, all she could do was raise her hand up and place it upon his chest before his arms had her held in place. "I'm sure you will remember eventually. The real you- the you that disliked me." His voice that was so close to her ear, seemed to be trembling. "When will that day come? Today? Tomorrow? If I tell you the truth, will you end up remembering everything? Will you remember the things that happened between us, and how you really felt about me?" His arms wrapped around her just a little tighter. "I was scared, and I averted my eyes from the truth. I'm sorry. I'm sure I could have helped you a lot sooner. I didn't want you to remember anything. Even as we speak now, I'm still confused, and hesitant." His large body felt so helpless when he was holding her so desperately. "I don't want to tell you anything. I don't want you to remember." The only thing she could smell was his delicious scent of mint in pine with every breath of air she took. "I just want you to keep acting like this, like we're a happy couple. I realize that way of thinking is just my own ego, but still…" His voice faded.

"Kent I…" She turned her head towards him, her lips almost against his ear. "I…" The truth was she was afraid to remember too.

Her grandfather had passed on. She had alienated her friends and family. Her own brother and mother didn't even know anything about her life. She was the only one who remembers Inuyasha and her trips to the past. She had become afraid to be around people and things, of getting sick. Her friends don't reply to her messages.

What had happened to her in these four years, where she can't even recognize herself and the ones who used to care about her?

The only one who knew anything about her. The only one who talked to her and wanted to be with her. The only one who cared about her, was right here, holding her tightly as if she would vanish if he ever let go…

"It's okay if I don't remember." Her voice was trembling as well as she spoke those words.

She didn't want to know what happened with everyone in the past. She didn't want to know all the bad things that caused her to lose her family and friends. What caused her to become so scared, afraid, and mean to everyone around her. She just wanted to stay in Kent's warm embrace forever. Letting the aroma of mint and pine block out all other thoughts from her mind.

"Thank you." He released a sigh, as if he needed to hear her say those words. That she liked the way things were too, and she didn't want it to change. "However, I know this is something I need to talk about. You have every right to know exactly who you are."

He slowly removed his arms from around her, but she had her hands gripping his shirt, preventing him from moving away from her. "I don't want you to stop holding me."

He nodded his head. "Alright." He carefully picked her up and sat down on the couch, holding her to his body while she sat on his lap. "I will start with the basics and go from there, in case there is something you might not remember." She just nodded, feeling like such a child in his arms, but she didn't care. "You were a university student who grew up in a very normal middle-class family. Your family lives some distance away, but you came to this city for collage. After your grandfather passed, he entrusted you with a lot of money, which is how you are able to stay at the hotel while you are in school." Ah, so that's where that money came from. "For some extra money and points on my résumé I accepted an offer by one of my professors to lecture a math class for a short period of time. That is where I met you." He told her. "You were one of the students participating at the time. We didn't get close during that class though. Our ages were fairly far apart. I was simply the teacher and you were the student. Due to some … special circumstances, you were unable to pass the class. I decided to allow you to make up for it and give you an opportunity to study with me, and allow me to tutor you personally for your next school exam so that you may pass and graduate." He explained. "After getting to recognize who you were, I realized that we walked the same path about the same time every morning through the park. I was taking walks as a change of lifestyle from being shut in the laboratory, and you were headed towards the homeless shelter, where you volunteer every day." Homeless shelter? "You would talk to me every day, and then every other day we would met for our lessons. There's no special reason why our relationship was so rocky. I anger people fairly easily, so it was normal for people to dislike me. The one thing that was different, though, is that you never gave up talking to me. No matter how many times we argued, you never learned your lesson. You'd still try to start up conversations. To this day… I'm still not sure if I should call them disputes or debates… Regardless, I'm sure you were trying to get to know me better." He smiled at this. "Anyway, because of that situation, we'd see each other and argue every morning. You were really surprised when I asked you out. I still don't really know myself why I chose you. I suppose I could only see my feelings for you as being romantic in nature, and that's why I asked you. You were very shocked. It was only natural. The only thing we had done before then was argue. And I'm sure you don't remember now why you decided to accept my request. I suppose you could just say it was the heat of the moment. It looked almost like you had accepted a challenge." He sighed. "Do you still remember nothing?"

She looked down, and a small frown appeared on her face. No, nothing.

"What is it? Did you remember something? I'm sure it wasn't a favorable memory in regards to us." He took her silence and frown as a reaction to her memory returning to her. "There's no way you have any memories favorable of me." He had such a sad expression on his face, it made her heart ache.

"No." She shook her head. "I didn't remember anything." She admitted.

"I see…" He hummed. "Maybe you need more stimulation?" Upon hearing the word 'stimulation' she couldn't help but let her cheeks become red-hot. He noticed this and his own cheeks flushed. "I was referring to mental stimulation, not—"

"I know but, could you just not say the word 'stimulation'? Because you can't say that word without it being…" She sighed and placed her hand onto her hot cheek. "I can't help but take it the wrong way, especially—" She stopped herself, looking down at him. Especially when she is still sitting on his lap. "I umm. I think I should go home." She wiggled on his lap for a moment, and got to her feet.

He quickly followed suit. "I'll escort you."

Her cheeks became more flushed. "O-okay." But she didn't refuse the offer.

.-.-.-

The walk back home seemed quiet and tense. Kent found out—well, he figured out that she had lost most her of memories. Which was pretty impressive. She thought she kept herself in check, and wasn't acting odd, but obviously she wasn't being enough of a bitch to everyone and it gave herself away.

Seriously though, how bad was she before she lost her memories, or maybe it was gained them back? From what she got form her family and what little memories she could get back, it seemed like she had forgotten about Inuyasha and her trips to the past, as if it never happened.

It left her rather confused, to say the least. What had happened to her? Would Kent know? She glanced at the man beside her. No, he would have mentioned it if she did.

She gave a small sigh and looked at the ground sadly, feeling disheartened. Kent had told her a lot, but even then she still didn't remember anything, so it was like she was still back at square one.

This whole thing was terrible. She lost her memories. Couldn't talk to her family or friends. Everything was horrible—

She felt a soft brush against her pinky, and she blinked. She glanced at Kent, who was still walking beside her. "My apologies. I don't know what came over me. I just saw the discouraging look on your face and I wished to comfort you by holding your hand—nothing more." He told her, and her expression softened towards him. Yet he noticed his body was tense and unsure. "But I understand if you did not want me to touch you—"

This again? She thought he got over that? Did things change now that she didn't know him was out in the open? She rolled her eyes at him and with a smile reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers.

But instead of him relaxing, he only tensed up more. "Kagome, I know you lost your memoires. You don't have to pretend to enjoy my company if it makes you uncomfortable. If you don't want to I—"

To answer him she took her other arm and wrapped it snuggly around his bicep and hugged his arm to her chest. "You made a promise to me? Remember?" She reminded him. "That you would hold my hand wherever we went." She brought up his agreement they made back when she had the high fever.

"I remember."

"Good." She hummed, seeing him finally relaxing. "Can we go through the park?" She suggested. "You said we walked through there every day." He nodded his head, and they turned to take the path through the park. "Walking with you like this might be the 'stimulation' I need." She gave his arm and hand a squeeze, which made it press against her chest a little more. Kagome enjoyed watching his red cheeks slowly spread over his ears and down his neck. She couldn't help but giggle at him.

"You are referring to your memories." He gave a small cough and adjusted his glasses.

She didn't hide her Cheshire cat grin. "Of course."

.-.-.-

They were slowly walking through the paths in the park, taking their time and enjoying each other's company. Kagome still held on to his arm affectionately. Both arms were now locked onto his bicep, hugging it carefully with a pleased smile on her face.

As they walked, Kent began telling details about their walks and 'discussions' they had during those times. When he mentioned the homeless shelter again, Kagome couldn't help but ask him about it.

"To get to the station it is quickest to go through the park. The shelter opens every day at nine, and you work until it closes at five."

"Nine to five? Seriously?"

He nodded his head. "Every weekday."

Wow, she was committed! And for such a good cause. She guessed that was a good thing, but it was odd, considering her phobia. Oh well, guess it doesn't matter—Her eyes widened and she gasped. "I haven't been in almost two weeks!"

He chuckled. "Don't worry. You told them that you were going to take a break for a while after your birthday so we could spend time together." He then added. "In accordance with the first stage of a relationship." He hummed. "Now that you mention it, tomorrow is Monday."

"Is that when I was wanting to go back and help?"

She received a small nod from the man in agreement. He then paused and hummed in thought, placing his hand under his chin. "If I might make a suggestion." He looked down at her. "You are unable to remember and preform your duties like you use to. It might be best to wait until your memories return before going back and helping out at the shelter."

She shook her head at his idea, denying it. "If I really spent that much time there, then I might get back some memoires if I go."

"If you think it is best, I can't forbade you from going." He sighed. "The information is stored on my phone. I will text you the location and information later."

She smiled. "Thanks Kent." She rested her cheek onto his arm and sighed. "I can't wait till you get done with your report thing so we can spend more time together. I know if I do it will probably help my memories come back faster." And they can spend some more time together—Her cheeks turned red at the thought and she stopped herself from saying those embarrassing words. After a moment she noticed Kent hadn't said anything and she glanced up. She saw a conflicting look on his features. "Kent? Everything alright?" He looked up from the ground, at her, but then he quickly averted his eyes. "Something wrong?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Kagome…" She didn't like that tone he was giving her. She knew the next words out of his mouth, she did not want to hear them, whatever they were. "I…"—His emerald eyes flickered forward for a moment, then he paused and did a double take. He stopped in his tracks, almost making her trip, and she instantly noticed his teeth were clinched so hard that his jaw muscles were visibly tense beneath his skin.

"Ken—" Before she could even speak his name she was dragged as he turned on his heels and went the other way. It was so sudden that one of her arms was pulled from around his. "What are you doing?"

"We were going the wrong way." His pace almost doubled as he pulled her with him, her one arm still wrapped around his bicep clinging to him.

"What?" She huffed. Was he trying to test her? She might have lost her memories before, but she has figured out the way back to the hotel by now. "We were headed the right way." She glanced over her shoulder. "What's wrong…"

Her body froze, her hold slipping from Kent's arm as he continued forward without her. She felt cold as all the blood left her, and went to her head, making her dizzy. Pain, one that hurt worse than anything physical, went through her chest. If it wasn't for the fact that she was too shocked to move a muscle, she would have flinched.

She wasn't even sure what she was seeing, but her body knew, and it reacted with a fearful amount of certainty, as if it had been through it a million times and it just came so natural, that it no longer needed her permission or understanding.

A couple was walking towards her, holding hands and laughing. That is, until they noticed her, and they stopped dead in their tracks, frozen like she was. The female was the first to snap out of it, and irritation showed on her face. The male squeezed her hand and cleared his throat. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and gave it a reassuring pat to comfort her. A small smile appeared on his face and at the same time they began moving towards her again.

She wanted to instantly back up, but her legs wasn't obeying her. Everything was telling her to move. To run away. To hide. But she couldn't do a damn thing. In fact she wasn't even sure if the curses that were flowing through her mind would even come out of her mouth right now—

Please just walk past. Please just walk past. Please just walk past- Oh god, they were standing in front of her…

Slowly she raised her gaze, and when it connected with the males, he flinched. "Kagome." He greeted her with a small forced smile.

Why was her heart beating so fast? Why was she sweating so much?

She slowly opened her dry mouth, unsure if the sound that came out would be recognizable. "Hojo." Luckily, no strange animal noises or sounds came out. She glanced at the female and nodded in greeting. "Ayumi."

Now that they were standing in front of her, she couldn't mistake them. They were older, but she recognized them. Unlike her, they haven't changed much in four years.

"Kagome." Ayumi spat her name out like poison, which made her blood suddenly become hot in rage.

She wasn't sure if she should be angry, confused, or just plain sick and throw up on their shoes. At the moment it all sounded appealing to her, and it could go either way really. Most likely it will be the latter, if her stomach wouldn't stop doing so many flips.

She took a deep breath to try and settle herself as best as she could. She didn't know what was going on, but she sure as hell wasn't going to take whatever this feeling was without a fight—She wiped her sweaty palms on her shirt, then flashed them a smile.

"You guys look great!" She empathized by moving her already remoisten hands outward. "Were you headed home?"

"Umm." The couple glanced at each other in confusion.

But Hojo was the first one to speak. "Y-yes, we were."

"Ah, me too." Her winning smile never fell as she continued to talk to them. "I…" She couldn't hear her own voice over the sound of the blood pumping through her ears, and hoped that she wasn't talking too loudly. Her eyes were darting all over the place, taking everything in at once that she couldn't understand, then her eyes landed on the beautiful ring that was placed upon Ayumi's left hand. She took a step back, as if flinching at the sight of it. "I umm…" Her brain felt like it melted, and all her thoughts left her.

Her heart was being crushed so hard, she couldn't breathe. God, what is happening to her?

"She was on her way home with me." A cold voice spoke up beside her, and she felt herself almost collapse with relief when she saw Kent's tall body standing there.

"Kent sensei." Hojo greeted with a nod, and they both looked between the two. "Are you two…?"

"We are together." He blatantly announced, which already caused Kagome's head to spin even faster. Yet the moment he said this, they both released a sigh and a look of relief washed over their faces.

"What a surprise!" Ayumi smiled, yet the cold look was still in her eyes. "I never would have guessed…"

"I'm glad to hear it." Hojo nodded with a smile. "I'm happy for you both, especially you Kagome, that you had found someone." He squeezed Ayumi shoulder. For some reason the words 'so we don't have to put up with you and your bullshit anymore' kept ringing in her ears, hidden words placed between the lines. "I hope that you two will be able to have something like me and Ayumi have." He brought Ayumi's left hand up to his lips, kissing it lightly. She knew that he did it on purpose—he wanted her to see the ring. Show it off.

She raised her hand up to her chest as her breathing became labored. Her heart crushed at the sight of it. Broken and shattered at the image of their happy faces and smiles. She could feel the harsh sting of tears weld in her eyes—

A black wall suddenly was in front of her, blocking her vision. Protecting her from the display. "I would prefer it if you would recant your words." Kent sighed and pushed up his glasses with a single digit.

"Excuse me?" Hojo questioned him.

"A relationship based on nothing but feeble desires only placed skin deep, and the ineptitude of such relationship built upon such unsteady structure to begin with is statistically proven to fail after the first year, and only increases every year afterwards." He stated. "I can assure you that such a toxic, dangerous, and deceitful relationship is not what we have, nor will it ever be. To wish the same thing upon us it not only insulting, but sickening to imagine." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I would reframe from saying such things from here on, for I was planning to eat once I got home, and I do not wish to ruin my appetite more than it already is."

"What did you just say?" Hojo glared at him.

"It's not hard to understand what I just said, but I can't say that I'm not surprised." He smirked. "Seeing is how you both barely passed my class."

"Not your fault you had such ridiculous tests-!" Hojo took a step forward, but Ayumi held him back.

"Do not blame others for your lack of ineptitude to answer such simple equations, even my five year old sister could figure out." Yet Kent kept pushing buttons.

"Come on Hojo, let's just go." Ayumi pulled on his arm and pleaded with him.

With a huff the male gave his shirt a small tug. "Nice meeting you both again." The sarcasm was oozing from the words as they both moved around them, as far away as the path would allow, before walking past them.

Slowly she raised a trembling finger and touched her cheek. When she pulled it away, she saw the proof of salty liquid coating the tips, and it only served to increase the silent tears as they continued to tumbling down her moist and cold cheeks. Her body was numb, and her face felt like ice, mirroring her heart.

"Are you alright?" Kent's voice felt so far away, she couldn't really hear the words coming out of his mouth, as she stared up at him in a daze. "Kagome?"

What had just happened? She was so confused, she was sure he could see it as she stared up at him, looking for answers. The concerned look on his face was becoming distant, as a black outline began to cover her vision of him.

"Kagome?" He reached his hand out to her, but the moment she saw it coming, she reacted and smacked it away from her a look of fear in her eyes.

She regretted it instantly, and turned to him. She opened her mouth to apologize, only no words would come out. Just more tears.

"Don't touch me!" The moment she smacked his hand away, she regretted it. "I'm sorry, Hojo I didn't—"

"I know." He sighed. "I should be the one apologizing. I know you don't like to be touched."

As the memory hit her like a brick she took a step back, as if physically struck. She released a groan as her head felt like it was going to explode, but instead of feeling bad, she was relieved. Something finally hurt more than the pain in her heart.

Her vision began to sway, and she knew what was going to happen, and the only word that came out of her lips was "Kent." Then her eyes rolled into the back of her head as her body finally gave up and her mind shut down.

.-.-.-

The coffee shop was busy and full of life. Happy chatter and sounds were all around, yet the atmosphere still felt comfortable and calm.

A loud slam tore through the joy and everything became eerily quiet. "I knew it!" She lifted up her hands from the table and slashed the air.

"Kagome?" The couple sitting at the table stared at the woman in surprise. But quickly the male's face turned to understanding, then irritation. "You followed me."

"Of course I followed you!" She growled. "You give me some bullshit excuses and walk out? After everything we've been through!?" She slammed her palms against the table a second time.

Hojo shook his head. "It wasn't just some excuses, Kagome, you-"

"I knew you were seeing Kikyo the whole time, Inuyasha, you couldn't hide it from me! That is why you left me! For her!" Kagome motioned to Ayumi.

Kagome wasn't sure what she was saying. It just felt right—like she was supposed to say it. Inuyasha has been doing this too many times, and she has gotten tired of it! Tired of being looked at like a copy! Tired of… tired of… everything. It wasn't right. Her mind was telling her that this world, this life, was wrong. Something was missing.

The only time it ever felt right, was when she was so angry that she would say things she didn't mean or understand, but it felt so… right. Real.

"Kagome, this is what I'm talking about." Hojo sighed. "You are getting worse. You should see a doctor—"

"Two hours!" She screamed out. "It has been just two hours since you broke up with me!" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she stared at them. "Just admit it that you are in love with her! That you have been seeing her while being with me."

His jaw clinched tightly, and his hand balled into fists by his side. "If I do, will you leave us alone, Kagome?" Ayumi shook her head at him, but he held up his hand.

She looked down at the ground in thought, before raising her gaze and staring him in the eyes. "Yes."

He nodded his head. "Yes. I have been seeing Ayumi for almost a year now." He glanced at Ayumi and his expression softened. "We are in love."

Kagome looked at the person who she thought was her best friend. The woman had nothing but guilt written all over her face. "Kagome, I didn't mean for it to happen it just—" Cold liquid and ice collided with her face, causing the woman to scream out in surprise and horror. Ayumi stood up, dripping wet with her own drink. With a huff she looked up at Kagome and growled.

"Sorry." Kagome spat out bitterly. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Hojo took a step forward, angry. "Kago—" A thunderous slap sounded throughout the coffee shop, Kagome's hand still trembling in the air after her strike.

"I hope you are happy with her, Inuyasha."

When Kagome opened her eyes, she was staring at the familiar ceiling of her bedroom. She just laid their quietly, allowing herself to digest what had happened and what it all meant.

"You are awake." Kent's voice called to her and she glanced away from the ceiling to look at him out of there corner of her eyes. "How are you feeling?" He lowered the notepad he had been writing on.

She gave a small shrug. "Not sure right now." She turned her attention back to the ceiling. "How long was I out?"

"Precisely an hour."

Felt like days. She lifted her hand and flexed it. She felt so exhausted.

She released a heavy sigh—"You remember him." Kent stated. He must have noticed her questioning look for he then explained his reasoning. "That look you had before has returned."

By 'look' he probably means the sad, lonely, depressed, and heartbroken feeling she couldn't help but show. All thanks to Hojo, because most of her memories of him had returned—all of them bad.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked.

"It seemed pointless, after all, I am your boyfriend now, and he is your past." He adjusted his glasses. "Besides." He looked away from her. "You always got upset whenever you were thinking about him, I figured it would be better if you didn't remember him as long as possible."

A small smile appeared on her face. He was worried about her. It was rather sweet. "So the 'special circumstance' you were talking about earlier." She brought up. "The reason I failed my class-?"

"They were in the same class as you, and it kept you from concentrating. I never would accept such a lousy excuse, but you intrigued me and I gave you another chance, believing if they were truly the reason for your failure, then if we removed them from the equation then you would be able to pass your exam easily."

She asked. "The tutoring session?" He nodded his head, going back to writing in his notepad.

Guess that made sense.

She released another sigh. But what doesn't, is the information that she got from the bad memories she had remembered. It seems, like her family, she had forgotten about her trips to the past, and being with Inuyasha.

She remembers feeling empty, and confused. The only time she felt normal was when she was angry and yelling, calling someone—anyone a name from the past that she didn't even remember or recognized. Everyone thought she was crazy and becoming schizophrenic. Believing in a world and people that wasn't there… But it was… wasn't it?

The trip down the well really happened, right? She remembers everything now so clearly. There's no way that it wasn't—The attack in the park proves it—unless that was a very vivid hallucination?

She shook her head, trying to will those thoughts out of her mind. Might be best if she doesn't think about that right now.

Wanting to change the subject and distract her mind from other thoughts she turned to Kent with a small smile. "I didn't know you had a sister."

"I don't." He kept his attention on the notepad he was working on. From here she saw several equations placed on it.

She tilted her head. "But you said—"

"I said it for effect to make them look even more incompetent."

So he did that to make them look bad? Now that she thought about it, he protected her and stood up for her back at the park. She hummed, feeling a little happy. "What would you say if I told you I thought that you were very sexy right now?"

He gave a sigh, still not looking up from his work. "I would have to say your fainting spell must have affected your brain and you should rest."

She gave a mocking laugh. "Oh, Ha-ha." She released a small huff of air and shook her head. She couldn't help but stare at him as he sat beside her bed calmly.

He was writing down his answers on the paper, his glasses sliding down his nose just a little because his head was placed downward. He had the serious look on his face like always, but the complete focus he had on the equations caused his emerald eyes to give off a shine.

He did look rather handsome, sitting there…

"Umm… Thank you."

"What for?" He pushed his glasses up with his pointer finger, but it just slid back since his head was still cast downward.

"For carrying me back home, for sticking up for me and staying those things to Hojo and Ayumi." For everything, really.

He blinked, and slowly raised his head up and looked at her questionably. "Isn't that what you do for someone you care about?"

Kagome could feel heat encasing her cheeks as the realization of his words sunk in.

"Heh. You were right. You are not Hojo." She nodded. "You are the man I'm seeing right now, and I shouldn't think about him anymore…"

His expression softened towards her. "You are smiling, that's good." Kent was an amazing person, and probably the best guy she has ever been with. She didn't deserve him.

The rest of the evening Kent stayed with her. Her heart stopped aching, and thoughts of Hojo never came back.

.-.-.-

Next morning, Kagome got ready for her volunteer work at the homeless shelter. When she got out of the shower, a text from Kent was waiting for her.

Along with the name and address of the homeless shelter, she received a small message. 'After your shift at the shelter, would you like spend some time together?'

She smiled as she typed the words 'Of course! My place, six o'clock?' That should give her time to get changed.

Her phone chimed with a reply. 'Sounds reasonable.'

With that, she closed her phone with a snap.

.-.-.-

When Kagome arrived at the shelter, she was a little confused, which was normal, after all, she doesn't remember anything about this place even though she supposedly volunteered here forty hours a week. But that wasn't what was odd. When she went up to the other volunteers, they acted like they didn't recognize her.

It would have been alright if all of them just resonantly started there, but most of them have been volunteering for a long time. Kagome did her best to play it off of course with the 'yeah, you remember me' act, but it only went so far.

Obviously something was wrong, so she texted Kent 'Have you ever been at the shelter before?'

She received a reply rather quickly. 'No. I have never had the time. Why? Did you get lost?'

'No.'

'Then why did you ask? Is something wrong? They figured out you lost your memories?'

She sighed. 'Unlike you, not everyone immediately thinks 'they must have forgotten their memories' when someone starts to act weird.'

'True.' He replied. 'You are weird all the time.'

Kagome almost dropped the phone in surprise. 'Did you just make a joke?'

'I blame you. You're bad sense of humor must be rubbing off on me.' She gave a small laugh.

Yet Kagome couldn't help but stare at her phone in wonder. Kent has never been here, and neither has she. What does it mean? She told Kent she was here—Did she lie? What for? And if she wasn't at the shelter, then what was she doing for eight hours a day?

Her phone decided to ring in that very moment in her hand, making her jump. She was about to answer it, but she paused seeing it wasn't Kent. "Takashi Taisho?" Why does that sound familiar? With a shrug she pushed the green button and placed it up to her ear—

"Are you purposely testing my patience Mrs. Higurashi, or do you truly believe that you are special and I will overlook your incompetence?" The ice cold tone on the other end made a chill go through her. "Or perhaps you believe that your time is more important than mine?"

The words came from her mouth almost instinctually. "No sir."

There was a pause on the other end, and it made her extremely nervous. "Mrs. Higurashi, my time is money, and you are costing me money with your ineptitude and lack of ability to do something as simple as arrive on time. Maybe I should begin searching for someone who can?" Her eyes widened and she bit her lower lip. "If you don't want that to happen, I suggest you make it here in the next ten minutes, or I might think about making your vacation permeant. Then you could waste all the time you want with whoever you desire." There was a click on the other end before she could even reply, and she jumped.

What was that!?

Pulling her phone away from her ear, she quickly searched the man's name on the internet. When it popped up, she let loose a gasp in surprise and placed her hand over her gapping mouth.

Oh, shit…

.-.-.-

Takashi Taisho, owner and CEO of Taisho Corporation. One of the largest known company's in the world. Since the beginning of time they have been around. (Not literally of course) They are an old company that has grown using oil and gold as their starting point and expanded. Now they have their hands in everything ranging from genetic engineering and medical products, to crops and fishing expanses. They gained instead of losing power when the technology wave hit. Some even say that they have all the major technology advanced company's in their pocket, including Apple, but it's not proven.

Some rumors say they alone funded the making of the island of Dubai, but that just crazy...

Their main headquarters is here in Tokyo, where she is currently standing. In fact, she is right in front of Mr. Taisho's office. As she stood there almost breathless from running the whole way there, she wasn't sure if she wanted to throw up or run away.

It was a bitch of a time to get here. When she entered everyone seemed to know who she was, and she tried not to seem stupid, and did her best to ask where Mr. Taisho was with a sense of pompous air around her as if she knew what she was doing.

It must have worked for they told her he was in his main office, which she guessed was at the top floor because if she was a boss that's where her office would be… and she guessed right.

Beside the large double doors was a nice desk, and on that desk was a beautiful engraved sign that said 'Kagome Higurashi.' Right on it. Her desk was spotless, which wasn't surprising coming from a germaphobe.

She was almost in awe as she reached out to touch the gorgeous glass countertop and state of the art computer-

"Mrs. Higurashi." A cold voice echoed from the speaker on her desk, making her jump. "You are wasting my time again." How did he know she was here? "Get in here right away."

"Sorry sir—I mean, yes sir! Right away sir." She bowed to the speaker over and over, even though he couldn't hear or see her. She scurried and grabbed the notepad paced on the top of the desk, and snatched a pen as well.

She wasn't sure what she was doing, but she knew that assistants and secretaries took notes in movies all the time—it was practically all the did, so it was probably what he was wanting, right?

Was she even his secretary? That's why her desk was beside his office, right?

She had no clue!

Oh god, please help her. She whispered a small prayer before opening the double doors and walking inside.

The room was large with a single desk near the wall that was nothing but windows from top to bottom, and a single couch placed off to side of the room. Mr. Taisho had his back to her, looking out of the window at the beautiful scenery that stretched as far as the eye could see, overlooking the city beneath them and the mountains in the foreground.

Cautiously Kagome stepped forward—"I would like for you to relay a message to Steve Jobs. We have a few prototypes that are having some issues and would like his input on it."

Kagome tilted her head at his words. "Steve Jobs? Isn't his dead?" She lost her memories, but it was all over the news. She couldn't miss it.

"Now is not the time nor the place for your trivial jokes, Mrs. Higurashi." She released a small huff through her nose in objection. Why is everyone saying her jokes suck—and she wasn't even joking! "If you wish to stay here, I would reframe from opening your mouth and speaking such foolish nonsense while in my presence."

She bit her lower lip to stop herself from saying anything she would regret. "Sorry sir, it won't happen again. Is there anything else you need?" Maybe get that sick out of your ass? Might make you feel better.

"My apologies." He tone became sharp and threatening.

"Huh?"

"I do not tolerate ignorance and laziness, Mrs. Higurashi. I guess I'm just a little sore from having this stick up my ass for so long." Oh, shit. Did she say that out loud?! Slowly he turned around to face her, and the moment his eyes connected with hers, her body froze. "Now, I would suggest you choice your next words very carefully…"

Her mouth opened and only one word was able to release from her trembling lips: "Sesshomaru."

Then, her body promptly shut down.

.-.-.-

Kagome sat in front of an unmarked grave, staring at it with a lifeless look in her eyes. Her tears have stopped falling a long time ago, and she thought that she had cried so much that she couldn't anymore.

"You have not ate or drank since his death. Do you wish to join him, miko?" The cold voice behind her didn't even make her flinch.

"Maybe."

"Do not speak of such foolishness." It sounded like he was scolding her. "What of the fox child? Would you have him go through the same loss again?" She sighed. Shippo… "Being here will not bring him back."

"Why do you even care?" She snapped. "You have never cared about anyone or anything other than yourself."

There was a long and tense silence between them.

"When you are through wallowing in your own self-pity, I will be at the well with the others." When he left, a small sob came from her lips and a tear feel from the corner of her eyes. She is such a terrible person…

After all, she wasn't the only one who lost important people that day.

.-.-.-

Everyone was at the well to say goodbye to her, but she knew that she wouldn't be the same. The empty feeling in her heart was weighing her down and making her feel defeated. She didn't even want to go back home, but Shippo and the others insisted that she see her family. It might make her feel better.

After a day or so, she would return and go back to the grave. It was the only place she wanted to be.

When she jumped, the familiar magic of the well enveloped her, but she didn't feel peace or warmth from it like she used to. She felt alone and heartbroken.

She exited the well house, and she paused when she looked up and saw a familiar face standing before her. "Sesshomaru…"

"Kagome." She felt a little uneasy when she heard him call her by name. He had only done that a few times before.

She glanced at the man standing beside him. He was tall with bright orange hair, and a sad expression on his face. She looked way from the man then at the dog demon again. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry mother…" Instead, the other man was the one who spoke as he walked up to her. His words confused her, but then her eyes widened in recognition as he got closer. He placed his palm against her forehead and her world began to swirl around her. "It's for your own good."

A confused and betrayed look showed on her face. "Shippo…why?" Then her world turned dark.

"I thought you were accustomed to beautiful women fainting at your feet Sesshomaru?" The amused voice broke through the haze of darkness, waking her up.

"Now is not the time for tactless jokes, Kit." Then came the cold tone, laced with hints of irritation.

Slowly her eyes fluttered open and she released a groan as she reached up, placing her hand to her throbbing skull. She glanced around, noticing that she was in Sesshomaru's office, laying on his couch. She looked over, and her eyes focused on the two males standing just a few feet away.

They both were watching her with intense stares. It was as if they were waiting for something. Anything, to give them a clue—A clue that she knew them and what had happened.

"I remember everything." So she gave it to them.

Shippo looked around nervously and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Sesshomaru just stood there with his usual stoic expression, his human illusion gone. She slowly sat up while giving them a heated glare.

"Here, let me help." Shippo took a few steps towards her and reached out to help her sit up.

"I don't need your help Shippo—or should I call you Tamaki Tenzuka?" He pulled away from her with a guilty look on his face. "What where you doing anyway? Trying to stay near me to make sure your spell worked?"

"I just wanted to look out for you, that's all."

"Look out for me?!" She could feel the rage boiling inside of her. "Do you have any idea what you did to me!?"

"You received a normal life, like you always wanted." Sesshomaru spoke up.

She turned her glare to him. "You gave me hell!"

She had woke up at the hospital, believing the two years she spent in the past was really spent in the hospital. She had become afraid of going back. Her fear as become unhealthy and obsessive, and she began to disinfect anything and everything around her, not wanting to go back to being alone in that sternal room anymore.

"Don't you think you are being a little overdramatic?" Shippo questioned.

"Overdramatic?!" She growled and got to her feet. "Have you ever had the urge to want to clean every inch in an entire room that was already spotless? How about the need to wipe every surface you are about to touch?" She huffed. "Even now I'm trying my best to fight off rubbing your face with a disinfecting wipe before I slap you!"

All her memories of the past had been erased from not only her mind, but from everyone she knew. They all believed she had been sick, and she walked around for the next four years in a daze, trying to live her life with the feeling of something missing.

The empty feeling in her heart consumed her. Like an important part of her was gone and she needed it back. She tried to substitute it or pretend it wasn't there by living her life. She started dating Hojo after she got out of the hospital.

"We understand you are angry Kagome. We do, but you must understand that we did it because we care about you." Shippo tried to calm her down.

"Oh really?" She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Hate to see what you would do to your enemies."

"I believe you already seen what this Sesshomaru does to my enemies."

"Yes, I do." And it mostly involved his claws ripping through body parts and a bloody mess.

She graduated and left her family to live with Hojo in the city, while he was going to collage to become a doctor. She tried her best to be normal, but the emptiness and her phobia was slowly driving her mad.

Her grandfather died, and things only got worse.

She began to get angry, lashing out at anyone and everything that upset her, trying to feel anything other than empty. Then it happened— One day in her rage she blacked out and called Hojo Inuyasha and it clicked. She didn't know what happened, but it felt good.

After that she began to purposefully pick fights, wanting to feel it again. Return what was lost to her, even if it was for a movement and she couldn't understand. During that time, she couldn't remember much because she would fade in and out of a state as she tried to fight off the spell, calling Inuyasha's name out.

Then, after two years of her abuse Hojo left her, and she was alone. They had been together for three years, and he left her for her best friend, Ayumi.

After that, she received something in the mail about winning a contest to become a substitute secretary for the powerful Takashi Taisho. She believed it was a stoke of good luck, but now she knew better. Sesshomaru did it to keep an eye on her.

The position was only supposed to be for a month, but Mr. Takashi liked her and made her position permanent. He even moved her to a better location: The New Moon. All expenses paid for of course, and she could do whatever she wanted with all the cash she was getting from the job.

It was all most too good to be true, then just under half a year, one day she saw Hojo and Ayumi walking hand in hand down the street as she was walking out of the hotel. She quickly followed them, and saw them going to the university.

She followed them every day after that, and when she saw them sign up for a math prep class together, she signed in as well. When the class started the look on their face was priceless—and she even made up some story about wanting to get into Taisho Corporation but they wouldn't accept her without a higher degree in math.

Of course, she didn't think that seeing Hojo and Ayumi happy every day together would bother her so much, but it did. But something else came from that stupid decision of hers: She meet Kent.

No wonder whenever he told her everything he knew about her, it didn't trigger any memories for her. Everything she told him was a lie. From how she was able to afford the hotel, to her reasons for being in the class, and where she went from 9 to 5, saying she was volunteering at a homeless shelter. She was a terrible person.

"I still can't believe you guys did that to me—you took away my life. Did it not bother you? Didn't you care?"

"I told you that we did it to help you." Shippo tried to explain. "You were so depressed about Inuyasha. You weren't the same anymore."

"He was dead! Of course I was depressed!" She growled out and swiped the air in front of her. "But it's not like I was going to kill myself!" She gave a huff and crossed her arms over her chest.

She noticed a cold air filled the room and she paused, glancing between the two of them.

"Kagome…" Shippo's tone turned sad as he stared at her seriously.

"No." She held up her hand and shook her head. "You are wrong." She pointed at him. "I wouldn't—"

"You did, miko." Sesshomaru told her. She shook her head back and forth, her hands placed over her ears as if that would stop the words from reaching her. "You returned home, and just a day after that you came back to the past and ingested a deadly poison, taking your own life."

"No! No no no no no no no no!" She just repeated over and over again as she felt panic swell through her. "But I'm right here!"

"That's because we stopped you. We changed history." Shippo explained. "So you see, we had to do what we did, for your own sake."

There's no way…

The anger she felt before had vanished, replaced with sadness and defeat. She released a groan and rubbed her throbbing skull. The past continued to flash before her.

She was failing the class, and she didn't care, but Kent seemed very adamant about her grades even more then she was. He had learned about her wanting to go work at Taisho Corporation and offered to tutor her after the class had ended to help her pass the exam.

He was so serious and passionate about his teaching and wanting her to succeed that for some reason she couldn't say no. Not long after that they meet each other at the park, and they began to talk every day. And by 'talk' she meant fight and bicker with one another about the most stupid topics. Both of them too stubborn to give in to the other's opinion.

It was a shock to her when Kent asked her out, but she accepted the challenge. She easily got into arguments with Kent, and she thought that getting mad at him and calling him Inuyasha would be even easer then when it was with Hojo.

So any moment she got, she argued and fought with him. Telling him his mistakes and how horrible of a boyfriend he was—god she was such a bitch. Kent was a saint for putting up with her.

A small touch on her shoulder snapped her out of her reminiscing and she jumped. "Kagome, are you thinking about Inuyasha? Are you going to kill yourself?"

"What?!" She almost growled at his assumption. "No! I might be pissed at you guys right now, but I'm not going to jump off of the roof this minute."

Shippo sighed in relief, and even though it was hard to catch, she saw Sesshomaru's expression relax just a little. "I don't know why, but I'm not even sad about Inuyasha anymore…" It was over four years after all, but at the same time, it felt like it was just yesterday. Sure, it hurt, but she didn't feel lost like she did before they cast the spell on her. In fact, she felt somewhat at peace.

"Ah, so our spell worked after all!" Shippo grinned.

She huffed. "Not because of that." She rolled her eyes. "Kent might have something to do with it…" She admitted.

Sesshomaru spoke. "The human boy." Well, Kent wasn't a boy, but she guessed to Sesshomaru's age he was practically an infant.

"How do you know Kent?" He gave her the 'I know everything' look and she rolled her eye.

"Kagome." Sesshomaru called to her, making her look towards him. "Since your memories have resurfaced, there are several decisions that need to be made." That didn't sound too good. "You can decide to have the spell placed back on you—"

"No way!" She interrupted him with a huff.

"Or you can stand by this Sesshomaru's side, where I will teach you everything I can, and groom you to become my successor in this company."

Her eyes grew wide at his words. "W-what?" Is he being serious?

"But if you chose to take my place, you must leave that human boy behind."

"What! Why?!"

"Your memories and powers have returned. You are no longer a normal human woman. Trying to continue the charade would be foolish."

"I could just tell him. He would understand."

"Would he?" Those two words was all she needed to hear, before doubt started setting in her mind.

"Kagome." Shippo sighed and sat down beside her on the couch. "Humans can't accept the idea of demons in this world like they used to. Most go mad or get put in a hospital." He explained. "I know you have feelings for Kent and you wish to tell him, but it would be better for everyone if you just let him go."

"I…" She knew Shippo was right. "When I woke up I was so confused and lost. Kent is the one who helped me the most and kept me in check." She couldn't just leave him.

"But now you have us. We are here for you." Shippo reached out and placed his hand upon hers and gave it a small squeeze of reassurance. "You are not alone anymore."

Shippo and Sesshomaru have been looking out for her for the past four years. They have done everything they could so they wouldn't lose her again, and as she stared at them, she could feel their desperation, wanting her to stay. (Well, from Shippo at least. Sesshomaru was as difficult to read as ever.)

They did what they thought was best, to keep her from dying. If they didn't put the spell on her like they did, she probably would have still found a way to do it. It ruined her life, but at least she had a life to ruin… They did what they thought was right, and she couldn't blame them for it.

She took a deep breath and sighed. "Is it alright if I think about it?"

Shippo's expression softened towards her. "Of course." He got to his feet and helped her to stand. "I'll take you home."

She nodded her head. "Thank you."

.-.-.-

When Shippo escorted her back to the hotel, she invited him inside for some tea. She couldn't help but notice how handsome of a man he had turned out to be, as he sat upon her couch, drinking her tea.

Then she began to feel sad, realizing that she had missed him growing up into the man that was before her. She released a sigh and shook her head.

She took a seat beside him, with a drink of her own in her hand. She reached out and grabbed a dry wipe that was on her counter top, and rubbed the edge of the rim with it, before taking a drink. She released a sigh of contentment as she pulled the cup away from her lips.

"Shippo?" She glanced at the man who was sitting beside her. He tilted his head and looked over at her. "Couldn't I just live like I do now? Having my memoires and living in the hotel?" And being with Kent.

Shippo shook his head. "Not only your memories came back, but your powers did too. That is very dangerous. The only two choices are to remove them completely, or to keep you as close to use as possible, so you can be safe. We can't protect you all the time when you are so far away from us."

She frowned. "I don't need your protection. I was attacked at the park earlier and I did alright. I can defend myself just fine."

Shippo released a light laugh. "Oh yeah, about that…" He screeched the back of his head and smiled jokingly. "That was me."

She growled. "What!?"

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to test out and see if your powers really came back or not. I didn't mean to scare you."

"Idiot!" She smacked his arm. "What if I got hurt!? What if you got hurt—" She let a small gasp escape when she remembered. "I hit you! Are you okay?!" She looked at him up and down to check for any signs of damage.

"I raised a barrier to block it just in time. I'm fine." When he told her this she sighed, but then she smacked him in the arm again. "Ow~"

"Don't do it again." She scolded him.

His expression softened towards her. "Yes mother."

A bright red blush flushed into her cheeks and she turned her head away. It' so much different now that he is all grown up.

"Kagome, if a real demon was serious, you might be able to do something, but what about Kent?" That's right. Kent is human. "He wouldn't be able to defend himself against an attack like you or I can. Those dangers come from being around people like us." Kagome released a sigh, her heart aching as she looked down at the cup in her hand. "Wouldn't it be best to let him go and live his life? I mean…" Shippo reached out and touched her shoulder. "After the conference, he will be sent away to study overseas."

Her eyes widened upon hearing this, shocked. "W-what?"

Shippo gave her a sad look. "He didn't tell you? If he is picked, he would be sent overseas to study abroad for over a year."

"I can't wait till you get done with your report thing so we can spend more time together. I know if I do it will probably help my memories come back faster." And they can spend some more time together—After a moment she noticed Kent hadn't said anything and she glanced up. She saw a conflicting look on his features. "Kent? Everything alright?" He looked up from the ground, at her, but then he quickly averted his eyes. "Something wrong?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Kagome…" She didn't like that tone he was giving her. She knew the next words the same out of his mouth, she did not want to hear them, whatever they were. "I…"

That's what had him acting like that. He didn't want her to remember that he would be leaving soon. But now that Shippo mentioned it, she can recall Kent telling her about it.

When Kent told her, she didn't care. In fact she liked the idea, and thought of it as if he was just her temporary boyfriend. She was going to break up with him when he was going to leave. Just thinking about it made her heart ache even more, and now she might have to really do it, but for other less selfish reasons.

With a sigh she reached up and placed her hand to her forehead, unsure. "Kagome." He placed his hand upon her shoulder to comfort her. "I know you care for Kent, but you need to truly think about your future. Kent will be leaving soon, and then where will you be?" He looked down at her sadly. "You should be here, with your family, and with us." He must have saw the hesitation in her eyes for he then sighed. "Just think about it, alright?" She gave a small nod in reply and he smiled. "I should get going."

Hearing his words, Kagome glanced at the clock on the wall, seeing it was a few minutes till six. "So soon?"

Shippo nodded his head and placed his drink onto the coffee table and stood up. She followed his movements, walking him to the door. "Yes." His smile grew as he walked towards the door.

"Well, alright then…" She allowed her disappointment to ooze out of her voice as she opened the door for him.

He nodded his head in thanks and walked out into the hallway. He paused and turned towards her with a hum, half inside and half outside. "It's not you." He told her. "The children like me to tuck them into bed and read them a story." He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "They are getting too old for it, but they insist—"

"Children!?" She almost screeched out in surprise, and he laughed.

"Of course." He nodded his head and bent down, whispering softly. "You are a grandmother."

"R-really?!" She let loose a squeal of delight and wrapped her arms around his neck in joy.

The attack was unprovoked and he grunted in surprise, stumbling into the hallway with a laugh. "I'm glad you are so happy about it." He sighed and patted her back, and she released him from her death grip.

"I love children."

Shippo's expression softened as he looked down at her. "You never change." He caressed her cheek softly and bent down. "Whatever you decide, I will be happy as long as you are happy." She felt a light peck upon her cheek, and he whispered into her ear. "Mother…"

She felt her cheeks become incased in heat, reacting to his blatant show of affection. He just chuckled, a sly grin on his face as he turned and left her in the hallway, her face still flushed.

"Idiot." But she couldn't help but feel a light flutter in her chest at hearing him calling her that again. It was embarrassing, but she missed him. She reached up and touched the part where he kissed her cheek, and she sighed.

Whatever she decided, huh?

Either she gets her powers and memories erased again, or she has to leave Kent and stay with Sesshomaru and Shippo. Neither sounded very appealing to her.

She didn't want to leave Kent, he is such a kind man and the only good thing in her life it seems, but he will be leaving to study overseas soon. Could she really deal with a long distance relationship? Not only that, but she really wanted to see her grandchildren. I bet they looked just like Shippo…

Why couldn't she have both?

She released a small sigh as she turned and went back to her room, softly closing the door behind her.

.-.-.-

When Kagome returned to her room, she thought long and hard on what to do next. But she knew, deep down, what she must do.

As she was cooking dinner, she realized this and a sad feeling overtook her. She will have to talk with him next time she sees him. She hummed. Feels like she was forgetting something…— He was supposed to come to her place at six! She cursed inside her head and looked at the clock.

It was 8:15. He was late. He is never late.

She went to her phone and texted him. 'Where are you?'

After a minute her phone chimed. 'I'm home.'

'I thought we were supposed to hang out at my place today?' This would be a good opportunity to talk with him.

Then her phone beeped again. 'I didn't feel like it so I stayed home.'

Didn't feel like it? She gave her phone and odd look. 'Well, alright then…'

She turned her phone off and put it down on the coffee table. What's gotten into him? She might have to go to his place tomorrow to talk with him—she made a face when she smelt something. "Almost like"- something was burning…-! "Aw crap!" She rushed to the oven, but it was already too late. She released an irritated sigh as she tossed her burnt pans and cookware into the sink. "Guess I'll have to order room service."

.-.-.-

Kagome decide to go to Kent's house today, so she got up early and left in a rush. On her way out she was digging through her purse and she noticed several receipts. With a sigh she gathered them all up and walked to the trash bin next to the hotel entrance.

She stopped when she noticed a large pink box wedged in the trash can. The box too large to fit through the small hole. She lifted it up by the handle, and looked at it. It still felt heavy, and there was a small logo on the side of it.

'Grandma's sweets'

Hmm. Must be some type of dessert…

With a shrug she lifted up the lid and placed the box inside the trash can along with her receipts, before putting the top back on.

.-.-.-

Kagome stood in front of Kent's house. She felt nervous, as she kept repeating the same phrase over and over again, trying to get both her heart and mind ready for what was about to happen.

"Bitch, bitch, bitch. Come on, you can do this. Focus." She took a deep breath and reached into her purse, pulling out a moist towelette. "Remember, if he touches you, wipe the spot with the rag." She placed the towelette over her finger as she pressed the doorbell. "This isn't going to be pretty…" But it has to be done.

She could feel her heart giving a small twinge of pain, but she ignored it. She has done this a million times before, but this was the first time she was doing this after having her memories back. She just hopes that she is convincing enough.

Bitch. Bitch. Think bitch thoughts.

The door opened up, and she allowed her face to show nothing but irritation at the sight of the tall blonde standing before her.

"Kagome." Kent's voice seemed colder than usual.

She made her tone sound huffy and annoyed. "Why didn't you come yesterday?"

Be the bitch.

He gave a small shrug. "I observed something and it made me feel sick so I decided to stay home instead." She gave a small snort through her noise at his answer. He took a deep breath and moved out of the way and motioned her inside. "Come in."

Own the bitch.

"I came without telling you, so that means you didn't clean, so no thanks." She raised her hand and lifted her chin up in disgust. "Just thinking about stepping foot in there makes me want to go home and take a shower." She shivered, and waved her towelette in front of her face, as if knocking away some invisible smell.

That caught his attention and he looked down at her in thought. "Kagome, have you…"

She cut him off. "I remember everything, Kent."

You are a bitch.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, before he looked away from her. "I see." A look of understanding crossed over his face.

"Did you really think things would work between us?" She gave a small laugh. "Trying to pretend like everything was fine? I remember how angry I was with you on the 31st of July. You forgotten my birthday! How could you!? You knew how important it was for me."

It was the day that Kagome felt both happy and sad at the same time. It was the day she fell down the well, but she didn't remember. She only knew that it was very important. So important in fact she became obsessive with it. It meant more to her then any other holiday, and he had forgotten.

But now, Kagome didn't really care, but she wasn't going to tell him that…

"You made me so mad, that I really did want to break up with you that day."

"I apologized."

"Yeah, almost four days later after I had lost my memories and I apologized first! I had no idea what you was so mad about, or what we were fighting over." She gave another huff. "You are so impossible. You were right about us not being about to be together, we are too different. You are too cold and distance, and you don't understand even the most simplest of things normal couples do!" She allowed a little bit of anger come out as she spoke.

"You mean like kiss and hold hands? Did we not do such things? Or maybe you were referring to holding each other in public and discussing our future, like possible offspring?" Hurt and anger was clearly on his face. "Then maybe I could bend down and"—he bent down and laid a soft peck upon her cheek. "Kiss you upon the cheek." Her eyes widened a little and she took a step back from him.

"I saw you last night, with that man." He touched her! Thinking quickly she took the towelette and wiped her cheek. "You never removed his kiss." His hurtful glance left her feeling heartbroken. "Yesterday I bought us a cake to celebrate our anniversary… I read that it is a normal thing for couples to do. It has only been half a month, but I believed it was appropriate." He looked away. "But when I showed up I saw you embracing that man, talking about children—Then he kissed you." He sighed. "I threw the cake in the trash and went back home." He turned his gaze back to her, serious. "Who was that man, Kagome?"

"He is my fiancée." Her lie made Kent's eyes widen with shock. "Oh, I'm sorry, haven't you realized that I was just using you?" She huffed and flicked her hair behind her shoulder. "He had returned early from his month long business trip overseas. When he returned yesterday and I saw him, all my memories came back."

"That doesn't make any sense." He argued. "You were dating Hojo before—"

"That was almost a year ago, and I have been with Shippo ever since." God, that sounded so wrong… "I'll admit it hurt when I saw Hojo with Ayumi, but you never get over your first love."

"So you accepted my offer to go out with me when you already had another lover?" His tone turned sharp. "What was I to you really Kagome?" He questioned.

"What do you think, Kent? You just a quick fling." She flicked her wrist as if swatting away a fly. "When you asked me out, I knew you had your conference and was going to go overseas in a month, right when he was going to return. The timing was just too perfect." Break him. "I wanted to have some fun while he was gone, but I finally realized that was pointless, you don't know anything." Hurt him, so that he never comes back. "I was going to break up with you when you couldn't even remember we had plans on my birthday." She scoffed. "Such a waste of my time." She crossed her arms in irritation. "You know what? I think I change my mind, I do agree with you on something you told me before…" A hint of dark intentions was beneath of her smile. "How did you put it? Oh yes, 'if one becomes tired of another, it's most efficient to immediately break up and move on to the next relationship'." The shocked and hurt look on his face caused her to turn her head away, hiding it with a disgust so he wouldn't notice. "I'm just going to go ahead and save myself the trouble and get rid this dead weight. We are finished Kent. I have better things to do and my fiancée is waiting for me." She turned on her heels, not wanting to look him in the eye. "Oh, and don't bother calling, because I've already thrown my phone away." She gave her hair one final flick over her shoulder in conceit, as she walked away. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from looking back at him.

Just keep walking. She continued to tell herself. Keep walking. Almost there…

When she turned the corner of the street, a sob fell from her lips, and she pressed her back against the wall. She had both hands up to her face in shame as tears fell freely.

"I'm so sorry Kent."

She knew it had to be done. It was for the best. But why did it hurt so much?

.-.-.-

When Kagome entered her hotel, out of the corner of her eye she noticed the trash bin.

"I threw the cake in the trash and went back home."

It still felt heavy, and there was a small logo on the side of it.

'Grandma's sweets'

Her eyes grew wide and she ran towards the trash can. "Please don't be gone." Hopefully they didn't take the trash out yet—"Yes!" She cried out when she lifted the lid and saw bright pink buried beneath freshly thrown garbage.

She lifted the well-made pink carrying container and hugged it to her chest happily. "God, this is just pathetic…" But she didn't care as a small sob fell from her lips and she hugged the box to her chest protectively.

When he got to her apartment she placed the squashed cake beneath a glass display. (Not to eat of course, because that would be gross, but to admire.) As she would walk by the counter her heart would ache just a little when she would read the small smudged words still visible on the top.

'Happy two week anniversary.'

.-.-.-

When Kagome woke up the next day, she got ready for her new job at Taisho Company, training to replace Sesshomaru as CEO. She found herself looking in the mirror and she realized how mature she looked in a business outfit.

But at the same time, she couldn't get the thought out of her head. "I look so much like Kikyo." Even more so now that her hair was long and straight, instead of shorter and wavy.

Now that she had her memories back, she understood why her hair was so long. Her old-self was trying to bring back the image of Kikyo, knowing it was a part of the past and the thing she was missing in her life. But now… it was irritating and annoying to look at.

She always hated being compared to her, but her old self didn't understand the difference. It just felt right to have her hair long and to look this way. Trying to mimic Kikyo, the one thing she hated being compared to.

Now, four years later she is still thinking of it—she wanted it gone from her life completely. She never wanted to think of it again… She wanted to start new. A fresh slate.

She no longer was with Kent, and she was training to be strong and an independent powerful CEO. She needed a change. Something to reflect that.

But this hair. This hair held her back, reflecting the past and things she didn't want to remember.

Without thinking, Kagome reached into her sink drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors. She grabbed her hair, which was placed in a ponytail at the nape of her neck, and in one swift cut went from one side to the other, above the band.

There was the sharp sound, along with the feeling of weight being taken away from her, and she sighed. She pulled her hand away from her head, taking the three foot long black horsetail in her clutches. She stared at it in both joy and relief.

She noticed the end was cut at a steep angle, and she glanced back at the mirror. She had sliced her hair a little lopsided, but she didn't care.

When she looked in the mirror Kikyo wasn't the one staring back, but Kagome.

.-.-.-

Being the kind hearted and giving person that she was, and she didn't like things to go to waste when there were people who needed it, Kagome went to the closest beauty shop she knew, and dropped off her three foot hair so it could be donated to the locks-of-love. At first they looked at her like she was crazy, but then when they realized what it was, they thanked her and said they were happy she was doing such a considerate thing.

One of the girls even fixed her hair, so that it was more presentable. It didn't take very long to turn Kagome's lopsided mess, into a beautiful A-style pixie cut. And for free!

By the end of it Kagome was glad she cut it so crooked, because when the stylist was done with it, she thought it was beautiful. For the first time since she had broken up with Kent, she was smiling, feeling better about herself and her decision.

And it was definitely worth it just to have Sesshomaru take a double glance from his paperwork…

.-.-.-

It had been two weeks since Kagome had broken up with him. It was the day of the conference, and Kent realized just how much it had effected his work. He was nowhere near ready for his presentation, and he was beginning to feel the heat from his lack of focus.

He just hoped that the judges understood what he was trying to do, and grasped his level of skill with such insufficient samples and displays. But he knew trying to blame it on anyone else was just a weak justification. It was his fault for allowing his emotions to ruin possibly the most important turning point in his future.

Currently he was in the lobby with the other possible applicants. Based off of what he has seen so far, even with his lack luster work, his still stood higher than most of the other candidates. With that thought in mind he was able to relax a little.

The on stage presentations were about to begin, and he caught glimpse of the judges. They were easy to spot with their dark blue jackets, drifting around the crowd in their small group. His emerald eyes caught sight of orange, and he paused.

His hands balled into fists by his side as rage bubbled within him. Without thinking he stormed forward, pushing through the people. Several times he bumped into others, but he didn't even apologize, his eyes focused on orange while seeing red.

When he was within reaching distance, his placed his hand upon the man's shoulder to catch his attention. The man turned around, and when he saw him, his eyes widened in recognition before Kent's fist went flying towards the man's face.

.-.-.-

Kagome has been training with Sesshomaru for two weeks now. It wasn't as bad as she thought, since she has pretty much has gotten the lay out of the land and what is expected of the job, thanks to her being his personal secretary for a year. She would have been in trouble if she didn't get her memories back, but then again, she wouldn't even be here in the first place if she didn't remember.

Currently she was in a meeting, her first meeting without Sesshomaru to advise her. He was there of course, but he has taken a back seat and let her take charge of the deal. She was feeling rather confident in what she was trying to accomplish, beveling she understood what Sesshomaru wanted. These people were very important and had a deep connection with the company, so getting the point across was crucial.

Sesshomaru hasn't once corrected her, so she must be doing something right.

A small chime came over the intercom placed on her end of the table. "Mrs. Higurashi?" Her secretary called to her. This irritated her somewhat, since she knew not to interrupt them unless it was an emergency. "There's a Mr. Kent here to see you."

The papers she was holding fell onto the floor and she fumbled, her heart instantly doing a cartwheel in her chest. "W-what?" How is he here!? She leaned over and whispered, which was stupid since everyone in the room could hear anyway—"Tell him I'm not here or something!"

"That would be pointless, seeing as how she has already revealed that you are." Sesshomaru pointed out, his tone showing that he wasn't amused.

"I don't care, just get rid of him." She almost hissed out. She stood back up and pulled down her business shirt. "I apologize. Where were we?" She cleared her throat. "The fluctuation of demon blood doesn't mean that it can't be useful—" A blotch of green coming into her peripheral vision caused her to pause and she glanced up. Her eyes widened when she saw Kent standing outside the glass wall on the other side of the room. She took a deep breath and sighed, trying to calm her heart. "Would you please excuse me for a moment?" She gave them a fake smile. "It's a personal matter."

She gave Sesshomaru an apologetic look before walking over to the door and leaving the room. She could hear Sesshomaru quickly take control of the meeting before the door even closed behind her.

"You cut your hair." Was the first thing he said, making her reach up and instinctively touch the now short strands. "I didn't think it was logical possible for you to be even more attractive." He reached out and touched a small strand of her hair. She couldn't help but react, feeling her face become flushed. She quickly pulled away from him and he frowned. "Did I say something wrong?"

She shook her head and took a deep breath. "No it's just—What are you doing here, Kent?" She glared at the secretary responsible for letting him get through

"Shippo told me everything."

Her heart raced, and she tensed up. "Everything?"

"I know that you did get your memories back, but you also lied to me. You are not in a relationship with him. He has a wife and family. I also concluded the reason for your sudden break up was not because of your lack of interest in me, but because of the fact that you have been keeping your job ethics a secret from me." He sighed and pushed up his glasses. "CEO of one of the most powerful corporations in the world or not, you are still my girlfriend and I would have treated you as such. Nothing would have changed between us."

She sighed. Good, Shippo didn't tell him about the demons at least. "Kent, I don't think you understand what it would mean. Of course things would change. This company is more than just money and technology. It's powerful and has many secrets that I can't even talk about. It just wouldn't work between us. I have a lot of things on my shoulders now and responsibilities. It would be too much. Besides, with you gone over seas, it just makes matters worse."

"Well, my position on that matter has been nullified for now so I suppose that shouldn't be placed into the equation anymore."

She gave him a look. "What do you mean?"

"It turns out that punching one of the judges of the event is considered an act for immediate disqualification." Her eyes widened in surprise. He punched someone!? "The event was sponsored by Taisho."

He didn't even have to finish his explanation, Kagome had her hand to her parted lips. "Shippo was there as a representative…" Kent just nodded, showing she was right. Kagome placed her hand onto her forehead and took a deep breath. "I'll talk with the board and have them reevaluate your study—"

He held up his hand and shook his head. "That isn't why I am here. Besides, my report wasn't even considered worthy for the conference."

"What do you mean? You worked hard on it every day."

"Until you left." He sighed and glanced away from her, almost embarrassingly. "After you broke up with me, I couldn't concentrate, and my work wasn't anywhere near where I would have liked it in terms of completion and show of my skill." He looked back towards her. "But that doesn't matter. I can retry for the scholarship next year, but I may only get one chance to make things right with you again." She felt a lump in her throat. "Kagome, I know there is more to it then you just becoming CEO of one of the most influential companies in the world. Shippo hinted as much during our small conversation. Whatever it is that you are afraid of or think that I won't accept of you, I assure you that you are incorrect." His cheeks became tinted red as he looked down at her a little embarrassed. "I might be too late in saying this, but I love you Kagome…" She could feel her own cheeks heating up at his confession.

"Kent I…" She looked down at the ground, unsure—

"Just kiss him already." She looked up at the sound and turned towards the office—Everyone in the room was standing at the glass wall, smiling.

In fact, everyone had stopped what they were doing and watching the exchange with great interest. And Sesshomaru, even though his head was shaking, the corner of his lips was curved upwards ever so slightly. Seeing this very small act as his approval, Kagome's heart warmed and she turned towards Kent with excitement.

Without thinking, she stood upon her toes and placed a soft kiss upon his lips, and the whole building cheered. She was smiling ear to ear when she turned towards the office, and opened the door—But Sesshomaru beat her to it. "I suppose you will be absent from the rest of the meeting then?" She nodded her head and he sighed. "Very well, I will excuse you this once."

Her smile brightened. "Thank you!" She turned around and grabbed Kent's hand. "There is story I have to tell you, but to do that we might have to take a small trip."

Kent nodded his head, a small smile on his face. "Very well." He gave her hand a squeeze and her heart soared.

.-.-.-

Kagome and Kent were standing in front of the well house, and Kagome couldn't really read what he was thinking. "Time travel… fascinating."

She tried not to roll her eyes. "That's all you can say?"

"Well, the possibility of such a tale to be true—" He shook his head. "Time travel is beyond logical with our current knowledge of math and science." Kagome sighed in disappointment. So he doesn't believe her. She should have known… "But that doesn't mean It's impossible."

She looked at him with excitement. "You believe me?"

"Why would you make up such a tale if it wasn't true?" She glanced away from him not sure how to answer— She felt his arm wrap around her so he could draw her close to him and whisper. "Even if you did lie to try and fool me into leaving you—I wouldn't. No matter what you say, I will not let you go again." She felt heat rush into her cheeks, matching his own. "I logically couldn't think and I did not understand the emptiness I felt when you were absent from my life, but I do know that it is gone when you are around… and I don't want it to return."

"What are you trying to say Kent?"

"I believe you Kagome, demons, time travel, all of it, and it doesn't change the fact that I love you and want to be with you."

Her voice got caught in her throat, and feeling his touch upon her cheek only made it worse. Then he bent down towards her lips—

"Kagome?" They both paused and turned towards the voice. Kagome turned ten shades of red, seeing her mother and brother just a few feet away, both holding grocery bags. "You are back—and your hair! Is something wrong?" She gasped a little. "Did you join a gang?"

She shook her head and sighed. "No mom, I didn't join a gang. I just got tired of it is all… I came here so you could meet my boyfriend. Mom, Sota. This is Kent." She introduced them.

Kent stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "You must be Mrs. Higurashi. I can see where Kagome got such attractive genetics from."

"Oh my~" Her mom turned several shades of red.

Sota made a face. "Did you just call my mom hot?"

"Sota!" Both her and her mother scolded him at the same time.

Kent quickly clarified. "I was only referring to the fact that her beauty transferred to Kagome through her DNA, stating that she is in fact, her daughter by a genetic comparison."

"Umm." Sota just gave him another odd look. "Sure, whatever dude."

Her mother just smiled. "I'm guessing you must be the reason for Kagome's sudden transformation. Love can do that…"

Kagome flushed. "Mom~!"

She just laughed. "Don't be so uptight Kagome, I'm just having a bit of fun…" She looked over at Kent and smile. "I would like to get to know you a little better, Kent. Will you be staying for dinner?"

He nodded. "Of course." He reached down and easily took her bags for her. "I'll carry those for you."

"Why, you are so thoughtful." Her mother was smiling ear-to-ear. "And such a handsome young man! Kagome, I think you got a keeper here…"

Kagome shook her head and mumbled under her breath. She never missed her hair more than that moment, wanting to hide underneath of it.

.-.-.-

One year later…

Kent was gathering his things from his desk, placing it into his bag. The last class had just ended, and most of the students were still hanging around, talking amongst themselves, planning on what to do afterwards.

"Hey, Kent." The odd English pronunciation of his name caught his attention and he turned to look at who called him. "Want to come and have a drink with us?"

He held up his hand and shook his head, "Not today. I have to study." He politely declined. "Maybe next time?"

"Awww~" A few of the girls among the group wined.

"You are such a bookworm, Kent." One of the burly males sighed. "What kind of life will you have if your nose is stuck in a book all the time?"

"Hopefully a successful job with high-paying starting wage with full benefits and health coverage." He plainly stated as he adjusted his glasses.

Everyone just glanced at each other, before suddenly bursting out into laughter. "That's why you are so hilarious Kent! I love this guy!"

Well, that's something new. Most people hated him… Maybe England will be different after all?

Kent grunted when the man suddenly had him in a playful choke hold and gave him a noogie. He could do without that though-"But seriously Kent, you will never find a girlfriend if you just lock yourself up in your apartment and study all night."

"For your information"— He was released from the childish hold and adjusted his clothes and glasses. "I already have a girlfriend."

All their mouths fell open. "What!?"

"She lives in japan, so the long distance is a little hard, but message her the moment I get home."

"Ah, so that's why you are always in a hurry to get home."

He nodded his head. "I try to be prompt and text her the same time every day."

"You message her every day? That's true commitment there—Owww~! Hey, what was that for Sara?" The man looked over at the girl who jabbed him in the ribs.

"You should learn something from him, Jack." She glared at him.

Kent took that moment to speak up. "I don't mean to be rude, but I must take my leave. I have a lot of studying to do for the next test."

"Sure!" The girl waved him off. "You got to message your girlfriend after all!" She teased, and he felt his cheeks becoming flushed.

"Maybe we can hang out tomorrow?" Kent offered.

"Sounds good." They agreed, nodding.

He left them feeling rather good about himself. It seems he actually could make some friends here—Kagome would be proud.

When he got into his apartment the first thing he did was place his bag onto the couch and pull out his cell phone. He noticed that he was late, and he knew she was probably asleep by now, she usually was.

She wouldn't read it until she woke up. 'Good morning.' So he adjusted his text to better suit the moment. He smiled to himself when he pressed the send button—

There was a chime, and his head shot up at the sound. His heart did a flip as he turned, facing his bedroom. It was cracked open, and he wasted no time in running towards it. He opened the door so quickly, there was a gust of air from the force.

At first he thought he was dreaming. She was sleeping so peacefully upon his bed, curled up and innocent, he thought if he woke her, she would disappear.

One slow step at a time he approached her. When he was by the bed he reached out and stroked her cheek carefully. Feeling warmth beneath his touch, and not just air, his hear soared, unable to control the happy smile on his face.

"Kagome? Kagome, wake up." He softly ran his fingers through her short hair.

This earned a soft groan from the woman. "Five more minutes…"

He chuckled. "I guess I'll just wait to fix breakfast until you wake up then." Making breakfast this late in the evening would be odd, but considering the circumstances it wouldn't be too strange.

"Breakfast?" At the mention of food, she groggily opened her eyes. She turned over and when her eyes landed on him, her face became flushed. "Oh, no. Kent." She frowned a little.

"Well, don't look too disappointed."

She shook her head. "I didn't mean it like that—I was going to surprise you. I must have fell asleep waiting on you." She seemed rather sad by this as she sat up and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Trust me, you did surprise me." He smiled and sat down beside her on the bed. "What are you doing here?" He caressed her cheek softly, and she leaned into his touch.

"There's several big meetings Sesshomaru and I have to go to, and a few parties. A lot of powerful people are going to be there. I had to come, to represent the company, and I wanted to see you." She held his hand, and turned her head so that she kissed the inside of his palm. "I really wanted to surprise you—but I felt so tired." She frowned again—then she released a large yawn. "I'm still sleepy."

"Then you should rest for now, and try to adjust yourself to the new time change."

He felt a touch upon his chest— "I got a better idea." She purred. "I have you here now to keep me awake." The hungry look on her face along with the pleased smirk had him instantly blushing.

"You are distracting me from my studies." Slowly he leaned down closer to her, while running his hand through her hair.

"Good." With a smile she wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her head up at him, their lips almost touching.

"Nothing ever changes." He sighed against her lips. "This was your plan all along?"

"Maybe… are you mad?"

He could barely whisper out the word before his lips touched hers. "No."

It started off soft and sweet, almost tender, but the gentle kiss became hungrier with each movement. Her fingers were in his hair, and he titled her head back to get better leverage. He heard as well as felt the buttons on his jacket being opened.

Just the sounds of her panted breath was enough to get his heart racing. Wanting to hear more, he moved his mouth to her neck and began to tease the tender flesh. She inhaled sharply and leaned her head back, to give him better access—

The music song 'Dude looks like a lady' starts to play in the background, and Kent paused. "Is that your phone-?"

"Oh." She waved it away as if it was no big deal. "It's just Sesshomaru."

"So you are not going to answer it?"

She laughed. "Of course not. You have to study don't you?"

He gave her an odd look. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, you need some stimulation to help you study… right?" She gave him a hungry look as she hungrily touched his chest, spreading open his jacket.

"Yeah." He reached up and took off his glasses with a hum. "Sesshomaru can wait."

Fin~

.-..-.

Omg it's finally finished! And so is my book! AND IT'S PUBLISHED~ WhaaaaT! A real book and everything! I can't believe it either! I've been working really hard on it for a long time, which is why I suddenly vanished from Fanfiction for a while. After I finished I went straight to working on this and got it done for you guys.

It's about a world where there are three realms, each stuck in their own perpetual season (spring, winter, summer) and everyone has control of a single element. (Fire, water, rock, plants) But the world is changing, and there are now people who are born without magic, Voidians.

Arianna (Based off of Kagome from Inuyasha, of course) Is princess of the magicless, and she finds out she is betrothed to Prince Roland (Yoko Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho) A flirtatious man who tries to woo her from the moment he sets eyes on her, but she isn't having any of it. A tragic war breaks out with the neighboring kingdom, Shani (The fire kingdom from Avatar the last airbender) Her new husband is forced to go to battle to stop the approaching army from destroying her kingdom, and he places the only man he trusts to protect her, Conrad (Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan)

If that sounds interesting to you, then please check it out! Its already gotten 4 out of 5 star reviews on both Amazon and Goodreads! YAY~!

You can't copy and paste in the story chapters but you can in my author profile~ You can go there and it's the very first link at the top of my bio~

Or just google in ' To Betray My King ' or type it on your URL It should be the very first link.

If you guys enjoyed this story, enjoy my work, then please go to the link. Check out the sample, read it, see if you like it. It would help me out greatly if you guys supported me in anyway you can. It's available on Kindle Unlimited, so you can get it for free if you have the subscription, or if you don't have it, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial on amazon.

I have a full time job, but I love writing. I spent all my extra time on this story for you guys, my readers, and I'm sorry if I wasn't able to update anything because of it. I'm going to be working on the second book, and I'll do my best to try and update all my other works too in-between my full-time job and taking care of my mom.

You guys and FanFiction mean so much to me. I've been on this site since I was 13, and this community has been nothing but wonderful and supportive through all of it.

I'm just so happy…

It's because of you that I found my love of writing. Because of you that I was able to realize my dream. Because of you, I can now hold my book in my hand and proudly call myself an author.

Thank you so much.

And here comes the tears…