WOW!! Thanks again to all my precious reviewers! I'm glad you all are so into the story, and that you're okay with the OOC ness. WOOWWEEEE!!

Well, here's another chapter like I promised, now that I'm off work. Oh, and remember, Souta is about seventeen in this story, okay?

I named Kagome's mom and grandfather, I think I got them from the credits....Anywho, yes Carrie, I did use it against you!! HA HA HA! Now help me pick up the pieces of Soranji....

Here we go! Hope you like!

Ja ne!

~Sabichan~

**I POV**

"Kagome?"

She glanced up and I followed her gaze to see a young teenage boy with a baseball bat in his hand and an unhappy grimace on his face.

"Hey Souta, it's me."

"Who's that, is that-"

"This is Inuyasha. my friend from the bus stop. He walked me home."

Suddenly, the grimace faded and he smiled warmly.

"Oh! That was nice." He came down the stairs to us and he walked to me with his hand extended. I shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you Inuyasha. I'm Souta, her kid brother."

"Kid brother? You're almost taller than me!" I blurted out.

"Yeah, Kag is kinda a small fry." He winked playfully.

"He's not finished growing upstairs if you know what I mean." She said tapping the side of her head.

"Well good to meet ya too, Souta. What's with the bat?"

"It's dark out here. Never know who's around." A dark shadow passed over his eyes. Anger. I simply nodded. The look passed quickly and his smile returned.

"Well let me take her monster upstairs for ya. I know how heavy it can be." He said reaching for the backpack. I slipped it off and handed it to him. He stumbled with the unexpected weight.

"uh, heavier than I thought." he said sheepishly. He was tall, but not a complete heavyweight either.

He turned, shouldering the bag, then ran up the stairs two at a time.

"He's trying to show off." She whispered as we watched him leave.

"To who?"

"To you." I looked at her confused.

"Why me? He just met me."

"Yeah, but he knows who you are. He's been looking forward to meeting you."

"What the hell for?"

"He says that anyone who can put up with me in the morning deserves a damn medal of honor. Like I said, he's still a little slow." She winked.

Keh. I know what it's like to be the little brother. You're the older sibling from hell!"

"Did Sesshomaru make you breakfast in the morning? I don't think he did."

"You cook for him too?"

"Yeah, you jealous?"

"Maybe I am." I said with a straight face. That threw her off again. I took a step towards her. Softly I asked.

"So...can I?" She took a step back as a look of panic flashed in her eyes.

"Can you what?"

I don't know if I was imagining it, but I swear I saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes. I took another step towards her.

"Can I come in?" She let a small sigh of relief and then quickly flashed her classic bright smile.

"Of course! You up for some coffee? I am!"

I nodded as she began to walk up the stone steps. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and I briefly wondered if she could too. I had been so close to just making my move right then and there.

But something told me I could do better than that. Inwardly smirking, we reached the top of the stairs.

"My mom might not be home just yet, but I'm sure Grandpa is. You can meet him, but I have to warn you-he's a little-"

She was suddenly cut off as an old man ran by in front of us wearing a ratty old bathrobe and one slipper as he chased a cat with the other in it's mouth.

"Damned feline! I should throw you down the old well and seal it so you won't even be allowed to ascend after you finally die of starvation!"

"...strange." she finished. I stared and nodded. The old man momentarily engaged in a battle of tug-

o-war with the cat before he realized he had an audience. Slowly he turned and looked back at us.

Finally he straightened, letting go of his end of the slipper. The cat immediately ran off towards the back of the courtyard. He cleared his throat and stiffly walked over to us, observing me the whole time. In a voice much more powerful compared the one he had been yelling at the cat with, he boomed,

"And who might you be, young man, with my granddaughter at this time of night?"

"Inuyasha. Pleased to meet you." I extended my hand to him and he regarded it thoughtfully. Finally he reached out and gave it a good firm shake. Too firm, I noticed.

"I am her grandfather, Tokiro. Welcome to Higurashi shrine."

I glanced over at Kagome, who had dropped her head so that her bangs covered her face. But I could see the faint hints of blush at her cheeks.

"Kagome tells me you two meet at the bus stop in the mornings? May I ask why you are accompanying her in the evening?"

"I happened to run into her on my way home...didn't like the idea of her walking here by herself."

He nodded and I could see the corners of his mouth turn up. I guess my answer was as good as I was hoping it would be. I was trying my best to leave a good first impression on her family.

"Well now that we've all gotten so close, I think we'll go inside now, ok grandfather?"

"But the polite thing to do would be to show him the grounds first, don't you think?"

"Oh my god, I think Buyo just got into the artifact storeroom!" She exclaimed pointing directly behind him.

His face froze over in pure horror and he took off at top speed. Well as fast as an old man can run with one slipper on.

She grabbed my hand then and dragged me towards the sliding glass door of her house.

"Let's make a run for it!"

We ducked inside and I took a look around. The kitchen was dark and I could barely make out the table in the middle of the room. She flicked on the light and I saw that beyond that room was a den and a flight of stairs to the left.

"I swear I was about to die of embarrassment!"

"Why? He seemed fine to me?" I joked. She rolled her eyes as she walked over to the a cupboard.

"Sit down smart ass."

"Was that your cat?" I asked as I took a seat at the table.

"Yeah, that's Buyo. His purpose in life is to drive my grandfather even more insane that he already is."

"He's not all that bad."

"Hey you may not realize it now, but I just saved your ass from a very boring three hour tour."

"What were we gonna get shipwrecked or something?" She turned back to glare at me.

"You don't understand how excited that man can get about this place. My tours only last about an hour, and that's only when I'm in a good mood."

"What if you're in a bad mood?"

"Then I hand `em a map and let them find their own damn way to the gift shop."

I laughed. I got up and walked over to where she was standing. I leaned over her shoulder and watched.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Making sure you're not slipping poison in it."

"I'm not just making it for you, ya know." She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Ok, I really just wanna see how you make it so damn good." I confessed. Her face beamed with pride then.

"Oh! Well it all starts with measurement...."

She showed me the right amount of coffee to use, the right amount of water, and made me close my eyes when she added her secret ingredient. I tried peeking, but I couldn't make out what it was. Just some brown powdery stuff.

As we waited for it to percolate, we sat back down at the table across from each other.

"So this is where you grew up, huh?"

"Yep. Souta was born in the den over there. I kind of remember it."

"I take it he was a surprise?"

"No, Momma wanted to have him in the house. My father was convinced it was good luck to give birth in the family room of the home."

"He was a priest too? Like your grandfather."

"Yeah. I wish you could have met him. You two would get right along."

"Why do you say that?" Feeling some what complimented by that.

"You're both suckers for my coffee." She said grinning.

I heard an electronic beep and she immediately stood up. I watched as she poured the two cups and added just the right amount of sugar and cream. Just like she did every morning.

Something about that image clicked in my mind. Seeing her fixing the coffee while I waited patiently at the kitchen table. It was something...I wouldn't mind seeing in ten years.

She picked up both mugs and started to walk into the den. She motioned with her head for me to follow.

"Come on, I can show you embarrassing pictures of Souta in here."

Chuckling, I followed her. We settled on one of the couches and she dumped a thick photo album on the cushion between us. She kept her word and did indeed show me some pretty shameful pictures of the poor kid. I was right, she was the older sibling from hell.

"And this is me taking Souta to school the first time I was allowed to drive by myself."

The look on his face said only thing: Help!. Then I realized what she just said.

"Wait, I thought you didn't drive?"

"Oh I don't. But I used to."

"So why don't you drive now? Why do you take the bus everywhere?"

"I got my license suspended." She answered quickly, avoiding my gaze.

"For what?"

"Speeding."

"Just for speeding? How does that work?"

"Well...I guess I had a habit of it! A few too many tickets can mean a lot to the DMV, ya know." She was just a little too cheerful when she answered. She still hadn't looked at me, and she was fidgeting with her fingernails. She pretty much gave herself away.

"You know I can tell that there's more to the story. But I'm not gonna drag it out of you, ok?"

"Deal. Here, look at Souta when Grandpa drove him to school."

The kid looked pale as a ghost. I laughed and it seemed to break the slight tension my questions had caused.

I turned the page and my eyes widened with what I saw.

"When was this?"

"Huh? Oh, shit." She tried to shut the album when she saw what I was looking at.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, you don't need to look anymore." Her face was red again.

"Why not, it's a good picture. What are you embarrassed about?" I pulled it out of her grasp and looked again

The truth is, she should have been proud of it. It looked kind of like a prom picture. Her hair was swept up elegantly, accentuating her long neck and high cheekbones. Her makeup was done naturally, not overly dramatic and her eyes sparked with unequaled brilliance. The dress she wore was a pale blue, and the silky fabric hugged her curvy upper body, before tapering out at her waist.

I've never seen anything more beautiful in my life. I suddenly noticed a set of arms around her, but the rest of the picture seemed to be cut off.

"Why is your date cut out?"

She lifted her eyes to meet mine. She had been silent the entire time, and remained so. That look I had seen the one morning at the bus stop once again spread over her features. That alone answered my question.

"This is him?"

She nodded and once again looked down at her hands, playing with her nails.

I had certainly screwed this up. Or at least I thought so, until she started to talk.

"I know it seems like I really like to avoid talking about him. And you're right. It's just that...he really fucked a lot of things up for me. I used to be so different before I met him. I never cursed, never did anything wrong. I was trusting, and I was naive. But he taught me what the world is really capable of, that not everyone is who they seem to be. That may be the whole reason why I have so few friends even now. I just don't trust that easily-especially not men."

"But....what about me?" I asked nervously. I was almost afraid to hear her answer. The last thing I wanted to do is find out she didn't trust me. She cocked her head to the side in her classic way and gazed at me. That foggy look had lifted and she smiled slightly.

"No, You. You're...different. I feel safe around you and I know I can trust you."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you're just like me. You're just as vulnerable and hurt and scarred as me."

We just looked at each other for a minute or two.

Finally I reached over and took her hand. Her fingers curled around mine immediately. She gave my hand a good squeeze and then smiled.

"Would you like me to sing to you now?"

"Yeah. I would like that a lot."

She let go of my hand and sat up straight and tall. Just as she opened her mouth, the kitchen door slid open and a woman's voice called her name.

"Kagome? Can you help me with-" I turned to find a forty-something woman staring at us from the open doorway, juggling bags of groceries in her arms

"Oh...I didn't know you had company."

"Hi Momma. Here let me help you with those." She said popping up. "This is Inuyasha, Mom. My friend from the bus stop." She took the bags from her mother.

"Oh! Well hello there! I'm Kagome's mother obviously-you can call me Hitomi, though." She said as she walked over to me. I stood up and shook her hand when she offered it. They really didn't look too much alike-Hitomi's hair was cut short around her jaw line and her eyes were a much lighter brown. Yes, her and Souta definitely looked more like family than she and her daughter.

"It's nice to meet you, Hitomi."

"I'll get the rest from the car, Mom." Souta said as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at me as he made his way through the kitchen outside. I watched as he suddenly pushed Kagome as he passed her by. She cried out in surprise, which quickly turned to anger as he ran away laughing. She ran out after him, glancing back at me over her shoulder.

"She's got a temper on her, doesn't she?" Hitomi smiled as she too watched.

"Yeah, you can say that."

"She gets it from her grandfather." She replied wistfully as she walked to the kitchen table. She began the task of putting away groceries. Instinctively, I walked over and began to unpack the bags for her. I didn't notice I was doing it until she thanked me.

"Your mother certainly has taught you well." I stopped and blushed slightly. She just smiled and let out a small chuckle. They had the same laugh.

"Force of habit." I muttered.

"Well the help is still appreciated. So tell me, has she told you about her birthday plan yet?"

I looked up at her somewhat shocked.

"You know about it?"

"Kagome tells me everything. She doesn't like to hide things from me. We're very close."

"Oh. Well, yeah, she told me this morning."

"What some men will do for a good cup of coffee!" she teased.

"It's worth it. And I don't really mind. Now I don't have to think of anything myself."

"She likes knowing what to expect, so she tends to try to control the situation when she can."

"So she doesn't like surprises?"

"Only if they're good. But then again, who likes a bad surprise?" I nodded in agreement. We could hear Kagome and Souta arguing outside. She led me back into the den and we sat down. She noticed the photo album and her brows furrowed. I winced inwardly-she looked like my mother doing that.

"She was blackmailing Souta." I explained. She laughed, her expression turning more jovial. Still hearing their voices were far away, I decided to ask her mother a few things.

"Does she...have any other friends?" She lowered her gaze to the photo album again.

"No. Not since the girls left to study abroad. Kagome...she's had some tough times, and it's.. a little hard for her to make new friends. You must have noticed the sarcasm by now."

"Are you kidding? I don't think she ever stops!" She nodded smiling again, opening the page to the same picture I had been looking at.

"I will admit I may not be much help. After her first boyfriend, I haven't really been pushing her back into the whole relationship thing like I should. You see, he really broke something inside of her. I'm sure she's brought him up before...."

"Just once or twice. She said he was the devil..."

"She's not exaggerating. He damn near ruined my daughter's life. Even though that was almost two years ago, she's still recovering. She grew up quick after he got through with her." She sighed and closed the book, setting it back in it's place on the table. She picked up the mug Kagome had left sitting there. Taking a sip she closed her eyes and smiled.

"Heavenly...."

"Hitomi?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to...umm..."

"Inuyasha, I'm afraid I can't talk about what he did."

"Why?"

"You'll have to ask her about it. It's not really my place to tell you. But I know she likes you, and she'll talk about it when she's ready."

"I was just curious. She seems so...nervous about it."

"You'll understand when she tells you. But be patient. If you push her too hard, she'll just close up. That's just how she is. Give her some time and she'll let you in."

I nodded and drank the rest of my coffee.

Two very out of breath teenagers stumbled in at that moment, each carrying a bag "Mom! Kagome tried to throw an egg at me!"

"He threw Buyo at me!!"

"Souta! Don't throw that cat, he's old!" She stood and walked to her children, sighing. Suddenly, the old man made another appearance and a hush fell over the room.

The egg had apparently hit him square in the forehead, and yolk ran down his nose and chin. His face was so red with anger, I thought that egg was gonna start frying right there on his head.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be meditating. I may not be out for a day or two." He quickly disappeared into a room next to the stairs.

We all let out our breaths at once in a big whoosh of air.

"Souta, take Buyo upstairs and wash this egg out of his fur. Kagome, go ahead to your guest. I'll take care of the rest." Her solemn tone of voice was in stark contrast to the laughter in her eyes. I guess even she had to admit that was pretty damn funny.

Suddenly the clock chimed. Eight pm

"Actually I should really get going home. I need to be home by eight forty-five."

"Why?" Kagome asked as she walked over to the couch.

"Because that's when I usually get home. If I'm late, my mother..." I trailed off not really wanting to even think about how she'd worry, much less say it out loud.

"Oh. I understand then. Well, I'll walk you outside then." I followed her out the door, saying goodnight to her mother as I passed by. I didn't miss the pleading look in her eyes as she smiled.

Once outside, we fell into step beside each other. We walked slowly to the stairs in a comfortable silence.

"So what did she say to you?" She asked out of nowhere.

"What?"

"Mom. What did you two talk about while I was egging my grandfather?" We both shared a laugh.

"She asked if you had told me what you wanted for your birthday yet."

"Yeah, well I kinda tell her everything..."

"She said that too."

"Figures. So, what do you think of my family? Pretty insane, huh?"

"I understand now why you are the way you are." I joked.

"No you don't" She blurted out. She seemed to be biting her tongue the second it slipped out. I stayed silent for a moment. I felt frustration rise in me at that moment.

"Kagome. You said yourself that I'm all really all you have in the way of friends. And maybe you're a bit of practice on the whole concept, but you know, friends do talk to each other about problems. It's not gonna kill me to listen, and it's not gonna kill you to speak."

There she went with her fingernails again. That nervous tic. She sighed in defeat.

"Yeah. I know. I am out of practice. I wanna tell you, but now's just not a good time. Maybe some day, when you don't have to leave so soon. Deal?"

"Deal."

She looked up and smiled. I felt that urge again to just move in a little closer. To just press my lips against hers, to see how she'd react.

But I knew better. This was not the moment. She wasn't ready, just like her mother had told me. I wasn't going to compromise the trust she had so easily placed in me.

"Well, I need to run. All hell will break loose if I'm more than five minutes late. But, hey, I'll see you in the morning though."

"Yeah. I'll bring us something to eat-does that sound good?"

"That sounds fantastic."

"Goodnight, Inuyasha. Thank you for walking me home."

"No problem, it was fun. Goodnight, Kagome."

I turned to walk down the stairs to leave. She stayed at the top until I reached the street below.

Glancing back, I waved. She flipped me off with one hand and waved calmly with the other.

Chuckling to myself, I faced ahead and began my solitary walk home.

Tbc…

I should explain a little more of Kagome's feelings right now, since this is mostly Inu's POV. She feels very close to him, and really wants to tell him about the whole Kouga thing, that's why she keeps blurting things out. But on the other hand, she likes Inu, and is afraid knowing that she's basically being stalked will put him off, even end their friendship. She's kinda stuck in a hard place, but she put herself there. She's not trusting her instincts to tell him everything. This will cause problems later on.