Speed Dating For Dummies

"—but I really feel like it would do you some good," Mrs. Higurashi continued blithely. "Oh, Kagome. It's been so long since you've gone on a date. All you do is work, work, work. What kind of life is that? Ever since that man—"

"I thought we agreed never to talk about him!"

"—broke things off with you, you've completely cut yourself off from other people." Mrs. Higurashi leaned forward and cupped her scowling daughter's cheek. "Just try, sweetheart. Even if you don't meet the one, it might be the push you need to get out there again. I do so worry about you, Kagome."

The indignation she was struggling to hold onto disintegrated at her mother's concern. Kagome was many things, but a bad daughter wasn't one of them. She glanced down at the ticket, where the words Tokyo Speed Dating! Meet Your Match! were emblazoned on the front, and sighed.

"I guess I'm going speed dating," she muttered, slumping into the couch.

Her mother turned her face away to hide her victorious smile.

♦ ♦ ♦

"What to wear, what to wear," she muttered to herself, flicking through the clothes in her closet. On her bed lay a pile of discarded outfits nearly as tall as she was. Usually she wasn't so fussy about the clothes she wore, but usually she wasn't about to go on several dates in the span of two hours, either.

Why, oh why couldn't her mother have told her about the stupid event earlier. Bad enough she had to go at all, but now she only had a few hours to prepare for it. And yeah, maybe Kagome wasn't really expecting much out of it, but that didn't mean she wanted to look like a slob. Especially if there were good looking men there. More especially if there were beautiful women.

While pretty, Kagome wasn't exactly what anyone would call gorgeous. At least not without copious amounts of make-up, tastefully chosen clothing, and a flattering light source. So she had to try a little bit harder than the average female to look really, really good. Head-turning kind of good.

Sometimes she hated being a woman.

She found a mauve-colored blouse with capped sleeves in the back of her closet that she couldn't even remember buying. She pressed it to her front and studied it in the mirror, and after a moment of consideration, gave a decisive nod. Deciding whether to wear pants or a skirt was equally difficult, and it took her nearly twenty minutes to decide on a grey mini skirt, which she matched with dark, almond-toe pumps.

Kagome noticed the time and cursed; there went her hope of flattening her hair. Resigned, she pulled it up into an updo she hoped looked sexy instead of sloppy. As for make-up, all she had time for was a classic bambi look via eyeliner and plain lip balm. Mascara was out of the question—she had no time left to apply it neatly—and she figured blush would be redundant if she was going to be running there anyway.

She glanced at herself in the mirror once more before grabbing her purse and phone. She made a mental note to pick up some chewing gum at a convenience store on her way there.

♦ ♦ ♦

Not for the first time, Kagome wondered how her mother managed to talk her into this.

The whole thing was nerve wracking. The event was taking place in a large, elaborately decorated western-styled room in a thankfully nondescript building. At the center of the room was a double row of ten ovoid tables, each with two flimsy-looking chairs tucked into both ends. On top sat vases containing a single rose and a small, scented-candle. Silver streamers coiled around four tall columns and hung neatly between them.

The lighting was dim, to Kagome's relief, and off to the side a radio streamed slow jazz. She supposed it was romantic, if you were into that sort of thing. Which, admittedly, she had been at one point in her life. Not anymore, though. Over the years she'd learned to appreciate romance in a more…organic form.

She'd take a picnic beneath the stars over a candlelit dinner any day.

Something, unfortunately, most people didn't seem to agree with.

When her name was called, Kagome walked to the front of the room where a woman carrying a red box waited. Feeling dozens of eyes on her, she struggled not to let any of her anxiety show. When the administrator handed over a sticky nametag, she took it and offered a smile she hoped was convincing.

So, so nerve wracking.

Kagome pressed the sticker to her blouse, inched to the back of the group, and leaned against a column, opting to survey the others rather than mingle. Contrary to what she'd thought, the people gathered were pretty normal. There were a few who fell a little short of the average line, and a few who were noticeably above it, but for the most part the majority seemed to straddle the line.

The group was also a mixed bag as far as species went, though human seemed to make up the majority. Kagome was sure she'd spotted at least two or three youkai, though she couldn't pinpoint any of them now. Not surprising since the place was huge and there were a lot of people—forty of whom were participants, and a handful of others who must have been management.

But back to the whole youkai thing.

Kagome tipped her head back and closed her eyes, trying to block everything out. As her awareness contracted and the sounds of the others fell to the background, she thought about it. Dating a youkai wasn't something she'd put a lot of consideration into, in all honestly. Somehow, she'd never met any who she considered dating material—none who were unattached or interested in interspecies relationships, anyway.

Did she care if her partner wasn't human? She pursed her lips as she contemplated it.

No, she decided. I don't.

Human, youkai, hanyou, whatever. As long as they were decent to look at and more than just 'tolerable' to be around, she didn't see why not. Certainly a youkai male couldn't be any worse than some of the human males she'd been unfortunate enough to date.

And frankly, she couldn't imagine anyone being worse than her last ex.

Her reverie was interrupted when the administrator called out, "Can I get everyone's attention, please!" and the group congregated towards the a makeshift podium.

Reluctantly, Kagome opened her eyes.

And blinked, because there, across the room, a guy was staring at her.

Kagome's first thought was: gorgeous.

No, actually, it was why is he staring at me like that?and crap, do I have something on my face?

But gods, he's gorgeous was quick to follow. And he was—devastatingly so. His golden eyes seemed to glow in the muted light, inexplicably reminding her of stars. His face was pleasant to look at, but what stood out the most was the long, thick mane of silver hair fanning it, pulled back, from what she could see, by a band at his nape.

Her third thought was: dog ears! Because there, atop his head, were actual, honest-to-god dog ears. Kagome's fingers twitched with the urge to touch them. They were so cute.

They were also a glaring indicator that the guy was not human. Not that it stopped for from wanting to reach out and stroke them. Aghast at the shape her thoughts were taking, Kagome pushed off the column and was the first to look away. She then headed towards the bubbly administrator, who was saying,

"—remember, I will bang the gong every five minutes, in which case the men will move on to their next date. When you take your seats there will be a personal match folder," she lifted the one she held in her hand, "waiting for you. Please write your name at the top. As you see, there are two columns below it. In the first you write the name of your date, and in the second a simple yes or no. If any of your selections choose you as well, we will send them your email address to contact you with. Please keep your folder on your person at all times."

Another woman stepped forward and piped up, "We're sure you've noticed the stack of cards on the table. They're topic ideas, just in case you require some inspiration. Keep in mind that—"

Kagome tuned her out. She was starting to feel incredibly nervous and could only pray that she didn't start to sweat heavily or something equally gross.

Why did I let myself get talked into this? She wondered for the umpteenth time. Kagome hated dating. Hated it with the passion of a thousand erupting volcanoes. The small talk, the stilted conversation, the awkwardness, the anxiety, the constant worrying over whether or not you were being dull, or stupid, or weird, or if the other person found you attractive…it was awful.

And now she had to go through it twenty times.

From the corner of her eye she spotted a hint of silver and red, but then the gong sounded—and Kagome just knew she was going to get tired of that, fast—and suddenly she was scrambling to find a seat.

She chose one opposite to a guy who was considerably older than she was, though decidedly handsome. He smiled at her kindly, if not a bit tensely, and she mirrored it.

"Please begin!" the admin declared, casting an encouraging smile around the room. "Remember, five minutes! Good luck, everyone!"

Well, here goes nothing. Gathering courage, Kagome focused her attention on her…date.

"Hi," he started with a small bow. "I'm Ogino Takeshi. It's a pleasure to meet you…" he peered at her nametag and quirked his brow, "…Higurashi Kagome?"

"Uh, you, as well," Kagome returned with an incline of her head before jotting his name down in the first slot. "And yup, that's me. So. Hi. Which you already said. Um." She closed her eyes briefly and tried to gain her bearings.Pretend it's not a date, she told herself, watching as the man tried to hide his amusement at her fumbling. Pretend it's just…a meeting with a friend. A potential friend. Or something. Gah, why did I agree to this?

"So what is it that you do?" the man asked politely, shifting in his seat.

Kagome almost sighed in relief. That was a simple question, one she'd answered a million times before. She could do this. "It's actually pretty boring," she admitted with a sheepish shrug. "I'm a medical coder at Tokyo Metropolitan hospital."

At his blank look she explained, "I basically review medical records to assign specific codes for medical supplies and services. It's to ensure my medical provider gets properly reimbursed." His expression didn't change, so she elaborated further, "For example, say a child breaks their leg and they go to the hospital. Well, there's a code for the injury and the procedure used to set it and the necessary equipment. I determine the codes, which gets sent to a biller, which in turn gets sent to the appropriate health insurance company or the patient's family, whichever is applicable."

Understanding chased away the blank look in his eyes and he nodded. "Ah, I see. Is it very difficult?"

Kagome started to shake her head, then paused. "Not really. Challenging, yes, because there are literally thousands of overlapping codes that change on a yearly basis, but I enjoy it, even if I am stuck in an office all day. What about you, Ogino-san? What is it that you do?"

Apparently the man was a salesman whose work necessitated he travel everywhere. And while he loved traveling, he admitted it didn't exactly make it easy to find someone.

They shared no interests or hobbies, but did have similar tastes in food, and Kagome rather liked his stories about some of the people he'd met on his travels. She was almost sorry to see him go when the gong sounded. Almost.

"It was nice talking to you," Kagome told him with surprising honesty.

He smiled. "You as well, Higurashi-san. Take care."

And then he was gone, and Kagome took the twenty second reprieve they were given before the gong sounded again to jot down NO beside his name, close her eyes, and sigh.

One down, nineteen more to go.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #2 was a hardcore otaku the likes of which she'd never seen before. For the five minutes they were together she couldn't get a word in edgewise. Every word out of his mouth was "Anime this," and "Manga that," and "Live-action drama so-and-so."

Kagome might have been less irritated if the series he chattered on about were anything other than mahou shoujo anime she grew out of when she was ten. But nope. If Kagome had to hear one more word about how cute she'd look in this character's dress and how lovely she'd be if she dyed and styled her hair to imitate that character, she was going hit him over the head with the vase.

When the gong finally, finally, finally sounded, she very nearly clapped for joy.

It was a shame, really, since the guy had been kind of cute.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #3 was a pervert. End of story.

He spent their allotted time with his eyes glued to her chest, and Kagome was pretty damn sure he'd tried to feel her up beneath the table.

The gong couldn't have come fast enough, and when the guy, eyes still fixed on her breasts, asked if she was going to write yes next to his name, she smiled sweetly and assured him she would.

She took great relish in writing out NO.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #4 wasn't too bad.

They didn't have much in common, but he was nice enough, if timid. Not that Kagome blamed him—the whole event was like those awful class-presentations she had to suffer through in school. Only worse, because the moment it was over you couldn't even catch your breath before it was time to do it all over again in front of a different crowd.

So she patiently listened to him stutter out an anecdote that might have been amusing if he didn't take so long getting his point across.

She genuinely felt bad when their time came to an end and he granted her an adorably sweet smile before shuffling away, because she'd never intended to write YES.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #5 was youkai. A wolf one, by the look of it.

He had bronze skin and coppery hair and his eyes were a lovely shade of green, almost like moss. Kagome was slightly intimidated by his lethal-looking fangs whenever he grinned at her, which was often, but whatever reservations she had were gone by the time the second minute passed.

Saga was a hoot. Kagome was in actual, life-threatening stitches, and was so grateful that she hadn't put on mascara after all because it definitely would have been running by then. The youkai seemed utterly pleased with himself when the gong sounded and he sauntered away, his adorable tail swishing confidently behind him, and Kagome didn't blame him.

She ducked her head to hide her smile when he winked at her from the next table—and also because his new date was trying to set Kagome on fire with her eyes—and wasted no time in uncapping the pen and scribbling YES next to his name.

Maybe the entire thing wouldn't be a wash after all.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #6.

Less said about him the better.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #7, who was slightly older than her and worked at a car insurance company, was decent.

Or so she'd thought until she made the mistake of mentioning that she'd graduated from Tokyo University and he completely broke down. Kagome watched, horrified, as his shoulders started to shake and literal tears spilled over, splotching the tablecloth.

Through the sniffling and keening she somehow managed to glean that it had always been his dream to attend Tokyo University, but he'd been rejected. Twice. Apparently he'd been so ashamed of his failure that he'd considered going to Aokigahara (he didn't offer further elaboration, but Kagome wasn't stupid; it was called "Suicide Forest" for a reason) until his older brother talked him out of it.

Kagome spent the remaining three minutes and twenty-five seconds patting his hand and lying through her teeth about how overrated her alma mater was. It didn't feel right to disparage the school that had done so much for her, but school pride was hardly enough to justify the disregard of another human being's emotional wellbeing.

"Really?" Takanaki-san asked hopefully after she'd explained in excruciating detail how terrible two of her science professors had been. The best part was that she hadn't needed to lie.

Kagome nodded seriously. "Uh-huh. They were awful. The whole university called them Bastard-sensei and Bitch-sensei behind their backs. Everyone made official complaints about them, even other staff members. Once, we even managed to get over three-thousand signatures to show the Headmaster how—"

When the gong sounded and Takanaki-san moved on, Kagome was gratified that he did so with a small smile, even if his eyes were a little red.

She was exhausted, though. Only five minutes with him and she felt emotionally wrung out. She couldn't imagine how draining it would be to actually date the man. Which was why she wrote NO. She felt guilty—especially when she caught him sneaking shy glances at her from the other table—but neither guilt nor pity were good reasons to date anyone.

They both deserved better than that.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guys #8 and #9 were both mind-numbingly dull. Not to mention sexist. They both had the same droning voice, both seemed to only want to either lecture her or talk about themselves, and both seemed to think it was appropriate asking her personal questions, such as how many children she wanted to have and if she was considering having them soon and whether or not she'd think about quitting her job to take care of them, "As a respectable woman should."

Kagome wasn't surprised in the least to learn that they were cousins. It made her shudder to think about what the rest of their family was like.

She was perhaps a bit too forceful when she scribbled duplicate NOs.

♦ ♦ ♦

If Kagome could choose one word to describe Guy #10, it would be creepy.

She wasn't sure why, exactly. He certainly looked normal enough. He was polite, unlike that pervert who couldn't tear his eyes away from her chest or those cousins who monopolized the conversation and talked over her when she tried to wrangle it back. For all intents and purposes, Kawaguchi Ren was normal.

And yet Kagome couldn't get rid of the feeling that there was something not quite right about him. When he smiled at her, teeth perfectly straight and practically glowing, she felt a full body shudder. When he reached forward and brushed her knuckles with the tip of his fingers, gooseflesh broke out across her skin.

Kagome was quiet during their date, impatiently waiting for the sound of the gong. She just wanted this guy gone. When it finally came, she almost wilted from sheer relief. That is, until he leaned over the table to brush his lips against her ear and whisper, "You're lovely, you know. I do so hope you write yes next to my name."

His hot, stale breath against her face was awful, and it took every ounce of self-control she had to smile at him through her discomfort and not rub furiously at her ear.

Knowing that he'd be looking, Kagome jot down YES.However, the moment her date with Guy #11 was over—which she could hardly remember because she still felt so unnerved—she crossed it out and wrote in large, clear characters, NO.

She even underlined it to get her point across.

♦ ♦ ♦

The administrators announced a fifteen minute recess and Kagome was quick to make her exit. The first breath of fresh air was such a welcome relief that her knees nearly buckled. All her her pent-up anxiety and frustration and worry seemed to catch on the wind where it was mercifully carried away. After taking a moment to just breathe again, which was easier without the overbearing presence of the others, she shook herself out and hurried across the street before the light turned blue.

Her mother would be disappointed to know that rather than inspire in her a desire to date, the whole event was doing the exact opposite. Kagome didn't want to go on another date for the rest of her life. If that meant dying alone, so be it.

I must've gotten my penchant for melodrama from grandpa, she thought wryly, ducking into a convenience store.

When Kagome stepped out a few minutes later, bottle of water in one hand and two colorful sticks of dango in the other, she looked across the street and froze, nearly colliding with a passerby in the process. She hastily bowed an apology, and sighed in relief when the woman dismissed it with a wave. She was more careful of her surroundings as she made it to edge of the block, but then curiosity won out and she glanced up.

The guy from before was looking straight at her. His eyes weren't nearly so bright beneath the sunlight. His hair was another story. As she waited for the streetlight to change she marveled at the way it glittered, sunlight playing off the silver strands. Once again her eyes were drawn to the twin dog ears poking out from his head. Something he must have noticed, because they twitched.

She felt her face burn and hastily averted her gaze. He'd definitely caught her staring at his ears. Whoops.

The light changed and Kagome crossed the street. For the most part her attention was on the road, but more often than she'd like to admit she sought out the gaze of the dog-eared guy, who seemed perfectly content to stare at her.

Why is he looking at me? she wondered apprehensively. It would have been easier to guess if she could at least figure out what his indecipherable look meant. Kagome was at a complete loss as she stepped onto the curb and made her way towards the building, slowly closing the distance between them.

A glance at her watch revealed that she still had ten minutes to her break, and as little as she wanted to be stared at by this guy, she wanted to be in that room with all those people (especially the guy she'd taken to calling Mr. Creepy) even less. So Kagome chose to ignore him, reclaimed her spot on the wall, and focused on her food.

By the time she'd devoured half of her water and one of her dango sticks, irritation was setting in. She could practically feel the guy's gaze on the side of her face. Who even did that? Did he not understand the concept of common courtesy? Or at the very least subtlety?

Halfway into her second dango stick her frustration reached its boiling point. This is ridiculous, she thought before craning her head to snap, "Could you stop staring at me?"

The guy visibly startled. For a moment it seemed as if he might not have realized what he'd been doing, but Kagome dismissed the idea immediately. More like he didn't expect to get confronted about it.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" the guy demanded with a glare.

With a glare! As if he had any right to be angry withher!

"I'm talking," Kagome gritted out, "about how you've been creepily staring at me for the last five minutes now. And I'm asking you to stop, because again, it's creepy."

"You're crazy," he accused. "And clearly blind. I wasn't staring at you, obviously—"

Kagome did not like what he was insinuating there.

"You know, you'd think with those ears you'd be able to listen to people better—"

"Hey! You got a problem with my ears?" the youkai demanded, bristling. Atop his head his ears went flat.

Kagome snapped, "No, I think they're wonderful—," she had a feeling she was going to regret her brutal honesty later, especially after the guy's eyes widened into pommels and he gaped at her, "—however, I do have a problem with you staring at me like a creeper and then denying it!"

The guy didn't seem to know how to respond to that. After a moment of spluttering, he visibly drew himself up, scoffed, "Keh, whatever," and pushed off the wall.

Kagome glared at his back as he stalked towards the entrance, stepping through the doors just as they were pushed open from the inside. She heard a familiar voice growl, "Hanyou," followed by an equally disgruntled, "Fuck off, wolf," before the tips of the man's silver hair disappeared and Saga's face poked out and swiveled in her direction.

"Kagome-san!" he said, green eyes crinkling at the corners. "There you are."

She blinked at the youkai, feeling thrown by the sudden turn the situation had taken and the rapid shift in her own emotions. The indignation that had been boiling inside her was simmering down now that its cause was nowhere in sight, but the suddenness left her feeling off-kilter. That Saga was someone she didn't mind seeing made it worse.

"Uh, Saga-san. Hi. Did you...need me for something?"

The man stepped out onto the street and planted his hands on his hips, looking every inch the cocky youkai portrayed in interspecies rom-coms. He was good looking enough to pull it off, certainly.

"Always," he said flirtatiously, smirk widening when Kagome flushed at the innuendo, "though right now I just wanted to let you know that the second round's about to start."

Eyes widening, Kagome looked at her watch. And promptly slumped because he was right. Two minutes of the break remained. It had gone by way too quickly if you asked her. Stubbornly, she blamed that rude, egotistical, too-gorgeous-for-his-own-good youkai—hanyou?—for it.

Her reaction seemed to please Saga, who winked and held the door open for her. "I understand," he said solemnly. "I've ruined you for anyone else. Now you can't help but compare the other males to me, and no doubt they keep falling short. 'Tis the curse of perfection, I'm afraid, though I bear it with humbleness."

Kagome stifled a snort, more amused by his arrogance than she normally would be. Saga wore conceit as if it were an expensive Armani suit. You had to admire it regardless how pretentious or ridiculous it actually was. Or, maybe because of it.

"Don't worry," he continued, trailing behind her and leaning in close. So much so that she could feel his breath on her ear and shivered from it. "You've done much the same."

And then he was off, disappearing into the throng of hopefuls before Kagome could utter a word in reply. Which, she thought, was probably a good thing. How was she supposed to respond to that?

Without her permission her lips quirked into a small smile. While embarrassing, it was also really flattering, especially since there were women here who were so much prettier than she was.

As she busied herself with finding her seat and avoiding Mr. Creepy, she never noticed the golden-eyed glare directed at her back.

♦ ♦ ♦

To Kagome's relief, Guy #13 was normal, if a bit excitable. His enthusiasm was contagious, however, and she couldn't help but echo it, which seemed to please him greatly.

"I've always been this way," Takamura Seiji admitted with an easy grin. "Drove my exes crazy—all three of them. They thought I should tone it down some, that it wasn't natural being so cheerful all the time."

Kagome quirked a disbelieving brow and countered, "Better cheerful than gloomy."

"Heh, that's what I told my last girlfriend."

"And what did she say?"

"That she'd thought so too but I was starting to make her think otherwise."

Kagome muffled a laugh behind her hand and immediately felt bad. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just—"

"Funny," Takamura continued for her with a chuckle. "Don't worry about it. Enough time has passed that I think so, too."

When the date was over, Kagome tentatively wrote YES next to his name.

♦ ♦ ♦

Guy #14 was, in a word, gross.

"Did you know that you probably have teeny-tiny, microscopic mites living in your eyelashes? Most people do. They live in the hair follicles and pores on your face, but tend to favor eyelashes. Get this, they actually feed on your oil and dead skin cells. Isn't that awesome?"

Awesome wasn't the world Kagome would have chosen, no.

"Mm-hmm," she sighed as Makunouchi Ken started relaying another gross fact he'd learned, eyes sparkling and hands gesticulating in enthusiasm.

"And hey, do you like jelly beans?"

Against her better judgment, Kagome said yes.

"That's unfortunate because jelly beans are covered in shellac, which is made from bug excretions—"

"That's nice."

"—but don't worry too much because humans eat bugs all the time! The average person eats approximately eight spiders a year! And you don't want to know how many insects and fruit fly eggs are found in a small box of raisins, haha!"

"Interesting."

"But that's not all we eat! Did you know that 15% percent of the air you breathe in the train station contains human skin?"

"Wow."

"And speaking of skin, did you know that infant foreskin is typically turned into skin graphs for burn victims? And since we're on the topic of foreskin, did you know that dragonflies have shovel-shaped penises so they can scoop out their rival's sperm? And that male honey bees commit sexual suicide? No, really! They ejaculate so explosively that the tips of their penises rapture and gets left inside the queen's reproductive tract. The male bee—also called a drone, just so you know—then falls to his death. Isn't that cool?"

"Uh-huh."

Needless to say, Kagome didn't waste a second in scribbling NO when her date, who proudly proclaimed himself to be a grossologist, moved on.

She found herself glancing at the woman to her right—the one who'd survived Makunouchi's endless litany of gross facts before her— and wasn't surprised in the least to find her looking back, expression one of commiseration.

Kagome shrugged helplessly and the woman nodded as if to say, I know.

♦ ♦ ♦

There was nothing particularly interesting about Guy #15.

Guy #16 had so many pimples with white tips he was physically painful to look at.

And then guy #17 slid into the seat opposite hers and Kagome stared.

"Oh, it's you," the guy said as if he honestly hadn't realized she'd been next, which Kagome didn't believe for a second.

"I think that's my line," she groused, feeling her mood darken.

"Keh, whatever," the guy (whose nametag readInuyasha, and what kind of name was that?) said, then looked away.

They spent the first minute pretending the other didn't exist. At least until the taut band that was Kagome's temper snapped and she exploded with, "Do you have to be such a jerk?"

Inuyasha's ridiculously striking eyes widened in shock before they narrowed in irritation. Lips curling, he ground out, "What the hell are you talking 'bout, wench? I'm not doing anything!"

Kagome's grip on her pen tightened so hard it threatened to snap. "Okay, first off all, the name is Higurashi Kagome. Not wench, not woman, not you. Ka-go-me. And secondly, that's exactly my point! You're just…just sitting there! Ignoring me!As if I'm the one who wronged you in some way rather than the other way around!"

"Listen, lady—"

"Kagome!"

"Whatever your name is. Look, I didn't want to be here in the first place—"

Kagome snorted, entirely unladylike. "And what, you think I did?"

Her retort stopped Inuyasha short. "You didn't—?" His mouth snapped shut and he shook his head. "No, you know what? I don't care. Point is, I don't want to be here and I sure as hell ain't gonna force myself to be nice to someone so crabby—"

Her jaw dropped. It was an exercise in self-restraint not to lob her pen at his head. "Crabby? Oh, that's rich coming from you, you pigheaded creep—"

"How many times do I have to tell you! I was not staring at you! You're probably just making it up to feel better about yourself—"

And that was it. Without thinking, Kagome chucked the pen at him. It hit him smack in the center of his forehead, then dropped to the table with a deafening clatter. A second, then two, and it rolled off the edge and fell to the floor.

They stared at each other. Inuyasha was the first to react. "Did you just."

Kagome refused to feel guilty. "You deserved it! If you weren't such an arrogant jerk—"

"If you weren't such an uptight bitch—"

"Who the heck do you think you—"

"Uh, excuse me…?"

"What?" they snapped in unison at the man who was nervously hovering above them. At their combined hostility he squeaked and raised his folder to hide behind.

"S-sorry to interrupt, but, um, the gong went off and it's, um, my turn to be here…?"

"Just move on to the next table!" Inuyasha snarled, causing the man to flinch before he hurriedly complied.

Kagome watched his retreating form for a beat, then turned towards Inuyasha with spiking ire. "Unbelievable! You're such a jerk. What did that guy ever do to you, huh?"

"Oh, like you're one to talk!" he scoffed, folding his arms.

Kagome absolutely did not take notice of the way his arm muscles bulged.

"Which is your fault! If you weren't being so infuriating—"

"Yeah, that's totally all on me, don't take responsibility for your actions or anything—"

"Would you just shut up!"

"I thought you didn't want me to shut up! Isn't this how the whole thing started? Because you felt butt-hurt that I was ignoring you? Make up your mind, woman—"

"It's Kagome! And don't even try to pin this on me! You're as much to blame!"

"Yeah, no, I don't think so!"

"God, you're such a child!"

"And you're such a moron!"

"Don't call me a moron!"

"Then don't call me a child!"

"Child," Kagome spat.

"Moron," Inuyasha snarled back.

The two of them were leaning across the table, foreheads nearly touching. Kagome's breaths were coming in rapid pants and she felt exhausted from the effort of having to keep her voice at a volume that wouldn't draw attention while still conveying her fury. Inuyasha wasn't faring much better, his sharp exhales stirring the curls that had come undone and adding unneeded heat to her too-warm skin.

So close, Kagome could see that his eyes didn't just look gold, but actually were, flecked with colors she'd only seen in photos of starbursts and nebulas. They were fanned by dark eyelashes to match his arched brows, which didn't make sense because his hair was silver—not that off-white hair-dye found on convenience store shelves, but actual silver, like moonshine spun into silk.

Absently, Kagome took notice of his scent—something spicy and sharp. Musky, with only the faintest hint of sweat. Inuyasha smelled like the earth, like soil and herbs and spices, and she found herself unconsciously leaning in even as memories of a childhood spent knee-deep in her grandmother's garden flashed through her mind.

He smells amazing, Kagome thought, inhaling instinctively.

And then Inuyasha let loose a sharp intake of breath, and the moment was shattered.

Kagome reeled back, mind whirring at the inexplicable shape her thoughts had taken. Eyes wide, she took in Inuyasha's stunned expression—his blown pupils, his parted mouth, his furrowed brows—and felt fire surge up her neck and set her face aflame. Kagome hoped, no, she prayed that the dim lighting would hide the evidence of her mortification as she ducked her head.

Did I just smell him?

Oh god. She had.

Fingernails carved crescents into her arms as the veil was lifted and she became of aware of the last few minutes with excruciating detail. A moment later found her slumping into her chair and hiding her face behind the crook of her arms, the words oh my god, oh my god echoing like a scream in her head.

Her head thumped against the table and she bit her lip to rein in a groan. How mortifying. The funny—in an agonizing, 'ha-ha I want to kill myself' sort of way—thing was that she wasn't sure which was worse: the fact that she'd actually sniffed someone, or that the one she'd sniffed was the same person she'd been arguing with.

Arguing. Such a mature word, and probably not one she should use to describe the juvenile squabbling she'd taken part in.

And she'd thrown a pen. At another person. And then told him he deserved it.

And to think I actually thought I was mature, she thought morosely, banging her forehead again, because the alternative was hitting herself over the head with the vase in hopes of knocking herself out. Now, Kagome wasn't normally prone to masochism, but then, she wasn't normally bickering with and throwing pens at people, either.

Or smelling them, she added with a touch of hysteria.

This wasn't her. Bickering with strangers, throwing things at them, swearing…as passionate a person as Kagome was, she didn't do these things. Usually she had so much more control over her temper than this. Heck, one of her professors had once asked her if she was mentally slow in front of the entire class and she'd still managed to restrain her impulse to throw a chair (or at least a few cutting insults) at the unpleasant man and speak to him as she would any other authority figure.

And yet one thinly veiled insult from the guy sitting across from her and suddenly she's throwing sharp projectiles and saying things that would give her grandpa a heart attack if he were to hear.

It didn't make sense that someone she'd known for less than an hour could get under her skin when even her biology professor had failed to scratch its surface, and he'd had four months to try.

Kagome wondered what it was about Inuyasha that made her so…volatile. Reckless. Out of control. If felt as if every spiteful remark from him, every sneering glance, was like a match being stricken inside her and she was burning up before she could even think to call on the self-possession she'd once prided herself on.

Never, ever had she met anyone who affected her in such a way, and that made her dislike him all the more.

Seconds ticked by where Kagome refused to withdraw from the barrier of her arms. At least that was the idea until Inuyasha coughed—out of discomfort or to draw her attention, she wasn't sure—and like a bird being lured by wind chimes, she reluctantly peaked up at him.

Definitely not the latter, she decided, seeing that he was looking anywhere but at her and his face was nearly as red as his sweater.

Sighing, Kagome told herself to act like the adult she was (even if she didn't particularly feel like one) and sat up. She had no idea how much time was left of this session—she usually counted up from the moment the gong sounded. Either way, whether it was thirty seconds or four minutes, it wasn't nearly short enough.

Be the adult, she reminded herself. Apologize. Even if he is a jerk, that doesn't excuse you from your own behavior.

Even so, Kagome was reluctant to breach the silence, as uncomfortable as it was, and regain his attention. Also, a tiny part of her blanched at the idea of having to apologize first when she definitely hadn't been the one to start the whole thing.

You threw a pen at the guy's head! That annoying voice in the back of her head insisted.

Which, unfortunately, was a really good point.

Kagome cleared her throat, drawing the guy's attention. "Look," she started, and tucked a loose curl behind her ear in an effort to delay the inevitable.

(She did not want to know what her hair looked like at the moment.)

"I should apologize. I mean, I am apologizing. For the way I acted. It wasn't…proper. Or nice. So. Sorry."

Inuyasha said nothing.

For a moment she thought he was just going to ignore her and could actually feel her temper rising with every second of silence that passed. However, the guy eventually released an explosive sigh and glanced at her, one hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck.

"Keh. Apology accepted."

She stared purposefully at him.

A huff. "And me too, I guess."

Good enough. Kagome rolled her eyes but smartly kept her mouth shut. She had a feeling that one more barb between the two of them would set them off again and that was the last thing she wanted. She felt foolish enough.

"So," she said with more confidence, determined to do something other than awkwardly sit in wait for the gong to go off. "What are you, exactly? I mean, I can sort of guess," she first glanced pointedly at his ears and then at his nametag, "but I figure I probably shouldn't assume."

"You probably assumed right," the guy muttered under his breath. A pause, and then he sighed and relented. "Inu-hanyou."

"Oh," was all Kagome could think of to say. "Um. Cool?"

Inuyasha snorted, but it seemed more out of amusement than derision so she let it slide.

The silence stretched between them, unpleasant and thick, before Inuyasha broke it with a tentative, "You said something. Before. About, uh, not wanting to be here."

Kagome jerked, not expecting his effort at conversation. It was a poor one at best—more a statement than a question, really—but she answered anyway. Anything was better than just sitting there with an oppressive silence hovering over their heads.

"Uh, yeah. My mom thought it was a good idea so she signed me up. Told me about it today, actually," she added, not quite able to hide her annoyance. She thought Inuyasha's lips might've quirked up the tiniest bit, which eased her discomfort at letting slip more than she intended.

"Why?"

At Kagome's confused look he elaborated, "Why did you come if you didn't want to?"

"Why else?" she rolled her eyes, shifting to get more comfortable. It didn't quite work; the chair was hard, clearly built for aesthetic appeal instead of comfort. "She guilt-tripped me. Y'know, with the whole 'I'm so worried about you, dear' thing. I folded before I could even think about protesting."

"You could have said you'd gone and lied," he pointed out.

"To my mom?" Kagome said, scandalized by the mere suggestion. "First of all, I wouldn't dare. She has a sixth sense about these things…though that might just be because I'm just a terrible liar." That time Kagome was certain he almost smiled. "And secondly…well, she's my mom."

She didn't elaborate further, but the look in his eyes gave her the feeling he understood.

"So what about you?" she asked before the silence could stretch any further.

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you here?" she clarified. "Since you made it pretty clear earlier that you didn't want to be."

At once Inuyasha's face soured.

Unease filled Kagome, who worried that he was going to shut down again and things would return to being awkward—well, more awkward. She relaxed a smidgeon when the hanyou scrubbed his face with a claw and said, "It was my friends, actually. They, well, they blackmailed me."

Kagome spread her hands against the table. "B-blackmailed?"

With a soft noise of derision, Inuyasha said, "Only way they knew I'd come. Guilt sure as hell wouldn't have worked so they did the next best thing."

"Which was…?"

Claws rapped sharply against the table. Agitation was coming off the hanyou in waves. "They hid my sword."

"Your sword?"

"That's what I said, didn't I?"

"Don't be an ass," Kagome shot back without thinking, and then blanched.

Inuyasha didn't look particularly bothered by the insult, though he did raise his eyebrow at her. While it was nice that he wasn't going to fly off the handle, it didn't exactly make her feel more at ease. The way Kagome responded to Inuyasha was unreal. She never snapped at people like this, and could count the number of times she cursed in the past year on one hand (the span of time since meeting Inuyasha didn't count). She had always been a pretty passionate person, but the manners her family had instilled in her were usually enough to offset it…at least enough so that it didn't get her into trouble or put her in uncomfortable situations.

And yet here she was, instinctively calling people the 'a' word like she did it all the time.

It was inconceivable that a stranger elicited such an intense response from her, which begged the question of: Why him? What made Inuyasha so different from everyone else?

It didn't make sense.

As Kagome looked into his eyes she thought for the umpteenth time: What is it about you?

Realizing she'd been silent for too long (not to mention was staring) she shook her head as if to clear it and tried to remember where they'd left off.

"A sword? I know youkai—and, uh, hanyou—usually carry them around and I always wondered why. I guess they're important. But why? I mean, it's not like you guys use it all that often…right?" she asked worriedly when he didn't answer.

Inuyasha looked like he was trying not to smirk. "We do, actually, though not in the way you'd think. Usually we just spar. Not in the city, obviously, but in remote places where there ain't many humans. Mountains, forests, the desert, that sort of thing."

"Oh." She didn't know what else to say to that—or rather, what to say that wouldn't be impolite—so she changed the subject. "But if your friends knew it was important to you, why did they take it?" It didn't seem like something friends should do.

"Keh. Same reason your mom manipulated you into coming here, I guess," he said with a shrug that belied his irritation. "They were worried, were looking out for my best interests, thought I needed to get out more, blah blah blah."

Kagome grinned at the impersonation of what must have been one of his friends. "Well, joke's on them, huh? I don't know about you, but after tonight I don't think I want to go on another date ever again."

His ears perked up and he nodded. "Hell no. Some of these females are…"

"Crazy?" she continued when he looked at her unsurely. "I'm sure some of the guys I've met tonight are worse."

Inuyasha looked at her flatly. Even his ears went flat. "Somehow I doubt that." He paused and seemed to mull something over before continuing, "One of them wouldn't stop talking about her cats. Apparently she thought I was a neko-youkai and wouldn't be persuaded otherwise."

A peal of laughter escaped her before she could contain it. She coughed into her fist and pretended it didn't happen. "Well, one of the guys wouldn't talk about anything other than anime. From beginning to end, that's it. Y'know, except for when he told me how much more attractive I'd be if I cosplayed as one of his favorite characters."

It was Inuyasha's turn to bark a laugh, though he did nothing to hide it.

Unable to explain the swell of pleasure she felt at his reaction, Kagome chose to ignore it.

"One female kept referrin' to herself in third person and spent the whole five minutes staring in a mirror."

"One guy kept asking me how many babies I wanted to have, and how soon I wanted to have them, and what measures I should take when I eventually did have them."

A challenging glint lit Inuyasha's eyes that Kagome found herself returning. Inuyasha's dates couldn't have possibly been worse than her own. She would definitely win this.

"One female kept trying to convert me to some religion I'm pretty sure was actually a cult."

"One guy couldn't stop looking at my chest, even when I called him on it. Also, I'm pretty sure he tried to fondle me under the table."

Inuyasha looked caught between disgust and amusement. Also, Kagome so did not miss the way his eyes quickly darted to her chest. Magnanimously, she chose not to comment on it.

"Well, one female kept trying to reach over the table to grab my ears," he shot back.

"I don't blame her," Kagome retorted unthinkingly. "They're adorable. And please, please forget I just said that."

"Uh, right," Inuyasha coughed, clearly embarrassed. And maybe she was reading too far into things because she thought he looked almost pleased. "It's your turn, I think."

She took a moment to mentally evaluate her dates for the worst. "Ah-ha! Well, one guy spent the entire session telling me the grossest facts he could come up with."

Inuyasha opened his mouth, then closed it. "…Like what?"

"Like how male bees ejaculate so explosively their penises get torn apart and they die shortly afterward." Kagome had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling when the hanyou's face contorted in disgust and he reeled back as if her words literally pained him to hear.

"That's sick," he said.

"And not even the worst of what he told me." Kagome shook her head, holding back her own shudder. She wasn't usually a squeamish person—college-level science had seen to that—but even she had to draw a line somewhere. Skin-eating, pore-dwelling mites was apparently that line.

"Sick," Inuyasha repeated. Then, "I think one of the females was into some hardcore BDSM-type stuff. Or at least I hope she was 'cause she kept mentioning things like blindfolds and rope."

For some reason that made Kagome think of Mister Creepy, and an instinctive shudder swept through her. At Inuyasha's raised brow she quickly looked around to make sure the man in question wasn't within earshot, then leaned forward and said lowly, "One of my dates was...creepy."

The hanyou narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. "Did he do something?" he asked loudly.

"Shh!" Kagome frantically shushed him. "And no, he didn't do anything. He just…" she trailed off, rubbing her arms as she remembered the shadows in his hooded eyes, the sharp, knife-point edge of his smile, and the slick undertone of his words. "Just…he freaked me out. Big time. He was polite and everything, but…I can't explain it. He felt off, somehow. Wrong."

"Then he probably is," Inuyasha said without hesitation. When she furrowed her brows in confusion he rolled his eyes. "Keh. You humans, always ignoring your instincts. Look, Kagome—"

(And just like that, the chill that had started mounting inside her was gone, diffused by a sudden warmth. He'd done that, just by saying her name.

Kagome wished her reactions would start making sense again because at the rate they were fluctuating she'd likely go insane by the end of the night.)

"—that unexplainable feeling you sometimes get in your gut? That's a helluva lot smarter than anything you've got up here," in emphasis, he tapped his head, "or here," he gestured at his eyes. "Eyes can be tricked, and people tend to rationalize and dismiss things that don't make sense. Which is freakin' stupid. Any hanyou or youkai will tell you to listen to your instincts above everything else. We have them for a reason, so don't ever, ever ignore it when it's screaming at you to pay attention."

Inuyasha huffed, fluttering his bangs, and pointed a sharp finger at her. "If your gut is telling you the guy's bad news, then he's bad news. Simple as that." He paused and added, "Now tell me who he is."

Unbidden, a smile crept slowly up Kagome's face and the warm, tingling feeling from earlier grew. She ducked her head to hide just how affected she was by his concern, and said in a tone she hoped was teasing, "Why? Are you offering to be my knight in shining armor?"

Before Inuyasha could retort the gong sounded, startling Kagome so badly she nearly knocked over the flower vase. Only Inuyasha's quick reflexes saved it from spilling over, though not without brushing his fingers against hers in the process.

The shock of electricity that flared at their point of contact had Kagome jerking her hand back instinctively.What was that? She curled her fingers into her palm and watched as Inuyasha flexed his.

"Huh," he said, raising his eyes from his claw to stare intently at her. "I knew you were prickly, but I never realized just how much."

And with a metaphorical snap of a finger, a familiar heat of outrage surged through her, causing Kagome to bristle with indignation. "Don't start, Inuyasha," she warned.

He was all faux-innocence as he drawled, "I wouldn't dream of it, Kagome."

Absurdly, her name rolling off his tongue made her flush. However, Kagome didn't get a chance to scrutinize her bizarre reaction before she was interrupted by a nasally voice saying,

"Excuse me, but you need to move."

At once they both looked up to see a man looming over their table. Kagome studied the stern arch of his brows and the impatient dip of his mouth, then lower, to the pristinely pressed suit and polished loafers, and promptly concluded that she didn't want to go on a date with him.

Unfortunately she didn't exactly have a choice. Rules were rules, and they'd already flouted them once already.

She was prepared to (reluctantly) bid goodbye to Inuyasha—and wasn't that a bizarre turn of events?—when the hanyou spoke up.

"This table's occupied. Move to the next one."

Kagome gaped at him.

The man drew himself up and cast a glare at the hanyou that made Kagome—perhaps irrationally—relieved that people couldn't actually shoot fire from their eyes. "It doesn't work that way, pal. The rules clearly state—"

Inuyasha never gave him the chance to finish. His lips pulled back to reveal teeth that could puncture solid titanium, and his golden eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

(Kagome did not acknowledge the heat pooling in her lower belly past a sharp smack and an inward hiss for it to behave.)

"I said," snarled Inuyasha, "to move to the next one."

The man wavered for a moment, then scoffed and left with an indifference that wasn't fooling anyone.

"Your problem, lady," he called over his shoulder, before taking his seat at the next table.

"That," Kagome said, trying and failing to sound stern, "was not nice."

"Keh. He asked for it, being all arrogant."

"And you're not?" she asked pointedly.

Instead of getting cross, Inuyasha scoffed and waved a dismissive hand. Kagome's eyes trailed it, fascinated by the way the sharp point of his claws reflected the ceiling lights. They looked positively lethal.

"How sharp are those?" she found herself asking. Belatedly, she wondered if that was rude.

"What, these?" Inuyasha asked, flexing his fingers. "Why d'you want to know?"

"Just curious, I guess. Hey…would you mind if I see?" She colored a little when his eyebrows drew up, but nevertheless held her ground. Her tenacity was rewarded when, after a moment, Inuyasha shrugged and thrust his hand towards her.

"Sure, I guess. Weirdo."

"Takes one to know one," she countered before bending her head to peer at the claw on the table. They really did look sharp, and she wasn't sure how he did anything without cutting everything to ribbons. At the base they appeared like regular human nails, though they extended into something far sharper than a human could hope to manage. They were clean, she noted distractedly, and without thinking slid her finger across one smooth surface, but just before she got to the point the claw withdrew.

"Are you crazy?" Inuyasha demanded, one eye twitching. Above it, a vein pulsed. "Were you trying to skewer yourself? Gods, I bet you're one of those people who test the sharpness of knives on themselves!"

"No, I'm not!" Kagome said hotly. "I wasn't going to actually touch the tip—"

"Yes, you were!" he crowed. "Crazy girl!"

"Well you're a—a jerk," she snapped, irritated with herself as much as she was with him.

"Please," he scoffed. "I've been called worse."

She crossed her arms. "Why am I not surprised?"

He mimicked her. "Maybe 'cause you were doing it not five minutes ago?"

That brought a flush to her cheeks. She huffed and brought her arms down to the table, where she picked at the white cloth. "It's your fault for being so obstinate and incorrigible. You know, before today I almost never swore? Ever. Or insulted people!"

"Or threw pens at their heads, I take it?" he said sarcastically.

Kagome grew flustered. "I shouldn't have done that," she admitted after a pause. "Regardless how angry I was or how infuriating you were, I was out of line." She added softly, "Sorry."

Inuyasha stared at her searchingly, though what he was looking for she wasn't sure. Maybe proof that she really was remorseful? Whatever it was he seemed to find it, because he rolled his eyes and snorted. "Whatever. I've had raindrops fall on me that hit harder."

And just like that, Kagome was riled up again. "Want me to try again?" she snapped, then realized what she'd said and clapped a hand over her mouth in horror.

Inuyasha looked at her for all of two seconds before he tossed his head back and laughed.

And Kagome—she stared.

She couldn't help it. She'd have better luck trying to marshal a tornado with glow-rods. Admittedly, Inuyasha was gorgeous under normal circumstances, but like this…he was stunning. Achingly so. She swallowed the lump that rose to her throat as she watched him let go in a way she hadn't realized he was capable of (at least, not in front of her) and all she could think was, I want to make him laugh like this all the time.

The thought took her by surprise, and she forced it down somewhere deep inside of her and locked it somewhere she couldn't easily reach.

Kagome refused to fall for someone she'd known for less than an hour. Especially someone she clashed with so violently. We're like…like water and hot oil, she reasoned with herself. We would never work.

She tried not to think about how unhappy it made her feel to acknowledge that.

♦ ♦ ♦

For the duration of the session they simply…talked. About a little of everything, really, such as their friends, who were a mixed bag of crazy, and their interests, some of which they even shared. They talked about their careers—Kagome's as a medical coder, Inuyasha's as a woodworker, to her combined astonishment and awe. It was even more incredible when he disclosed the name he worked under and she recalled the birdhouse that stood behind her family's shrine with his pseudonym etched onto the roof. Saying so brought a flush to his cheeks that made her feel giddy, like a child.

When Kagome admitted that she wasn't one for candlelit dinners and Inuyasha managed to wheedle out of her what her ideal date would be like, she hadn't expected him to agree, much less grow bright-eyed.

"Same," he told her, excitement clear in his voice. "It's why I hate the city. No stars. I'm always travelling to the countryside or whatever whenever I can. Y'know, to camp. Nothing beats sleeping under the stars."

And of course Kagome had responded with, "You go camping? I love it, but I've only gone a few times because I don't have anyone to go with. And, well, worrying about getting mauled by bears or murdered by a serial killer kind of detracts from the whole experience."

She hadn't expected him to go all shifty-eyed and grumble under his breath that maybe, perhaps, he could accompany her one day. If, you know, she wanted to.

It was pretty hard to care about beaming like an idiot when Inuyasha had, for all intents and purposes, suggested they meet up again. The shy grin he tried to hide behind his claw when she nodded enthusiastically and declared it agreeable made it more than worth it.

Kagome was glad when the dreaded gong—indicating the start of the last round—sounded and Inuyasha didn't budge, even when the other men were rising to switch. He sprawled into the chair like he didn't have a care in the world, looking obscenely attractive with his muscles straining against his crimson sweater and his jean-clad led splayed wide.

When a shadow fell over their table, Kagome was prepared to send the next guy hiking.

It was unfortunate, really, that when she looked up it was the administrator standing over her instead.

Behind her, the nasally-voiced man who Inuyasha had intimidated into leaving smirked at them.

Asshole, she thought with a scowl.

♦ ♦ ♦

"I understand, believe me, I do," the bubbly administrator was saying, waving her clipboard. "I met my husband at one of these events, too, which is why I organize them now—having had such success myself inspires me to help others. There's nothing that brings me more joy than seeing two people click the way you two have clearly done."

Kagome. Wanted. To. Die.

She didn't need a mirror to know that her face resembled a lobster. It was a miracle her hair hadn't yet caught fire. She would have corrected the woman if only she'd been able to get a word in edgewise.

Her eyes darted towards Inuyasha. She grimaced at how completely mortified he looked, ears lying flat as if they were trying to protect themselves from the administrator's assumptions. The way his shoulders were practically raised to his ears only reinforced his impression of boy caught doing something naughty.

Kagome felt caught between wanting to squeal over how adorable he looked and wanting to hide her face from their combined embarrassment.

"It's scary, clicking with someone so instantaneously," she continued obliviously. "Why, when my husband and I met, it was like we just knew we were meant for each other. Neither of us wanted to move on after the date was over. It's perfectly understandable.

"However, there are rules in place for a reason and regardless of what our hearts want, we must abide by them. Fortunately no real damage has been done to the schedule, but I ask that you," she looked at Inuyasha, "please move on to the next table." She leaned in close and whispered, "There's only one more round anyway, then you two lovebirds can get back to each other."

She winked at them and took a step back, waiting expectantly.

I want to die, Kagome thought again, feeling every eye in the room focused on them.

With a gruff "Keh," Inuyasha stood and practically stomped to the next table. He threw himself into the seat and glared at the woman opposite him, who cringed back.

Kagome resisted the urge to tell him not to be a jerk…even if she felt like glaring at the woman, too.

"And now that that's settled, please proceed everyone!" the administrator said with a jarring clap. She winked at Kagome once more before sauntering away, a noticeable skip in her walk.

After a long moment the others followed her cue and returned to their attention to their dates.

Guy…#20? sat across from her and waved. She blinked, momentarily startled, because he definitely wasn't Japanese. The blond hair, green eyes, and sharp features were a dead giveaway. She glanced down towards his nametag and narrowed her eyes, trying to read the katakana.

"Ze-ri-nu-su-ke Ma-ku-su-me?" she pronounced awkwardly, rapping her fingers against the tabletop.

Appearing amused, he shook his head. "That's how it's spelled—well, how it's converted into katakana. It's actually Zerinske Maksym."

Kagome stared at him blankly. It sounded like, well, like he was speaking a foreign language…one where random letters were strung together for the heck of it.

"Yeah, I get that a lot, even in my birth country," he said with an airy wave. "Feel free to call me Zerinusuke, though…Higurashi Kagome? Did I pronounce that right?"

"Better than I've pronounced yours, I'm sure," she said with the start of a smile. Kagome hadn't met many foreigners before. She'd seen a lot of them, living in Tokyo and all, but this was probably the first time she'd actually spoken to one.

Zerinusuke was pretty cute, as was his accent. The word exotic came to mind. He probably had a fascinating life story—or at least compared to her, who'd never travelled further than Okinawa. She'd certainly like to know when he came to Japan, from where, and how he learned to speak the language so well. There was so much potential for an excellent conversation right in front of her…

And yet Kagome couldn't stop herself from glancing over to the next table.

Her gaze connected with Inuyasha's and her heart fluttered.

"Creep," she murmured under her breath, knowing he'd hear her even over the sound of a dozen other conversations, his own chatty partner, and the music playing in the background.

Her theory proved correct when he suddenly grinned, flashing a bit of fang, and wrinkled his nose at her.

"Moron," he mouthed back.

Kagome was too thrilled that he was playing along—that she hadn't been forgotten despite the literal bombshell sitting across from him—to care about being insulted.

Though she made a mental note to get him back for it later.

And she was 75% percent certain that there would be a later, which made anticipation fizzle like popping candy beneath her skin.

When she glanced back at her date, it was too see him looking on in amusement, his cheek resting in his open palm as he studied their exchange.

She flushed at the knowingness in his eyes and made an effort to pull him into a conversation—mostly about him, and his life, and his goals. It ran smoothly for the most part, except for the instances where she got sidetracked by a certain insufferable hanyou and had to forcefully return her attention to her date.

Kagome was unbelievably lucky that he seemed more amused than annoyed by her constant state of distraction. Not to mention straying attention. If he'd been upset with her he would have had every right to be.

The date seemed to go on forever. When the gong finally sounded—for the last time, she thought gleefully—it took more self-restraint than she was aware she possessed not to jump out of her chair and make a break for it. Throughout the process of gathering her things and smoothing out her clothes, her date kept eyeing her as if he knew exactly what was running through her head.

So clearly she wasn't being as subtle as she'd hoped.

"It was pleasant making your acquaintance, Higurashi-san," he told her when they were both standing. His placid smile gave way to a smirk. "Even if I had to fight tooth and nail for your attention."

Blushing, Kagome stammered an apology, but it was brushed aside with a good-natured laugh. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, wish me luck, yeah? I'd do the same, but somehow," his eyes slid sideways and his words took on a sly tone, "I don't think you need it."

With a final bow he left, and Kagome willed the heat in her face to fade. Without her permission her gaze flickered to Inuyasha, who was once again watching her, and she cleared her throat and offered a tiny smile. The administrator—the same one who'd embarrassed the two of them with her insinuations—called everyone to the front of the hall, and Kagome broke the connection by looking away and forced her feet to move in that direction.

She didn't know what to do.

Lying to herself was no longer an option: Kagome liked Inuyasha. Liked him a lot, despite their rough start and awkward middle, and her own strangely intense response to him. The latter of which she still wasn't sure was a good thing or not. She only knew that she didn't want it to end. As frustrating and troublesome and embarrassing as it could be, Kagome sort of…liked how easily he could rile her up. She liked how he made her go from zero to a sixty within a blink of an eye. She liked how one smile from him could make it feel like hummingbirds were flittering inside her chest, and how one word—her name—made fireworks go off in her belly.

The administrator droned on about the next step, but Kagome was hardly paying attention to anything but her own tangled thoughts. Only when she announced that they would be collecting the personal match folders did she snap out of her stupor and open the darn thing.

Of the eighteen names written (two slots were empty) only two were accompanied by a scrawled YES. Uncapping her pen with her teeth, she shouldered her purse to get more comfortable and looked first to Takamura Seiji's slot. She crossed out the YES and wrote NO next to it, not feeling particularly remorseful about the change. Takamura had been a tentative choice at best.

Her eyes lifted to Saga's slot, and she hesitated.

The thing was, Kagome liked Saga. She did. He was charming, if a bit vain, and had a knack for making her laugh. He was certainly attractive—almost as good looking as Inuyasha, really, with his golden skin and moss-colored eyes and teasing grin. And his tail. It wasn't as adorable as Inuyasha's ears, but Kagome's fingers itched to touch it all the same.

But wanting to pet someone's tail (or ears) is not a good enough reason to date them, she scolded herself, pushing all thoughts of fluffy non-human appendages from her mind.

Then what was? After a moment of consideration, she figured it came down to how they made her feel, and whether or not she could imagine a future with them.

She shifted on her feet, which were beginning to ache from standing so still, and studied Saga's name again. How did the okami-youkai make her feel? Relaxed, was the first word that came to mind, quickly followed by content. She pursed her lips and tapped the pen against her folder. Well, alright, but did she see a future with him?

A moment of contemplation revealed that she could…only not in the way she'd prefer. When Kagome saw herself with Saga, she saw them joking around together, and flirting harmlessly, and laughing and acting as…friends. She closed her eyes, trying to picture them kissing, and frowned when imaginary-Kagome kissed imaginary-Saga's cheek. Efforts to make imaginary-Kagome bolder were futile, and she gave up when the image of them doing other things blurred.

A marble of disappointment formed in her gut as she slowly, regretfully, crossed out the YES and wrote NO instead.

Saga was fun. He made her laugh. He flattered her. More, he genuinely liked her and had no qualms about letting her know it. But Kagome didn't want him in that way. She didn't want to feel content with her partners. She wanted to feel…

Unconsciously, her eyes dropped to the three characters that made up Inuyasha's name and she sighed, somewhat wistfully, somewhat resignedly. She wanted Inuyasha, who sometimes made her feel like she was on one end of a seesaw that wouldn't stop, and other times like she was standing in the midst of a thunder storm. Every instant spent with him was an experience, an adventure, and Kagome reveled in the constant sensation of whiplash and vertigo, of vacillating between brain freeze one moment and heat stroke the next, of never knowing what to expect.

Even when she was spitting-mad and one impulse away from a murder charge, Kagome had never felt so good being around another person. And that passion she felt when she was fired up? It was nothing compared to how she burned when Inuyasha did something as simple as smirk at her, or utter her name, or brush his skin against hers.

Inuyasha made her feel alive; energy crackling beneath her skin and heart beating against her rips and feeling like she's flying. He was uncouth and vulgar and brash, he scowled too much and smiled too little, not to mention was pigheaded and abrasive and aggravating...

But he made her feel alive.

Without another thought, Kagome scrawled YES next to his name. When she surrendered the folder to the administrator, who took it with a perceptive wink, it was without regret or second-thoughts.

The only thing Kagome did feel was nervousness, because while she'd figured out her side of things, she had no way of knowing if Inuyasha felt the same. She thought he might, but how could she be sure? Unlike Saga and a few others, he'd made no obvious indication of interest. There was that offer to take her camping, but that could've just as easily been a friendly overture, not a romantic one.

The thought of going home to await an email that would never come made her feel sick, and Kagome turned on her heel. Head raised and shoulders straight, she made for the entrance without a backwards glance.

Kagome was many things, but desperate wasn't one of them.

She only wished she could say the same about being a coward.

♦ ♦ ♦

Several feet away from the entrance, she was intercepted.

She glanced longingly at the door—her ticket to freedom—before turning wary eyes to the approaching man.

"Higurashi-san."

Said amiably, yet Kagome could hear the undercurrent of slick. It made her feel like she was rolling in grease, and it was a struggle not to rub at her skin.

"Kawaguchi-san," she returned neutrally, resisting the urge to take several steps back when the man stopped an arm's length in front of her. He was too close, though, so she allowed herself a tiny shuffle backwards. "Uh, can I help you with something?"

The man offered a casual shrug, belying the sharp glint in his eyes as he watched her. Kagome thought this must have been what prey felt like when they were cornered by predators, but she forced the thought away, not particularly happy with her role in that scenario.

Without a word Kawaguchi took a step forward and Kagome's body instinctively moved back in response. The glint that brightened his eyes seemed to glow, and with dread coiling in her stomach, Kagome watched as his placid smile stretched into a lopsided grin.

Her reaction seemed to please him, and suddenly Kagome was reminded of the time she'd caught Buyo toying with a struggling mouse.

She glanced forward, but that stupid column was obstructing her view of the group still congregated around the administrators, whose voices travelled from well across the room. And if Kagome couldn't see them,chances were they couldn't see her, either. Damn.

"I just wanted to ensure that I was one of your chosen," he said smoothly, that eerie smile of his unfading. A tuft of brown hair fell into his face, and he brushed it aside with long, slender fingers. Fingers which latched onto Kagome's wrist in one quicksilver move.

Kagome gasped and tried to pry her wrist away, but to no avail. Kawaguchi was strong for someone so lithe, and it didn't help that he used her arm as a lever to push himself forward, closing the distance between them until he was so close Kagome could feel his body heat and became reacquainted with his stale breath.

"Let go of me," she hissed, tugging her arm again. The grip around her wrist tightened enough that it felt like her bones were being ground to dust. She winced, and Kawaguchi loosened his hold the slightest bit, one thumb massaging circles against her skin.

"Did you?" he said, ignoring her demand. "You said you would, but after that…spectacle during the last round I needed to make sure."

Kagome was more than ready to lie if it meant getting the creep away from her. Which was why she was so surprised when a hardened, "No, I didn't," left her lips instead.

"Now let go of me," she continued, ignoring the way his grip turned bruising and his narrowed eyes darkened to smoldering coal. Over the pounding of her heart and the rush of blood in her ears she managed to say, "Or I'll scream, I swear I will."

A momentary look of wariness flashed across his face, but it was gone before she could blink, replaced by a mocking smile that chilled her to the bone. "Now, now, Higurashi-san," he said, speaking to her as if she were a hysterical child, "Don't be overdramatic; it's unbecoming. We're simply having a discussion between adu—"

"I think the woman told you to let go of her," a voice cut in, and Kagome nearly wept with relief when a familiar figure robed in red stepped out from behind the column, scattering the shadows with his presence and easing the pressure in her chest with his words.

Hastily, Kawaguchi stepped back, placid smile firmly in place. His beady eyes remained fixed on Inuyasha, who was swiftly making his way to Kagome's side, strides long and shoulders tense.

If Kagome had been the mouse and Kawaguchi the cat, then Inuyasha was definitely the wolf.

"We were just having a friendly chat, I assure you," Kawaguchi said, strain in his voice.

Wordlessly, Inuyasha grasped Kagome's arm, lifting it to the stream of light emanating from a ceiling bulb. On her wrist a bruise was blooming, stark against her pale skin and shaped like the outline of a fingers. The growl that rumbled from Inuyasha's chest was terrifying, and she would have stepped back if not for his grip on her—firm, but not painful—or if she hadn't known without a doubt that the person it was aimed at wasn't her.

"Ten seconds," Inuyasha said, deathly quiet. In the column's shade his eyes seemed to smolder like a forge's fire, and elongating fangs and claws caught what little light there was to be found. "You have ten seconds to offer this woman an apology and get the hell out of my sight, or I swear on every deity imaginable that I will hunt you down and strip the skin from your bones. Slowly."

The silence that descended in the wake of his threat—no, his promise —was deafening. The intake of breath before a scream. And yet, it had nothing on the sound of cracking knuckles that followed, each one like the snap of a rubber band against skin.

A twitch, and then Kawaguchi was stuttering out an apology and bolting out the door like hell imps were nipping at his heels. Kagome stared as his back vanished behind the swinging door, blinked and shook her head to reorient herself, then glanced at her savior. Who was still staring at the door as if he was planning to tear after him, ten-seconds be damned.

Kagome took a shuddering breath, letting all her pent-up anxiety and fear leave her system along with the carbon dioxide, and cleared her throat.

Golden eyes lowered to hers, and she pointedly jerked her arm. Which Inuyasha slowly released, watching as she frowningly rubbed the tender, red skin.

"You alright?" he asked gruffly.

"Yeah," Kagome murmured, then sighed. "Yeah. I'm fine. He didn't really do anything other than grab me too hard and, well, be a creep." She dropped her bruised arm carefully and raised her eyes. "Thank you. For stepping in before it got out of hand."

"Don't thank me for that, stupid," grumbled Inuyasha.

"I'll thank you for whatever I want to," she told him. "And don't call me stupid."

"Keh, whatever." He glanced at the door again. "Oi, woman. Next time some creep touches you like that, don't threaten to scream, actually do it."

Kagome opened her mouth to argue that it wasn't anything that warranted such an extreme response—at least, it hadn't been yet—but Inuyasha cut her off. "I'm serious. Don't give assholes like that time to do something worse, 'cause when the time comes that you have to scream you might find yourself unable to."

A chill ran down her spine at his words, but the warm concern in his gaze chased off the worst of it. Mutely, she nodded, hoping that it will never come to that but branding his warning to memory in the event it did.

Better to be safe than sorry. Isn't that how the saying went?

"Yeah. Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

"Good." Inuyasha nodded once, rolled to the balls of his feet, then stuffed his claws into his sweater. "Right. Well, uh, see ya, I guess." He cast her one last unreadable look before stepping around her and walking away, one hand brushing her arm as he went.

The warmth of his prior concern faded with every step he took, and Kagome shifted on her feet, her heels tapping against the terrazzo as she willed him to look back.

He didn't.

"Stupid girl," she murmured to herself, just as the room erupted in a flurry of noise and movement. She stepped around the column and saw that several people were heading in her direction. Some, she noticed, were sticking around to mingle, but for the most part everyone seemed intent to leave.

Which is what I should be doing, she told herself, and did just that.

Stepping over the threshold of the doorway felt like freedom, and she couldn't help the gasped, "Oh my god,never again," that tumbled off her tongue when her shoes hit pavement. The world was darker than it had been an hour ago—the sun low in the faraway horizon, painting the sky surrounding it a vivid crimson which darkened to a dusky blue the farther out it reached. Against the vivid backdrop the skyscrapers gave an appearance of shadowed gates, striking and bold.

For a long while she simply stood there, captivated by the sight of the sky burning like a phoenix in its death throes. She didn't move even when the other participants spilled out of the building at her back, or when a familiar voice—Saga's—called her name, or when her phone started buzzing in her purse. Only when someone nudged her in the side did she turn, and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when she saw Inuyasha standing there, claws tucked into his pockets, his face upturned towards the sky.

Something loosened in her chest with the realization that he hadn't left, and she smiled, perfectly content to study him.

As pretty as the sunset was, it had nothing on the one who stood beside her, whose eyes were bright enough to rival the sun and hair shone like the silver edges of the clouds.

"So," Inuyasha said quietly, not interrupting the silence, only adding another layer to it.

"So," Kagome echoed, turning towards the skyline again.

"Coffee?"

"Or…we could go to the Skytree Tower and watch the sun set properly," Kagome suggested in an even tone that contradicted the storm brewing inside her.

She glanced at him just in time to see the corners of his lips quiver, then stretch, spreading into a breathtaking smile. When he finally lowered his face to look at her, his eyes were warm.

This, Kagome thought, must be what drowning feels like.

"Well, c'mon then," he said, wrapping gentle fingers around hers and pulling her forwards. To her embarrassment she nearly tripped over a stretch of uneven pavement, but a hand around her waist steadied her, then squeezed and fell away.

Even through layers of cloth his touch felt like a firebrand.

"Clumsy," Inuyasha murmured when they reached the end of the block and stopped, waiting for the street light to change. "I should have known."

Red mottled her cheeks and she protested, "I'd like to see you rushing around in these shoes! I bet you can't take five steps without falling on your face!"

"Keh, like I'm gonna to take you up on that."

"Coward," she accused.

"Child," he shot back.

They looked at each other with narrowed eyes, neither of them stepping down. And least until Kagome saw Inuyasha's dog ears jerk and she gave into the urge she'd been fighting all day and lifted her arms and rose to her tiptoes.

His ears were as soft as they looked, the fur coat them downy and sleek, and they twitched beneath her fingers, not unlike Buyo's after a good rub. Kagome managed two good strokes before Inuyasha shook off his shock and pulled away, lips pulled down in a scowl.

"Like I said," she said breezily, walking on ahead of him. "Wonderful."

After a long moment she felt him fall into step beside her, and she inwardly sighed in relief that she hadn't gone too far.

"Keh," was all he said, though his cheeks were dark with embarrassment.

With sides brushing every other step they made it to the end of the second block before having to stop again for the light. Kagome was hyperaware of the hanyou at her side, whose pulsing warmth seeped through her clothes and beneath her skin. When a large, warm claw slipped into hers, interlacing their fingers and squeezing, her breath caught in her lungs and refused to leave.

Cars passed in colorful blurs ahead of them. Lively passerby's surrounded them on all sides. Above, fleets of birds cawed and soaring airplanes roared, skimming the underbellies of the thinning clouds. Kagome noticed all of this fleetingly, all her attention focused on the claw holding hers. The world could end around them and she didn't think she'd notice anything else.

"Try not to touch the sharp points this time," Inuyasha grunted, tone slightly mocking. It successfully ruined the moment, and Kagome wasn't sure what irritated more: his insult or his inappropriate timing.

Either way, it riled her up enough to say, "If you're that worried about it I could take you somewhere to get them trimmed? The grooming salon I take my cat has great service, if you need a place."

When an vexed growl hit her ears and the hand around hers tightened warningly, Kagome ducked her face to hide a victorious smile.

The remainder of the walk to the tower was spent bickering with and teasing each other, punctuated by secret smiles and telling looks. Inuyasha's hand never left hers, his thumb tracing arbitrary shapes into her skin that tingled and seared, and as they entered the elevator that would bring them to the very top and Inuyasha crowded her into a corner and tipped her head upwards, all Kagome could think was that being a good daughter really did pay off.

And then she wasn't capable of thinking anything at all.

The End

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