15Kagome's stomach fluttered as she leaned into the kiss, feeling Inuyasha do the same. Then both characters simultaneously realized what they were doing and pushed each other away.
"W-what are doing? Stupid!" Kagome cried.
"What am I doing? What are you doing? Why did you… I mean, why did you… Why?" Inuyasha sputtered.
"Why what? You started it!" Kagome accused.
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did not!"
"You! You're making me late! I have a date!" Kagome yelled, turning suddenly and making a mad dash for the well. After twenty paces and out of Inuyasha's sight she staggered back slightly. "A date…"
Inuyasha sat down hard. What the hell was I thinking? he groaned internally, I kissed Kagome. Kagome, of all people! Inuyasha slumped over, head in his hands. He had sworn to himself long ago that he would never open his heart again. He had already made that mistake once, and it had cost him his life. Thus he decided to trust no one, especially not stubborn, infuriatingly cheerful girls with shining brown eyes who could subdue him with a 'sit' command…
Kagome fidgeted in her seat, unconsciously avoiding eye contact with her date across the table. Hojo was kind and sweet and thoughtful, patient and giving, understanding- everything she wanted in a guy. Everything that Inuyasha was not. The kiss shouldn't have happened. Nonetheless it was haunting her, and try as she might Kagome could not shake the memory out of her head. She kept seeing that desperate longing in his eyes, the soft curve of his mouth as it connected with hers…
"Kagome?" Hojo inquired, pulling her out of her reverie, "Your order?"
Looking up from the tablecloth she noticed the waiter looming expectantly over her. "Uh… um, well…" she drew out, glancing fervently over the menu. Nothing stood out as particularly appealing.
"Do you want to share the spaghetti with me?" Hojo prompted hopefully.
A vision of both of them attempting to slurp up the same strand flashed through her mind, and her stomach turned. "Uh…" she began, scrambling to find a reasonable excuse.
"She'll share with me," Hojo decided, giving the waiter a confident smile. Kagome sagged. Why is the idea of kissing Hojo suddenly so… unpleasant? she wondered.
Inuyasha emitted a low growl as he paced by the well. "I'll tell her it was an accident. It didn't mean anything," he muttered aloud. It didn't mean anything… did it? he reproached. The question stopped him in his tracks. He would never be that weak. He would not succumb to that odd lightness she provoked in him. He wouldn't- Inuyasha froze as he sensed Kagome's scent change. Adrenaline, he thought, closing his eyes, here we go again.
Kagome's pulse was racing as she desperately evaded Hojo's attempts to pick up the same strand of spaghetti as she. He was quite nonchalant about placing his chopsticks a mere inch away from hers. This should be an Olympic sport, Kagome thought wryly to herself, It certainly works up a sweat. Sadly it wasn't long before Hojo's persistence paid off and Kagome was caught. She stared forlornly at the noodle spanning between them as Hojo smiled triumphantly, blissfully ignorant of Kagome's distress. He slurped up his end happily, coming closer and closer until Kagome bit through the strand with her teeth, leaving the end hanging out of Hojo's mouth. He sat back in disappointment, but it wasn't long before he eagerly took up his chopsticks again. Ah great, Kagome sighed, and she reluctantly twirled some noodles around her own chopsticks. Round 2.
Kagome had no way of knowing that her edginess was reverberating into the Feudal Era where Inuyasha had ceased pacing and was instead sitting cross-legged on the lip of the well, glaring into its depths. His foot was twitching. His cheek was twitching. He couldn't sit still. What is that Bozo doing with my Kagome? he thought possessively. My Kagome? he repeated, falling backwards into the grass. What the hell is happening to me?
Kagome breathed a huge sigh of relief when at last the plate was cleared. "That's it!" she announced happily. Hojo appeared crestfallen, likely because Kagome had foiled all of his attempts at kissing her over spaghetti. "That's it, then I can go," Kagome continued elatedly.
"That's it? But don't you want dessert?" Hojo asked hurriedly. Kagome's mood shriveled and died.
"Sure," she offered tiredly, settling back into her chair. Will this night ever end?
$35.25 later Kagome climbed exhaustedly out of the well. How am I ever going to endure $6,000 worth of that? she whined to herself. Inuyasha jumped to help her with her bag.
"So how was your date?" he muttered, eyes downcast.
Kagome took a deep breath, ready to verbally ream the evening. But something in Inuyasha's posture made her change her mind. "Well," she stated, tossing her hair, "It really was quite romantic."
Inuyasha's shoulders came up instinctively. "Romantic," he deadpanned.
"We had a candlelit spaghetti dinner. He paid," she sustained. Looking around conspiringly she added, "We even ended up sharing a noodle a few times."
Inuyasha turned away from her, his eyes tearing up. Damn, he thought.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked reproachfully. He ignored her. "Inuyasha?" she repeated, reaching out to touch his shoulder. He shrugged her off and stepped away. "I was lying. It was a terrible date. The whole time I was counting the seconds until I could get out of there," she rambled, "and I was thinking of you the whole time…"
They both blushed in response. Inuyasha turned around, searching her face. "That kiss…" he began, not sure what he meant to say.
"Yes," Kagome prodded, her heart hammering.
"That kiss… it wasn't… I mean, I don't…" he attempted, momentarily grasping a coherent thought, then losing himself in the depths of her eyes. Inuyasha's lips parted and to his chagrin he found himself kissing Kagome for the second time.