InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Overcoming ❯ Depth of My Heart ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter Twelve: Depth of My Heart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aren't you ready yet? Get the hell out of the shower! It's my turn!" Inuyasha barked at the door to the bathroom in the basement. He rapped on the closed door again and let out a groan of frustration as he sagged heavily against it. He let out a small cry of alarm when it flew right out from behind him and he toppled into the bathroom, his long silver hair matting around him to cushion his fall. The junior boy glared up angrily at a clearly very pinched and amused Kara.

"Yes, I'm ready now that I've done that," she laughed and stepped over him, her long wet hair splashing him as she wrung it over his face. He spluttered and cursed at her, shoving her fully out of the bathroom and then promptly slammed the door. The image of Inuyasha falling would not be erased from her mind and she continued to giggle her way up the stairs as she adjusted her bra strap. My, she was very chipper for early in the morning… On the day of her final!

GREAT! I had to remember that, didn't I? She thought in frustration while she trudged up the stairs and into the kitchen where she saw Sesshomaru making eggs at the stove. He had no shirt on and his hair was slightly mussed but other than that, he was a sight for sore eyes… She walked up to him, sliding her hands under the curtain that was his hair and up his bare back, watching with fascination as it arched into her touch and he let out a growl. "Does that tickle?" she whispered, standing on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his firm, naked shoulder.

"Yes and I would tell you not to stop normally but I'm right over a hot stove, therefore, feeling paranoid so if you would kindly step off that would be appreciated," He replied to her, his deep voice stoic. His face was slightly amused but she pretended to be offended by him and drew away, her hands crossing over her chest in irritation. Just to spite him, she went to the other side of the counter and glared at him, her eyes fiery with intense determination.

"Gladly. Who would want to touch you?" She scoffed at him, choking back a giggle when he let out a grunt and eyed her skeptically as he used a spatula to scoop all of the eggs out of the bottom of the pan and onto a plate.

"Apparently, you would. You can't keep your hands off of me. I try to tell you to go away but you never take hint," He said, a smirk quirking at his lips as his eyes darkened. Kara's arms loosened and dropped to rest on the counter as her face laced with playfulness.

"I'm too busy trying to get the most that's offered to me," she shot back, reaching her arm out to poke a finger at his lips. "Like those… and this when you're not wearing a shirt…" she added, the same finger traveling to his toned and tanned chest. "Like… right now," she whispered, her lids sliding halfway over azure eyes. She liked her lips, knowing from experience that Sesshomaru could not resist her when she did that. "Are those eggs done yet?" she asked, one eyebrow lifting to regard the full plate that was resting to the senior's left.

Sesshomaru mirrored her expression and looked to the plate, leaning forward so she was within reach of him. "What do you think?" he whispered in her ear, his lips coming closer to hers. Kara met his tawny golden eyes with seductive blue.

"They look done to me," she replied, quickly drawing away from him to sprawl across the counter, grab the plate of eggs and pull them back to where she was. It worked, surprisingly, although Sesshomaru was angry that he had been snubbed and demanded that she come this instant to where he was standing.

"No! I'm hungry and I'm really worried about the Calc. Final today!" she shot back, her expression returning to normal when she grabbed a pair of chopsticks and scooped up some egg. "Do you want them? I was only joking around," she told him seriously, watching as he snagged the egg from between the chopsticks with his tongue, lord knows how he managed to do that. Kara was a bit stunned and in every way turned on by that for some sick, twisted reason. She cringed and let out a breath, her eyes wide.

"Did you enjoy that?" Sesshomaru asked, his deep voice amused as he reached behind her and tangled his fingers in her wet hair, his fingers curling around the dampened strands.

"No," she shot back in a feisty manner, a smile lighting her lips as she leaned forward, their lips meeting halfway. Kara moaned into his mouth and set down the plate and chopsticks, her arms encircling around his hard body… That was until they heard thumping sounds coming from the staircase. They quickly drew apart and Kara continued to eat the eggs while Sesshomaru started to make some more.

"I'm starved. Hurry up," Inuyasha whined as he breezed through the kitchen and grabbed his books. "I hate finals," he said in disgust as he re-entered the kitchen and slammed his materials on the kitchen table. Kara made a sound of agreement when the senior at the stove merely scoffed.

"Of course you hate finals. Everyone without proper brain capacity does," He stated over his shoulder, his voice dripping with arrogance. Inuyasha let out a bark of laughter and Kara simply `hmph'-ed and took her empty plate the sink, chucking one of her chopsticks at him. It plummeted from his back onto the floor where it landed with a clank. The white haired young man whirled around, his eyes slightly widened, but other than that he looked indifferent. "You dare to attack me?"

"Oh yes because Big bad Grumpy-Sessho is going to get revenge and hurt me!" Kara dramatized, her hands going up to clasp at her chest. She giggled afterward when Sesshomaru simply disregarded her and dished out his and Inuyasha's eggs. He almost threw the plate to his younger half-brother until the junior girl offered to take it over to him. While he ate, Kara reviewed her notes for Calculus, all that were written in Sesshomaru's neat handwriting.

His letters are so cute and delicate. It's hard to believe that Sesshomaru can write like this, Kara mused inwardly, stealing a quick glance at the senior who was eating rather fast and not spilling a crumb of egg. She then looked at the clock and got up from the table, realizing that it was almost time to go. She rushed downstairs to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and quickly looped her hair into a loose braid that bounced off of her back.

Kara leapt into her room unceremoniously and made her bed, making sure to smooth out the blankets for when she got home so she could sleep… or possibly cuddle with Sesshomaru if he would want to… Her cheeks glowed red at the thought but she shook it away when she reached down to grasp her backpack by the handle. Her gaze went up to the picture of her mother and she smiled at it, her thoughts going back to something the arrogant senior had said.

"So this is your mother. From the looks of her, she seems about as active and irritating as you…" Sesshomaru said softly, his lips brushing her forehead. "I probably would have liked her," he added quietly, his gaze going elsewhere.

Kara leaned up so that her eyes could look into his. "Are you saying that you like me?" she asked, knowing the answer that he would never give. A goofy grin slapped across her face as she poked him in his rock hard chest. Sesshomaru gave no reply but sighed deeply, bringing her body closer into the crooks of his, holding her, his nose mussing into her sweet smelling hair…

Kami-sama! All of Kara's thoughts dwelled mainly on Sesshomaru! What was wrong with her? She shook her head again, fixating a focused gaze to her mother's picture. "Well mom, today's the day. Today's the day I'll possibly get my home and job back!" she said perkily but her heart was not in it.

Kara, is that what you really want? Do you really want to leave the place that you could call home? She imagined her mother asking because that was something she would have probably asked. She pondered this a moment and realized she had no intention of leaving. She was very content to stay as she was.

"Well, mom, you know me all too well. I guess it's not. Well, wish me luck!" she said over her shoulder as she scampered up the stairs, meeting the boys as they were putting their shoes on. She stuffed her feet into her sneakers and they were all off to school.

**

Sixth hour… Calculus…

Final Exam time… Kara thought in misery as she walked into sixth hour and passed by Sesshomaru who sent her a nod. She sighed shakily and slid into her seat, her head slithered down to rest on the desk.

"Kara," she heard the senior who she housed with call her. She looked up and met his intense golden gaze. His lips turned up into a teasing smirk. "Don't be afraid."

"How can I not be afraid? It's the frickin' final! I NEED A B OR BETTER!" She emphasized and flopped her head back on the desk again. She let out a groan and a moan and sat up, propping her elbows under her chin as she chewed on her #2 pencil. This was going to be wonderful.

"Well, good luck," Sesshomaru told her, his baritone voice soothing her tension. She felt confident to do well now. All she needed was his reassurance. She let out a deep breath as the teacher passed out the test booklets and read the instructions. This was it.

Ok. Just read the questions. You've practiced this with Sesshomaru a million times… You know what to do. Focus Kara, she thought as she started to fill in answer bubbles. Every time she filled one in, she felt a burden being lifted. Hey! This isn't so bad! Maybe I will get a B!

As the testing time passed, Sesshomaru had been the first to finish. The sensei came around and collected his things and told him he was free to go. He acknowledged this and nodded, gathered his things and left the room. Kara looked up and saw him go, her confidence shaking slightly.

Where is he going? I can't do this without him! COME BACK SESSHOMARU! She gripped her pencil as she looked at the remaining thirty questions. Ok… Thirty questions. I can do this… Kara took a deep breath and fixated her focus on the remainder of her test, thinking about every question carefully as the gears in her brain continued to work hard with calculation.

Done! She mentally roared in accomplishment as she dropped her pencil and looked up at the clock. She grinned and started to pack up her materials quickly. That only took me an hour and fifteen minutes! But… Sesshomaru was done so much sooner than me. He had to have aced this test for sure, she thought as she handed her test booklet to the sensei and went back to her desk to grab her backpack and shuffled quickly out of the classroom, the burden of studying and worrying about her test now gone. She walked down the hallway, trying to be quiet because everyone else was still taking their sixth hour finals. She sighed and headed for the exit so she could go back to the house and take a bath. She was feeling VERY stressed out.

When she walked outside, she nearly let out a vicious scream until she realized that Sesshomaru had only snuck up on her. She saw Kagome sitting on the ground next to where he was standing and she smiled softly at her. "You're done too?" Kagome asked and stood up.

"Yeah. I'm the second one and I was taking my time," Kara replied, walking along with her two friends.

"That is because the people in our class are idiots," Sesshomaru said for input. The two girls started to giggle at him and teased him. Kara grabbed a handful of his hair and tugged backwards, watching with fascination as he arched back so that he could look at her upside down. "Yes?" he asked her in slight amusement that was masked mostly by his annoyance.

Kagome watched as the two bickered and flirted, smiling sweetly thinking about how well they were getting along together. Who knew that Sesshomaru would actually let down his guard? I never thought he actually expressed many feelings but… I suppose Kara has softened him up… She sighed and dramatically took a few steps out of the way of the arguing couple that now had each other by the hair.

"Just let go of my hair and I shall release your braid," The senior said haughtily, his golden eyes regarding her with the utmost of laughter. Kara writhed around, squinting at the pains that shot through her head at his grip on her long braid.

"Ow! Ok! You're starting to hurt me-" She started to whine until she saw Kagome observing them. They stopped, withdrew from each other and separated themselves, a blush alight on Kara's cheeks.

Kagome immediately felt embarrassed and started to wave her hands around. "Oh please don't stop because of me! I thought that that was really cute!" She then slammed her hand over her mouth when Sesshomaru sent her a dangerous glare. Kara only laughed at him.

"What are you going to do to her Sesshomaru? Bang her?" She giggled, gasping when he came around to try and swipe her up by her braid again. She ran for the shelter of Kagome and squealed as she firmly held her friend's body to cover her. "Save me, Kagome-chan!"

"I'll protect you!" The junior girl declared, her dark eyes flashing as she sent Sesshomaru a look of determination.

Sesshomaru stood, leaning his weight on one leg as he regarded the two fairly attractive girls and what they were doing. He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Protect her from what? I won't bang her here in public," The senior said stoically although his eyes sparked in unhealthy mischief. Kagome's face blanched and she whirled to look at Kara.

"Have you… you know… with him?" She whispered, her cheeks flaring to life. Kara's eyes rounded like watermelons as she started to splutter from discomfort and embarrassment.

"N-No! NO!" She shouted in alarm, falling down on the ground like she had passed out. "Awwww! You're killing me, Kagome!" she moaned and hid her face in the grass of the field to cover her disgruntled appearance.

"You girls are much to silly for me to be in the presence in the likes of you. I'm going home," Sesshomaru growled in mock irritation as his silvery white hair floated all around him as he walked into the light breeze towards the street. Kagome had to go home so she walked with them to the corner and cut off in the direction of her house through a neighbor's backyard, leaving them to themselves.

A small silence passed between the handsome senior and the spunky junior as they walked slowly. Kara took the time to observe his measured strides and then looked down to her own legs that were taking short and quick ones. She giggled and then purposely bumped into him and then distanced herself, meeting his perplexed gaze with a purely innocent one. "What? I didn't do anything…" she said, shrugging her shoulders. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes royally and continued to walk. She knocked into him again and this time clung to his arm. His strong limb slid out from her grasp and came around to pull her into his body as he slowed his walking pace to stay in time with her.

"How do you think you did?" He asked her calmly, his deep voice pleasing to her ears. Her azure eyes gazed up into his face and a soft smile tugged at her lips.

"I think I got a B," she told him confidently. "I did feel shaky when you left the room though. I don't know why…" she wondered aloud, leaning her head closer to him so she could enjoy his proximity while walking together with him in solitude.

Sesshomaru didn't say anything but she felt his arm slacken slightly and his fingers stroked up and down her arm a bit. A soft touch grazed the top of her hair and she blushed, knowing that he had kissed her softly. She had made him feel important. She realized that when he showed small and sweet gestures of affection such as those, it was his way of showing gratitude or apology most of the time.

"Is that so. I believe I got all the points," he told her smugly, his deep voice rich with arrogance. Kara let out an unimpressed sound and rolled her eyes. "Jealous, are we?"

"No… Just stunned by your insatiable ego, Mister," she replied, poking him in the chest. "Even though… you probably did get 100%. I envy you sometimes," she added, smirking at him as she devilishly raised an eyebrow at him.

"Of course you do," Sesshomaru shot back, his lips perking up at one side in a sly smirk that was condescending. The junior girl rolled her eyes and ignored him, seeing the house coming into view.

"When do you think they'll have the tests graded?" She asked as Sesshomaru unlocked the door and opened it for her, being a gentleman. She nodded to him in a mock display of gratitude.

"Four o'clock possibly. We can go and check if you wish it," He replied, his voice sounding disinterested.

"That'd be nice but first I need to take a bath and soak out all of the stress and strain that I've undergone to prepare for this final," Kara said over her shoulder as she started to head downstairs to start the hot water.

"I'll be waiting…" she heard the senior whisper to her seductively. She tingled and a chill was sent down her spine as she got her things ready for the bath. Now then. To wait until four o'clock…

**

"Come on, you guys! Over here! I got a B+ overall!" Inuyasha exclaimed, dragging Kara by the wrist, pointing to his ID number and the average of grades he had. She smiled and congratulated him, searching for her ID number on the wall when Inuyasha scampered off to go and find his girlfriend. Kami-sama… My number… Ok… Look slowly…

"What number are you?" Sesshomaru asked, his hand rubbing small, soothing circles on her lower back. Kara turned around and stood on her tip-toes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hold on," she told him impatiently as she looked down the grades slowly.

684391- Billing Kara

English/Language: B+ 88/100

Science/Chemists: A- 93/100

A-in Chemistry? Not bad! Not bad at all! She thought calmly as she continued to look down the row at her grades.

Japanese History 4: A 96/100

Advanced Calculus:…

"I can't look! I can't…" Kara cringed, hiding her face in the sanctity of Sesshomaru's chest. He held her gently and whispered gruffly in her ear to stop being a coward and that they were only grades.

Advanced Calculus: A+ 100/100

"K-Kami-sama…" She stuttered, her azure eyes huge. Sesshomaru looked at her in bewilderment, wondering if her score was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What's your number?" He asked again, this time more impatiently.

"684391…" She replied, dazed.

His golden eyes scanned for her grade and his own eyes widened. His arms tensed as he gave her a wondrous look. "You… You scored higher than me…" Kara whirled to look at his wounded pride that was shining in his eyes. His face returned to its neutral state but he told her in a harsh voice, "Congratulations."

"What did you get?" She asked him gently.

"A 99, of all the cursed grades," he spat and withdrew completely from her. "But alas, well done, Kara. It seems I taught you too well," he told her, his lips turning up in a smirk.

The junior girl felt very guilty now for having scored higher than him but that was life. She apologized to him and kissed him softly, knowing that he wasn't really angry, he was just upset because he was the one who always got the highest grades in all the subjects. Inuyasha came around again after meeting up with Kagome to assess their grades and saw Sesshomaru's distant look.

"What's with that face, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha barked at his elder brother but was nearly swiped at. "Geesh! I just asked a friggin' question!"

"I…" Kara stopped and motioned for the junior to come closer. "I got an A+ when I only needed a B and I got a 100 when he got a 99…" She finished, looking remorsefully over to the handsome senior who was looking disgruntled and upset.

"Holy- Are you serious? Wow! Good job, Kara!" Inuyasha regarded her, slapping her lightly on the back. Sesshomaru growled and eyed the two of them impatiently.

"Speaking of job, don't you need to get back to yours so you can move out and live in your apartment again?" He growled at Kara, turning swiftly to stiffly stride out of sight. Inuyasha crossed his arms as the junior girl raised her hand to her mouth in realization. So this was what it was all about…

"'Scuse me a second, Inuyasha…" She said to the junior boy and went on a chase to get Sesshomaru. She ran down the street and saw him still walking, his body like a board. She sprinted and latched onto his arm but fell down on the grass next to the sidewalk when he shoved her away. She rolled for a bit but then looked up at him in confusion and hurt. When had they reverted to this again? "S-Sessho?" She said softly, her voice trembling.

He whirled around to face her, his eyes harsh and cold again like they had been when she had first met him and he let out a sneer in her direction. On the ground, where she was supposed to be. Beneath him.

"What?" He barked at her, his eyes flaming with anger. There were other emotions swirling around in his irises but Kara couldn't make them out through the tears that were blinding her vision.

"What? Is that all you can say? WHAT?" She jumped up, sobbing and clenched her teeth. His expression softened a bit to shock. "You shove me onto the ground for no reason when I-"

"I HAVE A REASON!" He roared at her, his true colors really showing and boy was he pissed! He snatched her wrist and brought her face close to his. She let out a cry because it was the wrist that had not healed properly all that time ago.

Kara's tears fell like rain but she growled in response, not wanting to show the fear that was lurking in her insides. "What is this all about? This isn't fair! You're… You're being a monster! You're scaring me!" She screamed and let out a sob when his grip on her wrist tightened. "Let me go! Oh hell! Sesshomaru!" She cried, writhing in his grip as she lost feeling in her hand.

Sesshomaru came to grips with himself and realized what he was doing. He released her immediately and looked at her, his expression stoic but his eyes… His eyes confused and lost… Kara wiped her face and cradled her wrist as her face softened to briefly before fresh new tears came. "Are… Are you happy now?" She rasped, taking steps towards the street, not paying attention to a car that was coming down the road fairly quickly. "I wasn't going to move out! I was going to work… but I wasn't going to move out you jerk! Now, I'm re-thinking it!" she screamed at him and blindly ran into the street, her sense hitting her when she saw the red vehicle coming straight for her. The driver didn't see her…

Kami-sama… Kara thought in fright, trying to move out of the way but she stalled. She was frozen to the spot. All of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, she was on the lawn near the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street with a heavy weight on top of her. She knew it was Sesshomaru and instantly latched onto him, sobbing into his chest. His arms pulled her close as he kissed her salty lips forcefully and desperately, feeling her respond with anger and loss. She trembled in his grasp, repeatedly saying, "I don't want to move out… I won't leave you…"

"I know you won't," He whispered, kissing her again but drew back when the woman who had been driving the red van ran out to them, her face in shock and worry.

"Kami-sama! You kids ok? I'm so sorry! I didn't see you!" She exclaimed but saw that there was no damage done. She let out a breath of relief.

"We're fine," Sesshomaru told her politely, nodding to her. "Thank you for your concern," he added softly, watching as the woman bowed and apologized again before she got into her van and continued on, driving out of sight.

Sesshomaru pulled Kara up into a sitting position as he still was over her, holding her gently. He picked up the wrist that he had re-hurt and kissed the top softly and underneath, lingering on it for a moment. "Kara…" He whispered, gold meeting azure in the rays of the setting sun. "I…"

"I know… I know…" she replied. "I forgive you and I don't want to leave you," she told him, her hands cupping his face as a lone tear slid down her cheek. "Didn't you know that all along?" she asked, her voice thick with her sorrow and confusion.

"I… I'll never be sure of anything…" He said, his voice uncharacteristically humble. "But, I am sure of you and of me," he finished, watching as a smile lit her face and she kissed him softly.

She pulled back, her eyes shining at him making pride swell in his chest as she said, "Let's go home."

(A/N: That is the LONGEST chapter I have EVER written! HO YEAH!)