Okay, Lazuli requested that I write an Inu Yasha fanfic, and I’ve decided to take her up on that challenge. Just try and ignore the fact that I’ve never seen the show nor read the manga in my life (well, except what little I browsed through in the bookstore). ^^; But I HAVE been reading a lot of IY fanfic, and looking up spoilers, so I have a good idea of the basic plot, and this really isn’t going to be anything advanced or anything. Just a mushy little one-shot that I’m writing simply because I can. ^_~

Please try and ignore any out-of-characterness you might encounter. I have a vague idea of how they’re supposed to act, but again, I can’t be sure. I’m just going on gut instinct here. ^^ So here ya go, Laz-chan. This one’s for you. ^_~

Oh, and incidentally, I don’t own Inu Yasha. I’m not sure who does, but I know it’s the same person who owns Ramna ˝. ^^;
Enjoy!

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"I’m going HOME!"

The bellow echoed clearly in the still, morning air, setting the village dogs to barking and a flock of roosting birds into startled flight, shrieking madly. The people who hadn’t bothered to rise yet started upright in their beds, and those few who had already awoken looked around in bewilderment for a moment, before shaking their heads in disgust and continuing with their daily business. It was just them again, and therefore nothing to worry about. Just another typical morning in the village.

In the meantime, the cause of all the commotion—a rather diminutive girl of perhaps fifteen years—stood in the middle of a worn path which led to an ancient well outside the village. Her feet were spread wide apart, planted firmly in the dirt, and her little fists were planted stubbornly on slender hips. A pack bigger than her head threatened to pull her over backwards at every moment, but there was no way she was about to let gravity win this round. Especially since she was fighting so hard to keep her dignity intact in the face of her opposition.

Speaking of which…

"Why do you have to leave now?" her opposition snarled, bearing fangs at her in annoyance. "You just got back yesterday, Wench!" He glared at her through golden eyes from beneath the mat of unkempt white hair that half covered his face. "We’ve still got a mission to complete, and I…"

"I have school, Inu Yasha!" Kagome snapped at him. "School means tests, and tests means I have to study, and I left the book I had to study from at home! So I have to go back and get it!"

The dog demon pouted, ears flattening in displeasure. "I thought you said there was another Shikon shard nearby? We need to get it!" He was whining now, and she really hated it when he whined.

"It can wait ‘till I get back," she told him, fighting down her irritation. "It isn’t as though I’m gonna be going forever! I just have to get the book!"

"If that’s true, why do ya have your pack with you?" Inu Yasha pointed out triumphantly, looking smug.

Kagome smirked at him. "Do you really think I’d let my pack here, unguarded, with a snoop like you around?" she asked sweetly. He looked insulted, but before he could open his mouth, she continued, "Don’t deny it, Dog Boy! I know my pack was riffled through when I left it before. I have some pretty personal stuff in here that I don’t appreciate you going through!"

"Feh!" He sulked and crossed his arms. "It was Shippo’s idea."

"And how old is Shippo? And how old are you?" she asked sweetly. "You take orders from a mere child?"

"Feh," he said again; his usual answer for anything he knew he was wrong about, but wasn’t about to admit to.

Kagome sighed. "Look, the faster you let me go, the faster I’ll come back," she wheedled, trying to think of any way to get him to let her pass, short of using the "S" word. She thought for another moment. "If you do let me go…I’ll bring you some more of that Ramen soup you like so much. And another one of those chocolate Hershey bars!" she added on a burst of inspiration.

That sparked his attention. As was typical with any male, the way to his heart was definitely through his stomach, and she had discovered quite by accident that her cute (if obnoxious) little dog demon sported quite the sweet tooth. For a moment of peace, she was willing to give up one of her carefully hoarded stash of imported chocolate bars.

He narrowed his eyes at her, contemplating. "The kind with th’ nuts?" he asked grouchily.

She grinned. This was almost too easy.

"I will bring you," she replied slowly, leaning toward him as though imparting a great secret, "a Hershey’s white chocolate cookies ‘n cream bar…if you let me go back to get my book right now."

He was caught. Hook, line, and sinker. With a little smirk, he stepped aside and swept an exaggerated bow in the direction of the well. "My lady," he smirked, looking up at her through devilish eyes.

"Good boy," she replied with a smirk of her own, unable to resist giving his adorable ears a little tweak as she hurried past him. He yelped in outrage, but by the time he thought to retaliate, she was already through the well and in her own world.

~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@

Kagome grinned as she emerged from the well, feeling more than a little smug. Her brother greeted her, not seeming at all surprised that she was back (half the time she had to wonder if he even realized that she’d gone in the first place). "Is Inu Yasha with you?" the boy asked, looking at her hopefully.

In the few times he’d met the half-demon, Inu Yasha had become something of a hero to him, much to Kagome’s disgust. What kind of hero did a dog demon with the temperament of a rabid bear make, anyhow?! True, he was rather brave. And gallant. Not to mention handsome…in an unkempt kind of way. But his eyes were really rather pretty…when he wasn’t glaring at her, and she had to admit that it was hard not to reach out and touch those silky little ears of his, or run her fingers through that soft, tangled mane of hair. His mouth, when he wasn’t frowning or pouting, was really rather pleasant-looking. And then there was that body of his, although the fire-rat coat covered most of it. But the few glimpses she’d gotten of his chest… Wow! Lean-muscled and wiry with shoulders that weren’t too broad and a flat stomach and…

"Onee-san, your eyes are glazing over, and you’re drooling," Souta commented wryly, snickering at her dazed expression.

"NANI?!" Kagome smacked him across the head, glaring while he laughed and raced away. Obnoxious brat! He’d been hanging around Inu Yasha entirely too much lately! "Drooling, indeed!" she huffed as she headed to her bedroom, where she found the book laying on her bed, all ready to go. Rolling her eyes and muttering, she shoved it into her pack, then headed to the kitchen to greet her mother and beg off a few packages of Ramen, like she’d promised. Finally, she opened the bottom drawer of the refrigerator and reached into the very back, where a small box held her precious store of chocolate. Opening the brightly-decorated box, she reached in to draw out a Cookies ‘n Cream bar…

And encountered nothing but tin.

"Gyaaaaaahhhh!"

~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@

It was a rather subdued Kagome who reemerged from the well several hours later, lugging her pack half-heartedly behind her. A scowling Inu Yasha greeted her, slightly miffed that she had kept him waiting for so long, when she had told him it would only be half an hour, at most. "Did you get your dumb book?" he demanded, waiting until she nodded before he added, "Great! Where’s the food?"

He ignored her brief glare as she bent to open her pack, riffling through it until her hand emerged clutching three packs of Ramen noodles. He took them almost reverently and simply gazed at them for a moment…until he realized that Kagome was closing her pack. "Wait! Where’s my chocolate?" he demanded, scowling at her suspiciously.

She winced. "Uh…yeah…about that…"

His scowl deepened to a glare, and one corner of his mouth curled up to show a pointed fang. She glared back. "Don’t you bare your teeth at me, Dog Boy!" she snapped. "It isn’t my fault my family got into my stash and ate it all! And I tried to get more! But my usual supplier was out and you were expecting me back and…well…I’m sorry, okay?"

"You promised!" he accused.

"I’m sorry!" she insisted. "Look, here…I did manage to get you a regular Hershey bar! It’s gonna cost me later, but I got it!" She held up a small, bite-sized, brown-and-silver foil wrapped package.

He stared at it as though it had just gotten up and danced the Tango in her hand. "What the hell is that?" he sniffed.

She frowned. "It’s chocolate. Just the regular kind. Not the white stuff."

"But…there’s nothin’ to it! You expect to make up for it with this?" he huffed, clearly insulted. "It wouldn’t feed a rat!"

Well, that cut it. Kagome pinched her lips together and gave him a narrow-eyed glare. She had gone through hell and high water to get him his precious chocolate; had practically had to sell her soul to get him even one bite-sized Hershey bar—her supplier hoarded his stash as jealously as a drug dealer hoarded his dope—and all that smelly, ungrateful mutt could do was complain about it?! The absolute gall of him!

Listening to him rant, her eyes narrowed further and further, and her anger boiled higher and higher, until at last something snapped. Maybe it was because she was tired. Or maybe it was because she’d been hanging around demons too long. Or maybe she had simply watched one too many episodes of Ramna. Whatever it was, it caused her to do the one thing that neither of them thought she’d ever do.

She hauled off and punched him square in the jaw.

His head snapped back as he released a startled, pained gasp, his words dying in his throat. Kagome stood there, eyes wide as she stared at her shaking fist. Her lips were parted in an O, and she looked as though she’d seen a ghost. Slowly, her arm lowered to her side, her wide eyes raising slowly to meet the half-demon’s startled gaze. He stared right back and said not a word, his jaw already beginning to swell with a bruise. He raised clawed fingers to touch it, wincing slightly. He seemed to be in some sort of shock.

She gulped. He’s going to kill me now. He’s going to take that sword and slice me clean though, and I wouldn’t blame him if he did! What is wrong with me?! A little sob choked her throat, and she gritted her teeth. Her eyes, which were before filled with fury, began to fade to a washed-out gray as tears clouded her vision. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. She chanted the words in her mind, but couldn’t force them past the knot in her throat. Instead, she turned and ran for the woods.

Inu Yasha watched her leave, too stunned to call her back, too stunned to do anything. His jaw ached slightly, but the bruise was already fading. He had never known her to be so...violent before. Or so…non-vocal. Before, she would’ve cheerfully yelled his ear off, or slapped him with so many "Sits" he wouldn’t have been able to move ‘till the next moonrise. But this time…

She was really…really upset. And she hadn’t spoken a word. Then again…what was that odd saying she was sometimes throwing at him? "Actions speak louder than words." Now he had an inkling as to what that meant…

Well, you went and did it now, ya aho! an odd little voice—which he suspected might’ve been his long-lost conscience—berated him in his mind. I hope you’re happy with yourself!

"Feh!" he replied grumpily, scowling at the little foil-wrapped menace lying innocently in his hand; the cause of so much trouble. He looked up in the direction that Kagome had run, looked back at the candy, and then, with a long-suffering sigh, he shook his hair out of his eyes and took off after the girl.

~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@

Kagome leaned against the tree with her pack cradled in her lap, sniffling occasionally and wiping at her eyes. "That selfish jerk!" she muttered angrily. "Saying those things to me! He deserved to get hit! He did! Doesn’t he appreciate anything I do for him? I should’ve done that to him a long time ago! He deserved it!"

But she knew that was a lie. He didn’t deserve that kind of treatment from her, no matter how angry he made her. She sniffled again. "No wonder he doesn’t like me," she mumbled, this time in self-loathing. "What kind of a lady goes around sucker-punching people in the face? I bet Kikyou never threw a punch in her life. No wonder he’s willing to die with her. If I died, he’d probably be relieved." This lament was accompanied by a new set of sniffles and a soft hiccup.

There was a slight stirring in the tree above her, as though something was stealthily making its way through the leaves, but Kagome was so wrapped up in her self-torment that she never noticed. "If he hates me now, I guess I’ve only got myself to blame," she continued mournfully, addressing her pack as though it could sympathize with her. "I should just give him what we’ve got of the jewel and get on with my life. He’d probably be better off without me in it, anyhow."

It was then the figure in the tree chose that moment to drop out of it, landing softly before her and succeeding in scaring her out of a year’s growth. "INU YASHA!" she bellowed, suddenly furious all over again. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?! GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?!"

He sat cross-legged before her and regarded her through serious, golden eyes, and as quickly as it came, her anger left again. She sighed and sat back, resting her forehead against her pack while his eyes bore into the top of her head. After a long, silent moment, he asked quietly, "Would you really go an’ leave us all behind?"

Her head snapped up, eyes flashing. "Why?" she snapped. "Do you want me to?"

He blinked. "No," he replied in surprise. "Of course not."

"Why?" she repeated. "Because I’m you’re precious shard detector?" Her voice was bitter.

He shifted closer to her, laying one hand delicately on her knee. Her breath caught at the feel of his warm, callused palm resting on her bare skin, while her heart took a little leap inside her chest. "No," he replied, in that same serious tone. "‘Cause you’re my…friend."

Her face crumpled, just a little, and his brow furrowed in worry. "Don’t cry!" he commanded gruffly. "I hate seeing you cry!"

"You certainly don’t hate making me cry!" she shot back.

He winced. He hated to admit it, but that had stung. Mostly because it was true. He was always making her cry, wasn’t he? He sighed, almost sadly. Why couldn’t he, for once, make her smile, instead? That was all he really wanted to do, even though he’d admit it to her over his own dead body. But…it really would be a simple matter to make her smile, wouldn’t it? Everyone else seemed to do it very easily, so why not him? Well…he supposed there was only one way to find out. So, choking back his pride, he did something neither of them thought he would ever do.

"I-I’m sorry."

He said it in such a low voice that she could barely hear him. But her sniffles stopped, and she looked up at him in amazement, even as tears still clung to her lashes and made her eyes sparkle beautifully.

His breath caught. Such beautiful eyes…

"What did you just say?" she gasped out.

"I said I’m sorry," he muttered, scowling at his hand. The one that still rested on her knee, he vaguely realized. He stroked her skin absently, marveling at the soft texture of it, before he abruptly realized what he was doing and snatched the hand away, his cheeks turning suspiciously pink.

"I…I…Apology accepted," she replied with soft wonder. Maybe there was hope for them, after all. "I-I’m sorry, too, Inu Yasha. For hitting you." She offered him a tentative smile, just as he’d been hoping for, and again, his breath caught. He suddenly couldn’t decide which was more beautiful. That soft smile, or her eyes.

Flustered, he shook his head and looked away. "Feh! As if a weak human girl like you could hurt me," he scoffed, waving aside her words. Inwardly, though, he was pleased.

"I’m still sorry," she replied, hanging her head.

"Ah, don’t worry about it," he exclaimed quickly, afraid she’d begin to cry again. "It didn’t even hurt."

She regarded him steadily, then shrugged. "If you say so." A moment of silence. Then, "So…are we friends again?" Her gaze abruptly met his, making him freeze…as much as at the soft pleading in the blue-gray depths, as at her unexpected question. Were they…friends? He hesitated. Then, remembering something, he reached into his robe and brought out a slightly squashed, slightly melted, foil-wrapped rectangle. Ripping off the odd "paper", he bit into one end of the sticky, little brown bar, and abruptly found himself sinking into chocolate heaven.

Kagome watched his actions in complete bewilderment, but when an expression of pure bliss covered his face at the first taste of chocolate on his tongue, she smiled and shook her head, understanding that this was his way of saying that they were, indeed, friends. He’ll never change, she thought affectionately, closing her eyes. In the next moment, however, they flew wide open again as she perceived a faint, low-pitched rumbling coming from the vicinity of his chest. At first, she thought he was growling at her, and she looked at him fearfully, wondering what she’d done now to piss him off. But his eyes were closed in bliss, and he looked too happy to growl.

And then she realized what it was.

Is he…purring?!

She bit back a little giggle as she watched him enjoying his treat. He seemed to be enjoying it so much, in fact, that she couldn’t help teasing him a little. "You know, I went to a lot of trouble trying to get that thing for you!" she complained good-naturedly. "The least you could do is share it with me!"

His eyes opened, and he looked at her, looked down at the half-eaten candy still held between two fingers, and looked back at her again. Then, a devilish gleam entered those golden eyes, but before she had time to become worried, he popped the remainder of the chocolate into his mouth. She rolled her eyes at him, wrinkling her nose cutely. "Oh, sure, you bottomless stomach! Let’s just see how soon I bring you any more—Yeek!"

She abruptly found herself lying flat on her back, arms pinned to her sides and a wickedly-grinning half-demon hovering over her while gazing into her eyes, which widened nervously beneath his intense stare. She opened her mouth to berate him…possibly to "Sit" him…but before she could say a word, he had, in one of his lightning moves, swooped in and covered her lips with his own.

Oh! Her eyes widened further.

Oh dear.

Slowly, as warm lips softly caressed hers, they began to flutter shut again.

Oh my…

The bitter-sweet taste of dark chocolate was warm on her tongue, and she shivered in his arms as he pulled her closer, nibbling softly on her lips with sharp teeth.

Well…she had asked him to share…

~~~{~@ ~~~{~@ ~~~{~@

"Mmm…" Inu Yasha purred in his throat, slowly releasing his grip on her arms to wrap his own arms fully around her body, all the while keeping contact with her lips. Lips that were doing strange and wonderful things to his insides. He’d thought there was nothing sweeter than chocolate. But now…he was having second thoughts.

He slowly, reluctantly broke contact and opened his eyes to meet her wondering gaze…and abruptly his senses came flooding back to him. He leaped to his feet, his face flaming as he fought to get his racing pulse under control. "We better get back, Wench," he almost snarled, snatching her pack from where it had fallen on the ground. "Everyone’ll think we got eaten by a stray demon or something, so come on!"

Kagome might’ve been hurt and angered at his abrupt change in attitude if it wasn’t for the fact that his eyes kept straying to her lips. He could barely mask the look of longing in their golden depths, and her heart fluttered at the heat in his gaze. She stood and straightened her rather-rumpled clothing, smiling softly as she listened to him snarl and rant, and her calm demeanor seemed to upset him even further. "What’re you waiting for?!" he shouted, almost in her face. "Let’s go!"

She looked up into his face, a knowing expression shining within her eyes, before giving him a sweet, almost elated smile that fair knocked the fight right out of him. "You’re right, Inu Yasha," she agreed meekly. "Maybe we’d better go back." She began to stroll calmly ahead of him back in the direction she’d come, relishing in the dog demon’s befuddled expression as he hurried to catch up to her. "After all," she added slyly, shooting him a sideways glance, "you never know when you might encounter a demon with a sweet tooth running loose in the forest."

"Feh," was Inu Yasha’s only reply.