Kunichiwa! Until I can get started on my next big fic, I've decided to entertain you all with another attempt at humor. Seeing as my next project is going to be a little dark - and in an alternate universe, despite my love of manga canon - I figured I'd better get it all out of my system now.

Enjoy!

Kagome's Odd Smell
Discovery

Kagome dumped her school bag on her desk before collapsing on her bed. It had been a long day at school, and the fact that she was probably going to flunk all her final exams only made it worse. Plus, her friends had been on her case about her relationship with Hojo and her so-called 'violent, two-timing boyfriend.' 'At least he won't come to pick me up for a couple days...'

"Oi, wench!"

'...Or he could just jump through my window at the most inopportune moment.' The exhausted schoolgirl rolled on her side to cast the invading hanyo a weary glare. "Why, hello to you too, Inuyasha. I'm thrilled that you are being your usual, polite, cheery self."

The aforementioned boy merely crouched on her floor with a blank, confused stare, his rude comments caught in his throat.

"It's called sarcasm, Inuyasha; remember?"

"Keh..." With that, the half-yokai leapt onto the bed and proceeded to stare at his human companion oddly. Almost as if...he was trying to see something inside her. It was quite disturbing, truth be told.

"...Inuyasha...?"

Her voice appeared to snap him out of his daze. "Huh?"

"Uh...why were you looking at me like that?"

"Are you pupped?" Inuyasha's ears turned back, making him look a bit like a kicked puppy.

Kagome's sleep-deprived mind was so absorbed with those cute ears that it took a moment for the words uttered by the owner of said ears to sink in.

:DOWNSTAIRS:

Mrs. Higurashi smiled inwardly. While she was not a proper miko like her daughter - probably due to a lack of the training and practical experience that Kagome faced on a daily basis in the Sengoku Jidai - she had enough power to sense when a yokai was near. She had noticed Inuyasha's presence the moment the boy appeared in the ancient well, and was not at all surprised when his aura moved out into the courtyard, up the Goshinboku, and through the window into Kagome's room. Despite her daughter's protests, she knew that there were feelings between the hanyo boy and the time-traveling young woman who called her "Mama." Now if only they would admit it to each other...

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" A scream from the bedroom where the two teens had been confined broke through Mrs. Higurashi's dreams of cute, puppy-eared grandchildren. She went back to folding laundry with a slightly depressed expression on her face. From the sounds of things, Inuyasha had just done something that would put her dreams on hold for a few more years. She would have to talk some manners into that boy. A woman can't wait forever, you know...

'I wonder if their children will have silver hair or black...'

:WITH OUR FAVORITE HANYO:

Inuyasha cowered in fear from the girl - no, angry miko - before him. Despite the fact that she had been apparently drowsing when he entered the room, her aura now blazed brightly. Kagome herself was sitting straight up on her bed, fully awake, giving him a glare so terrible that he had a primitive impulse to run far, far away. 'Ooooohhh dang...I'm in for it now...'

"I asked you a QUESTION, Inuyasha!" The miko seethed with righteous fury and maidenly indignation. 'How DARE he suspect me of such a thing...!'

"I...erm...well, you smelled odd...I was just worried...about you..." For some reason unknown to the hanyo boy, this seemed to appease the woman's anger. Her aura slowly calmed, but he kept his position next to the window...just in case.

Kagome, now even more exhausted because of the energy consumed by her outburst, laid back down. "Sorry I snapped, Inuyasha; and no, I'm not...er...'pupped.' I guess I'm just not feeling like myself today."

That grabbed Inuyasha's attention immediately. 'Oh, no! I knew it was a bad idea to let her come back! Kikyo's soul must be affecting her!' Though it had been only two weeks since Kikyo's final demise at the hands of their archenemy Naraku, Inuyasha had all but recovered due to Kagome's calming presence. However, Kagome had reabsorbed the rest of her soul that Kikyo had been using...

:FROM A MIKO'S POINT OF VIEW:

Kagome watched Inuyasha as he zoned out on her bedroom floor. She could almost hear the turining of mental wheels in the hanyo's head ('They're probably rusty from disuse,' she mentally snickered; 'Why else would he accuse me of being pregnant...especially when I KNOW he can't smell another male on me?'). Not for the first time, she wished she knew what was going on inside that boy's mind. Suddenly, a resolute and determined look appeared across his face that made Kagome very suspicious and uneasy.

Her miko intuition told her that he was probably going to do something very stupid. Knowing Inuyasha as she did - and not having the mental strength to fight her instincts - she guessed that it was probably true.

:BACK WITHIN THE HANYO'S HEAD:

There was no doubt in the Inuyasha's mind. The cause of Kagome's discomfort was most definitely Kikyo's soul. After all, what else had the power to make Kagome so tired? Nothing out of the ordinary had happened during their last trip from Kaede's village...which basically meant that they had been constantly fighting yokai, rogue samurai, and villagers who were either scared of Inuyasha or angry at Miroku's lecherous and conniving ways. Hell, they hadn't even met up with Naraku - and that had to be a first. Kagome had been in her time, safe and sound, for two days...probably sleeping the whole time, lazy wench.

Yup, Kikyo's soul was the only thing that could possibly be affecting Kagome. Well, being the intelligent and quick-thinking hanyo that he was, he knew just how to help Kagome.

He watched as the girl tried to get up off her bed...and promptly collapsed, unconscious. With his quick reflexes, he was able to catch her before she hit the ground - but he nearly dropped her when he realized just how hot she was.

'Great...just frickin' great. Kikyo's soul is trying to burn Kagome from the inside out! She feels almost as hot as she does when she's sick!'

Luckily, Inuyasha was ready to implement his master plan for curing Kagome. It would take a chunk out of his pride - and he would probably get several 'Oswari's from Kagome for it - but if it would save the woman he loved (er, neededfor finding...oh, wait; Naraku had the whole Shikon jewel anyways...never mind) he was willing to risk it.

In two giant leaps, he and Kagome were on their way back to Feudal Japan. Surely Kaede-baba would know how to cure Kagome.

:BACK INSIDE THE HIGURASHI RESIDENCE:

Mrs. Higurashi was alerted to the fact that her daughter's unofficial boyfriend had just gone back to his own era. She decided to check on her daughter. Ever since Kagome had eaten that leftover oden, she really hadn't been acting normally.

Um...I'll just leave you all to think this over carefully. I hope you caught the subtle humor of the situation.

Yep; Inuyasha, for all his good intentions, is probably going to get some Righteous Miko Fury(tm) when Kagome comes to.

Poor guy.