Disclaimer: InuYasha and related characters are not mine, but belong to Rumiko Takahashi and co. I am merely borrowing them for my own enjoyment (and maybe a few other people's) and am not making a single penny on this. I do, however claim Suzu-chan as my own creation.

A/N: A couple things that should be known at the start. One, there will be quite a bit of Japanese used in the dialogue (not all as I'm not fluent myself), but I will include a Japanese Glossary of all the words used in each chapter at the bottom for reference. Two, the length of this chapter will probably be about the length of following chapters. Though shorter than what I usually aim for, I can update more regularly with the shorter writing goal. There may well be times when I can write more in a single sitting and produce a longer chapter. So without further ado, I humbly present to you 'The Canine Connector'.

Chapter One:

It was a normal day for the gang, wandering the countryside in search of Naraku and the Shikon no Tama shards. They were walking beside a forest when suddenly, a small fluffy blur tackle Shippo off of Kagome's shoulder. "Shippo-kun!" The two tumbled for a few feet before Shippo was pinned beneath a very young yokai. Her black hair was pulling into high ponytail and her amber eyes were bright with excitement. Her twin fox tails flicked here and there as she was almost immediately picked up by the neck of her yukata by InuYasha.

Recognition flickered in the hanyou's eyes as he held the now squirming yokai at arm's length and he murmured to himself, "naze ka…" Hearing his voice, the yokai stopped squirming and looked at InuYasha curiously. Kagome and the others came over to see what had 'attacked' their group as Shippo grumpily dusted himself off from the tackle. When Kagome saw the young girl her eyes lit up. "Kawaii!"

The girl's gaze flickered to the rest of the group and landed back on InuYasha before her eyes widened with recognition. She somehow managed to worm her way from his grasp to end up clinging to his neck. "InuYasha-kun!" This surprised everyone, including InuYasha. At this point, Shippo, back on Kagome's shoulder, had a chance to see just who had tackled him. "Suzu-chan?"

The girl grinned at Shippo over InuYasha's shoulder, as she was still hanging from his neck. "Hai!"

InuYasha's eyes widened at the name. "Masaka..." He pulled her arms from around his neck and held her out in front of him so he could look at her. After a moment, realization lit his eyes and he practically dropped the girl to the ground, where she landed softly. "Kaire"

Shippo glared at InuYasha as he hopped to the ground next to Suzu. "Daijobu?

Suzu nodded as she looked up at InuYasha with confused eyes. "Doshite…"

InuYasha huffed, noticing the majority of the group glaring at him. "Keh. No one here needs a 'play mate'."

Suzu pouted a bit and replied in a slightly annoyed voice, "Wakatta… demo…" She looked down, scuffing her foot on the ground and linking her hands behind her back.

Kagome spoke up. "InuYasha, who is she?" She was a bit confused as to what he had meant by his 'play mate' comment.

InuYasha, annoyed at having to explain it, replied shortly. "A childhood playmate."

This caused Shippo to give him a confused look. "But, she's not old enough to be from your childhood."

InuYasha huffed at the kitsune, as if the answer was obvious. "She's not nearly as young as she looks."

At this point, the young yokai spoke up. "I'm still here, ya know." Though her voice was quiet and she spoke with a childish slur, her words were easily heard and understood.

Kagome squatted down next to the yokai. "Sumimasen. Is what InuYasha said true? That you met him when he was a child?"

Suzu shifted uncomfortably, obviously not wanting to answer the question, though she finally muttered reluctantly, "Hai..."

Shippo, having no tact what so ever, blurted out the question that was on everyone's mind. "Just how old are you?"

A slightly mischievous glint appeared in Suzu's eyes as she looked at Shippo and replied slowly. "Hi-mi-tsu."

At that moment, the somewhat nervous atmosphere was broken by the sharp sound of a slap. The rest of the startled group turned to see a fuming Sango and Miroku with a red hand print yet again marked on his cheek. It was Suzu who shook her head and muttered, "No tact at all…" This earned a laugh from Kagome, who was more surprised that the young looking yokai had grasped what had just happened than she was at the words themselves.

Suzu made no indication of planning to leave the group, so as they finally continued on their way, it was with a sixth member. At first, she was content with trying to bug Shippo into playing, but when she had no success with that, she turned to pouting for sympathy, something the two regular females of the group were readily willing to give. Shippo, dislodged from his place with Kagome, ended up with Miroku, trying his best to act 'mature', while the girls fussed over the 'newest edition'

Japanese Glossary:

Shikon no Tama : Jewel of Four Souls

kun : used with young males, more formal than -chan

yokai : demon

yukata : simply kimono, usually one layer over undergarment

hanyou : half-demon

naze : how

ka : spoken '?'

kawaii : cute

chan : used with children and young females as well as anything a female dubs 'cute'

hai : yes

masaka : It can't be

kaire : go home

daijobu : 'all right'; can be used to ask if someone is all right

doshite : why?

wakatta : 'understood'; used as 'I know'

demo : but

himitsu: secret

A/N: Reviewing does indeed produce faster updates from me, as I'm more inclined to write when I know someone is reading it. Thank you for your time.