Day 10 of the 12 Days of Witchyness!

Author's Note for 12 DoW: Check my profile for complete message, but basically - I'm still short for stories I promised to post. All of them are partially written (just not completely) and some are even out for editing already. I'm going away on vacation and won't be back for a while. However, to keep my promise of posting, I will continue on January 10th, every day, until I run out of the things I promised you.

Author's Note for This Story: F.R.I.E.N.D.S.: Inuyasha Style! Basically, each chapter is more like an "episode." Some will be long, others short. Mostly around the 2,000 to 3,000 word count range. It's for fun because let's face it - I've got way too much shit on the go with everything I've posted since the 12 DoW started, and I'll need a lot of time to a) recover, b) post the rest, c) update and d) figure out the rest of the new stories I've just started are going to go...

Thank you, thank you, thank you Tam for editing this for me! I really appreciate it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not profit from this story.

I'll Be There for You

Episode One: The One Where Inuyasha is Naked

This friendship started out like most things did: terribly.

It wasn't anyone's fault, really. If Kagome Higurashi had to lay the blame anywhere, it would probably be on Rin. Rin Noto was tiny, beautiful and the most deceiving bitch Kagome knew. Even though she was easily one-hundred pounds at five-foot-two, Rin could drink alcohol like it was fruit juice. It was insanity, because whenever they and their other roommate, Sango Houko, decided to stay in for never-ending drinks, nobody survived but Rin.

But that was only background information on the real story, which was what truly mattered. So Kagome, Rin and Sango – best friends for life, or so that's what the shot glasses stated – were drinking until they were drunk. They had just moved in to their first real apartment together and boxes were scattered everywhere. Clothes were hanging every which way. The only thing that was cleared was the single, massive couch that their landlord was kind enough to provide them with. It was on that couch that all the trouble started, because even though Rin was still mildly level-headed, Kagome and Sango were long gone.

"We should meet the neighbours," Sango announced, nearly spilling her drink as her arms flailed. "I heard them when we were moving in. There are people across from us."

"We should totally meet them!" Kagome agreed readily, nodding along. "But- but- wait! We have to seem cool, right? How will we do this?"

Rin giggled. "Why don't we say we need sugar?"

"Yes! That's what everyone does in the movies!" Sango jumped up and put her drink down – probably more to save the alcohol than to risk staining the carpet – to run to the door. "Maybe it's a really hot guy and I'll fall in love forever!"

"What about me?" Rin asked, pouting. "You've never wanted to fall in love. I, however, am a true believer. It should be me that asks."

Kagome sighed. "Do you ever hear yourselves? We're asking for sugar? For what, exactly, are we asking for sugar for?"

"Did that sentence make any sense?" Sango asked Rin, raising a brow.

The small woman shrugged, looking mildly bewildered.

Kagome went to stand at the door with her friend. Sango was currently staring out the peephole that presented a skewed view of their neighbours' door. You couldn't see the entirety of Apartment number 412, but Kagome figured it had something to do with building codes or spying or whatever. Her head was too pleasantly fuzzy for her to think about it intensely. "We can say we just moved and use it to our advantage," she murmured, knocking her friend's hip aside so she could look out into the hall. "Say we're trying to make coffee but haven't unpacked everything yet."

"But we unpacked the coffee maker?" Rin giggled from somewhere close by. "How does that work?"

"It works," Kagome insisted.

"Fine, but I'm going to be the one doing all the talking," Sango said, poking her friends' arms. "I want my chance at true love."

"That's me, not you!" Rin called out as Kagome pretended to gag. "I'm the one who thinks like that. You're the one who says that Prince Charming is a pussy."

"He is!"

The argument was still ongoing as the three of them stepped outside with some sort of bowl that they managed to find to put the sugar in. Rin knocked on the door, fixing her dress while Sango shoved her out of the way to greet their neighbour.

"Give me the bowl!" she hissed.

"No way!" Rin snapped back. "It's mine!"

Kagome just thought the hallway looked a lot longer than it had the last time she stared down it.

It was apparent only a few seconds later that no one was answering the door. Sango frowned, raising her fist to knock again. She certainly was louder than Rin, but Kagome thought that if no one answered it meant that they had snuck out between them unpacking and drinking. It wasn't like that would've been hard.

"Are you fucking serious!" yelled someone from the other side, sounding particularly furious. "Where the fuck is Miroku?" There wasn't really a noise of response but Angry Man must have gotten one because he groaned. "And why won't you get off your lazy ass to answer the damn door?"

"Because I didn't want it to be another one of Miroku's pizza girls!" the man replied, this time just as loudly.

"Oh fuck you, seriously," Angry Man snapped.

Sango and Rin looked at each other, wide eyes finally settling on Kagome. "Not it!" they hissed in unison. Rin shoved the bowl into Kagome's hands while Sango spun around and pushed her forward so that it looked like Kagome had knocked on the door.

"What–" Kagome stared at the bowl in her hands, confused for a moment before their neighbour's door whooshed open.

Sango and Rin groaned in unison.

Kagome actually giggled. It was a testament to how drunk she was, and how, therefore, this entire thing was Rin's fault because she could drink them under the table, which made Sango and Kagome far drunker then they were supposed to be.

"Can I help you?" The man who answered the door had a stern face, but you really had to ignore that. His hair was long and silvery, with two dog ears twitching on top. His eyes, although glaring, were gold and – in Kagome's opinion – beautiful.

And, of course, he was wet and wearing nothing but a towel. It was glorious.

"Oh, you can help me," Kagome replied without meaning to. Sango choked behind her while Rin burst into a fit of hysterics. The man who answered the door just stared at the three of them, waiting and annoyed. When no one spoke further he gestured with his hand, prompting Kagome to continue. "Uh," she started, unsuccessfully. "We need sugar. For coffee. Because we just moved in and we want coffee and there's no sugar. Therefore, there's no coffee."

The silver-haired man actually smirked at that, eyes assessing her before he looked at their door, number 411. "Ah, so you're the drunken women we could hear earlier. Miroku will be depressed he missed this."

"Well it serves him right, because apparently he likes Pizza Girls," Rin threw in, with all the seriousness that a five-foot-two, one-hundred pound grown woman could muster while drunk.

Inuyasha looked a bit stunned. "So you heard that."

"You were yelling pretty loud," Sango admitted, nodding solemnly.

"Why are you only wearing a towel?" Kagome asked, tilting her head like she was examining him. She was, in fact, examining him. More specifically, she was examining where the towel was twisted and somewhat knotted around his waist. It didn't look too sturdy. Kagome wished the thing would give already.

This was totally Rin's fault.

The man's smirk grew but he simply grabbed the bowl from Kagome's hands and started to walk back into the apartment. "How much sugar do you need?"

"Around…" Rin thought about it for a moment. "Like seven teaspoons or whatever?"

"I'll just pour a bunch," the man concluded. "That way you don't wake me up in the morning for more." The man got to the kitchen counter, still just in a towel, and reached up in one of the cupboards to get what had to be sugar.

Kagome was hoping for any god to hear her, and for that goddamn towel to drop.

"I'm Inuyasha, by the way," he said as he pulled the bag of sugar down – towel still intact, unfortunately – to pour some in the bowl. "And that lazy asshole on the couch is Kouga."

"Sup."

"Is he only wearing a towel too?" Sango asked, turning around to see the man in question. Kouga was dressed, actually, but not wearing all that much. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of track pants and woolly socks. His brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, blue eyes focused on the television with some video game on.

"What are you playing?" Kagome asked, turning only slightly. She still wanted to face Inuyasha in all of his towel-clad glory.

Kouga shrugged, mashing buttons on the controller. "The fuck if I know. Something about street fighting."

"Thanks for the sugar," Rin said suddenly, grabbing the offered bowl from Inuyasha. "We'll get out of your hair now."

"Hey! That's Super Street Fighter 4," Kagome mumbled, finally leaving her position of worship to head towards the couch. "Is this the arcade edition?"

Inuyasha looked a little confused for a moment before responding. "Yeah, it is. Why, you play?"

"Yeah, I used to," Kagome replied, staring at Kouga. "Why the hell didn't you just focus-cancel?"

"What?" Kouga asked, making the mistake of looking from the screen to her so that he was killed in the match. The man grinned however, canines flashing briefly as he looked Kagome up and down. "Want to teach me?"

Grabbing the controller, Kagome sat down on the couch. "You have second player?"

"Fuck that," Inuyasha stated, moving around to shove at Kouga's face. "Get the fuck out of here. You don't know how to play for shit."

Rin and Sango stared, uncomprehending. "We should probably go," Sango said, looking at the three of them worriedly.

"Just play one match," Inuyasha said, turning on the other controller while Kagome set up the player versus player. "Who do you play?"

"Hmm?" Kagome turned, seemingly to notice Inuyasha for the first time before blinking. "Oh, I only play like three characters. My brother used to own the game so I'd play it with him. Who are you going to play?"

Inuyasha smirked. "I'm good at all of them."

"That's not an answer," Kagome stated, rolling her eyes.

"You didn't answer me either!"

"Uh, Kagome?" Rin prompted.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha joined in and selected random for his character choice. "Ah, so you're that kind of guy," she murmured, thinking about it before finally moving over to her character. She selected it, allowed for a random location and waited.

Inuyasha just stared at her. "Seriously, you pick Cammy?"

"Better odds than Sakura or Rose for a match-up," Kagome replied. The scene set up, the countdown beginning before the game was suddenly on. Inuyasha's character threw a fireball and Kagome dodged using her spinning knuckles.

Sango looked at Rin. "Her nerd side is squealing right now."

"I know," Rin replied, sighing sadly. "A god, wet, in a towel, and he plays whatever the hell game she does? This is hopeless."

Inuyasha won the first match, but Kagome won the second. It was down to the final round and Kagome giggled. "The sad thing is I'm totally wasted. You shouldn't let me win."

The silver-haired man blinked for a moment before shrugging. "I was just trying to be nice."

"That's bull!" Kouga yelled, and even though he had no idea what the game was about, he grinned at his roommate. "He totally lost because he sucks."

The match started. It almost went to time but in the end, Kagome won with a multiple-hit combo that chipped through Inuyasha's life.

"YES!" Kagome squealed, leaning back and laughing into the big couch.

"What the fuck, no," Inuyasha snapped, standing up the exact same moment Kouga made a grab for the controller.

The end result was a suddenly towel-less Inuyasha.

"YES!" Sango and Rin screamed. Kouga screamed for an entirely different reason, yelling profanity while Inuyasha shot it right back. Kagome, in a moment of quick, drunken thinking, grabbed the towel and ran. The three women escaped to their apartment, Kouga's horrified roars still audible even as they shut and locked the door.

"That just happened, right?" Sango asked, smiling hugely.

Kagome held up the towel and the three of them burst into another fit of giggles. Apartment 411: 1, Apartment 412: 0.

Feedback is greatly appreciated.