Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

I don't think there has ever been a hero that would not, even once in their world-saving life, feel like they were wasting themselves. The world sleeps safely tonight... but what about our hero? Is he not allowed to lead a normal life? What would the implications be?br /First chapter: introduction, thoughts, musing... oh, and a scene where Inuyasha is naked ;p Enjoy!

Prologue

"Where´s the shard, Kagome?"

It was a great and fierce Chinese dragon. How it got there, they didn´t know. It had, maybe, lain dormant in a cave nearby, from times immemorial. But that didn´t mattered. What mattered was that it had attacked them ferociously, moreover, during dinner. They had managed to draw it away from the village, and were now fighting it. Inuyasha was furious, both from having been disturbed like that and because the huge creature seemed to get the best of them. They could have used Sango and Miroku´s help, but they weren´t there at the time.

The dragon was too quick for Inuyasha´s energy attacks, not to mention Kagome´s arrows. It swayed in the air, like a great lash. Inuyasha had to engage in hand to hand combat with it, or more hand to horn, because of the big and sharp horn on its muzzle. It also breathed fire and obviously had some score to settle with Kagome. Of course, her hanyo protector wouldn't let it come near her.

"I can see something glowing inside its head, but I´m not sure."

"Well, damn it, be sure! Look out!"

And Inuyasha pushed Kagome out of the way of a great ball of fire.

"That freakin´ does it! Kagome, I want you to hold me!"

"Huh? Don't you think it´s kind of a weird time to be displaying affection?"

"Just bloody do what I say! I need the force of your shards in their pure form. So put your arms around me. Now!"

Kagome obeyed his command and embraced him from behind. Inuyasha focused and his blade turned diamond. The dragon swooped upon them.

"Inuyasha... it´s gonna swallow us."

"No fear!" he growled between his teeth.

The dragon came closer and closer. It breathed blades of fire.

"No fear!" Kagome said firmly and the shards glowed.

"Adamant Barrage!"

Inuyasha released a powerful shout that shook the ground, being surpassed only by the surreal force of his attack.

It split the fire in two and entered inside the dragon's mouth, shattering it into pieces. The head fell someplace, while parts of its body were scattered all around.

Inuyasha breathed a little hard.

"Are you ok?" Kagome asked him.

"Just hold on to me a bit longer."

~Gladly~ she thought.

They stayed like that for a few moments.

"Kagome?"

"Mm?"

"We should probably get the shard. Could you... uh... let go now?"

"Oh! Oh, sure!"

Kagome approached the head of the dragon. As she did that, it move on its own unexpectedly and, with its last breath, it spitted a small red projectile, which hit Kagome fully in her chest, with the force of a bullet. It threw her to the ground. Enraged, Inuyasha split the head in two with the Tetsusaiga.

"Kagome, are you ok?"

She had already gotten up, although the blow had seemed to be more damaging than that. She looked inside her blouse, searching for a mark, but she found nothing, not even a bruise. She could feel a burning sensation on her skin and inside her heart, but no mark to show for.

"Where did it hit you?" and Inuyasha pulled on her blouse, in an attempt to see for himself, but received a slap on his hand.

"Hey, now! Where you raised in a barn?" Kagome objected. "Don´t you know it´s not nice to do that?"

Inuyasha blushed but pretended offended and indifferent.

"I just wanted to see if you were hit. It´s not like I´m interested in two pieces of flesh."

~That come out all wrong...~ He blushed harder, but said nothing more.

"I should get the shard." Kagome concluded amused and headed for the dragon´s head.

"Careful! I split the sucker, but you never now!"

Kagome looked around.

"Hm! That´s interesting. I swear I could see a shard. But now I..."

The dragon´s flesh faded away and vanished as if it never existed. Only the bones remained and they, too, would finally be sent to the Bone Eater´s Well.

"That´s really the strangest thing: if it didn´t have a shard to make it evil, why would it want to attack us? The Chinese dragon is known as one of the noblest and wisest creatures."

"I´m more concerned about the blow you received. If you´re not letting me, you should at least let Kaede take a look." Inuyasha adviced her. "Come on, let´s go back. It´s getting dark."

"Yeah..." Kagome reluctantly approved.

"You should probably stay at the temple for the night. There´s something I don´t like..." Inuyasha continued as they headed towards the village.

***

The blood shone red on the green grass. He lay on his side, motionless. She kneeled beside him and turned him over. The pallor of death that had settled on his face, did not diminish his beauty. She stroke his ice cold forehead.

"Come back to me!" she whispered and her words echoed. There was no answer. The pain invaded her heart. It was unbearable.

She stood by a grave. Sango was next to her, holding her around her shoulders. Miroku was praying. She bent and put some flowers on the grave. She could read the letters on the funeral stone; they spelled: INUYASHA.

Kagome awoke in tears, calling out his name, crying like she had never thought she could. Her heart felt like burning embers, scorching her from the inside. She held herself tight, in a desperate embrace.

Inuyasha dashed inside the room and looked around. Then he kneeled next to Kagome.

"What happened? Why did you call me?"

The sight of Kagome in tears, troubled him deeply. She threw herself around his neck crying, too terrified to tell him what she had dreamed. At first baffled, Inuyasha put his arms around her and held her tight.

"There... It was just a nightmare. I´m here, Kagome."

But somehow his words lacked the power to settle the tempest that had started in her heart.

Chapter one: (Bitter-)sweet sixteen

"The first time should be with someone you love, so you can make it a special moment."

Kagome's face was burning up, as she realized who she was thinking about. Thank God it was dark in the classroom, as they showed the documentary for the "educational class". There was anyway a general giggling and blushing among the girls: why should she act otherwise? After all she was a teenager.

It wasn't the first time she saw the film, but it was the first time she had someone on her mind. She had never given much thought on the matter, but it was a week since she felt… different, like something changed inside her. She regarded him differently; she kind of stumbled at the sight of him and blushed when he touched her. Inuyasha had noticed it, too, and often stared at her, frowning, like he didn't understand what was going on, and called her "weird" and "clumsy" and "silly". What Kagome didn´t know, was that he was returning her attention, and even smiled, when she wasn´t looking, of course.

"Remember: always use protection!"

"Ha, pf, yeah right!" she giggled to herself, at the thought.

"Did you say something, Kagome?" her bench-mate asked.

"No, no. I just felt like sneezing."

~This film doesn't help me much with my task today.~ She had a plan, which she couldn't wait to share with Inuyasha, but she felt her new feelings were an obstacle in the way of her words. She feared that they would eventually become an obstacle in the way of their friendship, too, that nothing would ever be the same again.

**

*

~Inuyasha? Would you be my date?~ but, just as she had feared, the words wouldn't come out. So Kagome just kept on staring at her hanyo friend, with a knot in her throat and butterflies in her stomach. ~What's with the butterflies? It's not like I'm asking him on a serious date. It's just for fun.~ She never believed it would be so hard to utter those words. But, by the light of the fire, resting, eyes closed, he looked so serene and simply beautiful, that it reminded her of all the reasons she had to really consider him a serious date.

"OK, spit it out!" he unexpectedly barked, as impatient as ever, making Kagome startle.

"What?" she pretended.

"Do you think I can't feel you staring at me? What? Is the effect of the new-moon already starting to show? It was not supposed to, until tomorrow night" and the boy looked alarmed at his claws.

~Kagome, just say it!~ she braced herself.

"Um, Inuyasha… about tomorrow night…"

"Yeah?"

His big, expressive eyes suddenly gazing so curiously into hers, made Kagome even more reluctant to tell him her plan.

"Nothing. I guess it's just stupid. Where is Miroku with that food? I'm starving. Besides, I gotta get back. I promised mom…"

Inuyasha approached her face so much, that his eyes were now piercing rays of light. Kagome blushed, without being able to look away, while he simply stared inquisitive, like studying something. He said softly, stroking her nose, with one finger:

"Lately, you've been acting weird. You're so silly when you're nervous like that. What is it that you can't possibly tell me?"

And by that "me", Kagome knew he meant ~after all we've been through~ and ~when you know how I feel for you~ and ~when I know how you feel for me~. As rough and rude as he was, Inuyasha did have a way of melting Kagome's heart, with his childlike innocence and candor. But something had obviously changed in her heart. She looked down smiling, her cheeks all blossoms.

"Well, you should know that it's a human thing, but I was thinking about asking you out on a date."

"What's a… date?" he wiggled one doggy ear.

"It's when a boy and a girl meet and go for a walk and eat something and…" ~kiss... No, no, no! What's wrong with me?~

Inuyasha thought a little.

"But aren't we always… dating like that? We meet, we walk, we slay demons, we eat…

"Oh, no!" Kagome chuckled "Both the boy and the girl dress up nicely, they meet somewhere in town, possibly with other friends as well and go see a movie, or go dancing. You see? That's why I was thinking about tomorrow night, when you're all human and you would be less conspicuous if you came in my time. And besides…"

Inuyasha's curiosity turned into a frown and a crooked mouth. He interrupted Kagome's excited speech, with a painful conclusion:

"You were right: it is stupid!" and he turned his back to her, his arms crossed. "Besides, we have no time for that. We have to find Naraku and take the jewel back from him."

The girl was so disappointed by his reaction that her eyes filled up with tears. She forced herself not to cry, although she couldn't stop sobbing as she said:

"You know what's stupid? That we're just a couple of kids and yet we deal all day long with things way beyond our maturity level. I'm tired of all the blood and gore and protecting this and that. I wanna have some fun for a change."

Inuyasha had never heard Kagome speaking like that before. There was something different in all her behavior. She even smelled a little different.

"And you know what else is stupid?" she continued. "That you aren't afraid of a ten-foot monster, but your kimono trembles on you, at the thought of doing something new, something you're not familiar with."

"Hey! I'm not afraid! I've been in your world a dozen times and, frankly, I don't like it."

"That's because we never do anything fun."

"You call "fun" making me dress up like a 20'th century clown and showing me off to your girlfriends? Why don't you get Miroku to do that for 'ya? Or, better yet, Koga."

Kagome jumped to her feet, her beautiful, brown eyes blazing with anger, her fists tightened.

"Yeah, well at least Koga is forward and outspoken. I mean, I don´t even know what we two are, Inuyasha. Are we friends, lovers...?"

Inuyasha´s eyes grew wider. Kagome stuttered:

"I... I mean a couple... as in girlfriend, boyfriend... damn it! Why is it so hard?"

Inuyasha felt something rather alarming looking at that different Kagome. It was linked more to his animal side. In short, he felt like he could tear her apart and eat her up. The thought sent shivers down his spine, but nonetheless gave him an evil glow in his eye. It frightened Kagome.

"Don´t you look at me like that!" she blustered.

A sharp ache went through her heart.

"Ouch!" she held her hand to her chest.

"What is it?" Inuyasha became worried.

"It´s probably nothing. Just a thrubbing of the heart."

"Let me see." and in no time he was up on his feet, looking down her cleavage.

He received a fist in his head.

"I thought you´d learned by now that you just can´t do such things!" Kagome shouted, tightening her blouse.

She turned and walked away.

"What´s your problem?" Inuyasha cried out after her, rubbing his head.

~Hm! See if I care!~ thought Inuyasha and leaned back, his arms under his head.

The problem was that he did care. And something was not right. He admired Kagome for the patience she had with his whims and ill-temper and sometimes wondered how she can stick around, when all he ever did was scold and disregard her. He did that mainly as a protection, so as not to let her too close to him. He did not know exactly why, but his intuition said it was safer, for both of them. ~Maybe, when the world will be a better place. When the Shikon no Tama will never be a threat to anyone. Maybe then…~ and he realized he was thinking about how warm it felt in the rare occasions she took him in her arms. Something very powerful made him want to protect her and keep her by his side, just so she could hug him once in a while. ~Neah! It's just that I'm half dog and I'm being territorial.~ Was he then considering Kagome as "his"?

"Where did Kagome go?" Miroku interrupted his musing. "I brought food from Kaede."

"How should I know where she is? Guess she took off back to her time."

"You let her alone, at night?"

"So what? Pf, believe me, as angry as she was, I hope, for their sake, that no one tries to attack her." Inuyasha laughed more to convince himself.

"It means you turned down her invitation and probably even made fun of her, as usual." Miroku concluded, with an air of know-it-all.

After a brief pause, while Inuyasha stared bedazzled, he burst:

"She confides to you?"

"I think she would much rather confide to you. It's just that you're not letting her."

"Ha! I'm not having this talk with you. Not with you, not with anyone!"

And he turned his back again, not without taking his share of the food first.

~How can he be both an extrovert and an introvert?~ Miroku wondered. ~Must have something to do with this dual nature of his.~

"C'mon, Inuyasha! Sango and I are going.

"What the hell is this?" the boy exclaimed between gulps. "A conspiracy?"

"No, but we thought she deserves to decide what to do on her birthday. She's celebrating it tomorrow."

~Her birthday? Oh, man! Why didn't she tell me? I bet it was because she didn't want me to feel compelled to do anything special for her. She told Sango and Miroku, though. What's this all about? Trusting them and not me? Well, of course, if I snap at her every time she tries to come closer. I hope she got safely back home.~

And just as he was eating the food from his bowl, all those thoughts and many others were eating him. Miroku could almost hear him think. Too bad Inuyasha wasn't such a ladies-man like himself. Miroku chuckled and stroke his hair in a narcissistic way but became very embarrassed when he saw Inuyasha looking at him. He seemed to want to say something.

"I…"he began and then paused. "I ain't wearing any shoes, OK?"

**

*

Kagome wasn't mad at Inuyasha. She was perfectly aware that he was a half-demon and not one of the guys in school. You couldn't expect him to react like a normal human. Being in-between was, in fact, one of the things Kagome liked about Inuyasha… but, lately, it was something that also made her very sad. Their whole story was a sad one. In her previous incarnation, she was made to think he had betrayed her. They were at odds with eachother, yet loved eachother. ~Soul-mate slash arch-rival. How lame! Poor Kikyo. Poor Inuyasha.~

A year had passed since she'd fallen into the Bone-Eater's Well and found herself in feudal Japan, where a beautiful boy, with dog ears was pinned to the sacred tree by a magical arrow… Kikyo's arrow… her previous form's arrow. The story continued to be sad. As she had reproached Inuyasha, she thought they were way more mature then any teenager she knew. ~Most kids our age know nothing about the forces of evil, hanyo-s and yokai-s. They think keeping the world safe is reduced to recycling. They go dancing, they flirt, fall in love… Yeah, now that's something neither I, nor Inuyasha aren't mature about.~ But the past few days she felt she was slowly becoming a woman and wished for a normal boy and girl relationship. And here came the sad part: there was no one in her world she would have liked as a partner, but she could think of a certain little imp, with sunset colored eyes and silver mane.

"Huh!" she sighed. ~I'm not all normal myself.~

What saddened her more was that Inuyasha never spoke of these things and she couldn't bring herself up to touch the subject, either. ~I swear the guy is verbally challenged, when it comes to expressing his feelings. But, then again, so am I, lately.~ Maybe he didn't even feel the way she did. ~That would probably be the saddest part of them all.~

On her way home from afternoon classes, she passed through a park. She stopped and sat on a bench. It was a beautiful, sunny day and the sakura leaves were rustling as the wind danced through them. Couples passed by, holding hands, families with kids all sizes were out for a walk. Though she tried hard, the girl couldn't picture her and Inuyasha as a couple, or... with kids. With every inch of her she felt that between the two of them, there couldn't have been a normal love story. Yet, with every inch of her, she desired exactly that.

She had had another nightmare about him being dead. The ache in her heart was still sharp after that nightmare. This time, Inuyasha hadn´t been there to comfort her.

She could hear his voice saying: "I need you. Haven't you understood that by now?" and "I'll stay a half-demon... just for you." and especially "Hold on to me a bit longer." That was the one that really made her heart tick faster. Boy, did it feel good to hold him!

"Maybe this is as good as it gets for now." she concluded aloud, while some kids stared at her talking to herself. "Why would I want to rush into things? After all, I am only 16."

She got up and headed home. She was supposed to meet Sango and Miroku later on and she also had to prepare herself. Since morning, her family had congratulated her and also her class-mates. Everybody, but the one she would have really liked to have by her side. Kagome suddenly decided she should forget about him for the rest of the day and have fun for a change.

To her great surprise, Sango was expecting her in front of the house. What was more surprising was how beautiful and normal she looked in the black dress she had lent for her.

"Hey! What are you doing here so early?" Sango enquired, obviously in a jam.

"I could ask you the same thing. You were supposed to meet me after sunset and it's two more hours till then."

"Yeah, well... um... I thought I'd come by a little earlier so... you could show me around." and without expecting her answer, Sango grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away from the house.

"Can't I change first? Wait here!" Kagome escaped Sango and ran into the house.

"Kagome!" Sango ran after her.

"Hi, mom! Did you see how beautiful Sango looks in a modern dress?"

"Sweety! Wait, don't go upstairs! Can't you run to the store first and..."

"No time, mom! I promised Sango I will show her around a bit before the big gather-up."

Kagome ran up the stair, Sango followed her while Mrs. Higurashi looked after them. On top of the stairs, Sota suddenly popped up.

"Hey, sis! Watcha' doin'? Did I sing to you "Happy Birthday" today?"

Sota began singing, while executing a very funny dance in his attempt to stop Kagome from going any further. Sango accompanied him, although she didn't know the song and also was tone-deaf.

"What is it with you two weirdoes?" Kagome laughed.

She picked Sota up and removed him from her way. Then she heard something.

"Sota, did you leave the shower running?"

"Um..."

"You did, didn't you? Mom, Sota's been playing with the shower again!"

As she approached the bathroom door, the shower sound suddenly stopped, surprising Kagome. Then a noise, like a dog shaking the water off resounded. The door opened and... there were two cute doggy ears and two huge orange eyes on a round face with perfect, childish features, surrounded by long, white hair, now wet and smelling like Kagome's shampoo. All this on a tall, slender, yet very fit... naked young man's body.

"Inu...yasha?"

Beads of water were dripping off his hair directly on the floor and along the strong neck, down his powerful arms and his chest that had taken so many injuries while protecting her.

"What?!" snapped the boy, as if everything was perfectly normal.

He smelled so good and his body still gave off the heat of the water. Steam surrounded him like an aura. An uncomfortable silence had fallen, while Kagome stared into Inuyasha's eyes, afraid to look anywhere else, and felt her knees trembling and her face burning up.

"Surpriiiise!" Sango yell, giving both of them a start.

"Inuyasha! Don't you know you're not supposed to appear in front of a lady like that?"

Miroku came out of Sota's room with a big sheet, covered Inuyasha up and pushed him into the room, while the boy commented aloud as usual:

"But that's not a lady, it's just Kagome. I've seen her naked lots of times while she was bathing. So what's the problem if...?"

The door closed behind them. Sota burst out laughing, but when Kagome gave him a certain look, he quickly followed the guys into his room.

**

*

Sango knocked gently on the door:

"Kagome? Can I come in?"

"Are you alone?"

"Yes!"

"Come in then."

Sango found Kagome in front of the mirror, wearing a tight, short, red dress, with a turtle neck and high red boots. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, revealing her forehead and lightening up her face. That notwithstanding, her eyes were darkened by sorrow. This was certainly a different Kagome. Sango became suspicious.

"You look great in red." she said, just to open the conversation. ~But this is not you.~

Kagome sat down on the bed. She was very pale and Sango now saw that she had been crying.

"Are you OK? Did we do something wrong? We thought you want Inuyasha here for your birthday. Oh, you have no idea what we've been through with him, today! He changed his mind a dozen times about coming, then he..."

"Sango, do we look funny from the outside? Silly, I mean. Laughable."

"You and dog-boy of wonder? Yeah, you're pretty funny."

Kagome sighed.

"Well, I don't feel funny at all. When we argue, when he doesn't listen to me, turns his back, goes away alone, shuts down inside himself... it hurts, you know?"

Sango sat down next to her.

"It didn't hurt in the beginning, it's something rather new. Sango..." Kagome faced her and the tears in her eyes were showing. "I've changed. My feelings for Inuyasha changed. I'm really, totally in love with him, in the worst way possible. At the same time, I have this terrible fear of losing him. I´ve been dreaming him dead."

"My! That does soud nasty! Have you told him?"

Though she didn't think it could have been possible, Kagome went paler.

"How could I tell him? What if he laughs? I mean, he knows I love him, but somehow it's different now. And besides, whenever I told him I love him it was on a crisis situation. I'm sure he took it in the universal meaning of it."

Sango raised one eyebrow:

"Yeah, and when you kissed him, I'm sure he took that in the universal meaning of it, as well."

Kagome giggled. Sango took her hands into hers.

"My dear friend, you're 16, you're a little woman. I think part of what you're feeling is very normal. But, to be totally honest with you, the fact that you suffer from it like that, is a sign of attachment. It's when you want someone to be your own and to behave only in a certain way, in order for you to be happy and you're terribly afraid to lose them. That is not good. It's an impurity in your heart. Attachment will make you do terrible things to the one you supposingly love. Because it is not love, but desire mixed with selfishness and fear. It's very easy to pervert these feelings into hatred. How do you think the jewel shards you barely keep pure, will react to what's in your heart right now? How can you protect and keep the jewel pure, with impure thoughts and feelings?"

Kagome looked at the small vial which she kept her jewel shards in and noticed they had become grey.

"Oh, no! I never saw it that way!" and she buried her face in her hands, ready to cry.

Sango pulled her hands apart and grabbed her shoulders:

"Enough with the crying already! That's not the Kagome I know! Listen, deary: you must talk to Inuyasha. He loves you, can't you tell that? I for one bet my head on it. He would give his life for you. What more could you wish for? After all, he is what he is. Yet, underneath all that macho show, he is very vulnerable. Just think about it: the last time he opened up to someone he got pinned to a tree for 50 years and his loved-one died believing he had betrayed her. Given how bad things between him and Kikyo went, I'd say he's pretty close to you. What do you want from him? Constant proof of his affection? You want him grabbing your ass, Miroku-style?" Sango laughed.

"Grabbing my ass? Sango, he doesn't even hold my hand! What I want is a normal life..."

"Trust me, you would get bored!"

"Not if I had a normal boy-friend. No jewels, no demons..."

Sango startled.

"But, Kagome, Inuyasha is half-demon."

"Yeah?! Well, I wish he were all human!" Kagome cryed out.

Silence fell. Kagome covered her mouth with a terrified look: "What's gotten into me? . Sango shook her head.

"Let me put it to you this way." she concluded. "There is no room for attachment, desires and impurities on the path you walk on alongside Inuyasha. Your destiny is to keep both the jewel and Inuyasha pure. I don't think you'd like to wake the animal in him, would you?"

"No!" and for the first time that afternoon, Kagome felt like her old self.

She remembered the look on Inuyasha's face by the fire, one evening before: ~He looked as if he could simply eat me up.~ A shiver went down her spine.

"Geez, Sango! I know it! With his behavior he's protecting me from himself and myself. I don't understand what's happened to me. Before all these feelings came, I knew instinctively that I had to be happy with just as much as he would offer me and not ask for more. And I had no problem with that."

Kagome smiled. A certain light, so specific for her, filled her face. She continued:

"I don't want anything from him for myself. But I do want him to fight against whatever demonic influence his soul might hold. He is not an animal, nor is he evil... he's just wild and untamed. But I like him exactly the way he is."

The shards glowed in the small vial. Kagome walked to her study and took them in her hands. Sango was amazed: she was herself again. Kagome put the vial around her neck and mused:

"You were right, Sango. Desire and attachment did appear in my heart. It's like somebody put them there. I wonder..."

**

*

Kanna gasped while looking at her mirror.

"What is it?" Naraku asked.

She simply turned the mirror towards him: it had cracked. In it, there was the image of Kagome.

"So, she seems to resist the influence of the shard."

"I sensed an outside interference: the demon-slayer."

"Ah, friends..." Naraku laughed malignant to himself. "It doesn't matter. The seed has been planted. Sooner or later it will sprout. All we have to do now is wait."

**

*

Kagome let her hair down and ruffled it.

"Wow! I feel so much better after having this talk with you. I can't believe I gave into those dark feelings. I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be silly. Who knows? Maybe the new moon has some strange effect on you, too. I'm glad I could be of help. But I tell you that: one more tint of grey on those shards and I would have kicked your ass. Oh, and I still think you should talk to Inuyasha about what you're feeling."

"Man, Inuyasha's here..." Kagome remembered. She suddenly blushed. "You could have told me, Sango."

"It was supposed to be a surprise."

"Yeah, and some surprise it was! Thanks!"

Sango laughed, amused at the previous incident.

"By the way, did you notice that, beside that mane of his, he has no hair on his body?

"Sango!" Kagome's red dress was now pale compared to her face." I didn't quite... I mean... I didn't look... well, um..."

"Ah, don't tell me you haven't seen a naked man before!"

"Uh, does Sota count?"

"Kagome!"

"Inuyasha, don't! You should knock first."

"Why?"

Inuyasha and Miroku's voices came from the hall way. Kagome grabbed Sango's arm and whispered:

"Please! I don't want to face him right now. Everytime I close my eyes I see him... naked."

"Miroku!" Sango said. "We're not ready yet. Why don't you take Inuyasha downstairs?"

"Take me downstairs? What am I? A dog on a leash?"

"C'mon, pal, or so help me, I will use my Tunnel on you."

"You just try!"

"You're worse than a spoiled five-year old."

Their voices faded away as they went downstairs. Kagome sighed, relieved.

"He's a handful! Miroku must have had quite an adventure with him today."

"He had." Sango laughed. "But your mom on the other hand subdued him completely."

"Really? How?"

"She spoke very kindly to him, as if to a child and was very patient and affectionate. Inuyasha had some kind of embarrassment when she approached him; I could even say "respect". I believe you'd have a lot to learn from your mom, as far as Inuyasha is concerned. Speaking of which, I have a present for you."

And she handed her an old scroll, with a seal on it. Kagome looked at it curiously.

"What is it?"

"It's an ancient scroll, a manuscript."

"You mean, like a book?"

"A what?"

"It's how we call manuscripts nowadays. What's this character on the seal? Looks familiar."

"Don't you recognize it? It's the "inu" character."

Kagome's eyes went wider. She was puzzled.

"A book about... dogs?"

"About dog-demons. I'll help you read it, if the writing's too old for you to understand."

"Wow!" Kagome was very happy. "I can't wait to read it. Thanks, Sango! Thank you for everything." and she took her in her arms, totally surprising the slayer. ~She's so warm! No wonder she can melt even the heart of a half-demon.~

"Now help me take this stupid dress off. It's so not me!"

Sango smiled.

**

*

When she came downstairs, Kagome was dressed in a white suit, made up of a beautiful tight kimono-style blouse, with silver flowers, a short jacket and tight trousers. The sun was slowly setting, casting a mild orange light into the room. Inuyasha's eyes sparkled in that light, as he turned towards Kagome. His almost imperceptible smile gave away the fact that he liked what he saw.

Kagome gasped in amazement as she lay eyes on Inuyasha. He too was dressed in a suit, a black, classical one, with the trousers adjusted to be tight around his thighs, a jacket and a white shirt, unbuttoned at the top. The thick wild hair had been tamed and gathered in a pony-tail, except for the two tresses that covered the lack of human ears. The Tetsusaiga hung from a belt around his waist. He had one hand in his pocket and in the other one...

"Here!" he said plainly, and handed her the flowers.

They were wild flowers, from his time.

"Thank you!" Kagome answered, smiling at the thought of Inuyasha picking flowers.

"And here!" he handed her also her back-pack. "It's my kimono. I won't entrust it to anybody else, since you were the one with the idea I should wear modern cloths."

"You look very handsome in them." Kagome said.

Inuyasha's cheeks got a faint rosy color. He looked away.

"By the way, where did you get them?"

"They were your father's." her mom answered. "I've made adjustments to fit your friend. He was such a good boy!" and she scratched him behind one ear, to Kagome's surprise and everyone's amusement, especially since Inuyasha didn't fight it, but even seemed to like it, no matter how much he was trying to conceal it.

"The only problem is I couldn't think of a suitable hat to cover them. I mean his ears, sweetheart: they're cute and all, but how are you going to explain them to your friends... and the whole town, for that matter?"

As soon as she had finished talking, the last sun ray disappeared beyond the horizon and Inuyasha was veiled by a dazzling blue light. When it faded away, Mrs. Higurashi got her answer.

"Now that's unexpected! Let me look at you, sweety."

She studied Inuyasha's black hair, his clawless hands and human ears, also feeling them. Kagome couldn't believe just how obedient Inuyasha was.

"Mom, stop it. You're embarrassing him."

"Nonsense! I consider Inuyasha as one of my children."

Inuyasha smiled.

"Oh, what beautiful brown eyes!" she exclaimed as she gently held him by his chin and looked into his eyes. "You look as normal as any human boy. And you look a little like Kagome."

"She's right." Sango said.

The two looked at eachother: there was a resemblance.

"What causes this transformation?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.

"It's the night with no moon." Inuyasha answered. "The demon inside me sleeps. As much as I hate to admit it, I lose all my powers and am completely helpless."

"From what my daughter told me, it's the human side in you that makes you stronger, both physically and mentally, than any other demon... and gives you your good looks."

"Mom!" Kagome felt like hiding somewhere. "It's getting late. We should be going. C'mon, guys!"

She ran outside, dragging Sango and Miroku with her. Inuyasha followed and Kagome's mom walked him to the door.

"Mrs. H., does Kagome talk about me a lot?"

The woman looked at him lovingly and caressed his cheek. Inuyasha felt warm, like she had touched his heart. Kagome was so lucky to still have a mom. And she resembled her mom in many ways.

"You take care of my daughter!" Mrs. Higurashi said and Inuyasha nodded.

"Inuyasha, come here, boy!" Kagome called to him.

"Hey, careful with that tone and name. Or did you forget the beads of subjugation are history?"

"Don't be hasty. I could always talk to Kaede to make you a string of new ones."

"Why don't I tell her to make you a string, so I could play "sit" and "fetch" with you, for a change."

"By the way, you be careful with those dog habits of yours. You will behave tonight, or I'll take you to the pound."

"If there were a moon, I would howl at it, just to spite you."

"Oh, shut up!" Sango and Miroku yelled at the same time.

"Bye, kids!" Mrs. Higurashi waved at them. Ah, youth!" she sighed and went inside the house.