A little something I'm expanding upon from Tumblr.

I really love InuHime.

Enjoy!

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Inuyasha stood beneath a tree near the river. The day was overwhelmingly hot, usual for this time of year, which left him in nothing but his pants. He had went so far as to roll his pants' legs to his knees, but he was still hot.

Too hot...

He shook his head, clearing his mind, and focused on anything but…the water.

Especially not anyone in the water.

He had made an...acquaintance, maybe, in the most peculiar of ways months ago. He and his friends had been fighting demons when a large, dark hole in the sky opened. From it, a hoard of odd demons with gaping spaces on various parts of their bodies had rushed out, mingling with the ones already there. Not long after that, another hole in the sky had opened up, and a group of people jumped out to attack the new enemies.

There hadn't been time for introductions or questions, so they all fought alongside each other, attacking anything posing a threat, and they were able to defeat most of the demons; some had fled into the forest and more holes in the sky.

Inuyasha and his gang were a little defensive around the newcomers. Two had bright colored hair, one was tiny, one was tan and muscular, and one had used a luminescent weapon that had vanished. When asked who they were and what they were doing there, they introduced themselves and explained they were fighting "Hollows" and had followed them.

Inuyasha and his friends didn't really understand.

When asked where they came from, Kagome had recognized the name. Somehow—someway—these people were around her age, and they came from the Modern Era.

Inuyasha was the only one who really didn't understand.

He thought there was only one way to cross to and from their eras, yet, these people came from the sky. They also called their modern demons Hollows, but they were clearly demons. Just...different looking demons. And of all the times he's been to Kagome's time, he never saw these so-called Hollows. Kagome never brought up these so-called Hollows.

It was a lot to wrap his mind around.

However, again, that was months ago, and things were...different.

His group interacted with the newcomers from time to time because their Hollows were still in his era, and a certain (friendly) auburn-haired girl was determined to win his good favor. She had won everyone else over, but Inuyasha wasn't interested in making any new friends. This girl—Orihime was her name—would actively talk to him and bring him weird objects and snacks from her time.

It was very irritating, to say the least.

She was the cheeriest person he had ever met, and he would be exhausted at the end of every encounter with her. Not only that, he couldn't gauge how her fighting techniques worked. Three of her friends used close combat, and one used something that resembled bows and arrows. Orihime, however, could summon things from her head that could heal or fight. If she so chose, she never had to be close and personal in battle, and, combined with her misleading attitude, Inuyasha made it a point to keep a distance between them.

But then his guard began to fall, and he would be eager to see her again.

The newcomers didn't visit often, but, when they did, they always dealt with their modern demons. As time passed, he became more aware of Orihime and her mannerisms. When she was close, he was as disinterested as ever; when she was at a distance, he noticed how serious and focused she was in battle. He noticed how quick she was to heal the injured and how fearless she was to attack. He realized she wasn't always smiling—how solemn she became when looking at the dead bodies of demons and Hollows. He noticed the conflicting pain of lost life and the joy of being alive. He realized her smiles were brighter after each victory when she could confirm all her friends were breathing and okay.

He failed to notice when his heart began to skip a beat at the thought of her.

Soon, he couldn't take his eyes off her when she was around, and he couldn't stop thinking about her when she wasn't. Surely, he just found her appealing and new. He still refused to entertain her attempts at friendship, but the visits were happening less often, and he was becoming more and more anxious every time he denied her. So, when he noticed there were no more sightings of Hollows, he actually indulged Orihime with a conversation on one of their last visits. She mentioned how hot the weather was getting in both eras and how nice it would be to swim.

Inuyasha knew a place where they could swim.

It had been a good idea, so he agreed to take her to a nice spot. She had been thrilled and promptly told everyone of the idea. Both groups were pleased as well, and Inuyasha was looking forward to it.

But the modern world always had new surprises.

Learning there were clothes made for swimming was odd enough, but the only one he had seen had been Kagome's yellow and orange "one-piece" that left her legs and arms bare. The boys he knew to be Ichigo, Chad, and Uryuu wore "swimming trunks" and long, unbuttoned shirts. The tiny woman known as Rukia wore two red and pink pieces, which were frilly. She also wore a light pink jacket with designs on the sleeves and bottom portion of it. Orihime had worn long shorts and a pink jacket, and, when she took them off, she had been left in…two yellow materials.

Two tiny yellow materials.

Her attire had caused an immediate reaction.

Ichigo and Uryuu yelled and sputtered something about her needing to change. Rukia, Kagome, and Sango alternated between assuring her there was nothing wrong with her attire and yelling at all the guys to not stare. Chad covered Shippo's eyes. Miroku nearly passed out.

After that commotion had settled, all the ladies and Shippo went to swim and play around in the river. Ichigo, Uryuu, and Miroku got involved from time to time as Chad sat on dry land to pet Kirara.

Inuyasha had stayed under the tree the entire time.

No one did much to bug him, and he tried his best to keep his eyes away from Orihime. He tried to convince himself he was drawn to her hair. Heck, sometimes he was distracted by Ichigo's hair because the color was just so damn bright, but soon gave up on trying to fool himself. He then tried to give in to his wandering eyes, but it felt intrusive to look at her because her swimsuit covered almost nothing.

Almost.

And, if he wasn't careful, he'd catch himself trying to see through what was covered.

He shut his eyes, rubbing his lids. He really shouldn't want to see so badly.

"Inuyasha!"

He jumped, looking back at the river but quickly looked away when he saw Orihime approaching. "Y-yeah? What is it?"

"You're not going to swim?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Uh… No… Maybe. I don't know." He fidgeted, eyes shifting all about the ground in front of him. His heart was a very distinct thud in his chest.

She joined him under the tree, crossing her arms as she studied him. "It's still pretty hot here," she said. "It doesn't bother you?"

"Not really." He pressed his lips together momentarily. "I'll live."

She paused a beat. "Swim with me."

He looked at her, eyes dropping. Her top exposed much of her cleavage, showing exactly where her breasts pressed together. He caught himself and looked back up at her face, blinking away her exposed skin. "Why?"

"Well, I think you're enjoying yourself like this, but…I wanted to spend time with you, too."

"Ah... Yeah, I suppose." He cleared his throat, feigning contemplation. "I'm working up to it."

"Mm..." She looked down at everyone enjoying themselves. "This is our last day here. It's almost sad. I have memories with Sango, Kagome, Miroku, Shippo, and even Kirara at many different places in this era." She looked back at him, smiling sheepishly. "I was kind of hoping this day at the river would be my memory with you."

Inuyasha stared at her, conflicted.

Orihime rubbed her arm, looking back at the water. "But if you don't wa-"

"Fine."

She frowned at him, sensing his unease. "If you don't want to, then-"

He waved her off. "I'll swim with you."

Orihime smiled, grabbing his hand. "Okay, c'mon!" She announced to the others he was finally going to get in, and everyone cheered.

Inuyasha allowed himself to be led, but his eyes trailed down her back to her low cut swimsuit bottoms that were barely covered by her long, swaying hair. He sighed to himself.

He wasn't prepared for what the modern world had to offer.

But maybe he'd encourage more visits.

Thank you for reading!