Nothing in Between

---

A/N: Hey guys! Okay, this story is set in modern time when the gang are in preschool. I really enjoyed writing this story. I think it's absolutely cute! But that's just me. Tell me what you think of it in a review! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy my little oneshot:D

PS: It's an InuKag story. Lol. And I don't own the characters. Just the plot. Anyway, go get going!

---

.x.e.n.j.o.y.x.l.i.f.e.x.w.h.i.l.e.x.y.o.u.'.r.e.x.s.t.i.l.l.x.y.o.u.n.g.x.

"And how many apples are left?"

"Four!" the class chorused together loudly, each with a smile on their faces.

The teacher, Kaede, smiled broadly, her one eye expressing pride. "Good job, everyone." She said approvingly. "Now that the morning's activity is finished, why don't we-"

There was a tap on the glass door on the other end of the classroom. Everyone turned to see three people standing outside patiently. Two of them were fully-grown wolf demons while the third one was just a cub. Kaede smiled warmly and walked towards the door. The rest of the students watched curiously.

Kaede opened the door for them and smiled a greeting. "Welcome Mrs. and Mr. Takoya." She bowed. She glanced down at the child between them. "And welcome to you too, Kouga." She said respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Kaede-sensei." Mrs. Takoya bowed. "I apologize for being late. We're new here and I'm afraid we don't really know how to get around very well." She said apologetically.

"Nonsense. You don't need to apologize." Kaede said casually. "Besides. Class had just started. Would you like to come in?" she asked.

The mother and father shook their heads at the invitations. "That's not necessary, Kaede-sensei." The father demon replied lowly. "We just came to drop off our son."

"Well, that's all right too." Kaede mused. "Okay, come here Kouga. Say goodbye to your parents." she said warmly to the growing cub.

Kouga stared at her with wide eyes before he turned to his parents nervously. Mrs. Takoya knelt down and gave her son a peck on the cheek. "Be a good boy now." she warned. "We'll be back to pick you up in four hours so don't cause any trouble for anyone." She said while slapping the boy's cheeks softly.

He shook her off with a scowl. They left without further notice, leaving the wolf cub at the preschool. "Come now, child." Kaede started as she led the boy towards the rest of the class. "Let's introduce yourself to the class."

She went back to her place at the front of the class followed by the quiet wolf. She coughed and she once again gained the entire class's attention. "Everyone, we have a new student attending our school today." She smiled, her wrinkles stretching. "I'd like you all to meet Prince Kouga Takoya from the demon wolf clan."

Everyone stared at him while said demon crossed his arms over his chest with a frown. Someone from the back of the class glared at him intensely. "Kouga. Why don't you go sit by Inuyasha and Kagome? Inuyasha, Kagome, raise your hands." She instructed.

A raven-haired girl at the age of six lifted up her hand enthusiastically. Her dark hair fell freely around her shoulders, having a small ponytail at the side of her head. She wore a small white dress that fell to her knees with ladybug pictures on it. She wore a bright, toothy smile that made Kouga smile as well.

The next hand that shot up was reluctant. A boy next to her had one hand on his lap and the other up slightly. He had a scowl on his face and his golden eyes were glaring at the ground. His silver hair fell to his shoulders too and he was wearing a red-clad robe with the sleeves a little too big for him. He also had triangular dog-ears upon his head that twitched every now and then. He was the boy who had been glaring at him earlier.

Kouga decided that he did not like that guy. He stalked over to the two and promptly sat between the Kagome girl and the dog demon. Well, hanyou. He'd comment on that later.

He flashed a childish grin at the human girl and she smiled back brightly. Inuyasha just scowled even more, his arms folded across his chest, glaring daggers at the boy who sat between him and his friend.

"Now, back to class…" Kaede started once more.

Half an hour went by and Kaede rang a small bell. "Time to eat." She smiled. "Go get your lunch and come back over here. I'll tell you a story about the caterpillar who wanted to fly." She told them.

Everyone squealed in delight and went towards their lunchboxes. Kagome and Inuyasha went together to get their lunchboxes with Kouga following closely behind. "Kagome-chan!" a voice called out cheerfully. "Inuyasha-kun!"

Said people stopped and greeted their other friends with a smile. "Sango-chan! Miwoku-kun!" Kagome waved happily. Everyday the foursome would eat together for lunch while Kaede-sensei told them a story. Kagome couldn't pronounce Miroku's name properly since she had trouble saying the letter r in names.

The four friends met up with each other and sat together in front of Kaede. As they opened their lunchboxes, Kagome realized that the new boy was sitting all alone. Thoughts flitted through her mind as she stared at the lonely looking boy who people wouldn't sit next to. 'Maybe I should…' she started thinking.

She made up her mind and stood up, her small arms waving wildly to the wolf prince. "Kouga-kun!" she called over merrily. She remembered names pretty good. "Kouga-kun, come sit wit us!"

Said wolf cub looked up from his lunch and stared at Kagome. A brief second went by and the wolf made up his mind and padded over to Kagome, his tail wagging excitedly. As he sat down with them, Inuyasha began to growl lightly. He didn't know why. He just didn't like him.

He sat next to Kagome and bowed politely. "Thank you." He said with a grin.

"No problem!" Kagome said. Her eyes widened when she saw the rest of her friends staring at him. "Oh! Um, Kouga-kun, these are my fwends." She said. She pointed to the human boy with black hair and violet eyes. "That's Miwoku-kun." She introduced. She then gestured to the other girl with a high ponytail. "That's Sango-chan." She turned to Inuyasha with a smile. "And you already know Inuyasha!"

Kouga nodded and blinked. He pointed to everyone, calling out each of their names. "Inuyasha." He said with a frown. He didn't seem to like this guy either. "Sango. Kagome. Miwoku?" he asked.

"Miroku!" Miroku corrected. "Kagome-chan can't say my name properly." He pouted.

"Sorry Miwoku-kun!" Kagome apologized loudly. "My tongue works funny when I try to say people's names!" she said with her arms crossed in front of her.

"Quiet now, class." Kaede suddenly said as she smiled sweetly at Kagome. "Time for you to get out your snacks and I'll start reading the story." She said as she sat down with a book in her hands. Everyone silenced almost immediately. "Now then…" she started, opening her book while the other children munched on their apples, sandwiches and sultanas.

Another half-hour went by and the book ended with everyone chatting loudly about the story. "Ooh! I liked the part when the catie- caterpiewa-" Kagome scrunched up her nose, trying to say the name properly.

"Caterpillar." Kouga helped in with a grin. Inuyasha shot him yet another glare.

"She doesn't need you to correct her." he told him with narrowed eyes. He just didn't like him. Especially because he was always near Kagome. "Kagome can say it herself!"

"It's all right, Inuyasha!" Kagome chimed in, probably breaking a verbal fight. "When the…" she paused, looking towards Kouga. "Cat… er… pilla…" she smiled broadly as she turned back to the others. "Turned into a butter fly!" she squealed.

"Me too, me too!" Sango joined in with a smile. "Did you see how fat it got though?" she asked in awe. "It was really, really big!"

Miroku's hand shot up and Kaede looked at him questioningly. "Do they call it a butterfly because it's made out of butter and flies?" he asked confused.

"No, stupid!" Inuyasha started as he glared playfully at his friend. "They called it a butterfly because it's flying butter with eyes!" he yelled proudly with his chest puffed up. He was really proud of himself with that answer.

But Kaede thought otherwise. "Inuyasha!" she scolded. "How many times do I have to tell you not to say that word?" she frowned. "As punishment, you'll have five minutes in the timeout corner."

Inuyasha eyes widened. "B-But-!" he began to whine but Kaede stopped him with her finger.

"No buts, Inuyasha." She said strictly. She carefully picked the boy up as he began to hit her arm softly. It didn't hurt because Inuyasha didn't really want to hurt her. She walked up to the corner and placed the dog hanyou inside the pen. "Now, stay here and be good, mister." She told him seriously before she began to walk off.

Inuyasha grumbled and sat on the floor, crossing his arms over his chest angrily. His golden eyes opened slightly and noticed that Kagome was coming over to him. His spirits began to rise as she came closer. A soft smile touched his lips. He liked Kagome. He liked his other friends too but he liked her better than he liked Sango or Miroku. He didn't know why but Kagome was special.

As she came nearer he was about to stand up to greet her until that Kouga guy suddenly appeared out of no where and grabbed her hand. Kagome turned around with wide eyes as Kouga smiled at her. He said something to Kagome and she shifted on her feet nervously. He talked to her even more and she smiled excitedly. She turned back to Inuyasha and waved. "See you in five minutes, Inuyasha!" she called over and then was dragged off by Kouga.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. Kagome would never leave him here alone. She always stayed with him unless Kaede-sensei told her to leave him be. He closed his eyes and pouted. He grew to hate the wolf prince even more.

.x.a.x.c.h.i.l.d.'.s.x.m.i.n.d.x.c.a.n.x.b.e.x.a.s.x.c.o.m.p.l.e.x.x.a.s.x.t.h.e.x.v.a.s.t.x.o.c.e.a.n.x.

When Inuyasha was finally let out of the timeout pen, he quickly ran out and began his search for Kagome. He saw Miroku and Sango and went to them. "Hey guys," he said as they turned to him. They had paint all over their faces and aprons. Sango's left hand was red while the other was green. Miroku's hands were pretty clean since he was using the paintbrush. The floor below them had blotches of different colours. "Have you seen Kagome?" he asked them.

They both looked at each other and grinned. "Yeah!" Sango piped in. She pointed outside towards the playground. "We invited her and Kouga-kun to paint with us but they said they were going to the swings." She told him.

"Kagome looked really happy too." Miroku added as he painted a smiley face on his sunny picture. "Ooh! I've almost finished, Sango-chan!" he exclaimed merrily. He glanced at his friend's picture of a yellow cat. "Wow." He said in awe. "That looks really pretty!"

Sango blushed lightly and beamed at him. "Thank you!" she said. "Hey, Inuyasha, what do you think of it?" she asked as she turned around to face him.

Except, he wasn't there.

.x.f.r.i.e.n.d.s.x.a.r.e.x.t.h.e.x.c.o.l.o.u.r.s.x.t.o.x.y.o.u.r.x.g.r.a.y.x.w.o.r.l.d.x.

"Wheeee!" Kagome giggled as Kouga swung her on the swing. "Higher Kouga-kun! Higher!" she chanted as she felt the wind rush to her face. Of all the things in the playground the swings were her favourite. She loved the wind in her hair and when she was high enough it would seem as if she could touch the clouds.

Kouga laughed with her as he continued to push her. Then a scent reached his nose and he made a scowl. It was that Inuyasha freak. Kagome seemed to notice as she began to wave and laugh madly as Inuyasha walked towards them.

"Inuyasha! Inuyasha! Look how high I can go!" she laughed when he was close enough. But then she stopped when she saw the look on his face. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his face looked angry. The swing began to slow down and she used her feet as anchors to the ground. "Inuyasha?" she asked worriedly.

Inuyasha growled at the wolf as he growled back with a smug smirk on his face. "That's not how you swing someone." He suddenly said, pushing Kouga out of the way. "You're doing it all wrong!" he accused as he began to push Kagome once more with a bit more force than necessary.

"Whoa." Kagome said as she gripped the chains that held her. "Careful Inuyasha." She said warily as she gradually went higher and higher. She began to panic a bit when she went a little bit too high for her tastes. "Inuyasha?" she asked worriedly. "It's too high, Inuyasha. Inuyasha!"

And before she knew it, she lost her grip on the chains and she fell forward into the sandpit below. She began to cry loudly. She sat up and tried to get the sand out of her eyes but she couldn't, making her cry even more. Her eyes were stinging badly and she didn't like it. She had small scraps on her knees and elbows and she had sand almost everywhere on the front part of her body. Panicked, Kouga knelt by her side and patted her back, trying to wipe off the sand on her.

His head snapped towards Inuyasha, who just stood there dumbstruck, and glared. "Look what you did, you stupid hanyou!" he growled furiously.

Inuyasha snapped from whatever he was thinking of and glared back at the wolf. "What did you call me, you-"

"Kagome!" Kaede said worriedly as she ran over to the crying girl. She crouched in front of her and made her look at her. There was still some sand on her face and eyes. She began to make soothing noises as she picked up the small bundle and began to walk away. "There, there, now." she murmured. She then glanced back at the two boys. "I'll have a talk with you two later." She said strictly and proceeded to the wash area.

Inuyasha and Kouga stood there, watching as the teacher took Kagome away. Once they were out of sight, Kouga turned to Inuyasha and lunged. "Stupid, stupid, stupid dog!" he yelled as he punched him. "You made her cry!" he growled.

Inuyasha squirmed under him and began to kick back. "Get off me!" he yelled as he kicked his stomach.

"Inuyasha-kun! Kouga-kun!" Sango's voice was heard. "What are you two doing?" she asked horrified.

But the two wouldn't listen to her as they continued to roll around in the sand, trying to inflict harm on one another. It was Miroku who broke it up by hitting the wrong end of his paintbrush on both their heads rather roughly. They stopped and rubbed their hands, all the while glaring daggers at the male human.

"What happened?" Miroku asked calmly but his eyes were glaring at the two. "We saw Kagome-chan being carried away and crying. What did you two do?" he asked.

Kouga pointed to Inuyasha. "It was all his fault!" he accused as he gave him a glare. "He pushed her too hard and made her fall off!"

"I didn't mean to!" Inuyasha protested. "You weren't swinging her properly!"

"And you call pushing her off the swing 'properly'?" Kouga growled as he prepared to attack him again.

"Stop it!" Miroku hollered as he hit their heads with his paintbrush once more. A group of little kids had surrounded them, watching curiously and wondering what would happen next. "Kaede-sensei has her now." he said. "She said she'd talk to you, didn't she? You better get that sand off before you go face sensei." He said.

Grumbling, the two boys stood up and brushed themselves off. They glared at each other but proceeded to follow Sango and Miroku towards the building. The trip was silent as Inuyasha's eyes lowered to the ground. He didn't mean to hurt Kagome. Really he didn't. He just wanted to help.

His fists tightened by his sides. And the other reason was because he didn't want to see Kouga so close to Kagome. He was too young to know the emotion called jealousy so he didn't know why he acted like he did. He just didn't like them together. And he only wanted to help Kagome get higher.

He didn't mean to make her cry.

.x.t.e.a.r.s.x.h.a.v.e.x.m.a.n.y.x.f.o.r.m.s.x.b.u.t.x.t.h.e.x.r.a.r.e.s.t.x.t.e.a.r.s.x.a.r.e.x.t.h.e.x.o.n.e.s.x.o.f.x.j.o.y.x.

While the rest of the class was outside playing, Kaede, Kagome, Kouga, Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango were inside.

Kouga and Inuyasha stood before Kaede with their hands behind their backs. Miroku and Sango were sitting with Kagome beside Kaede, comforting her. She was clean now. The scrapes she had weren't that serious so there was no need to put on a Band-Aid. She was clear of sand but her eyes were still slightly pink and puffy from tears and stings.

Kaede stood there, staring at the two boys in front of her, as if on trial. "Now, would you care to explain what happened?" she asked patiently.

Kouga was the first to look up and when he did he had a frown on his face. "It was all the stupid dog's fault!" he accused as he pointed a finger at Inuyasha. "When I was playing with Kagome on the swings, he pushed me out of the way and pushed her himself." He said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And then he pushed her too high and she fell off!" he concluded.

"Don't say that word." She scolded. The teacher then glanced at Inuyasha. "Is that true, child?" she asked cautiously.

He nodded hesitantly. "I was only trying to help." He murmured. "I didn't mean for Kagome to cry." he said quietly, guilt gnawing at his heart.

Kaede sighed. "Well, accident or not, I think I'll have to call up your parents…" she said tiredly. She didn't want to though. Inuyasha was one of her favourite students even though he was the most troublesome. "Both of your parents." She added, meaning Inuyasha and Kouga. "You did have a small fight afterwards."

Inuyasha's ears lowered at the comment and Kouga just scowled.

"Wait!" Kagome suddenly interrupted and everyone chose to stare at her. She ran up and hugged Kaede's leg. She then looked up and stared up at her pleadingly. "I'm fine now! See!" she said, smiling for emphasis. "You don't need to call their parents! If you do, then they'll have to take them home." she pouted. "I don't want them too! I want to play more!" she said hopefully.

Kaede stared down at the child with a smile of her own. A minute went by and she sighed in defeat. "All right." She said with a playful smile. Even though Inuyasha was one of her favourite students, Kagome was the favourite. She knew she shouldn't play favourites but it wasn't like she pacified her or anything. She was just too cute and forgiving. She gave the two boys a warning look. "But one more bad incident from you two, then I will have no choice but to call in your parents. Understood?" she said seriously.

They both nodded mutely. Kagome smiled brightly. "Yay! Thank you, Kaede-sensei!" she said gratefully as she detached herself from her leg. "Come on guys! Let's go out and play some more!" she said cheerfully.

"Uh-uh." Kaede interrupted before they got the chance to run away. The group of friends stared at her with innocent eyes. "Recess if over." She informed them and their smiles were almost wiped off from their faces. "But now, we will have cookies and milk and after that is nap time."

At the mention of milk and cookies, the smiles returned in full force. They jumped up and down excitedly and waited in the building while Kaede gathered up the rest of the little monsters outside. As she was gone, Inuyasha advanced Kagome. "Um, hey, Kagome?" he started quietly, his eyes lowered. Kouga stopped to watch the exchange with narrowed eyes.

Kagome turned and gave him a worried look. "What is it Inuyasha?" she asked with a faint smile.

Inuyasha had yet to look at her. "I'm sorry for pushing you off the swing before." He said quietly. "I didn't mean to. Honest." he apologized.

Kagome's eyes softened as she gave her friend a heartwarming hug. "Aw. That's all right, Inuyasha!" she giggled. "We're best buddies remember? It'll take more than sand to get me away from you!" she laughed.

Blushing slightly, Inuyasha hugged back mutely.

The human girl pulled back and Inuyasha noticed that she, too, was blushing. "What?" a voice suddenly interrupted them. They both turned to see Kouga glaring at Inuyasha. Miroku and Sango had watched the scene with interest. "You're going to forgive this hanyou just like that?" he growled.

The hanyou's eyes narrowed. He called him that name again. Hanyou. He knew what he was but why did he say it as if it were a bad thing? Of course, even at his young age, he already knew. He had noticed the other kids stay away from him whenever he was near. They hardly talked to him even though he had done nothing wrong. Kagome was the first person to actually befriend him and then came Miroku. And then Sango. They were the only kids in the school to talk to him like he didn't carry a decease.

Kagome suddenly stood between the two. "Hey!" she said with a frown. "Don't call Inuyasha that! It's not nice." She defended determinedly.

Kouga's eyes widened as another scowl fell on his face. "Whatever." He murmured.

The raven-haired girl stared at him a moment longer before she smiled. "Friends?" she asked cheerfully.

Kouga looked at her in shock before his face too broke into a smile. "Yeah. Friends." He said with a smirk. He gave Inuyasha a challenging glance and he returned it just as fiercely.

It was then that the rest of the class entered along with Kaede. When they had gathered their sleeping mats and pillows, Kaede handed everyone a cookie and a small carton of milk with a straw. As usual, Inuyasha and Kagome sat next to each other. Sango was beside Inuyasha with Miroku on her other side. Kouga had picked the spot next to Kagome, much to Inuyasha's irritation.

As they ate their cookies quietly, Kagome glanced down at her half-eaten one. Inuyasha had already eaten his and was now slurping on his milk through the straw. Without a second thought, she outstretched her hand, offering him her cookie with a smile.

Inuyasha stopped drinking and stared at the cookie and then back to her. Kagome nodded mutely and he smiled in return before he took the choc-chip cookie and devoured it slowly.

When they had finished their milk, Kaede had collected all of the empty cartons and put them into the bin. She closed all the curtains and blinds and shut off the light. "Goodnight everyone." She whispered softly even though it was still afternoon.

"Goodnight, Kaede-sensei." They chorused together and fell back onto their pillows.

As they slept, Kagome and Inuyasha were on their sides, facing one another with closed eyes. After a couple more minutes, Inuyasha heard the steady breathing of the girl in front of him, indicating that she had fallen asleep.

He opened one of his eyelids slowly and stared at the girl beside him, a soft smile on her lips. He closed his eyes once more and his hand unconsciously found hers, holding it softly. Even though he was so young, he had fantasies about his future with Kagome. One day, they'll get married like his mummy and daddy and they'll have kids of their own.

A small smirk played on his face. And that wimpy wolf can't do anything about it.

.x.a.n.x.u.n.b.r.e.a.k.a.b.l.e.x.b.o.n.d.x.t.h.a.t.x.n.o.x.o.n.e.x.c.o.u.l.d.x.g.e.t.x.b.e.t.w.e.e.n.x.

KazunaPikachu