A/N: I wrote this fic after my last Inuyasha fic went rather well. This story takes place during the first half of episode 2. I'm hoping this one keeps the characters truer to their personalities than my previous one did. Anyway, enjoy.
First Conversation, Kagome's Kindness and Inuyasha's Stubbornness
"Me, protect this thing?"
Kagome stared at the pink orb around her neck, the Sacred Jewel.
"Who am I kidding?" she sighed.
How on earth could I be a guardian priestess like Kikyo? Gramps, I should have listened to your stories…
Kagome was lost in thought, for when she looked up from her necklace, she saw a group of villagers bowing in her direction from the nearby hill. Blushing with embarrassment and mortification, she murmured "I've gotta get out of here!"
I'm NOT a priestess. I'm NOT someone's reincarnation. I'm just a middle school girl! Yet her silent mantras didn't seem to change the tune of the local villagers.
"Bless you, Kikyo-sama!"
Kagome turned; one of the villagers who had braved to approach her had praised her.
"Oh no. I'm flattered, but I don't need to be blessed…"
She tried to wave off the compliment as she continued to walk away.
"Thank you for saving us from the demons, Kikyo-sama!"
"Oh, I didn't really have much to do with it. You guys and Inuyasha destroyed the centipede, not me!"
"But Kikyo-sama, you stopped the half-breed with your word! You saved us from the evil monster!"
"Oh that. Well…"
At that, Kagome paused, not really sure about how she felt around the powerful dog-eared boy Inuyasha. Well, he tried to kill me for the jewel, and he was rude to me during all of the time I talked to him, so he kind of had the sit coming. Kagome was about to try to get out of the crowd, when her mind countered Then again, he was forced to a tree for 50 years. I guess if I skipped over 50 years in a second, I'd be pretty mad too! And he looked a bit like a kicked puppy when Kaede told him Kikyo died. Maybe I should…
While Kagome was lost in her contemplations, another of the villagers thrust a sack in her arms.
"Here, Kikyo-sama! We hope these vegetables will prove to be a suitable offering to your return and good health!"
At this point, sick of talking, Kagome just bowed her head and took off towards Inuyasha's Forest. Once she got to the trees, she plopped it on the ground, opting to drag it by the handle.
"Man, how much food did they give me? I can't eat all of this by myself! AND MY NAME IS KAGOME!"
Kagome sighed and dug out a pear from the sack. She lowered it to her lips when she looked up and saw the red kimono of the half-demon she had just been thinking about. He must be hungry. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. If I show him I don't mean any harm, maybe he'll lighten up now that he's had some time to cool off.
With that, she threw the pear she was about to eat in his direction like an American football, smiling in satisfaction as he caught it in his left hand without even looking. He looked at the fruit that he had kept from hitting him and thought surprised Fruit? Who attacks me with fruit?
"Hey! You wanna eat?"
Inuyasha turned to see the young girl with the sack of food hauled over her shoulder. Oh great! It's that Kikyo-lookalike. What's she doing here? And where did she get all that food?
"Where'd you get all that stuff from?"
Kagome smiled shyly, trying to put on her most nonthreatening face.
"The villagers gave it to me. Why not come down from there and help me eat it?"
Raising his eyebrows in surprise, he found himself seriously considering the idea until he came back to his senses and scoffed.
"Nice try, wench. I know a trap when I see one. You're trying to lure me out with food so you can use that subjugation necklace to finish me off without worrying about me fighting back. Well I ain't falling for it!"
Her heart broke at his ridiculous theory. God, what kind of cruel past did he suffer if he thinks a peace offering is a trap? And my name isn't wench!
"Come on, Inuyasha. I couldn't hurt you even if I wanted to. I only used the command yesterday to stop you from stealing what wasn't yours."
Inuyasha glared at her, oozing suspicion from his aura. Kagome sighed and tried to reason with the young half-demon.
"I just think that we got off on the wrong foot the other day, and I'm sorry that our first meeting had to include subduing you and reminding you about Kikyo."
Kagome tried to smile as she wrapped up her explanation.
"The truth is that I don't think you're evil like the villagers say. Before you tried to kill me, I thought you were a hero of sorts. And even with your attempt to turn me into a scratching post the other day, I think there's a good soul underneath that rude exterior of yours. I'd LIKE to see what kind of person you are when you lower your shields. What do you say, Inuyasha? Would you PLEASE come down so that I don't have to keep shouting up this tree?"
Nobody's ever been so nice to me, not even Kikyo and Kaede. Could this really be a trap like I thought? I know I'm gonna regret this, but… Sighing, he reluctantly jumped down and sat next to the strange girl, biting into his pear while eyeing her suspiciously.
Kagome smiled at getting him down from the tree, choosing to ignore how he was eyeing her. Baby steps, Kagome. You got him to come down from the tree; let him come to you now. Choosing to bite into another pear from the gab, she happily munched away, leaving the half-demon to stare in suspicious wonder.
She's just sitting next to me as though she doesn't have a care in the world. Why is this wench being so nice to me? Every human I've ever met has either tried to kill me or wanted something from me. So what's her ulterior motive? She can't possibly want to be my friend after I nearly killed her yesterday… Choosing to speak, he spoke in a warning otne that was just shy of threatening.
"Whatever you're up to, I ain't buying it."
Not this again. I thought we had a breakthrough… Keeping her carefree face on, she retorted as though his words were harmless.
"Buying what?"
Sighing, she turned to face him and confessed the question that had been on her mind since he threatened her life.
"Listen, it's fair to say you don't like me, right?"
Fair? You reek of Kikyo's stench, and you have me practically collared like a dog! This innocent attitude of yours is just an act!
"WAY more than fair!"
Rather than take the bait, Kagome chose to wave him off.
"Whatever. It's not even me you dislike. It's this Kikyo person."
To be honest, I'm starting to understand the dislike, with how everyone except you and Kaede keep calling me by her name. She was startled out of her thoughts as she saw Inuyasha jump back into the tree, practically hiding from her. We haven't even had a conversation and he's already running away. This is gonna be harder than I thought.
"Look, I'm not Kikyo, alright? I'm KAGOME!"
Seeing him ignore her, she tried pleading with him.
"Can't we just call a truce?"
A truce? That means she wants something. Well she can forget it. I'm not helping with anything unless I get the jewel around her neck.
"HA! I KNEW IT! What you don't get is that I'm only after the jewel. You're just trying to lure me into a false sense of security!"
"Oh really? That's funny."
Honestly, I'm beginning to contemplate handing this thing over to him if it means getting him to be nicer.
"Considering all I have to do to make you obey is say the word sit…"
She didn't realize she was thinking out loud, for Inuyasha's collision with the ground and his pained grunt shook her out of her thoughts and filled her with a flash of guilt.
"Whoops, sorry about that!"
I really didn't mean to, I swear!
Lifting his head form the ground, the hanyou groaned.
"Aw man!"
Looking at him with pity, she reached out with her left hand and offered to help him up.
"Let me see how bad that bruise is. We can see if Kaede has any herbs that can numb the pain."
Inuyasha blushed, tempted to believe the girl before shaking his head in denial. First, she subdues me without thinking, and now she offers me medicine? There's NO WAY she's as nice as she's pretending to be! Refusing to believe that this girl was actually concerned about his pain, Inuyasha followed his instincts; he smacked her hand away and yelled at her.
"Like you care. Just leave me alone, wench!"
With that, he leaped into the trees deeper into his forest.
"Inuyasha, wait!"
Kagome looked down at the grass with guilt.
"Well, that didn't go according to plan at all. Why is he so suspicious? I didn't mean to hurt him."
Sighing, she grabbed hold of the food sack and started to drag it back to Kaede's hut with her. Inuyasha, can't you show any capacity for niceness? You drive me crazy!
Several hours later, Kagome lay underneath the blankets Kaede set out for her. Ironically, it was Inuyasha who had placed them out for her. When Kagome asked why, Kaede gave a wry smile.
"As long as Inuyasha is going to scheme to steal the jewel from ye, he might as well make himself useful."
Dinner was an interesting affair, Kagome and Kaede sipping stew while Inuyasha glared from across the hut.
"You know, I'm feeling rather full, Kaede. If Inuyasha wants my other half, he's welcome to it."
Since trying to engage directly didn't work, Kagome thought she'd try something a little subtler to win over Inuyasha's trust. The boy stared at her stew with curiosity, causing Kagome to smile. Yes; it's working!
As his temptation grew however, Inuyasha heard a caw from outside and got up before exiting the hut.
Well that didn't go according to plan at all. I'm starting to wonder if he's even capable of friendship… Kagome yawned as she thought of her family in the future before finally dozing off.