A/N: Hello! I'm Chibi Blue Mouse

And I'm Hyperpegasi!

C: This story came about while we were messaging each other and I brought up this idea one day.

H: And then, I loved the idea so much Chibi eventually proposed a collaboration.

C: Hee. :) I'm very happy she agreed to the collab. I never could have written such an awesome story on my own. She adds in a very lovely flavor to the storytelling.

H: Aww, I'm blushing! Flavor, maybe, but the story mostly comes from her: honestly! I enjoy working with her, and I hope you all enjoy what we've worked together to create! =)

C: And now, without further ado, we do not own InuYasha, but please enjoy this adorable story we whipped up together! :)

Chapter 1: Cooties

Kagome Higurashi, four years old, clung to her mother's skirt, staring out from behind her mother's legs as they stood at the house of their new neighbors. Seeing that there was a doorbell to be rung, and a shiny button to be pushed, Kagome darted out from behind her mother's legs and stretched as high as she could: barely able to reach high enough to push the button. It sounded off a rather loud chime; one that could be heard from where Kagome and her mother stood.

Startled by the sudden chime, Kagome dashed back behind the safety of her mother's skirt, once again gaining a death grip on the fabric. Her mother's soft laughter brought a small smile to the young girl's face though she only buried herself further into the safety of the skirt.

The door opened and an elegantly dressed, smiling woman with long black hair was revealed. She seemed slightly surprised seeing Kagome's mother. "May I help you?" she asked politely.

Kagome's mother smiled back and moved to the side slightly to reveal the shy, young girl whose black hair fell slightly past her shoulders as she lifted her head to look curiously at the woman who had answered the door.

Though Kagome's mother had been preparing to introduce herself and her daughter, the woman suddenly gained a look of understanding. "Oh! You must be the Higurashis! My oldest son saw your daughter while we were moving in yesterday!" She then smiled as she crouched down to Kagome's height. "You're quite the curious youngster aren't you?" she cooed. Without getting up, the woman looked up at Kagome's mother, smiling. "You know, I've got a little one about her age."

Suddenly, she stood up, a look of mortification on her face. "My goodness where are my manners? Come in! Come in! Listen to me, chattering away while you stand out here." she laughed cheerfully as she gestured for the two to come in.

Kagome's mother smiled as she thanked the other for her hospitality, ushering Kagome into the house. The young girl's thumb found her way into her mouth as she looked around, wide-eyed, at the large house.

"My name's Izayoi. My husband's away on business: he left yesterday after we finished moving in. He'll be back soon. Sesshoumaru's somewhere around the house, he's going through a phase right now, acting all anti-social. Oh! And InuYasha's playing in the backyard! Would you like to go play with him, sweetheart?" Izayoi asked, looking once more at Kagome.

Unsure of how to respond, Kagome just nodded dumbly, her thumb still firmly in her mouth.

"It's right through there," Izayoi gestured with a smile.

Kagome gave her mother one last look before rushing skittishly out the indicated door. Her mother laughed gently, handing the other woman the covered dish she'd been carrying. "Children are always so lively," Mrs. Higurashi stated with a smile.

Izayoi responded in kind. "Truly. Inuyasha has so much energy: He runs me ragged sometimes." Izayoi looked at Kagome's mother with THAT gleam in her eye. "I think we'll be great friends."

Mama smiled genially, nodding as she confirmed, "Of course. It's never to early to think of grandchildren."

The two women shared a laugh as they headed towards the kitchen, chatting, as mothers are apt to.

-0-0-

After Kagome went through the door Izayoi had suggested, she found herself face to face with an odd sight. A young boy, dressed all in red - with long silver hair, which fell almost to his knees - was playing with a ball, throwing it against the fence and running back quickly to catch the rebound just before it hit the ground. But what really captivated Kagome was the fact that the little boy had ears.

Kagome had never seen a person with ears like that before. They sat on the top of his head, white little triangles. Like the ears of a dog. Tilting her head, her thumb still in her mouth, she wondered if they were as soft as they looked. She really wanted to touch them.

Just then, however, the boy seemed to notice that she was there and he turned, glaring at the intruder. Kagome's eyes widened. She had never seen eyes of his coloring either! She had only seen that color on one of her mother's really pretty jewelry. Something her mother called, 'gold'.

"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" he asked, clutching his ball close to him as though he was afraid that she'd come to take it away from him.

However, Kagome had a question of her own. Taking her thumb out of her mouth, since her mother had told her to never speak with her mouth full, her eyes wandered to the top of the boy's head. "Are those real?" she asked softly.

The boy frowned. "Are what real?" he asked.

"Your ears . . ."

The boy scoffed. "Keh. Of course they're real! See!" He purposely twitched his ears.

Kagome's eyes widened in awe. "Can I touch them?" she asked, moving forwards towards the boy.

The boy instantly jumped back. "No! You have cooties!"

Her timid disposition forgotten, little Kagome responded to the accusation with a glare of her own. "I do NOT! Everyone knows that boys are the ones with cooties!" She crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out at the boy. "I didn't want to touch your yucky boy ears anyway!" Turning her back on the now gaping hanyou, Kagome marched back through the doorway.

She was stopped by a sniffle from behind her. Unsure if her hearing had been correct, Kagome turned back to the boy, whose face was now shadowed by his bangs. His claw-tipped fingers were digging into his little palms, drawing blood already.

"Hey..." Kagome said stepping forward meekly. She wasn't the kind of girl who liked hurting people's feelings - but her temper got the best of her sometimes.

His head shot up teary, golden eyes furious. "My ears aren't STUPID," he said defensively. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he cut her off. "You don't know nothin' anyway! You're just a stupid human girl! And you do SO have cooties!"

Kagome's apology died in her throat, and she felt her temper rising up again. "I do NOT!"

"Do SO! DO SO!" The boy retorted. "Have you had your cootie shot?"

Kagome opened her mouth to respond and then blinked, closing it again as her temper faded away. "What's a cootie shot?" she asked curiously.

The boy looked triumphant. "If you don't know what a cootie shot is, then you've never had one! So you have cooties!"

Kagome's eyes widened and then narrowed, refusing to believe that the other didn't have cooties. "W-well . . . Have YOU had a cootie shot?" she asked, glaring at the other.

The boy's chest puffed out with pride. "Yep! My big brother gave it to me!"

Kagome looked down at the ground before looking up at the hanyou with wide eyes. "Um . . . Can . . . Can he give me a cootie shot too?" she asked, not wanting to have the cooties.

The boy eyed her with a smirk: he obviously knew he'd won. "Why should I?" He taunted.

For a moment, all Kagome could do was scowl at him. What a brat! But an idea struck her, and she felt an evil smile break out across her face. If he was going to worry about cooties, then Kagome was gonna give something to worry ABOUT.

"'Cuz if you doooooooo~n't," she threatened, stepping forward - trying to be sneaky about it. "I'LL GIVE YOU COOTIES!" She whooped, rushing forward with a laugh.

His eyes widened comically as he scrambled back with an undignified shriek. "NOOOOOOO!" He wailed, fleeing from the cooties he was sure she'd infect him with. The chase looped them around the yard twice before InuYasha dived through the doorway she had originally emerged from.

Even though cooties were a serious matter, it was beginning to feel more an more like a game. Even as he fled, the hanyou couldn't help but grin. It'd been a long time since he'd had so much fun. Kagome followed the hanyou into the house, laughing cheerfully as she chased the other.

"Sess! This weird girl's gonna give me cooties!" the boy cried out as he headed to his brother's room, barging in and hiding behind the other, who regarded his younger brother coolly, merely raising one eyebrow in response.

Kagome dashed in after the boy and instantly skidded to a stop as she saw the rather imposing demon glaring down at her. Her good humor had vanished and her thumb had returned quickly to her mouth.

The hanyou quickly noticed that the other was frightened, which hadn't been his intent at all. He looked up at his brother. "Sess, stop scaring her."

Eyebrow still quirked, the demon appraised the human before him. She was startled by his demeanor, but she faced him bravely: for a four year old.

"Cooties?" Sesshoumaru's composure slipped - just a bit - and amusement laced the boredom in his voice.

The word seemed foreign coming from him, but it made him slightly less scary, in Kagome's opinion. So she nodded mutely, watching him with wide eyes.

InuYasha - sensing that everything was okay, for now - tugged on the hem of his brother's haori."Can you give her the cootie shot, Sess? I don't wanna catch 'em from her!"

Sesshomaru sighed and then crouched down to the height of his half-brother and his brother's . . . young friend. Grabbing a permanent marker off his desk he held out his hand. "May I see your arm?" he asked politely.

Kagome's eyes darted quickly to the hanyou to see if it was safe and at the small nod, she held out her arm.

The older demon drew two circles on Kagome's forearm and then added a dot inside each of the circles. "There." he said, capping the marker.

InuYasha, however, frowned. "Sess! You did it wrong! You didn't say the rhyme and! And when you did it on me you used your claws and not a stupid marker!"

Though Kagome was frightened by the mention of claws, Sesshomaru ignored that completely and looked down at his younger brother. "InuYasha, what are you?"

"Demon?" The boy said as he tilted his head curiously, not sure of what his older brother was getting at.

"Half-demon." Sesshomaru corrected but didn't seem to really mean anything by it. "And what is she?"

InuYasha looked at Kagome and then back to Sesshomaru. "Demon?" he asked again.

Sesshomaru frowned. "Use your nose. What is your mother?"

"Human." The boy answered dutifully.

"And what am I?"

"Sess is the bestest brother ever!" InuYasha said, his face lighting up in adoration.

A small smile snuck onto Sesshomaru's face before he banished it and frowned. "I am a demon. Who does this girl smell more like?"

InuYasha looked over at Kagome again who had gotten bored of their conversation and was currently inspecting her 'cootie shot'. "Mama?" he asked.

"Which means?" Sesshomaru asked.

"She's a . . . human?"

"Correct. And what has Father told you about humans?" Sesshomaru asked once more.

"They're fragile." InuYasha responded dutifully.

"Now you know why I didn't use my claws this time. You heal quickly, she does not."

InuYasha nodded in understanding before frowning again. "But you still didn't say the rhyme!"

Sesshomaru glared down at his brother. "This Sesshomaru will not recite such a childish rhyme in front of a human."

InuYasha pouted. "Fine . . . I'll say it then." he said and went back to Kagome and took her arm, carefully tracing the pattern with his finger. "Circle, circle, dot, dot, now you have a cootie shot."

Kagome removed her thumb from her mouth and grinned. Tentatively, InuYasha returned the smile.

Then she attacked. With a squeal of mirth, she lunged for her original interest: the half-breed's ears. The toddler squawked indignantly as he attempted to avoid the sudden unexpected assault.

His attempt to dodge her failed, though, and they both toppled to the floor: Kagome sitting triumphantly atop him as she rubbed his triangular appendages.

"Thank you for the cootie shot," she hummed happily. "Your ears are so cute!"

InuYasha was too stunned to respond. Nobody but his mama had touched his ears before. The weird girl just kept getting weirder!

Sesshoumaru - who had obviously been forgotten for the moment - decided to take his book and go elsewhere. Toddlers were too energetic, in his opinion: he'd had more than his fill of them for the day.

"I'm K'gome Higuwashi." She announced after a moment, giving up the entertainment provided by his ears to move off of him as she offered her pudgy little toddler hand for a shake.

InuYasha blinked at the hand and carefully put his hand into Kagome's. "I-InuYasha Taisho." he muttered softly.

Kagome smiled and then hugged the hanyou. "Nice to meet you! You're my new friend!" she said cheerfully.

The sudden hug and declaration of friendship shocked InuYasha, but he smiled and hugged the other back. He wasn't sure about Kagome, but he liked the idea of having a friend.