I have risen from the ashes like a Phoenix! Not really, I'm not that cool. Anyway, since some folks from my tumblr expressed an interest in reading my little headcanon-y idea, I figured I'd just throw it on here for the world to see. (Freakin' out guys, freaking out.) Anyway, here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not, have not, will not ever own Inuyasha or it's characters. All rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

The Hanyou Fires an Arrow

Gripping the bow, she released an arrow. It blazed past her.

"Damn it,"

The arrow pierced the target a good inch away from bullseye.

She wiped the sweat from her brows with the back of her wrist. Every single day she stood in the clearing of the forest that surrounded the Sacred Tree and she would fire arrow after arrow; it had become a familiar routine. She would wake long before dawn, tie the sleeves of her haori back when she dressed, grab her bow and quiver then head out into the crisp morning. She'd often take scraps of wood and cloth to form a makeshift target. She'd tear a hole in the center of the fabric she tied snug against the wood to act as her bullseye. She'd work herself into a sweat, running and jumping, pulling the bowstring back with all her strength, then firing. Arrow after arrow after arrow. And everyday, she was always so close yet so far.

Drawing another arrow up, she took stance and aim once again. She took in a breath, arms locked.

"You'll get it." a voice spoke from behind her.

The arrow zoomed by her cheek, slicing the skin just at the apple, and she felt her knees buckle slightly. Premature fire. Shit. Ignoring the fool who interrupted her concentration, she watched the arrow strike the target.

Bullseye.

"Ha! Did I call it or what?"

She grit her teeth and spun around.

"Don't just sneak up on someone holding a weapon!"

She stomped toward the intruder but he just leaned against one of the trees and grinned, bearing canines and arms folded comfortably across his chest. When she finally approached him, she took his collar in her free hand and yanked him toward her.

"Hey!" he shouted.

"If I hadn't recognized your voice I could have killed you!" she shouted. "How stupid can you be?!"

"Who are you calling stupid?!"

"Who else?!" she shook her head. "Inuyasha, i could have shot you with that arrow if I didn't realize it was you!"

"Feh! Like you would have been fast enough!"

He started pulling back, fighting her strength with only a fraction of his own.

"Don't pick on my speed! And my aim is better than you think."

"I know that," his face was soft now.

He stopped fighting. He just stared at her, his eyes narrowing. Inuyasha leaned toward her, peering at her cheek. When he spotted it, his eyes went wide and he immediately reached for her cheek with one hand. She flinched only slightly as her cheeks flushed by his sudden touch. He thumbed her skin.

"Now, how did that happen?" he grumbled.

Kagame's own hand instinctively flew to her cheek, Inuyasha's pulling away, where she felt wetness. Looking at her fingertip she saw red.

"Oh it-it must have been from the arrow," she shrugged.

Inuyasha sighed and tore off a piece of cloth from a handkerchief she'd given him once before that apparently he held on to, keeping it in the folds of his kosode. He did something unexpected: he pressed it to his tongue and then began dabbing it along the cut. She watched his face closely.

"Idiot, you've gone and hurt yourself," he murmured, nose scrunched up, "I should break that arrow in half."

"Oh shut up, " she jammed his collar against chest.

The wind rustled the trees. He examined the cut and decided it was clean enough. Kaede would properly tend to it when they returned to the village.

"It shouldn't scar," he said softly, "Not deep enough."

"Thank you," she barely got out, heart pounding with how close they stood.

Inuyasha looked at her as her hand slowly released his suikan, lingering carefully distanced from his chest. He watched her, knowing full-well he was making her nervous. Part of him relished in that knowledge, though he'd never let on. Kagome at least assumed he knew. When she finally blinked her way back to consciousness, eye-contact always sending her mind reeling, she cleared her throat and straightened her spine. She held her bow close to her chest, her firm grip never faltering.

"I wish I could give some pointers but I've never fired one of those things,"

He tapped the bow with a finger. Kagome couldn't hold back a slight giggle that he seemed to miss or chose to ignore. Just the very thought of Inuyasha — particularly a young Inuyasha — wielding a bow and arrow was enough to make her double over. But even imagining it made her cheeks flush red. How cute! she thought. She watched Inuyasha as he eyed her bow, nose scrunched up and eyebrow raised. She did wonder if he had ever used another weapon besides his Tetsusaiga. She figured he must have at least tried something other than a sword at some point. But a bow? The concept seemed so far off; on a different plane of existence. He was strong, sure. Inuyasha could most likely pull the string back with ease. But, aim is crucial and long-range fighting has never exactly been his strong suit.

It hit her. An idea smacked her right in the face. She took his hand and grinned.

Now he was the one flushing red.

"What's the big idea?!" he practically shouted.

"I'm gonna teach you how to fire an arrow!"

His eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped open, cheeks burning crimson before he had time to even realize what his face looked like. Especially in front of her.

"Wait," his voice cracked as she started leading him toward the target, "H-hold on a sec, idiot! I-I can't do that- this is a terrible idea."

"No way, this is a great idea!" her smile was brighter than the morning sunrise.

"Kagome, this is insane I don't—"

"Hush up, now hold this."

He looked like a little kid, staring at the bow like it was foreign writings on a piece of parchment. Kagome took an arrow, nocked it on the weapon, and placed Inuyasha's hands in the proper places. He didn't protest, just stood like stone. She noticed a bead of sweat sliding down his temple and she could have sworn she saw him tremble. The great and powerful Half-Demon Inuyasha was nervous.

"Now," she stood behind him and placed her hands on his hips, "You're going to take aim."

She pointed his body in the right direction, forcing him to stand at angle.

"Aim, Inuyasha."

"Kagome," he swallowed, "th-this is crazy."

"Don't be a baby, just do it."

He grumbled something about her being insane but she just shook her head.

She'd get him back for that comment later.

Kagome took his elbows and moved them up. Giggling at his limp attempt at pointing the bow, she gripped his right elbow tighter and adjusted its position. Soon she had fixed the lines of his arms. His face changed; eyes narrowed and jaw clenched tight. He finally started to look like he wanted to try this. Like he was curious to see if he could actually fire an arrow from a bow.

"Okay, pull back,"

He tightened his left arm that pointed forward and drew the bowstring back. Kagome tried to fight back a small gasp. His strength always surprised her, even though at this point it shouldn't. She knew he'd be able to pull the string back with ease, but seeing it in front of her managed to whisk her breath away. Briefly. Kagome took quite a long time to build up the muscle to be able to pull the bowstring back with the ease that Inuyasha just displayed in his first attempt.

"Use your cheek as an anchor."

"A what?" he glanced at her.

"An anchor," he blinked and she sighed, "Just touch your fingers to your cheek."

He did as she said, looking back at the target.

"Take a deep breath, then slowly let it out."

His chest puffed as he took in a breath. His cheeks were red again. Kagome did a final examination of his arms, checking the tightening of his muscles. If he wasn't going to even put effort into it, she'd find a way to coax enthusiasm out of him. To her pleasant surprise, his muscles were tight and his hands were firm. She checked his waist, looking for his usual casual stance. If he didn't hold his ground, the sudden release of the arrow would pull his body forward and there was a slight chance he'd fall. Kagome decided he put enough weight distributed evenly. Well… as evenly as he could his first time. When she finally pulled back she could tell he had lost focus on the task and was carefully watching her movements. She blinked, then the realization of where he palms lingered sent her jerking back. Now they both had red cheeks that blazed.

"Okay, breathe in again," she instructed. He did, readjusting his grip.

"Now," she spoke softly and just as he released the air from his lungs, "fire."

They stood there in the breeze. Inuyasha's eyes were wide and Kagome's palm had flown to her mouth instantly. They both blinked. Wind rustled their clothes, the breeze tickling Kagame's neck. She swallowed, staring out in front of her next to Inuyasha's rigid body.

"Well, uh," she sputtered.

Maybe he'd keep his cool—

"WHAT THE HELL?!" he shouted. "Where the HELL did it go?!"

Nope.

He had shoved the bow in Kagome's hands and his whole upper body slumped over. She watched him clenching and releasing his claws repeatedly. He looked like he'd just been beaten in the worst way possible: his pride.

"How-how's that work?! This thing must be broken!" he shouted obscenities and growled into the clearing.

Inuyasha's arrow had vanished. Kagome managed to follow its path above the trees but lost it nearly immediately when it made a hard descent.

Kagome snorted and his ears swiveled immediately in her direction.

She began laughing, howling almost. She dropped the bow and was holding her stomach, laughing loud enough for the village to hear no doubt. Her eyes were burning as tears welled up. Inuyasha spun around, pale in the face; positively ghostly. She laughed even harder watching his face contort as he tried to force speech. Kagome's guttural laugh echoed around them.

"Hey!" Inuyasha had fallen to the ground, staring at her mortified.

She laughed even harder, snorting; failing to breathe.

"Whaddya laughing at?!" he snarled. "Th-this ain't funny, stupid!"

She stopped for only a split second to look at his expression before bursting out into another fit. Tears forced their way down her cheeks, the cut slightly stinging at the salty contact. Inuyasha continued to shout. He had lost it.

"I-It had to be the wind!" he reasoned. She laughed harder. "Now I'm really gonna break that stupid thing!"

He finally sat cross-legged in the grass, and turned his nose up to the sky. His jaw was tight and he looked like he needed to break something. Kagome rubbed the tears from her cheek. She walked toward him slowly as her laughter calmed down. Inuyasha's arms were tight across his chest and his silver bangs were shielding his eyes. She dropped to her knees, crawling closer and then rested her hands on his thighs. He moved his legs to try to push her away while he jerked back but she just moved forward, between them.

"Scram," he huffed. "I don't need to fire an arrow anyway."

Kagome just moved her hands to his cheeks and pulled his face toward her. His eyes were wide, no doubt surprised by her sudden aggression. She kissed him quick, firm, and full of smiles. When she pulled away, Inuyasha's heart was pounding in his chest and his cheeks were as red as his Robe of the Fire Rat. Now she'd really done it; made the powerful Hanyou nervous twice, all before dawn.

"Don't worry, Inuyasha," she grinned, "You'll get it."

if you made it this far, yay! I'm beyond thankful and appreciative you saw it through to the end! (Unless you just haphazardly scrolled down to the end of the page; in which case, I shake my fist at you!) It's been quite a while since I've really written something and I decided writing Inuyasha fanfiction was clearly the best option for getting back in the swing of things. Hopefully you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think and all that good stuff. I'm hoping I'll be back with some more! Peace xx