CHAPTER 1

Hana: So this is a rather short story I came up with while being on holiday in Denmark. My parents were already sleeping and I heard scratching sounds...

Ichigo: Scratching sounds? *hides behind Hana* You told me you just had a random idea!

Hana: Uh… *nervous smile* It was, because nothing actually happened. However, my fantasy started to work a bit overtime.

Ichigo: So does mine right now! I need distraction, do something!

Hana: You don't want to hear how I thought about facing the nightly intruder, who possibly was in the house, without using force? *sighs* Well okay.

Ichigo: You did what? Tell me!

Hana: *giggle* I thought back to when we discussed living without violence at school. I figured it would take a thief off guard, when you don't freak out but talk to him, as if nothing special was going on.

Ichigo: I guess I couldn't do that *still hiding behind Hana* But it would be awesome to read about such a situation.

Hana: Okay *smiles back at Ichigo* Then all that's left to say is: I don't own Inuyasha and have fun ^^

CHAPTER 1 Inuyasha

It was deep in the night. Only the full moon lit the streets of a small neighbourhood outside of Tokyo. No one was out in the street at this time except for one lone figure. It had shining silver hair and white puppy ears atop his head, twitching to detect every sound around him.

Currently the male was trying to find out whether or not the house in front of him was empty, as one of the windows was wide open. It has to be a trap. Don't let your guard down Inuyasha., his demonical instincts told him. Well, as if I haven't known that already… His mouth turned upwards in his usual cocky grin. It's too good to be true. I have to be careful.

His mind went back to the first day he had walked by this house. A woman had roamed around inside, her hair pulled up in a messy bun. At first the half demon had stopped. The woman sure was pretty, even by human standards. But what caught his attention even more was the pearl necklace she pulled from a box. It sparkled with white pearls and in the middle was a bigger pink jewel reflecting the light.

Even now, one week of observing later, his fingers itched to grab that necklace. It would achieve a good price, if he sold it along with the rest of the jewellery. That would save my life from extinction – again. Half demons just aren't the most loved and cared for people of our society… I have to be careful.

As if on cue a car pulled around the corner. Well… Damn. Now he had to make a decision – very quickly. Hide in the shadows and return tomorrow or just take the risk and hop through the window.

His decision was made quickly and the half demon jumped into the dark room. Instantly he pressed his back to the wall next to the window. The ghostly shadows of the headlights flickered over the room. Inuyasha exhaled a breath he hadn't realised he held. That was close, he told himself as he slowly got up.

Golden eyes caught as much light as they could get. Inuyasha looked around the room he had landed in. His demonic vision allowed him to see clearly where a human only could make out shadows. Jackpot! Inuyasha's grin returned even brighter than before. Across the room, next to an old sofa sat a jewellery box on top of a shelf.

Carefully the half demon closed the distance, feeling the soft carpet and sliding around low cupboards, a coffee table and an armchair. He didn't make any sound, his bare foot silently hitting the carpet. Everything was going smoothly.

Inuyasha had nearly reached the box, as a screeching sound caused him to freeze. Against his better judgment he stayed where he was rather than dodging into the shadows and hiding from whoever interrupted him. Are you crazy?!, his mind yelled at him. However he still couldn't move a single muscle. Light was turned on. The half demon forced himself to stay still and not hiss in pain, as his eyes adjusted to the new light conditions. As soon as Inuyasha was able to see again, his muscles tensed once again. In the door to the bathroom stood a woman with raven hair. She had a towel around her neck and stopped rubbing her hair dry as soon as she caught sight of Inuyasha. Nightly intruder stared at robbery intruder.

The half demon internally groaned: Talk about smoothly. Instinctively his muscles tensed to jump and silence this human wench, when – not if – she decided to scream. Cool metal suddenly pressed firmly against his skin. The dagger his father gave to him before his death. Since then Inuyasha carried it with him. For situations like these and worse.

To his utter surprise nothing like that happened. On the contrary: The woman went back to rubbing her hair dry. She even smiled at him! "Am I interrupting something?", she asked sweetly.

"Uh", was Inuyasha's smart reply. His eyes wandered from the jewellery he nearly had to the woman in front of him and back. She raised an eyebrow at him, tilted her head slightly to the side. It wasn't until then that the half demon realised how he had to look. Like the literal caught thief. Standing on his tiptoes, clawed fingers outstretched, ready to grab the box. Only they would never reach their goal.

Deliberately Inuyasha stood to his full height. Now he was a good head taller than the wench. It would be easy to intimidate her and if not – No, don't think like that. The dagger is your last option. Nevertheless he felt the weapon press against him, tempting him to use it. To use it against that fragile human being in front of him…

"Hi I'm Kagome Higurashi. And you are?", the woman suddenly asked. "Not looking forward to this conversation.", the half demon responded grumpily. He crossed his arms over his chest, turned his nose upwards. "Keh" Kagome laughed at him: "You're funny."

Now it was Inuyasha's turn to tilt his head. Did I miss something? When did I start to be funny? Where is the intimidation my tone usually causes? Where is the scream of horror because a hanyo stands in her living room in the middle of the night? But Kagome just smiled at him with closed eyes, oblivious to his thoughts it seemed. Such a strange wench., the half demon thought to himself. His ears tickled and then flickered as he tried to detect any difference in her heartbeat.

Inevitably this brought the woman's attention to the triangles. Her blue-brown eyes widened slightly. Now she was going to scream for sure. Every human reacted that way to his appeareance. If not by his claws, fangs or irritating golden eyes, his ears always caused them to freak out.

"Can I … touch them?"

Inuyasha snapped out of his thoughts to stare at the woman in front of him again. She had dropped her towel to rest across her shoulders, her eyes were fixed on his puppy ears and one hand was outstretched, ready to touch the furry things with his permission. "Uh sure?", Inuyasha mumbled. "I promise to be careful.", Kagome said earnestly. And so he allowed the first other person, save for his parents, to touch his dog-ears.

Kagome did as she promised. Her touch was as light as air, circling his fur with the tips of her fingers. The half demon had to admit it felt good. He never thought the touch of anyone else could be so appealing…

"They're so soft!", Kagome stared at them in awe. And while she beamed up at him, Kagome seemed to realise something, "Oh Kami how rude of me! You're my guest and I didn't offer you anything. Would you like to drink or eat something?" Completely baffled Inuyasha stared at her. Say what?

The situation was getting stranger by the minute. First the human hadn't freaked out to find a stranger close to stealing her jewellery. Then she had introduced herself to said stranger and now she was boiling water for some tea and ramen and babbling away a good part of the conversation.

Kagome had just finished telling Inuyasha, who still hadn't told her his name, about her family. Her father died in a car accident and she had lived with her mother, grandfather and younger brother at a shrine in Tokyo. She had gone on about the complicated love life of her best friends, adding her own thoughts on the topic. It had turned out Kagome had just been dumped by her fiancée for another girl, who looked like her twin.

Inuyasha didn't get it. First he thought this wench was hiding her fear very well from him, but listening to her rambling he found out she wasn't afraid at all. She was very kind and gentle and carefree. Somehow it bugged him. She was too trusting. One day a bad guy would show up at her doorstep much like he did and wouldn't wait for her to draw his weapon and kill her. She needed to know that! It would destroy her, if she stayed oblivious to the cruelty of the world he knew existed outside the shimmering skyline of Tokyo. Inuyasha decided he had to show her the truth behind the scenes.

He took out his dagger and stepped up behind Kagome at the counter. She didn't hear him until his glittering blade made contact with her soft skin. The human woman went perfectly still. "If I were you I'd drop that knife as long as you still can.", Kagome calmly said. Although she couldn't see it, Inuyasha smirked: "Why? Because you're going to shriek at me for being a big bad guy?"

"Because I will purify your ass for being an idiot. After all I did, half demon.", she calmly answered. Inuyasha froze, his muscles unable to move and Kagome turned in his grasp to face him. She smiled evilly. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice? If you had listened, you would know I grew up at a shrine." Inuyasha backed away. Miko!, his inner demon screeched. It wanted both, attack the thread and run from it. Just in this second the alarm dinged. With a snap all the tension in Kagome's body vanished into thin air. The wench smiled broadly, eyes dancing with mirth. "Dinner is ready!" She hopped around the counter to gather the things she needed.

Two cups with tea; then two bowls with ramen. Kagome set them on the table and sat. "Sit and eat", she beamed at Inuyasha. His ears perked. Eat? Real food? A growl entered the room. However it wasn't Inuyasha, but his stomach making that horrible noise. Kagome looked up from her meal as noodles hung from the corner of her mouth. She furrowed her brows: "When was your last meal? Your stomach sounds awful"

"Why thank you for pointing out the obvious"

"I didn't mean to be rude.", Kagome gave him a caring smile, waving a dismissive hand. "But please answer my question."

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away from her. "Keh. As if that was any of your business."

"It is my business since you broke into my house in the middle of the night and tried to steal my jewellery.", she walked around the table and pulled at his silver hair to make him look at her, "Don't think I let that slip just because I didn't point out the obvious." Her blue-brown eyes gleamed with a fire the half demon had never seen before. He snorted: "Then why didn't you call the police right away? Why did you protect me? I am able to take care of myself you know"

"I never said I doubted that, did I? However, I am curious as to why of all people an Inu half demon would sneak into my house."

Inuyasha thought for a minute. This wench was annoying to say the least. She was mostly annoying because she was right. Kagome could have called the police right away or purified him for his nightly intrusion. But instead she had allowed him to stay for a while; even made sure he would eat something. He owned her an explanation and it frustrated the half demon to no end.

"My parents died and my pure blood half brother is not exactly the caring person. You may know about the rules for half demons. No flat, no job. No job, no flat. A half demon never gets either of it without the other.", Inuyasha growled out, flattening his ears to his skull. He hated talking about himself and his family. "So I wander about at night to find the money I need."

"Stealing"

"Yeah", Inuyasha bared his fangs in defiance at the wench. And again she surprised him. Instead of finally calling the police or throwing him out, Kagome pushed him down to sit at the table and took her seat as well. "No wonder you're hungry and look as if someone was going to strangle you every second.", she shook her head in disbelieve, "And don't give me that look. You know I'm speaking the truth. So again: What is your name?"

"Inuyasha", the half demon bit out. The human nodded her head, as if something finally made sense. However she didn't fill him in. Instead she offered a gentle smile. "Well Inuyasha, would you like to eat with me? Daily?", she gave him a questioning look. Inuyasha stared blankly at her. His ears had to be broken. She simply couldn't have invited him to eat dinner with her, did she? And if she did it was a joke. The human would laugh at him as soon as he accepted, telling him how stupid he was for believing her words. She is offering a half demon, a thief to dine with her? Is this wench completely insane?!

Kagome chuckled: "Don't look at me as if I'm crazy. Two independent therapists assured me of the opposite." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her. Did she just make a joke? "Inuyasha", Kagome sighed, "You may seem like the perfect criminal on the outside, but you aren't. I can see it both in your eyes and soul." The half demon felt joy leap in his chest, but he still didn't trust her offer enough to let her know about his feelings. So instead he used the indifferent mask his older half brother was so famous for. "Do you mean it or is this a cruel trick to hand me over to the police?"

"Why should I hand you over? You've done nothing wrong. A friend paying me a nightly visit that's all I see.", Kagome winked at him over the rim of her tea cup. She means it! This wench was offering him amnesia and daily food! Inuyasha couldn't stop the stupid smile that graced his lips. "Okay, then I'll come as long as you'll let me." Kagome beamed at him happily: "Inuyasha, this could be the start of a friendship."

And indeed it was.