Disclaimer - I don't own InuYasha. What on earth made you think I did? Could you tell me so that I can show it to everyone else?

AN: My first Inuyasha story. EDIT: This chapter was revised on June 2, 2010. It went from just over 1000 words, to over 3000. ^_^' Yeah, I was surprised too.

Summary: Kagome and Inuyasha get into a fight, which leaves Inuyasha hurt and angry, and Kagome feeling guilty. But before she has the chance to apologize, Inuyasha gets killed in a fight while trying to protect her. Grief-stricken, Kagome returns to her own time, vowing to never return to the feudal era. But only two years later, someone looking exactly like the human Inuyasha shows up at her school. Could it actually be him?

No spoilers that I can think of.

Eventual Inuyasha/Kagome

Chapter One.

One black eyebrow twitched expectantly as the golden eyes beneath them darted around, searching for a movement. The owner of the eyes was tense, ready to spring at any given moment. He was waiting for something. One ear - set atop his silver head - was flicking around, trying to catch some sound; the nose was sniffing out its prey. He was alert and ready, prepared for anything his catch would try to throw at him. Suddenly, he sensed his opponent behind him and swung around. But...it was too late.

"Arghhh!" In a whirlwind of orange, the beast jumped at him, landing directly on top of the startled predator. The vicious claws came down, swiping towards his face, closer, closer, closer, until...

"Ow! Inuyasha, you big meanie!"

"Huh. Don't sneak up on me like that then," replied the half-demon, snorting as he flexed his claws.

Shippo gingerly lifted him his small paw, touching the giant bump on his head that had sprouted up after Inuyasha had struck him. "Why'd you do it so hard?" he demanded, sniffling.

"Why'd you try to rip my face off?"

Shippo's green eyes widened they watered slightly. "I'm telling Kagome!" he whined, turning so he could flee from the irate half-demon.

"Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Inuyasha, grabbing Shippo by his fluffy tail. "I already got sat today because I didn't like Kagome's weird future food snack thing; I don't need her to sit me again just because you tattled on me. It wasn't that hard of a hit. Man up!"

"You're mean!" pouted Shippo, attempting to look intimidating as he hung in the air, still tightly clutched in Inuyasha's claws.

"I'm not mean!" protested Inuyasha. He grinned suddenly, baring his fangs as he leered at the tiny demon in his grasp. "But I can be if you make me angry enough."

Shippo squealed, kicking his foot directly into Inuyasha's face, causing Inuyasha to drop him. The young fox demon immediately set off, determined to escape from his older opponent, who was right on his heels, shouting threateningly as he kept a hand over his bleeding nose.

"You'll never catch me!" Shippo managed to yell out as he jumped, pushing a tree branch so it would hit Inuyasha.

The dog demon veered sharply, barely missing the branch. "We'll see about that ya little brat!"


Kagome Higurashi let out a deep sigh as she eased deeper into the water. Her head was leaning against a rock, the ends of her black hair floating in the water. Her eyes were closed, hiding the brown color beneath. Sango was across from her, also enjoying the relaxing male-free time as far away from Inuyasha, Shippo, and Miroku as possible. The three guys had all gone off after the snack of the day, and the two girls had taken advantage of this, deciding after much debate to take a bath. They both were looking forward to a bath that was Miroku-free.

"This is great," breathed Sango, as she rose up from beneath the water where she had been scrubbing her brown hair that was free from it's usual ponytail. "No thoughts, no worries...no Miroku," she added thoughtfully. "When do you think a time like this will come again, Kagome?"

"Never?" offered Kagome. Her eyes suddenly shot open. "I have a test coming up," she said, sitting up urgently. "I haven't studied at all for it. I'm going to fail. I'll never graduate. I'll become a garbage man...er, woman."

Sango looked pointedly at her friend. "We're her to relax," she reminded Kagome dryly. "Remember? Relaxation? A state free of nervous tension, rigidness and tenseness. This is a once in a lifetime chance, Kagome. When are we going to have another bath without Miroku skulking behind the bushes and rocks."

"You're right," admitted her fifteen-year-old companion as she resumed her original position. "But I thought you enjoyed it whenever Miroku spied on you?"

"What!" exclaimed Sango, her cheeks reddening.

"Well, yeah..." Kagome paused as a devious smile curled on her lips. "You always start blushing whenever he tells you that you have a heavenly body and that your breasts are perfectly shaped...kind of like how you are right now."

"I do not!" insisted Sango, her brown eyes flashing dangerously. The blush evident on her face subtracted the amount of intimidation she exuded by a large amount.

"Say that to my memories, Sango," was the response to the demon slayer's declaration.

The two girls continued chatting for a short while, enjoying the soothing waters of the hot spring. After a while, they fell into a peaceful silence, both of them lulled into a drowsy state by the calmness surrounding them. Sango's eyes were lidded as she gazed up at the azure sky. The weather today was perfect, with clear skies, crisp breeze, and warm sun. Sango sighed happily, sinking even lower into the waters, not paying attention as Kagome arose from the hot springs and grabbed a towel.

A twig snapped.

"Miroku!" shrieked Kagome, hastily wrapping the towel around her body. Sango's eyes snapped open as she shot up.

"Eh, Kagome?" came Miroku's voice as the purple-clad monk entered the clearing the hot springs were set in.

He only had a few seconds to notice the girls appearance before he ended up with a bright red hand print mark on his cheek and a throbbing head. Sango stood in front of him, eyes narrowed and towel clutched around her.

"What do you think you're doing, you pervert!" she yelled at him.

"W-wait, Sango," said Miroku. "I honestly didn't know..."

Sango turned around and snatched up her clothes, exiting the scene with Kagome closely behind, ignoring the rest of Miroku's protests.

Miroku stood in a daze for a minute, shaking his head. He breathed a disappointed sigh, knowing that the girls would never believe him if he said that he had - for once - wandered to the hot springs without any knowledge the girls were there.

Next time I get into one of these situations, I should actually see something before I get hit, he thought as he turned to walk back through the forest.

By the time he returned to the camp, the girls were dressed, with their hair drying quickly from the heat. They ignored him, seemingly determined to forget the incident.

He sat down across from them, wishing that Inuyasha was there so he could complain to the half-demon.

Unfortunately, both Inuyasha and Shippo were nowhere to be seen.

Even Kirara's glaring at me, moaned Miroku as he slumped down dejectedly.

Shippo bit his lip hard, trying not to let loose a cry of pain as a branch hit him directly in the nose. He knew that while Inuyasha was going easy on him, that didn't mean that he would still lose to the half-demon. Inuyasha was out of his line of vision at the moment. Shippo broke into a run, praying that he would reach the camp soon so that Kagome could rescue him.

He scrambled through some bushes, ignoring a scratch that appeared on his arm. He sniffed the air, smelling the smoky evidence of a fire.

"Oi, Shippo! Do you honestly think I can't see you there?" Inuyasha's voice rang out from right above Shippo. The small fox demon jumped, stifling his squeal that leaped unbidden into his throat, and started scurrying in the direction of the camp.

"Oh Shippo," sang Inuyasha, teasing the child who was racing as fast as his short legs could carry him.

Shippo spotted the flickering light of a fire ahead and made a mad dash to the finish. He had nearly made it, already tasting the victory of winning this round of cat and mouse, when he strong grip suddenly latched itself onto his tail, pulling him up and off the ground and away from the protective embrace of Kagome.

"Gotcha!"

"Kagome!" squawked Shippo, knowing instantly what he had to do to enable Inuyasha's downfall. "Inuyasha's being mean to me!"

There was a moments silence.

"Inuyasha...Sit!"

"Gaah!"

Shippo gingerly pushed himself off the ground, padding himself to check for injuries. Feeling none, he turned to look down at the defeated half-demon who lay face-down on the ground. He smiled proudly.

Inuyasha slowly raised his head up, dirt smudged on his cheeks and nose. "I hate it when she does that," he groaned, mostly to himself.

"Live with it," snapped Kagome irritably. Her bad mood had risen again, brought about by a combination of events. The not-so-good days events were floating back to her. She had woken up that morning when Shippo - who had been going to relieve himself - had tripped over her face. Unable to fall back asleep, she had been awake by herself for nearly two hours before Sango arose. She had made a snack for the group to share...Inuyasha hadn't liked it all that much and made it a point to announce it to the world. Later, Miroku had started hitting on the daughter of a traveler, leaving both Sango and Inuyasha to fire insults at him, leaving Kagome to heartily apologize to the scandalized man. Then Sango had attempted to cook a meal, trying to give Kagome a break from the work she usually did. She had burned it and ended up wasting precious food. Aside from that, Kagome remembered that she had a big test coming up that she hadn't studied for and would doubtlessly fail.

Overall, it hadn't been a good day.

"Wow, someone's in a good mood right now," said Inuyasha sarcastically as he raised himself to a seated position.

"Well, yeah, actually! I am in a bad mood! And I don't need you making it worse!"

Inuyasha's ear twitched as his eyes hardened, always a sure sign of anger for him. He rose as well, his naturally short temper thinning considerably as he stared the time-traveling girl down. "You don't have to start taking it out on everyone else, ya know!"

"Why? I should just be happy all the time?" ground out Kagome furiously.

"Hey, hey!" Miroku raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, trying to calm the two down. "Look, its been a long day. Just sit down and relax, okay?"

Kagome ignored him as she looked angrily at Inuyasha. "Well?" she shrieked. "Do I just have to be perfect all the time?"

"I never said that!" retorted Inuyasha. "I just said you don't have to bother us with your whining.

"Uh, guys, maybe you two should just..." Sango was cut off as Kagome's voice heightened its volume.

"You should stop being so selfish!"

"You should stop whining so much!"

Miroku and Sango exchanged nervous glances as Kagome shot up from the ground, towering over the half-demon. "You're such a jerk!" she shouted at him, her brown eyes flashing.

"Oh, and I suppose that's a bad thing?" Inuyasha taunted her, as he too rose to his feet, standing only a couple of inches above Kagome. They both stood glaring at each other, sparks flying from their eyes as the tension mounted, both fully angry as they stared each other down.

Shippo clutched a hand onto Kirara as she moved closer to him. He looked nervously at Sango and Miroku, both of whom looked to be at a loss about what they should do.

"Guys..." started Sango once more as both she and the monk stood up, but was again interrupted.

"Why don't you just leave me alone for once!" yelled Kagome, her hands clenching into fists.

"Why? Don't want your pet hanging around you so much?" spat out Inuyasha, his rage apparent in his golden orbs.

Kagome lifted her chin, as she dug her heels into the ground, standing firm. "I guess I have a sorry pet too," she said coolly. "It's not even a pure-breed."

The smirk on Inuyasha's face vanished instantly as dead silence crept over the campsite. Not a muscle moved as Inuyasha stared at Kagome, a disbelieving expression visible. His mouth opened as though he wanted to say something, but no words came out. He worked his jaw for a second before snapping it closed.

Sango instinctively took a step forward, a hand poised to either comfort and restrain.

Kagome stared at Inuyasha, her eyes wide with surprise as her words rang through her mind, echoing again and again.

A tremor ran through Inuyasha's body as his hands balled into fists, closed so tightly that his knuckles were white. He trembled slightly as his head bowed, rejection and hurt shining from every pore of his body.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome began, her voice shaky as she lifted her hand towards him.

He immediately jumped back, avoiding her. She faltered, watching him in confusion.

"What a pity you feel that way," he said, his voice cracking as he turned away from Kagome. "Maybe you should just get a new pet."

His shoulders shuddered as he spoke. Kagome's mind whirled helplessly, speechless from shock. He didn't turn to look back at her as he suddenly pushed off the ground, leaping from the various trees in the forest only to disappear within seconds.

Kagome's knees buckled beneath her. She dropped to the ground like a dead weight. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, the silence surrounding her accusing and unbearable.

She could feel her companions stunned eyes as they observed the scene.

"...K-Kagome?" whispered Shippo, bewildered by the drama playing before him.

Kagome's body jerked as though stung, and she staggered to her feet, not daring to look at her friends after what she had said. She stumbled fowards before gaining speed, fleeing into the forest opposite of the way Inuyasha had taken. Tears filled in her eyes as she ran and she did nothing to stop their flow down her cheeks.

The remaining members of the group stayed petrified in a horrified silence. All three were struck dumb, unable to speak or move.

Sango was the first to regain her senses, her mind clearing as she turned to the others, a frown marring her brow. "We should probably talk to them," she said to Miroku.

Miroku nodded, already beginning to move into the forest, but Sango grabbed his arm to halt him. "Shippo," she sternly. "Stay here and watch the camp with Kirara. We'll be back soon."

The fox kit nodded, watching solemnly as both Miroku and Sango moved away.

"You go after Kagome," said Sango, indicating the direction Kagome had taken with her head. "I'll follow Inuyasha."

"Good luck," said Miroku as he started following Kagome's path.

Sango dashed off quickly into the foliage, disappearing in the general direction that Inuyasha had gone.

Kirara mewled softly as Shippo bit his lip, reaching down to stroke the creature. "Don't worry, Kirara," he said comfortingly. "Everything will be just fine."

It has to be.

Sango ran through the forest, brushing the branches out of her way as her eyes darted back and forth, searching for the half-demon. Sango could feel something nagging her as a sick feeling settled in her stomach.

She flew past the figure of a tiny bird that had fallen from its nest and broken its neck. The sick feeling heightened considerably as Sango continued running. Though she had seen several similar sites before, she felt like this was an ominous warning of sorts.

Inuyasha, where are you? asked Sango as she strove to run even faster. Kagome didn't mean it, you know she didn't. Sango shook her head slightly, desperately wondering what had caused Kagome to say something so hurtful and wounding to Inuyasha. The half-demon had looked so devastated - and the insult had been so cruel - that Sango knew without a doubt this wasn't an argument that would simply be blown off like so many of theirs were.

Kagome, thought Sango as she ran. You probably just made one of the biggest mistakes of your life.


Just for all the people out there who hate bashers (or who like character bashing), this story has no Kagome bashing. I love Kagome's character and the Inuyasha/Kagome pairing, which is what this story is going to be. I didn't really like making Kagome say that to Inuyasha, but it was necessary for the story. Don't hate me! :)

Please review if you liked this story! More reviews means I'll update sooner!