A/N: May contain a few spelling errors/grammar mistakes. Too lazy to proof read. Decided to write something a little different than usual. Take note, this is the product of a large amount of boredom as well as the disadvantages of side bangs. With that said, enjoy!

Uno Shot: Of Zits and Demons

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The young girl fidgeted in her high school uniform.Frustrated fingers continuously ran through jet black bangs to cover her face, only to stubbornly spring back into place seconds later. It was the heat. It had to be the heat. She had gone through three weeks underneath the blazing sun, matting down ebony locks that were practically begging skin oils to venture. It also didn't help that she had just gotten her period a few nights ago. It was a good thing she kept a few pads in her backpack, otherwise, the search for the Shikon Jewel would be quite difficult, to say the least. Gods, never had she wished to be back home this badly. Never had she desired to be away from the gang as horribly as she did today.

I'm probably just overreacting.They might not even notice it. I mean, nobody has said anything yet.

To my face, that is.

Then again, would any of them have enough curiosity to ask me? I don't suppose Sango or Miroku would approach me about it, fearing I'd take their question offensive. Shippou spends more time on my head rather than looking at it, so I doubt he's noticed. Inuyasha, on the other hand—

"Kagome, is something bothering you?" Sango whispered with concern as they treaded behind their partners on the dirt path. When the high school girl failed to answer, the worried taijiya gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Roughly shrugging off the sympathetic gesture, Kagome gave an uneasy laugh as she ran her fingers through her bangs. A rush of guilt spread through her as Sango's face flashed an offended disposition. Kagome nearly wanted to kick herself when the brown-haired girl displayed a pained smile.

Great. Now look where your insecurity has brought you. Nice going, Kagome. As if silence makes you any less suspicious.

"No need to worry about me," Kagome grinned as shook her head. "It's just the heat, that's all." Sango opened her mouth to speak, unconvinced by the mask the younger girl failed to hide behind. Her words were cut as Kirara ran to the front of the path, meowing for her to follow.

Whew. Another question from Sango and I'm sure she would've noticed. I'm sure she's seen plenty of disgusting sights, but this is just ridiculous. This isn't something that can just be swatted away by her Hiraikotsu.

But I damn well wish it were like that.

Slowing down her pace, Kagome stayed behind the group as she continued her efforts to use her bangs as a shield. Her black bangs were beginning to flatten horribly as she kept on using them to cover her face.

Geeze. It's big enough to have its own personality. Country, even. I should give him a name, it seems necessary.

Great. Now it's a he. This is getting really pathetic.

Though, I guess if it were under a life or death situation, I'd name him Odeko. That settles it. Odeko it is.

Odeko, I hate you.

"—are you listening to me?" Inuyasha's irritated voice entered as he roughly poked the side of Kagome's head. The young girl quickly slapped away the hand closest to her face, exclaiming a loud 'SIT'.

"What was that for, wench?" he muttered under the soil, toes twitching from the sudden collision.

"Kagome, you seem a little tense," Miroku said slowly. "Is there something we should know about?"

"Something?" the young girl squeaked as she shook her head. Her slender fingers rapidly combed through her thick locks as she backed a few steps away. "I'm perfectly fine, Miroku. I guess I'm just tired."

"See, Inuyasha? Kagome is tired as well," the houshi grinned as the angry hanyou stood up while dusting the dirt off of his shoulders. "It's getting dark already and there are no signs of a nearby village."

"Feh. Fine. We'll camp out here tonight," Inuyasha huffed as he jumped onto a nearby branch. "but don't blame me if we lose track of another jewel shard." Folding his arms, Inuyasha rolled his eyes after grumbling something about weak humans.

"Completely expected of Inuyasha," Shippou yawned. "always begging for conflict instead of compromising with something pimple."

Did he just day what I think he just said?

"W-what was that, Shippou?" Kagome stuttered, praying that she had heard wrong. Shippou paused and gave her an odd look before continuing.

"He always wants to do things the hard way," the young kitsune explained. "His pride holds him back from choosing pimple tasks."

Oh.

My.

About to continue, Shippou was cut off as a pebble made a collision with his head. The little kitsune rubbed the top of his head and looked up at the nearest branch with his eyebrows knit. Whistling, Inuyasha sat Indian-style with his arms folded across his chest. With a challenging glare, Shippou kneeled down to pick up stones near his feet. A sly smile curved onto his lips as he placed ammo into his vest pocket.

I'm being delusional, that's all. There's not a chance Shippou would say something like that. Besides, that sentence wouldn't make any sense if he mentioned my pim—

Ahem. It wouldn't make any sense if he mentioned… the P-word.

But what if he noticed? Is that why Inuyasha was so quick to sit on that branch, because he saw it? What if they all have noticed?

Odeko! I hate you. I can imagine all of the things they could be saying about it. Big, red, persistent, troublesome, hideous---

"Disgusting!" Sango shrieked, causing Kagome to look at her in horror. "That's unsanitary. You should've said something about it earlier!"

Kagome couldn't find the heart to speak. Her face felt hot; and it wasn't in the good sense. She opened her mouth to reply, but the words were somehow refusing to come out. She was feeling five different emotions at once, and none of them encouraged an ounce of her usual optimism. She heard the sound of Miroku's shakujo from behind her, clanging as he came closer.

"Sango, these past few days have been very eventful," Miroku said as he scratched the back of his neck with a goofy smile on his face to ease the taijiya's temper. "I planned to point it out once we reached a resting zone."

Sango grunted with dismay as she crossed her arms over her chest, clutching onto a dirty white cloth. The houshi gave an uneasy chuckle, shaking his hand to prove that he was okay. Kagome's eyes landed on the large gash implanted on his left forearm, which she had guessed was previously hidden.

"Well, we're resting now," Sango huffed, motioning for Miroku to follow her. "Because of your ignorance, that wound might be infected." She made a gesture for him to sit at the base of a tree.

"Ignorance?" Miroku gave a small, hearty laugh. "Oh, Sango, don't make the mistake of confusing chivalry with ignorance." The taijiya rolled her eyes as she folded the sleeve of the houshi's robe to get a better view of the gash.

"Don't mistake idiocy for chivalry." She countered, causing the ebony-haired girl to grin at her wit.

"Kagome," the taijiya surprised her with the sudden attention. "do you have anymore medicine from your time?" Kagome shook her head, biting her lip with guilt.

I emptied everything out to make room for my skin medicine.

Well, that's shot to hell now,isn'tit?

Nodding, Sango stood up and walked towards the younger girl. As a reflex, Kagome pulled at her bangs as the taijiya closed the gap between them.

"I'm going to search around for anything to treat Houshi-sama's wound," said Sango. Kagome nodded her head. "Look after him while I'm away."

Sango turned to meet eyes with Miroku and placed her hands on her hips.

"You hear me, Houshi-sama?" she warned. "When I get back, you better still be there. So zit tight and stay put."

What.

The.

"C-come again, Sango?" Kagome stammered, thanking the night for shadowing her horrified expression.

"Just make sure he doesn't get on his feet and remains zitting in that same spot." Sango confirmed as she began her search.

No way could she have said that.

I don't think I've even explained to them what that is!

In the midst of her self argument, Kagome was caught off guard as Shippou pounced onto her shoulders and clutched the collar of her shirt in panic. The feisty kitsune held on for his dear life, feeling a bit calmer now that he was in his safety zone. Before Kagome could question, she heard Inuyasha's angry voice come nearer as he yelled for Shippou to 'fight like a man'. The kitsune whined as he crawled up from Kagome's shoulders onto her head, clutching small handfuls of her hair. As his tiny hands reached her bangs, Kagome shrieked and restlessly tried shaking Shippou off. His hands only managed to clutch onto her hair tighter as they eventually made their way to her bangs. Kagome felt the pieces of hair lift from her eyes, exposing every inch of her facial skin.

Oh no! Now they'll really be able to see Odeko!

"Damn you, Shippou!" Inuyasha growled. "I'll show you a thing or two about throwing rocks. I'll shove a rock up your—"

"INUYASHA!" Kagome exclaimed as the hanyou came closer. He paused in his tracks, quickly identifying the way she had said his name. He took a step back, eyebrows twitching as they predicted what was to happen next.

I.

Can't.

Let.

Him.

See it.

"ZIT, boy!" she yelled, voice echoing. Inuyasha's eyes shut, expecting to unwillingly meet the ground. Kagome only said his name a certain way when she was really angry. And when she was really angry, the girl used that damn spell well to her advantage.

When nothing happened, Inuyasha opened one eye to make sure they weren't transported into some alternate reality. He dropped his arms to his sides and patted down his chest to make sure he was still whole. What the hell had just happened?

Jumping off of her head, Shippou smirked as he gazed up at Inuyasha.

"Idiot." The kitsune said before treading off to sit by Miroku.

Regaining access to her hair, Kagome quickly fingered the black locks to cover her face once again.

"Kagome, what the—" Inuyasha began, but was cut off as Kagome shook her head and explained that it was nothing. Raising his eyebrow, Inuyasha shrugged as he turned to retreat back to his branch.

Thank goodness.

Inuyasha heard Kagome sigh in relief. Positive that something was up, he turned back to face her, grabbed her shoulders, and stared her straight in the eye.

"Hey! You've been acting weird lately," he inquired. "What's your prob—" Pause. "Kagome, don't move."

"What? What is it?" Kagome asked in alarm, eyes looking left and right to see if any demons had appeared. Feeling the weight of his stare, she returned her gaze towards Inuyasha – who, much to her dismay, wasn't looking at her eyes.

Nor her chest, thank heavens. They already had one pervert in the group.

He was looking at her forehead.

"Don't panic," Inuyasha hushed. "but I think there might be some sort of demon egg—"

"SIT!"

Compared to Odeko, Inuyasha's like a herpe.

That idiot.