A/N: This chapter is for zak saturday 1. Zak, I hope you like it. And I hope I didn't ruin the original with this. -crosses fingers- Don't be mad at me! Btw, this chapter is markedly different from the following. The prequel is endearing in a different way. Or at least, that was my vague intention. But it's almost like it should go in a completely different story. So, two drabbles? Somewhat related?

Birthday Present Prequel

Inuyasha's keen ears effortlessly caught the whisper of his name. "What is it?" he grumbled.

Kagome sighed. "No, never mind." She crossed her arms, the movement hidden to human eyes in the sylvan darkness.

Inuyasha bit his tongue to keep in the overly sharp retort trembling there. Instead, he abandoned Kagome's side and rose to his feet. He leapt easily into the giant oak he'd been leaning against. He crouched on a branch, glaring down at the top of her sable-haired head.

Human slow, Kagome jumped and protested, "Hey!" after he was already gone. Then sadly, "Why'd you do that?"

"You're annoying," he muttered off-handedly.

She frowned to herself, slumping lower against the tree. The thick ridges of the bark gouged into her back. It was silent, but for the soft rustle of leaves and the nighttime chirp of insects. She couldn't sense the half-demon's presence at all. It was like he really was gone. "Inuyasha?" she asked again.

"What!"

She winced. "Just… making sure you're still there."

"Well, I am. Now shut up."

That surprised her slightly. "Why?"

He didn't answer for awhile. "I'm listening," he finally admitted.

Alarm crept into her voice. "Why? Is there something out there?"

He snorted. "No." He paused. "I take it back. There is."

"What is it?"

"Me."

She frowned. "Huh?"

"Forget it."

"No." Suddenly, anger at his evasions boiled up. She shot to her feet and whirled around. She tried vainly to see his figure through the leaves. (Though she would have thought that a white-haired, scarlet-clad half-demon would be easy to spot.) "Tell me what you meant," Kagome demanded.

"No."

She changed tactics. "Please?"

"I said no," he growled.

She thought for awhile. "But… it's my birthday. And tomorrow I'll be leaving to celebrate with my family."

His voice mumbled slowly, "I know."

"So tell me." Her voice rang with triumph.

He chuckled bitterly in spite of himself. "Do you really want to know that badly?"

She hesitated at that laugh, but brushed it aside. "Of course! That's like starting to tell a story and then refusing to finish it." She waited.

Crickets hummed their plaintive songs. Fireflies flitted about, flickering in and out of existence. Leaves rustled; branches creaked. The forest, that mere moments ago seemed warm and intimate, darkened with an inexplicable foreboding. Dappled moonlight glinted through silvery oak leaves, making gnarled fingers out of the bare tips of boughs.

Every animal noise in the forest abruptly ceased. The hair on the back of Kagome's neck stood on end. Instinct thrashed alarm bells in her head. Fear tightened her chest. "Inuyasha?"

Dead silence roared in her ears.

Intuition froze her into stone. She couldn't see any danger – could barely see anything at all – yet she knew something was there. Her heart pounded; her ears rang with the deafening quiet. A cold sweat trickled along her spine. Her skin twitched, betraying her compulsion to run.

Clothing flapped, shockingly loud in the lifeless air. A presence breathed inches from her back. Kagome felt five small pricks on her neck. Her heartbeat faltered. Five sharp points began to ooze blood – black in the dark.

A familiar voice whispered in her ear. "Boo."

She jumped. Inuyasha removed his claws from her throat and drifted forward to face her. His face was solemn. He answered to her painfully wide eyes, "You wanted to know." Then he leapt back up into the tree.

Kagome remained frozen. Hesitantly, the woods took a small breath and began to move again. Finally, Kagome sank to her knees, quivering. She stared at the leaf litter just in front of her. A long minute passed as she struggled to find her composure.

"I never thought that that's what you meant," she murmured, half to herself. He's a half-demon, she thought. A predator. Groping, she found the base of the tree again and propped her limp torso against it. Why did he tell me about this side of him like this? She closed her eyes. Maybe something about this place reminded him. Before Kikyo, after all, he had no one… But I'm here. "Inuyasha?" she asked, voice only a little shaky.

"Yes?" he cautiously replied.

"Would you hold me?"

His eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Are you sure?" His tone asked, Aren't you scared of me now?

"Positive."

He dropped down next to her right side, crouching on all fours. He cocked his head, a deep frown carving ruts across his brow. When she didn't respond, he reluctantly leaned against the tree, an inch or two between their bodies. She squirmed close and nestled her head against his shoulder.

After the awkwardness faded, it felt companionable again. Several minutes later, Kagome straightened up with a reluctant sigh. "We'd better get back. The others are probably wondering where we went."

"Aa."