All she wanted was an uneventful morning spent shopping. Some peace and quiet from the excitement that had found itself in her once serene home. Some wishful thinking that was.

Kagome didn't even have the time to set foot into the brightly illuminated shopping center when the sliding automatic doors opened and a tall figure beelined for her general direction. Two other figures trailed closely behind trying to keep up with the enthusiastic man half-jogging towards her.

When he was close enough in view for her to distinguish his identity, she inwardly groaned. Great, just what she needed.

"Hey, Kagome, how ya been? Sorry I left without you on Friday, you were just so concentrated and I couldn't get myself to disturb that pretty face of yours," exclaimed the man sporting a baggy brown sweater and a pair of khaki shorts.

The two other men finally caught up with him, out of breath, panting loudly behind him.

"Kouga, sorry I made you wait so long for me, I really didn't intend to stay that long, but I guess I did. I totally lost track of time," she replied guiltily as she then turned to face the other people who had just joined in, "Good morning Ginta, Hakkaku."

They grinned back as a reply to her greeting, not having anything to add themselves.

"It's no biggie, anything for you my Kagome! Can I ask you a question though?" Kouga probed as he seemed to send a few sniffs in her direction.

What was with all these men and their smelling habits? She'd have enough of Inuyasha always smelling her, and now Kouga too? Her feral test subject, she could understand his desire to rely on his senses, but why of all things was her coworker acting oddly towards her too?

Kagome mentally shuddered at his unwanted attention. Not that Kouga was a bad guy or anything, she just wasn't interested in pushy guys like him. Despite being somewhat of a creep, he was still a kind friend who looked out for her.

She nodded, encouraging him to ask his question to get their interaction over with as soon as possible.

"No offense or anything," he proclaimed while raising his hands defensibly, "but why do you smell like a dog? Not that your fragrance is bad or anything, cause it can never be bad, it's just kinda new, y' know?"

Like a dog? What was Kouga going on about?

Wait—did he mean Inuyasha? He wasn't a dog per se, although a lot of his behaviours resembled that of one. He was still human, for the exception of his ears, something she hadn't figured out yet and would ask about to her best friend Sango in the biology department for advice in the upcoming week.

How in the heavens had he scented him on her? Did she really smell like a wet dog still? She'd showered that morning, so she really didn't understand how he could have come to that conclusion. The declaration truly stumped her.

"I'm really not sure how you came up with that," she laughed nervously in reply, eyes darting towards the floor, avoiding eye contact with him at all cost.

Kouga chuckled and grabbed a hold of her palm in one hand and her arm in the other.

"Well my princess, I'd better let you go since I have things to do at home. See you at work tomorrow morning," he murmured for only her to hear as he pecked her on the back the hand.

Blood rushed to her face and left her cheeks a rosy tint as she quickly pulled back her arm to her side. Why did he always have to be so bold with her?

She giggled nervously not knowing how to respond to his advances, "See you on Monday."

With that, the man dressed in brown left just as quickly as he appeared, waving her off in the distance as he left the mall accompanied by his two friends.

Kagome sighed in relief as he left her line of sight. She could finally accomplish what she'd come here to do.

Not only did she have enough going on at home, plus work, she didn't need this additional stress when she was away from either location.

To top it all off, she had no clue how her test subject would react to being left at home alone for the first time. The professor had seen how he'd reacted to being left alone overnight.

Essentially, she'd try to make this visit to the store as short as she could.


She took around two hours before she finished getting all the clothes and supplies she figured she'd need. Grocery shopping for the week's meals and lunches was definitely on her list of things to do as Inuyasha had eaten her out of a household a few days prior.

She trekked back home, arms filled to the brim with shopping bags of various sizes and colours. Kagome had taken longer than expected to make it back home, but the traffic hadn't been too bad.

When she finally saw her humble abode in sight, she practically ran to the front door, unlocking it, the familiar clicking noise of the mechanism greeting her. Good, Inuyasha hadn't opened the front door on his own

But that's not what freaked her out when she opened it. Dead silence awaited her.

Kagome knew from experience that silence was never a good sign when you either had kids, pets, or even feral children in your household.

Hurriedly, she dropped her multiple bags in the entrance, removed her shoes and peered over into the living room. Everything so far was in its rightful place, where it had been left. That alone was strange.

And there was Inuyasha, sleeping peacefully, his head resting on her laptop in the center the coffee table. His ears twitched periodically, assessing the sounds surrounding him.

Odd, it wasn't like him to let his guard down around her. He always seemed somewhat skittish she pondered. Perhaps he felt more comfortable in her presence now? She wouldn't say no to that!

"Inuyasha, I'm home," she muttered quietly, not wanting to surprise him or jolt him awake.

His golden eyes peeled opened as he stirred. Inuyasha yawned loudly as he extended both arms out and arched his back, stretching in a dog-like fashion, ears flickering every so often.

"Kagome," he said excitedly.

She smiled at his response to her arrival and turned back around to return to the entrance. She brought over one bag she'd bought and rummaged inside, "I've got some clothes for you to try on, so you should probably get up."

That's when she noticed his mood souring. It wasn't like him to get upset without her physically touching him, or making him do something he didn't like. It's not like he had actually understood what she had told him, had he?

Inuyasha smelled the potent stench of wolf on her. Why in the world did she smell like a wolf demon?

His possessive dog instincts kicked in, lips curling and the desire to growl at her steadily growing. Inuyasha felt betrayed. Demons of his kind were loyal to their companions, so why would she betray him like this?

Hey—when in the world had he cared what she did and didn't do? It was none of his business what this stupid girl would waste her time doing. If she wanted to go prance around with those mangy wolves, she could do as she pleased! It's not like he cared or anything.

And when did he start identifying as a dog demon? He was over all that.

"Keh," he spat out indifferently, pretending like he hadn't noticed the stench at all.

He'd play it off like he was Mr. Cool.

His sudden mood swings puzzled Kagome, who wasn't sure what to make of them. Perhaps she had to pick up her textbook on animal behaviouring again to see if she had forgotten a passage or two.

With the morning's events quickly forgotten, it took about half an hour for her to get him to dress, Inuyasha wrestling to put on the clothes and Kagome struggling to explain in ways for him to understand how to put on the various pieces of clothing. After they'd tried on each garment bought and deciphered which fit and which didn't in two separate piles on the couch, Kagome deemed her shopping trip a success.

In all honesty, the ordeal had played out much better than she had expected.

The professor had found him several pairs of jeans, a couple pairs of sweatpants, and shorts that fit him. She'd also bought an array of t-shirts, sweaters, and nicer looking tops such as polo shirts and button ups.

She learned the hard way that the white-haired man refused to wear shoes, battling her as she tried to slide on a pair of sneakers. After her scuffle with him, she finally got him to wear flip-flops. At least it was still better than nothing she decided.

That also meant that socks were a no-go, so she'd have to deal with messy footprints around the house when he refused to wipe his feet before entering.

The best purchase from the morning's shopping trip had been a red ball cap which hid his fluffy appendages. It would be her secret weapon to take him out in public.

Kagome straightened out the living room after their fashion parade, setting aside a bag of clothing she had to return since they didn't fit.

It was about time she made the two of them lunch, anyway.


Working on activities for her report was the next step in her experiment. The raven-haired woman had prepared flashcards with pictures of everyday objects. She'd use them to teach words to the new dog-eared student she'd taken under her wing.

She sat Inuyasha down on the living room carpet and sat across from him, folding her legs in a crisscross fashion. She'd found that her companion was much more relaxed and at ease sitting on the floor than on modern chairs. Kagome was certain that too much at once would confuse the poor man, so to enhance his learning, she'd enhance his comfort. As simple as that.

Plus, it's not like she didn't sit on the floor daily to work on her laptop at the coffee table.

The two were facing one another, Kagome, cards in hand, and Inuyasha, gazing at her intently. Why was he always so serious?

The professor pulled out a card which displayed a brightly coloured vehicle, "This is a car. Car."

She repeated the words a few times hoping he understood what she was doing. While she did so, a clipboard was cradled on top of her crossed legs with a pencil secured to its clip. Kagome also had a bowl filled with treats behind her to entice him to pay attention to their little game.

Inuyasha cocked his head sideways, ears tipped forward as if to show that he was paying attention. Eagerly waiting for her to speak, as if a child being read a bedtime story.

"Let's try another one," she declared as she placed the card face down in front of her.

The next one she pulled up showed a practical electronic item she used on a daily basis, "Computer. Computer."

This time Inuyasha seemed to grasp what was happening a bit more. He pointed towards her laptop that was still resting atop of the table a few feet beside him.

"Yes, that's fantastic, that's a computer" she emphasized again, her cheerfulness at his progress shone through her pleased tone.

At that, he flashed a toothy grin at her. A noise rumbled in his chest, almost like a kitten's purr.

"Kah-mpoo-tah," he emitted, the croakiness at the disuse in his throat very clear.

The professor praised him by handing him a pepperette piece she'd prepared earlier. She knew from her animal behavioural knowledge that a positive reinforcement always worked better than a negative one. One shouldn't yell at an animal since they wouldn't understand why they were being scolded. Yet, giving them a reward for doing something good right after doing so could get them to learn much quicker.

She was hoping she'd be able to induce a Pavlovian behavior out of him—he'd try to say the word, she'd praise him and he'd expect a reward. Lather, rinse, repeat.

She'd show those above her in her department she could accomplish amazing things herself. There was no way she'd let herself get fired over a mediocre thesis and all those budget cuts at the university. She'd get through this along with Inuyasha. They were in this together.

They repeated this exercise until dinner time. That night, Kagome prepared a dish of miso, white rice, and grilled fish. This time, she'd focus on etiquette. The white-haired man would have to learn to eat without stuffing his face immediately with the food presented in front of him.

It would be like pulling teeth, but she'd have to get started somewhere.


Kagome placed multiple dishes in front of Inuyasha. She handed him the chopsticks and as always; he grabbed a hold of them and set them down beside his meal as she figured he would. He didn't quite grasp the concept at all.

So, she handed him another pair. This left him with a perplexed expression painted across his face. What was she trying to do?

He put them down again.

She repeated the process over by handing him a third pair of utensils.

"Hey, you have to eat with those," she pointed expectantly at the pair of chopsticks Inuyasha held firmly in his hands this time.

His right ear twitched in annoyance. There were delectable smelling dishes right under his nose and Kagome was distracting him from eating them.

Enough dilly-dallying he decided, placing the third pair of chopsticks on the table once more and wrapping his fingers around the nearest dish, its aroma wafting directly under his nose.

Every time he'd go to grab the small plate with his clawed hand, her own would come and rest atop of it to prevent him from bringing it to his face and devouring it whole like he usually would.

If he really wanted to, he could force it out of her hands he told himself. Yank it from her and show her what he was capable of. No one should underestimate him just because he was a half-demon. No one.

A low growl reverberated through his chest as his ears flicked back and forth more frequently as she kept preventing him from eating.

Why was she stopping him, now of all times? She'd never done this, always allowing him to eat to his heart's content for some reason or another, unlike most humans who tried to chase him out with a broom.

He'd have to figure it out soon because his rumbling stomach wouldn't let him wait any longer and his patience was wearing thin. Very thin.

"Don't you growl at me, mister!", she chided, scolding him this time by placing her index on the tip of his nose and pushing back.

He tried to use more force on his hold of the plate this time, yanking it from her hands. This caught her off guard, leading her to stumble and fall on her side.

The sound of her slender frame hitting the hardwood floor in such a brusque manner sounded like a ton of bricks being dropped in a silent auditorium.

Inuyasha immediately regretted what he'd done. The man smelled the scent of fresh tears teasing at his nose the moment she had come back to her senses after her tumble.

He winced at his own actions. Stupid, he was so stupid. How could he have made her cry after everything she'd done for him?

Wait- no! He wasn't supposed to feel sorry for a filthy human. How many times had they made him cry when they turned his back on him when he was just a starving child?

There was no way he'd sympathize with her he decided. His heart had decided otherwise though, his ears drooping forward pointing towards his soft white mane. His facial features softened, eyes mimicking those of a begging puppy. He hadn't meant to hurt her with his superhuman strength.

He whined as he dropped the plate he had taken from her while descending from the chair. Inuyasha scooped her up as if she weighed nothing less than a feather.

"Sorry," he softly murmured, remembering hearing that sound being uttered from the people in the black rectangular machinery in a similar situation.

"S'okay, don't be," she mumbled back as she wiped her tears with her sleeve.

She took several seconds to process what had just happened. Had he just talked to her?

Kagome tried to calm herself from the excitement she felt to prevent an overreaction. Her aching side was still throbbing from the hard thrust given by the man who had gotten impatient with her.

She wanted to praise him for talking to her but didn't want to praise him for having lost his cool on her either. She was in quite the pickle.

Kagome, with the help of Inuyasha, slumped back down on her own chair to let her companion eat his own dinner without another fuss. The professor didn't want to repeat tonight's event as she'd already made her test subject go through enough for one night. Clearly, she'd pushed him a little too hard.

Not wanting to look at him in the eyes, she stared quietly at her own dinner, munching away without saying another word or demanding something else out of him.

She was lost in her own thoughts, replaying the night's events like a movie reel.

Inuyasha didn't want to disappoint her again. Not only had he hurt her, but now, the foolish human didn't even look at him anymore. He wouldn't stand for that! He wanted her to look at him with those chocolate brown orbs of hers. He didn't know what had gotten into him; he wanted to know what she wanted from him!

What in the world was going on with him? Why was his heart beating so fast? The constant pounding of the organ resonated in his animalistic ears, blood rushing to every part of his body, confusing him even more.

He sat there, not touching his dinner for a few minutes as he racked his brain for a solution—and it wasn't in his nature at all to stop himself from eating when he was starving.

Was it something to do with those stupid wooden sticks she had given him before his food? What did she want him to do with those?

Then it hit him as hard as a slap in the face.

He remembered seeing her eat with them in an odd fashion over the course of the previous few days. He was sure he had vivid memories of his human mother using them too when he was an infant, but he wasn't certain about that part.

Maybe that would get her to look back up at him?

He grabbed the pair with difficulty because of his long razor sharp nails but tried his best to steady them despite this. Inuyasha observed the manner in which his female friend had them placed between her dainty fingers and tried his best to replicate her hold on them.

Inuyasha clumsily attempted to snatch a piece of grilled fish with the sticks. It kept slipping between the pieces of wood as he tried over and over to clutch it between the eating utensils. No matter how much force he applied, the fish slipped out, as if they had been lathered up in oil.

His golden eyes surveyed the hunched figure sat in front of him as he tried his best effort to bring the food to his mouth.

That's when his white fluffy ears caught the soft feminine giggles emitted from across the table. The sound was so faint he doubted whether he'd heard it in the first place.

Kagome's eyes slowly met his as a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She got up from her seated position and made a few strides towards him.

"Here," she mumbled as she bent over to correct his chopstick holding posture.

Inuyasha felt the hairs at the nape of his neck rise and the heat flush his face once more as he felt her hand brush up against his. Why was this human getting him to feel so flustered?

The great Inuyasha, feeling something for someone, let alone a human? Keh!

He could finally grab the pieces of food with the help of the strange position his hands were placed in. His grasp was shaky at first, but he was slowly and surely getting the food to its intended location—his mouth.

Plus, it got her attention.

The rest of the dinner went by uneventfully, much to Kagome's glee. The same could be said about the remainder of their evening as the two of them began the nightly routine she had established.

Inuyasha had managed to bathe himself—somewhat. Despite there being water in every nook and cranny of the entire bathroom again, he was clean and dry by the time the professor had to show him how to wear his pajamas.

She tucked him into bed, read him a bedtime story hoping he'd catch a few new words and called it a night.

What Kagome had a hard time understanding was why she had started to see her student as a man. Someone she could develop feelings for. In all honesty, she found him rather attractive, perhaps even someone of her type.

Wait- what in the world was she thinking? There was no way in hell that someone who'd been kept away from the population from so long could ever develop feelings for a person, let alone fall in love! There was no way that Inuyasha would ever fall for her, would he?

She forgot the thought as quickly as it had planted itself in her brain. She was being foolish, and she knew it.


Loud buzzing resonated in her head as she started to come to her senses. As she glanced over at the bright red digits showing 6:00, she groaned and swung her feet out of bed.

It was Monday morning and time to get ready for work.

The alarm had panicked the half-demon, which had jumped up from his resting position on his futon. He only had to make two strides until he found himself between the digital clock and his protégé's body.

Claws extended towards the plastic emitting the constant ringing, he'd show that stupid loud monster not to mess with him. Kagome quickly shot up beside him and held his arm before he could do any more damage to her household. She subdued his growls with a few gentle words and pressed the OFF button written in bold across the top of the contraption.

It was when he looked back at her, surveying her facial expression and the rest of her body that Kagome started to suspect something.

Had he been trying to protect her from what he thought was danger? That was odd behaviour for someone who hadn't interacted at all with humans before and should want nothing to do with them.

That was something she could worry about later because she had to hurry and get ready. Being late on a Monday morning for work was out of the question according to her personal principles. Not only did she have to go through her own routine, but she'd have to set Inuyasha up for the day as well considering she wouldn't be home until at least dinner time. She prayed that she didn't get held up at the office tonight because leaving her housemate alone longer than necessary could definitely mean bad news.

Since she had to teach an introduction to psychology class today, Kagome had to dress slightly more professionally than her usual attire. Mondays were always the worse day of the week.

Preparing both of their breakfasts and packing both Inuyasha and herself a lunch, she readied herself for the walk to work. After showing her companion where his food was located in the refrigerator, she grabbed her to-go coffee mug and made her way towards the entrance.

This foggy morning was more chilly than usual, so she slipped on her light purple windbreaker. Biding Inuyasha a good day, she ambled to work feeling the refreshing wind leave soft caresses on her face.

She took about 20 minutes to trek her way across campus to the psychology building where she arrived at her desk and booted up her computer. The bustle and noise of the office became clear in the upcoming minutes as more and more members of the department started to file in, arriving at work for another day's worth of business.

It wasn't long until she heard the distinct footsteps of her eager male friend stop in front of her desk. She swore that if he had a tail and ears like a dog, she'd hear it rhythmically hit the wooden side of her desk as it wagged back and forth whenever he was in her presence.

After the weekend's events of meeting Inuyasha, she figured that anything could be possible, and even that mental reverie of him could reveal itself to become true.

"Hey Kagome, how was your evening yesterday?" the male voice inquired as he rested both of his palms flat on some piles of paperwork scattered across her bureau.

"It was good Kouga, how about yours?" she asked uninterestingly as she tried to accomplish her morning's tasks before heading to her lecture.

"It was boooring! Ginta, Hakkaku and I watched the game last night and our team lost! It would have been so much better if you would have joined us, y' know?"

"I'm sure it would have been," she replied, trying to tone down her sarcasm as much as she possibly could.

That's when she realized her mistake.

"Wait, you'd want to come over at my place Kagome?"

That guy could never take a hint. He took everything she said literally, not understanding when she made it obvious to anyone else but him she wasn't interested in his advances. He was so dense sometimes.

She'd have to find a way to deflect what she'd said, and fast before the situation spiraled out of control.

"Well—you know how I am, always busy working on my projects," she chuckled nervously, not wanting to meet his gaze, afraid it would make it too obvious she was sassing him.

It wasn't exactly a lie either.

"Yeah, I totally get it. Don't worry about it, baby."

The rest of the department trailed in, including Naraku, Bankotsu and a few more members who worked in the psychology field.

Elated that most of his coworkers had arrived, Kouga turned around to face them, "Guess what kind of mutt Kagome's gotten over the weekend guys!"

That little shit- how'd he even find out? Was this his way to get back at her?