New chapter! I know I'm still a day behind, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up after finals are done. Enjoy Inuyasha's first experience with a mall!

I followed Ana as she moved through the crowds calmly. If I had been leading us, half of these people would have been yelled at, pushed aside, or threatened. So, it was probably better that Ana had taken the lead and began pulling me through the mall.

"Just look around and see if there's anywhere you want to look for something, alright?" Ana said once we could move around more freely. I nodded and began walking. I glanced at a few stores. Some had some clothes that looked like stuff I'd seen Kagome wear when she wasn't in school or in the Feudal era, but I did not have the patience to deal with all these damn, giggly girls. Other stores just looked plain weird. There were a couple that I had to suppress a gag just from looking at them.

At one point we passed this store that Ana said sold things like shampoo and the other stuff Kagome bathed with. I happened to breathe in through my nose at that point and immediately went into a sneezing spell from the sickly sweet mix of smells. Ana guided me over a bench and sat me down until I could quit sneezing.

"You ok?"

"Like hell…ah-choo…I am…ah-choo!" I attempted to snarl. It took nearly five minutes for me to get to the point where I was only sneezing occasionally.

Ana handed me a handkerchief to wipe my nose with. "Better?" she asked, looking concerned. I nodded and stuffed the cloth into my pocket.

"I am not going by that damn store again," I stated flatly. She nodded and smiled.

"We don't have to. I should've warned you about that one."

"Keh, ya think?" I asked sarcastically, making the woman laugh a little.

"Well, come on," she said, standing. "We don't have all day." I nodded and stood.

We walked around for a while, glancing at various stores and shops. At one point I stopped and backtracked to a window I saw. Ana followed me after a few moments.

"Find something?" she asked. I furrowed my brow and scratched my chin.

"Maybe," I said, cocking my head to the side a little. "What do you think of this?" I pointed at the window and at what I was looking at.

Inside the window of what Ana had told me was a jewelry store after we passed on earlier, was a small, silver bracelet. The front of the bracelet held a silver dog with small brown and gold stones as the eyes. There were other objects like the dog around the bracelet or on similar bracelets, but the dog one held my attention.

"A charm bracelet." I looked over at Ana with a raised brow. "It's called a charm bracelet. The dog is a charm that you can put on the bracelet. The other pendants are charms as well," she explained.

"I like it."

"The dog or the bracelet?"

"Yes." Ana laughed and smiled.

"She'll love it," she said. I smiled gently.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"So, I can get it?" I wanted to ask. It was her money we were spending. She nodded and I beamed.

"Yes. I can only afford the bracelet and the one charm," she said.

I shrugged. "That's all I want," I said. Ana smiled and nodded before leading me into the store.

We walked up to the counter. I stood quietly as Ana told the clerk what we wanted. The guy went over to the window and grabbed it. My eyes widened as he laid it out on the counter to make sure it was what we wanted. I smiled widely, flashing my fangs, as he placed the bracelet on a velvet pillow inside of a long box. He bagged it as Ana paid for it. A few minutes later, we were walking out of the store, my gift for Kagome cradled protectively against my chest.

Ana laughed gently. "No one's going to take if from you, Inuyasha. Relax." I shook my head and she laughed again.

Ana led us back out of the mall, this time avoiding the horrible smelling store. We walked through the food court though, which I don't understand the naming behind that one, and my stomach rumbled. I resisted the urge to beg for food. I was ready to head back to the shrine and change, to be honest. We finally made it back to the front of the mall and out the sliding doors.

I sighed as my senses adjusted to the calmer, less hectic atmosphere. We walked back to the car and I climbed in, fastening the seat belt myself this time. I held the bag with the bracelet in it gently in my lap, grinning.

I couldn't wait to see Kagome's face when she opened it.

So, there it is! He's so protective of the little things, it's cute! This chapter relaxed me a bit while writing it; I just found out that Westboro Baptist Church is protesting at my school (Virginia Tech) at the funeral of the officer who was murdered Thursday. Talk about one very pissed girl...

*Ahem* Anywho, drop a review on the way out!