So yeah... that really awkward moment when you haven't updated in almost eight months... I suppose saying sorry won't cover that, will it? :( It's too bad because as I was typing out this chapter, I realized that I have really missed this story. It was my first multi-chapter story on this site and helped me improve my writing. And I miss watching Inuyasha too, because I haven't done that in a while either! There are quite a lot of filler episodes, as you may know :( Well, I hope you like this anyways.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, yadda yadda yadda...

As the sun began to set and cast long shadows over the ground, Kagome, Madison, and the others all sat down to a supper that Kaede had made for them that evening. Sitting with Koga on her right and Madison on her left, Kagome happily talked with them and her other friends as she ate her food.

Shippo suddenly spoke. "When's Inuyasha gonna come back?" he asked.

"With any luck," growled Koga. "He won't."

Ignoring this little tidbit of information, Kagome turned to Madison. "So," she said to her friend. "I know it's a bit early to be asking, but how do you like it here so far?"

Madison broke into a smile. "I like it a lot."

"Don't you miss your family?" asked Sango.

"A little bit." admitted Madison. "It feels sort of strange not having them around, but they know I'm okay."

Sango grinned at her from her position next to Miroku. Nobody but Madison saw him secretively scoot closer to Sango, but she decided to keep quiet… for now. At that moment, Koga wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"What's the matter?" inquired Madison. "Are you sick or something?"

"I might as well be." came Koga's reply. "The mutt's on his way, and he reeks of death."

"You mean Inuyasha?" Madison raised an eyebrow.

"That's exactly whom he means." said Kagome. Sure enough, a few moments later, the hanyou walked through the straw-covered door.

"Did I hear somebody say my name?" he growled.

"Inuyasha!" Shippo's ears perked up. "You're back!"

"Yeah," He turned his gaze around everyone in the hut, his amber eyes coming to rest on Madison. He wrinkled his nose. "So," he said. "I guess you must be the new girl, then."

Madison didn't even flinch under his gaze, instead giving the half-demon a glare of her own. "I guess you must be Inuyasha." she retorted.

"Hmph!" scoffed the hanyou. "Who were you expecting?"

Madison's pale face broke into a smile. But it wasn't a sweet smile, no it wasn't. It was a smile dashed with something else, something a bit sinister. "Well," she said. "If you're Inuyasha…"

SMACK!

Everyone visibly cringed as the palm of Madison's hand painfully struck against Inuyasha's check, leaving a red, swollen handprint in its place.

"Ouch!" he yelled, rubbing his now-throbbing face."What in the hell did you do that for?"

Madison clenched her fist at her side. "Because," she began in an even tone. "You broke my best friend's heart." And with that, she went over, sat down next to Kagome, and continued to eat her vegetables as if nothing had ever happened.

Inuyasha, however, was positively seething. "Whaddaya mean by that?" he yelled. "You don't just go around hitting people whenever you feel like it! You should know tha- ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

Madison smiled politely. "Is there an echo in here?"

Koga laughed slightly, earning a glare from Inuyasha. "Stay out of this, wolf boy! And you!" he turned on Madison. "You haven't even been here for five minutes and I already don't like you!"

"The feeling is mutual, then." snapped the blonde girl.

As the two continued to bicker almost uncontrollably, Miroku turned to Sango. "I can see those two are going to get along well." he said.

"She certainly is feisty." came Sango's response.

"Yes." Miroku nodded. "And Inuyasha doesn't seem to like it one bit."

Kagome, fed up with all the yelling and fighting, spoke up at last. "That's enough, you guys!" she shouted. "Now, we're all going to be traveling together for a while, so you two might as well just try to get along!"

"Peh!" Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. "Whatever."

Madison glared at him. "Bastard." she hissed under her breath. Nearby, Shippo gave a tiny sigh.

"Yikes!" he said to Kaede. "She's worse than Koga!"

"It would certainly seem." Kaede responded.

Miroku gave a light chuckle. "I can see that this girl is going to give a new meaning to the Feudal Era."

Watching Inuyasha glare at the British girl from across the room, Sango nodded.

"She certainly will."

A bit short, yes, but still important. I hope I can be better at updating this story you guys, I really do. I feel so guilty because I know you guys are expecting new chapters and I can't give them easily. It slips my mind. The best I can do is try to do better, right? And I fully intend to do so.

Until next time,

~Pandas