Chapter 5:

Disclaimer: Did you know that I don't own Inuyasha? Shocking! I have a few new story ideas but I am trying to hold off on them so I can finish this. I just want to make you all proud of me!

Kagome gazed up at the man, wary of his next move. Even the slightest brush of his fingertip seemed to ignite some kind of yearning within her. In his current position, she could tell that he was a good half of a foot taller than she. The wind pushed through the trees around them, the leaves dancing with glee.

This seemed like a typical scene from a romance novel; girl gets picked on by an evil creature and a strange man appears from no where to rescue her. 'Maybe we'll have a wild romp in the sack too?' She scoffed at her thoughts and blushed as she realized where her mind had gone. The man before her coughed, willing her attention back to Earth.

He smirked, sensing the internal struggle the young girl was having. Her lips were pointed downward in a pout, while her teeth tugged at her bottom lip. It was quite cute. Eyes of a brilliant blue widened and she snapped her head in the opposite direction.

'He must think I'm mental!' she wiped at her chin, ridding herself of any drool that may have decided to manifest its self without her notice.

"Inuyasha."

Kagome turned her head swiftly, her hair coming undone from its confinement. Her raven locks tumbled around her face. "What did you say?" Her voice came out in a hushed whisper that sent a wave of peace through him.

"My name is Inuyasha." He unfolded himself and stood at his full height. He extended a clawed hand, which she hesitantly accepted, and pulled her up. Kagome winced as her sandal caught on a stray peddle, sending her tumbling none-too-gracefully into the chest of her acquaintance.

Placing a hand upon his shoulder, she gazed up, their eyes locking, and gasped. 'Gold!' The stream babbled around them while the crickets sang to each other. The combination of these two wonders created a harmonious symphony that calmed the night. Above them, the full moon peeked through the treetops, bathing the two figures in its radiance.

She squinted up at him, just letting the realization sink its self into their brains. "You!" They shouted simultaneously. Inuyasha's mouth lifted at one side and he snorted, allowing it to become a full blown laugh. It was contagious and soon they were both doubled over and clutching their sides.

"You're the Demon Lord?" Kagome wiped the tears that were streaming from the corners of her eyes and tried to regain at least some semblance of her composure. He sniffed at the air catching her magnificent scent. There it was; lavender and rain. It was the most intoxicating smell and it wormed its way into every crevasse of his nose until all he could do was bask in it. Inuyasha felt a rush of adrenaline. He needed something. His attention snapped back to the girl as she let out a gasp.

One minute they were laughing and sharing an inside joke and the next she was bent over, rigidly bowing.

"I meant no disrespect, my Lord! I shouldn't have said such things!" She clasped her hands in front of her, silently praying that he wouldn't cut her down where she stands for such insolence. She had never been in the presence of royalty but she knew when to apologize!

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, not at all shocked at her change in behavior. It happened quite often when the people around him learned of his status. Those that didn't change their tone, either ended up underground or becoming one of his closest friends. The latter rarely happened.

She felt a pressure at her skull as he tugged at her hair., forcing her to make eye contact.

"Hey! Don't pull that crap, wench!" He was irritated. "You were pretty ballsy before you realized just who it was that you were speaking to!" He turned and scowled at the rocks that guided the stream.

Kagome swatted his hands away and poked her finger at his chest. "Don't call me a wench!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to call you?"

"By my name!"

"How can I call you by a name that you never offered to me?" His eyebrow arched.

She didn't tell him her name. She didn't tell... oh yeah. She'd been too enamored with his eyes.

"Kagome!" she burst out. He laughed. "Why are you laughing?!"

He bent forward so he was eye level with the human girl. Closing the distance between them, his breath ghosted over her lips. "Ka-go-me... a beautiful name." Inuyasha smirked at the blush that painted her cheeks and backed up. He wasn't sure what he was doing but he knew that he wanted to see her mad.

She planted her feet, ready to pummel him. Kagome didn't care who he was – she didn't like being teased! And then... she saw something twitch. She looked up and discovered two triangle ears flickering in her direction.

She stared and reached up to stroke the furry appendages that sat atop his head. With lightning fast speed, he shackled her wrist in his grasp.

"Don't. Touch. The. Ears…" he ground out.

His tone was threatening and fear flashed through her eyes as fast as the spark shot up her arm from his grip. She heard a cracking, almost like electricity was sparking around them. There wasn't any time to dissect these thoughts. The demon in front of her was upset – red bleeding into the whites of his eyes.

"I'm a hanyou. Why? What's it to ya?" He furrowed his brows and looked at her expectantly.

"Well, I- "Her arm went slack as he released her and began pacing.

"Does it disgust you?" he bit out. If he didn't calm down, he was going to overreact. He didn't want to harm the girl – Fuck, he didn't even want to scare her. Maybe intimidate her a bit? He wasn't sure.

Kagome could sense that he was losing his temper but why? She certainty didn't know. She could take a wild guess though. In the Demon world, hanyous were looked down upon and were known as somewhat of a "lesser" form of demon. In the Human world, they were just feared like any other demon.

Inuyasha cracked his knuckles. 'Who does she think she is judging me like she knows me!' He could feel his muscles tensing as he saw, what he thought to be, the look of fear laced pity wash over her.

"Don't you dare!" he snarled at her. She backed up a couple of steps while he, in turn, advanced on her.

"D-Don't what, Inuyasha?" Her body trembled from the adrenaline that was pumping through her. The tips of her fingers were tingling.

"Don't you fucking pity me, Kagome! I'm proud of what I am!" He towered over her, trying to force her submission. He shook his head and backed away. This wasn't right. He was overreacting to...to what? She hadn't said anything.

Still trying to calm his breathing, he leapt over to a thick-trunked sakura tree. Something was building inside of him, a heat, surging forward, he needed to release it. He pulled it back his fist and released it, watching the wood splinter around his fist.

Kagome gulped back her fear and watched this strange creature. She didn't pity him. Why should she? She didn't know him and after this she wasn't sure if she would want to know him but when he turned to look at her over broad shoulder, she gasped at the pain that was buried deep underneath those amber eyes. She felt herself being drawn to him.

She carefully lessened the distance between the two of them and placed her hand on the middle of his back. He tensed up but soon relaxed.

Releasing a deep sigh, he spoke: "I'm sorry, Kagome. I don't know what possessed me to act like that. I hate the word "hanyou" but it is what I am. It's quite obvious, of course." With that being said, he pointed to his ears. "I guess I was just-"

She placed a delicate fingertip over his lips, gasping as she noticed the blue tinge that resonated off of it. Her eyes softened.

Inuyasha felt his body relax as a sense of peace once again washed over him, not from her scent but from her very touch. "I wasn't trying to upset you…I was interested in how you became the Demon Lord…I mean, usually that is the position for a FULL demon…not that there's anything wrong with being a half demon, cause I mean, I love your ears and all but it is quite shocking!" She scratched at her scalp, realizing that she was talking way too much.

While Kagome was word vomiting up a storm, he narrowed his eyes as the outline of her body also began shimmering an iridescent blue.

He leaned down so that they were face to face. "Kagome…what…are you?"

She opened her mouth, unsure what he meant. The only thing she knew is that his lips were closing in on hers and she wasn't doing a thing to run away.

"There you are!" Two voices yelled simultaneously.

A/N: Yay! And we're done with Chapter 5. I do plan on writing out some mature scenes – at that point, I will move those pieces to my Archive site. All in due time. Forgive me for such short chapters, I'm trying to add more details and lengthen them at the same time - however, adding content the way I like to will start to change the story... and then I'll have to do an even deeeeeeper rewrite. It's a whole thing. Anyway, on to the next chapter!