A/N - I just got this idea while I was eating dinner (pizza…yumm…extra cheesy…) and watching Friends. Don't ask. Just read and you'll realize how I got the idea from Friends. This is my first Inuyasha one shot fic. It's a nice little thing ^^ Kagome/Inuyasha of course ^^

SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE – I decided to read this one-shot again after someone mentioned it in an email to me and I was ashamed to find so many typos and crappy grammar -.-;; So, I've decided to edit this thing. ^^ By the way, thanks for all the reviews, guys. I'm happy at the feedback my first little one-shot has gotten ^^

Disclaimer - I do not own the Inuyasha characters. Don't sue me because all you'll get is the sheet music for Hikarisasu Niwa, a pair of red scissors, and a fine tip black Sharpie marker. Actually, you can't have that. I need that to outline my fanart and sketches and drawings. You can have the scissors though…

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The List

By YoukaiTaijiya

Kagome stepped lightly through the forest, but the dry twigs and branches still crunched beneath her feet. She had left Sango, Miroku, and Shippo back at Kaede's hut to find Inuyasha. He hadn't eaten anything for dinner so she had brought some ramen for him. She wandered around, searching for him up in the tall trees and soon found herself standing in the clearing with the Bone Eater's Well in the center. She glanced around and finally spotted Inuyasha sitting up in the branch of a tree on the edge of the clearing.

She crept towards the tree but his ears still twitched when he heard her soft footsteps.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha grumbled, not even bothering to open his eyes. He knew it was her. He knew her by the sound of her light steps and her gentle scent of lilacs.

"Are you hungry? You didn't come in for dinner so I brought you some," Kagome said, holding out the cup of ramen.

"Feh…" he scoffed, though his nose twitched as he smelled the ramen. He really wanted the food but he wasn't about to admit it.

Kagome was silent for a moment and then just set the food at the base of the tree. "Well, it's there if you change your mind."

"Feh…" Inuyasha muttered again, his eyes still closed, his arms crossed lazily behind his head as he lounged on the branch.

Kagome fell silent again and just rocked back and forth on her heels. "Inuyasha?" she finally asked tentatively. She felt it was time to ask a question that had been plaguing her thoughts for some time now.

"What now?" Inuyasha demanded irritably.

"Do you…are you still going…What are you going to do? Once we collect all the Shikon shards I mean," Kagome asked curiously.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and sat up to peer down at her. "What do you mean, what am I going to do? Become a full youkai of course!"

"You're still going to become full demon using the Shikon no Tama? Is that what you really want still?" Kagome asked.

"Idiot, what else would I use it for?" Inuyasha scoffed. "I don't know why you're even worried about it. If I'm a full youkai, I'll be able to protect you better. Don't you want to save your skin? Or maybe you'd rather be eaten by a demon? Doesn't matter to me either way."

"I just want you to stay the way you are now," Kagome admitted, almost sheepishly.

"You want me to stay a half demon? Feh…I'd be more powerful if I were a full youkai," Inuyasha muttered. "Don't you want me to be able to save all you guys?"

"I don't see why you think that it's your job to save all of us. Sango and Miroku and even I, seeing as how I'm getting better with the bow, are perfectly capable of defending ourselves. I realize that you help a lot and if it weren't for you, I'd probably have died dozens of times already, but you've been able to do it all just fine as a hanyou. And yes and no. I do want you to be able to save all of us but I don't want you to change…ever," Kagome said firmly, and then headed back to Kaede's hut without another word.

Inuyasha watched her back for a moment and then leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

"Moron!" he muttered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Who is?"

Inuyasha glanced down to see Miroku standing below the tree.

"What are you doing here?" Inuyasha grumbled.

"I was looking for Kagome-sama. She was here, wasn't she?" Miroku asked, glancing around the clearing. "Kaede wanted me to come and get her."

"The idiot just left," Inuyasha muttered.

"Why exactly is she an idiot?" Miroku asked, an eyebrow raised questioningly.

"She doesn't want me to use the Shikon no Tama to become a full youkai, not that it's any of your business," Inuyasha snapped.

"You're still going to use it to become full demon then?" Miroku asked.

"Yes! Why does everyone seem to think I've changed my mind?" Inuyasha shouted.

Miroku shrugged. "Who knows what'll happen to us when you do. Remember when you became full youkai after Goshinki broke the Tetsusaiga?"

Inuyasha snorted. "This time will be different."

"How do you know that? You were close to tearing us to shreds. How do you know you won't do that again when you become a full demon using the Shikon no Tama. So far, everyone who has used the Shikon no Tama's powers haven't ever stayed the same and the changes weren't for the better."

"I'll be different. I'm stronger than them," Inuyasha muttered, though Miroku could hear the note of uncertainty in his voice.

Miroku sighed. "You don't know that, Inuyasha. But…while we're on the subject of women…"

"We're not on the subject of women," Inuyasha abruptly pointed out.

Miroku paused for a moment and then continued, "While we're on a subject, have you given any more thought to Kikyo?"

"Feh…" was all Inuyasha answered as turned his head up haughtily.

"I take that as a 'yes,' then. I've also noticed that you seem to be…ehh…getting closer to Kagome," Miroku said.

Inuyasha jumped out of the tree to land beside Miroku and then swiped at his head with his fist.

"Mind your own damn business!" Inuyasha shouted.

"I take that as a 'yes, I think I love her,'" Miroku said, rubbing his head, only to receive another swipe at his head. Miroku continued undeterred, "Now, I hope you realize that, sooner or later, preferably later I suppose, you'll have to choose between the two."

Inuyasha snorted. "That's no choice at all."

"Oh, so you've already chosen. I hope you've thought long and hard about this decision. You don't want to go making the wrong one," Miroku warned. "So who'd you choose?"

Inuyasha flushed. "I didn't say I made a choice. I just said it wasn't a choice at all, meaning I'm not gonna choose!"

"Oh, so you want both of them, but for the sake of their feelings you're going to stay away from them both? That's a hard resolution my friend," Miroku said, patting Inuyasha's shoulder sympathetically.

Inuyasha whacked him on the head again. "No, I meant I didn't choose because there's nothing to choose from!"

"What do you mean there's nothing to choose from? There's two to choose from," Miroku said, holding up two fingers. "Kagome," he said, pointing to the first finger, grinning broadly and nodding, and then, in a less cheerful voice, he pointed to the second finger and said, "…or Kikyo…"

"W-w-who says I want either of them?" Inuyasha asked, flushing deep scarlet.

Miroku snorted. "Did you really think you were hiding anything? My friend, I know all when it comes to romance and love."

Inuyasha smacked Miroku's head again. "If you know all, how come all Sango gives you are lumps on your head?"

Miroku sweatdropped. "I'm not the subject here. You are. So you haven't made a choice? Good, I'd be glad to assist you in any way."

"I don't want your help, monk!" Inuyasha snapped.

Miroku ignored him and continued. "I think the easiest way to do this is to make a list of the pros and cons of each woman." Miroku pulled a piece of paper from a fold of his robe and pulled a quill from another fold. Then he pulled out an ink stone and a grinding tool and set all of these things on a nearby rock.

Inuyasha gaped at him. "You planned all this!" he accused.

"Well, I had the idea in mind," Miroku admitted. "Now, first Kikyo. What's so great about her?"

"I'm not going to make a damn list," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Alright, I'll start," Miroku said, picking up his quill after grinding some ink. "Now, a con for Kikyo is that she's dead. So we'll put that under con. Any other cons?"

"Well, she smell like bones and earth and clay and that doesn't smell all that great," Inuyasha admitted, and then shook his head. "But I'm not doing any more of this stupid list."

"Alright, smells funny…" Miroku murmured, writing this on the paper. "Any other cons?"

"Well, she hates me and she never really trusted me and I never really trusted her since our faith could be shattered with just one blow by Naraku…" Inuyasha said, and then growled. "I'm not doing this damn list thing. Put it away!"

"Alright…Trust issues…" Miroku murmured, ignoring Inuyasha's last comments. "That's a lot of cons…Now onto the pros. Any pros? Well, first we could put beautiful…"

"I'm not doing this fucking list!" Inuyasha shouted.

"Good with a bow…" Miroku murmured, ignoring Inuyasha and scribbling that onto "The List."

Inuyasha growled and hit Miroku over the head again. "Are you listening to me?"

"Nope…" Miroku said, scribbling down the fact that she had Miko powers. "Hmm…Is she a good kisser?"

"Not really…" Inuyasha answered before he could think about it. Then he flushed and hit Miroku on the head. "What a stupid question. How would I know?"

"Riiiight…" Miroku said, scribbling something down on the list. "Kikyo's boring. Let's move on to Kagome! Any cons?"

Inuyasha growled, his left eye twitching in irritation. "If I help you with this fucking list will you leave me alone?"

"Completely," Miroku agreed.

Inuyasha sighed and sat down next to the rock Miroku was writing on, his legs and arms crossed.

"Alright, cons?" Miroku asked Inuyasha.

"Ehh…She's too cheerful sometimes…She sticks up for that little brat Shippo too often…She always tries to solve everything peacefully instead of letting me slice em in half…She goes back to her time to often and it takes away time from Shikon shard hunting…And she tells me to 'sit' too much…" Inuyasha listed off.

"Mm hmm…" Miroku said, scribbling the last few words down. "Now, the pros? Well, first you've gotta put beautiful of course. Now, what else?"

"Uhh…She smells kinda good…She's a lot tougher than I first gave her credit for…She learns fast…She's always cheerful and kind to everyone…She tried to solve stuff by talking it out first, and even though I prefer to rip them to shreds, I suppose that's a good thing…She's really good to Shippo, even if I can't stand the whiny brat…"

Miroku shook his head, chuckling. "Odds are in favor of Kagome."

"What? How do you know?" Inuyasha asked, glancing at the list.

"In the cons, you put that she was too cheerful and too nice to Shippo and tried to solve things peacefully too much but then in the pros, you said that she was always cheerful and kind and was really good to Shippo and tried to solve things by talking them out. That means that you like what you thought you didn't like about her. It's a sure sign my friend…"

"What about the other cons?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, the sit one isn't a sure sign but the going back to her own time too often is a sure sign. You know that the reason you don't like it when she goes back to her own time is because you miss her while she's gone," Miroku told him.

"What? Me? Miss her? I do not," Inuyasha protested, flushing.

"Inuyasha, I've seen you sneak off to the well when you think no one's looking while Kagome's gone. I've seen you sit by the side of the well for hours at a time waiting for her to come back," Miroku said.

"Well that's not because…" Inuyasha began to protest but then just growled as he could find nothing to protest about.

"Another pro is the fact that while Kikyo wanted you to become full human using the Shikon Jewel but Kagome, on the other hand, wants you to stay just as you are," Miroku said, scribbling this down.

Inuyasha blinked. That was true. Kikyo had wanted him to change but Kagome wanted him to stay just the way he was: a hanyou.

"Any other pros or cons for either of them?" Miroku asked.

"Well, Kagome's kinda weak at fighting…But that just means I get to protect her. I never really had to protect Kikyo because she could always defend herself. It's kinda nice…I guess…having someone to protect…" Inuyasha admitted.

Miroku nodded and wrote that down. Then he handed the list to Inuyasha. "That's Kikyo's pro side and that's her con side," Miroku explained, pointing to two columns. And then he pointed to two other ones. "And that is Kagome's pro side and her con side."

Kagome really didn't want him to change at all. Wasn't that saying a lot? And he did like having someone to protect. It felt kinda like protecting a mate. And then Kikyo…She had wanted him to change…And their trust in each other had been broken with one blow. Why couldn't she have at least listened to him? Would Kagome have listened to him? He didn't know how he knew, but he somehow knew that she would have.

He glanced at the column of Kikyo's cons and silently added, 'She's not Kagome…'

So, maybe it wasn't such a hard choice after all…

«¥±| •は°•め•ら•は°•め•ら•は°•め•ら•は°•め•ら•は°•め•ら•は°•め•ら• |±¥»

A/N-Wahaha! My short little one shot ficlet. I liked it. I actually got the idea while I was eating dinner and watching Friends. It was the one episode where Joey, Chandler, and Ross make the list comparing Rachel and Julie. Anywho, now review! (Wow, that rhymed…)

SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE – Yup, all edited up now. I'll probably read it again next month and find more typos and errors with everything else and end up editing it again ^^;; But there…all edited…for now ^^ Again, thanks go to all the reviewers ^^