Author's Note: I'm not so depressed anymore, so that means that I might actually have something interesting to say. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

But anyway, after I finished posting my first chapter, I went to take a nice long bath and when I came back, I had 4 reviews waiting! Elfinfaerie is now hyper and will actually attempt to write two chapters in one day.though I don't know if I'll post this one today.

Last, but not least, if you wish to be notified when I update, please include your email address in your review.

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu Yasha, my mother would no longer be able to make me continue those dreaded piano lessons and Saturday classes. Since I still have to attend them, I obviously don't own him.

Special thanks go to Tsukikage Kitsune() for submitting the longest review I've ever gotten. You can't possibly know how much it meant to me.

Now. . .on with the show! Or story. . .or fanfic. . .or. . .whatever

The Sisterhood

Chapter One

Morning sun splashed into the room moments before the first notes came from the clock radio. Inu Yasha Hayato (1), eyes still closed, listened for a few seconds before silently guessing Vivaldi, 'The Four Seasons'; probably the 'Summer' concerto. It was a game he had played every morning for years. Still, the occasions on which he identified a piece correctly were rare enough to warrant a small celebration.

A soothing male voice, chosen by the station to blend in with the dawn, identified the music as a Haydn symphony. Inu Yasha smiled to himself. You're getting sharper. The right continent-- even the right century.

He turned his head toward the window and opened his eyes a slit, preparing for the next guessing game in his morning ritual. Hazy rainbows of sunlight filtered through his lashes. "No contest," he said, squinting to make the colors flicker.

"What did you say?" the woman next to him mumbled sleepily, drawing her body closer to him.

"Sparkling autumn day. Fifty, no, fifty-five degrees. Nary a cloud" Inu Yasha opened his eyes fully, confirmed his prediction, then rolled over. "Happy October," he said, kissing her forehead.

Inu Yasha studied her face as she awoke, marveling at her uncluttered beauty. Ebony hair. High cheekbones. A fair complexion. Nuriko Yuki (2) was by all standards a stunning woman, even at 6:00 A.M. For a moment, another woman's face flashed in his thoughts. In her own special way, Meilia (3), too, had always looked beautiful in the early morning.

"Roll over, Inu Yasha, and I'll give you a back rub," Nuriko said, sitting up suddenly.

Disappointment crossed his face, but was instantly replaced by a broad grin. "Ladies choice," he sang, rolling over and bunching the pillow beneath his head. "Last night was really wonderful," he added, feeling he thick muscles at the base of his neck relax at her touch. "You are something else, Yuki, do you know that?"

Out of Inu Yasha's field of vision, Nuriko forced the smile of an adult trying to share a youthful enthusiasm she had long outgrown. "Inu Yasha," she said, increasing the vigor of her massage, "do you think you could get a haircut before the Art Society dinner dance next week?"

He flipped to his back, staring at her with a mixture of confusion and dismay. "What has my hair got to do with anything?"

"Honey, I'm sorry," she said earnestly, "I really am. I guess I have a thousand things hopping around in my head today. Last night was beautiful for me, too. Honest."

"Beautiful? You mean that?" Inu Yasha said, immediately regaining his élan.

"There's still a hell lot of tension in your body, doc, but less each time. Last night was definitely the best yet.

The best yet. Inu Yasha cocked his head to one side, evaluating her words. Progress, not perfection. That was all he could ask for, he decided. And certainty, over the six months since they had met, progress there had been.

Their life together was often an emotional roller coaster, quite unlike the easy, free-flowing years with Meilia. Still, their differences had not been insurmountable-her judgmental friends, his cynicism, the differing demands of their careers. As each crisis rose, was dealt with, and passed, Inu Yasha sensed their caring grow. Although there were some things he wished were different, he was grateful just to feel the caring, and the willingness to try.

It was willingness Inu Yasha thought had died for him eight years before in screams and glass and twisted metal.

To be continued.

(1) I have no clue what Inu Yasha's last name is, therefore I'm just using a friend's. If you know what it is, please, tell me and I will gladly change it.

(2) Nuriko Yuki is just a character I made up. She's not very important, but you will be finding out more about her as the story goes on.

(3) Meilia is yet another character I made up. She plays a minor role in this story but is a major influence in Inu Yasha's life. As with all characters I make up, you will get to know her better as I do.