O.O;; It's been HOW long since I've updated??!! Either way, I had a lot of time to write this summer, so chapters 5,6,and 7 are done. I'm just coding them. *nod*

Actually, it was six months of writer's block. Bleh.

The water felt cool and refreshing against her skin. Tucking up her long black hair, she sighed, leaning against a nearby rock. Life's been so frantic lately. she thought. And he wasn't doing anything to help. Then again, he never did. There was a rustle in the bushes behind her. She felt a pair of eyes watching her intently, and groped around under the water for a stick. With one smooth movement, she had hit him over the head with it, and covered her breasts.

Inuyasha's heart raced. Kagome- why the hell would she do something stupid like that? He wasn't going to peep on her. H didn't have a reason to. He'd seen her naked plenty of times, so now it was no big deal. Maybe it was his new doglike form. What, was she afraid that he'd hump her leg or something?

Or maybe it was all that nonsense that the old women had told him. He snorted. Love my ass. Kagome's my friend. Just my friend. Before he could think anymore, he had hit the water. He swam over to the edge, finding it was surprisingly shallow. He could easily stand up.

Kagome. He searched around, looking for a body.

Another scream.

"Kagome!" He swam desperately in the direction of the scream.

"Inuyasha?"

Kagome was behind him, covering her chest. Inuyasha quickly tore off the jacket to his school uniform, throwing it at her. She slid it on quickly, then crossed her arms across her chest. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He stared at her. "Rescuing you, baka."

"I don't need to be rescued."

"Then what the hell did you scream for??!!"

She was surprisingly calm. "I didn't scream."

"HENTAI!!!"

Both turned their heads towards the sound.

"You big perverted asshole! First you peep on me, and then you grope me?"

The figure before her cowered in fear. "Lady Exterminator, I only wished to admire your beauty."

She blushed, then promptly whacked him over the head. "I have a name, houshi. Stop with all this 'Lady Exterminator' crap. It's not getting you any free feels."

She pulled on her kimono, tying it tightly in front. "I don't know why my father decided to hire a monk. "

"To assist you, Sango-sama."

"I don't need your assistance. I know what my body looks like."

She sighed, ringing out her hair. Ever since her father had hired this poor excuse for a monk, she had been constantly escaping from his prying eyes. And hands.

"Oneesan! Miroku-sama! Father said to tell you that dinner is ready." The boy was tall for his age, but his freckles and playful smile prevented him from looking older.

"Thanks, Kohaku." Sango ruffled her brother's hair, smiling. "We'll be right there."

"Your clothes are completely soaked, Inuyasha."

He snorted. "Don't remind me." He pulled himself up on the rock next to Kagome.

Kagome stared at him. He was the same Inuyasha, wasn't he? His pose was the same, one knee up, the other one dangling over the rock. His expression was the same, pissed off at the world.

His long hair was stuck to the back of his t-shirt. She picked up a few strands, running the silky locks through her fingers. It would have to do, considering that his ears were out of reach.

"So," she said quietly, "What's it like being a hanyou?"

He shrugged. "I'm faster, my nails are longer and sharper, and I have fangs. I have more white hairs than my dad. I have dog ears."

Kagome laughed. "Yeah, the girls at school would just love you. 'Oh, he's so cute! Can I pet him?'"

Inuyasha laughed in spite of himself. "It probably doesn't matter," she said quietly, "But I think you look nice."

He blushed, turning his head away. "Thanks, Kagome. You're the only one who understands me- even when I can't understand myself."

She smiled at him. "It's nice that we can talk like this. You've been so... distant lately. Like I can't reach you."

When he didn't respond, she continued. "I mean, it must be hard, trying to adjust to a new body and everything, I don't blame you, but you are my best friend and it's nice to have someone to talk to sometimes, especially here. And I've been worried about you."

"Kagome, what do you believe?"

"Huh?"

"Of what that old woman said. Do you really thing that we are the Inuyasha and Kagome of fifty years ago?"

She paused. "I don't know. I remember this place, though."

"Come on, Inuyasha! Let's go swimming!"
Herself, dressed in a white and red miko's outfit.
"Okay."
Inuyasha, clad in a puffy red jacket and pants. Hanyou Inuyasha.
"Oh, I can't wait to get in that water. It's so hot."
Herself, nude. Turning around, smiling playfully at Inuyasha.
"Yeah. You go down, I'll be there in a bit."
Inuyasha, pulling off his white kimono undershirt.
"I'm not going without you. You and I, we're gonna jump in together."
Another smile.
"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."
Inuyasha was naked. He walked to the edge, grabbed her hand, and squeezed it tight.
"One, two, three!"
Inuyasha and Kagome, jumping off the cliff, holding hands.
Inuyasha and Kagome, coming up for air and playing in the water.
Inuyasha and Kagome, hugging in the water. Naked.
Inuyasha and Kagome, sitting on a rock, hugging. Watching the sunset. Kissing.
Kagome sat straight up, blushing, panting, her heart pounding. What had she just seen? The past? Were she and Inuyasha really once in love?

"You okay, Kagome?"

"Yeah. I- I saw something. A vision, I think."

"The past?"

"I think so. We- We were swimming. Here. And sitting on this rock."

"Is that it?"

"Yeah." No. We were naked. We were hugging. We were kissing.

"Oh." He paused, staring straight at the sky. Then she didn't see what I saw.

The sun was setting.

"You know," he said, changing the topic, "another thing. About being... this. My ears and my nose, they're stronger. Everything has a scent. This place smells fresh and cool."

Kagome nodded, watching the sunset.

Sango glared at the figure across the table from her. Tousan didn't know how perverted he was. For three weeks now, she had dealt with his groping all day, then watched him put on a good face for her father at dinnertime. Even Kohaku adored him.

"So you've been a monk for three years now?"

"Yes, since I was sixteen. It's trying sometimes, but I believe in doing everything for the good of people, in the name of Buddha."

Bullshit, she thought. You do it for a free feel.

"Amazing."

"And how long has your family been exterminators?"

"Longer than I can remember. Sango's been doing it since she was about nine or ten. She's extremely skilled."

"I see," the monk said, shooting a look at Sango, or rather, her breasts. She scowled at him and ate her rice with even more ferocity.

"I'm just teaching Kohaku. He's doing very well, but he's a bit scared to go out on the field. I've had him handle smaller demons."

"How fascinating."

Sango just rolled her eyes.

Kagome stared at the piles of fabric in front of her. "Wear these?"

Kaede nodded. "Your clothes are soaked. Besides, these belong to you."

Kagome fingered the fabric of the first item. It was fur, short and soft and smooth. Red fur.

"That's for Inuyasha. Made of the hide of a fire-rat."

Underneath the clothes was a thin white miko's shirt. And a red hakama.

The image jumped into her mind again. Herself, wearing these clothes.

"These... were mine."

Inuyasha picked up the hakama, sniffing it. "It smells like you, Kagome."

Kaede nodded. "The Inuyasha and Kagome of fifty years ago wore these clothes until their deaths. They asked to be buried nude, together."

Kagome blushed. They really were... in love.

Kaede had held up a cloth for her to change behind. From above it, she could see Inuyasha stripping off his wet t-shirt, throwing on the ground. He looked good without a shirt on.

She fastened the Hakama tightly, and slipped on the sandals.

Inuyasha felt unusually comfortable in these new clothes. They were large and billowy, but he could easily move. The clothes from the dream. He remembered wearing these. And not wearing these. Remembering the image of Kagome, he smiled. She was beautiful.

Kagome had stepped back from the curtain, twirling around in the clothes. Suddenly, she was the Kagome of the dream. Her smile was sweet and kind, her eyes deep and welcoming. Beautiful.

Inuyasha from the dream. Inuyasha, who had stripped and jumped into the lake with the Kagome of the past. Inuyasha who had kissed Kagome on the rock.