Disclaimers: I do not own and I did not create Inu Yasha and all related characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do own this fan fiction and any original characters that may appear in it. No copyright violations are intended. Please don't archive this fic without my permission.

False Front
By Chibinaoka

Kagome made her way threw the forest with a fast pace. She was heading towards the well that would bring her back to her own time. And it couldn't be soon enough. She had just had another fight with Inu Yasha and this time, she was really mad.

"What a jerk!"
She muttered to herself. Why did he always have to act that way? Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered having him along on the quest to fine the sacred jewel shards. All he did was cause trouble. Inu Yasha was constantly throwing himself into battle without thinking, mouthing off to his opponent. Like he had just done. He had acted like a complete airhead in front of some demon who had a jewel shard. At the end of the battle, she yelled at him to be more careful watch what he was doing next time. He got mad and they starting arguing. It almost seemed like he didn't care about what happen to him, almost like he had a death wish. Kagome shook her head. He couldn't have a death wish; in fact she knew what he wished for. He wanted to collect all the shards for himself so that he could become a full demon.

"Idiot! Why do you always act like you don't care about what happens to yourself!? Don't you know that they are some people who do care about you!"
Kagome's shouting caused a few birds to be rattled from their trees and take flight. She watched them soar higher and higher, their wings spread widely. Kagome sighed.
"If only Inu Yasha could be that care free."

But she knew better then anyone that he wasn't. She wondered if there ever was a time when he was carefree at all. For her, it was when she was a child that she spent the most carefree years of her life. Inu Yasha had had childhood. She knew about it because he had mentioned it to her. But his childhood was far from being carefree. Kagome could only imagine what it must have been like growing up half demon, constantly being teased for being different. She even remembered a time when he told her that people threw rocks at him. The though of Inu Yasha as a small child being thrown rocks at made her stop in her tracks.
'It must have been hard. Maybe that's why he acts so tough. Ever since he was little, he's had a hard life so he has to act tough so he won't get hurt.' Kagome though to herself.

Kagome realised that Inu Yasha's tough exterior was only a disguise to hide the vulnerably he sometime felt inside. Like how some people put on a smile to hide their sadness, Inu Yasha puts on his 'tough guy' act to conceal the fact that deep inside, he gets just as scared as the rest of them.
"Inu Yasha has a strong false front. It's not his fault, even if he is a jerk sometimes. But that doesn't mean I should abandon him. He needs my help and he's saved my life more times then I can count."

Kagome turned around and headed back towards were she had left Inu Yasha and the rest of her friends.

The End

Author's Notes: I wrote this in response to word #42 at the '15minuteficlets' community on LiveJournal. It was my first attempt at a one-word challenge and I enjoyed it even if I don't really like what I wrote. I can't wait till next week's word. n.n