Inutori: I don't own Inuyasha, so don't sue me and just go read the story…I'm feeling lazy today.

Inuyasha: Aren't you always feeling lazy?

Inutori: That's besides the point!  *looks to reader*  For those of you who have read my stories and stuff, I pose this question:  From what you've seen, how old would you guess I am?  It was just a random thought that came into my head, you know.

Chapter 3

What's This?

Inuyasha blinked his eyes a few times as he looked at the calm girl before him.  They seemed frozen in time and neither dared break eye contact.

The younger Higurashi sat up slowly and swung her legs off of the bed.  "How's your shoulder?"  She smiled at him brightly, but he could see her pain hidden beneath all of that.

"…"

"My side still is killing me."  A small giggle was emitted from her mouth as she slowly began to stand up.

"I'm fine."  He looked at her curiously as she fumbled towards the window towards him.  Her breathing was fairly hard and her legs seemed to be shaking.

"Is that so…I feel so helpless right now, myself."  She made it to the window and leaned against the wall just beside Inuyasha.  "I can't go to school and I'm stuck inside my room for who knows how long."  The girl looked over at him.  Inuyasha saw the truth in her words clearly; she DID look so helpless. 

He stepped off the windowsill and into her room.  "Humans are weak and pathetic, that's why I'm not one."  Inuyasha sat down on the floor and looked away from her.

"Yeah, I guess us humans are weak.  We take one or two blows and we're down for the count."  The girl slowly slid down the wall until she was sitting next to him.  They sat there for a few minutes in silence, each was thinking about the other.

"What's your name?"  Inuyasha looked at the bed like he was asking it his question.

"Kagome, how about you?"  She looked at him sweetly, even though he wasn't looking.

"…"  Inuyasha debated as to whether he should respond, but he did ask her first, so it was only fair.  "Inuyasha."

"Well, Inuyasha-kun, it's a pleasure to meet you.  You can come by any time you feel like it, though I would recommend staying away from Kikyou." 

Inuyasha turned to look at her like she was an alien.  No one had ever been this kind to him; TRULY kind to him, that is.  Normally they would all have reasons for their kindness, but this girl, this Kagome, she had no reason to be kind to him.  "Keh."

He stood up and was about to leave when Kagome spoke again.  "Could you help me back to my bed before you go?"

Inuyasha turned and looked back at her, deciding whether or not he should.  "Keh."  He bent down and carefully picked Kagome up bridal style.  Going over to her bed, he bent over again to let her down as gently as possible, keeping in mind how pained she was earlier.

Her request fulfilled, Inuyasha hopped onto the windowsill then out to the branch of a nearby tree.  Inuyasha took a moment to glance back at Kagome's window as he brought up his arm to his nose and smelt it.  'I smell like her now.'  A small smile formed on his lips; it was a genuine smile and not one of his usual cocky smirks.

He then bounded from branch to branch as he quickly made his way away from the shrine.  The young hanyou stopped at the park where he saw two figures walking down the path holding hands.  One was Kikyou, Kagome's elder sister, and the other was a fairly handsome man Inuyasha didn't recognize.

Perhaps it was the father of Inuchi.  Most likely it was.  Well, this was his chance to complete his mission.  But what would he do when it was over?  Go back to the future?  For some reason he didn't really want to.  No one there cared about him anyway.  Now Kagome, she was kind to him and respectful of whom he was.

'But if I kill her sister, she'll not want anything to do with me.'  Inuyasha looked down at the pair by the side of the lake.  A new idea came into his head; what if he just killed the father?  It would work just as well, wouldn't it?

He silently watched the pair walk around the park before they started to head back to the shrine.  Since it was his mission, he followed the two back the way he had just come minutes before.

They separated at the shrine steps with a light kiss and Kikyou headed back up to her home while the man began to walk away with a maniacal smirk on his face.

This was his chance, so Inuyasha hopped down in front of the young human.  Taking a whiff of the air, Inuyasha picked out the stench of another hanyou, and it was coming from this guy.

"What the-"

"You're too late, Inuyasha, Kikyou's mine, fair and square!"  And he disappeared from Inuyasha's view in an instant.

"Who was that?"  Inuyasha sat there stumped for a minute as his brain tried to register what just happened.

That guy…was a hanyou…out to kill Kikyou…

~

Inutori: And I leave off there due to the conflict of my new exchange rate.

Inuyasha: Whatever, so now what's going to happen?

Inutori: I'm not sure, I have an idea, but it's only a pencil sketch of what is to happen.

Inuyasha: Well, you better start penning it in.

Inutori: Don't worry, I will soon enough!  And as for you readers who reviewed, thanks a million!  And in response…

Nightshade: You'll just have to wait and see what happens with that…

debs: Of course I'll keep going!  Even if I have writer's block

DemonChic: I will

Other reviews: So I really messed up on this one, for some reason I was confusing this one with The Beat of the Drum, which has more reviews so gets a longer chapter, but I accidentally wrote two pages for this one when I should have only done one, whoops.  But for those of you laughing and cheering, this probably won't happen again, so don't get your hopes up too high.

And don't forget Inutori's Exchange Rate!  Until next chapter, Ja!