Friendly Intentions:

Chapter One:

Results

"Yes!"

The cry rang throughout the empty halls, startling a few wandering teachers.

"Is everything all right, Kagome?" A girl with short hair asked.

"Yeah, we heard you scream are you all right?" Another girl asked.

"Oh Yuka, Eri, everything's wonderful!" The girl Kagome smiled, her brown eyes alight with happiness.

"Why, what happened? Did you finally break up with that two-timing punk?" Eri asked.

Kagome sighed, they asked her this almost everyday. Just as she was about to give them a piece of her mind, a new voice found its way into their ears.

"What Kagome-san and her boyfriend do is none of your business."

Turning around, Kagome half expected to see Kyo, a friend of hers that had actually turned out to be a different friend. A female friend. Kyo had interrupted Yuka and Eri's interrogation in almost the same manner.

Coming up behind her with a stern look on his face, Kagome's friend Tora stood beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Yuka and Eri looked on disapprovingly, but it was washed away once they looked at him.

Tora, or rather Kenkichi as was his real name, was about 6' 3" with brown hair that went to his mid back and was kept tied at the nape of his neck. His eyes were the color of jade, which was the reason why he was also called Jade Tiger, the name he'd adopted as an assassin.

That's right, an assassin. As in someone who kills other people.

Currently ranked as the number two assassin in all of Asia, Tora was quick to strike; however not with a weapon of cold, hardened steel. The only weapon Tora needed was his mouth and the ability to speak. He was one of the most sarcastic people Kagome knew, and definitely the funniest.

But the title of most sarcastic went undeniably to Inu-Yasha.

"Kagome," Eri began, her eyes wide, "who is this?"

They were probably a bit startled by Tora's clothes, for he was wearing khaki pants tied with a black martial arts belt and a thin white shirt. He wore simple sandals, since this was summer, and a bandana tied around his head to keep his unruly bangs in place, having taken the idea from Kouga, yet another friend of Kagome's.

Inwardly smiling at her friends, Kagome looked at them, "Who, him? This is Kenkichi-kun."

"Hi." Both Eri and Yuka said, their eyes twinkling.

"Yo." Tora said dismissively, hugging Kagome closer as Yuka and Eri fumed.

"What about Hojo-kun?!" They exclaimed.

Kagome glared at them, "I'm not going out with him, all right? How many times do I have to tell you that? This had better be the last time I have to tell you or else I'll send him over here."

The 'him' that Kagome referred to was Kyo. Both Yuka and Eri were afraid of him, but masked it with distaste, as though he were a rotten fruit. Though it had been quite a while since Kyo was last seen, the mere thought of him scared Eri and Yuka into silence.

In truth, Kyo had been Leota, Kagome's best friend from when she'd been a child. Leota had then become Kaji, because of complications with her own body. Finally, Kaji became Usu-Venita, a halfblooded wolf demon that had disappeared with Kouga, a full wolf demon that lived in the Feudal Era, Kagome's only sanctuary.

Oh, Venita, still known in her male form of Kyo in the modern times, was also an assassin. The number one assassin in all of Asia, to be exact. It had literally been beaten into her that she become the best at anything she attempted, and that philosophy still held true.

Kagome has some interesting friends, yes?

"Don't worry yourself with them, Kagome-san," Tora said quietly in Kagome's ear, yet loud enough for the girls to hear, "when we get home, I'll help you relax. That's a promise."

The slack jawed girls known as Yuka and Eri blushed at what they'd just heard.

"K-K-Kagome?" They stammered.

Looking at them coolly, Kagome raised an eyebrow delicately, "Yes?"

Seeing as how they'd been stunned into silence at the way they'd been addressed, neither Eri nor Yuka could stutter a comprehensible sentence. When they did not go on, Kagome smiled up at Tora, wrapped an arm around his waist, and began walking home with him.

As soon as they'd rounded a corner out of the watchful gaze of her two still-speechless friends, Tora and Kagome had to stop. They had to stop. Both doubled over in absolute laughter, tears spilling from their eyes.

When they'd calmed down a few minutes later, Kagome and Tora held hands as they walked to the Higurashi Shrine, which was the place Kagome lived. They had to keep up appearances in case Yuka or Eri, mostly likely both, decided to follow them.

Climbing the seemingly endless steps of the shrine, Tora and Kagome were both still smiling as they took off their shoes in the hallway before entering the house.

"That was great, Kagome-san, we really have to keep doing that. It's great." Tora said, wiping a stray tear from his eye.

"You're a great actor when you want to be," Kagome said, turning to go to the kitchen, "Mom, Grandpa, Sota, I'm home!"

In her usual fashion of appearing as though from nowhere, Mrs. Higurashi was suddenly in front of them, her irremovable smile still on her face, "Welcome home, Kagome-chan. Ah, I see you brought Tora-san with you. How was your day at school?"

Kagome held up the math test she'd studied for all last night, "I got a B on my math test!"

"That's wonderful news Kagome-chan! Give it to me and I'll put it on the refrigerator for everyone to see it."

Happily handing over her test, Kagome couldn't help but smile. Her large yellow backpack sat on the table, packed with a few things Kagome would need when she went to visit the Feudal Era. Things like bandages, soda, Ramen, a few sweets, Ramen, some spare clothes, Ramen, and a few other things. Did she mention Ramen? In case she hadn't, Kagome threw in another bowl.

"Hey Kagome-san?" Tora asked, eyeing the oven and taking a few sniffs.

"What's the matter?"

"Do you think Venita-sama's okay?"

Sighing, Kagome stopped trying to stuff her umbrella into the already-stuffed bag, "I don't know, Tora-kun. Sometimes I find myself worrying more for Venita-sama than Kouga-kun."

Tora nodded, "Yeah, it's not her fault Lunia had to screw stuff up. If Lunia had just noticed the color of the moon, perhaps some of this could have been avoided?"

At Tora's mentioning the color of the moon, Kagome began to think, "Didn't Kaede say that all demons from the Inside were affected by the red moon?"

"Hai." Tora said, a smile creeping onto his face. Kagome was a fast learner, this was good.

Kagome's eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead in a frown as her mind processed this information, "But wouldn't that mean you would have been affected by the moon? And if that's true, why weren't you affected?"

A sly smile tugged at Tora's lips as he looked towards Kagome, "Why do you want to know?"

Sighing her frustration, Kagome began angrily, "Because Kaede said all demons from the Inside are affected and you agreed! So I want to know how come you didn't!"

"Curious little thing, aren't you?" Tora asked teasingly.

"Tora...."

Kagome let out what sounded like a growl to Tora's ears, and he decided to just answer her question before she pounced on him like a cat to some unsuspecting squeaky toy.

"Hehe, I'm sorry Kagome, but I had to do it. You're so much fun to tease." Tora said, resting his right hand on the back of his neck.

"Would you just get to the part where you explain yourself?" Kagome demanded.

"All right, all right! Keep your pants on!" Tora smiled, "The reason I didn't become a bloodthirsty maniac is because I have a cure from the bloodlust."

"You have a..... cure for the bloodlust?" Kagome began, her anger building, "So you could've helped Venita-sama?!"

Realizing the mistake he'd made, Tora held his hands up to defend himself, "No, no, no! It can only work on males, and more specifically, males from my family! If I could have helped, Kagome-san, I want you to know that I would have, but I couldn't!"

Calming herself to the point where she could breathe normally, Kagome slumped into a chair. Tora daringly stepped forward, not sure if she'd cut off a member of his anatomy or just freeze him with a glare.

To his surprise, Kagome did neither of these things. She just stood up, grabbed her bag, and went to find her mother, whom had disappeared as she too-often did.

"Mom?" She called, trying to find her elusive mother.

"In here, Dear." Mrs. Higurashi called from the living room, rearranging a few things Sota had misplaced while playing his video games.

"We're gonna go, okay?"

"All right, Dear. Tell everyone I said hi." Mrs. Higurashi said, waving her daughter off.

Smiling, Kagome turned on her heel and began walking towards the Bone Eater's well, Tora trudging behind her. She opened the doors and stepped inside, letting Tora close the door as she went down the stairs and stood in front of the well.

"Is something the matter, Kagome-san?" Tora asked, still afraid she just might purify him right there.

"No, Tora-kun, everything's okay, I guess. I'm just worried about what's going to happen. Do you think Venita-sama will ever visit us? Do you think she even remembers who we are?"

Tora couldn't help but smile, "I think, Kagome-san, what you mean to say is will she remember you. Not to make you sound selfish or anything, but that is what you meant to say isn't it?"

Sighing again, Kagome nodded, "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. Well, do you think she'll come?"

"I really don't know, Kagome-san, the only one who could tell you that is the one in question. Only Venita-sama could tell you, but by the time she did, she'd already be there, thus answering your question."

Kagome looked down at the well, placing her hands on it and taking a deep breath, "Tora?"

"Hm?"

"How can you use the well?"

"I don't know. I really don't tend to question stuff like that. Whenever something works, I'm happy," Tora answered simply, "besides, Kagome-san, I know you want to jump into that well and see if Inu-Yasha is waiting for you."

Kagome turned to face him, "What?"

He chuckled, "Your love for him is extremely obvious, Kagome. You get as happy to see him as you did for that B on that test. And if you're wondering how I know that, well, I'll tell you: I have spent quite awhile observing you two. The results of my observations stand as previously stated. You're in love, Kagome. And Venita knows it."

"So?"

Tora had to smile at her naïveté, "Kagome, Kagome; now that Venita is happy and with a Mate...well...."

"What? 'Well' what?"

Shrugging, Tora decided to be as blunt as he could, "You want it simply put, Kagome?"

"Yes."

"You're next."

A/n: At last! The first chapter to (hopefully) another successful story.

Please feel free to review, since I love reviews oh so very much. :)

Sept. 18, 2004

Ookami-chan