Summary: Collection of one-shots that mainly serve to illustrate why my teens can't take me anywhere.

The Naked Truth

It was beyond her how anyone could be so arrogant, so confident in battle, so eager to rush into dangerous situations, and yet so...shy. But all the same, having to deal with the intensity he radiated in her direction just from an act as simple as grabbing her hand- well, it was overwhelming, maddening, confusing.

But still. She was fifteen, and fifteen year olds are curious. She held her breath and continued to stand sideways behind the tree, willing herself to be as small and invisible as possible. She peeked out just as he climbed out of the spring onto a boulder, casually stretching his arms up to the crescent moon before he dove in headfirst. Leaning back against the tree, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply as she thought to herself, "I really shouldn't be doing this."

She opened her eyes and there he was- dripping wet but fully clothed, arms folded together inside his haori, tapping his foot and scowling. Gosh, he moved fast. "What's the problem? Ya need something?" he asked pointedly.

"I, I, uhm, was... ," her voice trailed off as her face turned red and her heart fluttered.

"Feh! You really owe me an apology," he barked, as he turned on his heel and stalked off.

>>>>

He had been gone for a few days now. Kagome, who just wasn't the type to keep a secret, had confided her indiscretion to Sango. "Well, that was out of character for you, Kagome but...I suppose you haven't had the best influences around you for the last few months," she said, shooting Miroku a dirty look over her shoulder as she patted her sniffling friend on the back. "We all make mistakes. It'll be okay, you'll see."

"I guess you're right, Sango," Kagome said as she dried her eyes, her naturally cheerful disposition winning out over her depression. "I think I'll go take a walk and gather some firewood. See ya!"

As she was rambling through the woods deep in thought, suddenly she heard a twig snap. It was him! "It's you!" she said redundantly, for no particular reason other than her heart was beating so fast she couldn't think straight. "Where've you been?"

Giving her one of those intense, piercing looks she knew so well, Inuyasha stepped forward until he was mere inches away from her face. "I went back to the village," he said.

Flustered, Kagome backed up until she bumped into a large tree. "The...the village?" she stammered.

"Uh, huh," he said, as he leaned in toward her and put both arms on the tree just above her shoulders, boxing her in.

Kagome's heart was pounding as she looked down, avoiding his very close gaze. "For three days?"

"Yeah, I had a long talk with Kaede. She explained a few...facts to me," he said, idly picking up a few strands of Kagome's hair and twirling them around his fingers.

"Oh. I see," she said stupidly, gathering the courage to look him directly in the eyes. It didn't help. His lips were inches away from hers, and just at the moment, a soft breeze started blowing, ruffling his long silver hair until it intermingled with her own. Now her knees were weak.

"Right. And I brought something back for you , too," he said, as he straightened up, slipping a beautiful beaded rosary around her neck. "Now we're even." He turned around abruptly to leave. "And don't even think about tweaking my ears again," he called as his parting shot.

A/N : Heh, heh. Guys'll really mess with your head if you let 'em, eh?

Yeah, I know hanyous aren't supposed to have spiritual powers, but in my defense, he does go thru the well like Kagome. Don't have a cow. Whatever, it's fiction.