Truce?

An 'Operation C.W.A.L.' Production

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha; the show, the characters, the theme song, nothing. Even if you do sue me, you'll only get $1.39.

It was a typical day in Feudal Japan; demons were still running amuck; small, incredibly powerful, pink jewel shards were still scattered around, and there was still one shrill, female voice that rang out every so often.

"Sit, boy!"

Moving to a bit more specific part of Japan, we join the usual suspects; a half-blood dog demon, monk, demon huntress, fox demon and a modern-age high school student. The somewhat commanding voice was that of the student, Kagome.

"Don't you think that was a little...harsh?" The monk, Miroku, piped up, though not before a stunned silence. His statement was met with a cold stare. Most of them were, though, so he was used to it.

"Harsh? Harsh?" Kagome huffed, swiftly turning her head to the side; away from the smoking crater that used to be the half-demon InuYasha. "I could've done worse. Anyway, it's what he gets for grabbing me like that."

From the hole in the ground came a shuddering, almost inexistent voice. "B-but, I was in front of you..." He silently cursed the rosary bonds around his neck, and the old woman that put them there. If not for her, he'd have been a full fledged demon a long time ago. He started to rise back to his feet, and to his dignity.

This humbled the schoolgirl, but didn't dispel her suspicion completely. 'T-then...it was..." She wheeled around, and pointed a finger at Miroku. "You!"

The monk staggered back, shaking his head furiously. "No, it wasn't me either!" Of course, he managed to say so just as Kagome shouted the magic command. Wrongfully so, as it did not work on Miroku. It did, however, work wonders on InuYasha, who forged another crater in the dirt just as he was climbing out of the first.

The demon huntress, who had stayed silent for most of the incident, chose this time to speak in Miroku's defense. "I'm afraid you're wrong again, Kagome. I had him in sight the whole time."

There was a slow moan coming from the second crater. The dog demon couldn't take much more of this. He'd wait for her to calm down first, though, seeing as the drop didn't hurt as much when already on the ground.

"...Then...who was it?" She looked between the two remaining members of the entourage; Shippo was not the type to try that sort of thing, and she didn't believe Sango had that kind of interest in her. She was about to accuse InuYasha once again, if not for a deep voice cutting through the misguided conversation.

"So, forgot me already, huh?" This was a voice the entire group recognized immediately, and that raised a furious growl from the half-breed. Within seconds, InuYasha was out of the second crater, his trusted sword – Tetsuaiga, forged from his father's fang – in hand. In a flare of energy, it was several times its size. The mystery voice grew arrogant in nature. "Well, I see one of you hasn't, at least."

"Kouga...!" As it would seem, InuYasha had completely forgotten about his ill feelings towards the rosary bonds. The primary target for his ire now was the wolf demon. It escaped him why he hadn't been able to rip him limb from limb yet. Probably because he didn't want to get all that blood on Kagome...something like that, he assured himself.

Soon after there was a loud 'THUD' sound as fist connected with wood, most of the leaves concealing Kouga's form decided that right then would be a marvel time to fall to the ground. "Right you are, mutt. I trust you've kept my woman nice and warm for me?"

This only got InuYasha angrier; all it was intended to do, really. The dog demon leapt towards him, with every intention to rend his head from his shoulders; and it may have been done, had it not been for Kouga's far-above-normal speed. He leapt out of the way in mid-swing, and had enough time to wrap his arms around Kagome's stomach and pull her close before the fang could even cleave through the tree.

"Nice swing..." Another snide remark from the wolf demon. It didn't help the dog demon's mood, but at least gave ample time for Sango and Miroku to restrain him. The scenario had happened enough times that they knew their duties.

"L-lemme go!" InuYasha thrashed around wildly, but his two companions held him fast. "Well, at least hit him with something!"

Kagome, at that point, was getting an extended version of what had happened moments before. As before, she blushed furiously, and as before, she sought to get herself free as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately for her, Kouga had no intention of doing what she wanted, or even had any idea of what it was. He had at least some idea of how InuYasha felt towards Kagome, and if what he was doing wasn't going to impress Kagome, it may as well raise the dog boy's ire. "So, Kagome-chan, how have you been since I last laid eyes on you?" He tried to sound as romantic as possible, and it came off pretty well. Her blush deepened.

Only then did InuYasha land, checking his blade for wolf blood. Finding none, he wheeled around, fully expecting what he'd see. Still, though, his jaw dropped. As did his sword; the moment it left his hand, it reverted to the ancient sword it had been when sheathed. Kouga couldn't be hit with a sword where he was at the moment.

"I...uh, have...been fine," The schoolgirl smiled uneasily, trying to wriggle free from the wolf demon's grasp. He had lessened his grip to a minimum while watching InuYasha drop his sword and she managed to gain her freedom. For the moment, she thought. One of the two just took turns. "Look, there's something I need to tell you." She turned to InuYasha, who was fighting the urge to sink his claws into Kouga's flesh. And then, only because Kagome was filling his now-tunnel vision. "...Both of you."

She opened her mouth to start into a speech about her rights, when something – something moving very, very quickly – flashed by Kagome's face, and into the ground. Moments later, a few drops of blood followed.

Both canine demons sidestepped to glare at each other once smelling Kagome's blood. "You! What have you done?" They echoed, almost at precisely the same moment. InuYasha followed up first, though.

"Me? It must've been you! Your wolf archers couldn't hit sky laying on their backs!"

"Me? It's not my fault demons are never far behind you!"

Kagome was relatively silent during the heated argument. It would degenerate into a dogfight – no pun intended – before either of them would care to see who shot her. She only felt her face to check the deepness; only the slightest of wounds.

She took out her bow, and was reaching for an arrow when another shot went right between her middle and ring finger. She pulled it back, shrieking. A voice spoke to her in her head; calm, collective, and unmistakably male.

"I would advise against that, or the next arrow will be through your neck."

To Be Continued...