Chapter One

Kikyo carried an armful of wood. Her straight bangs clung to her forehead. Chopping wood was quite a work out, but she enjoyed it. The woods were so pretty in the springtime, with the buds starting to grow and the birds returning. She hated to think of what would happen if the demons broke beyond the outmost defense. No doubt they would destroy the forest that surrounded her shrine. Sango, in fact, had wanted to cut down the forest, feeling that Kagome and Kikyo were too isolated in the woods. However, the two priestesses would hear none of it, and the base had eventually become the land between the two shrines.

She looked up at the sacred tree that was the center of her shrine… and dropped her wood. "Inuyasha!" she yelled, "get out of that tree this instant!"

Inuyasha sat in one of the higher branches. He looked down at her disdainfully, one of his ears twitching at the sound of her voice. Kikyo was soft-spoken, and after hearing her yell, he understood why. Personally, he thought she sounded like a banshee when she yelled. "Why?"

"Because it's a sacred tree, Inuyasha! It's not meant to be climbed!" Kikyo began picking up her wood, and Inuyasha jumped down, helping her. "Why do you even have to be here anyway?" she grumbled to herself.

"I already told you once, wench, it's because you signed the treaty. To protect you, I have to stay close to you. It's the duty of a male demon to protect his spouse. That's just the way our world works," he said. She had asked that question so many times, that by now his answer sounded like a recital.

Kikyo looked up at him, her slender hair falling over her shoulder. "I wasn't really asking you," she said. And then she bent to pick up the same piece of wood as him, and she found that her hand was suddenly covering his. His skin was warm, the skin on the back of his hand smooth. Kikyo looked down at his hand, and slowly, she lifted hers off of it until just her fingertips remained. She slowly slid them along his skin, feeling the ridge of his knuckles and his calluses there. He'd gotten calluses from punching stuff. He was certainly a fighter. Her fingertips continue to trail down, until they touched his claws, and she felt that they were hard, and sharp. They weren't fake in anyway, they were weapons mean to slice…

His hand flinched and he pulled it back. Kikyo picked up the log and added it to the pile of wood she held in her arms. Both of them straightened. "You're an odd man, Inuyasha," she said, turning and going into the shrine. Inuyasha went back to the tree.

Running up the hill as fast as she could, Kagome finally saw his silhouette. Waving her arm avidly over her head she called out to him. "Hi! Inuyasha!" she yelled and continued waving and running… probably looking like an insane lunatic. Breathing heavily, Kagome bent over, hands on her thighs and finally on her hips as she straightened up to meet him face to face.

"Sorry I'm late!"

He smiled at her, leaning down to look her in the face as she tried to catch her breath. He didn't really smile, but his eyes did warm up to see her friendly face. "Don't worry about it. I'm glad you're here now. This place is boring. God, I'm even getting tired of practicing my katas. These lessons are about the only thing I look forward to." He straightened, crossing his arms and looking smug… though beautiful. "Don't get me wrong. They're still boring as hell, but they are half-way interesting…"

Kagome glared at him. She was taking time she didn't have out of her schedule to devote to him, in an attempt to help this marriage go smoother. To help him understand Kikyo's role, the human world and all of its traditions and he still persisted to be a jerk about it.

"Half-ways interesting!" Kagome demanded and controlled her rage filled body. She really wanted to kick him in the shin right now. "Look, I don't have to do this. It doesn't say I have to on any of the agreements... I'm doing this as a favor. A f-a-v-o-r! Meaning, you owe me! Now behave yourself and act slightly respectful!" Kagome yelled at him, then stood flustered and frowning.

"Don't go tell your dad about that," she muttered and looked around the field. "How has your time been lately with Kikyo?" Kagome asked looking at him over her shoulder. "I mean, have you understood when not to bother her and how to act around her shrine?"

He shrugged. "Basically, I just try to leave her alone," he said, trying not to look like he had just enjoyed her brief display of anger. When she got mad, the color rose to her cheeks, and her wonderful scent became stronger, as if drawing him in… He looked away from her. "But she's stopped yelling at me now, so I suppose that it's a step, right?"

Kagome nodded. "Why not..." Kagome thought about it. Should she really be butting into his business? Bothering him? Should she be interfering with his relationship with Kikyo?

'Of course you should!' her inner voice yelled at her as loudly as bells chiming. 'It's for the sake of the alliance. If they don't get together, how will our armies do so?'

"Why don't you try not leaving her alone? Go around with her, see what she does, you know spend time with her. I know she usually goes chopping wood for the blind couple in the village around noon each day, I am sure you could chop easier and faster then she ever could..." Kagome hinted rather bluntly.

"I did try," he said. He leaned against the wall of the shrine, his arms still folded. "She yelled at me for suggesting that I was proving that I was better than she was for being a man and a demon, and that I was trying to take over her shrine in the same breath. After that, I didn't bother helping her chop wood again."

Inuyasha paused, and then looked at Kagome. "Do you think I should try again? I mean, she hasn't been yelling at me, so maybe she's gotten used to having me around, or something." His eyes narrowed at her slightly. "Just because I'm not happy about this arrangement doesn't mean that I don't want it to work. I do want it to work, not just because of what this agreement stands for, but also because I want to prove I can do it. I'm not going to fail my father and put up with Sesshomaru and his insults."

Kagome bowed her eyes. They were soft and sad, a darker shade then they usual. When she raised them, there was plain sadness and perhaps a bit of disappointment in them. "Inuyasha, you didn't say anything like that to Kikyo, did you?" Kagome asked and turned away from him a bit, to look out at the giant trees all around them. "Because, if you did, I wouldn't blame her for anything, even yelling to purifying your ear hairs," Kagome said as simply as possible. "Because, see of all the reasons you mentioned that you want this to work out—as good as they are—you didn't mention her. You didn't think about how perhaps she is in the same situation as you and yet she rather make this easier for you... you didn't think that she deserves this. Neither of you are happy, but you could at least offer each other comfort," Kagome explained softly.

He stared at her a moment, and then stood up to his full height, his fingers just barely touching the hilt of his sword. He stepped closer to her, a full head closer than her. His parted lips revealed the tips of his white fangs. "Comfort? I'm half demon. Would a priestess actually be willing to accept comfort from a half demon? Would I be willing to offer it?"

"I'd accept it if we were both thrown into this, forced to!" Kagome shot back. Shrugging and taking a step back and away from him, she folded her arms over her chest. "But then again, I'm not. But, Kikyo might just as well accept it too. The question is, are you willing to offer it?"

His expression was clear. Either he thought she was insane for wanting comfort from a demon, or else he thought she was crazy. It might have even been some combination of the two, but Inuyasha just shrugged the topic away. "I don't know. I guess we're going to find out , aren't we? So," he drawled, sitting down on the steps of the shrine and looking up almost obediently at Kagome. "What am I going to be learning about human culture today?"

Kagome huffed and sat down in front of him. "I was planning about work habits, but since you have none of those..." Kagome muttered and fell back, folding her arms under her head and staring up at the sky. "How about ten ways to a woman's heart?" She offered jokingly.

"Um… chocolate, flowers…" His ears flattened as he thought. "Offer them comfort and sex?" He winced mentally. Four out of six things weren't bad, right? Besides, when would this ever prove useful again?

Kagome shot him a look. "You are the type of male that makes me glad I am never going to marry."

He laughed at her expression. He had a nice, warm laugh, thought it wasn't one hundred percent kind. He leaned his arm on his knee, his chin supported in his hand. "You're very fun to tease, Kagome."

"Yeah?" Kagome asked and smiled sweetly. It should've been all the warning he needed, but apparently he didn't know her well enough yet. "You aren't teasing me, Kouga teases. You annoy me," she snapped and smiled coyly. "Have you even had sex to know to offer it? Oh, and all of the four things you mentioned, don't work. Any crone of any village will tell you that." Kagome told him and sat up brushing the grass off of her long red pants.

A sigh escaped in. For more than the first time that day alone, Inuyasha thought about how much his scenario sucked. He leaned back on the steps, looking up at the sky. "So teach me," he said casually. "Kikyo and I are stuck with each other, so we might as well be as happy as we can be. Who knows, maybe one day we could even love each other. I mean, it worked for my dad and my Mom, and everyone thought my dad would never love a human…." He trailed off, growling. "I'm shutting up now. Just, teach me? Please Kagome?"

"You said my name..." Kagome commented, loving the way it sounded over his tongue but quickly snapping out of it. "Oh, um... yeah. Well..." Kagome thought about it. "I... Don't know. I mean, Priestess aren't suppose to marry, or any of that. So, I was never too interested in all of what boys are supposed to do with girls. The best I could offer are some tips on getting close to Kikyo."

"Sure, that could work," he said, nodding. He thought a moment and then is golden eyes drifted over to her. "Girls think about boys though, right? Didn't you ever wonder about boys or imagining having someone to court you?" He realized how bad that sounded coming from a man who was supposed to be engaged and he elaborated. "I'm just asking because if you did… maybe I could use some of those ideas to court Kikyo?"

Kagome thought about it. "Well..." She blushed, her pinks slowly turning pink until it turned red that reached the roots of her hair. "Um, yeah, sure I did. It's hard not to when you work through the village and see all the women putting on make-up or getting ready for weddings..." Kagome said shyly, smiling nervously the whole time.

"Well, I suppose... I would like it if the guy was around me, looked eager to see me, was happy to see me rather... and talked to me... complimented me... A stolen kiss-" Kagome caught off and fidgeted nervously with her fingers. "You know, stuff."

He didn't think he could kiss Kikyo. Not yet, anyway, not on the lips, not the kind of kiss Kagome meant. He nodded, comprehending. "Yeah, okay. I can greet her and smile when I see her and stuff. Tell me more Kagome, please?"

"Can't you use your imagination, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked looking at her wiggling toes. "This is embarrassing..."

"Almost as embarrassing as having a girl stare at my ears," he said, his ears pulling back, as if they were trying to hide in his silvery hair. He looked over at her, sitting beside him on the steps, and he raised one hand, cracking his fingers. "If you're not going to help me, I'm going to tickle you."

Kagome moved back a bit, looking worried and eyeing his fingers cautiously. "It wouldn't be proper," she said sternly and then looked up at his ears and cursed at herself mentally. "I can't help it! Okay?" she yelled nervously. "They look so fluffy and cute- I just want to play with them!"

He made a sound that sounded a little bit like a choke. His eyes widened a bit, his shoulders relaxing. "You want to play with my ears?" His tone was light, and surprised, but it was impossible to tell if it was a good or bad surprise. Even Inuyasha wasn't quite certain which one it was.

"Well, yes. They are cute, like little puppy ears and they twitch to noise, and weather and when you get annoyed they flatten back against your head... Can I touch one?" Kagome asked tentatively, hands clamped together and eyes big, wide and begging.

Again, he made the sound that sounded a bit like a choke. He did it whenever he was about to explode on someone and then he changed his mind, stopping on his words at the very last second. He turned away from the begging puppy eyes. He was supposed to be a half-demon, or, he supposed, a half-human. He was supposed to be the outcast of society, and there she was, asking to play with his ears and being generally nice to him… It was weird.

"I don't think so, Kagome," he said gently.

Kagome tried to hide her disappointment and smile. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but it was genuine and heartfelt. "Well, I'm sorry if I offended you..." Kagome apologized softly and then the long uncomfortable silence lead on for more minutes then Kagome wished to count.

She sat nervously twiddling her fingers over her bracelet. "Um... I didn't hurt your feelings or anything, did I? I didn't mean anything bad by it... Really... I know I was out of place... Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't. And I'm not offended, I'm just… surprised. No one's really asked me anything like that before… besides, it wouldn't be right. I'm engaged to Kikyo, remember? Would you let some guy play with your ears if you were engaged?"

Kagome didn't quite understand the logic, but she supposed it would be wrong. "You're right." Kagome said softly, feeling bad that she had made a pass somehow, and offended her basically brother-in-law. Kagome and Kikyo were sisters in the craft, they were soul siblings, it was wrong. "In my defense, the kids at the village pull at my ears all the time." Kagome perked up, trying to ignore this uncomfortable moment and move on.

"What village?"

-

Kikyo came back to the shrine and was very surprised to find Inuyasha there waiting for her at the top of the shrine. She thought he was trying to smile at her, but it wasn't really working all that well. For some reason, his lips just wouldn't smile at her, even though his gold eyes seemed warm and friendly. "Yes?" she asked, uncertain of what he had up his sleeve.

"Welcome back, Kikyo. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Yourself?" Her words were short. Obviously she didn't know what the hell was going on, and it unsettled her. Inuyasha cursed mentally. He hadn't wanted to make her uncomfortable.

He shook his head, his silver hair gently drifting back and forth with the action. He sighed. "I'm sorry, Kikyo. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I just wanted to be a little friendlier towards you. Just because we're getting shoved into a marriage we don't want, that doesn't mean that we can't at least be friends, right?"

She was silent, and so he continued. "I mean, I think I could be friends with a girl like you. You're quick witted, which I like, and you're pretty. You're also kind, and independent, which is something you don't see with a lot of demons. I mean, independence, sure, but not a lot of them are dedicated to helping people like you are. Not many of them would go out of their way to help people like you would. So, at the very least, I'd like to be your friend."

Kikyo still stared at him, her unblinking gaze a little unnerving, even for Inuyasha. He growled at her. "And then maybe if you were my friend you wouldn't look at me like I had two heads or something!"

"You're odd, Inuyasha," she said simply, going by him into the shrine. She paused at the door, and looked over her shoulder at him. "You've been sleeping in the tree since you've stayed here, haven't you?"

"Sure," he said. He wasn't going to bother with some stupid lie.

"Why?"

"Well, where else would I stay?"

"You haven't invited me inside the house," he pointed out. "It would be rude that just because some political agreement has forced us to be together it would be all right for me to sleep in the same house as you. Nor, at this point, do I even know I can enter a shrine. So I stayed in the tree. I always liked sleeping outside anyway. It reminds you of your childhood, don't you think?"

Kikyo stepped a little closer to him, studying his face as he looked up at the large spirit-tree. "You've been sleeping in a sacred tree, Inuyasha. I think that if the tree will allow you to live in its branches, that you would also be able to enter the shrine." They were silent, and Kikyo looked back at the place where she lived. Gently, she reached out and touched his shoulder, trying to get his attention. She was surprised when he jumped a little at her touch.

"Please, Inuyasha, come inside. Have supper with me." It sounded like an order, but he knew it was just an ill-phrased request. She would never order him around unless it was because he was doing something improper, and Inuyasha would never order her around. It was a matter of respect. Even if they weren't friends, they did have a small amount of respect for each other.

He nodded, and that was the first night they ate supper together. The next night, they also ate together, and this time there was a little conversation. The third night, Inuyasha made Kikyo laugh by telling her embarrassing stories about Sesshomaru. He was very proud of himself, Inuyasha. Things were looking like they were getting underway.