:AN: Chapter two is up and ready to go… Yay!

Teenage Mutant Inuyasha!

Chapter 2: Power Struggle

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Kagome gaped at him, "I thought those were just stories!"

"Hmm?" Inuyasha said. "Oh, so you noticed. Yeah. Amazing isn't it…" he said with lack-luster enthusiasm, "I thought you were leaving."

She approached him, making Inuyasha back up. "But you are him, aren't you?"

"Depends."

"You're 'Teenage Mutant Inuyasha'!" she claimed. "You fight crime at night and return to your sewer layer by day- you're a hero!"

"Wench, those are just stories," he snorted. "I suggest you leave and forget you ever met me."

"Uhuh," she said unconvinced. "If that isn't a comic book cliché, I don't know what is."

"Look," Inuyasha growled. "I'm not a fucking comic book super hero, ok? I don't run around at night in a gay little cape fighting bad guys asking nothing in return, I don't have a soft side that likes puppies and kitties, I don't have a 'secret identity', I don't have a side kick, and I don't have patience for noisy little girls with screwed up notions!" As an after thought he added "... Besides, you have a huge bump on your head… I'm… not really here…"

"Right" she said smugly. "I have a head ache, I'm not brain dead."

"What happened to you being terrified of me?" he asked. "I think I liked you better then."

"I have the upper hand now," she smiled. "Don't I? You don't want anybody to know you're here, do you?"

"Keh," he glared. "Like anybody would believe you."

"They would if I brought them down here," she taunted.

Suddenly something hit Inuyasha. Wasn't there a seal on this place? Couldn't only those with a holy aura enter? Wouldn't that mean that the seal was broken? Or could this girl possibly be… Miko? He grinned. Oh, she wouldn't tell on him. Not only could no one come into this room of his (well, besides her… and Kaede… and anyone else who happened to have a holy aura), he had dirt on her, major dirt.

The girl didn't like Inuyasha's grin. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Miko."

Pure terror flashed through her eyes, "What are you talking about? Mikos have been out of existence for years!"

"As you can probably imagine, I don't get a lot of company down here," he examined his clawed fingers and watched her from the corner of his eye. "Which is why I over looked the fact that this room was sealed off to people lacking holy auras when I brought you in here. The fact that you are in this room is proof enough."

"You're- you're- you're… you- you- you…" she stuttered.

'Now who has the upper hand, bitch!' he thought to himself.

"Don't worry," he smirked. "I won't tell if you won't."

He looked at his doorway, "Hmm, Kaede's here."

"Who?" she asked.

"Oh, don't worry," he said. "She's got stuff for that cut on your head."

"What cut?" Her hands flew to her forehead. "Oh."

The girl sat down on the cot just as the kindest looking old woman with an eye patch in a jumpsuit she'd ever seen walked through the door. "Oh," she said. "I see the girl's woken up." She turned to Inuyasha. "Did you get her name yet?"

Inuyasha shook his head 'no'.

"Hn," she said. She walked over to a counter and opened her small white first aid kit and pulled out a bottle, a few balls of cotton, and a bandage. She carried the items and sat down on the cot next to the girl. "Hello" she said putting some antiseptic on the cotton ball. "I'm Kaede, and you are?"

"Kagome," she replied wincing as the old woman dabbed her forehead.

"Well, Kagome it's very nice to meet you."

"Uh, likewise," she said.

"I do hope that Inuyasha was civil to ye, he doesn't get much human contact besides myself." She smiled. "And I'm sorry to have left you with him, but I had to run off and get the first aid. I'm afraid you had a bad fall, and I'm afraid it was me who left that manhole open."

"Oh." Kagome said. She felt something like a child in the grammar school nurse's office- swinging legs and all.

"Do you think you're well enough to get home okay?" Kaede asked.

"I think so. Do you know what time it is?"

"Oh, I'd say it's close to 6:00 now." Kaede checked her watch. "Yep."

"What? Oh my God! I'm going to be in so much trouble!" She cried frantically, leaping to her feet.

"Your things are on the table, dear." Kaede pointed.

"Thank you!" Kagome rushed to her things.

"You know, it's dark out now. The street lights are on and everything." Kaede mentioned off handedly to Inuyasha. "You could…

"No."

"Inuyasha!" she scolded.

"What part of 'no' don't you understand?" he demanded.

"If you don't I will cut off your power." Inuyasha blanched. She wouldn't! …Oh yes she would.

Inuyasha growled and pulled the girl out the door by her wrist, "Come on, wench, I'm taking you home."

"Wha-?" she paled slightly at the thought of being escorted home by someone who wasn't even supposed to exist. She'd have a fun time explaining him to her grandfather.

"Don't worry, Kagome," Kaede called after them, "He will get you home in no time flat!"

He pulled her to the surface. "Okay, wench, where do you live?"

"Uh, thank you, but I can walk, really…" she said uneasily.

"Yeah, well I can't live without my power, so I'm taking you home!" He crossed his arms and glared.

"That old woman has the ability to take away your powers?" Kagome asked in awe. She didn't realize that Mikos could do things like that, assuming that Inuyasha wasn't lying about the seal of his room thingy. If he had been lying that was one heck of a lucky shot.

"Yeah, somehow she can always sneak in and steal my battery without me noticing," he said bitterly.

Oh. That kind of power.

"Still, I can walk…"

"Well," he pulled her on to his back, ignoring her protests, "I'm going to start running, you'd better tell me where to go or else I'll just dump you where ever I feel like it."

How could she argue with that?

"Take a left down at the end of the alley," she sighed.

He smirked. "I thought you'd see it my way."

Eventually the pair made it to Kagome's home; Kagome was a little worse for wear from the ride, but otherwise in one piece. Inuyasha dumped her on the ground and was about to make his get-away when a hand clamped on his shoulder.

"Are you a friend of Kagome's?"

He never saw the lady coming, but luckily for him it was too dark for her to see anything. Before he could answer, Kagome spoke.

"Uh, yes Mama," she said quickly. "He, uh, walked me home because it was getting dark."

"Uhuh," her mother said. "I see. Now why exactly were you an hour and a half late, Kagome?"

"I, uh, realized I had to go to the library after I was hanging out with my friends to get a book, and I figured that I might as well just study there since it was nice and quiet…" she said off the top of her head. "Uh, sorry Mama, I didn't even think to call."

"Well you're home now and just in time for dinner." She turned to Inuyasha. "And what's your name?"

"Inuyasha." He said mechanically. He would later wonder why he didn't just take off while Kagome was explaining herself. It would have made things so much less complicated.

"Well Inuyasha, would you like to stay for dinner? It would be the least we could do after you walked Kagome home like that." She asked with a gracious smile.

"Actually I-"

"Wonderful!" She cried.

Inuyasha was inside the house before he realized what was happening.

"My… Inuyasha… those are…"

"Uh, I can explain," he said pulling at one of his ears. How? Just how exactly had he forgotten to put on a hat? Of all the stupid-

"…the most adorable things I've ever seen!" She giddily started to rub them.

"Mama!" Kagome gasped, mortified with her mother's action and grabbing her hands. "I'm sure Inuyasha's really busy and can't stay!"

"Well if he can't stay tonight he can come another night!" Her mother declared. "After he went through the trouble of walking you I won't take no for an answer."

"But Mama!"

"Kagome, you're being rude rushing him out like that!" She chided.

"But Mama!"

"Kagome either Inuyasha has one meal with us in the next week, or you're grounded."

"Wha?" Kagome's jaw dropped. "That's not fair!"

"Inuyasha, when would you like to… Inuyasha?" Her mother looked around. "Well how do you like that, he's gone."

"See, I told you he had to leave!"

"Kagome, remember what I said, if he doesn't have a meal with us in the next week, you're grounded."

"But-"

"No buts. Come on sweetie, dinner's ready."

If anybody had told her this morning that she was going to meet Inuyasha she would have laughed in their face. It would have been like saying that she was going to start a garage band that sang about angst and hate. It wasn't going to happen.

And now she had to get an urban legend to have dinner with her family in the next week or be grounded.

Her eyebrow twitched.

If she ever saw that damn rat again, she'd kill it.

It was then she realized that her wallet was missing among her possessions. Oh today was just peachy.

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:AN: Well, it's all light and funny now, but just wait. It will get serious very shortly.

Please R&R!

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-DRC-