A/N: Sorry, 'bout the last chapter. I'll try to make this one a bit more interesting.

Back in the Feudal Era, Inuyasha was sitting near the well in a particularly sour mood that only seemed to worsen with time. Suddenly, he made an angry noise and got up. Bursting into Kaide's hut where the rest of the group was resting, he demanded, "She's been gone forever. Shouldn't she be back yet?"

"Inuyasha," began Miroku hesitantly, slightly bolder than the others. "I don't know how to tell you this, but, it's only been one day."

"Half of a day, actually," put in Shippo helpfully.

"What?" said Inuyasha. "But I could have sworn that…"

"Just your imagination, I'm afraid," said Miroku.

"Wishful thinking," added Sango.

"Wishful thinking? I do not wish she were back. She can stay away for a whole year if she wants to. It's no skin off my back. I'm just worried that Naraku will find all the jewel shards before us, that's all."

"Ye had better hope that Kagome does not hear that," warned Kaide.

"Nah," said Inuyasha, waving her warning aside with a confident smirk. "She's back home in her little modern time. She wouldn't come back. Besides, I wouldn't care if she hears it or not. It's only the truth."

"Inuyasha!" came the familiar voice.

The dog demon jumped, recognizing Kagome's voice immediately and knowing that he was in deep trouble. "I-I didn't mean it," he stammered immediately. "I was just joking around. Kaide made me say it. Please don't sit me!"

He heard a noise behind him that seemed halfway between a snort and a choke and looked back to see Sango and Miroku staring at the figure in the door with the oddest expressions. Looking at her himself, Inuyasha said, "Hey, Kagome, you look different." He sniffed the air. "You smell different too…Sorta like…SHIPPO!" There was a little cloud and a poof as the little fox demon appeared, smiling innocently.

Miroku and Sango, who couldn't hold it in any longer, collapsed on each other, laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face," gasped Miroku between laughs.

"Oh, Kagome, please don't sit me!" said Sango in an exaggeratedly desperate imitation of him.

Inuyasha turned on the little fox demon and said, "You'd better start running because when I catch you, I'm gonna…" The rest of his threat remained unheard as he took off chasing the little kitsune, who ran for his life.

"Lighten up, Inuyasha! I was just playing!" he shouted desperately.

"Well let's see how much you like to play when I'm through with you."

Meanwhile, Yusuke had just polished off his third bowl and was working on an attack plan for a fourth that was already sitting in front of him. Kagome stared in open-mouthed amazement as he devoured bowl after bowl within a matter of seconds. Keiko was calmly sipping her own soup, her slow pace showed in heavy contrast to Yusuke's who was sitting right next to her.

"Kagome?" said Keiko, noticing the black-haired girl's stare. "Are you okay?"

Kagome closed her mouth and shook her head. "When he ordered ten bowls of yakisoba, I thought he was just joking."

Keiko smiled, glancing at Yusuke, who hadn't even noticed that someone was talking. "Oh, I know. I've gotten used to it by now, but I still sometimes wonder where it all goes."

Yusuke suddenly looked up to see both of them staring at him. "Mmr ummf mm-hmm hmm mmff?" he said, spewing noodle chunks all over the table.

The girls ducked out of the way and Yusuke struggled to swallow his mouthful before speaking again. "Are you two talking about me?" he asked suspiciously.

Kagome picked a noodle off the table in front of her. "We were wondering where all the food goes," she said.

Yusuke shrugged. "I exercise a lot?" he offered.

Keiko snorted. "Yeah, right, Yusuke," she said. "All I've ever seen you do is lie around a watch TV." That was a bit of a lie, since she also knew that he fought in gang fights sometimes too, but she decided that maybe she shouldn't mention that in front of his family.

"I do to!" he protested.

"Really?" asked Keiko, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Like sav—" he stopped himself just in time and mumbled something incoherent.

"Hah!" exclaimed Keiko, taking it as a victory. "I knew it!"

Kagome watched the exchange with amusement. "Wow," she said. "Aren't you two the epitome of a bickering old couple."

Keiko and Yusuke both flushed bright red at her comment. "What are you talking about?" demanded Yusuke, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Kagome just smiled. Not just friends then, she thought.

And now, back to our good friend, Mr. Slug. It had long since given up on cursing, saving its breath instead for the long trek across the floor. It had made its way to the bottom post of the table and had already begun to climb up.

The jewel shards, sitting in the small bottle on Kagome's desk, seemed to shine more brightly at the creature's approach.

The three of them decided to go see a movie and then afterwards, the girls had wanted to go shopping. They arrived back at Higurashi Shrine sometime around late afternoon. Yusuke slumped down on the couch, exhausted and thoroughly bored out of his mind.

He had somehow not only been convinced to go with them into the stores, but he'd ended up carrying all of their bags as well. "What'd you guys have to go and buy all those clothes for anyway?" he asked. "It's not as if you need it."

"Oh," said Keiko, grinning mischievously. "They're not all for us."

Yusuke looked up suspiciously, noticing that she was holding something behind her back. "What did you do?" he asked, not exactly sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Now, Kagome!"

Yusuke had not noticed her sneaking up behind him until she suddenly tackled him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Pinning him beneath her, Keiko rushed over, revealing what she'd hidden behind her back: a make-up kit.

"Oh, no," said Yusuke. "No, no, no, no, no, no—Ah!" He choked as a cloud of noxious perfume surrounded him, making it difficult to breathe. So subdued, Keiko and Kagome continued with their heinous plan.

Semi-evil snickers out drowned his protests as the two girls proceeded to give him a comprehensive makeover. Had anyone been listening, they would have thought that someone was being tortured; lashing, fingernail pulling, head cranking, feet tickling, the works. Of course, by the time they were done, Yusuke would probably have gladly undergone any of the other torments.

Unnoticed by any of them, a small compact-mirror sized object fell out of Yusuke's pocket and rolled into the pile of make-up accessories (a.k.a. torture devices).

XXX

A/N: So? What'd you think? Kind of a filler chapter, this one. I know it took a long time to write. Sorry ducks flying rotten fruit. Anyway, added a bit of interestingness at the end there and I will leave it to you readers to guess exactly how that 's going to come into play later. ;-) ANYWAY, please R&R people! As for those of you who are still with me, THANK YOU!

koriaena: Agreed. Don't know why I put that in there really. Slugs are probably the one thing in this world that will make me scream. Nasty little critters, they are.

Kimie: I'll try. Thanks for reviewing!

Anime Alex36: Never! Hahahaha! Sorry for the long wait. I'm trying, really I am. Forgive me? innocent grin

Sailor-Celestialis: No and yes. I included a note about that somewhere. I only realized it after writing, so we're just going to assume that Puu is a whole lot smarter than Yusuke and built himself a time machine or something. Thanks for reading!