Colorful Emotions

I can't believe I got so many reviews for this. Thirty for one chapter! Ahaha! Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers!

Chapter 2: Green-Eared Jealousy

Inuyasha woke up to a cheerful morning sun. Birds chirped and a slight breeze swept through the air.

It was the same old thing, but something felt a little different.

For one thing, the taste in his mouth was bitter. Like he had eaten something really bad overnight. Then he began to panic. What if it was poison or something?

Inuyasha shrugged it off. "Or maybe the others' paranoia is getting to me." Besides, who had ever heard of sleep-eating?

Without another thought, he hopped off the tree to go back to the hag's hut.

XXX

After dragging Shippou out of bed, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango headed out back where they had started.

The day was extremely similar to yesterday, a thought that bored Inuyasha already.

In fact, it almost seemed like déjà vu when Inuyasha met his pal the frog again.

The only thing missing was...

Inuyasha squinted, seeing a whirling of colors behind a zooming...thing.

...was not missing anymore.

"Kouga," Inuyasha nodded curtly. "Why are you here again?"

"Oh, hi, Kouga," Kagome said, with a forced smile. "Uh, it's nice to see you again," she said, while Inuyasha scoffed quite noticeably.

Kouga beamed. "Kagome, I knew you'd realize how much better I am than that puppy."

Kagome turned to Inuyasha instinctively, wondering what he would do. Whether he would sit and insult Kouga or get up and fight him, that is. Those seemed to be the only two choices.

However, Inuyasha was crouched on the ground with a dark aura hovering over him. He wasn't saying anything at all. He was so mad that his ears were turning red...

Wait. His ears were turning red?

Kagome gaped, wondering if it were just her imagination. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, but he still looked the same: red.

"Inuyasha..." Miroku began.

"What?" he snapped.

"Your...uh..." Sango tried, but no other words came out.

"Well?" Inuyasha snarled with impatience as he waited for his brainless friends to finish their stupid sentence.

"Your ears changed colors!" Shippou yelled happily.

There was silence as five pairs of eyes trailed up to look at Inuyasha's ears if they weren't looking at him yet. Inuyasha stared blankly. "My ears...?"

Kouga began laughing, breaking the stupefied calm. Soon he was howling, almost rolling on the floor. "He calls himself a demon...!"

XXX

Kaede smiled, satisfied. So the potion did work. Well, obviously red meant anger.

I wonder how Inuyasha would look with green ears. Now to make him jealous...

And then there was blue for sad and some other colors, she read, checking the bottle's instructions, which had been written in small text stuffed under the cap of the bottle. Apparently, it had not been a well-organized potion. Some random girl had made it as an experiment and then...voila! Kaede's perfect potion had been made.

She heard pounding next to the door, as Inuyasha was stomping over. He slammed the door shut, followed by a bunch of confused humans (and two laughing demons.)

"Hag!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kaede looked at him calmly. "Eh?"

"My ears!" he shouted, anger and confusion etched all over his face.

Should I tell him? Kaede wondered, sorting out the dilemma in her head Hmm.

If I do tell him, he'll try to hide it. On the other hand, maybe he'll realize that he can't hide his feelings and he'll have to tell Kagome.

Then she shrugged. Nah. I'd rather see his ears green first.

"I don't know, Inuyasha," Kaede said. "But you know, when humans get mad, their ears sometimes turn red too. Sometimes even purple, so you should be lucky."

Not comforted, Inuyasha snarled and stomped back outside, followed by a hooting Kouga and a bouncing Shippou.

Kaede motioned for Kagome, Miroku, and Sango to come closer, and she told them about the potion.

Their reactions were exactly what Kaede expected. Kagome and Sango were surprised, and Miroku was planning who-knows-what.

Kagome's eyes widened. "So, we can all read his emotions? All because of a potion?" Miroku looked a bit devious.

Kaede nodded. "Why don't you keep it a secret?" Kaede told them. "Let him wonder for a while."

XXX

Inuyasha dug into Kagome's backpack, looking for ramen. After that confusing episode, he was beginning to feel a bit hungry. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou were back at Kaede's hut, leaving him and Kagome alone. A thought that made him a bit nervous.

His hand hit something hard and he picked it up. It was a box, tied with a pink ribbon. "What's this?"

Kagome looked at him. "Oh. Something from Houjo."

Inuyasha blinked. "Who?"

"He's a friend. From school," Kagome told him.

"And he's been giving you gifts?" Inuyasha said suspiciously, feeling something strange that he had never felt before. "And you keep them in your backpack?"

Kagome blushed. "Yeah, so?" she asked defensively. It's not as if she liked Houjo or anything. She just didn't have time to put the presents away, as Inuyasha was always rushing her back to the feudal era.

She looked at his ears, waiting for something. Anything. Then she noticed something a little different from what she had expected. Inuyasha's ears were turning green. A sickly green, the way Shippou looked when he was seasick.

Green. Wasn't that the color of jealousy? And the potion would...

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, "are you jealous?" She'd never known that he was envious that she had kept another boy's gifts...Dense, huh?

His cheeks turned crimson. "So?" he demanded.

Apparently, there wasn't any color for embarrassment. Blushing was enough, and probably even more than enough, for anyone.

"Well, I just didn't know that you felt that way," Kagome said quickly. "Besides, it's just a gift, you know."

Inuyasha blushed again, scarlet blossoming on his face. "Why? Gifts? Is that the only thing you need, Kagome?"

Kagome didn't say a word. Her heart was pounding faster and louder than usual. "What are you talking about?"

Inuyasha continued, barely believing he was saying this. "Because I can't give that to you! I can't shower you with compliments like Kouga. And in the era that you belong, with that Houjo guy, I can't give you gifts."

Kagome felt the wind knocked out of her. She found it hard to breathe all of a sudden.

XXX

Kaede, listening once again, smiled. This curse, this potion, was already working. She watched the scene and her heart felt light.

She looked at Inuyasha's face, seeing a soft expression, the most tender one that he had ever used since he was with...Kikyou.

Then Kaede looked up at his ears. They were light pink.

She blinked.

Light pink? What was that?

The potion's instructions didn't say anything about pink.

That color wasn't supposed to exist with the potion.

XXX