Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha . . .

ROCK ON!!

Inuyasha sat at the kitchen table, drumming his fingers impatiently. He was at Kagome's home Shrine, where she was checking on the rennovation of her vandalized bedroom. Climbing the million steps had put him in a terrible mood, his offer of carrying the miko and leaping up the stairs declined. Kagome had shook her head, explaining that the climb was a type of discipline for people.

Insisting that she could check on her room herself, she told Inuyasha to stay downstairs. The hanyou opposed, reminding her that there might be another intruder around. Kagome pointed out that it was broad daylight, and if there was an intruder, Inuyasha would've sensed him by now. The heiress quickly went upstairs, leaving a dumbfounded dog demon.

The hanyou growled, flicking a piece of lint off the table. The chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, wandering to the living room in search of some type of entertainment.

He walked into the room, his eyes flicking over the forest green couches and portraits adorned on the wall. Inuyasha ignored the t.v., making his way over to the photographs.

There were pictures ranging over the years. A young couple was sitting under an umbrella on the beach, smiling. Must be her parents, he thought, gazing at the next picture. The woman in the previous picture was standing in the middle of the room, her stomach swollen. The man next to her looked at her lovingly, his hand on her stomach.

A few frames later, the same couple were in the picture, this time with a young girl and a baby. The young girl was clinging to her mother's skirts, peering curiously at the baby. The man was looking with amusement at his daughter, ruffling her hair slightly. Kagome and her family . . .

The next picture made him frown. It was taken a couple years later after the preceeding, the whole family dressed in black. The woman was weeping, a young toddler boy staring at his mother, and a young Kagome staring at a coffin nearby. Inuyasha noticed that the father was no longer in the picture.

"My father died when I was only 10," a voice behind him whispered.

The hanyou turned, coming face to face with the miko. "He had a heart condition," she explained, walking towards him. She stood beside him as she continued to explain each of the pictures.

"This one was at my school play . . . and this one was at the beach for my 13th birthday . . . and this is my 15th birthday, when Jii-san announced that I was to be my heir . . ."

"Who's the girl?" Inuyasha asked, pointing at a slightly older girl beside Kagome. She wore a sulky expression, but surprisingly, looked enough like Kagome to be her twin.

"That's Kikyou; my mother adopted her a year before this was taken . . . she was 16 at the time, but I think she's around 20 now. She works over at Osaka, working on some sort of business. You'll meet her today."

Inuyasha nodded, his eyes grazing over the other pictures. There was one of Kagome at a cultural festival, probably around 16, wearing a cute pink kimono with a ribbon in her hair. The next one was of her in a shimmering dress, looking beautiful save for the depressed and lifeless look she had taken on. Could this have been taken after . . .

"That was during one of the balls Jii-san threw, a few months after my 17th birthday. We'll be going to something similar to that tonight . . ." she trailed off, leaving the dog demon's side.

The body guard turned towards her, noticing for the first time the change in her attire. "What are you wearing?"

Kagome glanced at him before self-consiciously tugging on her sleeve. She was in her miko outfit, her hair loose around her shoulders. "I have some business to attend to," she shrugged, turning to walk to the front door.

"Why does every damn thing revolve around business?" he growled angrily, following her outside.

He blinked as the bright sun hit his sensitive eyes, looking around for his charge. He spotted her walking towards the other side of the yard, near a small shrine. "Stupid girl," he grumbled, jogging to catch up with her.

"What do you have to do?" he asked irritably, the prospect of staying any longer at this miserably boring shrine unappealing to him.

"I have to check on the prayers people leave here daily, say my own prayers, ring the bell twice, check on the wel . . ." Inuyasha tuned her out, groaning mentally. I'm going to be here for awhile . . .

The heiress rolled her eyes at the smirking hanyou in front of her, a light step to his gait. A few hours after arriving at the Shrine, Kagome decided to cut her duties short, due to the fact that her body guard was glaring and scaring away any visitors. Grudgingly, she walked over to the tall tree named Goshinboku, where he was lounging lazily, and told him to wait out here while she went back inside the house to change into her regular clothes. Seeing the hanyou begin to protest, she quickly pointed to a window clearly visible from the tree. "My room is right there; if anything's wrong, you'll be able to rescue me in no time," she said sarcastically, walking away.

The hanyou was now leading her down the long stairs and back to the black jaguar, sighing as she listened to him whistle an unfamilar tune. She wasn't happy about leaving her chores undone, but she wouldn't have been able to do much anyway with a pair of golden eyes watching her every step.

She slid into the car, shutting the door behind her as she pulled her seatbelt on. Her companion was now singing, his rich tenor voice filling the air. Kagome was suddenly put into an ease, his voice soothing to her ears. She began to drift off into her own dream land when he abruptly stopped to talk.

"So . . . it's 11:30 . . . do you want to go straight to the office or are you hungry?"

Kagome hadn't even thought about food, her thoughts elsewhere. She blushed as a loud growl from her stomach erupted, causing Inuyasha to grin. "I'll take that as 'I'm hungry.' C'mon, I know a great fastfood place."

He pulled onto the road, resuming once again his song. Kagome watched the scenery pass her by as she looked out the window, her thoughts spilling out of her head.

I feel so peaceful when I'm around Inuyasha, when he's not annoying the hell out of me . . . it was wierd; the first time I ever met him I felt this bond between us . . . at first I thought it was my imagination, but I realized that it was my miko powers reaching out to him, and I learned not to doubt those feelings . . . Her thoughts were interrupted as the car stopped in front of a small pub. "Here we are," he announced, pulling the keys out of the ignition.

Kagome got out of the car, her eyes scanning the resturant in front of her. It was quaint, right smack in the middle of downtown Tokyo. She was accustomed to the rich, luxurious places Seiji would usually bring her to, but she kept her mouth shut, not wanting Inuyasha to think she was some stuck up brat.

They entered the pub, Inuyasha motioning the head waitress over. "For two," he promptly said, following the waitress as she led them to a window booth. The middle-aged, plump woman with nice features smiled at Kagome, handing the two menus. The heiress slid in across from Inuyasha, examining the lamenated paper in front of her.

Inuyasha carelessly gazed at the menu, already knowing what he would order. He stole a glance at the woman in front of him, biting his lip to prevent himself laughing at her expression. Kagome looked up, confused.

"What are you looking at?"

The hanyou shook his head, smiling. "Nothing . . . it's just kinda funny how you scrutinize every single word on the menu."

Kagome's eyes widened. "I do not scrutinize!"

"Uh huh, then what is this called," he asked, imitating her previous frowning expression.

"Oh shush," she laughed playfully, throwing her napkin at him. "Well if you're so smart, Mr. Know It All, why don't you order for the both of us?"

The heiress laughed again as Inuyasha took her dare seriously, beckoning the waitress. "We'll have the Chicken Sandwhich Surprise," he announced, giving Kagome a little wink.

"And what is so surprising about a Chicken Sandwhich?" Kagome asked slyly, trying to ignore the wink.

"You'll see," he smiled, a twinkle in his eyes. The waitress brought their sodas, placing one in front of each person. "Here you go dears," she smiled cheerfully, before walking away. Kagome sipped the fizzy liquid through the straw, glancing at the people passing by the pub.

Inuyasha took advantage of the moment, stealing a long look at her. The sun played with her hair, giving her hair the sun-kissed look. Her brown eyes were full of contentment, a half smile creeping on her face. The hanyou tore his gaze away, apalled at his thoughts as he looked at her.

"Something wrong?" Kagome asked, her eyes filling with concern.

"Nah," he grumbled, looking up as the waitress who was bringing their lunch. Thank kami for their quick service . . .

A large plate was placed in front of each of them, filled to the brim with fries, a gigantic sandwhich, and a strange box. "What's this?" Kagome asked, picking it up.

"That," Inuyasha replied, "is the surprise. Go ahead, open it."

The heiress looked suspiciously at her companion. "You first," she said slowly, her eyes falling on the box on his own plate. Inuyasha shrugged, picking it up. "It's different everytime," he explained. "There's a little prize in each box, along with a puzzle piece; you're suppose to find the matching piece with another person, and whoever it matches with is your 'soul mate'." Inuyasha smirked. "Never did find my the other half to any of my other pieces . . ."

He tore open his box, pulling out a beaded necklace. "Hmm, never got this before," he commented, slipping it on. "How do I look?"

Kagome chuckled at the sight of her body guard modeling a prayer rosary. "You're so beautiful it's making me jealous," she joked, Inuyasha laughing. "Open yours," he urged.

The miko picked up the box, pulling back the flap that held it together. She reached inside, pulling out a small ring. "Oh!" she breathed, trying it on her first finger. It was a purple stone set in silver, the jewel shimmering in the light.

"Hmm, I never saw anything that fine in the giveaways," Inuyasha commented, tugging on his necklace. "Maybe they've merged with a jewelry store?"

Kagome smiled, before reaching in once more to pull out a half of a pink heart piece. "Is this the puzzle piece?" she asked, holding it up in the light. It was made of glass, each curve cut perfectly.

"Yup," Inuyasha replied, pulling out his own piece. He held it up to her. "Wanna try?" he asked, unsure of what she would do.

"Sure, why not," Kagome said. She put her piece against his, trying to slide the curves together. Their eyes widened at what they saw.

It was a perfect fit.

"Umm . . . " Kagome started, her face turning red. Inuyasha's dog ears began to turn pink, before gruffly saying, " I never did believe in these things."

He pulled his arm away, and reached for the ketchup, squirting a large blob on his plate. Kagome sighed, picking up a fry and chewing it thoughtfully.

Is it really just a big joke?

AU: oOoO! so they're getting closer . . . dun dun dun!! stay tuned guys!

thanks for all the reviews!