Author's Note: …I have no idea. Random outburst of thoughts in my head, and then coming up with this. I, personally, don't think this is all that good. --" Short and simple.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

(A/N)

Disclaimer: I do not own a thing in this one shot…

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Caged Bird

A ONE SHOT

A young girl in her early teens, about fifteen, twirled around in the field of bright yellow sunflowers in the warm spring breeze. Her pale yellow sundress twirled from the bottom of the dress up to the thin ribbon that was tied under her chest. Part of her silky black hair was kept up in a loose ponytail with a ribbon, while the rest hung loosely down her back. On her feet were white shoes that were almost like dress shoes with short heels, but was less formal. Blue eyes twinkled as she looked up, rivaling the beautiful cloudless blue sky.

A pretty red bird was perched inside the cage, which was set down on a tree trunk. "I love the fresh blue skies," the girl said, her breath coming out in a delightful way.

The bird chirped happily in agreement. She looked towards the bird and behind saw a forest with strange green glows. 'Hm… what is that?' she cocked her head to the side.

"Ringo," she said, referring to the bird. "We've never been in that forest. Let's go check it out…" she said, watching the glows as they seemed to move around. The bird chirped out in protest.

"Don't worry, we'll come back to the villa when I'm done," the girl said. She held the cage close to her, and as she walked, the opening slowly came undone. Ringo flew out, a red feather falling out. The teen's eyes widened.

"Ringo! Come back!" she said, running in the forest where her bird had flew into, all the while still holding onto the cage.

- - - -

It had been hours, and the sun had already long set. There were tears in the girl's eyes, as she desperately called out her bird's name in a weak, cracked voice.

"Ringo… Ringo? Where are you…?" she began to sob. 'I don't want to lose Ringo…' she thought. A male's voice broke her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, you! Could you shut the fuck up? I was just taking a nap here!"

The girl looked around, not seeing any boy. She looked up, seeing an older teenage boy who was probably about seventeen, looking down at her with his sharp amber eyes from his place on the branch. He had long silver hair, and the most adorable doggy ears perched on top of his head. 'He must be a hanyou…' the girl thought. He wore a loose red sleeveless shirt and blue jean shorts that reached below his knees.

"Oh, hey… you're that girl, who always stays at the villa up at the hill in the summer and never strays too far… Uh, what was your name…? Oh, Kagome," he said, not looking tired at all. He had this boyish look to his face, grinning with his teeth.

Kagome sniffed. "Yeah… what's your name?"

"Inuyasha," he said simply, jumping down from his spot on the branch. He leaned back onto the tree, crossing his arms over his broad chest. She noticed his arms were quite muscular…

"So, why were you calling out 'Ringo'? Were you looking for an apple?" he asked. (I believe 'Ringo' means 'apple' in Japanese… or at least I read that in a book -.-")

She glared lightly at him. "No, I'm looking for my bird… she's red."

Inuyasha's mouth shaped into something similar to an 'o'.

"What are you doing out here up in a tree? It's sort of late…" Kagome said.

"I'm hiding from my dad. If I'm at home, he'll make me do chores or something," he replied.

"So you're sort of playing hooky, huh?" she giggled.

"Shut up," he said.

After a few moments of silence, Kagome continued to cry and sob as she remembered her bird was missing.

"My Kami, wench, why the hell are you crying over some stupid bird?" Inuyasha asked, annoyed that she was crying. He had a weak spot for crying women.

"She's not a stupid bird!" Kagome cried out, more tears falling from her eyes.

Inuyasha let out a frustrated sigh, and leaned his face closer to her face. She looked at him confused, and her face growing hot from the much too close contact. 'Is… Is he going to kiss me!' she thought loudly in her head. She had only met this guy! She clenched her eyes shut as she awaited the unwanted 'kiss'.

Kagome suddenly felt something sweet enter her mouth, as Inuyasha leaned back a little. Her eyes opened and she blinked, looking down and seeing a small portion of something red and green. She chewed, seeing as it tasted like food. 'A strawberry…?'

Inuyasha grinned, poking his finger on her nose. "Well, at least I got you to shut up." She swallowed and threw the leaf part onto the dirt. "They're really sweet…" she said.

"There's more over there," he said, walking to the bushes and picking some. He put them in the bird cage, Kagome watching his every step.

Kagome watched as Inuyasha walked away, and quickly ran up behind him, bird cage in hand.

"Why are you following me?" Inuyasha asked, stopping in his tracks and raising an eyebrow at her. "Go back to the villa you stay at, and ask your dad to buy you another bird."

She let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head. "Well, actually… I'm kind of lost… This is my first time in the forest…" she said in a small voice.

Inuyasha sighed. "Well, get on my back then. I can walk you home… and you'll never get home walking in those shoes. Who wears those when they go out in the forest?" he said.

Kagome ignored his comment and walked quickly to him, but as she neared him, she tripped and fell on top of him as they went toppling down to the hard forest ground.

Inuyasha groaned as Kagome only stayed on top of him, out of shock. "Could you get off of me?" he strained out, having trouble breathing with her on top of his stomach. Kagome quickly got off of him, giving out a stammered apology.

He got up and brushed the dirt off his pants, seeing a trail of blood that went down his leg. "Shit," he muttered, sitting down against a tree and observing it.

Seeing this, Kagome's eyes widened. "O-oh, you're bleeding!" she exclaimed.

"It's nothing…" he said, leaning back.

"It's not nothing… here, let me treat it," she said softly, her hand reaching out to his leg and sending electricity through their bodies.

She took off the thick ribbon from her hair and tied it around his knee, trying to stop the bleeding. "Does it hurt?" she asked him, blue eyes looking into amber.

"Not really, I'll heal," he answered. 'Damn, it's still bleeding…'

Tears sprang to her eyes. She had hurt him, when he was trying to help her out. 'I'm such a klutz…' she thought, worried about Inuyasha.

She crawled in between his spread legs, confusing Inuyasha. She wrapped her arms around his middle, burying her face into his chest and smelling his natural forest-like scent. "I'm really sorry for making you bleed," her muffled voice sounded out.

Before he could answer, he felt Kagome shudder as her arms tightened around him. She felt slithering across her back, and instantly assumed it was a bug and panicked. "It's… it's a bug! Get it off!" she cried out.

"A bug?" he repeated, his fingers going across her creamy soft skin. He gently took the bug off her back, letting it onto his hand. "Look, behind you," he told her. She uncoiled her arms from his body, and turned around. She stood up, looking at the amazing sight. "Wow…"

"You know, you're lucky, seeing fireflies your first time here," Inuyasha said. The bugs glowed with their ethereal yellow-green color, prancing around in the night air.

He perked up as he saw the fireflies enter the bird cage, giving out a light. "Hey, now you can walk home," he said, giving her the cage. "Just walk straight on this road, and you should get to that hill where the villa is."

Kagome took the cage, and looked between him and the light. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm used to being out here. I've lived near this forest all my life, after all," he said, reassuring her.

Her lips formed into a thin line. "Okay…" she said, as she walked straight on the road, looking back once at Inuyasha. 'He'll be okay tomorrow… I shouldn't worry…' She clenched her eyes shut and thought the same sentence over again, trying to reassure herself.

'Agh, I can't just leave him there…' she thought, running back to Inuyasha. She caught sight of him leaning back against the same tree. His eyes opened immediately, his sensitive ears catching the sound of her footsteps.

"What are you doing back here? Those fireflies won't light forever, you know!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Yeah, but… I didn't want to leave you out alone here," she confessed.

Inuyasha sighed for about the millionth time this night, and said nothing. She set the cage down and walked up to him, kneeling down. A blanket was wrapped around her, keeping the night's breeze from chilling her.

"I found a blanket, and I thought you would need it…" she said, holding out a part of the blanket, which was still wrapped around her and over her head.

"I still you should have gone home, but… well, whatever. I appreciate the blanket, though…" he said.

After a few moments of silence, Inuyasha spoke. "You know, Kagome, you remind me of a caged bird."

"Oh? I do? How?" she asked, tilting his head to the side and unknowingly making herself look cute as ever.

"You stay inside so much, but once you're free, you're everywhere. You experience how it is outside your home… and see now; you don't even want to get home. You're like a caged bird," he smiled.

Kagome giggled. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

- - - -

The young teenage girl and the older boy lay down on the forest floor, both under the blanket together. Kagome was tucked inside Inuyasha's arm, as she snuggled into his chest. His free arm was bent and placed under his head, making his own little pillow.

"Hey, Kagome, when you find your bird—Kagome?" he said, looking down and realizing that she had already fallen asleep. His features softened as he gazed at her flawless heart shaped face. 'I'll just let her sleep…' he thought.

- - - -

Kagome's POV

It's funny. I'm out here at a little past eleven at night, alone with a guy, and… I'm not scared. Somehow, Inuyasha makes me feel safe…

Even if I had only met him today.

End POV

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Birds chirped as the early morning sun shined down through the forest's trees, waking the two teens. The first to wake was Kagome, whose eyes slowly opened and adjusted to the unfamiliar light. She got up from her place and blushed as she realized she was in Inuyasha's hold. She slowly removed his arm from its place around her, and stretched.

She shook Inuyasha, making him come awake. He groaned in protest, shielding his eyes from the blinding sun.

"Come on, Inuyasha… it's morning now," Kagome said, still shaking him.

He sighed and reluctantly sat up. "There, I'm awake," he said, sounding grumpy and face looking dull.

Kagome stood up and stretched again, savoring the fresh morning air compared to the stale air in the villa, where she had always stayed in.

Suddenly, a red bird flew down and perched onto her outstretched fingers. Her eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "Ringo!" she exclaimed happily as she smiled and rubbed the bird's feathers against her cheek. It chirped in response.

"So, you got your bird back," Inuyasha said, closing his eyes and stretching.

"Yep!" she exclaimed happily. A larger red bird with brown wings perched onto her shoulder, chirping at Ringo. "Oh? Ringo, did you get a sweetheart while you were out exploring?" Kagome asked.

Ringo tweeted in happiness as Kagome let the male bird perch onto the fingers of her opposite hand. She stretched out her arms, letting the two birds fly away. "Goodbye, Ringo!" she called out as the two birds flew and twirled in circles, slowly becoming only specks in the vast blue sky.

"Why the hell did you do that? Weren't you looking for your bird this whole time?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, but as much as I love her, I have to let her free out of her cage, right?" she smiled. He nodded in understanding.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, before skipping to him. She stood on her tip toes and gave Inuyasha a small kiss on the cheek. His face flamed and turned a pink color. "W-what was that for?" he asked, keeping his hand on the area she kissed it.

"Just something for you," she smiled widely.

You see, Ringo? While you were out flying, I found a sweetheart of my own.

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End. How was it? o.x I don't expect many reviews. XD

-Green FR00TL00PS