A/N: Welcome to "Rory's Great and Terrible Inumvember 2020!" This is my first Inuvember ever and I am so excited to write for it and read everyone's stories! (Where was I last November? Clearly not watching Inuyasha and definitely missing out on this!) I am going to try to post for all the days, except Yashahime, as I have not watched that yet. Although, I do plan on writing a story for Kohaku, but set during the Inuyasha timeline. Without further ado, please enjoy! Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated, so don't worry about sounding harsh!

DAY 1

Inuyasha, Jealousy (Part 1)

Kagome said she'd be back that afternoon, and it was nearly evening. Inuyasha didn't really consider himself to be a patient person, so he had no qualms about traveling through the well and jumping through Kagome's window to get her. She wasn't there. Her room was empty and the light was off. He heard her family, so he left the bedroom and went downstairs.

"Inu-no-nii-chan!" Sōta leapt up from his spot in front of the TV to greet him. "Guess what! I scored the winning goal in my soccer game today!"

"Good job, runt," he said, grinning back at Sōta, "so you beat the other kids?" Soccer was that game where they kicked a ball around, right?

"Yup!"

In the middle of Sōta's play-by-play rehash of his soccer game, Mrs. Higurashi came out of the kitchen, greeting him warmly.

"... I'm afraid Kagome's not here right now, her friends set her up on a date with Hōjō."

And the warm atmosphere, the illusion of belonging, was shattered; in Inuyasha's mind, anyway. Everyone else kept talking the same, acting the same - because they were the same and their acceptance had never been an illusion - but Inuyasha began to panic. Did Kagome prefer this Hōjō guy over him? Going on a date was like courting someone, wasn't it? How serious was she about him? Would Kagome marry this guy and then Inuyasha would no longer be accepted by her family?

He'd heard of Hōjō before, seen him from a distance even. The guy didn't seem like a threat - weak, human, extremely oblivious. What did Hōjō have that he didn't? Could Hōjō hunt, or fight, or protect Kagome? Probably not. But the future was so different from the past. No one had to hunt, or fight, or rescue their friends from psychotic moth yōkai. Hōjō probably knew things like Geometry and English and how to get places on trains. Maybe Hōjō was considered to be an ideal man by girls in the future. If Kagome's home was in the future, what could Inuyasha possibly offer her?

Mama saw the way his ears drooped and the resigned expression on his face. She led him into the kitchen and fixed a cup of ramen for him. When Kagome got home, it was only an hour until dinner time, so Inuyasha was persuaded to stay and wait until the next morning to return to the feudal era. He didn't say much to her, only grumbled that their journey would be delayed because of that stupid Hobo guy.

In the morning, after breakfast, Kagome bid farewell to her family and they leapt through the well, Inuyasha carrying her massive yellow backpack and the bento boxes she had prepared for their group. They began their journey as usual, following a rumor about a jewel shard three days' journey from Kaede's village. Everything went smoothly until later that afternoon.

He saw a whirlwind of dust on the horizon, approaching their group. Inuyasha growled; he hated Kōga, especially when he called Kagome his woman. If only she'd let him, Inuyasha would show that flea-bitten wolf just how much he despised him.

And there he was, slowing down as he approached their group, a bouquet of flowers in his hand, which he presented to Kagome.

"So, how's my woman doing, eh Kagome," he asked, clasping her hands in his, "If you ever get tired of mutt-face, you know where my den is and I'll show ya how a real man should treat ya."

"Uh, that's nice, Kōga," Kagome said, blushing in spite of herself, "but I'm not your woman really, and we still have to collect the jewel shards and defeat Naraku, and what about Ayame?"

"Well, that's entirely up to you, Kagome," he replied suggestively.

"Okay, that's enough!" Inuyasha stepped between them and Kōga dropped her hands as he was pushed away.

"Hey, mutt-face, I wasn't done talking to my woman!"

"She's not yours, you mangy flea-bag, so why don't you stop flirting with her!"

"Why don't you do something about it then," Kōga replied in a low voice, getting in close.

After that, their argument devolved into a shoving match, which ended with Kagome sitting Inuyasha. Kōga took that as his cue to leave, calling back to them, "Make sure you take care of my woman until I get back, mutt-face!"

"Why the hell did you have to sit me," Inuyasha demanded, brushing dirt off of his clothes.

"You two were going to hurt each other!"

"Well that's the whole idea! How else is he going to actually get it through his thick skull that you don't belong to him!"

"I don't think he really means anything by it," Kagome replied, trying to laugh it off.

"Doesn't mean anything by it?! The same guy who kidnapped you and wanted you to marry him, who repeatedly refers to you as his woman doesn't mean anything by it?! Are you just that clueless or do you secretly like him," Inuyasha fired back at her.

Kagome turned red, whether it was with rage or embarrassment, no one could be sure. "I don't secretly like him! And even if I did, what's it to you? You're always running off to Kikyō the second we see her soul collectors, so why do you care so much?!"

"That's different!"

"Is not!"

"Is so!"

After that, they turned their backs on each other and continued the day's journey in silence, both stewing in their thoughts.

'Why do you care so much?!' Her question rang and rebounded inside his head. Why do I care so much? It's not like we even have a chance at a future together. I should just let her go already. But he couldn't. Because, more than anything, he wanted a future with her. After the jewel shards were collected, Naraku defeated, and Kikyō's soul was laid to rest. It wouldn't be fair to her to tell her his intentions before all that, just in case it didn't work out. He didn't want to give her false hope. But, mostly, he was afraid that if he told her, his dream would die right then and there when she rejected him. So he kept his mouth shut.

'Why don't you do something about it then.' The wolf's challenge intruded on his thoughts and he pushed it aside unwilling to give the topic any more thought.