Please, pretty please with swedish fish on top, review!

AN: I don't own the characters. I really wish I did.

Chapter 1: Mom, Can We Keep Him?

Are those dog ears? Kagome's squinted her brown eyes…there, in the middle of a mass of silver hair were a cute pair of puppy ears. Somehow, that made the situation totally different. Kagome was no longer worried for her safety. She jut didn't think someone with ears like that could do her any danger. Kagome continued to look over the guy on top of her. He was about her age and, she found herself trying not to admit, uniquely attractive? Great Kagome…you obviously need to get some if you find yourself turned on by a guy who jumps out of your well and pins you to the ground. The only thing she didn't understand was the clothes he was wearing and the strange necklace. She blinked and her hand reached out unconsciously to stroke those ears. Right before her hand touched them, she snatched it back. I almost caressed his ears – what is wrong with me?

They were at a stalemate. She finally managed to put some words together, "Um, can you get off of me?"

The dog-eared young man growled, showing a nice set of teeth complemented with a pair of fangs, "What did you say to me, wench?"

Kagome was infuriated, "Wench? Who are you calling wench? At least I'm not some sort of costumed freak hanging out in a well!"

Inuyasha, a half demon, possessed an acute set of senses from his paternal demon parentage. From his vantage point, he could easily feel the soft curves of the young woman beneath him. He was lucky that it wasn't mating season, or he might not have been able to restrain himself. He breathed in her sweet scent again and was surprised not to sense any fear from her. As he could see no real threat from the young woman below him, he rolled off to a standing position and loomed over her for a moment before he started walking away.

Kagome scrambled to her feet. He jumps out of a well, lands on top of me and just walks away? I don't think so! She called out after him, "Where do you think you're going? What are you doing on my land?"

The hanyou swirled around and got a good look at who had been underneath him. She was about his age and dressed in some of the most bizarre clothing he had ever seen. He knew that females wore some strange things, but he had never glimpsed this much skin at one time. Her hair was a rich ebony color and was pulled up, with some bits of grass in it from where they had lain. He answered her question, "Keh…your land? Are you some sort of aristocracy?"

Weird question. "No…but you are trespassing."

"What are you going to do about it?" he turned around and kept walking.

So that's how it's going to be? Given the circumstances, she did the best thing she could to get his attention. Kagome ran over and grabbed her bow and arrow, notched an arrow and pointed it at the strange young man. She demanded to know, "Who are you?"

Inuyasha couldn't believe he had fallen for the oldest trick in the book. He had turned his back to a foe and look where it had gotten him. A mortal arrow wouldn't do much, but he admired the determined look in the wench's eye. He answered her question, "My name is Inuyasha."

Inuyasha… Kagome swirled the name around on her tongue. It definitely suited him. She asked, "How did you get here?"

Inuyasha considered the question. He actually had no idea how he had gotten to this strange place. One moment he had been fighting his brother, the next he had fallen down a well and then that smell had hit his nostrils, "I don't know."

"Are you from around here?"

"No."

"Why are you wearing that?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Silence, yet neither of the pair moved.

Kagome had to know, "Are those real?"

Inuyasha didn't have to ask what she was referring to. What made him curious was there wasn't an underlying tone of scorn in her voice. Most people didn't give him the time of day. "Yes, they are."

"How is that possible?"

What kind of idiot was this wench? Even those who live in the most rural regions have seen a hanyou before. Inuyasha had had enough with the questions. He turned around and started walking away. He got into trouble when he wasn't on his own. Since he had been very young, he was used to being alone. That's the way it was and it worked fine for him.

Kagome watched the broadly shouldered young man walk away, and said angrily, "I'm talking to you!"

He heard her pull the bow a little tighter. She wouldn't… She would and she did. Inuyasha, even with his demon senses, seemed to be moving a little bit slower in this strange place. He moved, but not quickly enough. He felt something pierce his shoulder. He growled in pain and went down on the ground. He heard the girl running over to him. He turned around, his eyes flashing red and yelled, "Damn you bitch!'

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't really aiming for you…ok, I was aiming, but I thought you'd move out of the way. Are you ok?"

"Just shut up! I can't think with all your jabbering!"

He calmly removed the arrow that was sticking out of his shoulder. The girl looked like she was going to pass out, but gritted her teeth together and kept it together. Even though it looked like he was okay, she really did feel bad for shooting this guy, "Alright, I don't care who you are. You're coming back to the house with me."

"Keh."

"Is that your answer for everything?"

Kagome and Inuyasha made a comical pair walking back down the path to her house. They walked in silence. Kagome was glad her parents weren't home from work yet. It would've been really difficult explaining the situation. They walked into the house. Immediately, Kagome noticed her silver haired acquaintance sniffing around.

"Can I help you?"

Inuyasha looked up, "What?"

"What exactly are you doing?"

Inuyasha looked down guilty, "Nothing."

In the residence he smelled a lot of interesting things. Foodstuffs he had never tasted, a young male, an older female and definitely more of the Kagome smell.

"Well, let's look at the wound. I'm going to go get the first aid kit."

Kagome was back in under a minute before she sat down in front of him with a box of strange looking and smelling objects. She looked away and swore at herself for blushing as she stammered, "Umm...Inuyasha? You're probably going to have to take off your…jacket?"

Inuyasha grunted, "That's my haori, wench."

"Whatever…but I've got to put something on the cut so it will heal."

"How am I supposed to trust you? You are the one who gave me the cut in the first place!"

He does have a point. What do teenage boys respond to? Kagome had the answer instantly, "If you do this nicely, I will make you something to eat."

His ears perked up. It had been awhile since he had eaten. He said gruffly, "Ok."

The second he felt her delicate fingers start to help him out of his haori, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Her soft hands were sending mixed messages to other parts of his anatomy. He roughly grabbed her hands and shoved them away, "I can do it myself wench. You didn't break my hands."

Inuyasha took off both layers, giving Kagome a good look at his deeply tanned skin and muscles. Kagome wanted to whistle appreciatively, but stopped herself. She stopped her mind from going in the gutter and made herself all business with the medication. When she realized neither of them had spoken for a while, she attempted to make small talk with the stranger in her kitchen. She planned on starting out with smaller questions before getting to the puppy ears on his head. "So, where are your parents? They must be worried about you."

"They're both dead."

Kagome gulped. Great job with the small talk. "I'm sorry—"

"Whatever, it happened a long time ago. I'm over it."

"Do you have any other family?"

"I have a half-brother."

"That's nice."

"I hate him."

This guy is one tough cookie. "Do you go to school around here..?"

"Skool?"

"You know high school…the great institute of higher education?"

"I don't go to skool. I'm a hanyou."

"A what?"

"A half demon."

Kagome almost fell out of her chair. She laughed nervously, "I'm sorry, it sounded like you said you were a a half demon."

"That is what I said wench. Are you deaf?"

At that moment, there was a jingling of keys in the door and Kagome's mother walked in.

Kagome's brown eyes darted around the kitchen the second she heard those keys in the door. A boy she could explain, but the ears were something else. There! A baseball cap. With the door opening, Kagome quickly laid herself over Inuyasha's lap as she reached to grab the Yankees cap, slung it on Inuyasha's head and tried her best to look innocent. Kagome pictured how the scene might look to her mother: her daughter alone in the kitchen with a half naked young man who was bleeding slightly. Not just any young man, Kagome thought to herself, how many guys are running around with long silver hair, dog ears, and claws?

Inuyasha's head was spinning from how fast he saw the wench moving. Everything had happened so fast he didn't even have time to appreciate the fact she had practically presented herself to him. Damn…maybe she's half demon too.

Mrs. Higurashi walked in, eyes down, looking at the mail. She paused, looked up slowly, quickly appraised the situation, and asked her daughter, "And who is your guest?"

Kagome's mind spun. She said the first thing that came to her mind, "Mom, this is Inuyasha."

That apparently wasn't the answer Mrs. Higurashi was looking for.

Kagome realized her mom wasn't buying the situation. Inuyasha could smell the fear rising in Kagome. What does she have to be afraid of?

Kagome had a brilliant idea. She started talking, in what she hoped was her most adult and responsible voice, "Mom, Inuyasha is a foreign exchange student from um, Europe."

If there was one thing Mrs. Higurashi liked, it was foreigners. Especially foreigners with accents. Kagome knew this and was using it to her advantage. Her demeanor immediately changed. She smiled warmly at the stranger, and asked politely, "You look famished. Can I get you anything to eat?"

This was music to Inuyasha's puppy-ears. If he had a tail, he would probably be wagging it. He responded gruffly, "Sure."

Kagome relaxed. She had a few moments to collect her story. She felt ultimately responsible for whatever happened to this guy who had entered her life about an hour ago. She had to figure out a way to convince her mother that he was supposed to be staying with them because she guessed if Inuyasha made it out to the general population he would be locked up in some sort of mental institution. Kagome looked over at her mom, who was whistling, and telling Inuyasha, "How about some ramen noodles, dear? That always makes a good snack."

Inuyasha had never heard of ramen, but at this point anything would do. He shared a look with the young woman who had brought him here. He couldn't really understand the look she was giving him. It was weird, for most of his life, he had had almost no contact with the opposite sex. All the stories he had heard were that women were pure evil and not to be trusted. He cocked his head and looked at this "Kagome" again. She didn't look evil or dangerous. She looked… Whoa boy, let's save those thoughts for another time.

Exactly three minutes later, Mrs. Higurashi was serving Inuyasha a steaming bowl of noodles. He dove in greedily while the women shared a look with each other.

Mrs. Higurashi raised an eyebrow and looked at her daughter, "So, where is Inuyasha from exactly?"

The hanyou in question was scarfing down noodles to quickly to answer. So Kagome answered for him, "He's from Belgium."

"With a name like Inuyasha?" there was disbelief in Mrs. Higurashi's voice.

"It's a family name,"

"Well, dear, who is he staying with?"

"Ummm…well, here's the thing. The family he was supposed to be staying with is getting a divorce."

"Oh no, do I know the family?"

"No…they just moved to town."

"So, how did he end up here? Where is his stuff?"

"Well, the airlines lost his stuff and he wore his pajamas on the flight so that's all he has with him." Kagome looked at her mother pleadingly. She desperately hoped her mother heard her underlying question.

Kagome's mother looked over at her guest, who was still slurping noodles like it was going out of style. Maternal instincts started kicking in; there was definitely some part of Inuyasha that could use some mothering. Mrs. Higurashi sense that there was something painful in his past that had caused him to be the way he was now. She also considered her daughter. Recently, Kagome had been withdrawn and reclusive. There was something about this boy that was drawing out a new side of her. With all these options, it was easy to make a decision.

Mrs. Higurashi said, "Inuyasha, I'd like you to stay with us."

Inuyasha had finished his ramen. He considered his options. He answered, "Keh."

Mrs. Higurashi looked confused. Kagome translated, "As far as I can tell, that means 'yes' in his language."

Kagome's mother smiled, "It's settled then. Inuyasha, there is a room in the barn. It's not much, but it is better than a broken home. As for your clothing, you obviously cannot go to school in your pajamas. You can borrow some of my husband's clothes for tomorrow and after school Kagome will take you to the mall to get uniforms and some spare clothes. I'm sure his family sent him with some money."

At that point Kagome had to choke in a laugh. She was having a difficult time picturing Inuyasha in pressed khakis and an oxford shirt. Inuyasha and Mrs. Higurashi looked at her strangely.

Mrs. Higurashi stood up, "Well, that's settled."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. She had bought herself at least a few days. She turned to go when her mother asked, "Any reason that Inuyasha is bleeding? It wouldn't have anything to do with your archery would it? I've always told you how dangerous it is.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, when Kagome clamped her hand over it. She smiled sweetly and said, "Inuyasha scraped himself at school, we were just rebandaging it. You're ok now, aren't you buddy?"

Inuyasha nodded. He was still reeling from the soft hands on his lips. He had never had contact like that before.

Mrs. Higurashi seemed appeased, she asked her daughter, "Will you please show Inuyasha where he will be staying?"

Kagome was happy to get away from her mom and any more questions that might be asked. She grabbed Inuyasha's arm and his shirt and steered him outside. Once they were in the clear and alone in the spare room, Kagome burst out laughing.

Inuyasha looked at her strangely, "Keh?"

Kagome smiled to herself. Her next task was somehow coming up with a story to enroll Inuyasha at the school. She might have to call up some reinforcements. Miroku came to mind. Although he was a total perv, he was also well connected with the school's leaders. He would probably be able to work things out. Kagome was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she was completely ignoring Inuyasha.

Inuyasha once again studied Kagome. There was something about this place that was very content. For a half-demon who had led a very tiring and demanding life, things were taking an interesting twist. Inuyasha looked appreciatively at Kagome…

"Take a picture, it will last longer."

Inuyasha didn't understand the phrase, but he did sense Kagome was upset with him. He got defensive, "What?"

"Never mind. We have to get working on a back-story for you. We'll say you are the son of a friend of my parents and they wanted you to get a different education for a semester."

Inuyasha had had enough. From the beginning, this crazy girl had treated him like he was just a pup. Maybe this has something to do with going through the well… It was like part of his brain had been foggy and now it was clearing up. He was a fierce hanyou, not some idiot child. He bared his fangs, "Listen wench, I didn't ask you for any favors! You just decided things without even consulting me first!"

Kagome smiled wanly, Finally, a spark in this guy… She had begun to wonder where the guy was who had jumped on top of her in the well, "Well, buddy, I didn't hear you coming up with any explanations!"

"Bitch," Inuyasha said it just loud enough for her to hear it.

"What did you just call me!" Kagome was shocked and at the end of her patience. Sure, she had 'accidentally' shot this guy, but she had also done everything in her power to make sure he was ok. Even having adorable ears wasn't going to get him out of this one… She exploded, and got right in his face, "Listen dude, ok, I shot you and that was a bad thing, but if you were on your own out there you would already be on your way to some sort of mental institution or military base for testing. In case you hadn't realized it, people here don't have dog ears or wear pajamas like every day clothing. People also have manners here and calling me bitch isn't the way to get on my good side."

They were staring each other down. Inuyasha's subconscious was warring within himself, he was always the dominant one, the alpha male and here was someone threatening his dominance, and a female at that. Still, since entering this world, he hadn't smelled anything remotely resembling a demon, half or full. It was a strange world to be sure and one he didn't belong to. You have an ally here…it's better to stay where there is safety. His intuition was strong and it told him to stay put. However, he would be damned if he was going to apologize to this girl. She was tapping her foot, obviously waiting for an answer. Impatient girl that she was, Kagome eventually gave up waiting, turned on her heel and left a bewildered Inuyasha staring after her.

Women... Some of those things he had heard about women were starting to make sense.

Kagome was nervous as she drove to school the next day. It had been difficult for her to get any sleep last night…she tried to tell herself that it was due to how things would go over at St. Joe's…but knew it was really because a big part of her was curious to go down to the barn and get to know Inuyasha a little better. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Inuyasha sniffed and picked up on some strange and wonderful scent coming from Kagome. It almost made riding in this devil machine easier. Or wearing these strange clothes…Inuyasha longed for the easy movement and protection his fire rat haori provided. He also wasn't too sure about the "boxer briefs" he had been told to wear under this entire getup.

Kagome looked back at Inuyasha and told herself to focus. He looked literally, like a little kid on his first day of school. A really big kid… Inuyasha was about 3 inches taller and easily that wider in the shoulders than her father. His pants were riding above his ankles and the shirt made him look like the Hulk. He was still wearing the Yankees baseball cap. Going shopping this afternoon was going to be a blast. Kagome would of course get the requisite school uniform for her guest, but then she was going to take him to her favorite thrift store. She pictured him in cords, dark jeans and a lot of white T-shirts…to set off his hair.

Kagome, don't get ahead of yourself…first we have to survive a day at High School…

Kagome pulled up into her assigned spot and looked around for Miroku. She had called him the night before and managed to sweet talk her way into a meeting with him before school. Kagome almost jumped out of her skin when there was a knock at her window.

"Sweets for a sweet?"

Kagome rolled her eyes as she got out of her car. There wasn't anything Miroku wouldn't try and do to get down the pants of any girl he ran across. He was holding a box of donuts in his hand. Kagome's favorite…Krispy Kreme.

"Not this morning. Sorry."

Inuyasha sniffed and picked up on Kagome's indifference and her hunger. Not that he cared…but he was glad she hadn't chosen this hentai as her mate. He was also amazed that whatever was in that box could elicit such a response out of her. Maybe there was some sort of poison in those things.

"So what's up?" seeing that Kagome wasn't interested in the donuts, Miroku began tearing into them.

"Well…I met this guy yesterday. I'm not sure where he's from or anything, but I had to do something fast, so I convinced my mom that he was an exchange student at our school."

Miroku seemed to be considering the situation and how he could best make it work to his advantage, "Well, let me take a look at him."

Kagome leaned in the car, and said softly, "Inuyasha? It's time to get out."

"Keh," Inuyasha said as he got out of the car and stretched. Kagome did her best not to drool all over her uniform. It's just stretching Kagome, pull yourself together!

Miroku inspected Inuyasha. Dorky clothes aside, this guy will have the girls flocking to him! He can be my wingman any day. Out loud he said, "Alright. I'll pretend he's my foreign cousin or something. Just lend him to me for the morning and I'll make sure all the beaurcaracy gets figured out."

Kagome twisted her hands nervously. She wasn't too keen on letting Inuyasha spend a lot of time with Miroku, but she also knew it was the only way.

Miroku said, "There's just one thing…" He made a move to take off Inuyasha's Yankee's cap.

Kagome jumped in between them, "He, um, has to wear it for religious purposes."

"Why not a yamaka?"

"He um, has to keep his head covered at all times and from what I can tell the airline lost all of his things. This hat is all I could find. He's very attached to it."

Kagome batted her long eyelashes at Miroku and held her breath. Miroku said, "Alright, but it won't make things any easier. You owe me…"

Inuyasha had had enough of this. He didn't want anyone doing favors on his behalf. He growled at Miroku, "Listen, Kagome doesn't owe you squat. It's me that's going to have to return the favor."

"Understood."

Kagome looked at the two of them and smiled, glad to see they had cleared things up She said, "I'll see the two of you at lunch. You know where to find me of you need anything."

She walked off in the direction of the school, aware that two sets of eyes were a little too focused on her short uniform skirt. As soon as Kagome was a distance away, Miroku started quizzing Inuyasha.

"How'd you end up on Kagome's good side?"

"What?"

"Half the male population of this school wants to get with her and here you are just riding along. Where have you been hiding?"

Kagome had briefly quizzed Inuyasha in the car this morning. She told him to be as honest as possible, but to also give out as little information as possible. She was very confusing.

"Umm…in a well?"

Miroku scratched his head, and instead of asking more questions, started filling Inuyasha in on the finer points of St. Joe's Academy, "So, I don't know what it was like where you were before, but St. Joe's a pretty privileged place. Of course you've still got your jock, your cheerleaders, your popular kids and your dorks, but at least here you have to be kind of smart."

They walked through the doors of the school and Inuyasha's poor nose was overwhelmed by smells: cologne, perfume, and lotions. It also seemed that everyone was about Kagome and Miroku's age. The smells were doing interesting things with his anatomy, especially when he scented a number of girls who were in heat. They didn't smell as good as Kagome…but still it was an intoxicating smell all the same. As they walked down the hall, the "new guy" was causing quite a stir. Unlike in his time, girls from this period were not shy at all and Inuyasha felt like a piece of meat by the time they reached the office. He also had flushed red as Miroku had given him a detailed commentary and history on what seemed like every girl they passed.

Miroku leaned in and whispered to Inuyasha, "This is where you need to let me do the talking. The girl behind the desk is my beloved Sango," he turned to the attractive girl sitting behind the desk. She was a student. Beloved she may be, she was however, scowling deeply at Miroku.

"What do you want?"

"Is that any way to treat a man desperately in love with you?"

"I don't see any men here."

Inuyasha held back a smile. This girl had some quick wits.

"I have a favor to ask…"

As Miroku launched into his carefully constructed spiel, Inuyasha caught a whiff of what he thought was Kagome. He followed his nose outside right up to a girl who looked like Kagome, only the smell was off just a little bit. The girl caught him looking at her.

"Hello handsome."

Inuyasha asked, "What's your name?"

"Kikyo."

Kikyo… It wasn't quite as melodious as Kagome, but it still had a nice ring to it. Kikyo's scent was just a little spicier than Kagome's. Kagome was walking with her friends when she saw Inuyasha at Kikyo's locker. Inuyasha spun around as he scented Kagome. He sensed an underlying tension between her and the girl who looked so much like her. She stopped.

"Kikyo…"

"Kagome…"

Inuyasha was seriously confused. These girls looked so much alike. Kagome saw the confusion on her silver haired friend's face.

"Kikyo is my cousin. Our mothers were twin sisters, which is why we look so much alike."

Inuyasha heard the slight emphasis on "look."

"Well, I think it's been to long since I've been out to the farm to see you all. I'll have to come by and sit down to a proper dinner with my aunt and cousins and new friend."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I'll bet."

Kikyo tossed her long black hair and purred as she walked away, "If you need someone to show you around, Inuyasha, don't hesitate to ask. I know all the ins and outs around here."

"Keh."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief at his indifference. Anyone within hearing distance had heard Kikyo's double entendre. At that moment, Miroku poked his head out the office door and whispered, "Inuyasha – get back in here!"

Inuyasha locked his golden eyes on Kagome's brown ones and then walked casually into the office. Kagome realized as she walked away with her friends that he heart was beating very fast. This was something she had never felt before. At that moment too, Kagome's girlfriends descended upon her and began drilling her all about her new "friend."

Eri asked, "Where have you been hiding him?"

Kagome, "Um, we just kind of met yesterday."

Ayumi giggled, "I would have hid him a little while longer."

Yuka nodded, "No kidding. Looks like Kikyo's got her next conquest in mind."

Kagome frowned, "I'll see you guys at lunch."

She walked off, wondering why she hadn't taken more time to plan things out. It's not like I have any claim to him…

By some minor miracle, Miroku had managed to convince the lovely Sango to put Inuyasha in the system. At St. Joe's, there was always some exchange student or relative dropping in for a semester. The tuition was steep enough that administrators would usually rather keep the parents happy than ask questions and so just looked over the red tape. As the pair walked out of the office, Miroku exclaimed, "Mission accomplished!"

Inuyasha followed Miroku during the morning. "Classes" were interesting…but he was more curious about the interaction between the sexes. It was all below the surface. Inuyasha didn't know much about the mating rules of youkai, but it usually just involved marking one's intended mate with a bite of some kind. He was pretty sure there wasn't this much talking involved. He was also curious why he hadn't caught so much of a whiff of any other demons. What strange place was this? Had humans really taken control?

Finally, it was time for lunch. They turned the corner and found Kagome at her locker. She was talking to someone. A tall someone. Inuyasha could smell his interest from down the hall. He was somewhat relieved he didn't smell the same from Kagome.

Kagome was smiling up at him, "Thanks Hojo, I'll think about it."

"Catch you later, Kags."

Hojo winked at her as he walked away.

Inuyasha growled, "Who was that?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, "No one."

Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome made their way to the lunch room. They were an interesting trio for sure. Kagome had already let her friends know that she was going to have to "babysit" her new friend for lunch. She had hoped she had made it sound like she would rather be doing anything else. As they sat down for lunch, Inuyasha was sniffing everything intently. Where was the raw meat? The rabbits or fish?

"It's called pizza, Inuyasha."

Miroku looked confused, "How has he not heard of pizza before?"

At that moment the lunch room became very quiet. A large guy was walking in. He was over 6 feet tall with long brown hair. He defined the word "menacing."

Inuyasha sniffed, he wasn't a demon. Why was everyone so scared? He asked, "Who's that?"

Kagome said quietly, "That's Naraku. He's the Captain of the football team and pretty much runs the school. Even the teachers are scared of him."

"Keh."

Naraku was flanked by a pale girl and another girl.

Kagome continued, "That's Kagura and Kanna. We're not sure why he hangs out with them. It's kind of a creepy situation."