Auburn Strands and Red Threads #1

"What's on your mind, Orihime?"

Grey eyes blinked, turning to a petite, dark-haired girl. Orihime blinked again, eyes diverting for a moment to look at Chizuru then back. Tatsuki looked at the auburn with mild curiosity, tempted to voice another concern. The three had been walking home from school, and if either one had talked to her this whole time, Orihime had not taken notice.

Finally, she shook herself slightly and gave a faint smile. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't said anything since we left," Tatsuki said. "Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, well, yes," she giggled softly. "I was just thinking about what we learned in class today."

"Arithmetic?" Chizuru asked.

"Do you need me to tutor you?" Tatsuki inquired.

"No, no, no." Orihime waved her hand in the air. "I mean about the thread."

Her friends looked at each other questioningly.

"You mean The Red String of Fate?" Tatsuki clarified, skeptical.

"Yeah..." Orihime allowed her face to fall as the topic came back into her mind.

"Why do you look so troubled over a myth?"

"Well," she began, "if we're all bound to our soul mates by an invisible red thread, it just makes me wonder why not everyone seems to find the person who's meant for them."

"Orihime," Tatsuki sighed playfully, "it's just a myth."

"Don't believe her, Orihime!" Chizuru yelled.

Tatsuki flinched, defensive. "The hell?"

"I believe The Red String of Fate merely connects us to our soul mate, Orihime." She looked off into the distance solemnly. "Unfortunately, I think it's only luck that people find who they're truly supposed to be with because it's just a string. If it were...a rubber band or something, then there would at least be a force pulling two people closer together. Who knows who we could be bound to but are never able to meet. It could be someone across the country—maybe even across the world!" Chizuru looked at her auburn haired friend. "Or maybe in another lifetime."

Tatsuki snorted indignantly. "How the hell is your soul mate in another lifetime?"

"Hey! I didn't make up the rules!"

"You sure as hell don't know them either."

The two commenced a back and forth debate of logic and internal beliefs, leaving Orihime alone with her thoughts again.

Who was she bound to, and did she ever have a chance at finding that person? She did have a slimmer of hope that she had already met her soul mate—preferably, a boy with carrot-top hair. However, there were many people in the world, so was it possible or even likely that she was destined to be with Ichigo? Would he be okay if he was bound to her in some way?

What if he hoped to be with someone else?

Someone who was the complete opposite of her...

She couldn't see herself being happy with anyone else, but if she wasn't meant for him...then who?

Two Weeks Later

She was told many times to not take the short cut through the small wooded area.

This had to be an exception, though.

She had to get home quickly because it was getting late, and Ichigo was supposed to stop by her apartment. He had dropped his bag, books, and uniform jacket when he went into his Soul Reaper form a few days ago, and since Kon wasn't around, she took it upon herself to gather his things and put his body against a tree. She hoped it would look like he was sleeping.

It hadn't dawned on her to put his things next to his body until she was already home.

There was no use arguing about her lack of logic now because, the fact of the matter was, she had his things, and he needed them.

She ran through the mini forest, occasionally stumbling over roots and rocks. She did not think herself a clumsy person, but, rather, the world was trying to shift itself so she wouldn't fall or stumble; however, it failed to time its shifting accurately because she was such an unpredictable human.

She was crossing through a clearing so densely packed with branches and leaves overhead and foliage on the ground when the world began to rumble and spasm under her feet. She stopped, trying to regain her balance, and looked around. She saw nothing yet felt a surge of immense power.

"Wind Scar!"

A blast of air blew in her direction, lifting her up and throwing her against a tree. She screamed, hitting the ground with a thud. The impact rattled her nerves, but she felt little pain from her ordeal. She struggled to get to her hands and knees, willing her heart to calm down, and looked up. She saw some type of monster more than one hundred yards away backing up in her direction; it was a large, dark green bull-like creature that was snarling like a vicious dog.

She pushed herself up to her knees, large, grey eyes marveling at the creature; she's never seen a Hollow like this before. More puzzling than that, she hadn't even sensed it. The immense power she felt earlier was not coming from the Hollow, yet she felt no trace of energy coming from it still.

But how?

How was it possible that something so huge could not be putting off any spiritual pressure? Even if it had hidden its spiritual pressure until now, she still felt nothing from it.

The Hollow stood on its hind legs then slammed them down on the ground. A deafening shock wave uprooted most of the trees and drowned out her screams. Orihime struggled to keep her balance from her position on the ground while avoiding being crushed by falling branches and towering pieces of jagged bark. She looked back at the monster and saw a red blur jump in the air.

"Hand over the Jewel Shard!" an undeniably male voice demanded.

The Hollow growled. "Foolish boy, I shall become all powerful!"

"Yeah, I've heard that before."

The blur yelled, and a gust of bright, piercing wind came down on the Hollow.

Orihime shielded her eyes from the attack and braced herself against the onslaught of air. Screeching louder and more grotesque than anything she's ever heard came from the Hollow as the attack threatened to knock her over as well.

She peeked through her eyelashes and saw that the Hollow was split down the middle, lying lifeless on the ground; it was spewing green-black blood that reeked of rotting garbage and flesh. The red blur landed in the middle of the dead Hollow and started looking through its insides. Orihime watched in a confused state of numbness. She didn't know whether or not this was the sign of a cold-blooded killer or a person who did not care much for personal hygiene.

"Gotcha!" the figure exclaimed, bending down to dig through the carcass. He stood up, tucking something in his cloak before walking away from the scene.

Orihime watched as the figure almost faded from her view, but she desperately wanted to know why something like that happened. Wasn't it Rukia and Ichigo's job to defend Karakura Town? Or, probably, there were more protectors than she thought.

Protectors...that were more unrefined from the other Soul Reapers.

She pulled herself up, but she noticed something strange beginning to happen. The two halves of the Hollow began to shake and slither upright, fusing together. The Hollow shook its body, stomping its feet to build up its momentum.

It charged at the cloaked person. "That is mine, half-demon!"

"Tck! Persistent wretch!" The figure turned around, hand on his sheathed sword, but one of the Hollow's horns plunged through his stomach. He yelled, blood filling his throat.

The Hollow shook its head from side-to-side with the figure still on his horns. "I may not be able to live long without the shard, but at least I will take you with me!"

"D-Damn you!" He touched his wound. "Blades of Blood!" Red blades came from his hand and cut the Hollow into multiple places.

It screeched, falling to the ground one chunk after another. "Curse you half-bloods!" The pieces of the Hollow dissolved into goo-like substances, sizzling and steaming.

Orihime maintained her place on the ground, staring blankly at the scene before her.

Again...what had happened?

The Hollow was dead, and then it came back and...died again?

What had she missed? This wasn't how her day normally went, so where had things gone awry?

She got to her feet and looked at the piles of goo. It registered in her mind that this was the aftermath of the battle. The goo was once a bull-like Hollow that snarled like a dog and talked like a man under water. She looked around some more, searching; someone was hurt, she understood that much. She ran over to the horrible smelling piles and hesitantly looked around.

"Ah!" She spotted the red cloaked figure lying face down under a thin layer of goo with a gaping, horribly bleeding hole going through his torso. She stared in shock, unable to accept how she was looking at the ground with no interruption of a spine, at least. "Sh-Shun'ō! Ayame!"

She saw the bright, luminous ribbons and felt the wisps of air as the two of them appeared in front of her.

"Hiya, Orihime!" Shun'ō chimed. He sniffed the air, his face scrunching, both hands rushing to cover his nose. "What is that horrible smell?!"

She pointed to the figure on the ground. "Someone's been hurt!"

Shun'o jerked back once he saw the figure. "What happened to him?"

"A Hollow! It was huge and rammed through him, and it-!"

"Rammed through?!" Shun'ō held onto his own stomach. "Why did you just call us here and not get straight to healing him?!"

"Eh..." Her main reason, one she thought against saying out loud, was because she couldn't face looking at such a horrific sight on her own. "B-because I was afraid that if we heal him with the goo still on him, it'll get inside."

Shun'ō was going to dispute that idea, but then began to ponder on it. He glanced in the direction of the figure absentmindedly, suddenly jerking forward. "Ayame! Don't go near him! You'll get that disgusting goop on you!"

Ayame ignored him and inched closer to the unconscious being. She examined him then looked back at her comrades, pointing at his wound.

"What?" Shun'ō asked, reluctantly getting closer to the body. "Hm? Oh!" He turned. "Orihime, I think this smelly stuff is keeping his wounds from bleeding."

She smiled, albeit sickened by the concept. "That's great!"

"Well...not exactly. If we don't get him cleaned up, then he'll get an infection for sure." He glanced at the figure, closed his eyes, and looked back at the auburn girl. "Yes, we'll be able to heal him, but if he dies before then, we may not be able to save him before his body becomes too decomposed to revive. I fear you're not that strong yet, and this goop is already eating away at his insides."

"I-I thought it was helping him."

"I didn't mean to make you think that way. Yes, the bleeding is being halted, but not without a cost."

She flailed her arms, panicked. "We need to get him to my apartment! But...how do I get him there?"

The three looked at each other.

o0o0o

"Thank you so much, Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily," Orihime addressed brightly. She had them use their powers to act like a transporting table. Initially, flipping him over was a problem; no matter how gently they moved him, his organs seemed ready to fall out. As a last resort, she had the three crawl under him before using their powers in the way she intended.

"No problem, Orihime-chan," Lily beamed. "But you know-" She stopped abruptly and began to giggle to herself.

"What's funny?" Orihime asked.

"Nothing, nothing!" she squealed. "What exactly are you going to do when you get him to your house?"

"Well...I have to clean him up, of course."

She giggled again. "And why is that?"

"So...the gooey stuff doesn't get trapped inside him when we heal him."

"That's what I thought!" She exploded into laughter again.

"Lily, I don't get what you think is funny," she admitted.

"It's nothing, I promise."

Orihime doubted that; Lily could hardly keep her tone remotely convincing. Someone's life was in danger, and laughing wasn't going to make it better. Well...not laughing wouldn't make a difference either...

"So, are you going to give him a bath or something?"

Orihime jumped at the suggestion. "Eh?! No! Well...I didn't really think about it. Um..."

She bowed her head, messing with her fingertips as she thought. Did she not say she had to get him cleaned? Yes, certainly she did, and she meant it, but she had not given any thought into how she meant to do that. Despite what Lily suggested, that left his exposed organs. How could she begin to clean those and not have him bleed out before she could heal him? How could she clean him and not have them fall out? Her brows furrowed and her heart began to beat faster.

Maybe this was a job she shouldn't have taken on solely by herself. What could she possibly expect to do for this stranger?

She looked up. "Ah! We're here!"

They hurried up the stairs to her door and used her key to let them in. When inside, they set the boy on her sofa, taking a risky chance at flipping him on his back. Lily turned into her fairy form while Baigon and Hinagiku went back to Orihime's hairpins; the auburn knelt next to the figure.

"Boy, he smells awful." Lily gagged, appearing to the left of her head.

"Doesn't he?!" Shun'ō agreed, he and Ayame appearing to the right of her head.

Orihime looked down at him, eyeing his wound. No time to worry about the smell. She hesitantly took hold of his shihakushō; it was slimy and thick with the goo.

Lily began to chuckle.

Orihime looked at her, cheeks flaming hot. "Don't laugh! I have to do this."

"Yeah, yeah!" she snickered, covering her mouth. "Don't mind me."

Orihime gulped. She looked back at the task at hand and pulled the material apart. The hole through his chest looked worse than she thought and the green slime was everywhere, thoroughly covering inside the wound as well as outside,

"Oh...my," Orihime awed.

"She actually did it!" Lily burst into laughter.

"What's so funny, Lily?!" Orihime looked at her desperately, her cheeks surely a dark pink.

"What you're doing is funny!" She doubled over, laughing wildly. "I don't know where you got it in your head that you needed to clean him up! A-Ayame and Shun'ō's ability would ha-have just- would have just returned him to the state he was originally in! Y-you didn't have t-t-t-to go and strip him!" She was rolling in the air. "But you did! You actually did!"

Orihime sat up straight, hands floating in mid-air.

She knew all along! Lily knew what she was doing was unnecessary, but said nothing! No wonder she found this hilarious.

"Are you serious?" Shun'ō asked, hands wildly flailing.

Lily forced herself to calm down. "That's so sad, Shun'ō." She wiped tears from her eyes. "I know more about your powers than you do."

"I wasn't the only one!" He turned. "You were in the dark, too, weren't you, Ayame?"

She stared at him blankly.

"What?! You knew?!"

She nodded.

"Why didn't you say something? We're in this together, aren't we?"

She looked to the side, eyes indifferent.

"Ayame!" he whined.

Lily began her laughing fit all over again. "Th-this is too much! If I stay any longer, you all are going to kill me!" She returned to Orihime's hairpins, unnoticed by the other two.

"U-Um," Orihime timidly interrupted, "I'd hate to sound like a burden...but we really need to heal him."

Shun'ō turned to her, dejected. "Anytime you're ready." He looked at Ayame. "Ready?"

She nodded.

Orihime cleared her throat. "Shun'ō. Ayame. Sōten Kisshun, I reject!"

Immediately, they formed a transparent yellow dome around the figure. The bone and organs connected in ways that twisted her stomach, and the pace at which he was recovering was surprisingly fast. Within a little over a minute, the boy was healed and the goo that once covered him was completely gone; his shihakushō was repaired as well. Now that he was cleaned up, he looked to be around her age, but she couldn't be certain.

"Wow," she said when the two reverted back to their fairy forms. They looked exhausted, which was something she's never seen before. "You guys are getting faster at this."

"That wasn't all us, Orihime," Shun'ō said, perplexed by the occurrence. "He was healing on his own before we even got started."

"Healing on his own?" she repeated. "From a wound like that?"

"Yeah, and that's not all..." His eyes drooped, and he almost fell out of the air; Ayame was the same.

"Are you guys okay?" She held her hands out to them (hands she vaguely noted were clean) and they gladly fell.

"There's something weird about his aura, Orihime," Shun'ō panted. "I sense something similar to a Hollow, but it's darker than that."

"Similar...to a Hollow?"

"Pardon us," he all but slurred. Both he and Ayame returned to her hairpins.

She looked at the boy on her sofa and really took in his features. She's never seen him in the Soul Society before, and he looked completely different from any Soul Reaper she's seen. First off, his shihakushō was red. She's never seen anyone wear anything other than black, and she's sure she would have spotted him easily if he were in the Soul Society the few times she's been there.

Maybe he was new?

She looked down at his feet and saw he wasn't wearing any socks or shoes. That was definitely not protocol. Then again, she hadn't been to the Soul Society in so long—not since they saved Rukia. Who knows what else could have changed.

Her eyes wandered to his sheathed sword, but this was more confusing than the two previous oddities. The sword she saw now was very thin and straight; the one she saw him use in battle was wide, curved, and thick. He hadn't released his bankai, so how was his blade able to transform? If she thought back on his battle, how was he able to make blades from his own blood?

What was the Soul Society teaching these days?

Her eyes fell on his hands and then to his toes and back. His fingernails and toenails looked more like claws. His entire appearance clashed with the whole style and unity of the Soul Society. Each person may vary within themselves, but they had a sort of methodical and sophisticated look about them.

Everything was in order.

This boy was the opposite. Everything about him screamed he was...wild and untamed. Even his hair was wild. She's never seen hair so silver, so animal like. Even Kenpachi-san's hair wasn't this...this... outrageous!

She stopped herself, feeling ashamed. She should not think poorly of this boy. Weird or not, he is part of the Soul Society.

So...what now? Does she tell someone what happened? This had to be something to report. She could always go to Ichigo and Rukia, maybe even Uryuu, but...then what?

She stared at the boy as he slept—hopefully he was sleeping. He had a scowl on his face, kind of like Ichigo, but then again, it was nothing like him. He was quite-

Orihime froze, intrigued. She stared at the things on top of his head. They looked like...ears. Ears? Dog ears?

"Cosplay?" she mumbled. "They do that in the Soul Society?" She snapped her fingers in realization. "Maybe it's a new training tactic! This way subordinates learn to listen to their captains! 'Attack!' they'd say and they will charge! 'Fetch!' and they'd retrieve who knows what beyond enemy lines. And to stay hidden I bet they say...'Play dead' or 'Heel' or...or 'Sit!'"

The ears twitched.

She stared at them, breath caught. How could they move like that? How could fake ears move so realistically? She leaned towards him. "S-sit."

They twitched again.

She jumped back, astonished. They were so life-like. Who came up with these? Captain Mayuri? Could he have surgically...?

No, no, no. There's no way he could get away with doing that to all the new recruits. She stared intently at these fascinating specimens. She wondered if they would...feel real.

She sat up straight, inspecting the room. A little touch wouldn't hurt. She leaned towards him again, fingers extended, itching to touch them, heart pounding.

As if to stop her, the doorbell rang. She squeaked, bolting to a standing position. At first, she truly thought someone had caught her; her face was hot, and she wasn't sure why. She wasn't doing anything bad...

The doorbell rang again.

She turned on her heels and went to the door, opening it by a crack. "Ah! K-Kurosaki-kun!"

The carrot-top stared for a few seconds, waiting for her to open the door completely, but realized that probably wasn't going to happen. "Hey, Orihime."

"I, um, I forgot you were coming over." She looked away nervously but forced herself to look back up at him. She felt like she was trying to hide something. Didn't she need help in some way not too long ago?

"Is everything alright?" he asked, eyeing her.

"Y-yes." She didn't want help anymore. Instead, she tried her luck with a convincing smile. "Y-you came to get your things, right?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Alright! Stay here!"

She closed the door and looked around. Where did she put his things? She ran to her room, looking in the closet, under her bed, and even in her dresser. She then ran to the bathroom, looking in cabinets and in the shower. More than once, she had to briefly stop herself to think properly. She ran into the hall, allowing her mind to race. Her apartment wasn't that big so where...?

"Oh! That's right!" She ran into the kitchen and opened the oven. She pulled out his hand bag and jacket and hurried to the door. "Here you go!" she said, handing him his things through the cracked space.

"Thanks..." He stared at his belongings longer than he intended before he took them. He knew she had weird tendencies, so this didn't bother him much; however, she was the one who reminded him of his forgotten things and, rather than bringing them to school, had strongly implied that he pick them up before then. He figured she must have wanted him over for some reason...but now she's acting like this. "Is something going on?"

"No," she said immediately. "You know me," She forcefully laughed. "Just, uh, just...uh...me!"

"Yeah, I guess." He didn't understand what that was supposed to mean at all. Maybe he had looked into her meaning too much. "Well, thanks, Inoue. See you tomorrow."

"Yes! Bye, Kurosaki-kun!" She closed the door and pressed her back against it. She felt tense and her heart was beating in her ears. She also noted how dark it was getting and worried if she should have walked back down with him.

Looking over at the figure on her sofa, her face burned brightly. What if Ichigo had seen him? It's not like she didn't have a reason for him to be here, but what would he think?

Orihime shook her head and exhaled. That was not the most important thing to think about. No, the most important thing was to make sure this boy was okay and hopefully get him back to where he needed to be. How long would he be asleep, though? Usually, people woke up right after she's healed them, so why was he still sleeping?

She tiptoed over, looking down at the boy from a distance. With a scowl like that, could he really be sleeping?

Sitting on her legs, she took to staring at him, wondering when he joined the Soul Society and why he was dressed so different. Maybe she should have asked Ichigo for help after all because she had no idea what she should do next. She couldn't just let him stay like this, could she? He wasn't waking up. Maybe she could still catch up with Ichigo if-

"Nn..."

Orihime held her breath again; her eyes were wide with anticipation, hoping the boy would make another sound, but it didn't look like much more was going to happen.

"Does this mean you're okay?" she whispered to him.

Of course, he said nothing.

She scooted closer to him, slowly extended her hand so she could poke his cheek. Surprisingly, it was a lot smoother and softer than she thought. She eyed his silver hair and cautiously stroked it and was amazed by the feel of it. She couldn't make herself stop.

It felt like fluffy dog fur, but if she closed her eyes, she knew it didn't belong to an animal. She had always wanted a dog, though.

"I would have called him Inu-kun," she said absentmindedly as she thought of all the stray dogs she'd occasionally stop to talk to on the way home. She decided not to get a dog now since she didn't want a helpless animal getting hurt by a Hollow—or worse.

Subtly, he began to stir.

He had been vaguely aware that something was touching him, but he put it out of his mind because it was soothing. It reminded him of his mother and how she would stroke his head when he was sad, but the touch he felt at this very moment was too far away—just like the memory.

"...Inu-kun..."

His ears twitched.

Had someone called him? Why would someone call him by a name such as that? When he was little, he imagined other children calling him that—maybe to invite him to play or come eat a snack with them–

"Inu-kun, let's play with your ball."

"Inuyasha, please come to the river with us."

–but that never happened, and he gave up on that ideal many, many years ago. Yet, he was sure someone had just called his name.

Why wasn't he certain?

And why was everything dark?

His body felt heavy, and his mind was drowsy, but he couldn't fathom why.

He took a few moments to ponder over it—mainly so he could enjoy the distant memory of a comforting touch—when his senses started to become more aware. There was a smell in the air that he wasn't familiar with, and it was all around him. It was fragrant like a flower, but made him think of a fruit. Peaches maybe? Possibly apples. Was it possible it could be both? He started to believe it was both. Kagome smelled like apples, but not like this... So, when did she start smelling different? How could he find her if she decided to change her scent? She should be lucky that he was here to notice it now, otherwise...

Wait. How could she be here next to him when he just got here?

Wait... No... No, he didn't.

He arrived in her world after he followed that demon, so this scent couldn't be coming from her. This scent was like Kagome's but was definitely not her.

He had to get back to her.

As much as he didn't want to leave the comforting sensation, he willed himself to get out of this heavy fog.

Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes—surprised by how difficult it was for him—and was certain he was not in a place he knew. The walls were bright like Kagome's room, but her room was pink and these were yellow, maybe orange, and pale. He suddenly became aware that someone was next to him.

Slowly, he turned his head to the side, starting to really feel the effects of his sluggish fatigue.

He didn't understand what, or rather who, he was looking at.

It was an orange-haired girl with bangs clipped to the side with some kind of fancy hair ornament. She was seated next to him with her knees up and one arm wrapped around them. She had her chin resting on her knees, and she was looking down, concentrating on something or perhaps nothing at all. He was now aware that she was the one who caused those memories of his mother because she was running her fingers through his hair.

He frowned.

Who the hell was she, and what the hell did she think she was doing?

"Who are you?"

Orihime looked up, alarmed, eyes locking with golden ones that took her breath away. Never had she seen an eye color such as his, and they were looking at her so fiercely.

"Um..." She looked at the hand still in his hair and snatched it away. "Sorry!" she said as she wrapped it around her legs. "I-I didn't mean to wake you. Well, I'm glad you did because I didn't know what to do since you were sleeping even after the hole in your stomach was gone, and-"

"Hole?" The boy pulled back his clothing to look at his body.

Orihime quickly buried her face in her knees as heat rushed to her cheeks. "You were hurt in battle, and I... I healed you. I hope that's okay."

Inuyasha stared at his bare torso for a while and tried to make sense of things.

He had gotten hurt?

When?

He didn't remember something like that hap- Oh wait. Yes, he did remember! He had been pondering over an argument he and Kagome had a week ago (she hadn't been back since, so he figured he had to get her eventually), when a demon made itself known. Naturally, he followed it, and, naturally, it attacked him.

Then the bastard rammed its horn through his body.

He remembered that, so how was it possible that the hole wasn't there? She claimed it happened as well, so where was it? Had he been unconscious so long that it had healed to such an extent?

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Um," the girl said with her head down, "about fifteen minutes."

Fifteen minutes?! He remembered Kagome saying the time it took him to run through the forest to a tree with heart shaped leaves and back was about fifteen minutes, and that was no time at all! There was no way that could be true.

He sat up expecting pain to shoot through him, but at worst, he only felt soreness in his shoulders from waving the Tetsaiga around, and even that pain was duller than usual.

"What did you do to me?" he asked, suspicious. The girl peeked up at him. She had huge grey eyes. He's never seen an eye color quite like that.

"I healed you," she said again. "Um...I dunno if you learned that certain people can do that in the Soul Society...but I just returned you to how you were before the accident happened."

"What are you talking about?" What the hell was the Soul Society? For that matter, what the hell was she? She smelled like a human, but there was something about her that hinted she had some type of ability. "You know what? Never mind."

He stood and the weird girl clumsily stood as well, taking a few steps back.

Orihime now felt intimidated by the boy once he got to his feet. Not only was he about four inches taller than her, but he stood with so much confidence. He definitely appeared to have a normal scowl like Ichigo.

He looked around the room and sniffed a couple of times. If he was on edge, she surely could not tell.

"Where is this place?" he asked; she wasn't sure if it was to her or himself.

"K...Karakura Town," she answered anyway.

He gave her a weird look and slowly began to walk around her apartment. She followed him with her eyes wherever he went; he seemed to be intrigued with her abode, but that was silly. It was nothing special.

"Kara...kura?" he said questioningly. He turned to her; he didn't have time to truly understand any of this, it seemed. "Do you know how to get to Kagome's house?"

"Kagome?" Orihime raked her brain to see if she knew anyone by that name. "What does she look like?"

"About this tall." He raised his hand to the top of her head. "Black hair. Always wears one of those," he pointed to her skirt, "and a white shirt with some green here and here." He pointed to his collar and sleeves. "Heard of her?"

Orihime stopped to think. She was sure she didn't know anyone by that name, but the description of her outfit made her think she attended one of the schools on the other side of town. Way on the other side of town.

"Well, the name doesn't sound familiar, but I think I know the school she attends, if that helps."

He figured that would be better than nothing. He didn't want to be in this house any longer with such a strange girl. She seemed nice and all, but if she was going to be a problem in some way, which was the case for a good majority of the people he meets, then he wanted no part of it. Besides, she had big boobs. That wasn't a reason he didn't want to get involved with her, but he's never seen a girl with such huge boobs.

"That'll work. Just point me in the direction." He'd pick up Kagome's scent eventually, and then he could end all this nonsense.

"O-okay." She ran over to her door and opened it. "Um, it's that way," she pointed to the east, "but I'm not sure how right that is."

Inuyasha walked out the door and looked in that direction. He sniffed the air a few times and then his ears perked up. "Got it."

Before she knew it, the boy had leapt away.

She was amazed at how far he could jump and how far it took him; with that one leap, he was almost a speck the very next second. It didn't look like he knew Flash Step, but if he was new to the Soul Society, she was amazed at the potential he had.

She went back inside and closed the door. She thought today ended kind of strange. She also wished she hadn't rushed Ichigo's visit, seeing as how short...I-Inu...kun stayed.

She didn't catch that boy's name.

It probably wouldn't matter because she wouldn't have a need to talk to him again.

"He can be Inu-kun," she pouted.

As Orihime walked to her room, something on her sofa caught her eye. She walked over and picked up a tiny, pink crystal.

Inuyasha arrived at Kagome's house not long after nightfall. He would have gotten there sooner—he could have been there in just a few minutes after he left—but he had stalled many times. Kagome was really mad when she left last time.

She didn't tell him to 'Sit' or anything.

If anything, she looked like she was about to cry, and he didn't understand it. In all honesty, he didn't even know what he did to make her so upset.

"Girls," he sighed as he approached Kagome's window, peering in.

She was sitting at her desk with her chin resting in her palm, staring at the wall. She looked like she had a lot on her mind.

For a moment, he debated on whether or not he should knock on her window, but he rarely did that anyway. If he did that now then she may think he's being submissive because he did something wrong.

He didn't do anything wrong.

He would have to remember that. He opened her window and went inside.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, surprised. She quickly fixed her composure. "What are you doing here?"

He adjusted himself and looked at her squarely. "I'm here to bring you back."

"Hmph." She glared at him. "Is that all?"

He huffed. "You're mad about somethin', so you might as well just tell me 'cause I have no idea what's got you so upset."

"If you don't know what I'm mad about, then I might as well stay here." She turned away from him.

"Stop being so stubborn, Kagome! Look, whatever I did, I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to do...whatever it is I did..."

She turned toward him with a quickness that was so unlike her, it caused him to flinch just a bit. "I heard you tell Miroku that I'm not that important to the team!"

Inuyasha's shoulders slumped, arms dangling lamely, as he stared at her with the highest degree of confusion. Was she making stuff up now? Was it possible she really was starting to get angry with him for no reason? "What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"You told him that I don't contribute much and that all I do is purify the jewel shards!"

He stared at her in a new state of confusion—confusion and utter amazement at how she interprets what he says.

"Okay," he sighed. "First off, you have to stop eavesdropping. Second, that's not what I said." She was about to protest, but he quickly continued. "What I said was that you have the easy part of all of this. Other than gettin' attacked and being kidnapped all the time, you don't have much at stake in all this. Sango worries over her brother; Miroku worries over being sucked up by that hole in his hand, and even Shippo worries over crud. Hell if I know what a kid like him has to worry about, but bein' a demon has its down sides."

"I worry, too, Inuyasha! I worry about all of you! Especially you!"

"You don't need to worry about me!"

"No? You're obsessed with becoming a demon! You fight enemies much stronger than you, you get hurt and nearly die, and then you're at it again! You never take a break!"

"I don't have time for a break! Every moment we're not looking for the shards is a moment that everyone else is getting more powerful!"

"Don't you get it?! The hardest part about doing all of this is hoping that you won't get hurt, but you're always running off into danger!"

Inuyasha didn't have anything to say to that. If she worried so much, then why didn't she ever say anything? For that matter, why did she have to worry so much for him?

"Look, Kagome, I can't promise that I'll change because of this...but I am sorry for making you think that you're not a valued member...or whatever. I need you with me."

She blushed, looking at him with wide eyes. "Y...you do?"

"Uh! Well..." he blushed as well, "y-you know. It ain't the same when you're not around... Everyone misses you, so we shouldn't keep 'em waiting."

He never understood how their conversations could turn out like this. He would say one thing, she would get all happy, and then her happiness made him feel...weird. He didn't get it, and he didn't even know how to ask her what it could mean.

"So, will you come back?" he asked.

She didn't say anything for a while, and then she smiled. "Okay."

He sighed internally. "Oh," he said as he realized he'd forgotten something. "I got a jewel shard today." He looked through his cloak, but seemed to have trouble finding it. "Huh?"

"What's the matter?" She got up and walked over to him.

"I-I can't find it." He became frantic. "I remember putting it in here and now it's gone!"

"Inuyasha," Kagome said curiously.

"What?" He hardly noticed her reaching for something on his shoulder.

"What's this?"

He looked as she pulled something off of him.

It was a long, orange strand.

His eyes widened. This had to be a joke. That girl must have taken it from him while he was unconscious!

"Dammit," he growled under his breath. He knew she would be a problem.