K Is For Cute, an inuyasha fanfic

K Is For Cute

Disclaimer: Inuyasha isn't mine.

A one-shot thrown in randomly, fluffy-ish and rather long (for once.) And I know that these acrostic poems only work this way in English, and the Inuyasha cast use Japanese originally, so forgive me for that.

XXX

Inuyasha was cranky. There was nothing to do, and his back against a tall, rough-barked tree was starting to hurt. And he was getting annoyed at Kagome muttering to herself.

She had come back from the well this morning carrying her backpack, which looked like it had been stuffed with an elephant and two giraffes at least.

What is was filled with, it turned out, was her schoolbooks.

Figures.

Apparently, she had "some very important exams" coming up that she was "determined to show up for and ace" and "who are you to stop me?"

Inuyasha huffed and faced Kagome, who was bent over some thick volume, frantically scratching something in a notebook. He peered into it curiously.

He had never really understood the scrolls she read. They were made weirdly. And they were too thick.

"What's a crow stick poem?" he blinked. That certainly was strange. What exactly was Kagome studying anyway?

Kagome looked up. "A what?"

"A crow stick poem," Inuyasha repeated grumpily.

It took her a few moments to figure out what Inuyasha was trying to ask, and needless to say, he did not wait patiently.

"Oh, you mean acrostic?" she asked.

There was a silence. Finally, he finished pouting and nodded. "I guess."

"It's a type of poem," Kagome began, showing off slightly. "Where the first letter of the lines spell out a word. For example, if you wanted to write a poem about, say, flowers, your first line would begin with the letter 'F.' And your second would begin with an 'L' and so on.So it could be something like 'F is for fun' and 'L is for lucky.' Or something like 'Frolicking in the garden, Laughing—'"

Inuyasha snorted loudly, interrupting her lengthy explanation. "Okay, okay, I get it. And where did you come up with such dumb topics and dumb lines anyway?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "You asked me a question and I gave you an answer. Besides, it's not like you can do any better."

"Anyone can do better than that," Inuyasha grumbled, rather condescendingly.

"I'd like to see you try," she snapped, completely losing her temper. Then she got up and spun on her heel. "Sit!" she yelled at him.

Inuyasha fell to the floor with a crash and lay there, fuming.

Meanwhile, Kagome was picking up her backpack and heading off back to the well, probably…

Or she was trying to.

Kagome grabbed her backpack by the strap and tugged it, attempting to lift it. It didn't budge. It sat there, as stubborn as Inuyasha was. She pulled for a while and huffed, deciding to try and roll it instead.

Inuyasha felt the spell diminish and started to get up. He first, however, gave an amused snort.

That was probably a mistake on his part, he realized a moment too late.

For Kagome had seen him making fun of her, and with her anger had come an adrenaline rush, and with that had come an extra boost of strength.

She finally lifted her backpack a little, while Inuyasha was still on the ground. However, she couldn't hold on any longer.

Her hands shook and it immediately crashed to the floor.

Right on top of Inuyasha.

There was a resounding thud.

Now that was for the better, Kagome thought triumphantly. She stalked away without another glance at him.

Inuyasha felt the air in his lungs come out at once. He felt his back being crushed and with a small "oomph," he had fallen back on the ground.

Now that was uncalled for, Inuyasha thought, groaning.

XXX

As soon as Inuyasha had gotten up, he stood and gaped blankly at the well, replaying their fight in his head numbly.

He rejoined Sango, Miroku, and Shippou for a few hours, sulking and snapping at anyone who talked to him. Finally, tired of his friends teasing him, he stomped outside to stare forlornly at the well.

He traced his finger lightly over one of the pieces and wished that somehow, Kagome would pop out of it now.

He had thought that she would have gotten over his stupidity rather soon and come back, but apparently he was wrong.

I guess she really is mad then, Inuyasha sighed.

He was bored. And grumpy. And okay, upset because Kagome was not here.

Then a flash of brilliant inspiration came to him.

A poem! He could write her an acrostic poem! Then she would definitely forgive him! A sudden grin plastered itself on his face and wouldn't go away. Inuyasha quickly strode to Kagome's backpack and took out the book she was looking at, also grabbing a notebook and a pink mechanical pencil.

He remembered the first time he had seen one of those pencils. He had shaken it, poked and prodded at it, clicking continuously until Kagome had snatched it away from him. They were oddly fascinating, those pencils.

Anyway, Inuyasha thought, trying to focus again.

He pushed the pencil to the paper and paused. Now he had to figure out what to write. He brainstormed for a while, clicking the pencil mindlessly. Then he figured it would be a good idea to write out her name.

Kagome.

Hmm. Writing was harder than he had thought it would be. Well, at least her name was only six letters—not that bad.

Inuyasha would start with the 'K,' logically. What word starting with 'K' reminded him of her…? He racked his brain, found nothing, and racked it again. Kangaroos…kittens…kite…

Okay. No animals. She doesn't remind me of an animal. And not a kite either—, he told himself before realizing he had found the perfect word.

He tilted his head and scribbled something, ignoring the annoying blush that had spread across his cheeks. Feh. Human emotions sure were annoying.

K is for cute because…

Hold on. Cute started with a 'C.' Inuyasha roared in frustration. If the stupid word had begun with a 'K,' everything would have turned out fine. But no, fate had a way of being extraordinary and excessively evil sometimes.

Oh well. Who cares about spelling anyway? He blushed slightly but continued to write.

K is for cute because I don't care about spelling and you are cute.

Now he was blushing rather violently. He took a few deep breaths before picking up the pencil and tackling the next letter, 'A.'

Inuyasha frowned. Annoying? Well, she was sometimes. Although, as he was asking for her forgiveness, the poem was probably not a good time to tell her that she was annoying. Perhaps in their next fight...He shook his head. Then he paused. Adjectives (how much he had learned from Kagome!) were a good idea, though maybe that particular one was not.

Yes, he would use adjectives.

Adoring? Uh, not really. He didn't think she would be impressed with him calling her that. She'd probably accuse him of wanting a fan club or something. Okay, scratch that. Next.

The word that came into his mind after that surprised him.

An…

Angelic?

Inuyasha's mouth hung open. I didn't just think that, I didn't just think that, he frowned.

Okay. No. He wouldn't use that. It was just too sappy.

But, he mind argued, it's the truth, isn't it?

Shut up, he told himself angrily.

Inuyasha then realized that there was no point in disagreeing with himself and allowed his mind to reminisce. He remembered the day they met very clearly. How she had pulled the arrow out of him despite Kaede's warnings. Kagome had trusted him even then, even when he was acting like an violent maniac, even when she didn't know him at all.

Fine. It was true, he allowed begrudgingly. She was angelic. Not that he would ever admit it to her. That would just be his secret…forever.

And speaking of the day they met...

Arrow! She had shot a bow and arrow for the first time then too. A non-sappy 'A' word! He grinned and began to write.

A is for arrow because when we met, you pulled one out of me. And you shot one at a demon bird carrying the jewel and you missed—that was the first time I began seeing you as Kagome instead of Kikyou's reincarnation.

There. That would work. Now for a 'G.'

Great? Too general.

Girl? Well, no duh. What was he supposed to add to that?

He sighed and began thinking of every word he could possibly think of at the moment. Generous? Maybe…She was always giving him medicine…ramen…and second chances. Even when he was acting stupid. Hmm. If she had a 'P' in her name, he would have already known what to put—patience.

Inuyasha was starting to get irritated now. Okay, what would Shippou write? He snorted. Something stupid and random—gibbon or guffaw, perhaps. For no reason at all.

And what about Sango? Glimmering, gold, gem…Something meaningful but a bit too girly for his taste. Nah, Inuyasha couldn't do that. Honestly! He still had his pride.

Miroku, then?

Inuyasha stopped. Did he really want to know? Shuddering slightly, he decided it was better for any normal person to not know what crazy thoughts were floating around in Miroku's head.

With a sigh, he leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes for a moment, collecting his thoughts…or perhaps his sanity…

When something suddenly fell on his head.

Instinctively, Inuyasha jumped up and searched for a demon. He looked around, straining his ears and nose. He saw nothing and peered at the object on the floor, which was an apple.

"Stupid gravity," he grumbled, referring to something Kagome had been studying. 'Gravity' began with a 'G!' But he really had no idea how that could relate to Kagome…Wait. Metaphorically, it could work!

Feeling excited once more, he grabbed the pencil, clicked it (for the lead had broken quite a while ago), he scratched down his newest idea.

G is for gravity. Why gravity? Well…let's see. Because an apple fell on my head. Yes, I have more than that. Gravity is constant. And…when I became full demon, you came and snapped me out of it, pulling me back to earth, back to myself—like gravity. Okay, I'm getting poetic, so onto the next letter.

Lovely. Now for 'O.'

Inuyasha figured that he was getting too soft for his own good. And too slow. He quickly wrote down the next thing that came to his mind.

O is for orange because…it just is, okay?

See? It wasn't so hard actually, this writing thing. Inuyasha was on a roll now.

M is for mature because you are. Sometimes too much so.

Hmm…was that too mean? Maybe. Kagome was sometimes too sensitive for her own good. He added an amendment, just in case.

M is for mature because you are. Sometimes too much so. But I didn't say that was a bad thing. So it's not.

Inuyasha grinned. Now he was on the last letter! And about time too. Apparently, the ending to a poem was the most powerful line. In this case, it had to be memorable, special, and a summary of everything else.

He knew just the thing, and with a smile, ended his poem with a flourish.

XXX

Kagome found Inuyasha sitting under a tree, staring at something in a notebook—one of hers, too.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, forgetting her vow to give him the silent treatment for the rest of the day. Curiosity got the better of her sometimes.

Inuyasha's head snapped up and looked at her, jumping up all of a sudden. "Here," he said, shoving the notebook in her hands. "Read it! Read it!" He added, looking as excited as a little kid showing his mother a perfect test paper.

Kagome blinked stupidly. "What is it?"

"An apology acrostic poem," he answered impatiently.

Well, this certainly should be interesting, she thought, not knowing what to expect. She looked down at the paper, feeling a little apprehensive and just slightly flattered.

K is for cute because I don't care about spelling and you are cute.

Cute? He thought she was cute? Kagome felt herself blush and refused to look up as a silly grin made its way across her face.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

Inuyasha blushed and immediately looked down at a very fascinating rock on the ground. "Yes," he muttered.

Kagome's eyes widened but she spared them more embarrassment and proceeded to the next paragraph.

Kagome paused. She remembered that too. She hadn't seen it that way—she had thought that Inuyasha considered her an incompetent child, a failed imitation of Kikyou. She grinned, slightly thankful for the first time that she hadn't taken archery lessons.

G is for gravity. Why gravity? Well…let's see. Because an apple fell on my head.

She looked up, a little insulted. She ignored the rest of the paragraph. "Is that all you have to say about—?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Read the rest, wench."

She huffed, but did as she was told.

Yes, I have more than that. Gravity is constant. And…when I became full demon, you came and snapped me out of it, pulling me back to earth, back to myself—like gravity. Okay, I'm getting poetic, so onto the next letter.

Kagome's heart doubled its pace. That was amazingly deep for him. And very sweet, she thought, stopping a girly giggle from escaping. This day was surprising. Inuyasha, a poet? Who would've guessed? Well, onto the next letter then, to quote him.

O is for orange because…it just is, okay?

His writing was getting spikier and sloppier. Along with the rather pointless line, Kagome concluded that he was angry at himself for writing such a sappy thing, so he made up for it by writing something stupid.

She rolled her eyes. Men and their pride. It was just like Inuyasha to be sweet one moment and gruff the next.

Kagome continued.

M is for mature because you are. Sometimes too much so. But I didn't say that was a bad thing. So it's not.

Kagome looked up, irritated. "I am not too mature!" she snapped.

"I told you, it's not a bad thing!" he huffed defensively. "Just go on!"

Kagome snorted. Typical. In his apology, he just had to make more rude remarks. Which would lead to an endless cycle of even more apologies. Fun, fun.

"E is for educational?" she said, disbelieving, a rant already in her head pushing to get out.

Inuyasha glared at her. "Are you stupid? That's crossed out."

Kagome blinked and read the words again. Oh, it was. Oops. My bad. She wondered if the word could somehow be a good one.

Maybe it would be nice. Maybe it would be something like "elegant" or "empathetic" or "encouraging" or something equally cute.

Then she read it.

Her heart pounded; her pulse quickened. She couldn't breathe.

Suddenly, she wasn't mad anymore.

What was written was the best thing, the best word, anyone had ever and would ever describe her with.

And suddenly, the idea of never-ending apology poems from Inuyasha didn't seem so bad.

E is for everything because that's what you mean to me.

XXX