Okay folks, this will definitely be a new one… I'm actually doing a joint fic! ^_^ Okay, my friends offered to generously help me, so it's now a joint fic! The authors: me, actually; but plot and editing are done by Matti-chan and AnGi-chan-they're not on the forum yet. *glare* If you see 'we' or 'us', I promise I'm not skitsofrenic! I used to be, but we're okay, now! ^_^ Tee-hee. You know me.

We are kind of making a spin off of the movie Daredevil… sort of… THIS IS NOT A CROSSOVER, so don't get confused. Even though I didn't like the movie very much, the relationship between the two main characters (Matt and Elektra) would make a good, angsty fanfic for Inuyasha and Kagome! ^_^ INUKAG! Woo-hoo!

All right, it's not going to be the same plot-wise, and we're going to twist it a bit… Inuyasha is not going to be blind-but all his senses are advanced because a 'chemical accident' changed him from human to part youkai, k? (Remember how the chemical accident in DD gave Matt loss of sight but a cool 'sound radar' thing?) Sudden outbursts screw up his senses for a second, like loud explosions, horrible smells, etc. Just because he has ultra senses doesn't mean that he's super strong or super fast; and he can still be weakened by stomach wounds, slashed arms, broken ribs, etc. He can abnormally survive bad wounds, but it sufficiently weakens him long enough for an enemy to grab the upper hand. Remember, he has sense enhancement, not strength. He's uh… not going to be wearing spandex, either. Sorry, girls.

Since Inuyasha never had a good relationship with his father, he's going to be with his mom. Bite me. ^_~

Helpful Hints:

~*^*~ : beginning/ending of a flashback

~*~ : scene change

~***~***~ : beginning/ending of chapter

I believe the rest is self-explanatory; quotes (" "), thoughts (' '), etc. If there is any problem, though, just ask, k?

Common Japanese:

Musuko: son

Oka-san: mother

Otou-san: father

Mukomizu na nigen (not sure if I'll use this): daredevil

Daijoubu(?)/Daijobu na no: Are you okay? It's okay/don't worry ("Daijoubu" depends on how you use it, really, but it can mean any or all of these definitions; "daijoubu na no" is just a more complete way of saying "it's okay" or "don't worry")

Hai: yes

Iie: no

Iya!: no! (stronger way of saying "no")

Onegai: please

Honto: really?

Demo: but

Ano: um…

Oi: hey

Doshite: why?

Nani: what? Nande: what the- Nande yo: what is it?

Ka: ? (literally)

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and Daredevil belongs to… uh… the peepz at Hollywood, but NOT us! So don't sue us… all you'll get is my computer, and you're NOT getting it! GRRR! Then you won't get new chapters… heh heh… *cackle*

~***~***~

Prowler of the Night

Chapter One

By: Kaji-chan

(assisted by) Matti-chan,

and AnGi-chan

~***~***~

His dress shoes clunked on the stony pavement as he made his way through the darkly shadowed alleyway. The man's gaze averted to the side to gaze into a dirty puddle, watching the fierce but calm purple eyes that stared back up at him. It was amazing how such a sullied, murky corridor could be home to so many of his memories; so much of his life…

Scoffing at the reflection in the clouded pool of water, he trudged through it, the muddy rainwater sloshing over his new shoes and splattering over the dirty passage floor. What was he doing here anyway? He was supposed to be preparing for a trial at the moment, a very crucial one, actually. Nevertheless, the trial wasn't significant to him. Today was the day of a very important anniversary.

Taking a sharp right, he squeezed through a small opening in the wall and stepped into the connecting alley. Frowning at the grime that had collected on the walls over the years, he made his way over to a small corner in the dimmed, no longer used thoroughfare.

The young man knelt down, a sad and mourning expression touching his face. This was the place… the last place he saw her. Right before they killed her.

~*^*~

A woman's scream pierced the night, followed by a crash and hurried footsteps. A young boy, about the age of 11, ran as fast as his short legs could carry him towards the source of the strangled cry, fear and anxiety overwhelming him.

The scent of blood reached his sensitive nose, and his ears twitched as the sound of slaps and more crashes reached his finely tuned hearing. He cried out, "Mama! I'm coming!" as he neared the corner.

He threw his hands over his convulsing ears as a loud bang made his hearing ring, sending fierce pulsations through his throbbing skull and slowing down his hurried pace to almost a halt. It took him a few seconds to realized what that noise was… it was a gunshot. The shuffling of footsteps and a screeching of car wheels against pavement added to the chaos as he made a last and desperate bound for the curb.

Whipping around the corner, his hurried stride slowed down to a sudden cessation at the sight before his young and innocent eleven-year-old eyes; a scene he could never forget.

A scene his mind would never let him forget.

His mother was lying there in her casual skirt and neatly ironed sweater, tightly clutching newly bought grocery bags full of food that would never make it home to her only child. Her clothes were covered in blood, and the polluting red had seeped through the pearly white of her shirt and stained it a dark crimson. Her hair, usually tied up in the traditional, tight, Japanese bun had dismantled itself from two elegantly placed chopsticks to splay around her body, soaking it the small pool of blood that surrounded her.

The boy sunk to his knees, feeling stinging behind his dark, violet eyes as he choked back sobs. "Mama…"

The woman winced and stirred, sucking in breath as she painfully cracked open her eyes to look up at her son. "My… son…"

"Ma-oka-san…" he said, forcing himself to use the Japanese words she had so tediously taught him since a young age. Her undying passion for keeping him with his heritage was something he had never really become accustomed to… until now. “Daijobu?" he whispered fearfully.

She managed a weak smile at the boy and looked down at her purse, which had been ripped open, the money obviously gone from it. She had been mugged… and shot in the chest for her efforts against them. "Musuko… get… my purse…" she rasped, her once beautiful voice now slashed and hoarse.

He obediently reached down and picked it up for her, holding it out for her to see. "Get out… my locket…"

The child pulled out a shiny gold locket, welded into the shape of a rounded heart, locking in a picture of their small family of three; the locket the only thing holding the broken family together. The golden pendant was the only thing him and his mother had left of their father's, and his mother held it very dearly to her. “Keep it…" she said in a throaty tone.

The boy looked at her in wide-eyed surprise. "Demo… oka-san, I-"

"Onegai… for me?" The boy nodded, and she sighed happily, ignoring the pain that went through her chest in doing so.

"Oka-san… please! I have to get you to a hospital…" he whispered urgently, pressing his hand to the mouth of the wound to stop the bleeding. The blood just pushed under the pressure of his hand and blossomed through his fingers, dribbling down his arm.

His mother just closed her eyes and let her scrunched forehead relax a bit, letting her head lie gently on the ground. "Live… happily, my dear… musuko…"

With that, she let out her last breath, and the boy's ears drooped sadly as he heard her heart give out one final beat before dying. “Oka… mama… gomen nasai… I…" his last sentence died out as sobs clenched his throat shut and tears slid down his cheeks from saddened eyes. "I…"

~*^*~

"…should have been there for you." He whispered, touching the spot where her body laid twelve years before. He sighed deeply with remorse and laid down a small, faintly scented bouquet of flowers on the dirtied ground. Looking sadly at the unnoticeable grave on the ground, he pulled out an old and almost rusted chain, an old pendant attached to it.

He smiled at the heart dangling from the necklace, a bit worn from old age, but still in reasonably good condition. He closed his eyes and kissed it, lingering for a second as he whispered a few respecting prayers to himself and the gravesite. Pocketing the antique locket, he stood and bowed to the monumental site and, dusting off his clothes, calmly walked off in the direction of the corridor exit.

Not wanting to stay in the gloomy place, he quickened his pace towards the dim light ahead, coming out into the sun once again. Sighing in relief, he reluctantly made his way down to the office, hands casually stored in his coat pocket.

As if he had been smacked in the head with a brick, his eyes snapped open and he dug his hand in his pocket for his wallet, opening it with a surprising vengeance. "Damn…" he whispered to himself when he found that the insides were disappointingly bare, "I'm out of money."

Turning around, he strolled down the sidewalk towards the bank, squeezing through the crowds of people. He deeply despised crowds; more like people in general. His expression contorted into that of disgust as he made his way down the sidewalk towards his looming destination, unconsciously quickening his pace. He had this strange pet peeve for moronic people, and they tended to concentrate in crowded places.

Unfortunately, for him anyways, the bank was in the thick of the city, where everyone usually was, shopping with family, eating with new acquaintances, hanging out with friends, etcetera. At least his office was closer to the quainter side of San Francisco, where he could get a decent amount of peace and quiet once and a while. But, on the flip side, a lawyer needed an adequate amount of silence in order to properly prepare for principal cases; like the one he was supposed to be preparing for at the moment, but lazily refused not to.

The white marble of the bank came into sight, and he pushed his way towards the tall, elegant building that was currently the stock house of the money he was seeking. Trudging up a painstakingly long flight of steps, he finally reached the top, ducking into the cool, air conditioned building in a mad escape from the hot sun burning down on his delicate skin. Sighing and wiping his brow, he made his way to the front desk, where a cheerful young woman around the age of 19 greeted him. "Good morning, sir." she said in a cheerful tone. “What can I do for you?"

He brushed an annoying strand of his long hair out of his face and pulled out his wallet. "I'm here to withdraw some money from my account." he said, flipping through the folds of his wallet for his driver's license.

The woman smiled and accepted the laminated card he produced from the brown, folded piece of leather and studied it, hurriedly typing away at her computer. "Ah…" she said triumphantly, looking back from the screen to the card. “Mister Blaze… um…?" Hurriedly, she added, "Gosh, I'm sorry, but how do you pronounce your…?"

He nodded and took the card back, placing it back in the leather wallet and stuffing it back in his back pocket. "Blaze Inuyasha Kinzake." Inuyasha didn't miss the strange look she held when he repeated his Japanese middle name before she covered it with expert skill. He wasn't about to point out that Inuyasha was really his first name… if you live in America, you have to fit in America. Why else would he fake that his first name was really Blaze instead of his middle name? It wasn't his fault in any case; his mother had chosen his name anyway. He was always touchy about his Japanese heritage.

"How much would you like to withdraw, Mr. Kinzake?" she asked, leaning forward a bit to hear him better.

'Blaze' smiled half-heartedly. "$600, please…" he replied, quickly glancing at her nametag, "…Yura." He smirked when she visibly frowned at her own outlandish name. Seemed they both had Japanese parents who insisted on dumping strange names on them from the 16th century. Who uses the stupid name ‘Inuyasha' these days, anyway?

She forcibly smiled at him and tucked her short black hair behind her ear. "Sure thing." Yura smiled at him again, this time proficiently masking her irritation, and began to type on her computer again, printing out a piece of paper and ripping it from the printer with practiced ease. "Here you are, Mr. Kinzake. Insert this into the ATM over there and you should get your money with no problem." she said, handing him the piece of paper.

He nodded and took the piece of paper. "Thanks." he called over his shoulder as he made his way to the machine.

After about 20 minutes later, Inuyasha walked out of the bank with a frown and a piece of paper crumpled in his fist. "Damn ATM machines…" he growled, throwing it in a nearby trashcan and kicking it with retribution, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from passerby's. He stuffed his now heavier wallet back into his pocket and stormed down the marble steps and away from the cursed bank.

He marched down towards the edge of the street and waved a hand in the air. A few seconds after, a taxi screeched to a halt next to him, obscuring his vision temporarily with yellow. He opened the door and stepped in, shutting it behind him and looking towards the driver. “Manchester Street."

The driver nodded and stepped on the gas. "Yes, sir."

~*~

Miroku paced the room with fervor, holding a folder in his now white knuckles as his secretary watched with wary eyes. "WHERE IS HE?!" he bellowed, flinging open the file and rummaging through the papers inside of it.

"Si-sir… do you… want some co-coffee?" his assistant stuttered in a high-pitched voice, shrinking back from her laptop and reaching for the coffee pot.

The man's furious face slowly calmed and he turned to the red-haired assistant with a practiced, charming smile. "No thank you, Stephanie."

Her nervous face disappeared in an instant and she scooted forward in her rolling chair, leaning towards her boss. "Okay, Mr. Tofuda." (Get it… "ofuda"? ^_^ Tee-hee)

Miroku's hand twitched at its resting place at his side, itching to reposition itself near the woman across from him. "Stef-baby, be a doll and go and run copies of the file on my desk for me."

Stephanie stood up, her finely sculpted chest displayed by her tight, red shirt, allowing Miroku a few seconds to discreetly observe before turning to do his favor. "Kay, boss." She winked at him and pursed her red lips in a fake kiss before turning to go to and run the errand for him. (Stephanie is going to be kind of like a female Houjo in this story, because Hojo doesn't fit anywhere…^^)

His secretary rolled her eyes as the blonde exited the room before turned back to her computer. "Miroku," she said, talking casually to her familiar boss, "you want me to print out your e-mail's so you can read them on the way to the courtroom?"

Miroku rubbed his skull. "Yes, that would be great, Jenny, thank you."

Sighing despondently for a second, Miroku shook his head in an attempt to force away the oncoming headache. Almost immediately, he began to stomp around the office, impatiently waiting for the arrival of his partner. "Damnit! Where the hell are you?!"

As if on cue, Inuyasha strolled in through the door, a coffee mug in hand and newspaper tucked under the other, wearing his usual business suit. “Yo, Miroku. Miss me?"

"Miss you?" he fumed, almost tearing the manila folder in half. “You are 45 minutes late! We have a trial in 2 hours! How the hell are we supposed to prepare?!" he roared, throwing the copy of papers his assistant had handed him a mere second ago over his shoulder, taking no notice of Stephanie's surprised squeal as the papers were flung into the air and fluttered down to the already messy floor around the angry man.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and passed him with a nonchalant expression, handing Miroku a portfolio packed with files and a neat report on top of it. "I typed it up last night. You can read over the introduction for proof reading if you want, monk." he said, carefully stepping over Stephanie, who was currently scurrying along the floor picking up the dropped papers.

Jenny sighed and took the coffee mug from Inuyasha's hands as he passed her, making her way over to the table with the coffee pot on it. Mixing in cream and sugar to the blackened liquid with a plastic spoon, she said, "Inuyasha-"

"Haven't I told you to call me Blaze?" he cut in with a pointed glare.

Jenny pursed her lips, sending a withering glare towards Miroku. “He was the one who keeps telling me to call you by your real name." She said, pointing to the black-haired man who stood, whistling innocently in the corner.

"Miroku…" Inuyasha hissed, fixing Miroku with a glare as well.

"What…?" Sighing, he turned away and shook his head. "Am I always the one at fault…?" he mumbled dejectedly.

"Yes." Jenny and Inuyasha answered simultaneously.

Miroku heaved another deep sigh and continued to shake his head, muttering and pouring a cup of coffee into his custom made mug that read, "Women Obsessed" all over it in bright red lettering.

"Fine, then. You have my permission to call me Inuyasha." he said gruffly, returning to his work.

Jenny threw a hand over her heart and her other hand to her forehead in mock disbelief, a beautiful ray of sunlight sweeping over her form from above. "You mean…" she mimicked in a blissful tone, "I have… the heavenly privilege?"

"Shut up." Inuyasha replied in an annoyed tone. "It's too early in the morning."

Jenny handed the now steaming mug to him, smiling. "You always seem to change your name, Inuyasha. One day you want to be called by your middle name… other days by your nickname… sometimes even by your real name…"

"Just call me Inuyasha from now on, then." he said, taking a deep drink of his coffee as he rifted through the mound of papers on his desk.

Miroku sighed and sat down in the chair across from Inuyasha, watching him sift through the stack of papers, laying their court evidence on the desk. "Wow. That's a leap. You know Inuyasha, as of now, three people can officially call you by your real Japanese name."

"Is that so?" he asked, not bothering to look up.

"Yes, actually." Miroku continued, holding up a hand and ticking off the people on his fingers. "There's Sango-"

"She never leaves us alone… printing those goddamned stories about urban legends." Inuyasha growled, sending Miroku a glare. "You give you're girlfriend too many privileges."

"…Jenny…"

"I'm so flattered." she answered sarcastically, earning a glare from Inuyasha. "What? You want me to jump up and down and sing 'Joy to the World: Barney's Dead' or something? Please, I'm a secretary, not a worshipper."

Inuyasha hummed the familiar tune, sporting sadistic grin. “We barbecued his head…"

Miroku continued, not paying attention to their squabble. “…and me, of course. Well, you did let Kikyou call you 'Inuyasha'. You know, I haven't seen her around, lately. She die or something?"

The file-sifting man paused from his task and snorted. “No." The two people in the room gave him blank looks. Shoving a few papers into his desk drawer, he added to his short reply, "She's just… busy."

"Yeah, two-timing you," Miroku added, earning himself an irritated clonk on the head from Inuyasha.

"She's not two-timing," he said indignantly as Miroku rubbed the lump atop his head. "She's just got important things to do."

Jenny looked up from her computer where she was typing rapidly only seconds ago. "About Kikyou…" she paused for a second before continuing, "She was nice and all, but she just seemed so… so…"

"Self-centered?" Miroku interjected.

"No," Jenny retorted with a glare, casting a worried look towards Inuyasha, surprised to see him filing papers on his bookshelf wearing an unreadable expression. "How should I put it? I don't think there's really a word to describe her…"

"Weird?" Miroku queried.

Jenny sent another glare his direction, pointing towards Inuyasha's turned back, giving him a look that otherwise stated 'are you a moron or something?' With a huff, Jenny stood up and pulled a considerably bulky book off of the bookshelf, tucking it under her arm and sighing resentfully. "No!" she growled, not bothering to keep the hint of annoyance out of her tone. "She was just-"

"Bitchy?"

About a second later, a rather large, red, two pound Encyclopedia of Law came flying across the room, planting itself square in the man's face and knocking him clear off his chair onto the floor with a wordless thump. About four feet away, an angry secretary's eyes were closed, her eyebrow twitching angrily. Sighing and standing upright, Jenny straightened her clothes and walked back over to her desk, roughly shoving a manila folder into one of the file cabinets and returning to her work. "It's unbelievable how inconsiderate he can be. Doesn't take a hint, that man…" she muttered under her breath.

Inuyasha slowly stood, his expression hidden beneath his bangs as he made his way to the front of the office, not bothering to step over Miroku who was currently sprawled on the floor, and walked through the door. Jenny threw her arms up in the air in exasperation as soon as he was out of sight. "Oh, for Heaven's sake, Miroku, get off you're lazy ass and go apologize! If Sango was here I swear I would make her… uh…." she paused, "…I'd make her…" Unable to think of what type of cruel and unusual punishment her boss could receive from his girlfriend, Jenny trailed off, a confused look momentarily overtaking her features, before exploding at him again. "JUST APOLOGIZE, YOU MORON!"

He stood up and looked questioningly at her, a large red mark indented into his face and footprint on his shirt. "What for?" he asked, blinking stupidly.

'Honestly…' she thought to herself grumpily, 'You'd think that someone so good with women would be able to figure out why saying 'Kikyo's a bitch' in front of Inuyasha right after a break-up would be a crappy idea…' She irritably got up, grabbed his shirtsleeve, and flung him out the door without a word, smiling when she heard the satisfying crash of him running into one of the locals and then a nearby trashcan, soon followed by a string of cursing and rapid apologies. Whirling and returning to her computer, she contemplated out loud, "Actually… I don't think he knew about them breaking up…" Shrugging guiltlessly, she set back to work, harmoniously humming the familiar Barney homicide song.

~*~

Miroku stumbled to catch up with Inuyasha as his friend stomped down the street. "Wait up a sec!"

"Shut up, Miroku. Go away."

"Now wait one darned minute-"

"I said, go away," he cut in, quickening his pace.

"Hey!" Miroku said as he finally reached him. "I'm sorry…" he wheezed, bending over and placing his arms on his knees for a few seconds to catch his breath, "That I said that… about… your girlfriend…"

"She's not my girlfriend," he stated gruffly, continuing his march towards the department store ahead of him, his arms stiff and hands clenched into fists.

"What?" Miroku gasped, still trying to catch his breath as Inuyasha unconsciously sped up. "I thought you were going out."

"Not anymore." he answered, pushing through the glass doors of the grocery store and heading for the carrying baskets. Grabbing one, he stormed down the isles, his short strung temper evident in his long, forceful strides.

"Oh." He said quietly, shrinking a bit as he followed Inuyasha. He could feel the anger rolling off of him in tangible waves of menacing energy, and it was beginning to unnerve him. "When did it happen?"

He snorted irately and vigorously grabbed a box of rice off the shelf, throwing it into his basket and trudging onwards. "It'll be 78 hours ago…" he glanced at his watch, "…in 12 minutes."

'God, he's counting the hours? Must've hit him hard…' “I-Inuyasha…" he said timidly, afraid he mind spin around and suddenly rip his head off any given moment, "I… I think that you're getting too worked up about this. You're too stuck on one woman."

"Oh really?" he replied, his head suddenly turning to glare fiercely at him with narrowed eyes and slitted pupils, the store turning dark and evil as thunder cracked menacingly in the background.

"Eh heh… it must have been a misunderstanding…" he said while shrinking back.

Inuyasha shrugged and returned to his shopping, suddenly free of his bad mood and satisfied with his revenge. "That felt good." he said nonchalantly.

"What? You just scared the shit out of me, and you say that felt good?" he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Well, yes. You were pissing me off. It's fun to watch you shrink back in fear and a scared expression overcome your face. All quite amusing. Lifted my mood." he said, grabbing a steak, tossing it in with the other groceries and then shoving the basket into Miroku's hands. "Here, a 7 month early birthday present."

Miroku glared at Inuyasha, not bothering to thank him for the 'present'. "I still think you're too stuck up on her." He saw Inuyasha twitch, but ignored it and continued, crossing his arms and smirking. "I think it's mainly because you can't ask anyone out…" he added with a derisive snort.

"I am not too stuck up on one girl!" Inuyasha shouted defensively.

Miroku shook his head in dismay and threw a nefarious smirk at Inuyasha that made him cringe in fear of what he'd say next. "Heh. I bet you couldn't ask the next girl you see for their number."

Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms, not letting Miroku take this chance to bruise his pride. After all, what would Inuyasha be without his typical, egotistical attitude? "Yeah right. I could, too."

Miroku's mischievous smirk only grew. "Then do it. Twenty American big ones says that you can't ask the next girl we see for her phone number." (Remember, they're in San Francisco)

"Fine." he said with a huff, letting his overly inflated ego get in the way of his judgment once more. "I will," then adding quickly, "But she has to be around our age!"

"Okay, you're on." Miroku scanned the store, and the first thing his eyes saw was shining raven black hair sweep by his line of vision. He let his eyes wander for a second before his mouth twisted up into an evil grin. "Her." he said in a playful tone, pointing to a girl with a yellow purse slung over her shoulder and clad in a cute, faded mini dress.

Inuyasha stuttered for a second, before regaining his composure. “But I don't-" Seeing the look Miroku gave him, he sighed despondently, wearing a how-did-I-get-into-this face, and growled at him, "Fine. But you'll be surprised to find that your wallet is twenty bucks lighter."

Walking over with a sour look upon his face, he slowly approached the young woman, working his brain to its limits as he tried to think of a good way to start a conversation with a complete stranger. She looked only a few years younger than him and was nice and thin, her creamy legs showing off under her short, flowery summer dress. She was humming a sweet tune and swaying a bit to her own rhythm, her graceful fingers lightly browsing the name brands of ramen as she picked up her favorite flavor and tossed it, with about six others, into the cart.

"Like ramen?"

She blinked and turned; giving Inuyasha a full view of her slightly shocked face as he almost stumbled back in shock himself. She… was almost the spitting image of Kikyou… except much younger looking. Her hair had more of a wavy tone to it, while Kikyou's had always been long and straight, and she seemed to be a bit smaller than Kikyou, though, he pointed out to himself, she certainly wasn't lacking in the chest area. "I'm, uh…" he hesitated for a second before saying, "Inuyasha…" He stuck his hand out for her to shake, ignoring Miroku's horribly concealed laughs behind him.

Her dazed expression instantly disappeared and was replaced with a smile as she kindly returned the gesture. He noted how soft and delicate her hands were; how small they felt inside of his. "Hello. Pardon me, I'm Kagome." She said in a sweet voice.

He found himself smiling back at this girl, and was glad Miroku had pointed to a much more lively suspect rather than someone with a tight, high-strung attitude. "I see you're Japanese…"

She smiled sweetly and nodded, turning to drop a bottle of rice wine into her basket already packed with ramen noodles. "Hai, I am." she said with a wide smile, throwing in a bit of her native tongue. "Are you as well? You're name… sounds Japanese."

"It is. My mother gave it to me." Finding it to bit a bit uncomfortable, he switched subjects, "The… ah… Maru-chan ramen seem to be fairly good. I, personally, am a fan of the Chicken flavor." he said, trying to start a decent conversation.

She nodded and picked one up, turning it over in her hands. “Looks good enough. I'll try it." Kagome added the package to the cart and redirected her attention to the man in front of her with another smile. "So… you live near here?"

"Yeah… on the western side of town. It near the university." He replied, making directional gestures with his hands.

"The university…?" she echoed, pausing thoughtfully. "Did you go to that school? I just graduated last year…"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. I graduated three years ago, but I also graduated a year early…"

Kagome suddenly smiled and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, brushing her bangs out of her face. "Oh my gosh! I knew your name sounded familiar! Kinzake, right? We took a class together in the 2nd semester… what was it again…?" she trailed off, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion.

Feeling an unfamiliar sense of slight embarrassment, he turned his head to the side as he replied quietly, "Ah… anatomy… It was required."

"Oh, yes…" He watched as a slight pink tinted her facial features, turning her cheeks a bit darker than her rosy blush was initially intended. "I-interesting class…" she stuttered uncomfortably, shifting her basket of ramen from one arm to the other.

Inuyasha swallowed thickly, raising a hand to thoughtfully tap his chin as he altered the conversation's direction. "Ah… that's right…" He returned the smile and crossed his arms across his chest. "What d'ya know? Higurashi, Kagome, sat in the corner by the window! I remember you used to always get in trouble for staring at the nearby elementary school while the professor was talking."

Kagome nodded and blushed, bowing her head slightly. “Aa. I was going to start my own business, then, but… I guess a degree in medicine looked more promising after that." She smiled slightly and returned his gaze. "What did you pursue?"

"Law. I'm a lawyer; professional." he threw in, hoping to make it sound a bit more impressive.

"A lawyer, huh?" she said, nodding and picking it up. “Sounds tough." He nodded and she laughed. "I see lawyers around where I work all the time, actually. I work at the hospital, the Western Hospital… I'm kind of surfing for jobs, trying out new ones all over. I'm not sure what I like yet." she continued, sighing. "But it's nice." Blushing self-consciously, she sighed and said in a quieter tone, “Sorry… I tend to ramble a bit…"

Inuyasha nodded, listening with an interested expression. It was nice to meet someone open like this. It took him months to finally go out with Kikyou, since she was always so closed off from everything; it was enough to make him go crazy! "I've never been to that particular hospital… I don't get injured much, I guess."

"That's a good thing." she replied cheerfully, laughing a bit. Quickly glancing at her watch, she suddenly gasped and gave him an apologizing look. "I have to go! Sorry! Nice talking with you, Inuyasha." she said while starting off towards the check-out lane.

"Wa-wait a sec!" he said, hurrying after her. She stopped and turned to look back at him, gazing at him with a questioning expression. "Um…" He could see Miroku over her shoulder pointing to his wallet and smiling, wearing a triumphant grin. Determined not to let him win the bet, he swallowed the lump of nervousness in his throat and blurted out, "Well… uh… maybe we could go for some tea or something?"

She smiled but shook her head apologetically, beginning to start walking again. "I'm not really a tea person… sorry, but I have to-"

"Coffee, then?" he said immediately, surprising even himself.

Kagome paused and held a thoughtful look, cocking her head to the side and giving him a wistful smile. Well… he did seem nice enough… why not give it a try? “Coffee sounds… good." she answered with a pleased smile.

Miroku watched as Inuyasha sighed in relief and said a few things to her, she giggled, and jotted down her number on a piece of paper, handing it to him. They smiled at each other and she nodded quickly, stuffing her brightly colored pen back into her purse and waving, running off down the isle and to the checkout.

Inuyasha walked back with a smirk on his face, holding out one hand expectantly as he shoved the piece of butterfly paper into his pocket with his other hand. "All right, pay up, loser." he said with a wide grin.

Miroku narrowed his eyes but gave it to him anyway, slapping the bills into his outstretched hand. "There you go. Satisfied?"

"That I beat you at your own game?" Inuyasha put his hands behind his head and basked in his moment of glory. "Yes."

"Asshole."

"You know it."

~***~***~

Finish chapter one. You like? Ne, ne? Please review! Oh! And thank you AnGi-chan, Matti-chan for NO HELP on this chapter whatsoever… *murderous glare at Matti and AnGi* Well, maybe AnGi-chan helped me bit… but I'm still allowed to bash Matti-chan, ne? *AnGi nods* Stupid Matti-chan! *murderous glare at Matti* ^_^ I'm so evil… review! ^_^ Tee-hee!