Kagome Higurashi couldn't help humming softly to herself as she packed her bags for the trip back to the past. The expression on Yuri's face was still fresh in her mind, keeping a cheer inside her heart that pulled at the edges of her lips and made her spirits soar. It didn't even matter that she had to go back to the past tomorrow morning, that she'd been trudging through muck and mire in a land where there weren't any hot baths or cute guys or school exams… There was just Inu-yasha and their motley band of friends. Not that she minded everyone; she got along with them really well, excluding Inu-yasha of course.

Thinking about him made her wrinkle her nose. That one! With vehemence decidedly uncharacteristic - or characteristic when it came to the half-demon - of her, Kagome shoved a can of noodles she'd pilfered from the kitchen into her bag angrily. I can't believe him! I'm not even gone a week and already he was pestering me to come back! Geez, y'know, it's not like the Shikon shards are going anywhere…

But deep in her heart, Kagome knew the exact opposite was true. It was very likely that most, if not all, of the shards had been gobbled up by youkai now and they were most certainly everywhere. The Mask of Flesh had already shown them, at the cost of innocent lives, that some shard-possessing youkai had survived to the future… and were very, very dangerous.

It's my fault, Kagome thought morosely as she stuffed another can of noodles into the bag, then struggled to close it. I shot the crow demon that was escaping with the jewel, but in the process I shattered it. If I had only been a few inches lower, I…

A tapping on the window interrupted her from her thoughts. Kagome glanced up, dropping her bag on her bed, her eyes tracking to the window. A ghostly white form was silhouetted in the moonlight, hand pressed against the glass. Kagome felt her blood run cold, drawing in a sharp breath and holding it. A demon? But no, the pair of golden eyes that watched her with a blend of scorn and familiarity banished all such thoughts from her mind. The young girl couldn't completely keep the smile from her lips as she realized who it was.

"Inu-yasha!" she scolded as she opened the window, staring at him. How had he gotten from the street to her window? Did he jump? "What are you doing here? I told you I'd come back tomorrow!"

"Feh." As always, Inu-yasha's eyes were unreadable, his face a mask of scorn and disgust as he eyed her a moment, then hopped lithely from the windowsil to her bedroom. "Baka. I came to give you something."

Kagome's throat thickened, her mind spinning in circles. Give her… something? A gift? "B-But…" she mumbled, blinking dumbly at him. "It's not my birthday…"

"Baka!" Inu-yasha's rude exclamation cut through her scrambled thoughts as he shoved something squarish and covered with paper into her hands. Then his voice changed, as mercurial as his mood. He sounded smug. "Here. I got it back for you."

Feeling bewildered, Kagome looked down at the item in her hands and blanched. It was a present, wrapped in red Christmas paper with holly leaves decorating it. It looked familiar… Suddenly her heart turned cold as ice and when she looked up, there was fire in her eyes. Her tongue venomous, Kagome hissed, "Inu-yasha, you didn't!"

Intelligently, the half-youkai blinked. "Huh?"

She would have thrown it at him if she hadn't known what it was. "You jerk! This was Yuri-chan's present! Where did you get this?!"

Inu-yasha couldn't possibly have been more blunt. "From that friend of yours."

Kagome went off like a gun, exploding in Inu-yasha's face like fireworks in the sky. She fielded insult after angry insult at his face, accusing him of this and demanding to know that. All the while, a tight angry ball was forming in Inu-yasha's chest and just as he was ready to start yelling back, Kagome said the word:

Boom! The reaction was like a train running off the track. Inu-yasha felt an invisible force take him by the neck and slam him to the ground, giving him a faceful of carpet. He couldn't bite back the puppy-like yelp that escaped between his clenched teeth, nor could he escape the second assault of insults and accusations from Kagome, who now stood above him with her hands resting on her waist. She yelled at him, she stomped her foot - hell, Inu-yasha was surprised her family hadn't come running by now. Maybe they were all deaf or just as stupid as she was.

Eventually, the dry ache in his face went away and Inu-yasha was able to crawl up into a sitting position, rubbing his sore nose. He glared at her and she glared back, then shoved the present back into his hands. "Here! You jerk, she's probably scared out of her wits by now! I can't believe you did that!"

"I was just trying to do you a favor," Inu-yasha muttered at her, but for the life of him he couldn't remember just what that favor was.

"Yeah, well, don't do me any favors, all right? You stole it from her, so you take it back!"

Inu-yasha shot her a baleful look.

"I mean it!"

"Whatever." The half-youkai picked himself off the ground and trudged over towards the window. He didn't know why he was doing this anyway. Let her keep her own stupid present. That's the last time he ever did her any favors! Nimbly, Inu-yasha hopped up to the windowsil, then disappeared out into the night sky, not saying another word. Kagome watched him go, emotions boiling within her, then whirled about once he was out of sight and stalked towards her bed. Grabbing a pillow, she slammed her fist into it, punching it back against the wall.

"Jerk."

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