AN: SkiJG and I finally finished this chapter—which had been nearly finished for months now. Aren't you guys just so pleased? Heh, anyway, here's the next chapter. Sorry for its short length but hopefully it'll satisfy you.

Forgive the abrupt change in format. Blame Also, it has been a year since we first started this story so there is bound to be a few differences in style. Hey, we're not rabid fangirls anymore. And we'll try not to use so much "fangirl Japanese" as one commonly does. Whatever. Just hope you like it.

Disclaimer: We do not own it.

Puppy Trouble

Chapter 1 - Real Youkai Don't Run Away!

"I-Inuyasha? Is that you?"

The boy started violently, looking up from his place on the ground. Seeing the group of people staring at him from the edge of the field, he scrambled to his feet and into a defensive position with his claws held out in front of him.

"Who are you?"

Kagome paused in her approach, and then continued cautiously. "Inuyasha? It's me, Kagome." When he didn't drop his claws, and in fact began growling low in his throat, she stopped entirely and turned her head slightly so that she could look at the rest of the group out of the corner of her eyes.

"Guys? Do any of you know what's going on here?"

Behind her, Sango slowly shook her head, eyeing the hanyou warily. Miroku, however, stepped forward, Shippo clinging tightly to his hair. "I believe I may have a small idea of what has happened, Kagome-sama. Perhaps if I could speak to him I might be able to tell for certain."

"Really?" Kagome turned around completely to face the monk. "What do you think caused this, Miroku-sama?"

"Well, this is only a guess," the monk began, smoothing his face into a mask of learned innocence, "but doesn't it seem reasonable to assume that this has something to do with Naomi-san's curse?"

"You think that Naomi-san was behind this, houshi-sama?" Sango asked as she walked forward to join the others.

"Yes, I do," Miroku replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Think about it for a second. She did say she was going to place a curse upon him, did she not?"

"Yeah, but turning him into a kid? What kinda curse is that?" Shippo interjected. "I thought she was gonna do something cool, like turn him into a toad!" Kagome sweatdropped and decided not to remind Shippo that just a few minutes ago he'd been terrified of that very event.

"Still, how can we be sure that Naomi-san was the one who did this and not Naraku?" Sango asked the monk.

"I don't think Naraku was the one responsible for this," Miroku commented thoughtfully. "For one thing, I do not think even he has the power to do something of this nature. Also, if he was responsible for Inuyasha's…condition, I would expect him to have taken advantage of it at once. So far there has been no sign of him, or his Saimyousho."

"What if he's waiting for something?" Sango inquired, frowning.

"Waiting for what?" Miroku replied back, blinking. Inuyasha meanwhile, was slowly losing his patience shooting unnoticed glares at Miroku and Sango.

Miroku continued, "I wonder if his mind has retrogressed as well. Does he even remember who we a—"

"Oi! I can hear you, ya know; I'm right over here!"

Startled, the two of them turned to face Inuyasha, who had gone from looking rather nervous and scared, to downright pissed. He was scowling; standing with both hands clenched tight into fists at his sides and his eyes scrunched up into what he probably thought was a fierce glare. Kagome would have found it adorable if she wasn't so worried. As it was, she had to remind herself quite sternly that Inuyasha probably would not appreciate her going over and cooing over how cute he was.

Seeing that he had their full attention, Inuyasha nodded proudly. "That's better. Now tell me who you are and how the hell you know my name."

"So…you really don't remember us, Inuyasha?" Kagome questioned worriedly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Well give the girl a prize," he snapped back sarcastically. "I already told you, NO! I think I'd remember if I met someone as annoying-," he stretched this word out, as if trying to emphasize just how much of a trial having to talk to them was, "-as you before."

The temperature in the clearing suddenly seemed to drop by about 10 degrees.

"Maa, maa," Miroku said in his most soothing voice, trying at the same time to move unobtrusively off to the side, away from the "danger zone" that had just formed around Kagome. "In that case, Inuyasha, perhaps you could tell us what you do remember?"

"Keh! And why should I do that, bouzo?"

Miroku sighed, the barest hint of annoyance seeping into his tone. "Look, Inuyasha, I realize that while this may be a difficult concept to grasp, we are on your side here. The more information we get from you, the quicker we can get you back to your original form."

"What original form? This is my original form, stupid!"

Kagome shook her head. "No, Inuyasha. Somehow, you've been turned back into a child. You were an adult."

Inuyasha's eyes widened before he narrowed them. "What makes you think I'm gonna believe that?"

Miroku pointed his staff at Inuyasha's rosary and the Tetsusaiga at his waist. "Explain those to me."

The boy observed the beads and sword. Giving a tug at the necklace he pouted as it didn't come off. "What is this thing? And whose sword?"

"The beads and sword are your own, Inuyasha. The Tetsusaiga was left to you by your father and the rosary is a subduing spell for when you get nasty."

Now, the boy didn't show it, but he was getting highly nervous. These people were claiming weird things had happened to him, he had a stupid necklace on and a sword that was almost taller than he was and they all seemed to know him. Where was he? Where was his mother? More importantly, why couldn't he remember anything?

"You're lying!" Inuyasha started, stomping his foot. "You're all liars! Who are you?"

Claws drawn, the boy ran toward the nearest, Kagome. She stepped back in surprise as he prepared to leap but stopped short when a small voice yelled, "Inuyasha-sama! Stop!"

Sitting on the boy's nose, was Myouga. "Your Mother told you not to pick fights and what do you go do? Try to pick one!"

The boy blinked then backed away from Kagome, claws still flexing. "How do you know my mother?"

Myouga sighed; glad to have calmed the boy down for a moment. "I was your father's advisor and was asked to do the same for you when the time came. However, these people are your friends. We're here to help."

Inuyasha snorted, folding his arms across his chest. "And what makes you think I want or need friends? I'm strong enough by my self!" He ended the sentence childishly with a huff, his bottom lip sticking out some. Everyone in the clearing sighed. No matter what age it was Inuyasha was stubborn as a mule.

The group's patience was wearing thin as Myouga attempted to reason with Inuyasha. Of course, reasoning with a child was about as easy as Miroku ignoring a pretty girl.

"I'm telling you I don't need your help you stupid flea!" Inuyasha shrieked as he swatted at the parasite on his nose. Myouga hopped out of the way and onto Kagome's shoulder which he deemed to be a safe haven.

It was then Kagome decided to play dirty. "OK then, Inuyasha. Where do you live? How are you going to get there? Do you know where you are?"

At the onslaught of questions Inuyasha sobered up from his temper tantrum. He… had no idea how to answer any of those questions. Sighing and lowering his head he shuffled his feet and mumbled dejectedly, "I don't know."

Kagome squatted down in front of the boy and smiled softly. "Tell you what. Come with us back to the village and we'll try to help you out. At least then you'll have a place to stay and we'll be around. Besides, if you don't need us and are so strong, why haven't you ran away yet?"

Inuyasha pouted, about to retort how real youkai didn't run away when a growl erupted from his stomach. His face scrunched up into frustration. "OK. I'll come with you. But I want food when we get there or I'm gonna hurt you all!"

"Deal." Kagome replied, nodding.

The rest of the group exchanged glances. Leave it to Kagome to tame Inuyasha. And to think she didn't even have to use the "s" word.

To Be Continued.

Notes:

Youkai: Demon
Hanyou: Half-Demon
Houshi-sama: Priest
Bouzo: Monk.
Saimyousho: Naraku's little watch-bee things. Whatever.