A/N: I am fully aware of what you're going to say. Don't you have a bunch of incomplete stories you're never updating? Well, first. I'm down to like 2, so AH. No, no I kid. I just - I've been struggling to find my inspiration. Sometimes, a new story helps. And this one is lighter and fluffier (And I honestly don't know how I'm gonna pull that off...) and funny. (It's not actually funny, but I have this thing, where I think I'm hilarious...but apparently I'm the only one who thinks so?).

Anyways.

Mmm, Kouga/Kag again?

Honestly, it's tied. You might see another KougaKag pop up. Because... it was a tie between this plotbunny or the Future!Kouga one (for those who go on my tumblr where I posted the general ideas and first extract).

Neighbours

Part 1

"One more box."

She used her white ballerina covered foot to kick the wooden door open, allowing her to pass through the tiny space while holding a gigantic tattered cardboard box. Her dark bangs covered her face while the bottom of her long ponytail was glued to the nape of her neck. She groaned, she moaned, but she managed to squeeze the evil thing through the opening. She foolishly attempted to close it back in the same fashion - but the door would not have it. She kept walking through her small apartment, desperate to drop the heavy box down onto the ground. Once she reached its location, a hmpf passed her lips as she deposited it on the navy blue carpeted floor. Honestly, did she need that many books? Had she even read all of them? She raised her arm, swiping away a layer of sweat that had built it on her forehead. She forced her long bangs backwards, glueing them to the top of her head, and finally plopped down on a little black chair.

Nothing was better than star-fishing on a chair.

Moving was exhausting.

Especially when you have to do it on your own.

Her brother could not help with him being too young - and all the other excuses he came up with - and her mother was not in the best shape for this kind of things and her grandpa was completely out of the question for safety reasons. She had a few friends that might be able to help but they were also attempting to get all their moving done before the start of university. It had left her all on her own to do everything. It was alright. Her mother had packed most of the boxes for her and she had packed a lot of snacks - just in case she could not fend for herself. Really, the hard part was getting the boxes through the door and setting them down. Everything else was just fine.

For the first time in her life Kagome Higurashi was going to live on her own - with everything that entailed.

Her house - an old shrine - was filled with noises and life and now, she had to learn how to live in the quietness and the loneliness of the adult world. And in a mess apparently. Because of all the back and forth she had to do, it did not leave her much time to unpack yet. Meh, it could wait until tomorrow. The grease and dirt on her body was piling up and accumulating making it a priority since now she was dying to take a shower so she could finally collapse in her new bed. She still had a week before university started - it gave her plenty of time to unpack right? Decided, she hopped to the bathroom, a room that was pretty much completed (if a rug and a shower curtain counted as completed), and she immediately turned on the water. She ran her hand under, checking the temperature and once she was satisfied, she began removing her clothes. Her own bathroom. One she did not have to share with her brother - who had begun taking showers that were way too long…

Kami, she was glad she was missing the teenage years.

She let the water hit her body, unwinding all her muscles and freeing her from the sweat she had been covered in for hours. She felt like a new woman. Now that her muscles were not tight and aching, she was convinced that she could pass out and nap forever. Once she was done, she reached out for the silver round knob, turned off the water and grabbed the nearest towel. She wrapped the blue fabric around her body, her long wet dark locks hanging over her shoulders and dripping water on the white tiles of the floor. She was about to take another smaller cotton towel to dry her hair when suddenly she saw it.

"GAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Her heart stopped, her blood froze in her veins and she was done for, ready to die. Her entire body was shaking like a leaf while she desperately grabbed the navy blue shower curtains, hanging on for dear life. Oh god it moved. Her heart now raced while her mouth was like pasted, the fear paralyzing her.

"AHHHHH!"

She was faintly aware of the sound of footsteps and shuffling, but her mind was too pre-occupied by the threat in front of her to actually register and process any of it.

"Are you okay?"

And - that was not a familiar voice.

Her eyes left the imminent threat to travel to the left where… a very tall, dark and handsome man was standing. He was holding a baseball bat, his captivating blue eyes searching the vicinity for a burglar or a murderer. His long brown hair was wrapped up in a messy ponytail, which swayed with each of his movements. The large muscles of his arms were tensed and bulging as he readied himself into a battle stance, his long powerful legs grounded into the floor. The whiteness of his t-shirt only served to highlight his tan skin and she suddenly found herself staring for a bit too long - until her brain reminded her of her clad state.

"GAH!" And now she was screaming for a whole new reason altogether.

"What, where?" he asked searching for who he needed to hit. This was a tiny bathroom.

"I'm naked!"

"You - what…" Eyes widened. Mouth fell open. Oh. Well she was not naked. Although he was probably seeing a lot more of her body than she should be. "I- I heard screaming," he finally defended as he dropped his baseball bat to the ground. "I- hm, I live in 3B. You're - you're 3C.. And I…" He had seen her briefly. Very briefly. Like - he had seen hair showing from on top of a box. And like. Feet. And then she screamed - and he had assumed she lived alone and - then - oh fuck.

"I'm naked," she repeated again, never letting go of the curtains she was clutching for dear life. They were not a very opaque blue - although combined with the towel - it - sorta - helped? Gah.

"I h-m, nice meeting you. I will be going now…" He did not think his face could get any redder - what a way to make a first impression. His instincts had kicked in and he had run for it the second he had heard the scream. He could not help it and now he had… basically violated her privacy and he was such a giant dickwad. He was walking backwards, his eyes closed and his arms stretched out in front of him to shield her from him even more.

She watched him walk away, his feet nearly exiting the bathroom when she cringed. She should really let the crazy man leave because - it was insane that he walked in here with a baseball bat. But really, which evil did she want to be left alone with? "Wait." She was going to regret this.

He could not help the raise of his eyebrow as he stopped in his tracks. Did she really tell him to wait? She was naked. He only half turned, hoping to preserve some of her dignity, and he listened.

"There's a hm, there's a…"

And he could not make out the rest of her sentence because she mumbled it.

"A what?"

"You know." For god's sake. He was going to make her say it. "There's a spider on the counter."

A spider? It was his breaking point. Despite his best intentions, he laughed loudly and bend over in a fit of laughters. A rich, deep laugh began filling the small room and he felt tears of joy prickling at his eyes. This was just getting better and better. He had broke into her apartment, seen her half naked… because of a spider?

"Yea, when you're done laughing… if you could just…" Her mouth was twisted, her cheeks were red as blood and she could absolutely not meet his gaze. The word idiot did keep running on a loop in her head though. Would it be possible for her to simply melt into the ground until she disappeared?

He let out a few more chuckles before nodding his head, unable to bring back his poker face. At least he no longer felt like a jerk. He was indeed rescuing her from something. He leaned forward and grasped the tiny spider in his hand, cupping it without killing it. "I'll escort it out for you." This girl was something else entirely. He almost regretted not getting a good look at her because this was unreal. He wanted her face to be imprinted in his mind forever because he was not about to forget this.

That was his last line of teasing before he turned around and finally exited her apartment, a small laughter still shaking his entire body. Kagome crumbled to the ground and hid her face in her wet knees. She was not quite certain if she wanted to die of shame or of fear.

Did that just happen?

Once the shame left her body, she wobbled back to her feet, her fingers barely grazing the counter where the enemy had been earlier. She apparently needed to learn how to lock her doors. She peaked out of the doorway, inspecting and ensuring her loneliness, and once it felt safe, she stepped out. She ran to the room that would eventually be her bedroom and slammed the door shut. At least she would be sure that this one was closed. She rummaged through some boxes and finally found a purple top and a pair of shorts that she hurried to put on. Once she was dressed she made a messy ponytail out of her wet hair and exited her bedroom in a flash.

She had to do some damage control.

First, she needed to figure out that she did not live next door to a psycho murderer.

Second, she had to explain that she was not a complete lunatic.

The second point really depended on the first one.

She took a deep breath, hoping it might give her some sort of courage, and she stepped out of her apartment. In the midst of shame and amusement, he had said something about living in 3B. She let her arms rest by her sides and then shook them to shake off the shiver from the earlier encounter with the evil spider. She hated those things. Once she felt better, she forced herself to knock at his door. It was a soft timid knock, but it should have been enough. She balanced herself from the balls of her feet to her toes as she waited patiently. Do not go in. Do not accept anything he offers you, she reminded herself while she waited. She was a woman living by herself and she had to be careful. Plus she had already broken the first rule; thou shall not leave the goddamn door open for anybody to walk in. She had to do better from now on.

The door creaked as it opened only to reveal the same pair of piercing blue eyes as earlier. As soon as he recognized her, he opened the door a little faster. There was a big grin on his face as he leaned against the doorway. "Spider girl."

She cringed. "It's Kagome actually," she corrected, her nose still crunched up.

"I'm Kouga," he said as he offered her his hand.

She timidly shook it and quickly retracted her hand back.

"I'm not a crazy baseball bat murderer by the way."

"Your bat," she exclaimed as she grabbed her head with her hands. "It's still on my bathroom floor." She had completely forgotten about it, too mesmerized by the killer spider. And the hot intruder in her bathroom while she was like - basically - naked.

He chuckled. "Keep it. If you're gonna keep your door open like that, ya should have a weapon."

This time her expression shifted to one of annoyance as her eyebrows knitted. Her hands moved to her hips and she leaned forward. "I forgot. I've been moving all day and - it slipped my mind." She raised a finger at him. "And who walks into people's house like that?"

He moved his hand to his back pocket, reached deep in it and pulled out something she could not quite make out. "A cop?" he suggested as he showed her a shiny badge.

Oh.

Well. That crazy murderer theory was gone.

Actually her safety level had just gone up.

A nice cop had come to her damsel in distress rescue - and she had been scared of a spider.

"And I'm an idiot who's gonna go now," she said as she hid her face in her hands, hoping to mask away her shame.

Now he felt a little bad; he enjoyed teasing her but he did not want to shame her for life on her first day in the building. "Trust me, I've seen worse."

"Really?"

"Yea." He wrapped his arm around his head, resting his skull in the palm of his hand. "And I made it worse. Sorry about breaking and entering. Force of habit when I hear someone scream."

She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. "It's my fault. Open door remember?"

"Yea, you really need to stop doing that."

"It's my first day."

"And you already almost died."

"It was huge!" Her eyes narrowed. "Where did you put it?"

He chuckled. "It's outside."

"It better be."

"Yes ma'am."

How did anyone ever take him seriously as a cop, she did not know. She always pictured cops as cold and strict not - not this. To his defence, he did fit the nice body, nice face profile from all those cops on calendars and what not. Not that she was checking him out because she was not. "Well, thanks for coming to my rescue."

"Any time," he answered with a small bow, clearly teasing her some more. "You live alone?"

She nodded. "First apartment," she reminded him.

"It's a nice building."

It did have a cop living in it, which she assumed give it a big plus safety wise. To top it all off, he was literally her next door neighbour. She did not want to be a damsel in distress but, it was a nice feeling to know there was someone she could call out to if she needed it. Although she was going to avoid screaming from now on because it appeared that her walls were paper thin. Hopefully, he was not a loud neighbour.

"Yea, it seems so. Well," she said as she clapped her thighs a little stronger than anticipated. "Thank you again."

She was fidgety and that told him one thing; she was not used to being alone and she was finding comfort in this interaction. He had been on his own for quite some years now, he relished the quietness but - he could understand that the situation might be different for her. She looked around eighteen-twenty years old and this was her first time by herself. He felt kind of bad leaving her out there, all alone, especially after the traumatic spider incident. "Did ya, hm, do you have food?"

"My mom packed a lot of snacks."

For the rest well, she needed to wait for her fridge to be delivered. Oh god, how was she going to manage pushing appliances through her tiny door? Nope. Pause. No more thoughts about moving. Food and snacks were the go-to for now. Although, pizza delivery sounded like an awesome option at the moment. It was quick and painless and it was dishes-less which was pretty much her favorite part. She was not a fan of soaking her hands in dirty water.

"I was making some spaghetti. If you want."

He truly appeared to be a nice gentleman and she understood that the offer was made out of kindness but she found herself hesitating. She could say yes but - regardless of how handsome he was - he was a stranger. Also, she would be lying if she said that she did not find him a little present. Or was overwhelming the correct word? He had barged in - by her own fault - and now he was inviting him over and… she was too hesitant. This had to be part of her learning to live alone. Maybe she was too suspicious of him but - he was a little intense. She had learned his name a few minutes ago and despite how grateful she was for his heroic rescue - she was not that comfortable spending the evening in his apartment. Cop or not.

"I - I have some pizza on the way, but thank you."

She began shuffling her feet, a smile plastered on her face. "Well. Thank you again."

It was not that awkward but she had made it that way.

All she did was offer him a little wave of the hand before walking back to her own apartment. He leaned into hicherry wooden doorway, watching her walk away from him with a big smirk on his face. She seemed like a scared deer running for safety. He had done it to be polite and because she looked nervous to be by herself but he might have come on a little too strong; it was not like he was trying to hit on her. That might qualify as weird after already seeing her most of her body. He chuckled. Regardless of his amusement, he watched her walk into her apartment, making sure she was closing the door behind her. Once he confirmed her safety, he did the same.

She was going to be interesting.

-N-

Late! Late! Late!

If she could have shrieked she would have. Apparently, she did not know how her new blue cat shaped alarm clock worked. Apparently, she had not set the clock right. Apparently, she was late for her brand new job interview. Her very important job interview. The job she needed to land if she wanted to keep this apartment. Gah. She was running around the place - hopping on one foot - trying to get dressed and presentable all at the same time. She did not even know where anything was. Despite the fact that she had moved in five days ago, the whole place was still a mess. She did not know where to put anything - and then she would visit her friends - and get ready for school and everything was a disaster. Now, she was paying the price for it.

Fudge, fudge, fudge.

Once she was at least sure that she had clothes on, she grabbed the first elastic she found and quickly twirled her hair into a messy ponytail - it had to be better than her bed hair. Make up? No time for that. Oh well, the natural look was in right? Ugh. She grabbed her brown leather purse that hung from the handle of her bathroom door and then retrieved her keys from deep inside. She slammed her door shut - something she had never forgotten to do after the first day - and she locked it rapidly before dashing to the stairs. If she could keep up this pace, she would maybe make it sort of not too late. Her vision was blinded by her bangs as she began tumbling down the stairs, praying she would not break her neck.

But life was a bitch and life hated her - and for fuck's sake.

She felt it as it happened. The tip of her stupid ballerina shoes got caught in the raised green carpet of the stairs. She meant to steady herself, she meant to grab the light wooden ramp and stop the fall that was coming but - her fingers never made it. She closed her eyes and braced herself for either the impact to come or her imminent death. Whichever came first. What came though, was a tumbling down and then, something hard. She winced every time she heard sounds of impact, her head shaking in every direction. Fortunately for her, the fall was much shorter than she initially anticipated. And more trapping? She could feel something around her waist, something holding her down. She dared to lift her head with only one eye cracked open and -

Oh.

There it was.

The heroic cop, sprawled beneath her, his eyes closed and an expression of pain painted over his sharp features. His strong arms were wrapped around her protectively while she was nestled between his strong, imposing legs with her head on his stomach - on his abs. His six pack. His very nice, very defined six pack. Not the time.

It took him a few seconds, but eventually he revealed his blue orbs to her sight. He looked at the mess of black hair in front of him and he broke into a chuckle. "Hi?"

She was going to die. She was going to melt into a puddle right now and die because there was no way this was happening to her - again. This was the second time she embarrassed herself in front of him…except this time was much worse because she nearly murdered him with her little stunt. "I'm - I'm so sorry," she babbled as she pressed her hands to his chest in a futile attempt to get back on her feet. Her fingers glided across his chest like she was touching marble. Hard pecs. The kind only guys in magazine had. Real life men were not supposed to have a chest like that. Gah. "I fell -I was running and oh god, are you okay?"

He plopped himself up on his elbows, forcing her to sit in between his legs. "A little bruised, but I'll be fine. Ya alright?"

She nodded. "I - I tripped."

He chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I've been telling the owner to fix those stairs forever now."

She watched him rub the back of his head, a hint of a wince on his features. "You're hurt."

"Nah, my head is pretty solid. Trust me." He had been through worse during his trainings and on the job - this was nothing but a mere bump that would go away. "Are ya sure you're okay?"

She nodded again. "I- I'm really sorry. My alarm didn't ring and I'm -" Her eyes widened. "I'm late!" She hoped to her feet, nearly tripping in his legs. "I'm late, I'm so sorry! I'm late!"

He was still laying on the ground, his legs opened wide as she hopped around him, desperate to reach the next stairs. He watched her go, amusement dancing on his face. Had she just knocked him down the stairs - and now she was leaving, blowing through him like a tornado?

Kagome turned around, throwing an apologetic look his way and a little wave before disappearing from his view.

He chortled. That girl was going to be the death of him, literally.

-N-

"I don't see what the big deal is."

"You don't see what the big deal is?"

"Yeah, you said you didn't care."

"I don't care."

"Then why can't you work with me?"

"You know damn well why."

Suddenly, the world around them re-appeared and Kouga was the first one to pull away from the argument. He tore his eyes away from Ayame's form, no longer wishing to see her green eyes and stupid smirk. He turned his head and stared at the foreign presence near him. He blinked once before he realized who was standing beside them; Kagome.

She popped her lips, wishing she could be anywhere but there. Once she had seen him in the hallway, she had rushed in his direction without even thinking about it. She had been waiting for the opportunity to apologize to him after the little stairs incident. On top of that, some of his mail had been delivered to her mailbox by mistake and she wanted to return it. Of course, now that she was the witness of an unpleasant argument she regretted rushing in his direction. She did not want to interrupt and she did not want to be stuck in the middle. And now that they were both looking at her very strangely, she was not even sure what she was supposed to say.

"What do you want?"

She blinked.

Did she just give her attitude? She did not even know her! She felt her gaze hardened; the nerve of her.

"Ayame."

"What? Who is she to butt her nose in our business?"

"We ain't got no business." He did not need an audience for this. He did not want Kagome to be here for this. As a matter of fact, he did not even want Ayame to be here. That shit was over years ago and he had no patience for it anymore. If it were not for the fact that they were colleagues, he would have slammed a door in her face a long time ago. "You leave." There was no hesitation in his voice - nothing but a clear warning.

Ayame huffed, her red hair swaying as she turned her head away from him in aggravation. "Whatever. I'll see you later." She was not done talking to him but he was right about one thing; this could not be done in front of an audience. She did not know who this girl was, but she had every intention of finding out. She had never seen her before and she knew everyone who lived in the building. She kept a tight eye on Kouga and his activities. She would know if a pretty girl lived near him. To top it all of, she was friend with Kouga? When did that happen? Kouga was not exactly a social butterfly. She did not like this.

Kouga watched her walk away and made sure she turned the corner before re-focusing his attention back on Kagome. "Sorry about that." He had been quite the jokester around her so far, but he could not joke about this. Ayame had a way of riling him up. She had ruined what they had a long time ago, and yet, she was always trying to get it back. It was insulting that she thought he would ever want her back in his life. He could not stand her and what she had done.

"No, I'm sorry - I'm the one who interrupted." Great, by trying to fix things, and apologize, she had made it a lot worse. "I just- I was really just trying to… apologize for earlier."

"You mean for almost killing me?"

She winced. So he sort of technically saved her life twice already. And - and now she interrupted whatever he had going on with that rude girl. He had appeared quite mad - which was not an emotion she pictured him having easily. Then again, what did she know about him? Why did she keep acting like she knew him? "I guess I have a lot to apologize for huh?"

As a bright red color spread to her cheeks, he could not help but smirk. "No worries, you got me out of a jam," he began as he rubbed the back of his neck. He might not have been able to get rid of Ayame if it were not for her. "Although, I might have to sue regarding some of the injuries that were inflicted upon my person," he added with a wink.

Part of her was wondering who the redhead was but she also knew that it was none of her business. She was his neighbour, they barely knew each other and his private life did not concern her in any way shape or form. Plus, she was not here to snoop around his life. "I just - yeah, sorry about - almost killing you. And leaving like that." That did not help either.

"I hope he was worth it." His tone was laced with amusement, hoping it might mask the subtle question that was hidden behind his words.

She frowned before clarity dawned upon her. "Oh, well - hopefully I got the job."

Bingo. "Oh well, then, obviously a job interview was well worth my life," he replied with a wink.

And on cue, she blushed again. "Did I mention I was sorry?"

"I recall hearing that word a few times but it feels like a vague memory."

She let her head tip forward, her bangs covering her eyes along with the reddening cheeks. At this point, she was fairly convinced that he was doing it on purpose. Then again, it was not quite difficult to embarrass her. Her cheeks colored easily. As she stared at her brown leather boot covered feet instead of his shiny blue eyes, she was reminded of the other reason why she even interrupted his conversation in the first place. "Mail!" she sputtered.

"Mail?" he asked with a quirk of the eyebrow.

"I got some of your mail," she exclaimed as she raised her hand, handing over the letters that did not belong to her.

He took the pile from her and offered her a grin. "Thanks. Any chance you paid those bills while you were at it?"

"Fat chance. I'm still trying to make rent." She had to move but it did not mean it was a luxury she could quite afford. Her mother did not have the budget to help her out but staying at home was just as expensive of an option. She would figure it out, she would get the job. If not, well, she had savings to get her through the first little bit. After that… She would get to that if and only if it came to it.

"Well, if ever it doesn't pan out for you, I think the garbage men have yet to pick up your cardboard boxes."

"You mean the boxes outside? Outside? Where you left that monster?"

"I would hardly call it a monster. If you had taken the time to look at it, you would have noticed how cute it was."

"Sorry, I was too busy trying to not die."

He chuckled. "I thought you were busy holding up your towel."

Honestly, he did not usually tease this much, but she made the task overly easy. She immediately reacted to everything, her pale skin taking on shades that made her look even lovelier. Of course, it was all innocent.

"Kags!"

At the sound of the masculine voice, his ears perked up. He was forced to tilt his head to the side, only to see a tall silver hair man actively walking towards them. His features were scrounged up as he frowned at the scene in front of him. Possessiveness shone in his amber eyes and Kouga's chest swelled with intrigue.

"Inuyasha."

And so he had a name.

"Hey - what, what's up?"

He stared at Kagome for a brief moment and then focused his attention on the person that truly intrigued him. The tall man standing next to Kagome. The tall man he had never seen before. The tall man that was acting a little too friendly for a stranger.

"Inuyaha, this is Kouga. Kouga is my neighbour."

Inuyasha's lips were tightly pinched as he stretched out a hand. Kouga met the gesture and they exchanged a quick nod.

"Are ya ready?"

"Almost!" she said as she hopped from the ground. She had totally forgotten about him. Her day had been a little too hectic for her own good. She was surprised she could remember her own name at this point.

"Woman, you're always late. It's insane."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Well, Kouga. Thanks again. And sorry again."

He put on his best smile as he offered her a quick nod. "My pleasure." He could feel a certain tension in the room but he could not quite figure out the source of it. As a matter of fact, he was not able to determine what the relationship between Kagome and Inuyasha was. Not that it was any of his business of course.

"See ya around," she said as she turned around, heading back to her own apartment. She felt awkward standing there between the two of them. Although, there was no reason for her to feel awkward… was there?

As Inuyasha followed Kagome, he could not help but keep his eyes locked on Kouga. Why did he keep staring? Why was he not walking away? Kagome had said goodbye and had clearly let him know she had other things to do. And yet, Kouga's blue eyes remained on them until the moment Inuyasha disappeared inside the apartment along with Kagome.

Kouga leaned against the nearest wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Someone had a little pride and possessive issue. He was not a threat.

He just found her… interesting.

Despite how innocent all of this was… if her boyfriend's uneasiness was any indication, he was going to have to take a step back.

Too bad.

-N-