AN: Not quite a cross-over, but our miko heroine is influenced by reading a popular book... and it ends up affecting them all in different ways. Just read, and if you like it, yay! And if you don't, well that's fine too =). It's my first fanfic in a long while... Enjoy!

Golden-Eyed

Under the darkening canopy of trees whose jade green foliage gently danced above them and their campfire, the small but eclectic group of friends had finished with their dinner and started preparing for sleep. From the contagious yawn that started with the monk Miroku and reached everyone in turn, it was no secret that all they wanted was to rest after a long day of killing many demons. Not one of the demons posed a problem since they were all rather weak, but what was more of an annoyance than a problem was the similar mantra each demon would spout, all saying they wanted the Shikon jewel fragments Kagome carried. Overall, it made for a tiring day.

After she returned from changing out of her school uniform and into some cotton PJ pants and t-shirt, Kagome unzipped her sleeping bag. Within seconds a smiling Shippo crawled in, waiting for Kagome to come and cuddle with him like she normally did.

"Aren't you going to sleep, Kagome?" the little fox asked.

Even though she'd been yawing with the rest of them, she felt a sudden wave of energy capture her mind and she was sure it was going to let her sleep just yet.

"Don't worry, Shippo." She smiled and ruffled his red hair. "I'll go to sleep soon."

She began to think of what she could do that wouldn't disturb any of her friends, and that's when she remembered something her friend Yuka had let her borrow the last time she visited the present. It's a book that Eri and Yuka were raving about. She remembered the latter friend shoving it into her hands, telling her she "just had to read it". Since she'd brought it along, Kagome figured a little nighttime reading wouldn't hurt, though it seemed to annoy a certain half-demon in their group. He'd jumped into a nearby tree and sat on a thick bough, one leg dangling over the edge.

Inuyasha's eyes and ears were focused on their camp and the surrounding forest when he noticed the miko rifling through her yellow backpack, retrieving what appeared to be a thick book along with something small and unfamiliar. The text was different than all the school books he'd seen weighing down her bag, mostly because when she had found it there was a genuine look of interest in her brown eyes rather than one of dread.

"Is that a little lantern?" Shippo asked with a large yawn and rub of his eyes.

"Yeah, sort of. It's called a book light," Kagome smiled. She clipped the light onto the binding, arching the light over the pages so they were bathed in a soft glow.

"Can you read the story out loud, or is it another math book?" Shippo crawled in the girl's sleeping bag.

"Definitely not a math book." She laughed. "This is a novel, but I think I want to find out what it's about before I read it to you." Kagome noticed the slight disappointment in the little fox's eyes. After giving him a quick peck on the cheek the fox smiled, stretching his little arms over his head before snuggling his cheek against the sleeping bag's soft liner. Within a minute he'd closed his eyes, fast asleep.

"What are you doing staying up?" Inuyasha snorted from his tree. "You need your rest." Kagome looked up with a surprised look, hearing a hint of concern in his words. Inuyasha quickly added, "You'll be worthless tomorrow if you can't stay awake, wench."

Concern? Hardly… Kagome thought, ignoring the grump in the tree as she sat on the sleeping bag. Yet after a couple of minutes Kagome decided to move when the book started to get interesting. It was much easier to read when she had her back against something solid and her knees drawn up to support her book.

Inuyasha watched her out of the corner of his eye as she got up and sat just below where he was. She'll be sorry tomorrow when she can't keep her eyes open.

As Kagome continued to read the words painted a picture of a life unlike her own, one where a girl lived with her father, attended high school on a regular basis, and where legends were true and mythical creatures lived among humans. Okay, Kagome thought, it's not too different from my world.

Lifting her eyes from the book to look around the camp, her vision focused on the two-tailed cat demon curled up beside a demon slayer, the campfire's light gleaming off blue prayer beads wrapped around the right hand of a monk, and the innocent expression of a young, red-haired fox demon sleeping in her unzipped sleeping bag. Her eyes closed before looking directly above her, watching the slight shift of the half demon sitting on guard, red cloth and silver hair catching the breeze and swaying gently. The supernatural doesn't bother me.

She held her breath when Bella, the heroine of the story, met with hostility as she sat down in her biology class next to Edward, the most beautiful creature she had ever set eyes on. He regarded Bella with a gaze of pure hate, his black eyes conveying it rather well. Kagome shivered as she remembered how it felt the first time Inuyasha looked at her, empathizing with the fictional girl. She replayed the dark gaze, his eyes of shaded amber carrying a look of disgust Kagome didn't understand. Yet she was intrigued, not fully aware how greatly this meeting would alter her life. Soon disgust gave way to tolerance, and now Kagome thought that Inuyasha considered her an ally, and quite possibly a friend. Closing her eyes, she tried to stop the thought that took root, attempting to keep it from even crossing her mind. He's more than a friend to me…

Kagome read on, feeling a flutter in her stomach when Bella saw Edward's eyes the next time, golden hued irises softly regarding her. Inuyasha's face appeared in her mind's eye, the most mesmerizing golden eyes staring at her, soft as she imagined Edward's to be. She couldn't help but remember how lost she'd get on occasion in the half-demon's eyes… A whisper of a sigh escaped her lips, and she continued reading. She was starting to feel the tug of sleep on her eyelids, but she found herself wanting to read more as the high school girl in the story fell more deeply in love with the mythical creature, one that vowed to protect her, even from himself.

Inuyasha was waiting for Kagome to go to sleep, but when he glanced in her direction she seemed to be reading intently, her eyes quickly scanning over the words. She seemed to be slowing down when she took a break to yawn, yet the teen continued to read, sighing for the umpteenth time, causing Inuyasha to shake his head as a slight shiver ran up his arms and up his neck. He couldn't help but notice that her sighs were flavored with a hint of longing, thoughtful breaths that were too quiet to wake the others, but they filled his ears and resonated deep within his chest. He could practically taste the wistful mood surrounding her.

"Would you stop that already?" he asked, trying to sound annoyed and not at all affected. When she didn't answer him he slid off his branch and landed right in front of her, crouching low enough to meet her eyes. On the cover of the book were two hands cradling an apple.

"How can a book about apples be that interesting?" He asked, yanking it from her, scanning the page she was just reading.

"Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, "give it back." She met his eyes over her book, the small light literally making his eyes glow as he regarded her. He noted a faint touch of pink creeping into her cheeks the longer he looked at her. It was better than she envisioned a little bit ago, his eyes glistening as liquid gold as they held her own brown gaze, soft and gentle.

"Are you… blushing?" He asked. Now he was really curious about what was in the book.

She sighed again, breaking eye contact for a short second as she closed her eyes. Without any notice, Kagome pulled her legs down into a kneeling position and began leaning forward, slowly. Kagome's brown eyes opened to watch Inuyasha, the book light revealing a blush highlighting his skin, matching her own as she continued forward. He stumbled out of his crouch, landing on his butt with a thump.

Kagome could almost hear the increased tempo of his heart, all the while trying to control the beat of her own as she drew closer to the half demon. She stopped with her nose about two inches from his, and couldn't help but smile when Inuyasha gulped.

With eyes half-lidded, her whispered words brushed across his lips like feathers. "Yeah… I am."

Kagome slid the book from the too still Inuyasha, his heart still beating quickly from their proximity. She folded the book light and picked up a fallen leaf to use as a bookmark, finally standing.

Inuyasha didn't even notice when she took the book back… he forgot he was even holding it the moment Kagome started moving towards him, her face all flushed and pretty.

"It's not about apples, Inuyasha. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow." Not waiting for an answer from the stunned young man, Kagome curled up in her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

What the he-? Inuyasha started thinking, cut off by Kagome's hushed voice.

"Goodnight," she whispered with a trace of a smile on her lips.

Finally, his heart had slowed to a calm, regular beat, but he couldn't dispel the ache that clenched it the moment Kagome drew away. After a quick glance at the sleeping girl he jumped back to his spot in the tree. Now he was going to spend the rest of the night thinking about her, the warm color staining her cheeks, the way she sighed when looking at him, the feel of her breath on his lips…

He ran a clawed hand through his thick hair. Damn, Kagome.