Chapter One—Anything But Ordinary

            "Mommy!"

            Cherie smiled as her seven-year old daughter ran away from her friends towards her, a piece of paper flapping from one hand and a dirty, green backpack dangling from the other.  Her green slacks were stained brown on one knee and her white shirt had something orange down the front.  Cherie sighed.  Hopefully the orange stain was juice, not paint. 

"Mommy, look what I did!" Kagome reached her mother, dropping the backpack on the ground and holding the picture up with both hands.  Cherie bent down and scooped her up, then adjusted her so both could see the picture.

"See, there's you, that's daddy, and that's Sota!" Kagome pointed at the little stick figures on her paper.

Cherie smiled.  "I think it's wonderful honey! Are you planning on being an artist when you grow up?"

"No! I wanna be a vet like Dr. Smith and take care of all the animals! Except pigs.  I hate pigs." Kagome told her mother as Cherie leaned down and picked up the backpack with some difficulty and began walking to their car in the parking lot.

Cherie opened the door of the Durango and set Kagome in the backseat.  The girl squirmed and twisted around to face her mother.  "Mommy, I don't wanna ride in the backseat.  Can't I ride up front?"

"Yes, sweetheart, but I need you to put these clothes I brought you on.  We're going to visit someone.  Stay out of sight." Cherie closed the door as Kagome nodded and began to change behind one of the seats.  Cherie walked around to the driver's seat and turned on the car, but did not put it into drive yet. 

"Who are we going to see mama?" Kagome asked, muffled under the pink shirt she was trying to tug on. 

"One of my best friends moved here a week ago, honey.  She has a little boy about a year older than you, and he doesn't know anyone around here yet.  She asked if I knew of anybody who would want to be his friend and I told her about you.  Would you like to?"

"Okay! Is he good at soccer?" Kagome asked, buttoning her pants.  She yanked on her sandals and clambered up front with her mother.  Cherie motioned her to turn around and she did.  Cherie picked up a brush and began to pull Kagome's hair into a ponytail.

"I don't know sweetie.  You'll have to ask him."

"Okay!" Kagome chirped.  Her mother put the finishing touches on her hair and Kagome turned around and put her seatbelt on.  Cherie watched her for a moment. 

"Kagome—I need to tell you something.  The boy you're going to meet is going to be very different from any other boy you know.  I want you to keep in mind that no matter how different he is, he's still a person and has feelings, okay?"

"Okay! How is he different?"

"You'll find out." Cherie sighed, pulling the car into drive and leaving the school's parking lot.  "One more thing, Kagome—after you meet this boy you must never mention how different he is to other people.  Do you promise?"

"I promise mama." Kagome looked a little puzzled, but nodded her head as she spoke.

"Good.  Now tell me about your last day of school!"

            It only took about fifteen minutes before they reached the country.  Cherie pulled into a driveway leading to a ranch-styled house with an old barn behind it.  It was probably about three to four miles from the nearest neighbor and surrounded by trees.  Cherie parked the car and they got out, slamming the car doors shut.  Kagome ran after her mother, grabbing a hold of her hand.  Cherie looked down at her daughter.  Kagome was shaking a little bit and biting her bottom lip.  Cherie smiled and gave Kagome's hand an encouraging squeeze.  They reached the porch and Cherie rang the doorbell while Kagome idly looked at the large window on the side of the house.  She was startled to see two golden eyes staring right back at her.  The owner of the eyes jumped back as she looked at him and the blinds fell back to their natural position.

Before Kagome had time to wonder about it, a voice cried out "Cherie!" and Kagome looked up to see her mother hugging a tall, slender woman with long black hair that fell below the shoulders.  She had brown eyes and a kind face.  "It's been so long! Come in!"

"Ruby, it's been ages—you didn't even tell me you were moving over here!" Cherie said, tugging Kagome inside. 

"I'm sorry Cherie, but it was a bit rushed.  We didn't even know we were moving until just last month…that's when…" she fell silent.

"Oh, Ruby." Cherie hugged her again.  "I'm sorry.  At least he's alive."

"Yes, we were fortunate." Ruby smiled shakily. 

"What happened mommy?" Kagome asked, a little miffed at being ignored.

Ruby looked down at the girl and immediately broke into a smile.  "Oh my goodness, Cherie! Is this her? She's a beauty." Ruby knelt in front of Kagome and asked her gently, "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Kagome."

"That's a very nice name.  You can call me Ruby, okay?"

Kagome nodded her head and Ruby looked up at Cherie.  "Are you sure it would be okay?"

Cherie nodded and Ruby looked back at Kagome.  "Sweetie, you know I have a little boy about your age, right?"

"Yeah, mama told me.  Is he here?" Kagome peered over Ruby's shoulder curiously, but the living room was empty and the hallway to the left of them was dark.

"Yes, he's here.  He's in his room right now.  Would you like to meet him?"

"Yeah!"

Cherie chuckled.  "You go ahead and take her, Ruby.  I'll go to the kitchen and get us some water."

"Okay, that would be great.  The glasses are on a towel by the sink, they should be dry by now." Ruby told her while taking Kagome's hand.  Cherie nodded and left the room.  Ruby looked down at the girl and smiled.  "Well, come on sweetheart.  His room is just down here."  Ruby led Kagome toward the hall, and stopped at the second door down.  She knocked softly.

"What?" a gruff voice called out.

"There's someone to see you, honey." Ruby called out.  There was a silence for a moment and the voice responded with a rather panicky note to it.

"Send them away! I don't want to see anybody!"

Kagome looked up at Ruby, who gave her an embarrassed smile.  "He's just shy, sweetheart." Kagome received a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as Ruby called out again.  "She's coming in—don't be rude."

There was a yelp and a clatter, then some shuffling, and finally silence.  Ruby sighed and opened the door, pushing Ruby inside gently.

"You guys have fun—we'll be in the kitchen if you need us."

Kagome turned around to see the door closing behind her.  She stared at it for a moment, then looked around the room curiously.  The boy had been playing a video game, because the TV showed the game on pause, but one controller had been yanked out and the main part of the Playstation thrown to the floor.  The only thing that kept it from being disconnected was the short distance it had fallen.  That explained the clatter.

The room was surprisingly neat despite this, and there were only one or two boxes lying around that had yet to be unpacked.  The boy was nowhere in sight.  Kagome noticed a door to her right that looked like it may be a bathroom.  She knocked and called out, "Hello?" but no one answered.  She pushed the door open cautiously, and peeked inside, but he wasn't there either.  There was nowhere to hide.  The shower curtain was pushed aside and the cabinet space was too small.  The only mess in the bathroom was a small pile of dirty clothes and a towel.

Kagome looked back around the room and was about to check the closet when she was distracted by a movement from underneath the bed.  She grinned and boldly walked over there, getting on her knees and throwing the covers up.  She had found the boy.  Golden eyes stared back at her, a mixture of anger and fear.  Something moved above his head and Kagome gasped.  There was a pair of dog-like ears on top of a mass of silver-white hair.  Her eyes shot down and she was startled again by his hands—instead of fingernails, he had what were unmistakingly claws.

Kagome opened her mouth and the boy's eyes widened.  He grimaced and within a second, his ears were laid back and a clawed hand was covering each ear. 

"COOL!" Kagome squealed.  The boy opened his eyes and stared at her in confusion, his hands dropping to the floor once more.  Kagome grabbed one hand, causing his eyes to widen further, and his mouth to drop.  She ignored this, dragging him out from under the bed.  He jerked his hand back, and stood before her.  The boy was just a few inches taller than her, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans.  His hair was longer than it had looked under the bed, about down to his mid-back.  He opened his mouth to stutter, revealing his fangs. 

Kagome gasped again and he clamped his mouth shut.  "Wow!" Kagome grinned. 

The boy stared at her, as if trying to figure something out.  Finally he spoke.  "Why didn't you scream?"
           

"Why would I?" Kagome asked, reaching up and tugging one of his ears.

"Ow!"

"They're real!!!" Kagome gasped. 

The boy sighed. "Everybody else who saw me screamed and called me names or ran away."

"I think you're cool." Kagome smiled.

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

The boy stared at her again.  "What's your name?"

"Kagome.  What's yours?"

He was silent for a moment.  "It used to be Justin, but just call me Inuyasha."

"Why?"

"I like it better."

"Okay."
           

Inuyasha shook his head and grinned, showing his fangs.  Kagome laughed. 

"What's so funny?"

"You have fangs!"

"So?"

"It's funny! They show when you smile!"

He huffed.  "Feh.  I won't smile anymore, then."

"Why? I won't laugh anymore.  I like them."

Inuyasha sighed.  "Fine.  Listen, do you like video games?"

"Yeah!"

"Wanna play?"

"Yeah!"

            Hours later Cherie and Ruby walked into the spacious backyard to see Kagome running after Inuyasha, who was kicking a soccer ball down toward a pair of sticks that stuck out of the ground for a goal.  Inuyasha kicked the ball and it went between both sticks.  Behind him, Kagome groaned.  "I won't ever score a goal! You're too fast!"

Inuyasha grinned.  "One more?"

"Okay!"

Inuyasha ran over to get the ball and threw it to Kagome from behind the sticks.  Kagome immediately took the ball and began to run with it, dribbling it to her own two sticks.  Inuyasha was running behind her, but it was obvious he wasn't going as fast as he could.  However, he still caught up with Kagome and they ran side by side.  Inuyasha attempted to reach for the ball, but Kagome kicked it.  It hit one stick and bounced inside the "goal."

"YES!" Kagome squealed and began jumping up and down.  Inuyasha grinned, looking very pleased with himself. 

The two women watching laughed quietly at the little scene, and Inuyasha's ears pricked backwards at the sound.  He turned and looked over at them.

"Kagome! Time to go!" Cherie called over at them.  Kagome continued to jump up and down, obviously not hearing her mother, but Inuyasha walked over to her and poked her in mid-jump.  She stumbled, but he held a firm grip on her arm. 

"Inuyasha!" Kagome glared at him. 

He grinned.  "Your mom's calling you.  I think it's time for you to go."

Kagome looked over at her mother and pouted.  She didn't want to go.  She was having too much fun!

The two kids walked slowly over to the mothers.  Cherie smiled at her scowling daughter.  "Looks like someone had fun today."

Kagome looked up at her.  "Do we hafta go?"

"Yes baby.  I've got to get back to Sota.  Ruby invited you back tomorrow, though."

"Really?" Kagome beamed at Ruby.

"Yes.  I'll be dropping you off and you'll stay here all day tomorrow while I do some shopping."

"Did you hear that Inuyasha?" Kagome grinned, grabbing his hands and spinning him around.

"Yeah, I heard." Inuyasha blushed, jerking his hands away.  Kagome didn't notice and went on spinning. 

Ruby chuckled.  "I think we're going to have trouble keeping these two apart." She muttered to Cherie. 

Cherie smiled and nodded.  "I think you're right."

Author's notes—Whaddya think??? Okay, as far as I planned it, this is basically going to be a fic about Inuyasha and Kagome growing up together.  I've got some great plans for this, and you'll see how Inuyasha came to be a half-demon.  It won't be until much later, but there will be a point where Inuyasha's demon blood takes over (you know, the part where he goes around acting like a crazy full demon?), he'll still have his once a month as human, and there might, MIGHT be a cure, but that'll be like, when they're in late high school, early college.  It's kinda OOC, but I'll try to keep them in character.  Please review—I am SO excited about this fic!