Gutterflower

Chapter One

The Twin Cities

"You have not lived the perfect day until you have done something for someone else who will never be able to repay you."

Disclaimer: Alrighty, Yes I am Suigin Mitsukai and I am posting a story… and Inuyasha story… okay fine, Rumiko Takahashi is the most wonderful person in the world and I do not own her amazing work.

Warning: there is quite a bit of swearing in this story, as like present day.

"talk"

((thoughts))

(Authors Note at end)

Ecstasy is all you need
Living in the Big Machine
Oh, you're so vain
Now your world is way too fast
Nothing's real and nothing will last
I'm in love and you don't care
Turn your anger into lust
I'm still here but you won't trust at all
And I'll be waiting
The plane reeked of sweat and greasy food—oh, wait. That was the fat man next to him. Besides that, the plane would have smelt fine, if he wasn't crammed uncomfortably next to the window, unable to get out… and having to use the restroom almost the entire flight.

Inuyasha Nakamura was on a plane to Minneapolis, Minnesota from Detroit, Michigan to live with his older half-brother Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru is a rich business man in co-owning a car dealership, but he was a complete jerk to Inuyasha. The man didn't even give a penny to Inuyasha's mother before she died of lung cancer at an early age, but then again, he didn't have to. He had a different mother, or he wouldn't be a full dog demon. But it would have been a great charity to give some money so they would have had a half-way decent house before Izayoi died.

Child Services sent Inuyasha on a prepaid flight because he didn't have any living relatives, due to the Vietnam War in the 70s, and Inuyasha was only 17. ONE more year and he would have had the right to live by himself. If Izayoi lived for one more year, her son wouldn't have had to live with his self-centered brother.

So here he was. On a craptastic flight to the Twin Cities [1 with a snoring old fat man next to him to live with his stupid brother.

The two "siblings" never got along, even over the simplest things. Sesshomaru was always peering over Inuyasha's shoulder, just waiting for him to make a mistake to nag and bother and tease him about until Inuyasha messed up again. Sesshomaru had great joy in this annoying hobby until he turned eighteen and moved to Minneapolis to go to the U of M [2 to get a business degree, which was when Inuyasha turned ten, three years after their father walked out.

The plane landed and hour and a half after take off. Inuyasha had to wait longer than expected because the fat man was struggling to get out. He waited around for a bit before the airport figured out where this flight's luggage would be, and then it took him a bit to find the baggage claim conveyor belt. Inuyasha found a cart to put all his bags onto and started walking toward the H7 car terminal where he deemed his car would be.

What a surprise! Well, then again, not really.

There was a chauffer waiting for him with a sign that read 'Nakamura, Inuyasha' on it. He pushed his cart and the man led him to his awaiting limousine by the entrance of the airport. He loaded his bags into the back of the limo and the man opened the door for Inuyasha. He stepped in, half expecting to see fancy interior and priceless champagne bottles and wine glasses from England, but all of it was just black leather and floors with a mirrored ceiling and bright colored lights here and there.

They went past Fort Snelling Cemetery [3 and further into Minneapolis and the entire ride, all Inuyasha thought was how much his life would suck from now on.

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The chauffer pulled into a loop drive-way in front of a massive brick house in Kenwood, a terribly rich part of Minneapolis' West Side. The house, correction, mansion had ivory pillars around the entry way and well gardened flowers and shrubs along the house and drive-way.

"Fancy-pansy little bastard…," Inuyasha climbed out of the limo and a butler gestured him through the giant cherry wood door way.

"Master Inuyasha, your room is upstairs, down the hall and the third door to your left. It won't be hard to notice," he bowed and left somewhere to another part in the maze of a house, but Inuyasha didn't care for he was staring a the beautiful French chandelier, wondering if he could make one of the glass needle-like things fall and stab him through his head. He quickly erased the morbid and creepy thought from his head, skipping up the circular staircase by two steps.

"Its very rude not say hello to your brother," a sly voice said from behind him.

"Why would I say hello to a dumb ass like you?" Inuyasha spun around, glaring daggers at Sesshomaru, gripping the railing so tight he thought he would leave indentations.

"Because if it wasn't for me, you would be in an orphanage," Sesshomaru smirked. "Not that I want you here, half demon."

"Oh, shut up! I'd rather be there then here with you," Inuyasha retorted back, turning around to run up the steps.

"It's a good thing your filthy human mother died when she did. She was suffering from enough of your plentiful screw ups," Sesshomaru folded his arms behind his back and held his head high and proud, enjoying his younger brother's expression as he turned around.

"Shut up! She suffered enough for twelve years for seeing your face everyday!" Inuyasha snapped and ran up the stairs before Sesshomaru could reply back. Frankly, Inuyasha was a bit scared of him, towering over him with sleek golden eyes that only had the intention of wringing his neck. It sent shivers down his spine.

His bags were all there, waiting to be unpacked, but he ignored them and sat on the already-made bed that had black and grey striped and a million white pillows against the black headboard. The walls were red with plenty of light shining on them with the floor-to-ceiling windows and the balcony he had. He scoffed and closed the window that showed a view of the front lawn. Outside was a woman stepping out of a sliver Bentley. Sesshomaru was waiting for her next to the car and they hugged a-and… kissed?!

Inuyasha gagged and shut the blinds quickly. "Must be his whore girlfriend… sick nasty!"

Recently, Inuyasha had been talking to himself, more or less out of loneliness or boredom. It was an annoyingly growing habit, ever since he was ten after Sesshomaru left. He had been trying is best to subdue the habit, but it seemed like his mind couldn't do the thinking from mental distress. He figured out problems, argued over this or that, or thought out loud. It was actually kinda creepy and strange. He even argued to himself about going to an insane asylum.

Inuyasha started unpacking his clothes and placing them in his closet or in the dresser. He even had his own bathroom with a huge shower, a giant Jacuzzi and a sink that had a faucet coming straight out of the wall and into a granite bowl. The butlers brought up a box of his personal things that were unable to go into suitcases a while later.

Later that night, he heard a knock at his door. "What do you want?" Inuyasha called out, laying on his queen sized bed and staring at the ceiling.

A woman walked in, the same lady from outside earlier. Inuyasha glanced at her, but didn't make any move to sit up. "Hello, I'm Kagura, I'm Sesshomaru's assistant. He told me that you're starting school at Carson and Mason High school this coming Monday, its not too far in the school year, so homework and things like that should be fine," Kagura stepped inside and sat on the edge of Inuyasha's bed.

Her hair was swiftly pulled into a bun with hair chopsticks poking out. He eyes were strangely red, and they almost coordinated with her lips. She had a black suit on with the slightly baggy dress pants some business women wore. "Your school supplies will be ready for you on that morning," She said sympathetically, realizing the near blank expression on Inuyasha's face. "Hey, I'm sorry if Sesshomaru acts like he's in a foul mood. Just that this whole child services and business is making him stressed," Kagura said, placing a hand on his knee.

"You would know that, wouldn't you?" Inuyasha said to her, rolling onto his side so his back faced Kagura.

"I'm sorry about your mother, Inuyasha, I really am," Kagura tried to reassure, but received no response from him so she left his room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Inuyasha exhaled deeply, biting his lip to try and rid of the salty tears he despised so much, but his feeble attempt proved nothing as one drop fell off his the bridge of his nose onto his hand.

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The next morning, well, it was more afternoon when he woke up at 12:30 PM from the sound of the lawn mower in the front lawn. He got up and went downstairs in all his shirtless glory to find the kitchen. When he found it, he started gawking at the hugeness of it, but decided to shuffle through the cupboards and the huge refrigerator when he found the Froot Loops.

"HA! I knew that bastard got hooked on these as much as I did, and… ramen!" He gasped, yanking the cereal box out of the cabinet and found that the other side was filled from top to bottom of all the different flavors of ramen. "Amazing…," he stared at the mass collection in awe of the wondrous Japanese noodles, licking his lips. "Gotta save it for later, so I don't eat it up without eating the Froot Loops. Oh, no, can't forget the Cereal," Inuyasha rubbed his cheek against the box and grinned.

He opened the fridge and got out the milk. He found the bowls and cups in one cupboard and took out a white and black decorated porcelain bowl.

He stared at it.

"Way too small," Inuyasha put it back on the shelf. He went through the lower cabinets under the island and found a mixing bowl, which was just about the right size to pour the entire box into it with just enough room for the milk. Inuyasha smirked and brought it around the island to sit on one of the bar stools. He saw the T.V remote laying on the counter, so he took it and turned the small television on and switched the channel to VH1. he grabbed the big wooden spoon he picked out and scooped it into the bowl.

After his perfect breakfast, Inuyasha went up to his room to take a shower. He got dressed in a black T-shirt, a dark grey and black striped zip-up with tight-ish baggy-ish dark jeans with his black worn-out converse. He decided to go for a walk.

Just as he was about to leave the house, he was stopped by Kagura. "Inuyasha!" she ran down the steps, fastening the belt around her short robe and closing it shut. "Here, a cell phone for school and friends. Buy whatever you'd like," She handed him the Sidekick 3 and hurried up the steps, like running to something… or someone.

"Oh God," Inuyasha make a disgusted face and ran out the door, slamming it shut to the brisk September winds. He ran down the drive way into the street, his feet making crunching noises form the colored leaves on the sidewalk.

Inuyasha walked around the rich housing area for awhile until he saw the city up ahead with the tall business towers and smaller apartment buildings scattered here and there. "I don't have anywhere to go, I'm bored as fuck, and it's…," Inuyasha looked at the clock on his Sidekick. "It's three. I've got plenty of time," he kicked some sticks on the sidewalk, shoving his hands in his jean pockets.

As he neared the actual city, the houses were getting worse in shape and many lawns didn't look tended to for a along time. The area almost seemed abandoned. There was no one in sight and no sign of life, besides the few lights in some of the windows in the houses.

A bit later, he lifted his gaze from the sidewalk to find himself in Minneapolis with cars, people and shops everywhere. From what he could tell, it was a poorer part of the city, even on the West Side. Through all the smells and human scents, there was one scent that caught his attention. It was the sweet smell of cherry blossoms and water, and the source was a girl a bit younger than himself up ahead, and he sensed fear out of her.

All he saw was her lower back length ebony hair, a short and flowy black skirt and rainbow knee-high socks with pink converse. Inuyasha decided to follow silently behind her to see if there was anything wrong. He followed her for quite some time until he saw her starting to run, franticly, like she had to get away from something. Inuyasha could tell there was something definitely wrong. The girl bolted down an alley and some man chased after her.

Inuyasha started to run after them, keeping expertly quiet and out of sight until the found out the truth. The girl ran to a vacant lot, no where to run or hide. ((Stupid girl…)) Inuyasha actually thought, crouching down in a dark corner.

"Hey, pretty little girl… a bit antsy, are we?" The man walked toward her, taking out a switchblade and opening the newly sharpened knife at his side.

"Leave me alone!" The girl shivered in the cold winds, walking up into a wall. "What did I do to you?! Please, leave me alone!" ((God, save me please! Why are You letting him do this?)). The girl had tears running down her face, ruining her black makeup.

"But your so fucking pretty, my dear. If you dare scream, I'll let this blade slip," The man held his knife to her throat, getting uncomfortably close to her lips, then he suddenly closed his mouth around hers and ripped down her skirt, sticking his fingers into her panties.

Inuyasha could hear her muffled cries as he abused her. He couldn't take it anymore. He risked his life by jumping out of the shadows to try and save her. He slinked up behind him and wrapped his hands around his neck, throwing himself and the man to the ground. Inuyasha held his arms behind his back and took the switchblade from his hand.

"You disgusting asshole. Get outta here!" Inuyasha stood up and let him go, instantly he rushed over to the girl. "Are you okay?" His heart nearly stopped beating. She was so pretty and flawless, how could that man do this to her?

She was sobbing so hard, sitting up against the wall. It pained him so much to watch a girl cry, but he didn't want to come up as a rapist as well. She nodded slowly and set her head on her knees. Inuyasha sat on his knees a bit, sitting next to her, unable to help or console her.

"What's your name?" he asked after her sobbing quieted down.

"I'm Ka—Kagome," Her voice hitched and she hiccupped, burying her face in her hands. "I'm so glad you saved me. When I saw you in the shadows b-because of your hair, I swear I thought I was going to scream. You frightened me with those… awesome gold eyes," Kagome look up at him in mid-sentence and looked at him, wiping away a tear.

Inuyasha's cheeks turned pink, taking her hand and placing the closed switchblade in her hand. "You're gonna need this in the future because you're--…," ((So fucking beautiful)). "--because your so young,"

Inuyasha honestly couldn't take his eyes off her. He could have stared forever at her endless orbs of blue that she had for eyes. She did look younger then himself, but she was still elegant and grown-up. She had this childish side to her, like an adult that doesn't want to grow up. This… sparked something inside him, and he wasn't sure what.

"Oh, please," Kagome scoffed. "I'm sixteen, mind you. I think I'm old enough. By the way, I think I have the right to know my rescuers name…?" Kagome pushed herself off the ground.

"Just call me Inuyasha," he unzipped his sweatshirt and hung it over Kagome's shoulders. "Its getting cold out, and I'm walking you home."

"When did I ask for your help? I can fend for myself you know, Inuyasha," Kagome glared at him, and started walking out of the lot, pulling up her skirt a bit more.

"Then why didn't you before?" Inuyasha walked beside her, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Because I didn't have a knife," Kagome said, flipping the closed blade in her hand.

"I saw you. You were frozen solid when that dude pinned you against that wall. You made no move whatsoever to try and push him off. I started to think twice, thinking that maybe you wanted it,"

"WANTED IT? You're really are one of the most rudest bastards I've ever met!" Kagome exclaimed, shaking her head. She lifted up her head to glare at him, but his triangular ears distracted her. "Oh my God! They're so… so—," she lifted up her hand to stroke them.

"Adorable?" Inuyasha took her wrist, rolling his eyes and throwing her hand down.

"Hell yes!" Kagome attempted to touch them again, but Inuyasha jerked his head to the side.

"Will you stop? Do you know how annoying that gets?" Inuyasha's cheeks started to burn at how close he was getting to her.

Kagome started to use her other hand to try and reach his ears. "Just one touch?" She begged, raising her brows and pouting her lip.

"No, now can you get off of me? You persistent little runt—," Inuyasha pushed her off him, holding her by the shoulders. Kagome was a head shorter then he was, Inuyasha had always been one of the taller kids at his old school, and it Inuyasha's realization, she wasn't that short.

"RUNT? What the fuck are you talking about, stupid?" Kagome jumped up suddenly and pulled on one of his ears, dropping Inuyasha's sweatshirt.

"Ah! Damn it, let me go!" Inuyasha was bending down to her level and stomping his foot while flailing his arms in front of him to try and make her back off and let go of his sensitive ear.

"They are soft! Like and puppy's," Kagome let go and walked past him proudly. "Most triumphant," She held her hands on her hips as she walked, and Inuyasha could evidently see the sway of her hips, which mesmerized him a bit.

"H-Hey! You!" Inuyasha pointed an accused finger at her and followed after Kagome, his cheeks flushed red. "What the hell makes you think that you could take one of my very sensitive ears and walk off? Its just like… pulling on your hair," Inuyasha took a chunk of obsidian hair and gave it a hard tug. Kagome stumbled back, gripping onto her scalp and the clump of hair he took.

"The hell? I'm a girl, you flippin' asshole!" Kagome's head was tilted back harshly. She reached out and held onto the section of hair where his human ears should be. Inuyasha leaned forward, his nose touching her cheek. His breath was stolen from him, taking in her intoxicating scent. "Little boys do not pick on girls," She said, totally oblivious that Inuyasha wasn't listening to her. He was lost in her eyes, his breath caught in his throat.

"W-Well, then you're a bitch!" Inuyasha gripped her wrist and tore her hand away from his hair. "Do you want me to walk you home or not, because you're really pissing me off!"

"If ya let go of my hair, I'd be glad if you walked me home, but we're not going anywhere if your flipping shit at me!" Kagome flailed her arms and tried biting his hand, or his arm, either suited her. Inuyasha let go and looked away.

"Where's my sweatshirt? Did you lose it already?" Inuyasha yelled at her, looking around the small area of the sidewalk.

"I don't know! I just had it! Someone must have taken it while we weren't paying attention," Kagome insisted, crossing her arms.

"So you suppose they just took it right off your shoulders, then, huh? That's good thinking, Kagome. Genius." Inuyasha said, sighing, sarcasm dripping off every word.

Kagome stomped her foot. "There's no other way it got stolen! It's just a stupid sweatshirt. Get over it." Kagome started walking ahead, exhaling sharply.

"So while your walking, you better be careful because I MIGHT just take your damn shoe off!"

"Shut up!"

"So don't tell me to get over it! I only have two sweatshirts, and that crummy one was the best one!"

"GET OVER IT," Kagome swiftly pulled out a key out of her pocket and shoved it in the key hole, taking a sharp turn into a door way. "Thanks for nothing, dumbfuck," she slammed the glass door.

"Hey!" Inuyasha scrambled to the door. "Who ya callin' dumbfuck, dip stick!" he pounded on the glass with the outside of his fists. "Open the door, you coward! I'll break this door open and--,"

He stopped ranting when Kagome started making faces and sticking her tongue out. All of Inuyasha's angry cries were muffled to Kagome. "Don't you dare tease me, Kagome! I swear, I'll get back at you so bad! You'll see!"

Inuyasha stormed down the sidewalk, his hands clenched at his sides, his eyes locked on the sidewalk. "That dumb girl! I swear, if she even dares to--," Inuyasha stopped walking suddenly, her face invading his thoughts. "But she is beautiful, I'll give her that--," he felt his skin crawl from her touch not too long ago, "B-But if she speaks to me again o-one more time--," he felt his heart clench that caused him pain, seeing a tear fall down her face in the lot. "I can't get her out of my head!"

He pressed his palms to his temples and tightened his jaw, growling. "Why can't I stop thinking about her? Why can't she leave me alone?! I—I… I'm… in—," ((I'm in love…)).

Inuyasha plopped himself down a bench nearby, deciding to take the bus to his "home".

He desperately needed to sort through his thoughts and feelings.

Authors note:

[1: The Twin Cities are Minneapolis and Minnesota's capital, St. Paul combined. Its just a short name to refer to them.

[2: the U of M is the University of Minnesota.

[3: Fort Snelling is a Cemetery for the dead, and for the Civil War soldiers.

Chapter is dedicated to all those who died in the Minnesota Bridge Collapse a few days ago, and all those who have family members or friends who were involved with the collapse.

Thank you for reading and I hope you review!