Please Read: This first chapter has been edited (3/22/19) and may not match exactly with the older chapters. I will be making this less Westernized and tweaking dates to fit the time line better.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

'Where is that sweater? It has to be here somewhere.' thought the flustered teen as she chewed on her bottom lip and continued to dig through the pile of clothes in her best friend's closet.

Not finding the garment and huffing in frustration, Kagome sat on her haunches and turned to the girl on the bed. "Sango, have you seen that pink sweater of mine?"

The inquisitive tone jolted said friend from the magazine resting on the bedspread and peered up in contemplation. Sango tilted her head to the side, clicking a tongue against the roof of her mouth while thinking. She flicked her wrist at the closet and tossed out a possible suggestion. "Try the top shelf. It might have gotten mixed up when I put away my last load."

Kagome's button nose scrunched up in displeasure as her focus shifted to the high shelf. "You sure it's there and not somewhere else?"

Shrugging a shoulder and fingering a corner of the glossy page, Sango clucked her tongue in thought once again. "If it's not there then I don't know." A mischievous grin slid over her features, and humorous eyes twinkled as she spouted cheekily. "Maybe the monsters in the closet devoured it."

An ungraceful snort left the other teenager, and a hand brushed some black strands off her forehead while her honeyed tone dripped with mild sarcasm. "Ha Ha, you're so funny I forgot to laugh."

"Ha Ha. You're so funny I forgot to laugh," mimicked Sango in a similar high-pitched fashion then cackled with mirth at the unamused expression Kagome was returning.

A pink tongue jutted out at the hysterical woman before turning her attention back to the top shelf. She realized that it was far too high for her small stature to reach without some intervention. Damn her family genes and being way too short, though Sango's grandmother was even shorter, so it could have been much worse. She returned to her still giggling friend and blew her bangs fiercely out of her vision. "Sango, do you have something I can stand on?"

The brown-eyed teen sobered and pointed at the closet with a shooed foot as she went back to flipping through the magazine. "There is a step stool in the back of the closet. I haven't used it in years." Her glossy lips twitched with genuine amusement while tossing out a sly jab about the dainty girl's lack of height, "I clearly don't require it any longer."

Kagome skimmed her sassy friend's long slender legs and couldn't stop the eye roll at the obvious. 'Gee, I wonder why?' She wisely kept that comment to herself and promptly began to search for the wooden stool.

When the hardworking teen found the seat buried underneath a bunch of shoes, she hauled the thing out triumphantly and set it on the floor to use.

'Damn it!' A curse sprang out as she noticed the step stool did little to help her cause and there was still a great reach for her. She sighed tiredly, and her form wilted in silent defeat, 'I can't win, can I?'

Shaking off the setback, Kagome raised on to the balls of her nimble feet to reach out and grasp the shelf to keep steady as the other grabbed at the folded clothes. Straight away, she withdrew a black tee and made a face at the wrong garment then pitched it over her head, 'Nope, that was not it.'

"Aaaah! What the hell?," cried a surprised Sango as she yanked the shirt away unblocking her view and glared over at the preoccupied woman, balling up the garment and carrying on, "Why'd you go and do that? Also, whatever you pull out your putting back."

Launching another garment out of her way and clearly not registering her friend's word, Kagome mumbled absentmindedly. "What?"

This time, the pleasant brunette leveled her eyes in mild irritation and impulsively hurled the unfolded shirt at her friend's back, "Hello. You tossed a tee shirt on my head."

"Huh? Oh. Sorry…", apologized the distracted teen, while she kept up with the task at hand, flinging garments here and there.

"Ha! I found it!," cried Kagome as she flapped the pink sweater triumphantly then hopped off the stool. She grinned delightedly and performed a goofy victory dance around the room singing loudly, "Oh yeah, oh yeah."

Another shirt flew at her, this time intentionally whacking her in the kisser and muffling the triumphant song. The surprise attack had caused the silly teen to lose her balance and fall on her butt.

"Ouch!", The young woman bemoaned as she hastily tore the garment away and glared at her most beloved friend fiercely. She shook the garment wildly her way and whined some more while cupping her tender cheeks, "That was not very nice."

Sango tried to appear sympathetic and understanding but failed when an amused grin began to tease her twitching lips, "No, it was not, but it sure was funny."

Moving to stand and hands going back to her hurt tush, Kagome grumbled lowly and glared at her teasing friend. "It definitely was not funny!"

Laughter flooded the room as the brown-haired teen fell back against the bed clutching her stomach. "Definitely…funny."

Hands moving to her hips, Kagome continued to glare then uttered nothing as she turned around, so she could peel off the borrowed tee and throw on the light sweater.

When the laughter ran its course, and she was leaning on an elbow once again, Sango regarded her stiff friend's posture and blinked at the sight of marred skin. 'When had Kagome gotten that and why didn't she tell me?' Her brows dipped as confusion began to slip in while she finally voiced her thoughts, "Kagome?"

Distracted with fiddling with the sweater, Kagome never noticed the sudden change in the air and unseeingly responded to her name, "Yeah?"

"When did you get a tattoo?" questioned the curious woman who was now sitting up and eyeing her friend intently.

Fingers trembling, the panicked teenager fumbled with the edge of the sweater for a moment before forcing it over her dark head and scolding herself for being so thoughtless in the process, 'Shit, I can't believe I forgot about the tattoo! Ugh. Smooth move, dumbass.'

She wasn't sure how she could have forgotten the piece since the thing was large and covered most of her side. Usually, Kagome hid it with a tank top, but it had been laundry day in the Higurashi household and they were all dirty. So, when Sango called to hang out, she had simply thrown on a tee that she had meant to bring back and hurried out the door. Right now, that decision was screwing her and now she had to explain something that she wasn't ready to talk about.

Pivoting on the balls of her feet, Kagome twisted at the hem of the sweater and trained her gaze to the poster tacked up above the head of her companion as she fought with what to say, "Well, you see. Umm. I've had it for a while; It's no big deal." It wasn't like she was lying per se. The nervous woman simply didn't know how to explain the tattoo without spilling the absolute truth, though the look on Sango's face clearly stated that she had not bought into the feeble excuse.

A light, snort sprang from the teen on the bed, and her eyebrows disappeared into her bangs as she observed the nervous reaction from her friend; something was up, and it was monumental.

'No big deal she says,' Another snort came while Sango thought on Kagome's words, 'This coming from the girl who ran to my house just to inform me that she was officially a woman. Yeah, no big deal, my ass!' The unconvinced teen sniffed again and called out the other teenager about the lame excuse. "If it's not a big deal then why'd you quickly cover it up?"

Kagome's nervous mouth flopped open and closed like she couldn't acquire enough air into her lungs, and a hand shoved roughly through her raven locks as she mumbled things under her breath.

The wild reaction had Sango smirking rather smugly and hailing a silent victory for knowing when her best friend was full of shit, 'ha. I told you so.'

Sighing in defeat, Kagome realized she couldn't think of any more excuses to tell her best friend; none that the woman would buy anyway. Plus, she didn't want to lie anymore, it was very tiring; both mentally and physically. The only thing that was stopping her was the immense fear that Sango was going to be mad she had not confided in her sooner; she hadn't wanted their friendship to change along with everything else that had. Their friendship remained the one thing that had always been consistent.

Her gaze dropped to the floor and teeth worried the bottom lip before forcing the stare back up, "Well, you see. Ummm. Ah, damn it," shouted Kagome as she extended her hand to massage the back of her neck then continued wearily, "You're not going to believe me."

Sango sent her a pointed look that clearly said, you know me better than that, and Kagome quickly retracted her last statement, "Okay maybe you will, but I'm guessing you'll be pissed; very, very pissed."

Sitting up and crossing her arms over her chest, Sango eyed her nervous friend and cautiously tossed out another question, "How bad is this going to be?"

Kagome nibbled on her quivering lip and proceeded to move toward the bed, wringing her petite hands in the process while attempting to soften what she was going to reveal. "It's not that bad. Sort of. Maybe it is bad. I guess."

The brown-haired teen became mildly annoyed causing her to yell at the other woman. "Kagome just tell me already!"

She sat gently down on the edge of the bed and bucked up the nerve to push forward to explain. "The tattoo is of a black and silver puppy sitting on the grass basking in the moonlight."

Kagome lifted the sweater up exposing her side to show Sango the large tattoo and continued, "Well, you see…the tattoo represents my little boy."

'Little boy?' Sango looked up in apparent confusion, her brows scrunching together. "But you don't have…" The realization hit the teen swiftly, and her mouth floundered open for a few precious minutes. "Wait! Malakai? I thought he was your cousin kid?"

Heat flushed over tan skin, and the quivering of her plump lip returned with a vengeance as Kagome nodded slowly. "No, he's not my cousin's kid. We thought it would be best to tell others that it was a relative's child; it made the questions stop. Umm. Yeah, Malakai's my son." Once again, she averted her dull gaze to the shaggy carpet not wanting to see the disgust and disappointment she had seen so many times before. Shame washed over her, and the overpowering heat in her pinched face deepened.

"Hey." A hand reached out and rested on top of hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze before more words came softly, "Kagome look at me."

Downcast eyes trailed back up to an unexpected sight; Kind brown ones awaited her, and instant relief surfaced. No disgust and disappointment were on her best friend's features; just kindness and empathy.

Sango gave it another squeeze then carefully continued with her questioning. "Is that why you have been out of school?"

A bob of her head confirmed the other teenager's inquiry and fingered the magenta bedspread before answering softly. "Hai, I had Malakai five months after I stopped attending school."

Confusion overtook Sango once again, but it didn't stop inquiries from spilling forth. "Five months? Isn't it 9 months of pregnancy?"

Kagome chuckled a bit and ran an unsteady hand through her inky locks. "That's what I thought, but I guess it's different when you're having a hanyō."

Sango nearly choked at hearing the demonic name for a half demon, brows raising in surprise. 'Oh. That would mean that Kagome hooked up with a... Wow, talk about complicated.' "Hanyō, Malakai's a hanyō? He doesn't resemble a typical half demon."

A wistful smile drew across the teen's lips, and a little giggle slipped out as her mind went back to the memory of Malakai's birth. "I was surprised myself when Malakai was born and didn't see those cute fuzzy ears. I was expecting them after all."

Her forehead scrunched once more with confusion then realization as something dawned on the brunette. 'Fuzzy ears?' Wait. Didn't she say the tattoo was of a puppy? That would mean Malakai was half Inu. Oh boy. That was definitely trouble.

Not wanting to pry at first, eventually, her curiosity won out and, Sango hesitantly asked Kagome about the small child's parentage. "Kagome, whose Malakai's father?" It had to be someone that they know because there wasn't that many Inuyōkai in the area.

Kagome's content smile faded and prudently withdrew her hand intentionally placing it back on her lap. Her familiar tone clearly contained a copious amount of hurt as she whispered hoarsely. "I really don't feel like talking about it."

Sango's full lips twisted together, and a determined look flashed across her brown eyes. 'Oh, no, she wasn't. Kagome was not going to release a bomb like this and not spill who the prick that helped her get into this mess.' Thought the angry woman before demanding to know the asshole's name. "Kagome, tell me who the hell it is?"

A troubled frown marred her distinctive features while her sorrowful gaze stealthily moved to the window. "If I tell you, you are going to want to go kick his ass."

The ponytailed teen snarled and naturally struck her palms against her thighs. "Damn straight I will! What asshole leaves someone in that position?"

Kagome's nervous hand reached out to forcibly take hold of the one beside her and humbly implored her loyal friend not to. "You have to promise me that you won't."

Her dark brows furrowed in frustration as the taller woman watched her longtime confidant plead. She didn't understand why Kagome didn't want her to go and kick his ass. It was only right for someone to defend her honor and put the dog in his place. "Why? The dick rightfully deserves it!"

The young mother's voice echoing in the small room as some resentful anger bubbled over. "Because he doesn't know! Or at least I think he might have suspected at first. He wouldn't have been able to verify since I masked my scent so who knows what he thought." Her next words were bitter on the tongue. "Most likely relief…" Tears began to pool in her eyes, but she blinked them away before they could fall.

This time it was Sango who gently squeezed her trembling hand. "You never told him?"

The dark head offered a slight shake in return. "No. I wanted to, but I don't think he would care. I mean he never approached me even if he had thought I was. That must signify something, right?" The salty liquid came back to the surface, and her gaze clamped tightly to stop the oncoming flood.

Sango wasn't sure what to say to soothe her saddened friend. "Oh, Kagome." Her free arm went around the tiny woman and drew her in, whispering the same question again. "Who is it, Hun?"

The teenaged mother didn't want to say it. If she said it then it would be real. If spoken out loud, she couldn't pretend it never happened. Her eyes fluttered open and gazed into concerned chocolate ones while taking in a deep breath. "It's Sesshōmaru."

"Sesshōmaru?" Sango mirrored the words as her mouth dropped in disbelief. "You mean The Ice Prince? No freakin' way. You have to be shittin' me?"

Kagome's raven mane shook wildly and answered genuinely. "I'm not. Sesshōmaru is Malakai's father."

Sango raised a slim brow again and wondered how this could have happened right under her nose. 'When did this occur? Where the hell was I when this been going on? How did the hell did I not know this?' Holy shit. Sweet and bubbly Kagome did what every girl in school wanted to do. "But how?"

Kagome exhaled fluffing her bangs as she started her tale from the beginning. "It was during summer vacation in the middle of 9th grade, and I was sitting under a very large tree in the park reading a book when a shadow fell over me. I looked up to find Inuyasha's older brother standing there. I asked him if he had a problem. He coldly replied I was sitting in his spot."

She snorted at the memory but didn't stop talking. "Well you know me, I told him that it was too bad since I was sitting there first. I don't feel like repeating the argument, but I'll tell you that I won and he left."

A smirk brightened her once saddened features, and an amused chuckle shook her diminutive form. "The following day I went back to the park, and there he was sitting in that damn spot. Looking quite smug, I might add."

Another laugh broke free as she rocked her eyes at the memory and tossed some locks off her shoulder. "That happened every day for a month; both of us sitting at that very spot every other day but still having the same argument over and over again. Finally, we started talking to each other instead of arguing. At the end of the month, he asked me out."

Out of her peripheral vision, Kagome could see Sango's shocked expression and recognized what her bestie was imagining. "I know. I was taken back at first too. Maybe I was more shocked by his words. I mean this is Sesshōmaru, the Ice Prince. His rejection of the fairer sex is infamous, and there he was asking me out. Of course, I reluctantly agreed, and that's when it all began.

Our relationship progressed rather quickly. Sesshōmaru and I did everything together, but we were always alone and never with other people. Being naive as I was I never thought anything of it. I soon began developing feelings for him and thought he did too, but I was wrong."

Her blue eyes and smile dimmed with sadness before carrying on with her tale. "One day my family had gone out of town and left me the whole house to myself. I called Sesshou over, and somehow it had been decided that he would stay the night. Well, sometime later we began to watch some movies. In the middle of one of them, we began to make out, and one thing led to another."

Kagome rested her head against her friend's ample shoulder and batted away the wetness that was materializing. Her sorrowful voice cracked as she spoke reluctantly. "He was the first and only guy that I slept with. After that night things began to change. Sesshōmaru stopped calling me, and when I tried calling him, I would get his voicemail or wouldn't be able to get through at all. I would go to where it all started, but he never showed. When our vacation was over, I ran into him a few times between the campuses, but he just pretended not to notice. I was devastated when I realized his silence was him dumping me.

I went to my classes and faked how I was feeling, so none of you would know anything was wrong. There were a few times where I couldn't hold it together and ended up breaking down in one of the bathrooms. I remember thinking it couldn't get worse than it already was, but boy was I wrong. I found out I was pregnant shortly after and cried for hours not knowing who to call or what I was going to. I was drowning and no one knew. I made sure of that. There were times where I contemplated calling you but decided against it; I didn't want to burden you with my problems."

Sango hugged her tighter and held back the countless tears that wanted to shed for her wounded friend. She carefully cleared her throat instantly pushing the profound emotion to the back burner. "You should have told me. That's why I'm your best friend. Fuck, you're supposed to burden me with your problems as am I to you."

A few stray tears ran down her cheeks while she humbly acknowledged the other teen's heartfelt words. "Hai, I know that now but at the time I thought it would be best if I didn't tell you or anyone else. It didn't really matter, I told my mom a week later, and as you know, she took me out of school. I had that family emergency; No one knew I was the emergency."

"Do you know how it feels to be dumped then end up pregnant and alone? It felt like my world had crumbled right before me and I could do nothing to stop it." She sobbed into Sango's chest and wished that the pain would have gotten better by now. It hadn't, and Kagome wasn't sure if it ever would.

Sango rubbed her back trying to soothe the obvious pain and asked an important question. "Do you still love him?"

Kagome pulled back and sniffled loudly as she tenderly wiped the wetness with the back of her hand. "I ask myself that very same question every time I see golden eyes staring back at me; the same ones that haunt my dreams nightly. Malakai is my life and no matter what, I wouldn't change a thing because if I did, I would have drowned a long time ago."

Silence descended the room before Sango spoke once more. "What are you going to do about tomorrow? You'll be on the same campus as him now."

Kagome bobbed her head and shrugged as if she was not the least bit worried. "I'm not worried about tomorrow. I'll mask my scent like a did before. I'm sure Sesshōmaru has already forgotten about me and has moved on to greener pastures. If he hasn't forgotten, well, he will probably simply walk away or ignore me. It's not like he hasn't done that already."

She gave her concerned friend a reassuring squeeze then pulled away, so she could stand up. "I'll be fine. I'm stronger than I was, so please don't worry."

The brilliant sun was beginning to set as she looked thoughtfully out the window. It was time for her to head home. She was tired and just wanted to snuggle up in bed with her son before finally crashing for the night. "Well, I should get home. I have…" She stopped herself from the lie. She didn't need to hide any longer. This was her best friend, and even if she didn't completely understand, at least she was trying. "I'm going to have some cuddle time with my kiddo."

"That sounds nice," said Sango with a sigh, climbing off the bed and getting to her feet.

"Oh, it's the best," beamed Kagome then expressed her gratitude to her best friend."Thanks. You know. for everything."

"Always girl. Now you will come to me should shit hit the damn fan; I will help you clean it up. If you want, I'll still kick his ass for you. I can dig out my Hiraikotsu and knock him around a bit." The radiant smile she was sending her way was a clear indicator that the athletic teen would enjoy dusting off her mighty boomerang. Sango reluctantly let out a small yawn and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "I think I'm going to turn in as soon as you leave. I'll see you in the morning."

"Of course." Kagome made her way to the exit, pausing in the doorway so she could glance over her shoulder. "Night, Sango."

Sango yawned again and slowly strolled to her dresser to get ready for bed, gently waving her goodbye. "Night."

Kagome slowly shut the door behind her and leaned pensively against it for a second, worry overtaking her mock calmness. She truly had perfected the art of concealing her emotions when she needed to. The evident anxiety was gnawing at her insides, and she knew she wasn't sure if she was prepared to face Sesshōmaru again. The invisible wounds even scabbed over still cracked at times and bled.

Closing her eyes to shove away the unspeakable pain and willingly taking in a deep breath, the uneasy teen prayed to the Kamigami'. 'Gods give me strength. I'm going to need every ounce of it.'

AN:

School structure will follow loosely with the Japanese Schooling System though I did tweak it to fit my story.

Elementary School - Grades 1-6

Junior High - Grades 7-9

High School - Grades 10-12

Past - Kagome - Grade 9 - Age 15 and Sesshomaru - Grade 10 - Age 16

Present - Kagome - Grade 11 - Age 17 and Sesshomaru - Grade 12 - Age 18

For those new to Inuyasha.

Terms:

Yōkai - Demon

Inuyōkai - Dog demon

Hanyō - Half demon

Baka - idiot

Miko - Priestess/Shrine Maiden

Hōshi/Houshi - Monk

Hiraikotsu - Gigantic boomerang weapon