Hey, this is my first-ever fanfic, and I hope you really enjoy it and continue to read until the end. Reviews would be very nice indeed precious...And as of yet, there are no official parings and I am hoping to create some in later chapters!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, all rights go to Rumiko Takahashi

Kasumi Inoue stared down at the paper sitting on her desk. The teacher had handed out the test papers that they had been studying for the last week. But Kasumi couldn't focus her attention on anything but the fact that the normally empty seat directly in front of her was now full. Every time Kagome Higurashi was feeling well enough to attend school, it made Kasumi sick to her stomach.

It was because five months ago, Kagome had been hospitalized and Kasumi wanted to visit the Higurashi family. Only when she arrived at their shrine, she saw Kagome running into a little shack-like building. [If she's hospitalized,] Kasumi thought, [why is she running around her home?]

Kasumi returned her attention to the test. She finished when the final bell rang.

She walked out into the cool October weather and saw Kagome hurriedly walking towards her home. Something inside Kasumi was nagging at her, and she started following her at a distance at which she would not be noticed. "No one can be sick that much." she muttered. When they were almost there, Kasumi paused mid-step. What would she say? She couldn't just say "I've been stalking you and you're skipping class."

[No. I've come this far. I can't back down now.]

Kasumi watched as Kagome entered the same shed as the one five months ago. She strutted up to the doors and opened them, half expecting to see Kagome's face of shock when she saw she'd been followed. But she wasn't in the shed.

[Weird... maybe she's hiding in the well...] Kasumi glanced down into the wooden hole but still couldn't see anything. She put her hands on either side on the opening and leaned way in, trying to make out anything in the blackness that loomed in front of her. Her hand slipped and she thrust it back when the skin caught on a chipped piece of wood. She felt herself start to fall and tried to stand up, but that only made it worse.

Kasumi felt wind rushing by, a scream escaping from her lungs. She braced herself for the impact of the earth, but no such force came. Instead, she found herself floating in a vast, starry universe. She glided up to one of the lights, its luminance brighter than any other star she could see. When she neared it however, it turned an angry red, with a black core. She tried to retreat, but it was too late. The light consumed her with its eerie glow. she could faintly hear laughter in the distance, a cold, torturing sound. A few seconds later, she blacked out.

Kasumi awoke to find herself lying on tightly packed dirt. Slowly, she sat up, triggering an ache in the back of her skull. When the pain dulled, she glanced at the ivy clinging to the wall. [Wasn't there a ladder here? I must have been dreaming...] She began to climb the wall and when she poked her head out of the opening, she gasped. Instead of the dark, musty room she had entered not long ago, she looked upon a lush, fresh-smelling forest. She almost fell back down, but caught herself at the last moment. She climbed out all the way and stood there, taking in her surroundings until a cold voice whispered in her ear,

"So nice of you to join us."

Kasumi turned her head, but no one was there. When she faced the trees once again, a tall man had filled the space between two trees. Only, he wasn't really a man because he looked so... wrong. He was covered in gray scales that where the highlights should have been, they were black, as if he turned the light dark. His hair was long and silky smooth, blacker than the night sky, almost reaching his waist. He eyes were the color of blood, the pupils merely slits in the scarlet iris'. He wore what looked like black samurai armor over a gray kimono. He smiled at her, and she noticed that all his teeth were sharpened to lethal-looking points.

"Wha-what are you?" she stammered.

"A demon." his smile disappeared, his eyes burning into her as if he could see her insides. "I was wondering when you would wake up. After all I did to get you here, I wouldn't want you dying on me."

"But... why?"

He reached down, taking her smooth hand in his scaled one, pulling her to her feet, and looked down at her. "Does it really matter? All that's important is that you're with me now."

Kasumi was caught in his unwavering gaze. She didn't want to trust him but, she couldn't not believe him. His eyes seemed to burn into her very soul, making her want to listen to every thing he said.

"Tell me your name." she said through the haze in her mind.

"Ijiwaru."(1) he whispered. "And what is your name?"

"Kas-" Kasumi was cut off by the arrow that whizzed between their faces, sticking itself in a nearby tree. Ijiwaru pushed her away from himself. She felt a burning sensation on her arms and looked down. There were deep gashes on her wrists where Ijiwaru had been holding her. [I thought he said that he wouldn't hurt me.] It felt as if a deep fog was clearing inside her head, alloying her to think clearly. She stared at the demon as in horror as if for the first time, realized just what he was. Another arrow flew and she saw that it was surrounded by a strange light. He jumped to the side, grabbing Kasumi in the process and turned to glare at his attacker. Kasumi turned as well and saw-

"Kagome!" she screamed.

"Silence!" Ijiwaru hissed. When he Kasumi continued to squirm and shout, he moved his hand and pressed his finger into a spot on the nape of her neck, and she once again lost conscious.

AN: Cookies to those of you who noticed that Ijiwaru's name literally translates into malicious. And cake for those of you who noticed what Kasumi's last name really means! Go look it up if you didn't and want to know! :)