WARNING:

THIS FANFIC INCLUDES SCENES OF VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, GRAPHIC LANGUAGE AND

DEATH OF A FAMILY MEMBER. PLEASE BE AWARE AND CAUTIOUS. THANK YOU.

ONE. Unlikely Friends

He hadn't ever seen fear in her eyes before. But this was more than just fear—she had fury burning in her for him. She was shaking in the alley, lips glossed over with blood, hair clinging to her face in the pouring rain. He just stared at her broken body, heart beating viciously and unable to breathe. There wasn't any way he could bring himself to believe any of this was real. This wasn't supposed to happen...

Sobs began to erupt from her bloody mouth tangled with angry, hurt cries. She breathed desperately, grasping onto words with the little strength she had left inside. "...Why!?" she pleaded, her voice reflecting her despair in such a way that he felt chills run through him, "Why... did you," she choked, "... b-betray me!?"

It was all so much; it was too much for him to handle. Her little body was mangled, her eyes black and swollen and her hair tangled around her body. She was laying there in a heap against the alley, thrown to the ground like a rag-doll in the rain. He knew it was her, though he barely recognized her. He slowly made his way over to her side, falling to his knees and begging himself to speak the words he was thinking.

"Who did this to you?" he asked in distress, voice cracking and lips quivering. He reached his arms out to her, so frightened and unsure, mind racing.

"Stay away from me!"

Her voice had stabbed at his eardrums, stopping his heart and stealing away his breath. She had never been frightened of him, never so repulsed by his presence. He didn't understand and he felt his heart begin to break. "What happened to you?" he cried. "Who did this to you!?"

But all she could do was sob into the downpour, holding her dying body. Each cry brought her closer to her last breath. She was so scared and in so much pain. It was all she could do to focus on her surroundings as her vision began to blur and darken. It was all she could do to breathe as her own blood began to drown her. She just wanted to wake up. She wanted her family. She wanted to live just a little while longer...

TWO YEARS LATER

It had been a long time since Kagome had felt so awkward and out-casted like this. She wasn't familiar with this side of town yet at all, and she had found herself lost on more than one occasion. While, lately, she had been keeping an eye on her more odd habits, more than a handful of the people in the community believed she might have escaped from a local asylum, having witnessed her talking to herself openly and without shame. If only they'd known the trials she had been through, maybe they wouldn't be judging her so harshly.

Besides her ignorance of the area, Kagome was also in distress over her school uniform, or lack thereof. She'd been going to this new school for two weeks and still her order hadn't come in. It would've been nice to be able to fit in with the rest of the kids in her class, or at least make her stand out less. She was that girl; a new student who used to attend the Shikon Academy on the more prestigious side of town. Without a uniform, Kagome had no way of pretending she wasn't an outsider. She was ready to just disappear into the crowd. The last thing she needed was the stress of her peers on her shoulders.

"Please, don't get lost today!" she said to herself under her breath. She continued on through the unfamiliar streets that only seemed to grow more unfamiliar as she went. Intuition had left her completely and now her predicament was plastered all over her face, hiding no signs of worry and frustration that had begun to torment her. "Of course," she sighed, "I can't get through one day without something bad happening!"

She started walking more quickly now, looking from side-to-side at the buildings and homes she was passing along the way. Kagome started to notice garbage piling up in the streets, graffiti on shop windows painted over protective bars. She could have sworn she had seen two different police cruisers creeping by through the near suburbs, and domestic disturbances seemed to be ringing in from all directions. She knew she was far away from home, now.

The sound of sirens began to cry out from nearby, and she could feel herself growing uneasy. "And of course I left my phone at home," she muttered to herself, arms folded and eyes wide. It was then that she began to feel eyes on her from all around, though when she turned to face them, every head was downturned. Every body busy with personal errands. This was the most uneasy feeling she had ever experienced, and now she was really wishing she had asked her mother to pick her up from school today. "What am I gonna do?"

Kagome veered around the corner, the overwhelming feeling of being watched growing more and more sinister. Her heart was starting to beat out-of-control and she was almost running through the streets by now. Which way do I go? I just want to be on the other side of town! It didn't make her feel any better to see that the sun was starting to set, knowing how much more difficult it would be to make her way home in the dark and how much more unsettling walking alone in an unknown area would be. "Today is just not my day."

The streetlights were starting to turn on in the twilight. Mom's gotta be getting worried about me by now, she thought, suddenly aware of the man following closely behind her. Her first instinct told her to reach into her bag and equip herself with the pepper spray her mother had bought for her a few months ago per her request. It wasn't that Kagome felt weak or paranoid, she just wanted to feel prepared.

"Where 're you goin', sweetie?" a man snickered behind her. Kagome shot him a glare, speeding up her pace and rushing onwards in a direction she prayed would lead her back to the safe side of town. When she turned to face the man again, she realized she was being followed by what would be considered a crowd of men, now. She hadn't been so worried about taking on one man, maybe even two at worst, but a gang? Now she was terrified.

She started running. The adrenalin was building up inside of her and she knew she should scream out for help but the words wouldn't come. Her knuckles began to turn white as she gripped onto the pepper-spray. Where should she go? Why wasn't there someone around to stop this? What was going to happen to her?

Despite her attempts at out-running them, they finally cornered her somewhere in a barren cul de sac, the homes surrounding boarded up and decaying, completely void of inhabitants. Though she were terrified, she stood her ground, holding out her pepper spray and ready to use it within an instant. "Leave me alone," she said sternly, not allowing even a slight crack in her voice. She took steady breaths, keeping her eyes on each of them. She counted. 5 of them. Was there really any hope for her at this point?

They all cackled at her weak defense, hooting and hollering at her. "I like 'em feisty," one called while another mumbled something vulgar to the other. She watched as they came closer and closer to her, one leading the pack. Kagome reminded herself to get a good look at each of them—remember their appearance. If she weren't abducted or killed, she'd need this information to hunt them down. She really hoped that it wouldn't have to come to that.

"Why don't you come spend some time with us, sweetie?" the leader demanded more than suggested, reaching out and taking hold of her wrist. Instantly, she sprayed the man, barely missing his eyes, though the smell of it still burned in his nose. He didn't let go of his grip on her, though, only tightened it, pulling her down towards the ground as he growled out into the empty suburbs while his posse gathered more closely around her, her pepper spray falling from her grip. "You little bitch!" Kagome kicked at shins, bit at fingers, screamed and wriggled around, making her body impossible to bind and carry off. Somebody had to of heard this ruckus they were all making. Somebody would have to come to her aid any minute now. Hopefully.

But they were getting smarter about their offense. Two men grabbed each of her legs and their strength surpassed her own. She didn't give up, though. She continued to struggle against them, kicking and squirming around. One of them grabbed her wrist and held her down while the leader sat on top of her stomach, pulling a switchblade out from his pocket. She couldn't breathe and now the reality of her situation really started to sink in. Her inability to protect herself had become so frustrating and horrifying, and she could feel the hot tears begin to form in her eyes. What was going to happen to her?

A flash of red and white. One of the men holding her ankles was kicked directly in the chest, knocking him over, while this mysterious figure in red grabbed at the other one's collar and punched him mercilessly across the face, knocking him over right beside the other one. "What in the fuck!?" the leader called out, gripping onto his switchblade and preparing himself to deal some fatal blows. But this boy was already prepared for this, equipping himself with his own switchblade and stabbing the leader in his side right below the ribcage. It was as the leader doubled over in pain beside her on the black-top that she realized the other two men had run off before this white-haired man could waste them, too.

Kagome barely had a grip on what was going on around her. The boy in red grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to her feet and practically dragging her out of the cul de sac and back into the streets of town. He didn't let go of her until they were maybe half a mile away and in a secluded alley-way someplace. At this point, Kagome wasn't so sure how she felt about that. She could see that he was wearing a red leather jacket; ripped and weathered, his waist-length white hair braided with a red beanie, baggie red pants and a pair of silver converse. His belt was decorated in a light fur, and the muscle shirt-he wore underneath the jacket was a light beige. In the dark, she couldn't tell what his eye-color was, but she could see his long, dirty fingernails and could swear his canine teeth were filed down like fangs. Maybe he wasn't her hero after all. He certainly looked like a thug. Maybe even a monster.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a rough voice, looking at her with judgemental eyes, thumbs resting in his belt-loops as he leaned against the wall of the alley. Now that her mind wasn't racing so much, she could tell that he couldn't be much older than she was. He seemed cold and even bratty. Not the type of guy who would rescue someone at all.

She nodded, wondering if this was just a nice-guy act or not. "Yeah. Thank you for saving me," she replied, her voice showing a hint of caution. Suddenly, she thought about how much her mother must have been worrying about her. "I know you've already done a huge favor for me, but could you give me directions to the police station?"

His top lip curled up and his eyes seemed to glare at her in disgusted disbelief. "Police station? You aren't from this area, are you?"

"Why, what's wrong with the police station around here?"

"They aren't on your side, I can tell you that much. You're better off going home and forgetting it ever happened. And never come back 'round here again."

Kagome was appalled. "Why doesn't somebody do something about them then? That's unacceptable!"

The boy shrugged, obviously without a single care about the situation of it. "There's nothing anyone can do about it." He took a good look at her clothing, making her feel a little uncomfortable. "You're from the Shikon District, aren't you?" The way he asked her this, he seemed unimpressed and maybe even a little disgusted.

"Used to be. I'm in the Miho District now, which explains why I'm here—"

"Uh, how?"

She gave him a dirty look. "I was going to explain! It explains why I'm here because I'm not very familiar with the Miho District and I got lost. So if you're not going to give me directions to a police station, could you at least help me get back to my own neighborhood? At the very least?" As unpleasant as this guy was, she knew there was no way she'd make it back home safely if he didn't escort her back.

He raised a brow, obviously not too interested in her plea. "Are you kidding me? First I save your life and now you want me to take you home? Since when did I become a baby-sitter?"

"Come on, please!?" she would beg if she had to. She really didn't want to walk home in the dark all alone with no sense of direction.

He sighed. "Alright, fine. Come on, this way," he began walking back out into the streets and out of the alley, his pace rather fast. Kagome followed behind, jogging to catch up with him.

She went to call out his name, but suddenly realized she had never gotten it from him. Finally making it to his side, she asked, "So, what's the name of my hero, anyway?"

At the word "hero" he crinkled up his nose as if he'd smelled something bad. "I'm no hero. And it's Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha!? What kind of name is that, that's not a real name! I wanna know your real name!"

Inuyasha chuckled, arms folded, gaze still looking forward as they talked. "It's a gang name. I don't give out my real name. It's not worth anything, anyways."

Kagome sighed, playing with her fingers. "So you are part of a gang. I wondered. Are you part of a good gang, then?" she smiled, staring at him shamelessly.

"No, I'm not part of a gang. At all. You wanna mind your own business?"

"But you just said that—"

"I know what I said! Just... shut up, about it. Jesus Christ, I almost regret saving your sorry ass." His eyes focused on the ground in front of him now, his gaze a glare, though Kagome could have sworn she saw resentment in those eyes when they passed under a street-light.

After a bit of silence, she began to speak again. "Well, I'm Kagome. And I appreciate your kindness, even if you are kind of unpleasant."

Inuyasha scoffed. "You ungrateful bitch! Did you fail Manners in your finishing school?"

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't go to a finishing school, and I'm just telling you the truth. You don't have to be so cold, you know. You don't even know me."

"I know you well enough to know you shouldn't be here and we never should have met."

"You are stubborn!" she gasped, fists clenching as she folded her arms, wondering how long she would be in his company. "And cruel!"

"Is that right?" he laughed, rolling his eyes and walking even faster than he already was. "Is your memory that bad that you forget that I'm the one who came to your rescue?" he finished with a falsetto voice, mocking her own.

Kagome desperately tried to keep up with his pace now, practically running beside him. "How old are you anyways? Do your parents know what kind of stuff you do?"

"Don't have any and they wouldn't give a shit anyway!"

"You didn't answer my first question," she asked again, gasping for some air.

"Seventeen."

The answer to his first question suddenly clicked in her head. "You don't have any parents? Who do you live with?" She took back everything she thought about him in that instant alone. No wonder he was so unpleasant and bratty. What on earth kind of past must he have suffered through? Especially living in a place like this?

"When the old man died, my asshole brother took over everything. He hates me and kicked me out of the house. I live wherever the hell I wanna live. In fact, I was trying to enjoy some peace but your screaming was really distracting so I didn't have much of a choice but to go save your ass. If you're gonna get lost, you better start taking some self-defense classes."

"So, you live in the cul de sac?"

"For now. Look, could you stop asking me all these questions? You're starting to piss me off."

"Could you slow down a little?"

Inuyasha grimaced, reluctantly slowing down his pace. "You need to get out more."

"Why don't you be my trainer?" Kagome replied with glee.

"What!?"

"Whaaat? You're the one who said I should take some self-defense classes, and from what I've seen, you seem to know your stuff!" Cater to his ego, Kagome. He can't say no if I make him feel like a bad-ass. He seems like that type.

"You're shitting me."

She shook her head.

"Really?"

She nodded. "Really!"

The white-haired boy sighed, scowling and hesitant to agree to such a thing.

"And don't try to hide, I'll just come looking for you!"

"Yeah," he sneered, "and get your ass in trouble again? I think not."

"You wouldn't let me get in trouble again, though!"

She had seen right through him. "Please don't make a dumbass out of yourself any more than you already have. Fine! I'll come to get you, though. Last thing I need is some dumb bitch's life on my hands."

Kagome smiled brightly, as though from ear-to-ear. "Yay! I guess we're friends, then!" Exactly what she wanted.

"Hah! That's a good one."

They finally made it back to the Miho District, Kagome finally familiar with her surroundings. Her home was only a few blocks away, and she knew she could make it there on her own, now. "Thanks for the escort. I'll see you again this weekend, okay? Come get me at one! I'll meet you here again, alright?"

"Sure, sure," he answered with little enthusiasm, already making his way back to his own district. There was something about him that really interested her. She couldn't quite explain it, but she almost felt as though she had known him for years. But she didn't have any memories of a white-haired boy before. Kagome knew she couldn't have known him, but something told her she was connected to him somehow. She had a feeling about him. A feeling that she had to pursue. She was going to get to know this Inuyasha guy. There was so much more to him than what he told, and if anyone was going to find out about it, she was going to be the one.

A/N: Okay, so I know I'm supposed to be working on The Lion Returns, but I got inspired to do this fic and I just had to get it down. I have so many ideas and scenes burning inside my mind for this AU and I cannot wait to write them and share them with the rest of the InuKag fandom! I really hope you guys have enjoyed the first chapter! Constructive criticism is always welcome!

~Lully